Good morning. It's Wednesday, Jan. 20, and America holds its 59th presidential inauguration today. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Inauguration Day

President-elect Joe Biden will be formally sworn in today, becoming the 46th president of the United States. For Biden, it marks the culmination of a five-decade-long political career in Washington, DC, that began with an upstart Senate campaign in 1972. His running mate, Kamala Harris, becomes the highest-ranking woman to hold elected office in the US, as well as the country's first Black or Indian American vice president. 

Unlike previous ceremonies, the inauguration will be absent large crowds, with the 300-acre National Mall closed amid security threats. More than 25,000 National Guard members are stationed in the capital to help support security efforts; two were removed yesterday from service due to alleged ties with militia groups (no specific plot was uncovered). The traditional inaugural parade will be shifted largely online and involve almost 1,400 people from all 50 states and several territories.

Most of Congress and the Supreme Court will attend in person, as will former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Vice President Mike Pence will attend, while President Trump will skip the ceremony, opting to hold a send-off at Joint Base Andrews before heading to Florida. Watch the president's farewell remarks, in which he highlighted accomplishments of the past four years and wished the incoming administration luck. 

The event is expected to start around 11am ET, with Chief Justice John Roberts administering the oath of office (read here) just after 12pm ET. Watch the event live here.

Explore all 58 previous inaugurations here.

Conspiracy Charges

Federal prosecutors unveiled the first conspiracy charges yesterday related to the Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol building. The complaint alleges three members of a loosely knit group of nationwide militias known as the Oath Keepers organized and coordinated a premeditated plan to breach the Capitol building and possibly harm lawmakers. To date, more than 90 people have been arrested on federal charges related to the incident (track here)

In related news, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) accused President Trump of provoking the crowd (w/video) that stormed the building, his first public comments directly linking the president to the events. The remarks precede an upcoming Senate impeachment trial over the president's role in the Jan. 6 events, which begins once House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA-12) delivers the article of impeachment to the Senate.

Uighur Genocide

The US State Department officially accused China of crimes against humanity and genocide in its treatment of its Muslim minority Uighur population. The determination, the harshest international criticism of Chinese policies toward ethnic minorities to date, has little immediate impact but may open the door to new punitive measures.  

More than 12 million Uighurs live in China's western Xinjiang province, whose Turkic ethnicity is more closely aligned with Central Asia. Critics say Beijing has long exerted repressive measures over the group in an attempt to force adherence to Communist Party doctrine—efforts officials frame as combating terrorism. Since 2017, reports have emerged of forced sterilization, forced labor, torture, and reeducation camps where up to 1 million people may be indefinitely detained. Population control measures have caused Uighur birth rates to drop by more than a third since 2010.

See a history of China's discrimination against the group here.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

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> ViacomCBS to launch streaming service Paramount+ March 4; the service is an expansion and replacement for CBS All Access (More)

> Harry Brant, son of supermodel Stephanie Seymour and publisher Peter Brant, dies at 24 of accidental overdose (More) | Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton dies at 75 (More)

> SAT drops optional essay and subject tests in an effort to ease demands on prospective college students during the pandemic (More) | France’s ONA becomes first vegan restaurant to be awarded a coveted Michelin Star (More)

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Science & Technology

> High-resolution images reveal the difference in antibiotic-resistant bacteria may be a single water molecule; drug-resistant bugs have different ribosome structures that prevent water from acting as a binder for antibiotics (More)

> Research suggests wasps are capable of recognizing individual faces using "holistic" recognition, the first time the capability—similar to how human brains recognize faces—has been observed in insects (More)

> In rare find, paleontologists recover a nearly perfectly preserved, 50-million-year-old assassin bug captured in amber; sample includes the reproductive organs, revealing a new species (More)

Business & Markets

> GM, Honda, and Microsoft invest $2B in autonomous vehicle startup Cruise at $30B valuation (More) | Rivian raises $2.65B at $27B valuation to begin producing electric truck (More)

> Janet Yellen, Biden administration’s nominee for Treasury secretary, urges lawmakers to “act big” to save economy in confirmation hearing testimony (More)

> Netflix shares up over 10% in after-hours trading as company passes 200 million worldwide paying subscribers (More) | Alibaba founder Jack Ma emerges on Chinese social media after months of laying low following speech critical of Chinese government (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> President Trump pardons 73 people, commutes the sentences of 70 others, including former adviser Steve Bannon, rapper Lil Wayne, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and more; see full list (More)

> The US surpasses 400,000 COVID-19 deaths; see rolling averages (cases, deaths) | More than 31 million vaccine doses distributed in the US, with more than 12 million doses administered (More)

> Senate committees hold five confirmation hearings for Biden administration nominees, including defense secretary pick Gen. Lloyd Austin; see full schedule (More) | Dr. Rachel Levine nominated as assistant secretary of health; Levine would be the first openly transgender nominee confirmed by the Senate (More)

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ETCETERA

Read the letters presidents left their successors. 

... and read George Washington's first inaugural address.

The National Mall will be without people, but filled with flags.

TikTok skateboarder guy will join the virtual inaugural parade.

Ranking the world's greatest threats for 2021.

An amazing hamster obstacle course. (via YouTube)

You've been sold a lie about cast iron pans​.

Mesmerizing clips of sea lions riding waves.

Clickbait: When you Yelp review your prison stay.

Historybook: HBD astronaut Buzz Aldrin (1930); Iran hostage crisis ends as 52 Americans are released after 444 days (1981); Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed for first time (1986); RIP actress Audrey Hepburn (1993); Barack Obama becomes first Black president of the US (2009).

"Failure is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you are alive and growing."

- Buzz Aldrin

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