Cornell Campus Protests, Possible Plague Case & NBA Goes High-Tech - Tuesday, October 06, 2026

Erica Mandy (0:00)

Today is Tuesday, October 6th. We'll tell you about an outpouring of anger that's been building on Cornell University's campus, what thousands of protesters are now demanding. Also why one illness in Russia is drawing concern all around the world. Plus why an American scientist just won a Nobel Prize for his brain research, how the NFL punished two refs for their conduct toward players, and what Marvel's boss says about the many upcoming movies the studio has planned. Those stories and even more news coming up.

Welcome to The NewsWorthy, all the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this.

Cornell University is facing growing pressure from its own students to account for its actions in the aftermath of a rape case that's drawn nationwide outrage. Thousands of students and faculty rallied on campus yesterday, calling for major changes to how the school handles sexual assault allegations. Of course, this stems from the case involving the former Cornell student, who says she was drugged and raped by seven men at a fraternity house in 2024

As we've told you, she reported the alleged assault to campus police, but no criminal charges were filed. Cornell says it did a thorough investigation at the time and disciplined students accordingly. But protesters say the school did not do enough. They're demanding changes to the student discipline system, a clearer definition of sexual consent, improved training for Cornell police officers on how to deal with sexual assault, and that Cornell either expel or take degrees away from students who were accused back in the 2024 case. Some protesters also called for Cornell's president to resign. Others called for all fraternities to be shut down. The demonstration came as the university deals with another sign of anger on campus. The school's main administration building was vandalized yesterday with broken glass and red spray-painted messages criticizing Cornell's handling of sexual assault. Cornell says it understands the frustration, but that damaging property is not the answer. Meanwhile, the state attorney general is overseeing a reopened criminal investigation, and Cornell says it will also have an independent review of how it handled the case. More protests are planned on campus this week.

President Trump has approved a plan to execute the Fort Hood shooter by firing squad. Former Army Major Nadal Hassan was an Army psychiatrist who carried out a mass shooting at a medical facility at Fort Hood, Texas. Twelve soldiers and one physician assistant were killed, 32 others were hurt. Hassan was convicted and sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013

Flash forward to this week, and the Pentagon says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the firing squad method. Yesterday, Trump approved it. The Secretary of the Army will now set the time and place for the execution that would be the first US military execution in more than 60 years and the first military execution by firing squad in more than 80 years. This comes as Tennessee is rethinking how it carries out executions following a failed lethal injection last week. Death row inmate Krista Pike is still unconscious and on a ventilator five days after the state tried to execute her. Her attorneys say problems with the IV lines caused the lethal injection to enter the tissue in her arms instead of her bloodstream. And they still don't know whether she'll fully recover.

Now, Tennessee's top Republican leaders say they want to look at other ways of carrying out death sentences. Meanwhile, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has paused all executions for the rest of this year, while an independent review looks at what went wrong.

Pennsylvania's measles outbreak has now topped 1,000 cases, making it the largest outbreak in any US state in more than three decades. The outbreak started in April, west of Philadelphia. Nearly 200 people have been hospitalized, five people have died. And it's part of a much bigger measles problem across the country. New York declared a disaster emergency yesterday, as cases there have also risen. More cases have also recently been reported in states like Ohio. And since the beginning of this year, large outbreaks have spread in several states, including Texas, South Carolina, and Utah. Overall, the CDC says the US has reported nearly 4,000 cases this year, the most since 1991

As we've mentioned before, measles was declared eliminated in the US back in 2000 But vaccination rates have fallen below the level health experts say is needed to prevent outbreaks. And remember, measles is one of the world's most contagious diseases. 90% of unvaccinated people will get measles if they enter a room where measles was present even two hours earlier. International health officials are expected to decide next month whether the US will get to keep its measles-free status.