Service members killed in Afghanistan to be honored in congressional gold medal ceremony
CBSN
Washington — The 13 U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul in 2021 will be honored posthumously Tuesday in a congressional Gold Medal ceremony at the Capitol that comes three years after the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is hosting the ceremony and will be joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, along with family members of those killed in the attack, which took place at the Kabul airport.
President Biden has faced fierce criticism over the deadly evacuation, which Republicans are highlighting this week. And they've drawn attention to Vice President Kamala Harris' role in the withdrawal as the Democratic presidential nominee is about to take on former President Donald Trump in their first debate Tuesday night.
An American Airlines jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night while coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The Black Hawk helicopter was carrying a crew of three. Officials said early Thursday that everyone on board both aircraft is believed dead, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly a quarter century.