Cheryl K. Chumley
Columns by Cheryl K. Chumley
England grinds to a halt as hurricane-like winds ground flights, stop trains
England has battened down the hatches and bolted up the windows, as a massive rainstorm with hurricane-like winds on Monday grounded flights, halted train service and ripped up trees in communities across the country. Published October 28, 2013
John McCain: Meghan can be ‘a giant pain’
Sen. John McCain and his daughter Meghan, 29, may differ on some issues politically, but on one point they agree: They can be a pain in the butt. Published October 25, 2013
Anti-tax Grover Norquist says yes to tax on marijuana
Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform and creator of the congressional pledge to keep lawmakers from hiking revenues on Americans’ backs, said adding a tax to marijuana sales is as good idea. Published October 25, 2013
MSNBC’s Alec Baldwin: No more giving to politicos
Hollywood actor and MSNBC television host Alec Baldwin — who has a contentious past with members of the media — nonetheless laid down the law this week, and broke out his newfound Rules for My New Journalism Career. Published October 25, 2013
FDA warns: Doggie treats may be tainted
An estimated 580 pets have died and another 3,600 dogs and 10 cats have fallen ill since 2007 due to a mysterious ailment related to jerky-based treats, Food and Drug Administration agents said this week. Published October 25, 2013
Eric Holder accused of forcing blacks into failing schools for diversity
Attorney General Eric Holder is pushing black students into schools that are failing just so he can crow about diversity statistics, more than two dozen Republican Senators charged on Thursday. Published October 25, 2013
Germany, Brazil press U.N. to stop U.S. Internet spying
Brazil and Germany, frustrated with what they claim is America’s unwarranted surveillance operations on their countries’ top leaders, have turned to the United Nations for redress, and petitioned the global body to outright declare Internet privacy a right. Published October 25, 2013
Topless feminists assail, assault Brussels archbishop
Demonstrators believed to be paid activists for the leftist feminist group Femen — including a group of topless, rowdy women — stormed a recent meeting at the Catholic St. Michael's College in Brussels, took over the stage and threw a pie in the face of Archbishop Andrè-Joseph Leonard. Published October 25, 2013
Dick Cheney swipes at Obama’s, Hillary Clinton’s ‘incompetence’
Former Vice President Dick Cheney didn't hold back Thursday when asked about the president's handling of the situation in Syria: It's a total bungle, he said. Published October 25, 2013
States swoon to push electric cars onto the road
If the free market can't sell them, maybe the government can — and that's the direction eight states are taking in what's becoming a public-versus-private sector battle to bring electric cars onto the roads. Published October 25, 2013
European parliament rejects abortion as a human right
Abortion is not a human right, the European Parliament voted this week, effectively shutting down a measure that would have pressed all 28 member states of the European Union to provide the procedure on demand. Published October 25, 2013
Train eavesdropper turns tables and spies on ex-NSA chief’s off-record chat
A former political reporter who happened to overhear an off-record telephone conservation between the ex-director of the NSA while they traveled on a train out of Washington, D.C., did what any reputable spy would: He listened closer and tweeted the talk. Published October 25, 2013
Burned out: Obama’s first land auction for solar goes bust
So much for the White House dream of solar selling like hotcakes. The first federal auction run by the Bureau of Land Management to sell chances to build solar power projects on public land went completely bust on Thursday. Nobody showed to bid. Published October 25, 2013
Pennsylvania mulls ‘In God We Trust’ plaques at all schools
A lawmaker in Pennsylvania is pushing for the same motto on the nation's currency to be placed on prominent display at all of the schools in the state: "In God We Trust." Published October 25, 2013
Americans seized by pirates ‘not at risk,’ oil exec says
The president of an oil transportation company said Friday morning that the two Americans who were seized by pirates off the coast of Nigeria are probably safe and not likely facing much danger. Published October 25, 2013
Ted Cruz’s daughter, 2: ‘I want to work with daddy’
Much of the political world may be standing against Sen. Ted Cruz, but he’s got at least one staunch supporter in his camp: His daughter, 5, who already plans on following in his footsteps. Published October 25, 2013
Palestinian security thwarts terror plot on Israel
Palestinian security officers said on Friday they uncovered a plot from a terrorist cell in the West Bank to fire off bomb-carrying drones at sites in Israel. Published October 25, 2013
N.C. fair ride ‘Vortex’ malfunctions, sending several to the hospital
Five people were rushed to a North Carolina hospital on Thursday evening after an accident involving an amusement ride, the Vortex, at the state fair. Published October 25, 2013
Dr. Kim Jong-un? North Korean dictator awarded honorary degree in economics
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was awarded an honorary doctorate in economics this month from a university in Malaysia, touching off a round of criticism from those who point with wonder at his nation's poverty and starvation rates. Published October 24, 2013
Scientists say they’ve found new ‘hungry gene’ that causes obesity
It's almost too good to be true — a free pass on obesity, based on a scientific finding. But those who've tried to lose weight and trim down, only to find their efforts thwarted time and again, may have a new excuse: It's due to the "hungry gene," new science suggests. Published October 24, 2013
