First lady Jill Biden walks out of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, as she and President Joe Biden prepare to board Marine One. The White House says surgeons have removed a cancerous lesion above first lady Jill Biden’s right eye and one on her chest, and that a third lesion on her left eyelid is being examined. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
First lady Jill Biden underwent Mohs surgery today to have cancerous skin lesions removed.
The lesions, one of which was located above the first lady's right eye and another newly discovered one on her chest, were detected during a routine skin cancer screening a week ago.
The procedure involves multiple rounds if cancer cells are detected in the removed skin. Typically a doctor will slice off a thin layer of skin from the lesion and analyze it under a microscope. Once it is determined that cancer cells are present, the procedure is repeated until the area is completely free of cancerous cells.
Dr. Kevin O'Connor, President Joe Biden's personal physician, confirmed that Dr. Biden's lesions were basal cell cancer — the most common type of skin cancer, which is typically treatable in its early stages.
President Biden accompanied his wife to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where the surgery was performed.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Real estate software company RealPage has agreed to stop sharing nonpublic information between landlords as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice.
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track. A handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the bill after what's become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services. But hurdles remain. Senators are hopeful they can pass the package as soon as Monday and send it to the House. What’s in and out of the bipartisan deal has drawn criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation includes funding for SNAP food aid and other programs while ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers. But it fails to fund expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting for, pushing that debate off for a vote next month.
Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins to break down the SNAP funding delays and the human cost of the ongoing shutdown.
