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(NEW YORK) — Actor Bill Cosby is facing new accusations of sexual assault and battery from five women under New York’s new Adult Survivors Act, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

The lawsuit was filed in New York state court by actresses Lili Bernard and Eden Tirl, who each appeared on “The Cosby Show,” as well as Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson and Cindra Ladd and accuses Cosby of assault, battery, infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment and accuses the media companies of negligence. The lawsuit also names NBC, the studio where “The Cosby Show” was taped and the show’s production company.

Cosby “used his power, fame, and prestige, including the power, fame and prestige given to him by defendants NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Inc., and The Carsey-Werner Company, LLC, to misuse his enormous power in such a nefarious, horrific way,” according to the lawsuit.

Cosby, in a statement from his representatives, denied the allegations, saying, “Mr. Cosby continues to vehemently deny all allegation waged against him and looks forward to defending himself in court.”

The Adult Survivors Act, which took effect on Thanksgiving, allows alleged adult victims of sexual assault to file lawsuits that would otherwise be time barred. Most of the allegations from the women took place in the late ’80s and early ’90s, while Ladd claims she was raped in “approximately 1969.”

The lawsuit by the five women include allegations similar to numerous other claims against Cosby, who was convicted in 2018 of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee, in 2004.

The conviction was overturned in June 2021 when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded Cosby’s prosecution should never have occurred due to a deal he cut with the Montgomery County prosecutor, who agreed not to criminally prosecute Cosby if he gave a deposition in a civil case brought against him by Constand.

According to the new lawsuit, Cosby drugged and raped Bernard, including once in August 1990 when he arranged a meeting under the false pretense that he wanted to help advance Bernard’s career.

“Bill Cosby drugged Ms. Bernard without her consent by placing an unknown intoxicant in a purportedly non-alcoholic drink that he had prepared and provided to Ms. Bernard. Once Ms. Bernard was incapacitated from the unknown intoxicant, Bill Cosby undressed and raped her without her consent,” the lawsuit said.

Eden Tirl, who had a bit part on “The Cosby Show” as a police officer, declined repeated invitations to Cosby’s dressing room before she was told to go, the lawsuit said.

“Suddenly, and without consent, Bill Cosby came behind her, pulled her arms down, wrapping them around the front of her chest and held them down so that Ms. Tirl could not move or escape his grasp,” the lawsuit said before describing a subsequent assault.

Cosby’s representatives said the women were “unwilling to accept” Cosby being “vindicated” by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

“For the record, these alleged accusers were once represented by Ms. [Gloria] Allred and were a part of parade of accusers back in 2014 through 2016,” they wrote. “As we have always stated, and now America can see, this isn’t about justice for victims of alleged sexual assault, it’s ALL ABOUT MONEY. We believe that the courts, as well as the court of public opinion, will follow the rules of law and relieve Mr. Cosby of these alleged accusations.”

ABC News’ Linsey Davis contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A Manhattan jury has found former President Donald Trump’s namesake real estate company guilty of criminal tax fraud, three weeks after Trump announced a third presidential run.

The jury found the two entities of the Trump Organization guilty as charged on all counts, including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.

The two entities — the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation — were accused of paying the personal expenses of some executives without reporting them as income, and of compensating them as independent contractors instead of full-time employees.

The felony convictions carry fines totaling up to $1.7 million. But the collateral consequences may be more significant to Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House. Banks could call in loans and business partners could cancel contracts if their internal policies prevent them from doing business with felons.

The trial also revealed potentially embarrassing details about Trump, including that he reported nearly $1 billion in operating losses over a two-year period in 2009 and 2010, as well as losses each year for the decade between 2009 and 2018 — some of the same years Trump was touting his business acumen on reality television and as he was campaigning for president.

Prosecutors believed the Trump Organization was culpable because the conduct of CFO Allen Weisselberg benefitted the company and because his position as CFO meant he was entrusted to act on the company’s behalf.

Weisselberg, who testified as part of a plea deal, pleaded guilty in August to charges that he skirted taxes on nearly $2 million in company-provided perks that included the rent on his Manhattan apartment, the leases on cars for himself and his wife and tuition for his grandchildren.

