Tom Howell Jr.

WHO warns: Pakistan flooding destroyed health centers, will exacerbate disease outbreaks

The World Health Organization on Wednesday said deadly flooding in Pakistan is damaging the health system and will exacerbate outbreaks of conditions such as malaria, polio and COVID-19.

August 31, 2022

White House, Louisiana gear up to fight monkeypox ahead of massive Southern Decadence festival

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday said state and federal officials are doing everything they can to turn a massive gay-pride event in New Orleans into a model for combatting monkeypox through education and vaccine distribution.

August 30, 2022

Betsy Devos rips Biden student debt plan as ‘100% illegal,’ says power rests with Congress

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is ripping President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan as unfair, politically motivated and "100% illegal."

August 30, 2022

GOP senators press Zuckerberg about FBI telling Facebook to downplay Hunter Biden’s laptop

Two Senate Republicans want Facebook to explain whether the FBI discussed Hunter Biden's laptop computer, his business dealings and "Russian disinformation" with the social media platform during the 2020 campaign, citing a revealing podcast appearance by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

August 30, 2022

Russia flush with oil cash despite West’s crackdown: Report

Russia is selling nearly as much oil as it did before it invaded Ukraine and raking in more cash because of high prices despite the West's push to hamstring President Vladimir Putin's economy with crippling sanctions.

August 30, 2022

Biden team prepares for possible winter surge in COVID-19

The Biden administration is taking steps to prepare for a possible winter surge of the coronavirus, detailing how it plans to authorize reformulated shots for a fall booster campaign and suspending a program that provided free at-home virus tests to conserve supply.

August 29, 2022

FDA will launch new COVID-19 booster without full human testing

The Food and Drug Administration plans to authorize boosters that target the BA.4 and BA.5 coronavirus strains this fall without complete data on how the shots performed in humans, saying it has enough alternate data to ensure safety.

August 29, 2022

Sen. Lindsey Graham predicts ‘riots’ if Trump is prosecuted

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina raised eyebrows by predicting "riots in the streets" if former President Donald Trump is prosecuted over sensitive documents found at his Florida estate.

August 29, 2022

Feds to stop giving out free at-home COVID-19 tests Sept. 2

The Biden administration is suspending an online program that provides at-home COVID-19 tests for free, citing a lack of funding from Congress.

August 29, 2022

Biden announces Sept. 28 conference on hunger, diet diseases

President Biden will host a White House conference on Sept. 28 aimed at ending hunger and diet-related conditions such as heart disease, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

August 29, 2022

Biden pulls out all the stops to boost Obamacare, HHS to spend $100 million to promote in 2023

The Biden administration said Friday it is investing more money than ever -- $100 million -- in "navigators" who will raise awareness about Obamacare and link persons with coverage on the portals during the 2023 open enrollment period from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15.

August 26, 2022

Biden team is cautiously optimistic about slowing down monkeypox in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco

The White House said Friday it is "cautiously" optimistic about a slowdown in the rise of monkeypox cases in key cities and that it has almost enough Jynneos vaccines to give two doses to Americans who are at the highest risk for the virus.

August 26, 2022

White House gets personal in rejecting student-debt plan criticism

The White House is hitting back at critics of President Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan in unusually personal terms.

August 26, 2022

Judge strikes down D.C.’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on police

A D.C. judge ruled Thursday that a COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed by Mayor Muriel Bowser is unlawful, siding with a police union that challenged the rules as unfair and damaging to recruitment.

August 26, 2022

Judge: People ages 18 to 20 in Texas can carry a handgun

A federal judge ruled Thursday that a Texas law barring people ages 18 to 20 from carrying handguns in public is unlawful because the Constitution does not cite an age restriction.

August 26, 2022

Fulton County DA adds Mark Meadows to grand jury wish list

The Georgia prosecutor investigating former President Donald Trump's post-election actions wants former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to appear before her special grand jury, calling him a material witness to events following the 2020 contest.

August 26, 2022

Conservatives reject Facebook’s excuse for latest censorship of GOP: ‘No one’s buying it’

Facebook officials say they made a mistake this week when they blocked House Judiciary Committee Republicans from posting a criticism of the Biden administration's new student loan forgiveness plan.

August 25, 2022

Democrats crushing GOP in Pennsylvania’s key statewide races, poll shows

Pennsylvania Democrats are crushing Republican candidates in two critical statewide races, a new poll found.

August 25, 2022

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s home in Georgia swatted a second time

Police in Georgia said Thursday they had to respond to the home of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for a second "swatting" prank in as many days.

August 25, 2022

House GOP: Facebook flagged our posts about Biden canceling student debt

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee say Facebook unfairly flagged their criticism of President Biden's plan to forgive some student loan debt, prompting the social media platform to say it was done in error.

August 25, 2022