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Henri Makes Landfall in Rhode Island, 40 Million-Plus In Storm's Path; Sources Say The Gates Are Closed, Families Are Separated at Kabul's Airport; F.A.A. Proposes $500K Fines Against Unruly Passengers. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 22, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: And you are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta joining you live from New York City. One hour from now, President Biden will again be addressing the nation. He will provide an update on the mass evacuation underway in Afghanistan, as well as the ongoing response to Tropical Storm Henri, we will bring you that live.

And right now, we are tracking Henri. The storm made landfall in Rhode Island a short time ago, this is the scene in New Port, wind gusts up to nearly 70 miles per hour bashing the coast and heavy rains hammering the northeast.

[15:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: These conditions already resulting in 100,000 people without power across the region, and that number could go way up. The Rhode Island Governor says more than 100,000 people in that state alone could lose power.

On top of that, flooding is expected all the way from southern New England to eastern Pennsylvania, potentially affecting some 40 million people in the coming days.

Let's go first to our Brian Todd. He joins me live from Connecticut. Brian, what do you see in there?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, we're in New London, Connecticut. We've been in Groton and New London as the storm has passed. Now we're kind of tracking through the aftermath of Tropical Storm Henri as it passed through here a couple of hours ago.

Now I just talked to the Fire Chief here in New London, Connecticut, he believes that they by and large, dodged the bullet, but some houses were not able to dodge that bullet and this is one of them on Montauk Avenue. Check this out.

You've got a large tree here behind me that just came down squarely on top of this house here. If you can see, it's kind of almost embedded in the roof up there. And another part of the tree came down right here as well, and you've got some down lines here. I'm told this as a cable TV line, probably. But there are power lines down right around this house. So, I've got the owner of the house, Nate Hall here. Nate, you were

here when this happened. Tell us what it was like.

NATE HALL, HOMEOWNER: There was a thud, I was upstairs. I felt a shudder. I knew it was probably a tree. So, I went over to this window looked out and I can see that tree down there. But the funny thing is, I think this house built in 1895 is so sturdy, that even though that thing built up some speed and hit the side of the covered porch, it actually broke off a piece of the tree and stopped right there. There's no damage other than just the front of the porch.

TODD: What was going through your mind? Were you thinking, "I've got to get out of here. I could be hurt."

HALL: No, I just went outside to see what the damage was, which -- I was more worried about the power line which came down.

TODD: And obviously, what are you going to try to do to try to get past this and rebuild? You've got to get obviously some crews here to clear this first.

HALL: Right, right. You know, hopefully, they'll take care of the people that need the help really badly first, and then after that, I'm sure they'll come out. I'll have insurance come help me out and we'll take care of it.

TODD: All right, thanks for talking to us, Nate, and good luck with that repair. It looks -- it looks pretty bad here. But again, the structure, as Nate says, pretty solid in this house built in the 1800s.

I can show you over here as well. Nate was telling me that this power line here if you see these kind of dangling wires and other things and other apparatus up there, that's where the power got knocked out. So, the power on this street is knocked out.

You see this wire here behind me, this may or may not be a power wire. I am told it might be a cable TV wire. So, it may not be quite as dangerous. But this is kind of what people are going through, Jim as they are picking through the remnants of this storm.

You know, again, by and large, New London, Connecticut and Groton, they did dodge some of the flooding that they were worried about and some of the storm surge. They're not quite past the storm yet. There might be a couple of bands that hit this place, and you've got low lying areas near water that they've got to comb through and check out.

There were mandatory evacuations ordered yesterday, and the Mayor of Groton told us a short time ago, they're going to send their teams out to comb through those neighborhoods now and see if there any other areas like this -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, sounds good, Brian Todd. It doesn't look so bad there. Hopefully, it'll stay that way. It looks like a job they can handle at this point.

Brian Todd, thanks so much there in Connecticut.

Let's check in with CNN's Derek Van Dam. He is in Newport, Rhode Island. Derek, the Governor there says he expects more than 100,000 people to lose power in his state. What are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, current number is at 78,000, across the state with fallen trees, especially near the coastline. I'm located in Newport, obviously close to the coast. And you can see no trees behind me that have fallen down, good news.