“In Manhattan, we have one standard of justice for all,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters after the verdict was read. “This was a case about lying and cheating and false documents to the end of evading taxes for the individuals and the corporations. They’ve now been held accountable in a court of law.”

“Disappointed with the verdict in Manhattan,” Trump himself said in a statement, calling the case “a continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country.”

“New York City is a hard place to be ‘Trump,’ as businesses and people flee our once Great City!” he added.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization told ABC News in a statement, “Mr. Weisselberg testified under oath that he ‘betrayed’ the trust the company had placed in him and that he, at all times, acted ‘solely’ for his ‘own personal gain’ and out of his ‘own personal greed’. The notion that a company could be held responsible for an employee’s actions, to benefit themselves, on their own personal tax returns is simply preposterous.”

Trump Organization attorney Susan Necheles said the company will appeal the verdict.

“This case was all about Allen Weisselberg committing tax fraud on his personal tax returns. Every witness repeatedly testified that President Trump and the Trump family knew nothing about Allen Weisselberg’s actions,” she said. “Why would a corporation whose owner knew nothing about Weisselberg’s personal tax returns be criminally prosecuted for Allen Weisselberg’s personal conduct, for which they had no visibility or oversight? This case was unprecedented and legally incorrect.”

Weisselberg testified at trial that he reduced his reported salary by the total amount of the personal expenses that the company covered, and that the company benefitted by paying less in payroll taxes. He also testified that his primary motive was greed.

“The prosecution’s case rests on one thing: trying to convince you, the jurors, that Mr. Weisselberg’s actions were done in behalf of the company,” Necheles told the jury during the trial. “They were not. They were done solely to benefit himself. And that is the critical issue in this case.”

Prosecutors, however, insisted that the Trump Organization benefitted from Weisselberg’s tax dodge.

“By far the most significant benefit … is that it allowed these companies to pay their top executives less than they otherwise would have,” prosecutor Josh Steinglass told jurors.

Although Trump himself was not a defendant, his name came up repeatedly during the trial, and the jury saw checks he signed and memos he endorsed. The former president has publicly denied any wrongdoing.

Defense attorneys asked witnesses roughly 60 times about Trump’s knowledge of the tax scheme that his company was charged with, as they sought to show that Trump was in the dark about the fraud being committed by his top executives. Defense attorney Michael van der Veen said in his closing statement Friday that jurors “heard no evidence in this case that Mr. Trump or any of his children were aware of anything improper.”

But prosecutors contended that Trump explicitly sanctioned tax fraud when he signed off on part of the scheme. Among the expenses that Trump covered was approximately $100,000 per year for Weisselberg’s two grandchildren to attend Columbia Grammar School, according to checks that were displayed to the jury.

Weisselberg testified that the company stopped paying personal expenses for him and other executives in 2017 as part of a “cleanup process” when Trump was elected president. Prosecutors suggested that the company knew the practice was wrong but allowed it to continue until Trump’s campaign and presidency brought new scrutiny.

“We were going through an entire cleanup process of the company to make sure that since Mr. Trump is now president that everything was being done properly,” Weisselberg testified.

“This whole narrative that Donald Trump is blissfully ignorant is just not true,” Steinglass said during his closing statement.

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(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Seventeen academic workers on strike were arrested at a University of California administrative office in Sacramento, as a system-wide worker strike across all 10 campuses enters its fourth week.

The arrests, which occurred after some workers staged a sit-in at the university president’s office, took place while 2,000 striking workers gathered outside for a march and rally at the state capitol building.

The workers are asking the university system for higher wages, improved leave for parents and caregivers as well as childcare support.

Workers are saying the university is not supporting its diverse workforce, which they say undermines the quality of research and education. They also say compensation does not match the cost of living in California and claim the inequitable working conditions are pushing scholars out of academia.

“I’m engaging in this act of civil disobedience because the stakes are incredibly high, and the UC is not demonstrating that they understand that,” Jess Banks, a member of the bargaining team at UC Berkeley, said in a statement. “UC thinks they can end negotiations and send us back to work, but this strike will continue until they stop breaking the law and settle a fair contract.”

Academic researchers and postdocs reached a tentative agreement with the university system on Nov. 28. Workers will be voting on whether to ratify the contract through Friday.

