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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

In this Thursday, May 3, 2018, photo, U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-California, poses for a picture in the Venice community of Los Angeles. Members of the Asian-American community are running for federal office from all corners of the country, dozens of them as Democratic candidates deliberately playing up their Asian roots in opposition to a president they say demonizes the immigrants that make America great. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Ted Lieu plays tape of crying children from House floor

Rep. Ted Lieu of California violated House rules Friday by playing a recording of crying children who were separated from their parents at the border, ignoring a presiding officer who implored him to stop.

June 22, 2018
This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

House passes sweeping opioids bill

The House passed a massive opioid bill Friday to expand treatment options, block the flow of deadly fentanyl into the U.S. and reduce the number of addictive pills in circulation -- an unusual display of bipartisanship in a bitter election year, even as Democrats grumbled that GOP leaders still aren't doing enough.

June 22, 2018
"Democrats have taken a walk on this thing," said House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican. (Associated Press)

House Republicans cancel immigration votes

Staring at a certain defeat, House Republicans canceled votes on their immigration compromise Thursday -- an embarrassing setback for leaders who'd thought they'd finally been able to wrangle some unanimity on an issue that's bedeviled them for years.

June 21, 2018
Shoes and a teddy bear, brought by a group of U.S. mayors, are piled up outside a holding facility for immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas, near the Mexican border, Thursday, June 21, 2018. Mayors from more than a dozen U.S. cities including New York and Los Angeles gathered near the holding facility to call for the immediate reunification of immigrant children with their families. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Separated children may develop ‘toxic stress,’ say health experts

Children separated from their parents at the U.S. border can suffer from "toxic stress" that leads to brain damage and problems later in life, mental health experts said Thursday, warning of depression and anger, learning disorders and the inability to accept love.

June 21, 2018
FILE - In this May 16, 2013, file photo, House Transportation and Infrastructure Full Committee member Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. The debate over the effectiveness of self-imposed term limits arose again when Mullin appeared noncommittal about leaving Congress in 2018 despite a pledge to serve only serve six years. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

House passes bill to make patient history of drug use more accessible

The House passed bills Wednesday that combat the opioid crisis by making it easier for a doctor to find out if a patient has a history of drug abuse and expanding the number of places where states can send addicted patients and get Medicaid dollars to pay for it.

June 20, 2018
FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order on health care in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Striving to fulfill a campaign promise, the Trump administration Thursday proposed regulations to facilitate interstate sale of health insurance policies that cost less but may not cover as much. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

NY, Mass. AGs sue over Trump’s Obamacare end-run for small business

Two blue states said Wednesday they will sue the Trump administration over its decision to get around Obamacare by letting small employers and self-employed people pool together and buy health plans that are cheaper and cover fewer benefits than what the 2010 law dictates.

June 20, 2018
In this Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, file photo, a man plays a game at the Paris Games Week in Paris. The World Health Organization says that compulsively playing video games now qualifies as a new mental health condition, in a move that some critics warn may risk stigmatizing its young players. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu, File)

WHO classifies compulsive gaming as a disorder

The World Health Organization said Monday it plans to classify compulsive video-game playing as an addictive disorder, saying while sessions of "Fortnite" or "Candy Crush Saga" can be simple pleasures for some, they've reached serious, life-disrupting levels among a sliver of the gaming community.

June 18, 2018
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar prepares to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Before joining the Trump Cabinet, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major pharmaceutical drug company. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Patient groups leap into latest Obamacare fight

Patient advocates will tell a federal judge on Thursday to reject the Trump administration's position that much of Obamacare is now illegal, warning that if more people are kicked out of their health plans, "they die."

June 13, 2018
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, greets Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar the witness at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Alex Azar, Democrats clash over drug company rebates

The Trump administration may demand drug companies offer fixed discounts to lower prices, Health Secretary Alex M. Azar II said Tuesday, saying the current system of drug companies offering complex rebates isn't producing enough savings for consumers.

June 12, 2018
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., left, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, greets Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar the witness at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Before joining the Trump Cabinet, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major pharmaceutical drug company. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Lamar Alexander protests push to end Obamacare protections

Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander on Tuesday challenged the Trump administration's response to the latest suit against Obamacare, saying there is "no way" Capitol Hill lawmakers intended to let the 2010 program's protections for sick Americans fall by the wayside.

June 12, 2018
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar prepares to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Before joining the Trump Cabinet, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major pharmaceutical drug company. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Alex Azar, HHS chief: Refusal to defend Obamacare is a ‘legal’ position

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Tuesday said the Justice Department's decision not to defend Obamacare against a state-driven lawsuit is a "legal position" -- not a "policy position" -- and that President Trump still feels sicker Americans deserve access to affordable health insurance.

June 12, 2018
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar prepares to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a hearing on prescription drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Before joining the Trump Cabinet, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major pharmaceutical drug company. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats to Trump: Where are the drug-price cuts?

Democrats pressed President Trump to deliver on his push to slash drug costs Tuesday, saying they're still waiting for the "volunteer massive" drops in prices he hinted at two weeks ago.

June 12, 2018
FILE - This Aug. 15, 2017 file photo shows an arrangement of pills of the opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen in New York. American Dental Association on Monday, March 26, 2018, said it is pressing for seven-day prescription limits and mandatory education that encourages using other painkillers. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File) **FILE**

House set to vote on measures for fighting opioid addiction

The House will take its first major steps to change the policies that fuel the addiction, hoping to alter the prescription regime that gets some people hooked, reel in leftover pills that fuel addiction and disrupt the supply chain of illegal heroin and fentanyl that is killing thousands of people per year

June 11, 2018
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stabbed President Trump in the back with amateurish attacks over trade, White House officials said Sunday. (Associated Press)

Justin Trudeau’s remarks rile Donald Trump’s aides

President Trump stirred up a hornet's nest during last week's summit of major world leaders, suggesting they agree to embrace a full free-trade world with no tariffs or barriers -- and then withdrawing from the summit's joint communique after he felt insulted.

June 10, 2018
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during a press conference with Senator Chris Coons in Amman, Jordan, Monday, Feb. 20, 2018. Graham, the chairman of a U.S. Senate panel dealing with foreign aid said Tuesday that a new agreement granting Jordan $1.275 billion a year through 2022 “is a floor” and that Congress is likely to authorize additional financial support for the kingdom. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Lindsey Graham says Donald Trump ‘not going to capitulate’ to North Korea

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says President Trump is "very much ready" to set the table for a peaceful resolution to North Korea's nuclear threat, though he won't back down "like we've done in the past." "Donald Trump is not going to capitulate, so there's really only two options -- peace or war," Mr. Graham told ABC's This Week on Sunday.

June 10, 2018