Cheryl K. Chumley
Columns by Cheryl K. Chumley
1,250 heroin bags labeled ‘Obama Care’ seized by police
Four people pulled over for traffic violations early Friday while driving a Massachusetts highway now face drug charges after police discovered and seized 1,250 bags of suspected heroin in the vehicle – that had been labeled “Obama Care” in large red letters. Published December 20, 2013
Cheerleader-to-soldier: Philly Eagles girl turns in pom-poms for rifle
Rachel Washburn, 25, was a cheerleader with the Philadelphia Eagles when she decided a career shift was in order. So she traded in her pom-poms and signed on the dotted Army contract line — and she’s since been serving as an intelligence officer with a special ops combat unit in Afghanistan. Published December 20, 2013
Most annoying word, 2013: ‘Whatever,’ followed by ‘like’
Like, whatever. For the fifth year running, respondents in a national Marist poll say the most annoying word slung by American conversationalists is “whatever.” Published December 20, 2013
Gov. Chris Christie to sign law giving illegals in-state tuition rates
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is poised to sign a bill that will give illegal immigrants the ability to pay the same lower college tuition rates as state residents. Published December 20, 2013
Dennis Rodman can’t get U.S. basketball stars to go to North Korea: ‘They’re still afraid’
So Dennis Rodman is in North Korea, trying to train select basketball players for an exhibition game against former U.S. greats on Jan. 8, for dictator Kim Jong-un's birthday. Meanwhile, Mr. Rodman is putting together a roster of 12 he wants from America to come play. But there's just one problem: He can't get the American players to agree to travel to the regime. Published December 20, 2013
Michelle Obama: Kids ‘owe it to their mothers’ to enroll in Obamacare
The White House is apparently turning to guilt to drive Americans toward Obamacare. Published December 20, 2013
U.S. Navy to start giving gay couples marriage benefits in Japan
The U.S. Navy announced it will start providing gay sailors who are stationed in Japan with military benefits that are equal to what married heterosexual couples receive. Published December 20, 2013
Fla.’s Trey Radel exits rehab, ‘excited’ to resume congressional role
Rep. Trey Radel — who pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine in November — emerged from drug rehabilitation this week, vowing to continue "serving" his Florida constituents and "excited" to get back in the political game. Published December 20, 2013
‘Duck Dynasty’ star Phil Robertson’s pre-A&E same as post-A&E: Homosexuality is a sin
"Duck Dynasty" star's Phil Robertson hasn't exactly hidden his biblical views on homosexuality, preaching the act was sin in a public setting that was videotaped in 2010 — years before A&E even picked up the family for the show. Published December 20, 2013
U.S. nuclear general boozed it up, chased ‘hot women’ in Russia: report
Details from a just-released Inspector General's report show that a U.S. general who was in charge of nuclear weapons stocks, but was suspended because of unbecoming behavior, actually chased "hot women" in Moscow, drank large amounts of alcohol and generally made a fool of himself in front of foreign delegates. Published December 20, 2013
45 Calif. students at one school test positive for tuberculosis exposure
Forty-five students at one southern California school tested positive for tuberculosis exposure, sparking a fear that’s led administration and health agents on Friday to call for testing off all 1,800 at the building. Published December 20, 2013
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford on women: Give them cash ‘and they are happy’
Take it from Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, the admitted crack-smoker who dismissed any talk about a drug habit by saying he was drunk when he smoked. He has the secret to keeping women happy. Published December 20, 2013
Tea party-type lawmakers take mysterious, off-books trip to Mideast
Reps. Michele Bachmann, Steve King — from Iowa, not New York — and Louie Gohmert made a hush-hush trip to the Middle East this week, flying commercial into high-profile danger zones like Beirut, Cairo and Tripli, attending embassy briefings but declining to release information. Published December 20, 2013
Airport assassination: Mayor, 3 others killed at Manila airport
Gunmen dressed as police swarmed an airport in the Philippine capital on Friday, fatally shooting the mayor of a nearby town and three others, and injuring several more. Published December 20, 2013
Ku Klux Klan group holds recruitment meeting in Maryland
Saying they're no longer about skin color, members of the Ku Klux Klan-tied Confederate White Knights of Rosedale, Md., are holding a recruitment drive Friday in Elkton. Published December 20, 2013
North Korea warns South: We’ll attack ‘without warning’
North Korea’s government sent the South a blistering message this week threatening to attack “without warning” if demonstrations against the former dictator, Kim Jong-il, didn’t halt. Published December 20, 2013
Obama to commute sentences for 8 crack dealers, users due to ‘unfair system’
President Obama announced Thursday his intent to commute the federal prison sentences of eight who were convicted of crack cocaine crimes Published December 19, 2013
China hackers breach Washington Post website
China is being blamed for hacking into the Washington Post’s servers — the third time in three years — and accessing employee user names and passwords. Published December 19, 2013
Methodist Church defrocks pastor who performed gay marriage
United Methodist church heads in Lebanon, Penn., defrocked a pastor on Thursday after he served as officiator at his son's gay wedding ceremony in Massachusetts. Published December 19, 2013
Dennis Rodman lands in North Korea, and propagandists prepare
Dennis Rodman landed Thursday on North Korean soil, a touted trip to train the nation’s top basketball stars that was scheduled before Kim Jong-un executed his uncle — a world-watched event that didn’t dissuade the NBA legend from staying clear of the dictator he describes as a friend. Published December 19, 2013