Cheryl K. Chumley

Game of the century? NYC Mayor de Blasio challenges Obama to hoops match

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio put the word out, via an Instagram post of a phone video: I challenge President Obama to a game of one-on-one.

June 4, 2014

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vows to ‘protect nuclear rights’ and kick sanctions to curb

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani adopted some tough talk during a recent address to his country, promising fellow citizens that he will stand strong in the face of Western sanctions and continue to pursue what he characterized as "nuclear rights."

June 4, 2014

NSA chief defends facial spying on Americans: ‘We have very specific restrictions’

Adm. Michael Rogers, chief of the National Security Agency, defended his agents' use of facial recognition technology and said that it wasn't often that U.S. citizens were swept up in the data collection.

June 4, 2014

Florida man dials 911 to report: My wife threw out my beer

A Florida man was arrested after authorities said he dialed 911 seven times — to report that his wife threw away his beer.

June 3, 2014

Ronald Reagan letter to little girl on sale for $20K

President Ronald Reagan responded personally nearly 30 years ago to an 11-year-old girl's request for help with the homeless by sending a handwritten note and a check for $50 — both of which are now for sale for the price of $20,000.

June 3, 2014

Virginia group hoists huge Confederate flag along I-95

The Virginia Flaggers, a group that seeks to honor the Confederate legacy of the South, has hoisted a massive, 20-by-30-foot battle flag along a portion of Interstate 95 near Fredericksburg, about 50 miles south of the nation's capital.

June 3, 2014

CNN’s Marc Lamont Hill admits: ‘I use the N-word promiscuously’ in private

Marc Lamont Hill, a nationally recognized black political commentator, admitted during a panel discussion on CNN about pop star Justin Bieber's use of a racial slur that he's said the same himself — on more than one occasion.

June 3, 2014

Facebook adds 28 different ‘Pride’ emoticons for LGBT users

Facebook has added a new menu of emoticons to its lineup aimed at giving the LGBT crowd a nod: A "Pride" rainbow-colored swash of options to show that "love is universal," the social-media site touted.

June 3, 2014

Sen. Barbara Boxer: Let’s let families take guns from ‘unstable’ people

Family members ought to be given the lawful authority to confiscate guns from those they deem "unstable" and "violent, Sen. Barbara Boxer said, while pushing her new "Pause for Safety Act" bill that comes in response to the Isla Vista shootings and stabbings.

June 3, 2014

Sarah Palin on Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl: ‘You blew it again, Barack Obama’

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had harsh words for President Obama over his decision to trade five radical Taliban inmates at Guantanamo Bay for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl: He "blew it," she said.

June 3, 2014

U.N., New York City align on climate change as chiefs meet for pow-wow

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio met this week for a sit-down back-pat for each other's efforts to combat climate change -- a get-together being heralded by diplomats as a sign of the world's readiness to join an international treaty.

June 3, 2014

Israel ‘deeply disappointed’ at Obama’s embrace of Hamas-backed government

Israeli heads say a new Palestinian unity government that's promising peace in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is too tied to Hamas to embrace — and the fact that the White House has offered it support and financial backing is a major concern.

June 3, 2014

Girls, 12, accused of stabbing friend 19 times to impress mythical ‘Slenderman’

Two Wisconsin girls, ages 12, were arrested and charged with stabbing one of their friends — another girl, also age 12 — to impress a mythical character named "Slenderman" that they read about on a horror-filled website.

June 3, 2014

Seattle’s socialist council member on $15 minimum-wage hike: ‘We did it’

Seattle is now home to the highest-paying, minimum-wage positions in the nation — and the socialist member of the City Council that passed the $15 per hour mandate said it couldn't have happened without the support of hundreds of activists, protesters and area workers.

June 3, 2014

Obama in Poland asks U.S. for $1B for ‘sacrosanct’ security needs in Europe

President Obama touched down in Europe on Tuesday, taking to the international stage to ask Congress from across the ocean for a $1 billion dole-out to bolster U.S. military in the region.

June 3, 2014

Hillary Clinton defends ‘tough’ choice to swap Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for prisoners

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered cautious defense of the White House decision to swap Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban members at Guantanamo Bay, saying President Obama was handed a "tough" decision and critics should hold back their opinions.

June 3, 2014

Soldiers killed trying to rescue Bowe Bergdahl, branded a deserter by comrades

At least six soldiers died while searching for Sgt. Bowe Bergdhal in hostile Taliban territory when he went missing in Afghanistan five years ago.

June 2, 2014

Family values group pushes boycott of gay activist Harvey Milk postage stamp

A family values group is pressing for Americans to boycott the latest U.S. Postal Service stamp featuring the smiling face of slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

June 2, 2014

California counties to vote to create new state: Jefferson, a freestanding republic

Voters in a couple of California counties are set to decide Tuesday whether or not they'll secede and start their own territory -- an entirely new state called Jefferson.

June 2, 2014

‘Don’t do stupid stuff’ emerges as White House foreign policy doctrine

Just as former President Bill Clinton had a working mantra to help him keep his eyes on what was important to Americans — "It's the economy, stupid" — the White House under President Obama seems to have adopted its own message on foreign affairs: "Don't do stupid stuff."

June 2, 2014