Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th US president at the US Capitol in Washington. He declared 'democracy has prevailed', during a ceremony at the US Capitol, where two weeks ago a swarm of supporters loyal to his predecessor stormed the building in a violent but futile last stand to overturn the results of the election
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‘This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge’: Joe Biden calls for unity in first speech as president – live
- Biden sworn in at inauguration ceremony
- Kamala Harris is US’s first female, Black and south Asian vice-president
- Trump tells Americans ‘have a good life’ as he exits White House
- Outgoing president leaves note for Biden
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In the moments following Joe Biden taking his oath of office, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, published an open letter to Biden congratulating him on his entry into office.
“I extend cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office.”
Pope Francis sends message to President Biden:
“I likewise ask God...to guide your efforts to foster understanding, reconciliation and peace within the United States and among the nations of the world in order to advance the universal common good” #PopeFrancis #InaugurationDay pic.twitter.com/DgoTNjBCgV
At least two Republican senators praised Joe Biden’s inaugural speech, saying it represented a necessary moment of unity for the nation.
Mitt Romney of Utah said Biden’s speech was “very strong and very much needed”. “We as a nation come together if we are told the truth,” Romney said.
ROMNEY praises Biden address “ I thought it was very strong and very much needed. We as a nation come together if we are told the truth. And if we have leaders who stand for enduring American principles”
“I thought it was very good. Very uplifting,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski tells us of her reaction to Biden’s speech.
“All the other speakers really seemed to complement the president’s words. I thought it was very well done. I thought it was what we needed.”
Von der Leyen: big tech firms need to be reined in despite Trump’s exit
Internet giants that spread hate speech and conspiracy theories should face ‘democratic limits’, says European commission president
The end of Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House was celebrated by the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, as she warned that the former US president’s rise highlighted the need to confront the internet giants who helped him spread “conspiracy theories and fake news”.
The European commission president spoke of her relief at Trump’s departure, but warned that the outgoing leader’s movement still existed, and that the digital platforms used to spread hate needed to be tackled.
Continue reading...Joe Biden inaugurated as America’s 46th president – in pictures
On a day of history in Washington, Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States, and Kamala Harris became the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice-president. At 78, Biden is the oldest president to take the oath of office
Continue reading...‘We will be back in some form’: Trump vows return in final speech – video
Donald Trump said it had been his ‘greatest honour and privilege’ to have served as US president in a speech to supporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. ‘Goodbye, we love you, we’ll be back in some form,’ Trump said, before boarding Air Force One to the sound of the Village People’s 'YMCA'. Trump is the first president in more than 150 years not to attend the inauguration ceremony of his successor.
- Donald Trump leaves White House for the last time as president
- Trump leaves White House a final time as president as Biden set to be sworn in
European leaders hail ‘new dawn’ for ties with US under Biden
Leaders say Europe again has a friend in the White House but differences with US will not disappear
European leaders have voiced relief at Joe Biden’s inauguration, hailing a “new dawn” for Europe and the US, but warned that the world has changed after four years of Donald Trump’s presidency and that transatlantic ties will be different in future.
“This new dawn in America is the moment we’ve been awaiting for so long,” Ursula von der Leyen, the European commission president, told MEPs. “Once again, after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House.”
Continue reading...Donald Trump departs White House for final time as president – video
Donald Trump has left the White House for the last time as president, saying it had been ‘the honour of a lifetime’ to serve. He boarded Marine One with the first lady and was flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for a ‘sending off’ ceremony. Trump will not be attending Joe Biden’s inauguration
Continue reading...Scaramucci: ‘De-Trumpification of US will begin’ when Biden inaugurated – video
Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House communications director, has called the outgoing US president, Donald Trump, a 'seditious traitor'. He said many Americans would 'breathe a sigh of relief' after Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.
- Donald Trump pardons Steve Bannon amid last acts of presidency
- Inauguration day: a guide to what to expect as Joe Biden assumes office
‘One of a kind’: calls to protect Alabama’s 60,000-year-old underwater forest
Efforts are under way to designate site of submerged forest off the Alabama coast a marine sanctuary
When divers jump into a particular stretch of water off the coast of Alabama, they travel back to a time before humans arrived in the new world.
Submerged below the waters are the remains of a cypress tree forest that grew 60,000 years ago, but was inundated by the Gulf of Mexico and preserved from decomposition beneath sediment. Nothing like Alabama’s underwater forest, in terms of age or scale, has ever been found.
Continue reading...‘It gives us hope’: migrants stranded in Mexico buoyed by prospect of Biden reform
The president-elect has promised to do away with ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, raising hopes that asylum seekers claims will be treated seriously
Selma López, 31, has spent nearly a year holed up in a two-room house not far from Mexico’s border with the US, along with her 11-year-old son Darikson and another woman who also made the long journey from Honduras in search of a new life.
Related: Remain in Mexico policy needlessly exposed migrants to harm, report says
Continue reading...Washington on edge before Biden inauguration – in pictures
Central Washington is an armed fortress, fenced off with razor wire and surrounded by 25,000 national guard troops before the inauguration of the president-elect, Joe Biden – a stark contrast to previous inaugurations, when the US capital has erupted in days of celebration
Continue reading...Biden prepares ambitious agenda even as he cleans up Trump’s mess | Analysis
The new administration faces no shortage of obstacles to progress – but Biden is setting his sights high nonetheless
The last time a Democratic president took control of the White House, the wreckage he inherited was so great, there was little else his incoming team could prioritize.
Twelve years ago, Barack Obama’s blunt-spoken chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, liked to describe the Republican legacy – a financial crisis, deep recession and two wars – as a giant shit sandwich wrapped in a red ribbon.
