NBC News,
by
Minyvonne Burke
Original Article
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NorthernDog
—
8/21/2021 10:45:45 AM
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Henri, still a tropical storm, is inching closer to the north-northeast coast and is expected to make landfall Sunday as a hurricane on Long Island or southern New England, weather forecasters said. The storm is currently about 525 miles south of Montauk Point, Long Island. Henri's maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph with higher gusts, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 a.m. Saturday update. "Strengthening is forecast through tonight, and Henri is expected to become a hurricane later today and be at or near hurricane strength when it makes landfall," the agency said. The last major threat
Business Insider,
by
John Haltiwanger
Original Article
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NorthernDog
—
8/20/2021 6:24:48 PM
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President Joe Biden just faced one of his toughest weeks as president yet, with pandemonium in Afghanistan, skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, and a declining approval rating. Roughly a month after Biden forcefully defended his move to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, expressing "trust" in the capacity of the Afghan military to keep the Taliban at bay, the militant Islamist group marched into Kabul on Sunday. The Taliban had rapidly seized major cities over the course of the prior week, often without much of a fight. The militants regained control of the country just days after the US military assessed that it
Associated Press,
by
Darlene Superville
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NorthernDog
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8/20/2021 2:58:58 PM
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WASHINGTON — Amid the continuing crisis in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden postponed plans to head to his Delaware home on Friday and instead will spend the night in Washington. The White House announced the latest schedule change hours before Biden was set to discuss the chaotic evacuation of American citizens and allies from Afghanistan. The president has been under mounting pressure over his decisions in Afghanistan, which ultimately led to last weekend’s collapse of the U.S.-backed government and complete takeover of the country by Taliban militants. The U.S.-led evacuation effort has been complicated by a range of obstacles, from armed
Reuters,
by
Trevor Hunnicutt
&
Idrees Ali
Original Article
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NorthernDog
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8/20/2021 9:22:38 AM
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WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden is brushing off criticism of his administration's chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal because he and his aides believe the political fallout at home will be limited, according to White House allies and administration officials. Biden and his top aides argue they are managing an evacuation mission as well as could be expected given the faster-than-anticipated takeover of the country by Taliban insurgents, and are seeking to draw attention back to the choice to get U.S. troops out of the country. (Snip) They expect the Afghanistan story to recede from the headlines, replaced by the resurgence in COVID-19 cases
Fox News,
by
Edmund DeMarche
Original Article
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NorthernDog
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8/19/2021 7:47:22 PM
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A senior Taliban commander on Wednesday laid out the broad strokes of how Afghanistan will be governed after the stunning fall of Kabul, saying there will be an Islamic government with Sharia law and no democratic system "at all." Waheedullah Hashimi, the leader, told Reuters that democracy does not have "any base in our country." "We will not discuss what type of political system should we apply in Afghanistan because it is clear. It is Sharia law and that is it," he said. The Taliban said that the rights of women in the country will be respected as long as
CBS News,
by
Staff
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NorthernDog
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8/19/2021 1:14:36 PM
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Doha, Qatar — A protest against the Taliban takeover in eastern Afghanistan ended Thursday morning with a report of several people killed after the militants opened fire, sparking a stampede. The Islamic extremists have promised not to seek revenge and to rule over an "inclusive" country, but the public statements come as the group's militants show little tolerance for dissent or disorder, including at the U.S.-held airport vital to all evacuations from the country. CBS News correspondent Roxana Saberi reported that the chaos of the last couple days was continuing outside Kabul's international airport as Afghans try desperately to flee their
Agence France-Presse,
by
Sylvie Lanteaume
Original Article
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NorthernDog
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8/18/2021 10:10:46 PM
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Videos of Taliban fighters parading in US-made armored vehicles, wielding US-supplied firearms and climbing on American Black Hawk helicopters after the defeat of Afghan government forces have embarrassed the White House. The Islamist insurgents, who easily captured control of the country after a months-long campaign, seized huge amounts of weaponry, equipment and munitions from the Afghan armed forces, most of it supplied over the past two decades by Washington. Social media showed Taliban fighters carrying M4 and M18 assault rifles and M24 sniper weapons, driving around in the iconic US Humvees and, in one video, apparently wearing US-style special forces
CNBC,
by
Alicia Adamczyk
Original Article
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NorthernDog
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8/18/2021 6:17:49 PM
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But if you’re currently renting your place, you might see the price tick up when it’s time to renew your lease. In fact, rent is forecast to be even higher this year than it would have been if the pandemic had not occurred. Through out 2020, many renters were able to benefit from price reductions or even months of free rent as landlords struggled to fill empty units. But those concessions are more or less gone, and landlords are hiking up prices as Covid-19 restrictions end and housing demand spikes. Housing costs
NBC News,
by
Yuliya Talmazan
&
Mushtaq Yusufzai
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
8/18/2021 10:41:36 AM
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Images of the Taliban cracking down on a protest and bloodied women and children beaten by fighters are contradicting the more moderate image the militant group has been trying to project as it tries to consolidate power in Afghanistan. (Snip) A former police official told Reuters four people had been killed in the protest and 13 injured. Afghanistan’s Pajhwok news agency shared video of what it said was the incident, showing crowds running as gunfire was heard. NBC News was not able to verify the footage. Meanwhile, the Taliban's assurance of a “safe passage” to the Kabul
Reuters,
by
Tim Kelly
Original Article
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NorthernDog
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8/18/2021 8:50:26 AM
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TOKYO - The Russian Kalashnikov AK-47 and its derivatives have long been the assault rifle of choice for militant groups because of their rugged design, but some Taliban fighters are trading them in for captured U.S. guns as Afghanistan's government collapses.
Video and pictures published by the Taliban on Twitter and elsewhere show fighters carrying M4 carbines and M16 rifles discarded by Afghan army units. Other images show Taliban forces capturing abandoned government vehicles. The U.S. guns are more accurate and have greater range than the their AK-47s, but on their own may not deliver much added capability on the battlefield.
RedState,
by
Joe Cunningham
Original Article
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NorthernDog
—
8/17/2021 8:27:57 PM
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There is some speculation floating around social media (mostly, but not totally, from the right) that Democrats may try to pull the 25th Amendment card on Biden to push him aside and bring Kamala Harris forward in an effort to save face in this moment of geopolitical crisis. It is some of the same speculation you saw several times when the Left called for members of the Trump administration to turn on Trump and invoke the amendment. However, the Democrats have put themselves into such a terrible position that they absolutely cannot get rid of Biden through this means, or
USA Today,
by
David Oliver
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
8/17/2021 8:10:37 PM
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Pete Buttigieg and husband Chasten are going to be dads. "For some time, Chasten and I have wanted to grow our family," the U.S. secretary of transportation posted Tuesday on Twitter. "We’re overjoyed to share that we’ve become parents! The process isn’t done yet and we’re thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us. We can’t wait to share more soon." Chasten Buttigieg quote-tweeted the post with a quick Twitter aphorism, "Some news!" He recently told The Washington Post they had started the adoption process and had gotten close to bringing a
Comments:
Maybe Joe Biden can be their patron saint.