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Thursday, July 8

Local fans will not be allowed to attend events at the Tokyo Olympics.

Tokyo 2020 won't have spectators. The American military's presence in Afghanistan will be gone soon. It's Thursday's news.

The Olympics in Tokyo won't have any fans. U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan before the summer ends. And most Americans don't believe police treat people equally.

👋 It's Julius with the news you need to know Thursday.

But first, who says you need to pay rent? 🛣️ How to travel the country on an extended road trip, from former Short List writer Ashley, who's been a nomad for almost a year.

The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here.

An empty Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics will be one without fans. The decision to bar fans come as a COVID-19-related state of emergency — which takes effect Monday and goes through Aug. 22 — was announced for Japan's capital city. Tokyo reported 896 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up from 673 a week earlier. It's the 19th straight day that cases have topped the mark set seven days prior. New cases on Wednesday hit 920, the highest daily total since 1,010 were reported on May 13. However, there is still a chance fans could be allowed at events held outside Tokyo, in areas that are not under a state of emergency. "Now faced with COVID-19, we have no other choice but to hold the Games in a limited way," said Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto.

•	Ahead of the Olympics, Naomi Osaka says 'it's OK to not be OK'; standing up for mental health 'all worth it'
•	Love at the Olympics: Romance has blossomed in Summer Games

American troops will be out of Afghanistan by September

President Joe Biden has announced that the United States military mission in Afghanistan will end on Aug. 31, bringing America's longest war to an end. Biden said the U.S. had achieved its main objectives: to get the terrorists who attacked the U.S. on 9/11, deliver justice to Osama bin Laden, and degrade the terrorist threat to the point it did not present an active threat to the United States. The president also added that it is "the right and the responsibility of Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country." His announcement comes as the Taliban continue to rapidly gain new territory, raising concerns the country could spiral into a civil war. The U.S. has withdrawn more than 90% of its troops and equipment, the Pentagon announced this week.

•	He risked his life helping US troops in Afghanistan before seeking asylum in Iowa. So why is he facing deportation?
•	Taliban take districts in northern Afghanistan from fleeing troops

US President Joe Biden speaks about the situation in Afghanistan from the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, July 8, 2021.

SAUL LOEB, AFP via Getty Images

What everyone's talking about

•	The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup, and leading scorer Nikita Kucherov did not hold back after Game 5.
•	Simon Cowell broke 'America's Got Talent' rules so a 9-year-old opera singer could make history.
•	Kamala Harris' stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, walked the Balenciaga runway at Paris Fashion Week.
•	Denmark is now home to the world's biggest sandcastle — all it took was 5,000 tons of sand.
•	'Ridiculously easy': 'Jeopardy!' fans call out the show for its final clue.

US citizen arrested in assassination of Haitian president

A day after Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, a U.S. citizen was among those arrested in the killing, according to the Washington Post. The arrests come amid a manhunt for a group of "mercenaries" involved in Moïse's assassination; police say they've killed four people in the case and had detained two more late Wednesday. Former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said police sources in the country have told him that 28 mercenaries were involved in the operation, many of them Venezuelan nationals. He also added that two Haitian-Americans were a part of the assassination team. As the investigation continues, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph declared a "state of siege" akin to martial law and said he was in charge of the country.

Most Americans don't believe police treat people equally, poll says

Only 22% of Americans said police treat all people equally, according to a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll. Even fewer of those polled, 17%, said the criminal justice courts and lawyers treat everyone equally. Those results are a double-digit decline in public confidence since a USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll in 2014, when 32% of Americans said police departments did an excellent or good job in treating racial and ethnic groups equally. In terms of funding for law enforcement, 77% said they would like more police officers deployed on street patrols, while 62% also noted some police budgets should be used to fund community policing and social services.

Real quick

•	The death toll in the Surfside condo collapse has risen to 60, as rescue crews continue their search.
•	27 million people are under a tropical storm warning as Elsa roars up the East Coast.
•	Princess Latifa's attempt to escape Dubai was thwarted. Here's what we know about the FBI's role.
•	Vowing loyalty to Trump, 'America First' groups are trying to bring nativism into the mainstream.
•	An Indiana FBI task force member was fatally shot in an 'ambush' outside a federal building.

Cunard is staying docked (for now)

Cunard Line canceled its cruises after an unspecified number of crew members set to board the Queen Elizabeth ship tested positive for COVID-19. Although the Carnival Corp. subsidiary worked with health officials to take immediate steps to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak – including limiting new crew who were joining the ship and implementing contact tracing and isolation – Cunard was unable to finish its preparations to resume sailing. The line's service, originally planned to set sail with passengers on July 19, will now aim for Aug. 13 as a return date, Cunard President Simon Palethorpe said in a statement. In total, five sailings were canceled, all on the Queen Elizabeth ship.

A break from the news

•	💵 A new child tax credit starts July 15. Here's what parents need to know.
•	🎓 The economy needs millions of workers. So why can't college grads find jobs?
•	⏳ Are you furious at your parents for aging? You're not alone.

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.