Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, issued a reality-check to Americans in an interview on “The Faulkner Focus” following the bombings in Kabul, saying “there are people out there that want to kill us.” He said that there are ways to reverse course on the damage being done in Afghanistan, and called on the military to tell the Taliban that the U.S. is not leaving until the job of evacuating Americans is done. 

AFGHANISTAN ATTACK: AT LEAST 3 US MARINES WOUNDED NEAR KABUL AIRPORT AS PENTAGON CONFIRMS MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS

REP. DAN CRENSHAW: I encourage the American people to accept the reality of the situation. We’ve been wishing for a different situation, wishing for a different reality for a very long time, and that got us into this mess. We have to acknowledge that there are people out there that want to kill us, that wake up every single day, and if they have any space whatsoever, any room, any time whatsoever, they’re planning an attack on the homeland. That’s the way it is. I wish it were different. It’s not different. And we have to acknowledge that fact. Biden has refused to acknowledge that fact. 

Every president since Bush has had to deal with this really difficult decision – Obama, Trump. But Biden is the only one who really followed through with the stupidest possible option. And now we’re paying in blood for it. There’s still ways to reverse course on this. There’s still ways to uphold our dignity, to save our people on the ground. These people deserve to be saved, whether they’re citizens or whether they’re interpreters that I knew, that I worked with who have done more for this country than most citizens of this country. We need to help them. And we’re not going to leave until the job is done. That has to be the first task order to the military. We’re telling the Taliban we won’t leave until the job is done.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW: 

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/media/kabul-airport-attack-afghanistan-biden-dan-crenshaw

Also named as defendants in the suit, which seeks an unspecified amount of damages: the Trump campaign, longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone, a group called Stop the Steal that helped organize the rally Trump addressed on Jan. 6, more than a dozen individuals facing criminal charges related to the riot and several organizations whose members were allegedly involved, such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

“We joined the Capitol Police to uphold the law and protect the Capitol community,” the seven officers said in a joint statement. “On Jan. 6 we tried to stop people from breaking the law and destroying our democracy. Since then our jobs and those of our colleagues have become infinitely more dangerous. We want to do what we can to make sure the people who did this are held accountable and that no one can do this again.”

The lawsuit is the second by Capitol Police officers against Trump. The first, filed earlier then year by two officers, accuses Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 riot.

Members of Congress have also sued over the violence. In February, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) filed suit against Trump, Giuliani, the Proud Boys and others. A dozen other Democratic House members joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs later, and Thompson dropped out of the case in July after being named chair of the House select committee probing the origins of the riot.

In March, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) sued Trump, Giuliani, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Donald Trump Jr. over their alleged roles in encouraging the violence.

Lawyers for the officers pressing the newly filed suit asked that it be assigned to Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee already handling the other riot-related civil cases.

Legal experts have said that cases against people actually accused of violence on Jan. 6 are likely to have traction. However, the claims against Trump, Giuliani and others face an uphill battle in court due to broad First Amendment protections accorded to speech on political topics. Attorneys pressing the cases say they hope to get the suits into a discovery phase, where they can explore how the rallies leading up to the Jan. 6 riot were financed and what discussions there were among organizers about the potential for violence.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/26/capitol-police-suing-trump-506944

An ISIS militant wearing a suicide vest was responsible for the first bombing, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the situation told POLITICO, detonating around 5 p.m. local time just outside Abbey gate. Three sources said the U.S. troops returned fire soon after.

NATO troops have been ordered to leave the airport gates immediately, two people said.

The news comes just hours after defense officials began warning about an increased terrorist threat from the Islamic State’s branch in Afghanistan. Defense officials briefed lawmakers on Tuesday about the new threat targeting airport gates and military commercial aircraft evacuating people from Kabul, POLITICO first reported.

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), who served in Afghanistan, told reporters today that lawmakers were briefing on this threat during a classified Wednesday session. “So it was a credible and real threat,” he said.

On Wednesday evening local time in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued an alert warning Americans to avoid the area “[b]ecause of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport.”

Less than an hour before confirming the explosion, Kirby said the evacuation was continuing and committed to relocating “as many people as we can until the end of the mission.”

As of early Thursday morning, the White House said the total number of people evacuated from Kabul since the operation began on Aug. 14 was 95,700, including 13,400 in the last 24 hours.

“This [attack] is a nightmare,” said Stacia George, director of the Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution Program, who has worked to get vulnerable people out of Afghanistan. “It took incredible courage and strength to get to those gates which are the door to the last reliable way to safety. Although this is happening, people will still keep trying to go back once or if the gates open again because what other choice do they have?”

