The R&B superstar may have experienced a “social death,” with his music largely disappearing in public. But streaming data tells a more complicated story.

With R. Kelly on Trial, What Has Become of His Music?

More low-wage employees want opportunities to grow. Big companies are making more promises to help them.

Workers, in Demand, Have a New Demand of Their Own: A Career Path

From mask mandates to critical race theory and gender identity, educators are besieged. “You are just trying to keep everything from collapsing,” one official said.

The School Culture Wars: ‘You Have Brought Division to Us’

The backlash to Apple’s efforts to fight child sexual abuse show that in the debate between privacy and security, there are few easy answers.

Are Apple’s Tools Against Child Abuse Bad for Your Privacy?

Most of the Afghan central bank’s reserves are frozen at the Federal Reserve. And the International Monetary Fund will block more than $400 million in aid.

U.S. and I.M.F. Apply a Financial Squeeze on the Taliban

“No one trusts this government here,” said a farmer in one village where at least 20 residents were killed by the quake as they attended a funeral at a church that collapsed.

‘We’re on Our Own’: Many Earthquake Survivors Expect No Help From Haitian Officials

More than 100 new official or pro-Taliban accounts and pages have surfaced on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, despite a ban on the group by the sites.

Taliban Ramp Up on Social Media, Defying Bans by the Platforms

One of the most vaccinated societies, Israel now has one of the highest infection rates in the world, raising questions about the vaccine’s efficacy.

Israel, Once the Model for Beating Covid, Faces New Surge of Infections

Starting in the spring, the Taliban negotiated wholesale surrenders and seized roadways and weapons, handing them vital propaganda victories and freedom to move quickly to the next opportunity.

Collapse and Conquest: The Taliban Strategy That Seized Afghanistan

While the militants appear firmly in control, some prominent figures vowed to continue resistance as protests erupted in two cities and millions of Afghans parsed clues about the Taliban’s intentions.

First Resistance to Taliban Rule Tests Afghanistan’s Uncertain Future

President Biden’s decision not to begin mass evacuations of Afghans months ago has left thousands of people in limbo.

Series of U.S. Actions Left Afghan Allies Frantic, Stranded and Eager to Get Out

The new strategies — including encouraging booster shots for most vaccinated Americans — reflect concerns that the Delta variant is erasing progress against the pandemic.

Biden Ramps Up Virus Strategy for Nursing Homes and Schools, and Urges Booster Shots

The discovery suggested that horseshoe crab brains haven’t changed much and that there are more ways for soft tissues to be preserved in the fossil record.

This Brain Remained Intact in a 310 Million-Year-Old Fossil

Three audio journalists with different specialties discuss shaping an episode that captured the collapse through a single voice.

How ‘The Daily’ Covered Afghanistan’s Fall

“Getting the vaccines that are authorized by the respective authorities is an act of love,” the pope says in a video from the Ad Council.

Pope Francis Encourages Covid Vaccines in Media Campaign

Quotation of the Day for Wednesday, August 18, 2021.

Quotation of the Day: ‘My Future Is Dark’: Fear Rises in Women After Years of Gains

An example of “how New York eats itself up and spits itself out again,” as one passer-by remarks, “like a living organism.”

What Happened to Gem Spa’s Zoltar Fortunetelling Machine?

For a summer project, we gave sportswriters 900 words and a theme: freedom. First up, Vinny Marciano was a champion swimmer. Then he disappeared.

Into the Mist

She will take over immediately as editor in chief, a role recently vacated by Noah Shachtman, who left for the top job at Rolling Stone magazine.

The Daily Beast selects Tracy Connor as its top editor.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July 27-28 meeting showed that “most” officials “judged that the standard set out in the committee’s guidance regarding asset purchases could be reached this year.”

Fed officials saw a path to slowing bond-buying this year, but debated when to start.

For the first time, line-skipping privileges at Walt Disney World in Florida will cost $15 per person, an added cost for what is already an expensive destination.

To Skip the Line at Disney, Get Ready to Pay a Genie

A selection of books published this week.

Newly Published, From a California Wildfire to Kendrick Lamar

Curt Flood took a stand against baseball’s entrenched powers. His defiance cost him everything — and changed everything.

The Sacrifice

The Taliban’s return to power is no victory for Beijing, which faces the threat of extremism and an American military no longer bogged down by the “war on terror.”

To China, Afghan Fall Proves U.S. Hubris. It Also Brings New Dangers.

David Marcus, the head of its financial services unit, described the social network as a “challenger in the payments industry” that faces unfair resistance.

August 18, 2021

Headlines from August 18, 2021

With R. Kelly on Trial, What Has Become of His Music?

Workers, in Demand, Have a New Demand of Their Own: A Career Path

The School Culture Wars: ‘You Have Brought Division to Us’

Are Apple’s Tools Against Child Abuse Bad for Your Privacy?

U.S. and I.M.F. Apply a Financial Squeeze on the Taliban

Billboard 200

Happier Than Ever

Sour

King's Disease II

F*ck Love

Planet Her

Historical Context for August 18, 2021