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New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang rape at Cornell University, saying newly released information had undermined her confidence in the local prosecutor’s handling of the case.

In a news conference on Friday, Hochul said that the woman who reported the alleged assault had been failed by institutions responsible for protecting her, including Cornell University Police and the Tompkins County district attorney’s office.

“In what world does the district attorney not even interview her, or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript?” Hochul asked at the news conference. “And I want the truth. I think every parent in this state, every New Yorker wants the truth in this case.”

Hochul signed an executive order on Thursday requiring the attorney general to investigate the alleged October 2024 assault. If warranted, evidence will be presented to a grand jury and the case prosecuted.

The order states the Tompkins County district attorney declined to prosecute the case in November 2024 without speaking to Jane Doe and relied, at least in part, on information from a Cornell police statement that omitted her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted.

On Friday in a post on social media, United States President Donald Trump decried Hochul’s decision to have James, who he claimed was “corrupt”, oversee the “highly controversial” case.

The appointment of James means the state attorney general’s office, rather than the county district attorney, will now control the criminal investigation.

Questions over the 2024 investigation

Prosecutors initially closed the case without criminal charges in 2024. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation on Monday, after Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of sexually assaulting her.

Van Houten has defended his original decision, saying in a September 28 statement that prosecutors reviewed a six-page sworn statement the woman gave Cornell police in November 2024.

He said the statement did not allege that she had been drugged against her will, and described her participation in sexual conduct as voluntary and consensual. He said multiple prosecutors and investigators reviewed the statement and concluded that, as presented, the facts did not establish a crime under New York law.

The governor, however, said the full account given to police was not conveyed to prosecutors. She cited reports that Jane Doe told investigators she was “100% confident” she had been raped.

Cornell has said its police department provided prosecutors with the evidence it had gathered, including a Snapchat screenshot, and that the university separately investigated the allegations through its disciplinary process. Cornell said sanctions imposed after that process included expulsions and suspensions.

Cornell has also said it is conducting an independent review of how it handled the allegations.

New York’s consent law under scrutiny

The Cornell case has renewed debate over New York’s definition of incapacity to consent. Under current state law, a person is considered “mentally incapacitated” when drugs or alcohol are given to someone without consent.

A state bill introduced in June would extend the provision to cases in which a victim voluntarily consumed alcohol or drugs but became so intoxicated that they were temporarily unable to control their conduct, if the accused knew or reasonably should have known of the victim’s condition.

The legislation has gained renewed attention following the Cornell allegations. Lawmakers said on Thursday that the case highlighted what they described as a gap in the state’s current law.

“If someone is too intoxicated to consent, it should not matter whether they chose to use drugs or alcohol,” Hochul said at Friday’s news conference. “Voluntary intoxication is not a licence for sexual assault or gang rape, period.”

Lindsey Boylan, a New York City Council candidate and the first woman to accuse former Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment publicly, said Hochul should use the moment to push for broader legislative change.

“I expect to see her follow through with not just supporting the independent investigation, but also changing the state laws,” Boylan said. “That is what I’m expecting her to do now, and I think that is what every survivor is expecting her to do now.”

Lawsuit alleges NHTSA contravenes its congressional mandate to set fuel-economy standards at ‘maximum feasible’ .

Twenty-six states, including California and New York, have filed a lawsuit against United States President Donald Trump’s administration after the US Department of Transportation lowered fuel economy standards for petrol-powered vehicles.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday, challenges the Department of Transportation’s rollback of fuel economy standards to a fleet average fuel economy of 34.9 miles (56km) per gallon (3.78 litres) by model year 2031. Under the administration of former President Joe Biden, fuel economy standards were set at 50.4 miles (81km) per gallon by model year 2031.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the lawsuit, argued that the Trump administration improperly changed how federal regulators calculate fuel economy standards.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) bases standards on technological improvements that could make petrol-powered vehicles more efficient. To do that, it first models the current fleet’s performance and then considers what additional actions manufacturers could take to improve their fuel economy in future model years above that.