And for the most part, this area has gotten past the storm, I've taken off and shed my rain gear, which should be a sign that the rain has ended. But maybe perhaps I'm shooting myself in the foot because of course, there still could be the potential of more rain.

The threats going forward for this area as the potential for more trees to fall over, knocking out power to communities, and the reason being is that we still have our full foliage and all the trees here. It's height of the tourist season, it is mid-August, mid-summer here and that means, it doesn't take much to knock over branches, knock over trees, especially in this saturated environment that we've had.

Going forward though, the temperatures here are going to warm up. It's hot by New England standards for the next coming days. We're going to work our way into the middle and upper 80s come this week, and anyone who is leftover without power is going to have to deal with the fact that they won't have the potential to cool themselves off with air conditioning.

Residents here you know, that's the last thing they need, especially after such a difficult past 24 hours really, but for the most part, we were spared the worst from Tropical Storm Henri. If you think about what happened, the cool waters right along the coast of New England, spared us it actually allowed for that storm to kind of disorganize and weaken as it approached southern New England.

Good news, because of course it could have been a lot worse when it was at hurricane status earlier yesterday.

Jim, back to you.

ACOSTA: Okay, thanks for that update, Derek, from where you are. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much.

Now, let's go to CNN's Miguel Marquez who is in the great town of Montauk, New York. Miguel a little dicier where you are, but not too terrible. How are things going where you are?

[15:05:10]

MARQUEZ: Yes, look, we have had sort of bands of rain and wind and sun for several hours now. Now, we are in sort of a band of wind as that storm has moved north of here, it's coming back around and starting to hit us here.

I want to show you what the seas look like. We're on the southern end of Long Island here, all the way on the east side of the island of Montauk. And that's what the seas are looking like. Now, they're a little lower than they were earlier.

One thing that really helped with this storm is that when the low tide came in, just as the worst of the storm was going by the east end of Long Island, and that kept the flooding to a minimum, we drove all over this east end of Long Island, and we saw very little damage, very little flooding, some local stuff, but nothing that people don't deal with here during storms as well.

Amazingly, and we probably can't show it to you, there are people out here that are doing some kite surfing at the moment, which -- Steve, can you can you actually go out there and see this person? There's about two or three people kite surfing. This guy has been cruising along here.

These waves, as they come in are probably four or five feet. Out farther, they look a little bigger than that, but just amazing that someone would be out there in this weather. I mean, the wind is quite intense right now. The waves are big. The rip tides here can be intense as well. So, that is clearly somebody who is very comfortable doing that and is probably extremely strong as well.

So good luck to them. It's a good day for kite surfing, if that's what you are into.

But my guess is, they're going to have several more hours of this sort of weather where you have everything from literally sun to some rain to lots of wind before this thing blows through -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, I hope that young man stay safe out there, and you as well, Miguel Marquez. We appreciate all that work. Thanks so much.

Coming up, we are standing by to hear from President Biden on both the storm, as well as the crisis in Afghanistan, 20,000 people now waiting at Kabul's airport to board evacuation flights and threats posed by the Taliban and ISIS. How fast can the U.S. get them out?

Plus, an image of hope, the incredible story of how a crew delivered the baby of an Afghan evacuee who went into labor midflight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:11:32]

ACOSTA: And we want to update you now on the crisis in Afghanistan. The Pentagon says several commercial airlines, including Delta, American, and United will all help with the evacuation efforts, a source telling CNN that the number of people waiting to board evacuation flights from Kabul's Airport has now swelled to 20,000 people. On top of that, there is another 2,000 waiting just outside the airport gates.

They are, of course, desperate to get in, according to the Secretary of State; 8,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul on about 60 different flights in the last 24 hours. And we should also tell you, President Biden is set to address the nation in about 45 minutes from now about the crisis. We'll bring you that live, of course, when it happens.

But in the meantime, let's check in with CNN's Sam Kiley. He is at the airport in Kabul and joins me now by phone.

