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

11:40 AM 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: The Daily Beast, Forbes, WV MetroNews, CNN and Denver Post

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: Raw Story

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

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:

Biden set to deliver major speech on next phase of pandemic response, sources say — Health officials worry Labor Day travel could lead to another Covid-19 surge — (CNN)President Joe Biden is set to deliver a major address on the next phase of his pandemic response Wednesday, two sources familiar with the speech tell CNN.

Discussion: Political Wire

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

Discussion: HotAir, National Review, Breitbart and Twitchy

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

Discussion: Raw Story

Madeline Holcombe / CNN:
How to protect children under 12 from Covid-19, according to Fauci

Discussion: HotAir, POLITICUSUSA, Twitchy and New York Times

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Washington Post

Ali Soufan / Washington Post:
The terrorism threat is entering a new, more dangerous phase

Discussion: Insider, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, CNN and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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

Discussion: Axios, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Fox News and Political Wire

Joe Davidson / Washington Post:
American diplomats recall 20-hour days, sleeping in Kabul airport while helping those desperate to flee

Discussion: The Dispatch and The Western Journal

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 Monthly, NBC News and TheBlaze

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

Lawrence Douglas / The Guardian:
President Biden, Texas shows we can't wait any longer. It's time to pack the court

Discussion: HotAir, Insider, The Hill, HuffPost and Fox News

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: 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: 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, RedState, No More Mister Nice Blog, Althouse, Fox News, BizPac Review and The Federalist

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

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story and Newsweek

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.

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

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

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, Slate, Foreign Policy, The Daily Caller and New York Times

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 VTDigger