Top Items:
Gideon Rachman / Financial Times:
Joe Biden's credibility has been shredded in Afghanistan — But the fall of the country to the Taliban would also create a dilemma for China — If Donald Trump were presiding over the debacle in Afghanistan, the US foreign policy establishment would be loudly condemning the irresponsibility and immorality of American strategy.
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Bloomberg:
U.S. Embassy in Kabul Told to Destroy Files in Case Taliban Wins — Memo says to destroy images that could be used for propaganda — The U.S. embassy staff in Kabul has been told to start destroying sensitive material, underscoring that the Biden administration is preparing for the possibility …
Discussion:
CNN, Associated Press, Insider and Townhall
Shay Khatiri / The Bulwark:
Blame Biden for Afghanistan's Return to the Dark Ages — Executions, sex slavery, ethnic cleansing—and yet the president says “I do not regret my decision.” — The Joe Biden who promised to put human rights at the center of his foreign policy is the same Joe Biden now stubbornly paving …
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, Washington Examiner, ABC News, Financial Times, NBC News, POLITICUSUSA, New York Post, Zandar Versus The Stupid and Page Array
Washington Post:
‘Why did my friend get blown up? For what?’: Afghanistan war veterans horrified by Taliban gains — After enlisting in the U.S. military against his family's wishes, Chicago native Tom Amenta said he found himself in “middle-of-nowhere,” Afghanistan, in 2002 as an Army Ranger in a remote area …
Discussion:
The National Interest, The Federalist, ABC News and Washington Examiner
Associated Press:
Taliban sweep across Afghanistan's south; take 4 more cities
Taliban sweep across Afghanistan's south; take 4 more cities
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Politico, Washington Post, Reuters, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CBS News, Washington Post, The Mahablog, NBC News, Associated Press, Reuters, republicanleader.senate.gov, Fox News, Common Dreams, Wall Street Journal, Deseret News, Human Events, Ace of Spades HQ, IJR, CNN, Washington Post, Fox News, HotAir, Breitbart, Slate, HotAir, Quartz, Foreign Policy, FDD's Long War Journal, Responsible Statecraft, Informed Comment, National Review, USNI News, Defense One, Human Events and Associated Press
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
“Not Our Tragedy”: the Taliban Are Coming Back, and America Is Still Leaving
“Not Our Tragedy”: the Taliban Are Coming Back, and America Is Still Leaving
Discussion:
CNN, NBC News, New York Post, Washington Examiner, Informed Comment, The Guardian, Althouse and Washington Post
John R. Allen / Defense One:
Biden Must Reverse His Decision to Quit Afghanistan
Biden Must Reverse His Decision to Quit Afghanistan
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Slate, Fox News, The Guardian, The Western Journal and Kevin Drum
Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:
As the Taliban gains ground, Biden grapples with the ghosts of Saigon
As the Taliban gains ground, Biden grapples with the ghosts of Saigon
Discussion:
Insider, The Hill, Agence France-Presse and MSNBC
BBC:
Afghanistan: Panic and disbelief as thousands flee Taliban onslaught
Afghanistan: Panic and disbelief as thousands flee Taliban onslaught
Discussion:
New York Post, CNBC and Associated Press
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Behind the scenes of the Biden administration as the U.S. ditches Kabul
Behind the scenes of the Biden administration as the U.S. ditches Kabul
Discussion:
Breitbart, Associated Press, Politico, Vanity Fair, TheBlaze and Mediaite
Associated Press:
The Latest: UN evaluating situation in Kabul ‘hour-by-hour’
The Latest: UN evaluating situation in Kabul ‘hour-by-hour’
Discussion:
Al Jazeera
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
9 Moderate Democrats Threaten to Tank Entire Biden Presidency The party has managed to work together, until now. — Joe Biden's success to date has owed itself to many factors, the largest of which is the willingness of congressional Democrats to compromise with each other.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Occupy Democrats
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Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Moderates Threaten Stalemate Over Budget Vote and Infrastructure — The letter from nine Democrats, enough to block passage, threatens their party's two-track plan to pass both a $3.5 trillion social policy budget blueprint and an infrastructure bill. — WASHINGTON — Nine moderate House …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Washington Post, CNN, CNN, The Daily Signal, RedState, Mother Jones, Daily Kos, Slate, The Daily Caller, HotAir, Townhall, Bloomberg, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Human Events, The Hill, Common Dreams, Nevada Current, New York Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CBS San Francisco, Balloon Juice, HotAir, Angry Bear, Insider, National Review, Politico, Deseret News, Bangor Daily News and The Daily Beast
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Meet the handful of Democrats who are threatening to derail Biden's agenda — A handful of centrist Democrats issued a stark threat on Friday morning: If the House does not hold an immediate vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate, they will withhold support …
Discussion:
Fox News, Politico, Bloomberg, CNN, NBC News, NPR, National Review, WTOP, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Roll Call, POLITICUSUSA, CBS News and Slate
Dean Sterling Jones / BuzzFeed News:
The Co-Founder Of The Fact-Checking Site Snopes Was Writing Plagiarized Articles Under A Fake Name — David Mikkelson, the co-founder of the fact-checking website Snopes, has long presented himself as the arbiter of truth online, a bulwark in the fight against rumors and fake news.
