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Monday 08.23.21

Labor shortages may get even more dire in the US for companies that rely on international workers as visa issues and pandemic restrictions thin the candidate pool. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.
 

By AJ Willingham

American soldiers guard a wall at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Afghanistan

Chaos continues to reign at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan as tens of thousands of people remain, waiting to escape Taliban rule. Dozens of US military transport jets are expected to land there today to ferry some of the roughly 20,000 people still at the facility. The Defense Department is also mobilizing commercial airline flights to help with evacuations. One thing that spurred on the new crush of people was the issuance of electronic visas to Special Immigrant Visa applicants, without names or document numbers. Some people then copied those visas electronically and sent them to others who didn't have authorization to be at the airport. Some families are reportedly so desperate to leave, they are being split up and boarding flights to different countries. 

Extreme weather

Tropical Storm Henri made landfall yesterday on the Rhode Island coast, bringing widespread power outages and damaging storm surge. The system has weakened to a tropical depression but is still delivering dangerous weather to the Northeast. In Tennessee, swift and severe flooding brought on by near-record rain has left at least 21 people dead and 20 others missing. Photos from the area show the extent of the damage, with hollowed-out houses and waterlogged roads full of destroyed vehicles. On the other coast, nine national forests in California are closed today as firefighters struggle to contain 11 large wildfires.

Coronavirus

Full US Food and Drug Administration approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is "imminent," according to a senior federal official. Another official said the approval could come in the next two weeks or as early as today. Pfizer's vaccine has so far been distributed under an FDA emergency use authorization. Full approval could help businesses, schools and states enforce vaccine mandates and encourage some hesitant people to get the jab. If approval leads to higher vaccination rates -- and if people remember to get booster shots -- health professionals are hoping it will be enough to curb the latest worsening pandemic surge. 

White House

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Southeast Asia this week, making her the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit the continent so far. Her time in Vietnam and Singapore was supposed to be a friendly diplomatic visit to promote the White House's message that "America is back." However, with the dire situation in Afghanistan, things are much thornier. Now, Harris has to convince Southeast Asian nations that the US is sincere in its long-term commitment to the region and can handle relations competently. Harris will also focus on mutual priorities like economic growth, climate change and pandemic solutions. China is on the agenda as well, with a focus on regional security issues amid concerns over China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Voting rights

The battle over voting rights in the US will likely heat up again this week. In Arizona, the sham "audit" report of 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County in the 2020 presidential election is supposed to be delivered today to the Republican state senators who ordered it. The company conducting the so-called audit did not follow standard auditing procedures, and elections experts have said for months that results will not be credible. Meanwhile, in Texas, Democrats in the state House have ended their quorum-busting effort to freeze a restrictive voting bill. Now, Republicans are free to push ahead to pass the bill, which contains items like mail-in ballot restrictions, a drive-thru voting ban and restrictions to early voting. Looking ahead, activists plan to gather Saturday for a March on Washington to advocate for voting rights. 

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