Cheryl K. Chumley
Columns by Cheryl K. Chumley
Judge who jailed rapist for 30 days reconsiders sentence
A judge who caused a double-whammy outcry when he sentenced a former teacher to 30 days for raping a teen girl and then justified the short jail term by seeming to blame the 14-year-old for the crime is now reconsidering his ruling. Published September 4, 2013
KKK and NAACP secret meeting ends with membership ties
In what's being billed as a historical first, the president of the Casper, Wyo., NAACP met recently behind closed doors with an organizer of the KKK chapter from Great Falls, Mont. — and the meeting actually ended with a crossover membership. Published September 4, 2013
Russia’s Putin warns U.S. to wait, calls claim of Syrian chemical attack ‘absurd’
President Vladimir Putin said the Russia isn't completely ruling out intervention in Syria, if it's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that President Bashar Assad unleashed chemical weapons on rebel fighters — but that notion is just ridiculous, he said. Published September 4, 2013
England poised to shutter jails as super-prison site revealed
The prison system in England is poised for big change, as authorities are planning to shutter four individual jails and concentrate the inmate population at one massive facility, a super-prison in northern Wales. Published September 4, 2013
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange trips investigation of U.S. intelligence in Europe
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange filed a formal complaint with Swedish authorities, asking for an investigation into U.S. intelligence operations in Europe and alleging his background was wrongfully vetted by FBI agents. Published September 3, 2013
Obama poised to pressure President Putin on gay rights at G-20
President Obama is setting out to the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg this week to discuss more than Syria or Egypt. At the pressing of human rights activists, he is expected to take up the issue of gay rights, in what is sure to prove a tension-tightening moment with President Vladimir Putin. Published September 3, 2013
Comedy film ‘The Muslims Are Coming!’ tackles Islamophobia — and trashes conservatives
Comedians and film co-directors Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah are taking on one of present-day politics' most sensitive subjects head-on, hoping laughter really can overcome all — including Islamophobia. But then they take potshots at key conservatives and Fox News, characterizing those with dissenting views of radical Islam as ignorant. Published September 3, 2013
New York pot-grower killed by own booby trap: Trip wire nearly cuts off head
A New York marijuana grower attempting to protect his crop from intruders was caught in his own booby trap, riding beneath a trip wire he strung around his plants and nearly cutting off his head. Published September 3, 2013
Saul Alinsky lives: Anti-war protesters bang outside John Kerry’s Boston home
A la Saul Alinsky in his famous "Rules for Radicals" training manual for effective activism, swarms of anti-war protesters took to the streets and descended upon Secretary of State John F. Kerry's Boston town house, shouting through bullhorns, "Hands off Syria!" Published September 3, 2013
Firefighters injured in fall during Atlanta airport blaze
Two firefighters were injured while battling a blaze at an Atlanta airport terminal on Tuesday that filled the area with heavy smoke. Published September 3, 2013
Germany mulls prosecution of 30 ex-Auschwitz camp guards
Germany may go after dozens of former Auschwitz death camp guards in court, including an Israeli citizen, as justice ministers announced on Tuesday they’re mulling prosecutions. Published September 3, 2013
Obamacare casualty: Longshoremen cut ties with AFL-CIO, citing health plan
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and its 40,000 members said good-bye to the AFL-CIO, cutting long-time ties in part because of Obamacare. Published September 3, 2013
Syrian President Bashar Assad taunts: ‘Obama is weak’
Syria’s beleaguered president, Bashar Assad, said in a published interview with a France newspaper the Middle East was ready to blow, but that President Obama was too weak to do anything about it. Published September 3, 2013
New North Carolina law bans cops from destroying guns
Police in North Carolina can’t destroy weapons they receive in gun buyback programs any more, thanks to a new law that takes effect this week. Published September 3, 2013
Lightning strike in Miami kills 1, injures 2
A lighting storm in a semi-rural southwest region of Miami left one man dead and two more injured late Monday afternoon. Published September 3, 2013
Egypt’s judges call for Muslim Brotherhood to be disbanded
A panel of judges in Egypt suggested that the Muslim Brotherhood be stripped of its non-governmental organization status, a move that would officially dissolve the group, at least in the eyes of the military-backed leadership. Published September 3, 2013
‘N-word’ on trial: Federal jury says it’s not a term of endearment
A federal jury ruled that saying the "N-word" in the workplace — no matter the ethnicity of the person who uses it — is hostile and discriminatory, and not a term of endearment. The ruling clarifies what some have called a confusing double standard for years — that blacks can say the N-word with impunity, but if other races do, it's blatant discrimination. Published September 3, 2013
Pro-Bashar Assad hackers breach Marine website: Fight ‘alongside our army’
Computer hackers working in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad broke into the website of the U.S. Marine Corps and left a message aimed at discouraging U.S. entry into the two-plus year conflict on the side of the rebels: President Obama is needlessly endangering your life. Published September 3, 2013
Dennis Rodman visits North Korea to ‘have a good time’ with Kim Jong-un
Former basketball star Dennis Rodman touched down in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Tuesday, prepared for a second meeting with the dictator he dubs his friend, Kim Jong-un. Published September 3, 2013
Singapore ‘toy nerd’ amasses 6,000 Barbie dolls
A 33-year-old Singapore man is aware he has doll fetish, but he says he can’t help it. His 6,000 Barbie dolls make him happy. Published September 2, 2013