Rep. Elise Slotkin (D-MI) announced that her office helped evacuate 114 Afghan nationals out of Kabul and to safety.
Recall Is Another Quirk of American Democracy
Zachary Wolf: “California’s recall process ranks right up there with the Electoral College when it comes to quirks in US democracy that gives — or takes way — Americans’ leaders.”
“But while the the Electoral College is a buffer between the people and their leader — it routinely allows the person with fewer overall votes to gain control of the White House — the recall process is a cattle prod to the system, allowing a fraction of voters, through signature petitions, to force a special election in an off year, when voters might be less likely to show up.”
Free for members to download: Recall Elections: From Alexander Hamilton to Gavin Newsom by Joshua Spivak.
Delta Variant Doubles Risk of Hospitalization
“New research from England’s public health service has confirmed a suspicion spawned by bursting hospital wards across the United States: The Delta variant of the coronavirus not only spreads 50% more readily than the Alpha variant it rapidly overtook, it’s also making unvaccinated people sicker,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Through most of April and May, unvaccinated Britons who were infected by the Delta variant were more than twice as likely to be admitted to hospitals than were their unvaccinated peers who were infected with the Alpha strain, which was first identified in the United Kingdom.”
“In addition, unvaccinated people infected with Delta were more likely than those infected with Alpha to seek care in a hospital’s emergency department.”
Howard Dean Says Ron DeSantis Is a ‘Lunatic’
Former DNC Chair Howard Dean called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) a “lunatic” over his handling of the pandemic, The Hill reports.
Said Dean: “I’m actually just shocked by DeSantis. I never thought I’d say this, but I think he may be more of a lunatic than Trump ever was.”
Category 4 Hurricane to Hit Louisiana
“Hurricane Ida is rapidly gaining strength Saturday over the unusually warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and is predicted to hit southeastern Louisiana as an ‘extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm on Sunday evening,’ Axios reports.
Tomorrow is the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s strike.
Taliban Largely Seal Off Kabul Airport
“Taliban forces sealed off Kabul’s airport Saturday to most Afghans hoping for evacuation and most NATO nations flew out their troops after two decades in Afghanistan, winding down a frantic airlift that Western leaders acknowledged was still leaving many of their citizens and local allies behind,” the AP reports.
“The United States, which says the round-the-clock flights have evacuated more than 100,000 people since the Taliban claimed Kabul on Aug. 15, was keeping up airlifts ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline for withdrawal.”
Photos Show Crowded Checkpoints
The Washington Post reviewed dozens of photos and videos, analyzed satellite imagery and spoke to witnesses to understand the events before and after the blast that killed 13 American service members and at least 170 other people in Afghanistan.
Florida Starts Turning on DeSantis
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been untouchable for the past year as he commanded the Republican culture wars to become heir apparent to Donald Trump. The latest coronavirus surge is starting to change that,” Politico reports.
“Covid infection rates continue to climb as the state faces shortages of health care staff, morgue space and even oxygen for patients. About 16,000 people are hospitalized. Child infection rates have shot up. School districts — even in Republican strongholds — have rebelled against DeSantis’ anti-mask mandates. And cruise lines are resisting DeSantis’ vaccine passport ban. Even his recent poll numbers are slipping.”
White House More Than Doubles Inflation Forecast
Wall Street Journal: “The White House more than doubled its forecast for annual inflation in new projections released Friday, as supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic continue to put upward pressure on prices.”
Millions of Americans Face Financial Cliff
Washington Post: “The clock is now ticking for millions of Americans who are set to face a series of stinging financial hardships in a matter of days, with the loss of federal protections against eviction and looming cuts to their weekly unemployment checks…”
“The developments portend a potential shock to the economy, and they highlight the difficult political realities even in Democratic-dominated Washington. Biden has only so much power to act on his own to provide pandemic relief, and lawmakers in his party do not always see eye to eye about the need for additional economic stimulus.”
“Caught in the middle are millions of Americans who have relied on these generous but temporary federal programs to pay their bills since the coronavirus first swept the nation in March 2020. With fewer federal protections at their disposal, the financial hardships they face may only intensify, especially as new variants threaten to shutter businesses and schools — and overrun hospitals with patients — in communities already ravaged by the pandemic.”
Presidential Legacies Are Built on Past Presidents
David Von Drehle: “Biden inherited the strongest Taliban and the smallest U.S. force in the war’s history. That was a very poor hand to play. That he has played his poor hand so poorly is now part of his presidential legacy…”
“Biden owns this, just as Bush owned the accumulated intelligence failures that led to 9/11; just as Jimmy Carter owned the Iranian revolution that was 30 years in the making; just as Gerald Ford owned the last chopper out of Saigon a generation after Harry S. Truman sent the first Americans in.”
Economic Crisis Deepens In Afghanistan
“Hundreds of Afghans protested outside a bank in Kabul on Saturday and others formed long lines at cash machines as a U.N. agency warned that a worsening drought could leave millions in need of humanitarian aid,” the AP reports.
Man Who Organized Anti-Mask Protests Now on Ventilator
Caleb Wallace, who organized rallies in Texas against pandemic-related restrictions, is now desperately fighting Covid-19 and on a ventilator, the San Angelo Standard-Times reports,
Jessica Wallace, who is pregnant with their fourth child, said that her husband had initially refused to get tested or seek medical care, instead opting for doses of Vitamin C, zinc, aspirin, and ivermectin.
U.S. Launches Reprisal Strike In Afghanistan
“The U.S. military announced its first reprisal strike in Afghanistan since an attack on the Kabul airport killed as many as 170 people, in addition to 13 U.S. service members, as the U.S. officials again warned Americans to leave the airport because of security threats,” the New York Times reports.
Said a Navy spokesman: “The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties.”
Biden Announces Pay Raises for Federal Employees
“President Biden on Friday announced all federal civilian employees would receive an average 2.7 percent pay raise, consistent with the increases he had proposed in his 2022 budget,” the Washington Post reports.
Wisconsin GOP Wants Taxpayers to Pay for Election ‘Audit’
“Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature are seeking approval to spend up to $680,000 in taxpayer money on an investigation into the 2020 presidential election in the battleground state won by President Joe Biden,” the Associated Press reports.
“A GOP-controlled committee will vote on the spending by Monday without holding a public hearing.”
Blacks and Latinos Likely Undercounted In Key Areas
Associated Press: “In many places, the share of the Hispanic and Black populations in the latest census figures fell below recent estimates and an annual Census Bureau survey, suggesting that some areas were overlooked.”
“For the share of the Black population, the trend was most visible in southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, including Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.”
“For the Hispanic population, it was most noticeable in New Mexico and Arizona.”
