Here is how events are unfolding. All times Eastern.
Feb 12, 2021, 11:20 AM EST
Biden administration to begin admitting migrants forced to wait in Mexico
The Biden administration plans to begin processing and admitting migrants forced to wait in Mexico under the Trump administration's "Migrant Protection Protocols" (MPP) starting next week, according to three administration officials.
The officials said "phase one" of the new admission program will start at three ports of entry and involve identifying and processing currently active MPP cases of asylum seekers who have been designated to wait for their U.S. immigration court date on the Mexico side of the border. This group is estimated to include about 25,000 people.
Asylum seekers from El Salvador wait at a bus station after they were released from U.S. immigration authorities, Feb. 8, 2021, in Brownsville, Texas. Since the inauguration of President Joe Biden, increased numbers of asylum seekers, most from Central America, have begun crossing the Rio Grande into Texas, and immigration authorities have been releasing them to stay in the U.S. pending court hearings. The new policy is a reversal of former President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy, where immigrants had to wait in Mexico during the legal asylum process.
John Moore/Getty Images
Asylum seekers will be brought to a U.S. port of entry, released and monitored after their information is taken and they pass a COVID-19 test in Mexico. It remains unclear how migrants will be tracked once they are admitted back into the U.S.
Officials estimated that about 300 people could be processed per day at each port of entry once the admission program is up and running.
-ABC News' Quinn Owen
Feb 12, 2021, 9:05 AM EST
First lady installs giant Valentine's Day messages outside White House
First lady Jill Biden had giant Valentine's Day messages installed on the north lawn of the White House.
The large, heart-shaped cutouts featured words like "unity," "kindness" and "healing."
First Lady Jill Biden has installed giant Valentine’s messaged on the North Lawn of the White House early on Feb. 12, 2021.
Evan Vucci/AP
"Overnight, the First Lady’s surprise Valentine messages to the country were installed on the north lawn for the weekend, hearkening back to the days of sharing candy hearts between friends and family," the Office of the First Lady said in a statement Friday morning. "As you may know, the First Lady is known for her sense of humor, love of surprises, and celebrating traditions, especially with her family. Valentine’s Day has always been one of her favorite holidays. Sending messages of healing, unity, hope and compassion, this is her Valentine to the country."
First lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden look at the Valentines Jill Biden had installed overnight on the White House lawn, early Feb. 12, 2021. The Office of the First Lady stated that Valentine’s Day is the first lady's favorite holiday and she wanted to send out messages of healing, unity, hope and compassion as her "Valentine to the country.”
ABC
The first lady appeared outside with the president, along with their dogs Champ and Major, to view the installation and speak with reporters.
"We hope this lifted your spirits," Jill Biden said, with a mug of coffee in hand.
First lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden look at the Valentines Jill Biden had installed overnight on the White House lawn, early Feb. 12, 2021. The Office of the First Lady stated that Valentine’s Day is the first lady's favorite holiday and she wanted to send out messages of healing, unity, hope and compassion as her "Valentine to the country.”
ABC
When asked about his message to Americans who may be feeling down or discouraged amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 475,000 people in the United States, the president said to "stay strong" and referenced his own experience with losing loved ones.
“There is hope," Biden said. "You just have to stay strong. A lot of people have gone through unbearable suffering. They’ve lost their families, lost their children, lost their husbands, wives, moms, dads, and it’s almost unbearable. The only thing I can say to them is that they’re still in your heart."
"They really are," he added. "I can tell you from experience, they’re in your heart."
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Feb 11, 2021, 5:58 PM EST
US will have enough vaccines for 300M Americans by end of July: Biden
The U.S. will have enough supply to vaccinate 300 million Americans against COVID-19 by the end of July, President Biden said Thursday while speaking at the National Institutes of Health.
Until now, the administration has typically offered "by the end of summer" for that timeline.
Biden said Thursday the administration has been able to expedite the delivery of 100 million doses from the end of June to the end of May. Plus, 200 million additional doses the administration previously announced it planned to buy will be delivered by the end of July -- which is sooner than expected.
"That's a month faster. That means lives will be saved. That means we're now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July," Biden said.
The administration has signed final contracts for those additional 200 million doses, which include 100 million doses each of Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines, Biden also announced. These 200 million doses, plus 400 million doses the Trump administration contracted for, would be enough to have two shots of both vaccines for 300 million Americans.
For now, Biden implored Americans to continue wearing masks and doing their part to prevent more death.
"I know it's a pain in the neck, but it's a patriotic responsibility," Biden said. "Do you realize more people have died in the last 12 months than died in all four years in World War II? All four years."
-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky
Feb 11, 2021, 4:35 PM EST
White House's National Climate Task Force meets for 1st time
National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy convened the first-ever meeting of the National Climate Task Force, which President Biden created during his first week in office to combat climate change, on Thursday.
The Task Force resembles a cabinet meeting, with the leaders of 21 federal agencies all participating, including the secretaries of Treasury, Defense, Interior, Commerce, Education, Transportation and Energy.
Vice President Harris also "dropped by the Task Force meeting," according to the White House readout.
The participants met virtually, working "to ensure the United States leads the world in a clean energy revolution that creates American jobs with the chance to join a union and builds back an inclusive, equitable economy," the readout stated.
