“Facing criticism over the chaotic rush to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul, U.S. President Joe Biden gave brief remarks from the White House on Sunday, highlighting that the military had evacuated more than 3,900 passengers, including U.S. citizens and others, over the weekend. ‘We see no reason this tempo will not be kept up,’ he said, adding that the administration could extend the Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawing all U.S. troops.
Biden’s remarks came after a tragic weekend in Kabul: At least seven people died on Saturday in a panicked crush at the gates of the international airport. On Sunday, Taliban fighters fired into the air and used batons to control the crowd, and some U.S. citizens had difficulty reaching the airport. The U.S. government has ordered commercial airlines to assist by carrying people from temporary locations in the Middle East after they have left Afghanistan. The relief flights, which begin today, will not land in Kabul.
The Biden administration has especially come under fire for its slow handling of the special visa application process for thousands of Afghans who helped the United States during 20 years of war. Around 18,000 applicants are awaiting visas, not including the relatives who would join them. ‘The evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful, no matter when it started or when we began,’ Biden said on Sunday.
G-7 meeting. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for a virtual meeting of the G-7 countries—the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and Canada—on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, including how to secure safe evacuations and avoid a humanitarian crisis. Johnson is expected to urge the other leaders to consider new sanctions against the Taliban if they commit human rights abuses.
Ticking clock. Meanwhile, Afghanistan faces a quickly deepening economic crisis, with financial hardships increasingly affecting those in Kabul and other cities. Banks remain closed, food prices are rising, and the value of the local currency has plummeted. The suspension of commercial flights to Kabul’s international airport has in some ways exacerbated the crisis, halting the flow of some medical supplies and aid.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“President Biden aimed three numbered messages at three specific audiences during Sunday afternoon remarks on Afghanistan, Axios politics editor Glen Johnson points out:
To Fox News viewers: ‘One, planes taking off from Kabul are not flying directly to the United States. They're landing at U.S. military bases and transit centers around the world.’
To moderates in both parties: ‘Number two, at these sites where they're landing, we are conducting ... security screenings for everyone who is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Anyone arriving in the United States will have undergone a background check.’
To progressives: ‘Number three, once screened and cleared, we will welcome these Afghans, who helped us in the war effort over the last 20 years, to their new home in the United States of America. Because that’s who we are. That’s what America is.’” Read more at Axios
“WASHINGTON – A former aide to former Vice President Mike Pence blamed racist views of a top Trump administration official for the inability of many translators and other allies to get out of Afghanistan before the U.S. withdrew troops.
Olivia Troye tweeted that Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, teamed up with ‘enablers’ to undermine anyone trying to get the allies out by ‘devastating’ the special immigrant visa system at the departments of State and Homeland Security.
‘Stephen Miller would peddle his racist hysteria about Iraq & Afghanistan,’ tweeted Troye. She described Pence as ‘fully aware ‘of the problem.
‘We all knew the urgency but the resources had been depleted,’ tweeted Troye, who was a homeland security, counterterrorism and coronavirus adviser to Pence before leaving the administration in August 2020.
In February 2020, Trump negotiated an agreement with the Taliban to pull U.S. troops out this year.
Miller said in a statement Saturday that ‘the sole reason that anyone is stranded in Afghanistan is because Joe Biden stranded them there in the single most imbecilic act of strategic incompetence in human history.’” Read more at USA Today
American soldiers guard a wall at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
“Tropical Storm Henri made landfall yesterday on the Rhode Island coast, bringing widespread power outages and damaging storm surge. The system has weakened to a tropical depression but is still delivering dangerous weather to the Northeast. In Tennessee, swift and severe flooding brought on by near-record rain has left at least 21 people dead and 20 others missing. Photos from the area show the extent of the damage, with hollowed-out houses and waterlogged roads full of destroyed vehicles. On the other coast, nine national forests in California are closed today as firefighters struggle to contain 11 large wildfires.” Read more at CNN
“Full US Food and Drug Administration approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is ‘imminent,’ according to a senior federal official. Another official said the approval could come in the next two weeks or as early as today. Pfizer's vaccine has so far been distributed under an FDA emergency use authorization. Full approval could help businesses, schools and states enforce vaccine mandates and encourage some hesitant people to get the jab. If approval leads to higher vaccination rates -- and if people remember to get booster shots -- health professionals are hoping it will be enough to curb the latest worsening pandemic surge.” Read more at CNN
“Back in May 2017, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the days of Europe being able to depend on the U.S. were ‘to some extent’ over.
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan without heeding the views of its allies compounds that sense of unreliability — and the consequences are already being felt.
