Uniquely Nelson

A New York state judge on Thursday rejected the National Rifle Association's bid to dismiss or move a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking to dissolve the gun rights group. New York Attorney General Letitia James is accusing the NRA of diverting millions of dollars to pay for luxurious trips for its officials and other suspect expenses. Photo: AFP Justice Joel Cohen of Manhattan Supreme Court ruled six days after the NRA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from lawsuits, and said it would reincorporate in the more gun-friendly Texas after 150 years in New York. James had sued the NRA, chief executive Wayne LaPierre and others last August. She accused the group of violating state laws governing nonprofits by diverting millions of dollars to fund luxurious trips for its officials, no-show contracts for associates, and other suspect expenses. NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre is among officials being sued. Photo: AFP The NRA argued that if the case continued it belonged in the state capital of Albany, where it had its only New York office, and perhaps in federal court, where it has filed a countersuit accusing James of violating its members' First Amendment rights. "This is a case of historic constitutional importance," the group's lawyer Sarah Rogers argued. The judge said accepting the NRA arguments would be "elevating form over substance," and that it was a "big lift" to tell James she could not sue in state court. "It would be inappropriate in these circumstances to find that the attorney general cannot pursue her claims in state court just because one of the defendants would prefer to proceed in federal court," Cohen said. The NRA has said it was "dumping" New York to escape its "toxic political environment". It accused James, a Democrat, of suing for political gain and because she dislikes what the group stands for. Bankruptcy filings normally halt existing litigation, but the attorney general believes her lawsuit deserves an exemption because she is enforcing her "police and regulatory power". James Sheehan, a lawyer for James, told the judge a trial could occur early next year. - Reuters

Five people have been killed in a fire at the site of the world's largest vaccine producer in western India. Smoke rises after a fire broke out at India's Serum Institute in Pune on January 21, 2021. Photo: AFP The blaze started at a building which was still under construction at the Serum Institute of India's facilities in Pune on Thursday afternoon. Footage showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from a building on the company's sprawling site. The company said vaccine production would not be affected. The cause of the fire has not been identified. The fire was later brought under control, but the city's mayor confirmed that five people had died. "We have just received some distressing updates; upon further investigation we have learnt that there has unfortunately been some loss of life at the incident," the Serum Institute's CEO, Adar Poonawalla, said in a tweet. "We are deeply saddened and offer our deepest condolences to the family members of the departed." Poonawalla said there would be no impact on the production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, known locally as Covishield, "due to multiple production buildings that I had kept in reserve to deal with such contingencies". Covishield is one of two vaccines approved by the Indian government for use in its inoculation programme, which began last week and is the largest in the world. The country aims to vaccinate 300 million people by early August. Many other low and middle-income countries are also depending on the Serum Institute for production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. India has recorded the second-highest number of Covid-19 infections in the world after the US. Since the pandemic began it has confirmed more than 10.6 million cases and almost 153,000 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. - BBC

US President Joe Biden moved swiftly on his first full day in the White House on Thursday to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, his top priority as he turns the page on four years of Donald Trump's tumultuous leadership. Joe Biden intends using the Defence Production Act to expand Covid testing and speed up the production of vaccines. Photo: AFP The Biden administration is aiming at a coordinated federal coronavirus response to the 10-month pandemic, focused on boosting vaccines, increasing testing, reopening schools and addressing inequalities thrown up by the disease. Trump, who frequently sought to play down the severity of the virus which has killed more than 405,000 Americans, left much of the pandemic planning to individual states, which has resulted in a patchwork of policies across the country. "We can and will beat Covid-19. America deserves a response to the Covid-19 pandemic that is driven by science, data, and public health, not politics," the White House said in a statement outlining its strategy against the coronavirus. The pandemic has killed more people in the United States than anywhere in the world, and left millions out of work due to lockdowns. The virus cast a shadow over Biden's inauguration on the steps of the US Capitol on Wednesday. Crowds, which often reach into the hundreds of thousands for the swearing-in of a president, were kept away for fear of spreading infections. The public was told to stay home for the inauguration of Joe Biden in Washington. Photo: AFP Biden will sign a series of executive orders related to the pandemic later on Thursday, including requiring mask-wearing in airports and on certain public transportation, including many trains, airplanes and intercity buses, officials said. The administration will also expand vaccine manufacturing and its power to purchase more vaccines by "fully leveraging contract authorities, including the Defence Production Act", according to the plan. