https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/afghanistan-kabul-airport-us-soldiers-b1903374.html

United States troops shot and killed two armed men at Kabul airport Monday after they fired on US forces, according to a Pentagon official.

The deaths came amid chaotic scenes at the airport as US forces try to pull the remaining officials out of Afghanistan.

A Defense Department official told CNN the men who were shot dead on Monday were carrying weapons, but could not confirm whether they were members of the Taliban.

They said the incident appears to be a one-off.

In a separate incident, a US soldier was shot at the airport. No further details were available.

>>14367672

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/afghanistan-taliban-soldiers-weapons-civilians-b1903340.html

Afghanistan: Taliban confiscating weapons from civilians because they ‘no longer need them’

Arms taken away as people risk lives to flee new regime

Afghan civilians are being stripped of their weapons because they can now "feel safe" and no longer need them, the Tablian has claimed.

A Taliban spokesperson said its fighters have been confiscating arms in the capital Kabul, which fell to the extremist group on Sunday.

"We understand people kept weapons for personal safety," the spokesperson said. "We are not here to harm innocent civilians".

The comments came as footage from Kabul airport showed chaos break out as people tried to board planes in a bid to escape the Islamist group, with some clinging onto to a US military aircraft.

At least seven people are reported dead and video shared on social media appears to show people falling from the US C-17 plane as it takes off.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article253521754.html

An Afghan military plane was downed by Uzbekistan's air defense system on Sunday over an attempt to illegally enter the country's air space, Uzbek authorities said Monday.

The downing took place in southeastern Uzbekistan, in the Surkhandarya region on the border with Afghanistan.

A plane crash was first reported by local media. Uzbekistan’s Defense Ministry initially said it was studying videos and reports of the crash, then confirmed the plane crash took place without offering any details. Only later Monday did officials revealed that the plane was downed.

Ministry officials told Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency that the country’s air defense system “averted an attempt by an Afghan military plane to illegally cross Uzbekistan’s air border.”

It wasn't immediately clear what type of plane it was or how many people were on board.

The Defense Ministry initially said one Afghan serviceman was injured after ejecting himself from the plane. Later Monday, RIA Novosti reported that two pilots from the plane survived the crash and have been hospitalized in serious condition.

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/business/national-business/article253522029.html

Five years after Barack Obama chose Chicago as the site for his legacy project, construction officially began Monday on the Obama Presidential Center.

Roadway closures were set up and a bulldozer pulled up to start digging up part of the 19-acre lakefront site in Jackson Park, which is near the Obama family home and the University of Chicago where the former president once taught law. The Obama Foundation, which announced preliminary work in April, said a formal groundbreaking ceremony would take place in the fall.

“We are incredibly proud to build the Obama Presidential Center here, just a couple of miles away from where President and Mrs. Obama started their journey,” Valerie Jarrett, president of the Obama Foundation, said in a statement. “We are on the heels of the work of so many whose efforts made the election of our first Black president possible. We look forward to delivering on the commitments we’ve made to our neighbors and our fellow Chicagoans as we continue on our road to groundbreaking.”

Meanwhile one of the Democrats goals has been achieved

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/12/us-2020-census-white-population-declines

US’s white population declines for first time ever, 2020 census finds

White population falls below 60%, underscoring what’s at stake as lawmakers begin drawing political maps