Arts & Entertainment/Economy & business
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Elvis Presley’s Graceland Starting Live Virtual Tours

Elvis Presley’s Graceland is now offering live online tours for fans around the world, including those who can’t travel to the Tennessee tourist attraction during the coronavirus pandemic.Graceland said the two-hour guided tours will take virtual visitors into Presley’s former Memphis home, which has been turned into a museum, and through the Meditation Garden, where he is buried. The singer and actor died in Memphis on Aug. 16, 1977.Also included in the $100 ticket is a tour of Presley’s jet and a walk through the entertainment complex, which houses exhibits and artifacts related to Presley. Viewers will be able to ask questions during the tours.Elvis Presley’s Jewelry, Clothing Sold at Graceland Auction

        Jewelry, clothing and other Elvis Presley-related memorabilia have been sold at auction in Tennessee.

Elvis Presley Enterprises says the auction at The Guest House Graceland netted more than $600,000 Tuesday on what would have been his 84th birthday. The Guest House is a hotel located steps from the Graceland home, where the singer lived in Memphis.

Graceland says a red velvet shirt likely worn on stage by Presley at a 1956 show in Tupelo, Mississippi, sold for $37,500. A gold and diamond ring that…
Graceland typically hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. But the tourist attraction has seen a drop in visitors during the coronavirus outbreak. Graceland was closed for several weeks last year and is now open for limited-capacity, in-person tours.Virtual tours are scheduled for Jan. 27, Feb. 25, and March 25, with more dates expected.
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Science & Health
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Campaign Aims to Convince Americans COVID Vaccine Safe

Two years ago, in January 2019, the World Health Organization said vaccine hesitancy was among the top 10 threats to global health. That was before COVID-19 spread around the globe. VOA’s Carol Pearson tells us how doctors are working to overcome that hesitancy.
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Science & Health
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Biden Names Geneticist for New Cabinet-level Post on Science

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden named pioneering geneticist Eric Lander as the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy on Friday, elevating the post to Cabinet-level status for first time.Lander, a Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who helped lead the Human Genome Project, will also serve in the role of presidential science adviser, Biden’s team said.”Science will always be at the forefront of my administration — and these world-renowned scientists will ensure everything we do is grounded in science, facts and the truth,” Biden said in a statement, which announced several personnel appointments to the White House science team.”Their trusted guidance will be essential as we come together to end this pandemic, bring our economy back and pursue new breakthroughs to improve the quality of life of all Americans,” Biden said.Lander, 63, will succeed meteorologist Kelvin Droegemeier, who was named director by President Donald Trump in 2019 after the role was left vacant for nearly two years.Biden, who will be sworn in as president on January 20, excoriated Trump repeatedly during the election campaign for undermining faith in science, whether it was Trump’s downplaying of evidence of climate change or suggesting injecting disinfectants might treat COVID-19.Biden has pledged to increase funding in U.S. research and development, including medical research and clean energy. He also appointed former Secretary of State John Kerry as a special presidential envoy for climate.”Tremendously excited to work alongside so many bright minds to advise the President-elect and push the boundaries of what we dare to believe is possible. We need everyone,” Lander said in a tweet.The duties of OSTP, the White House’s top body for space policy formation under former President Barack Obama, could clash with the National Space Council that Trump revived in 2017.Biden’s transition team is weighing whether to disband or keep the council, a person familiar with the team’s planning said.
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