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Video above: House passes voting rights bill named after John LewisWhen Medgar Evers and Jimmie Lee Jackson were killed amid a yearslong battle for voting rights, it brought a sense of doom and darkness over the civil rights movement of the 1960s.Evers, an NAACP field secretary and civil rights leader who organized voter registration drives, boycotts and protests against school segregation, was shot in the back by a White supremacist in his driveway in June 1963.Jackson, a church deacon, was shot in the stomach by an Alabama State Trooper while trying to protect his mother during a march for voting rights in Marion, Alabama, in February 1965.Despite the anger and grief in the wake of their deaths, the civil rights movement pressed forward, activists and protesters kept marching and in August 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting.The leaders of today's movement say they are carrying that same spirit of resilience as they lobby for Congress to pass federal voting legislation that would counter state-level laws they say are suppressing Black and brown voters.On Saturday, the March on for Voting Rights will take place in Washington DC, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and Miami to put pressure on the Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which increases the power of the federal government to block discriminatory election rules. The bill was passed in the House earlier this week but faces an uphill battle with the Senate given most Republicans oppose it. And on Friday, the Texas House approved a Republican voting restrictions bill after months of Democratic delays. Opponents warned that the bill would make voting harder for people of color, who often back Democrats, as well as disabled people -- in part by outlawing the all-night and drive-through voting that Houston conducted during the 2020 election.Saturday's mass mobilization will mark the 58th anniversary of the historic March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. That march came just two months after Evers' death. An anniversary march was also held last year in Washington on the heels of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd.The March On for Voting Rights comes after the arrests this summer of several civil rights leaders and lawmakers protesting voter suppression. Among them were Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. William J. Barber II, Cliff Albright, Rep. Hank Johnson and Rep. Joyce Beatty.The Rev. Al Sharpton, who is helping lead Saturday's march, said the deaths of Jimmie Lee Jackson and Evers taught many that the road to equality is never easy. A few weeks after Jackson was killed in 1965, John Lewis was beaten by White police officers so badly that he suffered a broken skull during "Bloody Sunday." Lewis and others marched for voting rights across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama."It's always been darkness before light broke through," Sharpton said. "We come out of that tradition."A persistent fight Civil rights icon Andrew Young said Jimmie Lee Jackson's death was actually the breaking point that led to the Selma march. Jackson, who had just returned from Vietnam, was attending his first march in Marion, Alabama with his mother and grandfather when he was shot trying to shield his mother from being beaten.Young recalled marching six miles in the freezing rain with other leaders from Jackson's funeral at a local church to the cemetery. Frustrated with Jackson's death, they began planning their next move: they were going to march from Selma to Montgomery to demand voting rights.Violence from police and White supremacists would never stop their fight, Young said."If somebody gets killed doing something right you have to send people there to take their place," Young said. "Because if you don't, you send the message that all you have to do to stop us is to kill someone."Mary Marcus, a friend of Jimmie Lee Jackson's family, said Jackson wasn't a vocal civil rights leader. He was a quiet man who mostly supported the movement behind the scenes, including taking his mother and grandfather to the march the day he was shot. Young said Jackson occasionally volunteered with voter registration efforts.Marcus said she hopes today's activists understand the battle for equality often requires sacrifice from more than just civil rights leaders, but also the foot soldiers in the background. "His (Jackson's) role was supporting those who supported the movement," said Marcus, 62 of Marion. "As a result of that when it was his turn to go to the rescue of someone else, he did. As a result of that, he lost his life."A historic victoryMonths after Jimmie Lee Jackson was slain and the Selma march happened, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Johnson signed it.Young recalled going to the White House with Martin Luther King Jr. to meet with Johnson who insisted he did not have enough votes from Congress to get the bill passed.But Selma, Young said, influenced public opinion of voting rights and prompted lawmakers to support the bill. He believes today's activists can learn from the power of their organizing."We riled up the nation," Young said. "That persuaded the citizens that voting rights needed to be protected and that gave the president the power."Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was hospitalized last week for COVID-19, said in a statement that he will not be attending the march Saturday and is still receiving medical care.Jackson urged the nation to march whether in DC or at a local demonstration and pressure Congress to pass federal voting bills. He said the right to vote is key to jobs, raising the minimum wage, criminal justice reform, expanded health care and improving public education."So we want everybody to put on your marching shoes, and keep them on until everyone's right to vote is protected," Jackson said. "Keep marching and keep hope alive."Martin Luther King III, King Jr.'s eldest son who is also leading Saturday's march, said he has seen fervor in the demonstrators who rallied across the country after Floyd's death and showed up at last year's anniversary march.And while the 1963 March on Washington ultimately led to key voting rights legislation -- one of its top demands in addition to jobs and civil rights -- voter suppression efforts in recent years have been a setback, King said.Many of the tactics being used to disenfranchise Black and brown voters are "a more sophisticated form of Jim Crow," King said.King said he hopes the Saturday march sends the message that there is an urgency to rally around voting rights. He called it "frightening" that state legislatures are enacting laws that give them control over election outcomes."We are not going to just sit by idle and allow our rights to be eroded," King said. "My hope is that the community understands this is enough. We're not going to give up. "