Academic researchers and postdocs said they would continue the strike in solidarity with academic student employees and student researchers who have not yet voted to ratify proposed agreements.

The university system made a new wage proposal to academic student employees and student researchers on Dec. 2 that has not tentatively been agreed to.

“Instead of bargaining in good faith, the University of California has forced their workers to take drastic action to call attention to their unfair labor practices and unlivable wages. Our living conditions are unacceptable considering the UC is one of the largest employers in the state. We will not stop until we receive fair contracts,” Elias Bunting, a student researcher in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis, said in a statement.

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(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — The suspect accused of killing five people in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is facing 305 charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and bias-motivated crimes.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, wore yellow prison attire for Tuesday’s court appearance, which was to hear the charges against them. Aldrich did not speak.

Public defenders assigned to Aldrich said in a court filing that the suspect identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they/them.

Investigators and witnesses said the suspect allegedly opened fire as soon as they walked into Club Q at about midnight on Nov. 19. Patrons at the venue tackled Aldrich, subduing them until police arrived, according to witnesses.

“We are encouraged by this morning’s announcement of formal charges … as it cements what we already knew: this was a targeted hate crime,” one of the owners of Club Q, Matthew Haynes, said in a statement released by GLAAD on Tuesday. “The charges also affirm what we as a community demand: hate has no place here in Colorado Springs or anywhere.”

“We continue to call out those who spread disgusting rhetoric and encourage violence against the LGBTQ community, to end this behavior immediately before more people get hurt,” Haynes said. “And we urge everyone to do what they can to speak up for LGBTQ people and everyone’s right to be safe.”

Aldrich was arrested earlier for five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of ethnic intimidation causing bodily injury. The mass shooting was being investigated as a hate crime.

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(KAY COUNTY, Okla.) — A former supervisory correctional officer in Oklahoma was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for “abusing his position of power and authority to … facilitate an attack carried out by white supremacists on a Black inmate,” according to the Department of Justice.

Former officer Matthew Ware, 53, from the Kay County Detention Center, violated the civil rights of three pretrial detainees held at the facility, according to a federal jury.

Ware allegedly ordered lower-ranking correctional officers in May 2017 to move two Black pretrial detainees to a cell row housing white supremacist inmates whom Ware knew posed a danger to the detainees, according to court documents and the evidence presented in the trial.

Later that same day, Ware gave officers an order to unlock the jail cells of the two Black detainees and those of the white supremacist inmates at the same time the next day, the DOJ said.

Ware’s orders led to an attack on the two Black detainees by the white supremacist inmates, resulting in physical injury to both, including a facial laceration to one that required seven stitches to close, according to the DOJ statement.

Ware was the Lieutenant of the detention center at the time.

The DOJ said that as the acting captain of the facility in 2018, Ware ordered lower-ranking officers to restrain a pretrial detainee in a stretched-out position, with the detainee’s left wrist cuffed to the far-left side of the bench and his right wrist cuffed to the far-right side of the bench.

He was left restrained in this position for 90 minutes, which resulted in a physical injury, according to the U.S. attorney general’s office, which said this was done in retaliation for the detainee sending Ware a note that critiqued how Ware ran the detention center.

A federal jury found Ware guilty on Monday of “willfully depriving two pretrial detainees of their right to be free from a correctional officer’s deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm and of willfully depriving a third pretrial detainee of the right to be free from a correctional officer’s use of excessive force,” a statement from the Department of Justice said.

“This sentence handed down reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s actions and ensures accountability for his unlawful conduct,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement Monday.

Following his prison sentence, he will be under supervised release for three more years.

“Mr. Ware violated the laws he was sworn to uphold, betrayed the public trust and dishonored the many brave corrections officials who lawfully perform their important work each day,” U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma said in a statement from the DOJ. “My office remains committed to protecting the civil rights of all Oklahomans, including those in custody.”

Ware’s legal representation did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

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(MOORE COUNTY, N.C.) — More than 30,000 customers in a North Carolina county awoke for the third day Tuesday without electricity as a search for those responsible for sabotaging two key power substations continued and crews scrambled to repair what authorities described as “millions of dollars” in damages.

