To save them from being assaulted but in fact they take them away and attack them again. Suarez we update the investigation into the fiery explosion of an Oil Tanker Train that derailed in the canadian province of quebec with 50 people now confirmed or presumed dead. Sreenivasan and paul solman goes out of this world and into a virtual one to experience the holy grail of video games. So now what am i doing . Basically youre going to fly around like superman and youll take off by putting your arms over your head. Oh, my god oh, my god suarez thats all ahead on tonights newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Sreenivasan the end game began today in a racially charged, nationally watched trial in sanford, florida. At issue whether George Zimmerman committed murder when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. The prosecution made its closing arguments, after the judge issued a key ruling on what the jurys options will be. A teenager is dead. He is dead through no fault of his own. He is dead because another man made assumptions. Sreenivasan the final phase of the trial began this afternoon, as prosecutor bernie de la rionda addressed the jury a last time. Unfortunately this is one of the last photos that will ever be taken of Trayvon Martin. And that is true because of the actions of one individual, the man before you, the defendant George Zimmerman. Sreenivasan zimmerman had been on patrol, as a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, when he spotted 17yearold teenager Trayvon Martin in a gated community the night of february 26, last year. Zimmerman called 911. Sreenivasan but he did continue trailing martin, and a confrontation erupted. He says he shot martin in self defense after the teenager attacked him. De la rionda insisted today that zimmerman went looking for trouble. Why does the defendant get out of car if he thinks this guy is threat. Why, why . Because he has a gun, he has an equalizer, hes going to take care of it. Hes a wannabe cop. Hes going to take care of it, hes got a gun and, my god, it is his community. And hes not going to put up with it. Sreenivasan from the start, racial overtones catapulted the case to National Attention and triggered protests. And in its closing, the prosecution claimed again that zimmerman profiled martin. In this particular case, it led to death of innocent 17 yearold boy. Because this defendant made the wrong assumption. He profiled him as a criminal. He assumed certain things that trayvon was up to no good and thats what led to his death. Sreenivasan during the trial, judge debra nelson forbade use of the term racial profiling or any arguments about it. Instead, the major conflicts in testimony centered on such issues as who had the upper hand in the fight. Yesterday, lawyers on both sides used a foam dummy to demonstrate their version of what happened. A forensic pathologist testified the evidence suggests Trayvon Martin was on top during the struggle. So the wou itself, by the gap by the powder tattooing in the face of the contact of the clothing, indicates that this is consistent with mr. Zimmermans account that mr. Martin was over him, leaning forward at the time he was shot. Sreenivasan but eyewitness accounts varied. Some neighbors recall seeing martin on top; others, zimmerman. There were also arguments over who made the cry for help on a 911 recording during the fight. Martins mother testified it was her sons voice. Maam, that screaming or yelling, do you recognize that . Yes. And who do you recognize that to be, maam . Trayvon benjamin martin. If it was your son in fact screaming as you testified, that would suggest that it was mr. Zimmermans fault that led to his death, correct. Correct. Sreenivasan but zimmermans mother claimed the opposite, saying the scream came from her son. What im sure is that thats georges voice. That scream is. Is. I havent heard him like that before. The anguish in that scream that hes the way that hes screaming it describes to me anguish, fear. I would say terror. Sreenivasan in the end, zimmerman chose not to testify in his own behalf. Along the way, the judge granted defense requests to allow test results showing martin had trace amounts of marijuana in his system on the night of the shooting. But she barred testimony about martins past text message records, some of which discussed fighting and guns. And today, she ruled that in addition to the original charge of Second Degree murder, the jury will be allowed to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter. Defense closing arguments are set for tomorrow, and then, the case will go to the sixperson, allfemale jury. Suarez we turn to Yamiche Alcindor who has been following this trial for usa today and was in the courtroom today. That haves where you heard the prosecutions closing argument. Summarize the summation. What evidence did bernie de la rionda ask the jury to consider in his final shot . His overall statements were that Trayvon Martin was an innocent kid, that he was walking home and that he was doing nothing wrong. So the evidence he used were really the things that Trayvon Martin was carrying. He talked about the skittles, the iced tea that the countrys been talking about for over a year and hi said these are not weapons. That this was just someone walking homele from the store. He also used Trayvon Martins body saying that trayvon didnt have blood on his hands. He pointed to