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the DPA would also be used to speed up delivery of protective gear. The Trump administration had invoked the law, which grants the president broad authority to "expedite and expand the supply of resources from the US. industrial base", for protective gear, but never enacted it for testing or vaccine production. Biden will also direct the Federal Emergency Management Administration to reimburse states and tribes fully for the costs associated with National Guard-related efforts to combat the virus. The measure restores "full reimbursement" from the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund for costs related to re-opening schools. FEMA funds are typically dispersed after hurricanes, floods or other natural disasters. The new Democratic president has put fighting the disease at the top of a daunting list of challenges, including rebuilding a ravaged economy and addressing racial injustice. Other issues the administration plans to address over the next 10 days include healthcare, the economy, immigration and climate change. Biden signed 15 executive actions on Wednesday just hours after he was sworn into office, many aimed at sweeping away Trump's policies. Those included mandating masks on federal property and halting the withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO), as well as issues such as rejoining the Paris climate accord and ending a travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries. Testing, supply travel protocols The 10 new orders Biden will sign on Thursday will establish a Covid-19 testing board to ramp up testing, address supply shortfalls, establish protocols for international travellers and direct resources to hard-hit minority communities. Biden has pledged to provide 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine during his first 100 days in office. His plan aims to increase vaccinations by opening up eligibility for more people such as teachers and supermarket workers. Additionally, he will issue a directive including the intent to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver vaccines to poor countries, Biden's chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, told the WHO's executive board on Thursday. Trump had halted funding to the WHO and planned to withdraw from the group in July. Fauci told ABC News rejoining the WHO was a critical step in helping to fight the outbreak. "It going to be really very important. When you're dealing with a global pandemic you have to have an international connectivity," he said. Dr Anthony Fauci is welcoming the announcement that the US is rejoining the WHO. Photo: AFP He added that he was confident the US could recharge its vaccine response even as some states and localities have said they are running out of available doses. "I think we're going to be there reasonably soon," he said. Biden proposed a $US1.9 trillion Covid-19 package last week that would enhance jobless benefits and provide direct cash payments to households to alleviate the financial pain from coronavirus. Late on Wednesday, the Department of Education moved to extend the pause of student loan payments and said it would keep the interest rate at 0 percent to help ease financial burdens amid the pandemic. Some of Biden's early initiatives could get bogged down in Congress, where the US Senate is considering how to proceed with the impeachment trial of Trump. The Democratic-controlled House impeached Trump last week for inciting an insurrection in the deadly rampage at the Capitol. Pelosi has yet to send the article of impeachment to the Senate. According to Senate rules, the Republican former president's trial would start the day after the charge is sent over. Biden has urged lawmakers not to let Trump's trial interfere with his legislative priorities and confirming his Cabinet. - Reuters

Less than a week after it announced the cancellation of flights to three Australian cities, Emirates will resume passenger flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from next week. File photo. Photo: AFP / Nicolas Economou / NurPhoto From Monday, flights will resume to Sydney, while services will return to Melbourne from Tuesday and to Brisbane from Thursday. Passenger flights between Dubai and Perth, as well as cargo operations to all Australian points, continue as scheduled. Hundreds of Australians were last week left stranded after the major airline announced the cancellation on Friday night. "We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers in the period where we had to temporarily suspend our services," a statement distributed by the airline read. "The pandemic has made international flying incredibly challenging, and the dynamic restrictions and requirements implemented by the different state authorities in Australia had added complexity and burden to our operations. "This led us to temporarily suspend passenger services while we engaged with various stakeholders regarding crew protocols and other operational details." Emirates confirmed crew operating on Australian flights were already mandated to take a PCR coronavirus test 48 hours prior to