NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 “Lynch mobs”: Bill Cosby’s wife is calling for a criminal investigation into the suburban Philadelphia prosecutor behind his sexual assault conviction, saying the case was “mob justice, not real justice” and a “tragedy” that must be undone. Camille Cosby commented on the case for the first time on Thursday in a statement issued through a spokesman a week after her husband of 54 years was convicted of aggravated indecent assault. Camille Cosby called her husband’s chief accuser Andrea Constand a liar, and compared the dozens of other women who’ve accused her husband to “lynch mobs.”
2 Deadly explosion: A Connecticut woman’s call to police to report that she had escaped after being held hostage for several days led to a standoff and explosion in a barn behind her home in North Haven that left one person dead and nine police officers injured, officials said Thursday. A regional police SWAT team responded to the property Wednesday afternoon after the woman’s call and encountered a barricaded man. Officers negotiated with him for hours before a building on the property exploded around 8:30 p.m. The nine officers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and the remains of an unidentified person were found on the property. The owners, Deborah and John Sayre, were going through a divorce. 3 Addressing U.S. poverty: Bill Gates is starting a new fight against systemic poverty in America, as his private foundation announces millions of dollars toward unspecified initiatives ranging from data projects to funding for community activists. The Seattlebased Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said Thursday that it will spend $158 million on the issue over the next four years.
4 Chaplain returns: Speaker Paul Ryan reinstated the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy as the chaplain of the House of Representatives on Thursday, after the chaplain sent him a letter rescinding his forced dismissal and daring the speaker to fire him. Conroy, who has been the chaplain since 2011, intimated in a letter to Ryan that the speaker did not have the authority to fire him, noting that the chaplain, who is selected by the speaker, is elected by the members of the House. He suggested his Catholic faith had contributed to his dismissal.
5 Charlie Rose: More than two dozen additional women have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against former CBS News anchor Charlie Rose, and the Washington Post says that on least three occasions, managers were alerted about his questionable behavior. Rose was fired as “CBS This Morning” anchor and his PBS interview show canceled after the Post reported in November about women who said Rose groped them, made lewd remarks or walked around naked in their presence. The Post article on Thursday said it had found 27 more women who said Rose harassed them. CBS News’ top managers have said they had been unaware of Rose’s behavior.