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Oral Roberts University president quits amid lawsuit

(CNN) — Richard Roberts, the embattled president of Oral Roberts University and the son of its namesake evangelist founder, stepped down Friday, according to the school’s Board of Regents.

I love ORU with all my heart. I love the students, faculty, staff and administration, and I want to see God’s best for them, Roberts wrote in his resignation letter.

Roberts’ decision was effective immediately and came as the school fought a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by three professors who accused him and his wife of misconduct.

John Swails, Tim Brooker and Paulita Brooker said they lost their jobs after reporting information indicating that Roberts and his family lavishly spent school money for personal expenses.

Roberts and his wife, Lindsay, have denied the allegations.

The suit also claimed Oral Roberts University gave a convicted sexual deviant unrestricted access to students and evidence in the case had been shredded — charges the university has denied.

In addition, the suit alleged Lindsay Roberts repeatedly spent time with an underage male in various situations. She denied any improper behavior, insisting in a statement that she had never, ever engaged in any sexual behavior with any man outside of my marriage.

The Board of Regents, which voted to hire an auditor to look into the claims, will meet early next week to discuss a search process for a new president, according to Friday’s statement from Chairman George Pearsons.

Roberts announced last month he would step aside temporarily as president, saying he and his family had suffered heavy damage.

The controversy has drawn international attention to the private Christian university in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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I-Reporters photograph tenacious shoppers in a rush to buy

VIDEO PHOTOS
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Lebanon president steps down; asks army to ‘preserve security’

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — Lebanese President Emil Lahoud has left the presidential palace and stepped down from his post, after not naming a successor, and is calling on the Lebanese army to preserve the nation’s security.

A honor guard troops lined the walk in front of the palace for a farewell ceremony as Lahoud departed.

In the final minutes of Lahoud’s term, which expired at midnight (2200 GMT), jubilant anti-Syrian demonstrators packed the streets, waving flags and setting off fireworks.

One of Lahoud’s last acts as president was to order the army to maintain security.

There are conditions and risks on the ground that could lead to a state of emergency over all Lebanese territory as of the 24th of November 2007, said presidential spokesman Rafiq Shalala.

Therefore, the president has entrusted the Lebanese army with security.

He said Lahoud is not declaring a state of emergency but calling on the army to maintain order. Watch how Lebanon got into this bind

Lahoud’s decision to hand security to the military leaves in place, for the time being, the government of Western-backed Prime Minister Faoud Sinioria.

David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state, said, We think it’s a good signal that so far, the army is committed and is imposing security.

There are security concerns, he acknowledged, but pointed to two statements from army commanders — one calling for public order and one banning the carrying of illegal guns — as a positive sign.

The development came at the end of a day when an opposition boycott kept Lebanon’s parliament from choosing a successor to Lahoud, who has been pro-Syrian.

Earlier Friday speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement that the session was postponed for a week until November 30 to give more time for additional consultations to reach a consensus on electing a president, according to the Associated Press.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern at the fragility of the situation in Lebanon in a statement released Friday afternoon. He urged all parties to remain calm as they work to reach a compromise.

Lahoud’s presidential term ended Friday at midnight (2200 GMT). Watch as fireworks light up the sky amid Lahoud’s departure

Pro- and anti-Syrian lawmakers have yet to agree on a compromise candidate to replace the pro-Syrian Lahoud.

The Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition has suggested it might form a rival government.

Observers believe failure to settle on a candidate could create a power vacuum — or worse. The army and other security forces were on full alert as the nation braced itself for possible violence.

The country’s recent history includes near-constant factional fighting, political maneuvering and friction with Syria.

The election has been overshadowed by assassinations and attempted assassinations of anti-Syrian politicians.

In February 2005, the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut sparked widespread protests that led to the ouster of Syrian forces from Lebanon.

U.N. investigators concluded last year that Hariri’s death may be linked to high-ranking Syrian officials. Syria has denied any involvement in the killings and said the U.N. tribunal investigating Hariri’s death is a violation of its sovereignty.

