Biden to meet virtually with families of American hostages held by Hamas
CBSN
President Biden will meet virtually on Friday with the families of American hostages believed to be held by Hamas militants, he told CBS News' 60 Minutes.
More than a dozen Americans are unaccounted for after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,300 people. The White House believes a number of Americans are among those being held by Hamas, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist group.
"I think they have to know that the president of the United States of America cares deeply about what's happened to them — deeply," Mr. Biden told CBS News' Scott Pelley. "We have to communicate to the world this is critical. This is not even human behavior. It's pure barbarism. And we're going to do everything in our power to get them home if we can find them."

Air travelers faced hundreds of flight cancellations and thousands of delays on Tuesday in the wake of powerful storms that struck the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard. Many airports also continue to struggle with disruption from reduced staffing at often-jammed security checkpoints amid a partial government shutdown that has lasted more than a month. Mark Strassmann contributed to this report. In:

The race to fill the seat of retiring Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has been heating up in the days leading up to Tuesday's 2026 Democratic primary and could set the tone for other midterm primaries on issues like President Trump's deportation policies and outside spending. And another factor in the race is Gov. JB Pritzker's attempt at powerbrokering: he's given his endorsement and millions in campaign funds to his lieutenant governor, Julianna Stratton. In:

A man who was accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6 attack in 2021 is asking a judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him, arguing he is covered by President Trump's sweeping pardons of alleged Jan. 6 rioters.

The Cuban government is planning to allow Cuban nationals who live abroad — including in the U.S. — to invest in companies on the island, a top government official told NBC News in an interview that aired Monday, as the country faces economic collapse and immense pressure from the Trump administration.









