National: Protesters rallied all across the country again yesterday demanding that civil rights charges be brought against George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized the demonstrations outside federal buildings in 101 cities.

➢A Michigan judge has ruled that Detroit’s bankruptcy filing is unconstitutional because it would reduce the pensions of public employees. The state’s constitution prohibits cutting public pensions. The broke city will appeal the decision.

World: Crown Prince Philippe, 53, has been sworn in as the new king of Belgium. His father, King Albert II, abdicated saying poor health left him unable to continue. King of Belgium is a ceremonial position, but part of the job is to keep peace between the sometimes fractious French and Flemish populations. Albert said his son was better suited.

Caught Flatfoot: A Troy, NY woman is accused of filing a fraudulent claim for $480,000 from the fund established to help victims and survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing. Boston prosecutors say Andrea Gause claimed to have a traumatic brain injury but was not a runner and wasn’t even in Boston at the time of the two explosions.

Shipwrecked: Five officers of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that hit the rocks in Italy in 2012 killing, 32 passengers and crew, have entered pleas of guilty to manslaughter and negligence. They include the first officer, the helmsman and the director of the crisis management unit, who was given the stiffest sentence of two years, ten months in prison. The trial of the captain, who faces up to 20 years in prison, is delayed until late September.

The Obit Page: Helen Thomas, for many years the senior White House correspondent who said “Thank you Mr. President” to signal the end of a press conference, died at home in Washington. She was 92. Thomas covered every president from Kennedy to Obama, first for UPI, for 39 years, then for Hearst Newspapers. She was tough, blunt and a pioneer for women in the Washington press corps.

What Are the Odds?: The NY Times’ statistical prognosticator Nate Silver is taking his FiveThirtyEight blog and jumping to ESPN to work sports with Keith Olbermann, according to the Times own Brian Stelter. Silver originally analyzed baseball, but he called the 2012 presidential election dead on and has been a star attracting readers to The Times. ESPN must be paying a lot of money, or possibly Silver doesn’t know how crazy it is to work with Keith Olbermann.

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