A time of crisis: Reflecting on three years of turmoil at USC

When Wanda Austin became USC’s interim president in August 2018, her goal was simple — she wanted to talk with University stakeholders to begin addressing the problems USC had faced leading up to former President C. L. Max Nikias’ resignation. 

Austin took on the interim role to move the University forward after Nikias’ tumultuous reign, which was marked by unprecedented financial growth but plagued by scandals. In his final two years as president, a Los Angeles Times investigation published in July 2017 revealed that former Keck School of Medicine Dean Carmen Puliafito had allegedly used drugs while seeing patients. Another investigation in May 2018 had revealed decades of sexual misconduct and abuse at the hands of former campus gynecologist George Tyndall. read more »

Catholic Priest Abuse Survivors' Group Says It's 'Cowardly' That Convicted Cardinal Has Not Been Defrocked

An Australian appeals court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of Cardinal George Pell, who was found guilty earlier this year of molesting two 13-year-old choir boys in the 1990s. And yet, Pell still retains his title in the Catholic Church.

The Vatican said it is waiting for Pell to make his final appeal to the High Court, Australia’s supreme court, before launching its own investigation. It noted that Pell has always maintained his innocence. One abuse survivors’ group says the decision to hold off on discipline is “cowardly” and shows the Church hasn’t made it nearly far enough on responding to sexual abuse. read more »

Epstein Created Trust With $578 Million Days Before Suicide

Jeffrey Epstein wrote a will just two days before his suicide, placing $578 million in assets in a trust, a move which could complicate efforts to collect damages by women who say he sexually abused them.

By placing all of his assets in a trust, Epstein could shield their distribution from the public. He asked that Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn be appointed as executors, according to a copy of the will filed Aug. 15 with the court in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Epstein, a financier and convicted pedophile, was in jail awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy and trafficking minors for sex. He hanged himself Aug. 10 in a federal jail cell in Manhattan, a death the city medical examiner determined was a suicide. 

Why 'Vanity Fair' Story Left Out Abuse Allegations Against Epstein

The media recently has feasted on news about the case involving the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Yet the press only paid only intermittent attention until an investigative series late last year. read more »

The murky life and death of Robert Maxwell – and how it shaped his daughter Ghislaine

Was it murder? Suicide? Or just an accident? Almost 30 years before Jeffrey Epstein’s demise, Ghislaine Maxwell was caught up in another shocking and scandal-ridden mystery

At one time, everyone knew where to find Ghislaine Maxwell. The former aide-de-camp of the disgraced, now deceased, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was a fixture in Manhattan’s most fashionable salons. With an impressive list of contacts, including Prince Andrew and Chelsea Clinton, she was a regular at fundraisers, book launches and society weddings.

The last place anyone would have expected to see her was a Los Angeles shopping mall, where the 57-year-old was photographed in a burger joint last week, just days after Epstein’s suicide in a New York jail, where he was being held on charges of sex trafficking underage girls. read more »