Human Race: Massacre in Syria

Minorities in Syria became targets of a slaughter over several days in early March, with armed militants killing more than 1,300 people, mostly civilians. The dead were primarily Alawites living in the coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces, although victims also included Murshidi and Christian minorities. Videos posted online showed gruesome assassinations, streets strewn with bodies, and entire families and young children murdered in their homes.

Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, aka Abu Mohammed al-Golani, and his HTS group ousted long-ruling dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. Since then, Syria’s minorities have feared retribution despite al-Sharaa’s assurances that his government would respect the rights of religious and ethnic groups. The Alawites and Murshidis are Muslim minorities viewed as heretical by the Sunni Muslim majority. Syrian Christians communities asserted that Christians hadn’t been specifically targeted in the attacks, though some were among the dead. Human rights observers blamed both Assad-allied militants and government forces for the killings.

Al-Sharaa condemned the killing of civilians and promised to investigate, but critics remained skeptical of promised protections. HTS was originally aligned with al-Qaeda, and many observers believe al-Sharaa still holds to his extremist roots, despite his public calls for political moderation in the war-torn country whose territories are still controlled by competing factions.

Soldiers indicted

The Department of Justice on March 6 announced the arrests of two U.S. Army soldiers for allegedly revealing sensitive military secrets, including providing national security information to China. The government says Sgt. Jian Zhao got at least $15,000 from a China-based contact for agreeing to provide secret and top secret computer hard drives and images of sensitive documents. Zhao allegedly tried to sell an encryption computer, rocket-system data, and information about U.S. capabilities against China. Meanwhile, 1st Lt. Li Tian allegedly gave sensitive information about Army vehicles to Ruoyu Duan, a former soldier who was also arrested. —Todd Vician

Pastor sentenced

Matthew Queen, a former Southern Baptist pastor and seminary professor, was sentenced on March 5 to six months of house arrest after confessing he lied to federal investigators in a case involving alleged sexual abuse. Judge Lewis Kaplan also ordered one year of probation for Queen and a $2,000 fine, concluding the case out of federal court in the Southern District of New York. Although not accused of abuse himself, Queen, 49, a former professor and administrator at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty in October to a felony criminal charge that he falsified records tied to a Department of Justice investigation into abuse allegations at the seminary. —Mary Jackson

Canada’s new PM

Former Goldman Sachs executive Mark Carney was in line to become Canada’s next prime minister after winning 86% of the vote in the Liberal Party’s leadership elections March 9, ending Justin Trudeau’s nine-year tenure. Carney weathered the 2008 financial crisis as governor of the Bank of Canada and went on to become the first non-Brit to head the Bank of England. Canada’s Liberal Party trailed conservatives in the polls in mid-January, but Liberals experienced a resurgence in popular support after the Trump administration levied tariffs on Canada. Carney’s supporters championed his economic experience. He is only the second Canadian to become prime minister without first holding a seat in Parliament. Carney was expected to hold snap elections shortly after taking office. —Addie Offereins

Martin mystery

On March 7, officials recovered part of a car suspected to belong to an Oregon family missing for nearly 70 years. In 1958, Ken and Barbara Martin took their three daughters—Barbara, 14; Virginia, 13; and Sue, 11—on a mountain drive to hunt for Christmas greenery. The family never returned, and police theorized they must have careened off the road into some remote canyon. Five months later, the bodies of the two youngest Martin girls surfaced in the Columbia River. Police never found the others. Hood River County deputies found no human remains in the vehicle but said they would send the wreck to a warehouse for forensic analysis. —Grace Snell

Highway hero

DeSoto County, Miss., Deputy Brian Brock risked his life to stop a speeding wrong-way vehicle while patrolling I-269, a beltway around Memphis, Tenn., on March 4. Brock, 35, used his department SUV to block the driver after her vehicle narrowly missed several cars in its path. DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle praised the deputy’s action: “He made the decision to pull into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The hardest choices require the strongest will.” Brock sustained injuries in the near-head-on collision, but the driver, who allegedly reached speeds of more than 70 miles per hour during the incident, did not. She faces DUI and assault charges. —Kim Henderson 

Tates in the states

Legal woes continue to mount for controversial former kickboxer and social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan. On March 4, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a criminal investigation into the brothers. He did not specify the nature of the investigation. The Tates arrived in Florida on Feb. 27 after Romania lifted a travel ban following their 2022 arrest on charges including rape and human trafficking. The brothers, who are U.S.-U.K. dual citizens, also face accusations of rape in the U.K. They deny all the allegations. Andrew Tate is a self-proclaimed “misogynist” who bragged about beating women to his large online following. Uthmeier said the Florida investigation was “still ongoing” even after Andrew Tate announced March 6 he was leaving the state. —Emma Freire