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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. A field trial releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida would not harm humans or the environment, according to documents released Friday, March 11, 2016 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency's Center for Veterinary Medicine released a preliminary finding of no significant impact for the trial of a method that aims to reduce populations of the mosquito that spreads dengue, chikungunya and the Zika virus among humans. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FDA gives preliminary approval to anti-Zika trial in Florida

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday tentatively approved a British company's request to release its genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, a trial aimed at slashing the number of insects that carry Zika virus.

March 11, 2016
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell speaks at the Treasury Department in Washington on July 28, 2014. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

HHS awards $94 million to combat opioid crisis

The Obama administration awarded $94 million in Obamacare money Friday to health centers on the front lines of the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic, one day after Democrats complained that a Senate-passed bill to combat the crisis lacked necessary funding.

March 11, 2016
A kit with naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, is displayed at the South Jersey AIDS Alliance in Atlantic City, N.J., on Feb. 19, 2014. An overdose of opiates essentially makes the body forget to breathe. Naloxone works by blocking the brain receptors that opiates latch onto and helping the body "remember" to take in air. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Senate easily passes bill to fight opioid, heroin epidemic

The Senate easily passed legislation Wednesday to combat the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic that is killing dozens of Americans each day, despite Democratic complaints that Congress hasn't provided enough funding to tackle the problem.

March 10, 2016
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

‘Motor-voter’ registration laws pitted against citizenship IDs in court case

A federal official overstepped his authority by allowing three states to demand proof of citizenship on the national "motor-voter" forms that help many Americans register to vote, the Obama administration and allied groups argued Wednesday in a case that pits one part of the federal government against another.

March 9, 2016
FILE - In this July 30, 2015 file photo, a sign supporting Medicare is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. Most Medicare beneficiaries will keep paying the same monthly premium for outpatient care in 2016, the Obama administration said Tuesday, Nov. 10. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Obama administration proposes new drug payment model

The Obama administration says it might overhaul how it pays doctors and hospitals for drugs they administer under Medicare Part B, arguing the reforms are needed to put patients before dollars and cents.

March 8, 2016
President Obama meets with members of his economic team in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 4, 2016. Obama spoke about U.S. employers adding 242,000 workers in February, driving another solid month for the resilient American job market. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

H&R Block: Customers paying twice as much to satisfy Obamacare penalty

Halfway through tax season, uninsured filers are paying more than twice as much as they did last year to satisfy Obamacare's penalty for lacking coverage, H&R Block said Tuesday, in an analysis that says other customers still cannot match their incomes to IRS subsidies they got on the law's exchanges.

March 8, 2016
Sen. Mike Enzi, Wyoming Republican, addresses reporters at the Wyoming Capitol in Cheyenne on Feb. 19, 2014. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Senate postpones action on 2017 budget amid conservative revolt in House

The Senate will postpone any action on the coming year's budget, a GOP chairman said Monday in the clearest sign yet that Republican leaders will struggle to forge a unified blueprint amid grumbling from conservatives and defense hawks over spending levels the parties agreed to in the fall.

March 7, 2016
President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act, Thursday, March 3, 2016, at the United Community Center in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Obama: 20M gained coverage under health law

President Obama took a victory lap Thursday in Milwaukee to celebrate his health overhaul's gains there and announce that 20 million Americans have gained coverage under his signature law.

March 3, 2016
This Nov. 11, 2014, file photo shows the U.S. Capitol Building illuminated by the setting sun on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

D.C. appeals court grapples with Congress’ ‘Obamacare exemption’

A D.C. appeals court struggled Wednesday to see how a city resident was directly harmed by Congress' decision to label itself a small business so that lawmakers and staff could comply with Obamacare and still keep employer subsidies that make their coverage affordable.

March 2, 2016
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act would help states monitor prescribing practices, expand the number of sites where parents can dispose of unneeded painkillers and distribute more naloxone — a treatment that can reverse the effects of an overdose. (Associated Press)

Senate drug epidemic bill snared in funding debate

The Senate voted Monday to take up legislation to fight the opioid and heroin epidemic that is ravaging communities across the nation, though the bipartisan bill could turn into an election-year football.

February 29, 2016