Grand jury indicts Mo. governor
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis grand jury on Thursday indicted Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on a felony invasion of privacy charge for allegedly taking a compromising photo of a woman with whom he had an affair in 2015. The Republican governor responded that he made a mistake but committed no crime.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner launched an investigation in January after Mr. Greitens admitted to an affair with his St. Louis hairdresser that began in March 2015. He was elected governor in November 2016.
Thursday’s indictment was followed with an announcement by House Republican leaders that they were forming a group of lawmakers to investigate the charges “and answer the question as to whether or not the governor can lead our state while a felony case moves forward.”
FBI addresses criticism
WASHINGTON— The No. 2 FBI official said Thursday that he personally visited the FBI’s call center this week as part of a review of how it fumbled a tip on the teen accused of carrying out a massacre at a high school in Parkland, Fla., as he addressed, in some detail, the mounting criticism the bureau is facing over its handling of the matter.
Acting Deputy Director David Bowdich, appearing at a Justice Department news conference about fraud perpetrated against the elderly, said that while he could not address specific people or organizations criticizing the bureau, he was deeply concerned about his agency’s public standing.
Hiring discrimination
BATONROUGE, La. — The president of a private Baptist college in Louisiana refused to approve a football coach’s hiring because of what he called the applicant’s “Jewish blood,” a federal lawsuit claims.
Joshua Bonadona sued Louisiana College and its president, Rick Brewer, on Wednesday, accusing them of violating his civil rights.
The 28-year-old graduate of Louisiana College says he applied for a job as defensive backs coach at his alma mater and was interviewed last May by Brewer and the Pineville school’s head football coach, Justin Charles. The head coach later told Mr. Bonadona that he had recommended him for the job, but the college didn’t approve his hiring because of his “Jewish descent,” the suit alleges.
Hawaii protests
HONOLULU— State sheriffs on Thursday removed protesters from the ruins of a Hawaii hotel where they have been squatting since last year in an attempt to block redevelopment of land where Hawaiian chiefs once lived and where Elvis Presley’s character got married in the movie “Blue Hawaii.”
The Hawaii Department of Public Safety said in a statement Thursday that state sheriffs arrested 23-year-old Mahealani Hanie-Grace for trespassing at Coco Palms on Kauai.
The protest is the latest example of Native Hawaiian activists taking a stand on cultural issues and sacred places. Protesters in recent years blocked a road leading to the summit of Mauna Kea, the Big Island’s highest peak, to stop the construction of one of the world’s largest telescopes. That case is currently before the courts.