Biden, 80, makes 2024 presidential run official as Trump fight looms

By Steve Holland, Jarrett Renshaw and Heather Timmons WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden launched his re-election bid on Tuesday with a promise to protect American liberties from “extremists” linked to former President Donald Trump, who he beat in 2020 and might face again in 2024. Biden made his announcement in a video released by his…

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Pfizer pledge for more equal access to RSV shot faces hurdles

By Jennifer Rigby and Maggie Fick LONDON (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc has pledged to deliver critical new medicines more quickly in low-income nations, but its first such vaccine effort faces hurdles likely to delay distribution in poorer countries by several years, global health officials told Reuters. Pfizer made a commitment on more equitable access last…

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Women state senators cross party lines to block proposed South Carolina abortion ban

By Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) – A day after all five women in the South Carolina state senate banded together to block a proposed abortion ban, Republican Senator Sandy Senn posted a picture of the group on her Facebook page calling the three Republicans, one Democrat and one Independent “united and unstoppable.” The senators came together…

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Judge declines to block Colorado from banning medication abortion reversal

By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) – A federal judge in Denver on Friday rejected a Catholic medical center’s bid to block Colorado from banning an unproven treatment meant to reverse the effects of a medication abortion drug. U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico said there was no need to block the first-of-its-kind ban because the state has…

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Montana transgender legislator silenced after ‘blood on your hands’ comment

By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – Montana statehouse Republicans on Wednesday silenced Democratic transgender legislator Zooey Zephyr from floor debates for breaking decorum after she said lawmakers who backed a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors would have “blood on your hands.” Under the motion that passed with a vote of 68-32, Zephyr will be allowed…

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Biden admin seeks to pause order blocking Obamacare preventive care mandate

By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) – The Biden administration has asked a federal appeals court to put on hold a judge’s ruling striking down the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that insurers cover preventive care, including screenings for certain cancers and pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV (PrEP), at no extra cost to patients. In a filing Thursday evening…

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Scores of world figures urge Putin to free Navalny in open letter

(Reuters) – Scores of famous figures, including writers and actors, have signed an open letter urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to free opposition politician Alexei Navalny and to end what they called his torture in prison. Nobel prize-winning writers Svetlana Alexievich, JM Coetzee, Herta Mueller, Orhan Pamuk, Olga Tokarczuk and Mario Vargas Llosa were among…

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US FDA approves Pfizer’s next-generation pneumococcal vaccine

(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Pfizer Inc’s next-generation vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease in children aged six weeks to 17 years, the company said late on Thursday. The vaccine, Prevnar 20, offers more protection against the disease versus the company’s widely-used Prevnar 13 vaccine, by targeting seven more serotypes…

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