Friday morning news - July 9, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Biden says U.S. war in Afghanistan will end August 31 » President Biden says the U.S. war in Afghanistan will officially end next month.

The president made the announcement at the White House on Thursday.

BIDEN: Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31. The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way, prioritizing the safety of our troops as they depart. Our military commanders advised me that once I made the decision to end the war, we needed to move swiftly.

He said with regard to the drawdown “speed is safety.”

Biden said he made the decision to leave after concluding it’s an “unwinnable war” and one that “does not have a military solution.”

His remarks come as the Taliban continues to capture more and more territory in Afghanistan. But the president pushed back against critics of the military pullout, saying—“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build.”

BIDEN: How many thousands more of America’s daughters and sons are you willing to risk? How long would you have them stay?

Many Republican lawmakers warn the risk to U.S. troops and citizens will ultimately be greater after the pullout as terrorist groups once again find safe haven in Afghanistan.

COVID cases on the rise as delta variants spreads » COVID-19 cases are now officially moving in the wrong direction.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday that the 7-day average of new cases is just under 14,000 cases per day. That’s up 11% from the week before.

The ultra-contagious delta variant is driving the increase.

WALENSKY: Although we expected the delta variant to become the dominant strain in the United States, this rapid rise is troubling. We know that the delta variant has increased transmissibility and is surging in pockets of the country with low vaccination rates.

She noted that vaccines are still highly effective in protecting against the delta strain and other variants.

New research from France adds further evidence that the vaccines are still working against the coronavirus mutant.

Scientists ran tests with blood from several dozen people given the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine. They reported that nearly all samples showed an immune boost strong enough to neutralize the delta variant.

Japan declares emergency, bars Olympic fans from stands in Tokyo » The delta variant is also causing problems in Japan, where vaccination rates are extremely low.

That led Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo.

YOSHIHIDE (translated): Considering the effect of variants, and in order to curb the spread of the virus, we need to strengthen our antivirus measures.

Suga said the state of emergency will last through at least Aug. 22nd.

With that declaration in place, fans will not be allowed to attend Summer Olympic events in Tokyo, which begin two weeks from today.

Japan barred fans from abroad months ago, but had hoped to allow a limited number of local fans in Tokyo.

The International Olympic Committee voiced support for the decision.

Just two weeks ago, organizers and the IOC allowed venues to be filled to 50% of capacity but crowds not to exceed 10,000. The state of emergency has forced a late turnaround.

Death toll from Fla. condo collapse rises to 60 » In Surfside, Florida, the official death toll from a collapsed condo building rose to 60 on Thursday, with another 80 people unaccounted for.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters...

DESANTIS: The work’s going to go on, and obviously they’re going to identify every single person. And we obviously want to do all we can for the survivors and the family members.

Detectives are still working to verify that each of those listed as missing was actually in the building when it collapsed.

The painstaking search for survivors shifted to a recovery effort at midnight Wednesday after authorities said they had come to the agonizing conclusion that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble.

Unemployment claims tick up » The number of Americans filing jobless claims rose slightly last week even as the economy appears to be bouncing back from the pandemic. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Unemployment filings rose by about 2,000 last week from the week before. The Labor Department reported 373,000 new applications.

Even as jobless claims ticked up slightly last week, many employers say they still can’t find enough workers.

On Wednesday, the government said that U.S. employers posted 9.2 million jobs in May, the most since record-keeping began in 2000.

The total number of Americans receiving jobless aid, including so-called enhanced unemployment with extra $300 per week checks, amounted to 14.2 million people.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Two Haitian Americans arrested in connection with Moise assassination » Authorities in Haiti have arrested two men believed to be Haitian Americans in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise.

One of the men arrested, James Solages, is reportedly a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti.

An official with the Hatian government said six people are now in custody in connection with the attack at Moise’s home in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday.

Police killed four other suspects in a gunfight and two are still missing.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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