Valerie Richardson
Articles by Valerie Richardson
Newt Gingrich accuses Hillary Clinton of illegal activity, as Clinton Foundation admits ‘mistakes’
The Clinton Foundation likely will refile some tax documents after making "mistakes" by combining government grants with other donations even as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton moves to deflect an escalating money-for-influence scandal. Published April 26, 2015
John McCain, John Kasich call for change in CIA drone program after hostage-killing attack
Calls for moving the U.S. drone strike program from the CIA to the Pentagon intensified Sunday in the wake of a counterterrorism attack that accidentally killed two Western hostages. Published April 26, 2015
Sweet Cakes Christian-owned bakery GoFundMe drive pulled after gay-rights advocates complain
A crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $109,000 for the Christian-owned bakery Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Oregon was removed Saturday after complaints from gay rights advocates. Published April 25, 2015
Lawsuit alleges Columbia ‘mattress girl’ made rape claim after being scorned
Emma Sulkowicz has been lionized as a feminist icon for her "mattress girl" anti-rape protest targeting a fellow Columbia University student, but his lawsuit paints her as a woman scorned who sought revenge after being rejected. Published April 24, 2015
Columbia ‘mattress girl’ case sparks lawsuit against university
The Columbia University student targeted by a mattress-carrying protester filed a lawsuit Thursday against the school, arguing that it failed to shield him from harassment even though police and campus authorities refused to pursue rape charges against him. Published April 23, 2015
Christina Hoff Sommers, speaker at Oberlin, triggers debate about feminist ‘trigger warnings’
You wouldn't know it to look at her, but Christina Hoff Sommers is apparently the kind of speaker whose very presence on college campuses is so alarming that students require advance notice, also known as a trigger warning. Published April 22, 2015
Sally Jewell, interior secretary, leaves bi-state Mono Basin sage grouse off Endangered Species List
It turns out there is a species that the Obama administration doesn't want to place on the Endangered Species List — the bi-state Mono Basin sage grouse. Published April 21, 2015
Police kill more whites than blacks, but minority deaths generate more outrage: analysis
Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison says she wants to see an officer shoot an unarmed white teenager in the back before agreeing that the "conversation about race" is over, but she almost certainly already has received her wish. Published April 21, 2015
Fracking boom only creates jobs for women as prostitutes, maids: N.Y. activist
A key figure behind New York's statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing says that losing out on oil and gas jobs is no big deal because the industry only creates work for women as prostitutes and hotel maids. Published April 20, 2015
Colorado gun advocates in firefight over raising magazine limits to 30 rounds
There is nothing that infuriates Colorado firearms owners more than the 15-round ammunition magazine limit enacted two years ago by Democrats, but a proposal to raise the limit to 30 rounds has split the state's gun rights movement. Published April 20, 2015
Judge rules against Houston pastors’ challenge to transgender ‘bathroom bill’
A pastor-led coalition fell short in its bid to overturn a Houston transgender-rights ordinance after a judge ruled Friday that the group had failed to submit enough signatures to place a repeal measure on the ballot. Published April 18, 2015
College sexual assault crackdown sparks effort to protect rights of accused
Dozens of state legislatures are rushing this year to crack down on college sexual assault, but only a few of them are also moving to protect the rights of the accused. Published April 16, 2015
University of Colorado rejects fossil-fuel divestment calls
The fossil-fuel divestment movement, fresh off its biggest victory to date at Syracuse University, took a step backward Thursday as the University of Colorado Board of Regents rejected calls to sell off its holdings in oil, natural gas and coal. Published April 16, 2015
‘Right to rest’ Colorado bill seeks to ban ‘discrimination’ against homeless
Homeless people would have a right to sleep in public places — and sue for damages if it's denied — under a “right to rest” bill under consideration in the Colorado legislature. Also known as the Homeless Bill of Rights, the Colorado legislation would give people “experiencing homelessness” the right to rest and eat or accept food in public spaces where food is not prohibited, as well as occupy a legally parked vehicle, “without discrimination.” Published April 15, 2015
Obama bat protection decried as ploy to thwart oil and gas extraction, logging
A tiny brown bat known for its long ears is giving the creeps to those fearful of its potential to make jobs in the East and Midwest disappear. Published April 15, 2015
Jerry Brown California drought water conservation rules spark Republican backlash
For California Gov. Jerry Brown to crack down on shower-taking and toilet-flushing to save precious quarts of water as millions of gallons flow into the Pacific Ocean doesn't make a lot of sense to Travis Allen. Published April 13, 2015
Yucca Mountain nuclear dump gets another look
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid hasn't left office yet, but one of his signature achievements — keeping the nation's radioactive nuclear waste from being stored in his home state of Nevada — is already showing signs of decay. Published April 9, 2015
Gordon College backlash sparks discrimination accusations against gay advocates
No college has taken more flak after running afoul of the gay rights movement than Gordon College, but it turns out the small Christian institution in Wenham, Massachusetts, also has some supporters. Published April 8, 2015
Food fight rages over Colorado panel’s split decision on gay-themed cakes
The battle over gay rights and religious freedom heated up a notch Monday as conservatives pointed to a Colorado panel’s ruling in favor of three bakeries that refused to bake anti-gay cakes as evidence of a double standard. Published April 6, 2015
Video puts Muslim bakeries, florists in gay-rights spotlight
Muslim bakers and florists have flown under the media radar during the recent uproar over Christian-owned businesses and gay rights, but a hidden-camera video may have changed that. Published April 5, 2015
