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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell (Associated Press) **FILE**

Zika vaccine to be funded by siphoning medical research funds

The Obama administration said Thursday it will begin siphoning money from critical medical research accounts to prop up the fight against Zika, as Republicans and Democrats continued to accuse each other of posturing in the face of a global health scare that's reached the U.S. mainland.

August 11, 2016
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden (center) with Florida Gov. Rick Scott (left) and Florida Surgeon General and Secretary Dr. Celeste Philip, said no one should be surprised if more infections are detected despite and urged pregnant women to stay away from the area. (Associated Press)

Zika mosquito spraying working in Florida, officials say

Federal and state officials said Thursday that aerial spraying "killed a lot of mosquitoes" that might be carrying the Zika virus across Miami, as President Obama and his Democratic allies prodded Republicans to return from a summer recess and cut a deal over federal funding to combat the disease.

August 4, 2016
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden, center, gestures as he speaks with members of the media after a news conference, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Doral, Fla. The CDC has warned expectant mothers to steer clear of the city's Wynwood neighborhood, where at least 15 people are believed to have been infected with the Zika virus through mosquito bites in the first such cases on record in the mainland U.S. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Zika fight: Senate Democrats, Speaker Paul Ryan trade barbs over virus

Federal and state officials said Thursday that aerial spraying "killed a lot of mosquitoes" that might be carrying the Zika virus across Miami, as President Obama and his Democratic allies prodded Republicans to return from a summer recess and cut a deal over federal funding to combat the disease.

August 4, 2016
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen in a mosquito cage at a laboratory in Cucuta, Colombia, on Feb. 11, 2016. (Associated Press) **FILE**

NIH starts human trial for Zika vaccine

The Obama administration said Wednesday it is starting the first stage of human trials for a Zika vaccine but fears there will not be a second phase unless Congress breaks an impasse over federal funding to combat the mosquito-borne disease.

August 3, 2016
An inspector with the Miami-Dade County mosquito control department looks for pools of standing water, which often serve as a breeding ground for the Zika-carrying insects. (Associated Press)

Zika virus trackers say threat stirs much more buzz than bite

A small Zika outbreak in Miami is raising the stakes in an election year funding fight on Capitol Hill, though disease trackers say the virus still poses a limited threat to the continental U.S. compared with elsewhere in the Americas, with local cases likely to max out in the "hundreds" through the rest of mosquito season.

August 2, 2016
President Barack Obama, with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, speaks during a state arrival ceremony for the Singaporean prime minister on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Obamacare may lose Aetna in some states

One of the nation's largest insurers said Tuesday it might exit Obamacare's web-based exchanges in some states, delivering another blow to President Obama's signature law in the final months of his tenure.

August 2, 2016
Florida Gov. Rick Scott speaks at a news conference, Friday, July 29, 2016, in Orlando, Fla., where he announced that the state likely has the first cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland. (Naseem Miller/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Florida identifies 10 additional Zika cases by mosquito bite

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday took the unusual step of advising pregnant women to avoid a section of Miami where the Zika virus appears to be spreading by mosquito bite, after the tally of known infections from the square-mile zone jumped from four to 14 in just three days.

August 1, 2016
A female Aedes aegypti mosquito acquires a blood meal on the arm of a researcher at the Biomedical Sciences Institute in the Sao Paulo's University in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in this Jan. 18, 2016, file photo. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

FDA tells Florida counties to stop collecting blood, citing Zika

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday two Florida counties should "cease collecting blood immediately" until they are able to screen each donation for Zika, a direct response to four infections in the region that do not appear to be linked to travel.

July 28, 2016
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., delivers his speech titled "America's Enduring Commitment to Security and Prosperity in Asia" at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Distinguished Public Lecture on Friday, June 3, 2016, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) ** FILE **

John McCain won’t desert Donald Trump, despite ‘strong’ differences

Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he is sticking by the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump despite "strong" differences over national security, notably the mogul's suggestions that he would check whether NATO member countries had fulfilled their financial obligations before coming to their aid.

July 27, 2016
Flowers, candles and messages are placed outside the home of the Rev. Jacques Hamel, a Catholic priest who was forced to his knees by Islamic State terrorists before his killing during morning Mass in northern France. (Associated Press)

ISIS terrorists slit Catholic priest’s throat at altar, videotape ‘sermon’ in Arabic

A pair of Islamic State-linked terrorists slit a priest's throat at the altar of a Catholic church in northern France on Tuesday before videotaping a "sermon" in Arabic to mark the ritualistic slaughter -- the fourth attack in a week by the terrorist group, which since June has claimed responsibility for killing more than 600 people in several countries, including the U.S.

July 26, 2016
Republican presidential Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence celebrate after Mr. Trump's acceptance speech Thursday, the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (Associated Press)

Donald Trump’s Republican convention unlike any other

Though Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again," harks back to another time, his coronation in Ohio felt like a groundbreaking affair. The Jumbotron screens were bigger, the security was tighter and Twitter messages flashed across the top of Quicken Loans Arena.

July 24, 2016
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan speaks during the second day of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday in Cleveland. (Associated Press)

Paul Ryan struggles to pitch House Republicans’ agenda

House Republicans were counting on their own agenda to help put some distance between themselves and Donald Trump, but their six-plank plan, which Speaker Paul D. Ryan and fellow leaders released last month with great fanfare inside the Beltway, has landed with a thud elsewhere.

July 20, 2016