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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.

Screen capture from the DEA's official website for the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, slated this year for Saturday, April 28. (takebackday.dea.gov)

Battle looms over cost of disposing unused prescription drugs

Gun buyback programs have proven so popular that the government is trying the same approach with drugs, asking people to turn in unused opioids, hoping to get them out of people's medicine cabinets before they are used to feed someone's addiction. Published April 26, 2018

This image provided by JUUL Labs on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 shows the company's e-cigarette device. On Tuesday, federal health officials announced a nationwide crackdown on underage use of a popular e-cigarette brand following months of complaints from parents, politicians and school administrators. JUUL Labs says it monitors retailers to ensure they are following the law, and its age verification system searches public records and sometimes requires customers to upload a photo ID. (Courtesy of JUUL Labs via AP)

JUUL, maker of popular e-cigarettes, invests $30M in youth awareness

JUUL, the company that makes an e-cigarette popular with teenagers, said Wednesday it supports efforts to raise the minimum age for tobacco sales to 21 and will invest $30 million over three years in strategies to prevent youth from taking up its products. Published April 25, 2018

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, pauses for a reporter's question at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 18, 2018. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Senate panel advances sweeping opioids bill

The Senate Health Committee advanced opioid legislation Tuesday that would facilitate the government's ability to seize and destroy deadly fentanyl as it comes into the U.S. and speed safer painkillers to market to try to curtail the spread of addition. Published April 24, 2018

President Donald Trump looks across the tarmac during his arrival on Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Sunday, April 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Insurers’ lobby asks Trump to curtail short-term insurance plan

Health insurers, patient groups and Senate Democrats implored the Trump administration Monday to curb or cancel its push to let Americans get around Obamacare by using cheaper, short-term health plans for a full year, saying the plan would destabilize the insurance markets and increase the number of uninsured. Published April 23, 2018

The Healthcare.gov website is seen on a computer screen Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, in Washington. If President Donald Trump succeeds in shutting down a major “Obamacare” subsidy, it would have the unintended consequence of making basic health insurance available to more people for free, and making upper-tier plans more affordable. The unexpected assessment comes from consultants, policy experts, and state officials trying to discern the potential fallout from a Washington health care debate that’s becoming harder to follow.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) **FILE**

New Jersey poised to add Obamacare mandate

Obamacare's individual mandate requiring all Americans to have health coverage is about to disappear next year. But New Jersey is poised to slap it back on its residents. Published April 22, 2018

President Trump acknowledged Sunday that talks with Kim Jong-un have a long way to go. (Associated Press/File)

Donald Trump: Kim Jong-un’s nuclear, missile test suspension is progress

Citing North Korea's pledge to suspend missile and nuclear tests, President Trump says efforts to compel the secretive nation to abandon its nuclear weapons program are starting to pay off -- though he acknowledged Sunday that talks with Kim Jong-un still have a long way to go. Published April 22, 2018

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., listens to testimony from Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo during his confirmation hearing Thursday, April 12, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Bob Corker offers lukewarm praise for Marsha Blackburn

Retiring Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee on Sunday said that former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat running to replace him, is "my friend" but that he will vote for fellow Republican Marsha Blackburn this fall. Published April 22, 2018

Kellyanne Conway, senior White House Advisor, is seen during a listening session conducted by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, June 21, 2017, in Washington. Senate Republicans are steering toward a potential showdown vote on their long-awaited health care bill, despite indications that they've yet to solidify the 50 GOP votes they'll need to avert an embarrassing defeat. A draft of the still-secret bill is expected to be unveiled Thursday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Kellyanne Conway says Trump tweets on Michael Cohen show loyalty

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway tried Sunday to defend President Trump's strident tweets about his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, saying the president was expressing loyalty to a close friend and not concern that his so-called fixer would aid federal agents investigating the president's circle. Published April 22, 2018

Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, is shown during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 11, 2017. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Senate Dems propose Medicare buy-in bill

A pair of Senate Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday that allows working-age Americans to buy into Medicare, a proposal that inches toward a single-payer system without fully embracing a government-run system in a pivotal election year. Published April 18, 2018