Former President Joe Biden announced that he has prostate cancer. CNN has the latest news and reaction. Israel agreed to allow a basic amount of aid into Gaza, as it launches a new ground offensive. Meanwhile, the New Yorker’s Ruth Margalit reports that fewer Israeli reservists are showing up for service, because they are exhausted and increasingly skeptical of the government’s claims for continuing the war. There are nearly half a million open manufacturing jobs right now. Greg Rosalsky with NPR explains why the industry is having a hard time filling them. Plus, a tornado devastated Kentucky, what we know about a fertility-clinic bombing in Palm Springs, and how a Mexican navy ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Full Episode
Good morning. It's Monday, May 19th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Israel agrees to resume basic aid to Gaza as it presses forward with its ground offensive. Why Americans aren't taking American manufacturing jobs. And investigators are trying to understand how a big sail ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge.
But first, to the news that former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. His office released a statement yesterday which said that this was an aggressive form of the disease, but added that it appears to be hormone sensitive, which allows for effective management and that his family is reviewing treatment options.
Offering some details on his diagnosis, his office said he was seen last week for a new finding of a prostate nodule and diagnosed with prostate cancer with metastasis to the bone. President Donald Trump said he was, quote, saddened by the news and wished him a fast and successful recovery.
Kamala Harris, Biden's former VP, said that, quote, Joe is a fighter and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership. CNN's medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner doesn't have special insight into Biden's health, but he went on the network to offer some context on the announcement.
The bad news is that his Gleason score, which is how the pathologists grade the aggressiveness of the tumor by looking at it under the microscope, was quite high, so a very aggressive form. The second adverse diagnostic information that we've received is the fact that it's now already metastatic to bone, so it's no longer contained in
In the prostate, you know, prostate cancer is often treated initially with removing the prostate, but that's not an issue here because the cells have already spread into other parts of the body and we're told that it's spread to the bone.
He also said there could be possible treatment options for someone in Biden's position, from cutting-edge immune therapy to more traditional chemotherapy. Biden's health was already a major subject in the news. New reporting suggests the former president's health was deteriorating while in office. There's no indication his diagnosis is linked to those claims.
His last publicly released physical was in February of 2024, where his longtime doctor declared him fit to serve. Biden has a long and personal history with cancer. His son Beau died of brain cancer, which helped spur him to make cancer research a personal priority for him in office. President Obama put him in charge of a moonshot initiative as vice president in 2016.
And in 2022, as president, Biden announced major new funding to tackle the disease in his State of the Union address.
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