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Tropical Storm Henri Becomes Hurricane And Threatens Parts Of New England; Americans And Afghans Continue Leaving Afghanistan From Kabul Airport After Taliban Takeover Of Country; FDA May Give Full Approval To Pfizer Vaccine For COVID-19; COVID-19 Cases Continue To Climb In Southern States As Governors There Oppose Mask Mandates; Interview With Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI); Pentagon Gives Press Briefing Regarding Ongoing Evacuation Efforts In Afghanistan. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired August 21, 2021 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:59:04]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning to you. We're grateful for your company. It is Saturday, August 21st. I'm Christi Paul.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Christi. I'm Boris Sanchez. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And this morning, more than 40 million Americans in the northeast are in the path of what could be the first hurricane to hit New England in more than 30 years. Right now, Henri is about 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina. A tropical storm warning is already in effect in New York City, as Connecticut and Massachusetts both declare states of emergency in preparation for the storm.

PAUL: Now, Henri is expected to reach hurricane strength later today, likely to make landfall on New York's Long Island midday tomorrow. This is a storm that could bring life-threatening storm surges, heavy rains, flooding, even a possible tornado.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, live in the CNN Weather Center this morning, tracking the path here. What are you hearing at this hour, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, all eyes really are now on the not one, but two different hurricane hunter flights that are investigating the storm because this is where we get a lot of our good real time data.

[10:00:08]

Most of the measurements that are coming out between that 70 to 75 mile -er hour range, which is very consistent with the current sustained winds of 70 miles per hour. But we have started to see the pressure drop, meaning the storm is continuing to strengthen. It's expected to continue to do so for the remainder of the day today, then continuing its track off to the north.

Then we start to notice a very sharp turn to the right, which is interesting. A lot of people asking, why would it do such a sharp turn? At least in the short term, the steering is basically made up from the jet and this upper level low that you see right here, basically, up until landfall. Then we start to see a shift in the jet. And then also these westerly winds really start to take hold, and that's what's going to really help push the storm back out to sea.

The thing is, regardless of where it ends up going in the short term or where exactly it makes landfall, you have got a lot of heavy rain expected for this area in the northeast. Rip currents also going to be a concern from North Carolina all the way up through Massachusetts.

We talk about the heavy rain and, yes, it'll be heavy along the coast, but even inland areas, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire could still end up getting several inches of rain out of this particular storm, so you do have that moderate risk of flash flooding across several northeastern states.

The ground is very saturated, not only from the rain they expect to get from this storm, but Fred, the remnants of Fred earlier this week dumped a tremendous amount of rain in this area. So because that ground is saturated, it does not take very strong winds to bring down trees and power lines. But you are going to have strong winds, 60, 70, 80-mile-per-hour winds possible for several states, which is why we anticipate seeing some widespread power outages through some of these communities.

Storm surge is also going to be a big concern. Providence, Nantucket, about three to five feet here. But even places down along the New Jersey coast, still one to three feet of storm surge there, as well. One thing, Boris and Christi, that doesn't help is that tomorrow, full moon, high tide likely around the same time landfall would be in some areas. So you're dealing with astronomical high tides on top of the storm surge.

SANCHEZ: A really high chance of flooding, as well. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

We certainly hope folks in that area are preparing. Let's dig deeper on that and go to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. He is in Providence, Rhode Island, which is also in the path of tropical storm Henri. Derek, what are you seeing there in the way of preparations?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now, Boris, it's a glorious day here in Providence, Rhode Island. But of course, looks can be deceiving. We know as Henri makes its final approach here by tomorrow morning, things will deteriorate very quickly. People have been preparing for the storm, taking boats out of the water. Beaches have been closed in preparation for its arrival. There are a lot of vacationers here in New England because this is the high season for tourists.

What are the immediate threats here? Well, we have the potential for widespread power outages, widespread tree damage. Allison was talking about that a moment ago. There are a lot of coastal cities that line New England, and they are used to nor'easters in the winter.

That's when there's no leaves on the trees. Now, it's summer time, full foliage means that those leaves will act as almost a sail to catch the wind, and with the saturated soils that Allison mentioned, it will topple trees, topple power lines quite easily.

