Good afternoon. Here are the top stories so far today.
For more daily and weekly briefings, sign up for our newsletters here.
What happened today:
Biden pledges to save US allies. During his latest address about the crisis in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden committed to helping to evacuate any Afghan citizens who assisted the US military during the 20-year-long war. Despite the chaos at the Kabul airport, Biden said 13,000 people had been evacuated since last Saturday.
What was the point? Four US military veterans who served in the war in Afghanistan shared their experiences and observations with Insider over the past week, with some expressing frustration and others disappointment with recent developments. Veteran Brian Eisch said, "We didn't fix anything," arguing that "we basically put up a huge banner that said, 'Hey, Taliban people, we're leaving. Come back.'"
"Disgusting and heartless." Insider spoke to five OnlyFans performers who expressed confusion over the company's announcement that it will ban porn, while still allowing some nude content. Nat Cole, a sex worker who makes a majority of her income on OnlyFans, said, "The large majority of sex workers on the platform are surviving payout to payout. They're giving us less than two months' notice to now find a platform ... to just survive and keep paying rent."
Jeff Bezos (really, really) loves ice cream. Really. The tech billionaire has reportedly installed an artisan soft-serve machine inside his LA home, according to a soft-serve-ice-cream company. There's no image of the actual machine, but the description of it is absolutely drool-worthy: It's designed to look like a food truck, complete with a customizable "license plate" on the front.
The surprising way Walmart catches shoplifters. A viral TikTok video purports to show that the retail giant uses special devices to track exactly what customers are scanning at self-checkout registers. The video, which features the caption, "POV: We know when you're stealing," has amassed 12 million views.
That's all for now. See you Monday.