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Many of his moves were designed to reverse policies enacted by President Trump, taking issues related to climate change, COVID-19 and immigration among other things.

Biden signed more than a dozen executive orders, memorandums and directives on his first day, marking a swift change from previous administrations. Only two recent presidents signed executive actions on their first day in office — and each signed just one.

This executive order calls for the government to pursue a a comprehensive plan to advance equity, civil rights, racial justice and equal opportunity.

The goal is to create a system of fair and impartial treatment to those who have been underserved, including: Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

Biden also shared the grief many have over the deadly virus during his inauguration speech. Four hundred lights were shined to represent the 400,000 people who have died as a result of the pandemic.

“Between sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights into the darkness … and remember all who we lost,” Biden said.

A second coronavirus-related executive order calls for a response on combatting COVID-19 in Mississippi. It establishes a COVID-19 Response Coordinator that reports directly to the president and supports a timely and effective delivery of vaccines to Americans.

It was later declared unconstitutional by a judge in late 2017.

“This order revokes harmful policies and directives that threaten to frustrate the Federal Government’s ability to confront these problems (coronavirus, economic recovery, racial justice and climate change), and empowers agencies to use appropriate regulatory tools to achieve these goals,” the order states.

“At no point since our Nation’s Founding has a person’s immigration status alone served as a basis for excluding that person from the total population count used in apportionment,” the order states.

This is another reversal of a Trump policy that excluded undocumented immigrants from being counted toward the 2020 Census apportionment base.

The pipeline has been a source of controversy for more than a decade and was a top priority of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who raised the issue during his first phone call with Biden in November. Trudeau expressed disappointment over the revocation.

The order also strips away a number of executive orders carried out by Trump that were deemed harmful to the environment.

“Adults should be able to earn a living and pursue a vocation knowing that they will not be fired, demoted, or mistreated because of whom they go home to or because how they dress does not conform to sex-based stereotypes,” the order reads.

Other actions were carried out without the use of an executive order, which include:

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The lawn in front of the Greater Pearlie Grove Missionary Baptist Church now has more grooves than a vinyl record. This week drag racers jumped the curb and did donuts, tearing up their lawn.

Youth Pastor Arthur Bridges said, “This is the third occurrence where they have come onto the lawn, turn donuts and do whatever trick. You can tell it’s not, like, an incidental, just running up onto the lawn. They actually drive up on it and do donuts.”

“It’s really costing us because now we’re having to look up other options, maybe fencing or put up some type of barrier to keep them from driving up on the lawn so we don’t have to continue to fix it,” said Bridges.

As local officials work to get a grasp on the out-of-control drivers, state leaders are working on legislation that will make it a felony to obstruct traffic showboating, and drag racing. Those found guilty could face fines of $2,000 or two years in jail.

Church leaders say they just want the wild behavior to stop before someone gets hurt.

Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.