Month: June 2023

Christian evangelist Pat Robertson, the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network empire and perhaps best known for his political commentary on “The 700 Club”, has died at the age of 93. The Christian Broadcasting Network announced Robertson’s death, sharing that he died at his home in Virginia Beach: “With great sadness, we announce that Dr. M.G. ‘Pat’ Robertson has gone home to be with his Lord and Savior today … Pat Robertson dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel, helping those in need, and educating the next generation …..Thank you for your prayers for the Robertson family and the ministry of CBN at this time.”

Robertson was born in Virginia in 1930 to Sen. A. Willis Robertson, and became an ordained minister as a Southern Baptist. He started The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1960, and led the Christian Coalition, founded in 1987, the year before he ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1988, vying to take over for President Ronald Reagan. The nomination, and eventually presidency, was won by George H.W. Bush. Although he was never expected to get the nomination, he made an impressive enough showing in the first contest in Iowa to remain a force in GOP politics.

Robertson provided political commentary from his Christian viewpoint weekly on “The 700 Club,” appearing on the show for 60 years before retiring at 91 years old in 2021. He handed over the reins of “The 700 Club” to his son, Gordon, but continued to make appearances on the program. In addition to his TV network, he also started Regent University, previously CBN University, a private Christian university, in 1977 in Virginia Beach.

Robertson’s wife of 67 years, Dede, died in 2022. He is survived by four children, Tim, Elizabeth, Gordon, and Ann, along with 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.

Editorial credit: Hiram Rios / Shutterstock.com

Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of American Natalee Holloway in Aruba, arrived in the United States to face charges of extortion and wire fraud. On Thursday, van der Sloot was transferred to U.S. law enforcement custody in Lima, Peru, and a plane departed at 9 a.m. Eastern carrying him to Birmingham, Alabama. It was unclear when he might first appear in a U.S. court.

van der Sloot was indicted in the U.S. on extortion and wire fraud charges in 2010 in connection with an offer he allegedly made to sell information about the whereabouts of Holloway’s remains to her mother, Beth, for $250,000. The indictment alleges that Beth Holloway paid van der Sloot some of that money directly, and made another payment through a lawyer, but the information turned out to be false.

van der Sloot, a Dutch national, lived on the Caribbean island nation of Aruba when then 18-year-old Holloway went missing during a high school senior trip. She was last seen alive leaving a bar with van der Sloot; but noone has ever been charged in her disappearance, and her body has never been found. In 2012, an Alabama judge declared her deceased.

van der Sloot is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence in Peru for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, whom he confessed to killing in his hotel room in Lima. Temporary extradition is allowed under the terms of a 2001 treaty between the U.S. and Peru, where a suspect can face trial in the other country. van der Sloot will remain in the U.S. until the end of the American criminal proceedings, and is then expected to be returned to Peru to complete his sentence.

Editorial credit: Pamela Au / Shutterstock.com