Cheryl K. Chumley

Apple wins facial recognition patent for iPhone 6

First Apple introduced a fingerprint sensor to unlock its latest iPhone 5 device. Now, the company says it’s been awarded the rights for another security patent — for facial technology.

December 4, 2013

Americans on disability reaches new record levels

As far as making history goes, President Obama is breaking all kinds of records for federal disability payouts to non-working Americans.

December 4, 2013

South Africa’s Nelson Mandela on ‘deathbed,’ but still fighting

Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa who’s been fighting complications from a lung infection for the past six months, is on his “deathbed,” family members said Wednesday.

December 4, 2013

‘Tipsforjesus’ mystery diner leaves huge tips across America

A generous tipper, or group of tippers, have been leaving massive tips for service staff at restaurants around the nation – in the thousand-dollar range – and following up with receipt posts to an Instagram account that reveals the motive behind the kindness: “Tipsforjesus.”

December 4, 2013

Dennis Rodman heads back to North Korea — again

Dennis Rodman just can’t keep out of North Korea. The former basketball star is heading back to the tightly ruled nation on Dec. 18, his third visit in recent months.

December 4, 2013

Hezbollah: Israel ‘directly to blame’ for killing our commander

One of the heads of Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist group, was gunned down Wednesday just outside his house in Beirut, security agents said.

December 4, 2013

Rep. Michele Bachmann: Obama is ‘rewriting the Constitution’

President Obama is "rewriting the Constitution" so he can push his personal agenda and curry political favor for Democrats — case in point, Obamacare — Rep. Michele Bachmann said Tuesday.

December 3, 2013

Notre Dame sues over Obamacare birth control — again

For the second time, the University of Notre Dame has filed a legal challenge to Obamacare, claiming the federal government has no constitutional right to compel the school to provide free birth control.

December 3, 2013

USPS sued over stamp image of Statue of Liberty

It's bad enough that the U.S. Postal Service released a so-called "Forever" stamp it claimed contained the image of the Statue of Liberty — the one that stands in New York Harbor — when it was actually, and mistakenly, the image of the version that stands outside New York-New York Casino Hotel in Las Vegas.

December 3, 2013

Egypt’s draft constitution lets military choose key minister

The latest edition of the Egyptian Constitution guarantees the military the right to choose its own defense minister, at least for the next eight years, and that provision has some legal minds worried that the stage could be set for the creation of a tightly controlled military state.

December 3, 2013

Martin Bashir ‘on vacation’ after anti-Sarah Palin rant

MSNBC's Martin Bashir, who recently rocked national headlines with a broadcast suggestion of defecating in the mouth of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has been noticeably missing from his Monday-night shows — but he's only on vacation, his network insisted.

December 3, 2013

Sen. John Cornyn: Obama & Co. has ‘taken lying to a new level’

President Obama and his administrative heads have been covering up details about the attacks that took place on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, leaving four Americans dead, one key senator said this week.

December 3, 2013

Train operator said he jolted awake right before NYC derailment: report

New information released Tuesday about the deadly Metro-North Railroad derailment in the New York borough of the Bronx shows the motorman operating the control booth may have been dozing in the seconds before the crash.

December 3, 2013

Amazon’s drone delivery idea sets lawmakers on edge over privacy rights

Lawmakers who were not quite as enthusiastic as Amazon over expectations that door-to-door deliveries by drones will become a reality by 2015 have brought forth a bill that would ban the practice, at least for the time being.

December 3, 2013

Kim Jong-un’s uncle goes missing in North Korea as reports surface of his firing

Lawmakers in South Korea say recent intelligence shows that not only were two colleagues of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's uncle recently executed, but around the same time, the powerful family figure — considered a key influence on the freshman dictator — disappeared from public view.

December 3, 2013

Portland law logic: Girl, 11, told to beg instead of selling mistletoe

A Portland, Ore., girl, 11, who was trying to sell mistletoe to raise money to buy braces was told by a security guard she couldn't legally hawk — and that she should instead beg for handouts.

December 3, 2013

ACLU files suit against Catholics for no-abortion hospital policy

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit in federal court against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, arguing that the group’s aversion to abortion caused medical staff at one Roman Catholic hospital to provide a pregnant woman who went into early labor subpar care.

December 3, 2013

Pope Francis’s colorful past: God’s nightclub bouncer

Pope Francis is generally known as the religious head of the Catholic Church, keeper of the Vatican key. But even he has a past. He was a bar bouncer.

December 3, 2013

Iran to Afghanistan: Don’t sign the security deal with the U.S.

Iran's foreign ministry told Afghanistan on Tuesday to refrain from signing any security pact with the United States that would allow for American forces to stay in the country for the next 10 years.

December 3, 2013

Seattle football fans spark earthquake with stadium cheers

Seattle football fans cheered so loud at CenturyLink Field during Monday Night Football they sparked a shake that registered as an earthquake at a recording station just down the road.

December 3, 2013