Afghan holiday, masks in Florida schools, Trevor Bauer hearing: 5 things to know Thursday
Taliban marks Afghanistan's Independence Day as challenges rise
Thursday is Afghanistan's Independence Day as it commemorates the 1919 treaty that ended British rule. The Taliban celebrated by declaring it had beaten "the arrogant of power of the world" in the United States. However, challenges to their rule have begun to emerge. From cracking down on a rarely seen protest to ATMs being out of cash and worries about food across a nation of 38 million people reliant on imports, the Taliban face all the challenges of the civilian government they dethroned without the international aid it enjoyed. On the U.S. side, the U.S. military had evacuated about 2,000 people from Kabul in the previous 24 hours and the Pentagon anticipates evacuating about 2,000 people per day, press secretary John Kirby said Wednesday. Also, President Joe Biden told ABC News George Stephanopoulos U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan beyond the end of the month, if necessary, to ensure all Americans are evacuated.
- Fraud, waste and abuse in Afghanistan: Inspector general reflects on US failures
- What went wrong in Afghanistan? Perspectives on the 'forever war' from those who saw it up close
- Is it appropriate to ask veterans to talk about the fall of Afghanistan? What you should (and shouldn't) say to the war veterans right now
- Fact check: Viral image of Taliban punishment tied to theft, not Christian faith
Prefer to listen? Check out the 5 Things podcast:
Big Florida school districts defy Gov. DeSantis over mask mandate
Three more Florida school districts adopted stricter mask mandates Wednesday, a day after school boars in two counties faced threats of severe penalties for defying Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration. The Hillsborough County school board, which oversees the state's third-largest district with over 206,000 students in the Tampa area, voted to adopt a 30-day mask mandate with a medical opt-out for students, teachers and staff. The policy takes effect Thursday. The Miami-Dade school board, representing Florida's largest district with 334,000 students, passed a similar mandate that will begin next week. And under a new Palm Beach County School Board policy enacted late Wednesday and going into effect Monday, all students will have to wear a facial covering at school unless they have a disability exemption. DeSantis said Wednesday districts imposing mask mandates are violating a law stating it is up to parents to make health decisions.
- Florida Gov. DeSantis has a message for school officials: Enforce mask mandate, get your salaries withheld
- Florida COVID-19 surge keeps getting worse
- Thousands of kids are in COVID-19 quarantine across the US
- Fourth COVID-19 wave: The delta variant is 'ripping through the unvaccinated' and crowding hospitals in Florida, Texas
Will Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer take the witness stand?
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltmann could decide Thursday if Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer should take the witness stand as this week's hearing about whether a restraining order should remain in force against Bauer nears its conclusion. "We have one more witness left … Mr. Bauer himself," said Marc Garelick, an attorney for the woman who has accused Bauer of assault. Garelick said Wednesday that the woman’s legal team wanted to call Bauer to the witness stand Thursday morning, drawing a response from Bauer’s attorney, Shawn Holley. "I would like to restate what I indicated previously, which is that Mr. Bauer is going to take the Fifth Amendment," Holley said at the end of Wednesday's hearing.
- Day 2: Bauer's attorney aggressively questions the accuser at hearing
- Day 1: 'She was the perfect victim for someone like Trevor'
- Fifth extension: MLB extends Bauer's administrative leave again
Facebook CEO Zuckerberg to make a major announcement
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will reveal a major company announcement exclusively on "CBS This Morning" Thursday, CBS News said. Leading up to the company announcement, Zuckerberg told "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King the social media giant has removed 18 million posts containing misinformation about COVID-19, but would not say how many times those posts had been viewed or shared. Facebook recently reported its second-quarter profits doubled thanks to a massive increase in advertising revenue. But Zuckerberg has set his sights far beyond the last part of 2021, exalting what he sees as the next big thing and the new phase of how people experience the internet. Zuckerberg and others are focused on "the metaverse," a futuristic and somewhat vague notion that encompasses augmented reality, virtual reality and new, yet-to-be-imagined ways of connecting to one another via technology.
- Is your friend an extremist? Facebook is asking some users about exposure to content.
- Do Facebook and Google censor conservatives? Trump, Republicans bet claims they do will rally GOP base in 2022
- Objectives and incentives: Facebook to pay creators $1 billion for content through 2022
Women's British Open sets new benchmark for women's golf
The AIG Women's British Open starts Thursday in Scotland. The championship set a new standard for prize money at the LPGA Tour majors by announcing a record purse of $5.8 million, with plans to boost it by an additional $1 million for next year. "We hope this will inspire other events to follow our lead and help us to take a collective leap forward for the women’s game," said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A. The winner this week will receive $870,000, compared with the $675,000 that Sophia Popov won last year at Royal Troon. The overall purse this year will increase by $1.3 million to $5.8 million.
- Photos: AIG Women's British Open 2021 at Carnoustie
- Dream season for Nelly Korda now includes Olympic gold medal
Contributing: The Associated Press