The Biden administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to suspend a lower court's order that would force the administration to reinstate one of President Trump's border policies, which left tens of thousands of migrants to await asylum hearings in Mexico.
Why it matters: Ending the controversial Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy was one of President Biden’s campaign promises, and he suspended the program on his first day in office. The administration has now brought thousands of impacted migrants into the United States — some of whom waited years in Mexico.
The Biden administration on Friday announced that its evacuation flights from Kabul can now land throughout the Middle East and Europe as Qatar has reached capacity, resulting in temporarily halted flights.
State of play: With the U.S. military's efforts to evacuate American citizens and at-risk Afghans from the country ramping up, and Qatar's al-Udeid air base at maximum capacity, the U.S. was scrambling for more places to take evacuees.
President Biden on Friday nominated Rahm Emanuel, former President Obama's chief of staff, as U.S. ambassador to Japan.
State of play: The president also nominated Nick Burns, the State Department's former No. 3, as ambassador to China. He also served as ambassador to NATO and to Greece.
The Capitol Hill bomb threat suspect who surrendered to police after an hours-long standoff faces charges of threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to use an explosive device, according to the affidavit unsealed on Friday.
Why it matters: Floyd Ray Roseberry, who could face a lifetime in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, was taken into custody after making bomb threats near the Library of Congress on Thursday.
More than 30 Texas House Democrats on Friday tore into a handful of their fellow Democrats, who returned to the capital this week, and accused Republicans of lying about the number of legislators present to re-establish quorum.
Why it matters: More than 50 House Democrats fled the state in July to prevent the GOP from passing new voting restrictions and urge federal action on voting rights. The 38-day standoff ended on Thursday after a small minority returned to the capital to continue the fight "from the inside."
A bipartisan group of former national security officials, diplomats and lawmakers are urging President Biden to extend the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan beyond Aug, 31 to help evacuate vulnerable Afghans, regardless of their immigration status.
Why it matters: Biden has vowed to keep U.S. forces in Afghanistan as long as it takes to get all Americans out but has also said that his goal is to complete that mission by the end of the month.
A number of former senior Trump officials have sought to distance themselves from the Taliban peace deal that was signed in February 2020, with chaos erupting after the militants took control of Afghanistan this week.
Why it matters: The agreement has come under new scrutiny for laying the groundwork for the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan, which coincided with a sweeping Taliban offensive that ended in the fall of Kabul on Sunday.
The nine House centrists pressing for a quick vote on the bipartisan infrastructure deal are doubling down on their position that the House should pass the Senate's bipartisan infrastructure bill before moving to the Democrat-only $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package.
Why it matters: After a week of pressure from White House officials — as well as their own Democratic congressional leaders — the nine centrist lawmakers are not dropping their demands.
A federal judge on Thursday rejected former Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar's attempt to keep money in his prison account and ordered him to use it to pay his victims, the Washington Post reports.
Driving the news: U.S. District Court Judge Janet T. Neff said that Nassar owes his victims much more than he paid — about $100 per year in court-ordered penalties — despite technically following the Bureau of Prisons’ rules.
Prominent women's rights advocates, including poet laureate Amanda Gorman, are calling on the Biden administration to protect and support Afghan women and girls and "honor its commitment to gender equity."
Why it matters: The activists — including the actors Connie Britton and Charlize Theron, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg — are the latest advocates to try to increase pressure on President Biden to do more for Afghans who could face persecution from the Taliban.
The Texas Education Agency said in new guidance Thursday that it will temporarily stop enforcing Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on public school districts imposing mask mandates, citing ongoing litigation.
Driving the news: The guidance came the same day that the Texas Supreme Court declined to uphold the mask ban over a technicality, sending the case down to an appeals court.
Unvaccinated officers at the New York Police Department will be required to wear masks on duty or face disciplinary action, the department confirmed Friday.
Why it matters: Public and private entities are increasingly considering reinstating mask mandates amid a surge in Delta cases. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last month that all city employees, including law enforcement, must get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing.
The big picture: The department said it was the fourth round of sanctions since the beginning of the protests, which started to call attention to the widespread food and medicine shortages.
