Inside Reach 871, A US C-17 Packed With 640 Afghans Trying to Escape the Taliban  —  The Air Force evacuation flight from Kabul to Qatar came near the record for most people ever flown in the Boeing airlifter.  — AFGHANISTAN - WHITE HOUSE - AIR FORCE - CIVILIANS

Biden Was Right  —  In 2017, I arrived at Kabul's Hamid Karzai Airport as part of a congressional staff delegation.  Even though the U.S. embassy stood a mere four miles away, safety concerns necessitated our helicoptering from a recently constructed multimillion-dollar transit facility instead of traveling by road.

Ex-Obama adviser: Why Biden must fire his national security adviser for Afghanistan failure  —  The people, plans and processes that President Joe Biden has put in place to keep America safe are not working.  —  President Joe Biden needs to shake up his national security team.

Scoop: Investigation finds fired Tennessee vaccine official mailed dog muzzle to self  —  A Tennessee investigation found evidence that the state's fired vaccine chief, Michelle Fiscus, purchased a dog muzzle that she previously claimed someone had mailed in an attempt to intimidate her.

Group Statement Sent to President Biden on Behalf of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post  —  Dear President Biden:  —  For the past twenty years, brave Afghan colleagues have worked tirelessly to help The New York Times, The Washington Post …

In a First, U.S. Declares Shortage on Colorado River, Forcing Water Cuts  —  Arizona farmers will take the initial brunt, but wider reductions loom as climate change continues to affect flows into the river.  —  With climate change and long-term drought continuing to take a toll on the Colorado River …

A conservative cardinal who criticized the vaccine caught covid.  Days later, he was put on a ventilator.  —  Most days during the coronavirus pandemic, Cardinal Raymond L. Burke could be found strolling down the streets of Rome maskless and carrying rosary beads.

Texas requests five mortuary trailers in anticipation of Covid deaths  —  With Covid-19 surging across the state, Texas has requested five mortuary trailers from the federal government in anticipation of an influx of dead bodies, state officials told NBC News.

Ted Cruz, and the ugly attacks on CNN's Clarissa Ward  —  The political right has plenty to work with right now on Afghanistan.  The withdrawal from that country has gone poorly — significantly more poorly than the Biden administration predicted it would — legitimizing long-standing GOP arguments …

MNGOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan resigns from board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities  —  Embattled Minnesota Republican Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan on Saturday resigned from the board of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities organization, a spokeswoman said.