Sam, we learned yesterday that the U.S. is looking for alternate routes to the airport because of threats from ISIS. What have you been seeing and hearing on the ground today? And are they moving people under the cover of darkness as we speak at this hour?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, I can certainly say, Jim that there has been a very substantial increase clearly in flights, and we've seen that with our own eyes with C-17 aircrafts and Hercules aircrafts, the big flying Land Rover of the military coming and going and large queues of hundreds and hundreds of Afghans, some of them smiling, some of them crying are getting on these aircraft saying goodbye to their country, perhaps forever.

It's been a very moving series of scenes. It does seem though that the speed of the evacuation is picking up. It's now dark, but the flights are continuing, but this is what it looked like earlier in the day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KILEY (on camera): We've landed just a few moments ago here at Kabul International Airport, and clearly, the pace of evacuation has been picking up. There are planes leaving pretty regularly now, and large numbers of refugees of evacuees getting ready to get on those flights.

This is a group that are heading into Qatar, where they're hoping then to either stay there or move on. Deon, you're about to leave. What is going through your mind and your heart at the moment?

DEON: Yes, actually, I've told this many times with others. That right now I have a mixed feeling of being a journalist myself, probably I'm lucky enough to leave because of a lot of threats that exist here.

But I'm also leaving a family, a whole family behind and that's a lot of friends behind. And also most of -- I mean, most importantly, my city, Kabul, that I've been raised and born here. That's really -- it seems that I'm just picking one piece of my soul, but leaving a lot of pieces, just back at home.

So, it's really strange. I don't know how to describe this. Am I happy? Am I sad?

With this government, with these new rulers, I'm sure they will not leave us any space to be here.

KILEY: That must break your heart.

DEON: Of course, certainly that is already broken, but you know, that's the reality. KILEY: Your heart is already broken.

DEON: Yes. Yes.

KILEY: Good luck.

It's not just the personal tragedies that are so heartbreaking here. It is the tragedy of Afghanistan itself. For 20 years, so many millions of people believe that they would receive Western support, they believed in the evolution of female education, of the arts, of cinema. They thought they had a future. Now, that future is getting on aircraft and leaving.

As one of the evacuees just said to me, Afghanistan is seeing a total brain drain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:15:24]

KILEY (via phone): Now, Jim, clearly the evacuation is going well, but this is in an atmosphere of very substantially increased tensions with The Pentagon, saying that there is a persistent and real threat from the so-called Islamic State, the ISIS, of course, as a group as it's called here, DAESH, as they call it, clearly a target that both the Taliban and the Americans there could be struck with these thousands of people gathering outside the airport, trying to flee.

There has been good liaison between the British and Americans who are running most of the evacuations here and the Taliban with the Taliban desperately trying to paint themselves as a more moderate creature from the one that ruled this country in the late 90s.

But, Jim, these alternative routes are being kept very secret by the United States as they continue to bring people in. We have seen people coming in from unexplained directions, and they are keeping that very secret for very obvious reasons, I think principally because of the fear of this ISIS potential attack, which is really genuinely making people here pretty jittery -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, and it's certainly something to keep our eyes on and we'll do that and I know you will as well. Sam Kiley, thanks so much, reporting to us from Kabul.

The pictures and the stories, they only capture a glimpse of the desperation unfolding in Afghanistan. For one pregnant Afghan mother, escaping was about ensuring a better life for her baby girl. She went into labor on a U.S. military flight, bringing her and other evacuees to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

CNN's Atika Shubert joins us now from Ramstein with that story. Atika, this is just an incredible story that this baby was delivered in the care of U.S. military forces.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the flight was actually coming in from Doha. And in the middle of the flight, the mother went into labor and there were complications and according to Air Mobility Command, the airplane commander took a decision to actually decrease altitude to try and increase the air pressure in the cabin and that according to Air Mobility Command may have saved her life.

Then, when they landed at Ramstein Air Base here, the Medical Group rushed into the plane to help deliver the baby safely. They didn't have time to move her. So, the mother delivered the baby in the cargo bay of the plane. It was pretty incredible.

