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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Nevada's Don Jackson (6) celebrates after scoring against Washington State during the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, in Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Kevin Clifford)

White House says ruling against vaccine mandate start of a long fight

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain on Sunday said he is confident President Biden's decision to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine or weekly testing at large businesses will hold up in court over, despite a federal appellate court temporarily blocking its implementation.

November 7, 2021
Edward Durr speaks to near his home in Swedesboro, N.J. on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. New Jersey's longtime state Senate president, Democrat Steve Sweeney lost reelection, falling to Durr, a Republican newcomer who spent little money and underscoring Democratic woes in the Biden era. (Ellie Rushing/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Truck driver in South Jersey pulled off the biggest upset of Election Day

Republican Glenn Youngkin's win in the Virginia governor race rattled Democrats and political assumptions, but the biggest election night upset of all happened in southern New Jersey, where a furniture truck driver beat the second-most powerful politician in the Garden State.

November 5, 2021
President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccinations after touring a Clayco Corporation construction site for a Microsoft data center in Elk Grove Village, Ill., Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. President Joe Biden’s plan to require vaccinations at all private employers of 100 workers or more has already hit a wall of opposition from Republican governors, state lawmakers and attorneys general. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) **FILE**

Biden: I wished vaccine mandates had ‘not become necessary’

President Biden defended his decision to issue sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates Thursday by saying he did not want to resort to heavy-handed rules, but too many people remained on the sidelines, threatening both public health and the economy.

November 4, 2021
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy greets supporters at the end of an election night party in Asbury Park, N.J., early Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Phil Murphy edges out GOP challenger in nail-biter N.J. race

Phil Murphy held on to win a second term as governor of New Jersey Wednesday, shaking off President Biden's sinking approval numbers and late momentum from Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli in an election that was far closer than Democrats had expected and hurt their down-ballot candidates.

November 3, 2021
President Joe Biden arrives to speak about the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 from the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. U.S. health officials on Tuesday gave the final sign-off to Pfizer's kid-size COVID-19 shot, a milestone that opens a major expansion of the nation's vaccination campaign to children as young as 5. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden touts child COVID-19 vaccines after dismal election night

President Biden said Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccines for school-aged kids will be widely available across the U.S. by next week, latching onto the "giant step forward" in the pandemic fight in the wake of a bruising Election Day for Democrats.

November 3, 2021
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy greets supporters at the end of an election night party in Asbury Park, N.J., early Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

N.J. Democrat Murphy confident of victory, but result up in the air

Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli on Wednesday hailed a "historic" election night for the GOP in New Jersey and said he wants to see all "legal votes" counted as Gov. Phil Murphy and fellow Democrats held their breath in a contest that turned from a cakewalk for the incumbent to a dead heat.

November 3, 2021
Syringes loaded with adult doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine lie ready for use in Jackson, Miss., on Sept. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

CDC signs off on COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5 to 11

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off Tuesday on giving a COVID-19 vaccine to kids ages 5 to 11, clearing the way for the pediatric vaccination drive to kick off within days.

November 2, 2021
Incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., left, and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli laugh on stage during a gubernatorial debate at New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021, in Newark, N.J. (Amy Newman/The Record via AP) ** FILE **

Gov. Phil Murphy, Jack Ciattarelli make closing arguments in N.J.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told voters Tuesday they must reelect him to preserve a battery of progressive reforms, arguing the state "cannot afford to go back" to old policies as GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli claimed momentum in the final hours of the race.

November 2, 2021