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New York, Connecticut Under State Of Emergency For Hurricane Henri; U.S. Setting Up Alternate Routes To Kabul Airport Due To ISIS Threat; Interview With Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI); Afghan Evacuees Arrive At U.S. Airbase In Germany; Massachusetts Officials Give Update On Hurricane Henri; "We Love New York City" Concert Celebrates City's Comeback from COVID; Trump To Hold Alabama Rally Tonight As State Struggles With COVID Surge. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 21, 2021 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:03]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington, and we're following breaking news.
Hurricane Henri is barreling toward the northeast right now, with a possible landfall expected on either Long Island or southern New England. It's been 30 plus years since a hurricane made a direct hit on either location, so you can understand the urgency. More than 40 million people are under hurricane or tropical storm warnings right now. And a state of emergency has been declared in New York and Connecticut.
CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking this storm in the weather center.
What's the latest on this storm's track? Is it moving at all?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So let's take a look at where it is right now. Just about 200 or so miles east of North Carolina. Sustained winds are 75 miles per hour gusting up to 90. That forward movement pushing it to the north-northeast at just about 17 miles per hour.
Now at the latest advisory we did start to see some of the watches and warnings expand a little bit. Again you can see in blue here the tropical storm warnings, hurricane warnings are there in red, that includes New Haven, Islip, and even around Montauk. Now the track still expects it to continue to basically move north until just a few hours before landfall. We expect a slight shift off to the west.
That's why we figure at this point the best landfall location still likely to be Long Island. Timing wise we're still looking at around lunchtime on Sunday. It will move a little bit farther inland before then making a very sharp turn off to the east, going back out over open water. Through the evening hours tonight, really some of those outer bands will mostly impact areas of New York City and especially around portions of New Jersey.
Then we start to see it fill in across Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts as we continue through much of the day Sunday. Now, even though yes, the areas around the coast are expected to get heavy rainfall, so will interior locations, portions of upstate New York, Vermont, even New Hampshire still likely to get several inches of rain out of this system. Keep in mind a lot of these locations got a ton of rain just this past week from the remnants of Fred, so that ground is very saturated, which is why you have the moderate flash flood risk.
One thing to point out when you have a saturated ground like that, even a 40 to 60-mile-per-hour wind gust can bring down trees and power lines. We're anticipating winds much stronger than that. Some of these areas widespread, 60, 70, even 80, miles per hour. This red and even purple area you could be looking at 75 to 110-mile-per-hour wind gusts. So certainly looking at the potential for some widespread power outages.
Along the coast, another big concern is going to be storm surge, East Hampton, Providence, Nantucket around three to five feet. But even areas that extend well away from the landfall location, Boston, even around Atlantic City, New Jersey, still about one to three feet of storm surge in those locations. One thing to note too is tomorrow. Unfortunately, at least as it looks now, landfall time may end up lining up with some of these locations high tide for the day.
The thing is tomorrow is not just a regular high tide, Jim. It's an astronomical high tide because of the full moon, so you're going to be dealing with exceptionally high-high tides as well as the storm surge that will be coming in so flooding is certainly going to be a huge concern.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. And we know you will stay on top of it, but people in those areas if they haven't been paying attention to the weather forecast, they really need to pay attention to this because this is a rare event for that part of the country.
All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.
And you can stay up to date on extreme weather in your area by signing up for e-mail alerts from CNN's meteorologists and our reporters in the field by visiting CNN.com/weatheralerts.
Now to the breaking news from Afghanistan, the danger to Americans rising fast in Kabul. President Biden meeting with his National Security Team as we learn of a potential emerging threat from ISIS.
Let's go straight to the Pentagon, and CNN's Oren Liebermann.
Oren, what are you learning right now about this?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Pentagon has always been aware that the airport itself, the crowds there and the surrounding environment have been a target not only for, ISIS-K, but also for al Qaeda and other groups. But now it has gone to the next level. Military planners are preparing what they're terming alternative routes according to two Defense officials, different ways to get U.S. citizens, Afghan SIV applicants and others from their location to get to airport safely. This a response to a credible threat from ISIS, though a senior
diplomat there says not it appears an imminent one at this point. But there's enough of a concern there that the military has begun planning these routes to try to get American citizens who can't right now get to the airport from their current location to the airport, which of course is the most important piece of real estate in the country right now.