Video above: House passes voting rights bill named after John Lewis

When Medgar Evers and Jimmie Lee Jackson were killed amid a yearslong battle for voting rights, it brought a sense of doom and darkness over the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Evers, an NAACP field secretary and civil rights leader who organized voter registration drives, boycotts and protests against school segregation, was shot in the back by a White supremacist in his driveway in June 1963.

Jackson, a church deacon, was shot in the stomach by an Alabama State Trooper while trying to protect his mother during a march for voting rights in Marion, Alabama, in February 1965.

Despite the anger and grief in the wake of their deaths, the civil rights movement pressed forward, activists and protesters kept marching and in August 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting.

The leaders of today's movement say they are carrying that same spirit of resilience as they lobby for Congress to pass federal voting legislation that would counter state-level laws they say are suppressing Black and brown voters.

On Saturday, the March on for Voting Rights will take place in Washington DC, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and Miami to put pressure on the Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which increases the power of the federal government to block discriminatory election rules. The bill was passed in the House earlier this week but faces an uphill battle with the Senate given most Republicans oppose it. And on Friday, the Texas House approved a Republican voting restrictions bill after months of Democratic delays. Opponents warned that the bill would make voting harder for people of color, who often back Democrats, as well as disabled people -- in part by outlawing the all-night and drive-through voting that Houston conducted during the 2020 election.

Saturday's mass mobilization will mark the 58th anniversary of the historic March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. That march came just two months after Evers' death. An anniversary march was also held last year in Washington on the heels of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd.

The March On for Voting Rights comes after the arrests this summer of several civil rights leaders and lawmakers protesting voter suppression. Among them were Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. William J. Barber II, Cliff Albright, Rep. Hank Johnson and Rep. Joyce Beatty.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who is helping lead Saturday's march, said the deaths of Jimmie Lee Jackson and Evers taught many that the road to equality is never easy. A few weeks after Jackson was killed in 1965, John Lewis was beaten by White police officers so badly that he suffered a broken skull during "Bloody Sunday." Lewis and others marched for voting rights across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

"It's always been darkness before light broke through," Sharpton said. "We come out of that tradition."

Civil rights icon Andrew Young said Jimmie Lee Jackson's death was actually the breaking point that led to the Selma march. Jackson, who had just returned from Vietnam, was attending his first march in Marion, Alabama with his mother and grandfather when he was shot trying to shield his mother from being beaten.

Young recalled marching six miles in the freezing rain with other leaders from Jackson's funeral at a local church to the cemetery. Frustrated with Jackson's death, they began planning their next move: they were going to march from Selma to Montgomery to demand voting rights.

Violence from police and White supremacists would never stop their fight, Young said.

"If somebody gets killed doing something right you have to send people there to take their place," Young said. "Because if you don't, you send the message that all you have to do to stop us is to kill someone."

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Mary Marcus, a friend of Jimmie Lee Jackson's family, said Jackson wasn't a vocal civil rights leader. He was a quiet man who mostly supported the movement behind the scenes, including taking his mother and grandfather to the march the day he was shot. Young said Jackson occasionally volunteered with voter registration efforts.

Marcus said she hopes today's activists understand the battle for equality often requires sacrifice from more than just civil rights leaders, but also the foot soldiers in the background.

"His (Jackson's) role was supporting those who supported the movement," said Marcus, 62 of Marion. "As a result of that when it was his turn to go to the rescue of someone else, he did. As a result of that, he lost his life."

Months after Jimmie Lee Jackson was slain and the Selma march happened, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Johnson signed it.

Young recalled going to the White House with Martin Luther King Jr. to meet with Johnson who insisted he did not have enough votes from Congress to get the bill passed.

But Selma, Young said, influenced public opinion of voting rights and prompted lawmakers to support the bill. He believes today's activists can learn from the power of their organizing.

