memeorandum: EXC: Joe Biden's State Dept Halted A Trump-Era ‘Crisis Response’ Plan Aimed At Avoiding Benghazi-Style Evacuations Just MONTHS Before Taliban Takeover. (- Raheem J. Kassam/The National Pulse)

4:35 PM ET, August 18, 2021

Top Items:

Israeli data: How can efficacy vs. severe disease be strong when 60% of hospitalized are vaccinated? — A surge involving the rapidly-transmitting Delta variant in heavily vaccinated countries has led to much hand-wringing that the vaccines are not effective against Delta, or vaccine efficacy wanes after 4-6 months.

Discussion: Calculated Risk, CNN, KXAN-TV, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Patterico's Pontifications, Insider and The Wrap

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Trump promoted vaccines on Fox. Then the host goaded him into bashing boosters. — Wednesday was a big day in the fight against the coronavirus. It's the day the U.S. government launched its campaign to get Americans to take booster shots for the vaccines, amid the increasingly challenging situation brought on by the delta variant.

Discussion: Insider

Reuters:
U.S. reports more than 1,000 COVID deaths in single day

Discussion: HotAir, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, CNN, Paris News, The Root, The Texas Tribune, The Guardian, Reason, New York Times, Bloomberg, Balloon Juice, VICE and The Texas Tribune

Phil Helsel / NBC News:
Texas school district makes masks part of dress code to get around Gov. Abbott's order

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Office of the Arizona Governor, Human Events, Forbes, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo, Bipartisan Report, KXAN-TV and The Intellectualist

al.com:
Alabama has net of only 2 ICU beds in state, hospital association says

Discussion: WSFA-TV, Washington Post, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA and Slate

Paris Isd / Paris ISD:
Paris ISD Board of Trustees Amends Current Dress Code

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Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

A primer on false narratives about Afghanistan — There are many alarmist headlines pronouncing with certitude what has occurred or will occur in Afghanistan. Many are premature — or alternatively, out of date. Others ignore information now available to us that debunks fanciful explanations …

Discussion: HotAir, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Liberal Patriot, NBC News, Balloon Juice, Townhall, New York Post, The Bulwark and Twitchy

New York Times:

The Taliban respond with force to an outpouring of public anger. — Even as the Taliban took their first steps to create a functioning government, they faced the first street protests on Wednesday against their takeover of Afghanistan, with demonstrations in at least two cities.

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Post, Common Dreams, Insider, Committee to Protect …, Al Jazeera, TheBlaze, New York Post, Breitbart, Trending Politics, The Western Journal, The Daily Caller and HotAir

Ahmad Massoud / Washington Post:

The mujahideen resistance to the Taliban begins now. But we need help. — Ahmad Massoud is the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. — In 1998, when I was 9 years old, my father, the mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, gathered his soldiers in a cave in the Panjshir Valley of northern Afghanistan.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, France 24 and The Drive

Douglas London / Just Security:

CIA's Former Counterterrorism Chief for the Region: Afghanistan, Not An Intelligence Failure — Something Much Worse — While it's certainly convenient to depict the shock and miscalculation U.S. officials claim over Afghanistan's tragic, rapid fall to the Taliban as an intelligence failure, the reality is far worse.

Discussion: The Independent, Reason, Washington Post, TMZ.com, New York Post, HuffPost UK, Trending Politics and The Gateway Pundit

Tom Rogan / Washington Examiner:
US allies deeply concerned by Biden's detachment

Discussion: Fox News

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
Knives out: CIA sources tell NBC they warned Biden of fast collapse

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fox News, National Review, RedState and Breitbart

Tara Copp / Defense One:
2,000 Evacuated from Kabul in a 24-Hour Span, Pentagon Says

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Denver Post and Forbes

Timothy Noah / Washington Monthly:
Nobody Cares Who Lost Afghanistan

Discussion: The Daily Signal, Melanie Phillips and Reason

Quin Hillyer / Washington Examiner:
After epochal disaster in Afghanistan, Biden should step down

Discussion: National Review, Forbes, Townhall, City Journal, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Sacramento Bee, Bipartisan Report, Jacobin, Ground News and Crooks and Liars

Jazz Shaw / HotAir:

Kinder, gentler Taliban murder woman in the streets for not wearing a burqa — I'm not sure, but it sounds as if not all of the Taliban militants received their copy of the strongly worded letter from the United Nations. The New York Post is reporting today that a woman in Takhar province …

Discussion: RedState, New York Post, Washington Examiner and Power Line

NBC News:

Images of bloodied Afghans contradict Taliban's claims of moderation — PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Images of the Taliban cracking down on a protest and bloodied women and children beaten by fighters are contradicting the more moderate image the militant group has been trying to project as it tries to consolidate power in Afghanistan.

