# US History/Biden
## Early Presidency

On January 20th, 2021 Joseph Biden was sworn in as President of the United States of America. President Biden inherited a nation in crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic still raged on, where over 400,000 American lives had already been lost before he took office. President Biden also inherited an economy that had lost over 3 million jobs since President Trump had taken office in 2017.
* National Guard soldiers protecting Washington DC on January 20th, 2021.
* Biden taking the oath of office.

### COVID-19 Response

As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, so did hate speech and attacks on Asian Americans, and leading the White House to issue a memorandum condemning such acts on January 26th, 2021. The vaccine rollout that began under the Trump administration continued into 2021. The Delta strain created a surge of infections in Summer of 2021. By May 17, 2022 the American death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic had reached one million lives.

### Domestic

The Biden Administration saw the first African American to serve as Defense Secretary.
On February 12th, 2021, Biden halted further construction of the southern border wall.
Following the second impeachment of President Trump by the House on January 13th, 2021, the Senate continued the trial on February 9th, 2021. Despite a bipartisan 57-43 vote in favor of convicting former President Trump, as a 2/3 majority was not reached Trump was acquitted for a second time by the Senate on February 13th, 2021.
A winter storm created an emergency in Texas in February 2021, as infrastructure buckled under the storm.
On June 17th, 2021 legislation was signed which made Juneteenth a federal holiday.
On June 24th, 2022 the Supreme Court overturned their prior decision on Roe v. Wade when deciding Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. President Biden condemned the decision, and two weeks after the ruling issued an executive order to partially restore limited abortion access.

## Economy

In early 2022 gas prices reached very high levels due to global supply issues with crude oil. A number of measures were employed to control the price of gas, leading to a slow decline in gas prices. Even so, the high oil prices increased the costs of many items. This was made worse, as a combination of general reduced supply and increased demand for consumer goods over the pandemic caused inflation to rise sharply. In 2022 the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in order to not only to save money, but also to fight climate change. However there was criticism that the bill did not do enough.
In August of 2022, it was announced that holders of federal student loans would have $10,000 to $20,000 dollars of their debt forgiven, and that the student loan pause would end at the conclusion of the year.

## International relations
### Withdraw from Afghanistan

Honoring a previous commitment made by the Trump administration to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, America began to withdraw Troops from the country, leading the Taliban to quickly overrun much of Afghanistan outside of Kabul in Summer of 2021. This resulted in an evacuation of Kabul., which ended on August 30th, 2021 with over 122,000 evacuees, many dead, and many Afgan allies left behind.
* A June meeting between President Biden and then Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani.
* Evacuation checkpoint in August 2021.
* Interception of a rocket attack at Kabul Airport during the evacuation.
* The last American soldier leaves Afghanistan.
* Evacuees aboard a C-17 plane.

### Ukraine

On February 24th, 2022 a war began between Ukraine and Russia.
In February 2023 President Biden visited Kyiv.

### Balloon Incident

In February 2023 an unusual balloon was sighted traveling over the continental United States, and was later shot down off the coast of South Carolina. Some of the debris of the Balloon were recovered for inspection.

### Conflict in Middle East
## Technology and Science

2021 saw the first Science advisor to be appointed to the cabinet level, which was in addition to a number of appointments of notable scientists to leadership positions.
On February 18th, 2021 the Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars.

