Joe Biden is having a less than stellar September thanks to crises abroad and setbacks at home, the Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Horwitz talks to Tommy Vietor about his team’s scathing five-part series on Facebook, and early voting begins in the most important and most competitive off-year election, the Virginia gubernatorial between Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin.

• AP News: France’s Macron to talk to Biden amid crisis over submarines 
• ABC: Pentagon’s drone strike acknowledgement was the correct response: Mullen
• Politico: Confusion over Biden’s booster plan riles governors 
• NBC: US closes part of Texas border, begins flying Haitians home 
• Reuters: Analysis: French break-up a blow to Biden’s China-focused alliance rebuilding 
• CNBC: Fauci defends FDA panel, says it didn’t make a mistake rejecting booster Covid shots for all Americans
• Fox: NBC’s Chuck Todd says Biden has ‘a pretty big credibility crisis’ after weekend setbacks
• AP: One stunning afternoon: Setbacks imperil Biden’s reset
• Vox: Nuclear subs and a diplomatic blowup: The US-France clash, explained
• Politico: POLITICO Playbook: What the Pentagon knew about that drone attack 
• WaPo: Biden’s Entire Presidential Agenda Rests on Expansive Spending Bill
• NYT: Pentagon acknowledges Aug. 29 drone strike in Afghanistan was a tragic mistake that killed 10 civilians. 
• US Department of Defense: Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on the Results of Central Command Investigation Into the 29 August Airstrike 
• Boston Globe: Four things to know about the FDA panel’s booster shot vote 
• NYT: How Hope, Fear and Misinformation Led Thousands of Haitians to the U.S. Border
• WaPo: Is Biden normalizing Trump’s foreign policy?

 

JEFF HORWITZ ON WSJ FACEBOOK FILES

• WSJ: The Facebook Files  
• WSJ: Facebook Says Its Rules Apply to All. Company Documents Reveal a Secret Elite That’s Exempt. 
• WSJ: Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show 
• WSJ: Facebook Tried to Make Its Platform a Healthier Place. It Got Angrier Instead. 
• WSJ: How Facebook Hobbled Mark Zuckerberg’s Bid to Get America Vaccinated
• BIZ INSIDER: Facebook fires back at damning Wall Street Journal reports that found the company to be ‘riddled with flaws’ 
• SALON: Mark Zuckerberg’s bad week: Senators demand answers after exposé reveals Instagram is toxic for kids
• NYT OP-ED: The Endless Facebook Apology 

 

VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE

• The Hill: Virginia governor’s race enters new phase as early voting begins
• WaPo: McAuliffe, Youngkin locked in tight race for Virginia governor, Post-Schar School poll finds 
• Politico: Voting begins in crucial Virginia governor’s race
• Yahoo: Virginia governor’s race is next up in national spotlight 
• CNN: McAuliffe and Youngkin spar over Covid vaccine requirements in first Virginia debate 
• C-SPAN: Virginia Gubernatorial Debate full video 
• WAVY: McAuliffe and Youngkin in neck and neck race for Virginia governor, new poll shows ahead of first debate
• FiveThirtyEight: Why A Republican Might Win In Virginia’s Governor Race, And How New Jersey’s Race Could Get Tighter
• WaPo op-ed: Abortion enters the Virginia governor’s race
• The Atlantic: The Trump Suburban Squirm