Cheryl K. Chumley

Power of the new pope: Lapsed Catholics feel drawn to give Francis a try

Newly minted Pope Francis is already making a mark. At least some of the Church's lapsed Catholics, disenfranchised by years of scandals and rigid teachings, say they're now giving the religion a second look and returning to the fold.

April 10, 2013

Swarthmore College students send conservative commencement speaker packing

Swarthmore College students successfully ran off former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick — whom they termed a "war criminal" — from serving as commencement speaker at the upcoming graduation ceremony.

April 10, 2013

Dick Cheney on North Korea: U.S. ‘in deep doo doo’

Former Vice President Dick Cheney issued a blunt warning to Republican leaders in Congress about the state of American and North Korean relations: The United States is in trouble.

April 10, 2013

Drones over America: Pilot error costs U.S. taxpayers $10M for crash

The Air Force is reporting that it was mostly the pilot's fault for wrecking an unmanned drone in December in the Arizona desert.

April 10, 2013

Kim Jong-un 1994: ‘Grease’ actor, comic book reader, ‘quietest person’ ever

Before Kim Jong-un, 30, was a North Korean dictator threatening to wipe out the West with nuclear bombs he held a different job — as a skinny-boned, leather jacket wearing member of a "good" gang in an all-American theatrical production of Grease.

April 9, 2013

Brad Paisley: Country crooner defends ‘Accidental Racist’ duet with LL Cool J

Country star Brad Paisley is not apologizing for the song "Accidental Racist," his duet with New York rapper LL Cool J, despite the stir it has caused among some listeners who find the lyrics appalling.

April 9, 2013

Harry Reid: Congress should investigate NCAA’s ‘absolute control’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Congress ought to step into the arena of college sports and investigate whether the NCAA has too much power over athletes.

April 9, 2013

Rare 1971 Lamborghini worth up to $1.7M wrecked by fire

A rare Lamborghini Miura SV that hails from 1971 and once wore the proud title of fastest production car in the world has been reduced to ashy shell, half of its body and engine consumed by fire.

April 9, 2013

Beleaguered Carnival Cruise Lines to expand into Asia

Carnival Cruise Lines, which has been plagued by a string of technical problems that have left passengers stranded at port and at sea, is nonetheless moving to expand its operations.

April 9, 2013

Muslim ‘religious’ law locks Toronto dad out of 9-year-old daughter’s swim class

A single father who lives in the Toronto area said he knew his 9-year-old daughter's swim class was girls-only — but he didn't know that meant he couldn't watch.

April 9, 2013

New state, local gun-control plan: Tax ‘em to death

Gun control, meet taxes. That's the new state- and local-government plan to crack down on firearms purchases, as officials await federal policy reform.

April 9, 2013

Bloomberg copies NRA: His anti-gun group debuts scorecard on Congress

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said his group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is going to take a page from the NRA playbook and start scoring members of Congress, from A through F.

April 9, 2013

Jimmy Carter peace award sparks outrage from pro-Israeli camp

A Jewish university that proposes awarding former President Jimmy Carter with a peace award has sparked the outrage of pro-Israel activists, who say he's done little, if anything, to advance their cause.

April 9, 2013

Hoax: Megachurch pastor Joel Osteen renounces faith

The Rev. Joel Osteen, pastor of Houston's Lakewood megachurch, has renounced his belief in God and resigned from his spiritual leadership post — just kidding.

April 9, 2013

Japan deploys missile-defense systems around Tokyo

Japan is taking seriously threats from North Korea, and on Tuesday deployed missile-defense shields at three of its Tokyo sites.

April 9, 2013

Earthquake hits near Iran’s nuclear power plant

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck 55 miles outside Bushehr, Iran, where the nation's only nuclear power station is based.

April 9, 2013

WikiLeaks: Marcos forced Philippine military chiefs to dress in drag as entertainment

Ferdinand Marcos, the U.S.-backed Philippine dictator from 1965 to 1986, forced his leading military chiefs to dress and dance in drag at a 1973 birthday party planned by his wife, Imelda, newly released cables from a U.S. diplomat showed.

April 9, 2013

Obama declares ‘National Equal Pay Day’ as gesture on gender bias

President Obama issued a declaration of "National Equal Pay Day" for Thursday, in a gesture aimed at highlighting what he described as a disparity between men and women in the workforce.

April 9, 2013

Defiant Iran goes forth with 2 nuclear projects

Iran put the finishing touch on its latest round of nuclear talks with world powers with a symbolic face-slap and on Tuesday jumpstarted two key nuclear-related projects.

April 9, 2013

Microsoft leads coalition to fight Google for unfair market practices

Microsoft is leading a multicompany charge against Google, alleging the company committed antitrust violations and asking that European authorities investigate its mobile smartphone sales and marketing techniques.

April 9, 2013