Tuesday morning news - January 26, 2020

U.S. coronavirus cases, deaths continue to fall » Coronavirus deaths and cases per day in the United States have dropped over the past two weeks. 

President Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC’s Today Show…

FAUCI: I don’t think the dynamics of what we’re seeing now with the plateauing is significantly influenced yet—it will be soon, but yet—by the vaccines. I just think it’s the natural course of plateauing. 

On Monday, California lifted regional stay-at-home orders. Each county will now make its own rules. The shift will allow churches and restaurants to resume outdoor operations and some other businesses could reopen. 

But the Biden administration is urging Americans not to let their guards down. The country is averaging about 170,000 new daily cases with more than 3,000 people still dying each day. 

Meantime, some governors say getting vaccine shots out to people in their states is no longer the problem, it’s just a matter of supply. Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis…

DESANTIS: So our capacity far outstrips what we’re being given by the feds. We were told weeks ago that we would start to see increases now and we haven’t seen it. We’ve been very stagnant. 

On Monday, President Biden said he expects that sometime this spring, any American who wants a vaccine shot will be able to get it. And he added…

BIDEN: By summer, we’re going to be well on our way to—heading toward herd immunity. 

The president heard there at a White House news conference. 

Biden signs multiple orders including reversal of transgender military policy » Also on Monday, Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that President Biden has signed multiple new executive orders. 

One of them will reverse a Pentagon policy on transgender service members. The order removes gender dysphoria as a reason for denying enlistment or reenlistment in the military. 

PSAKI: And for those transgender service members who were discharged or separated due to gender identity, their cases will be reexamined. President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service.  

Biden also signed an order aimed at getting the federal government to buy more products from U.S. manufacturers.

Also, as expected, he signed new travel restrictions for people traveling from parts of Europe and South Africa where new strains of the coronavirus are currently spreading. 

U.S. Senate confirms Yellen as Treasury Secretary » Senators voted last night to approve the president’s pick for Treasury Secretary, confirming Janet Yellen. 

AUDIO: They yeas are 84. The nays are 15…

That made Yellen the first woman to hold the Cabinet post. 

In the run-up to the vote, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said she’s more than qualified. 

SCHUMER: Janet Yellen, of course, is no stranger to this chamber. She’s been confirmed by the Senate no fewer than four times. 

The 74-year-old Yellen also served on the Federal Reserve board. President Obama later picked to Chair the Federal Reserve, winning confirmation in 2014. 

Yellen also served under former President Bill Clinton, chairing his Council of Economic Advisers. 

SCOTUS dismisses suits charging Trump illegally profited from presidency » The Supreme Court on Monday brought an end to lawsuits over whether former President Trump illegally profited from his presidency. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The high court said the cases in question are now moot since Trump is no longer in office. 

Some claimed the fact that both domestic and foreign officials paid to stay at the Trump International Hotel and patronize other Trump businesses violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause.

The action was the first in what could be a steady stream of orders and rulings on pending lawsuits involving Trump. Some cases will be tossed out now that he’s out of office. But other proceedings that had been delayed because Trump was in the White House could resume.

The high court ordered lower court rulings in the emoluments clause cases thrown out as well.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin. 

Voting machine maker sues Giuliani » A company that makes many of the machines used in voting booths around the country is suing the former president’s personal lawyer for defamation. 

Dominion Voting Systems filed the suit on Monday against Rudy Giuliani. It seeks more than $1.3 billion in damages.

The company says Giuliani spread baseless claims that its voting machines either malfunctioned or were manipulated and that they could be to blame for President Trump’s election loss. 

The lawsuit states—quote—“Giuliani’s statements were calculated to—and did in fact—provoke outrage and cause Dominion enormous harm.”

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in Washington. 

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