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SACRAMENTO — For a gener-ation, Larry Elder has been anAM radio fixture for millions ofCalifornians, the voice they couldcount on when they were fed upwith liberal Democratic politics.Undocumented immigrants? De-port them. Affirmative action?End it. Equal pay? The glass ceil-ing does not exist.

Now Mr. Elder, a Los AngelesRepublican who bills himself as“the sage from South Central,”could end up as the next governorof the nation’s most populousstate. As the campaign to recallGov. Gavin Newsom has become adead heat among likely voters, Mr.Elder has emerged almostovernight as the front-runner inthe campaign to replace him.

Fueled by a combination of ar-

cane recall rules, name recogni-tion and partisan desperation, hisrise to the top of a pack of somefour dozen challengers hasstunned and unnerved many inboth parties.

Democrats call him the agent ofa far-right power grab. Republi-can rivals say he is an inexperi-enced, debate-dodging opportun-ist. Orrin Heatlie, the retired sher-iff’s sergeant who is the recall’slead proponent, said he and his fel-low activists were voting forsomeone else.

This month, The SacramentoBee and two Republican candi-dates — Kevin Faulconer, a for-mer San Diego mayor, and CaitlynJenner, a television personalityand former Olympian — de-

A Fixture of Right-Wing RadioCould Soon Govern California

By SHAWN HUBLER

Continued on Page A15

EXIT EFFORT The United States is focusing on the historical airliftnarrative as a way to shift attention from the chaos. PAGE A7

WHO NEEDS TO GET OUT? The Biden administration offers a stream ofupdates but won’t estimate the one number that matters most. PAGE A8

President Biden said Tuesdaythat the United States intended towithdraw completely from Af-ghanistan at the end of the monthas planned, rebuffing pleas fromBritain, France and other NATOallies to keep troops in Kabul andhastening the end of a franticevacuation that has become agrim coda to two decades of war.

Even as Mr. Biden spoke fromthe White House, officials said theUnited States had already begunto reduce its military presence atHamid Karzai International Air-port in Kabul, sending about 300of the 5,800 Marines and soldiershome in anticipation of the conclu-sion of their rescue mission withina week.

“The sooner we can finish, thebetter,” the president said, hoursafter informing world leaders ofhis intentions during an emer-gency virtual meeting. Citing thethreat from an Islamic State affili-ate known as ISIS-K and operat-ing in Afghanistan, he said that“every day we’re on the ground isanother day we know that ISIS-Kis seeking to target the airport, at-tack both U.S. and allied forcesand innocent civilians.”

But Mr. Biden did not close thedoor to extending what has be-come an immense evacuation ef-fort. He said that he had asked thePentagon and the State Depart-ment for contingency plans incase it became necessary to staylonger.

“I’m determined to ensure thatwe complete our mission,” he said.

The president said that morethan 70,000 people had been fer-ried out of harm’s way since Aug.14, the day before the Talibanswept into power in Kabul; onTuesday, the Pentagon reportedits biggest number of daily evacu-ations from the Kabul airport sofar, saying it had airlifted 21,600people out of the country over 24hours.

The fast-approaching Ameri-can withdrawal coincided with athreat by the Taliban to stop Af-ghans from traveling to the air-port, which crowds have mobbedfor days, under pitiless sun and atrisk of brutal attacks by militants.It was an ominous sign that for the

REBUFFING ALLIES,BIDEN IS STICKINGTO EXIT DEADLINE

Says 70,000 FerriedOut of Afghanistan

By MARK LANDLERand MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Continued on Page A8

Afghan refugees in Chantilly, Va., on Tuesday. The Pentagon said it had airlifted 21,600 people out of the country over 24 hours.KENNY HOLSTON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The first signs of armed resist-ance to the Taliban have comefrom a narrow valley with a his-tory of repelling invaders.

Just days after the Talibanswept into the capital and toppledthe government in a lightning of-fensive, a group of former muja-hedeen fighters and Afghan com-mandos said they had regroupedand begun a war of resistance inthe last area in Afghanistan notunder Taliban control.

