U.S. Vice president's son succumbs to cancer

Joseph Robinette “Beau” Biden III, the son of Vice President Biden and former state attorney general of Delaware, died yesterday after a long battle against brain cancer.

Biden, 46, was the oldest son of the vice president and the rising star of the family dynasty. He had been admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda for cancer treatment, but his battle with the illness was kept private in the last weeks. He had been battling the illness since being admitted to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, in August 2013.

 Vice President Biden released a statement yesterday night, honouring his son’s memory.

 “The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau’s spirit will live on in all of us — especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter,”

Beau Biden, who was a Major in the Delaware Army National Guard’s Judge Advocate General Corps, had been considered a front-runner for the 2016 governorship race.