Human Race: Erika Kirk presses on

Erika Kirk is pressing ahead with her husband’s mission more than a month after his assassination. Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA, the conservative political action group present on more than 3,500 high school and college campuses, died Sept. 10 after being shot during one of his classic “Prove Me Wrong” debates at Utah Valley University. On Oct. 14, President Donald Trump awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Erika Kirk thanked Trump for honoring her husband on what would have been his 32nd birthday: “Your support of our family and the work that Charlie devoted his life to will be something I cherish forever.” Shortly after Kirk’s death, TPUSA’s board announced it had selected his widow to lead the rapidly growing organization. Within eight days after the shooting, the organization said it received more than 62,000 requests from high school and college students interested in starting a TPUSA chapter or getting involved with an existing chapter. Erika Kirk, 36, pledged to expand her husband’s mission to change the hearts and minds of students across the country during a tearful speech two days after his death. She said she will continue Turning Point’s campus tour, its annual AmericaFest conference, as well as Charlie’s radio show and podcast.

Making headlines

Independent journalist Bari Weiss is the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. CBS parent company Paramount also announced Oct. 6 the purchase of her online news site, The Free Press, saying the move is a response to the nation’s longing for balanced, fact-based news. Weiss in 2021 co-founded what would become The Free Press after quitting The New York Times, where she accused colleagues of being intolerant of her centrist views. With 1.5 million subscribers, the wildly successful Free Press is now one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing media outlets. Weiss, a lesbian, grew up in a Jewish family in Pittsburgh. —Kim Henderson

Leadership dispute

On Oct. 2, London Bishop Sarah Mullally, 63, was tapped to become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury—the first woman to fill the role. Mullally’s appointment prompted the Anglican Church of Nigeria to reject the Church of England’s spiritual leadership. Due to disagreements about same-sex marriage, the conservative Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) renounced England’s leadership in 2023. Nigerian Archbishop Henry Ndukuba said in a statement that Mullally’s support for same-sex unions just reaffirmed GAFCON’s position: “This election is a further confirmation that the global Anglican world could no longer accept the leadership of the Church of England and that of the Archbishop of Canterbury.” Mullally’s official installation is scheduled for March. —Bekah McCallum

Pastor convicted

Former Texas megachurch Pastor Robert Morris was handcuffed and taken into custody after pleading guilty on Oct. 2 in Osage County, Okla., District Court to charges that he sexually abused a girl in the 1980s. Morris, 64, admitted to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Under a negotiated plea agreement, he accepted a 10-year suspended sentence, spending the first six months in the county jail. Morris must also register as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in restitution. In June 2024, Cindy Clemishire, 55, publicly accused Morris of sexually abusing her when she was 12. Days later, Morris resigned as senior pastor from Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, after acknowledging a “moral failure” with a “young lady.” In March, after the Oklahoma attorney general’s office investigation, a multicounty grand jury indicted Morris for abusing Clemishire between 1982 and 1985. Prosecutors pursued the case by relying on a provision within state law that pauses the clock on the statute of limitations when a defendant moves out of state. —Mary Jackson

Life support

Acclaimed British author J.K. Rowling no longer supports assisted suicide and is speaking out against her country’s effort to legalize it. She credited her physician husband, Dr. Neil Murray, with opening her eyes to the possibilities of coercion against vulnerable people. Rowling’s announcement came as the U.K.’s House of Lords debated a landmark assisted suicide bill that passed the House of Commons in June. Rowling first expressed concerns about assisted suicide last year, but started actively highlighting the issue on social media this fall. Since 2020, Rowling has also faced severe backlash from her fan base after publicly challenging transgender ideology. —Grace Snell

Road to recovery

Canadian psychologist, author, and speaker Jordan Peterson is out of intensive care after spending nearly a month battling pneumonia and sepsis. His daughter, Mikhaila Peterson, shared the news in an Oct. 4 YouTube video. In her message, she praised God for her father’s improving condition. Peterson also suffered from “a host of neurological issues” believed to have been caused by mold-induced chronic inflammatory response syndrome that apparently worsened after Jordan cleaned out his father’s basement, his daughter said. “We don’t have a better explanation for his neurological symptoms at the moment, other than spiritual attacks,” Mikhaila Peterson added. Although her father’s condition may no longer be critical, Mikhaila Peterson said it’s difficult to predict a timeline for his recovery and asked for prayers. —Bekah McCallum

Understudy

Hollywood is up in arms after Dutch comedian Eline Van der Velden revealed her company is seeking a talent agent for its groundbreaking AI-generated “actress,” Tilly Norwood. At September’s Zurich Film Festival, Van der Velden said her creation has already captured the interest of multiple agents and is the first of many AI projects in the works. Film and TV stars such as Emily Blunt, Natasha Lyonne, and Whoopi Goldberg have blasted the project, and the powerful American actors guild SAG-AFTRA condemned the Tilly Norwood avatar as a character “trained on the work of countless professional performers—without permission or compensation.” —Grace Snell