In brief: ‘Hoodie’ marchers protest shooting

New York – The parents of a black teenager shot to death by a Hispanic neighborhood watch captain in Florida told hundreds of people at a march in his memory on Wednesday that they won’t stop until they get justice for him.

“My son did not deserve to die,” the teenager’s father, Tracy Martin, said after thanking the crowd.

Martin’s son, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, was killed Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla. He was returning to a gated community in the city after buying candy at a convenience store. He was unarmed and was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, called a hoodie.

The neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, has not been charged in the shooting. Zimmerman has said Martin attacked him and he shot the teen in self-defense.

On Wednesday night, demonstrators chanted “we want arrests” during the Million Hoodie March in Manhattan’s Union Square.

The case has ignited a furor against the police department of the Orlando suburb of 53,500 people. Seminole County State Attorney Norm Wolfinger said a grand jury will meet April 10 to consider evidence in the case.

House panel approves new GOP budget plan

Washington – Republicans on a key House panel Wednesday muscled through a contentious GOP budget plan to sharply cut federal health care spending and safety-net programs like food stamps as the chief means to attack trillion-dollar-plus deficits.

The House Budget Committee approved the GOP plan on a near party-line 19-18 vote, readying it for a House vote next week.

The GOP plan is nonbinding but calls for repealing President Barack Obama’s health care law while transforming Medicare into a voucher-like system in which the government subsidizes purchases of health insurance on the private market instead of directly paying doctor and hospital bills.

Marine faces discipline for political statements

San Diego – The Marine Corps on Wednesday notified a sergeant who has been openly critical of President Barack Obama that he is violating Pentagon policy barring troops from political activities and that he faces dismissal.

Camp Pendleton Marine Sgt. Gary Stein started a Facebook page called Armed Forces Tea Party to encourage fellow service members to exercise their free speech rights. He declared a few weeks ago that he would not follow the unlawful orders of the commander in chief. Stein also criticized Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for his comments on Syria.

Stein, a nine-year member of the Corps, said he did nothing wrong and planned to fight the charges.