Sunday News: “The Vaccinated Are Worried and Scientists Don’t Have Answers”; “Former Pence aide says Trump and Miller stymied Afghan refugee efforts”; Hurricane Henri; “Facebook’s Most Viewed Article In Early 2021 Raised Doubt About COVID Vaccine”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, August 22.

• Australian PM Morrison defends lockdown strategy as daily cases hit record
• America enabled Afghanistan’s corruption for years. The Taliban knew it. (“Time and again, the U.S. seemed to be prioritizing security over efforts to combat kleptocracy. But in the end, it got neither.”)
• Merkel’s Bloc Drops to Record Low Ahead of German Election
• Former Pence aide says Trump and Miller stymied Afghan refugee efforts.
• Pentagon hints at more rescues outside Kabul airport, amid new security concerns and evacuation bottleneck
• Biden to address nation on Afghanistan evacuation Sunday afternoon
• British military: 7 Afghans killed in chaos at Kabul airport
• Desperation as Afghans Seek to Flee a Country Retaken by the Taliban
• U.S. Considers Ordering Commercial Airlines to Help in Afghan Evacuation
• The War in Afghanistan Was a Scam
• American media can’t quit the forever war
• EU says no recognition of Taliban, no political talks
• U.S. Banks Tread Carefully in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan
• Former Afghan President Karzai Angles for National Role
• Taliban Battles Militia in First Significant Clashes Since Takeover
• ‘He never stood a chance’: the fateful downfall of Haiti’s president
• Harris Arrives in Singapore, Kicking Off Southeast Asia Visit
• When foreign policy goes south: Biden, Afghanistan and the lessons of history (“Eisenhower, Gerald Ford and JFK all survived foreign policy disasters — and Biden can too. The key is honesty”)
• Pelosi says House working to pass infrastructure bills by Oct. 1
• Henri Upgraded to Hurricane, Heads Toward Long Island
• More than 50 million are under extreme weather warnings as Hurricane Henri closes in on the Northeast
• The Vaccinated Are Worried and Scientists Don’t Have Answers
• Biden grapples with twin crises
• Have You Already Had a Breakthrough COVID Infection? (“The question of what ‘infection’ means is just one of the riddles posed by the late-stage pandemic.”)
• Biden backs school districts in fight against GOP mask mandate bans (“Eight states, including Florida and Texas, are trying to ban mask mandates.”)
• Four weeks in July: Inside the Biden administration’s struggle to contain the delta surge
• How the unvaccinated and the pandemic threaten everyone’s health
• Staunch atheists show higher morals than the proudly pious, from the pandemic to climate change (“When it comes to the most pressing moral issues of the day, hard-core secularists exhibit much more empathy”)
• Many Republicans are ready for Afghan refugees. Trump loyalists are not.
• The Elephant in the Room (“Republicans carefully run for president, not knowing if the last one will, too.”)
• Facebook’s Most Viewed Article In Early 2021 Raised Doubt About COVID Vaccine (“The social network acknowledged it had held back a report about the most viewed content on its platform in the first three months of 2021.”)
• Facebook says post that cast doubt on covid-19 vaccine was most popular on the platform from January through March (Right, Facebook is completely broken.)
• Florida’s COVID deaths climb as children lead state in positivity rate
• Conservative Radio Host Who Mocked Vaccines Dies of COVID-19
• Rev. Jesse Jackson, Wife Jacqueline Hospitalized for Covid
• “Friday Night Update from the ER in Arlington, VA”: “We’re not as close to the end as I thought we were earlier this summer.” (Also: “The booster should help prevent Delta infections in vaccinated people, boost the waning immunity that occurs with time, and will help maintain the high rates seen in preventing severe illness and death.”)
• Former Gov./Sen. George Allen (R) Said “You can tell a lot about people by the folks they stand with.” So Who Does Glenn Youngkin “Stand With?” (Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis…)
• Editorial: A “top-heavy” Virginia (“One unmistakable conclusion from the census data: Virginia has acquired a ‘top heavy’ attitude, with growth centered in Northern Virginia.”)
• Editorial: In Virginia, broadband collaboration is setting rural communities on a clearer, faster course to economic opportunity
• Researchers detail concerns about Southwest Virginia census data
• Yancey: A farewell after 39 years
• CASEY: Utility line-clearing destroyed decades-old shade garden in Raleigh Court yard (“Jerry Moles said his mother planted a garden 40 years ago that was destroyed in two days earlier this month by tree trimmers sent by Appalachian Power.” That’s so bad and unacceptable.)
• Fort Monroe’s 1619 commemoration challenges attendees to look at Black history with different perspective
• D.C.-area forecast: Summery warmth sets off a few showers today; a hotter and drier week ahead