Taliban urges Afghan unity as protests spread to Kabul
August 20th, 20210 The Taliban called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital Kabul. Several people were killed when Taliban militants fired on a crowd in the eastern...
“U.S.-Lebanon Friendship” congressional caucus calls for action on deteriorating situation
August 19th, 20210 A group of lawmakers wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power, calling on U.S. support towards Lebanon’s deteriorating economic and political situation. U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), Charlie Crist (D-FL), Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Darin LaHood (R-IL), co-chairs of the...
U.S. begins preparing to deliver COVID booster shots; immunocompromised urged not to wait
August 18th, 20210 Top U.S. health officials said on Wednesday that the protection offered by current available vaccines against COVID-19 wanes over time, as federal agencies have begun preparing to offer booster shots to all eligible Americans beginning the week of Sept. 20. The booster shots will have to be administered starting eight months after a...
Afghanistan: Contours of a catastrophe
August 17th, 20210 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com On Sunday, our wayward 20-year war effort in Afghanistan suffered its final death blow. The Taliban rode the U.S.-manufactured Humvees captured from Afghan...
Rush on Kabul airport as Afghans flee Taliban takeover
August 16th, 20210 KABUL — Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of the capital’s airport on Monday as thousands tried to flee the country after the Taliban seized power with stunning speed. Some clung to the side of a U.S. military transport plane before takeoff, in a widely shared video that captured the sense of desperation as America’s 20-year war...
Republicans block Biden’s SBA nominee, concerned over membership in “anti-Israel” organization
August 13th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — National civil rights groups have condemned the recent actions of a group of Republican senators who are "concerned" by a Biden administration Muslim nominee over his membership in an organization they say has demonstrated "anti-Israel" prejudice. On Wednesday, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights,...
AIPAC takes out ad on Facebook against Rep. Ilhan Omar
August 12th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Zionist lobby AIPAC recently took out a paid advertisement on Facebook displaying a darkened image of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) with text reading “For Ilhan Omar, there is no difference between America and the Taliban, between Israel and Hamas, between democracies and terrorism.” The...
U.S. foreign policy adrift: Why Washington is no longer calling the shots
August 11th, 20210 Jonah Goldberg and Michael Ledeen have much in common. They are both writers and also cheerleaders for military interventions and, often, for frivolous wars. Writing in the conservative rag, The National Review, months before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Goldberg paraphrased a statement which he attributed to Ledeen with reference...
Study shows an increase in home values in states that have legalized marijuana
August 2nd, 20210 A new report claims that a rise in property values, and increased city services, can be linked to legalization of marijuana. The report, led by Dr. Francesca Ortegren, data science and research product manager at Clever Real Estate, looked at the impact of the growing cannabis market and its impact on the real estate values in several...
FBI probe shows amount of chemicals in Beirut blast was a fraction of original shipment
August 1st, 20210 BEIRUT — The amount of ammonium nitrate that blew up at Beirut port last year was one fifth of the shipment unloaded there in 2013, the FBI concluded after the blast, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing. As the first anniversary approaches on Aug. 4, major questions remain unanswered, including how a huge...
Former U.S. Senator Carl Levin, who strenuously opposed the war on Iraq and investigated U.S. detainee abuse, dies at 87
July 30th, 20210 DETROIT — Famous for gazing over eyeglasses worn on the end of his nose, Carl Levin seemed at ease wherever he went, whether attending a college football game back home in Michigan or taking on a multibillion-dollar corporation before cameras on Capitol Hill. Michigan's longest-serving U.S. senator had a slightly rumpled,...
Surgeon General: “People do not need to go out and get a booster shot”
July 28th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — As new data from Pfizer shows a "booster" shot of its COVID-19 vaccine provides strong protection against the highly-contagious Delta variant, federal officials reiterated that Americans don’t need one quite yet. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN on Wednesday that people "do not need to go out and...
U.S. CDC recommends vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors in many cases
July 27th, 20210 Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should go back to wearing masks in indoor public places in regions where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, U.S. health authorities said on Tuesday. In a toughening of guidance issued earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommended all...
USPS plan will mean delivery slowdowns, higher stamp price
July 23rd, 20210 A plan under Postmaster Louis DeJoy, a nominee of former President Trump, could mean slower mail deliveries for people utilizing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). A part of that plan also raises first-class stamps to 58 cents from its current 55 cents, starting August 29. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), the federal regulator...
Delta variant and vaccine hesitancy put COVID advances in jeopardy
July 22nd, 20210 The U.S. is now seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, as the highly-contagious Delta variant driving infections among those unvaccinated across the country, especially in areas where vaccination rates remain relatively low. Johns Hopkins University tallies show the average number of daily COVID cases in the U.S. has gone up 66 percent......
Report: Anti-Muslim incidents increased in U.S. during Israel’s assault on Gaza, spiked in Canada this year
July 21st, 20210 The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has released a mid-year report documenting the state of anti-Muslim hate incidents in 2021. The national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group says that since the start of the year, it has received hundreds of complaints from chapters across the country, and more than 500 at its...
Ben & Jerry’s agrees to end operations in occupied Palestinian territory
July 20th, 20210 After years of efforts by anti-occupation activists, the popular American ice cream company Ben & Jerry's has halted sales of its products in the occupied Palestinian territories. Activists in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and other pro-Palestine and anti-Israeli apartheid activists praised the decision,...
Senate includes Child Tax Credit monthly payment extension in budget deal
July 14th, 20210 Local leaders are encouraging working families to watch for advance monthly payments of the Child Tax Credit of up to $300 per month per child beginning Thursday, July 15 through December. The credit has been lauded by the Biden administration and Democrats as one of the key provisions to aid working class families, as part of the...
Pfizer to ask FDA to authorize booster dose of vaccine as Delta variant spreads
July 8th, 20210 The drugmaker Pfizer said on Thursday it will ask the U.S. government for the approval of a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine within the next month, as fears among experts grow around the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is based on evidence of greater risk......
Saudi minister says he held “great meeting” with Blinken
July 8th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said he held "a great meeting" on Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in which they explored strengthening U.S.-Saudi ties and reviewed regional developments. Prince Khalid, the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto...
Biden administration extends Temporary Protected Status for Yemen
July 6th, 20210 The Biden Administration has extended and re-designated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen into 2023. TPS allows individuals from nations experiencing war, natural disasters or extraordinary circumstances to live and work in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Yemen’s TPS status was set to expire on September 3. The extension......
Delta variant spells danger for unvaccinated people, continues to alarm experts
July 6th, 20210 With the more-infectious Delta variant emerging as the most common strain of the coronavirus, parts of the U.S. with the lowest vaccination rates are threatening to halt progress on the pandemic in the country. Southern states like Arkansas, Missouri and Alabama have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, according to...
Yale student council approves statement on ethnic cleansing in Palestine
July 2nd, 20210 CONNECTICUT — The Yale College Council (YCC) voted to endorse a statement condemning “the injustice, genocide and ethnic cleansing occurring in Palestine” on Sunday, June 27. The statement was introduced in May by Yalies 4 Palestine, a student-led campaign to raise Palestinian voices and end the culture of silence around......
