🇦🇫 Afghanistan Falls to the Taliban

Image: Zabi Karimi/AP

We last covered the situation in Afghanistan on Thursday. Here’s what’s happened since then:

• Friday: The Taliban captured eight provincial capital cities, bringing its total to 18 out of 34.
• Saturday: Seven more capitals fell to the Taliban offensive. The day ended with the militant group’s troops camped roughly 30 miles outside Kabul, the head of the Afghan government.
• Sunday: An additional seven capitals were taken by the Taliban before its troops entered Kabul and took control of the city without resistance from government forces. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as the government collapsed.
• Sunday (cont'd): President Biden authorized deployment of 1,000 additional troops to assist a U.S.-led military operation that began evacuating Western diplomats, civilians, and some Afghans.

🔭 Zoom out: The Taliban has a reputation for brutality and enforcement of a harsh brand of Islamic Sharia law over the territories it controls, often carrying out public executions. The group previously ruled Afghanistan for five years until being toppled by U.S.-led invading forces in 2001.

During that time, the Taliban was infamous for its discrimination against women, who were banned from:

• Attending school or studying
• Working
• Leaving the house without a male chaperone
• Showing skin in public
• Accessing healthcare delivered by men (making access difficult since women were forbidden from working)
• Being involved in politics or speaking publicly

👁️ Looking ahead… Taliban negotiators are reportedly holding talks with the Afghan government to facilitate a “peaceful transfer of power to the transitional government."

From the Left: NPR

From the Right: WSJ

🎁 DONUT Headline: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, leaving at least 1,297 dead and 5,700 injured (as of early this morning).

Image: Duncan Channon

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected an emergency request from students at Indiana University seeking to block the school’s requirement that they get vaccinated against COVID-19.

• The decision marks the first legal test of a vaccine mandate in schools, but it's not expected to be the last.
• There is also one case of note in the private sector. In June, a federal judge ruled that Houston Methodist Hospital System’s vaccine mandate did not violate state or federal law.

🤿 A deeper dive… In the U.S., vaccine mandates are coming from three main sources:

1. Local governments – The cities of San Francisco and New Orleans last week joined NYC in requiring proof of vaccination to enter indoor restaurants, gyms, bars, and entertainment venues.
2. Employers – All federal government employees and onsite contractors - along with some or all state employees in 22 states plus D.C. & Puerto Rico - are under some form of vaccine mandate. More than a dozen large U.S. companies also recently announced vaccine mandates for some or all of their workers.
3. Colleges & Universities – Hundreds are requiring students attending in-person classes to be vaccinated. Some are also mandating vaccines for all faculty and school staff. (See the full list.)

👁️ Looking ahead… Roughly 1,200 first responders in Hawaii filed a lawsuit last Friday challenging the state’s vaccine-or-test mandate for public workers, setting the stage for a third legal test of COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

🏁 Start Your Engines

Image: Jetpack Aviation

The California-based company announced that its flying motorcycle prototype, called the Speeder, recently completed a successful test flight.

• It's operated by flight-control software allowing it to take off and land vertically, stabilize itself in the air, and even be programmed to fly autonomously.
• The current prototype includes four turbines, but the final version will contain a total of eight, allowing the 300-pound vehicle to carry loads up to twice its weight.

JetPack aims to develop two models of the flying motorcycle: an ultralight version that would reach a max speed of 60mph and an experimental version that could reach up to 250 mph.

• The bike is expected to be commercially available by 2023 with a price tag of $381,000 (so you might want to start saving now).

Keep reading.

Images: Facebook

Stoughton, Wisconsin is a town of only 13,000 people. With a population that small, any new resident is bound to become the talk of the town.

• Stoughton’s newest resident has been circling the streets for weeks, introducing themself to hundreds of residents and exploring the town from top to bottom.

Their name is Rolie Polie Ole – and we should probably mention… it's a giant plastic beach ball.

• As Rolie Polie Ole makes its way through town, hundreds of residents have stopped to sign the ball, snap a picture, and send it on its way.

“It’s uplifting.” shared one resident, “You’re locked out for a whole year, just having to be so careful. People just ended up saying ‘Hey, this is so much fun. So spontaneous. Let’s go have some fun with this.'”

Keep reading.

Which African country has more pyramids than Egypt?

A) Libya
B) Chad
C) Sudan
D) Algeria

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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C) Sudan

Sudan contains the most pyramids in the world, and it isn't particularly close – Sudan has more than 200 known pyramids compared to Egypt’s 138.

• The Sudanese pyramids emerged during the reign of the ancient Nubian civilization beginning around 2,500 B.C.