Texas anti-mask ‘Freedom Defender’ Caleb Wallace dies at 30  —  A Texas man who led a group of “Freedom Defenders” against mask restrictions died of COVID-19 on Saturday at age 30.  —  Caleb Wallace left behind three children and a pregnant wife.  —  His wife, Jessica …

After 3-week COVID-19 battle, Daytona Beach talk radio host Marc Bernier dies  —  Marc Bernier, a talk radio host in Daytona Beach for 30 years, died after a three-week battle with COVID-19, WNDB and Southern Stone Communications announced on Twitter Saturday night.

McConnell: ‘Why we went’ to Afghanistan has been lost  —  Amid the ongoing efforts to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, “why we went there in the first place” has been lost, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday morning.  —  “We went there to prevent the Taliban from having …

Afghanistan Evacuation Flights End as Reopened Banks Face Rush for Cash  —  Dwindling cash reserves pose an early challenge to a new Taliban administration; explosion rocks Kabul neighborhood  —  The international mass airlift effort out of Afghanistan was ending on Sunday as the country's banks opened …

U.S. military strikes vehicle in Kabul that posed ‘imminent threat,’ official says … The U.S. military carried out a strike on a vehicle in Kabul on Sunday in response to an “imminent” threat to the Afghan capital's airport by the Islamic State militant group, an official said.

Vaccine Refusers Don't Get to Dictate Terms Anymore  —  People who opt out of shots shouldn't expect their employers, health insurers, and fellow citizens to accommodate them.  —  About the author: Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary for homeland security under President Barack Obama …

MAGA Election Clerk Tina Peters Accused of Not Counting Ballots in Local Races  —  Before she was the subject of an FBI investigation, Stop the Steal diehard Tina Peters oversaw elections where ballots went uncounted or got lost in unsecured drop boxes.  —  Seated onstage at the most-hyped …

Trump's lawyers used his tactics to spread disinfo.  Now they're paying for it.  —  Truth has taken a beating during the past few years, from former President Donald Trump's claims about the size of the crowd at his inauguration to his statements that Covid-19 was a hoax.

U.S. Used a Special Hellfire Missile in Afghanistan Airstrike on Islamic State  —  A secret weapon until recently, the missile employs blades instead of explosives, officials say, to limit damage  —  WASHINGTON—The Pentagon used a special Hellfire missile that packs no explosives …

Among the Troops Who Died, Two Women on the Front Line  —  The Defense Department on Saturday officially identified the service members who were killed, and family and friends paid tribute to their lives and their sacrifice.  —  One of the last photos that Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee shared …

Surprise, panic and fateful choices: The day America lost its longest war  —  KABUL — On the day that Afghanistan's capital fell to the Taliban, delivering the definitive verdict on a war that had lumbered on ambiguously for nearly 20 years, one of the city's top security officials woke up preparing for battle.

Biden tells some hard truths few want to hear  —  President Biden on Thursday mournfully delivered information to the country that was disagreeable to many Americans: There is no way to withdraw from a futile war without messiness.  The expectation that there would be no misery or casualties was a fantasy.

It's Time to Stop Rationalizing and Enabling Evangelical Vaccine Rejection  —  There is no religious liberty interest in refusing the COVID vaccine.  —  As the coronavirus's Delta variant rips through (mainly) the Southeastern United States, two things are becoming clear at once.

Biden to pay respects to US troops killed in Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is embarking on a solemn journey Sunday to honor and mourn the 13 U.S. troops killed in the suicide attack near the Kabul airport as their remains return to U.S. soil from Afghanistan.

Mississippi Passes NY's COVID Death Rate As Gov. Reeves Says Mississippians ‘A Little Less Scared’  —  Mississippi has now surpassed the state of New York, the nation's original pandemic hotspot, in total COVID-19 deaths per capita.  The only state where the pandemic has proven deadlier than the Magnolia State is New Jersey.

Clarissa Ward's chilling interview with ISIS-K leader  —  The terror group ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing attack outside Kabul airport which killed 13 US troops and more than 90 Afghans.  CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward speaks with an ISIS-K leader …