Afghanistan updates: Biden speaks to nation on military withdrawal

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Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a C-17 cargo plane at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. Donahue is the final American service member to depart Afghanistan, Aug. 30, 2021. – U.S. Central Command

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — With the U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal now complete after 20 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the country, including the Kabul airport, the site of an often-desperate evacuation effort the past two weeks.

But even as the last American troops were flown out to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, other Americans who wanted to flee the country were left behind and the Biden administration is now focused on a “diplomatic mission” to help them leave.

When President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House on Aug. 18, he said he was committed to keeping the U.S. military in Afghanistan as long as needed. “If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” he said.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern.

Aug 31, 3:51 pm
‘It was time to end this war’: Biden

In his address to the nation, the president said it was time to end the war.

“We succeeded in what we set out to do in Afghanistan over a decade ago. Then we stayed for another decade. It was time to end this war,” he said. “This is a new world: Al-Qaida affiliates in Syria and ISIS attempting to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and establishing affiliates across Africa nation. The fundamental obligation of a president, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America. Not against threats of 2001 but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow.”

“That is the guiding principle behind my decisions about Afghanistan,” he added. “I simply do not believe that the safety and security of America is enhanced by continuing to deploy thousands of American troops and sending billions of dollars.”

Aug 31, 3:51 pm
Biden says 90% of Americans who wanted to leave were able to leave

Biden touted efforts to get out Afghans who helped the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and said, “Now we believe that about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan, with some intention to leave.”

“Most of those who remain are dual citizens, long-time residents who had earlier decided to stay because of their family roots in Afghanistan,” Biden said. “The bottom line, 90% of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave. And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out.”

Aug 31, 3:35 pm
Biden addresses nation following US withdrawal

In his first formal remarks since the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan, the president said, “The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.”

“For weeks they risked their lives to get American citizens Afghans who helped us, citizens of our allies and partners and others onboard planes and out of the country,” he continued. “And they did it facing a crush of enormous crowds seeking to leave the country. And they did it knowing ISIS-K terrorists, sworn enemies of the Taliban were lurking in the midst of those crowds.”

Aug 31, 2:53 pm
McConnell blasts Biden for breaking promise, leaving Americans behind

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized President Biden, claiming he broke his “promise” to get every American who wanted to leave Afghanistan out of the country before the U.S. military left, saying Biden’s “reckless withdrawal has created a humanitarian disaster and emboldened the terrorists.”

“Two weeks ago, President Biden specifically promised he wouldn’t pull out before every American who wanted out had gotten out. By their own admission, the Biden Administration has now broken that promise,” McConnell said Tuesday at an event in Ashland, Kentucky.

In an exclusive interview on Aug. 18 with ABC’s George Stephanopolous, Biden said that “If there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay to get them all out.”

At the event, McConnell also warned of the continued threat from the Taliban, adding, “This fight will not end just because our politicians want it to go away.”

Aug 31, 2:19 pm
Scenes from Kabul the day after the US military withdrawal

Scenes around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Tuesday showed Taliban fighters appearing to wear Afghan National Army uniforms after the militant group took control of the airport following the U.S. military’s full withdrawal from the country — a far different picture from the days preceding.

Resources left behind in the wake of mass evacuations, including equipment stamped with American and Afghan national flags, littered the area where U.S. troops recently stood guard. Taliban fighters have apparently since seized some equipment distributed to the Afghan army by the U.S. before it collapsed.

As the 20-year war came to a close on Monday, the Pentagon said that the cost, in human lives, was 2,461 troops killed and more than 20,000 injured.

Since the evacuation mission began, 6,000 citizens and more than 123,000 people — Afghan “friends and allies” — were flown out of Afghanistan by the U.S. and partners, but 100 to 200 American citizens still wanting to leave remain, officials said, as well as thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. and fear reprisal from the Taliban.

Aug 31, 2:02 pm
House GOP promising investigation into Biden’s withdrawal decision

GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Republicans had sent letters to the Department of Defense, the Department of State and the intelligence community asking agencies to preserve documents relating to the Afghanistan withdrawal for what they said would be a future investigation.

