Cheryl K. Chumley

German cops raid Christian sect and take custody of 40 kids

About 100 police raided the “Twelve Tribes” Christian-based sect in southern Germany, taking into custody 40 children they claimed were being physically and emotionally abused. The sect members deny that allegation and say they’re being unfairly targeted for their religious beliefs, which include homeschooling and strict Christian teachings.

September 6, 2013

Johnny Manziel is no Tim Tebow, more like Miley Cyrus

Johnny Manziel may have enough quarterbacking Texas A&M star power to land on the cover of Time magazine, but it's his white face and "act black" personna that's taking the sports world by the horns.

September 6, 2013

Russia sends four warships to Mediterranean, one with ‘special cargo’

Russian news reported Friday that the nation’s navy has sent four more ships to the eastern Mediterranean, including two amphibious landing vessels.

September 6, 2013

Hello? Pope Francis here: Distraught woman shocked by pontiff’s sympathy call

A distraught pregnant woman in a self-described state of “anguish” wrote an desperate letter to Pope Francis to pour out her heart’s troubles – and was shocked when her phone rang, days later, displaying a dial code that hailed from Rome.

September 6, 2013

Liberal talk radio station goes busts in Buffalo, replaced by ESPN programming

A talk radio station in Buffalo that was home to some of the most liberal voices in politics has shuttered suddenly, and been replaced by ESPN.

September 6, 2013

Aaron Hernandez, ex-Patriots star, heads to arraignment for murder

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is due in court Friday for his arraignment on murder charges more than six weeks after his initial arrest.

September 6, 2013

Toys ‘R’ Us goes gender-neutral in U.K.

Retail toy giant Toys "R" Us announced its United Kingdom stores would stop marketing items by gender and instead adopt the policies pushed by a parent-run campaign that asserts that girls and boys are interested in playing the same games.

September 6, 2013

Harvard cheaters: 42 percent of freshmen admit cheating

Almost half of Harvard University’s incoming freshmen say they’ve cheated on school work at least once, the student-run newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, found in a survey.

September 6, 2013

Dallas zoo welcomes baby cheetahs with gift — a puppy

Two baby cheetahs that just joined the animal population at the Dallas Zoo were welcomed aboard with smiles, a new pen and a gift — an 8-week-old black Labrador retriever puppy.

September 6, 2013

EU tosses out sanctions on Iranian banks with suspected ties to nuclear program

The highest court in the European Union on Friday threw out sanctions against a handful of Iranian businesses — including banks — that were suspected of maintaining ties to the nation's nuclear program.

September 6, 2013

Author of best-seller that criticized Taliban shot by Taliban outside home

An Indian-born woman who penned one of India's best-selling books, "A Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife," about the challenges of marrying an Afghan man and escaping the clutches of the terrorist group in the 1990s, was shot multiple times outside of her husband's home in Afghanistan.

September 6, 2013

Rush Limbaugh’s new book: ‘True story on Thanksgiving … no politics in this’

Rush Limbaugh announced Thursday during his radio broadcast that he’s releasing a new book aimed at telling his version of the very American holiday, Thanksgiving, in a way that’s meaningful for children, absent political tampering.

September 6, 2013

Moderate? Syrian rebels post image of selves by burning U.S. Capitol on Facebook page

A Facebook image of a team of Syrian rebel fighters called the al-Aqsa Islamic Brigades that shows them masked, armed and marching from a burning U.S. Capitol leads intelligence analysts to ponder: Perhaps the anti-Bashar Assad forces are also anti-American.

September 6, 2013

U.S. drone kills 6 in Pakistan, fueling anger

An American drone killed at least six people in Pakistan early Friday morning, in a northwestern region known as a hideout for Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

September 6, 2013

Mexico City mulls marijuana clubs as answer to cartel violence

Mexico City council members are mulling whether or not to legalize marijuana sales and smoking — as long as the activity takes place in specially created smoking clubs — as a means of tamping down violence in the nation from drug cartels and traffickers.

September 5, 2013

Comic Dave Chappelle decries ‘evil,’ ‘white’ hecklers at Hartford show

Stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle said his show in Connecticut on Aug. 29 didn't go over so well because "young, white alcoholics" heckled him to the point that he wished North Korea — should it ever unleash a bomb on America — would hit the Hartford venue.

September 5, 2013

Wal-Mart fires worker for Facebook post that mocked Muslims

A Wal-Mart employee a New York store was sent packing after his bosses noticed comments he posted on his Facebook page that were deemed derogatory to Muslims.

September 5, 2013

California college in shock as dean dies in elephant stampede

A 58-year-old dean at the University of California was killed during a luxury safari in Tanzania after he fell in the path of stampeding elephants – 50 of them – and grieving colleagues at the college say they’re shocked, to say the least.

September 5, 2013

Pope Francis to G-20: Military action in Syria ‘futile’

Pope Francis said in a letter sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the Group of 20 should set aside talks of entering Syria with military force.

September 5, 2013

For sale: 118-carat diamond, ‘greatest white diamond ever’

A 118-carat flawless-colored diamond has hit the display shelf at Sotheby’s auction house in New York, and interested buyers will have a chance to cast their bids in October.

September 5, 2013