scheduled flight departure times from Dubai. "With the latest adjustments, these tests will be administered in their homes, and our crew will also observe self-quarantine in their homes from the moment of testing until their flight." "This is an added burden for our crew as individuals, for our rostering, and operating costs, and therefore this decision was made after careful review and consideration. "We are grateful that our wonderful crew teams are very understanding and supportive, which has enabled us to quickly restart passenger services. "The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority, and as always, we work closely with the authorities and health experts in this regard." Aviation industry hit hard by pandemic When Emirates announced its suspension of flights on 16 January, there were already fewer flights than normal coming into Australia due to the coronavirus-induced border closures. Caps on the number of passengers allowed on the planes still flying in had also been reduced in order to further ease pressure on the nation's quarantine facilities. But the pandemic has hit operational costs of airlines hard globally and in 2020 experts predicted the aviation industry could lose 95 per cent of its workforce if borders were not opened soon. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic Australia's major airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia employed the equivalent of 40,000 people but both airlines are now operating at about 5 per cent capacity. If that continues into 2021, Air Intelligence aviation economist Tony Webber expects the number of employees to shrink to fewer than 2000. During the nation's lockdown at the start of the pandemic, Virgin Australia went into administration. The airline was eventually bought by Bain Capital but its low-cost service Tiger Airways closed. - ABC

A whale carcass believed to be one of the largest ever found in the Mediterranean has been recovered off the coast of southern Italy. The carcass in the port of Sorrento as it's about to be towed to Naples by the Italian Coastguard. Photo: AFP / Italian Coastguard Corps Coastguard scuba divers located the whale off the harbour of Sorrento, near Naples, on Sunday. They were led to the dead mammal by a young whale calf that was in distress, officials say. It triggered a major operation to recover the 70-tonne carcass that was eventually completed on Wednesday. The coastguard said it was "probably one of the largest" whale carcasses ever found in the region. The whale carcass in the port of Sorrento. Photo: AFP / Italian Coastguard Corps Shortly after the divers found the animal on Sunday, its body floated to the surface and officials decided to carry out a complex operation to move it to land. Two vessels were involved in the operation. The coastguard then towed the dead whale from Sorrento to the port of Naples where it arrived on Wednesday. A post-mortem will now be carried out by marine biologists and other experts who are investigating the cause of death, officials say. There are also plans for the whale's huge skeleton to eventually be displayed in a museum. Meanwhile, the coastguard is monitoring for further signs of the young whale calf that led them to the carcass after it disappeared back into the sea. Photo: AFP / Italian Coastguard Corps - BBC

Two men blew themselves up in a crowded Baghdad market on Thursday, killing at least 32 people in Iraq's first big suicide bombing for three years, authorities said, describing it as a possible sign of the reactivation of Islamic State. An injured man receives treatment at a Baghdad hospital after the attack. Photo: AFP Reuters journalists arriving after the blasts saw pools of blood and discarded shoes at the site, a clothing market in Tayaran Square in the centre of the city. Health authorities said at least 110 people had been wounded. "One (bomber) came, fell to the ground and started complaining 'my stomach is hurting' and he pressed the detonator in his hand. It exploded immediately. People were torn to pieces," said a street vendor who did not give his name. Suicide attacks, once an almost daily occurrence in the Iraqi capital, have halted in recent years since Islamic State fighters were defeated in 2017, part of an overall improvement in security that has brought normal life back to Baghdad. "Daesh terrorist groups might be standing behind the attacks," Civil Defence chief Major General Kadhim Salman told reporters, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. A video taken from a rooftop and circulated on social media purported to show the second blast scattering people gathered in the area. Images shared online, which Reuters could not independently verify, showed several dead and wounded. The latest attack took place in the same market that was struck in the last big attack, in January, 2018, when at least 27 people were killed. The scene at the market soon after the suicide bombing. Photo: AFP Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held an urgent meeting with top security commanders to discuss the suicide attacks, the premier's office said in a brief statement. Iraqi security forces were deployed and key roads blocked to prevent possible further attacks. Suicide attacks against civilian targets were a near-daily tactic of mainly Sunni Muslim insurgents during the US occupation of Iraq after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, and were later employed by Islamic State, whose fighters swept across a third of the country in 2014. By 2017 the fighters had been driven from all territory