Syria's president has opened up a hornet's nest and it's tearing the country apart
Pilgrims from across the Middle East journeyed to Damascus to venerate the skull buried beneath the storied eighth-century Umayyad mosque – a relic Christian and Muslims alike believe belongs to John the Baptist, beheaded to reward Salome for her sensuous dance before Herod Antipas.
The site could scarcely be more apt for cross-community worship. Blending Corinthian columns, Byzantine mosaics and Islamic arches – in a building incorporating a Roman temple and a Christian church – few mosques anywhere are as inclusive.
But harmony has been rare of late.
In June, an Islamist gunman killed 25 worshippers at an Orthodox church in Damascus, opening fire before blowing himself up in the middle of a Sunday service.
A month later, fighters from the new Syrian army stormed the home of Khalid Mezher, an evangelical pastor in southern Syria's Sweida region, murdering him, his parents, his siblings, their young children and even the family dog.
Activists say the attackers were motivated less by Mr Mezher's religious beliefs than by sectarian animosity towards the Druze minority to which he belonged, hundreds of whom were slaughtered in clashes with Sunni Bedouin tribesmen.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's new president, dispatched troops to restore order, some of whom are accused of rounding up Druze and executing them.
It is not the first time sectarian violence has shaken Syria since Mr Sharaa came to power nine months ago. In March, Sunni fighters descended on Syria's Mediterranean coast and massacred hundreds of Alawites, the minority sect of Bashar al-Assad, the dictator who was toppled in December.
Euphoria initially greeted Assad's downfall, uniting communities. But minorities – Alawites, Christians, Druze, Kurds, Ismailis and Shias – now question whether a Syria dominated by its Sunni majority can hold together. To prevent disintegration, many say Mr Sharaa must shed his Jihadi past and become a national leader, rather than merely head of his own Sunni sect.
'After what happened in March, every Alawite is scared,' said Zaki, an IT technician in Tartous, an Alawite port city. 'We don't know when we will next be slaughtered — and we don't trust Sharaa to protect us. It feels like there's no place for Alawites in the new Syria.'
Despite recent bloodbaths, Syria is no longer at war – for now. The Assad regime, which killed perhaps 200,000 civilians and tortured to death at least 15,000 more, is gone.
The United States has led efforts to lift the sanctions that crippled Syria's economy. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have repaid its World Bank loans and pledged billions of pounds in investment. Turkey is helping rebuild the country. Minorities hold cabinet posts in the transitional government and an interim constitution promises inclusion.
Yet as Syria comes under Sunni majority rule for the first time in half a century, sectarian tensions threaten these fragile gains. Many question whether a Sunni-dominated Syria can be both democratic and pluralistic, protecting, its minorities rather than subjugating them.
The weight of history
It may even be that the task facing Mr Sharaa is all but impossible, with some arguing that present-day Syria is doomed to failure by its Western imperial legacy that imprisoned the country within artificial borders, setting it up for failure from the outset.
According to the romantic view, Greater Syria – encompassing present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories – enjoyed a golden era under the Ottoman Empire, with its sects protected by the Sultan.
But in 1916, Britain and France secretly divided the empire's Arab lands under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, giving France modern Syria and Lebanon, and Britain Palestine and Transjordan.
'For minorities it was a zero-sum game,' says Joshua Landis, director of the centre for Middle East studies at the university of Oklahoma. 'New national borders were drawn around people who didn't want to live together.
'In Lebanon, it was the Maronite Christians who got the lion's share of power; in Syria, it was the Alawites who were elevated, allowing them later to take power at the expense of the Sunni majority who were brutally repressed.'
Syrian nationalist Adib al-Shishakli, who seized power in 1949, complained that 'Syria is the current official name for that country which lies within the artificial frontiers drawn up by imperialism'.
Between independence from France in 1946 and 1970, when Hafez al-Assad – Bashar's father – seized power, Syria was ruled by 16 presidents and experienced ten military coups. Many doubted it would survive as a nation-state.
Stability came under Hafez and, initially, Bashar al-Assad, but at enormous cost. They imposed order through violent repression and sectarian manipulation, making minorities dependent on them and leaving most Syrians deeply divided, according to Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute, a think tank in Washington.
