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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Melvin Gaitan washes down alleyways in Miami Beach, one of the two Florida neighborhoods reporting mosquito-borne Zika cases. High-pressure water set to 250 degrees kills bacteria and mosquito larvae. (Associated Press)

Zika fears, misunderstandings hard to swat away

Despite a mosquito hot spot that popped up last week in Miami Beach, Florida, Zika remains overwhelmingly a travel-related disease, challenging the public's understanding of the infection and policymakers' attempts to manage the outbreak.

August 21, 2016
Nuns and their supporters rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, as the court hears arguments to allow birth control in healthcare plans in the Zubik vs. Burwell case. The Supreme Court seems deeply divided over the arrangement devised by the Obama administration to spare faith-based groups from having to pay for birth control for women covered under their health plans. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Obama administration looks to tweak contraceptive mandate

Three months after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered both sides to seek out a compromise on Obamacare's birth control mandate, religious nonprofits that oppose it are mobilizing to win the fight, while the administration is saying it's ready to tweak the rules.

August 21, 2016
In this Feb. 11, 2016, file photo, Dallas County Mosquito Lab microbiologist Spencer Lockwood sorts mosquitoes collected in a trap in Hutchins, Texas, that had been set up in Dallas County near the location of a confirmed Zika virus infection. The quest for a vaccine began less than a year ago as Brazils massive outbreak revealed that Zika, once dismissed as a nuisance virus, can harm a fetus' brain if a woman is infected during pregnancy. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Florida confirms Zika transmission in Miami Beach

Five people contracted Zika virus through mosquito bite in Miami Beach, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Friday, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wrap the popular the tourist hub into its unprecedented travel warning for pregnant women.

August 19, 2016
In this Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, photo, a pedestrian walks past a sign for Aetna Inc., at the company headquarters in Hartford, Conn. Aetna will become the latest health insurer to chop its participation in the Affordable Care Act’s public exchanges when it trims its presence to four states for 2017, from 15 this year. The nation’s third-largest insurer said late Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, that a second-quarter pre-tax loss of $200 million from its individual insurance coverage helped it decide to limit exposure to the exchanges, which also have generated losses for UnitedHealth Group and Anthem, among other carriers. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Aetna tied Obamacare participation to contentious merger in July

Aetna warned the Justice Department that it would start to bail on Obamacare if the administration blocked its proposed merger with another insurer, Humana, and then followed through on its threat, prompting President Obama's allies to accuse the company of using its customers as a bargaining chip.

August 17, 2016
Sen. Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania Republican. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Planned Parenthood targets Pat Toomey with $1.3 million ad buy

Planned Parenthood's campaign arm targeted incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey on Monday with a $1.3 million ad buy in Pennsylvania that says his anti-abortion stance is "dangerous for women" and doctors who provide the service.

August 15, 2016
President Obama speaks during a briefing on the ongoing response to the Zika virus with members of his public health team in the Oval Office of the White House on July 1, 2016. Joining Obama are Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell (left) and Dr. Tom Frieden (center), director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama admin cuts AIDS, drug rehab funding for Zika fight

The Obama administration is siphoning millions from AIDS programs, home-heating aid for poor Americans and drug-abuse treatment to keep the fight against the Zika virus moving amid a Capitol Hill standoff over more money to fight the global health scare.

August 12, 2016