Human Race: Defiant in Gaza

Hamas’ appointment of Yahya Sinwar as its new political head on Aug. 6 was a sign of recalcitrance from the terrorist organization—and it was a move that experts said would further diminish chances of a ceasefire with Israel. Almost a year into their war with Hamas, Israeli forces continued to hammer the Gaza Strip as international calls for a truce intensified. Sinwar, the purported mastermind of last year’s Oct. 7 attack, took over as Hamas chief after a hidden bomb killed the organization’s former political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in a Tehran guesthouse. Sinwar is a fighter, not a politician, and analysts expect him to be a tougher negotiator than his predecessor, who ruled remotely from Qatar.

Sinwar hasn’t appeared publicly since October but has spent the past year directing Hamas’ ground operations, likely from underground tunnels in Gaza. Israeli hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin told NBC News that Sinwar’s selection jeopardizes the 115 hostages still in Gaza and sends a message that Hamas intends to fight to the death.

Sinwar, 61, grew up in a Gaza refugee camp and earned the nickname “the Butcher of Khan Yunis” for his zeal in targeting suspected Palestinian traitors. He spent two decades in an Israeli prison but regained his freedom in a 2011 prisoner swap. He has directed Hamas’ activities in Gaza since 2017. Sinwar has topped Israel’s kill list since war broke out. “There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar,” Israeli spokesman Daniel Hagari told a Saudi-run television station. “And it is beside [assassinated Hamas commander] Mohammed Deif and the rest of the Oct. 7 terrorists.”

Release denied

A former Sangamon County, Ill., sheriff’s deputy who shot a resident at her home must remain in jail until his trial, a judge ruled on Aug. 9. Sean Grayson, charged with first-degree murder, fatally shot Sonya Massey in the head in her kitchen July 6 after she called 911 to report a suspected prowler. Grayson, who claimed Massey threatened him with the words “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” and threw boiling water at him, also discouraged another deputy from giving Massey first aid following the shooting. Presiding Circuit Judge Ryan M. Cadagin ruled Grayson was a danger to the public and denied his attorneys’ request for a medical release for colon cancer treatment. Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell condemned the shooting but announced under pressure Aug. 9 that he would retire early. —Sharon Dierberger

Lawsuit proceeds

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 8 a former employee’s lawsuit can proceed against Ramsey Solutions (aka the Lampo Group), the Franklin, Tenn.–based company run by Christian personal finance guru Dave Ramsey. The ruling overturns a lower court decision that had dismissed Brad Amos’ lawsuit alleging Ramsey’s company discriminated against him for objecting to its COVID-19 protocol. Amos says the company fired him for his belief that he should follow federal guidelines to wear a mask and socially distance. The circuit court said federal law protects Amos from “religious non-conformity.” Amos had also sued for fraud, claiming the company falsely denied having a “cult-like” atmosphere, but the appeals court dismissed those claims. —Sharon Dierberger

Capitol punishment

David Dempsey was sentenced in a Washington, D.C., federal courtroom Aug. 9 for assaulting police during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The 37-year-old Santa Ana, Calif., resident’s sentence of 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release (plus a $2,000 fine) is the second-longest of the more than 890 convictions so far for assaults at the nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6. According to prosecutors, Dempsey repeatedly threw objects or swung at officers in riot gear, striking them with water bottles, metal and wooden poles, a metal crutch, and pepper spray. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to two felony counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a weapon. —Todd Vician

Falwell Jr. settles

On Aug. 13, disgraced Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. seemed both grudging and gracious about being allowed back on the campus of the school his father founded. “I was too focused on clearing my name over the last few years to have much reason to go on campus …,” Falwell told WSET-TV. “I’ve missed games and the view of campus from the Freedom Tower because I spent years planning and building every square foot of that campus but never really got a chance to enjoy the finished product.” The university agreed to pay Falwell an undisclosed sum in retirement and severance payments, and in a joint statement on July 26, the board of trustees and Falwell each accepted responsibility for their part in disputes that sparked opposing high-dollar lawsuits. Falwell resigned in August 2020 after acknowledging that his wife had engaged in an extramarital affair with a former family friend. —Lauren Canterberry

Shelter stabber

Authorities charged a man who identifies as a woman with attempted murder and possession of a weapon in a July 18 stabbing at a Christian women’s emergency shelter in Greenville, S.C. One day after being evicted, the 34-year-old male perpetrator, who goes by the name Michelle Silva Perez, returned to Miracle Hill Shepherd’s Gate shelter and attacked a female employee with a sharp-edged object, causing severe injuries. Shepherd’s Gate previously housed Perez for a few weeks believing he was a female, said Ryan Duerk, president and CEO of Miracle Hill Ministries, in a statement. “Had we known, we would have worked to accommodate this individual differently.” The stabbing victim was “stable and recuperating” the day after the attack, the shelter said. —Mary Jackson

Speaking unfreely

Conservative U.K. Member of Parliament Robert Jenrick is taking flak for saying pro-Palestinian protesters who chanted “Allahu Akbar” should have been “immediately arrested.” Appearing on British Sky News on Aug. 7, the candidate for Tory party leadership accused British police of treating pro-­Palestinian protesters after Oct. 7 with greater leniency than far-right protesters. “I thought it was quite wrong that somebody could shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ on the streets of London and not be immediately arrested, project genocidal chants on to Big Ben and not be immediately arrested,” said Jenrick. Other British politicians accused Jenrick of “Islamophobia.” Anti-immigration riots broke out after three girls were stabbed to death in the seaside town of Southport on July 29 by a teenager born in the U.K. to Rwandan parents. Authorities have since threatened to prosecute Brits who spread messages that are “false, threatening, or [stir] up racial/religious hatred.” —Emma Freire