Cheryl K. Chumley

Western Wall women detained for breaching gender law

Five women have been detained for questioning at the Western Wall in Jerusalem because they performed a religious ritual that Orthodox Jewish law dictates as for men only.

April 11, 2013

North Korea propaganda machine: U.S. like ‘a boiled pumpkin’

North Korea's propaganda machine has been in full-speed-ahead mode lately, using Stalin-era techniques that appear whimsical to the West but are nonetheless effective on the domestic front — and at garnering international attention.

April 11, 2013

Curses! Goat’s head sent to Wrigley’s Field, resurrecting Cubs’ 1945 fears

An unidentified man driving an unmarked truck dropped a package containing a severed goat's head at Chicago's Wrigley Field on Wednesday, triggering fears that a curse placed on the ball club in 1945 is very much alive and well.

April 11, 2013

3.5M cars recalled due to air bags that deploy ‘with too much pressure’

Millions of cars manufactured by Japanese automakers have been recalled due to defects found with the air bag system.

April 11, 2013

Sen. Mark Kirk: Booze and boat parties smoothed bipartisan gun deal

Sen. Mark Kirk says the real driving force behind the gun deal that was hatched by bipartisan work was booze and boat retreats.

April 11, 2013

Mikhail Gorbachev bows out of Margaret Thatcher funeral due to health issues

A spokesman for the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said he cannot attend the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's funeral because of poor health.

April 11, 2013

Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad offers resignation amid tensions with president

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has tendered his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas.

April 11, 2013

2 teen girls perform ‘amazing’ 3,000 pound tractor lift to save trapped dad

In what was described as an "amazing" display of strength, two teenage girls, 16 and 14, responded to their dad's screams and quickly lifted the 1-1/2 ton tractor that was pinning him to the ground.

April 10, 2013

Sen. Ron Johnson on Obama plan: ‘Not a serious budget’

President Obama's $3.77 trillion budget plan is hardly serious, or feasible, said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.

April 10, 2013

New science guidelines tell states how to teach climate change, evolution

It's been almost 17 years, but educators have called for national teaching guidelines for science in schools around the nation — and they want part of the curriculum to focus on climate change and evolution.

April 10, 2013

U.S. puts out new terror warning for travelers in Pakistan

The U.S. State Department has issued a warning Wednesday to residents traveling in Pakistan to be on guard for terrorist attacks.

April 10, 2013

‘Obamacare’ creator Sen. Jay Rockefeller now says law ‘beyond comprehension’

Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, a leading force in the creation of President Obama's health care law, now says the health reform is at risk of falling under its own regulatory weight and that it's becoming too complicated to properly implement.

April 10, 2013

California bill would take away tax benefits for Boy Scouts

California legislators are mulling a plan to take away tax benefits that help the Boy Scouts, citing the justification that groups that don't allow gay, transgender or atheist members shouldn't receive help.

April 10, 2013

WikiLeaks: U.S. blamed Israel for failed peace talks in 1975

The United States put the blame for failed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in 1975 squarely at the feet of Israel, new documents released by WikiLeaks revealed.

April 10, 2013

Report: Government spends $34.5 billion on students who may never graduate

Each year, college students from around the nation tap into a federal Pell Grant program that awards $34.5 billion of taxpayer money that doesn't ever have to be paid back.

April 10, 2013

Muppets take Manhattan: Puppet hustlers buoyed by court order

The Muppets have a new gig — hustling New York City tourists to tip for photos — and city leaders say they can't do anything about it.

April 10, 2013

Forget the sellers: NYC lawmaker wants to imprison buyers of knockoffs

Never mind the seller. Now a New York City councilwoman is looking to put in prison the buyers of counterfeit goods.

April 10, 2013

Texas professor faces fire for forcing students into anti-gun campaign

Administrators have launched an investigation into a Midwestern State University professor after receiving complaints from a student that she forced her class to design anti-gun posters to be used in her personal activism.

April 10, 2013

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius taken aback by ‘relentless’ ‘Obamacare’ politics

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that she has been taken off guard by the concerted and continuing opposition to "Obamacare" and that her office has been pushed into public relations mode to persuade states to join the exchange.

April 10, 2013

Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner eyes comeback as NYC mayor

Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner said in magazine article posted online Wednesday that he was mulling a run for mayor of New York City, if the public would only give him a second chance.

April 10, 2013