Розділ: Політика
Full Text of President Joe Biden’s Inaugural Speech
Full text of Joe Biden’s inaugural speech, released by the White House:This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope. Of renewal and resolve. Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge. Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy. The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded. We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed. So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries. We look ahead in our uniquely American way – restless, bold, optimistic – and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be. I thank my predecessors of both parties for their presence here. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. You know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength of our nation. As does President Carter, who I spoke to last night but who cannot be with us today, but whom we salute for his lifetime of service. I have just taken the sacred oath each of these patriots took — an oath first sworn by George Washington. But the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us. On “We the People” who seek a more perfect Union. This is a great nation and we are a good people. Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go. We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility. Much to repair. Much to restore. Much to heal. Much to build. And much to gain. Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now. A once-in-a-century virus silently stalks the country. It’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War Two. Millions of jobs have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed. A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer. A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear. And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat. To overcome these challenges – to restore the soul and to secure the future of America – requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity. In another January in Washington, on New Year’s Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. When he put pen to paper, the president said, “If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it.”My whole soul is in it. Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together. Uniting our people. And uniting our nation. I ask every American to join me in this cause. Uniting to fight the common foes we face: Anger, resentment, hatred. Extremism, lawlessness, violence. Disease, joblessness, hopelessness. With unity we can do great things. Important things. We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs. We can teach our children in safe schools. We can overcome this deadly virus. We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health care secure for all. We can deliver racial justice. We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world. I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy. I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real. But I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, and demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial. Victory is never assured. Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our “better angels” have always prevailed. In each of these moments, enough of us came together to carry all of us forward. And, we can do so now. History, faith, and reason show the way, the way of unity. We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature. For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward. And, we must meet this moment as the United States of America. If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail. We have never, ever, ever failed in America when we have acted together. And so today, at this time and in this place, let us start afresh. All of us. Let us listen to one another. Hear one another. See one another. Show respect to one another. Politics need not be a raging fire destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. And, we must reject a culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured. My fellow Americans, we have to be different than this. America has to be better than this. And, I believe America is better than this. Just look around. Here we stand, in the shadow of a Capitol dome that was completed amid the Civil War, when the Union itself hung in the balance. Yet we endured and we prevailed. Here we stand looking out to the great Mall where Dr. King spoke of his dream. Here we stand, where 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protestors tried to block brave women from marching for the right to vote. Today, we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office – Vice President Kamala Harris. Don’t tell me things can’t change. Here we stand across the Potomac from Arlington National Cemetery, where heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion rest in eternal peace. And here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, and to drive us from this sacred ground. That did not happen. It will never happen. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. To all those who supported our campaign I am humbled by the faith you have placed in us. To all those who did not support us, let me say this: Hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart. And if you still disagree, so be it. That’s democracy. That’s America. The right to dissent peaceably, within the guardrails of our Republic, is perhaps our nation’s greatest strength. Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion. And I pledge this to you: I will be a president for all Americans. I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did. Many centuries ago, Saint Augustine, a saint of my church, wrote that a people was a multitude defined by the common objects of their love. What are the common objects we love that define us as Americans? I think I know. Opportunity. Security. Liberty. Dignity. Respect. Honor. And, yes, the truth. Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson. There is truth and there are lies. Lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders – leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation — to defend the truth and to defeat the lies. I understand that many Americans view the future with some fear and trepidation. I understand they worry about their jobs, about taking care of their families, about what comes next. I get it. But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do. We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts. If we show a little tolerance and humility. If we’re willing to stand in the other person’s shoes just for a moment. Because here is the thing about life: There is no accounting for what fate will deal you. There are some days when we need a hand. There are other days when we’re called on to lend one. That is how we must be with one another. And, if we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future. My fellow Americans, in the work ahead of us, we will need each other. We will need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter. We are entering what may well be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus. We must set aside the politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation. I promise you this: as the Bible says weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning. We will get through this, together The world is watching today. So here is my message to those beyond our borders: America has been tested and we have come out stronger for it. We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. Not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s. We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example. We will be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress, and security. We have been through so much in this nation. And, in my first act as president, I would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent prayer to remember all those we lost this past year to the pandemic. To those 400,000 fellow Americans – mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We will honor them by becoming the people and nation we know we can and should be. Let us say a silent prayer for those who lost their lives, for those they left behind, and for our country. Amen. This is a time of testing. We face an attack on democracy and on truth. A raging virus. Growing inequity. The sting of systemic racism. A climate in crisis. America’s role in the world. Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways. But the fact is we face them all at once, presenting this nation with the gravest of responsibilities. Now we must step up. All of us. It is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do. And, this is certain. We will be judged, you and I, for how we resolve the cascading crises of our era. Will we rise to the occasion? Will we master this rare and difficult hour? Will we meet our obligations and pass along a new and better world for our children? I believe we must and I believe we will. And when we do, we will write the next chapter in the American story. It’s a story that might sound something like a song that means a lot to me. It’s called “American Anthem” and there is one verse stands out for me: “he work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day What shall be our legacy? What will our children say?… Let me know in my heart When my days are through America America I gave my best to you.” Let us add our own work and prayers to the unfolding story of our nation. If we do this then when our days are through our children and our children’s children will say of us they gave their best. They did their duty. They healed a broken land. My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with a sacred oath. Before God and all of you I give you my word. I will always level with you. I will defend the Constitution. I will defend our democracy. I will defend America. I will give my all in your service thinking not of power, but of possibilities. Not of personal interest, but of the public good. And together, we shall write an American story of hope, not fear. Of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness. An American story of decency and dignity. Of love and of healing. Of greatness and of goodness. May this be the story that guides us. The story that inspires us. The story that tells ages yet to come that we answered the call of history. We met the moment. That democracy and hope, truth and justice, did not die on our watch but thrived. That our America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world. That is what we owe our forebearers, one another, and generations to follow. So, with purpose and resolve we turn to the tasks of our time. Sustained by faith. Driven by conviction. And, devoted to one another and to this country we love with all our hearts. May God bless America and may God protect our troops. Thank you, America.
…
By Polityk | 01/21/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
British Government Looks Forward to Working with Biden
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labor Party opposition leader Keir Starmer expressed good wishes Wednesday to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on his Inauguration Day. Speaking in Parliament during his weekly question time with lawmakers, Johnson said he is looking forward to working with Biden and with his new administration “strengthening the partnership between our countries and working on our shared priorities.” Johnson mentioned climate change, pandemic recovery and “strengthening our transatlantic security” as shared priorities between the two nations. Starmer also stood to welcome Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, calling their upcoming inauguration “a victory for hope over hate and a real moment for optimism in the U.S. and around the world.” In an editorial Wednesday in the British Daily Mail newspaper, former British Prime Minister Theresa May said Biden and Harris give Britain “partners for positive action to make the world a safer place.” May used the same editorial to sharply criticize Johnson, her successor as prime minister, saying his government had “abandoned global moral leadership.”
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
EU Welcomes Biden Inauguration
Leaders of the European Union Wednesday hailed the inauguration of Joe Biden as a “new dawn” in America.
Speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels, ahead of Biden’s swearing-in as the 46th president of the United States, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “This time-honored ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol will be a demonstration of the resilience of American democracy and the resounding proof that once again after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House.”
European Council President Charles Michel was equally effusive but frank about how the U.S.-EU relationship changed under President Donald Trump. He said, “Today is more than a transition; today is an opportunity to rejuvenate our transatlantic relationship, which has greatly suffered in the last four years.”
The European Council is the E.U.’s political arm. Michel invited Biden to attend the council’s “extraordinary council meeting in Brussels, that can be in parallel to a NATO meeting.” He said European leaders want to work with the U.S. on boosting multilateral cooperation, ending the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling climate change, and joining forces on security and peace, among other issues.
The European leaders acknowledged the events of the last two weeks in Washington – the siege on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Michel said Biden’s inauguration is evidence the attackers failed and called on Biden to work with Europe.
