memeorandum: Body Parts Found in Landing Gear of Flight From Kabul, Officials Say (New York Times)

5:30 AM ET, August 18, 2021

Top Items:

Biden Broke Our Deal With the Taliban — It's a foreign-policy humiliation unlike anything our country has endured since the Iran hostage crisis. — 'The likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country [of Afghanistan] is highly unlikely," …

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Post, Fox News, Washington Examiner, The Times of Israel, Townhall, WEB OF EVIL and National Review

Chris Kahn / Reuters:

Biden approval drops to lowest of 7-month presidency after Taliban takeover — President Joe Biden's approval rating dropped by 7 percentage points and hit its lowest level so far as the U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed over the weekend in an upheaval that sent thousands of civilians …

Discussion: Power Line, Breitbart, Forbes, Washington Free Beacon, HotAir, The Hill, New York Post, New York Times, CNN and Washington Post

David Rohde / New Yorker:

Trying—and Failing—to Save the Family of the Afghan Who Saved Me — Twelve years ago, Tahir Luddin helped us both escape after we were kidnapped by the Taliban. Now I am struggling to get his family out of Kabul. — In the middle of March, I texted my friend Tahir Luddin …

Discussion: NBC News and New York Times

New York Times:

Intelligence Warned of Afghan Military Collapse, Despite Biden's Assurances — Even as the president was telling the public that Kabul was unlikely to fall, intelligence assessments painted a grimmer picture. — WASHINGTON — Classified assessments by American spy agencies over the summer painted …

Discussion: Daily Mail, New York Post, Breitbart, HuffPost, HotAir, Washington Post, Politico, The Colorado Sun, National Review, Opinion Today, Twitchy and Bipartisan Report

The Intercept:

The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices … The Taliban have seized U.S. military biometrics devices that could aid in the identification of Afghans who assisted coalition forces, current and former military officials have told The Intercept.

Discussion: Raw Story, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:

Taliban strikes conciliatory tone, consolidates power as de facto leader returns to country … At a wide-ranging news conference in Kabul on Tuesday, Taliban leaders in Afghanistan offered conciliatory messages, met with skepticism by experts, promising not to discriminate against women …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Fox News, Bloomberg and Raw Story

New York Times:

Body Parts Found in Landing Gear of Flight From Kabul, Officials Say — Harrowing video of the chaos, recorded by Afghan media, have circulated around the world. The Air Force said the incident is under investigation. — WASHINGTON — The Air Force acknowledged on Tuesday that human body parts …

Discussion: The Drive, Washington Examiner, Media Matters for America, Washington Post and TheBlaze

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Halted Dollar Shipments to Afghanistan to Keep Cash Out of Taliban's Hands — U.S. officials are also blocking Taliban from Afghan government accounts managed by the Fed and U.S. banks — WASHINGTON—The Biden administration last week canceled bulk shipments of dollars headed …

Discussion: Reason, Political Wire, New York Post, Townhall, Quartz and UPI

Reuters:

Biden's vow to airlift Afghan allies meets ticking clock, risky rescue — President Joe Biden's pledge to evacuate thousands more at-risk Afghans who worked for the U.S. government will run into the cold reality of a fast-closing window of time, insecurity all over Afghanistan and major logistical hurdles.

Discussion: New York Post, The White House and Washington Post

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
The Washington Post evacuates Afghan employees and family members from Taliban-held Kabul

Discussion: The Daily Caller, New York Times, New York Post and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Jon Sopel / BBC:
Three ways this Afghanistan crisis really hurts Biden

Discussion: Insider, POLITICUSUSA, HuffPost and FactCheck.org

Ayaan Hirsi Ali / UnHerd:
Biden's most heartless betrayal

Discussion: Washington Post, The Colorado Sun and Sputnik News

Condoleezza Rice / Washington Post:
The Afghan people didn't choose the Taliban. They fought and died alongside us.

Discussion: Sputnik News, Raw Story and New York Times

Dan Bilefsky / New York Times:
A Taliban official's TV interview with a female presenter is part of a broader campaign.

Discussion: euronews, CNN and Insider

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
Biden administration freezes billions of dollars in Afghan reserves, depriving Taliban of cash

Discussion: Bloomberg, Foreign Policy, Politico, New York Post, Portland Mercury, Al Jazeera, New York Times, National Review, Talking Points Memo, HotAir and Raw Story

Paul LeBlanc / CNN:
Ex-defense secretary: Trump's push to get US troops out of Afghanistan possibly ‘undermined’ deal with Taliban

Discussion: Insider, Slate and Salon

Reuters:
UNICEF ‘quite optimistic’ after Taliban comments on girls' education, official says

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller and Common Dreams

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Major Newspapers Push to Get Workers Out of Afghanistan

Discussion: New York Post, RedState, Washington Examiner and National Review

CNN:
The Taliban knocked on her door 3 times. The fourth time, they killed her

Discussion: HotAir, The Daily Beast, Insider and TheBlaze

Tim Kelly / Reuters:
As Taliban takes over, some swap iconic AK-47s for made-in-America rifles

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Joshua Zeitz / Politico:
Joe Biden's Kabul Is Not Gerald Ford's Saigon

Discussion: The Hill, National Review, spectatorworld.com, Fox News, BBC, The Mahablog, Washington Monthly and PolitiFact