The man leading them is Ah-mad Massoud, the 32-year-old sonof the storied mujahedeen com-mander Ahmad Shah Massoud,stepping into his father’s foot-steps 20 years after his death topick up his dogged fight againstthe Taliban.

But their struggle faces longodds. Strategic as their redoubt is,the resistance fighters are cut offand surrounded by the Taliban,have supplies that will soon startdwindling, and have no visibleoutside support.

For now the resistance hasmerely two assets: the PanjshirValley, 70 miles north of Kabul,which has a history of repelling in-vaders, and the legendary Mas-soud name.

Spokesmen for Ahmad Mas-soud insist he has already at-tracted thousands of soldiers tothe valley, including remnants ofthe Afghan Army’s special forcesand some of his father’s experi-enced guerrilla commanders, aswell as activists and others whoreject the Taliban’s Islamic Emir-ate.

The spokesmen, some of whomwere with him in the Panjshir Val-ley and some who were outsidethe country drumming up sup-port, said that Mr. Massoud hasstocks of weapons and matériel,including American helicopters,but needs more.

“We’re waiting for some oppor-tunity, some support,” said HamidSaifi, a former colonel in the Af-ghan National Army, and now acommander in Mr. Massoud’s re-sistance, who was reached in thePanjshir Valley by telephone onSunday. “Maybe some countrieswill be ready for this great work.So far, all countries we talked to

Resistance to TalibanGets a New Face

By CARLOTTA GALLand ADAM NOSSITER

Continued on Page A6

Late Edition

VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 59,161 © 2021 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021

The Americans are all but gone,the Afghan government has col-lapsed, and the Taliban rule thestreets of Kabul now. Overnight,millions of Kabul residents havebeen left to navigate an uncertaintransition after 20 years of U.S.-backed rule.

On Tuesday, nine days after theTaliban walked back into power,government services were stilllargely unavailable. Residents arestruggling to lead their daily livesin an economy that, propped upfor the past generation by Ameri-

can aid, is now suddenly in freefall.

Banks are closed, and cash isgrowing scarce even as foodprices rise. Gas is becoming hard-er to find.

With American forces clingingto the international airport to con-duct a rushed evacuation, the Tal-iban continued to tighten theirgrip in the capital’s neighbor-hoods and streets. While relativecalm reigned over the capital, insharp contrast to the free-for-all atthe airport, many residents hid intheir homes or ventured out onlycautiously to see what life mightbe like under their new rulers.

Reports varied according to

neighborhoods and people, pro-viding an evolving and sometimescontradictory snapshot of life in acity governed, once again, by theTaliban — a movement now prom-ising moderation and inclusive-ness but with a history of adher-ence to a harsh and uncompromis-ing Islamist order of society.

Even residents who said they

feared the Taliban were struck bythe relative order and quiet on thestreets — a sharp contrast withyears of rising crime and violencethat had become a daily facet oflife in the capital.

But for some, the quiet has beenominous.

A resident named Mohib saidthat, in his section of the city,streets were deserted, with peoplehunkering down in their homes“scared and terrorized.”

“People feel the Taliban maycome any moment to take awayeverything from them,” said Mo-hib, who, like the dozen residentsinterviewed for this article, is be-

In Kabul Streets, Eerie Quiet and a Struggle to Make Ends MeetBy NORIMITSU ONISHI

and SHARIF HASSANMoods Veer From Fear

to Hope in a Capitalon the Edge

Continued on Page A7

Kathleen Hochul, left, with her husband at a ceremonial swearing-in by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore.CINDY SCHULTZ FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

ALBANY, N.Y. — Kathleen C.Hochul became the first woman toascend to New York’s highest of-fice on Tuesday, vowing to usherin an era of civility and consensusin government after the decade-long reign of her disgraced prede-cessor, Andrew M. Cuomo.

In her first address as thestate’s 57th governor, Ms. Hochulspoke broadly of confronting NewYork’s most pressing needs. Sheportrayed herself as an executiveleader who has been grounded byher upbringing in Buffalo, and in-

fluenced by her interactions withNew Yorkers affected by a weak-ened economy, the opioid crisisand the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve been in the trenches withlocal health leaders and officialsbattling the pandemic day afterday after day,” Ms. Hochul, a for-mer congresswoman, said in an

11-minute speech. “Your prioritiesare my priorities, and right now,that means fighting the Delta vari-ant.”

