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Joe Biden's son Beau dies of brain cancer, aged 46 | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, the son of US Vice-President Joe Biden, has died of brain cancer. | |
The 46-year-old was taken to hospital earlier this month at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre, near Washington. | |
Beau Biden was seen as a rising star of US politics but suffered health problems in recent years. He had intended to run for Delaware state governor in 2016. | |
"The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words", the vice-president said. | |
In a statement, President Barack Obama said: "Michelle [Obama] and I are grieving tonight." | |
"Beau was a good, big-hearted, devoutly Catholic and deeply faithful man, who made a difference in the lives of all he touched - and he lives on in their hearts." | |
In a Twitter post, former President Bill Clinton wrote: "Hillary & I mourn the loss of Beau Biden - so full of life, love, honor, and service - and we pray for the strength of his wonderful family." | |
'Spirit will live on' | |
Beau Biden was diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2013 and underwent treatment that was initially successful. However, the cancer recurred earlier this year. | |
Announcing the death in a statement, the vice-president said: "It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life." | |
"Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did," he said, adding: "We know that Beau's spirit will live on in all of us." | |
"Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known," the statement ended. | |
In 2010, Beau Biden suffered a mild stroke. Three years later, he received surgery at a Texas cancer centre for what was said to be a small lesion. | In 2010, Beau Biden suffered a mild stroke. Three years later, he received surgery at a Texas cancer centre for what was said to be a small lesion. |
The eldest of Mr Biden's two sons, he served a year-long tour Iraq in 2008 as a captain in the Delaware National Guard. | |
As a child, Beau survived a car crash that killed his mother Neilia and his baby sister Naomi in 1972. He and his brother Hunter were injured. | |
Joe Biden had just been elected to the Senate, and took his oath of office by his son's hospital bed. | |
Joe Biden married Jill Jacobs in 1977. They have one daughter - Ashley Blazer. | |
Beau Biden is survived by his wife Hallie and their two children, Natalie and Hunter. |