Valerie Richardson

Jill Biden doctor title spurs political uproar over sexism, credentialism

Jill Biden holds a doctorate in education, but her insistence on being referred to as "Dr. Jill Biden" has touched off a political and media uproar over whether that makes her a courageous feminist role model or a pretentious credential snob.

December 16, 2020

Joe Biden drilling ban ‘devastating’ for Western states, study warns

President-elect Joseph R. Biden pledged during the campaign to eliminate oil-and-gas permitting on federal lands in the name of combating climate change, but if he does, the impact would be "devastating," Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon warned Tuesday.

December 15, 2020

Tulsi Gabbard bill would block transgender athletes from women’s sports

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has split from the Democratic Party on a key issue with her bill to bar transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports, calling it the "height of hypocrisy" for women's rights advocates to deny biological differences between males and females.

December 14, 2020

Dan Crenshaw seeks to elect Georgia Senate Republicans in ‘Mission: Impossible’ send-up

If New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo can win an Emmy for his coronavirus pandemic briefings, maybe Rep. Dan Crenshaw should be submitting his election ads for Oscars.

December 14, 2020

Rashida Tlaib critics sound irony alert over anti-Semitism panel featuring Michigan Democrat

A webinar on combating anti-Semitism featuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, has prompted Israel advocates to sound the irony alert and accuse progressives of seeking to redefine anti-Jewish bigotry.

December 14, 2020

Trump urged to send Paris climate plan to Senate to block Biden

Presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden reiterated his vow Saturday to reenter the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his administration, but that could become a problem if the accord's foes can ferry it to the Senate first.

December 13, 2020

Linda Sarsour, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib star in Raphael Warnock vote-a-thon event

Democrat Raphael Warnock was already struggling to beat back allegations of anti-Semitism, and then Linda Sarsour and Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib jumped into the Georgia Senate election picture.

December 13, 2020

Nebraska loosens pandemic restrictions as hospitalizations decline

Even as other states tighten their pandemic rules, Nebraska is lifting some novel coronavirus restrictions, citing a decline in hospitalizations and other encouraging indicators.

December 12, 2020

Gavin Newsom, Calif. governor, blocked by judge from enforcing lockdown order on Catholic churches

A California judge has blocked Gov. Gavin Newsom from enforcing pandemic-related restrictions on a Catholic priest and his Southern California parishes, holding that the public-health order discriminates against houses of worship.

December 11, 2020

Hunter Biden ‘coverup’: Mainstream media under fire for ignoring story before election

Major media outlets and platforms that dismissed, ignored or sought to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop bombshell are taking a beating in the wake of this week's disclosures, accused of covering up an important story in the weeks before a critical election.

December 11, 2020

Trump administration designates Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home as national monument

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced Thursday the establishment of a national monument honoring legendary civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, who was assassinated in 1963, and Myrlie Evers at their former home in Jackson, Mississippi.

December 10, 2020

‘Hypocrisy at its worst’: California Democrats ripped for restaurant gathering

California Republicans unloaded on four Democratic state legislators caught dining together with family and guests at a restaurant despite novel coronavirus shutdown orders preventing the vast majority of residents from going out to dinner.

December 10, 2020

Raphael Warnock called Castro’s legacy ‘complex’ in 2016 sermon

The Rev. Raphael Warnock described Fidel Castro's legacy as "complex" in a remembrance from the pulpit two days after the Cuban strongman's death, as shown in a newly unearthed 2016 sermon.

December 9, 2020

Entertainment industry accused of pandemic privilege as small businesses struggle

Bars and restaurants may be closed, but the entertainment industry is finding ways to work around strict public health orders in California and New York, feeding the perception of a pandemic double-standard for the rich, famous and well-connected.

December 9, 2020

CPAC 2021 to be held in Florida

For the first time in its history, CPAC will be held in Florida.

December 8, 2020

Mac’s Public House battles Andrew Cuomo, Bill de Blasio to stay open during coronavirus pandemic

The fight to keep open Mac's Public House may look like a squabble over public health rules, but for the bar's patrons, the battle has all the hallmarks of a class struggle pitting Staten Island's Joe Sixpacks against the Big Apple's elite.

December 7, 2020

Danny Presti, bar owner, says he did ‘nothing wrong’ after arrest for slamming into officer with car

The Staten Island bar owner who kept his pub open in defiance of New York City's coronavirus shutdown rules insisted Monday that he did "nothing wrong" after being charged with striking an officer with his car during an arrest.

December 7, 2020

Adm. Brett Giroir pushes back on outdoor-dining bans as California’s kicks in

White House testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir pushed back Monday against bans on outdoor dining, saying that the "evidence just isn't there" to support such novel coronavirus prohibitions from a public health standpoint.

December 7, 2020

Raphael Warnock dodges Supreme Court packing question

During the Georgia Senate debate, Raphael Warnock deflected a question about court-packing, pivoting instead to criminal-justice reform, and then dismissing the issue as unimportant to voters after being questioned by debate panelist Greg Bluestein, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter.

December 6, 2020

Gavin Newsom California shutdown order faces resistance

After enduring some of the most restrictive novel coronavirus lockdowns in the nation, some Californians are putting up a fight.

December 6, 2020