Cheryl K. Chumley

1,700 firefighters battle flames in Washington and Oregon as hundreds flee homes

More than 1,000 firefighters on Thursday were still fighting 200 square miles of blazes that were sweeping across Washington and Oregon, sending hundreds of homeowners fleeing.

August 1, 2013

Egypt tells police: Take ‘necessary measures’ to end protests

Leading Egyptian government authorities told police on Wednesday to take whatever steps were necessary to end the days-long sit-ins and protests that have marked Cairo since former President Mohammed Morsi was ousted, in early July.

July 31, 2013

Inmate shoots cop at Boston hospital in struggle over gun

A prisoner being transported to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary on Wednesday for specialty treatment wrested a gun away from the sheriff who was escorting him, and shot him in the leg.

July 31, 2013

Egyptian cleric on Islamic law: If you beat your wife, just don’t touch her face

An Egyptian cleric appearing on a recent religious television show on Iqra TV Europe/Africa told a woman who sent in a question from Norway: It's okay for Muslim husbands to beat wives, so long as they don't touch the face.

July 31, 2013

Waffle House robber in Atlanta stymied by gun-wielding customer

An armed man attempting a late-night robbery at a Waffle House eatery in Atlanta was surprised when some quick-thinking customers with weapons of their own intervened.

July 31, 2013

Government can grab GPS phone data at will, court rules

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in a 2-1 decision that the federal government may grab GPS data from telephone carriers without a warrant, the New York Times reported.

July 31, 2013

Rush Limbaugh: GOP wants to rid base of tea party

Radio host Rush Limbaugh, in a rare television appearance Tuesday with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, said it's clear the Republican Party wants nothing to do with tea partiers.

July 31, 2013

British cafeteria server fired for giving pork to Muslim girl, 7

A cafeteria worker in the United Kingdom who unwittingly served pork to a 7-year-old Muslim student has been fired, and even Muslim groups say the school went too far.

July 31, 2013

Anthony Weiner’s new ad: ‘Quit isn’t the way we roll’

Anthony Weiner has released a new campaign ad, asserting yet again that his bid for mayor of New York City would continue, despite rising objections from even members of his own Democratic Party.

July 31, 2013

Black robbery suspects fooled victims by donning white masks, witnesses say

Three Queens, N.Y., black robbery suspects donned white face masks of such high quality that victims of their heist actually believed they were Caucasian, witnesses said in court on Tuesday.

July 31, 2013

Edward Snowden to appeal any Russian rejection of asylum, lawyer says

National Security Agency information leaker Edward Snowden will not go quietly if Russian authorities decide to shoot down his request for temporary asylum, his lawyer said Wednesday.

July 31, 2013

Huma Abedin taking vacation, not ‘leave of absence,’ campaign says

Anthony Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, is due to take a lengthy vacation from her job with former first lady Hillary Clinton in August, and campaign officials for her husband's mayoral race have rushed to explain that the time off is not a "leave of absence."

July 31, 2013

Water bill error sends Dallas man $60K-plus charge — twice

Talk about high water bills. One Dallas man takes the cake on that statement, reporting that water department authorities just mailed him a bill for $67,000 — in error.

July 31, 2013

Al Qaeda head: ‘We will spare no effort to free our prisoners’ at Gitmo

A leader of al Qaeda said on an Internet audio recording posted Wednesday that militants would stop at nothing to bring about the release of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and that America's treatment of inmates who hunger strike is deplorable.

July 31, 2013

Sen. John McCain: Fox News is ‘schizophrenic,’ and tea party is negative

Sen. John McCain in a sit-down interview with The New Republic earlier this week called Fox News "schizophrenic" on immigration and suggested that tea party members were damaging to the Republican Party, touting negative messages that ran counter to Americans' political will.

July 31, 2013

San Diego nixes Mayor Bob Filner’s try at taxpayer dollars for legal bills

San Diego City Council members voted unanimously — twice — late Tuesday to deny Mayor Bob Filner's request for taxpayers to provide his legal defense of several sexual harassment charges.

July 31, 2013

TSA misconduct rises 26 percent in 3 years: GAO report

A just-released Government Accountability Office report shows that Transportation Security Administration misconduct is on the rise — and significantly. Reported instances of theft, sleeping on the job and granting family and friends reprieves from intrusive screenings have increased by 26 percent over the last three years.

July 31, 2013

Florida gas blast investigators see human error as possible cause

Human error is one possible reason for the central Florida gas plant explosion that injured eight on Tuesday, investigators said. So is equipment malfunction — but definitely not sabotage, authorities ruled.

July 31, 2013

Fast food workers stage strike, demanding $15-per-hour pay

Thousands of fast food restaurant employees around the nation have staged a strike, demanding to be paid a minimum of $15 per hour.

July 30, 2013

White House presses for team of ‘nudge’ experts to sway American behavior

The White House has kicked off several federal projects aimed at influencing how Americans react to certain policy reforms, going so far as to solicit behavior experts to join a British-style "Behavioral Insights Team" to help nudge voters into accepting key political programs.

July 30, 2013