In past standards, including during the first Trump administration, NHTSA’s baseline fleet included the millions of electric vehicles that already run on US roads.

Bonta said the Transportation Department change ignores the existing slate of EVs, which makes it easier to justify weaker standards for petrol-powered vehicles, and called the approach “flawed” and “dramatically distorted”.

The lawsuit also alleges that NHTSA’s new rule is contrary to law and that NHTSA contravenes its mandate from Congress to set fuel-economy standards at their “maximum feasible” level.

The Transportation Department has said the change could save American taxpayers $138bn over the next five years.

“The president started a war that has created volatility in oil markets, disrupted global energy supplies, and left families and businesses paying the price at the pump. Yet, the Trump administration is attempting to gut fuel economy standards and force Americans to spend billions more on gas while poisoning the air in our communities,” Attorney General Bonta said in a statement.

The rollback was applauded by car makers.

“We welcome the Administration’s efforts to reset the CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] regulations to more achievable targets that are better aligned with market realities,” said Shane Karr, senior vice president of public affairs at Stellantis North America.

Second lawsuit

The litigation by the states came in tandem with a second lawsuit filed on Friday by progressive and climate groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund and Public Citizen.

“Trump’s lawless push to roll back key safeguards on fuel economy will pollute our air, and line the pockets of oil and auto CEOs. We are confident of stopping Trump’s CAFE standards rollback,” Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen said in a statement announcing the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court in Washington DC.

Auto stocks were trending downward throughout the day, with Ford, General Motors and Toyota closing down around 1 percent. Stellantis fell more than 6 percent amid reports of slumping sales.

Mahan Air is excluded from the agreement as Baghdad says Washington granted its request for a waiver.

Iraq has agreed to let Iranian airlines, except Mahan Air, operate up to 40 flights a day to and from Najaf International Airport, saying the United States granted an exemption from its sanctions.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s office announced the agreement on Friday, a day after Tehran urged Baghdad to lift restrictions that it said hurt pilgrims, patients, students and business.

The deal eases the links between the two Shia-majority neighbours since Washington sanctioned Iran’s aviation sector last month.

Al-Zaidi welcomed the “positive response shown by the US government to Iraq’s efforts and its cooperation in granting the necessary exemption”, the statement from his office said.

“Air travel does not merely represent transportation between two airports, but rather a bridge of communication between peoples,” it added.

Separately, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the return of flights supports an Iraqi-US partnership premised on mutual respect.

Hussein also welcomed what he described as US understanding of the importance of respecting religious freedom and facilitating access for visitors to holy sites.

Flights suspended

The US Treasury announced sanctions on September 8 against 36 entities linked to Iran’s aviation sector.

Foreign ground-handling companies then refused to service Iranian aircraft for fear of falling foul of US sanctions, and flights stopped at four Iraqi airports.

Soon after, Iraq’s government held direct talks with Washington, seeking an exemption.

Iraq’s ambassador to Tehran, Yasser al-Hajjaj, told Iran’s IRNA news agency that Baghdad had not ordered the halt in flights. The suspension also led to demonstrations outside Najaf airport and in Nasiriya, Karbala and Amarah, according to Iran’s Press TV.

Najaf is the main destination for Iranian flights in Iraq. Flights to and from the city carry Iraqi Shia Muslim pilgrims to Iran’s holy cities or Iranians visiting sacred sites in Iraq.

Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Mohammad Kazem al-Sadegh, told the Iranian news agency ISNA that there were “roughly 25 daily flights from Iran to Najaf and about 15 flights to Baghdad” before the ban.

“Around 12,000 to 13,000 people travel between Iran and Iraq and vice versa on Iranian airlines, which is not a small number,” he added.

In a statement shared on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that Washington’s “illegal and inhumane” extraterritorial enforcement of sanctions was disrupting Iran’s trade and air transport.

Restrictions remain

Flights between Najaf and Iran restarted late on Monday, according to the Iraqi News Agency.

However, flights with Iran are still suspended at Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports, forcing passengers into land journeys of at least 12 hours and disrupting pilgrim traffic.

Al Jazeera has not verified the exemption with representatives in Washington.