“We want the Democrats to join us but we are going to do it with or without, exercising our constitutional authority of oversight to get to the bottom of how this got so wrong,” McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said at a news conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

The announcement comes after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday there would be “a day of reckoning” for Biden, promising an investigation into the withdrawal. Other GOP House members criticized Biden’s withdrawal, with Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., saying “this disaster is solely the responsibility” of Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Aug 31, 11:57 am
Harris presides over Senate passage of bill assisting Americans fleeing Afghanistan

Vice President Kamala Harris gaveled in a pro forma session of the Senate on Tuesday morning, to enable the passage of a bill that will help with the repatriation of Americans coming from Afghanistan, according to a White House aide.

The bill provides emergency, temporary assistance for Americans returning from Afghanistan. It was passed without any objection at roughly 10:30 a.m. and will now head to the president’s desk since it originated in and already passed the House.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday there is still a “small number of Americans — under 200, and likely closer to 100 — who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave.”

Aug 31, 10:18 am
Taliban spokesperson congratulates nation on ‘freedom,’ American defeat

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Taliban soldiers at a press conference hours after the last U.S. soldiers left the airport in Kabul that they had secured victory for the whole of the Afghan nation.

“Due to the sincerity, perseverance, and patience of our elders, we gained our freedom. I congratulate all of you and our nation on this freedom, and I hope that Afghanistan will never be occupied and that it will be free, prosperous, and the home of Afghans, and that there will be an Islamic government,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks from Reuters.

Mujahid said the Taliban wanted to sustain good relations with the rest of the world, that Afghanistan was not a country for occupying forces, and that Americans were defeated and could not achieve their goals.

“The nation has suffered a lot, and they have been repressed because of the occupation, have seen problems for 20 years, and can no longer tolerate misbehavior. Therefore, I call on all our militaries to treat the people well because the people have the right to peace, to unite, and we are the servants of the nation, not to dominate the people,” he said.

Aug 31, 10:04 am
Biden to defend Afghanistan withdrawal in speech to nation

President Biden is expected to defend his decision on Afghanistan when he speaks at 2:45 p.m. from the White House — a day after the last U.S. troops left in accordance with his self-imposed deadline but also while other Americans who wanted to leave were left behind to deal with an uncertain fate.

In an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan offered more defense for the administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, perhaps foreshadowing Biden’s remarks this afternoon.

Though Stephanopoulos pressed him for details on the plan to evacuate the remaining Americans, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken said is “under 200,” Sullivan repeated they will use “every available diplomatic means with the economic leverage that we have,” but he did attempt to take credit for the successful evacuations — and even pinned some of the blame on the remaining Americans who weren’t able to make it out.

“We do believe that there is an important dimension of humanitarian assistance that should go directly to the people of Afghanistan.”

National Security Adviser @JakeSullivan46 speaks on working with the Taliban after Afghanistan withdrawal. https://t.co/rHYsSbwZj2 pic.twitter.com/ekVqb0Qs8c

— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 31, 2021

“We got out between 5,500 and 6,000 people — Americans from Afghanistan — we got out 97 or 98% of those on the ground and the small number who remain, we contacted repeatedly over the course of two weeks to come to the airport to come to a rally point. 5,500 or more did that,” Sullivan said.

In response to criticism from many Republicans lawmakers like Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Sullivan contended that only the president, as commander in chief, knows what it is to make these hard decisions.

“Those criticizing are not the ones who have to sit in the Situation Room and make the hard calls about the threats that we face and the objectives we’re trying to obtain and President Biden made that hard call and it is a call he believes will ultimately serve the interests of our people, all of our citizens and our country,” he said.

He also insisted aid will not be given to the Taliban unless they adhere to international obligations.

“It will be about whether they follow through on their commitments, their commitments to safe passage for Americans and Afghan allies. Their commitment to not allow Afghanistan to be a base from which terrorists can attack the United States or any other country,” Sullivan said.

Aug 30, 9:19 pm
Taliban wield American-supplied equipment, uniforms after withdrawal

Moments after the last U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan, Taliban fighters entered the Kabul airport, wielding American-supplied weapons, equipment and even uniforms.