There are a lot of benchmark storms here that people think of in Providence. And that would be hurricane Bob back in 1985, rather, 91, and Gloria back in 91, and of course, Sandy. But every storm is different. This will not be a Sandy by any stretch of the means. It is about the quarter of the size. It's moving faster than Sandy was, all good news here. But storm surge being the potential threat.

You ever wondered how these coastal cities actually protect themselves from it? Check this out. This is incredible. Stumbled across this yesterday. If you visited here, you've probably seen it. This is the Fox Point hurricane barrier. It was built in 1966. It is designed to protect the city of Providence, Rhode Island, from 20 feet of storm surge.

That is like protecting the city from a one in 500 year storm surge event. That's incredible. Those curved three gates actually lower in about 30 minutes. They're over 50 tons. And the waves there get broken by the curved look and actually protect the city from the oncoming storm and push the water from storms like Henri. Back to you, Christi.

PAUL: Good to know. Derek Van Dam, take good care of yourself there. Thank you.

Listen, we're following new developments in the chaos and the desperation in Afghanistan this morning. The Pentagon is holding a news briefing on the situation. It's set to begin at the bottom of the hour, 10:30 a.m. eastern. We're going to bring that to you live when it happens. But a new security warning has been issued for Americans who are still in Afghanistan. The U.S. embassy telling them, do not come to the airport unless instructed by the American government.

SANCHEZ: Yes, but thousands of Afghan citizens are making that harrowing journey to the airport anyway, hoping to escape Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

[10:05:03]

A source telling CNN about 14,000 people are at currently Hamid Karzai International, waiting to get out. President Joe Biden says the United States is working to get Afghans who helped American forces out of that country. And he says every American who wants to leave will be evacuated.

Meantime, a plane carrying arrivals from Afghanistan arrived at Dulles Airport just a short time ago. And they arrived with mixed emotions of gratitude and sadness. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's great. It's absolutely amazing to see family members. They've been apart for years and years, and now they are united. It's just -- everybody is so happy. But we're still very sad for those that are still in Afghanistan, stranded in their own country. Millions and millions of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So Biden administration officials say they had no indication Afghanistan would fall as quickly as it did to the Taliban, but there is a memo from more than a dozen diplomats warning last month of a potential catastrophe in that country.

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in CNN Pentagon correspondent Oren Liebermann. Oren, walk us through what the classified cables said. And they didn't have a specific date for when the Afghan government may fall. They certainly didn't expect it to happen so quickly, right?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: No, even they didn't expect the Afghan government to collapse, the Afghan military to fall apart in days, and when it came to Kabul, just a matter of hours as the Taliban was making its advance.

But about a dozen diplomats from Kabul did warn that the U.S. wasn't moving fast enough in evacuating Afghans who have helped the United States, and that the government could fall faster than expected. Not months, certainly not years, but within a matter of weeks, crucially, after the U.S. withdrawal at the end of August 31st. That, of course, happened much faster than anticipated, and that's part of what is leading to the scenes we're seeing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in this desperate scramble for so many to get out of the country.

President Joe Biden addressed when he spoke yesterday. He said there were lots of cables going around and lot of different messaging, but the consensus was that it simply wouldn't happen this quickly and that the Taliban wouldn't move this quickly into Kabul. The government collapsed. Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani getting out of the country pretty much very quietly, as he says, to try to avoid more bloodshed. And that's the situation the U.S. is trying to essentially figure out right now, difficult and desperate as that is for so many Afghans.

And that's the challenge here, to keep this process moving. We know there was a pretty steep decline in the number of flights in a 24-hour period. It was only six C-17s in this latest 24-hour period with about 1,600 passengers total, as opposed to the previous 24-hour period, which was upwards of 16 or 17 C-17s with some 6,000 passengers.

That has to do with the closure of the airport, or, rather, the delay of flights for about an eight-hour span throughout the day. And that, of course, will have an impact on the number of people moving through the airport. The key is to get them moving as quickly as possible, and that's what the U.S. troops on the ground are trying to move this process forward. Here's a look at the work they're doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LIEBERMANN: Kabul has become a tale of two cities. Outside the gated walls of the airport, panic, despair. Inside the compound, there is what so many Afghans feared was lost, a measure of hope. There are 5,800 troops at Hamid Karzai International Airport, some for security of the most important real estate in the country right now.

