memeorandum: Babbitt shooter: “I believe I showed the utmost courage ... I saved countless lives” (Ed Morrissey/HotAir)

1:25 PM ET, August 27, 2021

Top Items:

James Gordon Meek / ABC News:

US special operations vets carry out daring mission to save Afghan allies — At least 13 service members were killed in an attack in Kabul Thursday. — With the Taliban growing more violent and adding checkpoints near Kabul's airport, an all-volunteer group of American veterans …

The Dispatch:

A Defeat of Choice — It did not have to be this way. — The attacks Thursday at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed 13 U.S. troops, making it the deadliest single day of the war for Americans in more than a decade. More than 90 Afghans trying to escape …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HotAir, Washington Post, Center for Security Policy, New York Times, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Newsbusters, CNN, Liberty Nation and Conservative Brief

William Saletan / Slate:

The GOP's Phony Complaints About Afghanistan — On Thursday, suicide bombers killed scores of people outside the Kabul airport, including at least 12 American service members. Congressional Republicans snapped into action, demanding that President Joe Biden resign or be impeached.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, National Review, The Federalist, Insider, Reuters, The US Sun, Mediaite and ME

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall:

Resign — Rip those stars off your pathetic nostalgia costumes and resign. Quit. Tell that crusty Pinocchio in the White House and the faculty lounge Geppettos tugging his strings that you will have no more to do with his human centipede of failure in Kabul.

Discussion: The US Sun, The American Spectator, National Review and TheBlaze

Associated Press:
New urgency to airlift after Kabul blasts kill more than 100

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HotAir, New Republic, Forbes, Chicago Sun-Times, Defense One, The New Neo, Breitbart, The White House, Reuters, NPR, CNBC, ABC7, Raw Story, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Insider

New York Times:
Afghanistan Live Updates: Flights Resume at Kabul Airport After Deadly Attack

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, FOX 5 San Diego and Reuters

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: ‘The worst day of your presidency’

Discussion: NBC News, CNN and Forbes

Washington Examiner:
Biden must accept accountability for his Afghanistan debacle

Hunter Walker / New York Magazine:
‘A Total F*cking Disaster’: Inside Seth Moulton's Secret Trip to Kabul Officials condemned the mission as a reckless stunt. …

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Townhall, The Stream, The US Sun, Washington Times, HuffPost, The Last Refuge, Insider and The Uprising

Fox News:
House Republicans introducing articles of impeachment for Secretary of State Blinken

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner and Townhall

Wall Street Journal:
Afghan Crowds Return to Kabul Airport After Attack as U.S. Warns of Further Threats

Discussion: NBC News, enVolve, NaturalNews.com, Foreign Policy and Breitbart

Washington Post:
Biden struggles to address the most volatile crisis of his presidency

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CNN, The Guardian, NBC News, Outside the Beltway, Liberty Unyielding, Power Line, NBC4 Washington, Breitbart, Israpundit, Summit News and NBC Los Angeles

CBS News:
Race to evacuate as many as possible from Kabul after ISIS bombs kill at least 170

Discussion: Associated Press, Twin Cities and IJR

Robert Kagan / Washington Post:
It wasn't hubris that drove America into Afghanistan. It was fear.

Discussion: HotAir, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, Real Clear Politics, Power Line, RedState, Breitbart, TheBlaze and Louder With Crowder

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
At a badly shaken White House, ‘sadness and horror’

Discussion: NPR, Responsible Statecraft, Boston.com, HotAir, Task & Purpose, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Townhall

NBC News:

Officer who shot Ashli Babbitt during Capitol riot breaks silence: ‘I saved countless lives’ — In the chaotic minutes before he shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, Lt. Michael Byrd focused his attention on the glass doors leading into the lobby of the House of Representatives chamber.

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:

Babbitt shooter: “I believe I showed the utmost courage ... I saved countless lives” — “There was imminent threat and danger to the members of Congress,” Michael Byrd tells NBC's Lester Holt in his first interview since the shooting of Ashli Babbitt in the January 6 riot. “I just want the truth to be told.”

