Twitter will hand @POTUS account to Joe Biden on Inauguration Day
by: Russell Falcon
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KXAN) — Even if Pres. Trump has not conceded by Jan. 20, Twitter will hand over the @POTUS account to president-elect Joe Biden as soon as he's sworn in at noon.
Twitter confirmed the news to Politico on Friday, saying transfer of the presidential handle will be automatic — as will the accounts for @whitehouse, @VP and @FLOTUS.
"Twitter is actively preparing to support the transition of White House institutional Twitter accounts on January 20th, 2021," Twitter spokesperson Nick Pacilio said in an email, according to Politico. "As we did for the presidential transition in 2017, this process is being done in close consultation with the National Archives and Records Administration."
Twitter says all Trump's tweets will be archived, as have those of Barack Obama (the first president to use the account).
While removing Trump's access to the @POTUS account — which has over 32 million followers — will likely remove some elements of his reach, it may not be much. Trump has maintained (and often used more frequently) his own personal account, which has 88.9 million followers.
On Friday, Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger certified the battleground state's results, which reflect Biden as the winner of 2.47 million votes to Trump's 2.46 million.
Georgia governor certifies presidential electors for Biden
As of Saturday morning, Trump continued advancing still unproven claims of voter fraud in the 2020 Election, tweeting: "Big voter fraud information coming out concerning Georgia. Stay tuned!"
Twitter says it will meet with the Biden transition team to explain how the account will operate from now on.
by WHO 13 Digital Staff / Jan 17, 2021
The next phase of Iowa's COVID-19 vaccination campaign will include people 75 years and older and those in other high-risk groups, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced last week.
Other states have already started immunizing residents younger than 75, but advocates for long-term care facilities say there are still too many residents who have not received both doses of the vaccine yet, and it's not just a problem in Iowa.
by Richard Lardner and Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press / Jan 17, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of President Donald Trump's failed presidential campaign played key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting claims the event was the brainchild of the president's grassroots supporters.
A pro-Trump nonprofit group called Women for America First hosted the "Save America Rally" on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse, an oval-shaped, federally owned patch of land near the White House. But an attachment to the National Park Service public gathering permit granted to the group lists more than half a dozen people in staff positions for the event who just weeks earlier had been paid thousands of dollars by Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. Other staff scheduled to be "on site" during the demonstration have close ties to the White House.
by Zeke Miller, Associated Press / Jan 16, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — In his first hours as president, Joe Biden plans to take executive action to roll back some of the most controversial decisions of his predecessor and to address the raging coronavirus pandemic, his incoming chief of staff said Saturday.
The opening salvo would herald a 10-day blitz of executive actions as Biden seeks to act swiftly to redirect the country in the wake of Donald Trump's presidency without waiting for Congress.
Army Vet Charged in Shooting Black Girl at Trump Rally in Des Moines
Blizzard Arrives: Heavy, Blowing Snow Reduces Visibility and Creates Dangerous Road Conditions