Thursday is an important day in the George Zimmerman trial. A key witness for the prosecution, 19 year old Rachel Jeantal, is back on the stand for another round of questioning. She was the last person to speak with Trayvon Martin before he was killed. We’ll have live coverage of the trial and analysis of the proceedings.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition. Early Thursday morning President Obama called Mandela a “hero for the world” during a speech in Senegal. After Senegal, President Obama will travel to South Africa as part of a week long diplomatic trip on the continent.
The federal government is already in the process of reviewing statutes and regulations that will need to be changed after the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down on Wednesday, but that hasn’t stopped some republican congressman from opposing the Supreme Court’s ruling. One congressman has already pledged to reintroduce a bill banning gay marriage. The Atlantic’s Molly Ball and the National Journal‘s Reid Wilson discuss what lies ahead post-DOMA.
And the Texas state legislature s set to reconvene for a second special session to debate what is being called the strictest abortion law in the country. The bill was defeated the first time around thanks to a nearly 13 hour filibuster by Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis. We’ll have the latest on this controversial bill that has drawn national attention.
John Axelrod