Valerie Richardson

EPA accused of collusion after staffer admits he aided foes fighting Pebble Mine

Phil North was no fan of the proposed Pebble Mine, so when he was asked in 2010 to offer feedback on a draft petition urging the Environmental Protection Agency to kill the project, he pitched in with suggested language and edits.

April 28, 2016

EPA slammed after refusing to cover Colorado county’s costs from toxic spill

The Environmental Protection Agency came under fire Thursday after an official said the agency would not fully cover a Colorado county's expenses stemming from the EPA-caused toxic wastewater spill at the Gold King Mine.

April 28, 2016

Judge tosses Seattle ordinance requiring garbage-can searches for food waste

A state judge threw out a portion of a Seattle ordinance requiring garbage collectors to snoop through residents' trash in search of food waste, calling the provision unconstitutional.

April 28, 2016

Never-wrong woolly bear caterpillars foresee GOP presidential victory

It's been a down year for the woolly bear caterpillar, which could be a good sign for Republicans in November.

April 26, 2016

Obama’s 97 percent climate change consensus includes ‘deniers’

The 97 percent of scientists frequently cited by President Obama who agree on climate change? Some of them are actually climate "deniers."

April 25, 2016

Earth Day poll shows fewer Americans identify as environmentalists, climate change draws yawns

Fewer Americans than ever identify as environmentalists as green issues become more politically polarizing, according to a poll released Friday.

April 22, 2016

Climate agreement signing will bolster Obama’s legacy

The political forecast for Friday's signing of the historic Paris Agreement on climate change calls for sunshine at the White House, with lukewarm temperatures on the left and thunderstorms on the right.

April 21, 2016

Kamala Harris loses effort to gain access to free-market group’s donors

A federal judge ruled Thursday against California Attorney General Kamala Harris's attempts to gain access to the names and addresses of donors to a prominent free-market nonprofit, calling her demand unconstitutional.

April 21, 2016

Think tank calls on Virgin Islands prosecutor to pull ‘unlawful’ climate-change subpoena

The Competitive Enterprise Institute on Wednesday called on the Virgin Islands attorney general to withdraw his subpoena into its climate-change work, calling the probe a "political ploy" designed to "punish" the free-market group for its climate-change dissent.

April 20, 2016

Three former U.S. prosecutors say fetal-tissue profiteering probe is warranted

Cecile Richards' longstanding insistence that Planned Parenthood has never profited from fetal-tissue sales drew scrutiny Wednesday as House Republicans noted that abortion clinics essentially get paid for doing nothing.

April 20, 2016

Utah declares pornography a ‘public health hazard’

Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert signed a first-in-the-nation resolution Tuesday that officially declares pornography to be "a public health hazard" and takes aim at the "sexually toxic environment" caused by X-rated entertainment.

April 19, 2016

Michael Bennet, Clinton superdelegate, booed by Sanders crowd at Colorado convention

Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet was drowned out last weekend by irate Colorado Democrats, who booed and chanted "change your vote" in reference to his position as a superdelegate for Hillary Clinton.

April 18, 2016

Democratic AGs, climate change groups colluded on prosecuting dissenters, emails show

In the hours before they took the stage for their March 29 press conference, Democratic attorneys general received a secret briefing from two top environmentalists on pursuing climate change dissenters.

April 17, 2016

Colorado Trump protest over Cruz delegate sweep draws fewer than 200

The Colorado protest organized by frustrated supporters of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump didn't quite live up to the hype.

April 16, 2016

Ted Cruz jokes he meant he ‘values New York’ in ‘Tonight Show’ skit

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said in a Thursday night skit that he meant to say he "values New York" when he took a jab earlier this year at "New York values."

April 15, 2016

David Daleiden charges Planned Parenthood collusion, asks court to toss charges

Pro-life activist David Daleiden asked a Houston court Thursday to dismiss charges stemming from his undercover probe, arguing that prosecutors violated his rights by colluding with pro-choice advocates and leaking information to Planned Parenthood.

April 14, 2016

Tim Tebow for Congress? Former QB urged to run for open Florida seat

The sudden retirement announcement of veteran Rep. Ander Crenshaw has ignited speculation about a high-profile successor: former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

April 14, 2016

Bill Nye open to criminal charges, jail time for climate-change dissenters

Bill Nye "the science guy" says in a video interview released Thursday that he is open to the idea of jailing those who deviate from the climate change consensus.

April 14, 2016

Kamala Harris shakes off political bias charges amid Senate campaign in California

California Attorney General Kamala Harris' record on using her office to punish ideological foes is coming under fire after her investigations on abortion and climate change, but it's unlikely that either probe will come back to haunt her at the ballot box.

April 13, 2016

Gina McCarthy, EPA head, subpoenaed by Senate to testify at Gold King Mine hearing

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee acted Wednesday to subpoena EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy after the agency refused to provide witnesses to a field hearing on the EPA-caused Gold King Mine spill.

April 13, 2016