It is the evacuation, the exit point for not only those U.S. citizens, but also for the Afghan evacuees. This in response to what the U.S. sees as a threat that ISIS might try to carry out some of its types of attacks, vehicle-borne IEDs, improvised explosive devices, perhaps mortar attacks or suicide bombs at the large crowds that are gathered there. And that's why there's this planning for alternative routes, routes that would give the U.S. more surveillance, more ability to see U.S. citizens and others approaching the airport and either try to stay away from or disperse these large crowds.
[15:05:11]
For the most part the Pentagon says American citizens are getting through, though they are aware there are limited cases where that's not the case and they're facing trouble from the Taliban. This is Pentagon Secretary John Kirby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We know of cases, a small number that we know of. We don't have perfect visibility, but we know a small number of cases where some Americans and certainly as the secretary also said in that statement, Afghans, Afghans that we want to evacuate. It wasn't just Americans that he talked about. Have been harassed and, in some cases, beaten. We don't believe it is a very large number.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN: There was a warning put out from the embassy that U.S. citizens should wait until they're instructed to go from their current locations to the airport. It's unclear if it was the ISIS-K threat that prompted that or if it was simply a backlog as the airport and the troops there are trying to work through the number of people there and try to start flying them out.
So we're looking for some clarity on that as the numbers went down a little bit for the amount of people flown out. They're trying to get those numbers back up, get the planes out. And at the end of the day, Jim, get the Americans and the Afghans out.
ACOSTA: And Oren, are the Taliban aware that the U.S. is developing these alternative routes to try to move U.S. citizens and others out of that area?
LIEBERMANN: Yes, Jim. One of those officials we've spoken with says that there is some level of coordination here between U.S. troops on the ground and the contact -- constant communication with a representative for Taliban commanders. So there is some level of awareness on the Taliban that the U.S. is planning these and perhaps pursuing these, but that official says they're not giving them all the information such that they have but it does require a level of coordination against a common enemy, that being ISIS-K.
ACOSTA: All right, Oren Liebermann, thanks so much.
I'm joined now by Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. She's a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator, great to have you on. We appreciate it so much. Have lawmakers been receiving -- good to be with you. Let me just ask you right off the top, have lawmakers been receiving regular briefings from the administration? And what have you learned that is new since the president spoke yesterday? Anything you can tell us?
SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): We are briefed pretty regularly. And yesterday we had an all-senators briefing from Secretaries Blinken, Austin, and Milley, and our staff get apprised and of course the DOS is doing regular briefings for the public. So we know that this is an ever-changing situation and we have to stay on top of it. And the main mission is, of course, to get U.S. citizens and our Afghan partners and their families out as soon as possible.
ACOSTA: And the Pentagon today confirmed that some Americans have been beaten by the Taliban on their way to the airport in Kabul. Do you think that the U.S. mission needs to expand beyond just keeping the airport secure? And what do you make of this latest news coming out of the Pentagon that the U.S. military is looking at perhaps developing some alternative routes to get people to that airport and get them out of the country?
HIRONO: Well, clearly I support those kinds of plans. So whatever the tactical decisions are made, that needs to happen and I also think that we should extend the deadline beyond August 31st so that we can complete our mission as well as we can.
ACOSTA: And you think the president should make it very clear -- he did make it clear the other day if it needs to go past August 31st, it should go past August 31st. But how long are you willing to see that mission extended? Obviously you don't want it to be done indefinitely or the U.S. is not going to complete this withdrawal.
HIRONO: I don't think that we should be putting an end time frame. I think the focus should continue to be let's get our U.S. citizens out and let's get our Afghan partners and their families out as well as other Afghans who are at risk, such as women leaders and journalists and others. Stay focused completely on that mission.
ACOSTA: And President Biden on Friday promised that nobody would be left behind, Americans, Afghan partners, that we're going to do the best that we can to get those folks out. Let's listen to that, let's talk about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me be clear. Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Will you commit to the same -- would you make the same commitment to bring out Afghans who assisted in the war effort?
