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Articles by Valerie Richardson

Heaven and hell: A mudslide has devastated Oso, Wash., a type of community that has become popular among retirees. (Associated Press)

In wild West, growing battle of man vs. nature

The deadly mudslide in Washington state offers a grim perspective on an issue bedeviling the West: homebuyers who move beyond the suburbs and build their houses up against, and even into, the wilderness.

March 27, 2014
Remote Alaskan villages, including King Cove, rely on air travel for access to major hospitals. (Associated Press/File)

Alaskans battle for survival against feds’ protection of migratory birds

Washington's refusal to allow a 10-mile gravel road between King Cove and the airport at Cold Bay is a matter of life or death for Alaskans who rely on quick access to airports and hospital flights as much as migratory birds rely on the eel grass that the Interior Department would rather preserve.

March 26, 2014
Conn Jackson, of Atlanta, right, wears a shirt decorated with the flag of the United States as he takes part in an organized moment of silence and memorial run to show solidarity with victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, in Atlanta. The explosions Monday afternoon killed at least three people and injured more than 140. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Congress members back U.S. flag against school’s ban

Twenty members of Congress lent their support Tuesday to a lawsuit filed on behalf of three California students who were forbidden from wearing American flag T-shirts at their high school during a Cinco de Mayo celebration, a decision an appeals court upheld last month.

March 25, 2014
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference annual meeting in National Harbor, Md., Saturday, March 8, 2014. Saturday marks the third and final day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, which brings together prospective presidential candidates, conservative opinion leaders and tea party activists from coast to coast. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Gingrich: Obamacare will cost Democrats the Senate this fall

Lawmakers and pundits marked the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act on Sunday, with Republicans predicting the troubled centerpiece of the Obama presidency will hurt the entire Democratic Party this fall.

March 23, 2014
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell ordered an investigation into the EPA's 'raid' on family-run gold mining businesses. The EPA stood by it's actions, saying its investigations were done 'courteously.' (Associated press)

Report: EPA accused of overkill in ‘raid’ on Alaska gold-mine

Last year's Environmental Protection Agency raid on the small gold-mining town of Chicken, Alaska, constituted a clear case of overkill by federal authorities seeking violations of environmental regulations, according to an official review of the controversial incident released Thursday.

March 13, 2014
Associated Press

Six Senate seats could hinge on Keystone pipeline

After five years of stalling on the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama suddenly has a half-dozen compelling reasons to make up his mind, and all of them are running to retain their Senate seats.

March 9, 2014
American actor Jared Leto poses as he arrives at Miu Miu's ready to wear fall/winter 2014-2015 fashion collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Zacharie Scheurer)

Stars not aligned with polls on Keystone

It looks like actor and new Oscar laureate Jared Leto isn't quite on the same page with the bulk of his audience when it comes to the Keystone XL pipeline.

March 7, 2014
Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., holds up a letter he wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking that she consider waiving "Obamacare" for the 4th Congressional District of Colorado, as she testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the difficulties plaguing the debut of the healthcare program, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Colorado GOP switches candidates in effort to oust Sen. Udall

Rep. Cory Gardner will run for the Republican Senate nomination instead of seeking reelection, according to Republicans. At the same time, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck said he will drop out of the Senate race and instead pursue the GOP nod for Mr. Gardner's House seat.

February 26, 2014