President Joe Biden urges Americans to overcome their divisions, unite and heal internal rift. "Democracy has prevailed," he states. "We must put politics aside to fight the virus; we will get through this together."
Under unprecedented security and with a minimal audience, Democrats Joe Biden, Kamala Harris take oath of office.
Trump will be the first president in modern history to boycott his successor’s inauguration. By the time Biden is sworn in, Trump will already have landed at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
"Iran continues to be a destabilizing element in the region," Retired Army General Lloyd Austin tells confirmation committee. Biden's choice to be secretary of state, Antony Blinken, throws his support behind a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but doubts near-term prospects for such a deal.
"As a result of our bold diplomacy and principled realism, we achieved a series of historic peace deals in the Middle East," outgoing US President Donald Trump says in farewell video. "Nobody believed it could happen."
The UN Charter calls for such a voting rights suspension for countries whose arrears equal or surpass the amount of the contributions due from them to UN coffers in the previous two years. Similar sanctions imposed on Niger, Libya, the Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
Incoming chief of staff Ron Klain: In his first 10 days in office, President-elect Biden will take "decisive action" to address the COVID pandemic, the economy, climate change, and racial injustice.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations "is examining payments of $500,000 in bitcoin, apparently by a French national, to key figures and groups in the alt-right before the riot," US media reports.
The “American Rescue Plan" aims to meet Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration. On a parallel track, it delivers another round of aid to stabilize the economy while the public health effort seeks the upper hand on the pandemic.
France, Britain and Germany warn Iran against starting work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, express concern it violates the 2015 nuclear deal and has "serious military implications."
