WH on Biden Hill visit, Cuba, Iran kidnapping

The White House says President Biden's visit to Capitol Hill is a recognition that work still has to be done before any bills are passed.

This comes after top Democrats announced an agreement among themselves on plans to spend a mammoth $3.5 trillion over the coming decade on a wide range of domestic programs, an expansion Biden has proposed financing with tax boosts on the rich and big corporations.

Included in the proposal would be a top priority for progressives - an expansion of Medicare, the health insurance program for older Americans, to include vision, dental and hearing coverage.

Yet Democrats' emerging plans, most details remain a work in progress,  fall short of even bolder progressive goals, like extending overall Medicare coverage to people as young as 60. Biden and party leaders face a tricky task of winning over moderates wary about tax boosts and further ballooning budget deficits, and progressives demanding even more spending.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also talked about the review of the United States policy towards Cuba in the wake of protest over the weekend and the indictment of four men in a plot to kidnap an Iranian journalist living in the U.S.

The indictment in Manhattan federal court described the plot as part of a wider plan to lure three individuals in Canada and a fifth person in the United Kingdom, along with individuals in the United Arab Emirates, to Iran.

The identities of the alleged victims were not released but Brooklyn-based Masih Alinejad confirmed that authorities had told her she was among the targets.

She is a prominent figure on Farsi-language satellite channels abroad that critically view Iran and has worked as a contractor for U.S.-funded Voice of America’s Farsi-language network since 2015. She became a U.S. citizen in October 2019.