Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Washington takes on Big Pharma: Lower drug prices vs. fewer new cures
A liberal plan to force down the prices of prescription drugs is gaining momentum in Washington, promising huge savings for the elderly but risking fewer new cures from a downsized pharmaceutical industry. Published June 1, 2021
Biden unveils effort to eliminate unfair appraisals in Black communities as Tulsa tragedy remembered
The Biden administration said Tuesday it will "root out" discrimination in home appraisals and increase the share of federal contracts going to minority-owned businesses by 50% by 2026, or an additional $100 billion. Published June 1, 2021
Biden plans to release intel’s COVID-19 origins report
President Biden on Thursday committed to releasing the intelligence community's forthcoming report on the origins of the coronavirus unless he comes across an outstanding curveball. Published May 27, 2021
Biden to intelligence community: ‘Redouble efforts’ on COVID-19 origins
President Biden told the intelligence community Wednesday to "redouble" efforts to determine how the coronavirus originated, saying data collected so far falls short of offering the U.S. and its partners a definitive answer. Published May 26, 2021
Defiant Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko sees ‘hybrid war’ from West
A defiant President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday said Belarus' "ill-wishers" are trying to strangle his country through a hybrid form of war after the European Union and the U.S. stepped up their condemnation of the arrest of an opposition journalist who was aboard a commercial plane abruptly diverted from Lithuania to Minsk. Published May 26, 2021
Former Sen. John Warner of Virginia dies at age 94
Former Sen. John W. Warner III, a titan of Virginia politics who served five terms in the U.S. Senate, died Tuesday evening in Alexandria. He was 94. Published May 26, 2021
South Korean leader: Joe Biden tapping North Korea envoy is de facto outreach
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday said President Biden's decision to appoint a special envoy to North Korea is a de facto form of outreach as denuclearizing the peninsula remains a thorny challenge Published May 26, 2021
White House says Biden, Putin to hold first summit June 16 in Geneva
President Biden will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16 in Switzerland, the White House said Tuesday. Published May 25, 2021
White House says half of U.S. adults will be fully vaccinated after Tuesday
The U.S. hit a notable benchmark in the COVID-19 fight Tuesday, with half of all adults on course to be fully vaccinated. Published May 25, 2021
Marjorie Taylor Greene compares vaccine passports to gold star under Nazis
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday compared vaccine passports to the gold star that Jewish persons were forced to wear under the Nazi regime, sparking condemnation from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Democratic calls to censure her. Published May 25, 2021
Moderna says its COVID-19 shot works in kids as young as 12
Drugmaker Moderna said its COVID-19 vaccine staved off disease in trial participants aged 12 to 18, likely paving the way for an expanded arsenal of shots for adolescents by June. Published May 25, 2021
IOC member: Cancellation of Tokyo Summer Games ‘essentially off the table’
A member of the International Olympic Committee said canceling the Tokyo Summer Games is "essentially off the table" even as Japan battles a wave of COVID-19 cases in major cities and the State Department warns Americans not to travel to the host nation. Published May 25, 2021
Major airlines avoid Belarus after plane diversion
Major airlines are starting to avoid Belarus after President Alexander Lukashenko diverted a commercial airliner from Lithuania to his capital of Minsk so he could detain an opposition journalist on board. Published May 25, 2021
Raman Pratasevich detainment, Ryanair flight ‘forced diversion’ condemned by Joe Biden
President Biden on Monday forcefully condemned the diversion of a private airliner to arrest a journalist foe of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and said he's directed his team to prepare 'appropriate options' to respond. Published May 24, 2021
Joe Biden releases $1 billion to prepare for hurricane season, doubling program amount
President Biden said the Federal Emergency Management Agency will release $1 billion to states ahead of a hurricane and wildfire season that's expected to produce over a dozen named storms. Published May 24, 2021
COVID-19 origin in doubt: Researchers at Wuhan lab not just sick in November 2019, but hospitalized
Researchers who worked at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China fell so ill with COVID-19-like symptoms in November 2019 they had to be hospitalized, according to a U.S. intelligence report that is sparking another look at the mysterious origins of the pathogen that upended the world. Published May 24, 2021
Ryanair CEO on Belarus plane diversion: ‘State-sponsored hijacking’
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary on Monday said Belarus' use of a bogus bomb threat to divert one of his carrier's commercial flights and arrest an opposition journalist amounted to "state-sponsored hijacking" as outrage continued to build across Europe and Western leaders vowed there would be swift consequences for authoritarian Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. Published May 24, 2021
WHO chief: We must vaccinate 10% of the global population by September, 30% by December
The World Health Organization pushed member countries Monday to join a campaign to vaccinate 10% of the global population by September and 30% by December, dubbing the shortfall of COVID-19 shots in poorer places a "scandalous inequity" that is prolonging the pandemic. Published May 24, 2021
Biden sends Blinken to the Middle East to shore up ties with Israel, reconnect with Palestinians
President Biden said Monday he is sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Middle East to recommit the U.S. to Israel's security and rebuild ties with the Palestinian people and its leaders "after years of neglect." Published May 24, 2021
Biden awards ‘long-overdue’ Medal of Honor to retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett Jr.
When the White House told retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. he would receive the Medal of Honor at the White House, the Korean War hero asked: "Why all the fuss?" Published May 21, 2021
