WH defends withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan; TSA to extend masking on planes, trains into 2022; Pentagon confirms U.S. in communication with Taliban leaders;

WH estimates 11,000 U.S. citizens remain in Afghanistan; Afghan women fear for their futures under Taliban rule; Burqa prices surge as Taliban impose new rules for women; Taliban pledge “no violence against women” but say the world needs to respect their “core values” on women; Top generals hope to speed up evacuations within the next day; Pentagon: up to 4,000 troops in Kabul by end of today; Pentagon estimates 5k-10k Americans remain “near Kabul”;

Sources: Biden admin to advise booster shots for most U.S. adults; Record number of kids hospitalized with COVID as Delta surges; Tomorrow: Biden to address booster shots for most adults as kids under 12 aren’t approved for their first dose;

212k+ migrants taken into U.S. custody at border last month, largest number in two decades; CNN goes to the border to investigate worsening migrant crisis; Tropical rains compound misery in Haiti’s disaster zone; 1,900+ dead, tens of thousands of homes destroyed after magnitude 7.2 earthquake & tropical depression hit Haiti;

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