Continue reading...‘To heal, we must remember’: Biden holds memorial for 400,000 US Covid victims – live
- Event at the Lincoln Memorial offers ‘national moment of unity’
- White House releases Trump farewell address
- Pence will attend inauguration but not Trump event
- Dozen national guard troops pulled from inauguration after vetting
- McConnell blames Trump for provoking Capitol attack
- US coronavirus deaths pass 400,000 amid grim winter forecast
The justice department has said it will not pursue insider trading charges against Republican senator Richard Burr.
The New York Times reports:
The Justice Department informed Senator Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina, on Tuesday that it would not pursue insider trading charges against him, according to his lawyer and another person briefed on the decision, quietly ending a monthslong investigation into his dumping of hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock in the turbulent early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision by the department and the Securities and Exchange Commission effectively cleared a cloud of legal jeopardy that has loomed over Mr. Burr since the sales were first disclosed in March. At the crux of the case was whether Mr. Burr, then the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had acted based on nonpublic information about the contagion that he received at senators-only briefings.
California’s attorney general Xavier Becerra launched 9 lawsuits against the Trump administration.
The lawsuits include challenges of:
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: Germany extends partial lockdown as UK suffers record daily Covid deaths
Germany extends lockdown to 14 February and tightens restrictions; US deaths pass 400,000; US suffers record daily deaths
- Biden holds memorial for 400,000 Americans who have died of Covid-19
- Israel warns single Covid jab ‘less effective than we thought’
- Germany extends lockdown amid concern over variants
- Japan’s hospitals close to collapse as serious Covid cases soar
- See all our coronavirus coverage
Covid-19 is unlikely to ever die out, even with vaccination efforts, but it could become more transmissible and less deadly, New Zealand’s director general of health has warned.
“If you think about influenza, which was first recorded in 1172 I think, in Europe … these viruses don’t tend to die out … They change over time and in fact what we are seeing with these new variants with the Covid-19 virus is that they tend become more transmissible and less deadly over time,” Dr Ashley Bloomfield told the AM Show on Wednesday.
Related: Covid unlikely to die out, says New Zealand health chief Ashley Bloomfield
If you fancy a break from the bad news, why not spend a few minutes thinking about sphinx moths (also known as hawk moths):
Continue reading...Coronavirus live: Spain reports record new cases; Italy may take legal action over Pfizer vaccine delivery delays
Spain records 41,576 new cases; Italy considers legal action over Pfizer vaccine delivery delays; France warns against wearing home-made masks
- France may follow Germany in making clinical masks mandatory
- Vaccines may need updating to protect against new variant
- Indian hesitancy sets back world’s biggest vaccination drive
- China revives conspiracy theory of US army link to Covid
- UK coronavirus – latest updates
Spain logged another record number of new infections on Wednesday afternoon, recording 41,576 new cases in the preceding 24 hours and bringing the country’s total caseload to 2,412,318. It also recorded 464 deaths.
The new record came five days after the previous single-day high of 40,197 new cases.
Health authorities in Madrid have started mass testing hundreds of young people for Covid-19 at universities in a bid to detect asymptomatic carriers.
Continue reading...‘The best is yet to come’, says Trump in pre-recorded farewell address – video
The White House has released Donald Trump’s farewell address, a 20-minute pre-recorded video of the president touting his accomplishments in office. ‘I did not seek the path that would get the least criticism,' Trump said celebrating his controversy-laden presidency. ‘I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices’. The outgoing president also offered a message of encouragement to his successor, but avoided saying Joe Biden's name. He ended by hinting at a possible political future, even as he awaits the start of his second Senate impeachment trial. 'Now, as I prepare to hand power over to a new administration, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning’
- Biden and Harris hold memorial for 400k US coronavirus victims – live
- Trump's presidency: a lesson in the true meaning of 'American carnage'
Ghislaine Maxwell court hearing disrupted by apparent QAnon followers
An unlawful live stream was viewed by numerous followers of the conspiracy theory before being shut down
A court proceeding on documents in civil litigation against the jailed British socialite and accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was interrupted on Tuesday when the judge became aware of an unlawful live stream being viewed by numerous apparent followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
“Judge, I need to interrupt. I was just informed that apparently somebody is broadcasting this on to YouTube, so I don’t know if you want to give a reminder that that is illegal to do,” the deputy clerk told the Manhattan federal court judge Loretta Preska.
Continue reading...Vogue to release new Kamala Harris cover after original sparks backlash
Magazine plans limited edition with new photo after original was widely seen as disrespectful
Vogue will publish a limited print edition of its February issue, featuring Kamala Harris, with a new photo following widespread backlash against an original cover image widely held to lack respect for the vice-president-elect.
The limited edition, with a cover image previously used online, will be published after inauguration ceremonies on Wednesday, when Harris will become the first person of Black and south Asian descent sworn in as vice-president.
Continue reading...‘I know these are dark times but there is always light,’ says tearful Biden – video
Joe Biden shed a tear as he took to the stage to deliver a farewell address to a Delaware crowd ahead of his inauguration on Wednesday, saying: 'I know these are dark times, but there is always light.'
Speaking at the Major Joseph R 'Beau' Biden III National Guard/Reserve Center, named for Biden’s late son, who died of brain cancer in 2015, the president elect said things 'can change, they can and they do'.
Continue reading...Biden administration ‘to declassify report’ into Khashoggi murder
Decision would mean US could assign blame for death on to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman
The Biden administration will declassify an intelligence report into the murder by the Saudi government of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to Avril Haines, who has been nominated to serve as director of national intelligence.
The decision means that the US is likely to officially assign blame for Khashoggi’s brutal murder to the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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