Falwell takes leave from Liberty Univ.
Jerry Falwell Jr. took an indefinite leave of absence Friday as the leader of Liberty University, one of the nation’s top evangelical Christian colleges, days after apologizing for a social media post that caused an uproar even among fellow conservatives.
The private university in Lynchburg, Va., gave no reason for Mr. Falwell’s departure in a one-sentence announcement Friday afternoon. But it came after Mr. Falwell’s apology earlier this week for a since-deleted photo he posted online showing him with his pants unzipped, stomach exposed and arm around a young woman in a similar pose.
The statement said the executive committee of Liberty’s board of trustees met Friday and requested Mr. Falwell take leave as president and chancellor, “to which he has agreed, effective immediately.”
A high-profile supporter of President Donald Trump, Mr. Falwell has served since 2007 as president of the university founded by his evangelist father, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.
In an interview this week with radio station WLNI, Mr. Falwell said the woman in the photo was his wife’s assistant and that the picture was taken during a “costume party” while on vacation.
On Thursday, Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., a pastor who previously taught at Liberty, called Mr. Falwell’s behavior “appalling” and said he should resign.
Mauritius on alert as crashed ship spills fuel
The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius declared a “state of environmental emergency” late Friday after a Japaneseowned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced the development as satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near environmental areas that the government called “very sensitive.”
Mauritius has said the ship was carrying nearly 4,000 tons of fuel and cracks have appeared in its hull.
Mr. Jugnauth earlier in the day said his government was appealing to France for help, saying the spill “represents a danger” for the country of some 1.3 million people that relies heavily on tourism and has been been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Video posted online showed oily waters lapping at the shore as people murmured and peered at the ship, the MV Wakashio, in the distance. Online ship trackers showed the Panama-flagged bulk carrier had been en route from China to Brazil.
Protesters, police clash in Portland
About 200 people, some wielding homemade shields, clashed with police in Portland, Ore., early Friday for the third consecutive night as two other Black Lives Matter rallies proceeded peacefully elsewhere in the city, authorities said.
The demonstration with unrest came hours after the city’s Democratic mayor pleaded for protesters to stay off the streets, saying those who barricaded the doors to a police precinct the night before and tried to set it ablaze were not demonstrators but criminals.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said the violent protesters are also serving as political “props” for President Donald Trump, who is pushing a law-and-order message. Mr. Trump has tried to portray the mostly peaceful protesters as “sick and dangerous anarchists.”
The demonstrations this week are noticeably smaller than the crowds of thousands who turned out nightly for about two weeks in July to protest the presence of U.S. agents sent by the Trump administration.