Aug 30, 8:59 pm
Military releases image of last soldier out of Afghanistan

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, of the 82nd Airborne Division, was the last American service member to depart Afghanistan, according to Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command.

“On the last plane out was General Chris Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and my ground commander, and he was accompanied by our — our charge d’affaires, Ambassador Ross Wilson, so they came out together,” McKenzie said at the Pentagon briefing. “So the state and defense team came out on the last aircraft and were in fact the last people to step on the ground.”

Aug 30, 8:04 pm
US engaging Taliban, but not recognizing it

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will continue to engage the Taliban going forward — engagement that will be “driven by one thing only — our vital national interest.”

“The Taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. Our message is any legitimacy and any support will have to be earned,” he said. “The Taliban can do that by meeting commitments and obligations on freedom of travel; respecting the basic rights of the Afghan people, including women and minorities; upholding its commitments on counter-terrorism; not carrying out reprisal violence against those who choose to stay in Afghanistan; and forming an inclusive government that can meet the needs and reflect the aspirations of the Afghan people.”

But the Taliban have already violated many of those — denying freedom of travel to some, violating their commitments on counter-terrorism, carrying out reprisal violence and more.

Aug 30, 7:37 pm
Commitment to Afghans who worked with US ‘has no deadline’: Blinken

For Afghans who worked alongside the U.S. who wanted to leave but weren’t able to get out, the U.S. would continue to try to help them, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in remarks Monday evening.

“Our commitment to them has no deadline,” he said.

To that end, he thanked Qatar and Turkey for trying to make the Kabul airport operational soon, allowing safe passage to these people.

“This would enable a small number of daily charter flights, which is a key for anyone who wants to depart from Afghanistan moving forward,” Blinken said. “We’re also working to identify ways to support Americans, legal permanent residents and Afghans who have worked with us to depart via land routes.”

But he tempered expectations.

“We have no illusion that any of this will be easy,” Blinken said. “Or rapid. This will be an entirely different phase from the evacuation that just concluded. It will take time to work through a new set of challenges.”

Aug 30, 5:01 pm
Number of Americans left in Afghanistan in the ‘low 100s’

There are still Americans left in Afghanistan that the United States is trying to get out of the country, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said.

“I believe our Department of State is going to work very hard to allow any American citizens that are left, and we think the citizens that were not brought outnumber in the low — very low 100s,” McKenzie said. “I believe that we’re going to be able to get those people out.”

There were no evacuees left at the airport when the last U.S. flight left, he said.

McKenzie also said the U.S. would also “negotiate very hard, and very aggressively, to get our other Afghan partners out.”

Aug 30, 4:35 pm
All US troops have departed Afghanistan: Pentagon

All U.S. troops have departed Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense, concluding America’s military ground presence there and its longest war.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, made the announcement from the headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida, after being introduced in the Pentagon Briefing Room by press secretary John Kirby.

Acknowledging that the withdrawal has been completed, McKenzie said the last U.S. military plane has cleared Afghan airspace.

He said that the U.S. military’s 20-year mission in Afghanistan is over.

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Afghan migrants trapped for weeks in woods because of Poland and Belarus standoff

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AndreyPopov/iStock

(NEW YORK) — A group of Afghans has been trapped for three weeks at the edge of a forest on the border between Poland and Belarus, caught in a no man’s land between Polish security forces who will not let them enter Poland and Belarusian troops who won’t let them turn back.

The situation of the 32 Afghans—short of food and some seriously ill, according to local activists—has attracted intense attention in Poland and internationally.

The standoff is a result of the surge in migrants arriving at the European Union’s borders that has been engineered by Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko as suspected retaliation against the bloc for its support for the pro-democracy movement that has called for him to step down.

European officials have accused Belarus’ authorities of flying in migrants and then funneling them to its western borders with the goal of orchestrating a migration crisis meant to pressure its European neighbors. So far this year, over 4,000 people—mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan—have illegally crossed from Belarus into neighboring Lithuania. That is 50 times more than all of 2020, according to officials. Poland, which is far larger than Lithuania, recorded over 3,000 illegal crossings since the start of August.

