Valerie Richardson

Sam Brownback cancels protected status for Kansas gay, transgender employees

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback rescinded Tuesday a 2007 executive order signed by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius extending protected-class anti-discrimination status to gay and transgender state employees.

February 10, 2015

Majority of Americans support lifting 40-year-old ban on oil exports: poll

Most Americans support lifting restrictions on oil exports to countries that are trade partners, saying that the change would have a positive effect on the U.S. economy.

February 10, 2015

Vaccine exemption bills introduced amid measles outbreak, underscoring anti-vaxxers’ strength

State legislatures are dealing with a rash of legislation to tighten vaccination rules in reaction to the Disneyland measles outbreak, but not every bill is aimed at making sure children get their shots.

February 9, 2015

Colorado GOP tries to ban ‘welfare for weed’ against Democrats’ wishes

Everyone in Colorado from Republicans to marijuana moguls wants to stop welfare cash from being used to buy recreational pot, but standing in their way are the state's formidable legislative Democrats

February 8, 2015

Massachusetts, Maryland most Democratic states; Wyoming, Utah most Republican

It turns out the conventional wisdom is right: Massachusetts and Maryland rank as the nation's most Democratic states, while the most Republican states are Wyoming and Utah.

February 4, 2015

Obama-linked group files complaint against Netanyahu party, alleges ‘incitement’

A campaign organization guided by a top Obama political strategist and working to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has filed a police complaint alleging "incitement" against his ruling Likud party.

February 4, 2015

Hillary Clinton, Obama entangled in vaccines debate as old comments resurface

Democrats were gleeful when Republicans Chris Christie and Rand Paul got tangled this week in the debate over the Disneyland measles outbreak, until similar words from the pasts of President Obama and 2016 front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton came out.

February 3, 2015

Peter Kirsanow of U.S. Commission on Civil Rights fights bigotry of good intentions

Thirteen years ago liberals fought to keep Peter Kirsanow off the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a legal brouhaha that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

February 1, 2015

Benjamin Netanyahu rivals accused of taking illegal U.S. campaign finance dollars

President Obama's strained relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took another hit Sunday amid reports from Israel that a former Obama political strategist is working to unseat Mr. Netanyahu in the March election.

February 1, 2015

Loretta Lynch’s hard-line stance on marijuana is making Colorado sweat

Nobody in the Colorado marijuana industry is panicking, but those involved are sweating a little over the hard line taken by Loretta Lynch, President Obama's pick to be the next attorney general, on legalization during this week's Senate confirmation hearing.

February 1, 2015

Ayotte blasts ‘politically correct’ White House for refusal to call out Islamic extremism

Sen. Kelly Ayotte calls out the Obama administration for refusing to identify enemy combatants in the Middle East as Islamic extremists.

February 1, 2015

John McCain: U.S., Israeli relations have ‘never been worse’

The relationship between the United States and Israel has “never been worse” than it is now under the Obama administration, says Sen. John McCain.

February 1, 2015

Mike Huckabee tells critics to lighten up over Megyn Kelly ‘trashy’ interview

Mike Huckabee says critics need to get a sense of humor about his tongue-in-cheek interview with Fox News host Megyn Kelly over New Yorkers and profanity.

February 1, 2015

Obama AG pick Lynch harshes vibe in pro-pot states

States that have legalized or are considering legalizing recreational marijuana use butted heads continually with Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., who refused to relax stricter federal laws against pot use. Judging from this week's performance, the fight won’t end if Loretta Lynch, President Obama's pick to succeed Mr. Holder, is confirmed by the Senate.

January 30, 2015

Fracking, Colorado liberals make peace, reject drilling permit moratorium

The U.S. oil and gas industry, under siege from plunging world prices and climate change fears, notched a much-needed win this week in an unlikely place: liberal Boulder County, Colorado.

January 28, 2015

Georgetown investments panel refuses to dump all fossil-fuel firms

A Georgetown University panel has come out in favor of divesting from coal but not all fossil fuels, rejecting a student proposal that called for the university to pull its investments from the top 200 oil, gas and coal companies.

January 28, 2015

Boulder County town rejects drilling ban in latest defeat for Colo. anti-fracking forces

The oil and gas industry, under siege from OPEC and the climate-change movement, notched a much-needed win late Tuesday in an unlikely location: liberal Boulder County, Colorado.

January 28, 2015

‘American Sniper’ smashes box office records, ignites culture war

The blockbuster "American Sniper" has opened up another front in the culture war, triggering a media firefight between liberals who have denounced the film as glorifying killing or whitewashing the Iraq war and conservatives who have embraced its patriotic hero.

January 27, 2015

Patriots deflated balls, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady knew it: poll

Most of those who plan to watch the Super Bowl say they believe the New England Patriots deflated the footballs in the AFC championship game, and they also believe that coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady knew about it.

January 27, 2015

Rush Limbaugh calls ‘American Sniper’ success an ‘extension of November elections’

Rush Limbaugh described the success of the movie “American Sniper” as “an extension of the November elections,” saying the film’s enormous box-office earnings are an expression of the public’s support for pro-American values.

January 26, 2015