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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Dr. Will Sistrunk, an infectious disease specialist at Mercy Hospital Springfield, gives updates on COVID-19 positive patient counts at Mercy Hospitals in Southwest Missouri on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. About 97 percent of Mercy's 120 COVID-positive patients are unvaccinated, Sistrunk said. (Nathan Papes/The Springfield News-Leader via AP)

SW Missouri hospital opening sixth COVID-19 ward

A hospital in southwestern Missouri is opening a sixth COVID-19 unit after having needed only five last year, underscoring the impact of the disease's delta variant and the consequences of low vaccine uptake in one of the hardest-hit parts of the country.

July 12, 2021
The rocket plane carrying Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson and other crew members flies toward space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, N.M., Sunday, July 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson blasts off into space

Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic crew blasted to the edge of space from New Mexico on Sunday, fulfilling a 17-year ambition for the British billionaire and opening the latest chapter in commercial space tourism.

July 11, 2021
In this May 11, 2021, file photo, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Fauci calls for COVID-19 vaccine mandates: ‘This is serious business’

The federal government does not require the COVID-19 vaccine, but Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that he would welcome more mandates at the local level, particularly once the Food and Drug Administration grants the shots a full license instead of relying on an emergency authorization.

July 11, 2021
President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. Biden is set to sign an executive order the White House bills as an effort to target anticompetitive practices in tech, health care and other parts of the economy while boosting workers’ wages and consumer protections. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) **FILE**

Biden: Hearing aids should be sold over the counter

President Biden will direct federal agencies on Friday to rein in the high cost of hearing aids and crack down on hidden fees from airlines and internet providers as part of a package of what administration officials say are pro-consumer moves.

July 9, 2021
President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden: Capitalism is great, but needs competition to work

President Biden will ask the Federal Trade Commission on Friday to take a harder line on Big Tech companies by scrutinizing how dominant internet players block out competition through "killer acquisitions" of other platforms and drafting rules that curb how much sensitive information they can collect.

July 9, 2021
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., speaks during a House Oversight and Reform Committee regarding the on Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP) **FILE**

House report: Top drugmakers spend more on investor perks than R&D

Fourteen leading drugmakers spent billions more on stock buybacks and dividends than on research and development during the 2016-2020 period, House Democrats said Thursday in a report drafted to rally support behind a liberal plan to let Medicare negotiate down U.S. drug prices.

July 8, 2021
Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, speaks during the first day of the Republican National Committee convention Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Charlotte. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ** FILE **

GOP leaders to intervene in DOJ lawsuit against Georgia

The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Thursday they will intervene in a lawsuit the Department of Justice filed against Georgia over its new elections law.

July 8, 2021
Canadian residents Philip Owira, right, and Katherine Nichol walk with their baby across a small ditch from Canada into Peace Arch Historical State Park to visit a friend there, Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in Blaine, Wash. The border has been closed to nonessential travel since March 2020, but Canadians have been allowed to walk over the ditch into the U.S. park. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

75 House members to Biden: Open the U.S.-Canada border

Dozens of House members from both parties urged the Biden administration Wednesday to reopen the border with Canada and take other steps to ease international travel, citing the power of COVID-19 vaccines and widespread testing.

July 7, 2021