"We riled up the nation," Young said. "That persuaded the citizens that voting rights needed to be protected and that gave the president the power."

JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was hospitalized last week for COVID-19, said in a statement that he will not be attending the march Saturday and is still receiving medical care.

Jackson urged the nation to march whether in DC or at a local demonstration and pressure Congress to pass federal voting bills. He said the right to vote is key to jobs, raising the minimum wage, criminal justice reform, expanded health care and improving public education.

"So we want everybody to put on your marching shoes, and keep them on until everyone's right to vote is protected," Jackson said. "Keep marching and keep hope alive."

Martin Luther King III, King Jr.'s eldest son who is also leading Saturday's march, said he has seen fervor in the demonstrators who rallied across the country after Floyd's death and showed up at last year's anniversary march.

And while the 1963 March on Washington ultimately led to key voting rights legislation -- one of its top demands in addition to jobs and civil rights -- voter suppression efforts in recent years have been a setback, King said.

Many of the tactics being used to disenfranchise Black and brown voters are "a more sophisticated form of Jim Crow," King said.

King said he hopes the Saturday march sends the message that there is an urgency to rally around voting rights. He called it "frightening" that state legislatures are enacting laws that give them control over election outcomes.

"We are not going to just sit by idle and allow our rights to be eroded," King said. "My hope is that the community understands this is enough. We're not going to give up. "

Link:
'March on for Voting Rights' will take place Saturday in DC, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and Miami - WBAL Baltimore

Because of continuing threats of a terrorist attack in Kabul, a security alert from the U.S. Embassy on Friday night advised American citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates. | U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla via AP Photo

The White House says the next three days will be the most dangerous of the entire Afghanistan evacuation. Heres where things stand in the desperate final hours of the U.S. withdrawal:

Overnight, the U.S. conducted a drone strike on an ISIS-K target in Afghanistan. According to U.S. Central Command, the attack killed a planner for the group and caused no known civilian casualties. It comes after President JOE BIDEN promised to hunt down anyone responsible for Thursdays suicide bombing at the Kabul airport, which killed 13 U.S. troops and at least 170 civilians. More from NYT Reuters

Approximately 6,800 people were evacuated from Kabul over the 24-hour period ending at 3 a.m. EDT this morning. Per a White House official, 111,900 people have been evacuated since Aug. 14.

Because of continuing threats of a terrorist attack, a security alert from the U.S. Embassy on Friday night advised American citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates, and told those currently there awaiting entry to leave immediately.

HEROES REMEMBERED Though a full list of the Americans killed in Thursdays bombing has not yet been made public, here is what we know so far about those we lost.

RYLEE MCCOLLUM, 20, was on his first overseas deployment. A newlywed soon expecting the birth of his first child, McCollum was born in February 2001 a baby when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. Now, he is among the last casualties of Americas longest war, write NYTs Jack Healy and Dave Philipps.

JARED SCHMITZ, 20. This was something he always wanted to do and [Ive] never seen a young man train as hard as he did to be the best soldier he could be, his father, Mark, told KMOX radio. His life meant so much more. Im so incredibly devastated that I wont be able to see the man that he was very quickly growing into becoming.

DAVID LEE ESPINOZA, 20, was a native of Rio Bravo, Texas. He was my hero, his mother, Elizabeth Holguin, told the Laredo Morning Times. He was just brave enough to go do what he wanted and to help out people. Thats who he was, he was just perfect.

MAXTON SOVIAK, 22. His final words to my wife over FaceTime when he was telling her goodbye was after she told him to be safe and he said, Dont worry mom, my guys got me, they wont let anything happen to me, his father, Kip, told the WSJ in an email. Today, she realized that they all just went together.

KAREEM NIKOUI, 20, loved what he was doing, he always wanted to be a Marine, his father, Steve Nikoui, told The Daily Beast. He really loved that [Marine Corps] family. He was devoted he was going to make a career out of this, and he wanted to go. No hesitation for him to be called to duty.

RYAN KNAUSS, 23, joined the Army out of high school and had already served one deployment to Afghanistan, per the Knoxville News Sentinel. We were led to think that it was 12 Marines and one Navy, and we knew our grandson was in the Army. So we were praying for the families of the Marines, not knowing our grandson was one of the ones who lost his life, his grandmother told The Daily Beast. You just dont think it will be yours.

HUNTER LOPEZ, 22, planned to follow both of his parents into a career in law enforcement after his deployment, according to the Orange County Register. This kid knew since he was 11 what he wanted to do, his uncle wrote on Facebook.

