National: Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, nicknamed by some as “Big Sis”, is resigning to become president of the University of California system.

>The food stamp program that has been part of the annual farm bill since 1973 was deleted from the law passed by the Republican-controlled House yesterday. Food stamps were 80% of the original bill. By separating food subsidies from farm subsidies, Republicans will be able to cut the food allotment to the urban poor while continuing to prop up farmers.

World: NSA leaker Edward Snowden is pressing his appeal for temporary asylum in Russia, according to a parliament member who met with him. Snowden still wants to end up in Latin America, but would like to get out of the Moscow airport until that can be arranged. Appearing at a press conference Snowden said, “no actions I take or plan are meant to harm the U.S. I want the U.S. to succeed.”

The Gavel: The defense is making its final argument this morning in the George Zimmerman murder case. Attorney Mark O’Mara cautioned the jury against “connecting the dots” of unrelated evidence. “If you have to assume something, you don’t know it,” he said. Yesterday, Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda described Zimmerman as “a wannabe cop” and a liar who provoked the confrontation that turned fatal for 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. He said Zimmerman assumed that Martin was a criminal because he was black and wearing a hooded sweatshirt. De la Rionda said Zimmerman “brought a gun to a fight he started.”  The jury could get the judge’s instructions later today.

Cold Case: Boston police announced they have a DNA match between one of the victims of the famed Boston Strangler and the late Albert DeSalvo, a criminal who long ago confessed to the string of 1960s rapes and murders. But investigators were never certain. DNA had not been discovered at the time of the crimes and more recently the DeSalvo family refused to give a sample.  Investigators surreptitiously got a DNA sample from a DeSalvo nephew and matched it to DNA left on a victim by her killer. DeSalvo’s body is being dug up today to get a sample and a 100% DNA match.

The Obit Page: Chuck Foley, inventor of the party game “Twister” has died. The game required players to contort themselves while touching hands and feet to brightly colored dots on a mat. A rage in the 1960s, the game was innocent for kids, but put consenting adults into intimate positions. Some critics called Twister “sex in a box.”

-30-