Lawmakers Narrowly Approve Von der Leyen as EU Chief

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Skeptical EU lawmakers approved German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen's appointment as president of the European Commission by the narrowest of margins in a knife-edge secret ballot Tuesday. 

The 60-year-old conservative will take over from Jean-Claude Juncker on November 1 and become the first woman in the powerful post, but she won only 383 votes in the 751-seat parliament.