Human Race

Died

Janet Reno, the U.S. attorney general under President Bill Clinton and the first woman to hold the office, died Nov. 7 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. She was 78. A former Miami-Dade state attorney from Florida, Reno drew ire from both the right and left for her prosecutorial decisions. She oversaw Clinton administration legal victories and some controversies, including a 1993 federal siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, that resulted in the deaths of about 75 cult members, including children (Reno took responsibility for the disaster). Her order in 2000 to raid the Miami home of 6-year-old Elián González and return him to his father in Cuba angered Florida’s Cuban-American community. The eight-year attorney general was known for her stubborn determination and blunt comments: “I don’t do spin,” she once told reporters.

Burned

One or more vandals torched a historic African-American church in Greenville, Miss., on Nov. 1, spray-painting “Vote Trump” on an outside brick wall. Authorities questioned a “person of interest” and were investigating the arson, which occurred just a week before the presidential election, as a potential hate crime. The Greenville police chief told media the slogan appeared to be an attempt to intimidate voters, since Southern African-Americans usually vote for the Democratic ticket. No one was injured in the fire, but the church was badly damaged.

Settled

A lawsuit against former Vision Forum Ministries (VFM) President Doug Phillips has been resolved. In 2013, Phillips admitted to a lengthy, inappropriate relationship with a woman, and he resigned from VFM. The ministry closed. In 2014, the woman, Lourdes Torres, once a member of Phillips’ former church, filed a lawsuit against Phillips and the for-profit company Vision Forum Inc. Phillips denied the accusations in the suit and does not admit liability in the settlement, which was signed earlier this year, according to documents recently posted online. In a recent blog post, Phillips’ wife, Beall, said Vision Forum Inc. is permanently closed for business.

Protested

Activists dumped 800 white mannequin arms and legs outside the entrance of the Russian Embassy in London as a protest against the bombing of civilians in Syria’s ongoing civil war. Two protesters also locked themselves to the embassy gates with cables. The activists said the limbs represented victims in the bombardment of the city of Aleppo. Supported by Russian airstrikes, Syrian forces have repeatedly attacked rebel-held portions of Aleppo, and a reported 800 civilians have died in the city since a September cease-fire ended.

Murdered

Early on the morning of Nov. 2, a gunman ambushed Iowa police officer Justin Martin as he sat in his squad car, firing two dozen rounds and fatally injuring Martin. About 20 minutes later, 2 miles away, authorities say the same man approached and killed a second officer, Sgt. Anthony Beminio. Martin was a recent academy graduate, Beminio the father of three. Suspect Scott Greene turned himself in to police after an hourslong manhunt. Greene, who is white, has a history of run-ins with police, sometimes involving racially charged provocations on Greene’s part. His motive for the killings is unclear.

Reno: Dennis Cook/ap • church: Rogelio V. Solis/ap • funeral: Charlie Neibergall/ap • mannequins: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/ap