Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
AOC tests positive for COVID-19, joins long list of lawmakers who caught it
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York reported late Sunday she has tested positive for COVID-19, placing her on the growing roster of congressional lawmakers who've been infected. Published January 9, 2022
Nearly two-thirds of vaccinated Americans have not yet received a booster despite omicron warnings
Nearly 2 in 3 vaccinated Americans haven't received a COVID-19 booster despite President Biden's repeated push to shore up waning protection and fend off the omicron variant that's blanketed the country, raising questions about public enthusiasm for more shots. Published January 7, 2022
White House awards first contracts, will ship free COVID-19 tests by mid-January, says report
The White House is reportedly finalizing plans with the U.S. Postal Services to begin shipping 500 million coronavirus tests to households for free in January. Published January 7, 2022
North Korea tells China it cannot appear at the Beijing Olympics, blames U.S. and COVID-19
North Korea told China on Friday it will not participate in the Beijing Olympics, citing COVID-19 problems and what it called U.S. attempts to thwart the Winter Games' success in February, according to state media. Published January 7, 2022
Biden’s COVID-19 mandate faces Supreme Court test
Conservative groups on Thursday teed up arguments before the Supreme Court urging the justices to strike down President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandates for private companies and pointing to polling that shows narrow support for a GOP effort to eliminate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's requirement on large employers. Published January 6, 2022
Chicago cancels classes for a second day amid omicron standoff with union
Chicago Public Schools canceled classes for the second day in a row Thursday after talks with the local teachers union, which is demanding to start the year in remote learning due to omicron, failed to resolve the standoff. Published January 6, 2022
Italy mandates COVID-19 vaccine for 60 and up; Austria, Greece also imposed sweeping rules
Italy is requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for persons over 50, making it the latest European nation to take drastic steps to increase uptake and ease the strain on hospitals. Published January 6, 2022
White House says schools should remain open as Democratic leaders, teachers’ unions clash
The White House issued a loud call to keep schools open Wednesday after the Chicago Teachers Union bucked city leaders and voted in favor of remote teaching, forcing the public school system to cancel classes and marking a new high point in the clash between Democratic leaders and their union allies. Published January 5, 2022
NYC Mayor Eric Adams says city will weather omicron surge
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday his city can weather the winter coronavirus surge and keep its schools and businesses open despite fears over the omicron variant. Published January 5, 2022
Supreme Court: All nine justices got COVID-19 booster
All nine members of the Supreme Court have received a COVID-19 booster shot, the court said Tuesday, days before the justices hear arguments over President Biden's vaccine requirements at workplaces. Published January 5, 2022
Biden pleads for vaccinations and boosters to blunt worst impacts of omicron wave
President Biden tried to calm nerves around the omicron wave Tuesday, saying free available vaccines should blunt bad outcomes amid a record-breaking tally of COVID-19 cases from the variant. Published January 4, 2022
Chicago schools scrap classes after union backs remote learning because of COVID-19 surge
Chicago public schools canceled classes Wednesday and face an uncertain future after nearly three-quarters of the Chicago Teachers Union voted to revert to remote learning because of a coronavirus surge, prompting a standoff with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and school administrators who want students to remain in the classroom. Published January 4, 2022
CDC says omicron now accounts for 95% of sequenced cases
Omicron accounted for 95% of sequenced coronavirus samples in the U.S. during the week ending Jan. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday, underscoring how swiftly the variant has elbowed out other strains. Published January 4, 2022
GOP lawmakers urge SCOTUS to strike down Biden workplace vaccine-or-test order
Nearly all Senate Republicans and two-thirds of House GOP members urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to strike down President Biden's COVID-19 vaccinate-or-test rule on private employers, arguing in a legal brief that Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials went beyond the scope of powers granted to it by Congress. Published January 4, 2022
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bemoans COVID-19 panic in other states
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bemoaned the COVID-19 "hysteria" gripping other states and said mitigation measures like cloth masks are likely ineffective against the latest variant during a news conference on Monday. Published January 4, 2022
Sen. Rob Portman reports positive COVID test before returning to D.C.
Congress is getting slammed by COVID-19 like the rest of the country, with positivity rates soaring and a growing roster of members reporting infections. Published January 4, 2022
I-95 motorists stuck for hours in horrific, icy standstill in Va.; Northam defends state’s response
Transportation officials said Interstate 95 had been mostly cleared early Tuesday evening of the hundreds of stranded motorists stuck in their vehicles, many of them overnight, after icy conditions led to crashes involving tractor-trailers that closed the highway in both directions near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Published January 4, 2022
Joe Rogan podcast comparing COVID-19 vaccine hype to Nazis is entered into Congressional Record
A Texas Republican on Monday said he found a way around "Big Tech" censorship -- put the content into the Congressional Record. Published January 3, 2022
Former VP Mike Pence asks Supreme Court to block Biden OSHA mandate
Former Vice President Mike Pence and his political advocacy group filed a brief Monday that asks the Supreme Court to block President Biden's vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses. Published January 3, 2022
FDA clears Pfizer COVID booster for ages 12 to 15, shortens wait time for others amid omicron
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared booster shots from Pfizer-BioNTech for Americans ages 12 to 15 and allowed people to get booster shots sooner, pointing to the omicron surge as the reason. Published January 3, 2022