“On the first day of his mandate I address a solemn proposal to the new U.S. president: let’s build a new founded pact for a stronger Europe, for a stronger America and for a better world,” he said.
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden, Harris to Take Office in New US Administration
Joe Biden will be the new U.S. president Wednesday, with Kamala Harris becoming the first woman to serve as vice president when the two are sworn in at noon in an inauguration that has been scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Absent will be the typical crowd of hundreds of thousands of people stretching from the Capitol down the National Mall. In their place, a sea of 200,000 U.S., state and territorial flags representing those who could not attend. Ahead of taking office, Biden has expressed a message of unity, and in particular the need to come together and face the challenges brought by the pandemic that has killed 400,000 people in the United States and caused economic hardship to many. “To heal, we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal,” Biden said Tuesday as he and Harris led a remembrance event in front of the Lincoln Memorial for those who have died. Some 400 lights were illuminated around the Reflecting Pool.Joe Biden hosts a memorial to honor those who died from COVID-19, Jan 19, 2020.“It’s important to do that as a nation — that’s why we’re here today. From sunset until dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all who we lost,” Biden said. He later pledged to “get right to work” after being sworn in, saying, “We don’t have a second to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face as a nation.” Biden and his wife, Jill, and Harris along with her husband, Doug Emhoff, will begin Wednesday attending a church service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. By the time the service starts, outgoing President Donald Trump is scheduled to be out of the White House on his way to his retreat in Florida. Trump is the first U.S. leader to not attend his successor’s inauguration in more than 150 years. Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend, as are former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, and former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. After the inauguration ceremony, Biden and Harris are scheduled to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, just outside Washington. Biden, who served eight years as vice president under Obama, then plans to sign a number of executive orders and other presidential actions. His transition team said those would include re-engaging with the World Health Organization, rejoining the Paris climate agreement, reversing Trump’s ban on entry to the United States from several primarily Muslim countries, launching a government effort to advance racial equity in the United States, boosting protections for people who entered the country illegally as minors and challenging Americans to do “their patriotic duty” and wear masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Wednesday evening, which is typically filled with extravagant balls on inauguration day, will instead feature a television special called “Celebrating America” during which both Biden and Harris will speak.Preparations ahead of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, in Washington, Jan. 18, 2021.Others taking part in the event include musical artists Katy Perry, Luis Fonsi, Tim McGraw and Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with actors Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria, basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, chef José Andrés, and Kim Ng, the first woman to be general manager of a Major League Baseball team. Authorities have boosted inauguration security with the event coming two weeks after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a deadly riot as they attempted to disrupt the official counting of Biden’s election win. Harris downplayed personal security concerns Monday, saying she is “very much looking forward to being sworn in.” “I will walk there, to that moment, proudly with my head up and my shoulders back,” she told reporters. U.S. security officials say they are taking every precaution, including FBI security screening of the 25,000 members of the National Guard assigned to Washington to protect the event. Twelve members of the National Guard were removed from inauguration duties Tuesday — at least two were found to have anti-government sympathies, The Washington Post reported. The Post said 10 were removed for reasons that did not involve extremism. The inaugural site is encircled in tall fencing topped with concertina wire, a much more pronounced show of security than has been common at past inaugurations. The House of Representatives last week impeached Trump for a second time, accusing him of inciting insurrection. The start of a trial in the Senate has not been set. If convicted, Trump, the first U.S. president to be impeached twice, could be barred from holding public office again.
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Presidency Reaches End
Donald Trump’s four-year term as U.S. president comes to a close Wednesday with a morning departure from the White House and a final flight on Air Force One to the southern state of Florida. He is set to get a sendoff ceremony with a red carpet, military band, a 21-gun salute and an unknown number of guests in attendance. Around the same time the flight lands, Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn in as the country’s new leader, with Trump breaking decades of tradition by not attending the inauguration ceremony. Trump’s future, including any political aspirations, remains uncertain. “I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning,” he said in a farewell video message released Tuesday. “There’s never been anything like it. The belief that a nation must serve its citizens will not dwindle but instead only grow stronger by the day.” Trump leaves office under the shadow of becoming the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, and an unclear start date for a Senate trial on charges he incited a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago. He briefly referenced the assault Tuesday, saying Americans “were horrified” and that political violence “can never be tolerated.”U.S. President Donald Trump departs the White House on travel to Texas, in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021.Trump also listed a number of foreign policy initiatives his administration carried out, including withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and the Paris Climate Accord, negotiating a new trade deal with neighboring Canada and Mexico, and applying tariffs on goods from China. “We reclaimed our sovereignty by standing up for America at the United Nations and withdrawing from the one-sided global deals that never served our interests,” Trump said. “And NATO countries are now paying hundreds of billions of dollars more than when I arrived just a few years ago. It was very unfair.” He called being president an “extraordinary privilege.” In some of his final acts in office, Trump issued pardons and sentence commutations for more than 140 people, including his former campaign chief Steve Bannon. Trump also rescinded an executive order from the early days of his term that banned officials in his administration from lobbying the government for five years after leaving those jobs, or from ever engaging in activities that would require the former official from registering as a foreign agent. The measure was part of his pledge to “drain the swamp,” or root out corruption in Washington.
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Defense Secretary Nominee: US Faces Enemies Both at Home and Abroad
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Pentagon warns the country is facing a series of enemies, both at home and abroad, and that it will fall, in part, to the United States military to overcome the dangers. Retired General Lloyd Austin appeared before lawmakers Tuesday and said his first priority if confirmed as the country’s next secretary of defense would be to make sure all military resources are brought to bear against the coronavirus pandemic. “The greatest challenge to our country right now … is the pandemic,” Austin told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wearing a suit and tie instead of the Army dress uniform he wore when he testified in Congress as the commander of U.S. military forces across the Middle East and South Asia.”It’s killed over 400,000 of our American citizens. That’s just an incredible, incredible loss of life,” he said. “We have to do everything we can to break the cycle of transmission and begin to turn this thing around.” Austin did not offer specifics about how he would ramp up the Pentagon’s current efforts to distribute the coronavirus vaccines as part of what has been known as Operation Warp Speed. But he said he does believe there is more the Pentagon can do to counter what he described as the “most immediate” national security challenge. Countering extremism at home Austin spoke shortly after U.S. defense officials announced 12 National Guard troops initially assigned to help provide security for Biden’s inauguration Wednesday were removed due to extremist ties. Austin pledged to take on what he called the enemy within. “The job of the Department of Defense is to keep America safe from our enemies, but we can’t do that if some of those enemies lie with our own ranks,” he said. “This [extremism] has no place in the military of the United States of America,” Austin added, describing it as part of a broader battle. “I will fight hard to stamp out sexual assault and to rid our ranks of racists and extremists and to create a climate where everyone fit and willing has the opportunity to serve,” he told U.S. lawmakers. The 67-year-old Austin is a familiar face to many of the lawmakers who will vote on whether to confirm him, though his nomination is not without controversy. U.S. law requires former active-duty military officers to be retired for seven years before they can serve as defense secretary – a law meant to ensure civilian control of the military. But Austin retired just five years ago, stepping down as the leader of U.S. Central Command in 2016. Waivers have been granted just twice, most recently in 2017 for retired General Jim Mattis, who served as outgoing President Donald Trump’s first defense secretary. On Tuesday, some lawmakers, including Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, told Austin they would not support a waiver. Cotton went as far as to call his support of a waiver for Mattis a mistake. Austin said he understood the concerns about “having another recently retired general” take the reins at the Pentagon and promised, that if confirmed, the voices of civilian defense officials would be heard. “The safety and security of our democracy demands competent civilian control of our armed forces,” he said. “I have spent my entire life committed to that.” Like many of President-elect Biden’s Cabinet selections, Austin focused on a change in course after four years under Trump and his “America First” policy. Reaffirming alliances Austin, in particular, noted the importance of the country’s military alliances, saying that one of his first trips would be to visit Japan, South Korea and Australia, key allies in the Indo-Pacific, where competition with China is heating up. “China is the most concerning competitor that we’re facing,” he said. “Their goal is to be a dominant world power,” Austin added. “We have to make sure that we begin to check their aggression.” The retired general promised lawmakers a “laser-like focus” on making sure the U.S. maintains a competitive edge over the growing Chinese military, though he said to do so will require investment in new technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing – areas in which China has been closing the gap. Austin said Russia, long viewed as Washington’s other key adversary in what Trump officials have described as an era of great power competition, remains a concern but not in the same way as Beijing. “Russia is also a threat but it’s in decline,” he said, warning Moscow can still do “a great deal of damage” in cyberspace, like with the SolarWinds hack, and with influence operations. @FBI has assigned initial blame on #SolarWindsHack to #Russia and “If that’s the case, I think Russia should be held accountable” per @LloydAustin “That’s my personal belief”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) January 19, 2021In addition to Russia and China, lawmakers questioned Austin about the incoming Biden administration’s position on Iran and talk the U.S. might seek to rejoin the so-called Iran nuclear deal. Iran – a “destabilizing element” Austin indicated any reentry to the nuclear deal would require movement by Tehran. “The preconditions for us considering to reenter into that agreement would be that Iran meet the conditions outlined in the agreement … back to where they should have been,” Austin said. And while the former CENTCOM commander said while the Trump administration’s successful efforts to help normalize ties between Israel and Arab countries in the region may be helping put additional pressure on the regime, the danger remains. “Iran continues to be a destabilizing element,” Austin told lawmakers. “[Iran] does present a threat to our partners in the region and those forces that we have stationed in the region.” As for Afghanistan, where a Trump administration drawdown has left just 2,500 U.S. troops, Austin expressed a cautious hope. “This conflict needs to come to an end. We need to see an agreement reached,” he said. If confirmed by the Senate, the former four-star general would be the first African American to serve as defense secretary.