Steve Contorno / Tampa Bay Times:
Inside Fox News, DeSantis is ‘the future of the party.’ And he's taking advantage. — Emails show the Florida governor is in high demand on the network — and gets his way. — Updated Just now — Early in Florida's vaccine rollout, during a period marked by confusion and images of seniors …
Robby Soave / Reason:
3 Unvaccinated Florida Teachers Died, the Media Rushed To Blame Ron DeSantis' Mask Ban — These last 24 hours were a time of tragedy in Broward County, Florida, where four public school teachers all died from COVID-19. The local CBS affiliate notes that these deaths come at a moment …
Discussion:
HotAir, CNN, Politico, National Review, CBS Miami and The Guardian
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Matthew Loh / Insider:
4 teachers died of COVID within 24 hours in Broward County, Florida. Schools there are defying Gov. DeSantis' ban on mask mandates. — Four teachers from Broward County, Florida died from COVID-19 on Tuesday and Wednesday. — One was a high school teacher while another taught elementary school.
Discussion:
Yahoo News, CBS News, NBC 6 South Florida, Vox, The Daily Beast, RedState, CBS Miami, UPI, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, CBS Miami, WPLG-TV and Florida Politics
Carl E. Heastie / assembly.state.ny.us:
Statement from Speaker Carl Heastie on Impeachment Investigation — After consulting with Chair Lavine and my majority colleagues, the Assembly will suspend its impeachment investigation upon the governor's resignation taking effect on August 25. — There are two reasons for this decision.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, WIVB-TV, IJR and New York Times
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Andrew Miller / Fox News:
Cuomo impeachment proceedings suspended by New York state Assembly
Cuomo impeachment proceedings suspended by New York state Assembly
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Washington Free Beacon, CNBC, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, WGN-TV, Breitbart and Townhall
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Trump: 'It's about time' that ‘loser’ Cuomo resign
Trump: 'It's about time' that ‘loser’ Cuomo resign
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Occupy Democrats and POLITICUSUSA
Wall Street Journal:
Durham Probe of What Sparked Russia Investigation Examines FBI Tipsters — The special counsel is expected to submit a final report in the coming months — WASHINGTON—Special Counsel John Durham, appointed during the Trump administration to examine the origins of the FBI's 2016 Russia probe …
Discussion:
The Reactionary, HotAir, National Review and Sputnik News
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Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
Evidence presented to grand jury in Durham's Russia probe
Evidence presented to grand jury in Durham's Russia probe
Discussion:
Raw Story
Department of Homeland Security:
Summary of Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland — The Secretary of Homeland Security has issued a new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin regarding the current heightened threat environment across the United States. The Homeland continues to face a diverse …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Insider and Al Jazeera
RELATED:
Geneva Sands / CNN:
Calls for violence online similar to before January 6 Capitol attack, DHS Intel chief says
Calls for violence online similar to before January 6 Capitol attack, DHS Intel chief says
Discussion:
Raw Story
Kasha Patel / Washington Post:
July 2021 was Earth's hottest month ever recorded, NOAA finds — If you thought this July was just toasty, you probably didn't realize you were living through the hottest month in modern history. On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared July 2021 the world's hottest month in 142 years of records.