Vice President Kamala Harris issued reassurances over the U.S. commitment to Asia today on the first leg of a trip to Singapore and Vietnam, where her agenda was overtaken by questions about the ongoing evacuations from Kabul airport. Her attempt to project President Joe Biden’s assertion that ‘America is back’ after four years of Donald Trump has been made all the harder by the Afghan crisis.
Even the perception of a disconnect between American rhetoric and reality leaves an opening for China to shift the center of gravity in its backyard. The manner of the U.S. exit may also prompt Europe to rethink its strategic focus.
Take the Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which the U.S. opposes on the grounds that it increases dependence on Moscow. It’s due for completion as soon as the end of this month anyway, with Merkel’s one concession a pledge to maintain Europe’s energy security.
Biden faces further international headwinds with fellow Group of Seven leaders likely to press him for commitments on Afghanistan in a call scheduled for tomorrow. The president acknowledged yesterday that he may be forced to push back his Aug. 31 deadline for leaving Kabul.
Biden’s approval ratings have already taken a hit. The knock to global views of American dependability is only just becoming apparent.” — Alan Crawford Read more at Bloomberg
“Unity struggle | Biden’s $4.1 trillion economic agenda, after progress in the Senate, faces a key test this week in the U.S. House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi must keep her fractious Democratic Party moving in lockstep. She needs to stop tension between progressives and centrists among her narrow majority from derailing the push of the president’s two-part project through Congress.” Read more at Bloomberg
“The battle over voting rights in the US will likely heat up again this week. In Arizona, the sham ‘audit’ report of 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County in the 2020 presidential election is supposed to be delivered today to the Republican state senators who ordered it. The company conducting the so-called audit did not follow standard auditing procedures, and elections experts have said for months that results will not be credible. Meanwhile, in Texas, Democrats in the state House have ended their quorum-busting effort to freeze a restrictive voting bill. Now, Republicans are free to push ahead to pass the bill, which contains items like mail-in ballot restrictions, a drive-thru voting ban and restrictions to early voting. Looking ahead, activists plan to gather Saturday for a March on Washington to advocate for voting rights.” Read more at CNN
Graphic: NBC News "Meet the Press"
“Between the lines: This ‘Meet the Press’ graphic captures new reasons for White House worry.
Biden's approval in a new NBC News poll was down 15 points in four months — with big drops among independents, rural residents and white respondents.
The poll was conducted Aug. 14-17. Kabul fell Aug. 15.
After talking to 40 leading Democrats, The New York Times reported under the headline, ‘As Biden Faces a Political Crisis, His Party Looks On in Alarm’:
‘The harrowing [Afghanistan] images appalled even the president’s staunchest supporters, many of whom — like a majority of the American public — support the decision to remove American troops.’
‘But some of them worry the execution of the withdrawal has undermined Mr. Biden’s central campaign promise to restore a steady hand.’
Congressional Republicans, already raring for next year's midterms, savored NBC's big swing toward the GOP among independents.
Among all voters, 47% want Democrats to stay in charge; 46% want a Republican-controlled Congress.
In Gallup polling Aug. 2-17, Biden's approval was 49% — his lowest to date, but statistically unchanged from 50% in July.
A danger sign for the White House in a CBS News/YouGov poll out yesterday: 63% approve of removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan, but only 47% approve of Biden's handling of the withdrawal.
That's down from 60% approval of Biden in July.
Biden's bottom line: ‘I think that history is going to record this was the logical, rational and right decision to make,’ he said yesterday.” Read more at Axios
“WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) — At least 22 people were killed and rescue crews searched desperately Sunday amid shattered homes and tangled debris for dozens of people still missing after record-breaking rain sent floodwaters surging through Middle Tennessee.
Saturday’s flooding in rural areas took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether their loved ones survived the unprecedented deluge. Emergency workers were searching door to door, said Kristi Brown, a coordinator for health and safety supervisor with Humphreys County Schools.
Many of the missing live in the neighborhoods where the water rose the fastest, said Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis, who confirmed the 22 fatalities in his county. The names of the missing were on a board in the county’s emergency center and listed on a city department’s Facebook page.” Read more at AP News
“ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Andrew Cuomo neared the end of his decade as New York’s governor Monday, as he prepared to relinquish his tight grip on government to Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul in a midnight power transfer that will break another glass ceiling for women in state politics.
Cuomo, a Democrat, was set to end his term at 11:59 p.m., just under two weeks after he announced he would resign rather than face a likely impeachment battle over sexual harassment allegations.
Hochul was scheduled be sworn in as New York’s first female governor just after midnight in a brief, private ceremony overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore.
The switch in leadership was happening in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Henri, which narrowly missed Long Island on Sunday but was dumping potentially dangerous amounts of rain over parts of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River Valley, even after it was downgraded to a tropical depression.” Read more at AP News
“Hundreds of far-left and far-right demonstrators clashed in Portland, Ore., on Sunday afternoon, firing paintballs, spraying chemicals and destroying property.
