Biden is cutting short a beach weekend to meet with his national security team amid Mideast tensions

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden is cutting short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house and returning to the White House to meet with his national security team and monitor the situation in the Middle East. Soon after the White House announced the change of plans Saturday, the Pentagon reported that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken with his Israeli counterpart “to discuss urgent regional threats.” Amid the Israel-Hamas war, tensions have escalated since a suspected Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria killed 12 people, including senior Iranian generals. Israel is bracing for a possible Iranian attack, raising concerns about the United States being pulled into deeper regional conflict.