Democracy Now!

Outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used his final hours in office to grant clemency to six men, including former Weather Underground member David Gilbert, who was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison for his role in a 1981 robbery of an armored truck that left a security guard and two police officers dead. Gilbert, who is 76 years old and has been incarcerated for four decades, will now be able to apply for parole. "Now it's a matter of hoping that the parole board will do the right thing," says Steve Zeidman, Gilbert's lawyer, who also represents four of the other men granted clemency. "They recognize the harm, the trauma and the grief that their actions caused. … They have done everything a human being can do to repair and atone while inside." Zeidman and other advocates are still pushing for the release of hundreds of others, saying "the list is eternal."

In response to the Food and Drug Administration's full authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for U.S. residents aged 16 and over, Doctors Without Borders is calling on Pfizer-BioNTech to immediately share the vaccine technology with manufacturers on the African continent, where less than 2% of the population is fully vaccinated. Dr. Manuel Martin, a policy adviser at Doctors Without Borders, says it's "regrettable but understandable" for rich countries to limit how many doses they export abroad, but "it's completely unacceptable for countries to refuse to share the technology." He also says rich countries should hold off on offering third booster shots to their populations while so many around the world are still waiting for their initial doses. "In the face of scientific uncertainty and given the historical vaccine inequity, I think really what should be prioritized is getting vaccinations to low- and middle-income countries and sharing the vaccine technologies."

The United Nations warns Afghanistan is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, as the country faces political upheaval, a worsening economic crisis and a devastating drought. Humanitarian groups are vowing to keep working in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, but they are facing new hurdles, from working under Taliban rule to concerns about the international community providing much needed foreign aid to restrictions at the Kabul airport. "Today in Afghanistan, we're seeing a potential humanitarian catastrophe," says Isabelle Moussard Carlsen, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan. "Half of the population is in need of humanitarian aid."

G7 Leaders Urge Biden to Delay Withdrawal from Afghanistan as Taliban Warns of "Consequences", WHO Calls for Two-Month Pause on Booster Shots Amid Stark Vaccine Inequity, FDA Fully Approves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Prompting Vaccine Mandates, Florida Doctors Hold Protest as Students Return to Classes Amid Massive COVID-19 Surge, Haiti's Earthquake Death Toll Rises to Over 2,200 with Thousands Still Homeless, Kathy Hochul Sworn In as New York Governor as Andrew Cuomo Resigns, Weather Underground Radical David Gilbert Granted Clemency, North Carolina Court Restores Voting Rights to Tens of Thousands with Felony Convictions, Far-Right Proud Boys Members Clash with Anti-fascists in Portland, Oregon, Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Sentenced on Weapons and Vandalism Charges, Extinction Rebellion Launches New Resistance Campaign with London Direct Action Protests, Legendary Black Performer Joséphine Baker to Be Buried in Paris's Panthéon

As COVID-19 cases surge in the United States, anti-mask and anti-vaccine protests are continuing nationwide, with some turning violent. In a shocking story out of California, at least one person was stabbed and two journalists were attacked while covering an anti-vaccine, anti-mask demonstration outside Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday, August 14. The protest was attended by members of the Proud Boys and other right-wing groups. A Southern California mortgage broker named Tony Moon, who also participated in the deadly January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was videotaped attacking the independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg. "He started screaming 'Unmask them all!' He ripped my mask off and manhandled me," says Berg, a reporter at Status Coup News in Los Angeles, who describes how the same people have been involved in violent protests nationwide. "This is a group that has been traveling around … and they instigate violence wherever they go."

Concern is growing over a broader humanitarian crisis across Afghanistan as people continue to crowd the Kabul airport to flee after the Taliban takeover of the country. The World Health Organization says about one-half of Afghanistan's population, including nearly 10 million children, already need humanitarian assistance, and the numbers are expected to soar as Afghanistan's economic crisis intensifies. The Taliban is now under intense pressure, says Emran Feroz, an Austro-Afghan journalist and author. "They know that any kind of Afghan state in future will be dependent on foreign money, which includes American money; otherwise, the people of Afghanistan and the state itself cannot survive," says Feroz. "The Taliban must be really pragmatic and try to find a way to build a very inclusive government within a short time, because otherwise they will have a lot of problems."

