Cheryl K. Chumley

America is an oligarchy, not a democracy or republic, university study finds

America is no longer a democracy — never mind the democratic-republic envision by Founding Fathers. Rather, it's taken a turn down elitist lane and become a country led by a small dominant class comprised of powerful members who exert total control over the general population — an oligarchy, a new study said.

April 21, 2014

French president accuses Syria’s Assad of gassing his own citizens

France's Francois Hollande said during a recently broadcast media interview that he believes Syrian forces were directed by President Bashar Assad to unleash chlorine gas onto the civilian population.

April 21, 2014

Jimmy Carter’s grandson makes gains in governor’s race in Georgia

Georgia could see another Carter rise to the governor's mansion — former President Jimmy Carter's grandson, Jason, who's now serving as a state senator in the General Assembly but seeking the executive seat.

April 21, 2014

Easter worshippers shocked as car rams church, injuring 21

A car smashed through the walls of a Fort Myers, Fla., church during Easter service, injuring 21 and sending several to the hospital in critical condition, police said.

April 21, 2014

Military urged to stay away from National Day of Prayer event

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, run by former Air Force member Mikey Weinstein, is petitioning U.S. military leaders to abstain from attending a National Day of Prayer, saying the annual event is nothing short of right-wing Christian fundamentalism.

April 18, 2014

Ole Miss fraternity shut after 3 accused of tying noose on statue of black student

University of Mississippi administrators have shut down its campus chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon after three fraternity members were accused of tying a noose around the neck of a statue of the school's first black student.

April 18, 2014

Michigan mayor slaps back atheists’ try to erect ‘reason station’ at city hall

A Michigan mayor is standing strong against a group of atheists, telling them they can't put up a "reason station" inside Warren City Hall because, as he sees it, they're only trying to squash out all public shows of faith and turn the First Amendment on its head.

April 18, 2014

Nancy Pelosi washes immigrants’ feet in humble Holy Week act — then promotes on Twitter

Nancy Pelosi has embraced her religious roots and joined forces with Bishop Marc Andrus to -- as she put it -- "honor the dignity and work of immigrants" by taking bended knee and washing feet at Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in San Francisco.

April 18, 2014

Ben Carson presidential PAC outpaces Hillary, GOP

The push for Ben Carson to run for president in 2016 is picking up steam, as a group encouraging him to run has raised more money in the first three months of this year than the group rallying behind Hillary Rodham Clinton, or those tied to Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and other potential GOP candidates.

April 18, 2014

Chocolate costs soar, becoming ‘unaffordable’ luxury

Snag those Easter bunny chocolate deals before they're gone. Market costs of cocoa — and consequently, chocolate — are soaring to such highs that some industry insiders predict its price per pound will soon rival that of top-end champagne.

April 18, 2014

Michaels craft chain confirms hackers hit 3M customers

Arts and crafts retail chain Michaels announced this week up to three million credit card numbers may have been hacked from its company computer system between May 8, 2013, and Jan. 27, 2014.

April 18, 2014

Special Forces’ suicide rates hit record levels — casualties of ‘hard combat’

The suicide rates for U.S. military members who serve in special forces, like the Navy SEALs and the Army Rangers, have hit all-time highs, said Adm. William McRaven, the head of Special Operations Command.

April 18, 2014

Hillary swoons at admitted illegal immigrant: ‘Wow,’ you’re ‘incredibly brave’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a young woman, 19, who gave her name as Nova and then admitted she was an illegal immigrant, that she was "incredibly brave" for her admission and for openly campaigning for amnesty-type reforms.

April 18, 2014

Texas seizes polygamist Warren Jeffs’ 1,600-acre ranch

Texas law authorities seized polygamist Warren Jeffs' 1,600-acre ranch, ordering the handful of sect members who still lived at the property to pack up their belongings and leave.

April 18, 2014

Whoopi Goldberg, pot connoisseur, gets job as marijuana columnist

Whoopi Goldberg — an admitted medical marijuana user who smokes from a vaporizing pen to relieve the pain of glaucoma — is going to be putting her pot knowledge to good use, taking on regular columnist duties for The Denver Post as its cannabis expert.

April 18, 2014

Britain’s Labour Party hires David Axelrod — but can’t spell his name

Britain's Labour Party was trying to announce with fanfare its hiring of former Democratic White House political adviser David Axelrod as a new strategist for the liberal-leaning group — but the message fell a bit flat when the headline on the press release misspelled his name.

April 18, 2014

Washington and Lee law students demand ban on Confederate flag, say Gen. Lee was racist

A handful of law students attending Washington and Lee University say campus authorities should ban the flying of the Confederate flag and at the same time admit that Gen. Robert E. Lee — whom the school is named after, in part — was racist.

April 18, 2014

Ann Coulter takes up ‘Mitt Romney for President’ chant again

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter — who used her talk show platform in the last presidential election cycle to campaign hard for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — has taken up the mantra once again, calling on Republicans to give the failed White House bidder another shot in 2016.

April 18, 2014

Mount Everest avalanche kills a dozen Sherpa guides

At least a dozen Sherpa guides were killed in an avalanche that struck the slopes of Mount Everest, and emergency responders say that death toll may rise.

April 18, 2014

Vice principal saved from South Korean sinking ferry found hanged

A vice principal who was pulled from the sinking South Korean ferry was found dead Friday, hanging from a tree.

April 18, 2014