Human Race

Blocked

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen granted a preliminary injunction to block President Obama’s executive action on illegal immigration. The injunction temporarily puts on hold Obama’s plan to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation as a lawsuit filed by 26 states against the plan works its way through the courts. The coalition of states had requested the injunction because “it would be difficult or impossible to undo the President’s lawlessness after the Defendants start granting applications for deferred action.” The Department of Justice said it would appeal the ruling.

Pregnant

Christian surfer Bethany Hamilton and husband Adam Dirks are expecting a baby boy in early June. Hamilton, who lost an arm in a 2003 shark attack, as told in the movie Soul Surfer, made the announcement with Dirks just after her 25th birthday. She said she may have to “be creative” in some aspects of caring for a baby, but a “stoked” Dirks looked forward to “changing diapers on the beach” while Bethany surfs “some gnarly wave.”

Investigated

Questions surround why U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., sold his home in 2012 to a campaign donor allegedly for $150,000 more than market value. The liberal Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics regarding the home and Schock’s office renovations. The Washington Post reports that Schock has a lavish new Capitol Hill office designed to mimic the show Downton Abbey, and that the designer said she did her work for free. CREW says that work may constitute an improper gift to the congressman. Schock told The Washington Times that he had never seen Downton Abbey, that the designer chose the decor, and that he would pay her when the work was finished.

Fired

Hamilton County, Ohio, fired more than 100 poll workers for failing to vote in 2013 and 2014. While state law doesn’t require it, officials in the county seat of Cincinnati mandate poll workers vote as a public example. Seeking to improve its stock of well over 2,000 workers, officials also selected 600 for training for minor mistakes. They fired only four for overall poor performance.

Sentenced

An Italian court sentenced Francesco Schettino, former captain of cruise ship Costa Concordia, to 16 years in prison. His decisions, the court ruled, led to the 2012 Giglio Island shipwreck that killed 32 people. He also lied to maritime authorities about the severity of the ship’s condition and abandoned ship with hundreds still on board.

Recruited

Marxist rebels in Colombia invited new Miss Universe Paulina Vega to participate in peace talks. Following her Jan. 25 victory, the 22-year-old student and model from Barranquilla expressed interest in the talks between Colombian authorities and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The 50-year guerrilla conflict, infamous for its violent drug trade, has killed 200,000 people. The FARC website addressed Vega directly, calling her a potentially “valuable contribution to peace” in the Havana negotiations.

Wronged

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy wronged a couple in 2011 by taking an infant the couple bought from a Russian surrogate. The court said the couple had behaved as parents long enough that Italy violated their European rights to “private and family life,” despite the lack of biological ties, when disputing the parenthood upon their homecoming. But Italy isn’t obligated to return the child, now 4, because he established bonds with a foster family during court proceedings. Italy must pay the couple 30,000 euros in damages.

Died

Long-time CBS and 60 Minutes reporter Bob Simon, 73, died Feb. 11 when his cab crashed in Manhattan. He spent nearly 50 years covering world events from Vietnam to Iraq, where he spent 40 days in captivity. New York Times columnist and influential culture critic David Carr, 58, died a day later.

Died

Samuel H. Moffett, a historian and seminary professor on two continents, died Feb. 9. He was 98. Born in Pyongyang in what is now North Korea, he became a second-generation missionary in East Asia. After the Korean War, the Presbyterian historian taught 21 years at Seoul’s Presbyterian Theological Seminary before returning to alma mater Princeton Seminary in New Jersey. He retired from Princeton in 1987 and then finished the two-volume A History of Christianity in Asia in 2005.

Died

U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee of Mississippi died Feb. 6 from cancer complications. The 56-year-old Republican helped the GOP win the House in 2010, but couldn’t return to Washington to begin his third term this year. Often open about his Christian faith, Nunnelee advocated for tort reform and curbing the abortion industry during 16 years in the state Senate. His fiscal reputation earned him a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, where he had bipartisan respect. A special election will fill his vacant seat.

By the numbers

141 | The number of seasonal former IRS employees rehired by the agency between 2010 and 2013 despite having botched or failed to file their own tax returns, according to a February report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

8.8 million | The number of tons of plastic waste dumped into the oceans every year, according to a study in the journal Science. The United States contributes 77,000 tons, less than 1 percent of the total, while China contributes 2.4 million tons, almost 28 percent of the total.

8,000 | The number of toilet paper rolls seized by Chinese officials in Hong Kong because they bore the image of Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s Beijing-appointed chief executive.