Florida Sentinel Bulletin

NEW ORLEANS  — Gunmen opened fire on people marching in a neighborhood Mother’s Day parade in New Orleans on Sunday, wounding at least 19.

The shooting — described by the FBI as a flare-up of street violence — shattered the festive mood surrounding the parade that drew hundreds of people to the 7th Ward neighborhood of modest row houses not far from the French Quarter. Cell phone video taken in the aftermath of the shooting shows victims lying on the ground, blood on the pavement and others bending over to comfort them.

At least three of the victims were seriously wounded. Of the rest, many were grazed and authorities said that overall most wounds were not life threatening. No deaths were reported.

The victims included 10 men, seven women, a boy and a girl. The children, both 10 years old, were grazed and in good condition.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged witnesses to come forward with information during a news conference Sunday night at a hospital where gunshot victims were taken.

TRENTON, N.J. — The bodies of a woman and her 13-year-old son were found after a dayslong standoff, and her boyfriend was killed as officers stormed the home to rescue three other children he had been holding captive, authorities said Sunday.

Police officers initially went to the South Trenton home Friday afternoon after a relative of 44-year-old Carmelita Stevens said she hadn’t spoken to her in weeks and was worried, authorities said at a news conference Sunday. Upon further investigation, authorities then discovered her children hadn’t been to school in 12 days.

Officers entered the home through a rear door and smelled an odor consistent with that of a decomposing body, Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. said. The officers also noticed maggots throughout the residence.

They found 38-year-old Gerald “Skip” Tyrone Murphy in an upstairs bedroom and he told them he was armed with a gun and explosives and had three children with him, Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr. said. Officers noticed one of the dead victims before they retreated from the second floor and rescued Stevens’ 19-year-old son from the basement, who said he hadn’t seen her or his siblings since about April 24.

MEXICO – Malcolm Shabazz, the 27-year-old grandson of the late Malcolm X, is dead, as confirmed by the U.S. embassy.

According to the paper, Shabazz was killed in Mexico, and died in the early morning hours last Thursday, “from injuries sustained after he was thrown off a building or shot as he was being robbed in Tijuana.” A border reporter with the San Diego Union Tribune, Sandra Dibble, tweeted Thursday night that Shabazz may have “resisted a robbery.”

It was not clear whether he died in Tijuana or Mexico City, and the circumstances of his death remained unclear Thursday night.

Family friend Terrie M. Williams posted the following statement on Twitter:

“I’m confirming, per U.S. Embassy, on behalf of family, the tragic death of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X. Statement from family 2 come.”

Williams later tweeted that “details are sketchy” regarding the location, and that all that can be confirmed now is his death. She later confirmed Shabazz’s death, but said there were no details yet.

The family has not yet made a public statement.

WASHINGTON  — Making history, America’s Blacks voted at higher rates than whites in 2012, lifting Democrat Barack Obama to victory amid voter apathy, particularly among young people, new census data show. Despite increasing population, the number of white voters declined for the first time since 1996.

Blacks were the only race or ethnic group to show an increase in voter turnout in November, most notably in the Midwest and Southeastern U.S., the Census Bureau said Wednesday. The analysis, based on a sample survey of voters last year, is viewed as the best source of government data on turnout by race and ethnicity.

The Associated Press reported last week that black voter turnout surpassed whites for the first time, based on an analysis by experts of earlier data.

In all, about 66.2 percent of eligible Black voters cast ballots in 2012, up from 64.7 percent in 2008, according to census data. That compares with non-Hispanic white turnout of 64.1 percent, which fell from 66.1 percent four years earlier. As recently as 1996, Blacks had turnout rates 8 percentage points lower than non-Hispanic whites.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida A&M University announced Tuesday it is hiring a new director for its famous Marching 100 band, a major step to eventually relaunching the band that was sidelined by a 2011 hazing scandal.

Sylvester Young (pictured), a FAMU alumnus and one-time director of the Ohio University marching band, is coming out of retirement to rebuild The Marching 100.

The band known for its marching appearances at presidential inaugurations and Super Bowls has been suspended since the November 2011 hazing-related death of drum major Robert Champion.

Larry Robinson, interim president for FAMU, said he tapped Young for the job of rebuilding the band because he has the experience and strong discipline to help the school decide when it’s right for The Marching 100 to take the field anew.

Robinson could not say exactly when that might be, although he called the hiring of the 66-year-old Young a “critical” step. He did not rule out a return this fall. But he suggested that the band may come back initially as a smaller unit and play in the stands instead of performing one of its signature halftime shows.

WASHINGTON  — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spent a second day at a New York hospital on Monday, under observation for a blood clot, stemming from a concussion she sustained while battling a stomach virus.

The illness has kept her out of the public view since Dec. 7, and has started to raise a host of questions as her team keeps typically tightlipped about the details.

Aides disclosed the blood clot Sunday, with her spokesman, Phillipe Reines, issuing a statement that said: “Her doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion.” He had no immediate update Monday on her condition, raising the question of whether she will return to work before she steps down as secretary of state.

WISCONSIN – The state of Wisconsin released new statistic about its prisoners and the racial breakdown is shocking. According to a report from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, one out of every eight men in the state are behind bars.

Even worse, Wisconsin is leads in other prison-related feats.

Among the most jarring of findings was that nearly one of every eight Black men of working age is currently in prison in Wisconsin. The state also leads all other states in the number of incarcerated indigenous men at 7.6%, with South Dakota following with 7.3%.

PHILADELPHIA – Police are reviewing surveillance video in the killing of a Lackawanna College student who was shot and killed after a party near the school’s Pennsylvania campus.

Rahsan Crowder, 22, died at a hospital Sunday morning after suffering gunshot wounds to the chest and thigh. Investigators have said they believe Crowder attended a party near the crime scene and may have been involved in some sort of argument.

Acting Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano says it’s possible alcohol was involved.

WASHINGTON  — Ricardo Campo, a burly and jolly native of El Salvador, and President Barack Obama both have a huge investment in Congress’ attempt to overhaul U.S. immigration laws, to deal with the estimated 11 million people living in the United States illegally.

For Campo, a 21-year-old University of Maryland pre-medical student, his future in the country may depend on it. For President Obama, a sweeping immigration overhaul is central to his legacy, his best hope for legislative success after Congress turned back his push on gun control and a grand bargain on the nation’s finances.

The Senate is considering a bipartisan bill that would make the biggest changes in America’s muddled immigration system since 1986, when Ronald Reagan was president. It would strengthen border security, allow tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers into the country, require employers to check their workers’ legal status and provide an eventual path to citizenship for immigrants now here illegally.