Tom Howell Jr.

Chicago classrooms to reopen Wednesday after a bitter feud over remote learning in virus surge

Chicago schools will reopen Wednesday after the public school system reached a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union that increases coronavirus testing and establishes metrics for remote instruction in schools that see big outbreaks.

January 11, 2022

China goes to extreme lengths to stiff-arm coronavirus ahead of Olympics

The Chinese port city of Tianjin is in partial lockdown as authorities try to stamp out a number of COVID-19 cases as part of extreme efforts to stiff-arm the coronavirus before the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

January 10, 2022

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson: Companies should wait for Supreme Court decision on OSHA mandate

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told large businesses not to comply with President Biden's COVID-19 rules on large employers while the nation waits for the Supreme Court to uphold or strike down the regulation.

January 10, 2022

Doctors: Co-infection of flu and coronavirus possible, but ‘flurona’ not a superbug

Doctors say it is possible for people to be diagnosed with COVID-19 and influenza, but it doesn't mean the viruses have mingled into a superbug or that it will make someone twice as sick.

January 10, 2022

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says the death toll from Bronx apartment fire may rise

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Monday he is worried the death toll may rise after a devastating apartment fire Sunday in the Bronx killed 19 people, including nine children.

January 10, 2022

Former Sen. David Perdue announces Parents’ Bill of Rights as part of Georgia governor’s bid

Former Sen. David Perdue outlined a "Parents' Bill of Rights" Monday, hoping concerns around parental involvement in school and COVID-19 shutdowns will help him win the governor's seat in Georgia after education resonated for voters in last year's contests.

January 10, 2022

AOC tests positive for COVID-19, joins long list of lawmakers who caught it

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York reported late Sunday she has tested positive for COVID-19, placing her on the growing roster of congressional lawmakers who've been infected.

January 9, 2022

Nearly two-thirds of vaccinated Americans have not yet received a booster despite omicron warnings

Nearly 2 in 3 vaccinated Americans haven't received a COVID-19 booster despite President Biden's repeated push to shore up waning protection and fend off the omicron variant that's blanketed the country, raising questions about public enthusiasm for more shots.

January 7, 2022

White House awards first contracts, will ship free COVID-19 tests by mid-January, says report

The White House is reportedly finalizing plans with the U.S. Postal Services to begin shipping 500 million coronavirus tests to households for free in January.

January 7, 2022

North Korea tells China it cannot appear at the Beijing Olympics, blames U.S. and COVID-19

North Korea told China on Friday it will not participate in the Beijing Olympics, citing COVID-19 problems and what it called U.S. attempts to thwart the Winter Games' success in February, according to state media.

January 7, 2022

Biden’s COVID-19 mandate faces Supreme Court test

Conservative groups on Thursday teed up arguments before the Supreme Court urging the justices to strike down President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandates for private companies and pointing to polling that shows narrow support for a GOP effort to eliminate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's requirement on large employers.

January 6, 2022

Chicago cancels classes for a second day amid omicron standoff with union

Chicago Public Schools canceled classes for the second day in a row Thursday after talks with the local teachers union, which is demanding to start the year in remote learning due to omicron, failed to resolve the standoff.

January 6, 2022

Italy mandates COVID-19 vaccine for 60 and up; Austria, Greece also imposed sweeping rules

Italy is requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for persons over 50, making it the latest European nation to take drastic steps to increase uptake and ease the strain on hospitals.

January 6, 2022

White House says schools should remain open as Democratic leaders, teachers’ unions clash

The White House issued a loud call to keep schools open Wednesday after the Chicago Teachers Union bucked city leaders and voted in favor of remote teaching, forcing the public school system to cancel classes and marking a new high point in the clash between Democratic leaders and their union allies.

January 5, 2022

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says city will weather omicron surge

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday his city can weather the winter coronavirus surge and keep its schools and businesses open despite fears over the omicron variant.

January 5, 2022

Supreme Court: All nine justices got COVID-19 booster

All nine members of the Supreme Court have received a COVID-19 booster shot, the court said Tuesday, days before the justices hear arguments over President Biden's vaccine requirements at workplaces.

January 5, 2022

Biden pleads for vaccinations and boosters to blunt worst impacts of omicron wave

President Biden tried to calm nerves around the omicron wave Tuesday, saying free available vaccines should blunt bad outcomes amid a record-breaking tally of COVID-19 cases from the variant.

January 4, 2022

Chicago schools scrap classes after union backs remote learning because of COVID-19 surge

Chicago public schools canceled classes Wednesday and face an uncertain future after nearly three-quarters of the Chicago Teachers Union voted to revert to remote learning because of a coronavirus surge, prompting a standoff with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and school administrators who want students to remain in the classroom.

January 4, 2022

CDC says omicron now accounts for 95% of sequenced cases

Omicron accounted for 95% of sequenced coronavirus samples in the U.S. during the week ending Jan. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday, underscoring how swiftly the variant has elbowed out other strains.

January 4, 2022

GOP lawmakers urge SCOTUS to strike down Biden workplace vaccine-or-test order

Nearly all Senate Republicans and two-thirds of House GOP members urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to strike down President Biden's COVID-19 vaccinate-or-test rule on private employers, arguing in a legal brief that Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials went beyond the scope of powers granted to it by Congress.

January 4, 2022