Daily Digest for January 15, 2021 Posted at 7:45 a.m. by Michael Olson |
Good morning,
On Wednesday, Kamala Harris will become the first woman, and the first woman of color, to serve as vice president of the United States.
Twelve years ago, hundreds of thousands of people filled the National Mall to watch Barack Obama make history as the nation's first Black president.
But when Harris takes the oath, the mall will very likely be nearly empty.
A surging pandemic had already led President-elect Joe Biden and Harris to urge supporters to watch the inauguration from home. Now, after a deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, thousands of National Guard members have been deployed to protect the transfer of power against more violence.
The brazen attempt to block Congress from certifying Biden and Harris' November election victory was unprecedented. But for Harris, the undercurrents of hate and racism it represented were not.
"It was the same thing that went through my mind when I saw Charlottesville. I mean, it's the same thing that went through my mind when I saw a picture of Emmett Till," Harris told NPR in an interview Thursday, when asked how she responded to images of the Confederate flag being paraded through the Senate's hallways. [Read More]
'We cannot afford inaction': Biden unveils $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan Biden picks familiar faces for top roles at FEMA, CIAMinnesota may miss greenhouse gas emission goals |
|
|
|
|
