Tom Howell Jr.

Quirky new Toronto ad campaign promises bad behavior, just not ‘Rob Ford’ bad

A group attempting to unseat Toronto Mayor Rob Mayor after a year marked by his outlandish behavior and confessions of crack use has launched a novel ad campaign pitting kinda-bad behavior against the current mayor's.

March 31, 2014

More gaining insurance than losing it under Obamacare: report

At least 9 million previously uninsured Americans have gained health coverage through Obamacare through a mix of private enrollment, Medicaid and a part of the law that allows young people to stay on their parents' plans, according to the Los Angeles Times.

March 31, 2014

White House strikes upbeat tone amid worries about Obamacare’s future

A top White House aide said Monday he is optimistic about how Obamacare will turn out in its first year, despite a disastrous debut last fall, questions about sliding deadlines and worries that premiums could rise in the coming year.

March 31, 2014

Hispanic voters disillusioned with political climate; trend could harm Democrats

Immigrant-rights advocates are reporting a spike in disillusionment with both parties among Hispanics, a vital and growing voting bloc that's boosted Democrats' advantages at the ballot box in recent years, The New York Times said Sunday.

March 31, 2014

Error messages mar last day of Obamacare enrollment

Some users of the main Obamacare portal, HealthCare.gov, encountered error messages on the website Monday morning — the last day to sign up for policies before the health care law begins to penalize Americans for lacking health insurance.

March 31, 2014

Va. voters support medical marijuana by wide margin, divided over personal use: poll

Virginia voters support medical marijuana by an overwhelming margin, 84-13 percent, but they're divided on whether the drug should be legalized for recreational use, said the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

March 31, 2014

Lawmakers aim for diplomacy in Russian dealings

Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian officials Sunday to discuss a diplomatic solution to tensions along Ukraine's borders, as American lawmakers expressed concerns that Vladimir Putin has designs on more territory in the region.

March 30, 2014

Sen. Wyden: U.S. intelligen​ce community needs to be more transparen​t; reforms will help

A top Democratic senator says President Obama's decision to slow down the U.S. government's bulk collection of phone records, placing more faith in private companies, is a step in the right direction.

March 30, 2014

N.J. Democrat: Much too early to say what Gov. Chris Christie knew about Bridgegate

A top Democrat in New Jersey's Legislature said Sunday it is "far too early" to conclude whether Gov. Chris Christie knew about toll-lane closings that caused massive traffic problems near the George Washington Bridge and sparked a political scandal that could roil the 2016 presidential race.

March 30, 2014

On cusp of deadline, parties offer competing visions of Obamacare’​s success

President Obama and his supporters are encouraging Americans to "get covered" in the final hours of the health care law's enrollment period, a six-month trial that courted disaster and criticism but could end with the White House claiming victory on its own terms.

March 30, 2014

Rep. Mike Rogers: Putin wants to link up new territory in south Ukraine

Rep. Mike Rogers said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin shows no signs of retreat after annexing Crimea from the Ukraine, but he wouldn't bet on intrusions into the eastern swath of the country.

March 30, 2014

Obamacare health exchange enrollment meets goal

President Obama said Thursday that 6 million people have enrolled in health exchanges, putting the administration over its revised goal with four days to spare before the deadline.

March 27, 2014

Obama says 6 million have enrolled through his health care law

Top health officials held up the announcement as a sign of momentum before Monday's deadline to sign up for private health coverage on the federal HealthCare.gov portal or one of 15 state-based health exchanges.

March 27, 2014

House votes to thwart cuts to Medicare payments; quick vote stirs controversy

Democrats such as Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey said Congress could still approve a new structure that scraps the unpopular Medicare formula and replaces it with a permanent system that rewards doctors for quality of care, a longstanding goal for both parties.

March 27, 2014

Obama administration: Don’t know how many will benefit from sign-up delay

The Obama administration that it doesn't know how many people will take advantage of the latest extension to buy insurance on the health care exchanges, in a move that signals just how determined President Obama is to make his law's economics work.

March 26, 2014

Harry Reid defends Obamacare delay: Some folks ‘not educated on how to use the Internet’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday defended the Obama administration's decision to let people finish their Obamacare applications after the Monday deadline, saying some Americans simply "are not educated on how to use the Internet."

March 26, 2014

GOP lawmakers slam latest Obamacare delay

Congressional Republicans lined up Wednesday to cry foul over the Obama administration's decision to let people sign up for health plans on the Obamacare marketplace even if they do not finish the process by Monday's deadline.

March 26, 2014

Amid high-profile arguments, Supreme Court has a few laughs

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is known to be blunt at times, and he told it straight Tuesday after the justices upheld a lower court's ruling and overturned another.

March 25, 2014

Female Supreme Court justices worry about corporations using religious objections to duck rules

The Supreme Court searched Tuesday for ways to let women get birth control without the government forcing their employers to cover the cost, as justices tried to balance business owners' religious rights against allowing religious objections to a broad range of public policy issues.

March 25, 2014

GAO sees hurdles blocking e-records

Government investigators say unclear standards and funding problems are thwarting medical providers from shifting to electronic health records and sharing their data, an ambition that's supposed to save the U.S. health care system billions of dollars each year.

March 24, 2014