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Taliban capture third-largest city in Afghanistan, 11th provincial capital in last week

Data: Al Jazeera and AP; Map: Axios Visuals

The Taliban captured the cities of Ghazni and Herat on Thursday, the 10th and 11th provincial capitals to fall to the militant group in recent days, AP reports.

Why it matters: Herat is the third-largest city in Afghanistan. Ghazni is the closest provincial capital to Kabul to fall to the Taliban — putting their frontlines within 100 miles of the heart of Afgahn government. Capturing Ghazni also cuts off a key highway linking it with Afghanistan's southern provinces.


  • A newly released U.S. military assessment suggests that Kabul could come under pressure within 30 days and that the Taliban could gain control of the country within months, per AP.
  • Kabul is not directly under attack, but "the loss of Ghazni tightens the grip of a resurgent Taliban estimated to now hold some two-thirds of the nation," AP writes.

The big picture: The string of swift Taliban successes in the final weeks of the U.S. withdrawal has dented hopes that the Afghan military and allied groups will be able to hold off the insurgency, Axios' Dave Lawler reports.

  • Afghan officials have been seeking air support from the U.S. following its withdrawal, but the Pentagon has not said whether it could conduct such operations.

Go deeper: Inside the Biden administration as Afghanistan collapses

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Congress overrides Trump's veto of defense spending bill

Congress handed President Trump a rare blow on Friday when the Senate joined the House in voting to override his veto of the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Why it matters: The bipartisan New Year's Day legislative rebuke is the first veto override of Trump's presidency. It comes less than three weeks before Trump leaves office and underscores the popularity of the military legislation, passed each Congress since 1967, that includes increased pay for troops.

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Republicans and Democrats agree — the country is falling apart

Data: Ipsos/Axios poll. Chart: Axios Visuals

The two parties agree: In a new Axios-Ipsos poll, fourth-fifths of Americans — both Republicans and Democrats — say America is falling apart.

Why it matters: The question, asked Tuesday and Wednesday, reflects the collision of crises besetting the country — the backdrop of a pandemic, recession, decoupling of red/blue America, and racial injustice and the immediacy of the Capitol insurrection, followed by Impeachment II.

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Why Tesla went into bitcoin

Data: YCharts; Chart: Axios Visuals

When Elon Musk's Tesla spends $1.5 billion on bitcoin and announces that it will start accepting the cryptocurrency as payment for its cars, it's natural to ask why it would do such a thing.

Why it matters: The simplest explanation — it's just Elon being Elon — is almost certainly the correct explanation. But it also makes sense that the Tesla CEO would do such a thing.

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Cuomo faces new allegations of covering up nursing home deaths

A top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Democratic lawmakers that the administration rebuffed their request for data on coronavirus deaths in nursing homes because they feared it would "be used against us" by federal investigators egged on by then-President Trump, according to a leaked tape obtained by the New York Post.

Why it matters: Cuomo has been under fire for his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes early in the pandemic. He's now facing new allegations of his administration actively withholding data on coronavirus deaths in nursing homes in order to delay potential investigations.

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