Tyler Olson / Fox News:
Biden hasn't spoken to any foreign leaders since fall of Afghanistan to Taliban

Discussion: Axios, Washington Free Beacon, RedState, The Independent and IJR

Office of the Texas Governor:

Office Of The Governor Statement Concerning Governor Abbott — Office of the Governor Communications Director Mark Miner today issued a statement after Governor Greg Abbott tested positive for COVID-19: — “Governor Greg Abbott today tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Discussion: The Wrap, Bloomberg, KXAN-TV, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, HuffPost, The Guardian, Common Dreams, Insider, The Hill, HotAir, Chad Prather for Texas, Forbes, National Review, VICE, UPI, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, NPR, Washington Examiner, CNN and The Texas Tribune

Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tests positive for COVID-19 — He spoke Monday night at a GOP event in Collin County, later tweeting photos of him addressing a maskless crowd. Less than three hours before his diagnosis was announced Tuesday afternoon, he tweeted pictures of a meeting with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.

Discussion: Houston Chronicle, KXAN-TV, RedState, Louder With Crowder, TMZ.com, Sputnik News, KTLA, The US Sun, Associated Press, Denver Post, Gizmodo, Politico, The Daily Beast, Patterico's Pontifications, Crooks and Liars and The Hill

Jeremy B. White / Politico:

Republican rivals attack recall frontrunner Larry Elder in California debate — SACRAMENTO — Republicans running to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom attacked absent frontrunner Larry Elder in a Tuesday night debate that exposed cracks in a crowded GOP field.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, Raw Story and KRON4

Gustavo Arellano / Los Angeles Times:
Column: Sorry, Democrats — Latino anger toward Republicans isn't enough to save Newsom's political hide

Discussion: Breitbart

NBC4 Washington:

DC Tunnel History Site Flagged Suspicious Activity Before Capitol Insurrection — The founder and administrator of an obscure website about underground infrastructure in Washington, D.C., saw a sudden and suspicious spike in traffic in the days before the U.S. Capitol insurrection.

Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story

Rudy Takala / Mediaite:

Twitter Says Taliban Spokesman Will be Allowed to Remain if He Doesn't Get Too Violent — Twitter is refusing to join its peers in the social-media world in prohibiting the Taliban from using its platform. — Asked on Tuesday whether Twitter would join Facebook, TikTok and other tech companies …

Discussion: New York Post, CNN, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Townhall, Breitbart, Page Array, The Wrap, Townhall, CNBC and VICE, more at Techmeme »

Kate Murphy / Raleigh News & Observer:

UNC Chapel Hill Journalism School Dean Susan King resigning — The dean of UNC-Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media is stepping down after nearly a decade leading the school. — Susan King announced that this will be her last year as dean in her weekly email newsletter to journalism faculty.

Discussion: The Progressive Pulse

Edmund Lee / New York Times:

The owner of Politico is said to be seeking $1 billion in a deal with Axel Springer. — Politico, the Washington news site popular with Beltway power brokers, is seeking as much as $1 billion in a potential deal with the German publishing giant Axel Springer.

Discussion: New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Variety and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »

Seth Barrett Tillman / THE NEW REFORM CLUB:

What I Learned About the United States After Ten Years in Ireland — This is an anniversary, of sorts, for me. I have now lived in Ireland for ten years. They were ten good years. During that time, I made some friends and worked with colleagues, who later became friends, and befriended some students, who later befriended me.

Georgia Slater / People.com:

CNN's Abby Phillip Welcomes First Baby, Daughter Naomi Angelina, with Husband Marcus Richardson — Abby Phillip shared her pregnancy news to The Cut back in March — This just in: Abby Phillip is officially a mom! — The CNN anchor and senior political correspondent, 32 …

Discussion: TheGrio

Paul Blest / VICE:

How to Actually Get a Trump Voter Vaccinated — Woodford County is the second-most-vaccinated county in Kentucky, with a rate 14 points higher than the state as a whole. It also happens to be firmly in so-called “Trump country”; the county just west of Lexington went for the former president by double digits in 2020.

Discussion: Raw Story

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Dear Colleague on Passing Budget Resolution to Deliver Once-in-a-Generation Progress For The People — Today, President Biden endorsed the House Rule which will allow us to consider the budget resolution, H.R. 4 and the bipartisan infrastructure bill next week.

Discussion: The Hill and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

The Democratic Food-Stamp Boom — The average family of four will get more than they spend on food. — By The Editorial Board — What a telling juxtaposition. Amid the throes of its Afghanistan retreat, the Biden Administration on Monday announced a giant food-stamp expansion.

Washington Post:

Durham grand jury explores theory someone presented FBI with fabricated evidence in 2016 Russia probe — Special counsel John Durham — the prosecutor examining the origins of the FBI's investigation into a possible conspiracy between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign …

Joshua Fechter / The Texas Tribune:

Texas Supreme Court says House Democrats can be arrested and brought to the Capitol, siding with Republicans trying to secure a quorum — In a bid to block a voting restrictions bill, House Democrats for weeks have denied the lower chamber the number of present members needed to pass legislation.

Discussion: NBC News, CNN, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Political Wire and KXAN-TV

Washington Post:

Florida officials find two school districts violated DeSantis's mask mandate restrictions … PLEASE NOTE — The Washington Post is providing this important information about the coronavirus for free. For more free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter …