Jill Biden has skin cancer spots removed
WASHINGTON -- Surgeons removed a cancerous lesion above first lady Jill Biden's right eye and one on her chest, the White House said Wednesday, while a third lesion on her left eyelid was being examined.
Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the physician to President Joe Biden, said examinations showed that the lesion over Jill Biden's right eye and one newly discovered on her chest were both confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma. The lesion on her left eye was "fully excised, with margins, and was sent for standard microscopic examination," according to O'Connor's report.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most curable form of skin cancer. It is a slow-growing cancer that usually is confined to the surface of skin -- doctors almost always can remove it all with a shallow incision -- and seldom causes serious complications or becomes life-threatening.
The Bidens spent the day at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where the 71-year-old first lady had the scheduled outpatient procedure known as Mohs surgery to remove and examine the lesions. After nearly eight hours at the hospital, the president returned to the White House solo; the first lady was expected to follow later in the evening.
O'Connor said the first lady was "experiencing some facial swelling and bruising, but is in good spirits and is feeling well."
Basal cell carcinoma is so common that there aren't good counts. The American Cancer Society lumps them in with another easily treated type called squamous cell cancers. About 3.3 million Americans get one of those two types each year and the vast majority are basal cell, according to the organization.
Pentagon drops covid-19 shot mandate
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon formally dropped its covid-19 vaccination mandate Tuesday, but a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also gives commanders some discretion in how or whether to deploy troops who are unvaccinated.
Austin's memo has been widely anticipated ever since legislation signed into law Dec. 23 gave him 30 days to rescind the mandate. The Defense Department had already stopped all related personnel actions, such as discharging troops who refused the shot.
"The Department will continue to promote and encourage covid-19 vaccination for all service members," Austin said. "Vaccination enhances operational readiness and protects the force."
Austin said commanders have the authority to maintain unit readiness and a healthy force. He added that other department policies -- including mandates for other vaccines -- remain in place.
That includes, he said, "the ability of commanders to consider, as appropriate, the individual immunization status of personnel in making deployment, assignment, and other operational decisions, including when vaccination is required for travel to, or entry into, a foreign nation."
The issue, which has divided America, forced more than 8,400 troops out of the military for refusing to obey a lawful order when they refused to get the vaccine. Thousands of others sought religious and medical exemptions. Austin's memo ends those requests.
Protection for Pompeo, aide extended
WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration has again extended government protection to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and one of his top Iran aides because of persistent threats against them from Iran.
In notices sent to Congress late last week, the State Department said the threats to Pompeo and Brian Hook remained "serious and credible." Hook was the Trump administration's special envoy for Iran.
Along with Pompeo, Hook was the public face of the U.S. "maximum pressure" campaign following President Donald Trump's 2018 decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Iran also blamed both men for the U.S. assassination of Iran Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in January 2020 and vowed revenge.
The Associated Press reported in March 2022 that the State Department was paying more than $2 million per month to provide 24-hour security to Pompeo and Hook.
Ohio man pleads innocent in threat case
TOLEDO, Ohio -- An Ohio man who federal officials said is a member of the far-right anti-government group the boogaloo boys has pleaded innocent to charges that he threatened law enforcement and unlawfully possessed a machine gun.
Aron McKillips, 29, of Sandusky, entered his pleas Tuesday at a court hearing in Toledo. The charges were included in an indictment handed up last week by a federal grand jury.
McKillips and another alleged group member were arrested in November when authorities were increasingly concerned about the potential for violence in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
The FBI has alleged that McKillips made at least five online threats to harm or kill law enforcement members between September 2021 and July 2022.
The indictment also alleges that he unlawfully possessed a drop-in auto sear that could convert an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic machine gun.