BIDEN: Yes, yes. We're making the same commitment. There's no one more important than bringing American citizens out, I acknowledge that, but equally important almost is all those -- those SIVs, we call them, who in fact helped us. They were translators that went into battle with us.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
[15:10:06]
ACOSTA: And Senator, what is your view on how we're handling pulling our Afghan partners out of the country? The images that we've been seeing over the last week, the harrowing scenes that we're seeing at the airport, people lifting their children up to soldiers and so on. Do we think we're doing enough? Do you think the U.S. is doing enough to make sure that we're getting those Afghan partners out of the country?
HIRONO: I think we need to expand our ability to process the SIV applicants and applications outside of Afghanistan. My understanding is that's one of the bottlenecks because we need to keep those planes full. They're not going out full because there's some roadblocks along the (INAUDIBLE) SIVs. I just want to mention, though, you know, President Trump had four years to process these special immigrant visas to get our Afghan friends and partners out and their families, and they totally slow-walked everything.
They totally slow-walked these SIV immigration visas. So, you know, we should just do everything we can to make that process go faster. If it means outside of Afghan, as I think some of that is already happening, then we should expand that.
ACOSTA: Let me follow up on that. You know, as you know, Congress will be questioning administration officials on this situation next week. Would it be helpful do you think to hear from some former Trump administration officials about what was going on behind the scenes? They, after all, cut the deal with the Taliban. They, after all, as you said, were not exactly rapidly moving towards a situation where Afghan refugees would be brought out of the country. Do you want those questions answered as well?
HIRONO: Well, first of all, I think we need to focus on what happened with our leaving. And I support the president's decision. It's the execution that we would like to focus on. To also put it into context, this didn't happen overnight. I would like to hear from Stephen Miller, for example, as to his part in slow-walking these SIV processes. I'd like to hear from Miss Troye who has been telling us about how hard it was for her when she was working for Vice President Pence to facilitate the processing of these visas.
It was very clear to her that the Trump administration had absolutely no intention of really moving the process along. So there are a lot of questions to be asked and we'll get to that. But again first and foremost we need to get the U.S. citizens out and our Afghan allies and their families.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. And we hope to see that happen in the coming days, Senator Mazie Hirono. You mentioned Olivia Troye, we did talk to her in the last hour. And of course anybody who wants to see what was said during that interview can check our Web site, check our Twitter feed and so on to get to the bottom of that.
Mazie Hirono, senator from Hawaii, thanks so much. We appreciate it.
HIRONO: Take care, Jim. Aloha.
ACOSTA: You too. Aloha.
Coming up next, there is a blame game, as you can see, happening here in Washington. Who's responsible for the crisis in Afghanistan? The president who oversaw the withdrawal or the president who negotiated it? The hypocrisy, next.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:17:38]
ACOSTA: All week long, former President Donald Trump and his team have been spiking the football on President Biden's chaotic exit from Afghanistan. It's worth reminding everybody just who moved the ball to the goal line. Some key Trump officials have conveniently forgotten that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The Taliban aren't looking for international recognition. I saw Speaker Pelosi say that we'll have to see how they behave. This is not a regime. These are butchers. These aren't people who care about a seat at the table at the United Nations.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: By now you've seen the video of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban last November.
It was Trump who laid the foundation for the current U.S. withdrawal. It was Trump who was going to meet with Taliban leaders at Camp David before cancellation at the last minute. He praised them time and again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll be meeting personally with Taliban leaders in the not-too-distant future. And we'll be very much hoping that they will be doing what they say they're going to be doing. They will be killing terrorists. They will be killing some very bad people. They will keep that fight going.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Just last April, Trump released a statement saying getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do, insisting that his own timeline of a May 1st pullout was the way to go. Biden pushed it off until the end of August. But in June, Trump was bragging he had all but tied Biden's hands to the withdrawal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: In Afghanistan, where, by the way, I started the process. All the troops are coming back home. They couldn't stop the process.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Twenty-one years is enough, don't we think? 21 years. They couldn't stop the process. They wanted to, but it was very tough to stop the process. The only way they last is if we're there. What are we going to say? We'll stay for another 21 years, that we'll stay for another 15? The whole thing is ridiculous.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And along the way, Trump Republicans criticized Biden for not moving fast enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. WILLIAM STEUBE (R-FL): I supported President Trump in ending the forever wars. I supported President Trump by putting a date certain for U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan on May 1st. I supported that. And I'm disappointed that the Biden administration is kicking the can down the road until September.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
[15:20:01]
ACOSTA: Then there were the officials who helped craft the peace deal and were brushing off concerns of a speedy Taliban takeover.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR AFGHANISTAN RECONCILIATION: I personally believe -- I personally believe that the statements that the forces will disintegrate and the Taliban will take over in short order are mistaken. The real choices that the Afghans will face is between a long war and a negotiated settlement. And I hope the Taliban and the other Afghan leaders make the right choice.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Which is all why former Trump National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster says it was his former administration that surrendered to the Taliban. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
H.R. MCMASTER, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Our secretary of State signed a surrender agreement to the Taliban.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're talking about Mike Pompeo?
