Florida Sentinel Bulletin

ALLENTOWN, PA — An eastern Pennsylvania woman who fatally stabbed her fiance on their wedding day — and then apparently could not comprehend that he had died — was convicted of first-degree murder on Thursday.

Jurors found Na Cola Franklin, 32, guilty after deliberating about three hours in Lehigh County Court. She could get life in prison when she is sentenced July 16. Her attorney said an appeal is likely.

Prosecutors say Franklin and 36-year-old Billy Brewster got into the deadly argument on Aug. 11 around 2 a.m. in their Whitehall Township apartment. They were scheduled to be married at 10 a.m. in neighboring Allentown.

At her arraignment that night, Franklin appeared distraught and confused to learn Brewster was dead, telling the judge, “You got to check again!”

Defense attorney John Waldron told jurors during the trial this week that Brewster had come home drunk that night after an impromptu bachelor party. Brewster attacked Franklin and then tried to leave with the couple’s 9-month-old son, Waldron said.

Waldron argued Franklin killed the groom-to-be after grabbing a knife to protect her child. He had pushed for a voluntary manslaughter conviction, which carries a lighter sentence.

But prosecutors, who said the child was not in danger, sought a first-degree murder conviction. First Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa said Thursday that he hopes the verdict will bring some comfort to Brewster’s family.

MOORE, Okla. — A giant tornado, a mile wide or more, killed at least 91 people, 20 of them children, as it tore across parts of Oklahoma City and its suburbs Monday afternoon, flattening homes, flinging cars through the air and crushing at least two schools.

The injured flooded into hospitals, and the authorities said many people remained trapped, even as rescue workers struggled to make their way through debris-clogged streets to the devastated suburb of Moore, where much of the damage occurred.

Amy Elliott, the spokeswoman for the Oklahoma City medical examiner, said at least 91 people had died, including the children, and officials said that toll was likely to climb. Hospitals reported at least 145 people injured, 70 of them children.

Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore was reduced to a pile of twisted metal and toppled walls. Rescue workers were able to pull several children from the rubble, but on Monday evening crews were still struggling to cut through fallen beams and clear debris amid reports that dozens of students were trapped. At Briarwood Elementary School in Oklahoma City, on the border with Moore, cars were thrown through the facade and the roof was torn off.

“Numerous neighborhoods were completely leveled,” Sgt. Gary Knight of the Oklahoma City Police Department said by telephone. “Neighborhoods just wiped clean.”

He said debris and damage to roadways, along with heavy traffic, were hindering emergency responders as they raced to the affected areas.

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.