Suicide bombs kill least 12 US troops, many civilians at Kabul airport – National & International News – THU 26Aug2021

Kabul: Bombs kill least 12 US troops, dozens of civilians. Want to save 50,000 lives this year? Wear a mask. Capitol Police officers sue Trump and cronies over Jan. 6.

NATIONAL NEWS

Want to save 50,000 lives this year? Wear a mask.

At this moment, more than 100,000 people are hospitalized with COVID infections in the US. This is the first time COVID hospitalizations have been that high since January.

Right now, nationwide COVID deaths are averaging about 1,100 per day. Current modeling from the University of Washington also predicts that 100,000 more people may die of COVID in the US between now and the end of the year. That is, unless state and local governments and individual citizens are willing to make some changes.

These predictive models are not based only on the virus’ contagiousness and other characteristics, but also on how human behavior contributes to the spread and deadliness of the virus. Models like these underscore the interconnections between individual choices and their impacts on the collective population. For example, health forecasters say that we could cut that number in half if everyone just agreed to wear masks in public spaces.

Ali Mokdad of the University of Washington, who helps manage the model, says “We can save 50,000 lives simply by wearing masks. That’s how important behaviors are”.

As Lauren Ancel Meyers of the University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium puts it, “We cannot stop delta in its tracks, but we can change our behavior overnight”. Meyers says, ultimately, “Behavior is really going to determine if, when and how sustainably the current wave subsides”.

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U.S. Capitol Police officers sue Trump and cronies over Jan. 6

Seven U.S. Capitol Police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 have filed a federal lawsuit against former president Donald Trump, his political allies and members of far-right extremist groups. The suit alleges that Trump and his cohorts intentionally stoked and provoked the violent mob that descended on the Capitol that day.

The plaintiffs say that Trump “worked with white supremacists, violent extremist groups, and campaign supporters to violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, and commit acts of domestic terrorism in an unlawful effort to stay in power”. Trump’s co-defendants in the suit include rightwing operative Roger Stone and members of the militant groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

The suit also provides harrowing personal accounts of the injuries and violence the seven officers suffered that day. THe attackers sprayed one officer in the face with pepper spray and bear mace to the point that his eyes swelled shut. Rioters mercilessly beat a black officer with 35 years on the job while shouting racial slurs.

The officers filing the suit issued a statement through their lawyers. It reads, “We joined the Capitol Police to uphold the law and protect the Capitol community. 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”.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Kabul airport: Suicide bomb kills least 12 US troops, dozens of civilians

Two suicide bombs have killed and wounded dozens of people in the vicinity of the airport this morning. One explosion took place at a gate of the Kabul airport where civilians have amassed hoping to board a flight. Another took place at the nearby Baron Hotel. The hotel was apparently an assembly point for people traveling to the airport.

The latest reporting indicates at least 60 death and 140 injuries resulted from the blasts and accompanying gunfire. Current reporting has it that at 12 U.S. service members were killed, including 11 Marines and a Navy medic. Dozens of civilians of unknown nationalities were also killed.

The attacks come a day after the U.S. Embassy in Kabul warned American citizens not to come to the airport unless they received a notification from the embassy. This warning came after warnings from intelligence sources that an attack on the airport was imminent. A group called Islamic State Khorasan Province, or Isis-K, is believed to be behind the attacks.

It’s unclear at this point how the event will impact efforts to evacuate as many people as possible before the putative Aug. 31 deadline. Up to this point, the U.S. military has evacuated at least 95,000 people through the airport since Aug. 14.

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