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| 📝 Good afternoon and welcome to Notes on the News. Here's what you should know today, Aug. 24: Afghans who worked with Western governments fear they could end up stranded, Kathy Hochul was sworn in as New York's first woman governor and 35 is the new recommended age to get screened for diabetes in the U.S. Let us know what you think by replying to this email. Thanks for reading. | |
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| |  | | Families boarded a U.S. Air Force C-17 at Kabul's international airport on Monday. PHOTO: USMC/EPA//SHUTTERSTOCK | | | | |
| 1. Taliban forces are blocking Afghans' access the Kabul airport. The move could strand tens of thousands of people who worked with Western governments and organizations and now fear reprisals by the country's new Islamist rulers. A Taliban spokesman said that while foreigners remain free to leave, Afghanistan needs its skilled citizens at home. | |
| 2. The CIA director met secretly with the Taliban's top figure. They met in Kabul Monday as the U.S. races to evacuate Americans and Afghans in advance of Aug. 31, the deadline the Biden administration has set to end the U.S. presence in the country. The Taliban has rejected any extension of that deadline. | |
| 3. Kathy Hochul is the 57th governor of New York. Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, was sworn in early this morning to become the first woman to serve as the state's chief executive. She succeeds Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in the face of impeachment proceedings and allegations of sexual harassment that he has denied. | |
| 4. The FAA will investigate Boeing employees' reports of pressure over safety issues. Some workers at the plane maker said they encountered internal difficulties that made it harder to be transparent with regulators, according to an agency letter to Boeing that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Regulators have long relied on employees to sign off on routine safety assessments and approve aircraft for delivery. | |
| 5. A former Trump campaign adviser is under DOJ scrutiny. Federal prosecutors are investigating GOP lobbyist Barry Bennett over allegations that he secretly set up and funded a U.S.-based advocacy group that represented Qatar while the Gulf nation feuded with its regional neighbors, according to people familiar with the matter. | |
| 6. Urban Outfitters is launching a thrift marketplace to compete for secondhand sales. The company's Nuuly Thrift, launching as an iPhone app this fall, will join a growing list of peer-to-peer services from retail chains. The marketplace seeks to turn Urban Outfitters' customers into sellers and keep them from flocking to online competitors in the secondhand market like Poshmark Inc. and thredUP Inc. | |
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| 63% — The percentage of U.S. spring wheat crop that is in poor or very poor condition amid scorching heat and drought across the country. Last year at this time, that figure was just 6%, according to Agriculture Department data. The severe weather has dealt a second blow to farmers across the West who were first hit hard by Covid-19 shutdowns. The persistently hot, dry conditions have reduced output and limited farmers' capacity to cash in on rising demand and higher prices. 35 — The new age at which a federal medical panel now recommends that Americans begin diabetes screenings. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises lowering the age for screening by five years in an effort to help people avoid serious health complications later on. An estimated 13% of all U.S. adults have diabetes, while 34.5% have prediabetes. $50,000 — The starting price for Al Capone's "favorite" gun, a Colt .45 pistol, in a sale of his family mementos. The gangster's three surviving granddaughters are auctioning his belongings, including his marital bed frame and a pocket watch monogrammed with diamonds. | |
| | What Everyone Wants To Know | | |
| |  | | Zaki Anwari on the left with a friend and teammate after a game. | | | | |
| Who was the 17-year-old soccer star who fell from a U.S. plane in Afghanistan? Viral images of Zaki Anwari's death on Aug. 16 shocked the world. He clung to the U.S.-operated C-17 Globemaster III as it took off, but Mr. Anwari—a midfielder for the national youth soccer team who was nicknamed "Shield" for his ability to keep the ball—tumbled from the aircraft as it climbed over Kabul. At least two other young men died that day by falling from the plane or being crushed by the retracting landing gear, according to aid agencies. All of them were from a new generation that had never known rule by the Taliban and were terrified by what the militant group's return to power would mean for them. Born two years after the U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban, Mr. Anwari was a citizen of the country's most socially liberal city, and his life traced the arc of a globalizing segment of society. The high school senior phoned his brother the day he died to tell him that if he didn't flee Afghanistan he would never play soccer again. | |
| The trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes starts soon. Here's what to expect. Prosecutors allege that the former startup executive defrauded both investors and patients of the blood-testing company. Jury selection is slated to begin next week, with opening statements expected to start Sept. 8. Prosecutors say that Ms. Holmes told investors Theranos would generate more than $100 million in revenue in 2014, far higher than what former executives expected, and claimed that Theranos had profitable business ties with the Defense Department that didn't exist. Ms. Holmes's defense team may argue that all Silicon Valley investors embellish to investors and that she didn't intend to deceive them. It is unclear whether Ms. Holmes will testify. She and former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani face charges of two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 10 counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. They have both pleaded not guilty. Mr. Balwani will face a separate trial next year. | |
| Some parents are trying to get vaccines for their kids under 12. In the wake of the Food and Drug Administration's full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, some parents are calling their pediatricians and asking about inoculations for children under the age threshold set by government regulators. Some say they have been able to schedule appointments, while others say they have been refused. The FDA, CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend against vaccinating younger kids while relevant safety data is still under review. Pfizer and Moderna are both testing their vaccines on children under 12 down to six months, and Johnson & Johnson is testing its shots on those ages 12 to 17. | |
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| |  | | PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES | | | | |
- Go get smarter: Science educator Elizabeth Ricker's new book, "Smarter Tomorrow" aims to help readers spend a little time each day "neurohacking." The book reads like a combination of a science book, a workbook, a memoir and an encouraging email from a friend, says science writer Matthew Hutson.
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| Today's newsletter was curated by Alex Janin in New York, in collaboration with colleagues in New York. We hope you're enjoying Notes on the News. If you would prefer to receive a different newsletter, please check out all your options to keep up with the latest on markets, economics, politics and more. For members, we recommend The 10-Point. | |
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