Autopsy: Drug THC found in Trayvon Martin's system
By the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) - Trayvon Martin had drugs in his system when he was fatally shot earlier this year by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, according to autopsy results released Thursday.
Martin's blood contained THC, which is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, according to an autopsy conducted February 27 - the day after the teenager was shot dead.
Toxicology tests found elements of the drug in the teenager's chest blood - 1.5 nanograms per milliliter of one type (THC), as well as 7.3 nanograms of another type (THC-COOH) - according to the medical examiner's report. There was also a presumed positive test of cannabinoids in Martin's urine. It was not immediately clear how significant these amounts were.
He died from a gunshot wounded to chest fired from "intermediate range," according to the medical examiner's report, which was one of several documents on the case released Thursday by the office of special prosecutor Angela Corey.
Engage: After lawsuit, New York police plan changes to stop-and-frisk policy
Engage with news and opinions from around the web about under-reported stories from undercovered communities.
Commissioner outlines changes after lawsuit against NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy - The New York Times
House narrowly passes partisan Violence Against Women Act - Christian Science Monitor
Census data shows shift in Latino demographic across the country - The Huffington Post
Opinion: Asian-Americans grapple with alternative to affirmative action - San Francisco Chronicle
Alabama legislature passes new immigration bill
By Joe Sutton and Gustavo Valdes, CNN
(CNN) - Alabama lawmakers passed a new bill Wednesday aimed at improving the state's controversial immigration law, but critics said the new measure might make things worse.
Demonstrators protested outside the chambers of the Alabama state House and Senate. Seven of them were arrested, said Justin Cox, staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project.
The Southern Poverty Law Center's legal director was among those arrested, said Marion Steinfels, a representative of the organization.
Police could not be immediately reached for comment.
The center is one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against Alabama's immigration law.
The new immigration bill, known as HB 658, was approved by the state House and Senate Wednesday.
The state's governor will have the final say, with the power to sign the bill into law or veto it.
Census: Fewer white babies being born
By Stephanie Siek and Joe Sterling, CNN
(CNN)– U.S. minorities now represent more than half of America's population under the age of 1, the Census Bureau said, a historic demographic milestone with profound political, economic and social implications.
The bureau - defining a minority as anyone who is not "single race white" and "not Hispanic" - released estimates on Thursday showing that 50.4% of children younger than 1 were minorities as of July 1, 2011, up from 49.5% from the 2010 Census taken in April 2010.
"2011 is the first time the population of infants under age 1 is majority minority," said Robert Bernstein, a Census Bureau spokesman.
The latest statistics - which also count the national population younger than 5 as 49.7% minority in 2011, an increase from 49% in 2010 - portend a future of a more racially diverse America, with new and growing populations playing more important roles politically and economically in years to come, analysts say.
About In America
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
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