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Valerie Richardson

Valerie Richardson

Valerie Richardson covers politics and the West from Denver. She can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Valerie Richardson

Billionaire Democratic fundraiser Tom Steyer (Associated Press) **FILE**

Tom Steyer passes on California Senate race

San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer announced Thursday that he will not run for California Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, saying that he wants to focus his efforts on electing a Democratic president in 2016. Published January 22, 2015

Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips' lawyers are seeking to have his discrimination conviction — for refusing to make a gay couple's cake — overturned, maintaining a Colorado state official was taped comparing Mr. Phillips' religious convictions to Nazism. (Associated Press)

Colorado cake case pits religion against tolerance

Colorado baker Jack Phillips was found guilty of discrimination for refusing to prepare a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, but his attorneys said Monday that a state official who ruled against him is guilty of anti-religious bias. Published January 12, 2015

Minty O'Callaghan (left) and Kathy Kuwaye enjoy a carrot soup topped with a foie gras cream at Sent Sovi in Saratoga, Calif. As a July 1 ban on foie gras nears, chefs across the state are loading their menus with the fatty duck liver and even holding secret dinners to avoid protesters, who say that force-feeding ducks is cruel. (Associated Press)

California ban on foie gras struck down

They tried to ban large sodas in New York City, and the courts said “no.” And now the same thing has happened to the ban on foie gras in California. West Coast nanny-state proponents took a hit Wednesday when a federal judge struck down the state's two-year-old prohibition on foie gras, a delicacy made from fattened duck or goose liver. Published January 7, 2015

California Gov. Jerry Brown (center) is greeted by lawmakers on the floor of the Assembly Chambers before his inauguration at the state Capitol Monday. He laid out ambitious 2030 goals for combating global warming, led by a 50 percent drop in petroleum use by cars and trucks. (Associated Press)

Jerry Brown pushes climate change agenda in California

California Gov. Jerry Brown put climate change at the center of his historic fourth inaugural address Monday, calling for more aggressive standards on gasoline use and renewable energy a day before launching construction on a $68 billion high-speed rail project. Published January 5, 2015

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy continues to pasture his cattle on federal lands eight months after an armed standoff with authorities. (Associated Press)

Cliven Bundy still grazing his cattle on disputed Nevada lands

Unbowed and unapologetic, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy is still running his cattle on disputed grazing land eight months after his highly publicized standoff over public lands, but that doesn't mean his feud with the federal government is over. Published December 29, 2014

Sony Pictures is trying to chart the right course through political and public-opinion minefields after a hacking attempt to prevent its release of "The Interview." (Associated Press)

Hacking, First Amendment open private email to public

Let's say your computer has been hacked and now websites are posting your private emails. What can you do stop them? The answer: Not much, according to First Amendment authorities. Published December 24, 2014

Brandon Delaney, general manager of the Plaza Theatre, in Atlanta, Georgia finishes hanging the marquis Tuesday to announce that the theatre will be showing "The Interview." The film was put back into mostly independent theaters Tuesday when Sony announced a limited Christmas Day theatrical release for the comedy. (Associated Press)

Sony’s ‘The Interview’ to have limited release Christmas Day

The nation's feisty independent and art-house cinemas plan to show "The Interview" after Sony reversed itself Tuesday and agreed to a limited Christmas Day release, defying hackers tied to North Korea who threatened to attack theaters that show the film. Published December 23, 2014

Sony Pictures has canceled the release of "The Interview," starring James Franco (left) and Seth Rogen, amid terrorist threats made by hackers. The hackers have recently been connected to North Korea, according to U.S. officials. (Associated Press)

Sony kills ‘The Interview’ after North Korea hack, terror threat

Federal investigators have connected the Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. hacking to North Korea, even as the studio on Wednesday canceled the scheduled Dec. 25 release for "The Interview" amid a terrorist threat that had prompted most of the top U.S. cinema chains to pull plans to show the film. Published December 17, 2014