Before the Taliban takeover, Afghan security forces had long formed a so-called ring of steel around the capital city, with multiple checkpoints operating along main roads and a U.S.-led intelligence system tracking extremists. There have been a series of spectacular Taliban and ISIS attacks in Kabul over the years, but that old system has evaporated since the city’s fall to the Taliban, replaced by chaos and uncertainty, opening the city to attack.

No individual or group has yet taken responsibility for the attack. But President Joe Biden this week warned that ISIS wanted to strike the airport. U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence detailed some of its specifics to POLITICO, such as ISIS’s plans to detonate a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and launch shoulder-fired rockets.

ISIS has moved fighters and materials for the bombs from Nangarhar and Kunar provinces to areas around the airport, a U.S. official said. On Thursday morning, that U.S. official added that an IED attack to breach the outer perimeter wall of the airport might come within six hours. Afterward, ISIS fighters would shoot into the crowd with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades “in hopes of reaching processing centers” at the airport, the official said.

In the last day, the Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, had denied that an airport attack had been imminent, telling The Associated Press about the warnings: “It’s not correct.”

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/26/explosion-rocks-kabul-airport-as-us-tries-to-evacuate-thousands-506937

Earlier this month, Mr. Pritzker issued a mask mandate for students, faculty and staff in preschools, elementary and high schools throughout the state. He has also mandated masks in state-run nursing homes and similar facilities, and required vaccinations of people who work there. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended masking for everyone in schools, regardless of vaccination status, and several states, including California and Connecticut, have school mask mandates in place.

Under the new vaccine rule in Illinois, educators who decline to be vaccinated will be required to submit to testing at least once a week.

The move comes as other states and cities weigh vaccine mandates after the Food and Drug Administration this week granted full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for people 16 and older, making it the first to move beyond emergency-use status in the United States.

Earlier this week, Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey said that all teachers in that state would have to either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. California and Hawaii have similar mandates in place. And the cities of Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as Washington State and Oregon, have also recently announced full vaccine mandates for teachers.

On Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago said she would require all city employees, including police officers, sanitation workers and park employees, to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15. Chicago and Cook County already have indoor mask mandates in place.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/us/illinois-mask-vaccine-mandates.html

Seven U.S. Capitol Police officers filed a federal lawsuit Thursday accusing former President Donald Trump, far-right “violent extremist groups” and others of being directly responsible for the deadly invasion of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The lawsuit was filed against more than two dozen people and entities, including Republican operative Roger Stone and the far-right Proud Boys group. It alleges the defendants conspired to stop Congress from confirming President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory “through the use of force, intimidation, and threats.”

Their actions violated the Ku Klux Klan Act and other laws, the lawsuit alleges.

“Defendants’ unlawful efforts culminated in the January 6 mass attack on the United States Capitol and the brutal, physical assault of hundreds of law enforcement officers,” says the officers’ legal complaint.

“Many Defendants in this case planned, aided, and actively participated in that attack. All Defendants are responsible for it,” according to the lawsuit.

The complaint says the seven officers were “violently assaulted, spat on, tear-gassed, bear-sprayed, subjected to racial slurs and epithets, and put in fear for their lives” as the defended the Capitol from a mob of Trump supporters.

Their legal action marks at least the fourth lawsuit against Trump related to the Capitol riot, and the second to be filed by members of the Capitol Police force.

In February, the NAACP and House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., sued Trump, his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, another extremist group, alleging they conspired to incite the riot.

The next month, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., filed his own lawsuit against Trump and Giuliani, as well as Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., accusing them of being “wholly responsible” for the mob’s destruction. All three men spoke to crowds of Trump’s supporters at the “Stop the Steal” rally outside the White House on Jan. 6, when Congress at the nearby Capitol was set to convene to confirm Biden’s victory.

In late March, Capitol Police officers Sidney Hemby and James Blassingame filed a lawsuit blaming Trump for the injuries they suffered, and continue to suffer from, due to the invasion. They are each seeking more than $75,000 in compensatory damages.

“As this lawsuit makes clear, the Jan. 6 insurrection was not just an attack on individuals, but an attack on democracy itself,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which is representing the officers in the case filed Thursday.

“It was a blatant attempt to stifle the votes and voices of millions of Americans, particularly Black voters,” Hewitt said in a press release.

The officers in a joint statement said their jobs have become “infinitely more dangerous” after Jan. 6.

“We want to do what we can to make sure the people who did this are held accountable and that no one can do this again,” they said in the statement.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/26/capitol-police-officers-sue-trump-roger-stone-proud-boys-over-jan-6-invasion.html

This file photo provided by the Kent County Sheriff, shows Ty Garbin.

Kent County Sheriff’s Office via AP


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Kent County Sheriff’s Office via AP

This file photo provided by the Kent County Sheriff, shows Ty Garbin.

Kent County Sheriff’s Office via AP

A Michigan man charged in federal court with plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced to six years and three months in prison, according to court records.

