Biden, fighting 'tough cold,' shortens trip

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will take a pass on a planned visit to Montevideo for the inauguration of Uruguay's president on Sunday due to illness, a senior U.S. administration official said on Friday. "The vice president has been battling a tough cold for the past couple of days, and that's led us to make some adjustments to his schedule," the official told reporters on a conference call. "So we've decided to take down the first leg of this trip, to Uruguay," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Biden will travel on Monday to Guatemala to meet with the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, part of an effort by the U.S. government to tackle issues such as poverty and violence that last year spurred tens of thousands of child migrants to travel to the U.S. border. President Barack Obama has asked Congress for $1 billion in aid for Central America to help address crime, corruption and a lack of education. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Emily Stephenson)