Today’s Headlines: Biden vows retaliation for Kabul attack that killed U.S. troops

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TOP STORIES

U.S. military members killed in attack outside airport

Twin blasts near the entrance to Kabul’s airport on Thursday ripped through crowds of Afghans and foreign nationals waiting for evacuation from the country, complicating an already-nightmarish airlift in its waning days.

The bombings came hours after Western intelligence agencies warned of a potential attack. Thirteen U.S. troops were among the people killed at the airport, where Marines have been providing security.More service members were wounded, and there were many casualties among Afghan civilians.

President Biden pledged that the U.S. would retaliate against the Islamic State affiliate that killed the American service members in the attack on the evacuation operation at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

“We will not forgive. We will not forget,” he said from the White House. “We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

More national politics

— The Supreme Court ruled for a group of Alabama landlords on Thursday and blocked President Biden from extending for two more months a nationwide pandemic-related ban on evictions.

— It’s hard to put a number on how many Afghan women are at risk under the new leadership. Facing Taliban rule, many feel trapped.

— More than half of the Democrats in California’s 53-member congressional delegation will send a letter to President Biden saying that California is ready and eager to house Afghan refugees and special immigrant visa applicants.

— U.S. Capitol Police officers who were attacked and beaten during the Jan. 6 riot filed a lawsuit Thursday against former President Trump, his allies and members of far-right extremist groups, accusing them of intentionally sending a violent mob to disrupt the congressional certification of the election.

Newsom says abortion is on the line in recall

As the election to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom approaches, abortion rights groups are warning that Californians’ right to an abortion is on the ballot.

Newsom, a Democrat, tweeted that “abortion access” is at stake.

In reality, California has some of the strongest abortion protections in the country, and restricting them would be difficult for a replacement governor to accomplish with only a little over a year remaining in the term and opposition from an overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature.

For more news and analysis, sign up for our Essential Politics newsletter, sent to your inbox three days a week.

More California politics

— Gov. Gavin Newsom and talk radio host Larry Elder are fierce enemies in the recall election. But they’re also valued allies who rely on each other. In fact, if you didn’t know better, you’d say they were close pals. Political columnist George Skelton explains.

— Republicans looking to replace Newsom in next month’s election say the governor is “soft on crime” and to blame for the state’s increase in violent crime. But researchers say the surge is much more complicated.

— After the deadly attack in Afghanistan, Vice President Kamala Harris canceled her appearance at a Bay Area rally to support Newsom against recall.

Here is your guide to the 2021 recall election in California.

Sign up for our California Politics newsletter to get the best of The Times’ state politics reporting, including full coverage of the recall election and the latest action in Sacramento.

L.A. County will continue to enforce strict school quarantine rules

The county quarantine rules, which are stricter than state guidelines, have raised concerns among some school leaders and parents about academic disruption as thousands of students and staff members are being sent home in the opening days of the school year. In the Los Angeles Unified School District alone, 6,500 were in quarantine or isolation the first week of class.

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that the full extent of the risk posed by the Delta variant at local schools remains unknown and that it would be premature to ease quarantine guidelines.

More top coronavirus headlines

— With children returning to school, one big question is what happens when new coronavirus cases occur on campus.

— The Food and Drug Administration’s formal approval of Comirnaty has raised hopes for a fresh wave of COVID immunizations. But it may also trigger a wave of requests from anxious parents looking to vaccinate their children who are too young to get the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.

— Coronavirus cases are spiking within the Los Angeles Police Department as city officials work with labor leaders to finalize a vaccination mandate for city employees, and those who oppose the requirement search for ways to circumvent it.

For more, sign up for Coronavirus Today, a special edition of The Times’ Health and Science newsletter.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand for national anthem in protest of minorities’ treatment

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem before games because he believed the United States oppresses African Americans and other minorities. When Kaepernick took a knee, he was booed at Qualcomm Stadium. After the anthem, sung by U.S. Navy Petty Officer Steven Powell, fans chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!”

When Kaepernick remained seated while teammates stood with hands over hearts for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” he set the national debate about race on a collision course with three pillars of American patriotism: football, the military and police.

49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, center, kneels during the national anthem before a preseason game against the Chargers.

(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)

CALIFORNIA

— Driven by gusty winds, the Caldor fire is now less than 15 miles from South Lake Tahoe, prompting fire crews to mount a potentially make-or-break effort to stop it from burning its way to the popular resort destination. Meanwhile, a new wildfire burned 50 acres in Tuolumne County and downtown Sonora was evacuated.

— After an attack at MacArthur Park in October, a straightforward narrative emerged: MS-13 was trying rid its turf of transgender people. Left unmentioned, however, were the tangled underworld economics that brought the women and the gang into contact in the first place.

— An Orange County Superior Court judge on Thursday approved a request by state prosecutors to drop a host of rape charges against a Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend.

— Frustrated by out-of-control increases in drug overdose deaths, California’s leaders are trying something radical: They want the state to be the first to pay people to stay sober.

NATION-WORLD

— A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld Dylann Roof’s conviction and death sentence for the 2015 racist slayings of nine members of a Black South Carolina church, saying the legal record cannot “capture the full horror” of what he did.

— U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday she raised issues of human rights abuses and restrictions on political activism in her conversations with Vietnamese leaders this week, but offered no indication those talks were successful.

— Video released by a team of federal investigators shows more evidence of extensive corrosion and an unusually large amount of steel reinforcement in the Miami-area condo tower that collapsed in June, killing 98 people.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

— ABC News was rocked by the sexual assault accusations made in a recent lawsuit. Inside ABC News, there was anger and shock, especially in light of allegations in the lawsuit that the actions of a former senior executive producer of “Good Morning America” were not immediately investigated when a producer brought them up several years back.

— To play a young Monica Lewinsky in the upcoming “American Crime Story: Impeachment,” Beanie Feldstein befriended her first: “Playing someone real is a huge undertaking — playing someone who texts you is a completely different thing.”

— The “Sopranos” prequel movie reimagines some of your favorite characters — and introduces new ones.

— Review: Director Nia DaCosta stakes her claim with the terrifying and artful “Candyman,” a reboot/sequel to the 1992 horror film.

BUSINESS

— The pandemic supply chain crunch that was expected to be temporary now looks like it will continue as the surging Delta variant upends factory production in Asia and disrupts shipping.

— At first glance, the decision by Delta Air Lines on Wednesday to charge unvaccinated workers an extra $200 a month for health coverage seems to make sense. But there’s a cold logic to it, writes business columnist David Lazarus.

SPORTS

— Bill Plaschke: The Lakers’ failure to retain Jared Dudley is ‘crazy’ and a huge blow to a title run.

— All that matters when it comes to Chip Kelly’s future at UCLA, according to interviews with multiple people familiar with the football program, is what lies ahead this season, not the disappointments of 2018, 2019 and 2020.

OPINION

— Masks at school? The kids are fine. It’s the parents who are acting like jerks, the editorial board writes.

ONLY IN L.A.

Breakfast in Southern California comes in many forms, an expression of community and intersecting cultures. But if there’s a single emblem in Los Angeles? It has to be the breakfast burrito — some canvases for cheffy individualism, some inventions crisscrossing ingredients from around the globe, some basic energy bombs. Here are restaurant critic Bill Addison’s picks for the best of the city has to offer.

Today’s newsletter was curated by Seth Liss and Laura Blasey. Comments or ideas? Email us at headlines@latimes.com.