Biden's spokesperson, David Wade:
The campaign has cancelled Sen. Biden's schedule today and tomorrow because of a serious illness in Jill Biden's family. Hospice has advised the Bidens to remain close by, and we appreciate everyone's respect for the family's privacy.
CNN is reporting that his mother in law (Jill Biden's mother) is battling a serious illness and is in a hospice in Pennsylvania:
Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden is cancelling his campaign events for Saturday and Sunday as his mother-in-law battles a serious illness.
There is a lot of discussion in the comments about what is (and is not) hospice care. Hospice care is for those who need comfort and care in their final months, days, and hours. It is a specialty that focuses on providing pain-free care, maintaining the dignity of the patient, and encouraging a warm environment that family can be a part of. Hospice care is for those who are terminal and have six months or less; depending on the type of illness, hospice care can be as short as a few days or as long as six months.
My apologies for the text here one minute and gone the next. Information was hard to come by when the story broke, and so I've been updating this diary according to available information.
Please keep Joe and Jill and their family in your thoughts and/or prayers during what must be a very difficult time for them.
I would also like to add that I think it is admirable that Joe would take time away from the campaign to be there for his wife. With only one month left in this election, it is a huge sacrifice for him to be off of the campaign trail. This shows where his priorities are -- with his family first, as it should be.
This from ABC:
ABC News has confirmed that Jill Biden's mother, Bonnie Jacobs, is is receiving care for a serious illness in nearby Pennsylvania. In fact, Biden took a later train to Washington, DC, last Wednesday for the Senate vote on the economic bailout package due to a conference call with doctors on the situation. The illness of Jill Biden's mother comes at the same time as Sen. Biden's son Beau deploys to Iraq. Beau, Delaware state attorney general and a captain in the National Guard, starts his deployment Sunday with training in Fort Bliss, Texas.
At least Beau is still in the states, so they could possibly allow him to come home to be with his grandmother in her final days.
This from Fox:
Biden’s mother-in-law has been sick a long time, and the news that shes taken a turn for the worse was not a surprise to the family.
He was scheduled to be in DC and VA tomorrow. According to CBS:
Biden planned was scheduled to speak at a National Human Rights Campaign dinner tonight in Washington, D.C. The campaign also scrapped rallies in Richmond and Roanoke, Virginia on Sunday.
Evan Bayh will fill in for Senator Biden at the Roanoke, Virginia event at Century Park Plaza (doors open at 11:00 AM, event begins at 12:30 PM).
From cooking at brooklyn, HRC filled in at the Washington, DC dinner tonight:
my girlfriend is at the HRC dinner right now in DC. Biden was supposed to be there but obviously couldn't make it tonight. Apparently it was announced that Biden couldn't make it for family reasons and that it's important to put family over politics. Then they said that Hillary Clinton was live via satellite to fill in for Joe. The crowd went crazy.