memeorandum: Pope Francis Encourages Covid Vaccines in Media Campaign (Tiffany Hsu/New York Times)

8:20 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: HotAir, Washington Post, Althouse, New York Post, Fox News, Washington Examiner, The Times of Israel, Politico, Townhall, WEB OF EVIL, New York Times 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: Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Power Line, Breitbart, Forbes, Washington Free Beacon, HotAir, The Mahablog, Washington Monthly, The Hill, New York Post, New York Times, CNN and Raw Story

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, Washington Post and HotAir, more at Mediagazer »

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 »

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, Politico, HuffPost, HotAir, Washington Post, National Review, The Colorado Sun, Opinion Today, TheBlaze and Twitchy

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

Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:

Taliban Block Routes to Kabul Airport, Hampering Evacuations From Afghanistan — Residents in eastern city of Jalalabad stage first protest against Taliban rule — Afghans and Westerners stranded in Kabul after Sunday's Taliban takeover started trickling into the city's U.S.-controlled airport …

Discussion: Anadolu Ajansı … and Townhall

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: Washington Post, The Guardian and Al Jazeera

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: Biden's approval rating drops below 50 — DRIVING THE DAY — SIREN: President JOE BIDEN's average approval rating is below 50% for the first time this year. 538: 49.8% ... RCP: 49.4% — The dip has been driven by a slow erosion among independents that seems tied …

Discussion: Insider, Washington Examiner, The Hill, HuffPost, NPR, American Greatness and Metro.co.uk

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

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

Washington Post:
Withdrawal from Afghanistan forces allies and adversaries to reconsider America's global role

Discussion: Townhall and BizPac Review

Reuters:
Biden's vow to airlift Afghan allies meets ticking clock, risky rescue

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

Samuel Chamberlain / New York Post:
Trump calls Afghanistan collapse ‘most humiliating’ moment for US

Discussion: Raw Story, Bloomberg, Variety, Townhall, National Review, The Daily Caller, The US Sun, Sputnik News, Summit News and Mediaite

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

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, HuffPost, The Dispatch, Insider and FactCheck.org

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

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

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

Discussion: CNN, Reason, Common Dreams, Bloomberg, Reuters, Politico, CNN, New York Post, Portland Mercury, Al Jazeera, New York Times, National Review, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo and Foreign Policy

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Hackwhackers and The Colorado Sun

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

Discussion: CNN, euronews and Insider

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

Discussion: The Nation, The Bulwark, The Dispatch, Sputnik News, National Review, New York Times and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller and Common Dreams

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Insider, Politico, Slate and Salon

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

Discussion: Poynter, New York Post, RedState and Washington Examiner

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: HuffPost, Forbes, Bloomberg, KXAN-TV, The Wrap, The Hill, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, Insider, Common Dreams, HotAir, The Guardian, Chad Prather for Texas, National Review, UPI, Washington Examiner, CNN, VICE, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, NPR 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, CBS News, Sputnik News, KXAN-TV, Off the Kuff, RedState, Louder With Crowder, TMZ.com, KTLA, The US Sun, Associated Press, Denver Post, Politico, The Daily Beast, Gizmodo, Crooks and Liars, Patterico's Pontifications and The Hill

Phil Helsel / NBC News:

Texas school district makes masks part of dress code to get around Gov. Abbott's order … A small Texas school district has made facial coverings part of its dress code, in a bid to get around Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order banning mask mandates. — The board of the Paris Independent …

Discussion: KXII-TV, Washington Post, Raw Story, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and Insider

Washington Post:

Alabama has ‘negative’ ICU beds free as U.S. hospitals struggle with surge of cases … 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 where all stories are free to read.

Discussion: WSFA-TV, Breitbart and Mediaite

Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:

Pope Francis Encourages Covid Vaccines in Media Campaign — “Getting the vaccines that are authorized by the respective authorities is an act of love,” the pope says in a video from the Ad Council. — Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 is “an act of love,” Pope Francis says in a public service ad …

Discussion: One America News Network

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: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, 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

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

‘Center of the maelstrom’: Election officials grapple with 2020's long shadow — DES MOINES, Iowa — The nation's secretaries of state used to be little-known, wonky bureaucrats who operated in near-anonymity. But after the 2020 election, they are now on the frontlines of the battle over trust in American democracy.

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

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 and CNBC, more at Techmeme »

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: HotAir, Off the Kuff, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Political Wire, CNN and KXAN-TV

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 …

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, Variety, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal and Hollywood Reporter, more at Mediagazer »

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.