Valerie Richardson

Disney, Netflix accused of hypocrisy with Georgia abortion ban talk

Disney CEO Bob Iger said it would be "very difficult" for the company to continue to film in Georgia if the state's newly enacted abortion law goes into effect, though the entertainment giant had no similar reservations about shooting in Jordan.

June 3, 2019

Democrats defy party abortion stance with pro-life votes, opposition to late-term bills

In one of the biggest surprises of the 2019 legislative session, dozens of Democratic state legislators have defied their party on abortion, emerging as a decisive force on pivotal votes in what may signal a fraying of the Democratic consensus on a signature issue.

May 30, 2019

Steve Sisolak vetoes National Popular Vote bill

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak surprised onlookers Thursday by vetoing a bill to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, saying it would reduce the influence of low-population states like his in presidential contests.

May 30, 2019

John Bel Edwards to break with party by signing Louisiana fetal-heartbeat bill

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says he plans to sign a fetal-heartbeat bill passed by the state legislature, breaking with the Democratic Party on the pivotal abortion issue.

May 30, 2019

Planned Parenthood resists probe of Missouri last abortion clinic

The last abortion clinic in Missouri could close in two days, a situation that Planned Parenthood has attributed to the state's increasingly tough regulations, while pro-life activists say the facility has only itself to blame.

May 29, 2019

Mike Parson says state’s only abortion clinic should receive no ‘special treatment’

Missouri Gov. Michael Parson said Wednesday that the state's last abortion clinic should receive no "special treatment," while insisting that Planned Parenthood could still avoid a shutdown by complying with the law before the Friday deadline.

May 29, 2019

Kamala Harris: Justin Amash put ‘country before party’ with Trump impeachment call

Rep. Justin Amash, Michigan Republican, has taken plenty of flak for his call to impeach President Trump, but the congressman received a shout-out Tuesday from Sen. Kamala D. Harris, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

May 29, 2019

Illinois House makes abortion ‘fundamental right’ with late-term bill

The Illinois House approved Tuesday a bill creating a "fundamental right" to abortion, clearing the way for late-term procedures in what supporters described as a rebuke to red-state legislatures limiting access.

May 28, 2019

Kamala Harris plans for DOJ to block state abortion laws that violate Roe v. Wade

Sen. Kamala Harris, California Democrat, released Tuesday a plan that would require the federal government to block strict abortion laws such as those passed this year in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Ohio.

May 28, 2019

Northwestern won’t rescind job offer to Steven Thrasher over anti-Semitism allegations

There was plenty of outrage when journalist Steven Thrasher used his graduation speech last week to praise the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and call Israel an "apartheid state," but he's still got a job waiting for him at Northwestern.

May 27, 2019

Impeaching a president has little historical precedent

With Democrats debating whether to impeach President Trump, it's worth remembering that no president has ever been removed via the impeachment process. Not so for the governors of Oklahoma.

May 26, 2019

Nine Klansmen met by 350 officers, 600 counterprotesters

A rally by the Honorable Sacred Knights, a KKK group from Indiana, went off without incident after police fenced off the Montgomery Courthouse Square, placing two police lines, a barricade, and blocks between the KKK and a counterprotest crowd estimated at 600.

May 26, 2019

Los Angeles County approves Alabama travel ban over abortion law

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a one-year suspension on travel to Alabama to protest its toughest-in-the-nation abortion law, calling abortion "part of the very fabric of the United States."

May 23, 2019

Colorado’s Jena Griswold worked with Planned Parenthood on Alabama travel ban release

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold conferred with Planned Parenthood officials on a press release before issuing her ban on office travel to Alabama over legislation prohibiting most abortions.

May 23, 2019

Peter Strzok-Lisa Page show ‘FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers’ to hit Mead Theater stage

The story of anti-Trump FBI sweethearts Peter Strzok and Lisa Page will hit the stage next month in a theatrical production starring Dean Cain and Kristy Swanson.

May 22, 2019

U.N. mass species extinction warning blasted by skeptics

A widely touted United Nations report predicting mass species extinction took a beating Wednesday at a House subcommittee hearing, with Republican-called witnesses blasting the claims as "highly exaggerated" and "authoritative propaganda."

May 22, 2019

Nevada Senate passes National Popular Vote bill on party-line vote

The Nevada Senate approved Tuesday a National Popular Vote bill on a party-line vote, sending the legislation aimed at upending the Electoral College to the governor.

May 22, 2019

Infanticide bills put Democratic governors on hot seat

After Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam described what would happen to a baby born alive after a botched abortion, Republican legislatures began sending infanticide bills to Democratic governors daring them to use their veto pens. And so far, the Democrats are taking that dare.

May 21, 2019

Phil Scott, Vermont governor, to allow H. 57 no-limits abortion bill to become law

A spokeswoman for Vermont Gov. Phil Scott says he will allow a sweeping no-limits abortion bill to become law, although it may do so without his signature.

May 21, 2019

Climate change election defeats bode ill for Democrats in 2020

The Australian Labor Party's stunning defeat may offer a cold, hard warning for Democrats counting on climate change to sweep them to victory in 2020.

May 20, 2019