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Ted Cruz wins Maine Republican caucus
March 5, 2016 -
Kamala Harris is officially the first woman vice president of the United States
11:52 a.m. -
Pence introduced at the inauguration as Trump arrives in Florida
11:36 a.m. -
Bernie Sanders steals the inauguration with his grumpy chic outfit
11:24 a.m. -
Watch Clinton, Bush, Obama arrive at Biden inauguration
11:10 a.m. -
Heroic Capitol Police officer who fended off Senate from mob will escort Kamala Harris at the inauguration
10:58 a.m. -
Biden asks Trump's surgeon general to step down before he's even sworn in
10:44 a.m. -
Cheap, 'generic' drug reduces COVID-19 death risk by 75 percent, trials suggest
10:03 a.m.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won the Maine Republican caucus on Saturday, with 46 percent of the vote.
Donald Trump came in second with 33 percent, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 12 percent and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio with 8 percent. Richard Bennett, chairman of the Maine Republican Party, said turnout was extremely high, with 18,650 Republicans participating; in 2012, 5,585 votes were cast. Catherine Garcia
Kamala Harris took the oath of office on Wednesday, making history as the first woman and first woman of color to break the glass ceiling of the executive branch.
Harris also makes history as the nation's first African-American and first South Asian vice president of the United States. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor administered the oath. Watch the moment below. Jeva Lange
.@KamalaHarris is sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor as the vice president of the United States. #Inauguration2021 pic.twitter.com/ECorckECIC
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 20, 2021
Vice President Mike Pence has arrived at President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration— while President Trump, at almost the same time, landed in Florida.
Pence was introduced at Biden's inauguration on Wednesday alongside second lady Karen Pence, and they received "hearty, bipartisan applause," CNN's Jeremy Diamond writes. The vice president's arrival was more notable than usual considering Trump refused to attend the ceremony, leaving Washington, D.C., beforehand despite the tradition of presidents being in attendance for their successor's swearing-in.
Trump had departed on Air Force One for Florida earlier after delivering farewell remarks, and the plane landed within minutes of Pence being introduced.
Among those who were previously introduced at the inauguration include former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and according to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Clinton went "out of her way to greet" Pence, and "they exchanged a few words." Despite his refusal to attend the inauguration, Trump left a note in the White House for Biden, as is tradition, and The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reports Pence also left a note for his successor, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Brendan Morrow
BREAKING: VP Pence arrives at the Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Washington, DC, as President Trump, who is not attending the ceremony, lands aboard Air Force One in south Florida. pic.twitter.com/PPO6ws7sK1
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 20, 2021
It's a little known fact that the presidential inauguration actually doubles as a fashion show of preppy winter 'fits, and President-elect Joe Biden's was no different. But the winner of the Capitol steps on Wednesday wasn't Michelle Obama, in her plum Sergio Hudson, or Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' step-daughter, Ella Emhoff, in her embellished coat, or Jill Biden, in her custom blue Markarian.
No, it was the grumpy chic outfit of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders:
The pose. The mittens. The social distance. pic.twitter.com/kwHH7AzZY8
— Vulture (@vulture) January 20, 2021
Bernie is your uncle who walks into your graduation dinner, hands you a check he just ripped out of his checkbook, no card, and asks the waiter where the nearest UPS Dropbox is because he needs to return something while he’s out. pic.twitter.com/Hpc8EWABCl
— R. Eric Thomas (@oureric) January 20, 2021
Bernie is wearing his I am once again asking you jacket pic.twitter.com/mtkm7Sx7l8
— Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) January 20, 2021
Sanders, naturally, wears mittens made by a teacher from Essex Junction, Vermont, and knit from "repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles," BuzzFeed News' Ruby Cramer reports. Jeva Lange
President Trump departed Washington, D.C., before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, but three of the other four living presidents and first ladies have gathered on stage to support their latest successor. Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. and Laura Bush, and Barack and Michelle Obama were all introduced ahead of the ceremony.