'This is the hornet's nest that has been opened up now that Assad is gone,' he says. 'After 14 years of debilitating conflict and a very fragile transition, distrust runs deep across every ethnic, sectarian and political line.'
The sectarian volcano
That distrust has already erupted. In March, Sunni fighters – enraged by years of minority privilege and Assad's wartime brutality – mobilised en masse after pro-Assad insurgents staged attacks on government forces. Up to 200,000 armed Sunnis joined in, many driving across the country after hearing calls to jihad issued in mosques.
In some villages, they filmed themselves forcing their victims to bark like dogs before shooting them dead.
Hundreds of thousands of Alawites fled through corpse-strewn streets and charred towns into Lebanon, which had mostly sheltered Sunni refugees during the war. More than 1,400 people were killed, according to government figures.
Initially Mr Sharaa, once an affiliate of both Islamic State (IS) and al Qaeda, praised the fighters. But he reversed course, calling for peace, ordering an investigation and giving Alawites posts in his government.
He has since won the support of Donald Trump, the US president, who praised Mr Sharaa's toughness and good looks before lifting sanctions on Syria under the prodding of Sunni Arab states in the Gulf.
Calm was restored, but with Syria awash in weapons and vigilantes bent on revenge, low violence persisted and then exploded again in Druze areas last month.
'I don't think Sharaa or the government want these massacres,' says Aaron Zelin of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank. 'But because it can't control everybody that has a weapon, these crises spiral into far greater levels of violence.'
The new army is also clearly unstable. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Mr Sharaa's former militia, has given it a disciplined core, despite its jihadi roots. But other ex-militias, nominally absorbed into the military, act almost autonomously, committing atrocities and defying orders.
They spearheaded last month's bloodshed, executing 182 people, including women and children. Bedouin gunmen joined from across Syria, turning vigilante revenge into another sectarian massacre. Druze and Alawite fighters have also been accused of killing civilians.
Syria thus simmers like a volcano: a vengeful Sunni majority, fearful minorities resentful over lost privileges and a weak state unable to restrain rogue elements bent on destroying the country's fraying cohesion.
An interim constitution adopted in March meant to reassure minorities instead deepened mistrust by requiring the president to be Muslim and making Islamic Sharia the primary source of law – alarming communities deemed apostate by hard-line Sunnis.
'Sunnis are in power now – and many of those in power are real Salafists in the Jihadist tradition,' said Mr Landis. 'Some in the security services regard Druze, Ismailis and Alawites as pagans and therefore guilty of the worst crime in Islam.
'So there are really two Syrias today: the 70 per cent who are Sunni Arabs and the rest. Sunnis are optimistic; minorities are terrified.'
The International Crisis Group, a conflict-monitoring think tank in Brussels, warned last month that minorities are increasingly arming themselves for self-defence, fearing government forces will not protect them.
'The violence deepened a sense of alienation and existential dread among many Syrians,' it wrote. 'If these patterns continue, social relations, the Syrian state's stability and the transition to a post-Assad political order will all be in jeopardy.'
Regional crossfire
Regional powers are adding to the upheaval. Israel has launched airstrikes on Syrian forces, destroying part of the defence ministry in Damascus last month after intervening on behalf of Druze communities.
Israel's motives are partly domestic: its own Druze population serves in the Israeli armed forces under a 'blood covenant' with the Jewish state and has asked it to protect their kinsmen across the border.
Credit: @AJEnglish/X
But its involvement risks deepening sectarian tensions. Israeli troops have seized parts of southern Syria, violating a 1974 disengagement deal brokered by Henry Kissinger. One notable Druze leader, Hikmat al-Hijri, has openly sought Israeli protection, but others fear being branded traitors and sparking further reprisals.
Israel has also courted Kurds in Syria's north-east. For now, the main Kurdish militia, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has struck a deal to integrate into the national army.
Under pressure from Turkey, which recently ended a 40-year war with its own Kurdish rebels, the pact may hold. But spreading sectarian unrest threatens to unravel it, leaving Kurds – who, crucially, guard IS prison camps – wary of marginalisation in a Sunni-dominated Syria.
