The National Park Service announced that the National Mall — the iconic arena of American monuments that stretches between the Capitol and the White House — would be closed for a week to prevent further violence.

But, he added, it will mean that as doses become available, “we’ll reach more people who need them.”

Mr. Biden unveiled the vaccine distribution plan just one day after he proposed a $1.9 trillion spending package to combat the economic downturn and the Covid-19 crisis, including $20 billion for a “national vaccine program.”

In some respects, Mr. Biden’s proposals echo those of the Trump administration, which also called earlier this week for opening vaccine eligibility to groups to 65 and older, making greater use of pharmacies and moving vaccinations to federally qualified health centers.

Mr. Biden intends for the federal government not only to develop mass vaccination sites, but also to reimburse states for the use of National Guard troops to administer vaccines.

To staff the mass clinics, Mr. Biden promised to “mobilize thousands of clinical and nonclinical professionals.”

The vaccine distribution plan is part of Mr. Biden’s broader effort to use the current crisis to rebuild the nation’s crumbling public health infrastructure — long a goal of Democrats on Capitol Hill.

To that end, Mr. Biden has promised to increase federal funding for community health centers and has called for a new “public health jobs program” that would fund 100,000 public health workers to engage in vaccine outreach and contact tracing.

In fact, about 75% of all aluminum ever produced in the US is still in use today.

Action Recycling points out that the amount of aluminum Americans throw away every three months could rebuild our entire commercial air fleet.

Try using a reusable bottle instead, and only use the single-use bottles in emergencies, or when you do not have access to reusable bottle.

When you go to a restaurant, unless you actually need it, tell them you don't want a straw.

When you answer a trivia question on the Free the Ocean website, the company will remove a piece of plastic from the ocean.

Albeit a little more expensive initially, swapping out old bulbs saves you money in the long run.

You can cut down on paper waste by asking for email receipts.

You can create a giant garden bed full of fruits and vegetables in your backyard, or have just a few small potted plants inside your home.

Some gift wrap is recyclable when it doesn't use foil or glitter or any other such additives that interfere with the recycling process.

Composting lowers the amount of garbage that ends up in a landfil

In their suit, which named the vice president as the defendant, the Republican plaintiffs argued that a 19th century law spelling out how Congress should handle the count is unconstitutional, because it directs Pence to tally the electoral votes as they've been reported by the states.

In a court filing, Pence himself had told the judge that he was the wrong person to sue.

But the objections are virtually guaranteed to fail, since they require a majority in both chambers.

Despite his election in November, Pierluisi claimed victory with less than one-third of the vote total, a smaller percentage than any elected governor in Puerto Rico's history. Pierluisi hails from the island's traditional pro-statehood party, which has long dominated electoral politics along with the other main party that favors Puerto Rico's existing territorial status.

His address also touched, in general terms, on other issues of deep concern on the island: public education, crime, mental health, the environment and corruption.

Pierluisi replaces Gov. Wanda Vázquez, who took office in August of 2019 after weeks of protests forced then-Gov. Rosselló to resign.

But days after Pierluisi took the governor's oath, the territory's Supreme Court ruled him ineligible for the office because his cabinet appointment had not been confirmed by the island's Senate. Vázquez, who was attorney general, ascended to the governorship instead.

For the first time, women of color will completely comprise New Mexico's House delegation, including Democratic Rep.-elect Teresa Leger Fernandez, who becomes the first woman to represent the 3rd district since its creation in 1983.

Rep.-elect Yvette Herrell, R-N.M., becomes the first Republican Native American woman in Congress.

Rep.-elect Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., will be the first Black woman to represent her state in Congress.

Incoming Republican North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, 25, has replaced Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as the youngest member of Congress.

As for the Senate, incoming Sens.-elect Roger Marshall (Kansas), Ben Ray Luján (New Mexico) and Lummis (Wyoming) all have served in the U.S. House. Lummis was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Reps.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., made headlines earlier this year for their support of QAnon, a fringe movement that has launched baseless, far-right conspiracy theories about the U.S. government.

In October, the House overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning QAnon.

Several younger, more diverse and progressive candidates ousted longstanding Democratic incumbents this year.

It's quite possible some of these progressives will quickly become household names in the way that Ocasio-Cortez and members of the so-called "squad" have (which includes Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass).

Rep.-elect Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., a formal school principal, won his general election after triumphing over Rep. Eliot Engel in the primary. Engel was a 16-term incumbent who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Bowman was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ocasio-Cortez.

Should both Democrats prevail, control of the Senate will be split 50-50 between the two parties and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes.

Noah Barkin, a China expert in Berlin with the Rhodium Group, called the investment agreement in particular “a geopolitical coup for China.”

