The Republican warned the measure amounted to government overreach, but Republican lawmakers are likely to override his veto.Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks to reporters in his office at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. | AP Photo/Andrew DeMilloArkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday vetoed legislation that would have made the state the first to bar doctors from providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors, describing the measure as a “vast government overreach.”The GOP governor said he worried the legislation would set a new standard for government interference with...…The Republican warned the measure amounted to government overreach, but Republican lawmakers are likely to override his veto.Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks to reporters in his office at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. | AP Photo/Andrew DeMilloArkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday vetoed legislation that would have made the state the first to bar doctors from providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors, describing the measure as a “vast government overreach.”The GOP governor said he worried the legislation would set a new standard for government interference with...WW…

Joe Biden will emphasize treatment and prevention, not law enforcement, in addressing a drug epidemic that’s only grown more dire during the pandemic.Medications slated for destruction are shown in a locked storage area of the police department in Barberton, Ohio. | Keith Srakocic/AP PhotoPresident-elect Joe Biden, long viewed as a drug policy hawk during his four decades in the Senate, is signaling a different approach to confronting a still-raging drug addiction epidemic made worse by the pandemic.Biden, who has stocked his team with addiction experts with extensive backgrounds in public...…Joe Biden will emphasize treatment and prevention, not law enforcement, in addressing a drug epidemic that’s only grown more dire during the pandemic.Medications slated for destruction are shown in a locked storage area of the police department in Barberton, Ohio. | Keith Srakocic/AP PhotoPresident-elect Joe Biden, long viewed as a drug policy hawk during his four decades in the Senate, is signaling a different approach to confronting a still-raging drug addiction epidemic made worse by the pandemic.Biden, who has stocked his team with addiction experts with extensive backgrounds in public...WW…

The requirements of Pfizer's shots create a "use it or lose it" situation.Part of a so-called freezer farm, a football field-sized storage facility for finished Covid-19 vaccines, is seen in October at a Pfizer facility in Puurs, Belgium. | Pfizer via APThe Trump administration hopes to start delivering millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines in December.But the short shelf life of Pfizer’s shots and uncertainty over how to get them to enough health care workers, frail seniors and other priority patients once vials with vaccines are taken out of cold storage and cracked open could mean...…The requirements of Pfizer's shots create a "use it or lose it" situation.Part of a so-called freezer farm, a football field-sized storage facility for finished Covid-19 vaccines, is seen in October at a Pfizer facility in Puurs, Belgium. | Pfizer via APThe Trump administration hopes to start delivering millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines in December.But the short shelf life of Pfizer’s shots and uncertainty over how to get them to enough health care workers, frail seniors and other priority patients once vials with vaccines are taken out of cold storage and cracked open could mean...WW…

While Trump promises tens of millions of vaccine doses next month, many states say they aren’t ready to administer them.A nurse applies a band-aid after administering the flu vaccination shot to a woman in October in Lakewood, Calif. | Mario Tama/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump says tens of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines, which hold the promise of blunting a pandemic that has killed nearly a quarter-million Americans, will be delivered to every state as soon as December.But interviews with more than two dozen experts who work in pharmacies, rural clinics and public health, as...…While Trump promises tens of millions of vaccine doses next month, many states say they aren’t ready to administer them.A nurse applies a band-aid after administering the flu vaccination shot to a woman in October in Lakewood, Calif. | Mario Tama/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump says tens of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines, which hold the promise of blunting a pandemic that has killed nearly a quarter-million Americans, will be delivered to every state as soon as December.But interviews with more than two dozen experts who work in pharmacies, rural clinics and public health, as...WW…

The politicization of mask-wearing shows how difficult it will be for Joe Biden to build consensus around even basic public health strategies after he’s sworn in.President-elect Joe Biden arrives at The Queen theater, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. | AP Photo/Carolyn KasterPresident-elect Joe Biden says he’ll personally call red state governors and persuade them to impose mask mandates to slow down the coronavirus pandemic. Their early response: Don’t waste your time.Almost all of the 16 Republican governors who oppose statewide mask mandates are ready to reject Biden’s plea,...…The politicization of mask-wearing shows how difficult it will be for Joe Biden to build consensus around even basic public health strategies after he’s sworn in.President-elect Joe Biden arrives at The Queen theater, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. | AP Photo/Carolyn KasterPresident-elect Joe Biden says he’ll personally call red state governors and persuade them to impose mask mandates to slow down the coronavirus pandemic. Their early response: Don’t waste your time.Almost all of the 16 Republican governors who oppose statewide mask mandates are ready to reject Biden’s plea,...WW…

As coronavirus cases spike upwards, the vice president’s task force is less active than before.Vice President Mike Pence is not expected to be on the line again Friday, when the group holds its first governors call since Oct. 13. | Patrick Semansky/AP PhotoWhen Vice President Mike Pence first took charge of the White House’s coronavirus task force, among his earliest moves was establishing a standing call with all 50 governors aimed at closely coordinating the nation’s pandemic fight.Yet as the U.S. confronts its biggest Covid-19 surge to date, Pence hasn’t attended one of those meetings in...…As coronavirus cases spike upwards, the vice president’s task force is less active than before.Vice President Mike Pence is not expected to be on the line again Friday, when the group holds its first governors call since Oct. 13. | Patrick Semansky/AP PhotoWhen Vice President Mike Pence first took charge of the White House’s coronavirus task force, among his earliest moves was establishing a standing call with all 50 governors aimed at closely coordinating the nation’s pandemic fight.Yet as the U.S. confronts its biggest Covid-19 surge to date, Pence hasn’t attended one of those meetings in...WW…