Tuesday Scoop: Up for a Fight
Kavanaugh Goes on the Offensive
In an extraordinary move, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his wife went on television to defend his reputation and fitness to be on the nation’s highest court.
Responding to accusations of sexual assault during his high school and college years, President Trump’s nominee said he’d never committed any crime, and was being smeared by political enemies.
“I want a fair process where I can defend my integrity. I know I’m telling the truth. I know my lifelong record. I’m not going to let false accusations drive me out of this process,” Kavanaugh said. “I have faith in God and I have faith in the fairness of the American people.”
Christine Blasey Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a high school party in the 1980s, and she will testify under oath in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Instagram Founders to Step Down
Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced Monday they are stepping down from the social media company they built together.
CNN reports, “‘We’re planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again,’ Systrom said in a blog post late Monday. ‘Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs; that’s what we plan to do.’”
In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion.
Former Kennesaw State Cheerleader Suing School After Kneeling During Anthem
A former Kennesaw State University cheerleader is suing the Georgia school over first amendment violations.
Tommia Dean is one of five cheerleaders who kneeled during the national anthem last college football season. As a result of national spotlight and backlash, the university asked the cheerleaders to remain off the field during the anthem, but the decision was later reversed.
This season, all five women involved in the protest tried out for the team, but only one was selected. On Sept. 5, Dean filed a lawsuit against former KSU President Sam Olens, Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, and state Rep. Earl Ehrhart citing emotional distress due to the violation of her rights.
Read Tamia Heard’s CMN story right here.
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Last But Not Least: Georgetown Students Help Exonerate man Wrongfully Convicted of Murder
Valentino Dixon was exonerated on Wednesday, September 19th after serving 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Georgetown students Julie Fragonas, Ellie Goonetillake, and Naoya Johnson worked with their professors Marc Howard and Martin Tankleff in a Prison Reform Project course dedicated to re-examining potential wrongful convictions. Their work eventually helped free Dixon.
Dixon was convicted of second-degree murder after a fight broke out at a corner in Buffalo, NY on August 10, 1991 that resulted in the death of 17 year-old Torriano Jackson.
CMN’s Kelly Rosenblatt has the full story.
This Morning Scoop was made possible by Kelly Rosenblatt,