So, that's good news for at least one family. They are now safe and healthy. Mother and baby at a local hospital here. But the flights are continuing to arrive to the Ramstein Air Base. There are now more than 6,000 evacuees stationed here.

ACOSTA: Just wonderful, that story, Atika. Thank you so much for that. We appreciate that update.

For more information on how you can help those affected by the crisis in Afghanistan, log on to cnn.com/impact. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:56]

ACOSTA: New numbers from the government show almost 4,000 incidents of unruly airline passengers so far this year and as CNN's Pete Muntean reports, acting up on a plane not only can get you in trouble, it can hit you in the wallet big time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 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 a half million dollars in new fines, bringing the total to more than a million dollars, since the agency enacted a zero tolerance policy earlier this year.

SARA NELSON, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS-CWA, AFL-CIO: People need to understand that there are severe consequences here.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Flight crews have reported 3,800 incidents of unruly passengers to the F.A.A. just this year, but the agency has initiated enforcement action in only 120 cases. Now, some in Congress say the F.A.A.'s power to punish is too limited and the F.B.I. should pursue putting passengers in prison. REP. PETER DEFAZIO (D-OR): The first time we take one of these jerks,

who are, you know, assaulting flight attendants and/or attempting to take an aircraft down, then, you know, and they go away for a few years and they get a massive fine. I think that'll send a message to others out there who are thinking about acting out.

MUNTEAN (voice over): The largest new fine proposed by the F.A.A. 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 F.A.A. is pleading with airports to crack down on to-go alcohol sales, to help ground unruly passengers before they ever get in the air.

[15:25:10]

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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And our thanks to Pete Muntean for that report.

Coming up, we will be checking in on the situation in Tennessee, also keeping an eye on what's happening in Afghanistan. Veterans are joining forces to pool their resources to get Afghans through the gates to the Kabul Airport, one of those veterans joins me live next. It's an incredible story of patriotism.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:11]

ACOSTA: The situation on the ground in Afghanistan increasingly dire, a group of military veterans are mobilizing online to help desperate Afghans get through the gates of the Kabul Airport using all of their connections and the power of the Internet. They've been able to coordinate with people on the ground thousands of miles away and save those who could otherwise be prime targets for the Taliban.

Joining me now is one of the veterans helping in this mission, Lieutenant Colonel Tripp Adams, he's a reservist in the U.S. Army. Colonel, thanks so much for joining us. One veteran, one of your colleagues said this was sort of like operating a giant claw game from 7,000 miles away. I'm sure it's much more complicated than that. But tell us about this effort. What's it been like putting it together and why you're doing it? LT. COL. TRIPP ADAMS, U.S. ARMY, PART OF #AFGHANEVAC" GROUP: Sure,

Jim. So, why we're doing it? We're doing it because the administration is saying things just don't seem to match the facts on the ground. There's a real throughput issue and there is a coordination issue.

We're just not seeing the planes, we need to get our folks out. All of these -- not just American citizens, but Afghan allies, and the coordination, there is just a real severe lack of coordination, resulting in confusion and fear for not just Americans, but also Afghans on the ground.

And so you're seeing not just veterans, but State Department folks in their official and personal capacities, who are coming together through different organizations across the Internet to help guide these folks to the airport and rescue them.

ACOSTA: And so basically, you're talking to your contacts on the ground and coordinating flights, essentially, for these folks, so people know where they're going when they get to the airport, that sort of thing?

ADAMS: Yes, I think that the lack of coordination between DoD - the Department of Defense and Department of State, we're seeing a lot of confusion from all of the folks that we're talking to on the ground. These are both American citizens who are stranded outside the airport and these are Afghan allies who have served for 20 years to help us in fighting the Taliban.

And, you know, because of that confusion, you have folks like myself and thousands like me who are stepping up to guide these folks how to get to the airport, how to safely navigate the checkpoints, and how to get through onto the airfield, and then get outside and back to safety.

ACOSTA: Yes, I've seen it described as sort of a digital Dunkirk what is taking place right now with you and some of your friends and colleagues.

