Valerie Richardson
Articles by Valerie Richardson
Ballot design pro helps prevent election snafus
Campaigns routinely spend millions of dollars on get-out-the-vote drives, but it's money down the drain if voters can't figure out the ballot. Published June 15, 2016
Exxon fights Massachusetts AG’s ‘political’ probe into climate-change dissent
Exxon Mobil Corp. moved this week to quash Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's subpoena calling for 40 years of climate change communications with universities and free market groups, slamming the probe as a politically motivated fishing expedition. Published June 15, 2016
Google, Facebook, Reddit are run by a bunch of ‘left-wing guys’
Less than a month after the Facebook summit between founder Mark Zuckerberg and leading conservatives, the tense relationship between Silicon Valley and conservatives has taken a turn for the worse. Published June 13, 2016
Police: Orlando gunman pledged allegiance to ISIS, cited Boston Marathon bombers
The gunman who killed 50 people at a popular Orlando gay nightclub called 911 before the early Sunday attack and pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State, according to a police statement. Published June 12, 2016
Marco Rubio, Florida senator: Orlando nightclub massacre represents ‘new face of war on terror’
Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday called the horrific attack on an Orlando gay nightclub that left 50 dead the "new face of the war on terror." Published June 12, 2016
Omar Mateen’s father says gunman son was angry after seeing men kiss: report
The father of the suspected Orlando gunman on Sunday said that his son grew angry when he saw two men kissing in Miami several months before the horrific attack on a gay nightclub that left 50 dead. Published June 12, 2016
Muslim leader says Orlando gunman acted alone even as FBI probes possibility of network
The FBI is investigating whether the gunman who killed 50 at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday was part of a network that still poses a threat, even as a senior Muslim leader insisted he acted alone. Published June 12, 2016
Orlando mayor says 50 killed, 53 hurt in massacre at gay nightclub
A gunman who had sworn allegiance to Islamic State opened fire early Sunday at a crowded Orlando nightclub, killing 49 people and wounding 53 in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history and the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. Published June 12, 2016
Authorities say Orlando gunman is believed to have ties to Islamic terrorism
The gunman who killed 50 people and wounded 53 others after opening fire at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, is believed to have ties to Islamic terrorism. Published June 12, 2016
Google denies burying bad Hillary Clinton stories
Google denied on Friday allegations that it manipulated its algorithm to bury stories unflattering to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Published June 10, 2016
Google accused of burying negative Hillary Clinton stories
An explosive report released Thursday suggests that Google manipulated its search engine to boost Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton by burying unflattering stories about her. Published June 9, 2016
Climate models overstating case for man-made global warming, study suggests
Whenever climate models overestimate temperatures linked to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, scientists have pointed to a convenient fall guy: aerosols, which cool the planet and act as a counterweight to global warming. Published June 9, 2016
EPA’s glyphosate report favorable to herbicide disappears
The Environmental Protection Agency findings posted last month were welcome news for the herbicide industry: Glyphosate, a key ingredient in popular weed killers such as Roundup, was unlikely to cause cancer. Published June 8, 2016
GOP shut out of California Senate election as Democrats take both ballot slots
Predicting election results can be tough, but here's an easy one: A Democrat will win the November contest to succeed Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat. Published June 8, 2016
Oregon school board slammed for banning books on climate-change ‘doubt’
An Oregon school board that banned books expressing climate-change "doubt" has come under fire from free-speech advocates who accuse the district of attempting to indoctrinate students by stifling debate. Published June 7, 2016
Wyoming Democrats file challenge after Sanders wins vote but Clinton amasses more delegates
The latest delegate count shows Hillary Clinton just clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, but Wyoming supporters of Sen. Bernard Sanders aren't giving up yet. Published June 7, 2016
D.C. pension board ignites debate after pulling ‘direct’ investments from fossil fuels
The District of Columbia Retirement Board has divested its $6.4 billion pension fund from direct investments in 200 fossil-fuel companies, drawing kudos from climate-change groups even as critics dismissed the move as an "empty gesture." Published June 7, 2016
About 92K Coloradans to lose Obamacare coverage as insurers drop out, cut back, raise rates
More than 92,000 Coloradans will lose their Obamacare health care coverage in 2017 as four leading insurance companies scale back or eliminate their plans while others propose rate hikes of as much as 40 percent. Published June 6, 2016
‘Me Before You’ movie spurs disabled-rights protests over pro-suicide message
Disabled-rights advocates are staging protests pegged to Friday's general release of the movie "Me Before You," which critics say promotes the message that people in wheelchairs are better off killing themselves. Published June 3, 2016
No hard feelings: Romney donors Elway, Manning to join Obama for Super Bowl tribute
Former Denver Broncos quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning may have opposed the current White House occupant in the last election, but they're also good sports. Published June 3, 2016
