Tom Howell Jr.

Italy mandates COVID-19 vaccine for 60 and up; Austria, Greece also imposed sweeping rules

Italy is requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for persons over 50, making it the latest European nation to take drastic steps to increase uptake and ease the strain on hospitals.

January 6, 2022

White House says schools should remain open as Democratic leaders, teachers’ unions clash

The White House issued a loud call to keep schools open Wednesday after the Chicago Teachers Union bucked city leaders and voted in favor of remote teaching, forcing the public school system to cancel classes and marking a new high point in the clash between Democratic leaders and their union allies.

January 5, 2022

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says city will weather omicron surge

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday his city can weather the winter coronavirus surge and keep its schools and businesses open despite fears over the omicron variant.

January 5, 2022

Supreme Court: All nine justices got COVID-19 booster

All nine members of the Supreme Court have received a COVID-19 booster shot, the court said Tuesday, days before the justices hear arguments over President Biden's vaccine requirements at workplaces.

January 5, 2022

Biden pleads for vaccinations and boosters to blunt worst impacts of omicron wave

President Biden tried to calm nerves around the omicron wave Tuesday, saying free available vaccines should blunt bad outcomes amid a record-breaking tally of COVID-19 cases from the variant.

January 4, 2022

Chicago schools scrap classes after union backs remote learning because of COVID-19 surge

Chicago public schools canceled classes Wednesday and face an uncertain future after nearly three-quarters of the Chicago Teachers Union voted to revert to remote learning because of a coronavirus surge, prompting a standoff with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and school administrators who want students to remain in the classroom.

January 4, 2022

CDC says omicron now accounts for 95% of sequenced cases

Omicron accounted for 95% of sequenced coronavirus samples in the U.S. during the week ending Jan. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday, underscoring how swiftly the variant has elbowed out other strains.

January 4, 2022

GOP lawmakers urge SCOTUS to strike down Biden workplace vaccine-or-test order

Nearly all Senate Republicans and two-thirds of House GOP members urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to strike down President Biden's COVID-19 vaccinate-or-test rule on private employers, arguing in a legal brief that Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials went beyond the scope of powers granted to it by Congress.

January 4, 2022

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bemoans COVID-19 panic in other states

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bemoaned the COVID-19 "hysteria" gripping other states and said mitigation measures like cloth masks are likely ineffective against the latest variant during a news conference on Monday.

January 4, 2022

Sen. Rob Portman reports positive COVID test before returning to D.C.

Congress is getting slammed by COVID-19 like the rest of the country, with positivity rates soaring and a growing roster of members reporting infections.

January 4, 2022

I-95 motorists stuck for hours in horrific, icy standstill in Va.; Northam defends state’s response

Transportation officials said Interstate 95 had been mostly cleared early Tuesday evening of the hundreds of stranded motorists stuck in their vehicles, many of them overnight, after icy conditions led to crashes involving tractor-trailers that closed the highway in both directions near Fredericksburg, Virginia.

January 4, 2022

Joe Rogan podcast comparing COVID-19 vaccine hype to Nazis is entered into Congressional Record

A Texas Republican on Monday said he found a way around "Big Tech" censorship -- put the content into the Congressional Record.

January 3, 2022

Former VP Mike Pence asks Supreme Court to block Biden OSHA mandate

Former Vice President Mike Pence and his political advocacy group filed a brief Monday that asks the Supreme Court to block President Biden's vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses.

January 3, 2022

FDA clears Pfizer COVID booster for ages 12 to 15, shortens wait time for others amid omicron

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared booster shots from Pfizer-BioNTech for Americans ages 12 to 15 and allowed people to get booster shots sooner, pointing to the omicron surge as the reason.

January 3, 2022

School districts grapple with union demands, potential Chicago teachers walkout

The Chicago Teachers Union could refuse to work in person as of Wednesday, raising the prospect of a debilitating standoff over omicron as schools across the country delay openings, consider remote options and mandate testing amid a record-breaking surge of coronavirus infections.

January 3, 2022

Airline chaos: 15,000 flights scrapped since Christmas Eve due to wintry weather, omicron surge

Airlines have canceled more than 15,000 flights since Christmas Eve as industry chaos persisted through the weekend, with 2,700 flights canceled Sunday on top of 2,700 flights that were scrapped on New Year's Day.

January 3, 2022

Biden to promote meat-industry overhaul, hoping to rein in prices

President Biden on Monday will promote an overhaul of the meat-packing industry as he blames rising consumer prices and dwindling farmers' profits on the handful of large 'middlemen' who dominate the processing segment of the supply chain.

January 3, 2022

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says schools will remain open, subways will be safer

New York City Mayor Eric Adams pledged Monday to keep students in the classroom and restore order on the subway system as the new mayor faces the twin challenges of a surging coronavirus variant and rising crime.

January 3, 2022

Biden’s Christmas crisis: 2021 ends with 400K more COVID-19 deaths

President Biden won the White House on a pledge to crush the coronavirus through a commitment to science, testing for anyone who wants it, and a major vaccine sprint in his first 100 days in office.

December 25, 2021

COVID-19 undermines Biden’s competence argument heading into the New Year

The coronavirus is infecting President Biden's image. Mr. Biden won the public's trust with his vow to do more to stop the spread of the virus than his predecessor, but 11 months into his tenure the public is growing weary of surging cases and new variants.

December 23, 2021