Police haven’t reported any deaths or injuries. But footage from the two areas where the demonstrations had occurred showed gunshots being fired, people being shoved to the ground, and some protesters breaking the windows of parked vehicles. Images showed at least one person surrendering to law enforcement officials where the shots had been fired. Dennis G. Anderson, 65, was charged with unlawful use and possession of a firearm shortly after the shooting, police said.” Read more at Washington Post
“For years, women with breast cancer in their families have been getting tested for mutations in two genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, to determine whether they have a sharply elevated risk of the disease.
Now, doctors are increasingly recommending that anyone who was tested before 2014 go through genetic testing again — to look for a different mutation, one much less widely known.
It is on a gene called PALB2; people with the mutation have almost as great a risk of getting breast cancer as those who have the BRCA mutations. Like the BRCA mutations, this mutation also increases a patient’s risk of ovarian and pancreatic cancer.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Swedish PM announces surprise resignation. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has unexpectedly announced his decision to resign in November, well ahead of next year’s general election, to give his replacement a chance to boost the Social Democratic party in the polls. Lofven has held the office since 2014 but lost a vote of confidence in June.
The Social Democrats have long dominated Swedish politics, but they have gradually lost support in recent years and faced a growing challenge to forming majority governments from the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Hunger season | The southern region of Madagascar is on the brink of a severe humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands struggle to cope with the most severe drought since 1981. Insufficient rains for two years have left people resorting to eating locusts, raw red cactus fruits and wild leaves to survive, according to a United Nations agency.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Qatar’s first elections. Qatar has set Oct. 2 as the date for its first-ever legislative elections. Voters will elect two-thirds of the 45-seat advisory Shura Council, while Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will still choose the remaining 15 members. The council will have legislative power and approve the state budget. The polls have been a long time coming: The elections were originally scheduled for the second half of 2013 and have been postponed twice.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Japan’s Olympic venues. Authorities in Tokyo are considering repurposing some of the venues used during the Olympic Games last month into temporary medical facilities as rising COVID-19 cases threaten the health care system. An increase in infections driven by the delta variant in Japan has followed the Olympics. The two-week Paralympics are scheduled to begin in Tokyo on Tuesday, without spectators.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Rock 'n' roll pioneer dies: Don Everly, half of the harmonizing Everly Brothers, has died. He was 84.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: In 1955, Lucille Times began a one-woman protest of the segregated bus system in Montgomery, Ala. Her activism inspired a mass boycott six months later, beginning with the arrest of Rosa Parks. Times has died at 100.” Read more at New York Times
“The Rev. Jesse Jackson, 79, and his wife, Jacqueline, 77, remain hospitalized in Chicago Monday after testing positive for COVID-19 . The famed civil rights leader was vaccinated against the virus, getting his first dose in January during a publicized event. As of Sunday, the couple were ‘responding positively to treatments,’ their son told The Associated Press. Despite having been diagnosed for Parkinson's disease, Jackson has remained active and has advocated for COVID-19 vaccines for Black people.” Read more at USA Today
“The remains of the French American entertainer Josephine Baker will be interred in the Panthéon mausoleum in Paris in November, according to an aide to French President Emmanuel Macron. Baker, who died in 1975, will become the first Black woman laid to rest in the monument after years of campaigning.
Only the French president can decide to move someone’s remains to the Panthéon. Of the 80 national figures interred there, just five are women.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Rachel Maddow reached a multiyear deal with NBCUniversal that takes her from being MSNBC show host to content brand and "studio boss," as a source put it to me:
On top of ‘The Rachel Maddow Show,’ she'll run an as-yet-unnamed production company that could include books, documentaries, movies, TV series and podcasts.
Much of the output will be nonfiction. But her empire includes anything where she's ‘a purveyor of great storytelling,’ the source said.
The big picture: Maddow's renewal marks a major win for new NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde, Axios' Sara Fischer reports.
Suitors included WarnerMedia (including Warner Bros. and CNN), Disney (including ABC and ESPN), Netflix and Spotify, the source said.
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and President Mark Shapiro were her new reps for the deal.
Between the lines: Maddow loves her day job and her staff, but wanted a bigger role and to stretch her brand.
She's MSNBC's top-rated host, and there's no succession plan. So the channel needed to keep her for the 2024 election.
Now she'll hire staff to unearth projects and find source material in the vein of ‘Bag Man,’ her podcast and N.Y. Times bestseller about Spiro Agnew, who resigned as Richard Nixon's vice president.
The bottom line: As the definitions of media, content, distributions and platforms all change, the Maddow brand now has more outlets than ever.
Read a "Bag Man" excerpt (Click "Read an excerpt" — pops up).” Read more at Axios
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