Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Gallup: Support for Democrats plunged, GOP surged as Biden struggled with virus, Afghanistan
Support for Democrats plunged during 2021 as President Biden struggled with the coronavirus pandemic and inflation, according to Gallup polling that found a dramatic swing in party preference handed the GOP a 5-point edge by the end of the year. Published January 18, 2022
Hong Kong to kill 2,000 small animals after hamsters get COVID-19
Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday they want hamster owners to hand over their pets after 11 of the rodents and two persons at a pet shop in the city tested positive for the coronavirus. Published January 17, 2022
Learning to live with COVID-19: World attempts to make the virus a manageable nuisance
U.S. and global leaders see 2022 as a transition year in the COVID-19 fight as they look to pivot from the hair-on-fire "pandemic" phase to an endemic chapter in which the virus is always present but is managed like seasonal influenza. Published January 17, 2022
Romney: Biden botched election reform by not talking to centrist Republicans
Mitt Romney said Sunday the White House never reached out to him on voting rights even though the Utah Republican is one of the few GOP senators who might be open to a bipartisan overhaul of election laws. Published January 16, 2022
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says children won’t be taught racial politics
Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Sunday that Virginians are ready for a new direction and he will get the "politics out" of school instruction while pushing for lower taxes and investments in law enforcement to reduce crime. Published January 16, 2022
Romney says Biden had a bad year and needs a reset
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah on Sunday said President Biden "had a bad year" and needs to stop, reset his priorities and direct his energy toward fighting inflation and COVID-19 while building on the type of bipartisanship that produced his win on infrastructure. Published January 16, 2022
Surgeon general: Omicron slowing in Northeast but don’t expect national peak just yet
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Sunday the winter spike of COVID-19 is plateauing in the Northeast but it is unclear when the worst will be over. Published January 16, 2022
Rep. James Clyburn: Voting bills are not dead, but on life support
House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn says Democrats will continue to fight for a pair of election bills that are stalling out in the Senate. Published January 16, 2022
Biden praises law enforcement for rescuing hostages in Texas synagogue
President Biden hailed law enforcement in Colleyville, Texas, late Saturday after an elite team rescued four people who were taken hostage in a synagogue. Published January 16, 2022
Biden goes big on COVID-19, promises 1 billion free tests, free masks, military at hospitals
President Biden said Thursday he will procure an additional 500 million COVID-19 tests for free shipment to U.S. homes, doubling the government's purchase to 1 billion tests as he tries to meet surging demand for diagnostics. Published January 13, 2022
Canada relents on COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truckers
Canada will let unvaccinated Canadian truckers cross the border from the U.S., dropping its COVID-19 immunization mandate days before it was set to take effect on Saturday. Published January 13, 2022
Biden to deploy 1,000 military personnel to combat omicron at hospitals
President Biden is reportedly planning to deploy 1,000 military medical personnel to six states as part of the omicron plan he will outline on Thursday. Published January 13, 2022
WH COVID-19 team appoints testing czar, explores mask upgrades as it defends virus response
The Biden administration said Wednesday it has appointed a new COVID-19 testing coordinator and is considering ways to procure better-performing masks as President Biden scrambles to catch up with the omicron wave and meet demand for diagnostics and other safeguards in schools, workplaces and households. Published January 12, 2022
Finnish researchers say nasal spray protects against COVID-19 for eight hours
Researchers in Finland are working on a nasal spray that could protect vulnerable people against coronavirus infection for up to eight hours. Published January 12, 2022
W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice tests positive for COVID-19
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice tested positive for COVID-19 and said he feels "extremely unwell" as he isolates at home instead of delivering his State of the State Address as planned on Wednesday. Published January 12, 2022
British PM Johnson apologizes for attending garden party amid COVID-19 lockdown
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized Wednesday to Parliament for attending a drinking party at Downing Street in May 2020 while the country was under COVID-19 lockdown orders. Published January 12, 2022
Biden says U.S. schools will get 10 million more COVID-19 tests per month
The Biden administration said Wednesday it will provide 10 million more COVID-19 tests to U.S. schools each month as it tries to keep classrooms open and mollify teachers' unions that have demanded safety upgrades amid the omicron wave. Published January 12, 2022
Fauci accuses Sen. Rand Paul of attacking him to stir up ‘crazies,’ fundraising
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday accused Sen. Rand Paul of putting his family in danger and attacking him for political gain, holding up a screenshot of the Kentucky Republican's website that shows he is fundraising off their high-profile spat. Published January 11, 2022
HHS says Biden awarded contracts, secured first 50M of 500M COVID tests
The federal government has secured 50 million of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests President Biden promised to Americans and will begin delivering them before the end of January, a health official said Tuesday at a Senate hearing in which administration officials faced a grilling from both parties over the dearth of COVID-19 tests and confusing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published January 11, 2022
An orange and a Dr Pepper: Sen. Richard Burr gives Sen. Tim Kaine a highway survival kit
Sen. Richard Burr opened a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday by offering Sen. Tim Kaine an orange, a blanket and a can of Dr Pepper, joking he doesn't want the Virginia Democrat to succumb to another rough commute back to Richmond. Published January 11, 2022
