Briefly with OZY

In a clear signal to China, the U.S. and Britain are helping Australia deploy a fleet of nuclear-powered, but not nuclear-armed, submarines. Washington, D.C., is fencing in the Capitol again. And a crew of amateurs is floating in space today.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom survived yesterday’s recall election, dashing GOP dreams of governing the state. North Korea today fired two ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan, prompting a strong response from Seoul and Tokyo. And Afghan women are posting photos of themselves in colorful traditional dress after the Taliban told female students to wear niqabs.

Since the Taliban seized power, a dearth of aid to Afghanistan has put 14 million people at the risk of starvation, the U.N. has warned. Polls show Gavin Newsom set for victory over Larry Elder as California holds recall election. And pop stars, and even politicians, wowed at the Met Gala in New York.

The U.S. and Japan have expressed concern after North Korea tested several long range cruise missiles over the weekend. Iran and the U.N.'s atomic energy agency have reached a last-minute deal aimed at saving nuclear deal talks. And online wellness gurus are contributing to dangerous anti-vaccine misinformation.

Americans are remembering nearly 3,000 people killed in the 9/11 terror attacks 20 years ago while grappling with that day’s legacy. California’s governor seems poised to prevail in Tuesday’s recall election. And Shanksville, Pennsylvania, is struggling to survive two decades after hijackers crashed Flight 93 nearby.

U.S. President Joe Biden has thrown down the gauntlet on vaccines, announcing wide mandates to get shots into American workers’ arms. The DOJ’s suing Texas over its new restrictive abortion law. And the Ig Nobels, the awards that celebrate weird science, named researchers who flew rhinos upside down and tested the effects of orgasms as a nasal decongestant among this year's winners.

The Taliban say they want ex-government officials to return to help run Afghanistan, but skeptics aren’t convinced they’ll keep their promises of amnesty. Los Angeles is poised to adopt the nation’s largest school vaccine mandate. And Robert E. Lee has been unhorsed in Richmond.

Afghanistan's new government is made up of Taliban stalwarts, including a Haqqani network militant wanted by the FBI, and there isn't a woman in sight. As Texas tightens abortion restrictions, neighboring Mexico has gone the other way, decriminalizing terminations. And a fowl-mouthed Australian duck has shocked scientists by mimicking human speech.

The DOJ has come out guns blazing against Texas' new restrictive abortion laws, with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland vowing to challenge them. Afghan university students have been separated by gender and pop-art murals are being whitewashed as the Taliban cement power. And Michael K. Williams, who played Omar in The Wire, has died aged 54.

Guinea emerged from military rule just over a decade ago. Now it seems the army is in charge again after a weekend military coup deposed President Alpha Condé. The Taliban says they've captured the Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan's last bastion of resistance. And Yale's "happiness professor" recommends we all need a "funtervention" after months of pandemic pain.