NPR 2012-04-13

 Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman made his first appearance before a Florida court this afternoon. He is facing second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman's exchanged with Judge Mark Herr with brief.

 
“You are appearing here for your first appearances, first appearance at this time for a charge of murder in the second degree, and you are represented by Mr. O'Mara. Is that true?” 
 
“Yes, sir.”
 
NPR's Greg Allen reports today's hearing was short and did not get into the question of bail 1 for Zimmerman.
 
The hearing today was very brief. It's what they called his first court appearance, and just so he could hear the charges against him. He won't be formally arraigned 2 until the end of May. That's more than a month away. So he’ll be in the Seminole County Jail for much of that time. Between now and then, Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara says he will ask for a bail hearing and will see what happens at that point. That will happen in a couple of weeks, probably. It's not clear yet whether the prosecutors 3 will oppose bail or not. They wouldn't say today. They said they’ll cross that bridge when they get there.
 
Earlier today, Tryavon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton told NBC that she believes the shooting of her son was an accident after things got out of hand.
 
Saying it is time for a fundamental change of course, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the Syrian government and opposition 4 forces to observe a ceasefire and adhere to a six-point plan to bring peace to the country.
 
“The world is watching, however, with skeptical 5 eyes, since many promises previously 6 made by the government had not been kept.”
 
With the exception of only scattered 7 violence, Ban says Syria does appear to be calm today since the ceasefire took place. 
 
More homes in the US are entering the foreclosure process. NPR's Chris Arnold reports the jump in foreclosure activity follows a recent settlement between banks and state and federal regulators.
 
Until this 25-billion-dollar settlement back in February, banks and other lenders were sitting on a growing mountain of delinquent 8 mortgages. Now that the deal’s been struck, banks have once again been pushing ahead with foreclosures. At least that's what the latest data from the firm Realty Trac would suggest. The number of homes that received first-time foreclosure notices rose 7% in March. Many economists 9 expect that several million more homes will come on the market through foreclosures or other distressed 10 sales. That gluts 11 the housing market with too many homes, and it can push down prices, though lately it has been pushed by some investors 12 to buy up thousands of these properties in bulk and convert them into rental 13 homes. Chris Arnold, NPR News.
 
After weeks of steady declines, applications for jobless benefits jumped last week. The Labor 14 Department says unemployment claims increased 13,000 to a seasonally 15 adjusted average of 380,000.
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 178 points today at 12,978. Three billion shares have been traded. The NASDAQ Composite Index is up 40 points at 3,056, and the S&P 500 is also up today and trading 18 points at 1,387.
 
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Natural gas prices are now at their lowest levels in more than ten years, and analysts 16 say supply is growing so fast that underground storage facilities could be full by the end of the year. New technologies are allowing producers to tap untapped gas reserves. 
 
The Coast Guard is investigating reports of an oil sheen in the Gulf 17 of Mexico. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports a patch of surface oil is near wells operated by Shell.
 
The Coast Guard is sending a helicopter to the site, some 130 miles southeast of New Orleans. Petty Officer Bill Colclough says a pollution officer will examine what's been reported as a “light sheen” on the Gulf.
 
“It is a rainbow sheen in dimensions over approximately one mile by ten miles in length.”
 
Shell Oil has also dispatched a skimmer vessel 18 to the scene for cleanup and to investigate the source of the oil. The company says there’s no indication the sheen originated from its wells. But it's sending a response ship as a precaution. The sheen is about 50 miles from the site of the Deepwater Horizon explosion two years ago, which killed 11 rig workers and spewed some 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.
 
Jury selection is underway in the trial of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. He’s accused of using campaign funds to hide an affair. The North Carolina judge in the case says the question is whether Edwards violated campaign finance laws, not whether he was a good husband. 
 
New York City officials say in the end it was only a toy grenade. But for about an hour and a half today, its discovery in a package prompted the evacuation of Two World Trade Center. That building was heavily damaged by falling debris 19 during the 2001 terrorist attacks.
 
I'm Jim Howard, NPR News in Washington.