## References

← Trump · Hope →
* ↑ "Joe Biden sworn in as 46th president of the United States" (in en). the Guardian. 20 January 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/20/joe-biden-sworn-in-46th-president-inauguration.
* ↑ "As Death Rate Accelerates, U.S. Records 400,000 Lives Lost To The Coronavirus" (in en). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/19/957488613/as-death-rate-accelerates-u-s-records-400-000-lives-lost-to-the-coronavirus.
* ↑ Colarossi, Natalie (19 January 2021). "Trump leaving office with 3M less jobs than when he entered, worst record since Depression" (in en). Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-leaving-office-3m-less-jobs-when-he-entered-worst-record-since-depression-1562737.
* ↑ Cowan, Jill (12 February 2021). "A Tense Lunar New Year for the Bay Area After Attacks on Asian-Americans". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/us/asian-american-racism.html.
* ↑ Lazo, Alejandro (12 February 2021). "Violence Against Asian-Americans Raises Concern in Bay Area". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/violence-against-asian-americans-raises-concern-in-bay-area-11613145477.
* ↑ "Anger And Fear As Asian American Seniors Targeted In Bay Area Attacks" (in en). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2021/02/12/966940217/anger-and-fear-as-asian-american-seniors-targeted-in-bay-area-attacks.
* ↑ "Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States". The White House. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
* ↑ LaFraniere, Sharon (2021-03-10). "Biden Got the Vaccine Rollout Humming, With Trump’s Help". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/us/politics/biden-coronavirus-vaccine.html.
* ↑ "Delta COVID variant now dominant strain worldwide, U.S. deaths surge -officials". Reuters. 16 July 2021. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/delta-covid-variant-now-dominant-worldwide-drives-surge-us-deaths-officials-2021-07-16/.
* ↑ "Delta Is Now The Dominant Coronavirus Variant In The U.S." (in en). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/07/06/1013582342/delta-is-now-the-dominant-coronavirus-variant-in-the-u-s.
* ↑ Donovan, Doug (17 May 2022). "U.S. officially surpasses one million COVID-19 deaths" (in en). The Hub. https://hub.jhu.edu/2022/05/17/one-million-covid-19-deaths/.
* ↑ "Lloyd Austin Confirmed As Defense Secretary, Becomes 1st Black Pentagon Chief" (in en). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/president-biden-takes-office/2021/01/22/959581977/lloyd-austin-confirmed-as-secretary-of-defense-becomes-first-black-pentagon-chie.
* ↑ "Mexican president hails Biden's border wall freeze" (in en). Reuters. 12 February 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-border-idUSKBN2AC1M2.
* ↑ "President Biden cancels funding for Trump border wall". BBC News. 11 February 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56031481.
* ↑ "Donald Trump Impeached a Second Time in Historic House Vote". Time. https://time.com/5928988/donald-trump-impeached-second-time/.
* ↑ "Stanford's David Sklansky on the Second Impeachment of Donald J. Trump". Stanford Law School. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
* ↑ Fandos, Nicholas; Cochrane, Emily (13 February 2021). "7 Senate Republicans vote ‘guilty,’ the most bipartisan margin in favor of conviction in history.". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/13/us/impeachment-trial/7-senate-republicans-vote-guilty-the-most-bipartisan-margin-in-favor-of-conviction-in-history.
* ↑ Hughes, Siobhan; Ballhaus, Rebecca (13 February 2021). "Senate Votes to Acquit Trump in Impeachment Trial". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-to-hear-closing-arguments-in-trump-impeachment-11613212204.
* ↑ "Texas weather: ‘We’re on day three of no power'". BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-56106967.
* ↑ Karni, Annie; Broadwater, Luke (2021-06-17). "Biden Signs Law Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/us/politics/juneteenth-holiday-biden.html.
* ↑ "Juneteenth: What is the newest US holiday and how is it celebrated?". BBC News. 2021-06-17. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57515192.
* ↑ Liptak, Adam (24 June 2022). "In 6-to-3 Ruling, Supreme Court Ends Nearly 50 Years of Abortion Rights". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/us/roe-wade-overturned-supreme-court.html.
* ↑ Shear, Michael D.; Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (8 July 2022). "Under Pressure, Biden Issues Executive Order on Abortion". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/us/politics/biden-abortion-executive-order.html.