The new governor was sworn inat the State Capitol at 10 a.m., aceremonial event that followed anofficial swearing-in at a privateceremony just after midnight. Herascension capped a whirlwindchain of events that followed a se-ries of sexual harassment allega-tions that culminated with Mr.Cuomo’s resignation.

Ms. Hochul said that her imme-diate goal was to ensure a safe

Hochul Breaks a Barrier and Pledges a New EraBy LUIS FERRÉ-SADURNÍ Pandemic a Priority for

First Woman to RunNew York State

Continued on Page A16

The testimony was explosive:In June, a witness told Guatema-la’s top anticorruption prosecutorthat he had gone to the president’shome and delivered a rolled-upcarpet stuffed with cash.

It brought the prosecutor, JuanFrancisco Sandoval, one stepcloser to a head-on collision withGuatemala’s president.

Mr. Sandoval’s anticorruptionunit had already searched a homelinked to the president’s formersecretary, looking for informationabout $16 million his team hadfound jammed into suitcases. Andin May, a witness told him that thepresident had negotiated a $2.6million campaign contribution inexchange for maintaining govern-ment contracts, documents show.

The president attacked Mr. San-doval publicly. Top American offi-cials, including Secretary of StateAntony J. Blinken, expressedalarm over efforts to underminethe anticorruption unit — but thepressure didn’t work.

In July, Mr. Sandoval wasabruptly fired and, fearing the in-vestigation would be snuffed out,fled the country with the evidencehe had gathered.

“The Guatemalan justice sys-tem has been overtaken by themafias in power,” Mr. Sandovalsaid in an interview from theUnited States. “I was the last visi-ble holdout in the fight againstcorruption.”

This is the stark reality facingthe Biden administration as itgrapples with the migration crisison its southern border. Most of the

Graft HindersMigrant Effort

In GuatemalaBy NATALIE KITROEFF

Continued on Page A10

Oscar E. Carrillo is haunted by what hefinds in the Texas desert as the numberof migrant deaths has soared. PAGE A11

NATIONAL A11-17

A Sheriff’s Unwelcome DutyCharlie Watts, a dignified and dapperdrummer alongside flamboyant band-mates, powered the group’s sound forover 50 years. He was 80. PAGE A20

OBITUARIES A20-21

Heartbeat of the Rolling StonesWith the upbeat theme “We HaveWings,” the Paralympics began in To-kyo with no spectators in the stadiumand sparse crowds outside it. PAGE B8

SPORTS B6-8

Hoping the Games Soar

By one vote, the House passed a $3.5trillion plan to expand the safety net,after haggling by Democrats. PAGE A12

Budget Blueprint Squeaks ByThe mandate follows the F.D.A.’s firstfull approval of a vaccine, a step manycompanies had been awaiting. PAGE B1

Goldman Sachs Requires Shots

After a year of postponements, couplesare racing to the aisle, giving a much-needed lift to an industry. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-5

Wedding Business Is Booming

Tom Coughlin PAGE A23

OPINION A22-23 Large-scale aquafarms can cause eco-logical havoc, but there are some small-scale, sustainable exceptions. PAGE D1

FOOD D1-8

Giving Scallops a Lift

A labor agreement with the orchestrameans that the company is on track toreopen next month after Covid-19 keptit closed for more than a year. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

Deal Reached at Met OperaThe daughter of a World War II veterantracked down three children her fatherwas photographed with 77 years ago,after almost firing on them. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-10

In Italy, a 1944 Flashback

As a child, our writer adored Billy Joel’s“We Didn’t Start the Fire.” The singerwasn’t so wild about it, though. PAGE C1

The Song She Loved First

Today, mostly sunny, hot, humid,dry, high 90. Tonight, clear, warmand humid, low 76. Tomorrow, in-creasing clouds, hot, humid, high 90.Weather map appears on Page A18.

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