Tom Howell Jr.

Philly drops mask mandate days after reviving it

Philadelphia officials said Friday that face coverings to control the coronavirus are no longer required within indoor public spaces, four days after the city bucked national trends by reimposing its mask mandate.

April 22, 2022

CDC: Childhood vaccinations dropped after the start of the pandemic

Childhood immunization rates for kindergarteners declined slightly during the 2020-2021 school year, prompting fears the coronavirus pandemic hampered a critical disease-fighting tool even as children largely resume in-person learning.

April 22, 2022

Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy: Russia rejects push for an Orthodox Easter truce

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia rejected a proposal to establish an Easter truce this weekend so his people could have a respite from the brutal invasion.

April 22, 2022

Biden sends more guns, money to Ukraine as Putin tries to reboot invasion

President Biden said Thursday the U.S. will be sending another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine to send an "unmistakable message" to Russian President Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin tries to reboot its troubled invasion of its neighbor.

April 21, 2022

NJ launches recreational marijuana program

Kai Wallace of Jersey City has been using marijuana for over four decades. She's tired of looking over her shoulder.

April 21, 2022

Biden sends $800M in additional military aid to Ukraine, bans Russian ships from U.S. ports

U.S. President Biden said Thursday he is sending another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine to send an "unmistakable message" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

April 21, 2022

Putin orders blockade of Mariupol steel plant instead of invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his troops Thursday not to storm a steel plant in Mariupol where Ukrainian fighters are holding out against the invaders.

April 21, 2022

Biden administration appeals mask mandate rejection after CDC says it must fight

The Justice Department told a court in Florida Wednesday it is appealing a judge's ruling invalidating the federal mask mandate on public transportation after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the rule remains vital to protecting public health.

April 20, 2022

Bidens will attend the White House Correspondents dinner on April 30

The White House Correspondents Association said President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend its annual dinner on April 30 after a lengthy presidential absence due to former President Donald Trump's spats with the mainstream media and the pandemic.

April 20, 2022

Biden could try to run out the clock on transportation mask mandate: experts

The fight over the transportation mask mandate is turning into a "Catch-22" for President Biden, who wants to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its powers but doesn't want to risk a bad result on appeal.

April 20, 2022

Milwaukee reimposes school mask mandate one day after lifting rule

Milwaukee schools opted to reimpose a mask mandate just one day after lifting the rule, citing "significant transmission" of the coronavirus in the Midwest city.

April 20, 2022

VP Harris to officiate New Mexico governor’s wedding

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to officiate the wedding of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in May.

April 20, 2022

Tenn. GOP boots Trump-backed Morgan Ortagus, two others from primary ballot

The Tennessee GOP sparked a firestorm Tuesday by voting to remove Morgan Ortagus, a Trump-backed candidate, and two other Republican contenders from the primary ballot in a key House race.

April 20, 2022

Justice Department signals appeal to restore transportation mask mandate

The Department of Justice announced Tuesday evening that it is ready to file an appeal of the decision out of Florida.

April 19, 2022

Canceled public transportation mask mandate prompts patchwork of rules across U.S.

Many Americans flew bare-faced Tuesday, but court-ordered relief from the federal mask mandate on public transportation may be short-lived as the Justice Department signaled it is ready to file an appeal of the decision out of Florida.

April 19, 2022

Biden sticks to mask-wearing on Air Force One despite mandate change

The White House stuck to mask-wearing during President Biden's trip to New Hampshire on Tuesday even though federal officials are no longer enforcing a mandate on commercial airline passengers.

April 19, 2022

Passengers face a patchwork of mask rules on transit after court ruling

Passengers on planes, trains and buses are facing a confusing patchwork of mask rules across the country now that airlines are no longer enforcing President Biden's COVID-19 mask mandate, which a federal judge struck down on Monday.

April 19, 2022

White House says Biden has faith in Sen. Feinstein amid concerns of her mental fitness

The White House on Monday said President Biden has confidence in Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California after a newspaper report said Senate colleagues are worried about her mental fitness to serve at age 88.

April 18, 2022

Judge voids federal mask mandate for public transportation

A federal judge in Florida upended the mask mandate for airplane and other travel on Monday.

April 18, 2022

Biden to agencies: Make sure infrastructure materials funded by law are ‘Made in America’

The Biden administration issued guidance Monday that says projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law must use steel and other materials from U.S. manufacturers.

April 18, 2022