NPR's Head Of News Placed On Leave After Past Harassment Allegations Surface 
 
 NPR has placed its senior vice president for news, Michael Oreskes, on leave after fielding accusations that he sexually harassed two women seeking career opportunities nearly two decades ago, when he worked at The New York Times. 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Chuck Zoeller/AP Chuck Zoeller/AP 
 
 The allegations from the two women were first reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday afternoon. They included similar accounts of unwanted and unexpected kisses during business meetings. 
 
 Meanwhile, a current NPR employee is going public with her account of filing a formal complaint with the network's human resources division in October 2015. Rebecca Hersher says she considers the incident less severe but nevertheless felt it crossed a line and made her uncomfortable. At the time a 26-year-old assistant producer on Weekend All Things Considered, she said Oreskes hijacked a career counseling session into a three-hour-long dinner that delved into deeply personal territory. 
 
 Oreskes did not respond to multiple efforts to reach him for comment. NPR executives say that they cannot address individual personnel matters but that they take concerns of sexual harassment or other inappropriate workplace behavior seriously. 
 
 According to The Washington Post, there were two separate complaints about Oreskes from his tenure as Washington bureau chief at The New York Times nearly 20 years ago. Both women tell similar stories: After meeting Oreskes and discussing their job prospects, they said he unexpectedly kissed them on the lips and stuck his tongue in their mouths. The Post did not disclose their names, stating they spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to damage future employment prospects. The women also shared their allegations with NPR management in mid-October. 
 
 
 
 After joining NPR in the spring of 2015, Oreskes encouraged staffers to reach out to him to discuss their careers during his visit to NPR West in Culver City, Calif. At the time Hersher had been working a series of temporary assignments for NPR, and she took him up on his offer during a subsequent visit to Washington. An afternoon meeting was pushed off into evening and an invitation to dinner at a seafood restaurant near Union Station. 
 
 Hersher, now a reporter and producer on NPR's science desk, says she wanted to tell him about her belief that she would need to leave NPR to transform from a producer to a reporter. Her dinner with Oreskes became increasingly uncomfortable as the conversation veered into personal matters involving relationships and sex. At one point, she says, he referred to a former flame as his first "sex girlfriend." 
 
 Hersher says the conversation made her uncomfortable. 
 
 "From my point of view, every little thing that he or I said pointed to the relative difference in power," she said. "Like he's the one with the power. He's the one who gets to decide what we talk about — and I am trying to keep up." 
 
 Hersher said he gave her what seemed like a nonromantic hug at the train station afterward, and that he did not otherwise touch her or suggest any physical involvement. 
 
 Still, Hersher said Tuesday, the entire evening felt as though it devalued her as a professional. She suddenly questioned why a senior executive would care about her career. 
 
 "I went to the train station, and I called my best friend; I cried on the phone to her," Hersher says. "I went home and then I cried to my boyfriend. It undercut my confidence in a way that was surprising to me." 
 
 Hersher reported the incident to NPR's human resources division. The network formally rebuked Oreskes and informed other top network executives. Hersher said she felt satisfied with the company's response and that she experienced no retribution. 
 
 Two colleagues at NPR confirmed that Hersher told them of the incident at the time. I did considerable reporting on the episode in spring 2016. At that time, Hersher was not willing to go on the record for a news story, and I was unable to confirm a pattern of behavior by Oreskes. The incident did not involve anything physical, and there was no force, retribution or request for a romantic involvement, and Hersher said she believed the network had held Oreskes appropriately accountable. 
 
 At the time, this reporter and editors of that story — who did not include Oreskes or anyone who reported directly to him — concluded that the incident on its own did not rise to the level of national news. 
 
 The new allegations concerning Oreskes' tenure at The Times changed the equation. 
 
 In a note to staff on Tuesday, NPR CEO Jarl Mohn encouraged employees to come forward if they have been harassed. 
 
 "We take these kinds of allegations very seriously," Mohn wrote. "If a concern is raised, we review the matter promptly. We take all appropriate steps to assure a safe, comfortable, and productive work environment for everyone at NPR. ... This is our NPR. And I will stand up for it, and every one of you." ||||| NEW YORK -- Michael Oreskes has resigned as chief of NPR's newsroom following accusations of sexual harassment that dated back to the 1990s. 
 
 Oreskes said in a statement Wednesday that he was deeply sorry to the people he hurt. He said: "my behavior was wrong and inexcusable, and I accept full responsibility." 
 
 He said he told Jarl Mohn, president and CEO of NPR, on Wednesday morning that he would step down. 
 
 On Tuesday, Oreskes had been placed on leave after a publication reported he abruptly kissed two women who were seeking jobs while he was Washington bureau chief at The New York Times in the 1990s. The women formally complained to NPR and told their stories to The Washington Post, speaking on condition of anonymity. 
 
 Mohn subsequently appointed Chris Turpin as the temporary news chief. 
 
 Oreskes was a vice president and senior managing editor at The Associated Press from 2008 until he joined NPR in 2015. ||||| FILE - In this March 18, 2015 file photo, former Associated Press Vice President and Senior Managing Editor Mike Oreskes poses for a photo at AP headquarters, in New York. Oreskes, current vice president... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this March 18, 2015 file photo, former Associated Press Vice President and Senior Managing Editor Mike Oreskes poses for a photo at AP headquarters, in New York. Oreskes, current vice president of news and editorial director at National Public Radio, has been placed on leave following a published... (Associated Press) 
 
 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood's widening sexual harassment crisis saw new allegations leveled against Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Piven, while police in Beverly Hills announced they have launched criminal investigations over complaints received about Harvey Weinstein and writer-director James Toback. 
 
