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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

**FILE** Speaker of the House John Boehner, Ohio Republican, and GOP leaders talk to reporters following a Republican strategy session at the Capitol on Sept. 10, 2013. (Associated Press)

GOP critics point to Benghazi amid Sept. 11 ceremonies

While federal lawmakers from both parties remember the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Republicans also point to lingering questions from the attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya one year ago.

September 11, 2013
**FILE** President Obama, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, announces the revamp of his contraception policy requiring religious institutions to fully pay for birth control on Feb. 10, 2012, at the White House. (Associated Press)

Republicans see security, readiness problems with health care data hub

President Obama's health care law continues to drop in the polls and faces ever more pressure on Capitol Hill, where Republicans on Wednesday said they doubted the data hub at the center of Obamacare either will be ready on time or be secure enough to protect Americans' privacy.

September 11, 2013
**FILE** Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican (Associated Press)

Sen. John McCain: Syrian rebels will feel abandoned

Republican Sen. John McCain said Wednesday President Obama struck an emotional chord with the American public late Tuesday, but he was "very disappointed" that he did not lay out a plan to arm vetted rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad.

September 11, 2013

Senate pressed on Obamacare

Top House Republicans on Tuesday challenged Senate Democrats to hold a vote on legislation to defund President Obama's health care law as part of any spending deal this month — but they were facing a potential rebellion within their own ranks because the move wouldn't force an all-or-nothing showdown.

September 10, 2013
Shamu in "Believe," SeaWorld Orlando Florida

Obamacare casualty: SeaWorld’s Shamu

The SeaWorld chain of amusement parks is cutting hours for thousands of its part-time workers from 32 hours per week to 28 hours as of November, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

September 10, 2013
** FILE ** Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican (Associated Press)

GOP rallies support to end Congress’s Obamacare exemption

Rep. Phil Gingrey, Georgia Republican, introduced a bill Tuesday that would reverse the Obama administration's decision to let members of Congress and their staffs retain an employer subsidy that will pay for the lion's share of their health premiums even as they enter new health exchanges tied to Obamacare.

September 10, 2013
**FILE** Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican, speaks to reporters on Jan. 9, 2013, in Nashville. (Associated Press)

Blunt, Alexander, Heitkamp join growing ranks of anti-war senators

Republican Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said Monday they are opposed to military action in Syria, adding to an ever-increasing tally of senators who will not back President Obama's bid to punish President Bashar Assad for a chemical attack on Aug. 21.

September 9, 2013
** FILE ** In this Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013, file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech at an Iftar dinner with political and religious figures in Damascus, Syria. (AP Photo/SANA, File)

Syrian President Bashar Assad: There’s no evidence I used chemical weapons

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Monday that Americans that they should "expect everything" in response to a U.S. military strike on his country, a declaration that many viewed as a chilling sign his regime could rely on allies like Iran and Hezbollah and does not feel hamstrung by its own limitations.

September 9, 2013
FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate told the Arizona governor his agency had provided a Fire Management Assistance Grant in June, but that he had to reject a request for aid under a program for individuals and households.

Obama pressed on Ariz. fatal-fire relief

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and federal lawmakers are pressuring the Obama administration to reconsider its decision not to grant major-disaster aid to residents affected by the Yarnell Hill Fire, an early summer tragedy that killed 19 firefighters and prompted nationwide mourning.

September 8, 2013
** FILE ** President Obama stands with families who benefited from the health care law provision that provides consumers with a refund if their insurance company doesn’t spend the majority of premium dollars on medical care, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, July 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Minnesota boasts of low coverage costs under Obamacare

Minnesota's insurance officials said Friday the state will offer some the lowest health insurance rates in the country on the state health exchange it will launch this fall to satisfy a key pillar of President Obama's new health care law.

September 6, 2013