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U.S. Troops to Extend in Afghanistan; Tension Builds Up Between Afghan Forces; Americans Disapprove Execution of Exit in Afghanistan; FDA to Officially Approve Pfizer/BioNTech; FDA Approval Could Convince Americans to be Vaccinated; Deaths from COVID-19 Changed Kenyans' Mindset. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 23, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful no matter when it started, when we began.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): President Biden under growing pressure as chaos unfolds at Kabul's airport with about 20,000 people still waiting to be evacuated.

Plus, the FDA could give full approval to a COVID vaccine for the first time today, and it can't come soon enough with deaths and hospital admissions rising in the U.S.

And from deadly floods in Tennessee to tropical storm Henri, hitting parts of the U.S. northeast. We will discuss the impact climate change is having on extreme weather.

Well, a week after the fall of Kabul, close to 20,000 people are still waiting to be evacuated out of the Afghan capital's airport. A source says new restrictions means only Americans and U.S. green cards and NATO citizens are being admitted into the airport, while Special Immigrant Visa applicants are not.

Now this comes as U.S. President Joe Biden says there is active talk about extending U.S. troop presence in the country past the deadline at the end of this month. But it's not clear if the Taliban will play ball.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: We are working diligently to make sure we've increased the

ability to get them out. We have changed the gate operations and the whole range of things, and that's why we have been able to significantly increase the number of people we are getting out.

UNKNOWN: Will the Taliban agree to an extension past August 31st? Have you discussed that with them?

BIDEN: We discussed a lot with the Taliban. They've been cooperative in extending some of the perimeter. That remains to be seen whether we ask that question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Meanwhile, a source says hundreds of Afghan staff at the U.S. embassy remain trapped and haven't been brought to the airport. And as the Taliban tighten their hold on the country, their enemies say they are ready to negotiate.

Northern alliance leader Ahmad Massoud and his forces have clashed with the Taliban over the past week and the militants gave him a Sunday deadline to surrender.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMAD MASSOUD, NORTHERN ALLIANCE LEADER: We are not fighting a geography. We are not fighting one province. We are defending the whole country in one province. That's what's happening and we want to make Taliban realize that the only way forward is through negotiation and talk, and we are talking to them and we want -- we do not want war to break out and to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Meanwhile, we are following developments at Kabul's airport after reports of a fire fight.

CNN's Nick Payton Walsh joins me now from Doha. Nick, let's start with that. What is the latest you are hearing on the fire fight?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, this is an instance I understand at four o'clock in the morning where a sniper, it's unclear who he was affiliated with, fired on the base, hitting an Afghan Security Force. Along with the Americans, there were lots of Afghan, mostly former special forces, assisting them with the security on that base.

That shot killed one of the Afghans, and the Afghans then returned fire in the general vicinity of that shot, but it seems also in that direction were some U.S. marines who thought they were under attack and they fired back towards the Afghans, it seems, injuring four of them.

They're all under stable condition. My understanding this being one of the worst exchanges I've heard of since this crisis began has resulted at the sniper killing one Afghan and this misunderstanding leaving four of them needing medical attention.

But it shows you how volatile the situation is. It shows you that there is clearly some sort of force off the base which is trying to harass the Afghan Security Forces doing the securing, that's probably compatible with the insurgency or other groups (Technical difficulty) Americans, but as you well know, the Afghan forces are often off the table when it comes to those negotiations.

But the situation on the base is just as bad as it was when we last spoke. It's extraordinary because they are still at 20,000 on the base despite the announcement yesterday, the 8,000 were taken off, that's what Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, the 24-hour period and the 36-hour period actually. President Joe Biden said they've got 11,000 off but these numbers are not coming down.

[03:05:00]

Now I understand from a source close to the situation it maybe because those Afghan Security Forces possibly have a separate channel of their own sliding people in discretely. Unclear really, but there is confusion as to how that number is remaining relatively high.

In the next 24 hours, I am told they are anticipating 30-plus C-17s to land on that airport and take people out. And that's unsure what some will be seeing and being shown is the speed of departure. Does that then reduce the total number of people on the base? Well that should be the case because I also understand that they are now, from this point onwards today, only taking American citizens and NATO citizens or green card holders for the U.S. onto the base.

