Month: August 2021

For Afghans like Fawad Nazami, life under the Taliban would be a fate ‘worse than death.’ Nazami is a political counselor at the Afghan embassy in Washington D.C. He told NPR this week he would never return to an Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

Now, that same Afghanistan confronts a deadly new reality: the emergence of ISIS-K, which claimed responsibility for this week’s attack that killed 13 Americans and dozens of Afghan civilians. Seth Jones with the Center for Strategic and International Studies explains how the group fits into the complex picture of Afghanistan, where the Taliban is still trying to gain international recognition. Mina Al-Lami, a BBC expert on extremist messaging, has been following their efforts.

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12 U.S. service members were killed in an attack at the Kabul airport on Thursday. They were among some 5,000 U.S. troops evacuating American citizens, Afghans allies, and others from Kabul. At least 60 Afghans were also killed.

New York Times journalist Matthieu Aikens describes the scene at the airport moments after the attack. NPR’s Quil Lawrence reports on reaction from the Pentagon.

For more coverage of unfolding events in Afghanistan, listen to NPR’s morning news podcast, Up First, via Apple, Spotify, Google, or Pocket Casts.

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New York City, New Jersey, Goldman Sachs, and the Pentagon all imposed new vaccine requirements in the days following the FDA’s full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Public health officials — and the President — hope more mandates will follow.

But some businesses are trying a different approach to encourage vaccination. NPR’s Andrea Hsu visited one offering $1,000 bonuses to vaccinated employees.

Meanwhile, Delta airlines announced unvaccinated employees would face a monthly surcharge. And some are arguing that airline passengers should be subject to vaccine requirements, too. Juliette Kayyem spoke about that with NPR’s Noel King — originally aired on Morning Edition.

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The Biden administration said Tuesday that the U.S. was on pace to meet an August 31 deadline to fully withdraw from Afghanistan, but that “contingency plans” are being developed in case they do not complete evacuations in time.

Some Afghan evacuees will wind up in America, where one of their main destinations is the Seattle area. NPR’s Martin Kaste reports on the resettlement effort ramping up there.

President Biden made the decision not to extend evacuations despite calls to do so from some members of his own party. NPR’s Asma Khalid examines what Biden’s decisions on Afghanistan reveal about his view of America’s role in the world.

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School districts can’t find bus drivers. The TSA is short on security screeners. Ports can’t find enough workers to load and unload shipping containers. Across many different sectors, the unavailability of workers is holding the economy back, and sending prices even higher. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports.

Fuel truckers are another critical job that employers can’t fill fast enough, explains NPR’s Camila Domonoske.

Also in this episode: reporting from NPR’s Andrea Hsu on why millions of older workers have decided to retire early during the pandemic.

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Antioch police officials suspected one of their veteran detectives of leaking operational details as far back as 2010. But they didn’t fire Santiago Castillo for another seven years. During that time, he investigated hundreds of cases including several homicides, and his testimony helped put dozens of people behind bars.

Across the country, it looks like this time, last year. Schools — some days or weeks into the start of the new year — are forced to close temporarily over COVID outbreaks. In many cases, the closures are necessary because too many teachers and staff members are sick or quarantined.

Audie Cornish talks to three teachers about their fear, exhaustion, and hope at the start of a new school year.

For more coverage from NPR as kids head back to school around the country, follow NPR Ed’s Back to School liveblog.

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As many as 100,000 Afghans — those who worked with the U.S. military over the years, and their families — are trying to get out of the country. But access to the Kabul airport is controlled by the Taliban, and the American military says evacuating American citizens is its ‘first priority.’

Among the Afghans trying to flee are those who’ve applied for or been granted a Special Immigrant VISA. James Miervaldis, chairman of No One Left Behind — which helps Afghan and Iraqi interpreters resettle in the U.S. — tells NPR the process has been frustratingly slow.

For Afghans and the families who do make it out, those who wind up in the United States will be offered help from organizations like the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the group’s president and CEO, tells NPR how the resettlement process unfolds.

This episode also features stories from family members of Afghan refugees already living in the U.S., which which first aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, with production from Hiba Ahmad and Ed McNulty. Correspondent Eleanor Beardsley in Paris reported on Afghan refugees in France.

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Just weeks after the shock of a presidential assassination, Haiti was hit by a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Saturday. The death toll is nearing 2,000 — and still rising — while thousands more are injured and homeless.

Haiti’s last major earthquake was in 2010. It killed an estimated 200,000 people and injured 300,000 more. This week’s quake struck farther from major population centers, but that’s made search and rescue efforts challenging.

NPR’s Jason Beaubien reports from Haiti where Tropical Storm Grace has made matters even worse.

And Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S. Bocchit Edmond tells NPR’s Ailsa Chang what the country needs now.

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Hospitals like the University of Mississippi Medical Center are overwhelmed. Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor of the Jackson hospital, told NPR they are nearly out of beds — and treating patients in hallways.

Meanwhile, Biden administration health officials are coalescing around a plan that would advise most Americans to get a COVID-19 booster shot eight months after their last dose. A booster is already recommended for immunocompromised people. Here are six things to know if you’re immunocompromised and are considering a third shot.

If a booster is recommended for most Americans, that means millions of people may soon receive a third shot, while many others have yet to receive a single one. But there are still additional public health measures that could work to help stem the delta surge. NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin reports.

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