But for many others, this is a humanitarian mission. The military has come with food, water, and medical supplies. Here, something as simple as water, large, clear plastic bottles, something that's small, has an impact on those fleeing for their lives, especially after hours of waiting in the summer heat of Afghanistan. A father passes his child to a marine for medical help. The marines say the infant was treated and reunited with family at the airport.

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Having prepared and partially executed a NEO, a non-combatant evacuation operation like what we're seeing right now, it is the toughest mission the military does. So many challenges that require continuous adaptation to changing circumstances.

LIEBERMANN: Here, another child passed to marines, a picture that underscores how important Afghans feel it is to leave the country they once knew. Powerful images like this have helped define this evacuation effort, pictures of the crowd, and pictures of the people. It is a difficult mission, one the White House acknowledged is a dangerous one, under pressure from the clock, the environment, and the enemy. But it is one that presses on and brings some hope, maybe even some happiness to those who have known days of fear.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

[10:10:00]

LIEBERMANN: We'll head into the Pentagon press briefing here in just a few moments and try to get some clarity on State Department warning from the embassy saying do not come to the airport until you've been instructed to do so. It is because of a security situation, according to the embassy, but we'll try to get more clarity on what is the throughput, what's the movement of U.S. citizens onto the airport grounds and out of the country. Boris and Christi?

PAUL: Oren Liebermann, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

The U.S. is in contact with the Taliban as the evacuations of Afghans and American citizens is unfolding right now. But what will Taliban fighters do once the U.S. is gone, once the cameras are gone and they're fully in charge of the country?

CNN global affairs analyst and "TIME" magazine contributor Kimberly Dozier is with us now. Kimberly, it is so good to have you here. We really value your perspective. So I know you wrote this piece in "TIME" magazine. It's titled "The Taliban are promising inclusively and amnesty in Afghanistan." There are some officials, however, that do predict bloodshed. What are the odds that a more moderate Taliban regime will emerge from this?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, when I talk to Taliban officials, I'm on a group with other journalists that the Taliban reached out to a couple months ago in anticipation of eventually governing in Afghanistan. So they have been doing things like that. They've been following some of the advice they've been given

throughout the peace talks in Doha by Qatari officials, international officials, U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who all told them, you can't govern like you did last time.

You have to have respect for civil rights, human rights. You have to have rule of law and financial transparency if you want the billions in international aid that Afghanistan needs to keep the lights on, keep water flowing, things that this population has gotten used to having. It's different than the last time.

So in some of their public pronouncements, they have said all the right things. You saw in the first press conference by the spokesman, who we'd never seen on camera, he said they wouldn't host anyone who attacks, carries out terrorist actions against other countries, like Al-Qaeda. He didn't say Al-Qaeda out loud, but the reference was there.

And they said that anyone who was in the previous government, that there was an amnesty and they could come back to work, including women. Though one of the spokesmen told me that women need to stay at home right now while the situation is unstable, and that they'll announce their new government after August 31st. OK, all that sounds good. But we're hearing different things on the ground.

PAUL: I was going to say, a lot of the people that we've talked to and heard from say that this is not a trustworthy group. We cannot take them by their word by any means. And I want to get to this reporting this morning from Nick Paton Walsh, who spoke to a senior official and found out that the man at the presidential palace last week who negotiated for the Taliban with the Afghan national security advisor to surrender President Ghani's government, is actually an affiliate of Al-Qaeda. So what is known, Kimberly, about the potential cohesiveness, if at all, of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and ISIS?

DOZIER: So the problem is that we have known for some time, contrary to what President Biden said yesterday, that Al-Qaeda remains in Afghanistan and has strong ties to the Taliban, familial ties, organizational ties. Al-Qaeda hasn't been carrying out plots against the United States during this time, but that doesn't rule out that they won't do it later. The U.N., even the U.S. Treasury Department confirmed this in the months to this run-up of the fall of Kabul. They remain in close contact.

Also, there is a cell inside Iran of top Al-Qaeda leaders, potential future leaders, who now can have safe passage and reunite with the Al- Qaeda rank and file, which might only be in the hundreds. No one I've spoken to really knows how many. But they're there, and they may soon have the freedom to roam and operate. And we don't have -- we, the international community, no longer have the eyes on the ground because many of them are now in hiding, that we had counted on to keep watch on these people.

PAUL: So remembering that Afghanistan was a breeding ground for 9/11, and based on what you're saying and what we're hearing about the uncertainty of the numbers of Al-Qaeda and the relationship between all of these, as they are labeled, terror organizations, are we watching the building blocks of a national security threat to the U.S. here?