Ty Garbin, 25, is the only member of the six men facing federal charges in the kidnapping plot to plead guilty for his role. He also received three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Last year, Garbin struck a plea deal with prosecutors and agreed to cooperate in the investigation. He turned government witness and disclosed crucial details about the alleged plan to kidnap Whitmer.

At his sentencing hearing Wednesday, Garbin apologized to Whitmer, who was not in the court room, and her family for his involvement, according to Michigan Radio.

Garbin also apologized to his family and told federal judge Robert J. Jonker that he hopes “to help others from becoming radicalized.”

Whitmer, a Democrat, was harshly criticized by former President Donald Trump and Michigan Republican leaders for her efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Prosecutors said Garbin conspired with Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, who “were members of the Wolverine Watchmen, a Michigan-based self-styled ‘militia’ group.”

The group collected weapons, participated in field training in Wisconsin, and conducted surveillance of Whitmer’s vacation home last year.

The trial for the other five men facing federal charges is set to begin on Oct. 12.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031172713/kidnap-plot-prison-michigan-governor

Known to American intelligence as the Taliban emissary to Al Qaeda, Mr. Haqqani showed up in Kabul last week as their new chief of security, brazenly armed with an American-made M4 rifle, with a protection squad dressed in American combat gear.

“Governing a war-ravaged country will be the real test and imposing challenge especially as the Taliban have been a warring force, not one adept at governing,” Maleeha Lohdi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations, wrote in a column in The Dawn newspaper this week.

During the war the Americans tolerated Pakistan’s duplicitous game because they saw little choice, preferring to fight a chaotic war in Afghanistan to warring with nuclear-armed Pakistan. Moreover, Pakistan’s ports and airfields provided the main entry points and supply lines for American military equipment needed in Afghanistan.

Pakistan did that, even as its spy agency provided planning assistance, training expertise and sometimes on the ground advice to the Taliban all through the war, American officials said.

Though Pakistan was supposed to be an American ally, it always worked toward its own interests, as nations do. Those interests did not include a large American military presence on its border, an autonomous Afghanistan with a democratic government it could not control, or a strong and centralized military.

Rather, Pakistan’s goal in Afghanistan was to create a sphere of influence to block its archnemesis, India. The Pakistanis insist that India uses separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army, operating from havens in Afghanistan, to stir dissent in Pakistan.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/world/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-taliban.html

Two people have been injured and a suspect is dead after a shooting at Redondo Beach Pier on Wednesday night, authorities confirmed.

Redondo Beach Police Chief Keith Kauffman said officers responded to a shooting and found two victims.

Officers located a suspect, Kauffman said, and at some point fired at him.

Kauffman later told the Times the suspect was dead.

News helicopters captured footage of the man’s body in a rocky area below the pier.

For bystanders, the sound of gunshots brought confusion at first, then fear.

A commotion followed the sound of gunshots as people ran, two men who asked to be identified only by their first names told the Times.

The men, Eduardo and Miguel, said people were lying prone on the pier as others yelled or called 911.

Joe Granda had just sat down with his brother for dinner at Tony’s on the Pier when they heard about five sharp cracks.

His brother thought someone was setting off firecrackers, but Granda knew what the sounds were.

“I said, ‘No, those are f— shots,’” he said.

Everyone in the restaurant ducked under their tables, Granda said.

About five to 10 minutes later, he saw police swarm the pier and take up positions on the roofs of restaurants and other establishments.

Granda said he was able to see a man he believes was the shooter hurdle over a railing and into rocks below the pier with officers in pursuit.

He said he heard roughly five gunshots and saw the man stumble.

A police helicopter hovered overhead and Granda heard someone announce over its loudspeaker, “suspect is in the rocks.”

The scene remained active Wednesday night. About three dozen police cruisers from the Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Torrance and Hawthorne police departments were present.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-25/shooting-at-redondo-beach-pier

This file photo provided by the Kent County Sheriff, shows Ty Garbin.

Kent County Sheriff’s Office via AP


hide caption

toggle caption

Kent County Sheriff’s Office via AP

This file photo provided by the Kent County Sheriff, shows Ty Garbin.

Kent County Sheriff’s Office via AP

A Michigan man charged in federal court with plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced to six years and three months in prison, according to court records.

Ty Garbin, 25, is the only member of the six men facing federal charges in the kidnapping plot to plead guilty for his role. He also received three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Last year, Garbin struck a plea deal with prosecutors and agreed to cooperate in the investigation. He turned government witness and disclosed crucial details about the alleged plan to kidnap Whitmer.

At his sentencing hearing Wednesday, Garbin apologized to Whitmer, who was not in the court room, and her family for his involvement, according to Michigan Radio.