d. N. A. Evidence that said there was no prints and no d. N. A. Found on the gun. So that was find of how he used the evidence but his mainingment was that this was a kid that was walking home and it could have been avoided if George Zimmerman hadnt stopped and gotten out of his car. Suarez with a charge of Second Degree murder, the state carries a heavy burden. It has to demonstrate ill will, malicious intent. What could prosecutor de la rionda point to before the jury today that showed that kind of malicious intent . Well, it was really interesting. Prosecutor de la rionda really used George Zimmermans own statements as an outline for his closing argument. He used statements from zimmerman to police in this police walk through as well as on the night of the shootinging. And he also used zimmermans call to police when he spotted Trayvon Martin. He had the jury listen to George Zimmerman say several times use the word aholes and effing punks and say the people he was talking about, those aholes after he had shot Trayvon Martin he said there were people victimizing his neighborhood. This is, of course, after the shooting so the prosecutor really tried to use zimmermans own words against him and spent a lot of time letting the jury listen to him and letting him almost say the case for himself and almost convict himself in his own words. Suarez tomorrow well hear the defenses final argument. Tell us about the thrust of their case. The same two principals Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. What have have they been telling the jury over the past week . The defenses case is that George Zimmerman was a good neighbor. That he was involved in his neighborhood, that he started the Neighborhood Watch because there were real burglaries going on, that he was being a good person, a good citizen and that in the middle of him being a good citizen he came upon Trayvon Martin who overreacted and who punched him, sucker punched him and who then attacked him to the point that he had to use deadly force. So their case is simple that George Zimmerman was doing nothing wrong and that Trayvon Martin almost that Trayvon Martin really beat him and because of that he had no other choice, no other option than to shoot the teen. Suarez earlier in the day the public saw but the jury didnt very Tense Exchanges between the attorneys and the judge about what would be allowed in the closing arguments and about what ultimately the jury would be able to consider as far as charges of guilt or innocence. Tell us about some of those deliberations. So the judge and don west, which is one of zimmermans attorneys, tensions were really, really high. During several hearings don west would be arguing with the judge after she made her ruling. At one point when we were actually in court for 13 hours one day debra nelson, judge debra nelson walked out as don west was still talking. He was still trying to make an argument and she recessed the court and don west kept on talking. Today i think ive seen probably the most Tense Exchange after when she said ive told you several times and provided you the guidelines to professional behavior in my courtroom and you continue to not follow them. But i dont really see her making the using that in any way against the defense. Shes still said that the prosecutors couldnt use third degree murder today. She made several different rulings in the defenses favor in terms of the jury instructions. So though shes tense with don west, shes still making rulings in the defense of in favor of the defense. Suarez during the trial, there are particular witnesses, particular examinations where the jury which you were able to observe at close quarters was engaged . Paying more attention . That seemed to be catching their interest . I think any time you had the lawyers or people or other witnesses actually acting out what could have happened that was when the jury was most interested. There were times when the jury stood up, even today when prosecutor de la rionda was on a mannequin straddling, asking how could Trayvon Martin have gotten the gun, i think the jury was very visual, is they really liked being able to see things and seeing all the different possibilities. They were also very attentive whenever video was played for them. But when there was scientific testimony i could see some juries kind of looking around, scanning the room. Thats when i think things started getting into the weeds and jurors werent following along as closely. Suarez well, tomorrow, as i mentioned, well hear the defense summation but also instructions to the jury and there was a lot of contention during the trial about what the jury will be told to consider. What the k you tell us about that . I know that there was definitely a lot of backandforth. I can tell you that the jury will not be hearing that its not illegal to follow someone. Zimmermans had really sought to put that in there and the judge decided that she wasnt going to tell the jury that its not illegal to follow someone. She also said she wouldnt put any language in there about George Zimmerman provoking Trayvon Martin, even though its still their decision whether or not thats true, shes not going to mention that issue at all. Those are the things that i picked up on. Suarez thanks for joining us. Still to come on the newshour a liberal democratic voice on immigration; attacks on women in egypts Tahrir Square; Unanswered Questions after