Zimmerman jurors leave after eventful day
SANFORD, Fla. – Jurors in the George Zimmerman trial are leaving the courtroom after an eventful day.
Prosecutors rested their case Friday, a day in which Zimmerman’s mother and Trayvon Martin’s mother each testified that it was her son, not the other woman’s, who can be heard screaming for help on a 911 call.
Judge Debra Nelson denied a request by defense attorneys to acquit Zimmerman of second-degree murder after prosecutors rested.
Defense attorney Mark O’Mara argued that the state didn’t prove its case, and that Zimmerman was acting in self-defense.
Prosecutor Richard Mantei told the judge Zimmerman was a liar and had changed his story.
Fireworks accident injures more than 30
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – As many as 10,000 Fourth of July revelers were just settling into their seats for the fireworks show at a Simi Valley park when a bright plume of red and white bursts spread across the ground, injuring more than 30 people and sending others fleeing for safety.
Police in the city northwest of Los Angeles were still investigating what caused Thursday night’s explosion. They said the cause was still unknown, although they had earlier indicated it appeared a firework detonated prematurely in its mortar, knocking over a row of others.
A view of the scene from a distance Friday morning showed groups of mortars held vertically in box-like wooden structures sitting on the ground. In front of them, a number of mortar tubes lay horizontally scattered on the ground. Cellphone videos captured fireworks exploding in spheres of sparks close to the ground, with smoke and people screaming.
The victims ranged in age from 8 to 78 years old, Sgt. Tom Meyer said. A total of 20 people were taken by ambulance to area hospitals. Four suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.
One police officer who ran into the crowd when the blasts occurred had shrapnel tear through his leather belt and his clothing, Shannon said. He had minor injuries to his back.
Wis. abortion bill requires ultrasound
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker quietly signed a contentious Republican bill Friday that would require women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound and ban doctors who lack admitting privileges at nearby hospitals from performing the procedures.
Opponents contend legislators shouldn’t force women to undergo any medical procedure and the bill will force at least two abortion clinics where providers lack admitting privileges to shut their doors.
The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the bill in mid-June. Walker, a Republican, could have chosen to sign it at any time since then but decided to do it Friday in the middle of the long Fourth of July holiday weekend. The measure’s opponents accused him of trying to bury news of the signing.
Walker did not sign the bill in public, instead issuing a press release early in the afternoon including the bill in a list of 17 other measures he signed earlier the day.
Associated Press
