Cheryl K. Chumley

Joe Biden admits his ancestors were illegal immigrants

Vice President Joseph R. Biden probably thought he was making a compelling argument for the House to pass immediate immigration reform — but what he did instead was admit his ancestors were lawbreakers.

December 12, 2013

Hawaii Health Department head killed in plane crash

Hawaii's Health Department head was killed in a plane crash about a mile off an island coast, investigators confirmed Thursday.

December 12, 2013

Canada doing away with door-to-door mail delivery by 2018

Within the next five years, Canadian residents will have to go pick up their own mail. The nation’s postal service, facing $104 million in losses in the second quarter of this year alone, will halt door-to-door delivery, lawmakers announced this week.

December 12, 2013

NSA chief defends phone spying: ‘There is no other way’

Take away the National Security Agency's ability to tap into telephone records, and the nation is left unsecure — that's the claim of the head of the NSA, Gen. Keith Alexander, to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

December 12, 2013

Colorado school drops sexual harassment label on boy who kissed girl’s hand

A 6-year-old Colorado boy has won a reprieve from his sexual harassment label, after school officials decided his hand-kiss of a girl who was his classmate doesn't merit the stiff penalty after all.

December 12, 2013

Australia court strikes down 5-day-old, gay-marriage law

Australia had a gay-marriage law — for five days. On Thursday, the country's highest court struck it down, sidelining the dreams of more than two dozen gay couples who had traded vows but now faced immediate annulment.

December 12, 2013

Fake interpreter at Mandela service: ‘Sorry,’ I have schizophrenia

The sign-language interpreter who stood on stage at Nelson Mandela's memorial services, and took fire for faking his hand signals, said he suffered a schizophrenic episode.

December 12, 2013

Atheists smug as Hindus join Satanists to demand display at Oklahoma Statehouse

First came the Christians, then the Satanists. And now come the Hindus — the latest group to fight for First Amendment freedoms and demand equal display access at Oklahoma's Capitol. And the ensuing political frenzy is leaving some atheists laughing, calling the quandary "beautiful."

December 11, 2013

California SUV driver plows into Starbucks; 8 injured

Eight people were injured when an SUV driver plowed into a Starbucks in Northern California, police said Wednesday.

December 11, 2013

Desmond Tutu’s home robbed during Mandela memorial

Authorities in South Africa said retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu's home was robbed while he attended Nelson Mandela's memorial services.

December 11, 2013

American dream dying, but many see free market as solution: Poll

The widening income gap between the rich and the poor is killing the American dream, say respondents in a new Bloomberg poll.

December 11, 2013

Outrage as Air Force base in South Carolina boots Nativity scene

Commanders at an Air Force base in South Carolina have booted a nativity scene from its premises, agreeing with separation of church and state activists that the display violated both the U.S. Constitution and military code.

December 11, 2013

Israel poised for a $173M boost from the U.S. for missile defense

Israel is poised to receive $173 million for its missile defense program from the United States, as lawmakers signed off on a new spending plan to help protect the nation from Hezbollah's growing arsenal.

December 11, 2013

Leon Panetta named as source of ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ scriptwriter’s information

A Freedom of Information request filed by government watchdog Judicial Watch revealed that former CIA Director Leon E. Panetta was the source who gave up secret information to the scriptwriter of "Zero Dark Thirty," the Hollywood movie about the raid on Osama bin Laden.

December 11, 2013

Pope Francis named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’

Pope Francis was formally named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" on Wednesday.

December 11, 2013

Obama hits new poll lows for approval — 38 percent

President Obama's approval numbers have sunk to new lows, with a just-released Quinnipiac poll showing he's dropped a full percentage point in that category in the past few weeks.

December 11, 2013

Mandela service sign language interpreter: ‘He made up his own signs’

The sign language interpreter who stood beside some of the world's top leaders to interpret their memorials of Nelson Mandela for the hearing-impaired has been accused by outraged deaf individuals of being a fake.

December 11, 2013

Ben Affleck: Fundraising for Democrats started to ‘feel gross’

It’s not that Hollywood star Ben Affleck has turned Republican. But at the same time, he said that all his fundraising for Democrats has begun to leave him with a sick stomach.

December 11, 2013

Brooklyn, New York: ‘Lesbian capital’ of the Northeast

Brooklyn’s local president, Marty Markowitz, raved about his district’s gay community and their contributions to the area, going so far as to call the borough the “lesbian capital” of the Northeast.

December 11, 2013

Elian Gonzalez: It’s America’s fault that my mother died

Elian Gonzalez, who made headlines 14 years ago when he mother died while journeying from Cuba to the United States — sparking an international custody battle — said America was to blame for his loss.

December 11, 2013