Abbott bans Covid vaccine mandates in Texas, regardless of FDA approval status
The executive order comes after the governor, who is recovering from his own case of Covid, touted the vaccine as the reason for his “brief & mild” infection.
Today's Liberal News
Experts on WHO team say search for coronavirus origins has stalled
They noted among other things that Chinese officials are still reluctant to share some raw data, citing concerns over patient confidentiality.
Delta Air Lines health surcharge for vaccines could cascade across industries
Health care costs for those infected with Covid-19 are significant, and some employers may follow Delta’s lead.
J&J says second-dose study supports use of booster shots
The findings come as the Biden administration is firming up plans to roll out booster shots to adults in late September.
Holes in reporting of breakthrough Covid cases hamper CDC response
The agency originally tried to track all infections in vaccinated people, from mild to severe. But in May it decided to focus on the most severe cases.
U.S. jobless claims near pandemic low as economy strengthens
Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell to 375,000 from 387,000 the previous week.
House Dem campaign chief warns the majority at risk without message reboot
“We’re not trying to hide this,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s executive director said.
Biden’s economic gains come with newer worries about the future
Some economists have already begun to ease back on forecasts for the rest of this year.
U.S. economy surpasses prepandemic size with 6.5% Q2 growth
The growth is another sign that the nation has achieved a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession.
Virus resurgence menaces economy just as rescue programs unravel
A new wave of cases followed by the looming expiration of enhanced jobless benefits, a ban on evictions and other rescue programs is sparking concern among lawmakers and economists.
Haiti’s Villages Continue to Be “Cut Off from Help” More Than a Week After Massive Earthquake
We speak with Stéphane Vincent, a Haitian citizen journalist who is helping the BBC to cover the aftermath of the devastating August 14 earthquake for the BBC and says the destruction in Les Cayes is reminiscent of the 2010 earthquake that struck the country. “To relive that again was very heart-wrenching,” he says. “The people have been feeling left out and abandoned by government.
News Roundup: Deadly bombing in Kabul, but military evacuations will continue
Leading the news today: A suicide bombing at a checkpoint outside the Kabul airport has killed at least 60 people, including 13 American military members. Military evacuation efforts will continue. There’s new movement in the push to learn the full extent of the Trump White House’s involvement in a seditious attempt to nullify an American election, and a new lawsuit against Trump from some of the Capitol Police officers who defended lawmakers that day.
Biden seeks to soothe nation over U.S. deaths while staying focused on core mission in Afghanistan
When President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday in the wake of a deadly terrorist attack in Kabul, he sought to soothe, center, and steel Americans for what had been, what is, and what is yet to be.
“Tough day,” Biden said from the East Room of the White House before even beginning his prepared remarks.
‘If you wouldn’t mind putting your pants back on’: Texas dad’s mask ‘protest’ draws laughter
States across the nation have handled the novel coronavirus pandemic very, very differently, thanks to irresponsible Republican governors. It’s no surprise, then, that when it comes to masks in public schools, districts are handling the matter with varying degrees of concern for public health and safety.
Again thanks to their Republican leaders, Texas and Florida are concerning both residents and the rest of the country with bans against mask mandates.
This Week in Statehouse Action: Doldrums edition
August is winding down, but statehouse action is … not.
And I’m not even talking about Virginia, which has gubernatorial and state House elections this fall!
(And if you’re fretting that I haven’t done a deep dive into that landscape yet, fear not, erudite reader—I will absolutely be talking about the Commonwealth at length in the near future.)
But for the moment, let us, despite the heat, return to Texas.
Newsmax host on Afghan refugees: Too racist for this headline
What happens after you crash and burn alongside the Trump administration? You head over to one of the many money-making right-wing propaganda outlets to sell your wares. Former Trump campaign adviser and insufferable douchebag Steve Cortes has done just that and found a home at Newsmax. Here’s a short biography of Steve Cortes: He’s the guy that said Donald Trump needed to be a “bit more of a fascist.
A Bungled Mess
For days, those defending President Joe Biden’s pullout from Afghanistan repeated the mantra that no U.S. citizens had been killed during the successful evacuation of tens of thousands of Americans and Afghans from the country.
Trump Suggests Osama Bin Laden Wasn’t That Big A Deal, Says He Only Had ‘One Hit’
Weeks before the 20th anniversary of 9/11, ex-President Donald Trump said the terrorist behind the 2001 attacks wasn’t as bad as the “monsters” he took out.
The “Milk Crate Challenge” Is America’s Latest Lunatic Online Trend. There’s One Thing That Would Make It Better.
It involves J.Lo, Ben Affleck, and Jason Sudeikis.
Capitol Officer Who Fatally Shot Ashli Babbitt Reveals His Identity
A police investigation recently cleared Lt. Michael Byrd of any wrongdoing in the Jan. 6 shooting.
Who Takes the Blame?
Who, exactly, is responsible for today’s calamity in Afghanistan? ISIS appears to be the author of this tragedy, but are American officials at fault as well? At least 12 U.S. soldiers and dozens of Afghan civilians are dead after attacks by a pair of suicide bombers just outside the Kabul airport. The number of casualties is sure to rise.
Biden Addresses Deadly Terror Attacks At Kabul Airport: ‘We Will Hunt You Down’
The president spoke about the multiple explosions attributed to ISIS that have left at least a dozen U.S. troops and 60 Afghans dead, with more wounded.
GOP Rep. Jim Banks: Republicans Have A ‘Duty’ To Punish Members Investigating Jan. 6 Riot
If Republicans take back the majority in the House, Banks said there should be consequences for the lawmakers on the special committee.
“We’re Basically the Non-Porn People”: The OnlyFans Creators Who Don’t Get Naked Explain Themselves
“I kind of thought of it as a clickbait-y way to get people to see my content.
Hummingbirds Have an Easy Way to Fool Harassers
Jay Falk has some choice words for white-necked jacobins, the iridescent, blue-tinged hummingbirds he spent much of graduate school chasing through the Central American tropics. They’re “the show-off jerks of the hummingbird community,” he told me.Falk, a biologist at the University of Washington, is deeply fond of the birds, who are gorgeous and clever and sassy. Sometimes, they’re brave enough to flit right up to him and inspect what he’s holding in his hand.
Trumpism Has Entered Its Final Form
Something happened last Saturday that was significant because it was unprecedented: Donald Trump spoke at a rally in the heart of Trump country—Cullman, Alabama, which gave the incumbent president more than 88 percent of the vote in 2020—and he was booed. The jeers were scattered but noticeable, enough so that Trump responded to them.Trump had encouraged those in the audience to get vaccinated. “I believe totally in your freedoms. I do.
“An Inquiry Needs to Take Place”: Jeremy Corbyn on Afghanistan & Preventing the Next War
We get reaction to the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan from British member of Parliament and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, one of the leading critics of the Afghan War in Britain. He says critics who warned against invading Afghanistan, and later Iraq, have been vindicated, and calls for an official inquiry into the war.
Sarah Chayes: Afghanistan Was an “Afterthought” for U.S. as Bush Was “Hellbent” on Invading Iraq
As the U.S. proceeds with evacuating people from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country, we speak with author and former NPR reporter Sarah Chayes, who covered the fall of the Taliban in 2001, then lived in Kandahar until 2009, where she ran a soap factory, and went on to become a special adviser to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Mike Mullen in Kabul. She says it was apparent shortly after the U.S.