'There is a crisis of confidence brewing,' says a Kurdish official in the primarily SDF-held city of Qamishli. '[Sharaa] has to decide whether he wants to oppress or defend minorities. If he cannot defend all Syrians then Syria is heading for anarchy. It's his choice.'
Can Syria hold?
Syria's history has rarely been harmonious. Coups, dictatorship and civil war hardened sectarian lines.
Yet the country has survived predicted collapse before – held together not by trust or unity, but by brute force.
Analysts say Mr Sharaa faces a stark choice: continue that tradition by terrorising minorities into submission or attempt something no Syria leader has yet achieved – forging a genuinely inclusive national identity that transcends sect and ethnicity.
Not everyone is convinced he will choose the latter. Mr Landis believes Mr Sharaa is more likely to subjugate minorities rather than share power with them.
But others see reason for hope.
'Syria is going to be very unstable for years to come,' says Mr Lister of the Middle East Institute. 'But the ingredients to reunify the country are all in place. The transitional government is attempting to engage constructively with minority communities.
'Crucially, the US, the Europeans and the wider Middle East – except Israel – are united behind the idea that Syria's central government must control all its territory. That shared vision may be what holds the country together.'
Whether Mr Sharaa can turn that vision into reality will decide more than Syria's borders. It will determine whether a country long defined by sectarian bloodshed can one day return to being the kind of place where Christians and Muslims kneel side by side before an ancient skull, believing, however improbably, that Syria belongs to all of them.
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8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Syria's president has opened up a hornet's nest and it's tearing the country apart
For centuries an old, severed head helped hold Syria together. Pilgrims from across the Middle East journeyed to Damascus to venerate the skull buried beneath the storied eighth-century Umayyad mosque – a relic Christian and Muslims alike believe belongs to John the Baptist, beheaded to reward Salome for her sensuous dance before Herod Antipas. The site could scarcely be more apt for cross-community worship. Blending Corinthian columns, Byzantine mosaics and Islamic arches – in a building incorporating a Roman temple and a Christian church – few mosques anywhere are as inclusive. But harmony has been rare of late. In June, an Islamist gunman killed 25 worshippers at an Orthodox church in Damascus, opening fire before blowing himself up in the middle of a Sunday service. A month later, fighters from the new Syrian army stormed the home of Khalid Mezher, an evangelical pastor in southern Syria's Sweida region, murdering him, his parents, his siblings, their young children and even the family dog. Activists say the attackers were motivated less by Mr Mezher's religious beliefs than by sectarian animosity towards the Druze minority to which he belonged, hundreds of whom were slaughtered in clashes with Sunni Bedouin tribesmen. Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's new president, dispatched troops to restore order, some of whom are accused of rounding up Druze and executing them. It is not the first time sectarian violence has shaken Syria since Mr Sharaa came to power nine months ago. In March, Sunni fighters descended on Syria's Mediterranean coast and massacred hundreds of Alawites, the minority sect of Bashar al-Assad, the dictator who was toppled in December. Euphoria initially greeted Assad's downfall, uniting communities. But minorities – Alawites, Christians, Druze, Kurds, Ismailis and Shias – now question whether a Syria dominated by its Sunni majority can hold together. To prevent disintegration, many say Mr Sharaa must shed his Jihadi past and become a national leader, rather than merely head of his own Sunni sect. 'After what happened in March, every Alawite is scared,' said Zaki, an IT technician in Tartous, an Alawite port city. 'We don't know when we will next be slaughtered — and we don't trust Sharaa to protect us. It feels like there's no place for Alawites in the new Syria.' Despite recent bloodbaths, Syria is no longer at war – for now. The Assad regime, which killed perhaps 200,000 civilians and tortured to death at least 15,000 more, is gone. The United States has led efforts to lift the sanctions that crippled Syria's economy. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have repaid its World Bank loans and pledged billions of pounds in investment. Turkey is helping rebuild the country. Minorities hold cabinet posts in the transitional government and an interim constitution promises inclusion. Yet as Syria comes under Sunni majority rule for the first time in half a century, sectarian tensions threaten these fragile gains. Many question whether a Sunni-dominated Syria can be both democratic and pluralistic, protecting, its minorities rather than subjugating them. The weight of history It may even be that the task facing Mr Sharaa is all but impossible, with some arguing that present-day Syria is doomed to failure by its Western imperial legacy that imprisoned the country within artificial borders, setting it up for failure from the outset. According to the romantic view, Greater Syria – encompassing present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories – enjoyed a golden era under the Ottoman Empire, with its sects protected by the Sultan. But in 1916, Britain and France secretly divided the empire's Arab lands under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, giving France modern Syria and Lebanon, and Britain Palestine and Transjordan. 