Good morning. It's Monday, Aug. 9, and we're covering the end of the Olympics, a historic fire in California, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Olympics Wrap

After more than two weeks of competition, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad came to an end yesterday, with athletes filling Tokyo's National Stadium. Similar to the opening ceremony, the elaborate performance proceeded largely absent of fans due to COVID-19 protocols. See highlights of the closing ceremony here.

It was a banner year for banner performances, with at least 20 records across multiple sports. Some partially attributed the success, particularly in track and field, to technological advances in shoes, spikes, and track materials. 

Ratings also fell (paywall, NYT) to the chagrin of networks and sponsors. An estimated 16.8 million US viewers tuned in per night, down by more than 12 million from the 2016 games. Television officials have blamed the time delay with Tokyo and a lack of energy from crowdless stadiums for the slump.

Team USA ended on a high note. Speedster Allyson Felix became the most decorated US track athlete in Olympic history. Felix picked up her 10th and 11th medals—a bronze in the 400-meter sprint and a gold in the 4x400-meter relays. On the court, the women's basketball team claimed their seventh straight gold, beating Japan 90-75, while the men's team won gold after beating France 87-82.

Overall, the US topped the final medal count in both gold (39) and overall (113) medals. See a breakdown of the US medals here.

Don't blink—the Paralympics begin Aug. 24, while the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing are just six months away.

Dixie Fire Rages

Northern California's Dixie Fire has grown to the largest single-source wildfire in state history and the second biggest overall, having consumed roughly 490,000 acres as of this morning (21% containment). Most of the damage surrounds the Lake Almanor reservoir, having spread across Lassen Volcanic National Park and Plumas National Forest (see map). At least five people are missing, with thousands under evacuation from small towns in the area. 

The blaze began 27 days ago, potentially sparked by faulty power equipment. Driven by high temperatures and unpredictable winds, the fire leveled the town of Greenville (w/video) last week, destroying almost 100 homes. Many have drawn parallels to the area's 2018 Camp Fire—the deadliest in state history—which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise. 

Fire officials said the Dixie Fire may be fully contained by Aug. 20, pending weather conditions.

Taliban Advance

Taliban fighters have captured the northern provincial capital of Kunduz, according to reports from Afghanistan over the weekend. It marks the largest city to fall to the militant group since it launched an offensive in May, and comes just weeks before the Biden administration's deadline for US withdrawal from the country. Afghanistan's sixth-largest city (pop. 375,000), Kunduz is viewed as a strategic priority and a commercial hub, positioned near the border with Tajikistan. 

The city also became the fifth provincial capital to fall since Friday. Cities captured by Taliban militants took control of Zaranj in the southwest Friday and Sheberghan in the north Saturday. Officials fear the country's capital of Kabul and its second-largest city, Kandahar, are at risk of becoming boxed in by Taliban-controlled or -contested land. 

See a time-lapse map of Taliban territorial gains since April.

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A CHANGE IN TACTICS

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

Brought to you by The Ascent

> Bobby Bowden, College Football Hall of Famer and one of the all-time winningest coaches in history, dies at 91 of pancreatic cancer (More) | Football world reacts to Bowden's death (More)

> Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, cofounder of soul-funk band Kool & the Gang, dies at 70 (More) | New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival canceled for second straight year due to COVID-19 (More)

> Olympics: Canadian soccer player Quinn becomes first openly transgender athlete to win an Olympic medal (More) | Neeraj Chopra wins javelin to bring India its first-ever Olympic gold in track and field (More) | Team USA tops Brazil to win its first gold medal in women's volleyball (More)

From our partners: This new credit card is a reward-seeker's dream, offering 2% cash rewards on all purchases (no more tracking categories) and a generous sign-up bonus. The Ascent's independent team of experts has awarded it the coveted five-star rating. Learn more today.

Science & Technology

> Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases the first in a series of updates on its global warming assessment; summary finds the world is warming faster than expected, with temperatures likely to exceed key benchmarks before 2040 (More)

> SpaceX demonstrates the stacking of its Starship spacecraft on top of its Super Heavy rocket, creating the world's tallest rocket (More) | NASA's Perseverance Martian rover fails to collect rock sample on first attempt (More)

> Researchers identify trio of immunotherapy drugs that eliminate pancreatic cancer tumors in mice when used in combination; one of the deadliest cancers, the disease affects roughly 60,000 Americans per year (More)

Business & Markets

> US economy adds 943,000 jobs in July, higher than 850,000 expected; unemployment rate drops from 5.9% to 5.4% (More)

> Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian majority state-owned oil business, sees quarterly net income jump 288% over last year to $25.5B as demand for oil recovers (More)

> Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sees quarterly operating income increase 21% over last year; business has $144B in cash on hand (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Rolling average of new COVID-19 cases in the US nears 110,000 per day, up almost 650% since the beginning of July; daily deaths up about 200% over the same time, now averaging more than 500 per day (More)

> Former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) files criminal complaint; the former staffer is one of 11 women to publicly accuse Cuomo of sexual misconduct (More) | Cuomo faces Friday deadline to respond to possible impeachment probe by state lawmakers (More)

> Senate clears filibuster on the $1T bipartisan infrastructure package in 67-27 vote over the weekend; final vote expected this week as amendment negotiations continue (More)

MAILBOX IS THE NEW INBOX

In partnership with Lob

Digital burnout is real. With most people living and working entirely online, it's no wonder digital marketing response rates are dropping.

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ETCETERA

The Olympics' best photos. 

... and the Games' best robot helpers.

SpaceX wants to launch digital billboards into orbit.

Interactive journey reveals the top songs of each week since 1958.

Spend time creating and saving your own Jackson Pollock painting.

Eight-year-old boy's lemonade stand gets the Sturgis boost.

Perfectly preserved 28,000-year-old cave lion cub found in Siberia. 

Jersey man's lawn-mowing charity expands to 16 states. 

Clickbait: Mad spider scientists genetically engineer a daddy short legs.

Historybook: US drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing 40,000+ (1945); Whitney Houston born (1963); Actress Sharon Tate, four others are murdered by Manson Family (1969); Gerald Ford becomes US president as Richard Nixon resigns (1974); RIP musician Jerry Garcia (1995).

"Success doesn't change you. Fame does."

- Whitney Houston

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