TAYLOR HOOVER, 31. Taylor spent his entire adult life as a Marine, serving. Doing the hard things that most of us cant do. He is a hero, his uncle wrote on Facebook, per the Deseret News. We are wounded. We are bruised. We are angry. We are crushed. but we remain faithful.

DAEGAN WILLIAM-TYELER PAGE, 23, loved hockey and hunting and had a soft spot in his heart for dogs, his family said in a statement. After finishing his enlistment, Daegan planned to come home and go to a local trade school, possibly to become a lineman. Daegan will always be remembered for his tough outer shell and giant heart.

Good Saturday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.

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TODAYS MARCH ON WASHINGTON Its been exactly 58 years since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Rev. Dr. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. delivered his I Have a Dream speech. And today, as Biden and his top aides meet in the Situation Room to discuss the crisis in Kabul, thousands of civil rights activists will again march on the National Mall in an effort to bring attention to what they see as a crisis on the homefront: the fight for voting rights.

The demonstrations have two main audiences Biden and moderate senators and one overarching goal: filibuster reform, which many civil rights activists see as the barrier to passing H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which the House passed Tuesday and is expected to stall out in the Senate.

Its the height of hypocrisy to commemorate a day and not deal with the fact that they have diluted a lot of what was achieved that day in terms of voting rights, Rev. AL SHARPTON told me Friday night. You cant take down the Confederate statues and segregationist statues outside of the building and leave the relic of segregationist legislation inside the building.

Among civil rights leaders, theres simmering frustration at both Democratic lawmakers and the White House for taking actions they see as largely symbolically supporting of Black Americans instead of securing advancements through the hard work of legislating.

The biggest gripe for many is that Biden has thrown his full weight behind issues like infrastructure and Afghanistan without giving voting rights the same urgency and attention.

Hes actually gotten troops out of Afghanistan, even though hes taken a political hit, said LATOSHA BROWN, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. When he decides that he wants to do something and he [pushes] the weight around, he does it. I will never say that hes done enough until we actually have voting rights legislation in place.

BIDENS and VP KAMALA HARRIS SATURDAY: The president and VP will meet with their national security team on Afghanistan at 11 a.m. in the Situation Room.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Israeli PM Naftali Bennett and President Joe Biden meet for a bilateral in the Oval Office on Friday. | Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images

MORE ON AFGHANISTAN

FORGET THAT CLICH No, Afghanistan is not the graveyard of empires, writes Kevin Baker for POLITICO Magazine. Understanding this historical reality is critical to grasping why the United States is unlikely to suffer serious long-term effects from its long and wasteful occupation of Afghanistan or from the bloody, bumbling withdrawal.

THE LOOMING ECONOMIC CRISIS Ahead of Tuesdays deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, long lines have formed at ATMs in Kabul as the countrys economic woes deepen, reports the AP. The ongoing crisis could give Western nations leverage as they urge Afghanistans new rulers to form a moderate, inclusive government.

MORE HEADLINES U.S. Holds Talks With Taliban Over Post-Aug. 31 Presence in Afghanistan, WSJ Suicide bombing lays bare challenges of gate security mission at Kabul airport, WaPo U.S. forces keep up Kabul airlift under threat of more attacks, AP Are We Going to Pay Attention to It Anymore?: U.S. News Outlets Are Charting a Course for Afghanistan Coverage After America Leaves, Vanity Fair

THE WHITE HOUSE

YOU GET A RAISE! AND YOU GET A RAISE! On Friday, Biden announced an across-the-board 2.2% pay increase for 2.1 million federal employees in 2022. That, plus a boost in locality pay increases, will amount to an average overall pay raise of 2.7%. More from WaPos Amy Wang and Eric Yoder

CONGRESS

WILD STORY Tucker Carlsons Ugly Feud With Eric Swalwell Has Sucked in Family, by The Daily Beasts Maxwell Tani: Several days before Breitbart News ran a story alleging a sexual affair between Democratic Rep. ERIC SWALWELL and a Chinese spy, the congressmans top aide received an unusual email from a fellow Hill staffer. It was BUCKLEY CARLSON, a communications director for up-and-coming Republican Rep. JIM BANKS and son of TUCKER CARLSON, arguably the most powerful person in right-wing media and one of Swalwells biggest antagonists.

