Cheryl K. Chumley

Obama’s eyes on shutdown puts China in charge at economic summit

President Obama's flip-flop on attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and then his decision to stay in Washington to deal with the government shutdown has left America playing second fiddle to China on an important world stage.

October 8, 2013

Wis. prof emails students: It’s the tea party’s fault you can’t do homework

A Wisconsin college professor said in an email to students that she understood if they couldn't collect all the necessary data to complete their homework — the tea party shut down the government.

October 8, 2013

Yuck! Water served to airline passengers still frequently contaminated

Apparently, the warning to not drink the water doesn't just apply to overseas destinations — it applies to the airline transports that get you there. Numbers from the Environmental Protection Agency indicate that plane passengers are frequently served contaminated drinking water, despite federal attempts to clear the bacteria.

October 8, 2013

Colorado gun advocates, fresh off wins, launch 3rd recall

Second Amendment supporters and activists in Colorado, buoyed by two recent recall wins, have launched another petition drive to oust a third Democrat who voted in favor of the state's much-ballyhooed new gun control laws from office.

October 8, 2013

Catholic priests booted from bases as shutdown trickles to military

Military members around the world who align with the Catholic faith may have to go without Sunday Mass services, due to the government shutdown and the subsequent ban on contract priests on bases.

October 8, 2013

Jesus portrait forced off school wall by ACLU lawsuit

Jesus has left the building. That’s the fate of a portrait of the savior of Christian faithful at one Ohio school, after the American Civil Liberties Union launched a lawsuit and demanded its removal.

October 8, 2013

Jimmy Carter: Today’s middle class was my administration’s poverty level

Former President Jimmy Carter weighed in on income disparity around the nation during an impromptu interview at a Habitat for Humanity building site, calling today’s middle-class yesterday’s poverty level.

October 8, 2013

Long Island middle school bans balls, citing student safety

So much for tossing the ball during recess — or playing tag. One middle school in Long Island has banned a list of popular playground items because the games promote roughness among the students, administrators said.

October 8, 2013

NYT reporter calls Obama’s White House most ‘control-freak’ ever

A New York Times reporter with two decades of experience as a Washington, D.C., based journalist says that the Obama administration is far from open and has a long way to go to meet its campaign vows of a transparent government.

October 7, 2013

Nicolas Sarkozy cleared in secret cash case, opening door to presidency

A court in France has quietly dropped from its docket a criminal investigation case against former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, clearing the way for him to make a new run for the nation’s highest office.

October 7, 2013

China lectures Obama on debt ceiling: ‘Clock is ticking’

As if competing interests on Capitol Hill weren’t convoluting the government shutdown dilemma and discussion enough, now comes China with somewhat pesky words of wisdom for the White House: Hurry up and solve this.

October 7, 2013

Explosion rocks Sinai security headquarters; dozens dead, wounded

A huge explosion believed to have stemmed from a car bomb has rocked the headquarters for security in a southern Sinai suburb, killing at least three and injuring nearly 50, Egyptian authorities said on Monday.

October 7, 2013

Russia’s Vladimir Putin waxes on Olympic Games — and torch flame goes out

Call it a case of unfortunate timing. But right around the time Russia President Vladimir Putin was making a televised speech about the “momentous” occasion of the Olympic torch arriving in Russia, the flame went out.

October 7, 2013

Sen. Ted Cruz: ‘We’re winning’ on Obamacare

Sen. Ted Cruz has some words of inspiration for his fellow tea party colleagues and conservative supporters: Stand fast on the Obamacare front. We’re winning.

October 7, 2013

Sen. Chuck Schumer: Speaker John Boehner is about to cave

Sen. Charles E. Schumer had a prediction on Monday on how House Speaker John A. Boehner will proceed on the government shutdown: He'll cave, Mr. Schumer said.

October 7, 2013

School to mother: Your 124-lb., 5‘5” daughter is ‘overweight’

The mother of a 5-foot, 5-inch girl who weighs 124 pounds is seeing red after Florida school officials sent home a letter warning her daughter was overweight.

October 7, 2013

Syria has started destroying WMDs, U.N. says

Inspectors with the United Nations said Monday that Syria’s military has begun destroying its cache of weapons of mass destruction, taking cutting torches to warheads and angle grinders to aerial bombs.

October 7, 2013

Justice Antonin Scalia uses ‘Seinfeld’ to forget ‘nasty’ D.C. atmosphere

Republicans and Democrats have gotten themselves into quite a fix and have fueled an atmosphere in the nation's capital that can only be described as "nasty," said Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in a just-released interview with New York magazine.

October 7, 2013

Hillary to Huma: Don’t worry about standing by your man, I’ll stand by you

Apparently, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has softened her stance on aide Huma Abedin, relenting on a weeks-ago pledge to cut her loose from her assistant role — as well as any future White House campaign run — if she didn't dump her scandal-plagued and failed-mayoral-bidding husband, Anthony Weiner.

October 7, 2013

Firefighters fight to contain Camp Pendleton blaze

Firefighters on Monday were gaining ground and containing a Camp Pendleton, Calif., wildfire that's burned through several square miles of brush and forced residents of the Marine Corps base and nearby communities to flee.

October 7, 2013