JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: As President Biden took office, the U.S. death

toll from COVID-19 kept climbing past 405,000.

At the same time, a number of states reported they are running out of vaccine supplies.

The CDC estimated nearly 36 million doses have gone out to the states, but, so far,

only two million people have received the full course of two doses.

Overseas, world governments largely welcomed President Biden's inauguration. In Brussels,

the president of the European Commission voiced hope for much better relations with the U.S.

in the post-Trump era.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, President, European Commission: This new dawn in America is the

moment we have been waiting for so long. Europe is ready for a new start with our oldest and

most trusted partner.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani urged President Biden to rejoin

the 2015 nuclear deal that the U.S. withdrew from under President Trump.

China voiced hope today for new cooperation with the U.S. under the Biden administration.

Beijing also imposed sanctions on former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump administration

officials. They're accused of violating Chinese sovereignty and disrupting relations. The

sanctions bar them doing business with China and from entering the country.

The government of Israel raced to approve more housing in East Jerusalem and West Bank

settlements just before President Trump left office. An Israeli watchdog group says that

nearly 2,600 new units got the green light. President Biden is expected to return the

U.S. to a policy of strongly opposing settlement expansion.

And back in this country, Wall Street had its best Inauguration Day in 36 years, on

hopes for more economic stimulus. Major indexes finished at new highs. The Dow Jones industrial

average gained 257 points, to close at 31188. The Nasdaq rose 260 points, 2 percent, and

the S&P 500 added nearly 53 points.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": public art stands in for crowds at a ceremony subdued

by COVID-19 and security concerns; and students write open letters to the new president expressing

their hopes for change in America.