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VOA NEWSJanuary 21, 2021This is VOA news. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd.In his first hours as president, Joe Biden struck at the heart of President Donald Trump's policy legacy, signing executive actions that reverse his predecessor's orders on climate change and handling of the coronavirus pandemic.With a stack of executive orders on his desk in the Oval Office, Biden signed three orders in the presence of reporters. The first mandating masks and social distancing on federal property, the second on support for underserved communities, and the third rejoining the Paris climate accord."I think some of the things we're going to be doing are bold and vital and there's no time to start like today, so what I'm going to be doing - I'm proud of today's executive actions - I'm going to start by keeping the promises I made to the American people."Biden answered one question from reporters about his letter from Trump, saying it was very generous but would not share more details."... do solemnly swear that I'll support and defend the Constitution of the United States ...."Vice President Kamala Harris swore in three new Democratic senators as part of her first day in office. That means the Democrats now have control of both the White House and Congress for the first time in a decade.Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff both won Senate runoff elections in Georgia earlier this month. Alex Padilla was appointed by California's governor to fill Harris's vacant seat.Wednesday was Harris's first time presiding over the Senate. The Senate is now divided 50-50. Democrats will be in control because the vice president casts tiebreaking votes in the chamber. Democrats have a 221 to 211 House majority with three vacancies.You can find more on these stories and the rest of the day's news at . You can also follow us on the VOA mobile app. This is VOA news.The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is likely to protect against more infectious variant of the virus, which was discovered in Britain and has spread around the world. Reuters Emer McCarthy reports.The encouraging results from an analysis of blood of participants in trials are based on more extensive analysis than those released by the drug maker last week.In those tests, Pfizer said a similar lab study showed the vaccine was effective against one key mutation that's found in both of the highly transmissible new variants spreading rapidly across Britain and South Africa.The latest study, which was posted online but is yet to be peer reviewed, was conducted on a synthetic virus with 10 mutations that are characteristic of the variant known as B117 identified in Britain.Among the 11 authors of the study are the co-founders of BioNTech.That's Reuters Emer McCarthy.The slowdown of getting vaccines into the arms of Americans continues. AP's Shelley Adler reports.A number of states are reporting that they are running out of vaccine, and tens of thousands of people who managed to get appointments for a first dose are seeing them canceled.New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio: "We've had to tell 23,000 New Yorkers who had an appointment this week that they will not be able to get that appointment for lack of supply."The CDC says about half of the 31 million doses sent to the states by the federal government have been given so far. However, only about 2 million people have gotten the two doses needed for maximum protection against COVID-19.I'm Shelley Adler.Two U.N. agencies say that 43 African migrants died when a ship they were on capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya.In a joint statement, the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. refugee agency say the vessel overturned in rough seas after its engine quit a few hours into its trip.The agencies say a "partner on the ground," the International Rescue Committee, reports 10 survivors were rescued by coastal security and brought to shore. The survivors say all the passengers were men from West African countries.The U.N. agencies say this is the first such accident of 2021, following a year in which hundreds of people lost their lives attempting to cross the central Mediterranean.On Wall Street, stocks rose on the hope of a new coronavirus aid bill from the Biden administration. The Dow Jones Industrials closed up .83 percent. The S&P gained 1.39 percent. The NASDAQ rose by 1.97 percent.Visit for more. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd, VOA news. ................
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