MCMASTER: Yes. This collapse goes back to the capitulation agreement of 2020. I mean, you know, the Taliban didn't defeat us, we defeated ourselves. And what's worse is, we threw the Afghans under the bus on our way out.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The reality is, both parties own this fiasco. Former President George W. Bush turned from Afghanistan to Iraq for a war of choice over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. Obama did not end the war. Trump did not end the war. Biden is trying to end the war which by the way is something the American people generally support.
Now there are some Republicans and Democrats who warned against pulling out of the country this quickly. But if all of this is about competence, do you really want to leave that to Trump who once suggested this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. I just don't want to kill 10 million people. Does that make sense to you? I don't want to kill 10 million people. I have plans on Afghanistan that if I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth. It would be gone. It would be over in literally in 10 days. And I don't want to do -- I don't want to go that route.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: If you thought infrastructure week was a blast, just wait for Trump's Afghanistan week. Of course, there are some on the right who simply want to make hay out of the issue, or pillows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, "THE SEAN HANNITY SHOW" HOST: How would you like to be in Kabul today as an American and you can't get to the airport? Where do you think your life is headed? If you're one of those family members, I bet you're not sleeping. I don't even think MyPillow can do it. Mypillow.com.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: I think the better question is, how does Sean sleep at night? But I digress.
The pictures of Afghans clinging to military planes are not what riles up the FOX audience. It's these images of Afghans loaded onto those planes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Is it really our responsibility to welcome thousands of potentially unvetted refugees from Afghanistan? All day we've heard phrases like we promised them. Well, who did? Did you?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: You think Trump was going to bring all these Afghan partners back to the U.S.? Let's ask one of the architects of Trump's immigration policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: The United States of America never ever made a promise, written or unwritten to the people of Afghanistan that if after 20 years they were unable to secure their own country that we would take them to ours. That is nonsense. That has never been U.S. government policy.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And leave it to Tucker Carlson, FOX's ayatollah of paranoia to take it one step too far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: If history is any guide, and it's always a guide, we will see many refugees from Afghanistan resettle in our country in the coming months, probably in your neighborhood. And over the next decade, that number may swell to the millions. So first we invade and then we're invaded.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Or as another pro-Trump propagandist put it, raise your hand if you want this plane landing in your town.
I can think of somebody raising her hand. Anybody ever heard the line give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free?
America has a long and proud history of welcoming refugees from war- torn countries. The Statue of Liberty has always symbolized that beacon of hope to the world. That has always been the American way.
Yes, there are Afghans who did come to our aid in Afghanistan. They did help us fight the war against Osama bin Laden. Yes, some, in fact, did fight for their country and died for their country.
[15:25:06]
We can't leave them behind. The images out of Afghanistan are hard to look at. There's no question about it. Perhaps that's to be expected when you try to end what's been called the forever war. But if we want to end that forever war, if we really want to get home from Afghanistan, I know one light showing us the way.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:03]
ACOSTA: We've learned President Biden is holding a call with New England governors as Hurricane Henri barrels toward their states.
Henri is expected to make landfall tomorrow on or near Long Island. Right now, more than 40 million people are under either a hurricane or tropical storm warning.
Any minute, the governor of Massachusetts is expected to give an update. We'll bring it to you live as soon as it begins.
