From NPR News in Washington, I’m Windsor Johnston.

 

　　The Texas Senate has approved legislation to restrict abortion. Before last night’s vote state Senator Donna Campbell, who is also a doctor, said the bill will protect women.

 

　　“I strongly support the pro-life legislation and this legislation that helps promote the safety of women when they’re getting, when they choose an abortion. And I strongly urge the members to vote for this bill.”

 

　　The measure bans most abortions after 20 weeks and imposes tougher standards on abortion clinics. Opponents say most of the clinics that currently offer the procedure will have to close. Republican Governor Rick Perry says he’ll sign the bill into law in the next few days.

 

　　Immigration officials in Russia say they have not received an asylum application from fugitive intelligence analyst Edward Snowden. NPR’s Corey Flintoff reports that a Russian asylum grant for Snowden could worsen relations with the United States.

 

　　Snowden told an invited group of human rights activists and pro-Kremlin officials yesterday that he wants a asylum in Russia while he’s exploring the possibility of moving on to the Latin America. He said that he was willing to meet the conditions set by President Vladimir Putin that he stop publishing material that’s damaging to the United States. But Snowden is wanted in the US for revealing secrets about NSA’s surveillance programs. President Obama is scheduled to visit St. Petersburg and Moscow for a G20 summit in September, and it’s not clear whether that plan could change if Russia gives refuge to Snowden. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, St. Petersburg.

 

　　There’s no indication what caused a fire yesterday on an empty Boeing Dreamliner parked for eight hours at London’s Heathrow Airport. Larry Miller reports that Boeing will be relieved at this time the plane’s batteries appear to be in the clear.

 

　　British Air Accident investigators say there’s no evidence at this stage to link a fire on an Ethiopian airway’s Dreamliner to the plane’s batteries, a problem that grounded Boeing’s fleet of 787s earlier this year. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch says it’s clear the fire damage at the back of the plane was far from where the batteries are located. The cause remains a mystery, and the plane’s been moved to a secure hangar at Heathrow while the investigation takes place. Boeing says it’s working with the British to fully address and understand why the 787 caught fire. US authorities are also taking part in the investigation. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

 

　　Dozens of people are crowded outside of a Sanford, Florida courthouse, waiting for a jury to hand down the verdict in the murder trial of George Zimmerman. The former neighborhood watch volunteer is charged with second-degree murder after he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last year. The six-women jury resumed deliberations this morning after recessing for the day yesterday.

 

　　This is NPR News in Washington.

 

　　Church bells tolled in a lakeside town of Quebec are remembering the 50 people believed killed in last week’s train derailment. The train crash in the middle of the town setting off a series of explosions that destroyed homes, businesses and a bar filled with people. The locomotive and 72 tankers carrying crude oil slammed into the community after rolling down a slope in gathering speed. The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train had been parked overnight a few miles away. Meanwhile, investigators in eastern Canada say it could take months to determine the exact cause of last weekend’s accident. North Country Public Radio’s Brian Mann reports the probe is being slowed by the massive destruction and by heavy contamination.

 

　　Wendy Tadros, head of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board, says her teams are working in an area still thick with oil and chemicals and can only reach about half of downtown Lac-Megantic.

 

　　“There is much we do not know. There are many questions we need to ask and answer. ”

 

　　Crews are still trying to pump tens of thousands of gallons of oil out of wrecked tanker cars, which lie jumbled in the heart of the village. For NPR News, I’m Brian Mann in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

 

　　Officials are planning to use a powerful crane to start lifting smashed train cars off the railway line after a commuter train derailed near Paris last night. Six people are dead and dozens of others were injured. Investigators believe equipment failures to blame. That’s after they found a detached piece of metal in the switching joint on the tracks.

 

　　A third person is confirmed dead after last weekend’s crash landing of a jetliner in San Francisco. Officials say the girl, who was from China, had been listed in critical condition.

 

　　This is NPR News.