In the past two years, four members of the Lebanese parliament have been assassinated. Watch how Lebanon got into this bind

A general who is a powerful Christian leader, backed by Syria and allied with Hezbollah, appeared Thursday on television offering himself as a compromise candidate.

But his offer was rejected by the Western-backed majority led by Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated prime minister.

For the past few weeks, top-level mediators from France, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries have been trying unsuccessfully to break the deadlock.

The foreign ministers of France, Italy and Spain issued a statement saying they have tried everything, and it is now up to the Lebanese to craft a solution.

Lebanese presidents are elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term and may not serve consecutive terms, according to the CIA Factbook. Lahoud was elected in 1998, the reference book says, and in 2004 the National Assembly voted to extend his six-year term by three years.
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McLaren up the ante in spying saga

LONDON, England (AP) — McLaren has raised the stakes in Formula One’s latest spy scandal by releasing details of its allegations against rival Renault.

Renault has been summoned to a Dec. 6 hearing of the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on charges of having unauthorized possession of documents and confidential information of McLaren cars between September 2006 and October 2007.

British newspapers on Friday quoted a memo leaked by McLaren’s lawyers suggesting that Renault’s activities were more serious than those that resulted in McLaren being fined a record $100 million for possessing Ferrari documents.

It is clear that McLaren’s confidential design information was knowingly, deliberately and widely disseminated and discussed within the Renault F1 design and engineering team, McLaren’s law firm, Baker McKenzie, said in a submission to the World Motor Sport Council.

The actions provided Renault with a clear benefit and unfair advantage, the memo said.

If Renault is found guilty and handed a penalty similar to McLaren’s, it’s uncertain whether the team would be able to continue in F1.

Renault allegedly possessed technical documents from McLaren that engineer Phil Mackereth brought to the French team when he moved from McLaren in September 2006.

Renault said it suspended Mackereth in September as soon as company officials learned of his actions and immediately alerted McLaren and governing body FIA.

The McLaren memo says that 33 files containing more than 780 individual drawings outlining the entire technical blueprint of the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars were copied onto 11 floppy disks in March 2006.

McLaren says the disks were loaded onto 11 Renault F1 computers in September 2006, when Mackereth joined Renault, and were discussed by up to 18 Renault F1 personnel, including a group of senior engineering chiefs and heads of department.

Renault has downplayed the importance of the technical information, saying it covered only four basic systems, one of which was obsolete.

Renault acknowledged Mackereth had shown the data to other engineers but denied any of the information had influenced the design of the Renault car. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Jones banned for two years by IAAF

MONTE CARLO, Monaco — The world governing body of athletics has handed disgraced sprinter Marion Jones a two-year ban for doping and annulled all her results dating back to September 2000, including her Olympic and world championship titles.

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) also told Jones to return an estimated $700,000 in prize money and recommended that her United States relay teammates be disqualified and lose their medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Jones retired last month after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators in 2003 and admitted that she had taken the designer steroid the clear from September 2000 to July 2001.

Jones won gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 and the 1,600-meter relay in Sydney, as well as bronzes in the 400 relay and long jump.

She won the 200 world title in 2001.

Jones has returned her five Olympic medals and agreed to forfeit all results dating to Sept. 1, 2000.

But it’s still up to the IAAF and International Olympic Committee (IOC) to change the record books and revise the medals.

The IAAF did not take a position on whether Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou should be upgraded to the Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters. That will be up to the IOC, which has authority over Olympic medals.

Thanou and fellow Greek runner Kostas Kenteris failed to show for drug tests on the eve of the 2004 Athens Games, claiming they were injured in a motorcycle accident and eventually pulled out. They were later banned for two years.

IOC president Jacques Rogge has said there will be no automatic upgrade, and that only clean athletes will be moved up in the medals. The IOC is considering whether to leave the 100-meter winner’s place vacant.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said Jones can’t compete again unless she pays back the approximate $700,000 in prize money. Even though Jones has retired, she is officially suspended until Oct. 7, 2009.

Jones would have to give the IAAF 12 months’ notice if she wants to return to competition after the ban, Davies said. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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