That will reduce the inflow, but it will also, of course, make hurt feeling, they are eligible for SIV status especially immigrant visas amongst the Afghan population exceptionally disappointed that that decision is being taken if it is permanent. Robin? Sorry. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. That's what I wanted to ask you, whether this is just a temporary position here. Because we had heard from President Biden that he was going to get some of these Afghans out who had helped the U.S. forces.

WALSH: Yes, look, it's potentially indefinite, this operation. I mean, there is an unknown number of Americans in Afghanistan. There are tens of thousands, Special Immigrant Visa applicants. There are tens of thousands hoping they would be eligible for that who may well qualify if there is enough time for the paperwork to be processed. So, it is an exceptionally large task.

President Joe Biden yesterday hinted at the idea of going over the August 31st deadline for pulling U.S. troops completely out of Afghanistan. I'm sure the Taliban will have an opinion about that. And so, we are now left in this week remaining in which either NATO has to say right, we're staying longer than we said to get these people out, or in which they have to start leaving.

No, to me, the fact that the gates are closed that doesn't appear it is about to change. The fact the priority and the only access is for Americans and NATO citizens and green card holders. And the fact that they already have 20,000 on the base does make it sound like they are not looking to expand the numbers that can get on.

The Taliban, I understand, too, from a source close to the situation, are actually filtering people's documents, they're checking people getting on and off -- sorry, on the base. Now, that obviously is a security benefit because it doesn't mean that we are dealing with the volatile situation where there are U.S. American troops that censure up against Taliban trying to get people on and off. But it does mean Taliban can't control who does actually come on.

So, I think we are looking at a tight window here potentially. We've certainly got at least four days maybe in which they need -- need all of that to get who they have on the base off, and then there is a question of how long does it take to get the troops off the base which is going to be a matter of days as well.

So, a very tight window here unless these discussions amongst leaders extend how long they are going to be. And that with itself has huge perils.

CHURCH: Yes.

WALSH: Rosemary?

CHURCH: Nick Paton Walsh joining us live from Doha. Many thanks.

Well, for thousands of Afghans waiting at Kabul airport, the choice to leave the country after the Taliban takeover might be an obvious one, but that doesn't make it any less painful. They are leaving family members, friends, and their entire lives behind.

CNN's Sam Kiley hears from some of them.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 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 are hoping then to either stay there or move on.

Qiaam, you were about to leave. What is going through your mind and your heart at the moment?

QIAAM NOORI, JOURNALIST: Yes, actually I've told this many times, that right now I have a mixed feeling. Being a journalist myself, probably I'm lucky enough to leave because of a lot of choice that exists 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 have been raised and born here. That's really -- it seems that I am just taking one piece of my soul, but leaving a lot of pieces just back in 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, they -- I'm sure they will not leave us any space to be here.

KILEY: That must break your heart.

NOORI: Of course, certainly. It's already broken, but that is reality.

KILEY: Your heart is already broken?

NOORI: Yes, yes, yes. Yes.

[03:10:04]

KILEY: Good luck.

NOORI: Thank you.

KILEY: 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 believed 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 an aircraft and leaving. As one of the evacuees just said to me, Afghanistan is seeing a total brain drain.

Sam Kiley, CNN, Kabul International Airport.

CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden says there is still a long way to go before all Americans and Afghan allies are out of the country. But says the tireless effort to keep planes taking off from Kabul airport will push forward.

CNN's Arlette Saenz has more now from the White House.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden once again pledged to get all Americans out of Afghanistan safely, and said the U.S. troops may need to remain in the country past the August 31st drawdown deadline in order to make that happen. The president said discussions are underway with his team about the progress of evacuations, and he said he does hope they will be able to leave by August 31st, though it will be dependent on the status of Americans who are in Afghanistan.

Now, the president's remarks came as he addressed the country for the third time since Kabul fell to the Taliban. And while the president offered these assurances about evacuating Americans and Afghan allies safely and in a quick manner, he also said that there is still room for something to go wrong in this process. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: There's no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss of heartbreaking images you see on television. It's just a fact. My heart aches for those things and those people you see. We are proving that we can move thousands of people a day out of Kabul. We're bringing our citizens, NATO allies, Afghanis who helped us in the war effort. But we have a long way to go, and a lot could still go wrong. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ (on camera): The president is facing incredible pressure not just to get Americans out of Afghanistan, but also to evacuate those Afghan allies who worked closely with the U.S. over the course of the 20-year war in Afghanistan. Now the president said those SIV applicants will be able to come to the United States and insisted they will be thoroughly vetted before they travel to the U.S.

