The Afghanistan War is officially over, but uncertainty looms ahead

Fallout from America's longest war continues, climate change is exacerbating the Caldor fire, and divorce can be fun.

THE BIG STORY   The US military has left Afghanistan after 20 years. A member of the Afghan resistance movement patrols a road in Rah-e Tang, Panjshir province, on Aug. 29. (Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP/Getty Images) The last US military aircraft left Afghanistan on Monday, ahead of President Joe Biden's deadline to withdraw from the country by Aug. 31. It's the official end of a war that spanned three US presidencies and became America's longest military conflict by far.   The evacuation itself was increasingly dicey. In the final weeks, many Afghans were unable to reach Hamid Karzai International Airport for departure because of Taliban-controlled checkpoints, warnings of ISIS-K attacks, and the suicide bomb attack that killed 13 US military personnel and dozens of Afghan civilians.   Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that more than 123,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan, including about 6,000 American citizens. It's unclear how many American citizens and Afghan allies are left in the country, but Biden has said that his administration will continue to work with those left behind to get them out.   Even as the US's longest war comes to a close, fallout from decades of violence and instability continues for those living in Afghanistan. According to Brown University's Costs of War Project, at least 47,000 Afghan civilians died during the war — and that's in addition to the 2,455 US troops that were killed since 2001. Women in Afghanistan, who regained rights to education, work, and political engagement when the Taliban lost power, are now left wondering if they will be able to hold onto these hard-won liberties. As the chaotic US withdrawal comes to a close, these photos capture the life of Afghan civilians bracing themselves for an unknown future. STAYING ON TOP OF THIS   A dangerous wildfire forced thousands of people to flee Lake Tahoe. Firefighters are blaming climate change. A snow gun sprays water at the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort in Twin Bridges, California, on Aug. 30, 2021. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images) Barreling across the Sierra Nevada mountain range and South Lake Tahoe basin in California, the Caldor fire is a new inflection point in the West Coast's ongoing wildfire crisis.   The fire has burned 177,000 acres and destroyed more than 650 structures. An evacuation order has been placed for the entire city of South Lake Tahoe as well as people living in areas along the south and southwestern shore from Tahoma to the Nevada border.   Before this summer, California had never seen fires burn from one side of the Sierras to the other, according to Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter. In the last two weeks, it's happened twice: first with the Dixie fire and now again with the Caldor blazes.   In 2020, wildfires burned more than 10 million acres, including over 4.2 million acres in California — the state's largest fire season on record. Climate scientists attribute these disturbing fire trends to a combination of drought, rising temperatures, and insufficient wildfire risk reduction. And without aggressive action against climate change, experts warn that these once-unprecedented fires could become the new normal.   "What seemed exceedingly unlikely a few weeks ago is happening," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the Nature Conservancy, told BuzzFeed News. SNAPSHOTS   Hurricane Ida battered Louisiana, the Gulf Coast, and Cuba. These photos show the storm's terrifying impact. At least four people have died and a million people have been left without power as of Monday.   A woman testified that R. Kelly raped her when she was 17, days after he'd married Aaliyah. Addie went public with her allegations for the first time to provide evidence for Kelly's pattern of predatory behavior. (This story contains details of sexual assault and coercion.)   Eight months after the Capitol riots, extensive surveillance footage remains secret. There are 14,000 hours of surveillance footage from the Capitol riots. Most of it isn't public, and the government is fighting to keep it that way.   "PEACE" AND RESENTMENT IN JACMEL, HAITI   UN peacekeepers fathered dozens of children in Haiti. The women they exploited are trying to get child support. Since 1948, UN peacekeepers have become common sights at the scenes of devastation around the world. Presenting themselves as an independent force that feeds the hungry and intervenes in genocides, peacekeepers developed credibility in most of the world as a moral compass for the global age.   But evidence of abuse on several missions in recent years has tarnished their reputation — perhaps nowhere more than in Haiti. Between 2004 and 2017, UN peacekeepers fathered dozens of children while they were stationed in Haiti. Peacekeepers often impregnated women they were providing money and food to, and when their rotations ended, they abandoned their babies without resources or personal contact.   Following the July assassination of then-president Jovenel Moïse and a deadly 7.2 magnitude earthquake in August, there have been renewed calls to send UN peacekeepers back to Haiti. But for the local women sexually exploited by them years ago, the thought of their return is hard to bear.   In my opinion, this newsletter excerpt doesn't do justice to all the eye-opening photos and personal stories of this feature reporting. If you have a minute to read the full story, it's worth your time. THANK U, NEXT   A woman re-created the iconic Nicole Kidman divorce look to celebrate her own divorce being finalized. Two divorced icons. (Liz Maupin) Yes, you read that headline correctly. Liz Maupin, a producer in Los Angeles, threw herself a divorce party over the weekend. During the party, she dressed up like Nicole Kidman in the now-iconic paparazzi photo taken after the star got divorced from Tom Cruise in 2001.   "I wanted to celebrate the finality of it and starting a new chapter in my life," she said. "I love that photo of Nicole so much. I think it says so much about relief and freedom."   Maupin said that while it was "super difficult" to leave an "unhealthy" marriage, she knew it was the right decision — and one that led her back to herself. At her party, she surprised her guests by changing into the outfit halfway through the event and emerging with arms wide open, just like Kidman did.    "I highly recommend having a divorce party if you find yourself divorced someday," Maupin said. Be kind and be yourself. Everything else is just noise. Alexa 📝  This letter was edited and brought to you by Alexa Lee and BuzzFeed News. 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