Good morning, CivMixers. It’s a new day in America.
Regardless of who you voted for in the 2020 presidential election, that statement is simply a reality. We have collectively turned a page and witnessed history being made at our nation’s capital.
It was not your average inauguration – and I say that as someone who has been on hand in D.C. in the past to cover previous swearing-in ceremonies and also the post-ceremony celebrations. This, thanks to the pandemic and the violent uprising at the Capitol, was something altogether different.
And maybe that was fitting.
There was, appropriately and expectedly, a ton of media coverage of the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. I’m only going to be able to get through a smattering of headlines.
I have to confess to having not watched the events are they unfolded – I had work to do and knew I would be too distracted. But I did see the outtakes after the fact, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried. To have an entire nation’s aspirations and hope and exhaustion and upset weighing on your shoulders must be quite a thing.
And how about Amanda Gorman, at 22, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history?! Wow. If you haven’t seen her inauguration poem, you have missed something really special. Do yourself a favor and Google it.
We have a lot to get through, so I’m going to cut this part shorter than usual. But it’s worth noting that it’s National Hugging Day.
There were a lot of fist bumps on the podium yesterday, and also some air hugs. The pandemic has robbed us of so much and of so many, but the lack of human contact is perhaps what I have felt most acutely.
Man exists in a group – so says Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. To be more succinct about it: We need to feel like we belong and are are loved by our fellow humans in order to survive. Basic interpersonal contact – a handshake, a hug, a pat on the shoulder or the back – lets us know we are accepted and wanted and welcomed. It’s a ritual and a societal bedrock, and, for the most part, it’s gone.
I’m hoping that by the time we’re allowed to be closer than six feet to one another again, I won’t have completely forgotten how to interact with people outside my pod.
We’re in for a cold snap, which is forecast to start this weekend. Today, however, will be more of the same – snow showers, clouds and temperatures in the mid-30s.
In the headlines…
Joe Biden took the oath of office just before noon on a cold but bright and sunny day at the U.S. Capitol, becoming the 46th president of the United States, the culmination of a nearly 50-year career in politics and a lifetime of tragedy and triumph.
“This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day,” Biden began in his inaugural address. “We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.” (The full speech is here).
In one of his first official acts, Biden recommitted the U.S. to the Paris climate agreement and ordered federal agencies to start reviewing and reinstating more than 100 environmental regulations weakened or rolled back by former President Donald Trump.
Moving with an urgency not seen from any other modern president, Biden signed 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations from the Oval Office.
Harris has made history as the first female, first black and first Asian-American vice president. Before taking the oath, she paid tribute in a video posted online to the women who she says came before her, saying: “I stand on their shoulders.”
Harris and husband, Douglas Emhoff, were escorted at the inauguration ceremony by Eugene Goodman, the Capitol police officer hailed as a hero for single-handedly leading the mob that broke into the Capitol two weeks ago away from the Senate chamber.
Harris was sworn in by Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve on the nation’s highest court, a calculated choice from a former senator from California who has highlighted women of color during her career.
Instead of a series of inaugural balls, there was a star-studded virtual evening celebration that was hosted by actor Tom Hanks and featured performers such as Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry and Eva Longoria. Oh, and also fireworks.
Earlier in the day, Lady Gaga and J-Lo performed at the inauguration ceremony.
“Inaugurations signal a tradition of a peaceful transfer of power that is over two centuries old,” Barack Obama said in a joint video released late yesterday with former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
A New Hampshire 13-year-old who spoke at the Democratic National Convention about his stutter recited a portion of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address last night at Biden’s inaugural celebration.
Harris won’t immediately move into the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory in northwest Washington, D.C., that is traditionally used by vice presidents, because there are repairs that need to be done first.
Dr. Jill Dr. Biden, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership, will continue to teach writing at Northern Virginia Community College, where she taught full-time during her two terms as second lady.
Following a request from Biden, the Education Department said it would extend the suspension of federal student loan payments through Sept. 30 – days before the moratorium is set to expire at the end of this month.
Biden also directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to extend the federal eviction moratorium that was put in place as a result of the economic fallout caused by the pandemic.
The Biden administration unfroze $27.4 billion in government funding that Trump had locked up before leaving office.
Biden is expected to nominate Michael Barr, a former Treasury Department official, to a top post overseeing national banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
Senators confirmed Avril Haines to be Biden’s director of national intelligence, giving him his first Senate-confirmed Cabinet pick.
Michael Ellis, the GOP operative who was installed as the top lawyer at the National Security Agency (NSA) in the waning days of the Trump administration, was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
The Proud Boys have turned on Trump.
The former president’s big send off was very sparsely attended.
“Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty,” Trump said before embarking on Marine One for the last time. “Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.”
Trump did leave a note for his successor – one of the only inauguration traditions he agreed to participate in. Biden said the letter was “very generous.”
Over the past year, Trump’s family business suffered steep declines in revenue as the pandemic upended the nation’s hospitality industry, according to a financial disclosure report released hours after he departed office.
Biden has made some decorating changes in the Oval Office.
An unidentified, lone man was seen kneeling before the grave of Biden’s late son, Beau, during Biden’s inauguration address.
Some of the same Republicans who were challenging the results of the 2020 election are now welcoming Biden to the White House.
Federal authorities arrested a Florida man they called a self-described organizer for the Proud Boys, saying he encouraged members of the far-right group to attend the Washington, D.C., rally that resulted in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Chuck Schumer is officially majority leader of the U.S. Senate after two new members from Georgia were sworn in.