Today, the first flights carrying evacuees out of Kabul touched down earlier at an airbase in Germany. More than 2,000 people have been processed at the U.S. military base.
CNN senior international correspondent, Atika Shubert, is there.
Atika, what was the mood there? How are things going?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we spent the day there and it's a huge logistical and community effort.
As we were there, we saw a plane land. The people coming off were visibly tired, but also relieved.
We saw one little girl with a huge smile on her face, even as she was getting her temperature checked.
But what we saw is just such a massive effort. In the last 24 hours, 17 flights have landed at the Ramstein Airbase. Each of those fights can carry anywhere between 70 to 400 people. So it's huge.
Now they're prepared to take in up to 5,000 people, possibly up to 7,500 if they can build those extra facilities tomorrow. But that is the top end of the capacity and they're filling up very quickly.
So the next question is going to be, what happens then? Where will evacuees go?
At the moment, they're just focused on getting those people safely here, medical checks, and giving them some place to rest, at least for the next few days -- Jim?
ACOSTA: All right, Atika Shubert, thank you so much for that update.
One of the first people to flee Afghanistan was the now-former president, Ashraf Ghani. We're now learning details about the days leading up to the end of
Ghani's government and why he was forced to flee with just the clothes on his back.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins me from Doha, Qatar, with his exclusive reporting.
Nick, this is great reporting. What have you learned about the final hours before Kabul fell?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Jim, it was an extraordinary moment, frankly, because it was the departure suddenly of Ashraf Ghani that left a vacuum into which the Taliban stepped.
Now, the thing that stuck in my mind from the conversations I've had is that the final demand for surrender to the Ghani government, which is part of the administration backed for 20 years by the United States, was in a conversation between a man called Hali Lakani (ph) and the national security adviser of Afghanistan.
Essentially, this is Lakani (ph), the man linked to al Qaeda, telling it was time for the U.S.'s-backed government to leave.
So this is essentially al Qaeda telling the U.S. to get out of town. That really struck me deeply.
And I think also from the conversations I've had it was interesting to hear that the administration massively underestimated quite how bad the impact was of the U.S. withdrawal on morale of Afghan troops.
But also, too, how the Taliban appeared to have sort of out-negotiated with tribes and local officials over a lengthy period of time, essentially meaning the collapse in Kabul was so much faster.
Why did Ghani leave? Well, lots of debates will continue around that.
But the former official I spoke to told me that essentially he would be presented with the idea of departure, heard gunfire at the palace gates, and realized that if he didn't go, there would be a lengthy battle for a city potentially of six million people.
I should point out this official, of course, was trying to justify the situation they left behind into which a Taliban very capably and swiftly stepped.
But one thing, I think, Jim, that's important to remember is this extraordinary visual of a man linked to the Haqqani Network, the al Qaeda group, going to the government here and saying you have to surrender.
Given how the U.S. came into Afghanistan to fight al Qaeda, the mere fact that someone linked to al Qaeda told them to leave or the government they were backing to leave is an extraordinary moment of sort of slightly absurd, maybe sickening poetry -- Jim? ACOSTA: Just a harrowing moment for the former Afghan president, as
you're reporting, Nick, fleeing with only the clothes on his back. That is very interesting stuff.
All right, Nick, keep us posted on everything.
Nick Paton Walsh with that exclusive reporting.
We'll be coming to Massachusetts in just a few moments. The governor there, Charlie Baker, is giving people in that state an update on the situation with Hurricane Henri as it continues to barrel towards southern New England ahead of an anticipated Sunday landfall.
Let's -- let's go to that now. Actually, let's go to that now.
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER (R-MA): -- for eastern Massachusetts and for most of Cape Cod and the islands.
Eastern Massachusetts shouldn't see the widespread hazardous driving conditions we were worried about yesterday.
[15:35:05]
But this is New England and it's hurricane season. So please continue to pay attention to your local weather alerts as the forecasts do tend to change.
There's still the possibility of widespread power outages in just about every part of the commonwealth due to high winds and the heavy rain.
Across Massachusetts, we will likely see tropical-storm-force winds, which will be somewhere in the vicinity of 40 miles an hour on a sustained basis throughout tomorrow.