When you first saw those pictures of Afghans clinging to the bottom of a U.S. military plane wanting to be on it, desperate to be on it, doing anything to be on it. What was going through your mind? What was going through the minds of your friends who put together this effort? Is that sort of when sort of organically you decided, hey, let's try to lend a hand here.

ADAMS: Jim, I think it started many years ago. Folks, like No One Left Behind and Human Rights First have been fighting to get our allies out for years. And I think, as we saw it fall apart in Afghanistan, more and more folks stepped up, and what's going through our minds? It's not just a disaster on the ground in Afghanistan, it's a mental trauma disaster playing out in veterans across the United States.

You know, people are getting text messages from their interpreters, and the people that they served with, they took, you know, they defended, and they're saying, thanks so much. I know you did everything you could to help me. I don't blame you. But it doesn't look like I'm getting out. And unless something changes drastically, in the next, you know week, we're going to leave tens of thousands of these people behind.

So many of the different organizations I'm working with, whether it's No One Left Behind, the Truman National Security Project, you know, a group of West Point alums, everyone coming together, we're doing everything we can to work within the State Department's guidelines, get these folks to the airport and get them out.

ACOSTA: Let me ask you about that, because we're now hearing that the U.S. is trying to establish alternate routes to the Kabul Airport because of the threat from ISIS. On top of that, we're seeing these chaotic scenes like Taliban fighters firing into the crowd, pushing people away from the airport.

What have you been hearing about how difficult it is for someone to get to the right airport gate? Because that appears to be the source of so much of this confusion.

ADAMS: Jim, it's tragic. It's horrible. I have chat open right now, and I've got literally thousands of chats coming up and when people reach out to us, even American citizens, getting them to the gates is -- it's a crapshoot, Jim.

You know, on Thursday night, it was our worst day, maybe one in 30 of them that we got to the gate could get through. We're talking about even American citizens getting up to the gate and because of that throughput issue, and the lack of coordination in the interagency, folks are just not getting through.

And if that math problem doesn't work out, if we're leaving by the 31st, we will not get out all the Americans we need to and we absolutely won't get out all of our allies who've served with us for 20 years.

[15:35:00]

ACOSTA: And of course, the President has said if we don't have everybody out by the 31st, this mission, this operation is going to continue.

As you may know, we're going to be hearing from President Biden at the top of the hour -- scheduled to hear from him at the top of the hour. As a veteran, what would you like to hear from him? What does he need to say to communicate to the American people the reality of the situation that we're seeing on the ground? Because obviously, what you're describing, Colonel, is a lot more dire, quite frankly than what we're hearing from the administration right now.

So what would you like to hear from the President?

ADAMS: I would like two things, you know, as a veteran and my personal capacity, I'd like his recognition of the facts on the ground. Things don't match what he has said in his speeches before, and so I'd like to see him recognize that Americans are getting harassed, they are not getting through, and that there doesn't seem to have a plan.

And then I'd like what is the plan to increase throughput? How are we going to get not just Americans out, but these allies who have served with us for 20 years? Where's the plan? Let's step up and get some leadership and rescue our people.

ACOSTA: Well, in the meantime, Colonel Tripp Adams, we appreciate the work you're doing and you and your friends are stepping up and trying to lend a hand just like you did when you were serving this country overseas. Appreciate that effort so much, and thanks for being on with us this afternoon. We appreciate it.

ADAMS: Jim, thank you so much for highlighting us.

ACOSTA: All right. Hats off to you, guys. Keep up the good work. Thanks so much.

Up next, we'll get the latest forecast on Tropical Storm Henri as flash flood warnings are now being issued. That's next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:04]

ACOSTA: Breaking news from Tennessee. Sixteen people are dead and 51 others missing after torrential rainfall activity there triggered a catastrophic flooding. This is Humphreys County. Just look at this video about an hour outside of Nashville.

The National Weather Service reports 17 inches of rainfall, shattering a record dating back to 1982. You can see some of the footage here that is just coming in. Cars have been tossed around. Big, big puddles of water on the side of the road and even whole structures have been moved downstream of these floodwaters.