they held, although they have continued to wage a low-level insurgency against Iraqi forces and attack officials mainly in northern areas. An injured man is rushed to the emergency ward of a hospital in Baghdad. Photo: AFP Pope condemns killings Pope Francis, who is scheduled to visit Iraq in March, has condemned the twin suicide bombings as a "senseless act of brutality". In a message sent in his name to the Iraqi president, the pope gave no indication as to whether the bombing would affect his planned trip. "In deploring this senseless act of brutality, he (the pope) prays for the deceased victims and their families, for the injured and for the emergency personnel in attendance," the message said. It said the pope hoped that Iraqi could continue to work to overcome violence with "fraternity, solidarity and peace.". Francis is scheduled to make the first trip by a pope to Iraq on 5-8 March, visiting Baghdad and four other towns. The Vatican on Wednesday issued new logistical information for journalists planning to cover the trip, but sources have said it could be postponed or cancelled at any time depending on the security situation or health conditions related to the coronavirus pandemic. - Reuters

California's health department says it is safe to continue to use a batch of COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc for inoculation after a pause due to possible allergic reactions. Moderna says it is unaware of comparable adverse cases from other vaccination centers. Photo: AFP On Wednesday, Moderna said it had received a report from the California Department of Public Health that several people at a center in San Diego were treated for possible allergic reactions after vaccination from one lot of its COVID-19 vaccine. The state health department held discussions with various US authorities, including the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and found no scientific basis to continue the pause, state epidemiologist Dr Erica Pan said in a statement. Moderna confirmed the vaccine would continue to be administered in California when contacted by Reuters. Moderna has said it is unaware of comparable adverse cases from other vaccination centers that may have administered vaccines from the same batch as the one in the San Diego centre, or from other batches. "These findings should continue to give Californians confidence that vaccines are safe and effective," Pan added. - Reuters

Pressure from Joe Biden's new green-leaning US administration and Australian states could see Canberra set a goal to become carbon-neutral by 2050, climate experts say, urging stronger policies to phase out fossil fuels and push sustainable farming. A view of Canberra from Mount Ainslie lookout including ANZAC Parade and Parliament House. Photo: 123RF Australia's reliance on coal-fired power makes it one of the world's largest carbon emitters per capita. Green groups have long lobbied the federal government to wean itself off fossil fuels, especially after devastating bushfires last year. Suzanne Harter, a climate campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation, said the likelihood of a carbon-neutral aim being set ahead of the U.N. climate summit in November will increase as pressure builds for more ambitious climate action. "There is a chance the prime minister will bow to domestic and international pressure and seek to avoid further embarrassment on the global stage by announcing a net-zero goal before November," Harter said. "Based on commitments Australia has already made under the Paris Agreement, the terrible impacts of global heating on Australia and the pressing need for policy certainty, the government should already have set this target," she added. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement to tackle global warming, Australia pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26 percent by 2030 versus 2005 levels. But according to analysis by research coalition Climate Action Tracker, Australia's current climate policies are "insufficient", and it has continued to signal its support for the coal industry. Late last year, Australia said it would achieve its 2030 emissions target without counting old carbon credits - but that shift was not enough to secure it a speaking slot at a "climate ambition summit" held to mark the Paris deal's fifth anniversary. Australia is seen as a regional laggard on climate by some green groups, who cite pledges for zero-emissions by mid-century made in recent months by China, Japan and South Korea. Nikola Casule, head of research and investigations at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said Australian states and corporations were setting an example for leader Scott Morrison to adopt a national policy of net-zero emissions by 2050. "All Australian states and territories have made the commitment, as well as more than 100 Australian businesses and organisations, and our biggest trading partners such as China - net-zero by 2060 - Japan and South Korea," he said. Price to pay Setting a target to cut planet-heating emissions to net zero by 2050 is an economic necessity in a rapidly decarbonising world, said Casule, irrespective of clear and pressing environmental imperatives to avoid dangerous global warming. With the United States set to rejoin the 2015 Paris accord soon after Biden took power on Wednesday, his government would again use its global influence to accelerate the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy, Casule said. There may be a "price to pay for nations that fail to decarbonise their economies", he