Top Items:

All of New Orleans without power after Hurricane Ida leaves ‘catastrophic transmission damage’ — A slow-moving Hurricane Ida has left all of Orleans Parish customers without power due to “catastrophic transmission damage,” according to Entergy New Orleans.
Discussion:
CBS News, Twitchy, WWL-TV, The Atlantic, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, Informed Comment, Mediaite, New York Post, Insider, The Hill, Townhall, The Daily Beast and New York Times
RELATED:

Ida weakens as rescues begin and damage checked in Louisiana — NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Ida became a tropical storm as its top winds slowed over Mississippi on Monday, while across southeast Louisiana residents waited for daylight to be rescued from floodwaters and see how much damage …
Discussion:
The Hill, FEMA.gov, Reuters, CBS News, WATE-TV, Fox News, New York Times, Associated Press and WAVY-TV

New Orleans lost power in Hurricane Ida after tower collapsed in river; fix could take days, longer — Mayor Cantrell, NOPD Chief Ferguson urge residents to continue to shelter in place — A massive failure of the transmission system that brings electricity to New Orleans and the east bank …
John Bel Edwards / Office of Governor John Bel Edwards:
Pres. Biden Approves Gov. Edwards' Request for Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Ida
Pres. Biden Approves Gov. Edwards' Request for Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Ida
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post and Common Dreams
Washington Post:
Live updates: Hurricane Ida charges inland with destructive winds and torrential rain
Live updates: Hurricane Ida charges inland with destructive winds and torrential rain

Inside Politico's Billion-Dollar Drama — From “son of” to mogul in his own right: Robert Allbritton just became the unlikeliest winner of the new media sweepstakes. — I was sitting in a bar next to John Harris, a former national editor of The Washington Post.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

Rockets fired at Kabul airport amid US withdrawal hit homes — KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Rocket fire apparently targeting Kabul's international airport struck a nearby neighborhood on Monday, the eve of the deadline for American troops to withdraw from the country's longest war after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and U.S. Department of Defense
RELATED:

Nine family members, including children, killed in US strike in Kabul targeting suspected ISIS-K suicide bomber, relative says
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Beast, NPR, CBS News, U.S. Central Command, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, Foreign Policy, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, Townhall and WBBH-TV
David Zucchino / New York Times:
U.S. Conducts Drone Strike in Kabul and Winds Down Airlift as Deadline Nears
U.S. Conducts Drone Strike in Kabul and Winds Down Airlift as Deadline Nears
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Associated Press, Metro.co.uk and Agence France-Presse

Biden's presidency of crises pushes White House to its limits — (CNN)President Joe Biden is confronting an extraordinary confluence of intensifying crises that are pushing a White House already mired in extreme challenges to the limit. — Washington is on edge for the tense final hours …
RELATED:
Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
Be Glad Donald Trump Isn't Running the Show in Afghanistan
Be Glad Donald Trump Isn't Running the Show in Afghanistan
Discussion:
The Atlantic, American Greatness, Washington Examiner, Salon, The Dispatch, Fox News and The American Spectator

American University of Kabul students and alumni trying to flee were sent home. — Hundreds of students and alumni of American University of Kabul gathered at a safe house on Sunday and boarded buses in what was supposed to be a final attempt at evacuation on U.S. military flights, students and alumni said.
Discussion:
Mediaite and Honolulu Star-Advertiser
RELATED:

Why California's recall election matters — True story. — I've had people come up to me to ask if I'm Larry Elder. — Yes, I have been mistaken for the far-right radio host. — Well, I guess we are Black men who appear on cable television and talk radio shows.
RELATED:
Joe Garofoli / San Francisco Chronicle:
‘Who should I vote for in the recall?’ Democratic advisors say Faulconer
‘Who should I vote for in the recall?’ Democratic advisors say Faulconer
Discussion:
The American Conservative and NBC News

As Biden winds down Afghanistan, a refugee backlash looms at home — President Joe Biden has faced a torrent of criticism for abandoning Afghan partners as their country fell to the Taliban. Now, there is also a looming political controversy over the thousands of Afghans Biden will end up resettling over here.

EU Set to Recommend Halting Nonessential Travel From the U.S. — The European Union action is in response to the increase in U.S. coronavirus cases — The European Union is set to recommend halting nonessential travel from the U.S. because of Covid-19, diplomats said on Sunday.
Discussion:
New York Times and Mediaite

Pentagon prepared for ‘mass casualty’ attack at Kabul Airport hours before explosion — Just 24 hours before a suicide bomber detonated an explosive outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, senior military leaders gathered for the Pentagon's daily morning update on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

North Korea Appears to Have Restarted Yongbyon Nuclear Reactor — The reactor's apparent operations add to President Biden's foreign-policy challenges — North Korea appears to have resumed operation of its plutonium-producing reactor at Yongbyon in a move that could enable the reclusive country …
Discussion:
New York Times, Al Jazeera and Outside the Beltway

Scoop: Former Israel ambassador joins U.S. Iran team — Former U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro has joined the State Department's Iran team as a senior adviser, a senior State Department official tells Axios. — Why it matters: Israel is pressing the Biden administration to start discussing a …

Who's to blame for the deaths of 13 service members in Kabul? We all are. — The last thing President Biden ever wanted to do was to preside over another ramp ceremony for more flag-draped caskets returning home from Afghanistan. Indeed, the entire rationale of his troop withdrawal was to avoid further casualties.
Discussion:
National Review, New York Post, Real Clear Politics and UPI
RELATED:
Tara Palmeri / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: About Jim Jordan's other Jan. 6 call with Trump
POLITICO Playbook: About Jim Jordan's other Jan. 6 call with Trump
Discussion:
WDSU-TV, CNN, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Forbes, Reuters, Associated Press, Mediaite, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, Washington Post and POLITICUSUSA

What Taliban rule will look like in the new old Afghanistan — With U.S. troops departing Afghanistan after 20 years, it's now time for the Taliban to decide how it intends to run the country — and for the U.S. to decide how to work with that government. — The big pictures …

You want tyranny? A war hero died because hospitals were full of COVID patients. — A little over a week ago, as U.S. soldiers risked their lives flying tens of thousands of Afghans and Americans to safety, U.S. Army veteran Daniel Wilkinson — who earned a Purple Heart in Afghanistan …

'The far Left have won and taken over America's elite institutions - we need to start again' — Journalist and culture war warrior Bari Weiss tells Zoe Strimpel her plan to help the US fight the ideological rot enveloping it — Bari Weiss has always seemed to be the sort of person …

Dems won't blink in debt showdown as painful September looms — Republicans raised the debt ceiling with minimal drama under Donald Trump. Now Democrats are prepared to make them publicly refuse to do the same for Joe Biden. — Senate Republicans are digging in deeper and deeper …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Federalist and CNN

As the Taliban Tighten Their Grip, Fears of Retribution Grow — Taliban leaders have promised amnesty to Afghan officials and soldiers, but there are increasing reports of detentions, disappearances and even executions. — ISTANBUL — When Taliban troops seized control of the Afghan capital two weeks ago …