Valerie Richardson

Teachers unions use anti-reopening rallies, safety strike warnings to test resolve

With the fall semester just a few weeks away, teachers' unions in many communities are setting up a major test for President Trump as he pushes for schools to reopen, holding anti-reopening rallies and warning that school districts that opt for in-person learning could be hit by "safety strikes."

August 3, 2020

Larry Hogan bans on blanket school closings in Maryland

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan overrode Monday the public-health order issued Friday by Montgomery County health officer Dr. Travis Gayles, which had required all non-public schools to close for in-person instruction until Oct. 1.

August 3, 2020

Republicans Trump, Daines lead in latest Montana poll

A poll released Monday found Sen. Steve Daines, Montana Republican, leading in his 2020 reelection bid, a race that was declared a toss-up after the entry of Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.

August 3, 2020

Kamala Harris, Val Demings, Karen Bass vie to be Biden running mate

Democratic vice-presidential hopefuls sprinted for the finish Sunday as the 2020 veepstakes entered the home stretch in what could be the most crucial running-mate selection since World War II.

August 2, 2020

Raul Grijalva blasts unmasked Republicans after getting coronavirus

Rep. Raul Grijalva, Arizona Democrats, was quick to point the finger at unmasked Republican lawmakers after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

August 2, 2020

Mark Meadows ‘not optimistic’ on coronavirus relief deal any time soon

Both Democrats and Republicans want to pass another coronavirus relief package, but neither side is optimistic about it happening any time soon.

August 2, 2020

Karen Bass walks back Fidel Castro praise: ‘I don’t consider myself a Castro sympathizer’

Rep. Karen Bass disavowed Sunday her 2016 praise of Cuban strongman Fidel Castro, a comment that now jeopardizes her prospects as former Vice President Joseph R. Biden's running mate, saying she "wouldn't do that again.

August 2, 2020

Mnuchin: ‘No question’ some people being paid more to stay home than work

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said Sunday that "there's no question" that some Americans have been paid more money to stay home than to work as the stalemate on the novel coronavirus relief package entered another week.

August 2, 2020

Pelosi: ‘I don’t have confidence’ in White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Birx

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she lacks confidence in Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator and world-renowned public-health authority, because she was appointed by President Trump.

August 2, 2020

Huckabee: ‘Joe’s got to show up’ for debates as Democrats lay groundwork for Biden exit

The groundwork is being laid on the left for former Vice President Joseph R. Biden to skip the presidential debates, but former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Sunday that the presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee needs to take the stage.

August 2, 2020

Police stop pro-lifers from painting on street ‘Black Preborn Lives Matter,’ arrest two

Police stopped pro-life groups Saturday from painting "Black Preborn Lives Matter" on the street in front of a Washington, D.C., Planned Parenthood clinic and arrested two of them for subsequently writing the message in chalk on a sidewalk, even though the activists said they had the District government's permission for the street painting.

August 1, 2020

Pro-lifers win permission to paint ‘Black Preborn Lives Matter’ on D.C. street

Soon "Black Lives Matter" and "Defund the Police" won't be the only messages painted in bold yellow letters on the streets of Washington, D.C.

July 31, 2020

Slidewaters Waterpark fights Jay Inslee shutdown order that opens lakes

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's coronavirus shutdown order has yet to deter fun-seekers from flocking to the public shoreline on Lake Chelan or protesters from descending on Seattle, but if Robert Bordner reopens his water park, he could go to jail.

July 30, 2020

Andrew Wheeler pushes Pueblo, Colorado Smelter superfund site cleanup over climate change

Not long after the Trump administration made cleaning up Superfund sites a priority for the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler turned his attention to a century-old neighborhood built for steelworkers that sits atop soil with dangerously high levels of lead and arsenic.

July 29, 2020

NCAA urged by 300 female athletes to reject calls to boycott Idaho transgender law

More than 300 female athletes on Wednesday urged the NCAA to reject calls to boycott Idaho over the state's transgender-athlete law, citing the potential "chilling effect" on the integrity of women's sports.

July 29, 2020

Seattle rioting results in 59 officers injured as agitators hurl explosives, bottles, rocks

The Seattle Police Department reported that 59 officers were wounded in the Saturday night rioting after being struck by explosives, bottles and rocks.

July 27, 2020

Kshama Sawant, Seattle councilmember: ‘Brutality of American capitalism’ endangering protesters

Seattle city councilmember Kshama Sawant decried "the brutality of capitalism" after a judge blocked the city's ban on police crowd-control tools such as tear gas and pepper spray, declaring that the Friday ruling threatened "peaceful protesters."

July 26, 2020

Sen. Kelly Loeffler blasts WNBA players’ walkout during national anthem playing: ‘Political stunt’

Sen. Kelly Loeffler, Georgia Republican, decried as "shameful" the Saturday walkout by WNBA players during the national anthem in a protest over racial and social injustice.

July 25, 2020

Federal judge blocks Seattle’s ban on crowd-control tools as city braces for protests

A federal judge late Friday blocked a recently approved Seattle City Council ordinance banning police from using crowd-control measures like pepper spray as officers braced for a weekend of protest violence.

July 25, 2020

Michael W. Mosman rejects Oregon Attorney General’s request to stop feds from arresting rioters

A federal judge denied Friday a request from the Oregon attorney general to stop federal agents from arresting rioters, ruling that the state lacked standing to sue on behalf of the protest crowds laying siege to federal buildings in Portland.

July 24, 2020