described as america's longest war, has come to an end. washington's ambassador to kabul and the us military commander there were on the final evacuation flight. the us says it has evacuated nearly 80,000 civilians in the past few weeks. taliban fighters have now taken control of kabul airport. video footage shows them walking towards planes by the side of the runway. earlier, taliban forces fired their guns in the air and let off fireworks to celebrate the united states completing their withdrawal. a huge rescue operation is taking place in the us state of louisiana which was struck by hurricane ida. the storm is known to have killed at least two people, but many more are feared to have lost their lives. most of the state's southeast is without power.

and number of councils and tourist areas have declared this summer a pump or success due to staycations. some occupancy rates have been running a very close to 100%. salisbury cathedral has had double the number of visitors as last summer. but nearly everyone in the tourist industry is worried what will happen next. duncan kennedy reports from bournemouth. from brighton to bournemouth, the south coast is just one area that has seen record numbers of tourists this summer. it has been so busy, even hotel managers like 0livia 0'sullivan have had to help clean rooms. been full pretty much since we started, probably about 96% occupancy. is it sustainable? i don't know. 0nce anything else opens up, i don't know if people will come back to the uk. but it's notjust beach resorts. here at salisbury cathedral, city break seekers have also been flocking in.

has staycation saved the day for the cathedral? it has certainly made a huge difference. we are seeing people coming to salisbury and salisbury cathedral from right across the country, so we are feeling very positive about the future, but knowing that we still have quite a long way to go. but the issue now is what happens next. as the summer tapers away, they've got the autumn to think of, but crucially, they are already looking ahead to the summer of 2022. a summer that they hope will see more of us holiday at home. duncan kennedy, bbc news. now on bbc news — the travel show, with another chance to see the second part of rajan datar�*s epic rail journey across the united states. i'm on a coast—to—coast trek across the south of the usa, exploring the places that have grown up along the sunset limited train line. myjourney started in the unique port city of new orleans, and continued

across from louisiana to texas, and one of america's most distinctive national parks. this is the rio grande. welcome to the border! this week, as i continue my journey along the rail route, but off the beaten track, i find out how close we came to the end of the world. three, two, one, release. you and i have just started something that we can't stop. and discover a wonderland conjured from the imagination of a groundbreaking artist. i literally microwaved a microwave while it is microwaving. i'm the only one in human history that has successfully pulled off this accomplishment. this is americana, but not as we know it.

in the middle of the west texas desert, you can walk for miles and miles before you come across anything resembling a homestead, or civilisation. this is one of the most remote areas in the country. and then, you come across this... i've got to be honest, that is the last thing i would imagine i would see in the middle of the desert. you can't actually buy anything here — it's an artwork — but that doesn't mean people don't come for miles to see it. like these two, who have driven eight hours from dallas. i think it is a really interesting social commentary on branding, and i think it's very ironic to have it here in the middle of the desert.

and the fake prada boutique is just a foretaste. we are on the outskirts of an unusual oasis of art in the once anonymous ranch town of marfa, that began life as a railroad stop. and marfa's transformation is largely down to the arrival in the 19705 of a leading artist from new york, the late donald judd. with this space and freedom, he created one of the world's largest installations of contemporary art. that an artist from new york city at the height of his career left new york, he thought it was a harsh and glib environment that did not support artists or their art, and what he created has inspired this whole other group of artists, writers, film—makers, musicians to come and have a life here. the artists live and work at the museum,

they have a studio space... jenny was one of those budding creative pilgrims, so impressed byjudd's work, she moved from new york to marfa with her young family. then there are these concrete blocks, judd's first works here, met with bemusement by many locals. some of the jokes were they look like culverts or cattle pens, and there was scepticism at first, but the local people who have come and walked on these pieces have a sense of belovedness towards them. back in the town's main drag, i decide to get a local�*s point of view. this used to be a mechanic shop, and blacksmith shop. this lot, now it's a big

art gallery and studio. as i quickly discover, the saloon bar owner is not your average joe. this self—proclaimed cowboy out of the box is a bit of a southern dude, and he knows it. you want a beer? i'd love a beer. tell me what's the story of this town? you've been here for more than 30 years? or the first time you came here was more than 30 years ago. how has it changed? marfa was just a small town, kind of dying, there were more mom—and—pop shops back then. and the thing that change this town was what? it was art that changed the town. you could say it saved the town. marfa never had a restaurant, or new york or asian food, different types of food, things like that, we didn't have nice hotels.

