Valerie Richardson

Susana Martinez, New Mexico governor, bashes EPA for polluting Animas River with wastewater

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez blasted the EPA for accidentally flooding the Animas River with toxic orange wastewater, calling on the agency to hold itself to the same standard for the disaster as it would a private entity.

August 8, 2015

Death-penalty foes play race card after James Holmes gets life instead of death

It didn't take long for critics of the death penalty to bring up race after James Holmes was sentenced Friday to life in prison instead of death for the deadly Aurora, Colorado, theater rampage.

August 8, 2015

James Holmes sentenced to life in prison for Colorado massacre after jury splits

Aurora theater shooter James Eagan Holmes escaped the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole Friday after a Colorado jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision.

August 7, 2015

EPA takes heat for toxic wastewater spill that turns Colorado river orange

The Environmental Protection Agency is coming under fire in Colorado after accidentally dumping one million gallons of acidic waste into the Las Animas River, turning it bright orange and threatening the community's water supply.

August 7, 2015

Planned Parenthood, roiled by undercover videos, fighting to stay relevant

Planned Parenthood has been roiled by undercover videos exposing its handling of aborted fetal tissue, but a bigger problem may be the perception that the 99-year-old organization is rapidly becoming irrelevant.

August 6, 2015

Alabama Gov. Bentley defunds Planned Parenthood affiliate

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced Thursday that he has cut the state's funding to Planned Parenthood, making his the third state to defund the organization since last month's release of alarming undercover videos.

August 6, 2015

Planned Parenthood’s approval dips despite sparse media coverage of videos

A YouGov poll released Wednesday shows that Planned Parenthood's approval rating has dipped slightly even though 70 percent of adults have heard little or nothing about the release of alarming undercover videos, fueling charges of a snub by the news media.

August 6, 2015

New Hampshire defunds Planned Parenthood facilities

Chris Sununu is a pro-choice Republican, but when he voted Wednesday to defund Planned Parenthood clinics in New Hampshire, he viewed it as a vote in favor of women's health, not against.

August 5, 2015

Houston council moves transgender ‘bathroom bill’ to November ballot

Houston voters will decide in November whether to repeal the city's hotly contested equal-rights ordinance, also known as the transgender "bathroom bill," after a Wednesday vote of the city council.

August 5, 2015

Pro-lifers’ plans to release more videos limited by judge’s order

David Daleiden's plans to release more undercover video on the fetal tissue business hit a wall Monday after a federal judge blocked his pro-life group from releasing any footage taken at the National Abortion Federation's annual meetings.

August 3, 2015

Ben Carson dismisses ‘black lives matter’ vs. ‘all lives matter’ debate as PC ‘going amok’

Ben Carson, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon, refused to back down Sunday after describing as "silly" the debate over "black lives matter" versus "all lives matter."

August 3, 2015

Planned Parenthood: Senate to vote on defunding as judge weighs ban on video footage

The Senate is poised to vote Monday on a bill to defund Planned Parenthood brought by pro-life Republicans even as pro-choice groups take to federal court to stop the release of more graphic undercover videos on the fetal tissue business.

August 2, 2015

Joe Biden 2016 bid becomes viable as Hillary Clinton sinks and Bernie Sanders surges

Stealing the thunder from the Republican Party's first presidential debate this week is a flurry of speculation about a Democrat: Vice President Joseph R. Biden.

August 2, 2015

Bernie Sanders, Democratic challenger, blasts Hillary Clinton’s silence on Keystone XL Pipeline

Hillary Rodham Clinton took more heat Sunday over her repeated refusals to take a stand on the Keystone XL Pipeline, this time from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

August 2, 2015

Donald Trump: Joe Biden would ‘do very well’ in presidential race against Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump says he likes Vice President Joseph R. Biden's chances of defeating front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

August 2, 2015

Court stops pro-life group from releasing details of top-secret abortion meetings

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order late Friday to stop the Center for Medical Progress from releasing undercover video taken at the closed annual meetings of the National Abortion Federation.

August 1, 2015

Planned Parenthood: Second lawsuit filed against pro-life group to stop videos

The National Abortion Federation filed a motion Friday to stop the release of video filmed at its annual meeting by the Center for Medical Progress, the pro-life group behind a series of devastating Planned Parenthood recordings.

July 31, 2015

Planned Parenthood: Fourth video shows staff flouting laws on sales of fetal parts

A California judge's order blocking temporarily the release of some undercover footage targeting Planned Parenthood failed to slow down the pro-life group behind the searing and increasingly graphic videos targeting the family planning and abortion giant.

July 30, 2015

Planned Parenthood: Judge blocks pro-life group from releasing StemExpress footage

The pro-life group behind a series of undercover Planned Parenthood videos accused the bioservice firm StemExpress late Wednesday of trying to "cover up this illegal baby parts trade" after the company obtained a court order blocking the release of footage.

July 29, 2015

Planned Parenthood failed to report 13-year-old girl’s abuse

Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains was hit with a complaint Wednesday for performing an abortion on a 13-year-old girl without reporting possible sexual abuse against the underage girl and returning her to the man who abused her.

July 29, 2015