Died

Christian minister, activist, and author Tim LaHaye died July 25 at the age of 90. A World War II veteran, LaHaye wrote more than 50 books and pastored churches for over 25 years. But he was best-known for the Left Behind series, a set of thriller novels based on the premillennial, dispensationalist view of end-times prophecy. Co-written with Jerry B. Jenkins, the series has sold more than 65 million copies since 1995. LaHaye was also politically active and helped fellow pastor Jerry Falwell Sr. establish the conservative Moral Majority in 1979. LaHaye remained a sometimes controversial evangelical figure in presidential campaigns.

Elected

The United Methodist Church’s Western Jurisdiction unanimously elected the denomination’s first openly homosexual bishop on July 15, flouting church teaching on sexuality. The Rev. Karen Oliveto is married to another woman and pastors Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. In her public speaking, Oliveto has reportedly questioned what she views as the Bible’s “flaws,” including its exclusionary “theology of election and chosenness.” After her election, the UMC’s South Central Jurisdiction in Kansas asked the denomination’s Judicial Council to step in. Some in the 12.7 million-member UMC fear Oliveto’s election will accelerate a long-growing schism.

Released

A judge on July 27 granted a measure of freedom to John Hinckley Jr., the man who wounded President Ronald Reagan and three others in a 1981 assassination attempt. Declared not guilty by reason of insanity, Hinckley, 61, has lived at a Washington mental hospital for 35 years. Though restrictions on his movements will continue, doctors say he is healthy enough to move in permanently with his mother. Hinckley has volunteered at a church and mental hospital and says he wants a job.

Dropped

David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt exited a Texas courthouse to cheers from supporters after a Texas judge on July 26 dismissed all remaining charges against the two pro-life activists. Daleiden and Merritt of The Center for Medical Progress had spent three years investigating Planned Parenthood’s fetal body parts trade, using hidden cameras and false identities, as is common for undercover reporters. Harris County prosecutors began probing Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast after media published the undercover videos last year. But in January, a grand jury instead indicted the pro-life activists on charges of falsifying California driver’s licenses and attempting to purchase fetal tissue. Procedural flaws ultimately derailed the indictments. Prosecutors could file another case, but Daleiden’s lawyers say that’s unlikely.

Bitten

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced on Aug. 1 a total of 14 people had been infected by the Zika virus in a 1-square-mile Miami neighborhood called Wynwood—the first instance of mosquitoes spreading the virus within the continental United States. Although health officials had counted more than 1,600 cases of Zika in the 50 states, previous infections had all been linked to international travelers. The Zika virus that is sweeping South and Central America can cause microcephaly in unborn babies. The virus spreads by sex and by the bite of mosquitoes. In response to the Wynwood outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the unprecedented step of advising pregnant women not to travel to the neighborhood.