Human Race

Died

Cricket star Phillip Hughes, 25, died on Nov. 27 after he was struck in the back of the neck during a match in Australia. Hughes, who would have turned 26 on Nov. 30, was from England but was playing for South Australia. The league canceled matches after Hughes’ injury and will have to make a decision about opening the next season. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was among about 5,000 mourners who attended Hughes’ funeral, which was broadcast to millions worldwide.

Found

Police found Ohio State University defensive lineman Kosta Karageorge, 22, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Nov. 30. They found the player in a Columbus, Ohio, dumpster four days after he went missing. Karageorge’s mother, who told authorities her son had been dealing with bouts of confusion due to concussions, said on the day of his death he sent her a text message saying he was sorry if he was “an embarrassment.” Karageorge, also an Ohio State wrestler, would have been recognized at senior day during the No. 6 Buckeyes’ final regular season game on Nov. 29.

Sent

Houston Texans star J.J. Watt, 25, sent pizzas on Nov. 25 to local firefighters and police to express gratitude for their work. Watt—using impressive penmanship—included a handwritten, full-page letter of thanks: “As athletes, we often get the headlines and big crowds, but just like the men & women of our military, y’all are the ones who truly deserve the credit, appreciation & admiration.” Watt is enjoying one of the best defensive seasons in NFL history: He has 11.5 quarterback sacks and on Nov. 30 became the first defensive lineman since 1944 to score five touchdowns in a single season.

Resigned

The New Republic, a long-time bastion of liberal journalism, virtually died days after former President Bill Clinton appeared at its 100th birthday bash. At least nine senior staff and some two dozen contributing editors resigned en masse on Dec. 5 after owner Chris Hughes hired a new editor without notifying the current editor he was fired. Freelance contributors also pulled scheduled stories, forcing Hughes to suspend publication until February. The protesting staffers believe Hughes wants to make the publication a click-focused digital media company.

Dating

Scottish singer Susan Boyle dreamed a dream, and it might be coming true. Boyle, who became an international sensation with her 2009 Britain’s Got Talent performance, has her first boyfriend at age 53. Boyle revealed the news to The Sun, a British newspaper, saying her beau is a doctor in Connecticut but declining to name him. She said they met at a luxury hotel in Florida during a promotional tour of the United States. Boyle, whose personal story helped endear her to audiences, has sold more than 20 million albums over the last five years.

Confirmed

Scientists have confirmed that genetic material recovered in 2012 belongs to King Richard III, an English monarch who died in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The discovery could have profound implications: DNA testing did not fully match the royal line, indicating marital infidelity likely occurred somewhere between the 14th and 15th centuries—which could cast doubt on the Tudor claim to the English throne. Professor Kevin Schurer, who worked on the project, told BBC News, “We may have solved one historical puzzle, but in so doing, we opened up a whole new one.”

Accepted

A former British spy, Phyllis Latour Doyle, 93, reluctantly stepped back into the spotlight when she accepted the Legion of Honour, France’s highest honor. At age 23 Doyle parachuted into Nazi-controlled territory near Normandy to gather intelligence on German troop locations in the months leading up to D-Day. Doyle—trained by a cat burglar who was released from prison to help the war effort—disguised herself as a poor French girl selling soap from her bicycle and eventually transmitted 135 secret messages to Allied Command. Doyle’s four children only learned of her spy past 15 years ago when they discovered it online.

Dropped

Protests erupted in Egypt after a court dropped charges against former dictator Hosni Mubarak, 86, who was accused of killing protestors in the 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year rule. Protesters, mostly university students, saw the action as further erosion of the rights they won, and some claimed the old guard is back in charge. Mahmoud Kamel al-Rashidi, the judge who dismissed the charges, said Mubarak made mistakes but “to rule for or against him after he has become old will be left to history and the judge of judges.”

Charged

A Tehran court formally leveled charges at Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian on Dec. 6 after Iranian authorities arrested him in July on unknown charges. The accusations against Rezaian remain unclear, because the court proceeding was closed and Rezaian’s lawyer hasn’t been allowed to meet with his client. Rezaian, an Iranian-American who holds dual citizenship, became the Post’s Tehran bureau chief in 2012. Secretary of State John Kerry in a statement said he has “repeatedly raised Jason’s case, and the other cases of detained or missing U.S. citizens, directly with Iranian officials” during ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

By the numbers

18 trillion The national debt as of Dec. 1, in U.S. dollars, according to the U.S. Treasury. The debt was up $7.379 trillion since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.

13 & 13 The weight in pounds and ounces at birth of Mia Yasmin Hernandez, born on Dec. 1 in Alamosa, Colo.

40 The percentage drop in the price of oil between July and early December. Oil traded at $63 per barrel on Dec. 8. That same day, the average price for a gallon of gasoline had fallen to $2.67 from $3.26 the year before, according to AAA. Energy experts predicted that increased production would continue to bring prices down next year.