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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers. We're pausing to remember the people who served in America's longest war. Too often, it's simplified into numbers. Twenty years. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops deployed. At least $2.26 trillion spent. The most important numbers, however, reflect the Afghanistan war's toll in lives. Learn more about the 2,443 American service members we lost. |
| Steve is here with the rest of Friday's news. |
| π New this morning: As the delta variant engulfs the U.S., it is now getting harder to find COVID-19 tests. |
| π "Never seen anything this devastating": At least two people have been killed and 17 more are missing in one North Carolina county that was flooded by Tropical Storm Fred. |
| π» Going the way of Tumblr: OnlyFans, which has been seeking funding from outside investors at a $1 billion valuation, will be removing sexually explicit content after it rose to fame for its ... sexually explicit content. |
| ⚾Pitcher will remain out of action: Major League Baseball has extended the leave of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Trevor Bauer another week after a judge rescinded a protective order in place against the pitcher. |
| π₯ "A true action legend": Japanese actor Sonny Chiba, who wowed the world with his martial arts skills in more than 100 films, including "Kill Bill," has died. He was 82. |
| π§ On today's 5 Things podcast, hear how babies are more likely to transmit COVID-19 than teens. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| What else is happening today: |
Biden to deliver remarks on the evacuations out of Afghanistan |
| President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on "the evacuation of American citizens and their families, SIV applicants and their families, and vulnerable Afghans" on Friday, according to his official schedule. Biden has been skewered by multiple groups, including Republicans and a variety of experts , since the Taliban completed its seizure of Afghanistan much faster than expected. The U.S. was forced to rapidly evacuate tens of thousands of people from the nation quickly and the subsequent images and videos detailed stunning chaos. Biden has remained firm and said he still stands by his decision to pull the troops out. Complicating matters, the U.S. has been struggling to pick up the pace of evacuations at Kabul airport, constrained by a range of obstacles, the Associated Press says. But in a hopeful sign, the State Department said 6,000 people were cleared for evacuation Thursday. That would mark a major increase from recent days. |
More on what is unfolding in Afghanistan |
| π Safe, but still scared: Afghans who worked with Americans fear for the family that got left behind. |
| π "It's just rubbish': Experts doubt the Taliban's promises on women and girls. |
| π What is sharia law? And how will the Taliban use it in Afghanistan? |
| π Another tragedy: A member of Afghanistan's national youth soccer team was killed in a fall from a U.S. military transport plane. |
| π From the USA TODAY Editorial Board: President Biden has suffered a self-inflicted wound in Afghanistan. Don't let it bleed into America's needs. |
πΈ Photo of the day: Afghan child sleeping on the floor of a cargo plane πΈ |
 | | An Afghan child sleeps on the cargo floor of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, kept warm by the uniform of Airman First Class Nicolas Baron, C-17 loadmaster, during an evacuation flight from Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 18, 2021. | | 1st Lt. Mark Lawson, 6th Airlift Squadron, U.S. Central Command Public Affairs, U.S. Airforce | |
| Heartbreaking images of children are emerging from Kabul as the world reckons with the Taliban taking over Afghanistan. One particular photo of a child sleeping on the cargo floor of a U.S. Air Force C-17 made it's rounds on social media. The child was covered by the uniform of Airman First Class Nicolas Baron to keep warm during an evacuation flight from Kabul on Wednesday, according to the Department of Defense. |
| Click here to see more photos of children and families struggling to flee the Taliban in Afghanistan. WARNING: The gallery contains graphic images. |
Ballot question due for Minneapolis vote on replacing police |
| Minneapolis is again considering sweeping changes to the city's police department more than a year after the failed push to disband the department in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Residents will vote in November on a ballot question that would change the city's charter and create a department of public safety, a proposal that has attracted thousands of local supporters but also fierce community opposition as well as national attention and money. City officials must finalize the ballot question and submit it by Friday. The department would use a "comprehensive public health approach" and include licensed peace officers "if necessary." It would also no longer be under the sole control of the mayor's office, giving greater oversight to the city council. |