Chaos and Desperation Reign at Kabul Airport as Afghans Try to Evacuate Taliban Takeover, Taliban Leader Arrives for Talks in Kabul as Afghans Demand Security and Jobs, U.S. Tops 1,000 Daily COVID-19 Deaths for First Time Since March, Sri Lanka Locks Down for 10 Days Amid Worst COVID-19 Surge of Pandemic, India and Taiwan Roll Out Domestically Produced COVID Vaccines Despite Lack of Trial Data, Death Toll from Tennessee Flash Floods Rises to 22; Hurricane Grace Kills at Least 8 in Mexico, More Than 50 Feared Dead After Boat Carrying Refugees Capsizes En Route to Canary Islands, UNICEF Says Fighting in Syria Is Increasingly Killing Children, Dozens of Palestinians Hurt as Israeli Soldiers Fire on Protesters, Climate Crisis Puts Over 1 Billion Children at "Extremely High Risk" of Extreme Weather, Bolivian Wildfires Scorch Nearly 700,000 Acres as Ranchers and Farmers Drive Deforestation, Mexican Journalists Demand Justice for Slain Radio Reporter Jacinto Romero Flores, VP Harris Kicks Off Southeast Asian Tour in Singapore, Biden Nominates Rahm Emanuel as Ambassador to Japan, Drawing Ire of Progressives, SCOTUS to Weigh Fate of Trump-Era "Remain in Mexico" Policy for Asylum Seekers, California Judge Voids Proposition Exempting Gig Economy Workers from Labor Protections, Lawmakers Call on Biden to Halt Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline as Police Step Up Attacks on Protesters

As Republicans raise concerns that Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops will turn Afghanistan "back to a pre-9/11 state — a breeding ground for terrorism," Pulitzer Prize-winning national security reporter Spencer Ackerman lays out how the U.S. war on terror after the September 2001 attacks actually fueled white, right-wing extremism. Ackerman says U.S. elites consciously chose to ignore "the kind of terrorism that is the oldest, most resilient, most violent and most historically rooted in American history." His new book is "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump."

As thousands of Afghans try to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control, we look at the roots of the longest U.S. war in history and spend the hour with Pulitzer Prize-winning national security reporter Spencer Ackerman. "This is not the alternative to fighting in Afghanistan; this is the result of fighting in Afghanistan," says Ackerman, whose new book, "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump," is based in part on his reporting from Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo.

Pentagon Boosts U.S. Troop Levels in Kabul as Chaotic Evacuations Follow Taliban Takeover, Taliban Says It Executed Former Islamic State Leader Abu Omar Khorasani, Afghan Youth Soccer Player Zaki Anwari Died in Fall from U.S. Plane Evacuating Kabul Airport, Afghan Immigrants in Greece Demand Sanctuary for Refugees Fleeing Afghanistan, WHO Slams Rich Nations for Offering Booster Shots While Just 2% of Africa's Population Is Vaccinated, Texas Supreme Court to Allow Schools to Defy Gov. Abbott's Ban on Mask Mandates, Major Hospital in Port-au-Prince Closes After Gangs Kidnap Doctors, Hampering Earthquake Relief, Rep. Mo Brooks Voices Sympathy for Man Behind Capitol Hill Bomb Threat, Texas House Reaches Quorum After Dems Return to Capitol as Fate of Voting Bill Hangs in Balance, Movement for Black Lives Says Federal Government Worked to Undermine Protest Groups, FTC Asks Court to Compel Facebook to Divest from WhatsApp and Instagram, Biden Admin Cancels Federal Student Loan Debt for Over 300,000 People with Disabilities, R. Kelly's Doctor Says He's Had Genital Herpes for Years as Survivor Details Abuse Endured as a Teen, Rain Falls on Greenland's Highest Peak for First Time on Record Amid Record Temperatures, Extinction Rebellion U.K. Stages Die-in, Blocks Entry to ExxonMobil Facility, Immigrant Justice Groups Protest Reopening of Berks County ICE Jail

We speak with Washington Post investigative reporter Craig Whitlock, author of the new book "The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War," which reveals how multiple U.S. presidents deceived the public about progress in the war despite widespread skepticism among defense and diplomatic officials about the mission. "The public narrative was that the U.S. was always making progress. All these presidents said we were going to win the war, and yet, in private, these officials were extremely pessimistic," says Whitlock. He also discusses miscalculations in the initial invasion of Afghanistan, the collapse of the Afghan security forces and how U.S. defense contractors have benefited from the last two decades of war.

