Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
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
U.S. COVID-19 coordinator says ‘door-to-door’ effort has been misconstrued
The Biden administration on Thursday said its door-to-door campaign to boost COVID-19 vaccinations will hinge on doctors and trusted locals, not government agents, and scolded those pushing "misinformation" about the effort. Published July 8, 2021
Minneapolis’ Federal Reserve requires workers to get vaccinated
The Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis says it will require its 1,100 workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of August as a condition of employment. Published July 8, 2021
GOP leaders to intervene in DOJ lawsuit against Georgia
The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Thursday they will intervene in a lawsuit the Department of Justice filed against Georgia over its new elections law. Published July 8, 2021
No spectators allowed during Olympics because of virus uptick; Japan declares state of emergency
The Tokyo Olympics will be held without spectators, organizers said Thursday, delivering another major blow to the Summer Games less than two weeks before festivities begin. Published July 8, 2021
Rapper Juvenile drops video to promote vaccines, dating app: ‘Vax that thing up’
New Orleans rapper Juvenile wants you to "vax that thing up." Published July 7, 2021
75 House members to Biden: Open the U.S.-Canada border
Dozens of House members from both parties urged the Biden administration Wednesday to reopen the border with Canada and take other steps to ease international travel, citing the power of COVID-19 vaccines and widespread testing. Published July 7, 2021
NYC ‘almost-mayor’ Eric Adams rips Democrats for ignoring urban problems for too long
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, the declared winner of the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, said Wednesday he wants to fix "crevices" in the city that are reeling from crime and poor education, as the broader society celebrates economic gains that shroud those problems. Published July 7, 2021
Tropical Storm Elsa set to make landfall in Big Bend, Florida — avoids Tampa
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said early Wednesday that Tropical Storm Elsa will make landfall "in the next few hours" around the Big Bend coastal area of northern Florida. Published July 7, 2021
Haitian President Jovenel Moise assassinated at home; Biden calls attack ‘very worrisome’
Gunmen assassinated the president of Haiti in an attack at his private residence early Wednesday, sparking new concerns about unrest in the Caribbean nation. Published July 7, 2021
Eric Adams wins New York mayor Democratic primary
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams maintained his slim lead over former Sanitation Commissioner Kathyrn Garcia in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, the Board of Elections said Tuesday, making the retired police captain the apparent winner after a ranked-choice tabulation that included nearly all ballots. Published July 6, 2021
Israel, South Korea strike a novel vaccine-swap deal
South Korea and Israel announced a vaccine swap Tuesday that will send 700,000 expiring COVID-19 doses to the Asian nation as it tries to accelerate its rollout. Published July 6, 2021
Biden: We need to fight COVID-19 ‘neighborhood by neighborhood’
President Biden said Tuesday he is launching a "door-to-door" fight against COVID-19, making shots available to more doctors' offices and pharmacies in a scramble to reach unvaccinated Americans as dangerous variants threaten new outbreaks. Published July 6, 2021
Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project, chooses Howard after N. Carolina tenure fight
Nikole Hannah-Jones will join the faculty at Howard University in Washington, D.C., with tenure, the school announced Tuesday, a notable twist after a rocky debate over the journalist's status at the University of North Carolina following her New York Times project that reexamined U.S. history through the lens of slavery. Published July 6, 2021
Andy Slavitt: Full FDA licenses, global threat to the young may boost lagging COVID-19 vaccine rates
Former Biden adviser Andy Slavitt said Tuesday that a mix of complacency among people younger than 25 and wariness about side effects from the COVID-19 shots is to blame for lagging vaccination rates in the U.S. Published July 6, 2021
Tropical Storm Elsa heads for Florida’s west coast, may complicate condo-collapse search to the east
Tropical Storm Elsa swept off Cuba and headed for Florida's west coast on Tuesday, bringing rains and winds that could complicate the search at the condo collapse site in Surfside. Published July 6, 2021
NYC crime wave triggers rethink of racial-justice policing changes: ‘They made a mistake’
Stray bullets in Times Square and widespread violence in the city are evoking New York's bleakest days, forcing leaders to fine-tune recent changes to policing and rethink revolving-door policies that send prisoners back to the ZIP codes where they committed crimes. Published July 5, 2021
‘We’re back’: Biden uses July 4th cookout to reflect on ‘how far we’ve come’
President Biden told Americans to reflect on "how far we've come" in a White House cookout designed to contrast the depths of the pandemic with Sunday's family reunions and carefree cookouts -- even as COVID-19 vaccination rates lag in places and a fast-moving variant threatens new peril. Published July 4, 2021
Shelter-in-place orders didn’t save lives during the pandemic, research paper concludes
A little-noticed study says government orders to "shelter in place" during the COVID-19 fight did not save lives and actually spurred an uptick in excess deaths in some places, especially overseas. Published July 3, 2021
Biden’s approval steady at 50%; gets high marks on pandemic, fails on immigration: Poll
President Biden's approval rating is holding steady around 50% and more than two-thirds of Americans fear that democracy is "under threat," according to a new poll. Published July 2, 2021
