Jury of women picked for Zimmerman trial

Jury of women picked for Zimmerman trial

sanford, fla.

A jury of six women was picked Thursday to decide the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood-watch volunteer who says he fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in self-defense.

Prosecutors have said Zimmerman, 29, racially profiled the 17-year-old Martin as he walked back from a convenience store on a rainy night in February 2012 wearing a dark hooded shirt.

Though the court did not release the racial makeup of the jury, the panel appeared to reporters covering jury selection to be made up of five white women and a sixth who may be Hispanic. Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.

Obama to nominate Comey to lead FBI

washington

President Barack Obama today plans to nominate President George W. Bush’s former No. 2 at the Justice Department, James Comey, to lead the FBI as the agency grapples with privacy debates over a host of recently exposed investigative tactics.

If confirmed by the Senate, Comey would serve a 10-year tenure and replace Robert Mueller, who has had the job since the week before the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001. Mueller is set to resign Sept. 4.

VA shows progress on backlog of claims

washington

The Veterans Affairs Department is chipping away at a massive inventory of disability claims for veterans, reducing the number of claims considered backlogged by about 13 percent in recent weeks.

Republican lawmakers are skeptical that the trend will continue, but they’ve been unable to agree on a solution to a problem that has become a major headache for the Obama administration.

The VA pays disability benefits to veterans who are injured or become ill as a result of their active service. For years, veterans have complained that it takes too long for their claims to be resolved.

FDA allows OTC morning-after pill

washington

The morning-after pill is finally going over-the-counter.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved unrestricted sales of Plan B One-Step, lifting all age limits on the emergency contraceptive.

The move came a week after the Obama administration ended months of back-and-forth legal battles by promising a federal judge it would take that step. Women’s health advocates had pushed for easier access to next-day birth control for more than a decade.

It wasn’t clear how quickly Plan B One-Step would move from behind pharmacy counters to sit on drugstore shelves.

Tropical Storm Barry weakens

veracruz, mexico

Tropical Storm Barry weakened to a depression after hitting Mexico’s Gulf Coast on Thursday and forcing the evacuation of four towns near a rain- swollen river.

The second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph in the evening and tropical-storm force gusts were possible along the coast of eastern Veracruz state.

The government of Mexico discontinued the storm warnings for Veracruz but state authorities moved about 1,000 people from along the Rio Bobos in the northern part of the state, which was being hit by more than seven inches of rain.

Associated Press