3 Things To Know Today

Vintage movie countdown, illustration

1 Biden Lays Out Troop Withdrawal

The U.S. will end its long military involvement in Afghanistan. That’s the word from President Biden, who spoke at the White House and noted that the U.S. entered Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago. As you’ll recall, that was shortly after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Biden said it's been roughly ten years since the U.S. killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and argued it's time to end America's longest war and bring U.S. troops home. There are roughly three-thousand U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The President said a gradual, final withdrawal will start on May 1st. He added, "It's time to end this forever war." To that end, Biden warned the Afghan Taliban not to interfere. The withdrawal will be completed shortly before the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks in September. He said the U.S. "cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan, hoping to create ideal conditions" for a withdrawal.

2 CDC Postpones Decision on J&J Vaccine

The CDC is pushing back a decision on Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine to a week from now. As we told you before, the vaccine's use has been paused over concerns about blood clotting. A CDC advisory panel decided not to make a decision on lifting the pause so that they have more time to look at the cause of the rare, but serious clotting issues. According to officials, just six women have developed blood clots after getting the single-dose vaccine. While one of those women died and another is in critical condition, five of the six reportedly had pre-existing conditions. It’s the sample size of issues and the specificity of those affected that has a number of experts slamming the CDC decision. Among them? Dr. Ashish Jha, the Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Taking to Twitter, Dr. Jha said a few days’ pause made sense – not what’s happening now. “We’re in a pandemic,” he writes. “Short pause to alert folks is reasonable. Waiting when its unlikely to change what we know is not.”

3 Daunte Wright Protests Continue As Officer Has Her First Day In Court

Protesters in Minnesota have defied curfew for another night. Police in riot gear moved in to clear a crowd in front of a police station in Brooklyn Center shortly after a 10pm curfew went into effect – and 24 were arrested in all. It's the fourth straight night of protests over the police killing of Daunte Wright. As we’ve been telling you, the 20-year-old was killed during a traffic stop Sunday. The now-former police officer who shot him has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. Kim Potter posted bond and was released after her arrest yesterday on a $100-thousand bond – she’ll make her first court appearance later today. If she’s ultimately convicted at trial, the charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.


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