Good morning. It's Thursday, April 15, and we're covering plans to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, the death of an infamous fraudster, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Afghanistan War to End

President Joe Biden announced details yesterday on a plan to fully withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, effectively ending the longest war in US history. That date would mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that ultimately led to the war. 

The decision extends a May 1 deadline for full withdrawal established under a 2020 deal between the Trump administration and the Taliban. That agreement rested on a number of provisions that have proved difficult to realize, including an inter-Afghan peace deal and a decrease in Taliban violence. The new plan is nonconditional.

More than 2,350 Americans have died and at least 20,000 others wounded during the two-decade-long war, along with more than 38,000 Afghan civilians killed. A government analysis projected the long-term cost of the conflict to exceed $2.4T. As of early this year, 2,500 troops remained in the country—though the force was bolstered by more than 18,000 contractors. 

The announcement comes one day after the 2021 threat assessment determined the Taliban were poised to make gains against the Afghan government over the following year. Biden's decision garnered both bipartisan praise and backlash on Capitol Hill.

See a complete timeline of the war here.

Bernie Madoff Dies

Disgraced financier Bernie Madoff died of natural causes yesterday at the age of 82. His death came as he was behind bars serving a 150-year sentence for financial fraud totaling nearly $65B by one estimate, the largest scam of its type uncovered in US history. 

Known early on as an investor whose advice regularly defied market dynamics, Madoff's name eventually became synonymous with modern Ponzi schemes (how they work). The specific type of fraud relies on using funds from new clients to generate returns for old clients—a base that grows over time—while masking the returns as investment profit. Though the scheme was long suspected by certain analysts and major Wall Street firms, the fraud wasn't uncovered until 2008 during the Great Recession, when Madoff ran out of money to pay existing clients. 

See the high-profile names that fell victim to the scheme.

Charges in Minneapolis

An officer involved in a fatal shooting in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, will face charges of second-degree manslaughter, prosecutors announced yesterday. Twenty-year-old Daunte Wright, a Black resident of the Minneapolis suburb, was killed by former officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop Sunday afternoon. 

Potter, a 26-year-old veteran of the force, claims she mistakenly pulled her gun instead of her Taser as Wright attempted to flee from being detained (see body camera footage; warning, sensitive content). Experts say such mistakes are rare, with documented instances occurring about once a year. At least 24 people were arrested during the fourth night of protests since the shooting.

The incident happened just 10 miles from the courthouse where the trial of Derek Chauvin for the May killing of George Floyd is being held. Chauvin's defense is currently presenting its case, including a medical examiner who yesterday argued Floyd may have died from cardiac arrest, not a lack of oxygen. A verdict is expected next week; see key moments from yesterday here.

56% of Americans can't name an objective news source—share 1440 with a friend. 

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Colton Underwood, former reality star of 2019 season of “The Bachelor,” comes out as gay (More) | Underwood signs deal with Netflix for new reality show (More)

> ABC News taps veteran CBS executive Kimberly Godwin as its next president, the first Black woman to lead a major broadcast news division (More)

> Soccer: Real Madrid and Manchester City join Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in UEFA Champions League semifinal (More) | Read the 1440 guide to UEFA (More)

Science & Technology

> US health officials to continue pause of Johnson & Johnson vaccine after internal meeting, will seek more data on potential blood clot link (More) | See our previous writeup on the issue (More) | Almost 48% of US adults have received at least one vaccine dose (More)

> Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin win defense contract to design a nuclear-based propulsion system for spacecraft (More) | Separately, the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin completes a launch and landing test of its New Shepard rocket (More) 

> The largest known flying animals, the azhdarchid pterosaur, had necks longer than giraffes supported by a unique internal vertebrae structure that resembled a helical bicycle wheel, new study finds (More)

Business & Markets

Brought to you by The Ascent

> Shares of Coinbase trade as high as $429 on first day of trading after direct listing initial public offering, close at $328 valuing the cryptocurrency trading giant at $86B (More)

> Wall Street banks post record quarterly profits, as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan see higher trading and investment banking revenues (More)

> More than 100 companies including Apple, Amazon, and Starbucks sign letter to oppose restrictions on state voting rights (More)

From our partners: Don’t miss this historic refi window. No matter what you bought your home at, there's no stopping you from refinancing at the incredible market rates today, which can amount to thousands in savings. Carpe diem, while it lasts.

Politics & World Affairs

> Prosecutors allege Kristin Smart, whose high-profile case captured nationwide attention in 1996, was raped and murdered by former classmate (More) | How a podcast helped crack the case (More)

> US set to announce sanctions on Russia over its involvement in a sweeping hacking campaign that compromised thousands of organizations, including a number of government agencies (More) | What was the SolarWinds attack? (More)

> Rep. Kevin Brady (R, TX-8), to retire in 2022 after 13 terms; Brady, term-limited as the ranking chair on the House Ways and Means Committee, helped lead the 2017 tax reform package (More)

IN-DEPTH

The Lives of Others

Atavist | Lindsay Jones. In the appropriately named town Come By Chance, two women gave birth on the same day, only to have their babies unknowingly switched. Fifty years later, a chance encounter uncovered the terrible secret of the town hospital. (Read)

A Mysterious Suicide Cluster

New Yorker | DT Max. A series of suicides at a small Missouri college, all by the same method, each with varying degrees of connection to the same person. Was something sinister at play, or was it a case of misplaced blame? (Read, $$)

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ETCETERA

Americans rank US states from best to worst.

The greatest movie quotes of the century (so far).

Humans have at least six types of screams. ($$, NatGeo)

The 25 highest paying internships for 2021.

The Ever Given owes the Suez Canal $900M.

Sexually transmitted diseases at an all-time high—for the sixth straight year.

The joke that obscured the shot that killed Lincoln. ($$, WashPo)

The winner of TikTok's biggest baby birth weight challenge.

Clickbait: Nothing to see here, just a venomous snake in your lettuce.

Historybook: RIP President Abraham Lincoln (1865); RMS Titanic sinks after hitting an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 (1912); Jackie Robinson breaks color barrier, becomes first Black major league baseball player (1947); HBD actress Emma Watson (1990); Two bombs explode at Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring 264 (2013).

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me. All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."

- Jackie Robinson

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