Human Race

Died

Actor Abe Vigoda, made famous in The Godfather, died Jan. 26. He was 94. Vigoda began stage acting as a teenager, but his modest career in New York theater expanded in 1972 when he was cast as Sal Tessio in The Godfather. He later earned three Emmy nominations in the TV comedy Barney Miller as Detective Fish. People magazine falsely reported Vigoda dead in 1982, creating a running joke that lasted three decades.

Hired

The Buffalo Bills promoted Kathryn Smith Jan. 20, making her the NFL’s first full-time female assistant coach. Smith served in various supportive roles for head coach Rex Ryan for seven years, following Ryan to Buffalo from the New York Jets. Most recently an administrative assistant, Smith now serves as special teams quality control coach with coordinator Danny Crossman. Women have held high-level NFL jobs in franchise front offices for more than 20 years, but never as coaches.

Stalled

Congregants at Central Presbyterian Church in Athens, Ga., voted 159-36 on Jan. 24 to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA). The Northeast Georgia Presbytery, though, won’t let them leave. The head of the presbytery, Hilary Shuford, called the dissenting members a “faction,” and said the presbytery has dissolved the church’s session, or governing body. Relations between the church and denomination remain tense while the PCUSA tries to avoid another court battle over valuable church property. Central Presbyterian Church wants to affiliate with the denomination ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, which ordains women but, unlike the PCUSA, disapproves same-sex marriage.

Separated

Naghmeh Abedini filed for a legal separation from her husband, U.S. pastor and former Iranian prisoner Saeed Abedini, on Jan. 26, five days after he returned to the United States in a prisoner swap. In a Facebook post, Naghmeh said she regretted concealing from the public “the abuse that I have lived with for most of our marriage,” and that she was taking temporary legal action to ensure their two children stayed in the family’s home state of Idaho while the couple works toward reconciliation. In a statement to the Idaho Statesman, Saeed said his marriage was “under great stress and I am hoping and praying for healing and restoration.”

Opposed

Alberta Catholic bishops condemned the province’s new school guidelines for LGBT students, issued in mid-January. By March, Catholic schools must comply with the view that “self-identification is the sole measure of an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.” The guidelines include eliminating the use of the words “mother” and “father,” allowing transgender students to use restrooms of their choice, and calling students by their preferred names and pronouns. Frederick Henry, bishop of Calgary, called the guidelines “totalitarian.” Catholic schools in Canada are publicly funded through parents’ redirected education taxes.

Charged

The University of Missouri indefinitely suspended Melissa Click, an assistant professor, after she received a misdemeanor assault charge on Jan. 25. The misdemeanor came as the result of a videotaped incident last November in which Click was caught intimidating student journalists who were attempting to report on a race demonstration. Click, who has publicly apologized for the incident, agreed to perform community service in exchange for deferred prosecution. But the university is weighing the potential need for additional discipline.

Detained

North Korean officials on Jan. 22 announced the arrest of a University of Virginia student. Otto Frederick Warmbier, 21, had gone to North Korea as a tourist, but was taken into custody as he prepared to board his plane to leave, according to his China-based tour agency. Regime officials claimed Warmbier had planned acts against North Korea “under the manipulation of the U.S. government.”

Blocked

Lila Rose, founder of pro-life organization Live Action, took to social media Jan. 27 to protest what appeared to be internet censorship by United Airlines. The airline had blocked the Live Action News website from in-flight viewing, while allowing pro-abortion sites like Planned Parenthood and NARAL. Planned Parenthood quickly praised the discrepancy, calling the pro-life group “disingenuous” and its website “inappropriate for in-flight viewing.” But United said its third-party web provider had blocked the site because it contained “streaming and downloadable video.” The airline requested the block be removed.

Died

Henry Worsley, a 55-year-old British adventurer attempting to cross Antarctica solo and unaided, died Jan. 24. Worsley had set out with a 300-pound supply sled hoping to cross the continent without the help of dogs or airdrops. He had traveled more than 900 miles in 71 days when he called for help Jan. 22, exhausted and just 30 miles short of his goal. Worsley’s trip surpassed that of the 1909 Antarctic expedition of his hero, explorer Ernest Shackleton, and Worsley raised over $140,000 for wounded troops. But he developed an abdominal infection on the trek and died of organ failure, despite a rescue effort and emergency surgery at a hospital in Chile.

Inspired

Blake Pyron, 19, is poised to become the youngest business owner in Sanger, Texas. He also happens to have Down syndrome. Pyron plans to open Blake’s Snow Shack, a snow cone food truck, in May, with help from his co-owner parents and a 15-year-old employee. “We’ve never limited Blake,” Pyron’s mother, Mary Ann, told WFAA-TV.

By the numbers

10.2 million | The number of American adults, aged 16-29, who don’t have a job and aren’t going to school or taking part in job training, according to a Pew Research Center report. These “detached” Americans make up about 17 percent of the age group.

1 | The number of passengers reportedly on a normally heavily booked Philippine Airlines flight between Manila and Boracay in January.