Tom Howell Jr.

Biden to veterans: ‘You are the very spine of America’

President Biden hailed America's war fighters Thursday as the "spine" of the country in the first Veterans Day speech of his presidency.

November 11, 2021

Majority of Americans OK with vaccine, mask rules: Poll

A majority of Americans support vaccine mandates for health workers, teachers and people who work in an office setting and six in 10 parents support school mask mandates, according to a poll released Thursday.

November 11, 2021

U.S. faces uneasy crossroads on COVID-19 before holidays

The U.S. recovery from the crushing delta wave of the coronavirus is beginning to stall out, with case counts stuck around 70,000 per day for two weeks after a precipitous decline from the peak of the Sun Belt surge in September.

November 11, 2021

‘Cringe’: Harris takes heat for awkward French accent in lab tour

Political watchers were scratching their heads after Vice President Kamala Harris seemed to deploy a Gallic tint to certain words during a tour of the Pasteur Institute.

November 11, 2021

Former N.J. Gov. Christie needles Trump over 2020 loss

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie boasted in an interview posted Thursday that he won his state reelection by a wide margin while former President Donald Trump lost to President Biden, signaling he won't back down after Mr. Trump attacked him for saying the GOP must focus on the future instead of relitigating the 2020 contest.

November 11, 2021

Harris: France wants to join the Artemis Accords, a major space-exploration pact

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said French President Emmanuel Macron is interested in joining the Artemis Accords, a 2020 agreement that promoted responsible space exploration and set the table for a return to the Moon.

November 11, 2021

White House boasts that 900,000 kids ages 5 to 11 got COVID-19 shots

The White House estimated Wednesday that 900,000 children ages 5 to 11 will have received their first COVID-19 shot by the end of the day as President Biden looks for ways to immunize as many Americans as possible.

November 10, 2021

Pfizer’s booster request sets up a pivotal decision for FDA

The Food and Drug Administration pumped the brakes on Pfizer's push to provide COVID-19 boosters-for-all two months ago, but the drugmaker has the wind at its back as it tries again.

November 10, 2021

Germany recommends Pfizer over Moderna for those younger than 30

German authorities said Wednesday they will recommend the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine instead of Moderna's for persons younger than 30 due to the small risk of inflammation of the heart muscle, or myocarditis.

November 10, 2021

76% of Americans think Facebook making society worse, CNN poll says

Three-quarters of Americans think Facebook is making U.S. society worse and nearly half say they know someone who was led to believe a conspiracy theory due to content on the social media platform, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS said Wednesday.

November 10, 2021

‘Criminals’: Pfizer CEO takes aim at those who spread COVID-19 ‘misinformation’

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Tuesday said people who deliberately spread false information about COVID-19 vaccines, often through sophisticated web operations, are "criminals."

November 9, 2021

Bipartisan Senate group backs ‘9/11-style’ commission on COVID-19 response

A bipartisan group of senators said Tuesday they are seeking a "9/11-style commission" to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic began, the U.S. government's response and ways to prevent a similar tragedy.

November 9, 2021

McConnell praises infrastructure bill as ‘godsend’ for Kentucky

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says the bipartisan infrastructure bill that made it through Congress is a "godsend" for his state, as the GOP pivots to attacking the social spending plank of President Biden's agenda and his push to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine.

November 9, 2021

‘Sick behavior’: Twitter flags violent anime video from Rep. Paul Gosar

Twitter has flagged a video posted by Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona that depicts anime characters killing other characters with the faces of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and President Biden.

November 9, 2021

Harris lands in Paris to reinforce French ties, her own standing

Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Paris early Tuesday to work with French President Emmanuel Macron on climate change and the COVID-19 fight and further ease the ruckus over a submarine deal with Australia that irked France.

November 9, 2021

Families reunite, airlines celebrate as U.S. ends COVID-19 travel bans for vaccinated visitors

The U.S. opened its doors to visitors from Canada, Mexico, Europe and elsewhere for the first time in 20 months under new COVID-19 safety rules, allowing separated couples to reunite and giving airlines hope they can rebound from heavy losses during the pandemic.

November 8, 2021

Ted Cruz rebukes Big Bird over ‘government propaganda’ on COVID-19 vaccine push for kids

Sen. Ted Cruz went to war with Big Bird on Twitter over the weekend, accusing the "Sesame Street" character of pushing "government propaganda" as part of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout for kids.

November 8, 2021

First lady Jill Biden visits Virginia school to push COVID-19 shots for children

First lady Jill Biden used a visit Monday to the first school to administer the polio vaccine in 1954 as a backdrop when she urged parents everywhere to vaccinate children for COVID-19.

November 8, 2021

U.S. lifts pandemic travel ban, opens doors to international visitors

The U.S. on Monday will open its doors to a wide swath of international travelers for the first time in 20 months under its new COVID-19 rules.

November 8, 2021

Biden condemns drone attack targeting Iraqi PM

President Biden condemned a drone attack on the home of Iraq's prime minister Sunday as the Middle East nation tried to unpack the results of disputed parliamentary elections.

November 7, 2021