News Wrap: DOJ vows to protect abortion access in Texas, will challenge ban

John Yang:

In the day's other news: A senior State Department official confirmed that the United States evacuated four Americans from Afghanistan and relocated them to a nearby country.

It's the first known U.S. overland extraction since the August 31 withdrawal.

As Ali Rogin reports, that comes as Taliban fighters claim to have seized the country's last pocket of resistance.

Ali Rogin:

Taliban fighters raised their flag over the Panjshir Valley, declaring complete control of what it calls the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Fighters in the Northeastern province resisted the Taliban after their takeover three weeks ago, just as they did in the 1990s. But, on Monday, a Taliban spokesman said they had been defeated.

Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban Spokesman (through translator):

The last nest of the fugitive enemy was completely cleared today and last night.

Ali Rogin:

Now that they control the whole country, Taliban leaders are facing the reality of having to govern it. They have repeatedly delayed announcing the new government and are already denying reports of political infighting.

Zabihullah Mujahid (through translator):

Rumors about internal disputes in the Islamic Emirate are false.

Ali Rogin:

Kabul's main currency exchange reopened for the first time in weeks, sparking a rush of people using Afghanistan's informal banking system.

But as other banks reopen under Taliban control, they are cut off from the world. Afghans wait in long lines to withdraw a maximum of $200 per week.

Mr. Ansari, Kabul Resident (through translator):

Today, the people's problem is economic. People are pouring into here. They don't know if their money is in the bank.

Ali Rogin:

Domestic flights have resumed at the Kabul Airport. But there is no radar, so pilots navigate using only their vision. Aviation rules prevent international flights under those conditions.

At a separate airport in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, charter planes reportedly filled with Americans have been grounded for days. Organizers blamed the State Department for failing to get takeoff permission from the Taliban. The State Department said it could not confirm the presence of Americans on the tarmac.

Meanwhile, women's rights activists rejected the Taliban's new rules that essentially bar them from public life. In Kabul over the weekend, protesters were defiant.

Fatima Etmadi, Protester (through translator):

We not only ask the Islamic Emirate government, but also all of the international community, especially women from other countries around the world, to support us.

Ali Rogin:

But in a sign of Kabul's new normal, the Taliban broke up the protest with force, including tear gas.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Ali Rogin.

John Yang:

Back in this country, federal unemployment aid put in place last year to ease COVID's economic shock expired on this Labor Day. It ends a financial lifeline for nearly nine million Americans.

Meanwhile, President Biden marked the day by delivering sandwiches to thank union members in his home state of Delaware.

The United States topped 40 million COVID-19 infections today, as the Delta variant spreads. More than 100,000 hospital beds are filled nationwide, with U.S. hospitalizations at their highest rate since January, before vaccines were widely available.

Meanwhile, in the hardest-hit provinces of Italy, the pandemic has lowered the life expectancy for men by more than four years.

We will have more on the pandemic right after the news summary.

The U.S. Justice Department said today it will not tolerate any violence in the wake of the new Texas abortion law that bars the procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the department will continue to protect those who seek to obtain or provide reproductive health services. Garland also said federal prosecutors are still trying to figure out ways to challenge the ban.

In Northern California, tens of thousands of evacuees were able to return to South Lake Tahoe after firefighters made progress battling the Caldor Fire over the weekend. Evacuation orders were lifted and some highway roadblocks were removed now that the blaze is 44 percent contained. But officials warned that poor air quality remains.

Crowds in Guinea's capital, Conakry, celebrated a day after a military coup ousted the country's president and overthrew the government. Military forces set up checkpoints leading to the capital and have barred government officials from leaving the country. Residents welcomed the takeover.

Abdoulaye Bangoura, Resident of Conakry (through translator): We were really in a savage state. There was no more security, no more justice, a confused financial state. Everyone was doing whatever they wanted. So I think the new military leaders' arrival is a blessing for Guinea.

John Yang:

It's the third time in five months that a West African nation has seen a violent transfer of power.

A court in Belarus today sentenced two leading opposition activists to prison in the country's latest crackdown on anti-government dissent. They'll each serve at least a decade behind bars for organizing opposition protests last summer after President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth presidential term.

And two passings to note tonight.

Iconic leading actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, a star of France's revolutionary New Wave cinema movement, has died. He catapulted to fame through his breakthrough performance in 1960's "Breathless." Belmondo appeared in more than 80 films in a career that spanned half-a-century.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was 88 years old.

And Emmy-nominated actor Michael K. Williams was found dead in his New York apartment today. He was best known for playing Omar Little on the hit HBO crime series "The Wire" and racketeer Chalky White in "Boardwalk Empire." His films included "12 Years a Slave" and "Inherent Vice."

Michael K. Williams was 54 years old.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": the Delta variant continues to overwhelm hospitals in places where vaccination rates are low; farmers in Afghanistan face an uncertain future after the Taliban takeover; Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest political news; plus much more.