Human Race

Approved

The Church of England on Nov. 16 voted to begin ordaining female bishops in 2015. The move came 20 years after the Church of England started ordaining female priests, who now make up about one-third of the church’s clergy but were not allowed to assume senior roles. A similar measure to approve female bishops failed by six votes in 2012. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the vote embraced “a new way of being the church” and vowed to “continue to seek the flourishing of the church of those who disagree.”

Resigned

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, 68, on Nov. 24 announced his resignation only 21 months after he took office. President Barack Obama announced his departure, with he and Hagel, a former Republican senator, reportedly agreeing it was time for a change. The two often appeared out of step on how to deal with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, although insiders believe it was mostly due to White House dithering. The Defense Department also faces a new round of steep budget cuts under sequestration in early 2015.

Hired

House Republicans hired legal scholar and George Washington University professor Jonathan Turley to represent them in a lawsuit against President Obama. Turley, 53, a frequent MSNBC commentator who said he voted for Obama, has been an outspoken critic of the president’s executive actions. Last year Turley told a House panel Obama’s actions are the “very danger the Constitution was designed to avoid.” Lawmakers led by House Speaker John Boehner formally filed the suit on Nov. 21.

Searched

The Justice Department’s Drug Enforcement Administration performed several unannounced searches and questioned the medical staff of at least four NFL teams following games on Nov. 16. The San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all confirmed they were “spot-checked” by DEA investigators. No one was arrested. The surprise inspections were part of a nationwide probe into allegations that teams have mishandled prescription drugs, after a group of former players filed a May lawsuit with claims dating back to 1968.

Suspended

The NFL suspended Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson without pay for the rest of the 2014 season after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor reckless assault charge. Peterson, 29, whose father went to prison when he was 13, has fathered six children by six women and was arrested in September for disciplining his 4-year-old son with a switch. “I won’t ever use a switch again,” Peterson, arguably the NFL’s best running back, told USA Today. “No one knows how I felt when I turned my child around after spanking him and seeing what I had left on his leg.”

Engaged

Convicted murderer Charles Manson, 80, has obtained a marriage license to wed a 26-year-old woman, Afton Elaine Burton, who comes to visit him in prison and has spent years trying to exonerate him. Burton, whose mother said she will not attend the ceremony, told the Associated Press the wedding will likely take place in December. Manson is serving a life sentence for murdering seven persons, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate. He has been denied parole 12 times, but Burton manages several websites that maintain he is innocent.

Beheaded

Family members of Peter Kassig paid tribute to the Indiana native and former Army Ranger at weekend services following the Nov. 16 confirmation he had been beheaded by the Islamic State. Kassig, held by the terrorist group for more than a year, started his own humanitarian relief effort in Syria, where he was captured and later converted to Islam, changing his name to Abdul-Rahman. The Kassigs acknowledged on Nov. 20 they adopted Peter as an infant, and for eight years he had developed a close bond with his birth family.

Murdered

Authorities in Honduras found the country’s Miss World contestant shot dead along with her sister, officials announced on Nov. 19. Police believe Maria Jose Alvarado, 19, and sister Sofia, 23, were killed by Sofia’s boyfriend, who allegedly saw her dancing with another person. The two were discovered buried in a mountainous region of western Honduras. Alvarado had been scheduled to appear in the Miss World pageant in London beginning Nov. 20.

Died

Academy Award–winning director Mike Nichols, 83, died of a heart attack on Nov. 19. Nichols, the husband of ABC’s Diane Sawyer for 26 years, was born in Berlin and came to the U.S. as a boy when his Jewish family fled Nazi Germany. His career spanned seven decades and often featured works pushing cultural change, including his most famous film, The Graduate, an iconic comedy of the sexual revolution. Nichols was among the few people to ever win at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. Nichols married four times and is survived by three children and four grandchildren.

By the numbers

• 1.6 percent of the U.S. population identifies as gay, according to the latest government surveys—while a recent Gallup poll shows over a third of Americans believe 25 percent of the U.S. population is gay.

• 1,438 people have been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan since 1987, with religious minorities (less than 4 percent of the population) accounting for 50 percent of cases.

• 600,000 veterans continue to wait a month or more for appointments at VA hospitals and clinics.