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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

In this Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, file photo, a man plays a game at the Paris Games Week in Paris. The World Health Organization says that compulsively playing video games now qualifies as a new mental health condition, in a move that some critics warn may risk stigmatizing its young players. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu, File)

WHO classifies compulsive gaming as a disorder

The World Health Organization said Monday it plans to classify compulsive video-game playing as an addictive disorder, saying while sessions of "Fortnite" or "Candy Crush Saga" can be simple pleasures for some, they've reached serious, life-disrupting levels among a sliver of the gaming community.

June 18, 2018
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar prepares to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Before joining the Trump Cabinet, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major pharmaceutical drug company. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Patient groups leap into latest Obamacare fight

Patient advocates will tell a federal judge on Thursday to reject the Trump administration's position that much of Obamacare is now illegal, warning that if more people are kicked out of their health plans, "they die."

June 13, 2018
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, greets Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar the witness at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Alex Azar, Democrats clash over drug company rebates

The Trump administration may demand drug companies offer fixed discounts to lower prices, Health Secretary Alex M. Azar II said Tuesday, saying the current system of drug companies offering complex rebates isn't producing enough savings for consumers.

June 12, 2018
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, greets Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar the witness at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Before joining the Trump Cabinet, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major pharmaceutical drug company. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Lamar Alexander protests push to end Obamacare protections

Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander on Tuesday challenged the Trump administration's response to the latest suit against Obamacare, saying there is "no way" Capitol Hill lawmakers intended to let the 2010 program's protections for sick Americans fall by the wayside.

June 12, 2018
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar prepares to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Before joining the Trump Cabinet, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major pharmaceutical drug company. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Alex Azar, HHS chief: Refusal to defend Obamacare is a ‘legal’ position

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Tuesday said the Justice Department's decision not to defend Obamacare against a state-driven lawsuit is a "legal position" -- not a "policy position" -- and that President Trump still feels sicker Americans deserve access to affordable health insurance.

June 12, 2018
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar prepares to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Before joining the Trump Cabinet, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major pharmaceutical drug company. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats to Trump: Where are the drug-price cuts?

Democrats pressed President Trump to deliver on his push to slash drug costs Tuesday, saying they're still waiting for the "volunteer massive" drops in prices he hinted at two weeks ago.

June 12, 2018
FILE - This Aug. 15, 2017 file photo shows an arrangement of pills of the opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen in New York. American Dental Association on Monday, March 26, 2018, said it is pressing for seven-day prescription limits and mandatory education that encourages using other painkillers. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File) **FILE**

House set to vote on measures for fighting opioid addiction

The House will take its first major steps to change the policies that fuel the addiction, hoping to alter the prescription regime that gets some people hooked, reel in leftover pills that fuel addiction and disrupt the supply chain of illegal heroin and fentanyl that is killing thousands of people per year

June 11, 2018
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stabbed President Trump in the back with amateurish attacks over trade, White House officials said Sunday. (Associated Press)

Justin Trudeau’s remarks rile Donald Trump’s aides

President Trump stirred up a hornet's nest during last week's summit of major world leaders, suggesting they agree to embrace a full free-trade world with no tariffs or barriers -- and then withdrawing from the summit's joint communique after he felt insulted.

June 10, 2018
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during a press conference with Senator Chris Coons in Amman, Jordan, Monday, Feb. 20, 2018. Graham, the chairman of a U.S. Senate panel dealing with foreign aid said Tuesday that a new agreement granting Jordan $1.275 billion a year through 2022 “is a floor” and that Congress is likely to authorize additional financial support for the kingdom. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Lindsey Graham says Donald Trump ‘not going to capitulate’ to North Korea

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says President Trump is "very much ready" to set the table for a peaceful resolution to North Korea's nuclear threat, though he won't back down "like we've done in the past." "Donald Trump is not going to capitulate, so there's really only two options -- peace or war," Mr. Graham told ABC's This Week on Sunday.

June 10, 2018
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, speaks during a news conference at a Kroger supermarket as the company announces new associate benefits attributed to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Monday, April 16, 2018, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) ** FILE **

House, Senate reach deal on bill to thwart opioids in mail

House and Senate lawmakers said Friday they've reached an agreement on legislation that requires shippers sending packages into the U.S. to provide more data on what's being sent, in an effort to cut the flow of illegal synthetic opioids from clandestine labs overseas.

June 8, 2018
In this April 25, 2018, file photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Trump administration said in a court filing late Thursday that it will no longer defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act, including the requirement that people have health insurance and provisions that guarantee access to health insurance regardless of any medical conditions. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

House GOP: No need to panic over Obamacare lawsuit

House Republicans said Friday they aren't sweating the Trump administration's refusal to defend Obamacare against a lawsuit that could nix popular health care protections, saying the case is in its infancy and they acquitted themselves by offering an alternative health plan last year.

June 8, 2018
In this photo taken Wednesday, May 30, 2018, a World Health Organization aid worker from Congo gets vaccinated in Mbandaka, Congo. More than 680 people have received Ebola vaccinations in the three health zones where dozens of cases of the deadly virus have been confirmed, Congo's health ministry said Friday, June 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

WHO optimistic that Ebola is under control in major city

The World Health Organization said Friday it feels "cautiously optimistic" one month after an Ebola outbreak was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, citing progress in the large city that raised fears of widespread transmission.

June 8, 2018