Valerie Richardson
Articles by Valerie Richardson
Governors who welcome refugees face blowback over security risks
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper insists that the state can welcome Syrian refugees without posing a security threat to residents, but Libby Szabo doesn't understand how he can be so sure. Published November 18, 2015
North Dakota voters select ‘Fighting Hawks’ to replace ‘Fighting Sioux’
Say good-bye to the Fighting Sioux and hello to the Fighting Hawks. Published November 18, 2015
U.S. ‘discriminates’ against Christian refugees, accepts 96% Muslims, 3% Christians
Less than 3 percent of the Syrian refugees admitted to the United States so far are Christian and 96 percent are Muslim, the result of a referral system that Republican Sen. Tom Cotton says "unintentionally discriminates" against Christians. Published November 17, 2015
North Dakota fans still embrace Fighting Sioux nickname, reject replacement monikers
The University of North Dakota has narrowed down its nickname choices to the Roughriders and the Fighting Hawks, but hockey fan Duffy Doubek isn't thrilled with either. Published November 16, 2015
Tax rates on cellphone service hit record high: report
Forking over $399 for an iPhone is only the beginning: Wireless customers pay an all-time high of nearly 18 percent on average in combined taxes and fees on their cellphone bills. Published November 16, 2015
Aaron Allmon verdict deals blow to military’s high-profile attack on sex-related offenses
As Air Force missions go, the prosecution of Tech. Sgt. Aaron D. Allmon II on explosive sexual-harassment charges ran into turbulence and wound up in a nosedive. Published November 15, 2015
Republicans call on Obama to start defeating Islamic State
Frustrated Republicans called Sunday on the White House to get serious about fighting Middle East terrorism in the wake of a series of attacks, culminating in the massacre in Paris. Published November 15, 2015
Bernie Sanders, Democratic presidential candidate: Terrorist attacks linked to climate change
Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders doubled down Sunday on his insistence that climate change leads to terrorism, a connection he called "pretty obvious." Published November 15, 2015
Marco Rubio: Hillary Clinton’s refusal to blame ‘radical Islam’ like refusing to blame Nazis in WWII
Marco Rubio said Sunday that Hillary Rodham Clinton's refusal to agree that the United States is at war with radical Islam would be "like saying we were not at war with the Nazis because we were afraid to offend some Germans." Published November 15, 2015
Obama still plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees despite Paris terrorist attacks
The White House says it won't let its plans to bring Syrian refugees to the U.S. be derailed by Friday's terrorist attack in Paris, with a top official insisting Sunday that American authorities know how to weed out potential problems within the refugee community. Published November 15, 2015
Aaron Allmon, Air Force photographer, cleared of most charges in sexual-harassment ‘witch-hunt’
An award-winning combat photographer who once faced up to 130 years in prison for sexual harassment may avoid jail altogether after being cleared Friday of the most devastating charges against him. Published November 14, 2015
Aaron Allmon witness testimony challenges military sex assault claims by 4 women
An attorney for Tech. Sgt. Aaron D. Allmon II ripped Air Force prosecutors Thursday for taking the military's war on sexual assault "too far" by essentially criminalizing boorish behavior. Published November 12, 2015
Aaron Allmon II on trial for sexual harassment at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota
Tech. Sgt. Aaron D. Allmon II listened stoically in court Wednesday as three female former co-workers described feeling uncomfortable, even violated, by his behavior toward them. One airman testified that he touched her on the thigh to get a better look at the tattoo peeking out from under her shorts. Another said he put his hands on her face and kissed her forehead after learning she was going through a painful divorce. Published November 11, 2015
University of Missouri resignations fuel backlash as campus hit with more turmoil
It was another day of upheaval Tuesday at the University of Missouri at Columbia, but not everyone was on board with social-justice protesters who succeeded Monday in toppling the president and chancellor. Published November 10, 2015
University of Missouri president, chancellor forced out for failure to combat ‘systemic racism’
The University of Missouri president and chancellor stepped down Monday after weeks of unrest over ambiguous accusations that they had been insufficiently responsive to racial "oppression" on campus. Published November 9, 2015
Initiative to replace Obamacare with $25B ColoradoCare qualifies for 2016 ballot
A landmark measure that would replace Colorado's Obamacare exchange with universal health-care coverage--at an estimated cost of $25 billion--qualified Monday for the statewide November 2016 ballot. Published November 9, 2015
Yale, Cornell, Syracuse, Vassar, Oberlin administrators agree to rip up Constitution
Conservatives have long accused academics of shredding the Constitution, figuratively speaking, but a Project Veritas sting operation recently caught them doing it literally. Published November 8, 2015
Six Democrats picked to investigate Planned Parenthood took $81,000 from its PAC
The six Democrats named this week to the House Select Investigative Panel looking into Planned Parenthood's fetal-tissue practices have received more than $81,000 from PACs affiliated with the organization. Published November 6, 2015
EPA email trail reveals Alaska Pebble Mine plot
It didn't take long for Thursday's House committee hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency's role in blocking the Pebble Mine to start sounding less like a congressional probe and more like the plot of a Michael Crichton thriller. Published November 5, 2015
Voters reject liberal social proposals, candidates; Obama blame denied
Voters hit the stop button on the advance of social liberalism Tuesday in some high-profile races, rejecting a transgender discrimination ban in Houston and marijuana legalization in Ohio, in off-year elections that left conservatives claiming more victories. Published November 4, 2015
