Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
D.C. police arrest suspect in shootings of homeless persons in the capital, NYC
D.C. police said Tuesday it arrested a suspect in five shootings in Washington and New York City that targeted homeless persons, killing two of them, and alarmed the mayors of both major cities. Published March 15, 2022
Wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says she attended Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally
Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, says she attended the rally near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, but did not have a role in the Capitol attack or any plans around it. Published March 14, 2022
Pfizer to stop trials in Russia while maintaining access to medicines
Drugmaker Pfizer said Monday it will wind down clinical trials in Russia while allowing its medicines to continue to flow into the country for compassionate reasons, using any proceeds for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. Published March 14, 2022
China battles worst COVID-19 surge since early days in Wuhan
China is battling some of its worst COVID-19 outbreaks since the start of the crisis, forcing Beijing to shutter a major manufacturing hub in the south while residents of a northern province have been told not to leave or travel. Published March 14, 2022
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy to update members of Congress on war effort
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver a video address to Congress on Wednesday morning about his country's efforts to beat back the withering assault ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Published March 14, 2022
Sen. Rand Paul pushes amendment to eliminate, divvy up Dr. Fauci’s job
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said Monday he will introduce an amendment to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and divide his role among three institutes. Published March 14, 2022
Big-name companies urge Texas to reverse actions on trans surgeries, treatments for kids
Dozens of big-name businesses are pushing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to backtrack on state efforts that have been condemned as harmful to the LGBT community, saying "discrimination is bad for business." Published March 14, 2022
Most voters think Biden will be unable to contain war to Ukraine, conservative group poll shows
Only a third of American voters say President Biden can prevent Russia's war on Ukraine from spreading to other countries, a conservative group said Monday in a fresh poll. Published March 14, 2022
Foxconn, a major iPhone supplier, suspends operations in China due to coronavirus surge
A key supplier for Apple iPhones suspended operations Monday in Shenzhen after the Chinese city imposed a lockdown to control a surge in coronavirus cases. Published March 14, 2022
Mayors in D.C. and NYC seek help in finding the killer of homeless men
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York City Mayor Eric Adams late Sunday pleaded for the public's help in identifying the suspect in shootings that killed two homeless men and wounded three others in their cities. Published March 14, 2022
Biden praises Finland as a strong partner to NATO, as Nordic country mulls membership
Finland is a strong partner to NATO even if it is not a member of the western military alliance, President Biden said Friday in a sit-down with President Sauli Niinisto that focused on Europe's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian and geopolitical consequences. Published March 4, 2022
White House: Assassinating Putin not a position of U.S. government
The White House on Friday joined the ranks of those in Washington who aren't thrilled with Sen. Lindsey Graham writing that someone in Russia needs to assassinate President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Published March 4, 2022
Biden touts new Siemens jobs, new standards for “Buy America” products
President Biden and Siemens USA said Friday the company will create 300 new jobs in California and Texas in a $54 million expansion of its manufacturing facilities as the White House pushes to bolster domestic production and reduce American reliance on foreign powers for electronics and other products. Published March 4, 2022
NYC lifts school mask mandate, proof-of-vaccine rules on restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is nixing a mask mandate on city schoolchildren and the rules that had required restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues to check for proof of COVID-19 vaccination at the door. Published March 4, 2022
CDC saddled with tough new job: Regaining Americans’ trust after wobbly response to COVID-19
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suffers from a trust deficit and plummeting approval numbers two years into a COVID-19 crisis, after early missteps confronting the pandemic and guidance that has been late in coming or has been too confusing. Published March 4, 2022
Surgeon general tells Big Tech firms to turn over data on bogus COVID-19 information
President Biden's surgeon general wants Big Tech companies to turn over information on how prevalent COVID-19 misinformation is on social networks, search engines, messaging systems and e-commerce sites, and who is consuming it. Published March 4, 2022
Airbnb ceases operations in Russia, Belarus over Ukraine invasion
Airbnb said it is ceasing operations in Russia and Belarus over their incursion into Ukraine as the home-rental company focuses on aiding war refugees pouring deeper into Europe. Published March 4, 2022
Fire out at key Ukrainian nuclear plant that’s been seized; no radiation released
Russian forces have seized a nuclear plant in Ukraine that caught fire from extensive shelling, although the blaze was put out early Friday, authorities said. Published March 4, 2022
Russia advances in Ukraine’s south as U.S. widens sanctions net
Russian and Ukrainian officials tentatively agreed to create "humanitarian corridors," but they failed to reach any major cease-fire Thursday as Russia's military pushed deeper into Ukraine, battling to control a key electricity-producing hub in the south and gaining ground toward severing the country's access to the Black Sea. Published March 3, 2022
Biden announces sweeping sanctions on Putin’s inner circle of oligarchs
President Biden said Thursday he is directly targeting Russian oligarchs with ties to President Vladimir Putin and their family members in a ratcheting up of sanctions against the Kremlin's inner circle for the invasion in Ukraine. Published March 3, 2022
