NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s governor and attorney general were set to give an update Friday morning about the investigation into a woman’s allegations that she was gang raped at a Cornell University fraternity house.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday she appointed the office of Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor to oversee the investigation, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case.
The investigation had initially been closed without charges in 2024.
Last month, the woman filed a civil lawsuit and Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation. He has since been bombarded by criticism that he abandoned the original investigation too quickly.
The attorney general will oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury, Hochul said.
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” she said in a statement Thursday.
Messages left for Van Houten were not immediately returned late Thursday.
The case has roiled the Ivy League campus and raised questions about its response and the larger issue of how sexual assaults are handled on college campuses.
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, told campus police in November of 2024 that she was assaulted, then discussed it with the university’s internal investigators as part of Cornell’s disciplinary process.
The lawsuit against seven fraternity brothers, the university, the Chi Phi fraternity and others alleges that she was plied with drugs and alcohol, then subjected to sex acts by a group of men while she was partially or entirely incapacitated. One of the men sent a social media message to other fraternity members alerting them to what was happening, and inviting people to take part, according to the lawsuit.
Lawyers for two of the men she is suing have denied they participated in a sexual assault. One said his client hadn’t touched the woman. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other men or their representatives have been unsuccessful.
FILE - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, listens as Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference in New York, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Shown is the the Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
ATLANTA (AP) — After hitting into two double plays during the Atlanta Braves' loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, Michael Harris II was eager for an opportunity to make amends.
He didn't have to wait long.
Harris hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Chris Sale came out of the bullpen on one day of rest to get the final four outs and the Braves beat the Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night in the decisive Game 3 of their National League Wild Card Series.
Surprise starter Ray Kerr threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings for Atlanta, and Ozzie Albies launched a two-run homer in the fourth. Matt Olson added a solo shot in the seventh as the Braves advanced to a best-of-five Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I told our guys, `Man, all year long when the stakes have been the highest, when the challenges have been the toughest, we’ve been at our absolute best.' So it doesn’t surprise me that we played the way we did tonight,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said.
Harris has hit .426 with two homers and five RBIs in his first eight career postseason games, but he wanted to move past the two double plays in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss in 10 innings that forced Thursday night’s game.
“Just found one pitch to put my best swing on and hopefully we got some runs out of it, and we did,” said Harris, who connected off Aaron Nola.
The Braves took a postseason series for the first time since winning the 2021 World Series and earned their first playoff series win against the Phillies. Philadelphia beat Atlanta in the 1993 NL Championship Series and the 2022 and 2023 NLDS.
“Definitely feels amazing to win against the Phillies because they were the ones that sent us home previous years, and especially at home,” Albies said.
After winning the NL East by six games over Philadelphia this year, the Braves came out on top in their postseason matchup, too.
“Those guys kind of went start to finish in this division,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Over the course of the 162 (games), they were the best team in our division.”
Nola was pulled after allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings. He walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Olson with one out in the first before giving up the homer to Harris,
Kerr made his postseason debut in only his fourth career start. Weiss wanted a left-hander to face Phillies left-handed hitters Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper at least once.
Mattingly acknowledged that Kerr pitching long enough to face Schwarber and Harper twice was a perfect script for a Braves win.
“Obviously, it’s nice,” Mattingly said. “When you’re in that situation where you can run through your lefties again at the top is probably the best-case scenario, and he was able to do that.”
Kerr allowed only one hit — to Schwarber in the first — and one walk — to Schwarber in the fourth. Right-hander Grant Holmes followed Kerr and allowed one run in two innings to earn the win.
Kerr left to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd and acknowledged the cheers by lifting up his arm as he approached the dugout.
“Hopefully, Ray Kerr became a bit of a household name tonight,” Weiss said. “He deserves it.”
The 37-year-old Sale, who started Atlanta's 5-3 win in Tuesday's series opener, struck out Harper to end the eighth and closed out the series in the ninth by striking out Bryan De La Cruz and pinch-hitter Otto Kemp.
The ace left-hander threw 95 pitches over 6 1/3 innings Tuesday. Two days later, he threw 21 pitches in his first relief appearance of the year.
Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, the winning pitcher in Sunday's 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay that clinched the wild-card spot, walked Austin Riley in the fourth before giving up Albies' homer to right field that gave Atlanta a 5-0 lead. Wheeler allowed two runs in four innings. Jonathan Bowlan, Philadelphia's fourth pitcher, gave up Olson's homer to center field.
Kerr, 32, flourished in the postseason spotlight. He pitched in only nine games after being recalled by Atlanta on Aug. 16. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024 and didn’t pitch in 2025.
Kerr said he was told Wednesday he would start on Thursday.
“It was fun. It was a journey," Kerr said of his path back to the majors. “I’ve dreamed about stuff like this. For it to actually happen, I still haven’t even processed yet.”
Philadelphia's 2022 World Series loss to Houston began a streak of five straight postseason appearances with progressively quicker exits — the NL Championship Series, two NLDS exits and now the Wild Card Series loss.
“If you don’t win the last game, it’s a crash landing no matter what. It doesn’t matter where it is,” Mattingly said.
The game drew a sellout of 41,731 after the Braves fell short of sellouts in the first two games of the series, with school and work conflicting with the 2:15 p.m. first pitch for many fans. Afternoon starts also hurt attendance in other Wild Card Series games this week.
The announced attendance at Truist Park was 30,127 on Tuesday and 37,150 on Wednesday.
Edmundo Sosa remained in the Phillies' starting lineup at third base after he appeared to aggravate a groin injury running to first base and left Wednesday's game in the ninth inning. Weiss said Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle, who allowed only one run in seven innings on Wednesday despite feeling an abdominal pull in pregame warmups, was “feeling pretty good” on Thursday.
The Braves will play at Dodger Stadium on Saturday in the opening game of their Division Series against the two-time defending World Series champions.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale points ot the crowd after Game 3 of baseball's NL Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale throws against the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning during Game 3 of baseball's NL Wild Card Series, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II hits a three-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning during Game 3 of baseball's NL Wild Card Series, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II celebrates his three-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning during Game 3 of baseball's NL Wild Card Series, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola throws against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning during Game 3 of baseball's NL Wild Card Series, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Ray Kerr waves as he walks to the dugout against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth inning during Game 3 of baseball's NL Wild Card Series, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II, third from left, celebrates his three-run home run with Mauricio Dubón (14), Matt Olson, second from left, and Ronald Acuña Jr., right, against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning during Game 3 of baseball's NL Wild Card Series, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