These evacuees are leaving the Kabul airport and heading to a third- party site or operating base where that vetting is underway. Now President Biden later this week is also preparing to once again speak with foreign leaders. He will attend, virtually attend a G7 leader meeting where Afghanistan will be a focus as there are so many questions from allies about the U.S. response in Afghanistan and what the future holds.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH: On the whole, Americans support the decision to leave Afghanistan, but they believe the withdrawal was mishandled. Here's what a new CBS/YouGov poll found. Forty-seven percent of people approve of how President Biden handled the withdrawal, and 53 percent disapprove. But most Americans 63 percent approve of removing troops overall.

Meanwhile, 59 percent of people believe the U.S. isn't doing enough to help Afghans leave, and 81 percent want to see Afghans who worked for the U.S. be able to take refuge there.

Well, coming up here on CNN Newsroom, in just a matter of hours, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could grant full approval for a COVID vaccine. We will talk to a doctor about what that could mean for the fight to end this pandemic.

Plus, how a growing number of unvaccinated COVID patients are filling up hospitals in Kenya and overwhelming the country's health care system. We're back in just a moment.

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant full approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine as early as today. A senior federal official describes the decision as being imminent.

CCD data shows 29 percent of Americans who are eligible to receive a vaccine still have not gotten any of their shots. And the Delta variant is fueling more deaths and hospitalizations across the United States.

For the first time in nearly five months, deaths are once again averaging more than 1,000 a day, but vaccinations have also been on the rise. The U.S. is coming off a three-day streak of administering more than one million vaccine doses daily, with the number dipping slightly on Sunday.

Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally Saturday night when he started talking about vaccines, this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I believe totally in your freedoms, I do. You have to do what you have to do.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: But I recommend take the vaccines. I did it, it's good. Take the vaccines. But -- no, that's OK, that's all right. You got your freedoms. But I happen to take the vaccine. If it doesn't work, you'll be the first to know. OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Eric Topol is a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research and joins me now from La Jolla in California. Always good to have you with us, doctor.

ERIC TOPOL, PROFESSOR, MOLECULAR MEDICINE, SCRIPPS RESEARCH: Thanks so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, the U.S. is averaging 1,000 COVID deaths a day now, and yet about 30 percent of all eligible adults are still not vaccinated. How likely is it that full approval of the Pfizer vaccine which could happen in just a matter of hours from now will encourage a large portion of those people to get vaccines and perhaps even encourage institutions to mandate them?

[03:20:05]

TOPOL: Well, you touched on the two different pathways by which this should be extremely helpful. For one, there are a lot of people who have just been waiting to get the blessing of the FDA, that this is no longer considered an emergency authorization.

And secondly, so many organizations, particularly health systems, I mean, municipalities, a lot of private companies have been waiting in the wings to get this legal authority to require vaccination. So, it should be a real big boost and we sure do need it.

CHURCH: Let's hope so. And of course, I did want to ask you, though, how you do convince the more resistant portion of the population to get vaccinated. Given we saw former President Donald Trump on the weekend trying to convince his base to get the shot, and yet they booed him.

TOPOL: Right. I wish he had started last year being pro-vaccine. But it was very iffy. He has lot of followers, a lot of people that really believe in what he has to say. And it's really ironic here he was getting booed by this. So, we have a lot of work to do. There's just too many people. We need

to get everyone either vaccinated or if they've had prior COVID, that would provide some immunity. We have a long way to go to get this Delta immunity while built for the United States.

CHURCH: And, doctor, the FDA is still waiting for the necessary data it needs from Pfizer to go ahead and authorize the vaccination of kids under 12 years of age. So, they probably won't be able to get access to those shots until the end of fall or perhaps the beginning of winter. And yet, the governors of Florida, Texas and Arizona refuse to mandate

masks for schools, leaving these kids very vulnerable

And former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb says the south could be a harbinger for the U.S. as schools reopen. Do you share his concerns? And why do you think these governors are willing to expose these kids and, of course their families to possible infection?

TOPOL: You're really bringing up a critical point here, Rosemary. Because just this past week was the first week after many when we started to see a drop off in case growth. And so here we have a chance to start to turn things around in this fourth Delta wave. And at the same time, schools are opening up and have been opening in the south. There have been many outbreaks reported.

