Catching up

Even though things have quieted down in the last few days (gosh, why?), the news are still newing:

President Biden has signed a pack of executive orders, including a national mask mandate and others designed to get his Covid-19 plan running.
James Fallows, himself a former presidential speechwriter, explains "why Biden's inaugural address succeeded."
Of course, and who could have predicted?, the Republican Party have twisted their panties into (fake) knots over President Biden's call for unity.
The XPOTUS fired the White House Chief Usher at 11:30am on Wednesday, leading to an awkward moment when President and Dr Biden had to wait outside the doors until someone figured out they needed to open them.
Dan Zak has a rundown of how the XPOTUS and his merry band of misfits spent their last day in office.
President Biden has redecorated the Oval Office a bit, including getting rid of the Diet Coke button.
Ezra Klein warns that the 2022 election is ours to lose.
The European Council on Foreign Relations summarizes "how Europeans see Biden's America."
The Chicago Dept of Health finally has a sign-up site for Covid-19 vaccines and other info.

Finally, last August's derecho caused "the most damage in the least amount of time" of any weather disaster on record.