Just incredible images that we're seeing now coming in from this area of Tennessee. The Tennessee National Guard has been deployed to help with search and rescue efforts, and we're told at this hour -- oh my goodness, you can see some of the cars right there, just lying in ditches, piled on top of one another because of the strong floodwaters that have come through this parts -- this part of Tennessee.

We're keeping an eye on that are, sending a crew to get some more information for us on the ground. That's upcoming later on in the show. We'll keep you posted on that.

We're also tracking Tropical Storm Henri, which is packing strong wind and heavy rain in the northeast. A Flash Flood Warning is now in effect for New York City and western Long Island. Let's check in with Tom Sater at the CNN Weather Center. Tom, what's the latest right now?

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the system is really slowing down, Jim. Yesterday, we had a forward speed of 20 miles per hour. It's really put on the brakes. It's only nine miles per hour now and that's the fear that even though the system is going to continue to weaken, it still is carrying with it the energy had had offshore. So, it could generate still some heavy rainfall.

We have two concerns here. To the east and to that northeastern quadrant, this is where we have the stronger winds and we're seeing, of course, power outages. But the rain problem to the southwestern flank is a big, big concern.

Now, we've had some gusts easily strong enough to knock power out. We're not going to contend with that so much even though sustained winds are at 50 miles per hour, we could have some stronger gusts. But this is a look at where most of the power outages are. If it's highlighted in yellow, like Massachusetts and Connecticut, you've got over 10,000 without power; in orange here, Rhode Island, you've got over 50,000.

They've actually been able -- crews -- to get in and restore power to some because all of the rain is on that western flank. These tropical storm warnings will most likely be lifted sometime in the 5:00 p.m. hour and the advisory, we will be waiting then.

All storm surge warnings have been discontinued. But here's the big concern. In dark green, a flood watch. When you have areas of light green, this is river flooding in Central New Jersey, so the streams and rivers are running high. There will be more of this color added to this map in a while, but I want to point and highlight the red. These are flash flood warnings extending now into South Central Massachusetts, across central and northern areas of Connecticut to the south, but a new one has been posted. And this one, this actually broke into two sections.

The one area of red here, including you can see areas of you know southern New York into northern New Jersey, including Yonkers to Brooklyn, Manhattan, there's 11 million people under this flash flood warning until 5:45.

Another one has been added to the east, another three million here in Long Island. This is a big concern because when you look at the radar, the problem is with all this rain on the western flank and all of the energy spinning around counterclockwise, it is pulling these bands down of moderate and even somewhat heavy rainfall to an area to the south.

But look closely. This started last night when the concert was going on. It actually looked like the rain was going to end in 20 minutes, but it kept back building. Now, what we have is a defined line from Allentown over toward Middletown, and it's not continuing its movement southward.

We've got a storm system -- it is actually an area of low pressure, mid-levels of the atmosphere down in Delmarva, so the winds are coming up from the south, stunting that movement, but it is also enhancing lift in the atmosphere.

This is going to be a concern for the rest of the day and through the night. Yes, we have seen six, seven, eight, nine inches of rainfall, we're expecting by the time this is over with to see ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen -- we could see fifteen to sixteen inch totals out of this.

[15:45:17]

SATER: So urban flooding is a big, big concern for millions in the areas of the northeast. Really concerned about that.

Back out to our center where the core of energy is now spinning, hard to detect where the center is. We believe it's still areas down to the southeast somewhat, maybe in eastern Connecticut as it is lifting upward.

But again, crews have been able to get out where downed trees have been found, and without the rainfall. The crews can't get on their cherry pickers because the wind gusts is still a concern, but at least they're able to get ahead of the power outages that are there, start to restore them.

The big concern is and always has been the amount of rain we're going to see not just in the New York City area and northern New Jersey which could see fourteen and fifteen inches, but extending up and to the north and northeast as the system only moving nine miles per hour, puts on its brakes and makes that dogleg to the right.

So, it's not over with, but at least good news, we are not seeing the number of power outages that were expected with the winds. Surge is over with. Rain is going to go on for a while.