So, we really have to tighten up and this is the wrong message that's happening there, as you mentioned in Florida and many other places. Masks are certainly helpful. But also, things like rapid testing, things that we could be doing on a daily basis as we get schools back in all over the country which we're not really doing well.

CHURCH: So why do you think these governors are going against medical advice?

TOPOL: Unfortunately, this is another extension of a politicization of the whole pandemic that's been kind of going from the get go and we just keep seeing it. And so, if you said, don't mask -- don't mandate the mask, and they'd say, no, we're going to mandate them. I mean, that's kind of the way things are going here. It's just so artificially polarized, and we should be united in our front to try to take on the most challenging version of the virus that we've seen.

CHURCH: Yes, it has to be. It's so astounding, isn't it. And doctor, I did want to ask you this. Because the surgeon general has raised concerns about some Americans using an antiparasitic livestock drug to treat their COVID-19. And many of them have been calling a poison hotline because it's of course making them sick.

How is it possible that people would turn to treatments like this due to a misinformation they are finding online when they have a proven COVID vaccine available to them for free. What is your advice to these people?

TOPOL: Well, this is part of that sad truth of believing in this drug ivermectin that doesn't have data to support it. And in fact, we are only permitting it to be tested in a context of a clinical trial. So, we don't have any proof that it works.

It may have no effects just like we saw with hydroxychloroquine. But we keep having people put out misinformation about that drug and the people who are in that anti-vax camp or seriously undermining the importance of vaccines are also the ones who are pushing ivermectin unfortunately.

CHURCH: Doctor, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate you.

TOPOL: Sure.

CHURCH: In East Africa a surge in COVID cases is getting the attention of vaccine-hesitant Kenyans as hospitals and morgues are pushed to the absolute limit.

CNN's Scott McLean joins me now from Nairobi. Good to see you, Scott.

So, what's behind this vaccine hesitancy in Kenya and are these surges in cases hospitalizations and deaths significantly changing people's minds about getting the shot?

[03:25:05]

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary. Yes. So, Kenyans like people from every other country have found all kinds of reasons not to get vaccinated. Maybe they've heard the conspiracy theories, or they're not sure what's in it, or where it's coming from, or maybe they've heard of someone who's died from the virus even after they had been vaccinated.

Plus, on top of that, you also have all kinds of local traditional and tribal beliefs and taboos to contend with as well. Now right now in Kenya the reality is that, they simply do not have nearly enough vaccines to supply the entire population, not even close. And that is costing lives. But so is vaccine hesitancy.

The good news is that attitudes are slowly changing but only because hospitals are filling up and people are dying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN (voice over): In the Kenyan county of Nyeri, coffin maker say they have never been so busy. Over the past few weeks, the Delta variant has turned the funeral business into a lucrative one as Kenya battles its fourth wave of COVID-19. Lately demand for caskets has more than tripled. And yet, not even all the men building them want the vaccine.

Do you want it?

DENNIS MAINA, COFFIN MAKER: No, no, no. Many people they're not dying because of the virus. They are dying because of another disease.

MCLEAN: Around town it's more of the same.

UNKNOWN: Why should I take something that I don't have? I don't know what it will do to my body.

UNKNOWN: And if, and I say if with capital letters. If you understand it maybe you can do it. But for now, it's a no.

MCLEAN: Across the country less than 2 percent of Kenyans are fully vaccinated. Short supply has been a problem since day one. But now it's not the only one. Vaccine hesitancy is also having deadly consequences.

All 31 beds at this hospital are occupied. When a new patient shows up, they are simply turned away. Most of the patients here are unvaccinated. Not because they couldn't get the vaccine, but because they chose not to take it.

EUDIAH WANG'OMBE, HOSPITAL CLINICIAN: We have dose reservations. They had their own fears. And probably that's why they do get. Others when you ask why they didn't get the jab, some of them we are told it is available. The majority they fear to have it because it had all issues.

MCLEAN: The hospital says it has a newly installed oxygen compressor, but it's not enough to meet demand. There are also no intensive care beds. And on this day four patients are in desperate need but likely won't find one.

MUTAHI KAHIGA, GOVERNOR, NYERI COUNTY: Yes, I will admit that the situation is dire. We have not been here before.

MCLEAN: Are hospitals having to turn people away?

KAHIGA: Yes. Because if you went now to Mount in Kenya, we don't have -- we have nowhere to take you.