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Blinken Pledges US Leadership with ‘Humility and Confidence’
Incoming President Joe Biden’s pick to be the next secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said his vision for restoring America’s standing abroad is leadership based on “humility and confidence.” Blinken testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, as VOA’s Cindy Saine reports from Washington.Camera: Saine Skype Video interviews
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden, Harris Honor US Coronavirus Dead Ahead of Inauguration
On the eve of their inauguration, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris honored the lives of the 400,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 with an event Tuesday in Washington. “To heal, we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal,” Biden said, speaking in front of the Lincoln Memorial after sunset, as 400 lights were illuminated along the Reflecting Pool. The memorial is located at the opposite end of the National Mall from the Capitol building where Biden and Harris will take their oaths of office on Wednesday. “It’s important to do that as a nation — that’s why we’re here today. From sunset until dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all who we lost,” he said. President-elect Joe Biden speaks during a COVID-19 memorial, with lights placed around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, in Washington, Jan. 19, 2021.Biden spoke alongside Harris and their spouses, Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, respectively. Also on the program were musical performances of “Amazing Grace” by a nurse who has worked through the pandemic, and a rendition of “Hallelujah.” The event is the first public appearance of Biden and Harris in Washington, D.C., ahead of the inauguration. Earlier in the afternoon, Biden spoke to supporters in his home state of Delaware, where much of his campaign and transition work has taken place, before boarding the plane to the capital. Other landmarks across the United States, including the Empire State Building in New York and the Space Needle in Seattle, are being illuminated. Biden’s inaugural committee said hundreds of towns, tribes and communities would also join “in a national moment of unity.” Vaccine numbersBiden and Harris have made addressing COVID-19 a major focus of the early part of their administration, with a goal of getting 100 million vaccinations administered in the first 100 days, along with providing help for those struggling with the economic effects of the pandemic. To date, more than 12 million people have received the first of a two-dose vaccine regimen in the country that by far has recorded more infections and deaths than any other in the world. Senate confirmation hearings Tuesday is also the start of Senate confirmation hearings for top officials Biden has nominated. Those appearing before Senate committees include Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd Austin, Homeland Security Secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas and Director of National Intelligence nominee Avril Haines. Members of the military stand guard at a checkpoint as security is increased ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, in Washington, Jan. 19, 2021.The Bidens spent part of Monday volunteering at a food bank in the eastern city of Philadelphia on the National Day of Service commemorating the annual holiday honoring late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. After she and Emhoff volunteered at a food bank in Washington, Harris downplayed personal security concerns ahead of the inauguration, saying she is “very much looking forward to being sworn in.” “I will walk there, to that moment, proudly with my head up and my shoulders back,” she told reporters. National GuardU.S. security officials say they are taking every precaution, including FBI security screening of the 25,000 members of the National Guard assigned to Washington to protect the event, which comes two weeks after pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. A Biden-Harris supporter stands at a corner as National Guards deploy around the city ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony, in Washington, Jan. 19, 2021.Twelve members of the National Guard were removed from inauguration duties Tuesday — at least two were found to have anti-government sympathies, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. The Post said 10 were removed for reasons that did not involve extremism. Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller said the troops were being given extra training as they arrive in Washington and told “that if they see or hear something that is not appropriate, they should report it to their chain of command.” The inaugural site is encircled in tall fencing topped with concertina wire, a much more pronounced show of security than has been common at past quadrennial inaugurations. Authorities have also closed the National Mall, along with roads and Metro subway stations in much of downtown Washington. Bridges into the city from the state of Virginia are also being closed. Outgoing presidentPresident Donald Trump, going against 160 years of U.S. tradition, is skipping his successor’s inauguration and instead is flying Wednesday morning to his retreat in Florida. Vice President Mike Pence is planning to attend the inauguration. The House last week impeached Trump for a second time, accusing him of inciting insurrection, and his Senate trial is set to start soon after Biden’s inauguration. If convicted, Trump, the first U.S. president to be impeached twice, could be barred from holding public office again. Before he leaves the White House, however, Trump is expected to grant dozens of pardons and commutations, possibly to key supporters convicted of crimes or facing trials.
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Washington on High Alert on Eve of Biden Inauguration
The U.S. National Guard, the part-time military service providing security for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, has removed 12 members from security duty for the event, military officials announced Tuesday.The move underscored authorities’ resolve to secure the quadrennial ceremony amid concern over violence following the deadly January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by militant supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump.Chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters that 10 of the 12 Guardsmen were removed for “questionable behavior” unrelated to extremism that was uncovered by the FBI during its vetting of all 25,000 Guardsmen deployed in the Washington area for Wednesday’s inauguration of Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The two others were pulled off duty after making “inappropriate” comments or texts, Hoffman said, without specifying their nature.National Guard troops reinforce the security zone on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 19, 2021, before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president.“We’re not asking questions of people who are flagged,” he said. “We’re, out of an abundance of caution, taking action and immediately removing them from the line of duty at the Capitol and the events taking place.”Hoffman said one of the two men who made inappropriate comments was identified by his chain of command and the other by an anonymous tipster. The Associated Press, citing two anonymous officials, reported that the two Guardsmen were removed after having been found to have ties to fringe militia groups.The development comes as tens of thousands of Guardsmen and federal agents remain on high alert in Washington in an unprecedented show of force that has transformed the nation’s capital into a veritable military fortress.The heightened security measures were put in place in response to FBI warnings about armed protests by Trump supporters in Washington and all 50 state capitals. Raising concern about a potential insider threat, several current and former military personnel have been charged in recent days in connection with the Capitol riots.However, some military officials are playing down the threat.U.S. Army Lieutenant General Daniel R. Hokanson testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing to lead the National Guard, June 18, 2020.Army General Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters, “I’m not concerned,” because only 12 of 25,000 Guardsman deployed in Washington have been flagged for removal.Hokanson confirmed a Washington Post report that the FBI had warned law enforcement agencies in recent days that far-right extremists had discussed posing as members of the National Guard in Washington.Biden’s swearing-in ceremony is set to take place shortly after noon on the West Front of the Capitol before what is likely to be the smallest inauguration audience in modern American history.Typically, hundreds of thousands of spectators fill up the National Mall — the landscaped park between the Capitol and the Washington Monument — on Inauguration Day. This year, about 200,000 flags representing every U.S. state and territory have been planted on the Mall in lieu of the spectators, and roughly 1,000 invited guests — mostly members of Congress and other dignitaries — will attend the swearing-in ceremony.Flags are placed on the National Mall, with the Washington Monument behind them, ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, in Washington, Jan. 18, 2021.Since the January 6 riots that left five people dead, the Capitol has remained closed to the public. A 7-foot fence — razor-wire and “non-scalable” — surrounds the Capitol grounds. A large swath of central Washington, including several blocks around the White House, is in lockdown with thousands of National Guard troops patrolling the deserted streets.Over the weekend, at least three people were arrested near security checkpoints, including a 22-year-old man carrying an unlicensed handgun and a 63-year-old unarmed woman posing as a law enforcement officer.Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen hold press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, Sept. 22, 2020.As the nation remained on edge ahead of Biden’s inauguration, officials sought to reassure the public about the safety of an otherwise peaceful American democratic tradition. In a video statement, Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said that “every level of law enforcement and the National Guard are working around the clock in Washington, D.C., to provide safety and security for Inauguration Day.”Moreover, he said, federal, state and local law enforcement are providing security for state capitals and government buildings in all 50 states.”As I’ve repeatedly said, the Justice Department will have no tolerance for anyone who attempts to mar the day with violence or other criminal conduct,” Rosen said. “Anyone who does that will be caught and they will be prosecuted.”Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, denouncing Trump for provoking the Capitol riots, said, “Tomorrow we’ll have a safe and successful inaugural right here on the West Front of the Capitol, the space that [President George H. W.] Bush 41 called democracy’s front porch.”
