The best of the week’s news: 

• The Moral Monday movement catches fire in North Carolina: A multi-racial coalition fights for voting rights and the social safety net.

• In the wake of the Zimmerman verdict, Florida students have been occupying the state legislature building since Tuesday, demanding a repeal of “Stand Your Ground” and an end to racial profiling.

• What do hungry seniors, bored preschoolers, frustrated campers, and unemployed defense workers have in common? They’re all collateral damage from the sequester.

• Chicago retail workers offer bold solution to gun violence: Higher wages.

• Governor Perry signs America’s Worst Abortion Bill into law.

• Faulty forensic testimony by FBI experts may have contributed to 27 death penalty convictions.

• Sociologist Lisa Wade debunks hookup culture hysteria.

[Photo credit: Wander Mule, Creative Commons.]