It's a deadly situation really in the cities, many of them up here in the Northeast Corridor.

ACOSTA: Yes, Tom, a lot of communities are getting soaked right now and that is something we absolutely have to stay on top of. Tom Sater, thanks so much.

And a quick programming note, sitcoms are the ultimate comedy comfort food, but what sitcoms offer escape from and what they offer escape to reveal a lot about the state of the American mind and the state of the sitcom form itself.

Here's a preview of the series finale of "The History of the Sitcom."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was really on the cutting edge of escapism for an American audience that was hungry for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The communist rulers of East Berlin reinforced their barricades --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the early and mid-60s, there's so much turmoil in terms of the Civil Rights Movement, in terms of Vietnam. There's a real crisis of identity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there is a pattern in American entertainment of when things get really serious, we've got to get silly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: A brand-new episode of "History the Sitcom" airs tonight at nine right here on CNN.

Coming up, Operation Warp Speed to accelerate development of a COVID vaccine was part, a big part of Donald Trump's administration. Yet, when the former President encouraged his supporters to get vaccinated this weekend, boos rang out. Find out what happened after that.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:22]

ACOSTA: In a flashback to 2020 last night, former President Donald Trump held a rally in a state being ravaged by COVID. This time, it was a rally in Alabama, which has the lowest vaccination rate in the country and is out of ICU beds.

At one point, Trump did urge attendees to get vaccinated, but then he backed off after some of the MAGA faithful, booed. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I recommend take the vaccines. I did it. It's good. Take the vaccines, but you got --

[BOOING]

TRUMP: Now, that's okay. That's all right. You've got your freedoms, but I happened to take the vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Not exactly a ringing endorsement. All right, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan is in Alabama where he covered Trump yesterday. Donie, Trump politicized COVID prevention measures as we know, when he was in office. He got the vaccine in secret, we didn't even know about it before he left office. Now, he is seeing the consequences of that it seems.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim, I mean, it's really remarkable there to hear the boos and the crowd going silent, essentially, when Trump mentioned the vaccine, and look, Trump can take a lot of credit for this vaccine. And we know Trump likes to take credit where he can, and sometimes even where you can't.

But he knows that in this situation, so much of his base are so, so against this vaccine, and that is I think, really a sort of -- it's an example of the base sort of controlling Trump rather than the other way around.

One thing that we've heard from Trump supporters across the country in the past few months, is that they don't want to take the vaccine until it gets full government approval. The Pfizer jab is reportedly expected to get that full F.D.A. approval this week, and we asked some people about that. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'SULLIVAN: May I ask, have you got your vaccine shot?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope. I don't want it.

O'SULLIVAN: No? Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They ain't tested it enough for my opinion.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes. The Pfizer shots is about to get full F.D.A. approval, would that change your opinion on it at all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not until they do a whole lot more investigating and knowing.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing is going in me until then.

O'SULLIVAN: Right. Do you think that would take a long time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 10 years or so?

O'SULLIVAN: Okay. There's a big surge in COVID cases here in your county at the moment. Have you guys been vaccinated?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

O'SULLIVAN: You both decided to get the vaccine?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

O'SULLIVAN: Some Trump supporters have, and some Trump supporters have -- why did you guys ultimately decide to get the shot?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just felt it was the right thing to do.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Protection.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Added protection. Do anything we can do to be protected.

[15:55:05]

O'SULLIVAN: Yes. Do you have any friends or neighbors who decided not to take the shot? Have you tried to encourage any folks, you know, family to get the shot?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tried to encourage most of our kin, but you don't want to do so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'SULLIVAN: That couple there, Jim, and a very small minority of Trump supporters we've met who have got the shot. And we spoke to a local health official here this morning, who is very, very concerned about last night's event.

There was a very, very big crowd there. And she said, with COVID cases being so high in this state at the moment and a high concentration of vaccinated people, she expects to see cases come out -- come as a result of that rally last night.

ACOSTA: And Donie, Trump also continued his tradition of praising questionable people. Tell us about that.

