Personnel office head steps down
WASHINGTON – The head of the U.S. government’s personnel office resigned abruptly on Friday, bowing to pressure for her to step down following a massive government data breach on her watch.
Katherine Archuleta, director of the federal Office of Personnel Management, submitted her resignation in person to President Barack Obama, the White House said. She’ll be replaced on a temporary basis by the agency’s deputy director, Beth Cobert, who will step into the role on Saturday.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Archuleta offered her resignation “of her own volition” and wasn’t forced out. At the same time, he said Americans affected by the breach are still “due additional information” by OPM about what happened.
Confederate flag comes down in S.C.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Confederate flag was lowered from the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse to the cheers of thousands on Friday, ending its 54-year presence there and marking a stunning political reversal in a state where many thought the rebel banner would fly indefinitely.
The turnabout seemed unthinkable before the June 17 massacre of nine black parishioners – including a state senator – at a Charleston church during a Bible study. Dylann Roof, a white man who was photographed with the Confederate flag, is charged in the shooting deaths, and authorities have called the killings a hate crime.
The massacre reignited calls to remove Confederate flags and symbols across the South and around the nation.
Associated Press
