Florida Sentinel Bulletin

JACKSON, Miss. — A predominantly white Mississippi church has apologized for its refusal to allow a Black couple to marry in its sanctuary, though the couple said Monday they knew nothing of the apology until a reporter called.

The First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs posted the apology on its website Sunday, saying it was seeking “forgiveness and reconciliation” with Charles Wilson and Te’Andrea Henderson Wilson, their families and friends and God.

“This wrong decision resulted in hurt and sadness for everyone. Both the pastor and those involved in the wedding location being changed have expressed their regrets and sorrow for their actions,” reads part of the six-paragraph statement.

However, Charles Wilson said no one from the church had contacted him or his wife.

“I can’t believe they think they’ve apologized,” Wilson said. He said only one or two people from the church have contacted him in recent weeks, and they did so personally and not as representatives of the church.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama celebrated his 51st birthday Saturday with a round of golf and a quiet weekend at Camp David, taking a break from campaigning three months before Election Day.

Pres. Obama, wearing a white golf shirt, khaki pants and sunglasses, boarded Marine One at Andrews Air Force Base after about six hours on the golf course before heading to Camp David. He was joined by a small group of friends and aides that included White House chef Sam Kass, a frequent golf partner.

He returns to campaign mode soon enough, with fundraisers in Connecticut on Monday and campaign rallies in Colorado on Wednesday and Thursday.

Next weekend, Pres. Obama will hold several birthday-themed fundraisers in Chicago, including one at his family’s South Side home. Pres. Obama’s campaign used the event to drum up small-dollar donations before the end of the July fundraising deadline, offering two lucky winners the chance to attend the fundraiser at Pres. Obama’s red brick home.

Pres. Obama: Electoral Votes Make Nice Birthday Gifts

WINTER PARK, Fla. — President Barack Obama has a simple wish for his upcoming 51st birthday: Florida’s 29 electoral votes.

Pres. Obama was serenaded to the tune of “Happy Birthday” on Thursday during the start of a campaign rally in battleground Florida, an early nod to his birthday on Saturday. The Democratic president, locked in a tight re-election campaign against Republican Mitt Romney, was not too bashful about suggesting potential gifts.

“If I had known you guys were going to sing we would have had a cake. And then I would have blown out the candles, I would have made a wish, that probably would have to do with electoral votes,” Pres. Obama said. “Winning Florida wouldn’t be a bad birthday present.”

OAK CREEK, Wis. — A gunman opened fire Sunday and killed six people at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with one of the first officers to respond to the chaotic scene, authorities said.

The shootings happened before 10:30 a.m., as several dozen people gathered at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin for Sunday services. Hours of uncertainty followed as police in tactical gear and carrying assault rifles surrounded the temple with armored vehicles and ambulances, and witnesses struggled with unrealized fears that multiple gunman had taken hostages inside.

“We never thought this could happen to our community,” said Devendar Nagra, 48, Mount Pleasant, whose sister escaped injury by hiding in the temple’s kitchen. Other women and children barricaded themselves in closets. “We never did anything wrong to anyone.”

The first official word from police was that they didn’t know how many victims or suspects were involved. But after an extensive search of the temple, authorities said they did not believe there was more than one shooter.

PHILADELPHIA – At approximately 2:00 a.m. EST Sunday morning, 46-year-old, Wanda Williams, was found dead in an alley in the Philadelphia, PA neighborhood of Nicetown.

After Philadelphia police received phone calls, the mother of 9 was discovered with a gunshot wound to the back of the head and pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

Williams was loved in her neighborhood and known as someone who would make sure the streets were clean and keep an eye on neighborhood children.

“She was the greatest, she was the best,” said her friend Noonie Stevenson. “She did not deserve to die like this.”

One of Williams’ sons,  Tyheem Williams, 29, said he had just been talking to his mother hours before on the same street where her body was discovered.

“We always talked a lot,” Williams said. “We talked about anything.”

One man, who had known Williams for some time, believes that the perpetrator could not have been from their neighborhood. His reason? She was so well liked that no one who knew her would have harmed her.

Police are investigating the case as a homicide.

PENNSYLVANIA – Dajuan Porter, 27, was arrested on charges that he performed oral sex on victims while they slept.

