National News at a Glance

3 Women Accuse Weinstein of Sexual Assault in Federal Suit

Harvey Weinstein’s legal problems multiplied on Friday as three women filed a lawsuit in federal court, accusing him of using his power as a movie producer to lure them into hotel rooms where he sexually assaulted them. One of the women, Melissa Thompson, accused Weinstein of raping her in a room at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in September 2011. This week a Manhattan grand jury indicted Weinstein, 66, on charges that he forced an aspiring actress to perform oral sex on him in 2004 and that he raped a woman in 2013. His lawyer maintains the encounters with both women were consensual.

Four More People Die From Tainted Romaine Lettuce

Four more people have died from tainted romaine lettuce, federal health officials said Friday, bringing the total to five deaths related to a virulent strain of E. coli whose source has still not been located. In addition, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the case count: 197 people from 35 states were sickened. Food and Drug Administration officials said, however, that romaine now for sale on grocery shelves is safe to eat. The growing season in the Yuma, Arizona, region, which produced the contaminated lettuce, ended April 16.

A Texas Wild Card Wins Spelling Bee With ‘Koinonia’

In any other year, the 14-year-old from McKinney, Texas, would not have made it to the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. But as a wild-card contender in Thursday’s contest, Karthik Nemmani took home the top prize, besting a four-time veteran. Naysa Modi, a 12-year-old from Frisco, Texas, had participated in previous Scripps national bees but had never won. Modi misspelled “bewusstseinslage,” defined by Merriam-Webster as “a state of consciousness or a feeling devoid of sensory components.” When it was Karthik’s turn at the microphone, the announcer gave him the word, “koinonia,” an intimate spiritual or Christian communion. He asked for the definition, smiled, then spelled it correctly.

Move to Vermont. Work From Home. Get $10,000. (Or at Least Something.)

On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, signed into law a bill that will give a number of people who move to Vermont from another state up to $10,000 to help ease the transition. The money — part of a grant program designed to draw tech workers and revitalize the state’s aging workforce — is intended to help with costs like relocation, computer software and hardware, broadband access and membership in a shared professional space. Those who relocate and take part in the program need to be full-time employees of a business based outside of Vermont and need to be able to work remotely. They also must become a full-time Vermont resident in 2019.

Paramedics Wanted to Enter Parkland School, but Sheriff’s Office Said No, Report Finds

In the chaos immediately after the shooting rampage on Feb. 14 at a school in Parkland, Florida, the Coral Springs Fire Department’s deputy chief, Michael McNally, repeatedly asked to dispatch specialized teams of paramedics and police officers to treat victims. But his requests, according to a report the department released Thursday, were denied by a captain with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office who was overseeing the law enforcement response. Since the shooting nearly four months ago, which left 14 students and three staff members dead, law enforcement officers have described widespread confusion and maddening lapses among the multiple agencies that responded.

Trump Orders a Lifeline for Struggling Coal and Nuclear Plants

President Donald Trump has ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to “prepare immediate steps” to stop the closure of unprofitable coal and nuclear plants around the country, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said Friday. Under one proposal outlined in the memo, the Department of Energy would order grid operators to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear plants for two years, using emergency authority that is normally reserved for exceptional crises like natural disasters. On Friday, oil and gas trade groups joined with wind and solar organizations in a joint statement condemning the plan, saying that it was “legally indefensible” and would force consumers to pay more for electricity.