We look at how the rights of women and ethnic minorities will be impacted by the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan with two Afghan women who fled their country. Mariam Safi, who left Kabul last month and is founding director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies, says the Taliban's rapid advance across the country surprised many people who had been hoping for a negotiated end to the war. "We had felt that there would be some space for a political settlement," says Safi. "What has happened has certainly caught everyone by surprise." We also speak with journalist Zahra Nader, a member of the Hazara minority who says the community risks losing its rights under Taliban rule. "There is lots of discrimination, systematic discrimination, against Hazara people in Afghanistan," says Nader. "But now it's going to get even worse."

Protests have broken out against the Taliban in Kabul and other cities across Afghanistan as the militant group, at war for 20 years, now finds itself in power. Evacuation flights are continuing from Kabul, but the Taliban is preventing many Afghans from reaching the airport, with some being shot or whipped as they attempt to flee the country amid fears that the Taliban will impose draconian restrictions on everyday life as they did during their last time in power. Women especially are terrified of the future, says journalist Nasrin Nawa, who fled the capital Friday and whose sister is still in the country. "They are totally hopeless and stuck at their houses," Nawa says.

Two Die as Taliban Open Fire on Independence Day Celebration, Ashraf Ghani: I Fled to Prevent Afghanistan from Becoming "Bloodbath Like in Syria and Yemen", Biden: U.S. May Stay in Afghanistan Beyond Aug. 31, U.S. Announces Plans for Vaccine Boosters Despite Criticism from WHO, Biden Moves to Mandate Vaccines at Nursing Homes & Fight Mask Mandate Bans, Paralympics Report First Confirmed COVID Case in the Olympic Village, Death Toll from Haitian Earthquake Nears 2,200, Caldor Fire Destroys Most of Grizzly Flats in California, Texas Supreme Court Rules Absent Democratic Lawmakers Can Be Arrested, Appeals Court Upholds Texas Ban on Standard Abortion Procedure, Report: Over 1,000 Civilians Have Died in Burma Since Military Coup, Armed Men Kill Dozens in Burkina Faso & Niger, Israeli Authorities Demolish Palestinian Kindergarten, Judge Blocks Massive ConocoPhillips Oil & Gas Project in Alaska, EPA Bans Use of Chlorpyrifos, Pesticide Linked to Brain Damage in Children, Dr. Gino Strada, War Surgeon, Dies at 73

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has tested positive for the coronavirus, just one day after he attended a packed indoor Republican event in Dallas, where he and most attendees were unmasked. Abbott, who said he was not showing symptoms of COVID-19, imposed a statewide ban on vaccine and mask mandates last month, though a judge later blocked the ban on mask mandates. Abbott has also tried to blame immigrants for the spread of COVID-19 in Texas and issued an executive order last month instructing state troopers to stop any vehicle suspected of transporting migrants "who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19." Abbott's rhetoric is "simply shifting blame" from his own policies to migrants, says Manoj Govindaiah, the director of policy and government affairs at Texas-based RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. "Public health officials roundly agree that migrants are not necessarily bringing in COVID in any higher numbers than anyone else," says Govindaiah.

President Joe Biden has allocated $500 million in new funds for relocating Afghan refugees following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. The U.S. had already vowed to help evacuate over 80,000 Afghan civilians who qualify for special immigrant visas and face possible retribution from the Taliban, such as translators and interpreters for the U.S. military or NATO, but critics say the Biden administration needs to move faster and expand refugee resettlement from the country. There is already a backlog of more than 17,000 Afghan nationals and 53,000 of their family members awaiting visa approval. "This entire backlog and this delay in evacuating people could have been handled very differently," says Manoj Govindaiah, the director of policy and government affairs at RAICES, which has resettled more than 600 Afghan refugees since 2017, including 116 this year alone –– among them, 79 children, and a family of 10 just last night. "Trump announced in February of 2020 that he was going to be withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan," Govindaiah notes. "At that moment, we've known that this day is coming and these people are vulnerable."

