Americans Flee As Taliban Takes Kabul; Cop Saves Choking Child

Good morning! It’s Monday, Aug. 16 and here are a few things to catch up on as the work week begins: A police officer gets honored for saving a choking child, the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan’s capital as the U.S. evacuates, more than 1,000 are dead after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, Tropical Storm Fred nears the Florida panhandle and The Conversation shares five #MeToo-era takeaways.

Taliban Takes Kabul

The Taliban have advanced into the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, as the U.S. continues its drawdown from a war that has lasted two decades over the weekend.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, according to reports, as Afghan residents and Americans alike looked to do the same. Fears abound are that the Taliban will return to their brutal rule that all but eliminated women’s rights, according to The Associated Press.

Earlier on Sunday, Americans in Kabul were told to "shelter in place" by the U.S. Embassy.

A Taliban spokesman and negotiator told the AP that the militant group is holding talks aimed at forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government” in Afghanistan.

Amid the fallout, the United States is sending another 1,000 troops to Afghanistan, raising the U.S. deployment to roughly 6,000. Read it from The Associated Press

Cop Does The Heimlich

Detective Richard Jupinka has been named the “Officer of the Week” in New Jersey after word spread about him saving the life of a child who was choking a month ago.

Jupinka was on duty while at a café in Manchester Township when he noticed a young girl choking and unable to breath. The detective performed the Heimlich maneuver, which cleared the food obstruction from the girl’s airway and allowed her to breathe normally again. Read the full story on the Manchester, New Jersey, Patch

Fred Approaching Landfall

A storm surge watch is in effect for the coast of the Florida panhandle, where residents are rushing to sandbag their homes ahead of the expected landfall of Tropical Storm Fred.

The center of the storm is expected to move across the eastern and northern Gulf of Mexico through Monday, then make landfall in the western Florida Panhandle Monday afternoon or Monday night. Go to Pensacola, Florida, Patch for the latest

Haiti Earthquake Deaths Mount

More than 1,000 people have died from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday. Thousands more are injured, as the region braces now braces for a tropical storm. Read more from The Associated Press

Tour Bus Crash Injures 50

More than 50 people were injured in New York state over the weekend when a tour bus went off the roadway and onto the grassy shoulder of an interstate. The bus was headed for Niagara Falls. Read more from Mid Hudson Valley, New York, Patch

#MeToo Takeaways

The recent Andrew Cuomo scandal has led a writer from The Conversation to share a few takeaways from the #MeToo movement that gained momentum four years ago. Read more from The Conversation

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