The governments of Lithuania and Poland have said they cannot absorb the influx and hurriedly deployed more security officers and put up a new border fence. The Polish government on Tuesday announced it was seeking a state of emergency for the border zone. The Belarusian security forces meanwhile have been filmed in full riot gear trying to force migrants back toward the border after they are turned back.

The 32 Afghans trapped at the border at Usnarz Górny have found themselves caught in the middle. Last week, Fundacja Ocalenie, a Polish charity that works with refugees, and an opposition member of parliament managed to pass them tents, food and clothing, but since then Polish border guards have blocked them from approaching the group, a spokeswoman for the charity said.

“It is terrible conditions,” said Marianna Warteska, the spokeswoman, told ABC News by phone from close to the border. “They are not receiving any kind of medical assistance—their health is deteriorating.”

She said the group was drinking unclean water from a nearby stream and surviving off bread delivered by the Belarusian guards every couple of days. The volunteers have been communicating with the Afghans via megaphone, she said, but Polish guards would often turn on their vehicle engines and sirens to try to drown them out.

Eight of the Afghans were suffering from kidney issues and five had diarrhea, according to Warteska. She said one 26-year-old man lost consciousness for 20 minutes on Thursday but the border guards refused to call an ambulance. She warned another woman in her fifties has been unable to leave her tent for several days.

A spokeswoman for Poland’s border service on Tuesday declined to comment to ABC News.

Warteska said all 32 Afghans had expressed a desire to seek international protection in Poland and had legal representation from her organization. There was no reason, she said, why the Polish authorities could not take the group for standard processing that would then assess whether they should be granted asylum or returned to their home countries. The decision to keep them in limbo was political posturing, she said.

“It’s really cruel. And it has basically no purpose,” she said. “Because you know it’s 32 people—they are able to process them. It’s not like it is 3 million standing here. We are not asking just for a free pass. We just want the Polish authorities and border guards to behave according to the law. Because right now what they are doing is illegal.”

Poland’s government on Tuesday announced it was seeking approval from the country’s president for a state of emergency to be imposed along part of the border for 30 days in response to migrant arrivals.

“The situation on the border with Belarus is a crisis, it’s very tense because Lukashenko’s regime is transporting people mainly from Iraq to the territory of Belarus and is then shoving these people on to the territory of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to destabilize our countries,” Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said.

The move, which would cover 183 towns 3 kilometers from the border, also requires approval from parliament. It has already attracted criticism from opposition parties and rights groups, which have said the state of emergency is less about stopping migrants than making it harder for activists and the media to be present at the border.

Jan Grabiec, a spokesperson for Civic Platform, the largest opposition party, said the state of emergency was not aimed at halting migrants and “it will only stop the Polish media from showing the chaos and helplessness of the government.”

Lithuania has also declared a state of emergency over the border situation and has appealed to the E.U. to impose new sanctions on Belarus. Both Poland and Lithuania strongly backed the Belarusian opposition during the protests against Lukashenko last year, offering asylum to some of its key leaders.

The European Court of Human Rights last week said Poland’s government must provide food, clothing, medical care and possibly temporary shelter to the Afghans. The court has not yet ruled whether Poland is obliged to let the migrants enter its territory.

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US athletes dominate at Tokyo Paralympics

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PeskyMonkey/iStock

(NEW YORK) — As the Tokyo Paralympic Games near their end, Team USA athletes have already made history — smashing world records at the international competition.

Here are some of the highlights from Team USA’s stint at the games so far:

US swimmers break multiple records

Anastasia Pagonis, 17, won a gold medal in the S11 400-meter freestyle, breaking her own world record at 4:54.49 and winning Team USA’s first gold of the games on day two. She had set the world record at the Paralympic trials.

She was more than 10 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, and 13 seconds ahead of the bronze medalist.

The S11 classification, according to World Para Athletics, is for “visually impaired athletes with low visual acuity and/or no light perception.” To even the competition, all S11 athletes wear blackened goggles.

“If you told me this a few years ago, I wouldn’t even think I’d be alive so just being here and being able to have this experience and this opportunity — unbelievable,” Pagonis told Team USA’s website.