DOZIER: We could be. But the Taliban also knows that, though they do have hundreds of millions of dollars coming in every year in receipts from the drug trade, et cetera, they do need the billions that the U.S. has frozen in the Afghan federal bank.

[10:15:11]

They do need access to international monetary fund loans. So that is going to temper their future activity. Yes, China and Pakistan and Russia could trade with them and help them survive for a bit if the international community turns their back on the Taliban, but there are certain governors of international norms of behavior that if they don't follow, they will become a pariah state and bear the financial responsibility for that. And the knock-on effect could be if they can't get the money to provide services that millions of Afghans are used to, that can feed into an insurgent movement that will fight them.

PAUL: All right, Kim Dozier, thank you so much. We really appreciate your time and your expertise on this. Thank you.

DOZIER: Thank you.

PAUL: So COVID-19 cases are surging across the country. Hospitals are running out of ICU beds. Could the expected full approval of the Pfizer vaccine by the FDA persuade more people to get their shot? That's coming up.

SANCHEZ: Plus, we're expecting an update this hour by the Pentagon on evacuations in Afghanistan. We'll bring it to you live when it happens. Stay with CNN. We're back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:37]

SANCHEZ: These are live pictures out of the Pentagon right now, where we are standing by for a briefing from officials there about the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, as the United States military works to evacuate Afghans and American citizens. We're going to keep monitoring the press briefing. As soon as it starts, we will bring it to you live.

PAUL: And new this morning, full FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine is, quote, imminent. That's according to officials, saying full approval could come as early as Monday.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Right now, the Delta variant is fueling a surge of coronavirus cases. According to the Department of Health and Health Services, one in five hospital ICUs now has at least 95 percent of its beds occupied.

PAUL: And now, the CDC says the rates of hospitalizations for children and young adults under 50 are at their highest levels since the beginning of this pandemic.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Meantime, in some states, the battle over masking continues. In Texas, school and local mask mandates are allowed for now after the Texas Supreme Court rejected Governor Greg Abbott's request to intervene. Let's get to Florida and CNN's Nadia Romero is live in Miami. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis not letting up on his ban on mask mandates, even though now thousands of kids have had to quarantine because of COVID outbreaks.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris. And that's a big issue here because we have another school district, Miami-Dade County public schools, the largest in the state, that will begin on Monday. They'll start their first day back in the classroom this year.

But that FDA approval is so important because when you talk to people on the front lines, they tell you it's what they need to convince people to get the shots. And as we've been reporting, the overwhelming majority of people in the ICU beds are unvaccinated.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ROMERO: Full U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is, quote, imminent. And a Biden administration official said approval of the two-dose vaccine could be as early as Monday. Meanwhile, COVID-19 hospitalizations filling up ICUs across the U.S. with the worst of it in the nation's southern states, like Florida.

MARY MAYHEW, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FLORIDA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION: We are seeing a much younger group of individuals who are hospitalized for COVID in our intensive care units, on ventilators. These are healthy, young 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds.

ROMERO: The sunshine state now sitting under a dark cloud of COVID-19 milestones. There have been more than 17,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in about six weeks amidst severe staffing shortages. Florida's governor pushing infected Floridians to undergo antibody treatments. Studies show it can reduce the risk of hospitalizations and deaths. This Florida woman, sick with COVID, collapsing on the ground while waiting for an antibody treatment.

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R) FLORIDA: I think this is probably the most significant thing we can do to keep people out of the hospital.

ROMERO: But the governor doesn't support mask mandates. Under his direction, the Florida Board of Education ordering Broward and Alachua Counties to allow mask opt-out for students in the next 48 hours or start losing funding. Late Friday, in an emergency meeting, the Sarasota County school board voted to adopt a 90-day mandatory mask policy for students, employees, visitors, and vendors, with only medical and IEP opt-outs in place.

On Thursday in George, the state seeing it's highest number of COVID- 19 cases since January, but Governor Brian Kemp giving businesses a pass to ignore local COVID-19 ordinances.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP, (R) GEORGIA: Georgians know the risk of COVID-19, and they also know how to do about their lives.

