WATCHING TODAY:

1. This is the real story of the Afghan biometric databases abandoned to the Taliban: Eileen Guo + Hikmat Noori write by capturing 40 pieces of data per person—from iris scans and family links to their favorite fruit—a system meant to cut fraud in the Afghan security forces may actually aid the Taliban.

2. Why is Silicon Valley still waiting for the next big thing? NYT reports the tech industry has grown ever more rich off big ideas that were developed more than a decade ago. New things like quantum computing and self-driving cars could take a while.

3. A new Pew Research poll finds that just 41% of adults approve of President Biden’s job performance, which is down slightly from September (44%) and substantially lower than last April (59%).

+ Just 21% of the public is satisfied with the way things are going in the US.

4. ‘Bob wouldn’t be Bob without Rita’: Ziggy Marley on his mother and father: Rob Walker writes with an exhibition featuring unseen photos of the singer opening in London, his son talks about his father’s passion for sport – and the night he was shot.

5. Abby Roque is poised to make history in Beijing, in more ways than one: SI reports with several Team USA fixtures now retired, the center will lead a new generation’s quest for glory while breaking new ground in her sport as an Indigenous player.