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Picks Transgender Woman as Assistant Health Secretary
President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general, Levine was appointed to her current post by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017, making her one of the few transgender people serving in elected or appointed positions nationwide. She won past confirmation by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate and has emerged as the public face of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” Biden said in a statement. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.”
A graduate of Harvard and of Tulane Medical School, Levine is president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. She’s written in the past on the opioid crisis, medical marijuana, adolescent medicine, eating disorders and LGBTQ medicine.
Biden and his transition team have already begun negotiating with members of Congress, promoting speedy passage of the president-elect’s $1.9 trillion plan to bring the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 400,000 people in the United States, under control. It seeks to enlist federal emergency personnel to run mass vaccination centers and provide 100 immunization shots in his administration’s first 100 days while using government spending to stimulate the pandemic-hammered economy,
Biden also says that, in one of his first acts as president, he’ll ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days to slow the virus’ spread.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris called Levine “a remarkable public servant with the knowledge and experience to help us contain this pandemic, and protect and improve the health and well-being of the American people.”
Levine joins Biden’s Health and Human Services secretary nominee Xavier Becerra, a Latino politician who rose from humble beginnings to serve in Congress and as California’s attorney general.
Businessman Jeff Zients is Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator, while Biden picked infectious-disease specialist Rochelle Walensky to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vivek Murthy as surgeon general and Yale epidemiologist Marcella Nunez-Smith to head a working group to ensure fair and equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments.
The government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, will also work closely with the Biden administration.
A transition spokesperson also said Tuesday that Dawn O’Connell will serve as senior counselor for coronavirus response to the health and human services secretary. O’Connell most recently served as director of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and was the senior counselor and deputy chief of staff to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell during the Obama administration.
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Parting Words: Will Trump Leave Biden a Note?
For three decades, each departing U.S. president has left his successor a short note wishing him well as he takes office. But whether Donald Trump will leave such a note for President-elect Joe Biden is not known.Past presidents have left their notes in the ornate Resolute Desk in the White House Oval Office, where the new chief executive will find the good wishes immediately upon starting his four-year term.Republican Ronald Reagan started the tradition in 1989. In his note, Reagan told his former vice president and incoming president George H.W. Bush: “George, I treasure the memories we share and wish you all the very best. You’ll be in my prayers.”Four years later, Bush graciously offered good wishes to the Democrat who had defeated him in the November election, Bill Clinton. “Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you,” he said.After two terms in the White House, Clinton told his successor, George W. Bush — George H.W. Bush’s son — in 2001, “You lead a proud, decent, good people. And from this day, you are president of all of us. I salute you and wish you success and much happiness.”After eight years as president, Bush offered Democrat Barack Obama his good wishes in 2009.“There will be trying moments. The critics will rage. Your ‘friends’ will disappoint you. But, you will have an Almighty God to comfort you, a family who loves you, and a country that is pulling for you, including me.”As he left office four years ago after two terms in office, Obama wished Trump well, even though he had campaigned in 2016 for Democrat Hillary Clinton. “Congratulations on a remarkable run,” Obama wrote to Trump. “Millions have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure. Michelle and I wish you and Melania the very best as you embark on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways which we can.”Biden Plans Ambitious Agenda for First 100-Days Covid-19 aid bill leads an agenda packed with Democratic prioritiesWhether Trump follows suit with a note to Biden is unknown, because Trump has already said he plans to break a string of long-standing traditions linked to the peaceful transition of power in Washington. Departing presidents usually greet their successors at the White House on the morning of Inauguration Day, and they ride together to the U.S. Capitol for the new president’s inauguration ceremony.But Trump said he is leaving before the inauguration for his own red-carpet, military send-off at an air base outside Washington, D.C., boarding Air Force One for the last time for a flight to his Atlantic oceanfront mansion in Florida. Biden, Harris to Honor US COVID Dead on Inauguration EveCalling event in Washington, other cities, ‘a national moment of unity’His refusal to attend Biden’s inauguration marks the first time in 160 years that an outgoing U.S. president has skipped his successor’s swearing-in ceremony, normally a public symbol of the peaceful transfer of power in the American democracy.Trump, a real estate titan-turned-Republican politician, has refused to concede he lost the November election to Biden, a Democratic fixture on the Washington political scene for nearly a half century.For several weeks, Trump has made baseless claims that he was cheated out of a second term even as dozens of judges, some of them appointed by Trump, found no substantial evidence of fraud that would have upended Biden’s victory.The House of Representatives impeached Trump last week after he urged thousands of his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6 to confront lawmakers as they certified the Electoral College vote acknowledging Biden’s win.The Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol, ransacked some congressional offices and scuffled with police, mayhem that left five people dead, including a police officer whose death is being investigated as a homicide. Dozens have been arrested on various charges as the investigation continues.Trump faces a Senate trial on a single impeachment charge — that he incited insurrection. If convicted, he could be barred from ever holding office again.
…
By Polityk | 01/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Garth Brooks Joins Lineup of Entertainers at Biden Inaugural
Add Garth Brooks to the lineup of entertainers at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden
“This is a great day in our household,” the country music superstar said during a virtual press conference Monday, two days before Biden is to be sworn in. “This is not a political statement. This is a statement of unity.”
Brooks, who joins Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez among others, performed during the inaugural celebration of President Barack Obama in 2009. He turned down a chance to play for President Donald Trump in 2017, citing a scheduling conflict.
Invited by incoming first lady Jill Biden, Brooks has known the Bidens for more than a decade, when Joe Biden was Obama’s vice president.
Brooks said that for this week’s inaugural, he will perform solo doing “broken down, bare-bones stuff,” and hinted at covering material by songwriters from outside the U.S.
He does not plan to sing his socially conscious “We Shall Be Free,” which he performed at the Obama inaugural.
Brooks praised the Bidens for being “hellbent on making things good” and said he welcomed the chance to help the country heal.
“I want to spend the next 10 years of my life not divided. I’m so tired of being divided,” he said.
…
By Polityk | 01/19/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Can ‘Outcompete’ China, Secretary of State Nominee Blinken Says
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s foreign policy team vows to work with partners around the world to take on pressing challenges ranging from receding democracy to the growing rivalry with China, Russia and other authoritarian states.
