Cheryl K. Chumley

Boston area shuts transit, schools as manhunt spreads through Watertown

Hundreds of Boston-area commuters were stranded Friday, as transit police shut down the entire MBTA system of commuter rail, bus and subway services to comb for Suspect No. 2 who wore the white hat in the marathon bombings.

April 19, 2013

Venezuela council concedes to audit of election

Facing stiff outcry about election fraud, Venezuelan authorities agreed Friday to go forth with an audit of votes.

April 19, 2013

Police warn Boston suburbanites: Lock your doors, suspect armed with explosives on body

Police in the Boston suburb of Watertown are combing the streets in an intense manhunt for Suspect No. 2 who wore a white hat in the marathon bombings, warning residents early Friday morning not to open their doors.

April 19, 2013

Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell keeps doors open for political run

Former U.S. Senate hopeful and tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell isn't shutting the door on a future run for office.

April 18, 2013

Phillies pitcher Jonathan Papelbon: Obama ‘wants to take our guns’

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, a World Series-winning right-hander with the Boston Red Sox in 2007, stole headlines Thursday — not for his earned run average, but rather for his political views.

April 18, 2013

Wisconsin’s Scott Walker quietly tops list of GOP favorites for White House

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is the sleeping lion in a list of possible Republican candidates for president in 2016, surging to the top of some politicos' lists who see his scandal-free past as a big boon.

April 18, 2013

‘EGO Act’ targets lawmakers who spend big bucks on taxpayer-funded portraits

Portraits of congressional members cost $40,000 a pop and a Republican lawmaker from Louisiana is wondering: Why should taxpayers be paying for this?

April 18, 2013

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s ex-staffer to testify: Campaign broke funding rules

The former chief of staff for Rep. MIchele Bachmann is set to testify that her presidential campaign paid a Kansas politico to work her, in violation of campaign ethics.

April 18, 2013

Chicago sinkhole swallows three cars, injures man

A sinkhole on the southeast side of Chicago swallowed up three vehicles Thursday morning, injuring one person who had to be pulled from the hole.

April 18, 2013

Syria’s Bashar Assad says U.S. will rue backing of al Qaeda rebels

The United States is making a monumental mistake in supporting Syrian rebel forces because they're aligned with al Qaeda and they sooner or later will strike at Europe and at America's heartland, Syrian President Bashar Assad said.

April 18, 2013

Move afoot at Yale to give personhood protection to apes, elephants

Yale University is hosting a conference to debate the merits of granting personhood to animals, with input from one featured speaker who doesn't even consider human babies worthy of protection until they're a month old: ethicist Peter Singer.

April 18, 2013

Iran triples installation of uranium enrichment centrifuges

Iranian technicians have tripled the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges they have installed over the past three months to 600, diplomats warned Wednesday.

April 18, 2013

Westboro Baptist Church’s Facebook page hit by Anonymous hackers

Hackers from the group Anonymous have claimed responsibility for an attack on Westboro Baptist Church's Facebook page as retribution for the group's call to picket and protest funerals for the Boston bombing victims.

April 18, 2013

Italy seizes 22 tons of cannabis on ship off coast of Sicily

Italian coastal authorities seized on Thursday more than 22 tons of cannabis off a ship that was sailing near Sicily in what's been called the most significant drug bust in the region in a decade.

April 18, 2013

Saudi Arabia deports too sexy men to save women from temptation

Saudi Arabia's religious police have sent back home several United Arab Emirates men because they're too handsome and their good looks might tempt women.

April 18, 2013

U.S. drone strikes kill 5 suspected al Qaeda members in Yemen

At least five suspected members of al Qaeda were killed in two separate U.S. drone strikes in a mountainous region of Yemen, just south of Sanaa, a security spokesman said.

April 18, 2013

One Fund Boston: 9/11 fund manager heads up new charity for marathon victims

The same person who managed the fund for victims of the Sept. 11, 2011, terror attacks will design and head up a new charity for Boston Marathon bombing survivors and families.

April 18, 2013

Syrian rebels capture military base in strategic Homs location

A civil rights watchdog said Thursday that Syrian rebel fighters have captured the majority of a strategically located military base from President Bashar Assad's forces.

April 18, 2013

France gay marriage tensions ratchet, as 4 arrested for attacks

French authorities have detained four who are suspected of targeting and attacking gays at a bar, at a time when tensions are high and nationals split over a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

April 18, 2013

72 lawmakers to ABC, NBC, CBS: Explain failure to cover abortionist Kermit Gosnell

Seventy-two members of Congress on Wednesday sent letters to executives at three major networks — ABC, CBS, NBC — expressing outrage at their blatant avoidance of Kermit Gosnell's grisly abortion trial.

April 18, 2013