"The only thing more tragic than what's happened to the Afghan people is that in a few days America will have forgotten Afghanistan again," says Matthew Hoh, a disabled combat veteran and former State Department official stationed in Afghanistan's Zabul province who resigned in 2009 to protest the Obama administration's escalation of the War in Afghanistan. He says much of the U.S. media coverage has been filled with "complete lies and fabrications," despite decades of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. "You see the same people who've been wrong about this war trotted out over and over again," says Hoh, a senior fellow with the Center for International Policy.

We go to Kabul for an update as the Taliban moves to secure control of Afghanistan. The group said Tuesday former government officials will not face retribution and that the rights of women and journalists will be upheld. The Taliban's rhetoric and the relatively restrained behavior of its fighters in Kabul are starkly different from how the group governed Afghanistan after seizing power in 1996, when it imposed draconian restrictions on everyday life. Despite the Taliban's pledges, many women across Afghanistan have not left their homes since the Taliban seized control over the weekend and as thousands of people attempt to catch flights out of the country. "The Afghan people would like to know where this road now leads," says Bilal Sarwary, an Afghan journalist based in Kabul. "People are thirsty for a political settlement. People are thirsty for peace."

Taliban Addresses Women's Rights, Press Freedom in First Press Conference Since Takeover, U.S. Continues Evacuations as Top Dems Pledge to Investigate Biden's Afghanistan Exit, Haiti Earthquake Death Toll Hits 2,000 as Survivors, Many Now Unhoused, Lashed by Tropical Storm, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Tests Positive for Coronavirus, Alabama Runs Out of ICU Beds; 3,000 NOLA Students and Staff in Quarantine, New Zealand Orders Lockdown After ID'ing One COVID Case, Tokyo Extends State of Emergency; Thai Protesters Demand PM Step Down for Mishandling COVID, India Bans Single-Use Plastics, But New Law Contains Major Loopholes, Caldor and Dixie Fires Rage in Northern California; French Wildfire Displaces Thousands, Rep. Terri Sewell Introduces John Lewis Voting Rights Act in Front of Edmund Pettus Bridge, Reproductive Rights Groups Challenge Abortion Laws in Arizona and Montana, Nabisco Workers in Virginia, Oregon and Colorado Strike Against Long Hours, Outsourcing, Philadelphia Ex-Cops Charged in Wrongful Conviction of Black Man Who Was Jailed for 25 Years, Sacklers Say They Won't Pay $4.5 Billion Opioids Settlement Unless Shielded from Future Lawsuits

We get an update from Les Cayes, Haiti, not far from the epicenter of Saturday's earthquake, as Tropical Storm Grace drenched parts of the country and the death toll has now climbed to more than 1,400, with nearly 7,000 suffering from injuries amid overwhelmed hospitals. The impact from the latest earthquake is "just as great" as the devastation from the 2010 earthquake, says Jacqueline Charles, Haiti and Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald. "Haitians are not sitting around and waiting for international aid. They're not waiting for their national community to come and rescue them," Charles says, noting the presence of many makeshift hospitals despite medical supply shortages. She also describes how Haiti is is grappling with the aftermath of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

Investigative journalist Azmat Khan, who has reported extensively in Afghanistan, says President Joe Biden has not yet addressed the chaos unleashed by the collapse of the Afghan government. In remarks on Monday, Biden "really focused on the decision to end the war" and ignored criticism about chaos at the Kabul airport and the abandonment of thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. over the last 20 years. "None of that was really discussed in any detail," Khan says. She also discusses why the Afghan military fell so quickly to the Taliban, its overreliance on U.S. air power, how civilian casualties weakened support for the U.S.-backed government, and the massive profits the two-decade-long war generated for U.S. defense contractors.

Retired U.S. Army colonel and former State Department official Ann Wright, who helped reopen the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in December 2001 and later resigned in protest, says the United States should reopen its embassy now and needs to maintain a diplomatic footprint in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. "If the United States really wants to help the people of Afghanistan … we've got to have a presence in Afghanistan," says Wright.

Thousands of Afghans who worked for the United States and other foreign countries remain stranded in Kabul two days after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. Military flights out of the Kabul International Airport have resumed a day after thousands of Afghans raced to the airport with hopes of leaving the country. President Joe Biden has defended his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of occupation and criticized the U.S.-trained Afghan military for collapsing "without trying to fight" the Taliban in many cases. Afghan law professor Haroun Rahimi, who was en route to Kabul when he heard the news of the Taliban takeover and stayed in Turkey, says Biden must take responsibility for the U.S. role in Afghanistan. "He was not willing to accept any responsibility. It's as if the U.S. was there as a bystander," says Rahimi. "The way that President Biden was distancing the U.S. from everything that happened over the past two years was just disingenuous and just inaccurate."