Tuesday, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, testifies at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Blinken will tell lawmakers the United States “can outcompete China.”
“We can revitalize our core alliances – force multipliers of our influence around the world. Together, we are far better positioned to counter threats posed by Russia, Iran, and North Korea, and to stand up for democracy and human rights,” according to prepared testimony. Blinken was deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration and has close ties with Biden. He was staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Biden was chair of the panel, and later was then-Vice President Biden’s national security adviser.
The incoming Biden administration may take possible confidence-building steps to reverse irritants in the U.S.-China relations, including easing visa restrictions on journalists and restoring closed consulates, according to Kurt Campbell, tapped as Biden’s senior coordinator for Indo-Pacific policy at the White House National Security Council, during a recent webinar at the Asia Society.
…
By Polityk | 01/19/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Tight Security Surrounds Scaled-back Presidential Inauguration
On January 20, the United States will inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden in Washington, D.C. Following the violent assault on the Capitol earlier this month by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump, Americans are bracing for the worst but hoping for unity, the theme of Biden’s inauguration. Mike O’Sullivan reports.
Camera: Genia Dulot and Natasha Mozgovaya
…
By Polityk | 01/19/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris Resigns Her Senate Seat
U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has formally resigned her Senate seat in preparation for her inauguration on Wednesday alongside President-elect Joe Biden. Harris had served as a senator representing the Western state of California since 2017. “Thank you California — it has been an honor serving as your senator for the past four years. Our country has faced many challenges, but I remain certain that our best days are ahead. I promise to keep standing up for our shared values as your Vice President,” Harris said in a tweet Monday. Gov. Gavin Newsom chose fellow Democrat Alex Padilla, who is currently California’s secretary of state, to serve the final two years of Harris’ term. Newsom announced his choice in December. Padilla, who is Mexican American, will be the first Latino senator to represent the state. Harris did not give a farewell speech on the Senate floor. The chamber is not scheduled to reconvene until Tuesday, the eve of Inauguration Day. As vice president, Harris will become the Senate’s presiding officer. With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, her ability to cast tie-breaking votes could be crucial for Democrats to pass their legislative agenda. In an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, Harris made note of the fact that she will continue to have a role in the Senate. “And this is not goodbye. As I resign from the Senate, I am preparing to take an oath that would have me preside over it,” she wrote. “As senator-turned-Vice-President Walter Mondale once pointed out, the vice presidency is the only office in our government that ‘belongs to both the executive branch and the legislative branch.’ A responsibility made greater with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.” Harris is the first woman ever elected vice president. She will also be the first Black woman and first woman of South Asian descent to serve in the role.
…
By Polityk | 01/19/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Capitol Shut Down Temporarily Over Nearby Fire
The U.S. Capitol complex was shut down temporarily on Monday out of an abundance of caution after a small fire broke out nearby, the U.S. Secret Service said, underscoring security jitters days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“There is no threat to the public,” the Secret Service said in a tweet.Public safety and law enforcement responded to a small fire in the area of 1st and F streets SE, Washington, D.C. that has been extinguished. Out of an abundance of caution the U.S. Capitol complex was temporarily shutdown. There is no threat to the public. pic.twitter.com/kQfAI4NxNK— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) January 18, 2021The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that, in an abundance of caution following an external security threat near the Capitol, its acting chief ordered a shutdown of the complex.
“There are currently no fires on or within the Capitol campus,” the statement said. “Members and staff were advised to shelter in place while the incident is being investigated.”
The lockdown follows the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington by Trump supporters, some of whom called for the death of Republican Vice President Mike Pence as he presided over the certification of Democrat Biden’s November election victory.
All participants in the rehearsal for Biden’s inauguration, were evacuated into the building, and participants were being held in the Capitol rotunda and other indoor areas, according to a Reuters witness. Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday.
The city’s fire department posted on Twitter that firefighters put out an outside fire near the Capitol complex.
“There were no injuries,” the department said. “This accounts for smoke that many have seen.”
…
By Polityk | 01/19/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
As Biden Presidency Nears, Many Americans Ready to Move On
Americans are getting ready to inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden after one of the nation’s most contentious elections and a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump. Mike O’Sullivan reports on the mood of the nation as the United States transitions into its next political phase.
Camera: Genia Dulot, Natasha Mozgovaya, Jose Pernalete
…
By Polityk | 01/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Security a Focus Ahead of Biden Inauguration
With U.S.-President-elect Joe Biden set to be inaugurated Wednesday, the FBI is conducting security screening of the 25,000 members of the National Guard assigned to Washington to protect the event amid worries of a potential insider attack. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told the Associated Press that he and other leaders have not seen evidence of any threats, and that so far the vetting had not turned up any issues among the Guard members. “We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation,” McCarthy said. McCarthy said there are intelligence reports suggesting outside groups are organizing armed rallies ahead of Inauguration Day.Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, left, accompanied by Gen. James McConville, Chief of Staff of the Army, right, speaks during a briefing on an investigation into Fort Hood, Texas at the Pentagon, Dec. 8, 2020, in Washington.Security is an even bigger focus than usual with the inauguration coming two weeks after thousands of supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. Trump had urged them to march to the building as lawmakers met to certify Biden’s victory. The immediate area around the Capitol is a virtual armed encampment, with fencing and concertina wire encircling the grounds. Authorities have also closed the National Mall along with roads and Metro stations in much of downtown Washington. Bridges into the city from the state of Virginia are also being closed. Thousands of National Guard troops and law enforcement officers are stationed across the area to protect against further violence. Despite the heightened security concerns, Biden plans to go ahead with the inauguration ceremony in its traditional location. “Our plan and our expectation is that President-elect Biden will put his hand on the Bible with his family outside on the west side of the Capitol on the 20th,” Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s incoming communications director, told ABC’s “This Week” show. She said the Biden team has “full faith in the United States Secret Service and their partners who have been working for over a year on the planning to ensure (the inauguration) is safe.”Streets sit largely deserted as National Guard personnel and police close off a block, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Washington, as part of increased security ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.Trump has refused to concede his defeat or congratulate Biden, while acknowledging there will be a “new administration” come Wednesday. Trump, ignoring 160 years of the U.S. tradition of an outgoing president attending his successor’s swearing-in ceremony to demonstrate a peaceful transfer of power, has announced he plans to skip the inauguration. Vice President Mike President is planning to attend. Trump instead is planning to leave Washington on Wednesday morning with a red-carpet ceremony as he boards Air Force One for a flight to his Atlantic Ocean retreat in Florida. Trump’s plan has drawn criticism, including from a group of five Democratic members of the House of Representatives who in a letter Saturday to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and Joints Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley urged the Pentagon to not divert any resources for what they called a “disruptive departure ceremony for the outgoing president.” “The proposed action is unwise, unconventional, and most importantly, puts the national security needlessly at risk by diverting essential personnel and resources from the protection of the U.S. Capitol, where all of the institutions of government will be represented, to providing for the security, protection, and transport of the outgoing president,” the lawmakers wrote. Signatories included Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee and Jan Schakowsky and Congressmen André Carson, Steven Cohen and Danny Davis.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California signs the article of impeachment against President Donald Trump in an engrossment ceremony before transmission to the Senate for trial on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Jan. 13, 2021.The House last week impeached Trump for a second time, accusing him of inciting insurrection, and his Senate trial is set to start soon after Biden’s inauguration. If convicted, Trump, the first U.S. president to be impeached twice, could be barred from ever again holding office. Before he leaves office, however, Trump is expected to grant several more pardons, possibly to key supporters convicted of crimes or facing trials. People familiar with the matter said Trump met Sunday with aides to finalize a list of more than 100 pardons and commutations to issue before his term ends. White House advisers have said Trump has had discussions about preemptively pardoning himself and other family members, none of whom have been charged with any crimes, but that at this point he is not expected to do so. Bedingfield said Sunday Biden is planning to lay out a “positive, optimistic” vision for the country in his inaugural address on Wednesday and “try to turn the page on the divisiveness, and the hatred of the last four years” under Trump. “I think that’s what Americans all across the country want,” Bedingfield said. “They want a government that once again is focused on doing the right thing by them and helping them in their day-to-day lives.” Once in power, Biden plans to quickly overturn numerous Trump policies. Incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain said Saturday night that Biden “is assuming the presidency in a moment of profound crisis for our nation. We face four overlapping and compounding crises: the COVID-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and a racial equity crisis.”
