Florida Sentinel Bulletin

A new state law says men no longer have to make child support payments if they discover the child is not theirs, but a Houston man says he still has to pay.

Ray Thomas is saying he is frustrated because he owes more than $50,000, even though he is not the child’s father.

“They’ve been taking money out of my income tax — taking my money and I haven’t been able to pay my bills,” Thomas said. Thomas claims he’s a victim of mistaken paternity.

He said, in 1986 a woman he was dating had a baby and told Thomas it was his, which Thomas believed until the child started growing red hair. Thomas said he went to court numerous times trying to clear things up, but said the judge wouldn’t hear it.

The new legislation will not help Thomas because his case is old and the courts are looking not backward, but forward.

GABORONE, Botswana – First Lady Michelle Obama has wrapped up a weeklong visit to Africa and is heading home.

The first lady’s plane left Botswana Sunday morning. She was due to arrive at the White House early Monday.

Mrs. Obama went to South Africa and Botswana to foster good will between the U.S. and Africa. She also promoted youth leadership, education and HIV/AIDS awareness.  She ended the visit with a safari and overnight stay in a South African game reserve.

Mrs. Obama traveled with her daughters, 12-year-old Malia and 10-year-old Sasha; her mother, Marian Robinson; and a niece and nephew who live in Oregon. The president stayed in Washington.

Pictured: U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and her family ride their safari vehicle in Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, Saturday, June 25, 2011. Pictured are mother Marian Robinson, bottom row right, daughter Sasha Obama, third row second left, niece Leslie Robinson, third row right, nephew Avery Robinson, top row left, and Malia Obama, top row second left.

NEW YORK — While praising New York state lawmakers as they debated legalizing gay marriage, President Barack Obama stopped short of embracing it. Instead he asked gay and lesbian donors for patience.

“I believe that gay couples deserve the same legal rights as every other couple in this country,” the president said at a Manhattan fundraiser, his first geared specifically to the gay community. Thursday’s long-planned event coincidentally occurred as lawmakers in Albany were debating legislation that would make New York the sixth and by far the largest state to legalize gay marriage.

Pres. Obama said progress will be slower than some people want, but he added that he was confident that there will be a day “when every single American, gay or straight or lesbian or bisexual or transgender, is free to live and love as they see fit.

In an attempt to offset another surge in gas prices, President Obama has called for a release of 30 million barrels of oil from the U.S.’s emergency reserves.

Oil and gas prices are expected to increase due to lost oil supplies caused by troubles in the Middle East and North Africa, and more specifically the country of Libya.

White House officials would not predict how the release will affect prices at the pump, although the move is intended to increase U.S. supplies during the peak summer driving season.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott has signed two abortion bills into law.

One of them (HB 1127) requires women to undergo ultrasounds before getting an abortion. The other (HB 1247) makes it more difficult for minors to get court waivers from Florida’s parental notification law.

Among the other laws Scott signed Friday was a law (SB 1676) that would set limits on lawsuits against nonprofit Florida teaching hospitals and their staffs. Another law (SB 644) strengthens Florida’s “Silver Alert” program that helps find missing elderly people.

Scott Signs Florida Bills On Lawsuits, School Food
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Bills limiting lawsuits against automakers and giving the state’s agriculture commissioner authority over school food programs became law Thursday with Gov. Rick Scott’s signature.

The Republican governor also vetoed a bill (SB 1992) that would have exempted some volunteers from criminal background screenings required for those who work with state-funded social service programs that serve the elderly, children and people with disabilities.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich has asked federal officials to reject Florida’s Medicaid overhaul.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a pair of bills that will turn the state-federal program over to private businesses or hospital groups.

Rich wrote in a letter Thursday that there is no way the companies can provide proper care for the poor and disabled and still make a profit.

Florida will need a waiver from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement the transition. It would build on an existing five-county experimental program in managed care.

Gov. Rick Scott and other GOP supporters say privatizing the $20 billion program will save money for state and federal taxpayers.

DETROIT — The Michigan parole board voted Friday to release former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from prison after more than a year behind bars for violating probation in a criminal case that forced him out of office in 2008.

Kilpatrick will be freed no earlier than July 24, said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Kilpatrick’s parole request had been on hold since late May when the board chairman said he wanted more time to understand the federal corruption charges pending against the ex-mayor. People charged with felonies typically aren’t granted parole.

There was no immediate comment from the Wayne County prosecutor who had urged the parole board to keep Kilpatrick in prison.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2008 in a case that was tied to his cover up of an extramarital affair with his chief of staff. He was sent to prison in 2010 after a judge said he had misled authorities and failed to turn over certain assets toward his $1 million restitution to Detroit.

Kilpatrick faces a September 2012 trial on federal tax and fraud charges related to his time at city hall. His father, Bernard, and others are also part of the case.

Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday supported President Barack Obama’s decision to withdraw 33,000 U.S. “surge” troops from Afghanistan by next summer, asserting that significant progress has been made in reducing the threat posed by extremist elements in the war-torn country.

“The bottom line … is that we have broken the Taliban’s momentum, so we do begin this drawdown from a position of strength,” Clinton told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Pres. Obama, outlined his withdrawal plan in an address to the nation Wednesday night, took his message on the road Thursday afternoon in a speech to soldiers from the Army’s 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York.

The president — who first ordered an Afghan surge in December 2009 — has called for a withdrawal of 10,000 troops by the end of year, and another 23,000 by next summer. Slightly more than 100,000 troops are currently in Afghanistan.

Administration officials have promised a full military withdrawal by the end of 2014.

Pres. Obama said Wednesday night that al Qaeda “is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11.” The president said the Afghanistan drawdown and the simultaneous winding down of the war in Iraq would help the United States begin to refocus attention and resources on efforts to resolve economic and other problems.

Military And Defense Policy
France announced on Thursday that it would also begin to reduce troop numbers, saying in it “will initiate a progressive withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan, and will follow a timetable comparable to the withdrawal of the American troops.”

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said the withdrawal will be done in consultation with NATO allies and the Afghan government.

The U. S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan will begin next month, as Pres. Obama promised when he ordered the surge in a speech 18 months ago at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

After the departure of all the surge forces, the total U.S. military deployment in Afghanistan will be slightly fewer than 70,000 troops.

Pres. Obama’s time frame will give U.S. commanders another two “fighting” seasons with the bulk of U.S. forces still available for combat operations.

JOHANNESBURG — First Lady Michelle Obama and her family are paying their respects to Nelson Mandela during a private visit at the former South African president’s home.

Mrs. Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and her mother, Marian Robinson, were viewing some of Mandela’s personal papers at his foundation Tuesday when — according to White House officials — he sent word that he wanted to meet them.

It was Mrs. Obama’s first meeting with the prisoner-turned-president.

Mr. Mandela spent 27 years in prison for his role in the anti-apartheid movement. After his release, he went on to become the country’s first Black elected president.

Mrs. Obama’s niece and nephew, who are traveling with her, were also invited to meet Mandela.