Porter, a well-known DJ in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, would allegedly spot the men on the downtown bar scene and assault them when they least expected it. According to victim statements, none of the them recall being particularly inebriated and that is being investigated as well.

According to police, they first began investigating the matter in May of 2011 when a man alleged that an intruder climbed his fire escape and began performing oral sex on him. In addition to that allegation, two additional victims reported that they awoke after a night of partying to Porter sexually assaulting them.

One victim, who asked to remain anonymous, claims that Porter had tried to perform oral sex on him repeatedly after being invited into his home with mutual friends:

“He actually tried it on me overnight,” stated the man. “I violently woke up because I felt a hand go down my pants.

“It made me crazy for days and I really wanted to hunt Dejuan down and beat him to the pavement,” the victim said.

JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi NAACP on Tuesday called on state and federal authorities to investigate whether the hit-and-run killing of a black man was racially motivated.

A white 17-year-old male has been charged with murder in the July 22 death of Johnny Lee Butts, authorities said. The 61-year-old was struck by a vehicle and killed while he was taking an early-morning walk on a rural road near his home in north Mississippi’s Panola County.

District Attorney John Champion said that the case is being presented to a grand jury Wednesday in one of Panola County’s two judicial districts. He said his office is investigating whether there was a racial motivation in the incident that left Butts dead at the scene.

AURORA, CO — Jarell Brooks is acknowledged for saving a mother and her two young daughters during the Aurora mass shootings.

A Colorado teen who survived Friday’s mass shooting of the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, saved a mother and her 2 daughters although he was injured himself. Jarell Brooks, 19, was prepared to flee the cinema when James Holmes allegedly opened fire on the unsuspecting audience. Brooks realized Patricia Legarreta was struggling to save her children and immediately ran to their rescue. “I made sure they got in the aisle and pushed behind her to make sure she got out of there, said Brooks. He and Legarreta were shot and are recovering at home.

A Colorado teen turned into a real-life superhero Friday night after a gunman opened fire in a packed movie theater.

Jarell Brooks, 19, was prepared to flee the Aurora theater when a shooter started attacking cinemagoers excited to see the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.” When Brooks saw Patricia Legarreta struggling to save her babies, he immediately stopped in his tracks.

“She yelled, ‘My kids!,’” Brooks told the news outlet of the horrifying moment he realized Legarreta and her two young daughters were in danger. “I made sure they got in the aisle and pushed behind her to make sure she got out of there.”

CHICAGO, IL — The family of Tonya Reaves is demanding answers after she died following an abortion Friday. The 24-year-old   went to a Planned Parenthood facility in Chicago to have her second trimester pregnancy eliminated.

According to her autopsy, Reaves suffered a fatal hemorrhage, during the dilation of evacuation procedure (also known as D&E), which surgically removes fetal tissue from the cervix. The method is normal for women in their second trimester and is also used as a therapeutic procedure after miscarriages, to prevent infection in the uterus by ensuring that it is fully evacuated.

In wake of the tragedy, Reaves’ family wants answers. Although her death has been ruled an accident, the family is seeking further inquiry into the matter. “We were born the same day. She was my other half,” said Reaves’ twin sister, Toni. “It happened so fast. She was just fine one day and then the next day she was gone. We’re just trying to figure out what happened… what happened.”

Carole Brite, CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois released a statement expressing that the organization—which provides free and/or low-cost services for women without medical coverage—is “shocked” and “saddened” by her untimely death.

ATLANTA, GA — Ebony Daniel, 34, and her boyfriend, Charlie Martin, 22, have both been charged with possession of cocaine, cruelty to children in the first degree and reckless conduct, after Daniel’s toddler grandson ingested cocaine while in her care.

The 13-month-old child was brought into Piedmont Newnan Hospital in Georgia by his 17-year-old mother. After police officers were told that the child ingested cocaine, he was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Eggleston, where he tested positive for the substance.

“We received a call from Piedmont Newnan Hospital saying that they were treating a 13-month-old child that had been exposed and possibly ingested an unknown amount of crack cocaine,” said Sgt. Lee Gragg of the Palmetto Police Department. “We do know from speaking to a couple of witnesses that the cocaine was sitting open on the table.”