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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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:
Washington Examiner, Defense One, CNN, Sputnik News, Financial Times, The Daily Signal, Breitbart, ABC News and POLITICUSUSA
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:
Forbes, The National Interest, The Federalist and ABC News
Paul McLeary / Politico:
Sources: U.S. planning for a full embassy withdrawal as the Taliban close in on Kabul
Sources: U.S. planning for a full embassy withdrawal as the Taliban close in on Kabul
Discussion:
Raw Story, Fox News, Al Jazeera and NBC News
John R. Allen / Defense One:
Biden Must Reverse His Decision to Quit Afghanistan
Biden Must Reverse His Decision to Quit Afghanistan
Discussion:
The Guardian, Daily Mail, CNN and Washington Post
Associated Press:
Taliban sweep across Afghanistan's south; take 4 more cities
Taliban sweep across Afghanistan's south; take 4 more cities
Discussion:
Axios, CNN, Washington Examiner, Reuters, New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NBC News, Associated Press, The Mahablog, Reuters, Common Dreams, Deseret News, Ace of Spades HQ, Human Events, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, IJR, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, HotAir, Breitbart, Slate, Washington Post, HotAir, Quartz, Foreign Policy, FDD's Long War Journal, Responsible Statecraft, Informed Comment, National Review, USNI News, Defense One and Human Events
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
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, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Agence France-Presse
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:
NBC News, Slate, Vanity Fair, Informed Comment, The Guardian and Althouse
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 …
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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:
Vox, Washington Post, Tampa Bay Times, Yahoo News, The Root, NBC 6 South Florida, The Daily Beast, CBS News, CBS Miami, UPI, CBS Miami, WPLG-TV and Florida Politics
Ana Ceballos / Miami Herald:
Education Secretary ‘deeply concerned’ about DeSantis' order
Education Secretary ‘deeply concerned’ about DeSantis' order
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News and Sacramento Bee
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:
Zandar Versus The Stupid, 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:
Washington Post, HuffPost, Raw Story, Deseret News, CNN, Associated Press, Breitbart, CNN, Daily Kos, RedState, The Daily Signal, Bloomberg, Townhall, WTOP, Roll Call, Fox News, Mother Jones, Human Events, The Hill, Common Dreams, Nevada Current, New York Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Balloon Juice, HotAir, Insider, National Review, Politico, Bangor Daily News and The Daily Beast
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Meet the handful of Democrats who are threatening to derail Biden's agenda
Meet the handful of Democrats who are threatening to derail Biden's agenda
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, WTOP, One America News Network, Bloomberg and Daily Montanan
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 …
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, TheBlaze, Digby's Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and The Daily Caller
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, Lenta.ru and Al Jazeera
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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
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:
Raw Story, IJR and Sacramento Bee
CBS Denver:
‘South Park’ Creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone Say They've Agreed To Buy Casa Bonita — DENVER (CBS4) - “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone told Colorado's governor they've tentatively agreed to purchase Casa Bonita, the Colorado landmark in Lakewood that is both a restaurant and a beloved small entertainment center.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, WTOP, CBS News, The Wrap, New York Post, Denver Post, UPROXX and TMZ.com
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, The Daily Caller and Townhall
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, Insider, Political Wire, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Byron York's Daily Memo: Humiliation in Afghanistan — Welcome to Byron York's Daily Memo newsletter. — Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive the newsletter. — HUMILIATION IN AFGHANISTAN. The government of Afghanistan is falling fast in the face of a new Taliban offensive.
Discussion:
U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, Task & Purpose and U.S. Department of Defense
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, Daily Kos, Twitchy, WATE-TV and Forbes
Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
A D.C. Cop At The Jan. 6 Riot Died By Suicide. Sleuths Identified 1 Of The Rioters He Battled. — Less than 24 hours after a Capitol rioter was identified by online sleuths as a Capitol Hill chiropractor, the family of the late Officer Jeff Smith filed a lawsuit.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Washington Post:
DeJoy bought up to $305,000 in bonds from USPS board chair's investment firm — Board of Governors Chairman Ron Bloom, a managing partner at the firm, has backed DeJoy's plans to slow mail delivery and raise prices — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy purchased up to $305,000 in bonds …
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 …
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:
UPI, Centers for Disease Control, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner and New York Post
Grant Stern / The Stern Facts:
UPDATED: DeSantis Press Sec. gets nolle prosequi in case over Rebekah Jones' restraining order (EXCLUSIVE) — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' press secretary is set to end her involvement with the Montgomery State's Attorney's office, who filed a nolle prosequi on criminal charges of violating …
Discussion:
National Review, Twitchy and hogewash
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
Farnaz Fassihi / New York Times:
Iran's Health System ‘Beyond Disastrous’ from Covid Surge — The Delta variant of the coronavirus has overwhelmed the country, which has been reeling from the pandemic since it began, presenting a stark test for its new hard-line president. — Hospital medics in Iran are triaging patients …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon
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 …