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5:35 PM ET, August 18, 2021

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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  Many are premature — or alternatively, out of date.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 …
RELATED:
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.
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.
Sarah Kolinovsky / ABC News:
Biden says he did not see a way to withdraw from Afghanistan without ‘chaos ensuing’  —  In an exclusive ABC News interview, Biden opens up on his decision to withdraw.  —  In an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, and the president's first since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban …
Discussion: The Guardian
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.
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: CNN and Washington Examiner
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.
RELATED:
Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:
An evasive White House quietly hints that not all Americans will make it out of Afghanistan  —  The White House has little confidence it can evacuate all U.S. nationals from Afghanistan before the Taliban take full control of the country.  —  The administration said as much this week, although not in so many words.
Discussion: ABC News, Townhall and Power Line
Tom Rogan / Washington Examiner:
US allies deeply concerned by Biden's detachment
Discussion: Fox News
Jeffrey Morris / Covid Data Science:
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.
RELATED:
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
Phil Helsel / NBC News:
Texas school district makes masks part of dress code to get around Gov. Abbott's order
Reuters:
U.S. reports more than 1,000 COVID deaths in single day
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
RELATED:
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.
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
How Pelosi is trying to jam the rebels threatening to tank Biden's agenda  —  Incredibly, the nine conservative Democrats who have been threatening to derail passage of President Biden's $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill are still at it.  They're still demanding a vote only on the bipartisan …
RELATED:
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Poll finds growing support for voter ID requirements
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
RELATED:
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Fox News:
Biden's entire national security team should resign: Rep. Andy Barr  —  ‘Afghanistan has descended into chaos,’ Barr said  —  Gold Star wife ‘completely defeated’ by Afghanistan collapse  —  FIRST ON FOX: A prominent House Republican is calling for the resignations of every individual …
Discussion: The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Joy Pullmann / The Federalist:
Mark Milley Deserves To Be Fired And Court-Martialed For His Afghanistan Lies
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Israpundit
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.
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 …
RELATED:
Los Angeles Times:
Cox served with subpoena, Elder blasted for remarks on women at California recall debate
CNN:
Mississippi eighth grader dies a day after positive coronavirus test  —  (CNN)A 13-year-old Mississippi girl has died just one day after testing positive for coronavirus, according to Smith County School District Superintendent Nick Hillman.  —  The girl wasn't feeling well last Thursday and her mother kept her home, Hillman said.
Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story
RELATED:
Ashton Pittman / Mississippi Free Press:
Mississippi Quarantines 20,000 With 5,993 Students Positive For COVID; Teen Deaths Rise
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
New York Times:
The Biden administration will use a federal civil rights office to deter states from banning universal masking in classrooms.  —  The Biden administration, escalating its fight with Republican governors who are blocking local school districts from requiring masks to protect against the coronavirus …
Discussion: NBC News and Washington Post
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 …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Daily Mail:
Squad members Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley raked in up to $50K in rental income last year despite pushing for rent moratorium to be extended
Discussion: IJR and BizPac Review
Wall Street Journal:
Will the IMF Bankroll the Taliban?
Timothy Noah / Washington Monthly:
Nobody Cares Who Lost Afghanistan
Kathy Frankovic / YouGov:
Biden's approval drops to its lowest rating yet amid his handling of Afghanistan withdrawal
 Earlier Items: 
Laura Davison / Bloomberg:
U.S. Households Paying No Income Tax Hit 61% of Total Last Year
Discussion: TaxVox
Bojan Pancevski / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Officials in Germany Hit by Havana Syndrome
Discussion: Politico and Political Wire
Jan Hoffman / New York Times:
Sacklers Threaten to Pull Out of Opioid Settlement Without Broad Legal Immunity
BUSR:
2022 Florida Gubernatorial Poll
Kate Brumback / Associated Press:
Georgia board to review Fulton elections, takeover possible
New York Times:
The School Culture Wars: ‘You Have Brought Division to Us’
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January
 
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