memeorandum: Ida weakens as rescues begin and damage checked in Louisiana (Associated Press)

1:30 PM ET, August 30, 2021

Top Items:

David Gilbert / VICE:

QAnon Anti-Vaxxer Called COVID a Hoax Even as His ‘Lungs Stopped Functioning’ — Robert David Steele, a former CIA officer turned conspiracy theorist who claimed to be the first person to call COVID-19 a hoax, has died from COVID-19. — Steele, who was among the earliest QAnon promoters …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jake Zuckerman / Ohio Capital Journal:

Judge orders Cinci hospital to treat COVID-19 patient with Ivermectin, despite CDC warnings — A Butler County judge ruled in favor of a woman last week who sought to force a hospital to administer Ivermectin — an animal dewormer that federal regulators have warned against using in COVID-19 patients …

Discussion: HotAir, Crooks and Liars, New York Times, Boston.com, Mock Paper Scissors and Political Wire

Brian C. Joondeph / American Thinker:

Who's Skipping the Vaccine? The Answer May Surprise You — Big media has been in overdrive pushing COVID vaccinations, at least after Joe Biden was ensconced in the White House. Remember that when Donald Trump was still president, the vaccines were suspect, simply because Trump played a major role in their development and rollout.

Discussion: Associated Press and Balloon Juice

James Osborne / Houston Chronicle:

You want tyranny? A war hero died because hospitals were full of COVID patients. — A little over a week ago, as U.S. soldiers risked their lives flying tens of thousands of Afghans and Americans to safety, U.S. Army veteran Daniel Wilkinson — who earned a Purple Heart in Afghanistan …

Discussion: Reason

Dan Levin / New York Times:
The U.S. reaches 100,000 average daily Covid hospitalizations for the first time since winter.

Discussion: WATE-TV

Yelena Dzhanova / Insider:
An 88-year-old professor in Georgia resigned in the middle of class because a student refused to wear a mask over her nose: 'That's it, I'm retired'

Discussion: Georgia Recorder, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, TheBlaze and Slate

Elian Peltier / New York Times:
Unvaccinated U.S. visitors could soon face new restrictions on travel to Europe.

Discussion: USA Today, Politico, consilium.europa.eu, CNN, New York Times and Insider

Marisa Fernandez / Axios: CDC: Unvaccinated teacher caused an outbreak in classroom

Tzvi Joffre / Jerusalem Post:
New COVID variant detected in South Africa, most mutated variant so far

Discussion: New York Post

Jason Lemon / Newsweek:
Rand Paul Claims ‘Hatred for Trump’ Hindering Research Into Ivermectin as COVID Treatment

Discussion: The Hill and POLITICUSUSA

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:
Rand Paul: ‘Hatred for Trump’ blocks Covid study of horse drug ivermectin

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Boston.com, PinkNews and POLITICUSUSA

David Rothkopf / The Atlantic:

Biden Deserves Credit, Not Blame, for Afghanistan — America's longest war has been by any measure a costly failure, and the errors in managing the conflict deserve scrutiny in the years to come. But Joe Biden doesn't “own” the mayhem on the ground right now.

Discussion: Washington Post, Front Page Magazine, Issues & Insights, Associated Press, Newlines Magazine, Fox News, Crooks and Liars, POLITICUSUSA, Patterico's Pontifications, New York Times, BizPac Review, Ace of Spades HQ, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Twitchy and The Column

American Greatness:

Our Afghan Nightmare: Tanks for Nothing — Afghanistan has been reinvented as the best-equipped terrorist nation in the world, basking in the prestige of humiliating the world's superpower. — Joe Biden's scripted or no-questions press conferences, and the clean-up afterward by Antony Blinken …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Times, DemCast, HotAir, theepochtimes.com, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Boston.com, Associated Press, New York Times, Power Line and Denver Post

Lara Seligman / Politico:

Pentagon prepared for ‘mass casualty’ attack at Kabul Airport hours before explosion — Just 24 hours before a suicide bomber detonated an explosive outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, senior military leaders gathered for the Pentagon's daily morning update on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill, National Review, CNN, Task & Purpose and NBC News

Farnaz Fassihi / New York Times:

American University of Kabul students and alumni trying to flee were sent home. — Hundreds of students and alumni of American University of Kabul gathered at a safe house on Sunday and boarded buses in what was supposed to be a final attempt at evacuation on U.S. military flights, students and alumni said.

