Cheryl K. Chumley

Putin at 80 percent popularity: Obama, below 50

President Putin's popularity is on the rise. Fully 80 percent of Russians see the former KGB agent in a favorable light, while only 18 percent disapprove of his leadership, a new study from the Levada Center shows.

March 27, 2014

Minnesota girl wins $70K from school that tapped her Facebook posts

A school district in Minnesota will pay $70,000 in settlement fees for unlawfully demanding a student, now 15, hand over her Facebook and email passwords so administrators could check out her postings.

March 27, 2014

Connecticut makes history passing $10.10 minimum wage

Connecticut has become the first state in the nation to pass a bill that hikes the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour — the same level touted by President Obama as his wish for federal law.

March 27, 2014

Obama on Crimea: It’s not a Cold War — it’s a ‘contest of ideas’

President Obama summed out the situation in Crimea this week with a simple assessment: The West and the world are not headed back to any Cold War with Russia. Rather, we're only engaging in a clash of ideals.

March 27, 2014

Bank of America to pay $9.3B to make federal dispute go away

Bank of America agreed to pay $9.33 billion to put to rest a long-running mortgage securities dispute with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which accused the lender of falsely representing loans that went south when the housing bubble burst.

March 27, 2014

Harry Reid in hot water for $17K campaign dole-out to granddaughter

Sen. Harry Reid — under pressure from the Federal Election Commission — revealed that he gave about $17,000 in campaign cash to his granddaughter in two separate payments that were recorded in his books as "holiday gifts."

March 27, 2014

German airports grind to a halt as workers strike for more money

Air travel through Germany has come to a virtual halt as workers went on strike Thursday to demand more money.

March 27, 2014

Navy poised to give cigarette sales the boot from bases

The U.S. Navy is about to ban all sales of cigarettes and other tobacco items from its bases and ships, Defense Department sources said on Tuesday.

March 25, 2014

Donald Rumsfeld slams Obama on Afghanistan: ‘Trained ape’ could do better

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sure didn't mince words this week when he slammed President Obama and his administration for their handling of Afghanistan: A "trained ape" could do better, he said.

March 25, 2014

John Bolton bursts on PAC scene with $800K: ‘We’re evaluating candidates’

John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is jumping into the upcoming elections with both feet forward, pledging to pump the $800,000 that his political action committee raised in 2013 to help those candidates he sees as best fits for America's future.

March 25, 2014

Drone-shy U.S. to give Yemen 10 modified planes for ‘targeted killing’

The Obama administration is poised to give the Yemen Air Force a fleet of two-seater propeller planes — akin to what's used to dust crops — that have been modified so they can carry laser-guided missiles and a high-tech intelligence system.

March 25, 2014

Nick Cannon, black rapper, fires up Twitter with whiteface photo

Nick Cannon, a black entertainer about to release a new album titled "White People Party Music," has sparked a social media frenzy by tweeting a photo of himself painted in white makeup — a switch of the old blackface that white actors donned during theatrical performances.

March 25, 2014

Alaska petition to secede to Russia going strong at 18K signers

A petition that seeks to put Alaska back under Russian control has garnered more than 18,000 signatures in just a few days — about a fifth of what's needed to capture a formal White House look.

March 25, 2014

San Diego strip club dancers sue police for ‘arrogant’ photo demands

Twenty-five San Diego strip club dancers have launched a civil rights suit against the San Diego Police Department, alleging cops mistreated them during a recent raid and forced them to strike embarrassing poses while they took photographs of their tattoos.

March 25, 2014

Verizon gears up to fight FCC — again — on Internet control

Verizon is launching another fight with the Federal Communications Commission over what it sees as an Internet freedom crackdown — new rules aligned with net neutrality ideals that the company says actually dampen innovation.

March 25, 2014

Ethiopia to list homosexuality as ‘non-pardonable’ crime

Lawmakers in Ethiopia are about to pass a law that lists homosexuality as a crime for which there is no forgiveness — a stipulation that would have dramatic impact on those seeking amnesty or pardon.

March 25, 2014

Mark Levin blasts Mitch McConnell: ‘He’s not a conservative’

Conservative radio's Mark Levin — affectionately dubbed "The Great One" by colleagues and fans alike — blasted Sen. Mitch McConnell and his fellow GOP leaders, characterizing them as RINOs, or Republicans-In-Name-Only, whose time to leave office had come.

March 25, 2014

GOP aide on White House: ‘They’ve blown off the subpoenas’; IRS faces another hearing

House Oversight Committee head Darrell Issa, angry by what he sees as the purposeful stonewalling of White House officials to stand and account for the perceived targeting of tea party people, has set yet another hearing for the Internal Revenue Service commissioner.

March 25, 2014

Big rig hauling 42K pounds of honey overturns on California highway

A truck driver carting 42,000 pounds of honey caused a massive traffic backlog on the 605 Freeway in California, after he slid and overturned, and the honey started seeping onto the road.

March 25, 2014

Four men arrested in One World Trade Center jump stunt

Police have arrested four men they say took part in a brazen jump from the top of One World Trade Center and charged them with reckless endangerment and burglary.

March 25, 2014