…
By Polityk | 01/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Small Numbers of Protesters Gather at Fortified US Statehouses
Small groups of right-wing protesters — some of them carrying rifles — gathered outside heavily fortified statehouses around the country Sunday as National Guard troops and police kept watch to prevent a repeat of the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol.There were no immediate reports of any clashes.Security was stepped up in recent days after the FBI warned of the potential for armed protests in Washington and at all 50 state capitol buildings ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday.A few people demonstrated in some capital cities, with crowds of a dozen or two, while streets in many other places remained empty. Some protesters said they supported President Donald Trump. But others said they weren’t backing Trump and had instead come to voice their support for gun rights or oppose government overreach.Some statehouses were surrounded by new protective fences, had boarded-up windows and were patrolled by extra police. Legislatures generally were not in session over the weekend.Tall fences also surrounded the U.S. Capitol. The National Mall was closed to the public, and the mayor of Washington asked people not to visit. Some 25,000 National Guard troops from around the country are expected to arrive in the city in the coming days.The security measures were intended to safeguard seats of government from the type of violence that broke out at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, when far-right Trump supporters galvanized by his false claims that the election had been stolen from him stormed the building while Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote.The attack left a Capitol Police officer and four others dead. More than 125 people have been arrested on charges related to the insurrection. At the Ohio Statehouse on Sunday, about two dozen people, including several carrying long guns, protested outside under the watchful eyes of state troopers before dispersing as it began to snow. Kathy Sherman, who was wearing a visor with Trump printed on it, said she supports the president but distanced herself from the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol.”I’m here to support the right to voice a political view or opinion without fear of censorship, harassment or the threat of losing my job or being physically assaulted,” she said. The roughly 20 protesters who showed up at Michigan’s Capitol, including some who were armed, were significantly outnumbered by law enforcement officers and media. At Oregon’s Capitol, fewer than a dozen men wearing military-style outfits, black ski masks and helmets stood nearby with semiautomatic weapons slung across their bodies. Some had upside-down American flags and signs reading such things as “Disarm the government.”At the Texas Capitol, Ben Hawk walked with about a dozen demonstrators up to the locked gates carrying a bullhorn and an AR-15 rifle hanging at the side of his camouflage pants. He condemned the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and said he did not support Trump.”All we came down here to do today was to discuss, gather, network and hang out. And it got blown and twisted completely out of proportion,” Hawk said.At Nevada’s Capitol, where demonstrators supporting Trump have flocked most weekends in recent months, all was quiet except for a lone protester with a sign.”Trump Lost. Be Adults. Go Home,” it read.Authorities in some states said they had no specific indication that demonstrations would occur, much less turn violent. Yet many state officials vowed to be prepared.One counter-protester came early to greet any demonstrators at the Pennsylvania Capitol, saying he had heard about the possibility of a meet-up of a far-right militant group. But no one else was there.”I’m fundamentally against the potential protesters coming here to delegitimize the election, and I don’t want to be passive in expressing my disapproval of them coming into this city,” Stephen Rzonca said.More than a third of governors had called out the National Guard to help protect their capitols and assist local law enforcement. Several governors declared states of emergency, and others closed their capitols to the public until after Biden’s inauguration.Some legislatures also canceled sessions or pared back their work for the coming week.Even before the violence at the Capitol, some statehouses had been the target of vandals and angry protesters during the past year.Last year, armed protesters entered the Michigan Capitol to object to coronavirus lockdowns. People angry over the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee on his neck for several minutes, vandalized capitols in several states, including Colorado, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin. Last month, crowds in Oregon forced their way into the state Capitol in Salem to protest its closure to the public during a special legislative session on coronavirus measures.Anticipating the potential for violence in the coming week, the building’s first-floor windows were boarded up and the National Guard was deployed. “The state Capitol has become a fortress,” said Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, a Democrat. “I never thought I’d see that. It breaks my heart.”
…
By Polityk | 01/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden’s Inauguration Will Look Like No Other
Except for rare cases, the inauguration of a new president symbolizes the American tradition of a peaceful transfer of power. VOA’s Steve Redisch explains how and why Wednesday’s swearing-in of Joe Biden will be far from ordinary.
…
By Polityk | 01/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Harris to Be Sworn In by Justice Sotomayor at Inauguration
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday, a history-making event in which the first Black, South Asian and female vice president will take her oath of office from the first Latina justice.Harris chose Sotomayor for the task, according to a person familiar with the decision. She’ll also use two Bibles for the swearing-in, one of which belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice.ABC News first reported the latest details of Harris’ inauguration plans.Harris has expressed admiration for both Sotomayor and Marshall. She and Sotomayor share experience as prosecutors, and she once called Marshall — like Harris, a graduate of Howard University — one of her “greatest heroes.”The vice president-elect said in a video posted to Twitter that she viewed Marshall as “one of the main reasons I wanted to be a lawyer,” calling him “a fighter” in the courtroom.And this will be the second time Sotomayor takes part in an inauguration. She swore in President-elect Joe Biden as vice president in 2013.
…
By Polityk | 01/17/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Researchers: More Than a Dozen Extremist Groups Took Part in Capitol Riots
In the 10 days since the violent Jan. 6 rampage at the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters, a fuller picture has emerged about the rioters, with researchers identifying members of more than a dozen extremist groups that took part in the riots.The storming of the Capitol drew extremists that included adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, the far-right group the Proud Boys, militiamen, white supremacists, anti-maskers and diehard Trump supporters, all gathered to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.“There have been any number of groups that the Southern Poverty Law Center normally tracks and monitors as a part of our work addressing hate and extremism,” said Lecia Brooks, chief of staff for the SPLC.Brooks shared with VOA the names of more than a dozen extremist groups that she said took part in the riots. Other extremist researchers interviewed by VOA confirmed the list. While designated as hate groups by the SPLC, none of the organizations is considered a domestic terrorist entity, and law enforcement officials have not accused any of them of conspiring to mount an attack on the Capitol.Clues into the rioters’ affiliation came from their clothes, signs, flags, banners and other markers, experts say. While some groups sought to disguise their ties, others flaunted their ideological affiliation. A group of Proud Boys in orange hats identified themselves on camera as members of a state chapter. The Three Percenters carried a U.S. Revolution-era American flag.“They were operating in plain sight,” said Brian Levin, executive director of the center for the study of hate and extremism at California State University.While the presence of the militias and the Proud Boys has attracted the most attention, members of lesser-known groups also joined the rioters.One is the Nationalist Socialist Club, or NSC-131, a recently founded hate group known for disrupting Black Lives Matter protests. Another is No White Guilt, a white nationalist group whose founder has blamed “anti-whiteism” for the spread of the coronavirus in the United States.Levin said that a combination of national groups, smaller state chapters and autonomous regional entities “participated in one way or another in the gathering.”Just how many extremist group members took part in the rioting is unclear. While QAnon boasts tens of thousands of adherents, several of the groups identified by the SPLC have far fewer members. The precise number taking part in the riots may never be known.While prosecutors have so far identified about 300 suspects accused of involvement in the riots, with one or two exceptions, they’ve not tied them to any known extremist groups. Two days after the riots, the FBI arrested Nick Ochs, the founder of the Proud Boys Hawaii, who was among the rioters.Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said law enforcement officials are aware of the ties between the rioters and extremist groups and are seeking to determine the extent to which the attack was a coordinated effort among multiple groups.