10 things you need to know today: July 14, 2013

Supporters of Trayvon Martin assembled in front of the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center for the verdict to be announced in the George Zimmerman murder trial on July 13 in Sanford, Flor

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

1. PROTESTERS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST ZIMMERMAN'S ACQUITTAL

Protesters angered by the acquittal of George Zimmerman held largely peaceful demonstrations in three California cities, a handful of cities in Florida, as well as in Atlanta, Washington, and New York. The gatherings Saturday night ranged from a few dozen to a couple hundred people turning out to protest the verdict in the Florida courtroom. Zimmerman readily acknowledges that he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, but said he did so in self-defense. [New York Times]

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Texas' Republican-controlled Senate overturned a temporary victory by state Democrats and state Sen. Wendy Davis, passing a restrictive abortion bill two weeks after the legislature failed to put the restrictions to a successful vote in its first special session. The bill would ban most abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy, place new requirements on which facilities could perform the procedures, and limit a woman’s ability to induce an abortion by taking a pill. [NBC News]

Hazem el-Beblawi, a 76-year-old liberal economist who was appointed Egypt's interim prime minister last week, is assembling his cabinet to restore civil rule in the country under a temporary constitution until elections in about six months. Meanwhile, Egypt's public prosecutor's office says it is investigating complaints against ousted President Mohamed Morsi and members of the Muslim Brotherhood. [Reuters, BBC]

According to Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), George Zimmerman should have never been prosecuted and President Obama became needlessly involved in the case. "The evidence didn't support prosecution and the Justice Department engaged in this, the president engaged in this and turned it into a political issue that should have been handled exclusively with law and order," King said on Fox News Sunday. [Politico]

British investigators said "there is no evidence" that lithium-ion batteries caused the fire that damaged a parked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 at London's Heathrow International Airport on Friday, but they didn't indicate what sparked the flames. In a four-paragraph release Saturday, the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it may take several days to determine the cause of the fire. [Wall Street Journal]

Cory Monteith, a Canadian actor best known for his work on Glee, was found dead Saturday in a Vancouver hotel room. The 31-year-old's body was discovered at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel shortly after noon. He was due to check out on Saturday; when he failed to do so, the staff went into the room. The authorities said Monteith was alone at the time of his death, and there appeared to be no foul play. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday. [Huffington Post]

Terri is a freelance writer at TheWeek.com. She's a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and has worked at TIME and Brides. You can follow her on Twitter.

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