The crisis in Moore County has prompted local law enforcement to call in the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to help in the probe of what has been deemed a criminal act. The White House is also closely monitoring the situation, officials said.

“This kind of attack raises a new level of threat,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Asked whether the attacks are being investigated as a act of domestic terrorism, Cooper said, “I think investigators are leaving no stone unturned as to what this is as they are looking at every motivation that could possibly occur.”

Residents throughout Moore County remained under curfew Monday night and into Tuesday morning, as area schools were canceled for the second day.

Duke Energy, the local utility, said crews are working around the clock to restore energy, but conceded it will likely take until Thursday to repair the damage.

Freezing temperatures in the county about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh forced many resident to seek warmth and food at a shelter opened in Carthage.

“It’s better to have warmth and comfort than make sure your belongings are safe,” Gunner Scevertson, one of the resident who left his home to seek warmth at the shelter, told Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC.

Carthage business owner Rachel Haviley used her portable generator to serve up coffee and food to neighbors in need.

“My kids are home, they’re not in school. My husband was supposed to go to DC, now he’s in daddy day care,” Haviley told WSOC. “I have a friend that was supposed to be at the hospital for class, now she’s not there. There are elderly people who rely on things that help keep them alive, so people’s lives and families have been impacted by this.”

Vandals wielding firearms are suspected of causing major damage to two electrical distribution substations, initially knocking out power to around 45,000 homes and businesses across the county, officials said. As of Tuesday morning, power had been restored to more than 7,000 customers, said Jeff Brooks, spokesman for Duke Energy.

As of Tuesday at noon, 35,304 customers in Moore County were still without electricity.

Brooks said while some of the damaged equipment could be repaired, other pieces had to be replaced.

The attacks occurred just after 7 p.m. Saturday, said Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields.

Fields said the perpetrator or perpetrators shot up two key substations in the area, adding, they “knew exactly what they were doing.”

Fields told ABC News that murder charges could be filed against those responsible if anyone dies as a result of the power outage.

“What was done was an intentional act. It was not a random act,” Fields said.

No arrests have been announced in the probe.

The attacks came amid protests over a Downtown Divas drag show in the Moore County city of Southern Pines. The drag show had been scheduled for Saturday night and was disrupted due to the blackout.

Fields said no evidence has yet been uncovered linking the power outage to the drag show.

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(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Moscow, Idaho, police are looking for more information on the movements of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were at the Sigma Chi fraternity house in the hours before they were killed along with two other Idaho students last month.

Police said the couple, both 20 years old, was believed to be at Chapin’s frat house from 9 p.m. on Nov. 12 to 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 13.

Chapin and Kernodle’s timeline “seems to be one of the larger areas that we don’t have a lot of information in,” Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told ABC News. “So, being able to locate what they did that night, and maybe who they contacted, maybe any routes that they took home, that would be important for the investigation.”

Police are also looking for any details that could be relevant in the case overall, saying in a statement Monday: “We believe someone has information that will add context to the picture investigators are creating of what occurred. … Your information, whether you believe it is significant or not, might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders.”

Chapin, Kernodle and two of Kernodle’s roommates, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves and 21-year-old Madison Mogen, were all stabbed to death in the girls’ off-campus house on Nov. 13. Officials believe the attacks were between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.

No suspects have been identified.

Two surviving roommates — who police said are not suspects — were home at the time and likely slept through the attacks, according to authorities. They were on the ground floor while the four students killed were on the second and third floors.

Police said Monday it’s not clear where Goncalves’ dog was during the killings, but when officers arrived there was no indication the animal had been in the rooms where the victims were attacked.

“We have not determined if the dog was inside the residence during the murders or not,” Snell said. “What we do know is that the dog was inside when officers arrived. The dog did not appear to have any evidence on it.”

“We don’t believe that there was any appearance of forced entering into the home,” Snell added.

Authorities also said Monday that they’re still “looking into information about Kaylee having a stalker.”

Police said they’ve spoken to two men who may have been the “stalker” Goncalves mentioned to friends and family. In October, the men were seen at a local business, and one of the men appeared to follow Goncalves into the store and then follow her as she headed to her car, according to police. The man never made contact with the college student, police said.

These men have since told police they were trying to meet women at the business, police said.

The authorities said there’s no evidence these men were involved in the murders.