“If you look at social media you could see a lot of affiliation with some of the protest activity, some of the rioting activity, and it runs the whole gamut of different groups, from soup to nuts, A to Z,” Sherwin told reporters Friday. “But right now … we’re not going to label anything because everything’s on the table in terms of extremist groups.”Arie Perliger, an extremism researcher and professor at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, said that the extremist groups that took part in the Capitol riots also attended the sometimes-violent protest against state-imposed lockdowns earlier this year.“I’m talking about the Boogaloo, I’m talking about the Proud Boys, I’m talking Rise Above Nation,” Perliger said. “I think what really brings all these groups together is their perception that Trump was a very effective vehicle to try to disrupt, to dismantle, to undermine the capabilities of the federal government.”Among those who stormed the Capitol were participants of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of a counterprotester.One was Tim Gionet, a far-right activist who goes by the online pseudonym “Baked Alaska.” Gionet livestreamed a video of himself on DLive from inside the capitol.users on Tim Gionet’s, aka Baked Alaska, live stream on DLive are calling to give lawmakers the “rope” and to “hang all the congressmen” on DLive while he’s streaming inside the Capitol building. pic.twitter.com/fq9t7KAlfA— hannah gais (@hannahgais) January 6, 2021He was arrested Friday by the FBI in Houston, Texas, and charged with participating in the Capitol riot.Another is Nick Fuentes, an organizer of the Charlottesville rally who attended Trump’s speech before the riots but did not enter the building, according to Brooks.Here is a look at some of the groups involved in the Capitol riot.Proud BoysThe Proud Boys describe themselves as a “Western male chauvinist” club.The group came to national attention after Trump, asked during a presidential debate in late October to denounce them, declared, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”The Proud Boys’ leader, Enrique Tarrio, is a staunch Trump supporter and led the Latinos for Trump group during the campaign.Brooks said the Proud Boys were among the organizers of the Capitol rioting. In the days leading up to the riots, Brooks said, the Proud Boys used social media platforms popular with extremists to telegraph that “this was something that was going to happen, that other extremist groups should be involved in, so they kind of they kept this going.”In late December, Tarrio wrote on Parler that the Proud Boys “will turn out in record numbers” on Jan. 6 without their traditional black and yellow uniform.Tarrio was arrested days before the riots and barred from returning to Washington. Two days after the riots, the FBI arrested Nick Ochs, the founder of Proud Boys Hawaii.Oath Keepers and Three PercentersThe Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters are part of a growing anti-government “Patriot” movement known for recruiting members of law enforcement and the military.The Oath Keepers was founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, a former paratrooper and Yale Law School graduate. The oath in the name is a reference to the vow military personnel make to defend the Constitution. The group requires its members to pledge, among other things, not to “disarm the American people,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.The Three Percenters, established in 2018, view themselves as the ideological descendants of the purported 3% of Americans that took part in the Revolutionary War.Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said dozens of Oath Keepers took part in the riots, many carrying the group’s flag. Rhodes was seen in photographs standing outside the Capitol building.The Oath Keepers took to Telegram and other social media and messaging platforms to urge their followers to show up for the protest, according to Beirich. In an interview after the Nov. 3 election with Alex Jones, a far-right radio show host and conspiracy theorist, Rhodes said “we have men stationed outside D.C. as a nuclear option. In case they attempt to remove the president illegally, we’ll step in and stop it.”QAnonQAnon is not an organized group but rather a growing conspiracy theory movement that believes Trump is secretly battling a “deep state” cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles that control the world.Trump has repeatedly retweeted messages from accounts that promote QAnon, and more than a dozen Republican candidates running for Congress in the November election have embraced some of its tenets.Beirich said a number of people marching on the Capitol were carrying QAnon signs.“QAnon were everywhere,” she said. “So it sure seems like a large chunk of the people who stormed the Capitol were members of QAnon.”The FBI has identified QAnon as a potential domestic terror threat.
…
By Polityk | 01/17/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Outlines ‘Day One’ Agenda of Executive Actions
In his first hours as president, Joe Biden plans to take executive action to roll back some of the most controversial decisions of his predecessor and to address the raging coronavirus pandemic, his incoming chief of staff said Saturday.The opening salvo would herald a 10-day blitz of executive actions as Biden seeks to act swiftly to redirect the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency without waiting for Congress.On Wednesday, following his inauguration, Biden will end Trump’s restriction on immigration to the U.S. from some Muslim-majority countries; move to rejoin the Paris climate accord; and mandate mask-wearing on federal property and during interstate travel. Those are among roughly a dozen actions Biden will take on his first day in the White House, his incoming chief of staff, Ron Klain, said in a memo to senior staff.Other actions include extending the pause on student loan payments and taking steps to prevent evictions and foreclosures for those struggling during the pandemic.”These executive actions will deliver relief to the millions of Americans that are struggling in the face of these crises,” Klain said in the memo.Key legislation awaits “Full achievement” of Biden’s goals will require Congress to act, Klain said, including passage of the $1.9 trillion virus relief bill the president-elect outlined Thursday. Klain said Biden would also propose a comprehensive immigration reform bill to lawmakers on his first day in office. The next day, Thursday, Klain said Biden would sign orders related to the COVID-19 outbreak aimed at reopening schools and businesses and expanding virus testing. The following day, Friday, will see action on providing economic relief to those suffering the economic costs of the pandemic. In the following week, Klain said, Biden will take actions relating to criminal justice reform, climate change and immigration — including a directive to speed the reuniting of families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under Trump’s policies. More actions will be added, Klain said, once they clear legal review. Incoming presidents traditionally move swiftly to sign an array of executive actions when they take office. Trump did the same, but he found many of his orders challenged and even rejected by courts.
…
By Polityk | 01/17/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Administration Carries Out 13th and Final Execution
The Trump administration on Friday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden — an opponent of the federal death penalty.Dustin Higgs, convicted in the killings of three women in a Maryland wildlife refuge in 1996, was the third to receive a lethal injection this week at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.President Donald Trump’s Justice Department resumed federal executions last year following a 17-year hiatus. No president in more than 120 years had overseen as many federal executions.Higgs, 48, was pronounced dead at 1:23 a.m. In his final statement, Higgs was calm but defiant, mentioning the victims by name.“I’d like to say I am an innocent man,” he said. “I did not order the murders.”Louds sobs of a woman crying inconsolably echoed for several minutes from a room reserved for Higgs’ family as his eyes rolled back in his head, showing the whites of his eyes before he stopped moving entirely.Biden signals he’ll end federal executionsThe number of federal death sentences carried out under Trump since 2020 is more than in the previous 56 years combined, reducing the number of prisoners on federal death row by nearly a quarter. It’s likely none of the around 50 remaining men will be executed anytime soon, with Biden signaling he’ll end federal executions.The only woman on death row, Lisa Montgomery, was executed Wednesday for killing a pregnant woman, then cutting the baby out of her womb and claiming it as her own. She was the first woman executed in nearly 70 years.Federal executions began as the coronavirus pandemic raged through prisons nationwide. Among those prisoners who got COVID-19 last month were Higgs and former drug trafficker Corey Johnson, who was executed Thursday. Some members of the execution teams have also previously tested positive for the virus.Not since the waning days of Grover Cleveland’s presidency in the late 1800s has the U.S. government executed federal inmates during a presidential transition, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Cleveland’s was also the last presidency during which the number of civilians executed federally was in the double digits in one year, 1896, during Cleveland’s second term.In October 2000, a federal jury in Maryland convicted Higgs of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the killings of Tamika Black, 19; Mishann Chinn, 23; and Tanji Jackson, 21. His death sentence was the first imposed in the modern era of the federal system in Maryland, which abolished the death penalty in 2013.Higgs’ lawyers argued it was “arbitrary and inequitable” to execute Higgs while Willis Haynes, the man who fired the shots that killed the women, was spared a death sentence.The federal judge who presided over Higgs’ trial two decades ago said he “merits little compassion.”“He received a fair trial and was convicted and sentenced to death by a unanimous jury for a despicable crime,” U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte wrote in a Dec. 29 ruling.In a statement after the execution, Higgs’ attorney, Shawn Nolan, said his client had spent decades on death row helping other inmates and “working tirelessly to fight his unjust convictions.”