Top Items:
Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
Afghanistan's Unraveling May Strike Another Blow to U.S. Credibility — Allies may understand the desire to give up on a failed project, but the retreat heightens the sense that America's backing is no longer unbounded. — BRUSSELS — Afghanistan's rapid unraveling is already raising grumblings …
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New York Times:
The Afghan Military Was Built Over 20 Years. How Did It Collapse So Quickly? — The Taliban's rapid advance has made clear that U.S. efforts to turn Afghanistan's military into a robust, independent fighting force have failed, with its soldiers feeling abandoned by inept leaders.
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Signal, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller and IJR
Washington Post:
Taliban assault imperils slow-building U.S. effort to rescue Afghan allies
Taliban assault imperils slow-building U.S. effort to rescue Afghan allies
Discussion:
Mediaite, Los Angeles Times and Atlantic Council
Reuters:
In desperation, U.S. scours for countries willing to house Afghan refugees
In desperation, U.S. scours for countries willing to house Afghan refugees
Discussion:
Slate
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:
New York Times, The Bulwark, Defense One, Associated Press, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, Townhall and Fox News
Washington Post:
‘Why did my friend get blown up? For what?’: Afghanistan war veterans horrified by Taliban gains
‘Why did my friend get blown up? For what?’: Afghanistan war veterans horrified by Taliban gains
Discussion:
The National Interest, Forbes, The Federalist and Associated Press
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.
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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Ana Ceballos / Miami Herald:
Education Secretary ‘deeply concerned’ about DeSantis' order — U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Friday said he is “deeply concerned” that Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration is threatening to levy financial penalties against school district that impose mask mandates …
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News, Politico, The Guardian and Sacramento Bee
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.
4 teachers died of COVID within 24 hours in Broward County, Florida. Schools there are defying Gov. DeSantis' ban on mask mandates.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Tampa Bay Times, Vox, Crooks and Liars, The Root, TheGrio, Yahoo News, The Daily Beast, UPI, CBS Miami, CBS Miami, Florida Politics and WPLG-TV
Grant Stern / The Stern Facts:
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:
HotAir, hogewash, Occupy Democrats and Twitchy
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Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
Rebekah Jones Invents a New Insane Lie about Ron DeSantis's Press Secretary
Rebekah Jones Invents a New Insane Lie about Ron DeSantis's Press Secretary
The Bulwark:
An Open Letter to Joe Biden on Afghanistan — It's not too late to change course, protect America's interests, and stop a humanitarian disaster. — (PHOTOS: GETTYIMAGES) — The situation in Afghanistan is dire. But it is not too late to deploy forces to stabilize it, and ultimately turn it around.
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Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Byron York's Daily Memo: Humiliation in Afghanistan
Byron York's Daily Memo: Humiliation in Afghanistan
Discussion:
U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan and Townhall
John R. Allen / Defense One:
Biden Must Reverse His Decision to Quit Afghanistan
Biden Must Reverse His Decision to Quit Afghanistan
Discussion:
HuffPost, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Daily Mail and Quartz
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:
Occupy Democrats, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Zandar Versus The Stupid
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Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Moderates Threaten Stalemate Over Budget Vote and Infrastructure
Moderates Threaten Stalemate Over Budget Vote and Infrastructure
Discussion:
NPR, Washington Post, RedState, HuffPost, The Daily Signal, Bloomberg, Deseret News, Townhall, Breitbart, Roll Call, Raw Story, Fox News, CBS News, Politico, Associated Press, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Human Events, Common Dreams, Nevada Current, The Hill, CNN, New York Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Balloon Juice, HotAir, Insider, National Review and Politico
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, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Montanan, WTOP and Los Angeles Times
Shawn Cohen / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: At least 63 people on Martha's Vineyard have tested positive for Covid-19 since Barack Obama's maskless 60th birthday bash - the most cases on the island since April — A total of 63 people on Martha's Vineyard have tested positive for Covid-19 since former President Barack Obama's 60th birthday on Saturday
Discussion:
Breitbart and Metro.co.uk
CNN:
‘Your child will wait for another child to die.’ Amid Covid-19 surge, Dallas County has no pediatric ICU beds left, county judge says — Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are surging and in Dallas County, Texas, there are “zero ICU beds left for children,” county judge Clay Jenkins said in a news conference Friday morning.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
RELATED:
New York Magazine:
The Cuomo Touch How he lost the governorship. — In 2001, as he set out on his first, disastrous campaign for public office, Andrew Cuomo invited a columnist for this magazine to join him for a car ride through New York City. Bill Clinton had just departed office, leaving Washington …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Politico, New York Post, Mediaite and The Wrap
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, Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and TheBlaze
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:
CBS News, Lenta.ru, POLITICUSUSA, RedState, Washington Post, Al Jazeera and Insider
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
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 …
Lauren Trager / KMOV-TV:
Two St. Louis sheriff deputies fired after working private security for Rep. Cori Bush — ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) — Two St. Louis City sheriff deputies were fired after working security for Congresswoman Cori Bush. Now, one of them is defending himself, saying his firing was unfair.
Discussion:
TheBlaze and New York Post
Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
The most dangerous Trump official you've never heard of needs to be heard from — “People tell me Jeff Clark is great, I should put him in. People want me to replace DOJ leadership,” President Donald Trump told acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen on a Dec. 27, 2020, phone call …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and CNN
Los Angeles Times:
Recall candidate Larry Elder appears to have not properly disclosed his finances — Larry Elder, the leading contender vying to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom if he is recalled, appears to have not properly listed his business holdings on a financial disclosure statement designed to reveal …
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:
No More Mister Nice Blog and National Review
RELATED:
John Nichols / The Nation:
The Next Gerrymandering Nightmare Has Begun
The Next Gerrymandering Nightmare Has Begun
Discussion:
Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA and CNN
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
Los Angeles Times:
Wake up, California! Removing Gavin Newsom would be a disaster — Ballots for the Sept. 14 special recall election have been mailed to 22 million California voters. The ballot poses two questions. The first is whether Gov. Gavin Newsom should be removed from office.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Raw Story
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 …
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:
Fox News, Mediaite, Insider, Political Wire, Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap
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, Twitchy, Daily Kos, WATE-TV and Forbes