Good morning.
In a speech from the White House 24 hours after the last soldier left Kabul, Joe Biden said the bloody, often chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan should mark a new, less interventionist era in US foreign policy.
“This decision about Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. It’s about ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries,” the president said.
Biden took responsibility for the withdrawal, standing by what he insists was a “wise” decision. “I was not going to extend this forever war,” he said. He pointed out that he inherited from the Trump administration the Doha agreement that promised US withdrawal on 1 May and allowed the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
While he took responsibility for the withdrawal, he placed the blame of the US’s longest war squarely on his predecessors – a move that may save him in the public eye.
A Pew Research Center poll found 54% of US adults agreed with Biden’s decision to pull out of Afghanistan, but just over a quarter said he had done a good job going about the withdrawal – 42% said the administration had performed poorly.
Meanwhile, Afghans described their first day as “broken” people under full Taliban rule. They described lines for the bank, growing their beards out and women burning their jeans. “Everything finished for me this morning, and also for all the people in the city,” one woman said. “You can see nobody laughing outside.”
Afghan refugees have begun arriving in the US, exhausted but relieved, and uncertain about what the future holds. Many are still unsure about the fate of their families and whether they safely made it out of Afghanistan in time.
Capitol riot inquiry to investigate Trump’s White House role in attack
Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chair of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, is preparing an expanded inquiry into whether Donald Trump and the White House helped plan or had advance knowledge of the 6 January insurrection.
Louisiana governor tells Hurricane Ida evacuees it’s too soon to return
With more than 1m homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi – including all of New Orleans – left without power, the Louisiana governor, John Bel Edwards, asked those who had fled their homes to not return until officials say otherwise.
New Orleans was under nighttime curfew, with mayor LaToya Cantrell hopeful power could be restored to parts of the city by tonight. In addition to toppling a major transmission tower, the hurricane knocked out thousands of miles of lines and hundreds of substations.
Texas legislature gives final approval to sweeping voting restrictions bill
The Texas legislature gave its final approval yesterday to a bill described by the left as “Jim Crow 2.0” for its substantial restrictions on voting access that disproportionately affect people of color.
Texas Democrats had twice tried to stymy the passage of this bill, first by walking out of the statehouse and then by fleeing the state to prevent quorum. The bill prohibits 24-hour and drive-thru voting, bans election officials from sending out unsolicited applications to vote by mail, gives poll watchers more power in the polling place and provides new regulations on those who assist voters.
Texas, which already has some of the most burdensome voting requirements in the US, was among the states with the lowest voter turnout in 2020. Civil rights groups are expected to swiftly challenge the measure once it is signed into law.
In other news …
Britney Spears’ father allegedly tried to get about $2m in payments before stepping down from the conservatorship that controls her life and money, according to a court filing.
Hate crimes in the US have risen to their highest level in 12 years, fuelled in large part by a surge in attacks on Black and Asian Americans.
A Lake Tahoe ski resort in California used its snow-making machines to fight off a wildfire that thousands of firefighters are battling.
A media watchdog is accusing Fox News of driving political violence in the US after the primetime host Tucker Carlson predicted “revolt” against the Biden administration.
Stat of the day: air pollution is cutting up to six years from people’s lifespans
Air pollution is now a greater killer than smoking, car crashes or HIV/Aids, according to a report. The average citizen in India dies six years early because of dirty air, while in China the average citizen is dying 2.6 years early.
Don’t miss this: the oyster farming industry threatened by sewage spills
Oystering is a tradition among Black oyster farmers on the east coast stretching back generations, to the end of slavery. Now they are disproportionately suffering under the weight of Virginia’s sewage crisis, as spill after spill threatens to end their historic livelihood.
Climate Check: Atlas of the Invisible
Geographer James Cheshire and designer Oliver Uberti have redefined what an atlas can be in their new book, Atlas of the Invisible. Using collected data, they created a series of graphics to make clear the causes and consequences of the climate crisis on the world.
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Last Thing: period pants
Period pants have disrupted the £29bn ($39.8bn) global menstrual market previously dominated by big tampon manufacturers often marketing products using the language of stigma and shame. Now, individuals are increasingly eschewing single-use pads and tampons that are contributing to the world’s waste problem for more sustainable solutions such as period pants that can be washed and reused.
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