Bill Richardson news stories on Newser

Grand Jury Investigating Bill Richardson

Kevin Spak — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:03:56 CST

A federal grand jury is looking into allegations that Bill Richardson violated campaign finance laws during his 2008 presidential run—most salaciously by having supporters pay off a woman who threatened to reveal an extramarital affair with the former New Mexico governor, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The sources...

Cuba Accuses Bill Richardson of 'Blackmail'

Kevin Spak — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:18:34 CDT

Bill Richardson's attempt to free an American prisoner in Cuba has gone off the rails, with Cuban officials now accusing him of "blackmail" and saying he was never invited to the island in the first place. "The release of ... Alan Gross was never on the table," Cuban official Josefina Vidal...

Bill Richardson in Cuba to Push for American's Release

John Johnson — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:53:44 CDT

Bill Richardson is back in high-profile duty for the time being: The former New Mexico governor has gone to Cuba to try to win the release of American Alan Gross, who has been jailed since 2009, reports CNN . The 62-year-old Gross, a US government subcontractor, is serving a 15-year sentence...

Westboro to Obama, Justices: You're Going to Hell

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 10:30:50 CST

Westboro Baptist Church may have scored a key First Amendment victory this week, but they're not about to send out thank-you notes, reports Politico . In an appearance this morning on Fox News Sunday attorney and Fred Phelps daughter Margie Phelps said that the Supreme Court justices are hell-bound. “I have...

Stop Giving 'Welfare' to Movie Makers

John Johnson — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:55:05 CST

To get Hollywood producers to shoot movies in their states, governors love to throw around bigger and bigger tax breaks. In fact, "in less than a decade, the absurd notion of welfare for movie producers has evolved from the kind of weird thing they do in France to an unshakable...

Feds Halt New Tests on Aging Lab Chimps

Rob Quinn — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:22:00 CST

Some 186 elderly chimpanzees formerly used in invasive research have been given a temporary reprieve from more experiments. The National Institutes of Health, which had planned to transfer the chimps from their home at an NIH facility in New Mexico to a Texas research facility, has announced that the chimps...

No Pardon for Billy the Kid

Kevin Spak — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:43:05 CST

In a decision that’s sure to break the hearts of Old West nerds, Gov. Bill Richardson has declined to pardon Billy the Kid, after thinking about it just long and hard enough to boost tourism. In an announcement on ABC’s Good Morning America , the New Mexico governor said he was...

Isolated and Destitute, North Korea Limps On

Nick McMaster — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:40:16 CST

North Korea has a deadline: For years, it's promised that an age of prosperity will begin in 2012, the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-Sung's birth. With 18 months to go, two journalists accompanying Bill Richardson on an unprecedented trip to North Korea found that the government will be hard-pressed to...

South Korea Pokes at North With Christmas Tree

Rob Quinn — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 05:02:25 CST

The Korean peninsula was calmer today after the promised North Korean response to South Korean military exercises never materialized—though the South is braced for surprise attacks. It's also getting ready for the holidays: In a move expected to annoy North Korea, the South today lit a 100-foot tall steel...