'For minorities it was a zero-sum game,' says Joshua Landis, director of the centre for Middle East studies at the university of Oklahoma. 'New national borders were drawn around people who didn't want to live together. 'In Lebanon, it was the Maronite Christians who got the lion's share of power; in Syria, it was the Alawites who were elevated, allowing them later to take power at the expense of the Sunni majority who were brutally repressed.' Syrian nationalist Adib al-Shishakli, who seized power in 1949, complained that 'Syria is the current official name for that country which lies within the artificial frontiers drawn up by imperialism'. Between independence from France in 1946 and 1970, when Hafez al-Assad – Bashar's father – seized power, Syria was ruled by 16 presidents and experienced ten military coups. Many doubted it would survive as a nation-state. Stability came under Hafez and, initially, Bashar al-Assad, but at enormous cost. They imposed order through violent repression and sectarian manipulation, making minorities dependent on them and leaving most Syrians deeply divided, according to Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute, a think tank in Washington. 'This is the hornet's nest that has been opened up now that Assad is gone,' he says. 'After 14 years of debilitating conflict and a very fragile transition, distrust runs deep across every ethnic, sectarian and political line.' The sectarian volcano That distrust has already erupted. In March, Sunni fighters – enraged by years of minority privilege and Assad's wartime brutality – mobilised en masse after pro-Assad insurgents staged attacks on government forces. Up to 200,000 armed Sunnis joined in, many driving across the country after hearing calls to jihad issued in mosques. In some villages, they filmed themselves forcing their victims to bark like dogs before shooting them dead. Hundreds of thousands of Alawites fled through corpse-strewn streets and charred towns into Lebanon, which had mostly sheltered Sunni refugees during the war. More than 1,400 people were killed, according to government figures. Initially Mr Sharaa, once an affiliate of both Islamic State (IS) and al Qaeda, praised the fighters. But he reversed course, calling for peace, ordering an investigation and giving Alawites posts in his government. He has since won the support of Donald Trump, the US president, who praised Mr Sharaa's toughness and good looks before lifting sanctions on Syria under the prodding of Sunni Arab states in the Gulf. Calm was restored, but with Syria awash in weapons and vigilantes bent on revenge, low violence persisted and then exploded again in Druze areas last month. 'I don't think Sharaa or the government want these massacres,' says Aaron Zelin of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank. 'But because it can't control everybody that has a weapon, these crises spiral into far greater levels of violence.' The new army is also clearly unstable. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Mr Sharaa's former militia, has given it a disciplined core, despite its jihadi roots. But other ex-militias, nominally absorbed into the military, act almost autonomously, committing atrocities and defying orders. They spearheaded last month's bloodshed, executing 182 people, including women and children. Bedouin gunmen joined from across Syria, turning vigilante revenge into another sectarian massacre. Druze and Alawite fighters have also been accused of killing civilians. Syria thus simmers like a volcano: a vengeful Sunni majority, fearful minorities resentful over lost privileges and a weak state unable to restrain rogue elements bent on destroying the country's fraying cohesion. An interim constitution adopted in March meant to reassure minorities instead deepened mistrust by requiring the president to be Muslim and making Islamic Sharia the primary source of law – alarming communities deemed apostate by hard-line Sunnis. 'Sunnis are in power now – and many of those in power are real Salafists in the Jihadist tradition,' said Mr Landis. 'Some in the security services regard Druze, Ismailis and Alawites as pagans and therefore guilty of the worst crime in Islam. 'So there are really two Syrias today: the 70 per cent who are Sunni Arabs and the rest. Sunnis are optimistic; minorities are terrified.' The International Crisis Group, a conflict-monitoring think tank in Brussels, warned last month that minorities are increasingly arming themselves for self-defence, fearing government forces will not protect them. 