Live updates: Biden to participate in national day of service ahead of inauguration; Trump prepares pardons - The Washington Post

President-elect Joe Biden volunteered at a hunger relief organization in Philadelphia as part of a national day of service coordinated by his inaugural committee ahead of his swearing-in at a heavily fortified Capitol on Wednesday.

“Because I gave an earlier speech [at the rally], I am a witness and therefore unable to participate in court or in the Senate chamber,” Giuliani said late Sunday, according to ABC News.

The memorial, part of Biden’s inaugural week activities, will honor the nearly 400,000 people who have died in the United States because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Capitol Police temporarily locked down the Capitol and surrounding complex on Monday morning following an explosion that caused a small fire several blocks away under a bridge, an incident the police initially described as “an external security threat.”.

“A small explosion occurred under the bridge on I-295 at First and F Streets SE,” the police said in an alert.

From the Capitol, where Biden is scheduled to sworn in Wednesday, smoke could be seen coming from the location described.

police spokesman Stephen Benson said the fire started at a homeless encampment.

He said the alert was sent because of the proximity to the Capitol.

Capitol police spokesman Eva Malecki said the lockdown resulted from “an abundance of caution” and was ordered by acting chief Yogananda Pittman.

An earlier alert at the Capitol complex advised people there that they could move throughout the buildings but advised that they “stay away from exterior windows and doors.”.

Video from the college student’s Twitter account showed her inside the Capitol building amid chants of “whose house, our house,” according to an affidavit filed in court this weekend.

“INFAMY IS JUST AS GOOD AS FAME,” she wrote above a mirror photo posted to Instagram either the day of the Capitol riot or the day after, according to the affidavit.

6 threatened to kill his children if they cooperated with police, according to federal authorities.

According to the affidavit, Reffitt had posted on the website of a local extremist group called the Texas Freedom Force.

The Department of Justice has been investigating various self-styled militia groups to determine whether they worked together to breach the Capitol.

According to the affidavit, Reffitt told the FBI agents that he had brought a disassembled pistol to D.C.

Signaling his commitment to quickly confront climate change, Biden is planning to move within days to quash the controversial multibillion-dollar Keystone XL pipeline, according to two individuals familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it had not been announced yet.

Capitol, trying to thwart the certification of the 2020 election results,” Harris said.

Aaron Van Langevelde, the Republican on the Michigan Board of Canvassers who voted for certifying Biden’s win in November, has spoken publicly for the first time since he made his decision, saying his “conscience is clear.”.

“While some are critical of my decision to certify the election, I am convinced that I did the right thing regardless of personal or professional consequences and despite the pressures and dangers faced,” Van Langevelde said in a statement Monday.

Van Langevelde said he was not renominated to the four-person, partisan board, and has no regrets.

The obscure four-person board, made up of two Democrats and two Republicans, was thrust into the spotlight last November as it faced immense pressure in what should have been a mundane step in certifying the election results in Michigan, which Biden won by more than 150,000 votes

Ultimately, the board voted 3 to 0 to certify Biden’s win, with Van Langevelde joining the Democrats and the other Republican board member, Norman Shinkle, abstaining

The committee coordinating Biden’s inaugural events on Monday announced participants in a largely virtual parade after his swearing-in Wednesday that will include actors, bands and Olympic athletes, as well as performances from all 56 U.S

The event, which will be live-streamed, is another testament to how dramatically Biden’s inaugural activities have been transformed by the pandemic

Actor Tony Goldwyn, who played a fictional president on the ABC series “Scandal,” will serve as host of the parade, Biden’s committee said

The committee said the University of Delaware Drumline and the Howard University Drumline — from the alma maters of Biden and Harris — will participate in Washington in a “presidential escort” to kick off what is being billed as the “Parade Across America.”

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