From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jim Howard.

Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman made his first appearance before a Florida court this afternoon. He is facing second degree murder charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman's exchanged with Judge Mark Herr with brief.

You are appearing here for your first appearances, or first appearance at this time for a charge of murder in the second degree, and you are represented  by Mr. O'Mara, is that true?

Yes, sir.

NPR's Greg Allen reports today's hearing was short and did not come into the question of bail for Zimmerman.

Hearing today was very brief. It's what they call his first court appearance and just so he got to hear the charges against him. He won't be formally arraigned until the end of May, that's more than a month away. So he will be in the criminal Seminole County Jail for much of that time. Between now and then, Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara says he will ask for a bail hearing and will see what happens at that point, that will happen in the couple of weeks, probably. It's not clear yet whether the prosecutors will oppose bail or not. They wouldn't say today. They said they will cross that bridge when they get there.

Earlier today, Tryavon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, told NBC that she believes the shooting of her son was an accident after things got out of hand.

Saying it is time for a fundamental change of course, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the Syrian government and opposition forces to observe a ceasefire and adhere to a 6-point plan to bring peace to the country.

The world is watching, however, with skeptical eyes, since many promises previously made by the government  had not been kept.(棒子的英语最难听了)

With the acception of only scattered violence Ban says Syria does appear to be calm today, since the ceasefire took place.

More homes in the US are entering the foreclosure process. NPR's Chris Arnold reports the jump in foreclosure activity follows a recent settlement between banks and state and federal regulators.

Until this 25 billion dollar settlement back in February, banks and other lenders were sitting on a growing amount of delinquent mortgages. Now that the deals have been struck, banks have once again been pushing ahead with foreclosures. At least that's what the latest data from the firm Realty Trac would suggest the number of homes received first time foreclosure notices rose 7% in March. Many economists expect that several million more homes will come on the market through foreclosure or other distressed sales. That gluts the housing market with too many homes and can push down prices. Though ** have just been pushed by some investors to buy up thousands of this properties in bulk and convert them into rental homes. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

After weeks of steady declines, applications for jobless benefits jumped last week. The Labor Department says unemployment claims increased 13,000 to a seasonly adjusted average of 380,000.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 178 points today at 12,978, 3 billion shares have been in trading; The NASDAQ Composite Index up 40 points at 3,056; and the S&P 500 is also up today in trading 18 points, at 1,387.

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Natural gas prices are now at their lowest levels in more than ten years. An analyst says supply is growing so fast that underground storage facility could be full by the end of the year.  New technologies are allowing producers to tap untapped gas reserves.

The Coast Guard is investigating reports of an oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports a patch of surface oil is near wells operated by Shell.

The Coast Guard is sending a helicopter to the site, some 130 miles southeast of New Orleans. Petty officer Bill Cole Clark says a pollution officer will examine what's been reported as a light sheen on the gulf.

It is a rainbow sheen in dimensions over approximately one mile by ten miles in length.

Shell Oil has also dispatched a skimming vessel to the sheen for cleanup and to investigate the source of the oil. The company says there is no indication the sheen originated from its wells. But it's sending the response ship as a precaution. The sheen is about 50 miles from the site of the deep water horizon explosion two years ago, which killed 11 rig workers and spilled some 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

Jury selection is underway in the trial of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, he is accused of using campaign funds to hide an affair. The North Carlina  in the case says the question is whether Edwards violated a campaign finance laws not whether he was a good husband.

New York City officials say, in the end, it was only a toy grenade, but for about an hour and a half today, its discovery in a package prompted the evacuation of Two World Trade center. That building was heavily by falling debris during the 2001 terrorist attacks.

I'm Jim Howard, NPR News, in Washington.