Tom Howell Jr.

Disney theme parks in California and Florida to ease mask rules Thursday

The Walt Disney theme parks in California and Florida will no longer require fully vaccinated visitors to wear masks, starting Thursday, as states and cities across the nation relax COVID-19 rules alongside the easing omicron wave.

February 16, 2022

China’s leader Xi Jinping increases pressure on Hong Kong officials to control COVID-19 outbreak

Chinese President Xi Jinping is urging Hong Kong Executive Carrie Lam to make controlling the COVID-19 outbreak in the island city her "overriding task," according to state-run newspapers.

February 15, 2022

Several GOP votes lift Califf as some Democrats buck Biden’s FDA pick

The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Robert M. Califf as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, overcoming vocal opposition from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin III and other Democrats who said President Biden's pick was too cozy with the pharmaceutical industry.

February 15, 2022

Senate overcomes objections, passes bill to recognize Japanese American internment camp as historic

The Senate unanimously moved late Monday to establish a historic site at a former internment camp for Japanese Americans in Colorado, overcoming objections from a Utah senator to pass the bill ahead of the 80th anniversary of Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to set up the camps during World War II.

February 15, 2022

GOP enjoys double-digit lead in voter preference ahead of midterms, poll shows

Voters prefer Republican candidates over Democratic ones by nearly 13 percentage points ahead of the midterm elections and expect the GOP to be a check on President Biden, according to a poll released Tuesday by a conservative group.

February 15, 2022

Ontario eases COVID-19 limits, says it is not because of protests

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says public venues will no longer have to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination as of March 1 but said the change was a response to pandemic trends and not protests in Ottawa and elsewhere in the province.

February 15, 2022

Scientists work on next generation of coronavirus vaccines that are easier to take, more effective

Scientists are working feverishly to develop the next generation of coronavirus vaccines, including a nasal spray, even as President Biden and others struggle to get the current COVID-19 shots in Americans' arms.

February 14, 2022

D.C. mayor lifts vaccination-checking mandate on businesses

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday she will no longer require businesses to check patrons' vaccination status at the door, effective Tuesday.

February 14, 2022

Gov. Glenn Youngkin releases upbeat ad urging Virginians to get COVID-19 vaccine

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin released on Monday a public service announcement urging state residents to get vaccinated for COVID-19, part of a strategy that relies on upbeat messaging about the future instead of arm-twisting through mandates.

February 14, 2022

Heritage Foundation index: U.S. economic freedom at all-time low after Biden’s first year

The conservative Heritage Foundation says economic freedom is at an all-time low under President Biden.

February 14, 2022

Sen. Lujan said he is recovering from stroke, will return to D.C. in a few weeks

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico says he will make a full recovery from the stroke he suffered last month and is set to return to Washington in a few weeks to vote on important legislation and President Biden's forthcoming Supreme Court pick.

February 14, 2022

Ambassador Bridge over the U.S.-Canadian border reopened after arrests

Canadian officials said the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit reopened late Sunday after police arrested about two dozen remaining protesters at a COVID-19 demonstration that had shuttered the crossing for almost a week.

February 14, 2022

Biden marks anniversary of Parkland shooting, calls for gun control legislation, anti-crime funding

President Biden on Monday marked the fourth anniversary of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, by urging Congress to provide $500 million for community policing initiatives that reduce gun crime and new funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Marshals Service.

February 14, 2022

FDA postpones review of child COVID-19 vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday postponed an advisory meeting on Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for young children and will wait for data on the third dose from trials, meaning the rollout for ages 0 to 4 might not begin until April.

February 11, 2022

Ontario premier declares a state of emergency for trucker blockade, threatens prison for protesters

Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province Friday and said truckers protesting COVID-19 rules will face "severe" consequences if they do not disperse from Ottawa and other locations.

February 11, 2022

Dozens of House Republicans tell DHS Secretary Mayorkas to resign

Nearly four dozen of House Republicans called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign Friday on grounds he is leaving the southern border "wide open" and making it difficult for agents to do their jobs.

February 11, 2022

Scientists scramble on COVID-19 vaccine dosing; challenge remains for drugmakers

Health officials are coming to realize that while pushing COVID-19 vaccines to the market in record time likely saved hundreds of thousands of lives in America, it also meant they didn't get the dosing decisions exactly right.

February 11, 2022

Ontario mayor seeks court order to remove trucker protest from border crossing

An Ontario mayor says he will seek a court order Friday that expands his power to remove truckers blocked a key border crossing as part of protests against COVID-19 rules.

February 11, 2022

Nevada drops mask mandate, effective immediately, joining a trend

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak abruptly dropped a statewide mask mandate Thursday, saying a certain number of people won't get the COVID-19 vaccine and he doesn't want to hold the rest of society back.

February 11, 2022

Biden calls on Democrats to pass drug negotiation, extend Obamacare subsidies

President Biden leaned on Democratic senators Thursday to extend supersized Obamacare subsidies and give struggling American families "breathing room" on prescription costs through Medicare negotiation.

February 10, 2022