Tom Howell Jr.

Voters split over Obamacare, but most want candidates to move on: poll

More than half of voters say they're tired of hearing congressional candidates talk about Obamacare and "wish they would move on to other issues," while just over four in 10 want the discussion to continue, according to a monthly tracking poll released Tuesday.

October 21, 2014

Americans now see Ebola as a top national issue, behind the economy but tied with the Islamic State

For the first time, Ebola ranks among the top-10 issues Americans see as key issues for the country, according to a Gallup poll that puts the deadly virus behind topics like the economy, immigration and health care but tied with issues like education and the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

October 21, 2014

Ebola vaccine abandoned in 2008 after showing promise in trials

The pitch was intriguing: U.S. health officials wanted to fast-track trials for an Ebola vaccine and sounded the call for volunteers.

October 20, 2014

Nigeria declared Ebola-free; Africa’s most populous nation given all-clear by World Health Org

The World Health Organization said Monday that Nigeria is Ebola-free, three days after it made a similar declaration about the coastal African nation of Senegal.

October 20, 2014

Welcome people out of Ebola quarantine, Dallas official urges

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins called on Texans Monday to welcome people at risk for Ebola back into the community after three emotional weeks of isolation.

October 20, 2014

WHO: Ebola outbreak in Senegal is officially over

The World Health Organization on Friday declared the Ebola outbreak in Senegal over and congratulated the country on "its diligence to end the transmission of the virus."

October 17, 2014

GOP lawmakers call on Congress to reconvene to address Ebola

Two Republican lawmakers say Congress should reconvene to address the Ebola threat to the U.S., citing the Obama administration's reluctance to establish a travel ban among passengers West African countries hard-hit by the virus.

October 17, 2014

Rick Perry calls for travel ban due to Ebola

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday joined a chorus of politicians calling for a travel ban on passengers from West Africa, where Ebola has killed more than 4,000.

October 17, 2014

Nina Pham, first nurse to get Ebola, in ‘high spirits’ at Md. facility

The first Dallas nurse to test positive for Ebola after treating a Liberian national with the virus has been successfully transferred from the Texas hospital where she works to what officials termed the "house of hope" — a massive research center in suburban Washington.

October 17, 2014

Ron Klain named Ebola czar by President Obama

Responding to urgent calls from Congress and a fearful public, President Obama has tapped a former White House official to serve as his "Ebola czar."

October 17, 2014

Airborne Ebola outbreak in monkeys raises possibility virus could mutate

Both President Obama and his top infectious disease experts tried to calm Americans' fears about Ebola this week by saying the current outbreak cannot be transmitted through the air. But less than 30 miles from where top government officials made their declarations in Washington, scientists a quarter century ago did in fact prove that an Ebola strain contained to monkeys could spread airborne.

October 16, 2014

Ebola possibility ‘low’ for Va. inmate, officials say

It is unlikely that a Virginia inmate who traveled to West Africa in recent weeks and presented a low-grade fever has the Ebola virus, Loudoun County officials said Thursday.

October 16, 2014

First Dallas nurse to contract Ebola headed for D.C. suburb

The first Texas nurse to contract Ebola while treating a Liberian patient is scheduled to be transferred to a leading research center in suburban Washington.

October 16, 2014

Poor Ebola response isn’t about budget cuts, former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson says

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Thursday the sluggish response to Ebola and the lack of a vaccine is due to poor coordination and lax attention to the virus, not money issues.

October 16, 2014

Public interest group sues D.C. Obamacare exchange for letting Congress apply for coverage

A conservative public-interest law firm sued the D.C. health exchange Wednesday for letting members of Congress get health insurance through their small-business portal even though each chamber on Capitol Hill employs thousands of people.

October 15, 2014

Obamacare website CEO sees rosier 2015

The man in charge of the HealthCare.gov said the Obama administration is starting to notify customers who bought health coverage during Obamacare's first year that they need to re-enroll this fall.

October 15, 2014

Second health care worker with Ebola to be transported to Atlanta

The second health care worker in Texas who tested positive for Ebola should not have traveled by air with other passenger the day before she reported symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday, although she will be transferred to a specially equipped hospital in Atlanta.

October 15, 2014

Ebola expert teams ready to respond to new patients in U.S.

A Dallas nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for an infected patient said Tuesday she is "doing well," even as officials announced measures to keep health care workers safe and avoid missteps that may have let the deadly virus spread to a second person in the U.S.

October 14, 2014

Udall takes Gardner’s Medicare record to task in Colorado debate

Seated onstage across from his Republican challenger, Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado needed fewer than 40 words to sum up four years of squabbling over Medicare and federal spending.

October 14, 2014

CDC Director Tom Frieden: Ebola response teams ready to help any U.S. hospital

The official spearheading the U.S. response to Ebola announced Tuesday that expert teams will respond to any new cases within hours, a reaction to "loud and clear" complaints from health care workers who do not know how to treat the deadly virus.

October 14, 2014