The week at a glance...United States

Little Colorado River Gorge, Ariz.

Tightrope stunt: High-wire artist Nik Wallenda this week completed an unharnessed tightrope walk across the Little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon. Stepping along a 2-inch cable stretched 1,500 feet above the gorge, the daredevil covered the 1,400-foot distance in just under 23 minutes, pausing and crouching twice as the cable was whipped by 30 mph winds. “Winds are way worse than I expected,” Wallenda was heard saying through his microphone around the six-minute mark, before later exclaiming, “Thank you, Lord. Thank you for calming that cable, God.” The 34-year-old is a seventh-generation member of the famous “Flying Wallendas” circus family, and many of his relatives have died during high-wire stunts. Wallenda said he hopes next to tightrope-walk between the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in New York City.

Austin

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Abortion filibuster: Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis this week became a national hero to feminist pro-choicers by filibustering an anti-abortion bill for nearly 11 hours, helping to block it from becoming law. The bill sought to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and also required that all terminations take place in surgical centers, effectively closing most of the state’s abortion clinics. Davis had hoped to speak long enough to prevent a vote by the Republican-majority assembly before the midnight deadline. But after almost 11 hours of speaking—during which time the 50-year-old wasn’t allowed to sit, lean, eat, drink, pause, or go to the bathroom—Davis received her third warning for going off-topic, ending her filibuster. Egged on by boisterous supporters in the public gallery, other Democrats then used their own delaying tactics. Republicans finally voted in favor of the bill, but not until 12:02 a.m.—too late.

Sanford, Fla.

Zimmerman trial: The trial of neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman got off to a heated start this week as prosecutors opened proceedings by accusing the defendant of being a trigger-happy, wannabe policeman who wanted to “rid the neighborhood of anyone that he believed didn’t belong.” Zimmerman, 29, has been charged with the second-degree murder of black teenager Trayvon Martin, who was killed in February 2012 in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman contends that he shot Martin in self-defense after being viciously attacked by the unarmed 17-year-old. But in his opening statements to the jury of six women—five white and one Hispanic—prosecutor John Guy said that Zimmerman had profiled Martin, followed him, and provoked a fight. In an attempt to show Zimmerman’s intent was hostile, Guy quoted his words to a police dispatcher as he pursued Martin: “F---ing punks. Those a--holes, they always get away.” Defense attorney Don West started his own opening statement with a strange knock-knock joke that fell flat, and then argued that Zimmerman had acted in self-defense after being “sucker-punched in the face” by Martin. The teen, West said, was really not unarmed because he used the concrete sidewalk to pound Zimmerman’s head. Prosecutors called a neighbor who said that she’d seen two figures scuffling and heard an “angry’’ voice and a higher-pitched “boy’s voice’’ scream for help. Martin’s girlfriend testified that he told her on the phone that “a creepy-ass cracker’’ was following him. She said Martin’s last words were: “‘Get off. Get off!’’’

Washington, D.C.

Farm bill defeated: The House of Representatives voted down its own five-year, $500 billion version of the farm bill last week in a 234 to 195 vote. The surprise rejection represents a stinging defeat for Speaker John Boehner, who had personally pushed for the bill’s passage but ultimately failed to rally the right wing of his Republican party. The House version of the bill proposed $2 billion worth of annual food stamp cuts—significantly more than the $400 million a year of cuts in the Senate bill, which passed with a two-thirds majority in early June. Democrats opposed the House version because they thought those cuts went too far, while 62 anti-spending Republicans argued that they didn’t go far enough and joined Democrats to defeat the bill.

Boston

Markey elected: Democratic Rep. Edward Markey was elected to fill Secretary of State John Kerry’s Senate seat for Massachusetts this week after defeating Republican Gabriel Gomez in a special election. Markey had led every poll in the deeply blue state since the primaries. Still, Democrats feared a repeat of the 2010 special election that saw Republican Scott Brown end three straight decades of Democratic senators from the state. Markey outspent Gomez by more than $3 million, and stars of the Democratic Party, including President Obama and former President Bill Clinton, campaigned on his behalf. While Democrats are claiming Markey’s win as a resounding victory, Republicans are confident they can defeat him in 2014. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the election only “marks the end of the first mile in the marathon to permanently fill the Massachusetts Senate seat.”