3 Things To Know Today

1 Top Generals Wanted A Small Force To Stay In Afghanistan

Top military leaders said yesterday they recommended to President Joe Biden that the U.S. keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan after the August 31 withdrawal deadline. The Congressional testimony of General Frank McKenzie, who oversaw the withdrawal as the head of U.S. Central Command, and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, contradicts the message Biden had given last month. In an ABC interview, the president was asked if any of his military advisers told him to leave 2,500 troops in the country, and Biden replied “No, no one said that to me that I can recall.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki pushed back against claims that Biden had been dishonest with the public, saying “The president made clear that the advice was split.” In yesterday’s hearing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin defended the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and noted the failure of the Afghan government to retain power. Austin also said that maintaining control of Bagram Airfield until the evacuation was finished would have required up to 5,000 troops and “would have contributed little to the mission.”

2 White House Touts People Getting Booster Shots In High Numbers

According to White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients yesterday, over 400,000 Americans got a COVID-19 booster shot at pharmacies over the weekend. Zients also announced that almost a million people have scheduled a booster at a pharmacy in the coming weeks. Overall, close to three million Americans have received an extra dose since they were made available for those with weakened immune systems, according to CDC data. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on a series of recommendations Friday, including booster doses for older Americans and adults with underlying medical conditions at least six months after their second shot. Zients made clear that, while booster shots are important, the administration is still focusing on first and second shots for those not fully vaccinated as their top priority. The current boosters are the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; Moderna submitted its application for booster shots on September 1, and Johnson and Johnson has now submitted their vaccine for booster shot approval.

3 The Post Office Is Changing Prices And Delivery Windows

Complaints on delivery times by the post office have been on the rise and starting Friday delivery times are going to get even slower for first-class packages…on purpose. As the first step in the U.S. Postal Service’s 10-year strategic plan, announced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in March, the time-in-transit will be longer for first-class packages. Postal Service spokeswoman Kim Frum says with the changes “most first-class mail and periodicals will be unaffected.” The current delivery time for first-class mail is one to three days, but packages will no longer be held to that standard for delivery time. Prices are also going up on Sunday for all Postal Service deliveries; it’s a seasonal increase due to the increase in mail volume during the holiday season. The price increases are temporary, lasting only until December 26.


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