ROMERO: Cobb County schools, just north of Atlanta, in the midst of a fiery debate over mask mandates in the classroom. Friday, the district reporting a little less than double the active cases from last week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know if there are a certain number of positive cases that you're looking for, or do a certain number of kids need to die before you humble yourselves enough to admit that you're wrong.

ROMERO: In Alabama, every county listed as high transmission for COVID-19. But still, some at a Lauderdale County school board meeting wanting to make masks optional for kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're hurting our children. And these teachers that want to act like they have control of our children in dictating to them -- no.

[10:25:03]

ROMERO: Texas Governor Greg Abbott still battling COVID-19 himself and local mask mandates. The state's Supreme Court allowing local mask mandates, including those in schools, to remain in effect, at least for now.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ROMERO: And overnight, we heard from Broward County and Alachua County public schools saying they will keep their mask mandates in place despite the threats from the governor. Boris, Christi?

SANCHEZ: Nadia Romero reporting from Miami, thank you so much.

Florida set a pandemic record for new cases last week. COVID hospitalizations there nearly three times the national average. And as schools reopen, the state's governor, Ron DeSantis, is maintaining his hands-off approach.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber joins us now. He's accused the governor of playing politics with the pandemic. Good morning, Mayor. We're glad to have you, as always. You asked Governor DeSantis to allow local governments to issue mask mandates and vaccine requirements.

You told him the current policy is backfiring in tragic ways. His office responded, saying that he banned local mask mandates because, quote, he trusts Floridians to make the best choices for themselves and for their families. Mayor, what's at the core of your disagreement? Is it a question of trusting Floridians?

MAYOR DAN GELBER, (D) MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: Well, first of all, you don't have to look far. We are leading the nation right now in hospitalizations, which means we will likely be leading the nation in deaths. So his policies are literally killing people.

Listen, the governor has made this a political issue. He is treating children as almost political pawns. He's not worried about us. He is making some political point for a national election. It is pretty obvious at this point because there is no metric he can look for and say that his policies are good for Floridians.

You have local school officials who are literally having to act courageously and potentially lose their jobs and income in order to protect the children whose families elected them to those offices. So this is really a pretty outrageous thing, and, unfortunately, I think it is a bit of a political opportunity and hubris, which seems to be the organizing principles of Florida's response to the pandemic.

SANCHEZ: Let's dig in deeper and listen to something that Governor DeSantis said earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R) FLORIDA: Politicians want to force you to cover your face as a way for them to cover their own asses. That's just the truth.

(APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: They want to be able to say they're taking this on and they're doing this, even though it doesn't -- it's not proven to be effective. They want to continue to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Mayor, you know what I'm going to ask you. Are you covering yourself?

GELBER: Listen, our governor went to Harvard and Yale, but that was absolutely moronic. Honestly, he should be out there trying to get people to wear masks. Every sort of major medical group, including pediatricians, have said it is healthy. And when you talk about letting people have a choice, letting them do whatever they want, you have to stop at a stoplight.

There's about 1,000 things you have to do to protect yourselves and others in society. We have lots of freedoms, but we also recognize that we all live together. And if you send your kid to school and say he's not going to wear a mask, he may infect another child, maybe a child who isn't going to fare so well, or a teacher. We had three teachers in Broward County die in one day a week or two ago. This is not politics. It's health care.

SANCHEZ: Mayor, one health measure the governor has been promoting, monoclonal antibodies. He announced this week Florida would provide them at treatment sites across the strait for free. How confident are you this might help Florida change course, given the trends we're seeing?

GELBER: Listen, what our physicians and our health care system are doing is terrific. And the federal government is ironically making that available for free to Floridians. But you can't just simply say, let's wait until everybody gets sick and then let's try to treat them, because if you follow that path, most certainly, a percentage will get very sick, and a percentage will die.

The best thing we can do is stop this virus from spreading. And the way to do that is with masks. The governor is suing the cruise industry that simply wants to require vaccines before people come on board a closed ship. And this is not a healthy measure to governor is promoting. It's a political one. He is following an ideology, not a health care directive. And that is the problem right now.

SANCHEZ: Mayor Dan Gelber, we have to leave it there. Appreciate your time, and the Dan Marino and Dwyane Wade jerseys in the background. We'll be in touch. Thank you.

GELBER: Thank you.