Discussion: Washington Post, Insider, HotAir, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, RedState, BizPac Review, Mediaite, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Politico and ABC News

U.S. Central Command:
U.S. Central Command statement on defensive strike in Kabul

Discussion: Insider, New York Times, Washington Post, American Greatness, Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Defense One, National Review, CNBC, Townhall, UPI, Al Jazeera and Just The News

Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
Be Glad Donald Trump Isn't Running the Show in Afghanistan

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Erick Erickson's Confessions …, The Federalist and Raw Story

Mark MacKinnon / Globe and Mail: Ukrainian troops rescue Canada-bound Afghans in daring operation

New York Post:
The fatal failure of Gen. Mark A. Milley over closing Bagram Air Base

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Dave Lawler / Axios:
What Taliban rule will look like in the new old Afghanistan

Discussion: New York Times and HotAir

Kathy Gannon / Associated Press:
Rockets fired at Kabul airport amid US withdrawal hit homes

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, Al Jazeera, New York Post, HotAir, Associated Press, Reuters, Insider, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Denver Post, One America News Network and Financial Times

Washington Post:
10 civilians, including children, reported killed in U.S. drone strike; rockets fired at Kabul airport

Discussion: HotAir, NPR, New York Times, France 24, USA Today, CNBCTV18, Townhall, Insider, Jihad Watch, The Western Journal, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Common Dreams, Political Wire and CNN

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Biden's presidency of crises pushes White House to its limits

Discussion: The White House, The Western Journal, Mercury News and Politico

Amie Just / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

All of New Orleans without power after Hurricane Ida leaves ‘catastrophic transmission damage’ — A slow-moving Hurricane Ida has left all of Orleans Parish customers without power due to “catastrophic transmission damage,” according to Entergy New Orleans.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, NBC News, Politico, The Root, Gizmodo, WWL-TV, UPI, CBS News, New York Times, HotAir, New York Post, Insider, Mediaite, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Townhall, KFOR-TV, Common Dreams, abc7NY and The Daily Beast

Associated Press:

Ida weakens as rescues begin and damage checked in Louisiana — NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Ida became a tropical storm as its top winds slowed over Mississippi on Monday, while across southeast Louisiana residents waited for daylight to be rescued from floodwaters and see how much damage …

Discussion: Reuters, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Bloomberg, NPR, Daily Kos, Fox News, Associated Press, CBS News, The Hill and Office of Governor …

Wall Street Journal:
Ida Makes Landfall Near New Orleans, Downgraded to Category 3 Hurricane

Discussion: UPI, USA Today, Gizmodo, NPR, New York Post, Insider, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Defense One, Informed Comment, Common Dreams, Associated Press, New York Times, KRON4, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and New York Times

Cheyenne Ubiera / The Daily Beast:

COVID Claims the Life of Third Anti-Vaxx Conservative Radio Host — ANOTHER ONE — Another anti-vaccine conservative radio host has died due to complications from COVID-19. Marc Bernier, who hosted a radio show in Daytona Beach, Florida, passed away Saturday at the age of 65.

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian and Slate

Theresa Braine / New York Daily News:
Another conservative anti-vaccine radio talk show host succumbs to COVID, third in a month

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and The Hill

Joshua Rhett Miller / New York Post:
A third anti-vaccine conservative radio host dies of COVID-19

Discussion: The American Independent, Morning Shots and HuffPost

Bloomberg:

EU to Reimpose Travel Curbs on U.S. Amid Rise in Covid Cases — The move will come as a blow to airlines banking on reopening — New American cases exceed the limit set earlier by the bloc — European Union countries voted to subject the U.S. to fresh restrictions on nonessential travel amid …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and National Review

Samuel Petrequin / Associated Press:
EU takes US off safe travel list; backs travel restrictions

Discussion: CBS News and Ground News

Lachlan Cartwright / The Daily Beast:

Bombshell Lawsuit Has ‘GMA’ Co-Hosts at Each Other's Throats, Sources Say — Sources said a lawsuit accusing GMA's former executive producer of sexual assault has opened a new rift between the show's hosts and raised the anger of staffers demanding answers.

Discussion: HotAir, more at Mediagazer »

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Disney Held Unsuccessful Mediation Talks With Alleged Sexual-Assault Victims

Discussion: Variety, Deadline and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

Keith Zhai / Wall Street Journal:

China Limits Videogames to Three Hours a Week for Young People — New regulation will ban minors from playing videogames entirely between Monday and Thursday — SINGAPORE—China has a new rule for the country's hundreds of millions of young gamers: No videogames during the school week …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and New York Times, more at Techmeme »

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

Hate crimes rise to highest level in 12 years amid increasing attacks on Blacks, Asians — The number of hate crimes in the United States rose in 2020 to the highest level in 12 years, propelled by increasing assaults targeting Black and Asian victims, the FBI reported Monday.

Russell Berman / The Atlantic:

The Obvious Voting-Rights Solution That No Democrat Will Propose — Democrats in Congress are considering a policy that was long unthinkable: a federal requirement that every American show identification before casting a ballot. But as the party tries to pass voting-rights legislation …

Eleanor Eagan / American Prospect:

Merrick Garland Is Failing His Biggest Test — Through either trepidation or cowardice, the Justice Department has shrunk from the onslaught of conservative legal opposition to the Biden agenda. — Attorney General Merrick Garland listens to community leaders at a youth baseball game sponsored …

Discussion: Politico, Unfogged, Salon and Pennsylvania Capital-Star