State Dept. condemns arrests, repression in Russia
It called for the release of protesters and opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
This is the fifth day of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Top headlines:
Biden signs first documents as president
As is customary after taking the oath of office, Biden signed three documents while in the President's Room at the Capitol, according to the office of the president.
Biden signed an Inauguration Day Proclamation, nominations to Cabinet positions and nominations to sub-Cabinet positions.
Traditionally, a luncheon on Capitol Hill follows the signing, but with coronavirus concerns it was canceled this year.
Biden, Harris send first tweets in office from new accounts
The first tweet from Biden as president using the @POTUS Twitter account handle has hit the internet.
“There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face. That's why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families," it reads.
Moments after she took the oath of office, Vice President Kamala Harris issued her first tweet through her new Twitter handle as vice president.
All White House Twitter accounts have now been transitioned from the Trump administration to the Biden administration, Twitter announced.
Pence departs the Capitol
Former Vice President Mike Pence -- now also the former president of the Senate -- and former second lady Karen Pence have departed the Capitol following the inaugural ceremonies.
Harris and Pence greeted each other at the event after Pence left a handwritten note for Harris and called her last week -- 68 days after Biden and Harris were projected the winners.
Amanda Gorman, youngest poet to read at the inauguration in recent history, reads 'The Hill We Climb'
Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet to read at the inauguration in recent history and the first national youth poet laureate, read her poem “The Hill We Climb,” following Biden’s inaugural address.
“We've seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it, would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy,” she said. “And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.”
“When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid,” she added at the end of the poem. “The new dawn blooms as we free it for there is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.
Gorman, 22, told NPR that she finished writing the poem just after rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.