Cheryl K. Chumley

Condoleeza Rice’s $52,450 portrait unveiled at State Department

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's portrait — a $52,450 tax-paid picture — was unveiled at the State Department in front of a nonpartisan crowd on Wednesday.

June 19, 2014

Facebook goes down, shutting out millions of users

Facebook malfunctioned for a short time early Thursday morning, shutting out millions of users from Israel to the United Kingdom to India.

June 19, 2014

Iraq terror supporters mock Michelle Obama: ‘#BringBackOurHumvee’

Supporters of the ISIL uprising against Iraq's government have taken to Twitter to send out a mocking message aimed at U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, posting a doctored photograph of the White House figure holding a sign: "#BRINGBACK OUR HUMVEE."

June 19, 2014

Black ISIL flag flies over Iraq’s largest oil refinery, witnesses say

Witnesses say that the black flags of ISIL were flying Thursday over the site of Iraq's largest oil refinery, despite the claims of government officials who insist they're still in control of the facility.

June 19, 2014

Taliban destroy dozens of NATO supply trucks in Afghanistan

Four Taliban terrorists attacked and exploded 37 trucks that were part of a NATO supply chain in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar on Thursday.

June 19, 2014

Former Marine in Texas fights to convince VA: I’m not dead

A Houston, Texas, former Marine has found himself in the fight for his life with the Veterans Affairs Department — trying to prove he is not, in fact, dead.

June 18, 2014

Obama on LGBT rights: ‘Who you love shouldn’t be a fireable offense’

President Obama told a New York City crowd of LGBT supporters that even though he's taking executive action to ensure federal contractors can't fire anyone for their sexual orientation, gay-rights activists still need to press Congress for similar protections.

June 18, 2014

Walmart sued over ‘SWAT-like’ treatment of mentally disabled woman

A couple in Michigan has launched a lawsuit against Walmart, claiming their 25-year-old mentally disabled daughter was shocked and terrorized by "SWAT-like" tactics of security officers and police who accused her -- wrongfully, it turns out -- of shoplifting.

June 18, 2014

Obama hit with hypocrisy tag for attending ‘Super PAC’ fundraiser party

Republicans charged President Obama with hypocrisy, after he attended a Super PAC fundraising party -- the same type of gathering he once disdained and slammed as a threat to open governance and a transparent political process.

June 18, 2014

60 foreign construction workers abducted by terrorists in Iraq: report

Turkey's Foreign Ministry has asked its embassy to investigate reports that 60 construction workers from five nations were abducted by Islamic terrorists from a building site by the city of Kirkuk.

June 18, 2014

Tea party blasts Obama for ‘honoring illegal immigrants’ at White House

The co-founder of Tea Party Patriots blasted President Obama for his White House ceremony to honor border crossers who were accepted into his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, saying his public embrace sends the wrong message to illegal immigrants.

June 18, 2014

U.S. drones take out 4 in terrorist hot zone of Pakistan

U.S. drones were suspected of targeting and killing four militants at a hideout in the northwestern tribal region of Pakistan, in a border area by Afghanistan known as a terrorist hotbed, Pakistani intelligence agents said.

June 18, 2014

‘Rob Ford the Musical’ launches, as rehabbing Toronto mayor preps return to office

Just as Rob Ford, Toronto's beleaguered mayor, is trying to make a quiet transition from rehab to work, here comes a theatrical performance about his life of drugs, alcohol and partying: "Rob Ford the Musical: Birth of a Ford Nation."

June 18, 2014

Obama’s foreign policy favor with America falters: ‘This is a bad poll’ for him

President Obama's poll numbers on foreign policy have hit the lowest level of his White House career, new statistics from a joint NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey showed. And what's even more significant: The poll didn't even include any questions about Iraq.

June 18, 2014

Hillary Clinton faults Iraq, not Obama, for U.S. troop pullout in 2011

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested Tuesday that the total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq at the end of 2011 was not President Obama's fault or decision, but rather Prime Minister Mouri al-Maliki's.

June 18, 2014

ISIL terrorists lay siege to Iraq’s largest oil refinery

Islamic militants with the terror group ISIL launched a massive attack on Iraq's largest oil refinery, threatening the future of the one of the country's primary energy feeds.

June 18, 2014

Americans renouncing citizenship to flee tax fines hit record highs

The number of Americans who have been renouncing their citizenship in order to escape costly tax compliance penalties has skyrocketed in recent months, the Wall Street Journal found.

June 17, 2014

John Kerry speaks of ‘vital security’ of climate change use rules for ocean

Secretary of State John Kerry took a sidestep from dealing with terrorist uprisings in Iraq to host a Tuesday morning conference on "Our Ocean" and reiterate to the 80 countries that participated how America has a "shared responsibility" to keep seas clear and clean.

June 17, 2014

Malia Obama lands high-profile, one-day TV gig on Halle Berry show

Malia Obama, who turns 16 years old on July 4, was seen working as a production assistant for a day on the set of a new Halle Berry television show.

June 17, 2014

Alaska to offer pregnancy tests in bathroom bars, restaurants

Alaska — which has the nation's highest rate of fetal alcohol syndrome — is rolling out a new campaign to counter the newborn defect by putting pregnancy tests in select bar and restaurant bathrooms, beginning this December.

June 17, 2014