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12:00 PM ET, August 18, 2021

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 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  Many are premature — or alternatively, out of date.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:
Mike Pence / Wall Street Journal:
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," …
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.
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 …
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 …
Quin Hillyer / Washington Examiner:
After epochal disaster in Afghanistan, Biden should step down  —  President Joe Biden should resign in disgrace.  —  Seriously.  As I have argued for decades , it is long past time for American politicians to adopt the Asian cultural model of resignations, as a matter of honor, for gross failures or derelictions.
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 …
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.
Reuters:
Biden's vow to airlift Afghan allies meets ticking clock, risky rescue
Devi Ruia / Data For Progress:
Voters Support Withdrawing Troops from Afghanistan and Providing Afghans With Special Immigrant Visas
Discussion: Democrats
Washington Post:
Taliban strikes conciliatory tone, consolidates power as de facto leader returns to country
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
A First Amendment Precedent  —  The Supreme Court may reconsider a major case concerning freedom of the press.
Discussion: Insider and Raw Story
Yahoo Finance:   Taliban Barricade Airport; Ghani Is in UAE: Afghanistan Update
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Biden's approval rating drops below 50
New York Times:
For Afghan Women, Taliban Stir Fears of Return to a Repressive Past
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.
Discussion: Calculated Risk
RELATED:
Reuters:
U.S. reports more than 1,000 COVID deaths in single day  —  The United States reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, equating to around 42 fatalities an hour, according to a Reuters tally, as the Delta variant continues to ravage parts of the country with low vaccination rates.
al.com:
Alabama has net of only 2 ICU beds in state, hospital association says  —  As Alabama faces a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations due to a low vaccination rate and the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, the state has a net of only two ICU beds, the Alabama Hospital Association said Monday.
Cameron Jenkins / The Hill:
Arizona governor withholding grants to schools with mask mandates
Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and UPI
Anita Sircar / Los Angeles Times:
Op-Ed: As a doctor in a COVID unit, I'm running out of compassion for the unvaccinated. Get the shot
Discussion: NOQ Report
Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tests positive for COVID-19
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: The Hill and CBS Pittsburgh
RELATED:
New York Times:
The School Culture Wars: ‘You Have Brought Division to Us’  —  From mask mandates to critical race theory and gender identity, educators are besieged.  “You are just trying to keep everything from collapsing,” one official said.  —  July and August are supposed to be the quietest months of the school year.
CDC:
CDC Newsroom  —  Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is announcing a new center designed to advance the use of forecasting and outbreak analytics in public health decision making.  Once established, the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics …
Discussion: Bloomberg and Washington Post
Julie Barrett / The Federalist:
How To See If Critical Race Theory Is In Your Kids' School—And Fight It  —  If your school district is anything like mine, they don't call it critical race theory, and they insist people who use that term are crazy, right-wing conspiracy theorists.  We're not.
Discussion: Washington Examiner
- 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 …
 
 
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 More Items: 
HuffPost:
The Behind-The-Scenes Campaign For The Next Social Security Commissioner
Wall Street Journal:
BuzzFeed Clashed With NBCUniversal as It Pursued SPAC Deal
Steven Allen Adams / Martinsburg Journa:
Progressive group launches ReplaceJoeManchin.com
Discussion: The Nation
Steve Israel / The Hill:
Do not underestimate Kathy Hochul
Ron Faucheux / Washington Examiner:
Are the wheels coming off the Biden administration?
Discussion: CNBC
 Earlier Items: 
Jesús A. Rodríguez / Politico:
What Kamala Harris' Law School Years Reveal About Her Politics
Democracy Docket:
Court Dismisses Right-Wing Group's Counterclaims in Georgia Voter Intimidation Suit
Zach Montellaro / Politico:
‘Center of the maelstrom’: Election officials grapple with 2020's long shadow
Kate Murphy / Raleigh News & Observer:
UNC Chapel Hill Journalism School Dean Susan King resigning
Discussion: The Progressive Pulse
Wall Street Journal:
The Democratic Food-Stamp Boom
Rudy Takala / Mediaite:
Twitter Says Taliban Spokesman Will be Allowed to Remain if He Doesn't Get Too Violent
 

 
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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