[10:30:00]

PAUL: We want to get back to the developments in the ongoing situation in Afghanistan this morning. The U.S. secretary of defense reportedly contradicted President Biden during a briefing with members of the House yesterday during a classified briefing. Sources say Secretary Austin told lawmakers Americans have been beaten by the Taliban. That appears to go against what President Biden said jusat moments before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have no indication that they haven't been able to get in Kabul through the airport. We've made an agreement with the Taliban thus far. They've allowed them to go through. It's in their interest for them to go through. So we know of no circumstance where American citizens carrying an American passport are trying to get through to the airport. But we will do whatever needs to be done to see to it they get to the airport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Democratic Congressman from Michigan Dan Kildee with me now. Congressman, thank you so much, we appreciate it. I wanted to first of all get your take. What is your most urgent concern right now, not just regarding this withdrawal, but the messaging around it?

REP. DAN KILDEE (D-MI): Well, obviously, the withdrawal is the concern. The messaging around it, I think we ought to just be as transparent as possible. I'm one who believes that there were some failures. It's disappointing. I think the Taliban was more aggressive than was expected, by some anyway. And the Afghan government was far weaker than what was expected.

Having said that, the most pressing issue is to make sure the message is clear to Americans in Afghanistan, but especially to those Afghan nationals who were with us, sacrificed themselves, put themselves in harm's way, that this country is going to welcome them. It's disappointing to hear some voices say we ought not. We have a promise to keep, and I hope that this doesn't devolve into an ideological or partisan debate over whether or not we should keep that promise.

PAUL: I know you feel very strongly about taking care of the refugees, certainly. And I wanted to ask about what President Biden had said yesterday, as well, in that press conference. He said, let me be clear, any American who wants to come home, we will get you here. He went on to say he'll mobilize every resource necessary. What is the realistic expectation of that?

KILDEE: Well, I think part of the difficulty is that some Americans in Afghanistan were not necessarily registered with the United States embassy there. So there's some issues in terms of identifying Americans who are on the ground in Afghanistan. Obviously, the security situation is going to impact that. We heard the discussion between members of Congress and the secretary of defense about issues involving getting people to the airport. Obviously, that's the critical issue.

There is plenty of time, and should be, for a complete deep dive and a review of everything that precipitated what has not been a smooth departure. But none of that should obfuscate at all the importance of this decision. The president made the right call, 20 more years in Afghanistan was not going to change the situation other than put more Americans lives at risk.

And I'm pleased that that's the case. And I hope that my colleagues don't somehow conflate some of the problems that we're obviously seeing right now with the decision that this president made, finally, at long last, the president made the decision to get us out of there, and I think it was the right call.

PAUL: OK, but what information do you need to get? I know that Speaker Pelosi is calling for a member briefing as early as Monday regarding how we got to this point. Where do you think the miscommunication, the missteps, the miscalculations came from?

KILDEE: That's what I don't know, and that's what we need to find out. And it's Congress's role, no matter who the president is, to ask these tough questions and not be satisfied until we have complete answers to all of them. But it appears that there was at least a misinterpretation of the intelligence, or a lack of complete intelligence that would have shown just how precipitously the country would fall into the hands of the Taliban.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't have withdrawn. It means we should have. But obviously, those are questions that we're going to need to have answered, partly because we have a responsibility to hold the administration accountable, but also history has to be informed by the facts. And the only way we learn from our history is if it is clear and accurate. And we have to make sure that we create that record.

PAUL: New reporting this morning from Nick Paton Walsh, who spoke with a senior official there in Afghanistan, who told him that the man at the presidential palace last week who negotiated for the Taliban with the Afghanistan national security advisor for the surrender of President Ghani's government, that man is actually an affiliate of Al- Qaeda. The president has said there is nobody from Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. We know that that's not true.

[10:35:00] But do you have any concerns that Afghanistan could yet again become a breeding ground for terrorists, not just Al-Qaeda, but even some sort of a cohesive organization between Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban?

KILDEE: We have to take that threat seriously. We have to act upon the intelligence that we have. We have to be aggressive in dealing with it. And yes, I mean, obviously, this is a nation, a country that doesn't operate as a nation. It operates very much as a group of tribal villages. And the fact that we have the Taliban in position right now is concerning.

But it doesn't necessarily justify 20 more years of us being there. I think there are going to have to be ways that we monitor the activities there and act accordingly if we see a threat emerging. That's a tough place to be for us as a nation, but that's where we are, and I think it's a better place for us to be in the long term.

