memeorandum: Taliban could take Afghan capital in 90 days after rapid gains- U.S. intelligence (Reuters)

2:20 PM ET, August 11, 2021

Top Items:

Joe Manchin just threatened to derail Biden's big win. Please proceed, Senator. — Barely hours after Senate Democrats passed their $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget resolution, Sen. Joe Manchin III issued a statement that unleashed waves of dread across Twitter.

Discussion: New York Times, Crooks and Liars, The Week, Power Line and Political Wire

Lindsay Wise / Wall Street Journal:

McConnell Credits Biden for Infrastructure Breakthrough, Dismisses Trump Criticism — But the Senate GOP leader doesn't anticipate many more opportunities for bipartisan deals — WASHINGTON—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell credited President Biden with helping to get the roughly …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, HotAir, Washington Times, Washington Post, NBC News, POLITICUSUSA, Breitbart, Raw Story, One America News Network, The Hill, ABC News and New York Times

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Biden defies expectations. Again. — The Senate on Tuesday passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal with 19 Republican votes. Had someone polled the White House press corps a month ago, few would have expected any bipartisan deal possible. — Journalists at mainstream media outlets are creatures of habit laced with cynicism.

Discussion: Breitbart, ABC News, NPR and Axios

Burgess Everett / Politico:

GOP prays Sinema and Manchin pare back Dems' big spending bill — Senate Republicans can't stop Democrats from spending as much as $3.5 trillion more on social priorities like climate change in the coming months. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema can, though, and the GOP lobbying effort is already underway.

Discussion: Salon, New York Magazine, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, RedState, New York Times, ABC News, The Hill and Digby's Hullabaloo

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

How Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans learned to stop worrying about a Biden victory and love the infrastructure bill — What happened Tuesday in the Senate might seem like nothing short of a political miracle: Nineteen Republican senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, RedState, Joe.My.God., The Daily Beast, Raw Story, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News and The Hill

Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Senate Passes $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan, Advancing Sweeping Safety Net Expansion

Cameron Joseph / VICE:
Trump Just Won't Stop Messing With Mitch McConnell

Discussion: Raw Story and TheGrio

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Senate adjourns until September without advancing voting rights legislation

Discussion: New Jersey Monitor, Fox News, HuffPost, The Texas Tribune and Bloomberg

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:

YouTube suspends Sen. Rand Paul over a video falsely claiming masks are ineffective — WASHINGTON — YouTube suspended Sen. Rand Paul's account on Tuesday for posting a video claiming cloth face masks are ineffective against the coronavirus. — “A badge of honor ... leftwing cretins …

Discussion: Forbes, U.S. Senator Rand Paul …, Politico, JONATHAN TURLEY, UPI, UPROXX, Liberty Tree, The Gateway Pundit, The Wrap, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story and BizPac Review

Jordan Williams / The Hill:
Rand Paul suspended one week by YouTube over COVID-19 mask claims

Discussion: The Guardian, WINK NEWS, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Wire, The Federalist, IJR and The Right Scoop

Daniel Victor / New York Times:
YouTube suspends Rand Paul for a week over a video disputing the effectiveness of masks.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, ABC7, KTVX-TV, Samizdata, Summit News, Mediaite, Sacramento Bee, Liberty Tree, Washington Examiner and TheBlaze

Christopher Brito / CBS News:
Rand Paul suspended from YouTube for 7 days after COVID mask claims

Discussion: Insider, CNN, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller and Washington Times

Axios:

Inside the Biden administration as Afghanistan collapses — The Taliban has stunned even some seasoned military and national security officials in the U.S. government with the speed of its conquests over the past week, sources with direct knowledge of the developments tell Axios.

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, National Review, Washington Post, Breitbart, New York Post and Reason

Washington Post:

U.S. officials warn collapse of Afghan capital could come sooner than expected — The Biden administration is preparing for Afghanistan's capital to fall far sooner than feared only weeks ago, as a rapid disintegration of security has prompted the revision of an already stark intelligence …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, Common Dreams, The National Interest, Task & Purpose, BBC, The Guardian, Asian, Middle-East …, Sputnik News, Outside the Beltway, Insider, CNN and New York Post

CNN:

Federal government sends ventilators to Florida as DeSantis says he's unaware of shipment — (CNN)The Biden administration sent hundreds of ventilators to Florida in recent days as the state responds to a dramatic new increase in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, an official from the Department …

Discussion: Twitchy, CBS Miami, NBC Boston, Reuters and NBC News

Nathaniel Rodriguez / WFLA-TV: White House plans to fund Florida schools who defy DeSantis' order against mask mandates

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:
Florida to receive hundreds of ventilators from U.S. government to help state's record hospitalizations

Discussion: The Hill, Common Dreams, Deseret News and Raw Story

ProPublica:

Secret IRS Files Reveal How Much the Ultrawealthy Gained by Shaping Trump's “Big, Beautiful Tax Cut” — The Secret IRS Files … In November 2017, with the administration of President Donald Trump rushing to get a massive tax overhaul through Congress, Sen. Ron Johnson stunned his colleagues by announcing he would vote “no.”