Discussion: HotAir, Al Arabiya, Breitbart, New York Post, Reuters, The Guardian, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, CNBC, Townhall, Louder With Crowder and Twitchy

Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
Taliban Block Routes to Kabul Airport, Hampering Evacuations From Afghanistan

Discussion: HotAir, National Review, Breitbart, Washington Post, Anadolu Ajansı …, Human Events, U.S. Central Command and Townhall

VICE: We Spoke to the Family of the Afghan Teenager Who Fell to His Death From a US Military Plane

Graeme Wood / The Atlantic:
This Is Not the Taliban 2.0 — When the Taliban first sacked Kabul 25 years ago …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:

Vaccines' protection against virus infection is waning, C.D.C. studies suggest. — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released three studies on Wednesday that federal officials said provided evidence that booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines …

Discussion: Reason and UPI

HHS News releases:

Joint Statement from HHS Public Health and Medical Experts on COVID-19 Booster Shots — Today, public health and medical experts from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the following statement on the Administration's plan for COVID-19 booster shots for the American people.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Times of San Diego, Florida Politics, Gizmodo, New York Post, Forbes, Bloomberg, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Politico and The Atlantic

Washington Post:
Vaccines show declining effectiveness against infection overall but strong protection against hospitalization amid delta variant

Discussion: Breitbart, Forbes, KXAN-TV, KTLA, Roll Call, CBS Pittsburgh, NBC4 Washington and Politico

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:

Biden to require nursing homes get staff vaccinated or lose federal funds — Surgeon general on Covid-19 boosters: The time is now — (CNN)The Biden administration will direct all nursing homes to require their staff be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to continue receiving Medicare …

Discussion: Forbes, Politico, USA Today, The Intellectualist and Just The News

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
AP Source: Biden to require vaccines for nursing home staff

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, CBS Pittsburgh and Fox21Online

Associated Press: AP: Biden to Require Nursing Home Staff Vaccinations as Condition for Federal Funds

- Raheem J. Kassam / The National Pulse:

EXC: Joe Biden's State Dept Halted A Trump-Era ‘Crisis Response’ Plan Aimed At Avoiding Benghazi-Style Evacuations Just MONTHS Before Taliban Takeover. — Joe Biden's State Department moved to cancel a critical State Department program aimed at providing swift and safe evacuations of Americans …

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ

- Raheem J. Kassam / The National Pulse:

Stunning Poll Reveals Trump Would Win Election Held Today, As Nearly 1 In 10 Democrats ‘Regret’ Their 2020 Vote. — Stunning new poll numbers from Rasmussen Reports suggest nearly 1 in 10 Democrats regret their vote in the 2020 Presidential election, with 12 percent of ‘Moderates’ saying the same …

Discussion: Townhall, Small Dead Animals, CD Media, Ace of Spades HQ, Wall Street Journal and Israpundit

FiveThirtyEight:

Latest Polls Of The California Recall Election — Voters will decide whether to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom and — if removed — whom to replace him with — Opponents of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California have gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall election for him on Sept. 14 …

Discussion: Washington Post, Tangle, Twitchy, Political Wire and CalMatters

Los Angeles Times:
Cox served with subpoena, Elder blasted for remarks on women at California recall debate

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Fox News, Raw Story, Associated Press, KRON4, Sacramento Bee, HuffPost, New York Times, Political Wire and Politico

U.S. Embassy / U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan:

Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Kabul (August 18, 2021) — U.S. government-provided flights are departing. U.S. citizens, LPRs, and their spouses and unmarried children (under age 21) should consider travelling to Hamid Karzai International Airport.   You should plan to enter the airport at Camp Sullivan.

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Examiner, CNBC, Forbes, New York Post and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

CNBC:

Ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani resurfaces in UAE after fleeing Kabul, Emirati government says — Ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled his country as its capital Kabul was being overtaken by Taliban fighters, is now in the United Arab Emirates.

Discussion: mofaic.gov.ae, CNN, New York Post, Vanity Fair, Washington Examiner, The Times of Israel, Politico and Insider

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Poll finds growing support for voter ID requirements — A large majority of voters support laws requiring photo identification, according to a new poll from an election integrity group conducted as Democrats push for sweeping elections reforms. — A poll released this week …

Discussion: Townhall and USAFeatures.news

Ian Millhiser / Vox:
Democrats have finally identified the greatest threat to voting rights — the Supreme Court

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The 19th and UPI

Kate Brumback / Associated Press:

Georgia board to review Fulton elections, takeover possible — ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's State Election Board on Wednesday took a step toward a possible eventual takeover of elections in the state's most populous county under a process outlined in the state's sweeping new voting law.

Discussion: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Georgia Recorder, Forbes and wabe.org

Teaganne Finn / NBC News:
Georgia election board launches review of Fulton County votes setting up possible takeover

Discussion: Georgia Recorder, ABC News, The Hill and Trending Politics

Laura Davison / Bloomberg:

U.S. Households Paying No Income Tax Hit 61% of Total Last Year — Stimulus payments, other aid slashed federal tax bills — Zero-tax filers to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 — Nearly 61% of U.S households paid no federal income taxes during pandemic-stricken year of 2020 …

Howard Gleckman / TaxVox: The COVID-19 Pandemic Drove A Huge, But Temporary, Increase in Households That Did Not Pay Federal Income Tax

Heather Long / Washington Post:

The U.S. could be on the verge of a productivity boom, a game-changer for the economy — Rapid adoption of robots and artificial intelligence during the pandemic combined with a rebound in government investment is making some economists optimistic about a return of a 1990s economy with widespread benefits

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Federal officials press GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert over apparent personal use of campaign funds — Federal officials are pressing Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., for answers on the apparent personal use of campaign funds. — A letter from the Federal Election Commission to the treasurer …

Discussion: Bipartisan Report, Raw Story, Political Wire and The Wrap