TRANSCRIPTS IN CUOMO INVESTIGATION RELEASED
ALBANY, N.Y.» Over an 11-hour interview with investigators in July, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo defiantly denied allegations he sexually harassed women and sparred with the lawyers questioning him, accusing one of being out to get him, according to a transcript released Wednesday.
State Attorney General Letitia James made public hundreds of pages of transcripts of interviews conducted by two independent lawyers, hired by her office, during their months-long investigation of sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo.
In their interviews with investigators, conducted over several months, the women accusing Cuomo of misconduct laid out their accounts of working for a boss who made comments about women’s looks, asked questions about sex and inappropriately touched and kissed them.
Man arrested over fire at memorial for Pulse nightclub victims.
A man was arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed part of the Pulse Interim Memorial in Orlando, Fla., which honors the 49 victims of one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
The man, Mark Henson, 64, of Orlando, was charged Tuesday with felony criminal mischief, the Orlando Fire Department said in a statement.
No one was injured in the fire, which was captured on surveillance video.
Fire department officials said the video, along with witness statements, led investigators to make the arrest.
Federal judge rules Texas schools can issue mask mandates.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates in Texas schools violates the rights of students with disabilities, clearing the path for districts in the state to issue their own rules for face coverings, a decision that could affect more than 5 million students.
The ruling comes after months of politicized disputes over measures at the state level opposing mask-wearing policies that had been intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The lawsuit that sought to overturn the mandate was filed on behalf of several families of students with disabilities and the organization Disability Rights Texas.
The lawsuit stated that the defendants — the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton; the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, Mike Morath; and the Texas Education Agency — had put students with disabilities at risk through their complete erasure of mask mandates.
Spacex crew launch marks 600 space travelers in 60 years.
A Spacex rocket carried four astronauts into orbit Wednesday night, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years.
The repeatedly delayed flight occurred just two days after Spacex brought four other astronauts home from the International Space Station.
They should have been up there to welcome the newcomers, but NASA and Spacex decided to switch the order based on Monday’s ideal recovery weather in the Gulf of Mexico.
The launch was just as riveting for spectators at NASA’S Kennedy Space Center, as well as along the East Coast, as the Falcon rocket thundered through clouds on its way to space.
Germany’s Matthias Maurer claimed the No. 600 position, according to NASA, based on his mission assignment.