US Domestic News Roundup: New York police identify couple killed in US-Canada border crash; Long-shot Biden challenger Phillips won't run again for House and more

Search teams ceased operations on Thursday after scouring the debris field that buried three houses and a coastal stretch of highway in the island fishing and logging town of Wrangell in southeast Alaska, according to Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson for the state Public Safety Department. Cuomo aide whose groping accusation sparked criminal case files civil suit A woman who in 2021 accused former New York governor Andrew Cuomo of groping her when she was working for him has filed a civil lawsuit against her one-time boss.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

New York police identify couple killed in US-Canada border crash

New York police on Friday identified the man and woman who were killed when their car crashed and burst into flames on the bridge linking New York state and Ontario at Niagara Falls, sparking a Thanksgiving eve security scare. Niagara Falls police said Kurt and Monica Villani, both 53 and from Grand Island, New York, were the occupants of the car. The incident was still under investigation by the Niagara Falls police Crash Management unit on Friday.

Major New Jersey mall reopens after bomb threat - governor

The American Dream Mall in New Jersey has reopened after briefly being evacuated while police investigated a bomb threat, state Governor Phil Murphy said in a post on the X social media network on Friday. The mall is located at the New Jersey Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, home to the New York Giants and Jets National Football League teams.

Former officer convicted in death of George Floyd attacked in prison, official confirms

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the death of George Floyd, was attacked in a prison in Arizona, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison confirmed on Saturday. The Associated Press earlier reported Chauvin had been stabbed and seriously injured on Friday.

Long-shot Biden challenger Phillips won't run again for House

U.S. Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota, a long-shot challenger to President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, on Friday said he would not run for reelection. The 54-year-old millionaire businessman and three-term congressman last month said he would run against Biden, seizing on the president's lackluster approval ratings and voter wariness over his age.

TV producer Marty Krofft, creator of HR Pufnstuf, dies at 86

Marty Krofft, who created popular children's television shows such as HR Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos, has died of kidney failure at the age of 86, his publicist Harlan Boll said on Saturday. Referred to as the "King of Saturday Mornings," Krofft rose to prominence for his work on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour before starting Sid and Marty Pictures with his brother Sid Krofft in 1969.

Five-member family identified among victims of Alaska landslide

Rescue crews in Alaska have halted active searching for victims of a landslide that killed at least three people and left three others missing in tons of mud and debris that swept down a rain-soaked mountain slope four days ago, officials said on Friday. Search teams ceased operations on Thursday after scouring the debris field that buried three houses and a coastal stretch of highway in the island fishing and logging town of Wrangell in southeast Alaska, according to Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson for the state Public Safety Department.

Cuomo aide whose groping accusation sparked criminal case files civil suit

A woman who in 2021 accused former New York governor Andrew Cuomo of groping her when she was working for him has filed a civil lawsuit against her one-time boss. Brittany Commisso, whose accusations had led to criminal charges that were later dropped, in a summons filed Wednesday in Albany, New York state court, said she was "continuously subjected" to sexual harassment while working for Cuomo, beginning in December 2019, including sexual comments and unwanted touching.

(With inputs from agencies.)