* ↑ Kim, Juliana (8 July 2022). "A new executive order aims to preserve abortion access, but its reach is limited" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/1110455155/abortion-rights-biden-executive-order.
* ↑ Koeze, Ella; Krauss, Clifford (14 June 2022). "Why Gas Prices Are So High". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/14/business/gas-prices.html.
* ↑ Simonetti, Isabella (10 August 2022). "Gas Prices Have Fallen 57 Straight Days". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/business/gas-prices-inflation.html.
* ↑ Horsley, Scott (August 6, 2022). "Gas prices are finally dropping. Here are 4 things to know" (in en). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2022/08/06/1115440553/gas-prices-oil-inflation-cost-of-living.
* ↑ Ballentine, Claire (21 March 2022). "It's Not Just Gas: Surging Oil Prices Are Making More Things Expensive" (in en). Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-21/oil-inflation-is-raising-costs-for-uber-rides-housing-groceries-and-vacations.
* ↑ Swanson, Ana (24 August 2022). "Consumer Demand Has Been Key Driver of Inflation in the U.S.". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/business/inflation-demand-prices-us.html.
* ↑ Newburger, Emma (August 24, 2022). "Inflation Reduction Act could curb climate damages by up to $1.9 trillion, White House says" (in en). CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/24/inflation-reduction-act-could-cut-climate-damages-by-1point9-trillion.html.
* ↑ "Critics call Inflation Reduction Act a ‘missed opportunity’". ABC4 Utah. 17 August 2022. https://www.abc4.com/news/national/critics-call-inflation-reduction-act-a-missed-opportunity/.
* ↑ Kanno-Youngs, Zolan; Cowley, Stacy; Tankersley, Jim (24 August 2022). "Biden to Cancel $10,000 in Student Debt; Low-Income Students Are Eligible for More". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/us/politics/student-loan-forgiveness-biden.html.
* ↑ Sanger, David E.; Cooper, Helene (14 August 2021). "Taliban Sweep in Afghanistan Follows Years of U.S. Miscalculations". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/14/us/afghanistan-biden.html.
* ↑ "Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Leaves Country As Taliban Forces Enter Kabul" (in en). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2021/08/15/1027847038/taliban-forces-sweep-into-kabul-as-talks-underway-on-transfer-of-power.
* ↑ "Last U.S. troops depart Afghanistan after massive airlift ending America's longest war" (in en). Reuters. 30 August 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/last-us-forces-leave-afghanistan-after-nearly-20-years-2021-08-30/.
* ↑ Leonhardt, David (24 February 2022). "War in Ukraine". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/briefing/ukraine-russia-invasion-putin.html.
* ↑ Beaumont, Peter; Borger, Julian (20 February 2023). "US informed Russia of Joe Biden’s Kyiv visit hours before departure". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/20/how-biden-pulled-off-a-visit-to-an-active-ukrainian-war-zone.
* ↑ Sanger, David E. (5 February 2023). "Balloon Incident Reveals More Than Spying as Competition With China Intensifies". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/05/us/politics/balloon-china-spying-united-states.html.
* ↑ Stewart, Phil (18 February 2023). "U.S. completes Chinese balloon recovery, object searches called off" (in en). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-announce-successful-conclusion-chinese-balloon-recovery-sources-2023-02-17/.
* ↑ "Biden has assembled a stellar science team — now they must pull together". Nature. 590 (7844): 7–8. 3 February 2021. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00184-y. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
* ↑ "Biden Names Science Team, Appoints Science Advisor to Cabinet" (in en). www.aip.org. 20 January 2021. https://www.aip.org/fyi/2021/biden-names-science-team-appoints-science-advisor-cabinet.
* ↑ Zimmer, Carl (16 January 2021). "Biden to Elevate Science Adviser to His Cabinet". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/science/biden-science-cabinet.html.
* ↑ Chang, Kenneth (18 February 2021). "NASA’s Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars to Renew Search for Extinct Life". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/science/nasa-peseverance-mars-landing.html.
* ↑ "Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover" (in en). mars.nasa.gov. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/.