Names and faces
New York’s Marist College has revoked an honorary degree it awarded to former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly in 2001. Marist is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie. The school’s trustees cited accusations of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment in a statement about O’Reilly posted Sunday on the college website. O’Reilly was fired from Fox in April. The New York Times reported in October that he had reached a $32 million settlement with a former Fox analyst over sexual harassment allegations. While O’Reilly has denied the allegations of sexual misconduct, the Marist board of trustees said O’Reilly’s firing by Fox News and the reported multimillion-dollar payout “lend credibility to the allegations against him.”
Japan’s imperial palace announced Tuesday that Princess Mako’s wedding will be postponed because of insufficient preparations, Japanese media reported, triggering speculation that the decision was related to criticism in tabloids of her fiance’s family background. Mako and her college classmate Kei Komuro, a commoner, announced their engagement last September. Mako, in her statement, said that the couple postponed their wedding, originally set for November, until 2020, a year after the emperor’s abdication. The 84-year-old Akihito is to abdicate on April 30, 2019, with Crown Prince Naruhito taking the Chrysanthemum Throne the next day. Mako is Akihito’s oldest grandchild. “We have come to realize the lack of time to make sufficient preparations for various events leading up to our marriage this autumn and our life afterwards,” Mako wrote. “We believe that we have rushed various things too much.” The surprise announcement left many people puzzled. A spokesman for the Imperial Household, Takaharu Kachi, said that the decision was not related to tabloid magazine reports about disputes between Komuro’s mother and her former partner over money she borrowed to cover her son’s tuition and never paid back.
The U.S. Postal Service plans to issue a new stamp featuring Mister Rogers, the children’s television host known for his zipup cardigan, sneakers and soothing manner. The Forever stamp will be unveiled March 23 in the same Pittsburgh public television station where Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was produced. The stamp features Fred Rogers and the royal puppet King Friday XIII. Rogers produced, wrote and hosted Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for more than 30 years. He died in 2003 at 74 after battling stomach cancer. His message remained a simple one throughout the years, telling his viewers to love themselves and others.