Cheryl K. Chumley
Columns by Cheryl K. Chumley
Calif. teacher with 400 dead snakes arrested for animal cruelty
A teacher in Santa Ana, Calif., was arrested and charged with animal cruelty after police tasked with investigating a foul odor found 400 snakes in his home, almost all of which had been dead for days. Published January 30, 2014
Terror suspect files lawsuit against NSA spy program
A terrorism suspect working with the American Civil Liberties Union filed a legal challenge in federal court in Denver over the National Security Agency's surveillance program, charging the government with just going too far with its powers. Published January 30, 2014
Rep. Steve Stockman: ‘I’m considering filing Articles of Impeachment’ on Obama
Rep. Steve Stockmam — who's running a race for the Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn — couldn't even make it through the entire State of the Union speech without losing his cool over President Obama. Published January 30, 2014
California mulls ban on spy drones without warrant
California lawmakers are debating a bill that would ban warrantless drone surveillance — a measure that comes just as the nation saw its first American convicted of a crime based on video supplied in court by an unmanned air craft. Published January 30, 2014
Donald Trump toys with run for N.Y. governor: ‘I think I would win’
Billionaire businessman Donald Trump, 67, said the time has come for him to get in the governor's race, and he's seriously mulling a run at the top seat currently held by New York's Andrew Cuomo. Published January 30, 2014
Obama mum as Russia violates arms treaty forged by Reagan
U.S. State Department officials say Russia has repeatedly violated the terms of a treaty forged by former President Ronald Reagan and then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev by conducting numerous flight tests of a cruise missile — but the White House is so far reluctant to take up the charges and address them with President Vladimir Putin directly. Published January 30, 2014
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford sued by sister’s ex-boyfriend over jail beating
Rob Ford, the Toronto mayor who made international headlines after admitting he smoked crack while drunk, now has a new scandal at his door: He's being sued by his sister's ex-boyfriend. Published January 30, 2014
Army quadruple amputee makes N.Y. film debut
Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills is on deployment in Afghanistan when in an instant, his life changes: he steps on an improvised explosive device, losing portions of both arms and legs. Now he's the subject of an inspiring movie set to make its New York debut in Times Square on Wednesday. Published January 29, 2014
Coast Guard launches search off Cuba coast for lost crew member
The U.S. Coast Guard sent out an emergency response team Wednesday to scour the waters off Cuba for a crew member who fell off the Celebrity Cruise Ship Constellation. Published January 29, 2014
Jimmy Carter pens women’s rights book, ‘A Call To Action’
Former President Jimmy Carter's upcoming book is being billed as a tome of women's rights — "A Call To Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power" — and it's due for publication March 25. Published January 29, 2014
Disney Channel makes history with debut of lesbian couple on kids’ TV
“Good Luck Charlie,” the comedy Disney Channel production that targets the most youthful of U.S. society, made television production history with the filming of a two-part series finale – due to air around Valentine’s Day – that showcases lesbian partners Susan and Cheryl. Published January 29, 2014
Two top-level U.S. bankers commit suicide in London
Two high-profile and high-up American bankers in London have killed themselves in separate incidents that took place within a couple days of each other. Published January 29, 2014
GOP turns to courts to rein in Obama’s executive power
Sen. John McCain reacted to President Obama's vow to use his pen — minus Congress — to propel significant personal legislative and policy agenda items with a blunt warning: We'll sue. Published January 29, 2014
Massachusetts activists strive for drivers’ licenses for illegals
One of the largest immigrant advocacy groups in the Northeast has turned to the power of the online petition and painted a tale of woe about a mother who’s in the country unlawfully and can’t get her daughter to the doctor as a means of convincing Massachusetts lawmakers to give drivers’ licenses to illegals. Published January 29, 2014
Alec Baldwin bashes TSA in Twitter for pat-down of 5-month-old daughter
Alec Baldwin is on yet another rant — but this time, it has nothing to do with the paparazzi. Published January 29, 2014
Beijing boots U.S. reporter over stories of Communist corruption
A U.S. reporter based in Beijing was given until Thursday to leave the country, an order that seems tied to his media filings about the wealth that top Communist Party officials have been able to accumulate through the years. Published January 29, 2014
Pope Francis goes pop culture and hits cover of Rolling Stone
Pope Francis has just boosted his image as the pontiff of the people a smidgen higher. The Catholic Church head has gone pop culture, and it’s his smiling face that appears on the most recent cover of the Rolling Stone. Published January 29, 2014
Gabby Giffords makes high-profile gun control appeal in Washington: ‘Fight!’
Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who’s made a second career out of turning her high-profile gun injury into a campaign for more Second Amendment crackdowns, spoke briefly but bluntly to Washington lawmakers who were mulling dueling gun bills: “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Published January 29, 2014
Stradivarius worth millions stolen from Milwaukee violinist by robber with stun gun
A concert violinist was leaving his suburban Milwaukee performance when a couple of thieves bearing a stun gun approached, shocked him and made off with the 300-year-old Stradivarius he carried that's worth millions of dollars, Milwaukee police reported. Published January 29, 2014
Missouri death row inmate gets 12th hour stay from Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a last-minute stay for a Missouri death row inmate who was scheduled to die one minute after midnight Wednesday morning. Published January 29, 2014