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Texas megachurch pastor resigns after woman says he sexually abused her in the 1980s

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Texas megachurch pastor resigns after woman says he sexually abused her in the 1980s

The pastor of a Texas megachurch has resigned after a woman said he had sexually abused her on multiple occasions in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12.

Gateway Church’s board of elders said in a statement Tuesday that they’d accepted the resignation of Robert Morris, the church’s senior pastor and founder. The board said it had hired a law firm to to conduct an independent review to make sure they “have a complete understanding of the events” from 1982 to 1987.

TEXAS MEGACHURCH VOTES TO LEAVE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH AS MAINLINE DENOMINATION FRACTURES OVER LGBT ISSUES

The allegations came to light Friday on the religious watchdog blog The Wartburg Watch. Cindy Clemishire, Morris’ accuser, told The Dallas Morning News in an interview Saturday that she met Morris in 1981, when he was a traveling preacher and began preaching at her family’s church in Oklahoma. She said Morris and his wife and young son became close to her family. She said he was staying at her house in 1982 when he asked her to come to his room. He told her to lay on his bed and then began touching her inappropriately, said Clemishire, now 52.

She said the abuse continued for about the next four-and-a-half years. The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Clemishire has done.

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Pastor Robert Morris applauds during a roundtable discussion at Gateway Church Dallas Campus, Thursday, June 11, 2020, in Dallas. A statement issued on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, said that Morris had resigned after a woman said he had abused her on multiple occasions in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

When asked about the allegations by The Christian Post, Morris, 62, said in a statement to the publication that when he was in his early 20s he was “involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying.”

“It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong,” he said in the statement. “This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years.”

The board said that before Friday, they “did not have all of the facts of the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the length of the abuse.” They said that their understanding of the “extramarital relationship” that Morris had discussed many times throughout his ministry was not that it was “abuse of a 12-year-old child.”

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The church, based in the Dallas suburb of Southlake, was founded by Morris in 2000 and has multiple locations in the area and says over 100,000 people attend each weekend. Morris, the founding pastor, has been politically active. He was among those on former President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board. The church hosted Trump on its Dallas campus in 2020 for a discussion on race relations and the economy.

Morris did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment sent to his email at the church.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Southern California police officer accidentally shoots colleague in ‘horseplay’ incident

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Southern California police officer accidentally shoots colleague in ‘horseplay’ incident

The Pasadena Police Department released video on Thursday of an officer who accidentally shot a colleague while engaged in “unsafe and out-of-policy horseplay” with loaded firearms.

It happened around 6:18 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2025, in the department’s parking structure, located at 240 Ramona Street, according to Chief Gene Harris.

In the cruiser dashcam video, a police car can be seen pulling into the parking garage in front of two uniformed officers, who were standing at the rear of a police SUV that had its trunk open.

As the cruiser approached, an officer could be seen drawing his gun and pointing it directly at the approaching cruiser, which the police chief called “inappropriate.”

  • Dashcam video of officer-involved shooting during horseplay in Pasadena

A few moments later, the officer reholstered the weapon as he and his colleague smiled.

The video didn’t capture what happened next inside the vehicle, put Chief Harris said the officer seated in the patrol car driver’s seat drew his handgun and “pointed it towards the other officer. During this interaction, the driving officer’s firearm discharged.”

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The round smashed through the cruiser’s windshield and hit one of the officers in his left shoulder, the chief said.

In the video, all you see is the dashcam suddenly shaking, with a cloud of dust coming from the car and one of the officers grabbing his shoulder, clearly injured.

The officer inside the car then rushed out of the vehicle to help him to the ground and treat his injury.

Harris said the officer who injured in the shooting has since recovered.

Harris said the department withheld release of the video for nearly 10 months by invoking an exception to state law requiring police shootings be released.

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He said the release was delayed because it was “necessary to protect the integrity of the investigation and allow investigators to complete essential investigative steps,” he said.

The incident remains under criminal investigation and force review. Disciplinary measures were taken after an administrative investigation, Harris said.

Harris called the incident “regretful” and not up to the department’s expectations.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Police chase suspected DUI driver in Los Angeles County

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Police chase suspected DUI driver in Los Angeles County

Officers chased a speeding driver wanted on suspicion of DUI in Los Angeles County Wednesday night.

The chase began out of Lynwood as the suspect drove a Mazda SUV and several Los Angeles Police Department officers trailed closely behind.

At times, the suspect narrowly missed other vehicles while running red lights and speeding on surface streets. The driver entered the northbound 710 Freeway and later transitioned to the 105 and the 110.

On the freeway, the driver weaved dangerously through traffic while hitting speeds of nearly 100 mph. At times, the driver was seen making hand gestures out the window.

  • Los Angeles police pursued a possible DUI driver out of Lynwood on June 10, 2026. (KTLA)
  • Los Angeles police pursued a possible DUI driver out of Lynwood on June 10, 2026. (KTLA)
  • Los Angeles police pursued a possible DUI driver out of Lynwood on June 10, 2026. (KTLA)

The suspect exited in South L.A. and continued speeding on surface streets, at one point, driving the wrong way.

Due to public danger, police cancelled the pursuit near S. Broadway and W. 59th Street in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood.

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It’s unclear whether there were additional passengers inside the SUV.

Footage of the chase can be seen in the video player above.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Man shot and killed during child custody exchange in Covina

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Man shot and killed during child custody exchange in Covina

A man was shot and killed during a child custody exchange in Covina.

On June 9, Covina police were called to a parking lot outside Home Depot at 963 W. Badillo St. just after 6 p.m.

Several people had gathered at the location to facilitate a child custody exchange. During the meeting, as an argument erupted between two men, things escalated.

One of the men pulled out a gun and shot the other man, police said. Officers were called to the scene and, despite lifesaving efforts, the victim was pronounced dead.

A man was fatally shot outside a Home Depot parking lot in Covina on June 9, 2026. (Citizen)

The suspect was taken into custody shortly after. Footage from the scene showed the parking lot was cordoned off as officers investigated the area and spoke to the other adults involved in the child custody exchange.

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No further details, including the suspect’s or victims’ identities, were released. 

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Covina Police Department at 626-384-5622.

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