According to Swalwell communications director JESSICA GAIL, Buckley was reeling from the fact that the congressman had just days earlier referenced him in a tweet bashing his Fox News host father. As a consequence, Gail said, Buckley intimated to her that he was working with a news outlet to push a story on an alleged tryst between Swalwell, who is married with children, and a Chinese infiltrator. Several days later, a Breitbart article featuring the allegations received extensive coverage on Tucker Carlsons Fox News primetime program, including a photoshopped graphic of Swalwell in bed with the suspected spy.

The ordeal illustrated not only the way Carlson seemingly uses his massive media powers to attack personal rivals but also how a relatively unremarkable squabble between two political figures has escalated into an ugly personal feud involving the loved ones of both the Fox News host and the Bay Area Democrat.

SCRAMBLING TO FIX THINGS Democrats rush to avert eviction calamity after ban is blocked, by Katy ODonnell: Speaker NANCY PELOSI said the House was considering possible legislative remedies as more than 60 House Democrats demanded that she and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER work to revive the national eviction moratorium. Top Biden officials also mobilized to try to contain the fallout, with three Cabinet secretaries urging state and local officials to enact their own bans and pause eviction proceedings in court while governors and mayors work to distribute billions of dollars in languishing rental assistance.

THE NEXT DEM DIVIDING LINE? Taxing companies overseas profits could be the next rift among Democrats, by Brian Faler

PANDEMIC

CROSS THIS ONE OFF U.S. spy agencies rule out possibility the coronavirus was created as a bioweapon, say origin will stay unknown without Chinas help, by WaPos Ellen Nakashima and Joel Achenbach: The U.S. intelligence community has ruled out the possibility that the novel coronavirus that has killed more than 4 million people globally was developed as a bioweapon by China, but the agencies failed to reach consensus on the virus origin. The report, the result of a 90-day sprint ordered by Biden, also found that the agencies are unlikely to reach a conclusion about the viruss origins without cooperation from the Chinese government, which is unlikely, according to a summary of the takeaways released Friday.

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION COVID vaccination site opens at Dulles for arriving Afghans, by APs Aamer Madhani: White House Press Secretary JEN PSAKI on Friday confirmed that the site which was set up by FEMA has begun administering vaccinations to the Afghan evacuees. The White House announced earlier this week that it was working to provide vaccinations to medically eligible evacuees upon arrival in the U.S.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

CHINA TALKS Pentagon holds talks with Chinese military for first time under Biden, Reuters: MICHAEL CHASE, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, spoke with Chinese Major General HUANG XUEPING, deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation, last week. (They) utilized the U.S.-PRC Defense Telephone Link today to conduct a secure video conference, the official said.

POLITICS ROUNDUP

DESANTIS IN DE HOT SEAT Florida starts turning on DeSantis, by Matt Dixon: Covid infection rates continue to climb as [Florida] faces shortages of health care staff, morgue space and even oxygen for patients. About 16,000 people are hospitalized. Child infection rates have shot up. School districts even in Republican strongholds have rebelled against DeSantis anti-mask mandates. And cruise lines are resisting [Gov. RON] DESANTIS vaccine passport ban. Even his recent poll numbers are slipping.

Theres no question its impacting him politically, said a Republican consultant who has previously worked with DeSantis and requested anonymity to speak freely. You can tout all the freedom and anti-lockdown that you want. Theres no political strategy for sick kids and tired parents.

THE AUDITS ROLL ON Wisconsin Republicans seek $680,000 for 2020 election probe, by APs Scott Bauer: The Assembly Organization Committee, controlled by Republicans, circulated a ballot on Friday to approve designating former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice MICHAEL GABLEMAN as special counsel to lead the investigation, assist the Assembly Elections Committee and hire investigators and others as needed.

The expenses were not specified, but Republican Assembly Speaker ROBIN VOS, who ordered the probe, said in an interview that the contract with Gableman will be for up to $680,000 for the entire investigation. The committee will vote on the spending by Monday without holding a public hearing.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

IDA COMING THROUGH Ida slams Cuba as a Category 1 hurricane but when it makes landfall in the U.S. its expected to be Category 4, by CNNs Jason Hanna, Paul Murphy and Melissa Alonso: Hurricane Ida whipped western Cuba on Friday and the Category 1 storm is expected to slam the US Gulf Coast as an even stronger cyclone Sunday, putting states from Louisiana to Florida on alert for fierce destruction. Ida is expected to hit the United States as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 mph, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said.

SIRHAN GETS CLOSER TO PAROLE Parole Board Urges Release of Sirhan Sirhan, Robert F. Kennedys Assassin, by NYTs Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs: The recommendation from the two commissioners does not necessarily mean [SIRHAN] SIRHAN, 77, will walk free, but it most likely puts his fate in the hands of Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM The parole hearing was the 16th time Mr. Sirhan had faced parole board commissioners, but it was the first time no prosecutor showed up to argue for his continued imprisonment.

