Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Botched Oklahoma execution does little to change views on death penalty, poll shows
About three in five Americans say they favor the death penalty as the ultimate punishment for murder despite a recently botched execution in Oklahoma, where a condemned man died of an apparent heart attack after his lethal injection went awry. Published May 15, 2014
TripAdvisor ranks Texas No. 3 for barbecue
TripAdvisor has ranked Georgia and North Carolina as Nos. 1 and 2 in its list of best places to get barbecue in America. Published May 15, 2014
Rep. Adam Kinzinger: VA is looking too much like the DMV
Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said Thursday it is time for the Department of Veterans Affairs to stop studying its backlog issues and start acting. Published May 15, 2014
Americans give low marks to Congress’ leaders, poll shows
Americans' views of the top four leaders in Congress are in the dumps, a new poll finds. Published May 15, 2014
Glenn Greenwald dishes on what it took to work with Edward Snowden
Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, who helped to blow the lid off secretive U.S. spying programs last year, said Thursday he was leery at first of Edward Snowden's offer to speak about the programs over a secure line of cyber communication. Published May 15, 2014
Senators want states to pay up, reimburse $$ lost to health care website failures
Senate Republicans on Wednesday told President Obama's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department that they expect the government to recoup millions of dollars in federal grants from states that set up flawed websites under Obamacare. Published May 14, 2014
Obama’s HHS pick gets a boost from Republican Sen. Tom Coburn
Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President Obama's pick to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, got a boost from a key Republican source Wednesday as she sat down for her second grilling on Capitol Hill. Published May 14, 2014
Marco Rubio: I’ll decide on White House bid late this year or early 2015
Sen. Marco Rubio signaled Wednesday he is considering a run for the White House but that he hasn't made up his mind yet. Published May 14, 2014
New GOP bill would force faulty state Obamacare exchanges to pay back federal funds
Republican lawmakers filed a bill Wednesday requiring states that abandon their faulty Obamacare markets to repay the federal government for grant funds they received to plan and build the portals. Published May 14, 2014
Sen. Claire McCaskill: Plan to rename Union Station is a winner
Sen. Claire McCaskill said former President Harry S. Truman might have been "a little cranky" about her plan to rename Washington's iconic train station after him. Published May 14, 2014
Senate to hold hearing on VA problems Thursday
The Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs will hold a hearing Thursday on the state of the VA health care, as debate rages on Capitol Hill about backlogs and long wait times that may have harmed, or even killed, veterans in the Phoenix area and elsewhere. Published May 14, 2014
California may distribute condoms to prison inmates
California lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow the state to distribute condoms to prison inmates, an attempt to cut down on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, although sex acts between inmates would remain unlawful. Published May 14, 2014
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is in the driver’s seat on road to re-election
Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich has the support of half the state's electorate and leads his Democratic challenger by 50-35 percent in his re-election bid, a new poll said. Published May 14, 2014
In a rarity, Sen. Jon Tester goes to bat for the VA
Sen. Jon Tester on Wednesday did something that's unusual in Washington these days — he defended the Department of Veterans Affairs. Published May 14, 2014
Throw the bums out: Poll shows Americans want turnover in Congress
About one in five U.S. voters say most members of Congress deserve re-election while 72 percent say they do not, a level of incumbent satisfaction that is on pace to be the lowest measured by Gallup in an election year. Published May 14, 2014
Philip Rivers to speak at Catholic’s commencement, receive honorary degree
San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is known for his mouth on the sidelines, but he'll probably tone it down a notch when he delivers Catholic University's graduation address this Saturday. Published May 13, 2014
Rep. Louie Gohmert: Repeal Obamacare first, then try to fix it
Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas says Obamacare needs to be repealed before lawmakers consider what parts may be worth saving. Published May 13, 2014
Sen. Mary Landrieu laughs it up with her dad in new campaign ad
Sen. Mary Landrieu's re-election campaign launched a new ad Tuesday that relies on humorous banter between the incumbent Democrat and her well-known father, former New Orleans Mayor Maurice "Moon" Landrieu. Published May 13, 2014
‘Woodwork’ Medicaid population puts non-expansion states on the hook
States that opted not to expand Medicaid under Obamacare may still shell out more money for the program because the law's publicity brought previously eligible people out of the "woodwork," said an analysis released Tuesday. Published May 13, 2014
Shane Osborn, Ben Sasse both confident in Nebraska’s brutal GOP primary
Despite an intense primary battle, the trio of Nebraskans vying for the GOP nomination for Senate have something in common — each thinks he will win Tuesday. Published May 13, 2014
