Yesterday, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris was sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States—making history for being the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to fill the role.
Preparations have been made on Capitol Hill in anticipation of Inauguration Day. Tomorrow, on January 20th at 12pm ET, President-elect Biden will still be sworn into office. In addition to heightened security measures in the DC area, 200,000 American flags have been placed on the National Mall ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration. The flags represent the tens of thousands of Americans and international guests who cannot attend in person. The #FieldofFlags will be lit by 56 pillars of light symbolizing the 50 states and U.S. territories.
As the nation focuses on the domestic terror attack at the U.S. Capitol and the push to impeach Pres. Trump a second time, coronavirus deaths in the United States continue to surge at an exponential rate. For the second week in a row, more Americans have died from COVID-19 than from the 9/11 attacks, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan combined. Yesterday, the U.S. set a new record for COVID-19 deaths in a single day, this time with more than 4,300 deaths, according to John Hopkins University. The overall U.S. death toll is inching closer toward a grim milestone of 400,000 roughly just one month after the country surpassed 300,000. More than 215,000 new cases were also reported—the eighth straight day with more than 200,000 new cases.
With just a week left in power, the Trump administration is still trying to speed up its vaccine rollout plan that has gone far slower than originally anticipated. This week, officials from Operation Warp Speed announced that they would expand vaccine eligibility to everyone over the age of 65 and anyone 64 or younger who has a chronic medical condition. They also will no longer hold back half of the available doses to ensure booster shots. ‘This next phase reflects the urgency of the situation we face,’ Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar said yesterday. ‘Every vaccine dose that is sitting in a warehouse rather than going into an arm could mean one more life lost or one more hospital bed occupied.’
Greta Thunberg, the 18-year-old environmental activist, will be honored by her native Sweden with a postage stamp. The stamp is set to be released Thursday, January 14, according to Swedish postal service PostNord. The stamp is part of a five-stamp series called ‘Valuable Nature’ that highlights environmental issues that are relevant and present. 'We’re pleased that Greta, among several illustrations of important nature, will be symbolized on our stamps,’ PostNord’s Kristina Olofsdotter told The Guardian. This is the latest in a long line of accolades for the young activist. Previously, she was Time Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year.
Thousands of National Guard troops have assembled at the U.S. Capitol one week after the deadly riot. Suzanne Lynch of the Irish Times captured the surreal scene as the House voted to impeach Donald Trump for a second time https://go.nowth.is/2XC4dOz
Funeral homes in California are overwhelmed with bodies as the state’s COVID-19 death toll reaches 30,000 (warning: distressing)
It’s a girl! The Wroclaw Zoo in Poland just welcomed a newborn Indian rhino, marking the first successful birth of the endangered species in the zoo’s 155-year history 🦏 (warning: graphic)
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BREAKING: President Donald Trump has been impeached for ‘incitement of insurrection’ in a bipartisan vote of 232-197. 10 Republicans joined Democrats in voting in favor of impeachment, making Trump the first president ever in U.S. history to be impeached twice.
The next phase is for the Senate to hold a trial that could lead to Trump being permanently barred from holding federal office. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who soon will cease to be majority leader, has declined to call the Senate in for a special session, so the earliest the body could take up the matter would be January 19, one day before Trump leaves office and President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated.
Welcome to Brexit: Some British travelers were shocked to have their food confiscated when crossing into the Netherlands. ‘This is the new reality,’ a Dutch military police spokesman said. ‘Not everyone seems to have realized what Brexit actually means.’
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Rep. AOC: Trump ‘is a traitor to our country, a traitor to the United States. And I don’t really think there’s any other way you can put it.’