Cheryl K. Chumley

White House taps Mideast expert to bolster Gulf relations

The White House quietly announced it was bringing on board a Middle East expert with a background in forging peace deals, a late-hour move to help President Obama smooth relations with key regional leaders that comes as he's poised to visit Saudi Arabia.

February 20, 2014

Ted Cruz slams GOP for ‘trickery’ on debt ceiling vote

Sen. Ted Cruz issued a strongly worded rebuke against his fellow Republican colleagues regarding a recent debt ceiling vote that he saw as all show, zero substance and outright "trickery" to the American public.

February 20, 2014

American flags made in China now banned in U.S. military

U.S. troops can no longer cart around American flags that were made in China, thanks to legislation written by Rep. Mike Thompson.

February 20, 2014

McDonald’s worker sent packing after paying firefighters’ meals

A McDonald's worker who had been on the job for eight years was told to go home — that her services were no longer needed — the day after she paid $92 out of her own pocket for firefighters who came in to eat.

February 20, 2014

NSA slap-down: Feds lose court try to curb mocking T-shirts

A Minnesota man who was sent a cease-and-desist letter by the federal government over his sales of merchandise, which mocks the National Security Agency's citizen surveillance activities, has won his legal battle.

February 20, 2014

White House to sniff out newsrooms: ‘Troubling and dangerous development’

The Obama administration is pushing forward with a Federal Communications Commission project that would send government researchers into newsrooms across the country — and First Amendment advocates want to know why.

February 20, 2014

University of Maryland data breach leaves 300,000 staff, students exposed

A data breach at the University of Maryland has left some 300,000 staff members and former and present students exposed, with their personal information — including Social Security numbers — stolen and floating around unknown locations.

February 20, 2014

20 journalists on trial in Egypt for terror charges

Twenty journalists — including four foreigners — are set for trial Thursday in Egypt on charges related to terror, a case that's being watched closely by free press advocates around the world.

February 20, 2014

15 injured as second floor of Mississippi church crumbles

At least 15 were injured when the second floor of a Mississippi church collapsed during a youth service, the pastor said.

February 20, 2014

Net neutrality rears as GOP fears government grab

The Federal Communications Commission announced Wednesday that it will overhaul net neutrality regulations that were overturned in court and bring them back to the Internet.

February 19, 2014

MillerCoors hikes beer alcohol level to entice younger drinkers

Regular beer may have a 5 percent alcohol content level -- but MillerCoors is bringing out the booze for the millennials, upping the alcohol level to 6.9 percent to hopefully compete with the spirit-consuming crowd.

February 19, 2014

Scott Brown, Fox News renew contract deal

Former Mass. Sen. Scott Brown and Fox News renewed a contract deal that puts the ex-politico back on air as an official contributor, a cable network executive said Wednesday.

February 19, 2014

U.S. to demand partial Israeli settlement freeze: report

The United States is poised to demand Israel freeze part of its disputed settlement activity as part of the framework peace deal being forged by Secretary of State John Kerry, an Army Radio report said on Wednesday.

February 19, 2014

Green groups warn Obama: Keystone is the unforgivable

Environmental activists have put President Obama on notice: Thanks for the call for $1 billion for a climate change resiliency fund. But if you backtrack on Keystone, we'll still unleash a political fury.

February 19, 2014

Scott Brown breaks from Fox, sparking new Senate talk

Former Sen. Scott Brown broke ties with Fox News just a year after coming aboard as an official contributor, fueling more talk of a new bid for political office.

February 19, 2014

Florida sheriff sued for manhandling woman who recorded traffic stop

The Broward Sheriff's Office is facing legal trouble from a Florida woman who claims she was physically removed from her car and thrown in jail for a night — all for what the sheriff's deputy described as the "felony" crime of recording their traffic stop conversation.

February 19, 2014

Armed elderly woman scares off snow shoveler trying to shake her down

A Massachusetts woman, 79, got sick and tired of a persistent man who was trying to shovel driveways for money and sent him fleeing — by brandishing a gun.

February 19, 2014

Norse myth predicts world to end this week

Y2K has passed. The Mayan apocalypse has passed. But we're not out of the woods, yet, it would seem. Norse mythology predicts that the world will end this Saturday, when the Earth will split open and unleash the "inhabitants of Hel," one newspaper reported.

February 19, 2014

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s new ‘behavior’ changer: Drop speed limit by 5 mph

New York City's newest mayor, Bill de Blasio, wants to reduce the speed limit on city streets by 5 miles per hour, from 30 mph to 25 mph.

February 19, 2014

U.S. military subs electric brain shocks for coffee on test soldiers

U.S. military researchers are shocking troops' brains to see if electricity jolts could be substituted for coffee and energy drinks, a couple of newspapers reported.

February 19, 2014