memeorandum: In Florida, a summer of death and resistance as the coronavirus rampaged (Washington Post)

12:25 PM ET, September 7, 2021

Top Items:

The U.S. surpasses 40 million known coronavirus cases. — More than 40 million cases of the coronavirus have been recorded in the United States, according to a New York Times database. — The total number of known infections, more than the population of California, the nation's most populous state …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Bangor Daily News, The Daily Beast, Forbes, WV MetroNews, CNN and Denver Post

Miami Herald:

COVID vaccine is not personal choice despite DeSantis — Getting the COVID vaccine is not a “personal choice.” It never was, really, but the onslaught of cases fueled by the delta variant has removed any doubt. — And yet that's not what Florida's governor would have you believe.

Discussion: HotAir, POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos and HuffPost

Peter Weber / The Week:

Florida accounts for nearly a quarter of new U.S. COVID-19 deaths — August was Florida's deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a new batch of delayed COVID-19 deaths reported Monday, Florida lost more than 6,600 people to the coronavirus in August, an average of 213 deaths a day.

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

One in 5,000 — The real chances of a breakthrough infection. — The C.D.C. reported a terrifying fact in July: Vaccinated people with the Delta variant of the Covid virus carried roughly the same viral load in their noses and throats as unvaccinated people.

Discussion: CNN and Raw Story

Washington Post:

In Florida, a summer of death and resistance as the coronavirus rampaged — THE VILLAGES, Fla. — They trickled into a theater resembling a barn and refashioned as a site administering antibodies to treat covid-19: retired couples holding gloved hands, an elderly man stumbling as a woman held his arm, paramedics donning oxygen masks.

Discussion: HotAir, Blue Virginia, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Biden set to deliver major speech on next phase of pandemic response, sources say

Discussion: Political Wire

The Intercept:
New Details Emerge About Coronavirus Research at Chinese Lab

Discussion: HotAir, RedState, National Review, Breitbart and Twitchy

Associated Press:

The Latest: Taliban disperse Kabul rally, arrest journalists — KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban have fired gunshots to disperse a rally on Tuesday in Kabul and arrested several Afghan journalists who were covering the demonstration, witnesses and Afghan media outlets said.

Discussion: The Hill

Adela Suliman / Washington Post:
Lindsey Graham says United States ‘will be going back’ into Afghanistan

Discussion: HotAir, The Hill, New York Post, Crooks and Liars and Insider

Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
Shot-Up SUVs, Teens Manning Checkpoints: A Reporter's Return to Kabul Weeks After the Fall

Discussion: Washington Post and HotAir

John Hudson / Washington Post:
Blinken denies Taliban holding Americans in Afghanistan ‘hostage’

Discussion: The Hill, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, IJR and Althouse

Humeyra Pamuk / Reuters:
Blinken denies Taliban blocking Americans from leaving Mazar-i-Sharif

Discussion: Insider, National Review, Axios, IJR, Fox News and Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Working With Taliban on Flying Remaining Americans Out of Afghanistan

Discussion: HotAir, Politico, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Defense One, The Hill, Washington Post and Al Jazeera

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

These corporations bankrolled the sponsors of Texas' abortion ban — Texas just enacted the nation's most draconian abortion ban, prohibiting all abortions after six weeks — before many women even know they are pregnant. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.

Discussion: Washington Post, HotAir, Washington Monthly and NBC News

Meryl Kornfield / Washington Post:
A website for ‘whistleblowers’ to expose Texas abortion providers was taken down — again

Paul LeBlanc / CNN:

Ex-FBI official says law enforcement needs to take upcoming right-wing rally in DC ‘very seriously’ — Washington (CNN)Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said Monday evening that law enforcement needs to take the upcoming right-wing rally in support of jailed January 6 rioters …

Discussion: The Hill, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Raw Story, Washington Times and Alternet.org

The Daily Beast:
GOP's Promised Jan. 6 Probe Has One Problem: No One Wants It

Discussion: Daily Kos, Raw Story and Mediaite

Betsy Woodruff Swan / Politico:
‘Keep your head on a swivel’: FBI analyst circulated a prescient warning of Jan. 6 violence

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Politico:

Trump builds ‘turnkey’ campaign operation for 2024 — Boots on the ground in Iowa. Accelerated fundraising. More national media interviews. A flood of new press statements. A rise in attack ads on the web. — With a flurry of activity from his main political committee and hints dropped …

Discussion: Insider, The Bulwark, Mediaite, CNN, RedState, Fox News, Althouse, No More Mister Nice Blog, BizPac Review and The Federalist

Zach Montellaro / Politico:
State GOP leaders push new 2020 election reviews as Arizona report looms

Discussion: HotAir, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story and Newsweek

Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:

Taliban Unveil New Afghan Government — Afghanistan's new rulers named prime minister, with senior post for leader of al Qaeda-linked Haqqani group — Breaking News: — *Taliban Announce New Afghan Government, Mullah Hassan Akhund as Prime Minister — *All Key Positions to Remain in Taliban Hands

Discussion: BBC, Al Jazeera, Slate, Foreign Policy, The Daily Caller and New York Times

New York Post:

‘The Wire’ actor Michael K. Williams found dead in NYC apartment — “The Wire” actor Michael K. Williams was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment Monday afternoon, law-enforcement sources told The Post. — Drug paraphernalia was found in the apartment, suggesting a possible overdose, sources said.

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Alphonso David, Who Advised Cuomo, Fired as Human Rights Campaign President — Mr. David, who previously worked as a lawyer for Andrew Cuomo, was identified in a report as having advised the former governor on how to handle sex harassment allegations. — Alphonso David, the president …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon, USA Today, Insider, Washington Examiner, CNN, CBS News, HotAir, New York Post, HRC, NPR, Townhall, National Review, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, TheGrio, The Root, The Wrap, Twitchy, Mediaite, Washington Post, HuffPost, UPI and Fox News

David Gilbert / VICE:

QAnon Is Harassing a Hospital Into Giving Bogus COVID ‘Cure’ Ivermectin — Some of the most powerful QAnon influencers are urging their hundreds of thousands of followers to harass a Chicago hospital into treating an anti-vaccine activist with ivermectin. — Veronica Wolski …

Discussion: Gizmodo

William McGurn / Wall Street Journal:

The Real Structural Racism — Is it OK that black eighth graders aren't proficient in math and reading? — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have a point about structural racism. But it's probably not the point the Queens Democrat and her progressive allies think it is.

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:

J.D. Vance Is So Thirsty — The sad, needy tweets of a loser. — On Sunday, J.D. Vance pushed out a nova-hot tweet professing his respect for Alex Jones: … This is what the kids call a thirst trap. It's very sad. Let me explain. — You can tell that Vance's tweet was engineered …

Discussion: Alternet.org and Mediaite

David Dayen / American Prospect:

Infrastructure Summer: Joe Manchin's Symphony of Disingenuousness — He mumbles about inflation to try and stop a bill that's primarily concerned with reducing inflation. — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) talks with reporters before a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing …

Discussion: Full Stack Economics, The Message Box and Political Wire

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Biden to tour Ida damage in New Jersey, New York, with 50 dead in Northeast — Biden says he is 'hoping to see the things that we're going to be able to fix permanently' with spending agenda — Fox News Flash top headlines for September 7 — President Biden is touring the damage caused …

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg, KTLA, Washington Times, NBC10 Philadelphia and 6abc