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Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr. covers politics and the White House for The Washington Times. He can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

In this Aug. 23, 2019, photo, Olivia Rodrigo attends the Disney+ press line at the 2019 D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif. President Joe Biden is putting a dose of star power behind the administration’s efforts to get young people vaccinated against COVID-19. The White House says the 18-year-old actress, singer and songwriter will meet Wednesday, July 14, 2021, with Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser. Rodrigo will also record videos about the importance of young people getting vaccinated. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) **FILE**

Singer Olivia Rodrigo to visit White House in vaccine push

President Biden hopes pop singer Olivia Rodrigo will help him boost vaccination rates among young people who might not see COVID-1 as a threat and are holding back the government's campaign for widespread immunity. Published July 13, 2021

France's President Emmanuel Macron, meets French carmakers at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, July 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

Vaccine bookings surge in France after Macron tightens rules

Vaccination bookings are surging in France after President Emmanuel Macron moved to mandate the COVID-19 shots for health workers and said people who want to go to restaurants and shopping centers will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative test. Published July 13, 2021

In his first public speech since leaving office, former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a dinner hosted by Palmetto Family on Thursday, April 29, 2021, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard) ** FILE **

Mike Pence to give a speech on U.S.-China relations

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday will address the state of U.S.-China relations and make his first comments on the origins of the coronavirus since leaving office and his role as chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Published July 12, 2021

Police scuffle and detain an anti-government demonstrator during a protest in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, July 11, 2021. Hundreds of demonstrators went out to the streets in several cities in Cuba to protest against ongoing food shortages and high prices of foodstuffs, amid the new coronavirus crisis. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Biden to Cuban regime: Meet protesters’ needs

President Biden on Monday told Havana's Communist leadership to respect protesters' rights and meet their demands for relief from the pandemic and the "economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime." Published July 12, 2021

Dr. Will Sistrunk, an infectious disease specialist at Mercy Hospital Springfield, gives updates on COVID-19 positive patient counts at Mercy Hospitals in Southwest Missouri on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. About 97 percent of Mercy's 120 COVID-positive patients are unvaccinated, Sistrunk said. (Nathan Papes/The Springfield News-Leader via AP)

SW Missouri hospital opening sixth COVID-19 ward

A hospital in southwestern Missouri is opening a sixth COVID-19 unit after having needed only five last year, underscoring the impact of the disease's delta variant and the consequences of low vaccine uptake in one of the hardest-hit parts of the country. Published July 12, 2021

The rocket plane carrying Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson and other crew members flies toward space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, N.M., Sunday, July 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson blasts off into space

Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic crew blasted to the edge of space from New Mexico on Sunday, fulfilling a 17-year ambition for the British billionaire and opening the latest chapter in commercial space tourism. Published July 11, 2021

In this May 11, 2021, file photo, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Fauci calls for COVID-19 vaccine mandates: ‘This is serious business’

The federal government does not require the COVID-19 vaccine, but Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that he would welcome more mandates at the local level, particularly once the Food and Drug Administration grants the shots a full license instead of relying on an emergency authorization. Published July 11, 2021

President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. Biden is set to sign an executive order the White House bills as an effort to target anticompetitive practices in tech, health care and other parts of the economy while boosting workers’ wages and consumer protections. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) **FILE**

Biden: Hearing aids should be sold over the counter

President Biden will direct federal agencies on Friday to rein in the high cost of hearing aids and crack down on hidden fees from airlines and internet providers as part of a package of what administration officials say are pro-consumer moves. Published July 9, 2021

President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden: Capitalism is great, but needs competition to work

President Biden will ask the Federal Trade Commission on Friday to take a harder line on Big Tech companies by scrutinizing how dominant internet players block out competition through "killer acquisitions" of other platforms and drafting rules that curb how much sensitive information they can collect. Published July 9, 2021

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., speaks during a House Oversight and Reform Committee regarding the on Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP) **FILE**

House report: Top drugmakers spend more on investor perks than R&D

Fourteen leading drugmakers spent billions more on stock buybacks and dividends than on research and development during the 2016-2020 period, House Democrats said Thursday in a report drafted to rally support behind a liberal plan to let Medicare negotiate down U.S. drug prices. Published July 8, 2021