Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Obamacare premiums to rise sharply as choices dwindle, administration confirms
Obamacare premiums will soar in 2017, the administration acknowledged Monday, with the price of the most popular benchmark plans jumping an average of 22 percent as the law continues to rely on older, sicker customers than its backers had envisioned. Published October 24, 2016
Donald Trump’s voter fraud concerns overblown, election officials say
Voter fraud has occurred in recent presidential elections, officials in key swing states say, yet its magnitude falls short of the type of systematic cheating that Donald Trump is prophesying. Published October 23, 2016
House GOP eyes contempt proceedings over Clinton emails
A Republican House chairman on Thursday said he will move to hold in contempt the Colorado-based firm that Hillary Clinton hired to help run the private email server she used as secretary of state during President Obama's first term. Published October 20, 2016
Obama says Obamacare is working, yet needs fixes
President Obama fiercely defended his signature health care law Thursday, saying it has slashed the uninsured rate to historic lows, though he implored his successor and Congress to cure the "growing pains" that have battered the program politically and left millions of uninsured on the sidelines. Published October 20, 2016
Nancy Pelosi: Claims of a rigged election ‘beyond the pale’
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday said Donald Trump is "not going to the president of the United States" and that claims of a rigged election are highly irresponsible. Published October 19, 2016
HHS expects 13.8M signups under Obamacare, amid challenges
Obamacare's exchanges will attract roughly 1 million more customers than they did last year, administration officials predicted Wednesday, saying they're confident the program will grow in 2017 despite widespread concerns about rising premiums and dwindling consumer choice. Published October 19, 2016
Donald Trump, Richard Burr, Pat McCrory in peril as Republicans fight to keep North Carolina
Spread out like a Burma-Shave ad, the message on a trio of roadside signs was jarring but familiar: Lock. Her. Up. Published October 17, 2016
Donald Trump gets assist from conservative women as groping accusations threaten campaign
As the presidential race sank into R-rated territory, the wives of three sitting congressmen urged a dozen women sipping iced tea at Darryl's Wood-Fired Grill last week to rise above the fray and get out the vote -- for Donald Trump. Published October 16, 2016
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