O'SULLIVAN: That's right. Yes, Trump had a lot to say about Afghanistan and the Taliban last night blaming the Biden administration and calling out what he described as the woke generals for their mismanagement of Afghanistan. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This isn't stopping. This is going to go on for a long time. This is going to go on for a long time. This isn't going away.

This isn't like a three-day hit. It is going to go on for a long time. Taliban, great negotiators, tough fighters, great negotiators. At 45,000 people, you've got a lot of people also that deserve to be helped and they're not going to let them be helped at all.

This is going to go on for a long time. It's a great stain on the reputation of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN: Tough fighters and great negotiators are the Taliban says Trump, and as you heard there, he mentioned this is going to go on for a very, very long time. I think he very much wants to make this an issue for next year's midterms and going into 2024 as well.

ACOSTA: And of course, Donie, Trump is leaving out the fact that it was his administration that cut this deal with the Taliban, that he almost invited the Taliban -- he did invite the Taliban to Camp David, but he pulled back that invitation and that his own Secretary of State cut a deal with the Taliban that was later described as a surrender agreement by the former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.

So you can see Trump right there playing revisionist history and try to wash his hands of what's happening right now. Of course, he can't do that. Donie O'Sullivan, thanks so much. We appreciate that report. Great work as always. Good to see you.

As COVID cases surge in Florida and Texas, the Republican governors of those states are touting an antibody treatment called Regeneron, rather than promoting prevention measures that are a lot cheaper like mask mandates and vaccines.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen explains what this treatment is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): That is a tool in the toolbox that really needs to be used.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have been talking a lot lately about this medicine.

DESANTIS: The Regeneron has been found to be effective against the delta variant.

COHEN (voice over): A monoclonal antibody drug made by the company Regeneron is a treatment for COVID-19, a treatment that's needed in large part because under these two Republican governors, COVID-19 is spreading fast in their states.

Florida, number one in COVID-19 hospitalizations per capita in the country; Texas not far behind in number seven.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: The vaccination rates were too low to fend off the delta variant. We know we got there because there wasn't indoor masking. It is really mind blowing that these governors are not implementing these measures.

COHEN (voice over): Resulting in desperation and despair. A woman lying on the floor of a Florida clinic waiting for treatment with Regeneron's antibody drug,

Louis Lopez, another patient at the clinic took the photo.

LOUIS LOPEZ, COVID-19 PATIENT, RECEIVED MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES AT FLORIDA TREATMENT CENTER: People had nowhere to sit, so they're sitting down, but they were so sick. The picture really doesn't do it justice because they were moaning, they were in a lot of pain. It really drove the point home as to how serious these people are.

I mean, for all I know, these people could have been dying right there and then.

COHEN (voice over): Despite the high rates of COVID-19 in his state, DeSantis has threatened to withhold funds from school districts that implement mask mandates.

Abbott who is taking Regeneron after recently testing positive for COVID has prohibited state and local agencies from requiring vaccines. Instead of encouraging all of the best prevention methods, they are touting treatment, just as former President Trump did after taking Regeneron's drug when he was hospitalized with COVID-19.

TRUMP: It just made me better. Okay, I call that a cure.

COHEN (voice over): Regeneron's drug isn't a guaranteed cure, but it can help treat some people with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are not in the hospital, and if someone is exposed to COVID, it can help keep them from getting sick.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The monoclonal antibodies work.

COHEN (voice over): The Biden administration has been trying to give Regeneron's drugs to parts of the country that are seeing COVID-19 surges.

The Federal government has spent billions on the drug for patients. It's free.

The State of Florida set up this clinic, but it would have been better if the patients hadn't gotten COVID in the first place. Perhaps no one knows that better than Toma Dean. That's her and that photo, she was not vaccinated, caught COVID-19, received the antibody treatment, and thankfully is recovering. This is her advice.

TOMA DEAN, INFECTED WITH COVID-19: Get vaccinated. It may not be the first thing that we want to do, but it's better than the end result.

COHEN (voice over): Elizabeth Cohen, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:00:44]