Gia Pergolini, also 17, swam in the S13 100-meter backstroke. She had broken the world record during preliminary heats, but in the race for gold, she smashed it again with a time of 1:04.64.

The S13 classification is for athletes who are visually impaired, according to World Para Athletics, but these athletes have higher visual acuity and/or a larger visual field than athletes in S11.

Robert Griswold, who has won two world championships, claimed the gold in the men’s 100-meter backstroke S8 — breaking the world record that was set at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. In 2016, he earned the bronze, but came back and claimed gold in Tokyo.

“I just had more peace than I’ve ever had before a race,” Griswold told Team USA’s website. “I felt peace knowing that I’ve got a family and friends who love me and people who really value me and care about me. I carried that with me, and I’m trying to do the best I can and give back to the people who’ve given so much to me.”

1st-time Paralympian makes history on the track

Nick Mayhugh won gold for Team USA in the T37 100-meter dash — earning a world record time of 10.95. Mayhugh committed to track and field just two years ago when his original sport, soccer, was removed from the Paralympic program.

He’s the first T37 athlete to break the 11-second mark.

“It’s changed my life,” he said. “It’s everything I’ve worked for in the last year, and a half came down to today and this competition. I finally feel like I’ve proved myself in the world of track and field.

The T37 classification is for athletes who have moderate hypertonia, ataxia or athetosis on one half of the body, according to World Para Athletics. This often includes athletes with a traumatic brain injury or cerebral palsy, like Mayhugh.

USA’s Breanna Clark breaks world record to win gold

On the long list of record-breakers, this year is Breanna Clark, who won the gold in the T20 400 meters. She rounded the track in a total of 55.18 seconds to beat her 2018 world record and has defended her 2016 title.

The T20 classification is for athletes with intellectual disabilities, like autism, such as Clark.

She’s also the daughter of Olympian Rosalyn Clark, who won two silver medals in the 400 meters and 4×400-meter relay at the 1976 Montréal Games.

Women have won 66% of Team USA’s medals in Tokyo

The women on the U.S Paralympic team are bringing their A-game. Women have won about 66% of U.S. medals so far, and 70% of the country’s gold medal, NBC Sports reported.

The U.S. Paralympics team has more women than men for the first time, although women only account for about 42% of Paralympians overall, according to the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.

“Inclusion is at the core of everything the IPC does,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in a statement earlier this year. “We are constantly striving with our members to increase female participation at all levels of the Paralympic Movement, from athletes to administrators, from coaches to Board members. … Despite this progress, we will not rest on our laurels, and we will continue to work hard with our members to increase women’s participation at all future Games until we reach gender equality.”

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Kelley Flanagan tearfully opens up on being diagnosed with Lyme disease: “It’s a blessing and a curse”

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Presley Ann/Getty Images for Seagram’s Escapes

Bachelor star Kelley Flanagan tearfully opened up to fans on Monday about a recent change in her health, revealing that she has tested positive for Lyme disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium transmitted to humans via infected tick bites. Common symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash. Without treatment, the infection can spread to the joints, heart and the nervous system. Most cases can be successfully treated with antibiotics over the course of a few weeks.

Flanagan hinted that she may have been unknowingly wrestling with the disease for a while, telling fans while wiping away tears, “I always felt like my body’s been so much more sensitive and super reactive to a bunch of things.”

Noting that she “just got the results back,” the reality star said she is now focused on making a full recovery.

In a lengthy caption, Flanagan expressed, “[I] decided to finally get tested for serval different things and tested positive for [L]yme disease and several other co-infections. It’s a blessing and a curse because now i can target why i feel off so often but also means several different lifestyle changes and extensive research on how to help/hopefully cure this!”

She also revealed that her siblings also wrestled with the disease, noting her journey will be “tough for me seeing what my brothers have gone through mentally and physically.”

“I’m going to put so much of my time and energy into figuring this out and combating this,” Flanagan closed, promising to keep fans in the loop on her “new journey.”

Bachelor Nation rallied around Flanagan, with Kaitlyn Bristowe, Ashley Iaconetti, Victoria Fuller, Raven Gates, Kristian Haggerty and several others sending in their well wishes and encouraging words.