PAUL: Congressman Dan Kildee, we appreciate you taking time to talk with this morning. Thank you, sir.

KILDEE: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: We are watching the podium at the Pentagon, where at any moment we are expecting an update on evacuations in Afghanistan. We're going to take you there live as soon as the briefing begins. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:48]

PAUL: There's some live pictures there out of the Pentagon right now. We are standing by for a briefing from officials there regarding the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, as the U.S. works to evacuate Afghans and American citizens. As soon as somebody steps up to the podium, of course, we will bring that to you live.

SANCHEZ: So we've all read the headlines and seen the videos. Airline passengers getting into midair brawls, threats against flight attendants, and refusals for people to wear masks.

PAUL: The FAA is now proposing more than $500,000 in new fines against dozens of unruly passengers. Here the CNN's Pete Muntean.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ugly incidents in the air are skyrocketing, and now federal authorities are detailing the most incidents yet of unruly passengers facing federal fines. Just released documents are giving the blow-by-blow of passengers allegedly punching fellow fliers in the face, snorting what appeared to be cocaine, storming the flight deck, and even threatening to kill a flight attendant.

The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing more than $500,000 in new fines, bringing the total to more than $1 million since the agency enacted a zero-tolerance policy earlier this year.

SARA NELSON, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: People need to understand that there are severe consequences here.

MUNTEAN: Flight crews have reported 3,800 incidents of unruly passengers to the FAA just this year, but the agency has initiated enforcement action at only 120 cases. Now, some in Congress say the FAA's power to punish is too limited, and the FBI should pursue putting passengers in prison.

REP. PETER DEFAZIO, (D-OR) CHAIRMAN, TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: The first time we take one of these jerks who is assaulting flight attendants or attempting to take an aircraft down, and they go away for a few years and get a massive fine, I think that will send a message to others out there who are thinking about acting out.

MUNTEAN: The largest new fine proposed by the FAA is against a passenger accused of throwing his luggage at another passenger, laying on the aisle floor, then grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt. That flight from New York to Orlando was forced to land early in Virginia.

Two-thirds of new fines involve passengers violating the transportation mask mandate, and about a quarter involve passengers illegally bringing their own alcohol on board. Now, the FAA is pleading with airports to crack down on to-go alcohol sales to help ground unruly passengers before they ever get in the air.

NELSON: When people start getting put in jail for their actions on the planes that are putting everyone in jeopardy, there's going to be some serious sobering up.

MUNTEAN: American Airlines just announced that it is not serving alcohol on board its flights until at least January 18th, 2022. That's when the federal transportation mask mandate now ends. American also announced it is stepping up work inside its largest hubs, Charlotte and Dallas, to try and keep people from bringing their own booze on board its flights.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SANCHEZ: Pete Muntean, thank you for that report.

At any moment, we're expecting an update by the Pentagon on the situation in Afghanistan. We've just learned that President Biden canceled planned travel over the weekend to Delaware. He is apparently receiving briefings on what's happening in Afghanistan at the White House. We're going to keep watching this podium and get you there as soon as this briefing begins. Stay with CNN.

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[10:48:54]

PAUL: Following breaking news, Henri has just become officially a hurricane.

SANCHEZ: Allison Chinchar is in the CNN Weather Center. Allison, what's the latest?

CHINCHAR: Yes, so we were expecting this. So we do want to talk. We've had the hurricane hunters out. They've been investigating. They have now found winds that do reach hurricane strength. So we have sustained winds at 75 miles per hour gusting up to 90 miles per hour. Forward speed has also picked up just ever so slightly to north-northeast now at about 14 miles per hour.

Now, yes, we've been talking about landfall into the northeast, but I want to emphasize, you're still going to have high surf and rip currents all the way from North Carolina up through Massachusetts. So this is going to impact a tremendous amount of states. Landfall is still expected tomorrow, most likely on Long Island around lunchtime. From there, it will kind of come inland before making a sharp turn back out over the open Atlantic.

But again, in that short period of time, we're talking about tremendous amounts of rain and also storm surge. Right now, it's mostly being steered by the jet in this upper level low. Then it becomes more of the westerlies that really start to push it back out over the open water. But again, Boris and Christi, I want to emphasize, just because it is now a hurricane versus a tropical storm, the impacts still remain the same.

