Khartoum’s fearful residents hunker down amid fierce street fighting

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Residents in an affluent district of Khartoum feared there would be trouble when they found their new neighbour was a commander from a paramilitary force that protesters blamed for cracking down on them in the past. Those concerns proved well-founded this week when people were forced to…

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Biden, facing roadblocks in Congress, signs executive order on childcare, eldercare

By Nandita Bose and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden, facing congressional resistance to his “care economy” proposals, on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at advancing free preschool and expanding affordable care for children, older Americans and those with disabilities. Biden signed the order, which includes over 50 specific actions, in the…

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US Supreme Court weighs key standard in whistleblower fraud cases

By John Kruzel WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday considered a bid by three whistleblowers to revive lawsuits accusing pharmacy operators of pocketing millions of taxpayer dollars by knowingly overbilling government health insurance programs for prescription drugs. The justices heard arguments in an appeal by the whistleblowers of lower court rulings in favor…

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US government watchdog: health chief Becerra violated Hatch Act

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated the Hatch Act by expressing support for Democratic Senator Alex Padilla’s re-election at a public event last year, a U.S. government watchdog said on Tuesday. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel report cited Becerra’s comments that he intended to vote for Padilla while speaking…

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Republicans to block Feinstein substitute on Senate Judiciary – McConnell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans will block Democrats’ plans to temporarily replace Senator Dianne Feinstein on the committee that approves federal judges, the chamber’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, said on Tuesday. That would make it harder for Democrats to confirm President Joe Biden’s appointments to the federal judiciary until Feinstein, 89, returns to the…

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AstraZeneca confident new COVID antibody protects against known variants

By Maggie Fick BARCELONA (Reuters) – AstraZeneca is confident that its new version of COVID-19 antibody treatment could protect immunocompromised patients against all known virus variants, its vaccines head said. Laboratory studies show the antibody, called AZD3152, neutralizes all known variants of COVID-19 and AstraZeneca has support from regulators to make the treatment available by…

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GSK bets $2 billion on Bellus cough drug to soothe pipeline fears

By Natalie Grover and Aby Jose Koilparambil (Reuters) -GSK plans to buy Canada-based drug developer Bellus Health Inc in an all-cash deal for $2 billion as the British drugmaker expands its bet on respiratory therapies. The move to replenish its pipeline comes as GSK investors fret about whether there is enough in the medicine cabinet…

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