Biden Defends U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan After Taliban Capture Kabul , Advocates Demand U.S. and Other Nations Open Doors to Afghan Refugees, Tropical Storm Adds to Haiti's Misery Two Days After Massive Earthquake Kills Over 1,400, Immigrant Advocates Denounce Biden Administration for Deporting Haitian Refugees, U.S. Will Recommend COVID Booster Shots After 8 Months, Despite Global Vaccine Inequity, Johnson & Johnson Ships Millions of Vaccine Doses from South Africa to Europe, U.S. Coronavirus Hospitalizations Soar, with Record Infection Levels in Five States, Republican Governors Erect New Barriers to COVID-19 Public Health Measures, Malaysian Prime Minister Resigns as COVID-19 Surges; Iran Orders 6-Day Lockdown, Trump-Appointed Judge Orders Restoration of "Remain in Mexico" Policy Rejected by Biden, U.S. Declares Shortage on Colorado River, with Mandatory Water Cuts to Southwestern States, Water Protectors Take Direct Action to Halt Construction of Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline

We go to Haiti for an update on the humanitarian situation after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the country's southwestern peninsula Saturday. The government has declared a state of emergency and says nearly 1,300 people have died and more than 5,700 are injured. Rescue workers are scrambling to find survivors as Tropical Storm Grace is expected to bring heavy rains to the island. Tens of thousands of people in devastated areas are now sleeping on the streets due to unstable buildings that could still collapse amid aftershocks. "It's just one more item in a very, very long list of traumatic events that the people of Haiti are sustaining," says Nadesha Mijoba, country director for the Haitian Health Foundation, in Jérémie, near the epicenter of the earthquake. We also speak with Ann Lee, chief executive officer of CORE, Community Organized Relief Effort, who says the earthquake is exposing a larger problem of a "lack of systems and investment in existing systems."

As the Taliban says it will soon declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan after seizing control of the country, we discuss their history with award-winning journalist Ahmed Rashid, author of several books, including "Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia." "These militants have become very well integrated into Afghan society and into Taliban society," Rashid notes, and if the U.S. wants to capture them, "it's going to be extremely difficult." Rashid also looks at the Taliban's relationship with China, history of human rights abuses against women and whether they will be allowed to continue their education.

We go to Kabul, Afghanistan, for an update as thousands of Afghans have fled to the Kabul airport in an attempt to leave the country a day after the Taliban seized control of the country. Taliban fighters entered the gates of Kabul Sunday and quickly took control of the presidential palace, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country for Tajikistan. Over the past 10 days, the Taliban has captured 26 out of the country's 34 provincial capitals, some of which fell without a fight after the Taliban reached deals with local warlords. The Taliban offensive came as the United States withdraws its troops from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of war. Ali Latifi, a freelance journalist based in Kabul, says the capital is calm so far, as residents venture out a day after the Taliban takeover. "It's not anything like people were fearing yet," Latifi says. We also speak with reporter Ahmed Rashid, who says the collapse of the Afghan government shows how poorly the Biden administration prepared its withdrawal. "You're extracting these American troops, expecting the Afghan government to stand firm, and there was absolutely no 'Plan B,'" Rashid says.

Taliban Takes Control of Afghanistan After 2 Decades of U.S. Occupation, Haiti's Earthquake Death Toll Soars to 1,300 as Tropical Storm Barrels Toward Stricken Island, U.S. Hospitalizations Are Younger Than Ever; Dallas Schools Defy High Court Ruling on Mask Mandate, Canada's Trudeau Calls Snap Election, Seeking Mandate and Legislative Majority, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin Steps Down Amid Criticism of Pandemic Response, Grenade Attack Kills 12 People in Karachi, Pakistan, Fuel Tank Blast in Lebanon Kills at Least 28 People, Nicaraguan Police Raid Offices of La Prensa, Arrest Editor Critical of President Ortega, Israeli Soldiers Raid Jenin Refugee Camp, Fatally Shoot Four Palestinians, Ivory Coast Records First Case of Ebola in 25 Years, Zambia Opposition Leader Wins Presidential Election in Landslide, Shell to Pay $111 Million for Nigeria Oil Spills in 1970s, Record Heat Drives Unrelenting Wildfires in Western United States, Death Toll in Turkey Floods Hits 70, with Dozens Still Missing, Biden Administration to Boost SNAP Food Benefits by 25%, NY Assembly Suspends Impeachment Investigation into Disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo

