Valerie Richardson

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

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Articles by Valerie Richardson

Opponents hold signs while they wait in line outside hearing to consider bills to pass rules banning transgender student-athletes Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Yuri Avila) **FILE**

California expands girls’ field amid uproar over transgender athlete at state track finals

The California Interscholastic Federation has invited girls who failed to make the cut to participate in next weekend's state track and field championships, expanding the field amid pushback from President Trump over transgender athletes. Published May 28, 2025

A Seattle Police Department patch is seen on an officer's uniform, July 17, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) **FILE**

FBI wades in after Seattle mayor blames Christian worship rally for Antifa-fueled melee

The FBI is investigating potential violations of religious freedom after Antifa-style activists descended on a Christian worship rally at a Seattle park, prompting 23 arrests and a rebuke from the mayor -- against the Christian group. Published May 28, 2025

A proposed ban on transgender athletes playing female school sports in Utah would affect transgender girls like this 12-year-old swimmer seen at a pool in Utah on Feb. 22, 2021. She and her family spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to avoid outing her publicly. She cried when she heard about the proposal that would ban transgender girls from competing on girls' sports teams in public high schools, which would separate her from her friends. Republican governors of two states this week vetoed the legislation to ban transgender players from girls' sports, but their decisions to buck the party's conservative wing could prove short-lived against a fired-up GOP base. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) **FILE**

Transgender high school athletes shine, as blue states defy Trump’s executive order

Transgender athletes have all but disappeared from women's collegiate sports since President Trump brought down the hammer three months ago, but high school sports are another story entirely. Published May 27, 2025

Charlie Kirk, left and Donald Trump Jr. take part in a town hall meeting Monday, March 17, 2025, in Oconomowoc, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) ** FILE **

Charlie Kirk dismisses SPLC as ‘laughingstock’ for listing Turning Point on ‘hate map’

Nearly every year, the Southern Poverty Law Center adds another mainstream conservative organization to its notorious "Hate Map," and this year, it was Turning Point USA's turn. Published May 26, 2025

Interstate 74 highway road east rural midwest sign for "Welcome to Indiana." File photo credit: Kristi Blokhin via Shutterstock.

Indiana to explore redrawing state line with Illinois despite opposition from Gov. Pritzker

Indiana will soon begin studying the pros and cons of reconfiguring its border with Illinois, but it may have to do so without the participation of its neighbor. Published May 23, 2025

The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Magnet school in Northern Virginia faces federal racial discrimination probe over admissions policy

The Trump administration launched an investigation Thursday into the admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria. Published May 22, 2025

Roderick Theis, an education specialist with the InterMountain Education Service District in Oregon, shows the books deemed "hostile" by school officials for promoting a "binary view of gender." He filed a federal lawsuit against the district on May 21, 2025. (Photo courtesy Alliance Defending Freedom)

Oregon educator sues over being told to stop displaying ‘Johnny the Walrus’ at desk

A public education worker in Oregon has sued after being ordered to remove conservative children's books displayed in his workspace or face termination because they "promote a binary view of gender." Published May 22, 2025

Debris covers the ground near the site of an explosion on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Palm Springs, Calif. (ABC7 Los Angeles via AP)

Palm Springs bombing suspect believed to be driven by anti-birth ideology

The suspect in the California fertility-clinic bombing was hostile to those he called "pro-lifers," but he apparently wasn't referring to anti-abortion activists. Published May 21, 2025

Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, speaks with a colleague on Feb. 14, 2023, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) **FILE**

Supreme Court orders Maine legislature to lift censure on lawmaker who criticized transgender sports

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday restored a Maine state legislator's ability to speak and vote on bills, overturning the chamber's decision to censure her for a Facebook post criticizing a transgender high school athlete. Published May 20, 2025

The Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. which contains the state Supreme Court chamber, is shown before sunrise on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski) **FILE**

Female athletes sue Minnesota for allowing transgender star pitcher in girls’ softball

A transgender athlete dominating girls' high school softball in Minnesota has prompted a legal challenge against the state for allowing male-born students to participate in female sports. Published May 20, 2025

FILE - Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Colorado’s newly signed law on misgendering, deadnaming hit with free speech lawsuit

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed into law a transgender rights bill last week after it was amended numerous times, but the changes weren't enough to avoid a free-speech lawsuit. Published May 19, 2025

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, speaks during an anti-abortion rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Pro-life activists warn House Republicans against ‘betrayal’ on Planned Parenthood funding

Pro-life activists are turning up the heat on House Republicans over the budget reconciliation bill's provision barring Medicaid funds for large abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood. Published May 19, 2025

High school students run at sunset as they practice for the track and field season Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, in Shawnee, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

California transgender athlete wins two more girls’ events ahead of state championships

It was a great weekend for transgender track athlete A.B. Hernandez, but not so much for the California teen's female competitors. Published May 18, 2025

Camp IdRaHaJe, a Christian summer camp founded in 1948, sued the Colorado Department of Early Childhood on May 12, 2025, over the state's newly implemented gender-identity requirements. The camp's name is short for "I'd Rather Have Jesus." (Photo courtesy Alliance Defending Freedom)

Colorado Christian summer camp sues over state’s transgender mandate

A popular children's Christian summer camp may be forced to shut down for refusing to allow campers to use opposite-sex cabins, showers and restrooms in line with their gender identity. Published May 18, 2025

The emblem of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is shown on a podium in Vail, Colorado, on Feb. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) **FILE**

Judge tosses feds’ transgender guidance in win for Texas, Heritage Foundation

A federal judge threw out a Biden-era directive warning employers that failing to abide by their transgender employees' pronoun, dress and restroom preferences constituted sex-based workplace harassment. Published May 16, 2025

A general view of campus of the University of Notre Dame before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in South Bend, Ind. (Matt Cashore/Pool Photo via AP) **FILE**

Notre Dame faces challenge to tax-exempt status with state DEI inquiry

Harvard isn't the only university facing a threat to its tax-exempt status over its compliance with civil rights laws. Published May 15, 2025

A Missouri and American flag fly outside Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Planned Parenthood under fire for loose transgender care rules

Planned Parenthood is best known as the nation's largest abortion provider, but the organization is no slouch in the "gender-affirming care" department either. Published May 14, 2025

FILE - Bottles of abortion pills mifepristone, left, and misoprostol, right, are displayed at a clinic in Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Failure rate on abortion pill twice as high as shown on drug’s FDA-approved label: study

The same researchers who found that the abortion pill is 22 times more dangerous than billed on the label have now found that the failure rate is also twice as high as previously reported. Published May 13, 2025

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Linda McMahon and Elizabeth Warren agree to meet and discuss U.S. higher education

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is planning to meet with Sen. Elizabeth Warren after declining the Massachusetts Democrat's invitation to appear at an anti-Trump forum. Published May 13, 2025

Students, faculty and members of the Harvard University community rally, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo) **FILE**

Trump administration slashes another $450 million in federal grants to Harvard

Harvard University President Alan Garber may want to think twice before sending another letter to the Trump administration. Published May 13, 2025