'The violence deepened a sense of alienation and existential dread among many Syrians,' it wrote. 'If these patterns continue, social relations, the Syrian state's stability and the transition to a post-Assad political order will all be in jeopardy.' Regional crossfire Regional powers are adding to the upheaval. Israel has launched airstrikes on Syrian forces, destroying part of the defence ministry in Damascus last month after intervening on behalf of Druze communities. Israel's motives are partly domestic: its own Druze population serves in the Israeli armed forces under a 'blood covenant' with the Jewish state and has asked it to protect their kinsmen across the border. Credit: @AJEnglish/X But its involvement risks deepening sectarian tensions. Israeli troops have seized parts of southern Syria, violating a 1974 disengagement deal brokered by Henry Kissinger. One notable Druze leader, Hikmat al-Hijri, has openly sought Israeli protection, but others fear being branded traitors and sparking further reprisals. Israel has also courted Kurds in Syria's north-east. For now, the main Kurdish militia, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has struck a deal to integrate into the national army. Under pressure from Turkey, which recently ended a 40-year war with its own Kurdish rebels, the pact may hold. But spreading sectarian unrest threatens to unravel it, leaving Kurds – who, crucially, guard IS prison camps – wary of marginalisation in a Sunni-dominated Syria. 'There is a crisis of confidence brewing,' says a Kurdish official in the primarily SDF-held city of Qamishli. '[Sharaa] has to decide whether he wants to oppress or defend minorities. If he cannot defend all Syrians then Syria is heading for anarchy. It's his choice.' Can Syria hold? Syria's history has rarely been harmonious. Coups, dictatorship and civil war hardened sectarian lines. Yet the country has survived predicted collapse before – held together not by trust or unity, but by brute force. Analysts say Mr Sharaa faces a stark choice: continue that tradition by terrorising minorities into submission or attempt something no Syria leader has yet achieved – forging a genuinely inclusive national identity that transcends sect and ethnicity. Not everyone is convinced he will choose the latter. Mr Landis believes Mr Sharaa is more likely to subjugate minorities rather than share power with them. But others see reason for hope. 'Syria is going to be very unstable for years to come,' says Mr Lister of the Middle East Institute. 'But the ingredients to reunify the country are all in place. The transitional government is attempting to engage constructively with minority communities. 'Crucially, the US, the Europeans and the wider Middle East – except Israel – are united behind the idea that Syria's central government must control all its territory. That shared vision may be what holds the country together.' Whether Mr Sharaa can turn that vision into reality will decide more than Syria's borders. It will determine whether a country long defined by sectarian bloodshed can one day return to being the kind of place where Christians and Muslims kneel side by side before an ancient skull, believing, however improbably, that Syria belongs to all of them. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword
11 hours ago
Fresh clashes break out in Syria as the interim government struggles to ease tensions
BEIRUT -- New outbreaks of violence overnight into Sunday rocked Syria at two distinct flashpoints, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exert its authority across the whole country. In the north, government-affiliated fighters confronted Kurdish-led forces who control much of the region, while in the southern province of Sweida, they clashed with Druze armed groups. The outbreaks come at a time when Syria's interim authorities are trying to maintain a tense ceasefire in Sweida province after clashes with Druze factions last month, and to implement an agreement with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that would reintegrate large swaths of northeastern Syria with the rest of the country. The Syrian government under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been struggling to consolidate control since he led a surprise insurgency that ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, ending the Assad family's decades-long autocratic rule. Political opponents and ethnic and religious minorities have been suspicious of Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule and cooperation with affiliated fighters that come from militant groups. State state television said clashes between government forces and militias belonging to the Druze religious minority rocked the southern province of Sweida on Saturday after Druze factions attacked Syrian security forces, killing at least one member. The state-run Alikhbaria channel cited an anonymous security official who said the ceasefire has been broken. The Defense Ministry has not issued any formal statement. