Jury Selection Reaches Final Stages in Trayvon Martin Murder Case

By CARA BUCKLEY

Pool photo by Joe Burbank

From left, Don West, a lawyer; George Zimmerman, defendant; Robert Hirschhorn, a jury consultant; and Mark O’Mara, lead defense lawyer, on Wednesday.

After eight days in which 40 potential jurors have been culled from a sea of hundreds, a jury of six people is close to being seated in the trial of George Zimmerman.

Court Finds AIDS Program’s Rules Violate Free Speech

By ADAM LIPTAK

The Supreme Court rules on a requirement that groups that receive federal money to combat AIDS abroad have “a policy explicitly opposing prostitution.”

Border Deal by 2 in G.O.P. Lifts Chances of Immigration Bill

By ASHLEY PARKER

The agreement calls for the completion of 700 miles of fence and a “border surge” that doubles the current patrol force, aides said, and it is expected to win support from several Republican senators.

Dr. Judith L. Schaechter gives an HPV vaccination to a 13-year-old girl in her office at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

HPV Vaccine Is Credited in Fall of Teenagers’ Infection Rate

By SABRINA TAVERNISE

The prevalence of dangerous strains of the human papillomavirus, a principal cause of cervical cancer, has dropped by half in the last decade, officials say.

Spy agencies invest in Silicon Valley start-ups, award classified contracts and recruit technology experts like Max Kelly.

Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders

By JAMES RISEN and NICK WINGFIELD

Technology experts and former intelligence officials say the rise of data mining, both as an industry and as a crucial intelligence tool, has created a complex reality.

Group That Promoted ‘Curing’ Gays Ceases Operations

By GERRY MULLANY

The group Exodus International had been split by internal rifts and growing skepticism of its mission after its president renounced its core beliefs.

Obama Readying Emissions Limits on Power Plants

By JOHN M. BRODER

The move would be the most consequential climate policy step he could take and one sure to provoke legal challenges from Republicans and some industries.

Ken Mehlman with President George W. Bush in 2005. His change of heart has proved divisive.

Strategist Out of Closet and Into Fray, This Time for Gay Marriage

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

Ken Mehlman, the strategist who ran President George W. Bush’s re-election bid, is trying to convince Republicans that gay marriage is consistent with conservative values.

The 957 acres of Colorado land that was owned by the songwriter John Denver, to the left of the property line, was sold in an $8.5 million deal.

Commotion Over the Sale of John Denver’s Sanctuary

By JACK HEALY

Friends and fellow conservationists are worried about the future of the singer’s 957 acres in the Colorado mountains.

Congressional leaders from both parties joined Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to dedicate a statue of Frederick Douglass, right, the former slave and abolitionist, in the Capitol on Wednesday.

Statue Unveiled, Douglass Is Hailed for Equality Fight

By ASHLEY SOUTHALL

A great-great-granddaughter of the abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass said that her ancestor believed in freedom and equality for “all of us, regardless of our race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.”

F.B.I. Director Warns Against Dismantling Surveillance Program

By CHARLIE SAVAGE

Robert Mueller III told the Senate Judiciary Committee that investigators would be slowed in seeking to prevent terrorist attacks.

President Obama with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Obama Says Surveillance Helped in Case in Germany

By JACKIE CALMES

Chancellor Angela Merkel seemed to confirm the president’s comments on the controversy, which has followed him on his diplomatic trip abroad.

Daphne Koller, a Coursera founder, said there was anxiety about how online courses would affect higher education.

Online Classes Fuel a Campus Debate

By TAMAR LEWIN

A heated discussion has emerged over whether free online college classes will lead to better learning and lower costs — or to a second-class education for most students.