*By Alisha Haridasani*
It was perhaps the speediest resignation of a public official accused of misconduct since the start of the #MeToo movement. Only hours after The New Yorker magazine published an article in which four women accused him of physical abuse, Eric Schneiderman resigned as New York State attorney general.
Two of the women, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, told [The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/four-women-accuse-new-yorks-attorney-general-of-physical-abuse) that while they were in a relationship with Schneiderman, he hit them without their consent and threatened to kill them if they broke up with him. Two other women, who wanted to remain anonymous in the article, said similar things.
After the article was published, but before he resigned, Schneiderman denied the allegations.
He said in a statement: “In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”
The response to the allegations in the article ー especially among other Democratic state officials ー was swift: Gov. Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Sen. Kristin Gillibrand called on Schneiderman to resign.
“While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this crucial time,” Schneiderman, 63, said in an [official statement](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/statement-attorney-general-eric-t-schneiderman).
As New York’s top law enforcement officer, Schneiderman played a prominent role in the #MeToo movement by pursuing accusations against other men accused of inappropriate and possibly illegal behavior. He [filed a lawsuit](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/11/business/media/harvey-weinstein-company-sale.html) earlier this year against the company run by the former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein for gender discrimination and sexual harassment. He had described Weinstein’s alleged behavior as “despicable.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office said it opened an investigation into the allegations against Schneiderman, and a joint session of the State Assembly and Senate will select his replacement as attorney general.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that an estimated one million people have fled from Ukraine since Russia invaded. Christopher Boian, senior communications officer at UNHCR, joined Cheddar News to report on the current refugee crisis and what the world might expect if conditions continue to worsen. "We have planning figures that forecast as many as four million people could be forced to flee Ukraine," he said. "But that very much depends on how the conflict underway in that country at the moment unfolds in the days and possibly weeks ahead."
Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), corn-based ethanol has been mixed into gasoline sold at pumps in the U.S. since 2005, when a policy was enacted aimed at reducing emissions. Corn-based ethanol had been thought to be a relatively greener energy source compared to other biofuels, but now, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports it may be actually worse for the climate than straight gasoline. Tyler Lark, an assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Sustainability, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell and discussed the pushback against the study. "Essentially when you need to produce more corn to meet the demand for use as ethanol as fuel, farmers respond and they switch more crops like soybeans and wheat into corn," Lark said. "They also bring more land into production, so things that used to be pasture grassland, and both those activities are associated with increased greenhouse gas emissions."
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday announced new sanctions against Russian oligarchs and others in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Christian Blauvelt, executive managing editor at IndieWire, joins Cheddar News to discuss the growing number of studios pulling content from Russia over Ukraine invasion.
Russian forces are battling for control of a crucial energy-producing city in Ukraine’s south and gaining ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea.
In the past few years, Betthany Frankel has made a major name for herself as a philanthropist after founding the
BStrong initiative, which has provided relief to people impacted by natural disasters as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, BStrong is shifting its focus to Ukraine, raising millions of dollars in donations for those impacted by Russia's invasion. Bethenny Frankel, the founder of BStrong, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Bryan Lee, Chief Investment Officer at Blue Zone Wealth Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on the volatility we've seen in the markets this week fueled by rising oil prices and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for McClatchy, joins Cheddar News to discuss all the topics President Biden has to juggle in his State of the Union address.
