Cheryl K. Chumley

South Africa’s partying parents leave 70 kids on beach: ‘What kind of parenting is this?’

Dozens of children were abandoned on the beaches of Cape Town, South Africa, during New Year's Eve celebrations that saw partying parents forget their responsibilities — and go home without their children.

January 2, 2015

Florida courthouses stop all weddings to avoid performing gay ceremonies

Several counties in Florida have put the kibosh on performing any weddings as a sort of duck and dodge against serving gays — the logic being that clerks with religious objections to homosexual marriage aren't breaking any laws if they don't offer services to anyone.

January 2, 2015

Christian Gomez accused of beheading mom in New Year’s attack

A Florida man, 23, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after his brother called 911 to report the beheading of their mother, police said.

January 2, 2015

U.S.-led coalition jets attack Islamic State stronghold in Syria

Coalition jets led by the U.S. military launched more than a dozen attacks on Islamic State stronghold areas in northeastern Syria overnight in what's being billed as response raids to the terror group's capture of a Jordanian pilot last month.

January 2, 2015

Mike Gravel, ex-Alaska senator, to lead up marijuana company Kush

Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, 84, is going into the marijuana business, announcing just this week that he's en route to taking over the leadership role in Kush, a company that creates and markets products from cannabis.

January 2, 2015

U.S. veteran: Going to Syria to fight ‘like booking flight to Miami Beach’

A U.S. military veteran known only as "John" said he was recruited to fight on the front Syrian lines against the Islamic State, and the whole process was about as easy as booking a flight to Florida for vacation.

January 2, 2015

Pope Francis’ New Year’s wish: ‘That there will never be more wars’

Pope Francis said his wish for the new year was clear and simple — that the world never see another war.

January 2, 2015

Robert De Niro urges gifts to slain policemen’s fund: ‘They’ve done their duty’

Hollywood bigwig Robert De Niro said New Yorkers and others ought to donate to the fund for family members of slain Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos — it's an obligation, he said.

January 2, 2015

Marco Rubio guesses new sanctions on Iran are on the way

Sen. Marco Rubio said the New Year's new Republican majority in the Senate was more than likely to bring something else new: more sanctions on Iran.

December 31, 2014

Michigan university votes on ‘banished’ words: ‘Swag,’ ‘foodie,’ cra-cra,’ ‘hack’

Michigan's Lake Superior State University just released its list of overused and misused words, saying the likes of "polar vortex," "hack," and "skill set" ought to be outright banned from use.

December 31, 2014

Creationists reveal ‘Thank God for Freedom’ billboard to counter ‘intolerant liberals’

Those of faith have shelled out the money needed to rent billboard space in Times Square for a New Year's message aimed at who they've deemed the "intolerant liberals" — one that bluntly thanks God for America's freedoms.

December 31, 2014

GAO to feds: Bring your own plastic forks — taxpayers shouldn’t buy them

The U.S. Government Accountability Office sent a message to federal employees who brown-bag their lunches: Bring your own forks to eat with — it's not the taxpayer's job to provide them.

December 31, 2014

Jonathan Gruber in 2009: Obamacare’s unaffordable and that’s ‘a major issue’

Jonathan Gruber, the White House adviser infamously captured on video crediting Obamacare's passage to the "stupidity" of the American people, admitted in a 2009 policy brief that the health care package was unaffordable — and the way to trim costs was to make the insured pay for expensive treatments.

December 31, 2014

New Year’s biggest partiers: Russians, who don’t hit bed until 3:43 a.m.

When it comes to partying on New Year's Eve, Russians take the cake, staying at celebrations — and away from their beds of slumber — until almost 4 a.m., on average.

December 31, 2014

John Bolton: America’s biggest problem is the ‘self-induced weakness’ of Team Obama

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton predicted a dire year for the United States in 2015, at least when it comes to foreign affairs.

December 31, 2014

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Saudi king, hospitalized for medical tests

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, believed to be 91 years old, has been admitted to the hospital for undisclosed medical tests.

December 31, 2014

Lizard Squad hackers offer cyberattacking services for fee

Lizard Squad, the group that's claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day cyberattacks on Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox systems, is now offering it's hacking services to the public at-large, via a new website promotion.

December 31, 2014

Edmonton man, ‘depressed and overly emotional,’ kills 8 and himself

Police say an Edmonton man shot and killed eight people — including two children — before taking his own life.

December 31, 2014

CDC warns flu season ‘severe’ — but then says it’s normal, not ‘terribly severe’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a somewhat confusing assessment of this year's influenza strain, warning first of a "severe" season and then clarifying that well, it's not that different from past seasons.

December 31, 2014

David Duke, ex-KKKer, warns GOP: Back Steve Scalise, or I’ll name names

David Duke, the former head of the Ku Klux Klan, sent out a somewhat ominous message to Republican Party operatives to treat Rep. Steve Scalise fairly, or he'll start naming names of others in the political arena with whom he's met and maintained ties.

December 31, 2014