5 things to know for September 10: Coronavirus, Afghanistan, September 11, Texas, China

The first international passenger flight to take off from Afghanistan since the chaotic U.S. military airlift last month landed in Qatar with more than 100 foreign nationals, including Americans, a source said. Passengers on the Qatar Airways charter flight from Kabul airport, including Canadian, Ukrainian, German, British and American citizens, were among about 200 foreigners the Taliban have left out of the country. The departure of the plane is the first sign after weeks of uncertainty that at least some foreign nationals who want to leave Afghanistan will be able to do so. In addition, the last known member of Afghanistan’s Jewish community has left the country and taken with 30 other people, including 28 women and children, on a five-day security mission. The White House approved a plan to coordinate with outside groups to evacuate U.S. citizens and allies, as life under the Taliban rule continues to look bleak, especially for women. Women have been whipped up in protests and now the nation is one of the few that does not have women in the forefront of government.

As the nation turns twenty years old from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, New York officials say the remains of two more victims have been identified through DNA testing. Dorothy Morgan and a man asking for her name at the request of her family were the 1,646th person and the 1,647th person identified as victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the city’s main medical office said. These were the first World Trade Center victim identifications since October 2019. The remains of more than 1,100 victims (approximately 40% of those who died there) have not yet been identified. Ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary, police are investigating why some U.S. flags from a Sept. 11 memorial in Boston were knocked down or damaged this week. And a pastor who felt called by God to pray on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on the 20th anniversary of the attacks will not be able to, a federal judge decided, because security concerns around the building are still too great.

Biden’s Justice Department has sued Texas for its new six-week abortion ban, claiming state law is unconstitutional. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the “unprecedented” design of Texas law seeks to “prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights by frustrating judicial control for as long as possible.” By law, abortion is prohibited when a fetal heartbeat is detected and there is no exception for rape or incest, although there is an exemption for “medical emergency”. Since the law went into effect, Texas clinics have stopped offering abortions after six weeks or have closed. “The act is clearly unconstitutional under the long-standing Supreme Court precedent,” Garland said. U.S. Supreme Court Judge Stephen Breyer found the recent high court’s refusal to block the controversial law to be very, very, very wrong.

Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping as relations between the two countries remain strained, especially in cyberspace, and the United States accuses China of widespread wrongdoing, including a massive attack on Microsoft’s e-mail system. and other ransomware attacks. “The two leaders had a broad strategic debate in which they discussed areas where our interests converge and areas where our interests, values ​​and perspectives diverge,” a reading of the call said at the White House. An official described the tone of the call, which Biden took from the Treaty Room of the White House residence, as “respectful” and “familiar and frank.” According to Chinese state media, Xi told Biden that US policy toward China has caused “serious difficulties” for countries’ relations. The call marked the second time leaders have spoken since Biden was president.

Is the fall already here? Pumpkin Spice Lattes is back in action.

The Carters bring some love to five historically black universities and colleges.

Just when you thought the references to strange celestial objects couldn’t be more ridiculous, astronomers have detected an asteroid that looks a lot like a dog bone.

The question is: will anyone buy them?

The kiwi singer re-recorded the songs in te reo Māori, the language of the natives of New Zealand.

This is the striking value of an art collection coming to market after the high-profile divorce proceedings of New York real estate developer Harry Macklowe and his wife, Linda. It’s “the highest estimate ever made in any collection that goes up for auction,” Sotheby’s said. The 65 works of art include those of Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Alberto Giacometti, Jeff Koons, Mark Rothko and Cy Twombly.

The 18-year-old beat Maria Sakkari, of Greece, to set the final for teenagers at the US Open. (Click here to see it.)