Cheryl K. Chumley

Fitch ratings strips Britain of top AAA score

Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Britain's rating on Friday from triple-A to AA+, a recognition of the nation's weak economic future and growing debt.

April 19, 2013

Allen West: Can we investigate radical Islamic terror now?

Former Florida Rep. Allen West issued a scathing statement on his Facebook page Friday, in response to the ongoing manhunt for one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.

April 19, 2013

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s father warns ‘all hell will break loose’ if son killed

Anzor Tsarnaev, the father of the two suspects in the Boston bombings, called on his 19-year-old son, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, to give up peacefully.

April 19, 2013

Evidence exists that Syria used chemical weapons, Britain and France tell U.N.

There is evidence that Syria's government forces used chemical weapons in several areas around Homs, Aleppo and even Damascus, British and French diplomats told the U.N. on Friday.

April 19, 2013

Authorities pull 13 dead from Texas plant explosion

Authorities recovered Friday the bodies of 13 people who were killed in a fertilizer plant explosion that rocked the town of West, Texas, earlier this week.

April 19, 2013

Police take Pakistan’s Musharraf into custody

Police arrested former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Friday, a day after a judge revoked his bail and he fled back to his gated compound in a dramatic SUV escape.

April 19, 2013

Boston ‘bombers are brothers’ from Chechnya; police name both

The two suspects involved in Monday's marathon bombings in Boston were brothers and hailed from overseas, various media reported Friday.

April 19, 2013

Boston area shuts transit, schools as manhunt spreads through Watertown

Hundreds of Boston-area commuters were stranded Friday, as transit police shut down the entire MBTA system of commuter rail, bus and subway services to comb for Suspect No. 2 who wore the white hat in the marathon bombings.

April 19, 2013

Venezuela council concedes to audit of election

Facing stiff outcry about election fraud, Venezuelan authorities agreed Friday to go forth with an audit of votes.

April 19, 2013

Police warn Boston suburbanites: Lock your doors, suspect armed with explosives on body

Police in the Boston suburb of Watertown are combing the streets in an intense manhunt for Suspect No. 2 who wore a white hat in the marathon bombings, warning residents early Friday morning not to open their doors.

April 19, 2013

Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell keeps doors open for political run

Former U.S. Senate hopeful and tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell isn't shutting the door on a future run for office.

April 18, 2013

Phillies pitcher Jonathan Papelbon: Obama ‘wants to take our guns’

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, a World Series-winning right-hander with the Boston Red Sox in 2007, stole headlines Thursday — not for his earned run average, but rather for his political views.

April 18, 2013

Wisconsin’s Scott Walker quietly tops list of GOP favorites for White House

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is the sleeping lion in a list of possible Republican candidates for president in 2016, surging to the top of some politicos' lists who see his scandal-free past as a big boon.

April 18, 2013

‘EGO Act’ targets lawmakers who spend big bucks on taxpayer-funded portraits

Portraits of congressional members cost $40,000 a pop and a Republican lawmaker from Louisiana is wondering: Why should taxpayers be paying for this?

April 18, 2013

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s ex-staffer to testify: Campaign broke funding rules

The former chief of staff for Rep. MIchele Bachmann is set to testify that her presidential campaign paid a Kansas politico to work her, in violation of campaign ethics.

April 18, 2013

Chicago sinkhole swallows three cars, injures man

A sinkhole on the southeast side of Chicago swallowed up three vehicles Thursday morning, injuring one person who had to be pulled from the hole.

April 18, 2013

Syria’s Bashar Assad says U.S. will rue backing of al Qaeda rebels

The United States is making a monumental mistake in supporting Syrian rebel forces because they're aligned with al Qaeda and they sooner or later will strike at Europe and at America's heartland, Syrian President Bashar Assad said.

April 18, 2013

Move afoot at Yale to give personhood protection to apes, elephants

Yale University is hosting a conference to debate the merits of granting personhood to animals, with input from one featured speaker who doesn't even consider human babies worthy of protection until they're a month old: ethicist Peter Singer.

April 18, 2013

Iran triples installation of uranium enrichment centrifuges

Iranian technicians have tripled the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges they have installed over the past three months to 600, diplomats warned Wednesday.

April 18, 2013

Westboro Baptist Church’s Facebook page hit by Anonymous hackers

Hackers from the group Anonymous have claimed responsibility for an attack on Westboro Baptist Church's Facebook page as retribution for the group's call to picket and protest funerals for the Boston bombing victims.

April 18, 2013