added. Bill Hare, CEO at think tank Climate Analytics in Australia, agreed that the United States under Biden could be expected to ratchet up political and economic pressure on climate laggards. "Australia will be firmly in the sights of the Biden administration," he said, adding Washington would likely work to build an alliance for action with the European Union, Britain, Japan and others. Australia could help meet the most ambitious 1.5 degree-Celsius warming limit in the Paris Agreement by ditching its fondness for natural gas and transforming its transport sector, Hare said, noting the country had no emissions standards for cars. Presently, Australia's energy consumption is dominated by fossil fuels, with coal providing about 40 percent, oil 34 percent and gas 22 percent, according to government data. Switching the energy sector to 100 percent renewable sources over the next decade is feasible, Hare added, although few - if any - policies exist to cut emissions from the agriculture industry. Non-energy farming emissions could be lowered through manure management, improved livestock feeding practices, more efficient fertiliser use and changing consumer diets, Hare said. The federal government's language on climate has shifted in the last six to 12 months, noted Martijn Wilder, co-founder of climate advisory and investment firm Pollination in Sydney. The government is already doing an enormous amount towards decarbonising the economy, he said, citing investment in technology and clean energy, a detailed strategy on hydrogen, promotion of renewables and a carbon-offsetting programme. It also has to cope with a handful of influential members in its ruling coalition who oppose strong action on climate change, he said, adding that the government now accepts it cannot fund new coal-fired power capacity. "While it is very easy to criticise the federal government as doing nothing, some of its policies are world-leading," Wilder said. "It is managing internal politics but it's just a matter of time before some sort of (emissions) commitment is made." - Thomson Reuters

By Dan Zirker * Opinion - Joseph R Biden's inaugural address was a call to return to political normality (or 'normalcy', as the Americans say). US President Joe Biden. Photo: Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Coming after a protracted period of administrative incompetence, polarization, anger, scapegoats and implied support for white supremacy, this was a perfectly appropriate message. It is easy to point to the omissions and lacunae in this speech, although this is not necessarily a very helpful enterprise. Nevertheless, as a student of politics, I feel constrained to do exactly that. In Biden's call for an end to the 'uncivil war', a clever and yet very apposite phrase, he pointed the way to the future, an encompassing way. Live and let live, embrace one's neighbours, respect their differences, open hearts to acceptance and love, relegate hatred to the rubbish bin. All of these are noble and, if you will, 'normal' calls, repeated in the past in one way or another in the 59 inaugural addresses across 46 presidents over 220+ years. There were a couple of concerns missing from President Biden's speech that might require some serious attention in the immediate future, however. The first of these, the explosive growth in income inequality, had but one brief mention. Dramatic income disparity has meant that a handful of Americans now have more resources than over 90 percent of the country's population, and that the middle class in the US is rapidly disappearing, as the Pew Research Center's reports of 2016 and 2018 have demonstrated. Income concentration has meant growing poverty, or the likelihood of poverty, threatening most American families. Even those families which are doing relatively well are all too often afraid for the futures of their children or grandchildren. This suffering, or implied suffering, and fear explain much of the public susceptibility to exclusionary populist appeals such as those emanating from the White House over the past four years. Shutting out the world, building border and trade walls, promising to 'bring back the jobs' (a difficult task at best, and one in which no progress was achieved), these are geared to a population which is increasingly vulnerable to fear, depression, hatred, big lies, opioid addiction, extremism and populist appeals, and all of these are related in some way to the growth of severe income disparities. The new fear, of Covid-19, is easily denied but at great peril as we have seen. Overcoming the pandemic will require a rational and disciplined approach, something that has been an impossible task for the White House in the last four years. Former US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP A second missing element in Biden's forceful and compelling message, one that is directly linked to income inequality, was some emphasis upon Americans' limited access to health care. This limitation is directly related to income disparities. In a country where health care is among the most expensive of such services in the world, the omission of a reference to reforming this frankly elitist system is problematic, although understandable. Biden, after all, has struggled with this political football for decades. His promise to address the pandemic implies bringing all Americans to some security in this area. Nevertheless, it is a problem which must be addressed, and soon, and was only lightly covered in his inaugural vision. We should note President Biden's courageous and early tackling of an