Day 220: "The mission will go on."
1/ The death toll from the bombing attack at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan rose to 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, a number that could increase as authorities examine fragmented remains. Thursday’s bombing — blamed on Afghanistan’s offshoot of the Islamic State group, an enemy of both the Taliban and the West — marked one of the most lethal terror attacks the country has seen. The U.S. said it was the deadliest day for American forces in Afghanistan since 2011. (Associated Press / CNN)
2/ Biden vowed to complete the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan and hunt down ISIS leaders after the attack in Kabul. “We will rescue Americans, we will get our Afghan allies, and the mission will go on,” Biden said from the White House. “America will not be intimidated.” (CNBC)
3/ Seven Capitol Police officers are suing Trump and members of far-right extremist groups and political organizations of plotting to disrupt the peaceful transition of power during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. The suit, which took a broad view of the riot’s origins, was the latest effort to hold former President Donald J. Trump accountable for the Capitol attack. (New York Times / CNBC)
4/ The Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s COVID-related eviction moratorium in an eight-page, unsigned opinion. The decision puts hundreds of thousands of tenants at risk of losing shelter, while the administration struggles to speed the flow of billions of dollars in federal funding to people who are behind in rent because of the coronavirus pandemic and its associated economic hardship. (CNN / New York Times)
5/ A Florida judge blocked Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order banning mask mandates. Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper ruled that DeSantis overstepped his authority when he issued an executive order banning such mandates. (Associated Press)