Dan Johnson, a Republican state lawmaker in Kentucky who has refused to resign after allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in his church, has apparently killed himself.

Johnson fatally shot himself on a bridge in a secluded area of Louisville in Mount Washington, Kentucky, on Wednesday night, Bullitt County sheriff Donnie Tinnell said.

The 57-year-old, who called himself “the Pope” and was pastor of the Heart of Fire Church, was elected to the state legislature in 2016.

On Tuesday, Johnson held a news conference in the pulpit of his church where he molested the 17-year-old some five years ago.

He rejected the allegations against him as “totally false” and that they were part of a nationwide strategy of defeating conservative Republicans.

On Wednesday evening, Johnson posted a message on his Facebook page and requested people to take care of his wife. He wrote that post-traumatic stress disorder “is a sickness that will take my life, I cannot handle it any longer. It has won this life, BUT HEAVEN IS MY HOME.”

It appears the post was later on removed.

According to court documents provided by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, the sexual assault incident happened at the Heart of Fire City Church where Johnson was a pastor on New Year’s Eve in 2012.

Johnson’s accuser told authorities that the molestation took place when she was staying in a living area of the Heart of Fire City Church, adding he had been drinking at the time.

According to the same documents, the case, however, was closed since the accuser was “very busy” and simply “didn’t have time” to cooperate.

This comes as the United States grapples with the sexual assault and harassment scandals that have left the world of entertainment, business and politics in a state of shock.

There have been numerous allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against media figures as well as senior politicians including Republican President Donald Trump himself. So far, at least 16 women have accused Trump of unwanted sexual advances, claims the White House has rejected as false.

Source: Presstv

Dozens of Democratic female lawmakers have called on the House Oversight Committee to launch an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against US President Donald Trump.

Fifty-six members of the Democratic Women’s Working Group (DWWG) wrote a letter on Monday and demanded Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) open an investigation into the sexual allegations after at least a dozen women have “publicly accused the President of sexual misconduct.”

The group is set to hold a news conference at Capitol Hill on Tuesday to highlight the demand, a day after three of Trump’s accusers told their stories at a press conference and called on Congress to investigate the sexual misconduct allegations against the president, amid the snowballing harassment allegations convulsing the country.

The DWWG move comes at a time when women are coming forward with their “Me Too” accounts and telling how Trump sexually harassed them.

The sexual misconduct accusations have led to a wave of resignations and ousters of prominent figures who served in politics, the media, Hollywood, and other industries.

“In the time of ‘Me Too,’ women across the country are coming forward with their own harrowing stories of sexual harassment and assault. Members of Congress have also come under scrutiny and investigation, with some resigning, for improper sexual conduct. We cannot ignore the multitude of women who have come forward with accusations against Mr. Trump,” the DWWG members wrote.

The female lawmakers said Trump’s “own remarks appear to back up the allegations.”

“The President has boasted in public and in crude terms that he feels at liberty to perpetrate such conduct against women. Subsequently, Mr. Trump apologized and called it ‘locker room talk.’ He has since called all his accusers liars,” they wrote.

More than a dozen women have accused Trump of unwanted sexual advances, including forcible kissing or groping.

There is growing concern within the administration that the president may not escape renewed scrutiny at a time when a number of powerful men have been forced to step down because of sexual impropriety.

Weeks before the presidential election last November, The Washington Post released a tape in which Trump boasted about how he sexually assaulted women because he was powerful.

On Sunday, US Senator Bernie Sanders suggested Trump should consider stepping down over the allegations.

The remarks by Sanders, who was a candidate in last year’s presidential race, follow similar calls from a number of Democratic Senators, including Cory Booker and Jeff Merkley.

Trump ‘angered’ by Haley

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct “should be heard.”

“Women who accuse anyone should be heard. They should be heard and they should be dealt with,” Haley said on Monday when asked about allegations of misconduct leveled against the US president.

“And I think we heard from them prior to the election. And I think any woman who has felt violated or felt mistreated in any way, they have every right to speak up.”

Trump is reportedly furious with Haley over her statement. Haley’s comments angered Trump, two people familiar with the president told The Associated Press.

Haley, a former governor and one of the highest-ranking women in the Trump administration, said “the time has come” to bring “a conscience” to the way women are treated in the United States.

The comments were a surprising break from the assertion by the administration that the allegations are simply unfounded and that voters dismissed them when they elected Trump.

Source: Presstv

An explosion has rocked the Port Authority bus terminal near Times Square in New York.  The explosion took place on Monday morning at the station, which is one of the busiest commuter hubs during rush hour, at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue in New York, according to officials.

“The NYPD is responding to reports of an explosion of unknown origin at 42nd Street and 8th Ave, #Manhattan. The A, C and E line are being evacuated at this time. Info is preliminary, more when available,” the New York police department wrote on their Twitter account.

Law enforcement sources said one suspected bomber – who had wires attached to him – was taken into custody. He was arrested after the device partially detonated, according to sources. His identity was not immediately known. Francisco Ramirez — a commuter — told CNN that he heard two explosions as he was exiting a bus about 7:45 a.m. ET.

“From what I saw it sounded like it came from the subway, but I’m just guessing,” he said. “It was two distinct explosions seconds from each other. As I was making my way toward the outside, I kept getting shoved by cops and there were cops at every entrance blocking and there was police and SWAT everywhere.”

“It was scary. It was just a lot of chaos but I didn’t see any injuries,” he added.  President Donald Trump was briefed on the explosion, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. New York Mayor de Blasio has also been briefed on the incident.

Source: Presstv