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FINNEAS records new version of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ song for upcoming movie soundtrack

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Interscope Records

FINNEAS will be found on the upcoming Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack.

The “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night” artist is contributing a new version of the song “A Little Closer,” one of two original numbers written exclusively for the film, which is based on the hit Broadway musical.

The songs for both the Dear Evan Hansen musical and movie were written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Oscar-winning duo behind the music for La La Land and The Greatest Showman.

Dear Evan Hansen hits theaters September 24. Its soundtrack will be released that same day.

FINNEAS, meanwhile, will release his debut album Optimist on October 15. It includes the previously released singles “What They’ll Say About Us” and “A Concert Six Months from Now.”

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Johnson & Johnson HIV vaccine trial fails mid-stage study

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(NEW YORK) — In yet another setback in the decadeslong scientific quest for an HIV vaccine, a Johnson & Johnson HIV vaccine candidate failed to reduce the risk of infection in a clinical trial among women in southern Africa. The would-be vaccine uses the same underlying technology used successfully for COVID-19 and Ebola viruses, but this recent high-profile failure is another example of immense challenge of creating a vaccine against HIV.

The trial, called Imbokodo, was co-sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It included more than 2,600 women living in five African countries where women and girls have a high risk of HIV infection.

The vaccine was safe, researchers said, but ultimately, efficacy was only 25% — meaning people who received the vaccine had a slightly smaller risk of developing HIV, but the difference was so slight that the result might be chalked up to random chance.

Prominent scientists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have been searching for an effective HIV vaccine since the virus, which attacks the immune system and leads to a disease called AIDS if left untreated, was first identified in the 1980s. Today, nearly 38 million people are living with HIV worldwide. Although effective treatments can now help people infected with HIV live long and healthy lives, there is still no vaccine that can prevent infection.

Still, scientists say they aren’t giving up.

“The development of a safe and effective vaccine to prevent HIV infection has proven to be a formidable scientific challenge,” Fauci said in prepared remarks. “Although this is certainly not the study outcome for which we had hoped, we must apply the knowledge learned from the Imbokodo trial and continue our efforts to find a vaccine that will be protective against HIV.”

“The challenges associated with the development of an HIV vaccine are unprecedented in the history of vaccinology. After 40 years of global efforts, we still do not have an HIV vaccine,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

“This trial was not a home run but hopefully will guide the HIV field moving forward,” said Barouch, whose laboratory contributed significantly to the initial development of the investigational vaccine.

Despite the setback, the Imbokodo trial showed the vaccine was safe among people who received it — a hopeful sign. Imbokodo means “rock” in the South African language isiZulu, referring to a proverb about women’s strength and community.

“We are extremely grateful to the women who volunteered for the Imbokodo study, and to our partners, including the people on the front lines, all of whom are contributing every day to this enduring quest to make HIV history.” Dr. Paul Stoffels, vice chairman of the executive committee and chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, said in prepared remarks.

The Johnson & Johnson HIV vaccine uses the same underlying “viral vector” technology used in its current COVID-19 vaccine. Scientists say the recent failure has no bearing on the technology itself, which has been used successfully for other viruses, including Ebola and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Rather, HIV itself is a unique virus. It evades the body’s immune system, making it very difficult to create a vaccine that generates immunity against infection.

HIV activists and scientists alike say this result shouldn’t slow down other efforts to find an effective HIV vaccine.

“It is very disappointing that this particular vaccine candidate did not work in this trial, but the trial was well-conducted and got an answer quickly. HIV remains a global threat, and a safe, efficacious and accessible HIV vaccine is still needed to contribute towards curbing new infections and providing a durable end to the pandemic,” Mitchell Warren, executive director of HIV prevention advocacy organization AVAC, said in prepared remarks.

Another late-stage trial called Mosaico, which uses a slightly different vaccine approach and is being tested among men who have sex with men and transgender people in Europe and North America, will continue. Another study called PrEPVacc is combining HIV vaccine candidates with a once-daily pill called PrEP, which reduces the risk of HIV infection. Meanwhile, Moderna has said it will begin early-stage clinical trials of its own HIV vaccine candidate, which uses its mRNA technology, this year.

