Cheryl K. Chumley

Oscar Pistorius tearful as prosecutors indict Olympian for premeditated murder

Oscar Pistorius, the “Blade Runner”-sprinting Olympian hero of South Africa, will face a March 3 trial on premeditated murder charges for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, prosecutors said on Monday.

August 19, 2013

Illinois passes gun law requiring citizen sellers to do background checks

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a new gun control measure into law on Sunday that mandates all owners — even private citizens — perform background checks on potential buyers before finalizing weapons sales.

August 19, 2013

Afghan President Hamid Karzai sacks attorney general for secret Taliban talks

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has fired his attorney general, Muhammad Ishaq Aloko, after learning the top law enforcement officer had been engaging in behind-doors talks with the Taliban in Dubai, against presidential orders.

August 19, 2013

German city hall in chaos as gunman holds several hostages

A man is holding several people hostage at a government center in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, German police said Monday.

August 19, 2013

Militants ambush, kill dozens of police riding on bus in Egypt

Twenty-five police were killed Monday after militants in Egypt's northern Sinai Peninsula ambushed their minibuses and shot them, execution-style.

August 19, 2013

Kansas groups demand city ban weapon-carrying drones

A handful of political and activist organizations in Kansas have partnered to request Lawrence government heads protect city residents from drones and legislate against their local use.

August 19, 2013

Obama wraps vacation with final round of golf

President Obama returned to the White House late Sunday, following a week-long family get-away to Martha’s Vineyard – but not before squeezing in one last round of golf.

August 19, 2013

Barbara Bush: ‘Unbelievably accomplished’ Hillary Clinton should run in 2016

Hillary Rodham Clinton received some strong support for a 2016 White House run from a conservative camper on Thursday — none other than the 31-year-old daughter of former President George W. Bush, Barbara.

August 16, 2013

Rodeo clown who mocked Obama committed ‘hate crime,’ NAACP says

The rodeo clown at the Missouri state fair who donned a mask of President Obama and mocked about a bull running him over is guilty of a hate crime, the head of the state's NAACP chapter said in a radio show late Thursday.

August 16, 2013

Texas city sends in SWAT to remove homeowner’s property blight

Sustainable farm owners in Arlington, Texas, said SWAT members invaded their home and property under false pretenses -- alleging the family was growing marijuana -- and destroyed fruit and vegetable patches and confiscated 20,400 pounds of material used for the farming operation, all in the name of obliterating what city officials said was blight.

August 16, 2013

CIA finally acknowledges Area 51’s existence

The CIA finally acknowledged the existence of the mysterious Area 51 in central Nevada, referencing the site that's been the stuff of conspiracy stories for decades in newly declassified documents made public on Thursday.

August 16, 2013

Illinois lawmaker: Hillary Clinton screamed in closed-door session on Benghazi at terrorism label

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a congressman from Illinois, said he was shocked when the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton actually screamed at one of his congressional colleagues during a closed-door session to discuss Benghazi, Libya, just days after the terrorist attack.

August 16, 2013

Afghan man kills wife for going to market without permission

An Afghanistan man on an honor-killing crusade fatally shot his wife this week when she went to the market without first obtaining his permission, a police spokesman said.

August 16, 2013

Georgia’s new law bans drivers from paying others’ tolls

So much for the good deed. In Georgia, drivers riding through toll booths can't pay the fee for the car behind them any longer, thanks to a new law that took effect on Friday.

August 16, 2013

Newtown, Conn., gun permit requests on track to double from 2012

The number of permit requests for guns from residents of Newtown, Conn., the site of the gruesome Sandy Hook school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, have risen substantially in recent months.

August 16, 2013

‘Spider-Man’ performer trapped in stage on Broadway, rushed to hospital

A Broadway performance of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" turned disastrous on Thursday night as the superhero fell through a trap door on the stage during the performance, and emergency responders rushed to cut him from the floorboards and transport him to the hospital.

August 16, 2013

Coffee kills, cola causes violence: New studies knock favorite drinks

It's getting so water is about the only safe beverage left on the planet — and even that doesn't come without caveats, as researchers point to the dangers of tap and the need to buy bottled. But the newest studies: Drinking four or more cups of coffee a day could bring early death, and cola causes violence in kids.

August 16, 2013

Arizona’s tough Joe Arpaio puts crosses in desert to mark illegals’ deaths

Tough-talking Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who's been slammed by detractors who say his border control crackdown views are anti-immigrant and racist, has ordered his deputies to commemorate those who die while crossing into the United States by placing Christian crosses at the site of their desert deaths.

August 16, 2013

Ecuador abandons ‘no drill’ plan after enviros fail to pay preservation cash

Ecuador had high hopes of saving its rainforests with an energy policy that relied on rich countries to pay the government not to drill for oil in the Amazon. But those hopes were dashed when the wealthy countries didn't come through with the cash.

August 16, 2013

80 percent Israeli Jews say peace with Palestinians impossible: survey

Fully 80 percent of Israeli Jews don't think a peace agreement can be brokered with Palestinians, a new opinion poll released Friday found. The survey comes just two days after key political players have resumed peace talks in Jerusalem.

August 16, 2013