inquiry

Oct. 9, 2026 8:06 AM PT

WASHINGTON — President Trump opened another chapter in his effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook Friday by establishing a “committee of inquiry” to investigate allegations that she made false statements in mortgage applications.

The inquiry will include a hearing at the White House Nov. 5, Trump said in a written memo, that Cook “shall” attend to answer questions from the committee. The hearing wouldn’t be public but a transcript would be published, the memo said.

Trump’s extraordinary demand that Cook testify before the committee will likely renew concerns about threats to the Federal Reserve’s independence as the president demands the central bank cut its key interest rate. Just last month, the Fed raised its key rate instead, led by Chairman Kevin Warsh, whom Trump appointed earlier this year.

“As President, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law,” Trump wrote in the memorandum.

Trump and some of his economic advisers have blamed the Fed’s broader rate-setting committee, which includes 12 voting members and 19 officials in total, for the rate hike. Cook is one of the 12 participants on the committee that votes on interest-rate decisions. The vote to lift rates Sept. 16 was unanimous.

The move follows a Supreme Court ruling in June that Cook could keep her job after Trump sought to fire her last year. That ruling included a footnote that said nothing prevented Trump from “trying again” as long as she was given proper notice and an opportunity to respond to the charges.

Cook has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.

Rugaber writes for the Associated Press.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has said the woman at the centre of the Cornell University rape case was “failed” at “every turn”.

The woman, known as Jane Doe in legal documents, alleges she was drugged and raped by several men at a fraternity house in 2024.

The case was investigated at the time but no charges were laid. It recently reopened after the woman filed a civil lawsuit last month that thrust the allegations into the national spotlight.

At a news conference on Friday, Hochul said she was “deeply disturbed” by how the investigation was handled. She has now appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James to lead the case.

This appointment was made after Hochul said she “lost faith” in the local prosecutor’s ability to oversee the investigation.

Expressing outrage that local prosecutors did not interview the accuser themselves, Hochul on Friday said: “This young woman had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable, and then at every turn she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her.”

She has also vowed to close a “loophole” that prevents prosecutors from pursuing rape charges in cases when the victim has voluntarily consumed drugs or alcohol. Jane Doe is believed to have voluntarily taken drugs and alcohol on the night of the alleged gang rape.

“If someone is too intoxicated to consent it should not matter if they chose to use drugs or alcohol,” said Hochul, adding: “Voluntary intoxication is not a licence for gang rape.”

James, who is the state’s chief legal officer, appeared alongside Hochul at Friday’s news conference, pledging to “lead a process guided by the facts and the law”.

She said her office would interview witnesses and pursue prosecutions if warranted.

District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who previously led the investigation, has defended his office’s previous decision not to file charges in the case, arguing they were not given enough evidence to meet the legal threshold.

Van Houten said much of the information released in recent weeks about the case was not passed to his office.

In a statement on Friday, he said he supported James’ investigation, adding: “It has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the university.”

Cornell has said it provided evidence to the district attorney’s office from its own investigation, including a Snapchat group chat in which fraternity members discussed a “free” sexual encounter with Doe on the night of the alleged assault.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is doing everything” to prevent the establishment of an official commission of inquiry into the events of Oct. 7, 2023, former military intelligence officer Barak Seri said, Anadolu reports.

In a Saturday post on the US social media company X, Seri said Netanyahu was “warned and alerted” ahead of the attacks, but that “he ignored it all.”

“This is why Netanyahu is personally blocking the establishment of an inquiry commission,” he said.

Earlier Saturday, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu received warnings about a possible Hamas attack ahead of Oct. 7, 2023, but did not convene a meeting to discuss them.

READ: Hamas slams Netanyahu’s UN speech: He should be in prison to face trial for crimes

Citing unnamed security officials, the outlet said Netanyahu did not share the warnings with the Shin Bet, Mossad or the Military Intelligence Directorate, known as Aman.

Meanwhile, US magazine The Atlantic reported that former Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel secretly visited Israel 11 days before the Oct. 7 events to alert Tel Aviv about a possible Hamas attack.

There has been no official Egyptian comment on the claim.

Following the Oct. 7 events, Israel launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 74,000 people, injured around 175,000 others and turned the entire enclave into ruins.

​​​​​​​Despite a ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, Israel has continued its daily attacks on Gaza, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians and injuring nearly 5,000 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

READ: Netanyahu failed to relay UAE warning of possible Hamas attack to security chiefs: NYT