Top Items:
The White House:
Statement by President Joe Biden on Afghanistan — Over the past several days, I have been in close contact with my national security team to give them direction on how to protect our interests and values as we end our military mission in Afghanistan. — First, based on the recommendations …
Discussion:
Insider, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Lenta.ru, Forbes, POLITICUSUSA and National File
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Axios:
Scoop: Biden braces for brutal loss — The Biden administration is preparing for the fall of Kabul and a retreat from any U.S. diplomatic presence in Afghanistan — a stunning reversal of expectations. — It's looking increasingly likely to high-ranking aides to President Biden that the U.S …
Discussion:
Washington Post, NPR, Mother Jones, Instapundit, Just Security, justoneminute.typepad.com, New York Post, Townhall and Liberty Unyielding
New York Times:
Taliban Sweep in Afghanistan Follows Years of U.S. Miscalculations — An Afghan military that did not believe in itself and a U.S. effort that Mr. Biden, and most Americans, no longer believed in brought an ignoble end to America's longest war. — WASHINGTON — President Biden's top advisers concede …
Discussion:
The Hill, USA Today, Washington Examiner, RedState, New York Post, Jihad Watch, WTOP, BizPac Review and DCReport.org
New York Times:
Afghanistan's commercial hub, Mazar-i-Sharif, falls to the insurgents. — KABUL, Afghanistan — The last major city in northern Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on Saturday night, marking the complete loss of the country's north to the Taliban as the insurgents appear on the verge of a full military takeover.
Discussion:
Townhall, Insider and The Guardian
Greg Jaffe / Washington Post:
From hubris to humiliation: America's warrior class contends with the abject failure of its Afghanistan project — Twenty years ago, when the twin towers and the Pentagon were still smoldering, there was a sense among America's warrior and diplomatic class that history was starting anew …
Discussion:
Kevin Drum and The United Nations
Washington Post:
Biden administration scrambled as its orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan unraveled — By the middle of the week, as cities across Afghanistan were falling like dominoes to the Taliban and U.S. diplomats appeared increasingly at risk, President Biden's plan for an orderly end to the United States' longest war was quickly falling apart.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The National Interest, USA Today and Washington Examiner
Associated Press:
Taliban capture major northern city, approach Afghan capital — KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban have captured a large, heavily defended city in northern Afghanistan in a major setback for the government, and the insurgents are approaching the capital less than three weeks before the U.S. hopes to complete its troop withdrawal.
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Associated Press and National Review
Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
How the Afghan Army, Built by the U.S. Over Two Decades, Was Overrun
How the Afghan Army, Built by the U.S. Over Two Decades, Was Overrun
Discussion:
France 24, Outside the Beltway and Japan Times
Washington Post:
Taliban advances closer to Kabul as U.S. seeks to avoid battles with its troops staging evacuations
Taliban advances closer to Kabul as U.S. seeks to avoid battles with its troops staging evacuations
Kamran Bokhari / Wall Street Journal:
The Taliban's Afghan Advance Spells Trouble for Pakistan and China
The Taliban's Afghan Advance Spells Trouble for Pakistan and China
Discussion:
New York Post
Miami Herald:
Major 7.2 earthquake hits Haiti, at least 225 people dead — A major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti early Saturday, collapsing buildings and historical cathedrals in a nation still struggling to recover from a devastating quake that left more than 300,000 dead over a decade ago …
Discussion:
New York Times, UPI, Forbes, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Daily Beast
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Reuters:
Quake kills hundreds in Haiti, worsening Caribbean nation's plight
Quake kills hundreds in Haiti, worsening Caribbean nation's plight
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, CBS News, Breitbart, The Atlantic and RedState
ABC News:
Haiti earthquake latest: At least 227 people dead, more than 1,500 injured
Haiti earthquake latest: At least 227 people dead, more than 1,500 injured
Discussion:
BBC, Associated Press and Mother Jones
Luke Kenton / The US Sun:
HAITI HORROR Haiti earthquake - Huge magnitude 7 quake strikes in Caribbean as THOUSANDS feared dead after buildings collapse
HAITI HORROR Haiti earthquake - Huge magnitude 7 quake strikes in Caribbean as THOUSANDS feared dead after buildings collapse
Discussion:
Cyprus Mail and HotAir
AnneClaire Stapleton / CNN:
At least 29 dead after 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti
At least 29 dead after 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., NPR, UPI and Common Dreams
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Behold Barack Antoinette — WASHINGTON — Jay Gatsby gave big, lavish, new-money parties at his sprawling mansion on the water because he wanted to seem cool. He wanted Daisy to notice him. — Barack Obama gave a big, lavish, new-money party at his sprawling mansion on the water because he wanted to seem cool.
Discussion:
Instapundit, Mediaite, Twitchy and justoneminute.typepad.com
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Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:
Police Arrest Teen Accused of Helping GOP Strategist's Underage Sex Trafficking — Shortly after arresting GOP strategist Anton Lazzaro for underage sex trafficking, police say they've caught up with his 19-year-old associate, who now faces the same charges.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Alpha News and The Hill
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Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:
Teen accused of assisting GOP strategist with sex trafficking arrested in Florida: report — According to a report from the Daily Beast, a 19-year-old woman who has been accused of assisting a GOP strategist with sex trafficking of underage f girls was taken into custody in Florida.
Ashton Pittman / Mississippi Free Press:
Mississippi 8th Grader Dies With COVID Hours After Gov. Reeves Downplays Child Cases — An eighth-grade girl died this morning in Raleigh, Miss., mere hours after testing positive for COVID-19. Multiple sources told the Mississippi Free Press that the student attended classes at the school …
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Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
How Andrew Cuomo's Exit Tarnished a Legacy and Dimmed a Dynasty — For 40 years, the Cuomo name has been synonymous with Democratic power in New York. Now it could mean something else. — Andrew M. Cuomo always cared about his place in history. — And so, early in his governorship …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Hill, HotAir, BizPac Review, CBS New York, Fox News, Townhall, TheBlaze, New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Wrap and Mediaite
Aya Elamroussi / CNN:
‘This is starting to look really ominous in the South,’ expert says, as US is among nations with highest rate of new Covid-19 cases — (CNN)The US remains among nations with the highest rate of new Covid-19 cases, driven mostly by a surge in the South, where many states are lagging in getting people vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid
WNCT-TV:
NC Rep. Keith Kidwell, wife in hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19 — WASHINGTON, N.C. (WNCT) — NC Rep. Keith Kidwell, who serves District 79 and Beaufort County, announced on Friday that he is in the hospital after his wife was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Wall Street Journal:
New Covid-19 Hospitalizations for 30- to 39-Year-Olds at Record Rate — Group largely avoided hospitals earlier in pandemic, but highly contagious Delta variant and lagging vaccination rates have changed health outcomes — Hospitalizations of Covid-19 patients in their 30s have hit a new record …
Discussion:
Political Wire