Regardless of wherever you live, even if you don't normally lose power in a storm, you should be prepared to deal with the possibility that you could lose power in some areas for possibly an extended period of time.
Deputy MIMA director, Pat Carnevale, will have more to say on that in a minute.
Buzzard's Bay area could still see three to five-foot storm surges depending on the timing of the high tides. So everyone be on the lookout for minor flooding along the coast.
The same goes for some parts of Cape Cod and parts of the south coast, especially around Westport.
The new forecast also calls for significant rainfall Sunday into Monday, especially in Berkshire County, the Connecticut River Valley, and Worcester County.
The likelihood of flash flooding and washed-out roads are a distinct possibility in these areas, especially given all the rain we've seen in July and recently this week.
That means everybody there needs to use their heads as this storm moves through.
Roads may be flooded completely in some areas. Which means you shouldn't drive through them.
You should still prepare for the possibility of power outages here as well.
We're in touch with our partners throughout out of western and central Massachusetts and we'll be ready to assist with washed-out roads, debris cleanup, and power outages as they become necessary.
Given the new storm track, we won't be calling up any additional National Guard assets or personnel. The assets we currently have are moving closer to western Mass to assist there or central Mass if they're needed there.
State police will be redeploying their extra teams to those areas as well.
Looks like we'll avoid the worst of what we're preparing for tomorrow and Monday for most of the state. But everyone should still pay attention to the local weather alerts.
It's been a long time since Massachusetts has had to think about a hurricane making landfall here. The last one was 30 years ago.
While it looks like we'll avoid a direct hit, it's always a good idea to be prepared because predicting exactly where these go and how they play out and how long they stay is always an imperfect science.
I want to thank everybody from FEMA and the Coast Guard and our partners in local government for helping state government do what we needed to do to get ready and to work through this.
We plan and prepare for the worst and hope we never have to use those plans, and maybe that, in this particular time, that'll be the case.
But again, depending on the trajectory and the impact of the storm and how long it sticks around, we may still need to be able to assist some of our neighbors in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.
With that, I'll turn it over to DOT Secretary Jamey Tesler.
JAMEY TESLER, MASSACHUSETTS DOT SECRETARY: Thank you, Governor.
Good afternoon.
This remains a storm system to be taken seriously in Massachusetts. The National Weather Service says Henri is now tracking to hit -- to make landfall on Long Island or near Connecticut Sunday afternoon before moving into central Massachusetts and Berkshire County.
While Long Island and Connecticut will likely see the worst of this system, Massachusetts will still see significant impacts with heavy rainfall and gusty winds across mainly western and central regions of the state.
Residents and counties west of Worcester to the New York border late Sunday into Monday may find roads that are impassable due to fallen power lines, tree debris, and flooding.
Drivers should be especially mindful and avoid driving into flood waters. Waters can be deeper than they appear, have strong currents, and may have hidden hazard like washouts, downed electrical wires or tree branches.
Just six inches of water can stall passenger cars and create a hazard for drivers and first responders.
Communities in coastal areas, especially Buzzard's Bay communities and southern areas of Cape Cod, as well as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, may experience storm surges.
In addition, coastal areas that get flooded during severe weather may be flooded, including Winthrop Parkway in Revere, where DCR announced the floodgate will be closed Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
[15:40:05]
This will mean Winthrop Parkway is closed between Broad Sound Avenue and Endicott Avenue from Sunday at 11:00 a.m. through Monday morning.
The High Line and Steamship Authority service to and from the islands may be interrupted. Those customers should check schedules ahead of time on Sunday and Monday as the situation is changing --
ACOSTA: And you were just listening to the officials from Massachusetts updating on Hurricane Henri. Of course, it's heading to that region, and so people there are getting prepared as we speak.
I want to bring in CNN's Chad Myers, who's covered so many of these storms over the years.
Chad, give us the latest on this forecast.
And what are your thoughts in terms of are we going to see this make landfall as a hurricane or might it potentially weaken as they move toward the northeast and those colder waters?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Sometimes they can weaken, Jim, because the gulf stream kind of comes out like this.
By the time the storm gets into this colder water, which is not the gulf stream, temperatures are about five degrees colder there. So the storm probably won't get stronger.
I'm not convinced it's going to get weaker. I'm just convinced it's not going to get stronger from there.
There's a couple things going on with this storm that we don't always have to talk about, but this time we do.
There's going to be significant storm surge in Long Island Sound, near the bay. There's going to surge along the south shore of Long Island.
And there's also going to be maybe hundreds of thousands, if not millions of trees toppled or at least losing branches because of this storm.
People say, oh, this isn't worse than a nor'easter. Yes, it is. Because the leaves are still on the trees. You've had about 10 to 15 inches of rain in the past two months. The ground is saturated.
And these trees with the leaves on are going to be more wind resistant and these leaves and trees are going to fall down.
That's going to bring down so many power lines, it may take days if not longer than that, it may take weeks to get all the power back up because there are so many power lines down.
Obviously, we're watching for the big celebration in New York. Not seeing anything significant when it comes to lightning. That's our real threat today. But that may be late, late, late tonight so we're good with that.
Also hurricane warnings are in effect. But storm surge warnings are also still in effect.
Because this is going to bring a bubble of water probably five feet deep. Five feet deeper than high tide.
What else is going on? It's full moon. The full moon is going to make a higher high tide. You talk about a five-foot surge on top of the high tide, some of these communities will be inundated with water that typically don't get anything like that.
Eventually, it moves out to the ocean, not after, though, at least six to 10 inches of rainfall that will come into these areas that had too much this month already -- Jim?
ACOSTA: Absolutely. The people who live in those areas, please get ready for this.
MYERS: Yes.
ACOSTA: As Chad was saying, it could be the unforeseen consequences of all of this that happen, trees falling over and so on. You may not think about that. But that is something to prepare for.
All right, Chad Myers, thank you so much.
Chad mentioned what's happening in New York City coming up. We're minutes away from CNN's exclusive coverage of New York City's big homecoming concert.
Some of music's biggest stars, including Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Jennifer Hudson, will soon take the stage to celebrate the Big Apple's big comeback. We'll be bringing it to you live right here on CNN.
But first, let's check in with CNN's Athena Jones. She joins me live from New York's Central Park.
The weather looks pretty good there, Athena. We're getting closer to concern time.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: What's the mood? What are you seeing?
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jim. A lot of excitement here. People have been lining up since 4:00 a.m. When we arrived several hours ago, the block at this west side entrance for general admission was several blocks long.
Here's the important thing. This concert is ticketed for 60,000 people. Every single one of them who is an adult is going to have to show proof of vaccination.
Everyone of eligible vaccination age is going to have to show proof of vaccination, whether it's a CDC vaccination card, it can be the New York State Excelsior App on your phone, a New York City COVID Safe App on the phone.
And you have to show your vaccine card and your I.D. There's a check here. There will also be a check down the way.
If you are under 12, children under 12 have to present a negative COVID test from the last 72 hours and wear a mask since they are too young to be vaccinated.
Organizers of this concert wanted to do something for the people of New York.
Mayor Bill De Blasio calling this homecoming concert a celebration of the city. He called it a historic monumental moment for this city in celebration of working families who went through so much during this past year or more of the pandemic.
They know that they cannot make the concert absolutely risk free, but they are mitigating the risk by having it outdoors, by demanding everyone showing up, they had at least one shot of vaccination and prove it several times in order to attend this concert.
And so they're hoping this is going to be exactly that, a celebration that's a healthy one -- Jim?
[15:44:58]
ACOSTA: Yes. And, Athena, I love that we are having the connection here between getting vaccinated and getting to go to fun stuff, like this concert that's coming up this evening.
All right, Athena Jones, thank you so much. Great to see you. Appreciate it. Be sure to tune in, "We Love New York City." It's true, we love New
York City. It's also the name of this concert. The homecoming concert gets started at 5:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:01]
Former President Donald Trump heads to Alabama today, the country's least-vaccinated state, to hold a Save America rally.
CNN's Joe Johns and Donie O'Sullivan are both in Coleman, Alabama, where Trump is set to speak later tonight.
Joe, let me start with you.