Garbin also apologized to his family and told federal judge Robert J. Jonker that he hopes “to help others from becoming radicalized.”

Whitmer, a Democrat, was harshly criticized by former President Donald Trump and Michigan Republican leaders for her efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Prosecutors said Garbin conspired with Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, who “were members of the Wolverine Watchmen, a Michigan-based self-styled ‘militia’ group.”

The group collected weapons, participated in field training in Wisconsin, and conducted surveillance of Whitmer’s vacation home last year.

The trial for the other five men facing federal charges is set to begin on Oct. 12.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031172713/kidnap-plot-prison-michigan-governor

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/26/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html

    A clip of President Joe Biden responding to a reporter’s question regarding the extraction deadline for Americans in Afghanistan has raised some eyebrows.

    On Wednesday, Biden met with members of his Cabinet, national security team and private sector leaders at the White House to discuss cybersecurity issues. At the end of the meeting, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander asked Biden what would he do if Americans are still in Afghanistan after the August 31 deadline.

    Biden’s initial response to Alexander’s question was a smirk, but as the audio feed cut off, Biden can be seen saying, “You’ll be the first person I call.” Biden didn’t take any questions after the conclusion of the meeting which was captured on a live stream from the White House.

    During a follow-up briefing, held by press secretary Jen Psaki, Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy asked Psaki if she could elaborate on Biden’s remarks to Alexander.

    “Well, I think the question he was asked…was about when he will provide information about a decision on August 31,” Psaki replied. “I think what he conveyed is that—well, what I can convey from here, I should say, is that as he stated yesterday…is we’re on track to complete our mission by August 31.”

    A clip of President Joe Biden responding to a reporter’s question regarding the extraction deadline for Americans in Afghanistan is making the rounds across the internet. Above, Biden speaks during a meeting about cybersecurity at the White House on August 25, 2021.
    Getty Images

    Obviously, there are discussions, and the president received a briefing just this morning,” Psaki concluded.

    Alexander took to Twitter to elaborate on the issue which prompted a number of varied responses from users under his tweet. “I asked President Biden what he will do if Americans are still in Afghanistan after the 8/31 deadline,” Alexander tweeted. “His response: ‘You’ll be the first person I call.’ Took no questions.”

    One Twitter user replied, “I’m confused. You asked him something and he answered—isn’t that taking questions?”

    Another person tweeted, “I’m with the president, he is on this thing! You all won’t give him any grace until every single person alive is out! Millions and millions of people! This is so wrong!”

    Currently, 4,500 out of 6,500 Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

    “Starting on August 14, when our evacuation operations began, there was then a population of as many as 6,000 American citizens in Afghanistan who wanted to leave,” Blinken said during a press briefing.

    “Over the last 10 days, roughly 4,500 of these Americans have been safely evacuated, along with immediate family members.”

    Blinken also stated that “over 82,300 people have been safely flown out of Kabul.”

    Biden has been under mounting criticism regarding his handling of the extraction of Americans since the initial Taliban takeover on August 15.

    On August 16, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she’s working on articles of impeachment over Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal strategy.

    “I’m so disgusted with Joe Biden,” the Republican from Georgia said during an appearance on Steve Bannon‘s War Room: Pandemic podcast. “You know I’ve already filed one set of articles of impeachment. But his failure as a president is unspeakable.”

    Professor Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director-general of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, also criticized Biden recently over his exit strategy.

    “There had been a palpable sense of relief at President Biden’s victory, and all his warm words about allies and international cooperation. The withdrawal has punctured common illusions on the extent of Britain’s military dependence on the United States,” Chalmers told Newsweek.

    “One of the consequences could be that the UK government will take European defense cooperation more seriously than it has for many years. This could be one of the few positive side-effects from this sorry debacle,” Chalmers said.

    Source Article from https://www.newsweek.com/white-house-drops-audio-bidens-snide-response-reporter-about-afghanistan-1623135

    A few, though, had already heard about the election.

    Javier Rivera, 49, said he would vote to keep Newsom, who he said had handled a difficult situation well. He sees the governor as a staunch opponent of the former president.

    “I would have voted for Daffy Duck if he was against Trump,” he said.

    But Rivera said he was concerned: “For whatever reason, it feels like most of the noise is coming from Republicans.”

    Edgar Robleto, 62, who spoke with Diaz and Guzman Reyes through a metal screen door, said he wanted Newsom “gone.” Pandemic restrictions, he said, were “overboard,” and he’d lost work as a bus operator.

    “My credit cards are to the top,” he told me.

    But Robleto said he didn’t know whom he’d vote for to replace the governor. He said he would find information on Facebook and YouTube, and wait to hear from leaders of his church.

    For more:

    Jill Cowan is a New York Times reporter, currently based in Los Angeles.


    Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/us/california-recall-election-newsom.html