Valerie Richardson
Articles by Valerie Richardson
NYT reporter rips ‘overreaction’ to Jan. 6 riots in Project Veritas sting
Perhaps no major publication has hyped the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot more than The New York Times, but one of its top reporters says the event has been blown out of proportion. Published March 9, 2022
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox vows to veto a ban on male-born athletes in female sports
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox pledged to veto a transgender-sports bill after Republicans passed a last-minute overhaul, replacing a state eligibility panel with an outright ban on male-born competitors in female athletics. Published March 7, 2022
TIME magazine honors transgender celebrity as one of its Women of the Year
TIME magazine selected 12 honorees for its inaugural 2022 Women of the Year issue, but only 11 of them were born female. Published March 5, 2022
Electric-car baron Elon Musk calls for increasing U.S. oil and gas to combat Russia
Tesla may be the world's leading seller of plug-in electric vehicles, but CEO Elon Musk wants the U.S. oil-and-gas industry to ramp up production. Published March 5, 2022
Lia Thomas insists ‘I’m a woman,’ eyes 2024 Olympics in Sports Illustrated profile
Lia Thomas is slated to graduate soon from the University of Pennsylvania, but that doesn't mean the transgender swimmer's athletic career is over. Published March 3, 2022
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs bill into law barring male-born athletes from female sports
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday signed a bill to prevent male-born athletes from competing in female scholastic sports, making her state the 11th to pass such legislation over the objections of the LGBTQ movement. Published March 3, 2022
Sen. John Kennedy urges Justice Dept. to crack down on anti-Catholic crime, vandalism
Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, prodded the Justice Department on Wednesday to act against rising crime targeting Catholic churches and worshipers, saying he has received no response since raising the issue in 2020. Published March 2, 2022
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas qualifies as top seed at NCAA women’s championships
Transgender athlete Lia Thomas is slated to compete in three races at the NCAA Division I women's swimming championships, placing the male-born swimmer in a position to make history and challenge records held by a trio of female Olympic greats. Published March 2, 2022
U.S. reliance on Russian oil hits record high; Biden pressed to ease clampdown on U.S. energy
President Biden moved Tuesday to check Russian President Vladimir Putin's energy leverage, releasing strategic oil reserves as U.S. petroleum imports from Russia hit a record high and frustration mounted over the administration's domestic fossil fuel crackdown. Published March 1, 2022
Sen. Joni Ernst slams Biden’s ‘deranged climate policy,’ calls for restarting Keystone XL
Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, blasted the Biden administration Tuesday for its "deranged climate policy," calling on the White House to bring back the Keystone XL pipeline to counter rising U.S. dependence on Russian oil. Published March 1, 2022
Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s account locked for tweet criticizing transgender athletes in women’s sports
Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Missouri Republican, was locked out of her Senate campaign account for a tweet declaring that "men pretending to be women" don't belong in female sports. Published February 28, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Ads blast Senate Democrats for killing Russia-pipeline sanctions bill
Senate Democrats continue to be haunted by their vote against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's bill to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Published February 28, 2022
UN climate panel’s ‘dire warning’ hits realpolitik as Putin exploits an energy-starved world
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called Monday for "urgent action" in its latest report, prodding countries to hasten emissions reductions even as events in Ukraine threaten to submerge the global-warming agenda. Published February 28, 2022
Poll: 62% of voters say Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump were president
Most U.S. voters say Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Donald Trump were still president, according to a newly released survey. Published February 27, 2022
Democrats urge Biden to counter pain at pump with more foreign oil production
Congressional Democrats want to counter rising fuel costs spurred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine with more oil production, but they're looking overseas, not at home. Published February 26, 2022
White House moves to fight climate ‘denialism’ amid calls to end fossil-fuel crackdown
The White House held a brainstorming session Friday on how to combat climate "denialism and delay" even as the Russian invasion of Ukraine fueled pressure on President Biden to end his crackdown on domestic oil-and-gas production. "It's clear that a variety of special interests have had a vested interest in sowing doubt on climate change and feeding denialism and delay," said White House senior adviser Neera Tanden in a statement. "We need to confront that reality." Published February 26, 2022
Convention of states movement gains steam with challenge to Washington’s power
Say this for the Biden and Trump administrations: Both rekindled an interest in federalism, judging by the success of the high-flying convention of states movement. Published February 23, 2022
Most U.S. voters disapprove of Trudeau’s trucker crackdown, but most Democrats approve: poll
U.S. Democrats were far more supportive of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's crackdown on the trucker protest than Republican and unaffiliated voters, according to a poll released Tuesday. Published February 22, 2022
Report: CNN’s on-air mentions of Fox News plunge after Jeff Zucker resigns
Sniping at Fox News has long been a CNN hallmark, but the chatter has apparently tailed off since network president, Jeff Zucker, was forced out over an undisclosed workplace affair. Published February 21, 2022
Rodeo industry bucks Los Angeles City Council bid to bust up sport
Rodeo organizers are calling bull on a Los Angeles City Council proposal to hog-tie the sport in the name of animal rights. Published February 21, 2022