Alabama is getting pummeled, as you know, right now, by COVID. I suppose this is an opportunity for Trump to promote the vaccine. I guess we should hope he just does the right thing here?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I wouldn't bet on it if I were you, Jim.
Look, Coleman, Alabama, is about the Trumpiest congressional district in all of Trump world. And I can tell you this state has enormous problems with COVID.
In fact, Alabama is the least vaccinated of all the states in the United States.
And it is so bad that leaders of Coleman, political leaders actually declared a local state of emergency to make it so that the emergency personnel here can handle anything that happens, given the fact that hospitals are so tied up with COVID patients.
There are no ICU beds basically in the whole state.
Now, this is certainly important because we see a huge number of people coming in here despite the fact that a storm that's looming overhead.
I just see thousands and thousands of people filing in to see Donald Trump later this evening.
Of course, the question that has been raised, especially by some Democrats, is whether Alabama is headed for an enormous super-spreader event -- Jim?
ACOSTA: And, Donie, you were at the Iowa State Fair. You talked to Trump supporters there. What did they tell you?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Jim, speaking to Trump supporters in here in Iowa and speaking to Trump supporters here outside his rally today, the vast, vast, vast majority of them are not getting vaccinated.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not vaccinated and I'm not going to get vaccinated.
Our days are numbered. It doesn't matter, COVID. I go in that truck and going down the highway and can get hit by a semi, T-boned and killed. It don't matter, you know?
Life is what it is. We take it how God gave it to us.
O'SULLIVAN: But you wear a seatbelt, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But a 50/50 chance that it will save you or it won't save you.
O'SULLIVAN: But isn't that sort of like taking a vaccine? You take the steps to protect yourself --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
O'SULLIVAN: No?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I'm not taking the jab.
O'SULLIVAN: You know, there's parts of the country that you can't go into restaurants and bars unless you're vaccinated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't need restaurants and bars. Hell, I don't drink. I don't even go to restaurants. I go shoot my dinner.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just saying.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, there's millions of guns here.
You know, it took 11 days for them to take over Afghanistan. I wonder how many days -- just ask your friends how many days it takes patriots to take over this country. Think about it.
O'SULLIVAN: You don't want that to happen here, do you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want it to happen. But if our country and our government and our Congress and Biden don't get their heads out of their butt, it is going to happen. I assure you, it's coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: Jim, a lot to unpack there obviously.
But what I've heard from that man and what we have been hearing throughout this year is folks, some Trump supporters looking at government overthrows in different parts of the world.
A few months ago, it was Myanmar. Now looking at the situation with the Taliban. And folks are sort of looking at that as almost a model, an aspiration for what could happen in this country.
It is really surreal and quite chilling to hear.
ACOSTA: I thought the fact he is not getting vaccinated was the most disturbing part of the interview until we got to the end there.
Donie O'Sullivan, along with our Joe Johns, who's doing great work out there. Stay safe, guys. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.
In Afghanistan, the 2014 "CNN Hero of the Year" is in Kabul, working to evacuate nearly 200 dogs and cats by cargo plane. He spoke with CNN days before the Taliban entered Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEN FARTHING, 2014 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: I announced that before the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, I was actually progressing extremely well.
Hey, guys. Hello.
We have over 140 dogs in our care and we have 50 cats. Donkey sanctuary, first of its kind in Afghanistan.
So we were really being recognized by the community. And we just employed our third female Afghan national as a veterinarian. And we are proud of that.
You know, there are young girls who work for us, young woman work for the other organizations.
They believed they had a future. And now suddenly, in a matter of literally weeks, that has just been ripped apart. And I cannot believe that the West is allowing that to happen.
You go to any country in the West and people talk about women's rights, women's equality, yet we almost had that here in Afghanistan and we've just thrown it away.
So I would ask everybody, please, don't give up on Afghanistan yet.
(BARKING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:55:04] ACOSTA: And go to CNNheroes.com for more.
And let's remember our heroes who are there now evacuating Americans and evacuating our Afghan partners as we speak. We appreciate all of their help to this country. We appreciate their service.
That's the news. I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
Up next, CNN's Anderson Cooper is live as we count down to that once- in-a-lifetime concert event, "We Love New York City."
Have a good evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
