NPR News

One year ago Tuesday, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Fla., — a death that would reignite the national debate about race relations and raise questions about the “stand your ground” laws on the books in Florida and 29 other states.

John Kerry sets off Sunday on his first foreign trip as secretary of state, visiting Europe and the Middle East.

There is speculation about a last minute settlement. But if that doesn’t happen, a federal judge in New Orleans will today begin hearing arguments about BP’s liability for the 2010 oil rig explosion and spill in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 men and led to one of the biggest environmental disasters in the nation’s history.

The Pentagon has halted the testing of its entire fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. At an estimated cost of $400 billion, it is the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program.

The Obama administration is following through on its relatively new-found support of gay marriage. On Friday, the administration filed a legal brief with the Justice Department that urges the Supreme Court to strike down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act.

The meteor that caused at least 1,000 injuries in Russia after a startling and powerful daytime explosion one week ago has been identified as a chondrite.