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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

** FILE ** Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt. (Screen grab from http://www.oag.ok.gov)

Judge: Oklahoma can pursue case against Obamacare tax credits

A federal judge says the state of Oklahoma can pursue a lawsuit against the Obama administration that claims the federal government is unlawfully extending tax credits to states that opted not to set up their own insurance exchanges under the new health care law.

August 13, 2013
**FILE** Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 7, 2013. (Associated Press)

Rand Paul: Obamacare authors have ‘really small brains’

Sen. Rand Paul outlined his fears about President Obama's health care law on "The Daily Show" late Monday, arguing "dinosaur syndrome" has prevented well-intentioned authors of the law from crafting effective reforms.

August 13, 2013
Tunisian women pray near the Zitouna mosque for the Eid al-Fitr prayer, Thursday, Aug.8, 2013, in Tunis. The prayer is taking place at the so-called "Departure Sit-in" on the Bardo square, where people demand the resignation of the ruling moderate islamic Ennahda Party. Tunisians ousted their longtime dictator in January 2011, touching off the Arab Spring uprisings. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)

Tunisians quickly losing faith in their government: poll

A new poll shows Tunisians are quickly losing confidence in their Islamist-led government, with support dropping from 56 percent in March 2012 to 32 percent in May of this year — a notable shift in a region beset by regime changes and unrest at the confluence of religious and democratic principles.

August 13, 2013
**FILE** Former New York Gov. George E. Pataki (Associated Press)

Former New York Gov. Pataki: Stop-and-frisk tactic has helped city

Former New York Gov. George Pataki on Tuesday defended the Bloomberg administration's use of a controversial crime-fighting tactic that's been linked to racial profiling, saying it's been a catalyst for New York City's decades-long turnaround from seedy to family-friendly.

August 13, 2013
Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich, a Republican, had proposed expanding Medicaid, but the state legislature balked. Now the state is considering a series of proposals that would resurrect and codify the expansion. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Medicaid expansion quandary

A half-dozen states are still trying to decide whether to expand Medicaid enrollment within their borders under the new federal health care law, more than three years after the law was signed and a year after the Supreme Court gave them an easy way to opt out.

August 12, 2013
** FILE ** Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican (scott.senate.gov)

Sen. Tim Scott: Harry Reid should apologize for remarks on race

Republican Sen. Tim Scott wants Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to apologize for saying in a Friday radio interview that he hopes GOP-led opposition to President Obama is "based on substance and not the fact that he's African-American."

August 12, 2013
President Obama smiles as a reporter asks a question during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Aug. 9, 2013. (Associated Press)

Obama defends health law delays

President Obama on Friday defended his signature health care law and lambasted Republican-led threats to dismantle the reforms, a public attempt to navigate his recent decision to delay one of the law's key mandates and wave off a burgeoning threat to shut down the government over the controversial law.

August 9, 2013
**FILE** President Obama speaks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on April 17, 2013. (Associated Press)

Some fight, some fold in Obamacare contraception conflict

Some of the business owners who sued the Obama administration over the "contraception mandate" tied to the health care law are insuring employees' birth control against their will — now that the rule is in effect — or refusing to comply in an act of civil disobedience.

August 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)

Businesses struggle with ‘contraception mandate’ as lawsuits play out

Some of the business owners who sued the Obama administration over the "contraception mandate" tied to the health care law are insuring employees' birth control against their will — now that the rule is in effect — or refusing to comply in an act of civil disobedience.

August 8, 2013
** FILE ** Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. (Associated Press)

Sebelius touts Obamacare in Texas; Gov. Perry says don’t bother

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will promote the health care law in Texas on Thursday, meeting with mayors and other stakeholders less than two months before Americans without employer-based health coverage start to enroll in state-based insurance markets.

August 8, 2013
** FILE ** President Obama speaks during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington on July 15, 2013. (Associated Press)

D.C. health exchange chief ‘thrilled’ to serve Congress, staff

Mila Kofman, chief of the D.C. health exchange set up under President Obama's health care law, said Thursday she is "thrilled" to be able to serve members of Congress and staff members who are forced to use the state-based insurance markets because of a provision in the law.

August 8, 2013
** FILE ** President Obama signs the Affordable Care Act in 2010 at the White House.

Religious university balks at ‘accommodation,’ re-files suit over Obamacare’s contraception mandate

Colorado Christian University on Wednesday re-issued its lawsuit over the "contraception mandate" tied to the federal health care law, becoming the first religious nonprofit to revamp its civil complaint after the Obama administration finalized an "accommodation" in late June designed to assuage concerns among religious institutions, according to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

August 7, 2013