Biden picks cancer surgeon Monica Bertagnolli to head NIH

By Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Monday said it intends to nominate cancer surgeon Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH) following a 16-month search for a permanent successor to the agency’s long-serving director Dr. Francis Collins, who stepped down in December 2021. If confirmed by the U.S….

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Mexico asks Texas to halt costly cargo inspections; will file USMCA complaint

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s economy ministry is urging the U.S. state of Texas to remove inspections of cargo crossing the border, which it said in a statement on Monday is causing millions of dollars in losses for U.S. and Mexican firms. The Mexican government will file a complaint with the trade facilitation committee under…

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Turkey faces election runoff, Erdogan seen with momentum

By Huseyin Hayatsever, Orhan Coskun and Birsen Altayli ANKARA (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan led comfortably on Monday after the first round of Turkey’s presidential election, with his rival facing an uphill struggle to prevent the president extending his rule into a third decade in a runoff vote on May 28. Turkish assets weakened on the…

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U.S. Supreme Court allows death row inmate’s lawsuit after failed execution

By Andrew Chung (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed a challenge by an Alabama death row inmate who sued months before surviving a botched execution claiming that the state’s troubled lethal injection process would violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. In an unusual case that has returned to the justices because…

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US Supreme Court takes up bid to revive South Carolina voting map deemed racially biased

By John Kruzel WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a bid by South Carolina officials to revive a Republican-crafted voting map that a lower court said had unconstitutionally “exiled” 30,000 Black voters from a closely contested congressional district. The justices took up an appeal by South Carolina officials of a…

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Russia approves sale of Volkswagen plant to domestic dealership

(Reuters) – A Russian government commission has approved the sale of Volkswagen’s main factory in Russia to a domestic car dealership, Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov told the TASS news agency on Monday. The VW plant, in the Kaluga region south of Moscow, will be sold to the Avilon dealership, previously the official dealer…

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US candidate Amy Pope wins tense contest to run UN migration agency

By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) -Former White House adviser Amy Pope was elected to head the U.N. migration agency, prevailing on Monday in a tense contest against a Portuguese incumbent who had the support of European countries. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Pope would become the first woman to lead…

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Analysis-Erdogan election showing cools Turkish turnaround hopes

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) – Hopes among investors of a surge in Turkish markets evaporated on Monday after long-standing President Tayyip Erdogan took a commanding position in Turkey’s elections. The combative 69-year-old performed better than expected in Sunday’s first round vote, securing a comfortable lead for the second round on May 28 and dousing…

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Migrant crossings drop at U.S.-Mexico border after Title 42 expires

By Sarah N. Lynch and Tyler Clifford WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have unexpectedly fallen, not risen, since Title 42 curbs expired and reinstating criminal penalties for illegal entry is likely the biggest reason, the Biden administration said on Sunday. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said border patrol agents have seen…

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Musk: Tesla to make significant investments in France at some point

PARIS (Reuters) – US electric car manufacturer Tesla will make significant investments in France, its CEO Elon Musk said in Versailles on Monday, adding that he could not give a timetable. Asked after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron whether Tesla planned to announce investments in France, Musk said “I think at some point,…

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