intractable problem, the rise of, as he put it, nativism. The largest nativistic movement in American history is, arguably, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. In a number of ways, Biden addressed the resurgence of white supremacy in the US with his call for unity and his call to end the 'uncivil war'. This problem related as I have argued to widespread income disparities is truly intractable, however. The US is a country of regions, and the Civil War is still very much alive in the collective conscious of the American South where it is still commonly referred to as the 'War of Northern Aggression'. An enduring theme of the region is the link between the Confederacy and white supremacy. However, racial biases are evident throughout the US. Most recently, a defence spending bill crept through Congress, almost lost because of its provision for renaming military bases identified with Confederate Civil War officers. Statues have been removed from courthouse lawns, the Confederate flag banned from public buildings in some Southern states, and growing interregional support has been expressed for the 'Black Lives Matter' movement. There is much yet to be done, however. Reforms in police culture are really only the tips of icebergs. Biden's speech and his organisation of the Inaugural Day celebrations may point the way, however tenuous, to a new day in the struggle against racism. Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), the longest serving Speaker of the US House of Representatives, once said 'there's no education in the second kick of a mule'. The people of the US and indeed of the world have experienced a terrible populist kick over the past four years. Let's hope that they (and we) have learned something. *Dan Zirker is a US political scientist from the University of Waikato. He's got a PhD in political science from the University of Alberta, and taught at universities in Minnesota, Idaho and Montana.

Democratic President-elect Joe Biden has selected people for his Cabinet, his White House team and other top jobs in his administration ahead of being sworn into office on Wednesday. US President Joe Biden delivers his inauguration speech. Photo: AFP Here are some of the people Biden has called on to run the US government. Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: William Burns Photo: Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP During more than three decades as a US diplomat, including as deputy secretary of state under President Barack Obama, Burns honed specialties in Russia and the Middle East and was ambassador to Russia. Attorney General: Merrick Garland Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP A federal appeals court judge since 1997, Garland was nominated by Obama for the US Supreme Court in 2016, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to consider the nomination in a presidential election year. Secretary of Commerce: Gina Raimondo Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP The Democratic governor of Rhode Island and a lawyer with a background in venture capital, Raimondo has launched successful workforce training programs in her state. Secretary of Labour: Marty Walsh Photo: Scott Eisen / Getty Images / AFP Walsh, elected mayor of Boston in 2013, has backed both a $US15 minimum wage and paid family leave. He has said he wants to expand union membership. Secretary of State: Antony Blinken Photo: AFP / Graeme Jennings-Pool / Getty Images The longtime Biden confidant served as No. 2 at the State Department and as deputy national security adviser in Obama's administration. Secretary of the Treasury: Janet Yellen Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP The former Federal Reserve chair deepened the central bank's focus on workers and inequality. She will be the country's first woman to serve as treasury secretary if confirmed. Secretary of Defence: Lloyd Austin Photo: AFP / Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool / Getty Images Austin, who oversaw US forces in the Middle East under Obama, would be the first Black US secretary of defence if the Senate confirms him. He retired in 2016 and would need a waiver from Congress to take the post, as he has been out of the military less than the required seven years. Secretary of Transportation: Pete Buttigieg Photo: The Yomiuri Shimbun Buttigieg is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and was one of Biden's rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP Vilsack, who led the US Department of Agriculture under Obama, was Iowa's governor from 1999 until 2007. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Marcia Fudge Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP Fudge has served in the House of Representatives since 2008. If confirmed, Fudge would be the second Black woman to lead HUD. Secretary of Education: Miguel Cardona Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images/AFP Naming Cardona, currently the education commissioner for Connecticut and a former teacher, fulfils Biden's pledge to choose a professional educator to lead the Education Department. Secretary of the Interior: Deb Haaland Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network/AFP Haaland, a Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico since 2019, would be the first Native American Cabinet secretary and the first to oversee the department, whose jurisdiction includes tribal lands. Secretary of Energy: Jennifer Granholm Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP Granholm served as the first female governor of Michigan, from 2003 to 2011. In 2009, when Biden was vice president under Obama, she worked with his office on the bailout of auto manufacturers during the Great Recession. Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Denis McDonough Photo: ZACH GIBSON / AFP McDonough was the White House chief of staff during Obama's second term and also served as Obama's deputy national security adviser. Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas Photo: Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images/AFP The Cuban-born lawyer will be the first Latino and first immigrant to head the department if confirmed. As head of Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama, Mayorkas led implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for "Dreamers" - people who were brought to the United States as children. Secretary of Health and Human Services: Xavier Becerra Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP The California attorney general was previously a 12-term congressman who played a key role in passing the Affordable Care Act in Congress. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair: Gary Gensler Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images/AFP The former Goldman Sachs banker was chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2014, and since November has led Biden's transition planning for financial industry oversight. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director: Rohit Chopra (No photo available) Federal Trade Commission member Chopra helped progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren set up the bureau and served as its first student loan ombudsman. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director: Rochelle Walensky Photo: Jim WATSON / AFP Walensky, currently the chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will take a prominent role in the Biden administration's fight against the coronavirus. Coronavirus Coordinator: Jeff Zients Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images / AFP Zients will oversee an unprecedented operation to distribute hundreds of millions of doses of a new vaccine, coordinating efforts across multiple federal agencies. Surgeon General: Vivek Murthy Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto A physician and former surgeon general, Murthy gained prominence in recent months as co-chairman of Biden's advisory board dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, which the president-elect has pledged to make his top priority. Ambassador to the United Nations: Linda Thomas-Greenfield Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images/AFP Thomas-Greenfield is a Black woman who served as Obama's top diplomat on Africa from 2013 to 2017, leading US policy in Africa south of the Sahara during the West African Ebola outbreak. United States Trade Representative: Katherine Tai Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP The House Ways and Means Committee lawyer played a key role in negotiating stronger labour provisions with the Trump administration in the new US-Mexico-Canada trade deal. White House Domestic Policy Council Director: Susan Rice Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP The experienced national security official has served as US ambassador to the United Nations and as an assistant secretary of state, and was national security advisor during Obama's second term. Office of Management and Budget Director: Neera Tanden Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP Tanden, president of the progressive Centre for American Progress think tank, helped create Obamacare, which Republicans want to demolish. Council of Economic Advisers Chair: Cecilia Rouse Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP Rouse, a labour economist and dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, was a member of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers from 2009 to 2011. National Economic Council Director: Brian Deese Photo: Xinhua/Wang Ye The Obama administration veteran helped lead efforts to bail out the automotive industry during the 2009 financial crisis and helped negotiate the landmark Paris climate accord. National Security Adviser: Jake Sullivan Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images/AFP Biden's national security adviser when he served as vice president to Obama, Sullivan also served as deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines Photo: Joe Raedle / POOL / AFP Haines served as deputy national security adviser under Obama and previously was the first woman to serve as CIA deputy director. Special Presidential Envoy For Climate: John Kerry Photo: AFP or licensors Former US Senator and Secretary of State Kerry will act as a Cabinet-level "climate czar" in the Biden administration who will help guide the country's climate diplomacy. Environmental Protection Agency: Michael Regan Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images/AFP Regan, North Carolina's top environmental regulator, worked at the EPA during the Clinton and Bush administrations. If confirmed, Regan would be the first Black man to run the EPA. Domestic Climate Policy Coordinator: Gina McCarthy Photo: 2020 Getty Images McCarthy ran the EPA under Obama and managed some of the administration's signature rules for air and water pollution. White House Chief Of Staff: Ron Klain Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP A longtime Biden adviser with experience in responding to the Ebola pandemic, Klain was picked for the chief of staff role that sets the president's agenda. - Reuters