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING Jan. 6 investigators demand records from social media companies, by Nicholas Wu: In a series of letters dated Aug. 26, the Democratic-controlled panel asked the companies, which include Facebook, Google, Twitter, Parler, 4chan, Twitch and TikTok, for all records and documents since April 1, 2020, relating to misinformation around the 2020 election, efforts to overturn the 2020 election, domestic violent extremists associated with efforts to overturn the election and foreign influence in the 2020 election.

The panel is asking all of the companies to explain whether their algorithms helped spread misinformation and account for what they did to address or remove content or posts that might have spread falsehoods about the riot. It also requests information on the companies' communications with law enforcement regarding Jan. 6 and the election, as well as on their reporting practices. The committees chair, Rep. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-Miss.), gave the companies a two-week deadline to respond.

MEDIAWATCH

WWJD? NRB spokesman Dan Darling fired after pro-vaccine statements on Morning Joe, by Religious News Services Bob Smietana: DANIEL DARLING, senior vice president of communications for the National Religious Broadcasters, was fired Friday after refusing to recant his pro-vaccine statements. His firing comes at a time when Americans face a new surge of COVID-19 infections due to the highly contagious Delta variant even as protesters and politicians resist mask mandates or other preventive measures.

CLICKER The nations cartoonists on the week in politics, edited by Matt Wuerker 15 keepers

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza:

New Yorks Private Schools Tackle White Privilege. It Has Not Been Easy, by NYTs Michael Powell: In this world where tuition runs as high as $58,000 the topic has become flammable. Parents, faculty, students and alumni have all entered the fray.

The Man Who Swam the Seine, by Sara Lieberman for GQ: At the age of 19, ARTHUR GERMAIN dropped out of school, said goodbye to his famous mother, and devoted himself to a curious quest that no one had ever accomplished, or perhaps even seriously considered: swimming the length of Frances most fabled river.

Knives Outback, by Mitch Moxley for Truly Adventurous: A man is presumed murdered. In this town of 12, everyone is a possible suspect.

He Was the Perfect Villain for Voting Conspiracists, by NYT Magazines Susan Dominus: ERIC COOMER had an election-security job at Dominion Voting Systems. He also had posted anti-TRUMP messages on Facebook. What happened next ruined his life.

Can Robots Evolve Into Machines of Loving Grace? by Wireds Meghan O'Gieblyn: Perhaps, if we put bots together the right way, consciousness will simply emerge.

The Rise of the Elite Anti-Intellectual, by Simon Brown for Dissent: For decades, common sense has been a convenient framing for conservative ideas. The label hides a more complicated picture.

The Epic Family Feud Behind an Iconic American Weight-Loss Camp for Kids, by Bloombergs David Gauvey Herbert: For five decades, as the children at Camp Shane shed pounds, made friends, and found romance, a fierce succession drama was playing out.

Her Name Is Not Honey Boo Boo, by Rainesford Stauffer and Peyton Fulford for Teen Vogue: ALANA THOMPSON is no longer the rambunctious child beauty queen the world knew as Honey Boo Boo. And she'd like you to use her real name.

From the archives: Report of the DOD Commission on Beirut International Airport Terrorist Act, October 23, 1983, from Dec. 20, 1983

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK Rep. Joyce Beattys (D-Ohio) office is adding Mary Ellen Garrett as comms director, Tyler Levinson as press secretary and Kyle Cole as press assistant. Garrett most recently was a senior associate at SKDK and is a Paul Tonko alum. Levinson most recently was digital director for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and is a Steny Hoyer and Al Lawson alum.

MEDIA MOVE Mary Newman is joining The Recount as an editor. She most recently has been a video producer at POLITICO.

TRANSITIONS Robby Wehagen is now legislative director for Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.). He previously was deputy assistant DNI for legislative affairs in the Trump administration. Brennan Heil is now digital director for the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She previously was digital assistant for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) WSJs Ken Thomas Pat Pelletier Emma Tomaszewski of Rep. Mike Thompsons (D-Calif.) office DOTs Ben Halle ... R.C. Hammond POLITICOs Marty Kady, Debbie Aust and Rebecca Miltenberger Tom Jolly NBCs Sarah Carlson Brooke The Hills Morgan Chalfant Mallory Blount of Herschel Walkers Georgia Senate campaign Gary Shapiro Brian Horn Twitters Jessica Herrera-Flanigan Ellen Ratner Ellen Carmichael Hilary Halpern former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen Thomas Winslow Heather Marie Vitale Matthew Swift Jim OBrien of Albright Stonebridge Group Connor Ryan ... Callie Strock ... Ann Marie Jablon ... Robert Simpson ... Luke Bunting ... Abbie Sumbrum ... Lindsay Gill ... Arlet Abrahamian David Youngblood (42) Sheryl Sandberg

THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here):

FOX

Fox News Sunday: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Panel: Karl Rove, Annie Linskey and Juan Williams.