“This is in no way the end of the search for an HIV vaccine,” Warren said.

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John Cho says the age difference between him and his ‘Cowboy Bebop’ character allowed for more depth

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KIRSTY GRIFFIN/NETFLIX © 2021

John Cho will bring the character Spike Spiegel to life in the Netflix live-action reboot of Cowboy Bebop, but admits he had a hard time wrapping his head around the age difference separating him and his character.

In the Cowboy Bebop anime, which ran for one season between 1998 and 1999, Spike is listed as being in his mid 20s. Cho is 49. In a new interview with Vulture, the actor admitted the age difference was his “biggest fear” going into the project and that he “had to get over it.”

“I’m not a person who says age is just a number or whatever. It was gonna be harder — physically. And I was gonna look different than a 25-year-old guy,” he explained. “At some point, the opportunity is ‘Yes or no — do you wanna do it?’ And I did wanna do it. So I wasn’t gonna stop myself from doing it.”

Cho said he then learned that his age gave him an advantage at depicting Spike, saying it allowed him to make the character more well-rounded.

“I couldn’t have done it when I was 27. I mean, maybe I would’ve been better suited athletically, but in terms of my discipline, I am strangely better suited at this age,” the Star Trek star continued. “I don’t think I would’ve done justice to the emotional depth we tried to give Spike.”

Cho added that younger actors are best suited to make vengeful characters filled with rage, adding, “That might’ve been a more pronounced element in the character. What I’m better at, being older, is showing weakness and vulnerability and love. Those things are more accessible to me. Personally, I’d prefer the version I’m able to do now. That’s my taste.”

Cowboy Bebop premieres November 19 on Netflix.

 

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Asking Alexandria goes hunting in new “Alone Again” video

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Better Noise Music

Asking Alexandria has released the video for “Alone Again,” the band’s latest single.

The clip includes shadowy performance footage of the U.K. rockers, cut with shots of a majestic owl flying over a snowy landscape as it hunts for prey. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“Alone Again” premiered earlier this month. It’s the first single off Asking Alexandria’s upcoming album See What’s on the Inside, the follow-up to 2020’s Like a House on Fire.

See What’s on the Inside drops October 1.

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Did Drake post ‘Certified Lover Boy’ lyric billboards in his hometown of Toronto?

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Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images

Drake appears to be giving his Canadian hometown a sneak peak at lyrics from his upcoming album, Certified Lover Boy.

A series of digital ads in popped up in Toronto this week with the CLB logo. They include the phrases “Something other than me has got to give,” “I don’t miss…Let alone miss you” and “Should’ve said you loved me today, because tomorrow is a new day.” Photos of the billboards were posted on the Modern Notoriety Twitter feed.

The Champagne Papi posted images of T-shirts with the same phrases in an Instagram story, according to Complex.

Meanwhile, a video of Drizzy passed out free shirts was posted on the Instagram of his fan site Word on Word. In the clip, a fan tells Drake the album is dropping on his birthday, September 3, to which Drake responds, “Happy birthday,” and tosses him a T-shirt. As the “What’s Next” rapper drives away, he comments, “City’s hot right now. They know what’s up.”

As previously reported, Drake confirmed a September 3 release date for Certified Lover Boy on Monday morning on Instagram. On Friday, he cryptically teased the release of CLB with a handwritten note on ESPN’s Sportscenter.

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Carrie Underwood teams up with Dan + Shay on ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ soundtrack

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Interscope Records

Carrie Underwood and Dan + Shay are lending their voices to the soundtrack for the film, Dear Evan Hansen.

Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway play of the same name, Dear Evan Hansen follows a high school student named Evan who has social anxiety and writes a letter to himself that is stolen by a classmate named Connor, who later commits suicide, leaving Connor’s family believing that the letter was written by Connor to Evan.

Carrie is teaming up with Dan + Shay on a rendition of the song featured in the original play, “Only Us,” for Dear Evan Hansen: (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Dan + Shay hinted at a collaboration with Carrie on social media hours before it was announced. 

The film and soundtrack are set for release on September 24. 

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