[14:50:08]

SANCHEZ: Allison Chinchar in the CNN Weather Center, thank you so much.

PAUL: So we are expecting an update from the Pentagon on the evacuations in Afghanistan. As Boris said earlier, we understand that President Biden is staying in Washington. That is a change of plans this morning. We'll bring this to you live when it happens. Stay close.

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PAUL: In just a matter of hours, CNN is bringing you the star-studded "We Love New York City, The Homecoming Concert." The five-hour concert is airing exclusively here on CNN.

SANCHEZ: Can't forget to mention Barry Manilow is going to be there, Christi. We know you're a fan-ilow, a huge fan.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Chloe Melas joins us now live from New York.

Actually, we're going to step away from that and get straight to the Pentagon. I believe Pentagon press secretary John Kirby is at the podium.

MAJ. GEN. HANK TAYLOR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, JOINT STAFF REGIONAL OPERATIONS: -- operational update, as well as answer your questions. And, obviously, Mr. Kirby is here, also. So we look forward to that.

Before I describe the situation in Kabul the past 24 hours, I want to do a little bit, take the ability to recap the past week and kind of present a holistic view of what's been accomplished.

[10:55:00]

As you know, August 14th, we began this evacuation operation, which really is exactly one week ago today. Since then, we have rapidly deployed thousands of troops into Afghanistan. Our footprint continues today to stand at approximately 5,800 troops on the ground, continuing to provide and secure the Kabul airport to allow for evacuation operations.

As you know, these troops were both pre-positioned in the CENTCOM AOR as well as deployed from the United States. Then, as the forces steadily flowed in, we successfully secured the Kabul airport. If you recall, the situation just a week ago was a little bit different than it is today.

The airport remains secure. U.S. military personnel currently oversee flight operations. Both U.S. military contracted aircraft, as well as foreign aircraft continue to operate within Kabul airport. Additionally, the U.S. military has maintained the gate security at major gates and supported our State Department colleagues in the processing of individuals in the HKIA to prepare for evacuation flights out of Afghanistan.

Critical to getting Americans, SIV applicants, and Afghans at risk out of the dire situation in Afghanistan requires additional space at intermediate staging bases and safe havens, and other locations. This impacts our throughput, as I discussed yesterday. For example, two days ago, if you recall, the U.S. military airlifted nearly 6,000 evacuees in a single day. In the last 24 hours, six U.S. military C- 17s and 32 charters departed Kabul. Through this combined effort, and the total passenger count for those flights was approximately 3,800.

Also in the past 24 hours, a number of C-17s are moving between Qatar and Germany, providing critical relief that will increase our input to those intermediate staging bases.

And finally, in the past 24 hours, three flights landed at Dulles International Airport. There are now Afghans in just one week since beginning this operation who have left Afghanistan and will be transitioned to Fort Bliss today for further processing in this process.

As you can see, this is a very complex and multistep operation. We are committed to this highly important mission, to bring American citizens, SIV applicants, and at-risk Afghans who have worked alongside of us throughout our time in Afghanistan, and vulnerable Afghans, including women and children, safely out of Afghanistan.

Since the end of July, we have relocated approximately 22,000 people. Since the beginning of this evacuation operation on August 14th, we've evacuated approximately 17,000. I would add that intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism

professionals are conducting screening and security vetting for all SIV and other vulnerable Afghans before they are allowed to enter into the United States. These agencies are surging resources to evaluate all of these evacuees to ensure protection of the homeland.

This massive effort is the result of teamwork across the interagency and the cooperation of our partners around the world who share in this incredible effort. Thank you.

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: OK. Looks like, Lita (ph), you're on the phone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, yes, thanks, John. Either you or the general, obviously, there's fewer people getting out of Afghanistan over the last 24 hours. And the embassy issued a warning telling people not to go to the airport. Can you talk about the security outside the perimeter? Is it getting worse? And what are the key threats there? Is it Afghans trying to get in? Is it ISIS? Is it the Taliban? Can you just give us a clearer picture of the violence going on outside the airport?

TAYLOR: Yes. The first part of the question is, I think, you talked about guidance going out to not come to HKiA. I'm not familiar with that directly. We are continuing to process people throughout the last 24 hours. The commanders are metering how many people come in and out of the gate to ensure the safe and ability to screen applicants as they come on to HKIA. There has been no reported change to the current enemy situation in and around the airplane at this time.