Your Wish is My Commando: “The United States spent almost $90 billion building the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Although the force as a whole was incompetent and handed the country over to the Taliban in a matter of weeks, the commandos were always held in high regard, having been schooled by U.S. Navy SEALs and the British Special Air Service.” And now, Russia’s Recruiting Afghan Commandos.

+ Protest of Wills: “Iranian security forces have opened fire on protesters who had gathered in their thousands in Mahsa Amini’s hometown to mark 40 days since her death.” That’s the lede, but the photo in this article tells the story.

+ Grease Trap: “Lawmakers who had been told about the trip’s benefits in classified briefings and other conversations that included details of the oil deal — which has not been previously disclosed and was supposed to lead to a surge in production between September and December — have been left fuming that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman duped the administration.” U.S. Officials Had a Secret Oil Deal With the Saudis. Or So They Thought. More BS from MBS.

+ Quaker Notes: “When a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Bay Area on Tuesday morning, some residents got up to an 18-second warning that the region was about to get shaky.” MyShake app can alert users before the next earthquake happens. (When I got yesterday’s earthquake alert, I was like, “Phew, I thought this was another unsolicited text from a politician raising money.”)

+ Beast Mode: “In addition to his own YouTube channel, MrBeast runs Beast Reacts (19.8 million followers), MrBeast Gaming (29.1 million followers), and MrBeast Shorts (16.2 million followers). In 2020, MrBeast launched a food delivery business called MrBeast Burger, which delivers in more than 1,000 locations across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Last month, he opened his first physical restaurant for MrBeast Burger, in New Jersey, drawing thousands of visitors to the location on opening day.” YouTube mega-star MrBeast seeks 10-figure valuation.

+ Orbit By Bit: “The station fired its thrusters for 5 minutes and 5 seconds in what NASA called a ‘Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver.'” The International Space Station had to move to dodge space junk. We can make a mess out of anything.

+ Extreme Winger: “And now Phil Kessel stands alone. Kessel became the NHL’s new ‘iron man’ on Tuesday — and did so in style, scoring his 400th career goal … The 35-year-old winger has now appeared in 990 consecutive games, a streak that started Nov. 3, 2009.”