Axios

First lady Jill Biden released her first statement on the U.S. withdrawing from Afghanistan and Thursday's attack in Kabul Friday afternoon.

Why it matters: In her role as first lady, Biden has prioritized military-focused initiatives. She said the attack in Kabul, which killed at least 13 U.S. troops, "left us with the stinging reality of the ultimate sacrifice you are willing to make."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection started detaining solar panel imports from Chinese companies that allegedly source products from Xinjiang forced labor, Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: China is the supply chain leader for solar energy equipment, but concerns over human rights violations led the Biden administration to order a ban in June.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett presented President Biden in their meeting today with what Israeli officials described as “a death by a thousand cuts” strategy against Iran.

Why it matters: Besides striking up a personal relationship, Bennett's primary goal in his first meeting with Biden was to express his sense of urgency about the significant progress Iran was making in its nuclear program, and Israel's new government conducted an Iran policy review prior to the visit.

The Marines and other service members who died at Abbey Gate on Thursday "were heroes in the truest sense of the word," Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) told Axios, based on what he saw them doing just two days earlier.

What they're saying: "I expected to see a gate with Marines on one side and Afghans on the other," Moulton said Friday. "That wasn't the case. The Marines had to go out, amidst the Afghans, with the Taliban yards away with their horse whips. ... I've never been more proud to be an American."

COVID's origin is still inconclusive, according to an unclassified intelligence report publicly released Friday.

Driving the news: Chinese officials had no knowledge of the virus prior to its initial outbreak, according to the report, though it doesn't rule out the lab leak or animal transmission theories. The intelligence community "remains divided."

At least 13 U.S. troops and scores of Afghan citizens were killed in a suicide bombing outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

What we know: The "complex attack" that struck in the sunset of the U.S.' longest war involved an explosion at the Abbey Gate entrance to the airport, the Pentagon said Friday. President Biden blamed ISIS-K for the "vicious attack," and vowed to retaliate.

"It's just a mess. We got the money and the planes, but the manifested people can't get into the airport. The flights may never fly."

That's how the CEO of a Silicon Valley startup valued at over $3 billion described his efforts to extract an employee and others from Afghanistan.

The green card that Atifa and her brother used to get back into the U.S. yesterday also put their lives at risk back in Kabul, when the Taliban searched door to door for Americans.

Driving the news: Axios interviewed the 21-year-old and her 18-year-old sibling, who went by his last name, Ahmadi, at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Va. They gave a first-hand account of the journey from Afghanistan to the U.S. — a terrifying, stressful, exhausting trip lasting nine days.

The Kabul airlift was already entering its endgame when ISIS-K, the terrorist group’s affiliate in Afghanistan, attacked outside the airport and killed 13 U.S. troops and an estimated 60 Afghans.

State of play: Most NATO allies have now ended their evacuation operations, including for their own civilians. Those already inside the airport are being flown out, but the gates are closed and Americans and Afghans alike have been urged to stay away. The U.S. military is preparing for its own evacuation and is on alert for additional attacks.

Prior to the fall of Kabul, President Biden dismissed the idea that he could trust the Taliban. "Is that a serious question?" he asked. "No, I do not."

Why it matters: He may not trust them, but as his administration has worked to evacuate Americans and Afghans, the entire mission has hinged on cooperation with a militant group that the U.S. spent years fighting.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will visit the White House Friday, a day later than originally planned, and he'll find a president in distress.

Why it matters: This is not how the new prime minister imagined his first meeting with President Biden. An hour before he was supposed to walk into the Oval Office, disaster struck in Kabul.

Thousands of Indigenous people marched this week in Brazil, dancing and chanting outside the Supreme Court to urge for protection of ancestral lands.

Why it matters: The landmark ruling will decide whether Indigenous people have the right to reclaim land occupied prior to 1988, when Brazil's constitution was ratified.

