Clarion Ledger: “A community in rural east central Mississippi is overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, two weeks after it hosted the Neshoba County Fair that brought thousands of people who lived in cabins, attended shoulder-to-shoulder outdoor concerts and horseraces and listened to political speeches — including one by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who decried federal guidance…

MS Free Press: ““Hospitals and healthcare workers need you to help us,” Neshoba General Hospital CEO Lee McCall tweeted desperately at Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves yesterday as COVID-19 continued to overwhelm the state’s least vaccinated county. “Where are you?” The answer, Arizona’s governor inadvertently revealed, was that the Mississippi governor was once again out of state. He…

TX Tribune: “Texas hospitals are on the brink of catastrophe, close to being completely overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, leaders of some of the state’s largest hospitals told state lawmakers Tuesday. Official after official used their strongest descriptions to get the point across to legislators: Hospitalizations are rising too fast for them to keep up with,…

NY Times: “For four years, Mr. Graham, a man who had once called Mr. Trump “a race-baiting, xenophobic bigot,” exemplified the accommodations that so many Republicans made to the precedent-breaking president, only more vividly, volubly and candidly. But Mr. Graham’s reaffirmed devotion has come to represent something more remarkable: his party’s headlong march into the…

AP: “Two top campaign officials working to elect North Carolina Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley have decided to leave the campaign. Beasley’s campaign manager, Katie Gladstone, will remain on staff for the next couple weeks as her team transitions to a new leader. Margaret Nelson, Beasley’s finance director, left in July. The campaign confirmed the departures…

TX Observer: “When Kidus Girma moved from Ethiopia to Dallas as a child, his family settled in Vickery Meadow. The neighborhood is home to a working-class immigrant and refugee enclave. Like many urban areas, Dallas’ population is deeply segregated by race and class. Its green spaces are segregated too: Research shows that they tend to…

AL Political Reporter: “Voting rights activist and former Georgia House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams has endorsed Birmingham incumbent Mayor Randall Woodfin in his upcoming bid for re-election, citing Woodfin’s “leadership, courage, vision and record” in her announcement Monday. “Randall Woodfin is a committed leader who believes in justice and opportunity for all. He understands that…

The Progressive Pulse: “The Charlotte City Council unanimously approved new non-discrimination protections Monday, completing the work state lawmakers blocked with the passage of HB2 and its ensuing national controversy five years ago. A ban on such local non-discrimination ordinances expired last year. On Monday, Charlotte became the tenth community — and by far the largest — to…

Off the Kuff: “House Democrats who refuse to show up for the Legislature could soon be detained by law enforcement and brought back to the state Capitol, after the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday voided a state district judge’s temporary restraining order barring their arrest. The all-Republican high court’s order came at the request of…

NY Times: “The dilemma sounded familiar. A prominent, ambitious red-state governor, who had staked out a firm position opposed to mask mandates and other aggressive measures to combat the spread of Covid-19, suddenly found himself on the defensive as cases and hospitalizations soared in his state. First, it was Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Now it is…