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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

**FILE** Lee Medina, an employee at Dan D Party Corner in Cheyenne, Wyo., stands near a close-to-empty helium tank used to fill balloons on Sept. 22, 2011. (Associated Press)

House votes to avert a worldwide helium shortage

The House overwhelmingly passed legislation on Friday to sell off helium from a federal reserve in Texas while demanding a fair price for it, a seemingly arcane bill that exposed a global shortage of the second-most abundant element in the universe.

April 26, 2013
Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland Republican, asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about a provision in the federal health care law mandating contraception coverage. (Associated Press)

Sebelius visits Capitol Hill to stop health care law ‘train wreck’

President Obama's top health official tried Thursday to stanch Republican lawmakers' complaints about the federal health care law amid growing concerns from both sides of the aisle that the administration is facing a "train wreck" as it prepares to go live with key parts of the system next year.

April 25, 2013
**FILE** Rep. Michael Burgess, Texas Republican, is seen March 25, 2010, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Associated Press)

House GOP leaders scrap health care bill amid conservative backlash

Facing another conservative rebellion, House Republican leaders Wednesday scratched votes on a bill that would have cut one part of President Obama's health care law in order to prop up another section providing coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

April 24, 2013
**FILE** Rep. Dan Benishek, Michigan Republican (Associated Press)

House GOP: Influx of vets for ‘Obamacare’ may overwhelm VA

House Republicans said Wednesday that the Veterans Affairs Department may not be ready to handle hundreds of thousands of veterans who may sign up for health benefits next year to meet the new individual mandate under President Obama's health-care law.

April 24, 2013

Senate panel backs Tavenner to run Medicare and Medicaid

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved President Obama's pick to lead the federal agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid, giving her a bipartisan boost amid the fiery debate over health care and entitlement spending.

April 23, 2013
**FILE** A woman smokes a cigarette at her home in Alabama on March 2, 2013. (Associated Press)

Smokers cloud states’ rollout of ‘Obamacare’

States are wrestling with how to treat smokers under the new health care law as they navigate the thorny issue of providing coverage for those who knowingly engage in harmful behavior and how much taxpayers should pay for those folks' choices.

April 22, 2013
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (Associated Press)

NYC bill would raise smoking age to 21

New York City could become the first place in America to put restrictions on smoking in line with drinking laws by raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products.

April 22, 2013
Ruslan Tsarni, the uncle of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, speaks with the media outside his home in Montgomery Village, Md., on April, 19, 2013. (Associated Press)

Ruslan Tsarni says nephews Dzhokhar and Tamerlan are ‘losers’

The Maryland uncle for the two brothers suspected in Monday's Boston Marathon bombing angrily denounced his nephews as "losers" who failed to assimilate into American society, while saying it was a "fraud" to suggest their Islamic faith was to blame the attack.

April 19, 2013
Authorities search a storage unit at Gibson Self Storage as they continue to investigate the slayings of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, his wife and a top prosecutor, Saturday, April 13, 2013, in Seagoville, Texas. Authorities investigating the death of a Texas district attorney arrested Eric Williams, a former justice of the peace and charged him Saturday with making a "terroristic threat" after searching his home. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Michael Ainsworth)

Ex-justice’s wife arrested in Texas prosecutor murders

The wife of a former justice of the peace in Texas has been arrested on accusations linked to the killings of the Kaufman County District Attorney, his wife and an assistant prosecutor, the Dallas Morning News reported this morning.

April 17, 2013