Valerie Richardson

Heritage Action ads urge three Senate Democrats to oppose ‘radical’ Xavier Becerra

Heritage Action for America released Wednesday a two-state ad campaign urging three swing-vote Senate Democrats to vote against Health and Human Services nominee Xavier Becerra, calling him "radical and unqualified."

March 3, 2021

Senate committee splits along party lines on Xavier Becerra, Biden’s HHS nomination

The Senate Finance Committee split evenly Wednesday on Xavier Becerra's nomination as Health and Human Services secretary, teeing up another pitched battle over a Biden Cabinet pick.

March 3, 2021

Texas frozen wind turbine debacle prompts climate warriors push green energy

Frozen wind turbines became a symbol of last month's Arctic blast that left millions of Texans without power, but as far as green energy proponents are concerned, the solution is not less wind but more.

March 2, 2021

Steve Daines reintroduces bill to protect gun owners bringing firearms across state lines

"I will always defend the 2nd Amendment and work to strengthen protections for law-abiding gun owners, including the right to safely transport firearms. We've already seen President Biden threaten the 2nd Amendment and we must act now to protect these rights for all Americans."

March 2, 2021

Pope Benedict XVI uneasy with Joe Biden’s adherence to Democratic Party line

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, better known as emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, expressed misgivings in a Monday interview about President Biden for falling in line with the Democratic Party's political platform.

March 1, 2021

Women’s sports bills in states face Equality Act headwinds

State lawmakers racing to pass legislation to stop transgender participation in female sports risk being lapped by the Equality Act as it sprints to the Senate with a boost from the Biden administration.

March 1, 2021

Berkeley union leader under fire for sending child to private preschool while fighting reopenings

The head of the Berkeley teachers' union is being accused of hypocrisy for sending his daughter to an in-person preschool despite leading the fight against school reopenings over novel coronavirus concerns.

March 1, 2021

Michael Che, SNL joke decried as anti-Semitic

Protesters gathered outside NBC Studios in New York City to demand an apology for a "Saturday Night Live" joke suggesting that Israel was only vaccinating Jews, a quip decried as anti-Semitic.

February 28, 2021

House votes to set aside 3 million Western acres in ‘massive land grab’

The House voted Friday to cordon off nearly three million acres of Western land in the name of environmental protection, overriding Republicans who called it a "massive land grab" that will kill jobs, increase wildfire danger and reduce access to public lands.

February 26, 2021

House passes Equality Act despite objections over religious freedom, women’s sports

House Democrats passed Thursday the Equality Act, taking their cues from President Biden as he pushes transgender rights to the forefront despite warnings of dire repercussions for religious freedom, women's sports and parental rights.

February 25, 2021

Marjorie Taylor Greene hangs ‘two genders’ sign after Marie Newman posts transgender flag

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, and Marie Newman, Illinois Democrat, may be neighbors -- their House offices are across the hall from each other--but their neighborhood is unlikely to be confused with that of Mr. Rogers.

February 25, 2021

Deb Haaland, Biden’s Interior pick, tells Senate panel she supports Keystone XL pipeline shutdown

It took four tries, but Rep. Deb Haaland finally acknowledged Wednesday that she supports President Biden's hotly criticized decision to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline.

February 24, 2021

Five Oregon counties to vote on leaving state, escaping to ‘Greater Idaho’

Five Oregon counties will ask voters in the next election whether they want to detach from the deep-blue state and join neighboring red-state Idaho.

February 24, 2021

Biden administration accused of deserting female athletes by exiting transgender case

Attorneys accused the Biden administration Tuesday of deserting female athletes by withdrawing its support for a federal lawsuit in Connecticut seeking to bar transgender participation in girls' high school sports.

February 24, 2021

Deb Haaland, Interior pick, backs down on ‘Republicans don’t believe in science’ tweet at hearing

Interior nominee Rep. Deb Haaland's past came back to haunt her Tuesday as Senate Republicans grilled the New Mexico Democrat over her well-documented hostility to fracking, pipelines and oil-and-gas production on federal lands.

February 23, 2021

Joe Biden accused of ignoring science on coronavirus, climate change, women’s sports, abortion

President Biden is all about following the science -- unless it conflicts with his policy positions on hot-button issues, as far as his critics are concerned.

February 22, 2021

Newt Gingrich calls on Andrew Cuomo to resign after ex-Trump official says state ‘stonewalled’ probe

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called Monday on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign after an ex-Trump official said that the state "stonewalled" Justice Department investigators seeking information on nursing home deaths.

February 22, 2021

‘Antisemitic trope’: NBC under fire over ‘SNL’ sketch on Israeli vaccine rollout

NBC officials are facing calls to apologize over a "Saturday Night Live" sketch that accused Israel of vaccinating only its Jewish citizens against the novel coronavirus, a claim that critics lambasted as untrue and anti-Semitic.

February 22, 2021

Jen Psaki punts on Joe Biden support for Andrew Cuomo

White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused to say Sunday whether the president still views New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the "gold standard" on pandemic leadership as the Biden administration comes under pressure to address the nursing-home scandal.

February 21, 2021

Greg Abbott: Grid operator insisted ‘we are ready’ for storm that knocked out power to millions

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took aim Friday at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, saying the grid operator assured him beforehand that "we are ready" for the deadly Arctic blast that paralyzed the state, leaving millions without power.

February 19, 2021