
Democrats say they'll probe "worst-case scenario" in Afghanistan
CBSN
Although most Democrats stand by the president's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, top congressional leaders are demanding to know why the U.S. seemed so ill-prepared for the rapid political and military collapse of the country, which left the U.S. military scrambling to evacuate thousands of Americans and vulnerable Afghans.
Democrats, who currently control both the House and the Senate and lead the congressional committees, plan to hold hearings on Afghanistan beginning next week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a local CBS station in San Francisco Tuesday that the "highest-level officials" in the Biden administration will testify next week before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in what will likely be the first of several hearings on the withdrawal process and the capitulation of Afghanistan's political leaders to the Taliban. "That is Congress' role, the role of oversight, and that will take place early next week, at least it will begin then," Pelosi said, even as she commended the president's decision to withdraw from the country by August 31.More Related News

In the past year, over 135 million passengers traveled to the U.S. from other countries. To infectious disease experts, that represents 135 million chances for an outbreak to begin. To identify and stop the next potential pandemic, government disease detectives have been discreetly searching for viral pathogens in wastewater from airplanes. Experts are worried that these efforts may not be enough.