QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We look forward to the day the preliminary injunction in this case becomes permanent.” Betty Cockrum, president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana,after the Supreme Court refused to hear Indiana’s defense of a blocked law banning all Medicaid funds to organizations that perform abortions Article, this page
Motions denied in Trayvon Martin case
MIAMI - Defense lawyers for George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, will be barred from mentioning Martin’s marijuana use, fighting or high school suspension during opening statements in Zimmerman’s trial, which begins June 10.
At a hearing in Seminole County court, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson denied a string of defense motions Tuesday that sought to portray Martin as a troubled teenager with a propensity for fighting and an interest in guns. Prosecutors argued that the evidence has nothing to do with the seven minutes that led to Martin’s death on Feb. 26, 2012. Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, was killed by Zimmerman, who said he shot the teenager in self-defense.
Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Zimmerman, argued in court that Martin’s drug use could have made him more aggressive and paranoid, traits that could have prompted him to attack Zimmerman.
The judge also ruled that the jury pool, which could number 500, would not be sequestered during jury selection. She has not yet ruled on whether jurors who are chosen for the trial should be sequestered.
Colorado passes rules for ‘pot’ industry
DENVER - A set of laws to govern how recreational marijuana should be grown, sold and taxed was signed into law Tuesday in Colorado, where Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper called the laws the state’s best attempt to navigate the uncharted territory of legalized recreational pot.
The laws cover how the drug should be raised and packaged, with purchasing limits for out-of-state visitors and a new marijuana driving limit as an analogy to blood-alcohol levels. Hickenlooper didn’t support marijuana legalization last year, but he praised the regulatory package as a good first crack at safely overseeing the drug.
“Recreational marijuana is really a completely new entity,” Hickenlooper said, calling the rules “common sense” oversight, such as potency labeling and a requirement that marijuana be sold in child-proof opaque packaging with labels clearly stating the drug might not be safe.
Colorado voters approved recreational marijuana as a constitutional amendment last year. The state allows adults older than 21 to possess as much as an ounce of the drug.
Adults can grow as many as six plants or buy marijuana in a retail store, which are to open in January.
The governor said Tuesday that he believes that the federal government will soon respond to the fact that Colorado and Washington state are in violation of federal drug law, but Hickenlooper didn’t have a specific idea of when.
5 dead in car crash thought to be teens
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Five people killed in a fiery California crash that split a car in half were believed to be teenagers from the Irvine area, but the coroner was still trying to confirm the identity of one victim, authorities said Tuesday.
The names of the three female victims and two male victims killed in the Monday afternoon wreck were expected to be released soon, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County sheriff’s office.
The Infiniti sedan carrying the five people veered off a road at about 5:20 p.m. and hit a tree, said Kathy Lowe, Newport Beach police spokesman. The impact split the car, and it caught fire, she said.
“It was a horrific accident,” Lowe said, adding that investigators were on the scene for nearly 12 hours overnight.
Speed was believed to be a factor in the wreck, she said.
Some cruise takers back in U.S. after fire
BALTIMORE - Passengers whose cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas was cut short by an onboard fire began arriving in Baltimore on charter flights from the Bahamas on Tuesday afternoon, with many praising the response of the company and crew.
“I’ll never go on any other cruise line,” said Craig Dzubak, 26, of Pittsburgh, who was on his first cruise. “They couldn’t have handled it any better.” He said he and his wife, Chelsea, were planning their next cruise while on the flight home.
Reuben Byrd, the vice president of the Grand Bahama Shipyard, said the ship would be repaired at his facility, though a full assessment of damage hadn’t been done yet.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate. Safety board spokesman Eric Weiss said the agency has sent a senior investigator to the Bahamas.
The fire began at 2:50 a.m. Monday and was extinguished about two hours later, with no injuries reported. Photos show a substantial area of the stern burned on several decks of the ship.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 05/29/2013