NBC

Meet the Press: Secretary of State Antony Blinken H.R. McMaster Anthony Fauci Richard Engel live from Qatar. Panel: Matthew Continetti, Courtney Kube, Amna Nawaz and Eugene Robinson.

CNN

State of the Union: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) Reps. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) Roya Rahmani and Yasmeen Hassan Anthony Fauci.

MSNBC

The Sunday Show: Craig Whitlock Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) Al Sharpton Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.).

ABC

This Week: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). Panel: Jonathan Karl, Gayle Tzemach and Vivian Salama.

CBS

Face the Nation: National security adviser Jake Sullivan Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) Sue Gordon retired Adm. James A. Sandy Winnefeld Jr. Scott Gottlieb.

Gray TV

Full Court Press: Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.).

CNN

Inside Politics: Panel: Catherine Lucey, Jonathan Martin, Phil Mattingly, Rachael Bade, Nancy Youssef and Jonathan Reiner.

Send Playbookers tips to [emailprotected]. Playbook couldnt happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.

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POLITICO Playbook: The three 'most dangerous' days - POLITICO - Politico

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware (CPBD) released a new TV advertisement featuring legendary Civil Rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton demanding diverse courts to deliver justice for Delawares communities of color. Sharpton contrasts President Joe Bidens commitment to appointing people of color to the federal judiciary with the failure of Delawares leaders, including Governor John Carney, to prioritize diversity.

Said Reverend Al Sharpton, Weve been fighting for years to put Black people on Delawares courts, but the Chancery Court is still all white. I commend President Biden for putting court diversity front and center on the national stage, but his home state of Delaware continues to lag behind and its leaders - including its judicial diversity task force - have repeatedly refused to meet with me. Im proud to lend my voice to this crucial fight and activate Delaware residents to demand that their leaders act now to put Black people on the states top courts.

CPBD has placed an initial three-week, $550,000+ TV advertising buy to run the ad on broadcast and cable television throughout Delaware and in Washington, D.C.. Additional ad buys will follow.

The ad will complement $50,000+ print, digital, and social media buys targeting Delawareans to build awareness of the issue, and urge the states residents to make their voices heard by demanding Governor Carney prioritize judicial diversity. CPBD has already executed public awareness and door-knocking campaigns that have recruited thousands of Delaware residents to email their elected officials to appoint people of color to the courts.

Said Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Campaign Manager Chris Coffey, Reverend Al Sharpton is a towering figure in the American civil rights movement. Its an outrage that Delawares leaders have failed to meet with him and local activists like Pastor Blaine Hackett to hear their insights on making Delawares courts work for communities of color, while President Biden has repeatedly met with Sharpton and taken tangible steps to diversify the federal courts.

Were proud to amplify Reverend Sharptons voice as we continue this fight - and it is a fight. We have witnessed thousands of Delaware residents respond to our calls for action and demand real change - but the lack of concrete action from Delawares leaders has been disheartening. We wont stop until Delawares leaders heed the calls of the thousands of Delawareans who are demanding diverse courts now.

CPBD will once again offer a platform for Delaware residents to urge Governor Carney to commit to diversifying Delawares courts.

The full script of the ad, voiced by Reverend Sharpton, is below:

Look closely. Does anything jump out?

Weve been fighting for years - in the streets, in our communities - to put Black people on Delawares courts.

But the Chancery Court is still all white.

When I talked to President Biden, he told me he would put court diversity front and center on the national stage - and he has.

But in Bidens home state of Delaware, leaders talk about diversity, while nothing actually changes.

I've offered to meet with the government, and state leaders, over and over with no success.

Even the states judicial diversity taskforce refuses to meet with me.

Because in Delaware, who you know still matters more than what you bring to the table.

So Im bringing my message to you, the people: no more talking, we need action. We need diverse courts now.

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives, and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented forced sale of TransPerfect. While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.