“The government completed its unprecedented slaughter of 13 human beings tonight by killing Dustin Higgs, a Black man who never killed anyone, on Martin Luther King’s birthday,” Nolan said. “There was no reason to kill him, particularly during the pandemic and when he, himself, was sick with COVID that he contracted because of these irresponsible, super-spreader executions.”’Difficult upbringing’Higgs’ Dec. 19 petition for clemency argued he had been a model prisoner and dedicated father to a son born shortly after his arrest. Higgs had a traumatic childhood and lost his mother to cancer when he was 10, the petition said.“Mr. Higgs’s difficult upbringing was not meaningfully presented to the jury at trial,” his attorneys wrote.Higgs was 23 on the evening of Jan. 26, 1996, when he, Haynes and a third man, Victor Gloria, picked up the three women in Washington, D.C., and drove them to Higgs’ apartment in Laurel, Maryland, to drink alcohol and listen to music. Before dawn the next morning, an argument between Higgs and Jackson prompted her to grab a knife in the kitchen before Haynes persuaded her to drop it.Gloria said Jackson made threats as she left the apartment with the other women and appeared to write down the license plate number of Higgs’ van, angering him. The three men chased after the women in Higgs’ van. Haynes persuaded them to get into the vehicle.Instead of taking them home, Higgs drove them to a secluded spot in the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, federal land in Laurel.“Aware at that point that something was amiss, one of the women asked if they were going to have to ‘walk from here’ and Higgs responded, ‘Something like that,’” said an appeals court ruling upholding Higgs’ death sentence.Higgs handed his pistol to Haynes, who shot all three women outside the van before the men left, Gloria testified.“Gloria turned to ask Higgs what he was doing, but saw Higgs holding the steering wheel and watching the shootings from the rearview mirror,” said the 2013 ruling by a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.Investigators found Jackson’s day planner at the scene of the killings. It contained Higgs’ nickname, “Bones,” his telephone number, his address number and the tag number for his van.Chinn worked with the children’s choir at a church, Jackson worked in the office at a high school and Black was a teacher’s aide at National Presbyterian School in Washington, according to The Washington Post.On the day in 2001 when the judge formally sentenced Higgs to death, Black’s mother, Joyce Gaston, said it brought her little solace, the Post reported.“It’s not going to ever be right in my mind,” Gaston said, “That was my daughter. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with it.”
…
By Polityk | 01/16/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Military Atmosphere Engulfs US Capital Before Biden Inauguration
Thousands upon thousands of troops are preparing to pour into an increasingly fortified Washington ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, as the district begins to remind some officials of beleaguered capitals such as Baghdad or Kabul, rather than the seat of government for the leader of the free world.Military officials said Friday that 18,000 armed troops with the United States National Guard were expected to arrive in the U.S. capital over the next five days, in addition to the 7,000 sent in following the January 6 riot and siege of the U.S. Capitol by extremists supporting outgoing President Donald Trump.The National Guard — a part-time force that can be deployed overseas but is often called upon to help with domestic emergencies — has become a key contributor to what some officials are describing as the strongest capital-area security response in history.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 9 MB480p | 12 MB540p | 16 MB720p | 33 MB1080p | 65 MBOriginal | 78 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioThe troops, along with the area’s police forces, are being briefed on the rules of engagement, which govern when they are authorized to respond with potentially deadly force.Already, numerous streets around the Capitol have been closed to traffic, while the core area of the National Mall, which runs from the Lincoln Memorial to the west side of the Capitol and has been the site of some of the country’s most famous protests, is closed to visitors.’Green Zone’Temporary fences increasingly block the view, while the U.S. Secret Service, in charge of security planning for the January 20 inauguration, has created Washington’s own “Green Zone” for the occasion, warning that any vehicle trying to enter will be searched for explosives and weapons.The beefed-up security stands in sharp contrast to the presidential inauguration four years ago, when 8,000 National Guard troops were called in to help.“I’m sad about it,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters during a security briefing Friday.“I’m committed to making sure that we get our city back,” she said. “But I also know that we have a special responsibility that there is a peaceful transition of power in our country.”Officials organizing the security effort say the goal is to make sure the Biden inauguration is not marred by the same violence that led to the riot and siege of the Capitol earlier this month that left five people dead.Concerning ‘chatter’They warn, however, that the threat of violence at the hands of domestic extremists is real.“We are seeing an extensive amount of concerning online chatter,” Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, warned late Thursday, while briefing outgoing Vice President Mike Pence on the preparations.”We’re tracking calls for potential armed protests and activity leading up to the inauguration,” Wray said. “We’re concerned about the potential for violence at multiple protests and rallies planned here in [Washington].”Officials said Friday that permits had been approved for two protests along Pennsylvania Avenue, which leads to the White House. But they said the protests would be limited to about 100 people, who will have to go through metal detectors and be escorted by police.They were unsure whether extremist groups, such as the far-right Boogaloo Boys or Proud Boys, might seek to cause trouble.“I don’t know if anyone has raised their hand to say, ‘We are coming, we will be there,’ but we are preparing as if they are,” Matt Miller, the agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office, told reporters.JUST IN: Senate Intelligence Committee requesting update from @DNI_Ratcliffe on “all intelligence related to efforts by foreign actors to disrupt the inauguration”Also on what @ODNIgov capabilities will be deployed for #BidenInaugurationpic.twitter.com/3RaWC9ncIU— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) January 15, 2021Other parts of Washington are bracing for possible spillover.“We do recognize that because we have such a robust and hardened perimeter, we have so many assets … there is a potential for people to go elsewhere, whether it’s back to their state capitals or to other parts of the city,” Miller said.“It’s not just all hands on deck for the [Green] zone. It’s all hands on deck for our entire agency,” said Robert Contee, Washington’s acting police chief. “Because our entire agency has a responsibility for the entire city.”NEW: Threat to #Washington – “The inauguration is not the only target or activity out there that is being discussed” per @MayorBowser— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) January 15, 2021Security measures are also being put into place in the neighboring state of Virginia, which agreed to shut down a number of roads and bridges leading into Washington.Other states are also on alert. Officials say they are in contact with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and local police agencies sometimes on an hourly basis.“We have a tremendous capability built up to exchange information and be in the loop on potential threats,” Jared Maples, director of New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, told VOA.“As far as the potential threat to the [New Jersey] statehouse [that] we are tracking, there’s been a lot of chatter,” he said, noting a proliferation of flyers pushed via social media promoting insurrection.“Right now, we don’t have a specific or credible threat,” Maples said. “But we are absolutely chasing down every single lead. We are investigating to the fullest extent any tip that comes in.”Arrests elsewhereOther states have started making arrests.Florida officials, for example, arrested a former U.S. Army infantryman on Friday, charging him with inciting violence after he tried to rally his social media followers to attack protesters who might gather at the state Capitol in Tallahassee.Daniel Baker, who had been kicked out of the Army and later fought against the Islamic State terror group in Syria with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), was reportedly upset over the riot and siege of the U.S. Capitol.“Extremists intent on violence from either end of the political and social spectrums must be stopped, and they will be stopped,” Lawrence Keefe, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida, said in a statement.In New York on Tuesday, federal agents arrested 40-year-old Eduard Florea after he posted on social media that he planned to travel to Washington to kill one of the newly elected Democratic senators from Georgia.Fears that some extremists might try to target U.S. officials and lawmakers grew Thursday after a court filing related to the siege of the Capitol alleged some of the rioters were seeking “to capture and assassinate elected officials.”But acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said Friday that there was no “direct evidence” that any of the rioters had created so-called “kill capture teams.”
…
By Polityk | 01/16/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Armed Protests Feared Ahead of Inauguration
The FBI is issuing new security warnings ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, citing potential armed protests in state capitals nationwide. Meanwhile, Congress is considering proposals to establish a national bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov
…
By Polityk | 01/16/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