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said in addition to the member of the security forces killed, one Druze was killed and at least nine others were wounded in the clashes that took place in the in the western part of Sweida province. The Observatory said the clashes took place at the strategic Tal al-Hadeed heights that overlook Daraa province next door. State media says that aid convoys continue to enter Sweida city as a part of a tense truce after over a week of violent clashes in July between Druze militias and armed Bedouin clans backed by government forces. However, humanitarian conditions remain dire, and residents of Sweida have called for the road into the city to be fully opened, saying the aid that has come in is not enough. The clashes that displaced tens of thousands of people came after months of tensions between Damascus and Sweida. The fighting led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze minority, who are now skeptical of peaceful coexistence. Druze militias retaliated against Bedouin communities who largely lived in western areas of Sweida province, displacing many to neighboring Daraa. Elsewhere, in the northern Aleppo province, government-affiliated fighters clashed with the SDF. The Defense Ministry said three civilians and four soldiers were wounded after the SDF launched a barrage of rockets near the city of Manbij 'in an irresponsible way and for unknown reasons." SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami on the other hand said the group was responding to shelling by 'undisciplined factions' within government forces on Deir Haffar, an eastern city in the same province. The eastern part of Aleppo province straddles areas controlled by the government and by the SDF. Though the two are slowly trying to implement a ceasefire and agreement that would integrate the areas under Damascus, tensions remain. 'The Ministry of Defense's attempts to distort facts and mislead public opinion do not contribute to security or stability,' Shami said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. In Quneitra province, in the south, the Israeli military announced it conducted another ground operation in the area that borders the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. It said its troops questioned several suspects they accuse of involvement in weapons trafficking in the village of Hader, and raided four areas where they found weapons being trafficked. Since Assad's ouster, Israel has conducted numerous strikes and military operations in southern Syria, saying its forces are taking out militant groups that they suspect could harm Israelis and residents in the Golan Heights. Damascus has been critical of Israel's military activity, and the two sides have been trying to reach a security arrangement through U.S.-mediated talks. Syria has repeatedly said it does not intend to take military action against Israel. Those talks intensified after Israel backed the Druze in Sweida during the earlier clashes. Israel struck military personnel near the southern city and most notably launched an airstrike targeting the Defense Ministry headquarters in the heart of Damascus.
NBC News
11 hours ago
- NBC News
A Christian college ministry enables a sex offender and Texas Democrats flee to Illinois: Morning Rundown
A Christian college ministry repeatedly failed to stop a convicted sex offender. Texas Democrats flee to Illinois in a showdown with Republicans over redistricting. And an ex-football coach launches a Senate bid in Georgia. Here's what to know today. How a Christian college ministry glorified and enabled a sex offender Daniel Savala, a revered Pentecostal missionary, challenged his young followers to live for Jesus. In a 2023 confession, he revealed religion was just 'a cover' to get them undressed. In a video filmed by his lawyer, Savala described how, for decades, he gained the trust of college students who sought spiritual guidance to sexually exploit them. He would touch their penises and pressure them to touch his, all under the guise of bringing them closer to Jesus. 'He would say things like, 'Hey, you know it's OK to masturbate,'' said Joseph Cleveland, adding that Savala groomed and sexually abused him for a decade beginning in 2004, when he was 15. ''Because we're brothers, we can do it together.'' The pastors who shepherded hundreds of high school and college students to Savala's home were part of Chi Alpha, a Christian ministry that evangelizes on university campuses. The group is run by the Assemblies of God, the world's largest Pentecostal denomination. Savala's ministry collapsed in early 2023 when several men came forward to accuse him and some of his protégés of sexual abuse and exploitation, leading to Savala's arrest and charges for at least six others. As he awaits trial, Assemblies of God leaders have tried to distance themselves, maintaining that Savala was not employed by Chi Alpha and was never credentialed to preach with them. But an NBC News investigation shows that Savala was deeply entrenched in Chi Alpha, hailed by many as a brilliant theologist. The reporting reveals that Assemblies of God leaders — all the way up to the denomination's national superintendent — were warned repeatedly about Savala's troubling history but did not cut off his influence. These failures allowed more children and young