Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Donald Trump within striking distance of Hillary Clinton despite groping allegations
Donald Trump's allies tried their best Sunday to tamp down an eruption of stories accusing the Republican presidential nominee of untoward sexual advances against women, as national polls showed the billionaire businessman still within striking distance of Hillary Clinton after a horrendous week. Published October 16, 2016
Mike Pence, GOP vice-presidential nominee: We will ‘absolutely’ accept election results
Mike Pence said his ticket will "absolutely" accept the results of the election, saying any sense of a "rigged" election stems from an avalanche of negative media coverage about Donald Trump. Published October 16, 2016
Joe Biden: Donald Trump’s own remarks offer ‘textbook definition of sexual assault’
Joe Biden said Donald Trump suffers from an "instinctive abuse of power" and that his own words give credence to women who have accused him of groping them. Published October 16, 2016
Mike Pence: ‘Couldn’t be more proud’ to stand by Donald Trump, despite groping claims
Mike Pence said the media are piling on with "unsubstantiated claims" about Donald Trump's behavior around women and that he "couldn't be more proud" to stand with him. Published October 16, 2016
Richard Burr distances Donald Trump in Senate race
Fighting for his political life, Sen. Richard Burr, North Carolina Republican, said he cannot defend Donald Trump's lewd remarks about women but feels the Democratic alternative, Hillary Clinton, is an unacceptable choice for president. Published October 13, 2016
Donald Trump throws GOP senators off balance
Vulnerable Senate Republicans are deploying an array of tactics to stanch the down-ballot bleeding from Donald Trump's caught-on-tape remarks about women, from vocal condemnation to pleas to forgive the real estate mogul and focus on Hillary Clinton's weaknesses. Published October 12, 2016
Donald Trump, campaign confound foreign press
American voters aren't the only ones scratching their heads over a topsy-turvy presidential race featuring two unpopular candidates. The foreign press appears to be stumped, too, critiquing Republican nominee Donald Trump's latest debate performance as "belligerent" and bemoaning the past few days as a "low point" in U.S. politics. Published October 11, 2016
HPV vaccine skepticism persists among parents as lawmakers push for mandates
A decade after the Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine for sexually transmitted HPV, many parents remain doubtful about the worthiness of the shot and the message it sends to children about sex. Published October 10, 2016
Opioid field tests pose grave threat to police officers amid deadly epidemic of overdoses
Three months ago, the chief of police in Huntington, West Virginia, told officers to stop field-testing suspected heroin on drug calls -- just bag it and let the state police lab handle it if the case goes to trial. Published October 9, 2016
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire Republican, says she can no longer vote for Donald Trump
Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte said Saturday she will no longer vote for Donald Trump, beating a retreat less than a week after she called the GOP presidential pick a role model from a New Hampshire debate stage. Published October 8, 2016
Mylan agrees to pay $465M in EpiPen settlement
Mylan Pharmaceuticals on Friday said it has agreed to pay $465 million to settle claims it short-changed taxpayers by classifying its popular EpiPen as a generic instead of a brand-name product -- a move that allowed it to pay smaller rebates to states under Medicaid. Published October 7, 2016
Donald Trump is no role mode, say 72 percent of voters in a poll
More than seven in 10 voters say Donald Trump is not a role model for children, according to a poll conducted in the days after Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire said she "absolutely" thought the mogul deserved the label, only to walk it back. Published October 7, 2016
Senate Republicans surged in Pa., Ohio, but N.C. is tight: poll
Vulnerable Senate Republicans have widened their leads over Democratic challengers in Ohio and Pennsylvania, pollsters said Wednesday, though Senate contests in other swing states are dead heats or too close to call. Published October 5, 2016
Medicare’s lack of federal control feeds opioid crisis, senators say
Medicare spending on opioids is skyrocketing, but the agency's investigations into misuse have plummeted in the last couple of years, congressional investigators revealed Monday, suggesting that a lack of federal controls could inadvertently be feeding the prescription drug abuse epidemic. Published October 4, 2016
Kelly Ayotte debate with Maggie Hassan hinges on Trump connection
Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte's independent streak was put to the test Monday in the first televised debate of a neck-and-neck New Hampshire race that could determine party control of the Senate. Published October 3, 2016
HHS outlines plans for new Zika money
The Obama administration said Monday it can start developing better ways to detect the Zika virus and knock out mosquitos that carry the disease, while forging ahead with a vaccine trial that began in August, now that Congress has broken a months-long stalemate and posted $1.1 billion for the fight. Published October 3, 2016
CDC: Couples exposed to Zika should wait six months to get pregnant
Men who've possibly been exposed to the Zika virus should wait at least six months before trying to conceive with their female partners, even if they haven't shown symptoms of the disease, the Obama administration said Friday in a major shift from its previous advice of eight weeks. Published September 30, 2016
Lifting ‘Hyde’ ban on abortion funds would affect 14.5 million in Medicaid: Study
Lifting the "Hyde" prohibition on taxpayer funds for abortion would extend federal support for the procedure to at least 14.5 million Medicaid recipients of child-bearing age, according to a nonpartisan analysis of the 40-year-old ban that's become a hot-button campaign issue this year. Published September 30, 2016
Obama administration to relinquish control of internet ‘address book’
The Obama administration will relinquish control of the internet's "address book" to a California-based nonprofit Friday, brushing aside last-ditch pleas and a lawsuit from Republicans who say the transfer could give rogue regimes a freer hand to interfere with web access. Published September 29, 2016
Insurer payments flouted plain text of Obamacare: Gov’t report
The Obama administration failed to follow its own health care law by directing funds to insurers instead of taxpayers, nonpartisan government investigators said Thursday, chalking up a win for GOP critics and denting the White House's ability to satisfy insurers who are losing money under the overhaul. Published September 29, 2016