the canadian train crash and a new level for video games. But first, the other news of the day. Heres hari sreenivasan. Sreenivasan the u. S. House narrowly passed a scaleddown farm bill today, after dropping food stamps from the measure. The vote was 216 to 208. An earlier version failed last month when more than 60 republicans opposed it. They argued for deeper cuts in food stamps, which cost 80 billion a year out of total farm spending of 100 billion a year. Texas republican Pete Sessions and others said today food stamps can wait, but farm programs cant. In no way is the Republican Party trying to do anything more in this bill thats on here today other than to bifurcate and to pass pieces of legislation that then can go to conference but we have to find a way to pass the bill. The senate has done their work and finished their work. We are trying to do the same. Sreenivasan democrats strongly opposed the strippeddown bill, as did farm groups and even some conservative groups. Congressman jim mcgovern of massachusetts condemned republicans for putting off action on food stamps. Its all about going after americans who are struggling in poverty. Its all about denying the working poor the right to food. So when were asked to trust republican leaders, to give them the benefit of the doubt, i cant. Trust is something that is earned and the behavior of this Republican House towards programs that help the working poor, the needy, and the vulnerable has been appalling. Sreenivasan the house bill will now have to be reconciled with the senate version, which does include food stamp funds. In iraq, bloodshed marked the beginning of the islamic holy month of ramadan. At least 31 people were killed in a series of attacks. On wednesday evening, gunmen stormed an Army Checkpoint and a Police Outpost in anbar province, killing three soldiers and 11 policemen. Today, bombings and shootings hit several major cities, adding to the casualties. A moscow court has convicted Sergei Magnitsky of tax evasion, more than three years after the anticorruption lawyer died in prison. A cage for defendants sat empty as the judge read the verdict. The case sparked u. S. Sanctions against russia, and in turn, a kremlin ban on adoptions of russian children by americans. Magnitsky was arrested in 2008 after he accused russian officials of stealing state funds. His death prompted allegations that he was beaten and denied medical treatment in prison. Wall street surged today after remarks by the chairman of the federal reserve. In a speech last night, ben bernanke said the central bank will continue its stimulus efforts for the forseeable future. The Dow Jones Industrial average shot up 169 points to close near 15,461 a new, alltime high. The nasdaq rose 57 points to close at 3,578. Those are some of the days major stories. Now, back to ray. Suarez and we continue our look at Immigration Reform, as g. O. P. Leaders repeated for a second day in a row that theres no clear consensus on a path forward for comprehensive legislation. We got a broken system that needs to be fixed, and i made suarez House Speaker john boehner insisted today the vast majority of House Republicans do want Immigration Reform, but on their terms. Through all the conversations that have occurred, with my own members, with democrat members, its clear that dealing with this in bitesized chunks that members can digest and the American People can digest is the smartest way to go. Suarez in other words, the house will not take up the comprehensive bill that passed the senate or anything like it. That bill includes a path to citizenship for some 11 Million People already in the country illegally. Democrats insist on including that step. House republicans have focused instead on Border Security, but theyre under growing pressure to relent on the citizenship question, and, after a twohour meeting yesterday, they displayed a conference divided. There are three categories that those 11 Million People go into. People that we all agree should remain here, people we all agree should be removed, criminal aliens and so on, and then people who may be in between. I made the point that anything that is legalization ends up in citizenship. And if thats the case, im opposed to it because it destroys the rule of law. You could never reestablish the rule of law in this country as least with regard to immigration again. Suarez this morning, the lead authors of the senate bill, Democrat Chuck schumer and republican john mccain talked hopefully, after meeting with president obama at the white house. Once you say doing nothing is not an option, you have to move in a direction to be bipartisan. And once youre bipartisan, youre going to get some progress that can get something done. So again, its not going to be the same exact thing as we believe, but at the end of the day, hopefully itll be close enough that we can come to an agreement. We are in no way bigfooting the members of the house of representatives. Wed like to see legislation along the lines of ours, but we can work with them on different pieces of legislation. We want legislation that we can go to conference on, that we can get a majority vote in both houses. Suarez House Republicans will now consider four separate bills, with a concentration on Border Security and enforcement of existing laws. None offers the possibility of citizenship. But Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned today