Florida Sentinel Bulletin

NEW YORK — The day started with congressional leaders trying to resolve the dangerous impasse over the debt ceiling — and calm any anxiety markets may have when they reopened Monday.

It ended in a continuing impasse, with each party sketching out their own plans and showing little common ground.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he is preparing a proposal to raise the ceiling through the end of 2012 and cut $2.7 trillion in debt. The measure would not call for any tax revenue increases.

On the other side, House Speaker John Boehner told GOP lawmakers Sunday in a conference call that he wants a deal that sticks to the principles of the Cut, Cap and Balance bill that the House passed and Senate rejected last week.

A key sticking point remains how much to raise the debt ceiling: Democrats want it raised enough so the issue won’t come up again until after the November 2012 election. Boehner has said that is impossible; he wants it raised in two, smaller increments.

If Congress fails to act, the Treasury Department has said that on Aug. 2 it will run out of the cash it needs to pay all of the federal government’s bills on time.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC — A crew working on a boarding house for homeless women veterans got a hand Thursday from First Lady Michelle Obama during filming of an episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

Wearing a sleeveless blue top, green capris and green sneakers, the First Lady was cheered during her visit by hundreds of people after a crowd waited for hours in searing heat for a glimpse of the VIP visitor. But the early afternoon heat and excitement got the best of some and a handful of people fainted, requiring the care of emergency medical crews.

The First Lady had traveled to this North Carolina base town to view the construction of a new home for the women veterans of the Steps N Stages Jubilee House. The ABC network has said the episode is scheduled to air in October.

Mrs. Obama toured the site with Barbara Marshall, the 15-year Navy veteran who runs the project as a shelter for women veterans and allowed her own home to be demolished to make room for the new building. After a tour of areas including a playhouse and greenhouse, Mrs. Obama gave Marshall a hug.

Reporters were only able to catch a glimpse of Mrs. Obama as she arrived at the house and later returned for the reveal wearing a different outfit.

First Lady Michelle Obama joined leaders from major retailers, foundations and small businesses to announce commitments that will provide access to healthy, affordable food to millions of people in underserved communities. The commitments from SUPERVALU, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and regional retailers will include opening or expanding over 1,500 stores to serve communities throughout the country that currently do not have access to fresh produce and other healthy foods.

These stores estimate that they will create tens of thousands of jobs and serve approximately 9.5 million people in these communities throughout the country.

Stores in the Tampa Bay area include Wal-Mart who has committed to opening or expanding 275 to 300 stores and Walgreens, who has committed to offering whole fruits, vegetables and other healthy options in approximately 1,000 stores.

Mrs. Obama said, “The commitments we’re announcing have the potential to be a game-changer for kids and communities all across this country. We can give people all the information and advice in the world about healthy eating and exercise, but if parents can’t buy the food they need because their only options for groceries are the gas station or the local minimart, then all that is just talk.”

According to police, a Connecticut mother has been arrested for giving her 4-year-old son beer and her 10-month-old daughter cocaine and booze. Juliette Dunn, 29, gave her children these substances on a playground where another woman flagged down police.

The police found an empty 40-ounce Steele Reserve beer on the ground near the 4-year-old boy and a baby bottle, which smelled like alcohol.Witnesses said she forced her son to drink the alcohol. The four year old and his sister were taken to the hospital where they tested positive for alcohol in their system.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is vowing to fight any efforts to block the work of a new consumer protection bureau as he introduces a former Ohio attorney general to run the agency.

If confirmed by the Senate, Richard Cordray would head the agency tasked with being a government watchdog over mortgages, credit cards and other forms of lending. Obama says the agency will protect the public from financial fraud and abuse.

MISSISSIPPI — Police in Mississippi say a woman opened fire on a puppy that had threatened children, but wound up shooting and killing her husband.

Witnesses tell police that the pit bull named “Cocaine” had lunged at some children and tried to attack them on Friday. The dead man’s son says the children were taken inside and his father picked the dog up.

It was then that police say Betty Walker fired twice, hitting the dog once and her husband once in the chest. Jackson police spokeswoman Colendula Green says the death of 53-year-old Robert Walker appears to have been accidental. She says a Hinds County grand jury will decide whether to charge Betty Walker.

Animal control officers have taken the dog, and its owner could face charges.

Pictured: Lazarius Montgomery And His Pitbull, Cocaine.

Selina Hodge, 28, takes nearly a dozen different medications a day and is limited in her movements because of her dialysis machine.

Diagnosed with kidney failure four years ago, Hodge has already exhausted her family for a new kidney, but they’re either a bad match or the kidney would come with it’s own health issues. She is on a donor waiting list, but it could take several years before a match is found.

“That’s when I turned to Craigslist, because I didn’t know where else to turn,” Hodge said. Selina really just wants to start living her life again. “There’s so much I want to do but, I have to put a pause on things like that because of the dialysis,” said Hodge.

A few people have responded to her Craigslist post. One man wanted to help get the word out, while one nurse said she’ll be tested to see if she’s a good match.

For the parents of three-year-old Maliki Sessions, their guardian angel came in the form of 911 dispatcher David Mancini. Maliki accidentally fell into the family pool and began to drown, he was later rescued by a family member as his father called 911.

While paramedics were en route, the family remained stable as the dispatcher helped them save their child.

“Just tell your son to keep doing (the compressions), because you guys are doing a good job. I just need your help to do this please. Until the paramedics arrive,” said 911 dispatcher David Mancini.

A veteran of the San Diego Police Department was stabbed to death in her own home alongside her teenage daughter, a recent high school graduate and talented athlete.

Residents of a Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood were awakened by screams Monday morning. Soon after, San Diego police officers discovered the bodies of Donna and Briana “Bree” Williams at a nearby home. Each woman had suffered numerous stab wounds.

The suspect, identified as Donna Williams‘ 24-year-old son, Brian Williams, was calmly sitting next to his dead sister in front of the home when police arrived. He did not resist arrest and did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol officials said.