We speak with healthcare activist Ady Barkan, the 37-year-old lawyer and father who, since his ALS diagnosis in 2016, has devoted his life to campaigning for universal healthcare. He has continued to speak out even after losing his voice and now uses a computerized system that converts his eye movements to speech. Barkan is the subject of "Not Going Quietly," a new documentary following his cross-country activism. "Only a truly radical departure from our exploitative, for-profit model to one that guarantees healthcare as a right for all will ensure that we no longer live in a nation where people go bankrupt on account of their medical bills," Barkan tells Democracy Now! "We need Medicare for All now." We also speak with the film's director, Nicholas Bruckman, who says he immediately saw a "spark" in Barkan after meeting him in 2018.

Prominent Mexican news anchor Azucena Uresti took to the airwaves this week to stand up to one of the country's most powerful drug cartels, the Jalisco New Generation, after the group posted a video online directly threatening her life. Uresti regularly reports on cartel violence and organized crime. The Committee to Protect Journalists considers Mexico the most dangerous country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere, where about 120 journalists have been killed since 2000, with four murders this year alone. Jan-Albert Hootsen, Mexico correspondent for the Committee to Protect Journalists, says the cartels are engaged in "informational warfare" and see the press as a threat to their operations. "They're trying to strike terror in the hearts of Mexican reporters," says Hootsen.

The Taliban claim to have seized 17 provincial capitals across Afghanistan, including Kandahar and Herat, the country's second- and third-largest cities, as the group continues its sweep through the country. The Taliban now have almost full control of the south, west and north of Afghanistan and are advancing on the capital Kabul, where the United States is preparing to evacuate its embassy in case of a Taliban defeat of the Afghan government. The sudden and dramatic Taliban gains come as the U.S. withdraws its ground troops from Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war, with aid groups warning of a humanitarian crisis unfolding. Since January, nearly 400,000 have been displaced. Over 1,000 civilians have been killed or injured in fighting over the past month. "The Taliban is making very bold moves in their attempt for a military takeover," says Afghan journalist Lotfullah Najafizada, director of TOLOnews. He warns that a Taliban victory would threaten the tenuous gains for civil society and press freedoms over the past 20 years, saying there needs to be international pressure for a political solution to the fighting. "The cloud of uncertainty is over Afghanistan," says Najafizada.

U.S. Begins Evacuating Afghanistan Embassy Staff as Taliban Seize Kandahar and Herat, China Closes Shipping Terminal over Single COVID-19 Case; Russia Logs Record Death Toll, FDA Approves Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose for Immunocompromised People, New Orleans, San Francisco to Require Vaccination Card or Negative Test for Indoor Venues, Four Teachers in Florida's Broward County Die of COVID-19 in One Day, Supreme Court Blocks Part of New York Eviction Moratorium Despite Worsening Pandemic, Israel to Resume Building Illegal Settlements in Occupied West Bank, Jewish American Leaders Demand AIPAC Apologize over Islamophobic Ads Attacking "The Squad", U.S.-Mexico Border Apprehensions Hit 212,000+ in July, Highest Rate in 20+ Years, Texas Senate Passes Voter Suppression Bill After 15-Hour Filibuster by Democratic Lawmaker, Sen. Rand Paul Failed to Disclose His Wife Bought Stock in Company That Makes COVID Drug, 2020 Census Shows U.S. More Diverse Than Ever as White Population Dips Below 60%, 9,000+ Anti-Asian Incidents Reported in U.S. Since Start of Pandemic, Water Protector Begins 8-Year Sentence for DAPL Eco-Sabotage

More than one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, over 3.5 million people have died around the world, including nearly 500,000 in the United States. Historian and writer John Barry says the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus was a predictable development based on how previous pandemics have developed. "This is not unusual, what we're going through," he says. "The question is whether the next variant is going to be even more transmissible and possibly more virulent, or whether it's going to be toned down." He says it's likely that people will continue to need booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines in the months and years to come.

