Florida Sentinel Bulletin

When an intruder broke into 74-year-old Margaret Jackson’s home, he soon learned that he would be no match for the fork-wielding woman Houston cops have dubbed the “Gangsta Granny.”

Jackson says she was alerted to the intruder’s presence when her dog began barking. She peeked out of her window and found a teen in her backyard trying to break in. Figuring she had to get to him before he got to her, she grabbed a pair of scissors and a fork and confronted the intruder.

As he ran off, she struck the him in the neck with the knife.

“They want to learn how to use the fork, I can teach self defense in the fork,” said Jackson. “He was pushing on me. He turned around. And when he turned around, that’s when he messed up. I got him right in the neck!”

ST. LOUIS — Missouri Congressman Todd Akin, a conservative Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, sparked a furor and earned a rebuke from Mitt Romney’s campaign after saying that women’s bodies can prevent pregnancies in “a legitimate rape” and that conception is rare in such cases.

Akin, a six-term congressman running against incumbent Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill, was asked in an interview broadcast Sunday on St. Louis television station KTVI if he would support abortions for women who have been raped.

“It seems to me first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Akin said. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” Akin said of a rape victim’s chances of becoming pregnant.

Akin said in an emailed statement later Sunday that he “misspoke” during the interview, though the statement did not specify on which points or comments.

“In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it’s clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year,” Akin’s statement said.

Samuel Woodside, 45, a custodian for Miami-Dade School District,  has been charged with human trafficking, traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sex, luring and enticing a minor to commit an unlawful act, interference with custody and sending harmful materials to a minor, after he was busted attempting to have sex with a 14-year-old girl, before turning her into a prostitute, reports Miami.com.

Woodside believed he had been communicating with an underage girl, but in reality, was being lured out of hiding by Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents. They tracked him to a bus station where he was arrested. In his truck was a Snickers bar and a Dr. Pepper — the “girl’s” favorite snacks – and a condom.

WASHINGTON  — Michelle Obama plans to go to Milwaukee to meet with family members of those killed and injured in a Sikh temple shooting this month.

The White House says the first lady’s visit Thursday is part of the administration’s outreach to the Sikh community after the Aug. 5 shooting.

A gunman killed six people attending Sunday services before killing himself. The gunman was associated with white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups. Investigators say they may never know for certain what prompted his attack.

The first lady also plans to attend a campaign event.

A growing chorus of critics is decrying the Commission of Presidential Debates’ decision to not include a single journalist of color among the presidential (and vice presidential) debate moderators this year.

This week it was revealed that Jim Lehrer, Bob Schieffer, Candy Crowley and Martha Raddatz would moderate the 2012 debates in the fall. This announcement was slammed by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Representatives of the Spanish language network Univision have also expressed displeasure with the lack of debate moderator diversity.

Now, reportedly, a celebrated black journalist, who has moderated vice presidential debates in the past, is speaking out as well.

“I was indeed disappointed,” PBS’ Gwen Ifill told the New York Times, which reports that she is “livid” about not being offered a role as a moderator this year despite the fact that Lehrer had previously said he didn’t want the job and she had ably filled the role during the 2004 and 2008 debates.

The Cook County, Chicago medical examiner’s office ruled the death of three-week-old Emonie Beasley-Brown a homicide after an autopsy revealed that she died of suffocation.

Police arrived at the family’s residence in the Englewood area of Chicago to investigate a report that Emonie’s 14-year-old mother was missing. Upon their arrival, the police heard an infant’s cry, but were not allowed to enter. It was determined that she was being held in a crawl space as someone held a hand over her mouth for about 10 minutes to prevent her from crying, but her wails grew even louder.

According to a preliminary police report, that person then “placed both hands over her face and applied pressure for about 20 minutes.”

It wasn’t until her nose began to bleed that someone exited the back of the home, entered into an alley and took the baby to a neighbor’s house and 911 was called.

The baby was unresponsive at the scene, and after being taken to Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition was pronounced dead at 10:35 p.m. Thursday night.

PORTLAND, Ore.  — A young couple accused of killing four people in a multistate crime spree last fall have been indicted of federal racketeering charges alleging the rampage was part of a campaign to “purify” and “preserve” the white race, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, said Friday.

A federal grand jury handed up the indictment Thursday against David “Joey” Pedersen, 32, and Holly Ann Grigsby, 25, prosecutor Amanda Marshall said in a news release. Grigsby will be arraigned Monday in Seattle. Pedersen’s arraignment in Portland hasn’t been scheduled.

They are charged in the killing, kidnapping and robbery of four people last fall: Pedersen’s father, David “Red” Pedersen, and stepmother, Leslie “DeeDee” Pedersen, on Sept. 26 in Everett, Wash.; Cody Myers, a 19-year-old from Oregon on Oct. 1; and Reginald Clark, 53, of Eureka, Calif., on Oct. 3.

Clark was black and Grigsby allegedly told investigators that Myers, a Christian, was killed because his name sounded Jewish.

The 24-page indictment charges that Pedersen and Grigsby were members of a criminal enterprise whose aim was to promote a white supremacist movement.

CHICAGO — U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a Chicago Democrat who took a hushed medical leave two months ago, is being treated for bipolar disorder, the Mayo Clinic announced.

The Rochester, Minn.-based clinic specified his condition as Bipolar II, which is defined as periodic episodes of depression and hypomania, a less serious form of mania.

“Congressman Jackson is responding well to the treatment and regaining his strength,” the clinic said in a statement.

Bipolar II is a treatable condition that affects parts of the brain controlling emotion, thought and drive and is likely caused “by a complex set of genetic and environmental factors,” the clinic said. The statement also mentioned that Jackson underwent weight loss surgery in 2004 and said such a surgery can change how the body absorbs foods and medications, among other things.

His father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, wouldn’t say much about the diagnosis.

“I’m glad he’s getting the treatment he needs and is responding well,” the elder Jackson said, adding that “there’s no timetable” for his recovery.

Experts and mental health advocates say many people are able to work and function in their daily lives while managing treatment.

DENVER — The newly shaped Republican presidential ticket is fighting growing pains amid charges from President Barack Obama’s re-election team that challenger Mitt Romney favors his new running mate, Wisc. Rep. Paul Ryan’s controversial plans to overhaul Medicare and cut trillions of dollars from social programs.

The debate moves across five swing states as both campaigns operate at full strength for a second day.

Two days after formally selecting Ryan to complete the GOP ticket, Romney publicly praised his running mate’s work as necessary to protect the long-term survival of Medicare, the government-run health insurance program for the elderly.

Romney did not say so, but the plans Ryan produced in the past two years as chairman of the House Budget Committee retain the $700 billion in Medicare cuts even as they call for the repeal of Obama’s health care plan. Romney said there may be differences between his own budget plan and Ryan’s, but he refused to detail them. Romney’s staff said the former Massachusetts governor favored a plan to restore the $700 billion in cuts.

Looking to move past questions about Medicare, both Romney and Ryan are expected to focus on energy.