Partiologist xxx was doing rounds when the first shell hit the hospital. We all dove to he floor then moved toward the lobby, he said. Then more shells hit the hospital. Later we managed to transfer some patients to other hospitals but there were shelling all around, he said.

xxx had been heading toward the hospital for safety when it was hit. He took his family to a relative's house instead. He worries about what's next. If things go worse, where else can we go? I think there is no place, no other safe place. Emily Harris, NPR News, Gaza.

President Obama has signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors and the federal government from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. NPR's Mara Liasson has more the new protections for lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender ploys.

The president's order applies to about 28 million workers, one -fifth of the US work force. There is a bill in Congress that would extend the band to all work places. The Senate passed it by a big 64 to 32 vote majority. The president urged LGBT advocates to push the House of Representatives to do the same.

I'm gonna do what I can, with the authority I have, to act. The rest of you, of course, need to keep putting pressure on Congress to pass federal legislation that resolves this problem once and for all. 

The president decided not to include an exemption for contractors with religious affiliations. The move the LGBT activists considered a great achievement. However, religiously affiliated contractors are still allowed to discriminate in favor of workers of their own faith. Mara Liasson, NPR News, the White House.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is announcing plans to deploy up to 1000 Texas National Guard troops along its state's border with Mexico, which was part of the effort to boost the state's security xxx immigrants that would be pouring into the country illegally. John Nichols is the adjutant general with the Texas' National Guard.

We are gonna help them detect and prevent criminals from infiltrating to the international border. And then we are also gonna help ensure the safety of our fellow Texas.

Texas officials say the National Guards's deployment is needed because of inactivity on the part of the White House.

Nation's No.2 tobacco company R. J. Reynolds is down in a fight verdict from a Florida jury awarding 26.3 billion dollars as punitive damages to a widow of smoker who died of lung cancer. R. J. Reynolds Company executive Jeffery Raborn calling the damages grossly excessive, xxx the lawyer representing the woman who dies says the verdict sends a powerful message tobacco makers, they can not continue to lie addictiveness and deadly chemicals in their cigarettes.

Stocks after posting gains Friday ??? move the other way to begin the new week. The Dow was down 48 points to 17051. The NASDAQ drops 7 points today. You are listening to NPR.

A friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaeve has been convicted of impeding the investigation into the incident, as xxx found guilty today of obstruction of justice and conspiracy for xxx with another friend who had moved a backpack from Tasarnaeve's dorm room that contained empty fireworks and several... days after the 2013 attack. xxx's brother who died in a shootout with police xxx explosives xxx the finish line. The detonated killing 3 people wounding more than 260 others.

Senate's xxx would like a takeoff to a short-term xxx to the highway trust fund this week. xxx congress transfer the money into the aacount because road projects all over the country could slow even come to a halt next month. NPR's xxx explains Transportation Secretariat xxx is urging Congress to pass a long-term solution.

In remarks to the national press club, Fox likened the current proposal to xxx 10 month xxx the funding to a xxx for loose change.

Our xxx is running out of mattresses, out of xxx seats and rocks to look under, to xxx for just a little while longer.

Fox' xxx North Carolina xxx joined the Obama administration. He says short-term patches make long-term projects difficult to plan.

With the 10-month patch you don't know what's on the other xxx in that 10 months. And that's the problem we have in our xxx system right now.

The republican-led House has already passed its 10-month of the highway trust fund. Democrats-controlled Senate hoped to pass the extention this week but worried that it could get bogged down in an argument over proposed changes. xxx, NPR News, the Capitol.

Global heat wave appears to be continuing at least during the month of June according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration last month. Average global temperature was around 61.2 degrees, 1.3 degrees warmer than the 20th century average.

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.