Complex bomb attacks at the Kabul airport kill many. The White House had been worried that ISIS-K, a sworn enemy of the Taliban, planned to carry out multiple attacks. / BBC News, CNN

The story of how an Afghan interpreter and his family escaped Kabul. / NPR

The founder of Blackwater has been charging upwards of $6,500 a seat on a private charter out of Afghanistan. / The Daily Beast

Jeff Eggers: This was a war that the United States chose not to win. / Linkedin

The Middle East will be hard hit by the climate emergency, and it's barely equipped to deal with it. / Foreign Policy

Iran's hardline parliament approves almost all of President Ebrahim Raisi's men for cabinet picks. / Al Jazeera

Unrelated: In Belgium, it will soon be legal to retrieve a ball or pet from a neighbor's garden. / The Guardian

A brief history of the Paralympic Games, initially organized to help injured veterans and civilians after World War II. / NPR

The French, Spanish, and Italian languages are regulated by academies. Why not English? Because a plague struck London in 1665. / Lapham's Quarterly

A Polish construction firm created floral-scented asphalt, hoping to improve working conditions for road builders. / Reuters

A newly completed restoration of Johannes Vermeer's "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window" is about to go on display. / The Art Newspaper

See also: Portrait of a surrogate on the verge of retirement—with 27 biological children and three surrogate pregnancies behind her. / Neo.Life

Covid hospitalizations in the United States pass the 100,000 mark for the first time since January. / The Washington Post

Amil Niazi: Does anyone want to hear about burned-out moms anymore? / The Cut

Delta to charge employees $200 a month until they're vaccinated. / The Wall Street Journal

Due to supply chain woes, McDonald's no longer sells milkshakes in the UK. / CNN

A round-up of personal histories connected to Georgia peaches. / The Bitter Southerner