Discussion: Daily Kos, Common Dreams, Bloomberg and Sputnik News

Michaeleen Doucleff / NPR:

The CDC Said The Delta Variant Is As Contagious As Chickenpox. That's Not Accurate — In a leaked report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a surprising claim about the delta variant of the coronavirus: It “is as transmissible as: - Chicken Pox,” the agency wrote …

Discussion: RedState and Twitchy

Megan Cassella / Politico:

‘Price growth is winning the race’: Inflation is devouring wage gains — Rising prices on everything from groceries to gasoline have eaten away the wage gains workers have seen since the start of the year, leaving most Americans earning less than they were before the pandemic began and derailing …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CNN and City Journal

Marc Caputo / Politico:
Poll: Majorities support vaccine, mask mandates — but not Republicans

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post and CNN

Melanie Zanona / CNN:
Republicans are seizing on backlash to new mask and vaccine mandates

Discussion: Washington Post and Daily Kos

Kylee Zempel / The Federalist:

How Many Other Andrew Cuomos Are Elites Covering For? — The media played cheerleader instead of investigator, enabling a powerful man to exploit women and elderly people for personal pleasure and political points. Who else are they covering for? — All eyes were on Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday …

Discussion: National Review, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Insider, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, New York Times, New York Times, The Hill, New York Times and National Review, more at Mediagazer »

Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:
Chris Cuomo apparently lied to his viewers. Again.

Discussion: New York Post and Twitchy

David Yaffe-Bellany / Bloomberg:

Trump Accounting Firm Must Release Some Records to Congress — A federal judge in Washington ruled that Donald Trump must disclose certain financial records held by his accounting firm Mazars in response to a subpoena from congressional Democrats. — But in an order on Wednesday …

Discussion: CNN

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Federal judge says Trump's accountants must turn over tax records to House panel

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Post, NBC News, CNN, The Hill and Raw Story

YaleNews:

Donald Kagan, celebrated historian of the ancient world and revered teacher — Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with LinkedIn Share this with Email Print this — Donald Kagan, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Classics and History, prominent for his scholarship …

CNN:

Federal prosecutors came to suspect Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg lied, and considered charging him with perjury — New York (CNN)New York federal prosecutors came to suspect the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, lied in testimony during their investigation …

Discussion: Insider and Raw Story

Tom Lawrence / The Daily Beast:

‘No One I Know Is Vaccinated’: Sturgis Rally Bikers Are Coming for America — SUM OF ALL FEARS — Thousands of unvaccinated, unmasked people traveling across the country. An ultra-contagious new variant. Overloaded hospitals. If you thought it could get no worse, think again.

Discussion: HotAir and Raw Story

Joshua Ceballos / Miami New Times:

UM Students Outraged by Former Trump Official Alex Azar's Hire — The decision to hire former President Donald Trump's HHS Secretary Alex Azar has incensed faculty, staff, and students. — On its surface, the hiring of a former federal health official would seem like a smart move for the University of Miami.

Jackie Salo / New York Post:

Italian Americans mad at Cuomo for dismissing creepy behavior as cultural — Italian Americans are outraged that Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to try to write off his creepy behavior with women as “cultural behavioral differences.” — “We Italians refuse to acknowledge Cuomo as a member of la famiglia …

Discussion: Townhall and Page Six

CNN:

Senate Republicans block effort by Democrats to advance voting and election bill — Dems race to revive election bill as DOJ targets GA law — (CNN)Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Democrats to advance their signature voting and elections overhaul bill in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Al Jazeera, TheGrio, Washington Examiner, Washington Examiner, WTOP, The Hill and Bloomberg

E.J. Dionne / Washington Post:
Bipartisanship for infrastructure is great. Don't expect it for much else.

Discussion: Vox, Townhall, EcoWatch and Election Law Blog

Joshua Miller Globe / The Boston Globe:

Scott Brown resigns as head of New England Law Boston after less than a year, says he will get back into the political arena — Former US senator Scott Brown, who has led New England Law Boston since January, announced his resignation from the law school Wednesday and said he would re-engage in the political arena.

Discussion: Boston Herald

Karen Townsend / HotAir:

A first: Judge delivers a blow to Abbott's ban on mask mandates in schools with temporary restraining order — There's rarely a dull moment in Texas these days. Between the state Democrat fleebaggers drama and the coronavirus pandemic, things are popping.

Discussion: KSAT-TV, Houston Chronicle and Common Dreams

John Markoff / New York Times:

Massachusetts Start-Up Hopes to Move a Step Closer to Commercial Fusion — The company, founded by scientists at M.I.T., has been testing an extremely powerful magnet necessary to generate immense heat. — A start-up founded by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology …

New York Times:

China Sentences Canadian Businessman to 11 Years in Prison — The prosecution of Michael Spavor has been widely seen as political retaliation by China against Canada for the detention of a Chinese technology executive. — For years, as Michael Spavor tried to expand his business in North Korea …

Discussion: BBC, Reuters, NPR, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, UPI, Sputnik News, Al Jazeera and Bloomberg

Christopher F. Rufo / New York Post:

Lie of credit — American Express tells its workers capitalism is racist — American Express, which made a $2.3 billion profit last quarter, invited the great-grandson of the Nation of Islam's founder to tell its employees that capitalism is evil. — It was part of the credit-card giant's …

Washington Post:

CDC guidance now official: Pregnant women should get coronavirus vaccine — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Wednesday that pregnant women be vaccinated against the coronavirus, updating its advice after it found no increased risk of miscarriage among those who have been immunized.

Discussion: USA Today, ABC News, Mercury News, Associated Press, NPR, Bangor Daily News and Fox News

Sam Stanton / Sacramento Bee:

CA college professor held in arson spree near Dixie Fire | The Sacramento Bee — A college professor suspected in a series of arson fires in remote forested areas of Northern California near the massive Dixie Fire has been charged in connection with one of the blazes in Lassen County …