He said China could serve as a model and as a partner in cooperation, and suggested that Europe could play a moderating role between China and the United States.

“The values we all cherish in our Sunday sermons must be adhered to if we are not to fall victim to a new systemic rival,” said Reinhard Bütikofer, a German member of the European Parliament who has spoken out against the European investment agreement with China.

China’s overtures will not end the anger over its repressive policies, including its documented use of forced labor.

The Europeans finalized the investment agreement, for example, a day after the European Union publicly criticized the harsh prison sentence handed down to a Chinese lawyer who reported on the initial coronavirus outbreak in the city of Wuhan.

Over the long term, it remains to be seen how significantly China’s pacts and pledges will improve its international image, which plummeted this past year because of its obfuscation over the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

A survey by the Pew Research Center in October found that in 14 economically advanced countries, unfavorable attitudes toward China had reached their highest levels in more than a decade. A median of 78 percent of those surveyed said they had little or no confidence that Mr. Xi would do the right thing in world affairs. (One upside for Mr. Xi: 89 percent felt the same way about Mr. Trump.)

Mr. Xi’s pledges to accelerate China’s reduction of carbon emissions, which he began making in September, have won international plaudits, even if the government has yet to detail how it will wean itself from coal and other heavily polluting industries.

Mr. Trump showed disdain for America’s traditional allies in Europe and Asia, but Mr. Biden has pledged to galvanize a coalition to confront the economic, diplomatic and military challenges that China poses.

Mr. Biden’s incoming national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, took to Twitter to hint strongly that Europe should first wait for consultations with the new administration — to no avail.

They said the agreement failed to do enough to address China’s abuses of human rights, including labor rights.

The Senate hopefuls are embracing the change.

He demonstrated his willingness to intervene once again this weekend: in an extraordinary phone call on Saturday, Mr. Trump pleaded with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to reverse his loss in the state, The Washington Post reported.

And just as with Mr. Trump, the attempts by the two incumbents to rebrand themselves as populists to appeal to rural Georgians have had the effect of alienating many suburban voters who were once steadfast Republicans but now recoil from the party of Trump.

There has been a population explosion around Atlanta, thanks to an influx of Asian, African and Hispanic immigrants as well as a migration of native-born Americans, white and Black alike, who have moved to the region because of family ties, the relatively affordable cost of living and expansive job opportunities.

Atlanta itself has long been a mecca for African-Americans but the entire metropolitan region is now diverse, and counties that were once heavily white and solidly Republican are now multiracial bulwarks of Democratic strength.

Georgia, he added, is “a purple state now.”

Democrats would have to sweep both races to draw the chamber to a tie and effectively take control when Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who would cast tiebreaking votes when needed, is sworn in with Mr. Biden on Jan. 20.

If the bill goes through, and is signed by the president, Argentina would join Uruguay, Cuba and Guyana in making abortion legal on request — instead of only in cases of rape or if the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother’s health, as is the case now in Argentina.

Both sides intend to settle in for a long night, as they wait for a decision likely to have great repercussions in their own country and across Latin America.

They joined a handful of others, including Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who have backed increasing the checks to $2,000.

While Democrats all support larger checks, they are unlikely to endorse a hasty overhaul of the legal shield currently in place for social media companies, especially measures put forward by Republican senators aimed at confronting what they believe is anti-conservative bias.

The House voted on Monday evening to increase the size of the checks to $2,000, daring Senate Republicans to either approve the heftier sum or defy Mr. Trump.

In signing the relief bill on Sunday night, Mr. Trump claimed in a statement that the Senate would “start the process for a vote” on legislation that would increase direct payments and pledged that “much more money is coming.”

Republican lawmakers in the House were visibly frustrated with Mr. Trump’s demand. Some of the president’s closest allies, including Representatives Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican, and Jim Jordan of Ohio, voted against the measure, and Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, complained on the House floor that the proposal had been “hastily dropped on us at the last minute” and wouldn’t assist those who needed it most.

Mr. Trump’s objections to the legislation have left some Republicans, who are typically loath to challenge the president, poised to vote to override his veto.

“Your decision should be based upon the oath we all took, which was to the Constitution rather than any person or organization,” Mr. Thornberry wrote.

The chamber passed it 335 to 78, meaning the House could still vote to override the veto even if a few dozen Republicans switched their votes.

Getting teachers vaccinated, he said, would not only keep them safe but would also reduce disruption for families by helping schools avoid the “Ping-Pong effect” of going between in-person or remote learning.

The proposal prompted a series of discussions between the district and the legislature, which resulted in the district’s interim superintendent’s announcing a plan to reopen for middle and high school students on Feb. 8, with the timing of the vaccine playing a key role.