At a Black church, President Joe Biden says white supremacy is a “poison” and has no place in America.

President Joe Biden is getting a new communications director at the White House as he inches closer to an expected re-election campaign.

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, are pivoting to a second and decisive round of their Senate race in Georgia.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency says Russia has so far turned over the bodies of 210 Ukrainian fighters killed in the battle for Mariupol.

An anguished and angry President Joe Biden is calling for new restrictions on firearms after a gunman massacred at least 19 children at a Texas elementary school.

A federal grand jury has heard testimony in recent months about Hunter Biden’s income and payments he received while serving on the board of a Ukraine energy company.

The White House says U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by advisers about his military's poor performance in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has recalled Ukraine’s ambassadors to Georgia and Morocco.

President Joe Biden is refocusing on his $3.5 trillion “build back better” agenda.

President Joe Biden has marked his first presidential summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin by giving his counterpart a pair of custom aviator glasses.

Republican officials are also blaming the Biden administration for actions they say are leading more people from Central America to seek entry into the United States. “It’s not a crisis, it’s a complete loss of sovereignty down there,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said. AdGraham recently visited the border and said he saw a facility designed to hold 80 children with about 1,000 in it. “It does not mean that they get to stay in the United States. AdPsaki said the administration is committed to transparency and providing access to those temporary Border Patrol facilities as soon as it can.

In this Feb. 9, 2021 photo, White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo listens as press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. Ducklo has been suspended for a week without pay after he reportedly issued a sexist and profane threat to a journalist seeking to cover his relationship with another reporter. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON – White House deputy press secretary T.J. Ducklo has been suspended for a week without pay after he reportedly issued a sexist and profane threat to a journalist seeking to cover his relationship with another reporter. Psaki said in a statement earlier Friday that Ducklo had been suspended without pay with the approval of White House chief of staff Ron Klain. But the Biden White House sought to strike a more cordial and professional tone with the Washington press corps from the start, installing a cadre of seasoned Washington communicators led by Psaki.

President Joe Biden signs a series of executive orders on health care, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)President Joe Biden and aides showed touches of prickliness Thursday over growing scrutiny of the new president’s heavy reliance on executive orders in his first days in office. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that Biden’s early reliance on executive action is at odds with the Democrat’s pledge as a candidate to be a consensus builder. Biden and aides, including top White House economists, have said that they believe executive action is a pale substitute for legislative action. But McConnell was far more understanding of Trump’s decision to use executive orders to get around Congress at various points in the Republican’s presidency.

___7:40 p.m.White House press secretary Jen Psaki says President Joe Biden will allow Congress to decide the way forward on the impeachment trial of his predecessor, Donald Trump. ___7:30 p.m.White House press secretary Jen Psaki says President Joe Biden will call Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday, the first call with a foreign leader after Biden took the oath of office. The Senate has voted to confirm Avril Haines as the new director of national intelligence, giving President Joe Biden the first member of his Cabinet. Workers removed the giant sign from the department’s C Street lobby on Wednesday shortly after President Joe Biden was inaugurated. ___4:55 p.m.President Joe Biden has directed that federal agencies halt all rulemaking until his administration has time to review proposed regulations.

While some Democrats say Trump's actions merit new impeachment proceedings, Biden has been more circumspect. Biden’s aides believe Americans outside Washington want to hear more about how the Biden presidency will help them and less about the partisan squabbling that has characterized the past four years of Trump’s presidency. There was no widespread fraud in the election, which a range of election officials across the country, as well as Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, has confirmed. Indeed, by avoiding engaging with Trump, Biden is also hoping to maintain the opportunity for bipartisanship in the new Congress, which he's repeatedly emphasized will be key to his hopes of getting anything done. Jim Manley, a former longtime Senate Democratic leadership aide, said the party's failure to take on Trump's recent moves could set the tone for Biden’s presidency and beyond.

Richmond, who is set to resign from Congress to join the incoming Biden administration as a senior adviser, tested positive on Thursday, Dec. 17, for the coronavirus, according to the Biden transition. – One of President-elect Joe Biden’s closest advisers tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, according to his transition team. Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond, who is set to resign from Congress to join the incoming Biden administration as a senior adviser, tested positive two days after traveling to Atlanta to attend a campaign rally that Biden headlined for Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, Biden transition spokesperson Kate Bedingfield said in a statement. Bedingfield said Richmond was not in close contact with Biden, Ossoff or Warnock, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

– President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female senior communications team at his White House, reflecting his stated desire to build out a diverse White House team as well as what’s expected to be a return to a more traditional press operation. Biden campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield will serve as Biden’s White House communications director. Four of the seven top communications roles at the White House will be filled by women of color, and it’s the first time the entire senior White House communications team will be entirely female. Bedingfield served as communications director for Biden while he was vice president, and Psaki was a White House communications director and a spokesperson at the State Department. — Pili Tobar, who was communications director for coalitions on Biden’s campaign, will be his deputy White House communications director.

President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female communications team at his White House, led by campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield. – President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female senior communications team at his White House, reflecting his stated desire to build out a diverse White House team as well as what’s expected to be a return to a more traditional press operation. Biden campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield will serve as Biden’s White House communications director. Four of the seven top communications roles at the White House will be filled by women of color, and it’s the first time the entire senior White House communications team will be entirely female. — Pili Tobar, who was communications director for coalitions on Biden’s campaign, will be his deputy White House communications director.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON – The Latest on the 2020 presidential campaign (all times local):10:05 p.m.President Donald Trump says he wants to try and hold a campaign rally in Florida on Saturday “if we have enough time to put it together.”He also says he might also hold a campaign rally the following night in Pennsylvania. After Trump pulled out, Biden scheduled his own ABC town hall in Philadelphia for the same date. The Trump campaign had asked for the upcoming debates to each be postponed by a week. George Stephanopoulos will host the Biden town hall in Philadelphia. The Commission on Presidential Debate announced Thursday that next week's town hall debate in Miami would be held virtually because of Trump had the virus.