“That I should be the leader of this new Senate majority is an awesome responsibility — awesome in a biblical sense like the angels that trembled in awe before God,” Schumer, 70, said. “Today, I feel the full weight of that responsibility, the sense of reverence and awe at the trust placed in me.”
Biden might get to bring his Peleton to the White House after all, though it would have to be altered so as not to be a cybersecurity risk.
The @POTUS Twitter account has a new user.
Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki, a press and communications veteran in the Obama White House, promised last night the Biden administration would change the tone — and trust level — with the media, starting with daily briefings.
Biden will pause some deportations for 100 days in order to ensure “fair and effective immigration enforcement” and focus on U.S.-Mexico border security and the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Department of Homeland Security memo issued yesterday.
A new rule that would fine members who do not follow new security protocols, including walking through a metal detector, will be up for a House vote today.
The push to inoculate Americans against the coronavirus is hitting a roadblock: A number of states are reporting they are running out of vaccine, and tens of thousands of people who managed to get appointments for a first dose are seeing them canceled.
Two small new studies suggest that some COVID-19 variants may pose unexpected challenges to the immune system, even in those who have been vaccinated — a development that most scientists had not anticipated seeing for months, even years.
The nation’s top doctor, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams turned in his resignation at Biden’s request as the new administration sought to make a clean break from ex-President Trump’s bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden has directed the U.S. government to rejoin the World Health Organization, reversing yet another Trump decision, and Dr. Anthony Fauci will deliver a speech today to the WHO as head of a U.S. delegation.
Biden also signed an executive order mandating the wearing of face masks on federal property.
Amazon wasted no time in reaching out to newly installed President Biden about prioritizing its essential workers in his administration’s vaccine distribution plans.
More workers called in sick in 2020 than at any time in at least two decades, a USA TODAY analysis of federal labor market data has found.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on the Biden administration to ramp up production of the Covid-19 vaccine, warning that New York will exhaust its allotted doses on a weekly basis for the foreseeable future.
Cuomo said it’s “just a matter of time” before a new strain of the coronavirus comes to the U.S. that is more lethal, and he said he believes we should expect a new strain that the currently available vaccines would not work on, as “a matter of probability.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the pace of political fundraising in New York, yet Cuomo still raised more than $4 million over the past six months, according to recently released campaign filings.
Coronavirus vaccine shortages have forced New York City to reschedule 23,000 inoculation appointments this week, prompting Mayor de Blasio to renew calls that the federal government compel manufacturers to step up production.
Just over a week after the NYPD started a widespread vaccine rollout among its ranks, the department has hit the brakes due to a statewide shortage.
New York lawmakers are turning to Biden during his first day on the job, begging him to implore Cuomo to publicly release the total number of nursing home residents who died from the pandemic.
Queens Democratic Councilman Bob Holden wants the City Council to create a committee devoted to animal welfare, following media reports of squalid and neglectful conditions at the Big Apple pound, according to a letter sent to Speaker Corey Johnson.
The moment the FBI surrounded an Upper East Side resident accused of traveling to Washington, D.C., with a small arsenal to attend the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was captured on video by a neighbor.
Three months after she launched her NYC mayoral bid with great fanfare, Maya Wiley’s candidacy has failed to catch fire.
A growing cadre of New York City school principals is objecting to the Jan. 27 Specialized High School Admissions Test.
A plan to rezone and develop Governors Island is facing pushback from community members concerned about losing green space.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined a picket line in the Bronx yesterday to support food and manufacturing workers.
The NYPD said it would “re-evaluate” its security measures at Trump Tower and other locations across the city affiliated with the outgoing president now that Biden has taken office.
Attorney General Letitia James urged a Manhattan judge not to let the NRA dodge her lawsuit claiming financial mismanagement by simply packing up its guns and moving to Texas.
New York’s rollout of its plastic bag ban last year was so muddled and confusing that a judge awarded court fees to the plaintiffs who had sued over the prohibition.
A former employee in the state comptroller’s office faces federal criminal charges for allegedly conspiring to steer state business to a company that paid him kickbacks, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
A New York Supreme Court judge ordered a review of more than 1,000 affidavit ballots in NY-22, home to the nation’s last uncertified congressional race.
Three National Guardsmen were killed after a military helicopter crashed in rural Mendon, N.Y. during a routine training mission. The governor ordered that flags be flown at half-staff on all government buildings.
Fans who want to see the Siena men’s and women’s basketball teams win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament will probably have to stay home and watch.
The local NAACP is skipping today’s scheduled community meeting with the lone remaining Schenectady superintendent of schools candidate, as an activist with children in the district contends the search process was flawed from the start.
The Albany County jail will be on lockdown for the next 29 days after a recent outbreak of coronavirus among prisoners and jail staff, causing two inmates to be sent to the jail’s infirmary with more severe symptoms, said Sheriff Craig Apple.
The wildlife-themed inn and glamping sites on the grounds of the old Catskill Game Farm have changed hands and the new owners plan to add a menagerie of new activities.
Western New York environmental advocates want state officials to ensure the safety of federal plans to deal with nuclear waste at the West Valley Demonstration Project after a recent federal report found that “critical decisions regarding the project are still unresolved.”
Jay-Z is launching a $10 million fund to invest in minority-owned cannabis startups to bolster Black participation in the industry.
