Good morning. It's Monday, Aug. 23, and we're covering downpours from the Mid-South to New England, pockets of resistance in Afghanistan, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Tennessee Floods

At least 21 people were killed, with dozens missing, after flash floods hit areas west of Nashville, Tennessee. Some parts of the region saw more than 15 inches of rain Saturday morning, with officials in rural areas saying it was the worst flooding in three decades. See footage from the aftermath here.

Separately, more than 50 million people were under a severe weather warning yesterday, waiting out Tropical Storm Henri as it passed over New England. The system, which reached Category 1 hurricane status before weakening, made landfall yesterday afternoon along Rhode Island. Had it sustained intensity, it would've marked New England's first direct hurricane landfall in three decades.

New York City saw its wettest hour on record, with 1.94 inches falling between 10 and 11 pm Saturday. At least 140,000 households lost power by yesterday afternoon. See photos of the impact here.

The storm is expected to take a sharp 90-degree bend, moving across Massachusetts, Maine, and Newfoundland by Tuesday. See the trajectory here.

Afghan Resistance

Anti-Taliban fighters drove the militant group from three districts over the weekend, the most significant armed challenge to the group's reign since seizing control of the country last weekend. The districts sit in the Panjshir Valley, the main bastion of resistance during previous Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, with fighters led by the former vice president, Amrullah Saleh. 

Located in a relatively isolated pocket north of Kabul (see map), analysts say the resistance needs to carve a line to neighboring countries, likely Tajikistan to the north, in order to establish supply routes. 

In Kabul, at least seven people were killed yesterday, crushed by panicked crowds attempting to gain entrance to the Kabul airport—see footage from the scene here (warning: sensitive content). 

The Biden administration said it would enlist at least 18 commercial airliners from six airlines to assist in the evacuation efforts. It's the third time in history the US government has utilized the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, established in the wake of World War II. The aircraft will not fly into Kabul but focus on evacuees who've been transported to intermediate locations. 

Pentagon officials said 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans, had been evacuated over the past week. It is unclear how many Americans remain, though early estimates suggested between 10,000 and 15,000 Americans were on the ground when the Taliban seized control.  

Recovery in Haiti

The death toll from an earthquake that rocked Haiti a week ago rose to more than 2,200, according to reports over the weekend. Officials estimate almost 12,300 people are injured, with more than 50,000 houses destroyed. The recovery effort has been hampered by challenges in getting aid to victims.

The quake was stronger than the 7.0-magnitude strike that devasted Haiti in 2010, though officials have said the country had not yet recovered from the previous disaster. Haiti is particularly prone to earthquakes, sitting near the intersection of the North American and the Caribbean tectonic plates.

See photos of the rescue and recovery efforts here (paywall, Atlantic).

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Mike Richards steps down just nine days after being named new host of "Jeopardy!" amid backlash over comments he made as a former podcast host (More)

> Don Everly, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and one-half of pioneering sibling duo The Everly Brothers, dies at 84 (More)

> NBA releases full regular-season schedule for 2021-22 season, its 75th anniversary (More) | American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson finishes last in first 100-meter race after missing Olympics due to substance ban; Jamaican women sweep podium (More)

Science & Technology

> Study pinpoints a key amino acid change facilitating the increased transmissibility of the coronavirus delta variant (More)

> Researchers demonstrate an implantable biometric chip capable of monitoring real-time health signals (More)

> Breast milk guards against a common form of bacterial disease in infants, study suggests; oligosaccharides, a type of sugar found in human milk, helps block group B Streptococcus bacteria (More)

Business & Markets

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> General Motors to recall over 70,000 Bolt electric vehicles due to potentially defective battery modules costing the company $1B (More)

> The Topps Co. terminates its proposed special purpose acquisition company merger valuing company at $1.3B after Major League Baseball ends its 70-year-old trading card deal in favor of Fanatics (More)

> Apple postpones its return to corporate offices from October until January at the earliest due to pandemic cases (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> US vaccination rate rises in response to a surge in cases; roughly 1 million shots per day were administered Thursday through Sunday, with average daily shots having doubled since late July (More)

> California's Caldor Fire grows to more than 100,000 acres, at 5% containment (More) | Dixie Fire passes 720,000 acres consumed (More) | Greenwood Fire in northeastern Minnesota grows to 9,000 acres (More)

> New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set for last day in office ahead of Aug. 24 resignation; Cuomo stepped down among a number of sexual misconduct allegations (More)

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ETCETERA

Go inside the world's most popular Airbnb.

Texas company launches on-demand emergency drone service. 

Captivating high-speed skateboarding in Switzerland. (via YouTube)

The National Zoo's newest giant panda celebrates his first birthday.

Americans' belief in aliens is growing.

There's a fleet of electric submarines mapping the seafloor.

Sculpture gardens are growing off the Mediterranean coast. 

Wally the walrus gets a pontoon.

Clickbait: Ice worms emerge from Pacific Northwest glaciers.

Historybook: Actor River Phoenix born (1970); Salad Bowl strike begins; largest farmworker strike in US history (1970); Kobe Bryant born (1978); HBD 12-time Olympic swimming medalist Natalie Coughlin (1982); World Wide Web opens to the public (1991).

"Without goals, training has no direction."

- Natalie Coughlin

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