FTC filed a revised antitrust complaint against Facebook

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There's one word for Joe Biden's failure to aid the Afghans who risked their lives to collaborate with the American occupation of their country: cowardice. He's afraid of what Fox News will say about admitting thousands of refugees, and he's afraid that such nativism will cost Democrats in future elections. But he should heed the governors of Vermont, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Wisconsin, and California who've said they will happily welcome Afghan people as neighbors. - Corey THE BIG NEWS Why the Afghanistan Evacuation Has Faltered The U.S. military has air-lifted some 7,000 people from Afghanistan to date, according to news reports. But there are at least 80,000 more waiting to evacuate, including more than 10,000 Americans. Taliban checkpoints are preventing many people from traveling to the Kabul airport, but the U.S. government is advising citizens and green card holders to try and get there anyway, though their safety cannot be guaranteed. Land routes out of the country remain blocked; Turkey is building a wall to keep Afghans from arriving on foot via Iran. And what of those who lack travel papers? Aid groups are calling on President Joe Biden to admit 200,000 Afghans whose lives will be in danger if they stay in the country. The administration has so far refused to commit to a specific number. By contrast, Canada has said it will take in 20,000 Afghans. “Canada stepped up, and we need the U.S. to step up, which will put pressure on other Western governments to commit to resettling refugees,” Hardin Lang of Refugees International told the Washington Post. When it came to planning for how to handle the wave of refugees fleeing the Taliban in the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden administration officials were “sitting on their hands,” in the words of one Congressional aide. Emails from aid groups to the State Department offering assistance for special visa applicants went ignored. The Defense Department couldn't even come up with a list of Afghans who worked for it over the past 20 years. An anonymous State Department official acknowledged the widespread government failure to Politico: "If you want excuses, there are plenty to choose from, but they’ll be little comfort to the dead." Biden must do more to make this right, no matter the "political impact" he fears. MORE STORIES TO WATCH Trumpist Threatens to Bomb D.C. Blocks near the U.S. Capitol were shut down for hours yesterday as a man identified as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry of North Carolina threatened to detonate a bomb in his pickup truck. In a Facebook livestream, Roseberry, who attended pro-Trump Stop the Steal rallies last year, called Joe Biden an illegitimate president and said "the revolution is on" before surrendering to police. Biden Forgives Some Student Debt The Biden administration has decided to cancel $5.8 billion in student loan debt for 300,000 Americans who are permanently disabled. It's a welcome move, but far from meeting the demands of advocates for full cancelation for all borrowers, regardless of their situation. Boebert Broke Disclosure Rules Some 16 months late, gun-happy Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) filed a mandatory financial disclosure showing her husband took more than $1 million over two years working as a consultant for an energy firm. Boebert sits on the House Natural Resources Committee and has sought to open up public lands to oil and gas development, surprise surprise. Feds Try, Try Again to Break Up Facebook The Federal Trade Commission filed a revised antitrust complaint against Facebook yesterday, adding detail to its case that the social media giant illegally abused its market power. Alex Harman of Public Citizen said the FTC action "should be a message to Facebook and other monopolists that there is a new sheriff in town and the party is over." Get 'em, sheriff! SOME NUMBER -29 That's how many I.C.U. beds were reportedly available in Alabama yesterday due to a COVID-19 surge. The negative number means 29 people were forced to wait in emergency rooms instead of an intensive care unit.