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John Bateman / noaa.gov:
It's official: July was Earth's hottest month on record
It's official: July was Earth's hottest month on record
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Verge, Gizmodo, NPR, CBS News, UPI, Joe.My.God., The Guardian, Forbes, Common Dreams, ABC7, WBBH-TV and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Jenni Fink / Newsweek:
Trump ‘Reinstatement Day’ Latest Failure in Predictions He'll Resume Presidency, Oust Biden — Predictions that former President Donald Trump will be reinstated continue to fall flat, but about 1 in 10 registered voters continue to believe the former president will be back in the Oval Office before the year's end.
Discussion:
Forbes, Sacramento Bee and Raw Story
Wilson Wong / NBC News:
Parent attacks teacher after mask dispute on first day of school in California district, official says — A parent attacked a teacher following a mask dispute on the first day of school, a California superintendent said. — The incident occurred about an hour after the first day ended …
Discussion:
KQCA-TV, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and The Hill
Pia Singh / CNBC:
Dr. Scott Gottlieb expects coronavirus to be an ‘endemic’ virus in U.S. after delta surge — Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday that the coronavirus in the U.S. will become an endemic virus after the recent surge in delta cases calms down. — The former FDA chief said the peak …
Fox News:
Sec. Mayorkas says border crisis ‘unsustainable’ and 'we're going to lose' in leaked audio — Mayorkas visited the Texas border where he announced that there were more than 212,000 migrant encounters by agents in July — DHS Secretary Mayorkas announces 212,672 migrant encounters in July
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, BizPac Review, Sputnik News, New York Post, Page Array, TheBlaze, HotAir, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Trending Politics, Liberty Tree, Mediaite, Ace of Spades HQ, IJR, NPR, Twitchy and CBS News
Arnold Schwarzenegger / The Atlantic:
Don't Be a Schmuck. Put on a Mask. — Earlier this week, I delivered a simple message: There is a virus here. It kills people. The only way you can prevent it is to get vaccinated, wear masks, and do social distancing. — Some people are complaining, “Well, my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.”
Discussion:
Mediaite, Political Wire, Insider, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
Hannah Sampson / Washington Post:
27 people test positive for coronavirus on Carnival cruise ship — A Carnival Cruise Line ship that left from Galveston, Tex., has 27 coronavirus-positive people on board, according to the Belize Tourism Board. The outbreak is among the highest number of publicly reported cases on a ship sailing …
Discussion:
Centers for Disease Control, UPI, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner and New York Post
Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
US reports nearly 1 million vaccinations in past day, most since early July — The United States on Friday reported almost a million new COVID-19 vaccinations from the previous day's total, the biggest one-day tally for vaccinations since early July. — About 918,000 were administered on Friday …
Insider:
We asked Republican senators about Tucker Carlson's favorite authoritarian leader. Their praise and dodges underscore the danger to the US. — Tucker Carlson's recent visit to Hungary sparked alarm among democracy watchdogs and Democratic lawmakers. — But some Republican senators …
Discussion:
The American Spectator
Travis Caldwell / CNN:
These 8 states make up half of US Covid-19 hospitalizations. And the surge among the unvaccinated is overwhelming health care workers — (CNN)As experts race to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 by encouraging vaccinations and mask wearing, hospital systems in a handful of states are now straining to keep up with the surge.
Discussion:
Sun-Sentinel, The Guardian, Daily Kos and Twitchy
The Guardian:
America is full of ‘democracy deserts’. Wisconsin rivals Congo on some metrics — Gerrymandering allows legislators to ignore what voters really want. And experts fear it's about to get a lot worse — he United States is becoming a land filled with “democracy deserts” …
Discussion:
The Nation, National Review and MIT Technology Review