initially, it was a culture clash, and the locals weren't too keen on the new breed. they butted heads, they didn't like it, very prejudiced against one another, and now they've learned to coexist, and it's getting better and better and will continue to get better and better. there seems to be a bit of a marfa effect. tai mitchell is now a feature film actor, and model. what kind of roles are you playing? all i can play is myself, i'm just myself, i play tai mitchell. and he seems to be having a ball doing just that. every weekend there is somebody from some different culture, continent, anywhere

from the northern realm, south america, australia, asia, africa, europe, just everybody comes here, so i get my culture fix without ever having to leave home. i think you could finish this game off in a moment. where did the black go? you sunk it. you were very polite, i didn't even notice i put the black down by mistake! time to leave the remote expanses of texas behind and continue west, through the arizona desert, following the train route. so here we are, tucson, arizona, one of those place names i heard so often, but never thought i would actually visit.

it owes its existence to the train line, which transformed this isolated frontier post into a major urban centre. and they are proud of their rail history here. is that a bell? can i ring that? sure, go ahead. yeah? bell rings. wow, that is a slice of history. just in that noise, that sound. it's beautiful. but there's more to this area than meets the eye. this is a typical arizona landscape, vast desert and mountain ranges. but what the state is less famous for is something that could have changed the course of history in a momentous way, and it's right beneath my feet.

an intercontinental ballistic missile complex, one of only two in the world open to the public. now decommissioned, but for two decades, capable of delivering a nine megaton nuclear warhead to targets more than 10,000 kilometres away. that's 650 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on hiroshima. when we get to the bottom we will be about 35 feet underground, on what's considered level two. yvonne was a crew commander here in the 1980s. if you'll take a seat there. am i going to be in charge? i'm going to sort of let you be in charge... she took me through a simulation of what would have happened if the president

ordered a strike. after a complex series of checks and verifications, it all comes down to two people turning a key. three, two, one, turn to the right. four, three, two, one, release. you and i have just started something that we can't stop. there is no oops button down here. it's quite chilling already, as you're talking about this, as those sirens and alarms go off. you just saw and heard everything that the crew would have seen and heard if they had ever been ordered to launch their missile. it's really kind of silent.

three, two, one, turn, give it a turn when it's green. why do you let people in to witness the simulation? what's the purpose? this site is a national historic landmark, and that designation is given to historic sites that have so influenced the american psyche is to have had an impact on almost everyone in the united states. there's no way to call this missile back, there's no destruct package on the metal. it's that feeling in your gut, when we're going through the sequence, it's chilling, so cold war sites, they can drive the necessity for peace home almost better than anything else.

yvonne leads me through the complex to get a look at the missile itself. this is the nerve centre of the missile site. all right, so we going to be going inside the launch duct now and when we go in, watch your head. 0k. and we're going to be standing directly underneath the missile here. that's incredible. it's so, so high up. 103 feet. 103 feet, and you can feel its power and, you know, in a scary kind of way. and have you ever talked to a counterpart of yours who was doing the same thing on the soviet union side? i've actually — yes, i've actually had the opportunity to meet one former soviet crew member. he came with his son to tour the museum. so they brought him into my office, just really nice guy, and as he was shaking my hand,

he said "thanks for not launching". and i couldn't think of anything to say but "thank you for not launching". i mean, this was... it was just — we were both so grateful to have the opportunity to meet each other, and in peace. and you are two human beings who personally could have easily have led to... right, either one of us. ..the destruction of the world. yes, either one of us. and on that apocalyptic note, i continue my exploration west, where the nightmare scenario of titan ii mutates into fa ntasy. crossing the arizona border into the californian desert, and where the hollywood dream for a select few became reality — palm springs,

