Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Ben Carson, GOP presidential candidate: People will like me when they listen to me
Ben Carson said he is surging in the polls for the GOP presidential primaries because people have taken the time to listen to him. Published September 13, 2015
Ron Johnson, Wisconsin senator: National security comes first in accepting Syrian refugees
Sen. Ron Johnson said Sunday that President Obama's strategy of "peace through withdrawal" from Iraq and the Middle East has been a "miserable failure." Published September 13, 2015
Scott Walker, Wisconsin governor, says his message will win in Iowa, despite polls
Scott Walker says he is ready to "wreak havoc on Washington" by taking on special interests with his union-busting style. Published September 13, 2015
Obamacare can’t restrict sale of fixed-payout health plans, judge says
A federal judge sided Friday with an insurance company that says the Obama administration had no right to restrict the sale of its products to people who also hold medical insurance that complies with Obamacare's standards. Published September 11, 2015
House GOP rejects Iran deal, votes to extend sanctions
The House voted Friday to extend American sanctions on Iran until January and went on record rejecting the deal President Obama and other international leaders reached to curtail the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, in votes more freighted with symbolism than effect at this point. Published September 11, 2015
Boehner relishes pioneering court decision on Obamacare; Pelosi predicts victory on appeal
House Speaker John A. Boehner took a victory lap Thursday after a federal judge cleared the way for his chamber to pursue its lawsuit against President Obama over how he funded a little-known part of his health care law. Published September 10, 2015
R.E.M. tells ‘Orange Clown’ Donald Trump to quit using their songs
R.E.M. really doesn't want Donald Trump and his GOP cohorts using their songs on the campaign trail. Published September 10, 2015
Ebola quarantines remain after outbreak fades, leaving travelers to negotiate web of rules
The threat of a major Ebola outbreak has faded, but the travel bans imposed at the height of the epidemic are usually still in place, leaving tourists, business travelers and aid workers grappling with confusing and even contradictory policies that may be harming the very countries that need help the most. Published September 9, 2015
House GOP can sue Obama over implemenation of health care law: Federal judge
The House has legal standing to sue President Obama over how he implemented his signature health care law, a federal judge said Wednesday, dealing a blow to the White House and breathing new life into a pioneering lawsuit that frequently evoked the Founding Fathers' wishes. Published September 9, 2015
Ebola vaccine: Officials weigh who to vaccinate, how much to stockpile
With scientists hopeful they are closing in on a vaccine to stop Ebola, policymakers are beginning to grapple with the other big questions -- how much will be needed and who should get vaccinated in order to stem the next outbreak. Published September 8, 2015
HHS: 9.9M still paying for Obamacare coverage
The administration counted 9.9 million paying customers on Obamacare's exchanges as of June 30, according to an enrollment update Tuesday that showed a net drop of 300,000 customers since the end of March due to nonpayment, citizenship or immigration problems or because they got covered elsewhere. Published September 8, 2015
Mergers among top insurers could harm patients, top doctors’ group says
Cutting the number of major U.S. health insurers from five to three through a pair of blockbuster mergers would erode competition in a way that is "not in the best interests of patients or physicians," a top doctors' group said Tuesday. Published September 8, 2015
Ebola vaccine studies progress as marketing quells suspicions of modern medicine
Ebola had just killed thousands of people in Liberia, and the U.S.-backed pitch to sign locals up for a vaccine trial must have seemed like a tough sell: Take part of the very virus that had devastated the region, combine it with a separate, harmless virus, and inject it into volunteers with the hope they develop Ebola antibodies. Published September 7, 2015
Manufacturers to push to revive Ex-Im charter
U.S. manufacturers say they're starting to feel the pain from Congress' decision to let the federal Export-Import Bank's charter lapse in June, and are planning to mount a push to revive the obscure, controversial agency when lawmakers return next week. Published September 7, 2015
HHS proposal bans health care discrimination against transgender persons
The administration said Thursday it wants to ban discrimination against transgender people who use the health care system. Published September 3, 2015
Education reform bill nears completion
House and Senate lawmakers hoping to avert a government shutdown, pass a long-term highway bill and vote on Iran's nuclear ambitions this fall are squeezing in another item that has bedeviled Congress for years -- settling on a bipartisan rewrite of the No Child Left Behind education law that can win over the White House. Published September 2, 2015
Planned Parenthood chapters among those receiving new Obamacare grants
The Obama administration announced more than $1 million in grants Wednesday to Planned Parenthood, banking on the women's health care provider to help sell Obamacare to patients and defying congressional Republicans battling to end all public funding for the organization. Published September 2, 2015
White House praises Alaska Gov. Bill Walker for going it alone on Medicaid expansion
The White House praised Alaska Gov. Bill Walker for opting to expand Medicaid Tuesday under President Obama's health care law, balancing out their praise with thinly veiled criticism for about 20 states that have refused to expand their own programs, leaving millions "needlessly uninsured." Published September 1, 2015
Alaska Medicaid expansion can move forward, judge says
The Alaska Supreme Court rejected a request by state lawmakers' Monday to thwart Gov. Bill Walker's unilateral plan to extend Medicaid benefits to tens of thousands of previously ineligible state residents. Published August 31, 2015
Federal judge shields March for Life from Obamacare birth-control rules
A federal judge Monday blocked the Obama administration from enforcing its birth-control mandate on March for Life, a secular nonprofit, saying the anti-abortion group met the same criteria for an exemption as houses of worship that do not have to comply with the Obamacare rule. Published August 31, 2015