Donald Trump left the White House and boarded Marine One this morning after refusing to participate in any of the symbolic passing-of-the-torch traditions surrounding the peaceful transition of power this morning as we welcome Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. Trump departs the office twice impeached, with millions more Americans out of work and 400-thousand dead of COVID-19. He will be forever remembered for the final major act of his presidency: inciting an insurrection at the Capitol that left five dead and captivated the planet. Trump was set to take a short helicopter flight to Joint Base Andrews and give an unscripted speech, then fly on Air Force 1 to Florida. Insiders say Trump continues to believe he won the election in
November. It’s believed to be the first time in 152 years that a sitting president has skipped his successor’s inauguration.
The eyes of the world will be on Washington today. Joe Biden will be sworn in as president at noon, a few hours after U-S President Donald Trump leaves the White House. Trump is not attending the inauguration and will instead leave for his private resort in Florida. Kamala Harris will be making history as the first woman and the first woman of colour to take on the role of U-S vice-president. and a little fun fact Harris also spent part of her youth in Montreal and attended a local high school. Events will be happening all day starting at 7am PST.
After taking the oath of office at 9am this morning and delivering his first speech as U-S president, Joe Biden is expected to move quickly to reverse Donald Trump’s orders on immigration, climate change and his handling of the pandemic. The 15 executive actions will end construction on Trump’s Mexican border wall, see the U-S rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization and revoke the approval of the Keystone X-L oil pipeline – which has currently been put on hold in Alberta awaiting word from Joe Biden. Biden will also order U-S federal agencies to prioritize racial equity and review policies that reinforce systemic racism.
A video has surfaced online showing a man doing a backflip off the Cambie Bridge, and Vancouver Police are calling it a dangerous social media stunt. Cst. Steve Addison says they’re strongly condemning the stunt as it could’ve turned deadly. The video shows a young man stepping over the Cambie Bridge’s railing and then pushing himself off backward into a flip before plunging into the icy water. One of the guys involved in the video said , “We’re not trying to cause any trouble, we were just trying to have some fun and we recognize and respect if the community doesn’t want this done again – but we took precautions before doing the stunt .” Vancouver Police say there are a lot of risks associated with this type of behaviour and you could even face charges. they went on to say “We want to avoid a situation where stunts like these and leading to copy-cats.”
ImmunizeBC is warning people not to buy supposed doses of COVID-19 vaccine that are being advertised online. The organization funded by B-C’s health ministry says it’s heard reports of emails and websites promising to sell vaccine, but the products don’t work. It says the fake products may even be harmful. The only way to access a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is through clinics run or approved by local health authorities.
Emergency crews were called to the intersection of 176 Street and 40 Avenue yesterday morning, following a two-vehicle incident that sent a dump truck into a roadside ditch. According to reports from the scene, 176 Street remained blocked to traffic in both directions as of 2 p.m., as crews work to clear the aftermath. The intersection is the same one where, in 2019, a fatal collision sparked calls for action. In September, ministry officials said designs to improve safety were in the works, with the project to be funded by the ministry and improvements looking to be completed by spring 2021. Safety improvements to the Highway 15 and 40 Avenue interchange are going to tender this week, according to the transportation ministry. Work is to begin in February and wrap up in March.