the home of classic americana. well, hello, ken. hello, welcome to palm springs! thank you so much. sheltered from the elements by these enormous mountains, the town of palm springs became a desert playground for the rich and famous in the �*40s, �*50s and �*60s. they couldn't go anywhere in hollywood without having people photographing them and people wanting their autograph and... ken was part of this exclusive world as he ran a luxury resort catering for hollywood's millionaire celebrities. everybody in the film industry would come here because they had privacy, by and large. they built homes here, they bought homes here, and so that's where we got the movie economy and we had everybody from bob hope to sinatra, elizabeth taylor and all those people,

they were all super nice and... so you met elizabeth taylor then? oh, yeah. elizabeth taylor was a sweetheart, yeah, she — and barbra streisand. by the mid �*60s, palm springs had more swimming pools per capita than anywhere else in the world. but over the years, as more people were drawn to the glamour, palm springs lost its cachet and a new generation of dream—makers took over and none so original as ken's son. you're going to see — when you come to our carnival it'll become pretty apparent. it'll be pretty apparent, will it? 0k. oh, you won't miss it. here it is. wow! look at that! that is astonishing. welcome to the wacky world of kennyjunior.

an artist whose work is now luring sightseers away from frank sinatra's old house around the corner to see this fantastical creation instead. what do you think is more interesting, this place or frank sinatra's house? this. this place! laughs. kenny irwin junior�*s robots. ken senior likens his son's worked to michelangelo, and has become his proud patron. do you know what these mean? do they mean anything to you? well, everyone of them means is some — kenny has created a unique sculpture out of material that would be in a landfill. yeah. so he uses tons and tons of material that would be in a landfill. he's recycled and made it

into great works of art. where is kenny? he's out here. kenny? where's kenny? uh! chuckles. he's behind you! kenny! i think this is kenny. that's the man! this is astonishing. your father has told us a little bit about what's going on here but could you take me on a little tour? yeah, absolutely. yeah? fantastic. and you've made every single one of these pieces, obviously. yeah, made them all by myself. and over how many years? i've been working on my art for i'd say at least the last four decades, since i've been living and breathing. really? yeah, i wasjust born an artist. on these four acres of land, kenny has used 1,000 tons of recycled stuff to create 350 works of art so far.

here's the hockey bot. and what is that? it's made out of refrigerators. made out of refrigerators! yeah. right there's the robo bear, it's made out of an air—conditioning compressor, and that is santa's wagon up there. that is astonishing. what are the reindeer made of? everything! basically everything is made of everything. is made of everything! yeah. and that is the what bunny? this is the mongolian easter bunny's mobile throne. i'm just reading this — this is one of the world's only two microwaved microwaves? that is correct. this is a genuine microwaved microwave. i literally microwaved a microwave while it was microwaving. i'm the only one in human history that's ever successfully pulled off this accomplishment. shall i ask a silly question. why? why not? both chuckle. again, it's or why not world in a why world and these are the kind of things that

i do with my art. this why not attitude runs throughout kenny's work. he tells me he'll make art out of any unwanted item. it's a mind—boggling spectacle. a mishmash of household items painted in bubblegum colours and a whole host of themes, some religious — kenny converted to islam while at college. this is the gorilla bod here and the look out, it's behind the gorilla bot. as this thing grew and grew and grew, and obviously it's very tall, and you are overlooking your neighbours' houses and lawns. what do they think? well, i love it. they bring me stuff to make my art out of. this neighbour over here, well, he bought one of my microwave artworks — it's a microwaved laptop — for $1,500. $1,500? yeah, and he gratefully displays it in his living room and brags about it. and they're fans, every one of your neighbours fans of your work? they love my work.

