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Joe Biden has again been criticised for saying that his late son Beau “lost his life in Iraq” – a reference to the president’s long-held belief that toxic burn pits led to the younger Biden passing away from brain cancer at the age of 46. The president made his latest remarks to US troops stationed in Japan during his trip to the country, after making similar remarks at least twice last year. “My son was a major in the US Army. We lost him in Iraq,” said Mr Biden during an informal visit with troops at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni last Thursday in a video obtained by The New York Post. Right-wing media outlets have attempted to use Mr Biden’s comments on Beau’s death as a sign that the 80-year-old Democrat has memory issues ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Mr Biden’s son died of brain cancer in 2015 at the Walter Reed military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Last October Mr Biden made similar comments while speaking close to Vail, Colorado, as he designated Camp Hail as a national monument. The area, covering 436 square miles, was the training site of the 10th Mountain Division during the Second World War. Mr Biden spoke of the bravery of the division as they fought in Italy, before stating that he lost his son in Iraq. “Just imagine, I mean it sincerely, I say this as a father of a man who won the Bronze Star, the conspicuous service medal, and lost his life in Iraq. Imagine the courage, the daring, and the genuine sacrifice they all made,” the president said. A clip of the moment shared by the conservative Washington Examiner on Twitter has been viewed more than a million times. Beau Biden served in Iraq between 2008 and 2009 as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard. He was the Delaware Attorney General between 2007 and 2015. Just months after leaving the post, he passed away at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on 30 May 2015. After his passing, he was given the Delaware Conspicuous Service Cross for “heroism, meritorious service and outstanding achievement”. “Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015, more than five years after he returned from a year serving in Iraq. Joe Biden has attributed the cancer to Beau Biden’s proximity to burn pits in Iraq, though sometimes conceded he isn’t sure,” CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale tweeted. In 2016, then-Vice President Biden said his son’s cancer could have been caused by the toxic burn pits that he was exposed to during his service in the Middle East. The New York Times reported that Mr Biden said he was “stunned” when he read a chapter concerning the death of his son in the book The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America’s Soldiers by Joseph Hickman. “Guys, I’m going to be the biggest pain in your neck as long as I live, until we figure out about these burn pits,” he said in a conference room in the congressional complex. Burn pits were used to get rid of waste, such as plastics, rubber, and batteries, in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The smoke from the pits could be toxic, Newsweek noted. The Department of Defence has stated that almost 3.5 million service members could have been exposed to toxins at harmful levels because of the practice. “I’ve always believed that we have a sacred obligation to equip those we send to war, and care for those and their families when they come home,” Mr Biden said during his State of the Union speech earlier this year. “And they come home, many of the world’s fittest and best-trained warriors in the world, never the same. Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness. A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.” While Mr Biden said he couldn’t be entirely sure that his son’s cancer was caused by the burn pits, he said his administration would be “finding out everything we can”. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states on its website that it “understands that many Veterans are especially concerned about exposure to the smoke and fumes generated by open burn pits”. “In Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas of the Southwest Asia theater of military operations, open-air combustion of trash and other waste in burn pits was a common practice. The Department of Defense has now closed out most burn pits and is planning to close the remainder,” the agency adds. “Researchers, including experts at VA, are actively studying airborne hazards like burn pits and other military environmental exposures. Ongoing research will help us better understand potential long-term health effects and provide you with better care and services,” the site states. 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Texas Senator Ted Cruz found himself denounced by the daughter of late civil rights champion Dr Martin Luther King Jr on Sunday after he attempted to invoke Dr King’s legacy in order to attack the modern incarnation of the anti-racism movement. Mr Cruz used Dr King’s name in his own tweet attacking the NAACP, one of America’s oldest and best known anti-racist institutions. The Texas Republican took issue with the organisation after it issued a “travel advisory” warning about Florida’s far-right turn under Governor Ron DeSantis, in particular efforts to ban what he calls “woke” lessons in schools which most experts on the issue say is really about erasing teachings about the struggle for civil rights and racial equality in America. The advisory came as a result of a unanimous vote by the NAACP’s board. "Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color," the advisory states. Mr Cruz responded on Twitter to a conservative publication’s writeup of the issue and wrote angrily: “This is bizarre. And utterly dishonest. In the 1950s & 1960s, the NAACP did extraordinary good helping lead the civil rights movement. Today, Dr. King would be ashamed of how profoundly they’ve lost their way.” But Dr King’s daughter, author and activist Bernice King, retorted that her father would be strongly opposed to conservative efforts to whitewash American history as well as the campaign against LGBT+ Americans currently consuming the far-right. “What my father would be deeply concerned about is the harmful, discriminatory legislation in Florida,” she wrote. She wasn’t the only person to take issue with the senator’s tweet. A Democratic former member of New York’s congressional delegation, Mondaire Jones, was less subtle in his response as he opined that Mr Cruz would have fought desegregation efforts in the 50s and 60s. “We know exactly which side you would’ve been on in the 1950s and 60s, Ted,” wrote the congressman-turned-CNN-contributor. The NAACP’s president, Derrick Johnson, further explained the organisation’s decision in a statement. "Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals that our union was founded upon. He should know that democracy will prevail because its defenders are prepared to stand up and fight. We're not backing down, and we encourage our allies to join us in the battle for the soul of our nation,” said Mr Johnson. Mr DeSantis’ team, meanwhile, issued a response calling the advisory a “stunt” for attention. Read More Back in hoodies and gym shorts, Fetterman tackles Senate life after depression treatment DeSantis super PAC tackles tricky task of organizing support for him in Iowa without the candidate Ted Cruz wants Congress to investigate Bud Light for working with Dylan Mulvaney Wounded man who invaded Senate with knife sentenced to prison for Capitol riot Kentucky Republicans pick nominee to challenge Democratic Gov. Beshear With Feinstein back in Senate, 3 of Biden's judicial nominees move forward

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President Joe Biden on Monday said he was “optimistic” about the chances of finding an agreement with the Republican-led House of Representatives that would avoid a catastrophic default on America’s sovereign debt. Speaking at the outset of a crucial meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Mr Biden said the source of his optimism was a shared agreement between the two men that a debt default is “off the table”. Mr Biden also said the consequences that would arise should the US fail to meet its’ outstanding debt obligations would be “a kick in the ... economic well-being” for the American people. The negotiating session between the president and House speaker comes with just ten days remaining before the US Treasury is set to lose the ability to pay its’ bills by issuing new bonds. In a letter to Congress, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday that “it is highly likely” that the Treasury would run out of operating funds in the event that Congress does not raise the department’s statutory debt limit. A default on America’s sovereign debt would be a financial catastrophe both for Americans and people around the world who rely on US financial stability. Mr Biden said he and Mr McCarthy “talked about the need for bipartisan agreement” and stressed that he was “optimistic” that he and Mr McCarthy were “going to make some progress” during the Monday evening session. For his part, the House Speaker said he and Mr Biden had a “very productive” conversation during a phone call held on Sunday while Mr Biden was returning to Washington from the G7 summit aboard Air Force One. Earlier in the day, Mr McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol that “decisions have to start being made” on spending for the next fiscal year since “we’re 10 days out” from the debt ceiling deadline. “We have to spend less next year than we spent this year,” he said before pointing to the House’s proposal for spending cuts as the “framework” for a deal. “I’m hopeful,” he added. Read More Watch live: Biden and McCarthy meet to discuss US debt ceiling Who is Tim Scott? 5 things to know about the newest 2024 GOP presidential candidate A timeline of Donald Trump’s rivalry with Ron DeSantis