Valerie Richardson

Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home directive may have led to 1,000 more coronavirus deaths: Study

A newly released study found that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's nursing home directive may have resulted in as many as 1,000 additional deaths from the novel coronavirus, making "a bad situation worse."

February 19, 2021

Biden reenters Paris climate agreement, reversing Trump without Senate ratification

President Biden announced Friday that the U.S. has officially rejoined the Paris climate agreement, reentering the international accord without Senate ratification a month after signing a directive to reverse the Trump administration's exit.

February 19, 2021

Andrew Cuomo impeachment talks sparked by nursing home scandal

Another impeachment may be looming, only this time the target isn't former President Donald Trump. The nursing home scandal engulfing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has lawmakers on both sides of the aisle raising the specter of impeachment as federal investigators examine his administration's handling of data on novel coronavirus deaths.

February 18, 2021

SC governor signs abortion ban; Planned Parenthood sues

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed Thursday legislation banning most abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, prompting an immediate legal challenge from Planned Parenthood.

February 18, 2021

Kamala Harris dodges questions on requiring teacher vaccines for school reopenings

Vice President Kamala Harris made it clear Wednesday that nobody's going to make her take a public position on whether teachers need to be vaccinated before returning to K-12 classrooms.

February 17, 2021

Tim Boyd, Texas mayor who told residents to ‘quit crying’ over blackouts, resigns

A Texas mayor who scolded residents struggling without heat or water in freezing conditions, telling them to "quit crying and looking for a handout," has left office.

February 17, 2021

Mark Zuckerberg violating own policy with early vaccine concerns: Project Veritas

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has banned from his social media platforms any claims that the novel coronavirus vaccine alters DNA, although he himself expressed similar concerns last year.

February 17, 2021

Texas blackouts, frozen windmills spark green-energy future fears

The Arctic blast that left millions of Texans in the cold as wind turbines froze also sent shivers down the spines of those convinced that the rolling blackouts offer a chilling glimpse of the future under President Biden's green-energy agenda.

February 16, 2021

Texas Gov. Abbott orders investigation into state’s grid operator after rolling blackouts

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called Tuesday for an investigation into the operator of the state's electricity grid after devastating outages that left millions of residents during this week's historic deep freeze, calling the utility's performance "anything but reliable."

February 16, 2021

Dade Phelan, Texas House speaker, calls for legislature to review statewide winter blackouts

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan called Tuesday for a joint legislative hearing into the statewide blackouts that have left millions without power in the middle of a generational Arctic freeze.

February 16, 2021

Andrew Cuomo denies hiding nursing-home deaths in New York, cites ‘toxic political environment’

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that he did not hide COVID-19 nursing home deaths as Democrats joined Republicans in demanding answers, putting pressure on the Biden administration to investigate the spiraling scandal.

February 15, 2021

Biden administration under pressure to investigate Cuomo nursing home scandal

The Biden administration is under mounting pressure to investigate the spiraling New York nursing home scandal as Democrats join Republicans in demanding answers on the Cuomo administration's decision to withhold information on the novel coronavirus death toll.

February 15, 2021

CDC guidance calls on schools to reopen ‘as soon as possible’

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Sunday the Biden administration's new guidance for school reopening recognizes the urgent need to end the "collateral damage" of school closures.

February 12, 2021

Washington state workers union fees case challenges post-Janus restrictions

Attorneys for the employees on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to take up their case against Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and the Washington Federation of State Employees, arguing that state and union officials violated Janus by erecting barriers to leave the union.

February 11, 2021

Oil rigs relocate from New Mexico to Texas over Biden’s permitting freeze

New Mexico is already paying the price for the Biden administration's freeze on agency-level approvals for permits on federal lands as oil rigs relocate to private property in Texas.

February 11, 2021

14 Republican AGs blast Joe Biden’s order killing Keystone XL pipeline, call it ‘virtue signaling’

Fourteen Republican attorneys general have urged President Biden to reconsider his decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, saying that the "symbolic act of virtue signaling" will do nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

February 10, 2021

Joe Biden accused of backtracking on school reopenings with one-day-a-week plan

President Biden was accused Tuesday of backtracking on his school-reopening pledge after the White House said the plan was to have as few as 50% of schools open for in-person learning for as little as one day per week.

February 9, 2021

Joe Biden climate policies raise alarm about environmental damage

President Biden's climate blitz already has proven costly to U.S. energy jobs, but concerns are mounting that his executive actions will do nothing to reduce emissions while threatening to wreak enormous environmental damage.

February 9, 2021

Ka’Mauri Harrison, student suspended for BB gun in virtual class, backed by Louisiana AG Jeff Landry

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry filed Monday a motion in support of Ka'Mauri Harrison, the fourth-grader who was recommended for expulsion after moving a BB gun that his brother had tripped over during a virtual class.

February 8, 2021

Democrats torn between teachers’ unions, parents

Democrats are caught in a political bind between frustrated parents who want to send their children back to school and teachers' unions resisting appeals for in-person learning over safety concerns, a tug-of-war that threatens to ensnare President Biden.

February 8, 2021