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Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Releases Powerful New Ad, Sharpton, Places Massive $550000 Ad Buy Over Three Weeks - with More To Follow - To...

Mr. Cuomo has also lost the support of nearly every major union in New York State: the unions representing hotel workers, teachers, building service workers, transit workers, retail workers and municipal employees, as well as the head of New Yorks umbrella labor organization, the AFL-CIO.

Laura Curran, whom Mr. Cuomo backed for Nassau County executive and whose swearing-in he memorialized on his website, has also called for him to resign. In an interview, she suggested that his defense on Tuesday was tone-deaf and fell flat in her suburban county, which backed him in the 2018 primary with nearly 78 percent of the vote.

Im hearing, you know, his tone of his own victimhood, and his tone of self-pity, was the wrong note to hit, she said. Thats what people found really off-putting. Along with, of course, the findings. But that on top of it that this was something that was being done to him is a turnoff to many people that Im speaking to.

Those who have not demanded the governors head some of them longtime allies who have business before the state are avoiding making public statements on his standing.

Mr. Gresham, the president of 1199 SEIU, a powerful health care union, declined multiple requests for comment. A spokesman for the New York State Public Employees Federation also said nothing. Gary LaBarbera, the president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, was similarly circumspect.

According to his spokesman, Jordan Isenstadt, the union is letting the process play out.

On Tuesday evening, the Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, met with New York City leaders at the National Action Network, then had a Wednesday-morning call with leaders from upstate New York.

We have not come to a consensus, Mr. Sharpton said on Wednesday afternoon. But I can say it is leaning heavily toward calling for his resignation.

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The Abandonment of Andrew Cuomo: Unions, Party Leaders and Deep Allies - The New York Times

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State Rep. Ron Reynolds and U.S. Rep. Al Green were both arrested Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol while demonstrating for federal voting legislation.

The two Democratic lawmakers were at a rally organized by the National Clergy United for Justice that civil rights activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton also attended.

Green, a Houston Democrat, told The Texas Tribune that he and his colleagues moved to the street after praying in front of the Supreme Court when they were approached by Capitol police. He said protesters were told they would be arrested if they hadnt moved after three warnings.

According to Greens office, the lawmakers were arrested on charges of crowding, obstructing, or incommoding.

Reynolds, of Missouri City, is the first Texas House Democrat arrested during the groups decampment to Washington, D.C., to block a state voting restrictions bill. The state lawmakers have been out of Texas for more than three weeks. Theyve spent that time lobbying their federal counterparts to pass voting rights legislation like the For the People Act, which they believe could preempt the proposed voting restrictions back home.

The state has a long history of voter suppression, and the latest iteration of it involves denying people the right to vote in hours that are convenient to them when theyre getting off of work, Green said in reference to one aspect of the GOP-backed voter restrictions, which looks to ban 24-hour voting in the state.

Reynolds said in an interview that he remains confident in his partys efforts to stall the bills because the special session ends this week.

I think that our position is strong. Were essentially a few days away from killing all [Gov. Greg] Abbotts items that he put on call for the special session, he said.

Still, Abbott has vowed to continue calling special sessions until the Texas bill passes.

Tuesdays arrests come after U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, was arrested last week as she demonstrated in support of federal voting legislation.

Efforts to pass federal voting legislation have remained futile, mainly because of a filibuster backed by the GOP and Democratic senators like Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin that requires 60 senators to put a bill on the floor. If passed, the For the People Act would end partisan gerrymandering and create a nationwide automatic voter registration system.

We believe that this has been a very necessary trip where we have moved the needle. Now we havent gotten federal legislation passed, but were certainly right there a lot closer than we were when we came here to D.C. three weeks ago, Reynolds said.

In a video posted from Greens Twitter account Tuesday, he and Reynolds sang along to We Shall Overcome as Capitol police officers came over to handcuff them. The song was a frequent refrain during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The post was captioned with the hashtag #GoodTrouble a reference to the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, who encouraged defying the law in pursuit of moral good.

Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America, Lewis said on the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when civil rights marchers were assaulted by state and local police at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

Another one of the federal voting bills stalled in Congress is the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which could bring back federal preclearance a policy that gives the federal government the authority to vet state voting laws for discrimination against voters of color.

For Green, the references to Lewis are personal.

I was arrested twice with John Lewis, and we were taken to jail, Green said. And we were detained and jailed for some time he and I were cellmates.

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State Rep. Ron Reynolds and U.S. Rep. Al Green arrested while demonstrating for federal voting bill at U.S. Capitol - The Texas Tribune