in fact, just about the entire town of palm springs knows about it. people come from germany, japan, the uae, france, india — all different places, telling me they came here just to see this. where do you think this fits in, where you fit in, even, to contemporary america? i don't know where i could fit in. i don't think it fits in anywhere really to speak of. how we got men on the moon and how we'll get men on mars or people on mars isn't going to happen by how things fit in with other things, it's going to happen by how things that have been — never been done before is how it's gonna happen. at christmas, the whole place is lit up. and kenny has big plans for the future, too — he wants to build a 300—acre theme park based on his designs. he reckons once investors and engineers are on board, he could have it built in ten years. in the meantime, we will have

to settle for a ride on this. i physically can't get in this! of course you can fit in there! you're not that big! i'm not that big at all. do you think grown—ups should be riding around in these, too? absolutely, there is no excuse not to. kenny, there's only one problem, right? what, what's that? we are on this thing and there's no—one to turn it off. does that mean we are on this flight forever? well, in theory, that could happen. time to leave this garden of dreams behind and head westward to america's so—called city of dreams, los angeles. it's the final stop on the sunset limited train line, which i followed here all the way from new orleans.

they call this one of the last great railway stations in the us and it marks one end of a line that created the hugely important artery carrying cargo and passenger traffic from coast to coast. and i tell you what, it's absolutely beautiful. like a church. and this is one reason why so many people make the trip to the californian coastline — for its beautiful weather and beaches. this is it! finally! the pacific ocean! new orleans seems an eternity away. so with 2,000 miles under my belt, having travelled coast to coast,

i kind of realise it's difficult to talk about a single shared american dream when this country has become so diverse. travelling off the well—worn tourist trail, i've discovered such different communities, each with an independent spirit, colourful history and a unique story to tell. all of which go towards what it means to be a modern american. hello there. many parts of the uk will have another cool and cloudy day on tuesday. on monday, the sunshine was restricted more to sheltered western areas of the uk. we had some sunshine in the southwest before the cloud increased, and temperatures reached 20 celsius in plymouth. highest temperature

was in castlederg, in country tyrone, northern ireland. only 15 celsius in aberdeen and scarborough. and this was the cool, grey picture that we had in hull, in east yorkshire. we've got high pressure still sitting to the northwest of the uk, but the winds around it coming in from the north sea, pushing in the cloud, and we start tuesday with a blanket of cloud against most of england and wales, temperatures 11—13 celsius. cloud's a bit thinner in scotland and northern ireland, so it's a bit cooler here first thing. we should see a bit more sunshine breaking through the cloud, across some central parts of western scotland and northern ireland, as well — and i'm hopeful that east anglia and southeast, the cloud will thin and break to give some sunshine at times. further north across eastern parts of england likely to keep a lot of cloud. still maybe some drizzle, too. the winds coming in off the north sea, so it's not going to be very warm down the east coast of scotland, nor indeed the east coast of england, temperatures 15—17 celsius at best — in the sunshine, making

20 celsius once again. many places ending the day cloudy on tuesday, but it should be a decent end to the day for northern ireland, some western parts of scotland. now, the high pressure is still sitting to the northwest of the uk on wednesday. it's not going anywhere just yet. so we've got stronger winds down the east coast of england, through the english channel, and affecting the southeast of england. and here, i think there will be more cloud on wednesday. back to cloudy skies, maybe a bit of drizzle, too. looks pretty cloudy across most of england and wales. we may get some sunshine in cumbria, or likely in northern ireland, and perhaps more of scotland where temperatures will reach 20—21 celsius in the central lowlands. not too much change, really, on thursday. the winds probably a bit lighter on thursday, but still looks cloudy for most of england and wales. maybe getting some sunshine in cumbria, west wales. again, the sunnier, bluer skies more likely in scotland and northern ireland. temperatures under the cloud around 18—19 celsius. as we head into the weekend, though, as high pressure starts to move away, there are signs of more

unsettled weather with rain on the horizon.

welcome to bbc news. our top stories. the taliban celebrate with gunfire and fireworks as america confirms its 20 year war in afghanistan is over. the us 18th airborne corps poster social media picture of the last soldier to step aboard the final plane out of the country. taliban soldiers are already in charge of caple airport surveying the equipment left behind after a frantic few weeks. . behind after a frantic few weeks. , ,., behind after a frantic few weeks._ also, l behind after a frantic few i weeks._ also, the weeks. , my god. also, the aftermath _ weeks. , my god. also, the aftermath of _ weeks. , my god. also, the aftermath of hurricane - weeks. , my god. also, the aftermath of hurricane ida. | aftermath of hurricane ida. what is rising in the southern us as people surveyed the

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