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A woman has filed a criminal complaint against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, accusing him of groping her breast.

The former employee in Mr Cuomo‘s office, known only as “Executive Assistant #1”, filed the complaint with the Albany County Sheriff’s office on Thursday.

The development increases the possibility that Mr Cuomo could face criminal charges.

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The alleged incident was the most serious of a number of claims detailed in a 165-page report released by the New York attorney general’s office this week.

The report alleged that Mr Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women and that his office was “toxic”, creating a “climate of fear”.

Executive Assistant #1 said Mr Cuomo, 63, hugged her and then reached under her shirt and fondled her breast.

The incident is said to have taken place at the governor’s mansion in the state capital, Albany, in November 2020.

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In the attorney general’s report, Executive Assistant #1 was quoted as saying: “I have to tell you it was – at the moment I was in such shock that I could just tell you that I just remember looking down seeing his hand, seeing the top of my bra….”

The report, based on interviews with complainants, alleged that Mr Cuomo “slid his hand up her blouse, and grabbed her breast, ‘cup[ping her] breast’ over her bra”.

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Joe Biden calls on Andrew Cuomo to resign

In a TV statement responding to the attorney general’s report, Mr Cuomo denied any wrongdoing and described the woman’s claims as “another allegation that I groped a woman in my office”, adding: “That never happened”.

The governor’s lawyers had already said they would tackle the claims head-on in the courts if required.

Responding to news that the woman had now filed a criminal complaint, Mr Cuomo’s spokesman, Richard Azzopardi, said: “As we said previously, we proactively made a referral nearly four months ago in accordance with state policies.”

In a lengthy statement, released this week in response to all the allegations, Mr Cuomo’s attorney addressed Executive Assistant #1’s claims, saying: “The governor was stunned by her claim made for the first time in early March 2021 (after Lindsay Boylan and Charlotte Bennett’s claims were made public) that he groped her breast under her shirt and over her bra in his mansion office during a work day in November 2020.

“This claim is false, as the governor has stated repeatedly and unequivocally.”

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March: Andrew Cuomo says he did not intend to make anyone uncomfortable

The statement continued: “He has never behaved in this manner and never would.

“It would be a pure act of insanity for the governor – who is 63 years old and lives his life under a microscope – to grab an employee’s breast in the middle of the work day at his mansion office.

“This simply did not happen.”

Since the release of the attorney general’s report this week, calls have grown for Mr Cuomo to step down.

US President Joe Biden, a friend and political ally of the governor, also told reporters that he thought Mr Cuomo should resign.

An impeachment probe is also nearing its conclusion, with the governor agreeing to give evidence to investigators.

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Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

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Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

A 43-year-old man was shot dead by police after calling 911 to report intruders had entered his home in Las Vegas.

Brandon Durham was at home with his 15-year-old daughter when he called the emergency line to report armed intruders were trying to break into his property on 12 November.

Bodycam footage shows Mr Durham struggling with a person over a knife in the moments before he was shot and killed at the scene.

“The loss of life in any type of incident like this is always tragic, and it’s something we take very seriously,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said on Thursday.

The force is investigating the incident.

Mr Durham called 911 to report multiple people were outside shooting at his residence in Las Vegas’ Sunset Park neighbourhood, where he had been staying with his 15-year-old daughter, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reports.

It was one of multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting in the area.

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Mr Durham then said someone had managed to get into his home through the front and back doors of the property and he was locking himself in the bathroom, according to a police statement from 14 November, two days after the incident.

Officers reported to the scene at approximately 12:40am and could hear screaming from inside the residence.

One of the officers, Alexander Bookman, kicked open the front door and once inside, saw Mr Durham and another individual, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux, struggling over a knife in a doorway.

Mr Bookman ordered them to drop the knife and about two seconds later, the officer fired the gun and Mr Durham appeared to be struck, the bodycam footage shows.

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Both Mr Durham and Mr Boudreaux fell to the ground and the officer fired another five shots. Roughly three seconds are believed to have gone by between the first and last shot, NBC reports.

Attempts were made to save the 43-year-old but he died at the scene.

Ms Boudreaux was taken into custody and is facing charges of home invasion with a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon domestic violence; willful or wanton disregard of safety of persons resulting in death; and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.

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Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

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Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

A homeless man has been arrested and charged over a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

The 30-year-old man from Florida, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempting to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce, having unveiled some of his plans to undercover agents, according to the FBI.

They began investigating Yener in February based on a tip that he was holding “bomb-making schematics” in a storage unit.

Bomb-making sketches, many watches with timers, electronic circuit boards and other electronics that could be used for building explosive devices were found, the FBI said.

It also said he told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate the bomb the week before Thanksgiving and that the stock exchange in lower Manhattan would be a popular site to target, and that doing so “will wake people up”.

An agent also allegedly recorded him saying: “I feel like Bin Laden.”

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He described how he hoped the bomb would “reboot” the US government, explaining that it would be “like a small nuke went off,” killing everyone inside the building, according to court documents.

The documents also claim he had rewired two-way radios so that they could work as remote triggers for an explosive device and planned to wear a disguise when planting the explosives.

Yener, who had also searched online for things related to bomb-making since 2017, was sacked from his job at a restaurant in Florida last year after his former supervisor said he threatened to “go Parkland shooter in this place”, the FBI added.

He had his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon and will be detained while he awaits a trial.

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Google could be forced to sell its Chrome browser over internet search monopoly claims

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Google could be forced to sell its Chrome browser over internet search monopoly claims

Google must sell its Chrome browser to restore competition in the online search market, US prosecutors have argued.

The proposed breakup has been floated in a 23-page document filed by the US Justice Department.

It also calls for lawmakers to impose restrictions designed to prevent its Android smartphone software from favouring its own search engine.

If the rules were brought in, it would essentially result in Google being highly regulated for 10 years.

Google controls about 90% of the online search market and 95% on smartphones.

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Court papers filed on Wednesday expand on an earlier outline for what prosecutors argued would dilute that monopoly.

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Google called the proposals radical at the time, saying they would harm US consumers and businesses and shake American competitiveness in AI.

The company has said it will appeal.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and a coalition of states want US District Judge Amit Mehta to end exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple and other device vendors to be the default search engine on their tablets and smartphones.

Google will have a chance to present its own proposals in December.

A trial on the proposals has been set for April, however President-elect Donald Trump and the DoJ’s next antitrust head could step in.

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