Child Covid-19 hospitalizations soar, the ‘Biden doctrine’ and raindrops signal climate crisis

To ensure delivery to your inbox add email@mail.nbcnews.com to your contacts Today's Top Stories from NBC News FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2021 Good morning, NBC News readers.     As the battle over masking in school rages on, child Covid-19 hospitalizations are soaring. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan offers a window into President Joe Biden's foreign policy. And another grim sign of climate change at a normally snowy summit.    Here's the latest on that and everything else we're watching this Friday morning.     Child Covid-19 hospitalizations are soaring As states argue about school mask mandates, children with Covid-19 are filling up hospital pediatric wards.    Around the country, child hospitalizations for Covid-19 have increased to levels not seen since January, when U.S. cases and deaths were at their highest levels, according to the latest government data.     Data released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services show the U.S. facing another peak in child hospitalizations as the delta variant hits communities hesitant to get vaccinated. And while unvaccinated adults are filling ICUs in parts of the South, minors in those areas are filling up the pediatric wings at an alarming pace.    "We went from single digits with not really sick kids to 28 kids in a matter of a few weeks, and some of them are quite sick," said Dr. Nick Hysmith, a medical director at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.    See charts with the data here.      Analysis: What is the 'Biden doctrine'? Afghanistan pullout offers clues The chaotic end to the war in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden's first defining foreign policy decision alone in the driver's seat, offers a window into how he believes the U.S. should wield its power: sparingly — especially when U.S. lives are at stake.    More on Afghanistan:  U.S. diplomats urged State Department to begin evacuations out of Afghanistan last month 'Cover your daughters, stay in line': U.S. veteran tries to help Afghan interpreter escape Kabul by text A Florida couple's agonizing wait to adopt an Afghan boy takes on new urgency Friday's Top Stories It rained for the first time at the summit of Greenland's ice sheet  The rare rainfall was only the third time in less than a decade that above-freezing temperatures were recorded at the highest point on the ice sheet.  READ MORE As deadly heat waves spread, access to air conditioning becomes a lifesaving question The summer heat is most dangerous for low-income communities, where many lack air conditioning. Housing advocates want to change that.  READ MORE 'I'm a corpse': Ailing Guadalajara drug kingpin gives first interview from prison Few traces remain of the man who during the 1980s was considered one of the most powerful criminal leaders in the world. READ MORE OPINION Phenom Shohei Ohtani is shaking up baseball — and some old-timers don't like it A day that should have been spent celebrating the Angels' pitching-slugging phenom was instead overshadowed by the racist comments of a 66-year-old white man, sports writer Howard Megdal writes in an opinion piece.  READ MORE Also in the News 2 dead, 20 missing in North Carolina county flooded by Fred Sydney imposes nightly Covid curfew as Australia battles delta outbreak OnlyFans, a site built on sex, will ban 'sexually explicit' content Netflix insider trading suspect pleads guilty to scheme that netted $3 million, feds say  Fox News told employees to report vaccination status Chuck Close, artist known for monumental grid portraits, dies at 81 Shopping Portable AC units are easier to install than traditional window AC units. Though they're typically a pricier alternative, we found some affordable options. One Thankful Thing 10 girls on Afghanistan's robotics team rescued The team, a group of girls ages 16-18 pursuing their love of engineering and robotics, safely arrived in Doha, Qatar, days after Kabul fell to the Taliban.     "Several members of the girls Afghan robotics team have safely arrived in Doha, Qatar, from Kabul, Afghanistan," a statement from the Digital Citizen Fund and Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs said of the Afghan Girls Robotic Team.    Read the full story here.  Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.    If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send me an email at: petra@nbcuni.com   If you're a fan, please forward it to your family and friends. They can sign-up here.    Thanks, Petra Cahill     FOLLOW US     Want to receive NBC Breaking News and Special Alerts in your inbox? SIGN UP HERE Check out all of NBC Newsletters here.     Get the NBC News Mobile App   30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 View in browser | Unsubscribe | Manage Subscription | Contact | Privacy