Scandal

The Associated Press reports: Students at Liberty University in Virginia have gathered to protest in the wake of news reports containing allegations that school president Jerry Falwell Jr. “presides over a culture of self-dealing” and improperly benefited from the institution. The News & Advance reports the students gathered Friday at the private evangelical university in Lynchburg. Photos show students holding …

Charisma News, the site best known here for its anti-witchcraft tutorials, its claim that the lifespan of gays is shortened by 20 years, its warning that burning breakfast eggs can summon demons, and its declaration that yoga is white witchcraft, is today quite naturally the place where Jerry Falwell turns to make his case against his accusers. “We have nothing …

Religion News Service reports: In the wake of reports alleging objectionable rhetoric and conduct by Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., students at the evangelical Christian school plan to call for internal and external investigations into the president and administration at a protest on campus Friday (Sept. 13). “We are not calling for Falwell to resign right now,” said Elizabeth …

Reuters reports: In emails to his colleagues over the years, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr has denigrated students and staff at the Christian university he runs, referring to one student as “emotionally imbalanced and physically retarded” and calling the school’s police chief a “half-wit.” The barbed comments, contained in email exchanges reviewed by Reuters, emerge as the evangelical political …

NBC News reports: An Ohio lawmaker is seeking to compel powerful Republican Rep. Jim Jordan to testify under oath about whether he was aware that the wrestlers he coached at Ohio State University were being sexually abused by the team doctor. State Rep. Tavia Galonski said she intends to ask the chair of the committee she sits on to subpoena …

From the owner of a Miami Beach nightlife agency: For 21 years, I have maintained an impeccable reputation for documenting Miami Beach’s storied social scene. We wholly reject Jerry Falwell Jr.’s baseless allegation in yesterday’s Politico report by Brandon Ambrosino that one of our pictures was “photo-shopped” or manipulated in any fashion. We, in fact, did not know Politico’s purpose …

The New York Times today published a profile of White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham and man, there’s some doozies in there. An excerpt: Ms. Grisham got her start in national politics as a press aide on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. But she had worked for some time before that in public relations, including a job with the AAA …

“Why would Jerry Falwell Jr. – the chancellor of a school with a longstanding anti-LGBTQ history – put up $1.8 million to invest in a gay-friendly hostel with a man he only recently met? “And why did Michael Cohen step in when things got acrimonious and somebody threatened to release racy and compromising photos of Falwell’s wife? “Did Cohen want …

ABC News reports: The warden of the federal jail in New York City where wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself was reassigned out of that post on Tuesday by Attorney General William Barr, the Justice Department said. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons also placed two staffers at the Metropolitan Correctional Center who had been assigned to Epstein’s cell unit on …

The Week reports: The National Rifle Association planned to buy a roughly $6 million mansion in the Dallas area last year for use by CEO Wayne LaPierre, with help from the NRA’s former longtime advertising firm, Ackerman McQueen, multiple people tell The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. The NRA and Ackerman McQueen, locked in a bitter legal fight, …

The Washington Post reports: A Republican senator held up the confirmation of a White House budget official this week in an attempt to obtain sensitive information about border wall contracts he has been trying to steer to a major donor, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. The emails show Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) blasting the “arrogance” of the …

The Charlotte Observer reports: A Republican political operative who worked for one-time congressional candidate Mark Harris in Bladen County faces felony charges in connection with the 2018 general election, an indictment revealed Tuesday by the Wake County district attorney shows. Leslie McCrae Dowless was charged with two counts of felony obstruction of justice, perjury, solicitation to commit perjury, conspiracy to …

The Washington Post reports: The governor of Puerto Rico announced late Wednesday that he will resign effective Aug. 2, amid intense pressure from inside and outside his government, after a series of leaked chat messages denigrating his opponents and Hurricane Maria victims triggered outrage from frustrated citizens who had taken to the streets for 13 consecutive days of protests. Ricardo …

The Tennessean reports: A West Tennessee Republican lawmaker says he is stepping down from the statehouse, citing a family matter and demands of his business. Rep. Bill Sanderson, R-Kenton, confirmed Tuesday night that he plans to resign from his legislative seat. His resignation will become effective Wednesday at noon. Sanderson, who owns White Squirrel Winery in Kenton, said his business …

Bloomberg reports: Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello’s promise not to seek re-election was meant to mollify citizens of the bankrupt commonwealth after reams of embarrassing texts leaked from his administration. On Sunday night, many said Rossello was merely postponing his well-deserved exit. After days of protests, residents of San Juan poured into the colonial quarter to celebrate his retreat — …

Philadelphia’s NBC News affiliate reports: At least 13 Philadelphia police officers will be fired as a result of racist, homophobic and violent social media posts revealed last month by the Plain View Project, Police Commissioner Richard Ross announced Thursday. These officers were found to be the worst offenders among 328 local cops identified in the project’s national database. One of …

NBC News reports: The footage shows two wealthy men laughing and pointing as they appear to discuss young and beautiful women dancing at a party. Today, one of the men is president of the United States. The other is in federal lockup awaiting a bail decision as he fights sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. The November 1992 tape in the …

Mediaite reports: Republican operative Jason Miller, the former communications chief for the Trump campaign and transition team, said he hired numerous prostitutes and visited “hand job” massage parlors as recently as a few months ago in a new videotaped deposition. Miller made the admission while testifying on May 30 in Washington D.C. in connection to his lawsuit against the digital …

The Hill reports: Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano predicted Thursday that Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta will be out of the administration by the end of the week. “I don’t think he will be around by Friday,” Napolitano told “Fox & Friends” co-host Griff Jenkins of the embattled Labor chief, who is facing renewed scrutiny over his role …

The Miami Herald reports: U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta has called a Wednesday press conference to discuss the controversy around his handling of a federal sex trafficking case in South Florida against accused convicted sex offender and wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta, President Donald Trump’s labor secretary since April 2017, has been under intense pressure from Democrats and some Republicans …