Valerie Richardson
Articles by Valerie Richardson
Tracy Stone-Manning, BLM nominee, hammered over tree-spiking incident
Republican senators took advantage of Thursday's hearing on the U.S. Forest Service budget to torch Tracy Stone-Manning, President Biden's pick to head the Bureau of Land Management, over her connection to a notorious tree-spiking case. Published June 17, 2021
Transgender athlete named as alternate to U.S. Olympic women’s BMX team
No openly male-to-female transgender athlete has ever competed on the women's side in the Olympics, but Chelsea Wolfe is coming close. Published June 17, 2021
Judge rejects Biden attempt to pause oil, gas leases on federal lands
The Biden administration came under pressure Wednesday to resume leasing sales for oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters after a federal judge handed Republican attorneys general a victory by blocking President Biden's moratorium. Published June 16, 2021
Biden’s public-lands pick runs into GOP buzz saw over links to timber sabotage
Tracy Stone-Manning could have told law enforcement after she learned that a friend had driven potentially lethal railroad spikes into trees to stop a timber sale in Idaho's Clearwater National Forest, but she didn't. Published June 16, 2021
House ethics committee drops Jan. 6 Capitol riot complaints against Reps. Brooks, Gosar
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Washington Democrat, is now 0-for-3 in her ethics complaints against the House Republicans whom she accused of instigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Published June 15, 2021
White House denies report Vatican nixed papal Mass with Biden
The White House denied Tuesday a report saying that the Vatican scuttled an early plan for President Biden to attend Mass and receive communion from Pope Francis as part of the president's current European trip. Published June 15, 2021
GOP escalates response to Ilhan Omar’s comments, calls for removal from House panel
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and he promised he would do so if Republicans take the majority in the House, speaking to "Fox and Friends." Published June 15, 2021
House ethics committee dismisses Jan. 6 complaint against Rep. Lauren Boebert
Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican, announced Monday that she was cleared by the House ethics committee of allegations stemming from a complaint accusing her of "instigating and aiding" the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Published June 14, 2021
Pipeline protesters lose key battle as Minnesota court sides with Enbridge Line 3
The Minnesota Court of Appeals handed pipeline protesters a defeat Monday with a ruling in favor of the Enbridge Line 3 as activists kept up their efforts to disrupt construction on the hotly contested project. Published June 14, 2021
Republicans propose censure of Ilhan Omar and ‘The Squad’ for anti-Israel, anti-U.S. rhetoric
House Republicans on Monday announced plans to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar and three other members of the far-left "The Squad" over their comments last week equating the U.S. and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban. Published June 14, 2021
Pelosi insists House leadership statement on Ilhan Omar was not a rebuke
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was slammed by Republicans after insisting Sunday that she never rebuked Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Democrat, for her comments equating the United States and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban. Published June 14, 2021
Biden describes Queen Elizabeth II as ‘very gracious’ after tea at Windsor Castle
Few figures on the international stage have been in the game longer than President Biden, but one of them is Queen Elizabeth II. Published June 13, 2021
VP Harris slammed for marching in gay pride parade instead of visiting southern border
Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to visit the southern border, but she did turn up Saturday for the Capitol Pride Walk and Rally in Washington, D.C., as critics were quick to note. Published June 13, 2021
Newspaper leaves out description of Austin shooting suspect to avoid ‘stereotypes’
The largest newspaper in Austin, Texas, declined to publish a physical description of a suspect in the early Saturday mass shooting that over concerns that it could be "harmful in perpetuating stereotypes." Published June 13, 2021
Gloves come off as AOC blasts Manchin’s ‘romanticism about bipartisanship’
Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, may be the single most important vote in the Congress, but as far as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is concerned, he's also out of touch. Published June 13, 2021
Should Justice Breyer retire? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ‘inclined to say yes’
Add Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the list of Democrats giving Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer a nudge out the door. Published June 13, 2021
Pelosi not giving up on flipping Manchin on elections bill: ‘I think he left the door open’
Sen. Joe Manchin appeared emphatic when he declared that he would oppose the sweeping elections overhaul that passed the House, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she sees some wiggle room. Published June 13, 2021
Pelosi blasts Trump Justice Department probe into media leaks as ‘beyond Richard Nixon’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her chamber will conduct its own review into the Trump Justice Department's investigation into media leaks, saying it went "even beyond Richard Nixon." Published June 13, 2021
Biden’s race-based farming debt-relief program halted by judge
A federal judge has halted the Biden administration's program offering loan forgiveness for minority farmers only, stating that the federal government "cannot discriminate on the basis of race." Published June 12, 2021
GOP senator grills Biden HHS secretary on ‘birthing people,’ suggests using ‘Mom’ instead
Sen. James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican, grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra over the decision to use "birthing person" instead of "mother" in the Biden administration's $6 trillion budget. Published June 11, 2021
