Cheryl K. Chumley

Teens charged with murdering WWII veteran Delbert Belton plead not guilty

The two teenage boys, 16, charged with beating to death Delbert “Shorty” Belton, 88, as he crossed a parking lot at a Washington club entered not guilty pleas on Friday.

September 13, 2013

Underground, illegal dinner clubs make waves among NYC elite

A new eating experience is sweeping the underbelly of New York City, sucking in the well-dressed wealthy and adventure-seeking tourists who are tired of the blasé world of Health Department dining.

September 13, 2013

California passes minimum wage hike to $10 an hour

Go West, young man — that's where the minimum wage money is, as California lawmakers on Friday passed a bill that raises the rate of pay for the most menial jobs.

September 13, 2013

Time’s top editor quits for Obama administration post

Time Magazine's top editor, Richard Stengel, quit his position and traded in his private sector pin for a civil service badge as the newest member of the Department of State.

September 13, 2013

Lance Armstrong returns 2000 Olympic bronze medal

Lance Armstrong sent out a Twitter message on Thursday that he’s given back his 2000 Olympic bronze medal, as requested by International Olympic Committee heads earlier this year.

September 13, 2013

Sen. Harry Reid moans: The ‘anarchists’ have taken over Congress

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid bemoaned what he called the takeover of Congress by a radical force with nothing but disdain for government, during blunt remarks from the Senate floor.

September 13, 2013

Texas senators seek ‘terrorist’ label for Fort Hood shootings

A bill from Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Texans, would change the classification of the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and dozens injured from an act of workplace violence to a terrorist attack.

September 13, 2013

Coca-Cola, USDA partner on environment to protect federal watersheds

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has partnered with Coca-Cola company executives in a landmark public-private partnership to upkeep watersheds on federal properties.

September 13, 2013

Bomb, rockets found outside Cambodia parliament

Explosive experts safely detonated a bomb that was discovered early Friday outside the building that houses Cambodia’s parliament.

September 13, 2013

Tina Brown’s high-profile foundation big on celebrities — short on charity

Scores of celebrities may have lent their names to departing Daily Beast editor Tina Brown's nonprofit, Women in the World Foundation — but a year later, these same high-profile backers may be having second thoughts.

September 13, 2013

California poised to pass law giving driver licenses to illegals

California on Friday is about to become the latest, and largest, state to give illegal immigrants the right to obtain driver licenses, via a bill that’s on the desk of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, awaiting his signature.

September 13, 2013

Enslaved man who died 200 years ago finally gets his honors in Conn.

A man who was a slave in life and a tool for medical research in death was finally given the rest and honors he deserved — albeit 200 years late — with an elaborate funeral that included a Capitol rotunda viewing following by full Hartford police escort to the church cemetery for burial.

September 13, 2013

New Jersey inferno takes out 50 boardwalk businesses

So much for Superstorm Sandy comeback. Firefighters on Friday morning were still trying to put out a massive fire that tore across the Jersey Shore boardwalk, devastating at least 50 businesses and dampening New Jersey's hopes to rebound and build back the beachfront that was decimated 10 months ago.

September 13, 2013

Boulder, Colo., bolts, as 30-foot ‘surge of water, mud, rocks’ slides toward city

Several Colorado communities entered red-flag, near-panic mode early Friday, as the National Guard began evacuating the entire town of Lyons, and high-mobility vehicles were sent to relocate nearly 2,000 people to safety.

September 13, 2013

Taliban attack at U.S. Consulate in Afghanistan leaves several dead

Taliban suicide bombers and armed militants drove a truck toward the U.S. Consulate in the city of Herat early Friday, managing to kill two Afghan police and a security guard.

September 13, 2013

Al Qaeda leader calls for strikes on U.S. soil to ‘bleed’ America’s finances

Al Qaeda terror network leader Ayman al-Zawahri sent out a message marking Sept. 11, 2001, with a call for more attacks on U.S. soil, aimed at hitting America hard in the pocketbook.

September 13, 2013

AFL-CIO gives gays, transgenders a nod at unionization

The AFL-CIO voted this week to allow transgender and gay organizations the right to organize under the union’s umbrella, amending its guiding documents to embrace those of all genders and expressions.

September 12, 2013

Pope’s summer home evacuated for WWII bomb detonations

Roughly 400 residents of a Rome community, along with the pope’s summer residence, were evacuated this week to make way for the detonations of two discovered World War II bombs in the lakefront area.

September 12, 2013

Boulder County, Colo., mulls rules recognizing rights of plants

Boulder County planners are poised to consider a proposal that would give plants rights the same rights of existence as those enjoyed by humans and animals, based on the logic that are all living, breathing entities.

September 12, 2013

John McCain rebuked by Ariz. GOP for ‘unbecoming’ deal-making with Dems

The Legislative District 26 Republican Party in Arizona has spoken, and they're not happy with Sen. John McCain. The group issued a sharp and formal written rebuke of their senator, calling his work across party lines — particularly with Democratic Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid — destructive to GOP party principles.

September 12, 2013