 The Beverly Hills Police Department did not specify the nature of the assault complaints, but Tuesday's announcement comes less than a month after numerous women accused Weinstein of sexually harassing them at hotels in the city in an expose by the New York Times. 
 
 Weinstein has denied engaging in any non-consensual sexual contact. His representative Sallie Hofmeister had no immediate comment on the Beverly Hills investigation. The department said late Tuesday that it was investigating Weinstein and Toback after receiving "multiple complaints," although the department did not specify the nature of the complaints. 
 
 Dozens of women, including actresses Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams, have alleged that Toback sexually harassed or assaulted them. 
 
 Toback has denied the allegations. He does not have a representative to field inquiries about the criminal investigation. 
 
 Allegations against Weinstein have led to a cascade of harassment allegations against other entertainment industry figures, with Spacey becoming the latest big name to draw scrutiny for alleged conduct decades ago. 
 
 Netflix suspended production on its final season of "House of Cards" on Tuesday amid allegations star Spacey made a sexual advance on actor Anthony Rapp in 1986 when he was 14. 
 
 On Monday, Netflix said it would end "House of Cards" after its upcoming sixth and final season, although the streaming network said the decision was made before Sunday's BuzzFeed News report on Rapp's allegations. 
 
 Spacey responded by saying he doesn't remember the alleged encounter but if he acted the way Rapp alleges, "I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior." He also spoke publicly for the first time about being gay, which draw backlash from some observers as an attempt at deflection. 
 
 The decision to pause production Tuesday came before a second actor leveled allegations against Spacey. 
 
 Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos wrote on his Facebook page that he encountered Spacey at the bar of London's Old Vic Theatre, where Spacey was artistic director from 2004-15, and the actor tried to fondle him against his will. 
 
 "It was more common for this guy, when he was in the bar of his theater, grabbing whoever caught his attention," Cavazos wrote. "I didn't stand for it, but I know some people who were afraid to stop it." 
 
 Cavazos declined an interview request. There was no immediate reply to a request for comment from representatives for Spacey. 
 
 In a statement Tuesday, the theater expressed "deep dismay" at the allegations and said "inappropriate behavior by anyone working at The Old Vic is completely unacceptable." 
 
 In recent weeks, Hollywood has reacted swiftly to allegations of sexual harassment and assault: Weinstein was fired from the company he founded within days after initial reports of sexual harassment were published in The New York Times earlier this month. 
 
 Netflix's actions involving "House of Cards" are rare in an industry that puts commerce first. 
 
 Shows are infrequently derailed by concerns other than their ratings performance, said TV historian and former network executive Tim Brooks. 
 
 "It usually depends on how popular the show is, not to put too fine a point on it," Brooks said Tuesday. He added that an actor's popularity with his cast mates can also determine his fate. 
 
 "If they like him, if they get along with him, it's easy enough to say, 'If I don't get my career ruined in this, I'll stick with him,'" he said. 
 
 Netflix has not commented on plans for a Gore Vidal biopic starring Spacey that is currently in production. 
 
 Also Tuesday, CBS said it is "looking into" accusations by actress and reality star Ariane Bellamar that Emmy-winning "Entourage" star Piven groped her on two occasions. 
 
 On her Twitter account Monday, Bellamar alleged that one encounter took place in Piven's trailer on HBO's "Entourage" set and the other occurred at the Playboy Mansion. 
 
 Piven, who stars in the new CBS series "Wisdom of the Crowd," said in a statement that he "unequivocally" denies the "appalling allegations being peddled about me." 
 
 "It did not happen. It takes a great deal of courage for victims to come forward with their histories, and my hope is that the allegations about me that didn't happen, do not detract from stories that should be heard," he said. 
 
 In a Monday interview with The Associated Press, Piven said he was glad people had come forward with allegations against Weinstein and that he had never been in that situation. 
 
 HBO, which aired the 2004-11 series, said in a statement that it was unaware of Bellamar's allegations until they were reported by media. 
 
 "Everyone at HBO and our productions is aware that zero tolerance for sexual harassment is our policy. Anyone experiencing an unsafe working environment has several avenues for making complaints that we take very seriously," the channel said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Kennedy reported from New York. AP Writer John Carucci in New York and Berenice Bautista in Mexico City contributed to this report.
– In the wake of Harvey Weinstein news, NPR's news chief is the latest to come under fire for alleged past sexual misconduct—and he's now stepped down from his post. Michael Oreskes, 63, resigned Wednesday, per the AP, after two women told the Washington Post about incidents in the late 1990s when he was the DC bureau chief at the New York Times. Both women say while talking to him about possible jobs at the Times, he suddenly planted a kiss on their lips and put his tongue in their mouths. When one woman confronted him about it months later, calling it "totally inappropriate," she says he replied: "I was overcome with passion. I couldn't help myself." Neither woman was hired; they say they were spurred to come forward by the Weinstein allegations. In a statement, NPR notes, "We take these kinds of allegations very seriously," though it wouldn't comment on specifics. Meanwhile, NPR reports on a current employee now making public her own complaint. Science reporter Rebecca Hersher says she filed a grievance against Oreskes in October 2015 after he turned what was supposed to be a career discussion into a "three-hour-long dinner that delved into deeply personal territory." At that meeting, Hersher says, Oreskes steered their talk to relationships and sex, even calling one ex-partner his first "sex girlfriend." Hersher says Oreskes never touched her inappropriately, and she believes he was held "appropriately accountable" after her complaint. But she notes the talk made her uncomfortable and "undercut my confidence in a way that was surprising to me." In a statement Wednesday, Oreske said, "My behavior was wrong and inexcusable, and I accept full responsibility." NPR CEO Jarl Mohn has appointed Christopher Turpin as NPR's temporary news chief, per CBS News. More at the Post and NPR.