Monday, Aug. 9

á           President Joe Biden released a statement saying that starting next month, all military members will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19. ÒBeing vaccinated will enable our service members to stay healthy, to better protect their families, and to ensure that our force is ready to operate anywhere in the world,Ó Biden said.

á           Special Envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking said the United States will send an additional $165 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen through the U.S. Agency for International Development, as the war-torn country faces a devastating and unprecedented famine that the United Nations said Yemen will need $4 billion to address. The $165 million in aid is far short of the $2.5 billion that a group of bipartisan legislators urged in May.

á           The Justice Department opened a new investigation into whether to make public more government documents regarding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in response to pressure from victimsÕ families who believe Saudi Arabian leaders are implicated in the attacks.

Tuesday, Aug. 10

á           After much partisan rigmarole in Congress, the Senate approved BidenÕs $1 trillion infrastructure bill investing in roads, bridges, public transit and internet connectivity across the country. ÒThe American people will now see the most robust injection of funds into infrastructure in decades,Ó Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

á           The Senate passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that serves as a basis for the Biden administrationÕs federal priorities to bolster family, health and environmental programs.

á           Special Envoy to Qatar Zalmay Khalilzad warned the Taliban not to pursue a military ground victory and instead work with regional leaders to Òcome up with some kind of joint international plan to get things back on track when it comes to the intra-Afghan peace process and dialogue.Ó

á           Following a phone call with Vice President Kamala Harris, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced the U.S. plans to sent an additional 8.5 million coronavirus vaccine doses to Mexico as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to ravage both countries.

á           Biden urged Afghan leaders to Òcome together É to fight for themselves, fight for their nationÓ as U.S. ground troops continue to withdraw from the country and the Taliban continues to take over territory there.

Wednesday, Aug. 11

á           A U.S. intelligence assessment cited by Reuters and the Washington Post indicated that the Taliban, which has captured nine provincial capitals in Afghanistan since last Friday, could overrun AfghanistanÕs capital Kabul within 90 days. In fact, the Taliban would go on to take control of the presidential palace in Kabul by Monday.

á           The White House announced it will hold a virtual ÒSummit for DemocracyÓ in December that will serve Òas an opportunity for world leaders to listen to one another and to their citizens, share successes, drive international collaboration, and speak honestly about the challenges facing democracy so as to collectively strengthen the foundation for democratic renewal,Ó according to a statement.

á           A British judge agreed to grant the U.S. government grounds to appeal another judgeÕs refusal to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face trial in the U.S. on spying charges.

á           EgyptÕs Ambassador to the U.S. Motaz Zahran suggested that legislators like Rep. Tom Malinowsky (D-N.J.), who are trying to prevent the federal government from providing $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt on human rights abuse grounds are Òdeceived by lies and falsehoods propagated by people who belong to a terrorist organization with a known record in disseminating hatred and inciting violence.Ó

Thursday, Aug. 12

á           The Food and Drug Administration cleared authorization for immunocompromised people to take a third shot of either Pfitzer or ModernaÕs COVID-19 vaccines.

á           Following pressure from the U.S. to use his countryÕs influence over the Taliban to broker peace, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the U.S. of using his country as a political pawn in the Afghanistan war that is only Òuseful in the context of somehow settling this mess which has been left behind after 20 years of trying to find a military solution where there was not one.Ó

á           The Biden administration announced it is sending 3,000 troops into Afghanistan to help evacuate personnel from its Kabul embassy, which State Department spokesperson Ned Price said will stay open with a reduced Òcivilian footprint.Ó

á           The Census Bureau released a trove of demographic data used to redraw political districts that also showed the U.S. population is more ethnically diverse and more urban than 10 years ago, with the white population dropping for the first time on record. People who identify as multiracial, Latino or Asian drove most population growth between 2010 and 2020.

á           Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the U.S. is facing ÒunprecedentedÓ numbers of migrants crossing the border from Mexico. ÒThe situation at the border is one of the toughest challenges we face,Ó Mayorkas said. ÒIt is complicated, changing and involves vulnerable people at a time of a global pandemic.

Friday, Aug. 13

á           U.S. Court District Judge Dabney Friedrich refused landlordsÕ request to put BidenÕs new eviction moratorium on hold even though she ruled the earlier eviction moratorium was illegal in May, saying that her Òhands are tiedÓ by an appellate court ruling.

á           Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said he hopes the Afghan military increases its resistance against the Taliban, explaining that, ÒThey have greater numbers. They have an air force, a capable air force É They have modern equipment. They have organizational structure. They have the benefit of the training that we have provided them over 20 years.Ó

á           The Department of Homeland Security warned that the U.S. is experiencing a ÒheightenedÓ threat of domestic terrorism from violent extremists motivated by anti-government ideology and new COVID-19 safety restrictions.

á           Over 100 immigration advocacy organizations urged Biden to restore migrantsÕ ability to claim asylum in the U.S. and eschew any policy that limits access, calling such deterrent measures Òcruel, unlawful and ineffective.Ó

á           The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that July was the planetÕs hottest month in 142 years of record keeping. ÒThis new record adds to the disturbing and disruptive path that climate change has set for the globe,Ó NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said.

Saturday, Aug. 14

á           Biden increased the number of troops sent to Afghanistan to assist in the evacuation from the U.S. embassy in Kabul to 5,000 Òto make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of U.S. personnel and other allied personnel.Ó

Sunday, Aug. 15

á           Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the U.S.Õs decision to withdraw personnel from its Kabul embassy. ÒRemember, this is not Saigon,Ó Blinken said, referring to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 when VietnamÕs capital was taken by the Viet Cong and the PeopleÕs Army of Vietnam. ÒWe went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission, and that mission was to deal with the folks who attacked us on 9/11. And we have succeeded in that mission.Ó