The U.S. Agency for International Development on Thursday announced it will give $32 million in humanitarian assistance to Haiti following the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck on Aug. 14.

State of play: USAID administrator Samantha Power said the aid will support those affected by the earthquake, per the Miami Herald. The organization said in a press release it will also help humanitarian partners deliver "urgently needed aid" such as health care services, food and water.

The United States will continue to evacuate people from Afghanistan after a terrorist bombing on Thursday killed 12 U.S. troops and an unknown number of Afghan civilians at the Kabul airport, Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, said during a press conference.

Why it matters: The attack came just days before President Biden's full military withdrawal date of Aug. 31 and further complicated already-chaotic evacuation efforts.

U.S. allies have rapidly begun to wind down their evacuation operations from Kabul amidst heightened security concerns and ahead of the August 31 withdrawal deadline.

Driving the news: The U.S. is in control of Kabul's airport but plans to end its operation by Aug. 31, which the Taliban considers a red line, and needs time to evacuate its troops. Thursday's attack at the airport will only increase the urgency. In the meantime, allies including Canada, Germany and Poland have already ended their evacuations.

Mexico is expediting documents to welcome Afghans, as the evacuations from Kabul ramp up before the Aug. 31 deadline for full U.S. withdrawal.

Details: Five members of the Afghan women’s robotics team landed Tuesday night in Mexico City, where they will have the option of seeking asylum.

The House Intelligence Committee is planning to hold a second, classified briefing on Afghanistan when members return to Washington, D.C., in September, a committee official tells Axios.

Why it matters: The planning comes as several members of Congress demand more information from the Biden administration regarding the unfolding crisis abroad as the U.S. approaches its Aug. 31 deadline to evacuate Americans from Afghanistan. It also comes just hours after multiple U.S. service members and civilians were killed in Kabul Thursday morning.

The State Department is asking Capitol Hill staff to stop engaging in “uncoordinated messaging” by directing people in Kabul to the airport, according to an email obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The message illustrates the level of confusion as the U.S. handles a developing situation following an explosion outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday that resulted in "a number of casualties" to civilians and U.S. troops.

The last U.S. Marine off the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon says the Afghanistan mission was too long, and he questions its purpose.

The big picture: Juan José Valdez's last-minute escape is recalled as Americans watch the images of Afghans rushing toward aircraft at the Kabul airport. The Mexican American master gunnery sergeant told Telemundo Noticias the anguish and despair seen in Afghanistan as the U.S. carries out a chaotic withdrawal is triggering memories of the similar scramble during his last days in Vietnam.

Japan halted the use of approximately 1.63 million doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine on Thursday after contamination was found in unused vials, AP reports.

Why it matters: The pause comes amid Japan's worst wave of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and as pressure mounts to accelerate vaccinations nationwide, the New York Times notes.

Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Thursday a deal with Brazilian pharmaceutical company Eurofarma to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine for distribution in Latin America.

Why it matters: Latin American countries have struggled to vaccinate their populations due to a low supply of doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. The new deal would boost local manufacturing and distribution of doses.

Western nations are warning of a serious security threat outside Kabul's airport and have urged citizens not to travel there.

Driving the news: The Biden administration said there was a "credible" threat at the airport in Afghanistan's capital from an ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, per the New York Times. The British and Australian governments issued similar statements Thursday of an "ongoing and high threat of terrorist attack" in the area.

Steve Coll plans a final volume in his panoramic and investigative series on the U.S. misadventure in Central Asia, Penguin Press says.

What's next: His new work will pick up from where the his latest work left off, to the fall of Kabul and beyond.

The U.S. has been scrambling not only to evacuate thousands of people each day from Kabul's international airport, but also to find and prepare places for them to go.

Why it matters: Insufficient processing capacity was a major hurdle early in the evacuation process, and is still an issue as the number of evacuees rises. But the Pentagon says 14 "temporary safe havens" are now available in the Gulf and Europe, and that number is likely to grow.