After previously announcing on Saturday that he would step aside from his post as anchor of NBC Nightly News for ‘the next several days,’ NBC News today announced that Williams will be leaving his post as anchor and managing editor of the news program for the next six months without pay. The decision is effective immediately.

Williams came under heavy criticism after he “misremembered” a story of how a helicopter he was traveling in during the Iraq War came under heavy enemy fire.

The New York Times reports:

“This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position,” Deborah Turness, the president of NBC News, said in an internal memo. Lester Holt will continue to substitute for Mr. Williams now, the network said.

His departure culminated a rapid and startling fall from grace for Mr. Williams, who at age 55 was the head of the highest-rated evening news show, the winner of top industry accolades, a coveted speaker at dinners and panels and a frequent celebrity guest on entertainment shows.

Mr. Williams has been drawing 9.3 million viewers a night, the most of any newscast. But six months is a long time to disappear from the television landscape, and analysts said it would be difficult for him to re-establish himself as a credible nightly presence.

“I don’t know how he can ever read the news with a straight face, or how the public will respond if he does,” said Mark Feldstein, a broadcast journalism professor at the University of Maryland, said. On the other hand, he added, “Maybe they’re hoping that with a six-month cooling-off period, he’s got a loyal fan base.” […]

“By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News,” [Steve Burke, the chief executive of NBC Universal] said in a statement. “His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate.”

If you’ve been rabidly following the podcast Serial you’re not the only one.

New theory put forth by physicists suggests there was no big bang and the universe had no beginning.

Scott Eastwood is hunky and shirtless for new cologne ad.

In search of gay life in West Africa.

Hubble Telescope spots a friendly face in a galaxy far, far away.

You can now binge on comics without leaving home thanks to Scribd.

Corgis are at risk of dying out as a breed.

New study finds anti-Americanism is exploding in Russia.

London’s stage rendition of Gods and Monsters brings the beefcake.

Is it gonna be forever or will it go down in flames? Hozier and Taylor Swift seen flirting at the Grammy’s.

NYT profiles Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and his stalwart (and some would say illegal) defiance of a federal judge’s ruling striking down the state’s marriage ban: “The matter seems custom-made for Chief Justice Moore, who had already earned hero status among many conservatives for his Ten Commandments stand, his argument that America is a fundamentally Christian nation and his concerns about overreach by the federal judiciary. Now, yet again, cultural conservatives were praising him, liberals were condemning him, and Chief Justice Moore, standing on principle, seemed unfazed about whether he would end up on the winning side.”

Miley Cyrus has entered a film into the New York Porn Film Festival (possibly work unfriendly).

Zoolander 2 will start filming this spring in Rome.

Florida State Rep. Frank Artiles not worried about the implications of his newly introduced transphobic bill that would make life for the trans community in Florida significantly harder.

Utah marriage plaintiff Derek Kitchen running for Salt Lake City Council.

John Travolta will be presenting again this year at the Oscars. And Jennifer Hudson will be performing.

In case you were craving a punk rock cover of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” as performed by fellow pop princess Charli XCX.

Jeb Bush hired a Chief Technology Officer for his campaign that has tweeted women are “sluts” and gay men “undress you with their eyes.”

Downton Abbey actor Robert James-Collier talks about his character Thomas’ harrowing journey this season (spoiler alert for those not caught up).

After a seven-month WestPac deployment, the USS San Francisco (SSN 711) submarine warship returned home to Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego yesterday. With every return comes the ceremonial “first kiss” of sailors disembarking from the vessel, and Monday’s kiss was particularly notable as it was the first time ever a male same-sex couple was chosen. Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas Sawicki received nothing but support from his shipmates when the announcement was made that he had won the lottery, and while his boyfriend Shawn Brier was worried about screwing it up by falling into the water, the kiss went off without a hitch.

Watch an interview with the couple and peep one more picture of the kiss, AFTER THE JUMP…