Former Pres. Bill Clinton and former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton arrive for the inauguration of Joe Biden. https://t.co/WegAJRvMdn pic.twitter.com/ZFkAlx9icr
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 20, 2021
Former president George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush arrive to take their seats at the U.S Capitol for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.https://t.co/UAlbBuSLTS #InaugurationDay pic.twitter.com/RcyLmk1o3l
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 20, 2021
Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama are introduced ahead of incoming President Joe Biden's swearing in at the US Capitol https://t.co/bpxEa1gj8c pic.twitter.com/btxreVMLE0
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) January 20, 2021
It's customary for former presidents to attend the inauguration — the Clintons, Bushes, and Obamas were all at Trump's ceremony in 2017 — though Biden's event comes amid a pandemic and security concerns following the Jan. 6 Capitol siege. Still, they were all on board.
Former President Jimmy Carter, meanwhile, decided not to attend, marking the first time he's missed a ceremony since he was sworn in in 1977. Of course, it's quite safe to assume the 96-year-old Carter is not snubbing Biden, but rather staying home for health and safety reasons, as he has through much of the pandemic, per ABC News. Tim O'Donnell
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris had a fitting escort to walk her up the stairs of the Capitol on Wednesday: Eugene Goodman, the lone, Black police officer who bravely lured rioters away from the Senate chamber during the invasion of the Capitol building earlier this month.
Goodman is the new acting deputy House Sergeant at Arms, and a candidate for the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest honors a civilian can receive. "I've always said, if bullets start ripping through, I'm finding Goodman," a friend of Goodman's told The Washington Post. "He's been in hostile firefights [in Iraq], so he knows how to keep his head."
Goodman will also accompany Harris on the presidential platform on Wednesday, where she will be sworn in as vice president of the United States. Jeva Lange
NEW: Eugene Goodman, the Capitol Police officer who put himself in harms way while defending the building from a violent mob, has been named the Acting Deputy House Sergeant at Arms.
Goodman will escort Vice President-elect Kamala Harris up the stairs of the Capitol today. pic.twitter.com/n3FGg0jRtp
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 20, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden is revamping outgoing President Trump's coronavirus approach before he even takes office.
On Wednesday morning, Biden asked Surgeon General Jerome Adams, whom Trump nominated for a four-year term back in 2017, to step down from his post. Biden has already announced his intention to nominate former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to the post, but will install an acting surgeon general in the meantime, The Washington Post reports.
The nation's top doctor is appointed for four-year terms; Adams took office in Sept. 2017, allowing him to stay on through this September. But amid the Trump administration's bungling of the COVID-19 crisis, it seems Biden wants a fresh start. He'll even bypass Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz, a career civil servant, in naming an acting top doctor to take Adams' spot, the Post reports.
Adams acknowledged his forced resignation in a statement, which focused more on smoking cessation and other health crises than on COVID-19. Kathryn Krawczyk
I've been asked by the Biden team to step down as Surgeon General. Its been the honor of my life to serve this Nation, and I will do all I can to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve and maintain health. See my full statement at: https://t.co/pCkbpealt8
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) January 20, 2021
Ivermectin, a cheap and "generic" antiparasitic drug "used all over the world," may significantly reduce the risk of death in patients suffering from moderate to severe cases of COVID-19, researchers have found.
The University of Liverpool's Andrew Hill and others carried out a meta-analytical breakdown of 18 studies that showed the drug — which is off-patent and commonly used to treat lice and scabies, as well as some more serious parasites — appears to reduce inflammation and eliminate the coronavirus swiftly, the Financial Times reports. In six of those trials, the mortality risk was cut by 75 percent in patients with more serious COVID-19 infections. The research team has also theorized the drug could also make it harder for infected people to transmit the virus.
Hill said he's encouraged by the findings, but further studies are needed, especially since several of those in the analysis were not peer-reviewed. FT also notes that meta-analyses, which look at many studies at once, can be prone to errors. Read more at the Financial Times. Tim O'Donnell