Your Thursday Briefing
repercussions of the U.S. leadership change and the
record death toll from Covid-19.
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A fist bump between President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the Capitol in Washington.Credit...Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
‘This is democracy’s day’
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. on Wednesday became the 46th president of the United States, promising to move the nation forward on a path of unity, while Kamala Harris became the first woman — and the first person of color — to be sworn in as vice president.
“Democracy has prevailed,” Mr. Biden said during a sober, no-surprises inaugural event, as he urged Americans to put aside the bitter divisions that have deepened over the past four years and to come together to confront “cascading crises,” including the coronavirus pandemic. (Watch highlights or read the full speech, annotated by one of our Washington correspondents.)