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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, samples of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, responsible for transmitting dengue and Zika, sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz Institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Tom Frieden, CDC chief, says Americans ‘deserve’ more Zika funding

The chief of the Centers for Disease Control said Thursday the U.S. needs new funding to "provide the protection that Americans deserve" against the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne virus that's been linked to serious birth defects in Latin America and has infected hundreds in Puerto Rico.

March 31, 2016
FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, file photo, a medical researcher uses a monitor that shows the results of blood tests for various diseases, including Zika, at the Gorgas Memorial laboratory in Panama City. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday, March 30, 2016, they are granting use of an experimental blood test to screen blood for Zika virus, an emergency step that will help protect local blood supplies from the mosquito-borne virus. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco, File)

Zika-affected areas can screen blood with experimental test: FDA

Puerto Rico and other areas with active transmission of Zika virus can use an experimental test to screen local blood donations for the mosquito-borne disease that's been linked to serious birth defects, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

March 30, 2016
Nuns have fought legal requirements to provide birth control to their employees at Roman Catholic charities. (Associated Press/File)

Supreme Court seeks new remedy in birth control case

The Supreme Court appears to be searching for a middle ground on the Obamacare contraceptive mandate, issuing an order Tuesday asking both the government and the religious charities challenging the rules to try to come up with options that can accommodate both sides.

March 29, 2016
In this Tuesday, March 1, 2016, photograph, Dr. Josh Blum demonstrates how to administer a dose of naloxone while conferring with the inmate at the Denver County Jail in downtown Denver. Jails and correction agencies across the country such as Denver are teaching soon-to-be-released inmates how to use the heroin overdose antidote called naloxone, either to save others and sometimes themselves. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) ** FILE **

White House unveils long list of efforts to combat opioid abuse

President Obama proposed a series of steps Tuesday to save addicts who've been swept up by the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic, from allowing doctors to perform medication-based treatment on more patients to expanding the use of an overdose-reversing drug.

March 29, 2016
President Barack Obama shares a humorous moment with a group of doctors from around the country in the Oval Office, Oct. 5, 2009, prior to a health insurance reform event at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

D.C. is worst place for doctors to practice: WalletHub

The nation's capital is the worst place for doctors to practice, according to a survey released Tuesday that looked at wages, the cost of malpractice and other factors that face a set of professionals who are highly paid and respected, yet reeling from student debt and an ever-shifting landscape.

March 28, 2016
Shavonne Bullock, a recovering heroin addict, holds a demonstration dose of the medication Suboxone during an appointment at the West Division Family Health Center in Chicago on March 11, 2013. Each dose is incorporated on a dissolvable film, which is placed below the tongue where is dissolves and is absorbed into the bloodstream. Suboxone helps suppress withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings for people recovering from addiction to opioid drugs. (Associated Press) **FILE**

HHS says Medicaid expansion will combat opioid crisis, mental illness

Nearly 2 million uninsured people with a mental illness or substance-abuse problem live in states that haven't expanded Medicaid, the administration said Monday in a report that urges state Republicans to embrace Obamacare as a pathway to recovery and economic growth.

March 28, 2016
FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. A new study suggests the worrisome Zika virus apparently has been in Brazil at least a year longer than experts previously thought. Some experts have speculated the virus first came to the Americas sometime in 2014. But the new study, led by Brazilian researchers, concludes Zika landed in Brazil a year earlier. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Zika probably hit Brazil in 2013, before World Cup: Study

Zika virus probably arrived in Brazil in mid-2013, researchers said Thursday in a study that says the World Cup soccer tournament and other stand-alone events probably aren't to blame for the outbreak that's been linked to serious birth defects in Latin America.

March 24, 2016
In this Oct. 6, 2015, file photo, the HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, is displayed on a laptop screen in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

HealthCare.gov suffered 316 security incidents: gov’t report

The Obama administration reported more than 300 security incidents on its main Obamacare website during an 18-month span, according to a nonpartisan report Wednesday that says HealthCare.gov is weaker than it should be behind the scenes, despite front-end upgrades for consumers.

March 23, 2016
Nuns with the Little Sisters of The Poor, including Sister Celestine, left, and Sister Jeanne Veronique, center, rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, as the court hears arguments to allow birth control in health care plans in the Zubik vs. Burwell case. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ** FILE **

Birth control carve-out in Obamacare splits the Supreme Court

Catholic nuns and religious nonprofits that object to paying for employee contraceptives faced a deeply divided Supreme Court on Wednesday, as the liberal justices warned against allowing faith-based objections to stymie important government goals such as expanding access to women's health care.

March 23, 2016
House Speaker Paul Ryan (Associated Press)

Paul Ryan’s budget plan crushed by House conservative rebellion

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday that he still wants Congress to pass a budget this year, but a conservative rebellion has likely squelched those chances, forcing Republicans to plow ahead with the annual spending bills without the guidance of a full plan for the money.

March 22, 2016
House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., joined by the House GOP leadership, talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 22, 2016, following a closed-door caucus meeting. In a response to a reporter’s question, Ryan said he's not worried that Donald Trump will cost Republicans control of the chamber in November's election. With Trump leading the race for the GOP presidential nomination, some in the party worry that his unbridled comments about women, Hispanics and others will cost Republican candidates in swing House districts. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Paul Ryan still pushing for GOP budget

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday that he wants to adopt a fiscal 2017 budget before annual spending bills hit the floor, though conservatives who balked at last year's bipartisan spending deal said they cannot support a blueprint until Congress cuts $30 billion as part of must-pass legislation.

March 22, 2016