Biden cancels Italy trip to focus on California fires [Video]

President Joe Biden on Wednesday cancelled the final overseas trip of his presidency just hours before he was set to depart for Rome and the Vatican, choosing to remain in Washington to monitor the response to devastating fires raging in California.Biden was scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon, after eulogizing former President Jimmy Carter at a memorial service in Washington, for the three-day trip to meet with Pope Francis and Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The trip was meant as a coda to the second Catholic U.S. president’s time in the White House and a final opportunity to showcase the strength of American alliances before he leaves office on Jan. 20.The announcement of the trip’s cancellation comes just hours after Biden departed Los Angeles after meeting his first great-grandchild, who was born Wednesday at an area hospital. He received a briefing from local fire officials before returning …