Axios

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) issued an executive order on Thursday that allows businesses to not comply with local mask or COVID-19 vaccine mandates meant to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Why it matters: Kemp is the latest Republican governor to hamper local responses to the virus despite a surge of new cases from the Delta variant.

Twenty-three AAPI civil rights groups led by the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans are calling on the administration to take extra caution as it prepares results from its investigation into the origins of COVID.

Why it matters: In late May, the Biden administration launched a 90-day probe into COVID's origins amid controversy over the lab leak theory. In a letter delivered to President Biden on Thursday, advocates warn the "simple existence of that report will put our communities at risk."

Former cartel boss Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo breaks his silence in an interview with Noticias Telemundo, his first since being apprehended in 1989 in connection with the deaths of DEA undercover agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena and Mexican pilot Alfredo Zavala.

Details: The man who once was considered “The Godfather” of narco crime and one of the most feared criminals worldwide is now a visibly worn-down 75-year-old who calls himself a “corpse waiting to be buried by a tree’s roots.”

About 6,000 people have arrived and been processed at the Kabul airport and will soon be evacuated by the U.S., State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday.

Driving the news: The U.S.' efforts to get people out of the country are ramping up, but remain behind the goal of 5,000–9,000 evacuations daily. Earlier Thursday, Pentagon officials announced that 7,000 people have been evacuated since Saturday — 2,000 of them in the past 24 hours.

Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) have tested positive for breakthrough cases of COVID-19, their offices said Thursday.

The big picture: At least four vaccinated senators have tested positive in August, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who announced his breakthrough positive test result earlier this month.

When President Biden inherited the war in Afghanistan, he faced three broad policy options.

1. Comply with Donald Trump’s deal and withdraw all U.S. troops by May 1.
2. Modify Trump’s deal by maintaining the commitment to withdraw but extending the timeline and, potentially, making it conditional on some sort of political agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
3. Reject Trump’s deal and keep U.S. troops in the country indefinitely.

U.S. Capitol Police on Thursday said the suspect who posed a bomb threat near the Library of Congress Buildings surrendered and is in custody after an hours-long standoff.

The latest: USCP said in a press release Thursday night that investigators did not find a bomb in the vehicle of the suspect, identified by USCP chief Tom Manger as Floyd Ray Roseberry, though the truck did contain undisclosed bomb making materials.

Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) told Axios at a virtual event Thursday that the country needs to do more when it comes to migrants who are crossing the border and contracting COVID-19.

Why it matters: A recent report from Noticias Telemundo Investiga showed that about 40% of undocumented immigrants who died on their way to the U.S. and ended up in a Falfurrias, Texas, morgue had contracted COVID-19 prior to their deaths.

Biden's first interview:

• Biden denies Afghanistan will look the same 20 years after 9/11
• Biden: Taliban haven't changed since their ruling days
• Biden says he would've withdrawn even without Trump's Taliban deal
• U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan until every American is out, Biden says

The latest in Afghanistan:

• Taliban celebrates Afghan Independence Day by declaring victory over U.S.
• Taliban responds to protesters' resistance with deadly violence
• Leaders in Taliban holdout look to revive alliance that helped U.S. in 2001

The Biden administration announced Thursday it would erase student loan debt for over 323,000 borrowers who have permanent, severe disabilities and have limited incomes as a result.

Why it matters: The move will effectively eliminate nearly $5.8 billion of student debt.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) issued an executive order Thursday that requires executive department employees to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination on or by Oct. 17.

Why it matters: Baker's order comes as other Republican governors push back on vaccine and masks mandates.

The number of U.S. Latinos identifying as multiracial soared during the last decade, while those identifying as solely white dropped significantly, according to the latest census.

Why it matters: The dramatic shift in racial identity among Latinos came after the census offered more options in 2020, giving Latinos the opportunity to officially embrace Indigenous and Black backgrounds.

President Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he and first lady Jill Biden will get COVID-19 booster shots.

Driving the news: "It's something that I think, you know, because we got our shots all the way back in, I think, December, so it's past time," Biden said in an interview that aired Thursday.

President Biden on Thursday rejected the notion that Afghanistan will look the same on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 as it did when the Taliban first ruled, telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "There was a guy named Osama bin Laden still alive and well."

Why it matters: In defending his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, Biden has repeatedly stressed that the original purpose of the 2001 invasion was to dismantle al-Qaeda and deny the terrorists a safe haven to launch another attack against the U.S.

President Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he doesn't believe the Taliban have changed substantially since they were last in power, but that they are facing an "existential crisis" about whether they want to be recognized on the international stage.

Driving the news: The Taliban have pledged to be more inclusive since their days of totalitarian rule in the 1990s, vowing to not retaliate against opponents and honor women's rights within the "frameworks" of Islamic law. But scenes from Kabul and areas they previously controlled suggest the militants will continue to govern with a heavy hand.

President Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he would have tried to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan even if former President Trump had not struck a deal with the Taliban to get out of the country by May 1.

Why it matters: Biden has sought to deflect blame on to the former president for the swift Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, saying that the peace deal Trump signed with the Taliban in 2020 set the stage for the subsequent withdrawal.

Opposition leaders who've fled to Afghanistan's last holdout against the Taliban are looking to launch an "armed resistance under the banner of the Northern Alliance," which helped the U.S. oust the Taliban in 2001, per AP.

Why it matters: The Taliban has a strong grip on the country, shooting at protesters in three cities this week who tried to raise the Afghan national flag. It confirmed on Thursday that it would not govern as a democracy.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are privately advising the nine House centrist lawmakers trying to force Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold a quick vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure deal, lawmakers and aides tell Axios.

Why it matters: The two moderates who've stirred the biggest frustrations and held the most sway in their party over the infrastructure negotiations are helping allies in the House to stake out — and defend — their centrist position.

The Taliban marked Afghanistan's Independence Day on Thursday by declaring it forced the U.S. out of the country and calling on crowds of Afghans waiting for flights at Kabul's airport to go home, per multiple reports.

What they're saying: The Taliban noted that on Afghan Independence Day, the country celebrates the anniversary of the 1919 treaty that ended British rule, per AP. "We at the same time as a result of our jihadi resistance forced another arrogant power of the world, the United States, to fail and retreat from our holy territory of Afghanistan."

A federal judge delayed the sentencing of a Capitol rioter hours after video footage surfaced that allegedly showed him assaulting a police officer during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Why this matters: Robert Reeder, of Maryland, was due to be sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. But prosecutors requested a delay due to the new video evidence, tweeted by the Sedition Hunters, an online group seeking to hold Capitol rioters to account, per CNN.

A federal judge on Wednesday voided the permits for a ConocoPhillips oil project in Alaska's North Slope.

Why it matters: The ruling deals a blow to the Willow oil project, which could produce up to 160,000 barrels of oil per day, after the Trump administration approved drilling for it. The government's support for the project continued into the Biden administration.

Texas can ban the most common procedure used by doctors for abortions in second-trimester pregnancies, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Why it matters: The ruling in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals marks the first time a U.S. federal court has upheld a ban on dilation and evacuation, the standard method of abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The ban is expected to be challenged in the Supreme Court, per the Texas Tribune.

A group of Staten Island small businesses is suing New York City over its mandate requiring people show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to participate in indoor activities.

The big picture: Staten Island reported 237.53 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people as of the week ending on Aug. 15 — the most per capita of any New York City borough, according to government data.

All Washington state teachers and school staff must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 under a new employment condition announced by Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The requirement that includes school bus drivers and volunteers in the public and private sectors marks the strictest vaccine mandate for schools in the U.S. Staff have to be vaccinated by Oct. 18 or face the threat of being fired.