- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
Biden tests positive for Covid as age worries mount
US President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid on Wednesday, shortly after conceding that he would consider dropping his troubled reelection bid if he was diagnosed with a serious medical condition.
The 81-year-old Democrat gave media the thumbs up from his limousine and said "I feel good" as he cut short a campaign trip to Las Vegas following the diagnosis.
The White House said he was suffering from a runny nose, cough and "general malaise," was taking Covid medication, and was flying straight to isolation at his beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware.
The diagnosis came hours after the release of comments by Biden in an interview conducted on Tuesday, in which he said he could step aside as a presidential candidate "if I had some medical condition that emerged."
It was also the latest development over a dramatic few days in the already frenetic and polarized White House race that saw his rival Donald Trump survive an assassination at a campaign rally of his own.
Biden has been fighting for political survival since a disastrous debate against Trump nearly three weeks ago, in which his tired and confused appearance sparked concerns about his age.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had tested positive shortly after the first in a series of events in Las Vegas targeting crucial Latino voters.
"He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms. He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," Jean-Pierre said.
Biden's doctor said he was suffering from a runny nose and a "non-productive cough" along with "general malaise," the White House said in an accompanying note.
He has received the Covid drug Paxlovid and has already taken his first dose, the statement read.
"His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97 percent," it added.
- 'I feel good' -
Biden later leaned out of his limousine, dubbed the Beast, as he arrived at a Las Vegas airport to give the thumbs up.
"Good," he said to the press as he walked to Air Force One without a mask. "I feel good."
Janet Murguia, the president of the Unidos union for Latino workers, told the crowd about the diagnosis shortly before the White House announcement.
"I was just on the phone with President Biden, and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon," she said.
The furor over Biden's health is now set to go into overdrive, with a growing number of Democrats calling on him to step aside.
Asked what could make him rethink his presidential bid, Biden told the Black media outlet BET in an interview taped Tuesday in Las Vegas: "If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, if the doctors came and said 'you've got this problem, that problem.'"
He suffered a major blow hours earlier on Wednesday when a top Democrat, Representative Adam Schiff of California, urged Biden to "pass the torch."
"A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November," Schiff said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
Around 20 House Democrats and one senator have now called on Biden to leave the White House race.
Most polls show Biden trailing the election in a tight race with Trump.
Biden insists that Democratic voters support him, but a poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research said Wednesday that nearly two-thirds want him to step aside.
O.Norris--AMWN