Discussion: Raw Story, Boston.com, Ace of Spades HQ and TheBlaze

CNN:
Renewed fears of political violence grip Capitol Hill ahead of right-wing rally

Discussion: Raw Story and Orange County Register

Buck Sexton Show:
Officer Who Shot Ashli Babbitt Says ‘She Posed a Threat’

Discussion: The Federalist, DeadState and TMZ.com

Josephine Harvey / Yahoo News:

Texas Anti-Mask ‘Freedom Rally’ Organizer Fighting For His Life With COVID-19 — A Texas man who helped organize protests against pandemic restrictions is fighting for his life after being hospitalized for nearly a month with COVID-19, the — San Angelo Standard-Times reported.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Raw Story

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Justice Breyer on Retirement and the Role of Politics at the Supreme Court — In an interview prompted by his new book, the 83-year-old leader of the court's liberal wing said he is working on a decision about when to step down. — WASHINGTON — Justice Stephen G. Breyer says he is struggling …

Discussion: HuffPost, HotAir, Fox News, Insider, Washington Post, The Hill, Politico, Washington Times, The Economist, The Daily Caller, Reason, POLITICUSUSA, Gawker and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Arian Campo-Flores / Wall Street Journal:

Florida Schools' Covid-19 Mask Mandates Upheld by Judge — Judge says Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped his authority and allows school districts to require students to wear masks — A Florida judge said school districts could impose mask mandates and that Gov. Ron DeSantis had overstepped his authority when he banned such rules.

Alison Durkee / Forbes:

Florida School Mask Mandate Ban Struck Down In Court — A state judge in Florida struck down Friday the state's executive order prohibiting school districts from imposing their own mask mandates after a four-day hearing over its fate, ruling they did not have the authority under state law to issue the ban …

Discussion: Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:

Judge blocks Florida governor's order banning mask mandates — FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — School districts in Florida may impose mask mandates, a judge said Friday, ruling that Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped his authority by issuing an executive order banning the mandates.

Discussion: Insider, CBS Miami, Law & Crime and The Guardian

Doug Richards / WXIA-TV:

Complaint: Herschel Walker violated campaign law — Georgia Democrats claim Walker functioned as a US Senate candidate before he filed this week. — ATLANTA — Democrats have filed a complaint against Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Herschel Walker. The complaint alleges Walker violated …

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Police report: Herschel Walker's ex-girlfriend claimed he threatened her life

Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo:

EXCLUSIVE: Newly Unsealed Transcript Reveals Crux Of Mueller's Collusion Case — Internal Trump campaign polling data from the 2016 election was sent to a person close to Russia's leader, according to recently unsealed statements by a prosecutor from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office.

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

What California's Recall Election Says About America — We did not meet at the French Laundry. — Gavin Newsom, the California governor who faces a recall election on September 14, hasn't been back to the extravagantly expensive Napa Valley restaurant since he dined there with lobbyists …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Politico and The Federalist

Kaylee Fagan / San Francisco Chronicle:
Trump-inspired conspiracies about voter fraud have infiltrated the California recall. And they may cost supporters votes

Discussion: Raw Story

Ben Winck / Insider:

Inflation is cooling off just as economists, the Fed, and Biden expected — The PCE inflation measure rose 0.4% in July, signaling a slowdown in price growth from the prior month. — The print matched the median economist estimate. It was the slowest price growth since February.

Discussion: U.S. Bureau …, The Daily Caller and NPR

Kelsey Piper / Vox:

How a cheap antidepressant emerged as a promising Covid-19 treatment — Most Covid-19 drug treatments that have been included in trials haven't panned out. A large new study suggests fluvoxamine might be different. — This story is part of a group of stories called — Finding the best ways to do good.

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION and Florida Politics

Devoun Cetoute / Miami Herald:
Florida COVID update: case, death, vaccine count

Discussion: Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Twitchy, Axios, Bloomberg, Insider, New York Times, Florida Politics, Sacramento Bee and Raw Story

María Paúl / Washington Post:

A school district opted out of a free meals program, saying students could ‘become spoiled’ — With two girls in elementary school and a mother who is a teacher, the Dringenburg household in a Milwaukee suburb had been joyous and excited about back-to-school season — until this year …

Gabrielle Fonrouge / New York Post:

First US service member who died in Kabul identified as Navy medic Max Soviak — One of the US service members killed in the suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport has been identified, reports said Friday. — Max Soviak, a Navy medic believed to be in his early 20s …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Dana Goldstein / New York Times:

In Britain, Young Children Don't Wear Masks in School — During the Delta surge, British schools emphasized other safety measures: quarantining and regular testing for the virus. — From late spring into early summer, Britain's elementary and secondary schools were open during an alarming wave of Delta infections.

Michael Kruse / Politico:

‘It Nearly Killed Me’: Michael Caputo's Life After Years Fighting for Trump — McALLEN, Texas — The purpose of the work was on the sign above the door: “Restoring Human Dignity.” — Inside the Humanitarian Respite Center, run by Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley …

CNN:

CNN EXCLUSIVE ‘Something has to be done’: After decades of near-silence from the CDC, the agency's director is speaking up about gun violence — Watch CNN Films' “The Price of Freedom” on CNN TV without commercial interruption starting at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 29.

Discussion: Insider, Twitchy, National Review and DCReport.org