men to be abused, the reporting shows. Ministry officials defended Savala in 2012 when was charged with sexually abusing boys as a youth minister in the 1990s. In the decade that followed, multiple whistleblowers tried to alert Assemblies of God that Chi Alpha was exposing students to a sex offender. Again and again, they were dismissed or ignored, NBC News found. Here's what else we know. Assemblies of God church leaders allowed a children's pastor to continue preaching for years after he was accused of sexually abusing girls. Texas Democrats arrive in Illinois to deny GOP a quorum on redistricting In an extraordinary move to counter Republican redistricting in Texas, dozens of Democrats in the state House of Representatives headed to Illinois to deny a necessary quorum for the GOP to move forward with those efforts. Texas Democrats filed off buses and Ubers into a crammed county party headquarters Sunday night, standing alongside Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Pritzker met with the Texas caucus late last month and has directed his staff to provide logistical support for their stay. Last week, Texas Republicans proposed a new congressional map that would give the GOP a path to pick up five seats in next year's midterm elections. The move came after public pressure from Trump as he works to keep a majority in Congress. Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said that he believes about 57 Democrats have left the state, with the bulk staying in Illinois for at least the immediate future. Others are in Boston and Albany, N.Y. 'We will not be complicit in the destruction of our own communities. We're not here to play political games, we're here to demand an end to this corrupt process,' Wu said. In response to their actions, Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to try to remove the Democrats from the state Legislature and said some of them may even be 'felons.' They also face the risk of a $500-a-day fine. More politics news: Federal officials are investigating former special counsel Jack Smith after prominent Republicans alleged his investigations into then-presidential candidate Donald Trump amounted to illegal political activity. As Congress prepares for summer recess, Republicans will try to sell the unpopular 'big, beautiful bill' in their home states, while Democrats are working on their big brand problem. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will once again mention Trump in an exhibit about presidential impeachments. Republican Derek Dooley launches Senate bid to win Ossoff's seat Former college football coach and attorney Derek Dooley launched his bid this morning for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, a prime pick-up opportunity for Republicans next year. Georgia Republicans hope Dooley can win back the seat from Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. It's a major target for the GOP to maintain or expand its slim Senate majority, especially given that Democrats have overperformed in the traditionally red state. Gov. Brian Kemp was pushing Dooley, whose father was a University of Georgia legend, to get into the race. Dooley has hired some of the governor's advisers to consult on his new bid, a source familiar with the campaign launch said. Dooley hopes to bridge the gap between the Kemp wing of the party and MAGA loyalists after Trump sparred publicly with Kemp and other Georgia officials who refused to challenge his 2020 election loss in the state. 'Unlike Ossoff, I'll work with President Trump to implement his agenda, support his Administration, and move our country forward,' Dooley said in a statement. 'I'm not part of the political establishment, and I haven't spent my life climbing the D.C. political ladder.' died at 79, just days before her birthday. This cookware manufacturer is expecting to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in steel and aluminum tariffs this year. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is causing unhealthy air quality across the Midwest and Northeast. Staff Pick: China's swimming prodigy draws praise and a note of caution Swimmer Yu Zidi, 12, has become a global sensation with her history-making race times and her triumph as the youngest-ever medalist at the World Aquatics Championships. But fans and observers at home in China are cautioning against overhyping the young star. They warn that fame can lead to too much pressure, 'toxic' sports fandom and public scrutiny. Our story by Peter Guo and Eve Qiao not only shines light on a talented young athlete, but it raises concerns about the stress that comes with pushing for medals. It's an important reminder that we should take steps to separate achievement from identity, giving young people like Zidi the chance to 'splash slowly into a wave,' as one Chinese outlet said. — Kayla Hayempour, associate platforms editor NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified If you love to pamper your fur baby, consider giving your pup a dental chew. NBC Select's editors rounded up top picks, approved by the veterinary experts. Plus, here's everything vets want you to know about dog food and the best brands to try.
