Cheryl K. Chumley

Gold rush over? Investors rush to dump precious metal as prices drop to 2-year lows

Investors are rushing to dump gold funds as prices for the precious metal dropped to two-year lows and central bank reserves lost $560 billion in value, various media reported.

April 17, 2013

Kansas OK’s drug testing as condition for welfare, jobless benefits

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law a requirement that those who receive welfare and jobless benefits are subject to drug testing.

April 17, 2013

Watchdogs warn of fake Boston bomb charities

Americans are rushing to donate to victims of Monday's Boston Marathon bombings, but watchdog groups say watch out: The dozens of websites that just registered domains related to the attack may be fake charity sites seeking to profit from the tragedy.

April 17, 2013

Judge blasts ‘bureaucratic behemoth’ Army Corps of Engineers in Katrina suit

A federal judge has blasted a U.S. law that lets the Army Corps of Engineers escape virtually unscathed in a Hurricane Katrina lawsuit over flawed levee construction in New Orleans.

April 17, 2013

Gay marriage law looms in New Zealand, as lawmakers set to vote

New Zealand's legislative body is set to take a final vote on same-sex marriage on Wednesday.

April 17, 2013

U.S. vows funds for Iron Dome, as 2 rockets are fired into Israel

Budget cuts won't impact U.S. funding for Israel's Iron Dome defense system, as the Pentagon has vowed $220 million for fiscal year 2014.

April 17, 2013

Boston bomb investigators can’t decide: Foreign or domestic?

Even the most experienced investigators are still trying to decide whether the Boston marathon bombs were carried out at the hands of domestic or foreign attackers.

April 17, 2013

Hundreds of protesters turn backs on former British PM Margaret Thatcher’s coffin

Hundreds who hated former Britain Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's policies expressed their disdain during her funeral services Wednesday by turning their backs on her coffin as it passed.

April 17, 2013

Puzzled ‘Today Show’ hosts on Reagan’s popularity: He must be a liberal

If Ronald Reagan were alive today, he would be the most loved liberal candidate for White House. That's according to three mainstream media hosts, who tried to make sense of poll numbers that showed three-of-four respondents thought the nation was better off in the 1980s than now.

April 16, 2013

Mississippi mayoral candidate admits past as prostitute

A Mississippi mayoral candidate admitted this week that she once worked as a prostitute and owned a brothel.

April 16, 2013

Teachers unions scour charter schools for new memberships

Members of the nation's largest teachers unions — the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers — are pushing to organize in charter schools in several cities around the nation.

April 16, 2013

Eight prison officials in Georgia indicted for attacking inmates

Eight prison officials at a Georgia facility have been indicted on accusations they repeatedly attacked inmates.

April 16, 2013

Ex-Sen. Richard Lugar knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

Former Sen. Richard Lugar, the six-termer from Indiana who lost his primary fight to tea party favorite Richard Murdouck last May, has picked up a new title: He's been awarded the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, or KBE, his office announced.

April 16, 2013

European lawmakers vote to cap bankers’ bonuses

The European Parliament, the elected legislative body of the European Union, voted on Tuesday in favor of a new law that caps bankers' bonuses and implements other financial-sector reforms.

April 16, 2013

France’s top bishop warns of violence over gay marriage

Legalizing same-sex marriage could prove the final spark in inciting violence in economically frazzled France, the nation's top Catholic bishop said Tuesday.

April 16, 2013

Army policeman gets 16 years for trying to sell secrets to Russia

A military policeman serving in the U.S. Army was sentenced to 16 years in prison and given a dishonorable discharge for trying to sell secrets to an agent he believed was a Russian spy.

April 16, 2013

Westboro Baptist Church thanks God for Boston bombs, vows funeral protests

Westboro Baptist Church said that the bombings during the Boston Marathon were sent by God as punishment for same-sex marriage and that members would definitely show up at funerals to protest.

April 16, 2013

Elephant handler trampled to death at South African sanctuary

An elephant handler herding the beasts for their daily exercise at a South African animal sanctuary was trampled to death, the park's owner said on Monday.

April 16, 2013

Hawaiian court rules bed-and-breakfast must accommodate lesbian couple

A state judge ruled Monday that a bed-and-breakfast in Hawaii was wrong when it denied service to two women on the basis of their homosexuality.

April 16, 2013

Man suspected in Mitch McConnell bugging makes plea for legal defense funds

The man who is suspected of bugging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office has started a legal defense fund aimed at raising $10,000 — and so far, he's received $185.

April 16, 2013