Tom Howell Jr.

Active-duty military and veterans are less stressed than civilians, poll shows

The inside scoop on why members of the U.S. military are more "emotionally resilient" than their civilian counterparts. Published July 1, 2014

Supreme Court decides Hobby Lobby birth-control dispute

The Supreme Court has decided whether employers with religious objections can refuse to pay for contraception. Published June 30, 2014

Toronto’s Rob Ford returns to work ‘a new man’

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will return to work Monday as "a new man" — at least according to his brother-turned campaign manager — after a two-month break to deal with lifestyle issues that rocketed him to fame for all the wrong reasons. Published June 30, 2014

Paperwork issues at N.Y. offices reveal more bad news for VA

Staff at Veterans' Affairs offices in New York failed to accurately process nearly a third of disability claims examined by the department's Inspector General, a report that casts an even hotter spotlight on problems at the VA. Published June 30, 2014

New NSA director says Snowden leaks are manageable: report

The new director of the National Security Agency says the damage done by famed leaker Edward Snowden is manageable and does not lead him to think the "sky is falling," even if some terrorist groups have tweaked their communication strategies, The New York Times said. Published June 30, 2014

Americans trust three branches of government less and less, poll says

Americans' confidence in all three branches of U.S. government is falling, hitting record lows for the Supreme Court, at 30 percent, and Congress, at 7 percent, while the presidency is at a six-year low of 29 percent. Published June 30, 2014

Rep. Sam Graves: I still want those small-business Obamacare numbers

A Missouri congressman said Friday he is fed up with the Obama administration for failing to provide him with enrollment numbers for Obamacare's small-business exchanges. Published June 27, 2014

FDA: Public blood-pressure kiosks don’t always measure up

Size matters, the Food and Drug Administration says, at least when it comes to mechanized cuffs at those ubiquitous blood-pressure kiosks. Published June 27, 2014

Administration: Renewing Obamacare easier than enrolling

The Obama administration said Thursday most Obamacare federal exchange customers will be able to easily re-enroll in their current plans at the end of this year, offering a convenience that they hope will help head off the kinds of disruptions that plagued the overhaul's initial rollout late last year. Published June 26, 2014

Many Obamacare customers may need to switch plans to avoid ‘substantial’ hikes: study

A new analysis finds Obamacare customers who received government subsidies to reduce the cost of health coverage will face "substantial" premium increases unless they switch plans in 2015. Published June 26, 2014

Obamacare mired by lawsuits challenging fundamentals

The Supreme Court will rule sometime before the end of this month on the Obama administration's contraceptive mandate, but bigger challenges to Obamacare are still winding their way through the courts. Published June 25, 2014

Government: Anti-fraud measures claw back millions in Medicare payments

The Obama administration said Wednesday its "state-of-the-art" anti-fraud systems prevented more than $210 million in improper Medicare payments in fiscal 2013, its second year in use and twice the amount it saved in the inaugural year. Published June 25, 2014

Top archivist says IRS ‘did not follow the law’ on missing emails

The Internal Revenue Service broke the law when it failed to report Lois G. Lerner's broken hard drive and lost emails, the national archivist told Congress on Tuesday, further fueling the email scandal. Published June 24, 2014

Oversight Democrats: IRS, agencies need IT help, not just criticism

Amid partisan bickering over the IRS' political targeting scandal, Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier told the House oversight committee to do something "constructive in nature" so government agencies are not left in a technological Stone Age. Published June 24, 2014

Rep. Paul Gosar: Why pass new laws if IRS won’t follow them?

Rep. Paul Gosar said Tuesday that tweaks to record-preservation laws in the wake of the IRS political targeting scandal will amount to nothing if agencies do not follow the rules, anyway. Published June 24, 2014

House GOP probe into IRS political targeting gets ‘hostile’

The House's top investigator and a member of the White House's counsel team had a difference of legal opinion Tuesday. Published June 24, 2014

Rep. Darrell Issa: IRS has done little for its reputation over last few days

The House's top investigator said Tuesday the relationship between congressional Republicans and the IRS was "not improved" by agency Commissioner John Koskinen's "disappointing performance" late Monday, as members of Congress probe what happened to emails that could be key to their investigation of political targeting at the revenue agency. Published June 24, 2014