Newsmakers in their own words: The delta variant and breakthrough COVID-19 cases |
 | | Dr. Walter Orenstein spoke to USA TODAY. | | USA TODAY graphic | |
| From the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials told Americans vaccination was the way back to normal life, but the path forward has become less clear. While vaccines were delivered in record time, the promise of vaccine salvation was upended by entrenched hesitancy, waning immunity and a wildly contagious mutation of the enigmatic virus that causes the disease. At this point, Americans are flying blind. |
Old Navy overhauls its sizing strategy for more inclusivity |
| Old Navy on Friday is redefining the sizes of its women's clothes to make shopping more inclusive . With its "BODEQUALITY" effort, Old Navy said it will be "the first value retailer to offer sizes 0-30 and XS-4X for all women's styles" with no price difference. As part of the transformation, Old Navy's 1,200 stores are doing away with special plus-size sections, and mannequins will display clothes in sizes four, 12 and 18. Other changes include updating the waistband pitch so jeans won't gap and adjusting sleeve openings so bras won't show. |
Viral photo of people on floor at Florida clinic shows troubled scene |
| Louie Lopez showed up for a Regeneron therapy appointment in Jacksonville, Florida, this week after his primary care doctor recommended it after Lopez tested positive for COVID-19. While waiting, two other people got in the line, sat down on the floor and then eventually laid down "sick and moaning." Lopez sent a photo to his wife. She posted it on Reddit and the image generated hundreds of comments. |
| Lopez estimates the woman pictured in yellow was on the ground for about an hour. He says the staff was doing their best but it seemed like "everything was new." |
 | | People lying on the floor while waiting for monoclonal therapy at Jacksonville's downtown library location on Wednesday, Aug. 19. Lopez obscured the faces of the people before sharing the image. | | Courtesy of Louie Lopez | |
Aaliyah's music headed to streaming after long wait for fans |
| Nearly 20 years after her tragic death, the Princess of R&B's catalog will be available to stream starting Friday. Aaliyah's music will roll out in near chronological order , starting with the release of her platinum-selling album "One in a Million." Albums "ΞΞLIYΞH," and "I Care 4 U" will follow on Sept. 10 and Oct. 8, respectively. What took so long? The delay, according to Barry Hankerson, her uncle and founder of label Blackground Records, stemmed from disagreements with Aaliyah's estate, which he said had previously expressed a desire to take her catalog off the market. Aaliyah's estate responded to the deal in a statement through an attorney and said it was "not made aware" of the streaming release of the late singer's catalog. |
 | | Aaliyah attends the Essence Awards 2001 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 04/27/2001. Photo: Evan Agostini/ImageDirect | | EVAN AGOSTINI, EVAN AGOSTINI/IMAGEDIRECT | |
What else people are reading: |
| π΅ "The boost was always intended to be temporary": The Biden administration won't seek to extend the enhanced $300 unemployment benefits past its current expiration date of Sept. 6. |
| π΅ Lawyer adamantly denied there was "striking": The Ventura County, California, Sheriff's Office confirmed to USA TODAY that singer Britney Spears is under investigation for misdemeanor battery for allegedly striking one of her employees. |
| π΅ All three have been fully vaccinated: Three senators – a Democrat, a Republican and an Independent – announced separately Thursday that they tested positive for COVID-19. |
| π΄ What he saw after the fish let go was "carnage": A swimmer was attacked by a predatory fish with very sharp teeth while training for a triathlon. |
| π΅ A USA TODAY Opinion column from Tom Nichols: Former President Donald Trump is not ruining democracy, we are. And it has been anguishing to confront. |
Madden 22 arrives ahead of the NFL and holiday video game seasons |
| Are you ready for some (video game) football? On Friday, National Football League fans can hit the digital gridiron with the launch of Madden NFL 22. The release of Madden from Electronic Arts not only drums up excitement for the upcoming NFL season, but the annual launch has served as an unofficial marker for the start of the important holiday video game season. The two players on the cover both appear for a second time: Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Tom Brady and the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes. This new edition will incorporate more stats, including team-level behaviors. Quarterbacks' passing choices and ball carrier moves will be more realistic, for instance. Players will also be able to make halftime adjustments and adapt a game plan based on an opponent's first half strategy. |
| The Daily Briefing is free, but several stories we link to in this edition are subscriber-only. Please support our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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