Florida Sentinel Bulletin

The Chicago Board of Education voted Wednesday to close fifty Chicago Public schools, one of them delayed a year, in the nation’s third-largest district making it the largest single wave of planned public school closures in U.S. history.

After the vote, few schools were spared from the list of 54 schools originally proposed for closure.

A handful of schools — Leif Ericson, Marcus Garvey, George Manierre and Mahalia Jackson — got an eleventh-hour reprieve ahead of the vote after CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett withdrew her recommendations to close the four schools, while delaying the closure of one school — Canter Leadership Academy — for one year and tabling the turnaround of one other school — Clara Barton Elementary.

Pictured: Chicago Board of Education General Counsel, James Bebley, left, and CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, right, listen as Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, speaks at a packed board meeting Wednesday, May 22, 2013, in Chicago.

VIRGINIA — A Virginia couple was shocked to find a police officer in front of their home when they returned from running errands, but they were even more surprised by the reason for the cop’s visit– to question whether or not they were in fact their children’s parents.

Joseph, a white man who didn’t want his last name revealed, and his Black wife Keana said that they were outraged after the policeman told them a security guard at their local Walmart had suspected Joseph of kidnapping his three young daughters.

“He asks us very sincerely, ‘Hey, I was sent here by Walmart security. I just need to make sure that the children that you have are your own,’” Joseph said.

“I was dumbfounded,” Keana said. “I sat there for a minute and I thought, ‘Did he just ask us if these were our kids knowing what we went through to have our children?’

The couple, who have been married for 10 years, have a four-year-old daughter and two-year-old twin girls. Joseph had taken the girls to a Walmart near their Prince County home to cash a check and left after spending a short time in the parking lot. After speaking with the officer, they called the store demanding an explanation.

An Ohio father may have meant well when he let his 9-year-old daughter get behind the wheel of their family car, but the father-daughter outing went terribly wrong.

Jaron McGee, 23, was sitting on the passenger side of his purple 1998 Honda while his child was behind the wheel Sunday night in the parking lot of Headlands State Park.

“However the child lost control of the car after achieving excessive speed, and drove directly into the large tree,” according to law enforcement authorities.

Neither McGee nor the child was injured. She was driven from the scene by other family members before the cops arrived. While the family claims the girl was not hurt, The Lake County Sheriff’s office is checking up on the girl anyway. The front end of the car, however, sustained significant front end damage.

President Barack Obama delivered the commencement address to graduates of Morehouse College on Sunday, making history as the first African-American president, addressing the alma mater of men including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

About 500 graduates gathered in the rain, along with their families, to hear the president speak, about his own challenges growing up without his father, and exhorting the Morehouse men to be the best husbands, boyfriends and fathers they could be.

Before delivering his remarks, Pres. Obama received an honorary Morehouse degree. Referring to the honor, the president told the students, who assembled in the rain for graduation ceremonies: “I finally made it.”

President Obama, First Lady Address Graduates At HBCUS

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers the commencement speech during the Bowie State University graduation ceremony at the Comcast Center on the campus of the University of Maryland May 17, 2013 in College Park, Maryland. Mrs. Obama received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree before addressing the 600 graduates of Maryland’s oldest historically black university and one of the ten oldest in the country.

Cece Bruce, a waitress at an Indianapolis eatery, received a $446 tip on a $6 bill for her positive attitude.

Bruce has been waiting tables at Steak and Shake for two years, while attending school part time.

The hardworking waitress said she was having trouble with a table who was giving her a hard time, but she “just kept smiling and going on because that’s what you got to do.”

Shortly after, one of her regular customers, Miss Jo, left her the very generous tip.

This is the biggest tip Bruce has received and says it was just in time to pay the bills.

MINELOLA, NY — Last Friday morning, a 21-year-old Hofstra College student and a masked man were both killed by police. The suspect had the student in a headlock when police fired, hitting both.

According to police, the masked man, later identified as Dalton Smith (pictured, left), entered an unlocked door of an off-campus residence. Police responded to a call of a home invasion robbery.

When police arrived, they and the suspect reportedly became involved in a standoff. He grabbed Ms. Andrea Rebello (pictured, right) in a headlock and told the police he was going to kill her. He then pointed the gun at the police officer. The officer opened fire, striking Smith 7 times. The 8^th bullet hit Ms. Rebello in the head, killing her as well, police said.

On Saturday, Hofstra students wore white ribbons in honor of Ms. Rebello during their graduation ceremony.

The officer is on medical leave.

So you didn’t win Wednesday’s $360 million Powerball jackpot? Make that you and everyone else.

A message early Thursday on the multistate lottery’s website said the jackpot has soared to $475 million after none of the ticket sold matched all the winning numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing: 2, 11, 26, 34, 41 and a Powerball of 32.

The next drawing will be held Saturday.

A jackpot of $475 million ranks as the second largest in Powerball history and third biggest overall.

Authorities have arrested the suspect wanted in a Mother’s Day parade shooting that wounded 19 people in New Orleans, police said.

Akein Scott, 19, was arrested Wednesday night in the Little Woods section of eastern New Orleans, police department spokeswoman Remi Braden said. She said no additional details were available and would not be until Thursday morning.

Police previously said Scott had an arrest record involving drug and weapon charges.

Video released Monday showed a crowd gathered for the Sunday parade suddenly scattering in all directions, with some falling to the ground. They appear to be running from a man in a white T-shirt and dark pants who turns and runs out of the picture. Police said they identified the suspect from the surveillance camera images.

As many as 400 people had come out for the event. Officers were interspersed with the marchers, which is routine for such events. The crime scene was about a mile-and-a-half from the heart of the city’s French Quarter.

Two children were among those wounded.

ATLANTA – A pair of identical twins at Spelman College have achieved a first in the school’s 132-year history.

Kirstie and Kristie Bronner, both music majors, have been named co-valedictorians for the class of 2013.

The sisters each graduate with a perfect 4.0 GPA, the highest grade point average out of more than 500 graduates.

The Bronners, who are 22 years old, attribute their academic excellence to a rigorous study routine, time management and their shared faith.

The Bronners say aside from their academic success studying at the historically black women’s college — one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges — has given them a renewed sense of confidence and pride in their cultural heritage.

The sisters are third-generation Spelman graduates. Their mother, Nina Cobb Bronner, graduated in 1985, and their grandmother, Dorothy Gibson Cobb, was the class of 1956.

Following graduation, the sisters, who will graduate in a few days, plan to join the youth ministry and music department at Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Atlanta, which is led by their father, Bishop Dale Bronner.