Human Race

Died

Jennifer McKenna Morbelli, 29, died Feb. 7 after undergoing a late-term abortion by abortionist LeRoy Carhart at his Germantown, Md., clinic. Carhart reportedly did not respond to calls for help on behalf of Morbelli, who died of massive internal hemorrhaging at a local hospital. Morbelli, a resident of New Rochelle, N.Y.—where late-term abortions are illegal—sought to end her pregnancy after discovering her daughter had developed fetal abnormalities.

Sued

A 16-year-old Texas teen, identified only as “R.E.K.,” sued her parents on Feb. 10 for trying to force her to have an abortion. The suit claims the teen is under intense pressure from her parents and her mother threatened to slip her an “abortion pill” against her will. The Texas Center for Defense of Life is representing the teen and says it has won similar cases.

Hacked

Former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush both had their email accounts hacked, a Bush family spokesman confirmed on Feb. 8. An online user nicknamed “Guccifer” claims to have accessed six Bush family email accounts and backed up his claim by posting family photos and alleged correspondence about the elder Bush’s recent illness. The Secret Service is investigating the incident.

Died

Native American author and educator Richard Twiss, 58, died Feb. 9 from complications following a heart attack. Twiss, a member of North Dakota’s Sicangu Lakota Oyate tribe, wrote the book One Church Many Tribes and co-founded Wiconi International, an organization committed to reconciliation between Native Americans and other Americans.

Charged

Federal prosecutors filed formal criminal charges against former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife Sandi Feb. 15. They allege the son of civil-rights activist Jesse Jackson used $750,000 in campaign funds for personal benefit and knowingly filed false campaign-finance reports with the Federal Election Commission. Jackson’s wife is separately charged on alleged false income tax filings. Jackson resigned in November shortly after winning reelection and undergoing treatment for a bipolar disorder. In a statement he said, “I offer no excuses for my conduct. … I want to offer my sincerest apologies to my family, my friends and all of my supporters for my errors in judgment.”

Charged

South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, 26, was charged on Feb. 14 with murdering his 30-year-old girlfriend. Known as the “Blade Runner,” Pristorius is a Paralympic star who became the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics when he ran the 400 meters last year in London. Pistorius, who was not wearing his prosthetic legs at the time, said he fired shots at what he thought was an intruder.

Died

Howard Hendricks, longtime Dallas Theological Seminary professor, prominent author and speaker for Promise Keepers, and chaplain of the Dallas Cowboys, died Feb. 20 at 88. Hendricks served for more than 60 years on the faculty at DTS, traveled to more than 80 countries to minister and teach, and wrote 16 books. “You’re looking at a completely fulfilled human being,” Hendricks told the Dallas Morning News in 2003. “If I died today having produced some of the people God has given me the privilege of shaping, it will have been worth showing up on the planet.”