As the World Health Organization warns over 100 million more people will be infected with COVID-19 by early next year as the Delta variant continues to rapidly spread, we look at Indonesia, which has become the epicenter of the pandemic in Asia. Over the past 28 days, Indonesia has recorded 43,000 deaths, more than anywhere else in the world. More than half of the deaths have occurred in the past two months as the Delta variant overwhelmed hospitals across the country. Sana Jaffrey, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict in Jakarta, says the public debate is largely focused on whether to protect public health or allow economic activity to continue. "It is unfair that we are still stuck in this discussion when, in Western countries, people are getting vaccinated or choosing not to get vaccinated," Jaffrey says. "Indonesia is not able to break out of this trap of these two options because there just isn't enough supply of vaccines in the country." We also speak with Dr. Dicky Budiman, an Indonesian epidemiologist, who says it's important to combine vaccination with other measures such as testing, tracing and isolation. "We have to combine the strategies," he says.

The official COVID-19 death toll in India is reported to be around 429,000, but many researchers believe it is at least five times higher. India experienced a devastating wave of infections in April and May, and less than 10% of the population has been fully vaccinated. "When we watch what's happening in the U.S. … it is astounding that people who have access to vaccines are choosing not to get jabbed," says Barkha Dutt, an award-winning Indian television journalist and author. "It's anti-science. It's self-indulgent. It's a very First World white privilege."

WHO Warns World Could Log 100 Million More COVID-19 Cases by 2022 , 200+ Scientists Ask Biden to Adopt "Wartime Footing" to Scale Up Vaccine Production, CDC Urges Pregnant People to Get Vaccinated; FDA to Approve Third Dose for Immunocompromised, Florida Asks U.S. Government for Hundreds of Ventilators Amid Its Worst COVID-19 Surge, California to Require K-12 Teachers and Staff to Get Vaccinated or Face Weekly Tests, Sen. Joe Manchin Has "Serious Concerns" About Democrats' $3.5T Spending Bill, Sen. Ted Cruz Filibusters Senate Bills on Gerrymandering, Campaign Finance & Voting, Sicily Sets Europe-Wide Temperature Record of 120 Degrees Fahrenheit, Pacific Northwest Faces Another Heat Wave with Triple-Digit Temperatures, White House Asks OPEC to Pump More Oil, Taliban Seizes 10th Provincial Capital in a Week, U.K. Judge Says U.S. Can Expand Scope of Appeal Arguments Against Julian Assange, Mexican News Anchor Confronts Drug Cartel on Live TV After Threat, U.N. Condemns U.S. Expulsion of Central American Asylum Seekers to Mexico, Report: Canada Violated Arms Treaty with Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia, Activists Blockade Raytheon Weapons Facility in Rhode Island , Kathy Hochul Distances Herself from Gov. Cuomo, Promises Her Office Will Not Be a "Toxic" Workplace

The Taliban have continued to seize territory in Afghanistan as the U.S. completes its withdrawal of ground troops from the country, with the militant group now controlling a majority of Afghanistan's districts and a quarter of provincial capitals. The strength of the Taliban offensive in recent weeks has put the future of Afghanistan's government in doubt. "This kind of a crisis was inevitable whenever the U.S. pulled out, whether it had been 10 years ago, 19 years ago or 10 years from now," says foreign policy scholar Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. "This was rooted in the nature of the U.S. occupation that began in 2001." Congressmember Ro Khanna calls American involvement in Afghanistan a "fool's errand" that should have ended years earlier.

Senate Democrats passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution early Wednesday morning that would vastly expand the social safety net, increase taxes on the rich and corporations, improve worker rights and include measures to combat the climate crisis. The budget blueprint passed 50-49, less than 24 hours after a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill was approved 69-30 in the Senate. Both spending packages now go to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated she will not bring the bipartisan bill to the House floor unless the reconciliation bill is considered at the same time. California Congressmember Ro Khanna calls the budget bill "a historic piece of legislation" that marks "the end of neoliberalism" in the United States. "It is a major investment in the American people," Khanna says.