Police said “information about a potential stalker or unusual occurrences should go through the Tip Line.”

Police urge anyone with information to upload digital media to fbi.gov/moscowidaho or contact the tip line at tipline@ci.moscow.id.us or 208-883-7180.

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(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — The suspect accused of killing five people after opening fire in an LGBTQ nightclub last month in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.

A hearing is scheduled for Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, at 8:30 a.m. local time at the El Paso County Judicial Building, according to the court.

Aldrich was arrested and held on charges that included five counts of first-degree murder, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office booking report.

The charges against Aldrich may change. The suspect was also being held on five counts of ethnic intimidation causing bodily injury, as the mass shooting was being investigated as a hate crime.

A judge ordered Aldrich held without bond during a first court appearance on Nov. 23.

Public defenders assigned to Aldrich said in a court filing that the suspect identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they/them.

Investigators and witnesses said the suspect allegedly opened fire as soon as they walked into Club Q in Colorado Springs at about midnight on Nov. 19. Patrons at the venue tackled Aldrich, subduing them until police arrived, according to witnesses.

Five people were killed in the mass shooting and 17 others were injured, police said.

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(RACINE, Wisc.) — Prosecutors in Wisconsin charged a man, who’s a person of interest in two deaths, with kidnapping an elderly woman and stealing her identity.

The state of Wisconsin has charged Timothy Luther Olson Jr., on multiple charges, including kidnapping, identity theft, burglary and obstructing an officer, according to a criminal complaint obtained by ABC News.

Prosecutors allege that officers responded to a call from a bystander who saw a 79-year-old woman waving her hand from her car.

When an officer arrived on the scene, he said that the woman seemed confused and told him that her belongings were stolen by the person who allegedly kidnapped her from an Italian restaurant in Milwaukee County.

The woman said before the alleged abduction, she was having her monthly glass of wine and reading on her tablet when a man, Olson, sat next to her and began talking to her at the bar, according to the complaint.

After their conversation, she left the restaurant and got into her vehicle, ready to go, when Olson reportedly opened her passenger door and told her, “I have a gun, drive.”

Police in Franklin, Wisconsin, arrested Olson, 56, on Nov. 29. According to the complaint, the suspect had the woman’s credit card in his possession.

Olson is also a person of interest in the death of a woman in the city of Racine and a woman in South Milwaukee, according to ABC News Milwaukee affiliate WISN.

In a press release, the Racine Police Department said that at least three women, whom he targeted on dating apps, have allegedly become unconscious while on dates with Olson, where he allegedly steals from them.

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(NEW YORK) — A convicted serial killer pleaded guilty Monday to murdering a dance teacher in 1968 outside a Long Island, New York, mall and admitted to killing four other women in the early 1970s.

DNA testing led to Richard Cottingham’s March indictment in the killing of Diane Cusick, a 23-year-old mother who went to buy dance shoes at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, New York.

Cottingham, 76, currently an inmate at a Bridgeton, New Jersey, prison, is known as the “Torso Killer” because he dismembered some of his victims.

The South Woods State Prison inmate pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life by a judge, the Nassau County district attorney’s office said in a news release.

Cottingham also admitted to the deaths of four other women — Mary Beth Heinz, Laverne Moye, Sheila Heiman and Maria Emerita Rosado Nieves — but won’t be prosecuted for their deaths since he’s already spending the rest of his life in prison because of prior murder convictions in New York and New Jersey, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.

“Serial killer Richard Cottingham has caused irreparable harm to so many people and so many families,” Donnelly said. “Today, he took responsibility for the murder of five young women here in Nassau County between 1968 and 1973. He overpowered, assaulted and brutally murdered them to satisfy his craven desires. Thankfully he will spend the rest of his life in prison where he belongs.”

Cusick’s parents discovered her body in the backseat of her car in the Green Acres Mall parking lot after growing concerned about why she hadn’t returned home after leaving earlier in the evening of Feb. 15, 1968, to buy shoes, according to Donnelly.

A medical examiner determined Cusick was strangled to death, officials said.

The Nassau County Office of the Medical Examiner retested evidence related to the case in 2021. Earlier this year, DNA evidence matched Cottingham’s profile, according to the district attorney.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

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