Human Race

DIED: Former Bush press secretary and Fox News personality Tony Snow died July 12 after a long battle with colon cancer. As the original host of Fox News Sunday, Snow developed a reputation as a conservative, no-nonsense anchor. During the 53-year-old's brief tenure in the White House press office from 2006 to 2007, his banter and upbeat personality helped improve relations with the White House press corps. Snow was first treated for cancer in 2005 and suffered a relapse in 2007, but he once said cancer was "the best thing that ever happened to me." He wrote in Christianity Today: "Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?" He is survived by his wife, Jill, and three children.

LAWYERED: A gay Michigan man is suing two Christian publishing companies, alleging that their versions of the Bible violate his constitutional rights because they refer to homosexuality as a sin. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, wants $60 million from Zondervan and $10 million from Thomas Nelson to compensate for 20 years of "emotional duress and mental instability." Fowler contends that because his family's pastor uses a 1980s King James Version Bible listing homosexuals among those who are "wicked" or "unrighteous," his family considers him a sinner. Citing efficacy concerns, a judge refused to appoint Fowler a lawyer, so he is representing himself in both cases.

FOUND: An Afghan woman who plans to compete in the Olympics but mysteriously disappeared from her Italian training camp in early July reportedly plans to seek asylum in Norway. Muslim extremists repeatedly threatened the life of 19-year-old runner Mahbooba Ahadgar even though the lone female Afghan athlete agreed to compete wearing a head scarf and full-body running suit.

IN: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced July 1 he's tossing his hat into the 2010 race to succeed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger as California governor. In 2004, Newsom shocked the country by ordering San Francisco officials to issue marriage licenses to thousands of same-sex couples. The California Supreme Court later ruled that Newsom overstepped his authority and declared the marriages null and void.

PRONOUNLESS: A transgender Oregon woman living legally as a man gave birth June 29 to a baby girl. Dubbed the "Pregnant Man," 34-year-old Thomas Beatie was born Tracy Lagondino but underwent a partial sex change operation and later married another woman. Beatie stopped taking male hormones two years ago before undergoing artificial insemination and insists that giving birth to a "baby doesn't make me less of a man."