Law professor Zephyr Teachout, who challenged Cuomo for the New York Democratic nomination for governor in 2014, describes Cuomo as "extraordinarily vengeful" and applauds the bravery of the women who spoke up about his behavior. "He never hesitated to use the power of the state, state resources, to serve his own ends," says Teachout.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced his resignation, effective August 24, after a week of intense pressure from fellow Democrats for him to step down. Cuomo, who has been in office since 2011, had few allies left after an investigation by New York's attorney general found he had sexually harassed at least 11 women — allegations he continues to deny. "Governor Cuomo is still gaslighting New Yorkers," says Yuh-Line Niou, a member of the New York State Assembly representing Manhattan, who says Cuomo must still be impeached. "Impeachment means that New York will not be paying Andrew Cuomo's pension for the rest of his life. Impeachment means that Governor Cuomo will not be able to run for office again."

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Lawmakers in New York are preparing impeachment proceedings against Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo after the state attorney general found Cuomo harassed at least 11 women in violation of the law — including unwanted touching and kissing, and inappropriate remarks. Cuomo's former executive assistant, Brittany Commisso, has filed a criminal complaint against him, and other cases are expected to follow. "The governor is unfit to lead," says New York state Senator Alessandra Biaggi, who first called on Cuomo to resign in February. She says the damage Cuomo has inflicted goes beyond sexual harassment and includes the state's COVID relief programs, nursing homes deaths, transit funding and more. "It is very important that we act with a serious sense of urgency."

We continue to look at the state of school reopenings amid a surge in COVID-19 infections among children in the U.S. with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. Weingarten, who had favored voluntary vaccinations for teachers, now backs a vaccine mandate for educators because the Delta variant "significantly changes the circumstances." Weingarten notes that almost 90% of teachers represented by the American Federation of Teachers are already vaccinated, saying it's time to stop "scapegoating" teachers for the challenges in reopening schools. "The teachers in the country understand the importance of being back in school and the importance of vaccinations," she says.

As the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread, many hospitals are reporting record numbers of children being hospitalized, especially in areas with low vaccination rates, including Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and Texas. Dr. Christina Propst, a pediatrician in Houston, says children under 12 who are still ineligible for COVID-19 vaccines are at risk. "They are currently our most vulnerable population, just as this highly transmissible variant is surging across the country," Propst says. She says Texas Governor Greg Abbott's order banning mask mandates in schools is a purely political decision that ignores science. ​​"What he is doing is a direct threat to the health and well-being of the children of Texas," says Propst.

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Despite a new two-month moratorium on evictions issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, millions of people in the U.S. are still at risk of losing their homes as landlords in some states fight back against the measure. The new CDC moratorium is "a band-aid over a bullet wound," says Tara Raghuveer, director of KC Tenants, a tenants' rights organization in Kansas City. "This is a very small step. It's the bare minimum. And for many tenants … this will actually not offer the protections that are needed to keep them in their homes."

We continue to discuss the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which details the damage of climate change already underway around the world and warns that much worse is yet to come unless governments drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The report tallies the losses from human-induced climate change "in an absolutely scientifically verifiable and attributable manner," says climate scientist Saleemul Huq, director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh. "The path to keeping it below 1.5 degrees is diminishing by the hour." We also continue with Kim Cobb and Bob Kopp, two lead authors of the new IPCC report.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg says the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change should serve as a "wake-up call" for governments to do more to lower emissions. In its first major report in nearly a decade, the IPCC says the Earth could face runaway global warming unless drastic efforts are made to eliminate greenhouse gases and that humans are "unequivocally to blame for the climate crisis," which is already causing widespread and rapid changes. "The climate crisis is not going away," Thunberg said. "It's only escalating, and it's only growing more intense by the hour."

In its first major report in nearly a decade, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned the Earth could face runaway global temperature changes unless drastic efforts are made to reduce greenhouse gases. The IPCC says humans are "unequivocally" to blame for the climate crisis, which has already caused "widespread and rapid changes." Scientists conclude average global temperatures will likely rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2040 based on carbon emissions already in the atmosphere. The report also warns temperatures will continue to rapidly warm after 2040 unless immediate action is taken now. For more, we speak with two lead authors of the new IPCC report: Kim Cobb, professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at Georgia Tech, and Bob Kopp, professor and director of the Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Rutgers University. "The changes we're seeing now are widespread. They're rapid. They're intensifying. They're unprecedented in thousands of years," says Kopp. "It's indisputable that these changes are linked to human activities."

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