Cornell prosecutor, Tennessee's botched executions and Obamacare checks

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wonganui, New Zealand. It's Friday, October 2. Today, New York's state-governor intervenes in the gang rape case at Cornell, appointing a special prosecutor to take over. Tennessee grapples with its second botched execution attempt in a year, raising questions about the lethal injection, and student protests in France turn violent. This is Royte's World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. Imagine setting your makeup, then forgetting it's even theirs. Meet new grippy setting mist from Mavily New York. Jelly mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours, with flexible all-day comfy grip. No tightness, no stickiness, no residue. Just clump, dewy, hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Try new grippy setting mist from Mavily New York. Outraged students have held a public hearing at Cornell University after allegations of a 2024 gang rape resurfaced, sparking fresh scrutiny of how the case was handled. A lot of women were saying something along the lines of, you know, I am Jane Doe as well, and so there was quite a lot of solidarity and also criticism of the university's response. That's reporter Ed O, who was at the hearing. Cornell has defended its handling of the case, saying it investigated and imposed discipline on the seven accused students ranging from suspensions to expulsions. But with new details coming to light after the alleged victim filed a civil suit, controversy over the case continues to grow. New York Governor Kathy Hoechill is stepped in, appointing state attorney general Latisha James as special prosecutor in the case. Meanwhile, a New York state law, which makes it difficult to prosecute cases where the victim was voluntarily intoxicated, is coming under scrutiny with some state law makers now pushing for change. Reporter Joseph Axe has more. This case is clearly touched and nerve with an awful lot of people. I think in part that's because sexual violence on college campuses has been such a persistent and dangerous and frustrating problem that has resisted a lot of the reforms that have been pursued over the years. So as the law is written right now, if a victim of a sexual assault shows to get drunk or took drugs voluntarily and then lost the capacity to consent, it's actually harder to prosecute those cases than in cases where the victim was given something without their knowledge or consent. And these lawmakers view this as a form of kind of putting the blame or the responsibility on the victim. It's a law that's been actually proposed for a number of years. It's never actually passed the legislature. But these lawmakers now are hopeful that the kind of public pressure because of the Cornell case might be enough to finally get it across the finish line. A Tennessee death row inmate is in critical condition in a national hospital after surviving two doses of what should have been lethal injections. I counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone, one of which appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her arm after a non-successful attack. That's Randy Spivy, Pike's attorney, who was at the execution and says what happened to her amounted to chemical torture. It was cruel and it was torturous. 50-year-old Christopher Pike was sentenced to death in the 1990s for a murder she carried out as a teenager. Her botched execution was the second in Tennessee this year. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended all executions for the rest of the year, while an independent review looks into what went wrong. A major sell-off in government bond markets is pushing borrowing costs to multi-decade highs around the world. Investors are demanding higher returns to lend money, driven by expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer, alongside concerns about inflation and growing government debt. Our morning bid host, Elena Cassess, has more. So there was some reprieve for US bond yields overnight that came down a bit from the 24-year high that they hit on Thursday, but where they go next is all about the jobs report. That comes in later on Friday, an average forecast of what economists pulled by Reuters saw the US economy adding 90,000 jobs in September. But the problem will be if that comes in hot. Those estimates were all over the place. Some of them were as high as 180,000 jobs, and if we get another really strong number, as we saw in August, that would put more pressure on the Fed to heightrate this month and more pressure on US treasuries. You can catch morning bid wherever you get your podcasts. And I think we're going to win. Every place I've gone, we win. You know, the press is, "Oh, I don't know. Trump really is hard, isn't it?" My heart's in it. I wouldn't be home right out by heart. My heart is in it like never before. US President Donald Trump had a rally for Republican Ken Paxden in Texas. Trump is kicking off a 32-day campaign blitz ahead of the midterms. As he tries to court voters, his administration is also sending nearly 950,000 Americans checks for about $500 each. The White House says the payments are refunds, arguing those who bought health insurance through the Affordable Care Act were charged excessive marketplace fees. But a Reuters analysis found most of that money is going to a handful of politically important states. More than two-thirds of the $339 million being distributed is headed to residents in key mid-term battlegrounds. Senator Andy Sullivan has more. These checks are only going out to people in a group of 30 states that use the federal portal to provide care. They tend to be Republican-run or they tend to be sort of more politically competitive. The states that set up their own exchanges tend to be solidly democratic places like California and New York. The administration has portrayed this as a refund for people who pay too much for Obamacare. But if you look at where the money is going, the overlap with the mid-term battleground is really quite striking. I mean, we're a little more than a month out from the November 3rd mid-term elections. That'll decide whether Trump's Republicans maintain control of Congress. There's a lot of really competitive races. And the most competitive Senate races, almost all of them are in these states. You've got places like Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska. The pattern is really quite striking. British counterterrorism police have made another arrest and a suspected plot near R.A. Fairford, the airbase used by US bombers during strikes on Iran. The latest person in custody is a 25-year-old dual British Iranian national. Police detained five British men in their 20s near the base on Sunday. They were later released on bail. Now investigators are examining whether a foreign state may have been involved. British officials say all possibilities remain on the table. Iran has rejected any suggestion it played a role. Student protests across France have turned violent, with attackers dousing a head teacher in gasoline in Marseille, inciting fire to at least two schools and a fire truck. Police responded with tear gas as hundreds of young people blocked school entrances, protesting staff shortages and dilapidated buildings. The demonstrations and blockades have become a political flashpoint after the government announced deeply unpopular spending cuts in its 2027 budget. Hundreds of protesters mostly teenagers have been arrested and dozens have been injured. Prime Minister Sebastien Lyconnou has called a crisis meeting to address the unrest. The family of 37-year-old Minnesota woman Renee Good is suing the Trump administration, an ICE agent and several senior federal officials over her death during federal immigration operations in Minneapolis and January. The lawsuit alleges negligence and civil rights violations. "We are here because Renee's love and legacy demand a better world for her children." That's Becca Good, Renee's partner, who was sitting in the car with Renee when she was shot and killed. After the shooting, senior Trump administration officials publicly described Good as a domestic terrorist. Federal officials declined to bring charges against the agents involved. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Omani Co-pilot, who stabbed the captain of the fly Dubai flight in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, had undergone ran medical islamist indoctrination and was suicidal. Omani authorities have not commented. Meanwhile, Hindu priests say prayers for the speedy recovery of the Indian pilot who was stabbed midair. Smith Machara is being hailed a hero after lunging to unlock the cockpit door, despite serious stab wounds, on board the fly Dubai flight. For more on any of the stories from today, as well as more analysis and news shaping our world, check out warriors.com or the Reuters app. There's a link in the description to download it and start getting pure news straight from the source. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters 7 days a week. We'll be back later with an update.