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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Donald Trump implied that Fox News' Megyn Kelly possibly asked him tough questions at Thursday evening's GOP primary debate due to her menstrual cycle. Mr. Trump doubled down by citing his record on hiring and promoting women at his companies. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Donald Trump stands by comments about Fox News’ host Megyn Kelly

Real estate magnate Donald Trump refused to back down Sunday from comments about a Fox News host that were widely panned as sexist, as his roller-coaster campaign careered to uncomfortable heights amid a Republican presidential field clamoring for order and credibility.

August 9, 2015
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaks to the media during a news conference following a Senate policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) ** FILE **

Mitch McConnell eyes breakthroughs in thorny fall agenda

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell kicked off an August recess Thursday by chiding President Obama for his partisan rhetoric around the nuclear deal with Iran, saying the issue will require sober debate when lawmakers return after Labor Day.

August 6, 2015
FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2014 file photo, Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Governors across the political spectrum are hitting a roadblock in their bids to expand Medicaid with federal funds: Republican legislators who adamantly oppose “Obamacare.” While some of these governors themselves have criticized the president’s health care law in general, they’ve come to see one component -- Medicaid expansion -- as too generous to reject. But they’re battling conservative lawmakers who say it’s better to turn down billions of federal dollars than to expand Medicaid under the 2010 law (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File)

Banned Medicaid providers defy Obamacare rule, operate in other states: IG

Health providers banned from state Medicaid programs for fraud or other serious reasons are still doing business in other states despite Obamacare's prohibition on the practice, according to a government audit that said $7 million in payments would have been withheld if the states had a better way to communicate.

August 5, 2015
Sen. James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican, leaves a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 29, 2015, where Planned Parenthood was discussed. (Associated Press)

Senate GOP bill protects foes of Obama’s abortion, birth control rules

Senate Republicans filed a bill Tuesday that would bar the government from forcing employers to insure drugs and services that violate their moral beliefs, a move that taps into renewed debate over religious liberty, abortion and the persistent legal fight over Obamacare's birth-control mandate.

August 4, 2015
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, listens to remarks while addressing the media after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 21, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Senate passes multiyear highway bill, must negotiate with House this fall

The Senate passed a long-sought highway deal Thursday that authorizes projects for six years while paying for only half of it with a patchwork of funding streams, setting up a bid this fall to meld the plan with a roads bill from the House that would rely on tax reform instead.

July 30, 2015
Christina Hung (left), 23, of Oakland, fills out an application form during a health care enrollment event at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in Oakland, Calif., on March 31, 2014. State-run health insurance markets that offer taxpayer-subsidized coverage under President Barack Obama’s law are grappling with high costs and disappointing enrollment, challenges that could lead more of them to turn over functions to the federal government, or join forces with other states. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obamacare ‘co-ops’ flailing, falling behind on loans: audit

Obamacare's co-ops, designed to give more choices for insurance, lost hundreds of millions of dollars in their first year and didn't attract anywhere near as many customers as they had hoped, meaning they may go insolvent and default on taxpayer-funded loans, according to a government audit released Thursday.

July 30, 2015
FILE - In this July 9, 2015 file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Department of Veterans Affairs faces a serious numbers problem _ multiple in fact. It can't count how many veterans died while waiting to sign up for health care. It says some VA hospitals may have to close if the agency can't get $2.5 billion. And a year after scandal rocked the department, congressional Republicans want to know why the number of employees fired is so low. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

House, Senate find a way forward on highways

House Republicans said Tuesday they will vote on a three-month highway bill to keep road projects moving past Friday's funding deadline, offering a way out of a standoff with Senate leaders who barreled ahead with their own, multi-year bill before Congress leaves town next month.

July 28, 2015
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, last week brushed aside questions about the Confederate battle flag, saying conversations are continuing. He said Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, was his point man on the matter. (Associated Press)

Kevin McCarthy: House won’t take up Senate highway bill

House and Senate leaders refused to blink Monday in a cross-Capitol standoff over highway funding, edging Congress perilously close to a Friday deadline to keep road projects moving before lawmakers skip town for their August recess.

July 27, 2015