USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan, a figure that suggests the U.S. may accomplish its highest priority for the Kabul airlift — rescuing U.S. citizens — ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline despite growing concerns of terror threats targeting the airport.

Untold thousands of at-risk Afghans, however, were still struggling to get into the Kabul airport, while many thousands of other Afghans already had been flown to safety in 12 days of round-the-clock flights.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- UN officials and representatives of member countries on Tuesday noted that escalating conflict and a deepening economic crisis have pushed humanitarian needs to the highest levels in Syria, as the Security Council met on the situation in the war-torn country.

UN special envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen stressed the importance of "an immediate end" to the violence, as he drew attention to the heavy shelling and ground clashes in Syria's southern province of Daraa.

NEW YORK, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- China scored a victory with its stringent zero-COVID-19 approach, as no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported on Monday nationwide for the first time since July, and it "could become the world's first country to control a major Delta outbreak," CNN reported on Monday.

The Delta outbreak recently has been "the biggest challenge yet to China's uncompromising zero tolerance virus policy," it said. Local authorities responded by imposing strict lockdown, conducting massive testing and tracing campaigns, and restricting domestic travels.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Military troops must immediately begin to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo Wednesday, ordering service leaders to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation.”

More than 800,000 service members have yet to get their shots, according to Pentagon data. And now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Defense Department is adding it to the list of required shots troops must get as part of their military service.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s meeting with President Joe Biden comes in the midst of heightened tensions with its regional arch-enemy, Iran, and as Israel grapples with a gradual resurgence of hostilities on its southern border with the Gaza Strip.

Bennett, in his first state visit overseas since taking office, was scheduled to meet Wednesday with senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and on Thursday with Biden.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two members of Congress flew unannounced into Kabul airport in the middle of the ongoing chaotic evacuation Tuesday, stunning State Department and U.S. military personnel who had to divert resources to provide security and information to the lawmakers, U.S. officials said.

HONOLULU (AP) — Geologists on Tuesday said they had detected a swarm of earthquakes at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, though it is not erupting.

The quakes began overnight and continued into the morning, The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

More than 140 earthquakes were recorded as of 4:30 a.m. The largest was magnitude 3.3. Most were less than magnitude 1.

ELY, Minn. (AP) — Ely is typically teeming this time of year with visitors heading out on or returning from excursions into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. But about the only cars in the northeastern Minnesota town with canoes strapped to their tops this week are leaving.

Several fires inside and just outside the country’s most visited wilderness area led officials to close it last weekend, dealing a blow to those who spent months planning their trips there and to the outfitters and other businesses that depend on them.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Ash rained down on Lake Tahoe on Tuesday and thick yellow smoke blotted out views of the mountains rimming its pristine blue waters as a massive wildfire threatened the alpine vacation spot on the California-Nevada state line.

Tourists ducked into cafes, outdoor gear shops and casinos on Lake Tahoe Boulevard for a respite from hazardous air coming from an erratic blaze less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police didn’t adequately respond to frantic calls for help from officers when they pressed panic buttons on their radios seeking immediate backup as scores of pro-Trump rioters beat officers with bats, poles and other weapons, an inspector general’s report found.

The report obtained by The Associated Press offered new details about the shortcomings by law enforcement during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.