Cheryl K. Chumley

Wonder Woman gets major revamp with ‘Fast and Furious’ actress

And the new Wonder Woman is ... Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress who scored fame for her role as Gisele in — coincidentally enough, given the recent death of Paul Walker — the "Fast and Furious" film series.

December 5, 2013

Paul Walker secretly bought $9K wedding ring for Iraq vet

Adding truth to the old adage "only the good die young" is this story from a Santa Barbara jewelry store owner, who recounted a sheer act of kindness and generosity by actor Paul Walker, who died in a fiery car crash at age of 40 on Sunday.

December 5, 2013

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford tried to squelch crack claims by offering to buy video for $5K: court

Toronto's embattled mayor, Rob Ford — who just landed a radio gig at a Washington, D.C., sports station — tried to silence the media storm that brewed over his crack-smoking activities by offering to buy the video that supposedly proved his drug use, new court documents reveal.

December 5, 2013

Mystery sign poster hits Washington state town: ‘It’s OK to say Merry Christmas’

Somebody in Redmond, Wash., is taking a strong stand for Christmas by posting signs all around town that contain biblical verses and tout the bold proclamation: "It's OK to say Merry Christmas."

December 5, 2013

Anthony Weiner on radio? Cumulus says, ‘Never, ever’

A New York daily newspaper may have reported that disgraced and failed New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner was a top considered choice for a new WABC radio show, but Cumulus Media couldn't be clearer in denying interest.

December 5, 2013

American teacher shot and killed at Benghazi international school

An American teacher at an international school in Benghazi, Libya, was shot and killed Thursday.

December 5, 2013

Obama to send 2 Gitmo terror suspects back to Algeria

The White House announced Thursday it was transferring two Guantanamo Bay inmates — one who's accused of plotting to bomb a U.S. Embassy, and the other of fighting against U.S. troops — back to Algeria, an apparent step in the direction of achieving President Obama's promise to close the detention facility.

December 5, 2013

Executive order: Obama ups green-energy mandate on feds to 20 percent

By 2020, federal agencies will have to up their use of renewable energy sources significantly, and replace 20 percent of electricity with greener options, President Obama said, in a new executive order due for release on Thursday.

December 5, 2013

GOP launches candidate training: How to talk to women

The National Republican Congressional Committee has gone back to basics and teamed up with top aides to help school GOP members facing election challenge on a key campaign skill: How to talk to women.

December 5, 2013

N.Y.’s Rockefeller Center lights up, as Bloomberg flicks on 76-foot Christmas tree

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg flicked the switch on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree Wednesday evening, following in the footsteps of a tradition that's been honored since 1933 — the annual tree lighting at the downtown site.

December 5, 2013

Northern Ireland turns to ‘Game of Thrones’ to draw in tourists

Northern Ireland tourism agents trying to spark some travel and pull in some revenues are looking to television for ideas, trying to piggyback off the popular HBO series “Game of Thrones” as a destination draw.

December 5, 2013

Washington woman live-tweets husband’s horrific car death

A Washington woman with an affinity for tracking police activity on her scanner, and live tweeting out updates to her followers, unwittingly sent out social media details of her own husband's fatal car crash as the action unfolded.

December 5, 2013

China City of America mulled for New York — with $65M tax dollars

A Long Island businesswoman said her plan to build a huge “Chinese Disneyland” in upstate New York, laid out in Feng Shui fashion, could draw in thousands of wealthy immigrants and up to $6 billion in foreign investment. All that’s needed is a $65 million contribution from the federal government to help kick off the construction.

December 5, 2013

Yemen defense ministry rocked by suicide bomber, gunfire

A suicide bomber carting explosives in a car set off a firestorm at the defense ministry facility in Yemen, killing 15 soldiers and injuring at least 40.

December 5, 2013

Hack attack: 2 million Facebook, Twitter passwords stolen

Social media users beware: Hackers have busted into at least 2 million accounts and stolen passwords at Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo and other sites, a new report revealed this week.

December 5, 2013

‘Black Santa’ display at IU sparks student outrage

A bulletin display at one Indiana University residence hall didn’t go over so well – a ‘black Santa’ posting that was aimed at revealing cultural and racial stereotypes among students – and campus heads were pressured to apologize and remove it.

December 4, 2013

Drone technology turns South, targets feral pigs to kill

Louisiana Hog Control, an extermination company that launched in 2011, says it has killed more than 300 pigs in the past six months using radio-controlled aircraft that transmit messages to hunters on the ground — the latest inventive use for drones.

December 4, 2013

Israel mulls gift of West Bank land to Palestinians

Israel soon may give 7.7 square miles of land in the West Bank that it has controlled since the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords to the Palestinian Authority for farming.

December 4, 2013

Doctors say ‘profound’ new HIV treatment may prove the cure

Forget the anti-viral drugs. Doctors say they may very well have discovered a new and more successful treatment for HIV-positive patients – flooding the body with powerful bursts of radiation that weaken and kill infected white blood cells.

December 4, 2013

NYPD head Ray Kelly wins big retirement perk — a $1.5M tax-paid team of bodyguards

Raymond W. Kelly, the commissioner of the New York Police Department, will receive a 10-member team of around-the-clock security officers when he retires next year, a task force that's going to cost taxpayers an estimated $1.5 million a year.

December 4, 2013