U.S. ‘unwavering’ in Afghanistan evacuations, Biden says; Taliban beat back crowd at airport  —  The United States has an “unwavering commitment” to get U.S. citizens and at-risk Afghans to safety out of Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said, as Taliban fighters beat back thousands desperate to flee outside Kabul airport on Sunday.

Biden began to rebut negative story lines about Afghanistan  —  President Biden's Friday speech on Afghanistan, and even more so his answers to reporters' questions, ended the week on a decidedly more positive note than it began.  While on Monday the focus was on harrowing scenes …

‘What traitors do’: Trump slammed for praising Taliban at Alabama rally  —  During his 90-minute speech in Alabama on Saturday night, former president Donald Trump praised the Taliban and talked up his relationship with them at the same time that President Joe Biden is attempting to conduct …

Hospitals and Insurers Didn't Want You to See These Prices.  Here's Why.  —  The price for an M.R.I. at Mass General is ...  Do you have a medical bill we should investigate?  Share it with us.  —  This year, the federal government ordered hospitals to begin publishing a prized secret …

Biden doesn't plan to fire anyone over Kabul chaos, sources say  —  Biden isn't inclined to fire any senior national security officials over the chaos in Kabul unless the situation drastically deteriorates.

Biden job approval falls; handling of troop removal is negative but support for withdrawal remains — CBS News poll  —  Most Americans have wanted to withdraw from Afghanistan for a while, and most still do.  —  But not like this.  —  Public reaction to what's happened there is decidedly negative …

Fact check: Trump administration officials try to rewrite their own Afghanistan history  —  Washington (CNN)There's been no shortage of fact-based criticism aimed at the Biden administration's handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.  —  But some of the criticism …

State officials open investigation into whether Larry Elder failed to disclose income sources  —  California regulators have launched an investigation into whether recall election gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder failed to properly disclose his income sources, a spokesman …

How the political environment is moving toward Republicans  —  (CNN)Republicans gained a seat in the Connecticut state Senate this week.  They won a special election in a district that President Joe Biden won by more than 20 points in 2020.  —  Any individual special election such as this one comes …

Rescue dogs shot dead by NSW council due to COVID-19 restrictions  —  Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size  —  Several impounded dogs due to be rescued by a shelter have instead been shot dead by a rural council in NSW under its interpretation of COVID-19 restrictions …

The Noisy Minority  —  The connection between Republican political views and skepticism about COVID-19 precautions, such as mask mandates and vaccine passports, is clear but not intuitive.  —  While not all unvaccinated people are Republicans, nearly half of Republicans have yet to receive …

'I've never seen anything like this': ER doctor says hundreds of patients are waiting to be admitted into hospitals, but there are no beds  —  HOUSTON - Emergency room doctors in Southeast Texas say they are running out of hospital beds, and some patients are waiting hours, sometimes days to be admitted into a hospital.

Kavanaugh Is the Last Hope for Abortion Rights  —  Liberals have reviled the conservative Supreme Court justice since his confirmation hearing, but now hope that he still cherishes the reputation for moderation that he cultivated.  —  For the first time in 30 years — a legal generation …

Live Updates: Tropical Storm Henri Makes Landfall in Rhode Island  —  The storm has cut power to more than 115,000 customers from New Jersey to Maine.  Officials urged tourists to leave beach towns as storm surges threatened eastern Long Island and southern New England.  —  Here's what you need to know:

‘Lying Flat’: Tired Workers Are Opting Out of Careers and Capitalism  —  Ms. Rosenblum is a writer who recently quit her job as a producer at “Here & Now,” a National Public Radio news program, and is living with her parents in West Virginia.  —  In China this April, a 31-year-old former …

As Biden Faces a Political Crisis, His Party Looks On in Alarm  —  Democrats fear that if the pandemic or the situation in Afghanistan continues to worsen, their party may lose the confidence of the moderate swing voters who lifted it to victory in 2020.  —  With President Biden facing …

Department of Defense Activates Civil Reserve Air Fleet to Assist With Afghanistan Efforts  —  Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered the Commander of U.S. Transportation Command to activate Stage I of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF).  CRAF activation provides the Department …

How the U.S. vaccination drive came to rely on an army of consultants  —  Private contractors cost taxpayers millions while demonstrating few clear results and papering over weaknesses in the country's public health system  —  When Gavin Newsom outsourced key components of California's vaccine rollout …

Jesse Jackson and wife, Jacqueline, hospitalized with Covid-19  —  The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, were being treated at a Chicago hospital Saturday after being diagnosed with Covid-19, their representatives said in a statement.  —  The Rainbow Push Coalition …

Tennessee flooding leaves 21 people dead and around 20 others missing  —  (CNN)The death toll from severe flooding in Humphreys County in Middle Tennessee, has risen to 21, according to local officials.  —  About 20 people are still missing, Grant Gillespie, the police and fire chief of Waverly …

They Held the Line  —  The sacrifice in Afghanistan was not in vain.  —  At this very moment, while most Americans watch the frantic evacuations from Kabul with a sense of distance and separation—with no personal connection to the tragedy unfolding before our eyes—hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens are suffering.