MCLEAN: The governor of the largely rural county says Kenyans have been slow to recognize the seriousness of the virus. He says many people have chosen not to get the vaccine. And even a third of people who got their first shot haven't turned up for the second. Reports of extremely rare blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca general misinformation and some traditional beliefs have all contributed.

KAHIGA: I think with the COVID-19, some of us are still in denial. They are still -- they are still holding onto traditional beliefs which cut across Africa.

MCLEAN: But as the hospitals and morgues fill up, some attitudes are changing. From small towns and villages to the capital Nairobi.

UNKNOWN: I think I wasn't convinced for a long time, that can convince me. Yes. So, if this will prevent me from dying hopefully, I would rather take it.

MCLEAN: Back at the hospital, another body leaves for the morgue in what lately has become a daily routine here. Every death a tragedy. Many also entirely preventable.

How does that make you feel? WANG'OMBE: Demoralizing, breaking. It breaks somebody's heart, yes,

it breaks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN (on camera): Now the silver lining here, Rosemary, is that many of the people who we met who were on the fence or who were hesitant to take the vaccine said that their minds are open. They can be persuaded. And so, you have to believe that a well-coordinated education campaign could certainly can get them on board.

But of course, the more immediate issue in this part of the world is undoubtedly vaccine supply. Kenya just took in a brand-new shipment of vaccine from the U.K. But even still, even if this country used every single available dose that it had, it would be enough to vaccinate still less than 3 percent of the population, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. Still let's hope they take the shots that are available. Scott McLane joining us live from Nairobi. Many thanks.

And still to come, communities left reeling after floods devastated parts of Tennessee. We will take you there as clean-up efforts get underway. Plus, Henri has weakened to a tropical depression but still remains a big threat to parts of the U.S. northeast. We'll tell you where it's headed next.

[03:30:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT GILLESPIE, CHIEF, TENNESSEE FIRE & POLICE: We've experiences devastating loss of life. Over the last couple of days, we've lost four people in this event than we did in the train explosion in 1978. But we've seen the community come together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): And that was the police and fire chief in Waverly, Tennessee, summing up the heartbreak his community is feeling after severe flooding left at least 21 people dead over the weekend.

And this video gives you a sense of the extensive damage but the scope of the damage devastation becomes clearer once you get up close.

Reporter Marissa Sulek with CNN affiliate WSMV in Nashville, share this video with us on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARISSA SULEK, REPORTER, WSMV: We are going to show you guys what we're seeing. So, one of the images, and we just saw this my photographer Nikki just post -- pointed this out to me. So here is the foundation of a house. The house itself went across this road and all the way on the left there.

We're going to keep pointing right, that's where that house is. And again, it went from this foundation, there is his finger again, all the way to right over there, across the road. This is insane. This is just one of the few things we've seen there, here in Waverly, but there is countless more.

[03:34:52]

I want to walk over this way. So, this is the creek here. This is a car just turned over on its side and this isn't the only car. If you look down the creek there, I wish I could zoom them, but I don't think we can, no, we cannot, there is at least one, two, three more cars down there, and this is just a pile, a pile of debris here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Unbelievable. And right now, search and recovery efforts are underway for around 20 people who are still missing. Meanwhile, residents in these communities are just beginning to pick up the pieces.

CNN's Nick Valencia is there.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The governor of tennessee called it devastating. And looking at the images you can certainly understand why. We try to make our way in safely to the hardest-hit area, but encountered washed out roads and down bridges and the remnants of the severe storm system that moved through Humphrey's county over the weekend.

According to the National Weather Service 17 inches of rain fell in the span of 24 hours. And talking to residents they say it felt like somebody was outside their home with a fire hose and just relentless that water just continuing to come down, three inches of rain consecutive for three hours straight.

The devastation is all around, and as the week begins, the cleanup will continue over the weekend. Search and rescue crews went door to door trying to account for the missing. Dozens of missing are still unaccounted for.

And according to a local eyewitness there was a housing project behind the Dollar General store where several residents they saw tried to make their way to the rooftops but were swept away by the water. This week we'll continue with a lot of search and recovery effort in the days ahead.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Humphreys County, Tennessee.

CHURCH: Henri has weakened to a tropical depression but still poses a threat to several states in the Northeastern U.S. The storm has slowed significantly since making landfall early Sunday. A flash flood watches in effect until Monday evening for parts of Central New York and Northeast Pennsylvania. Henri came ashore as a tropical storm along the coast of Rhode Island.

Meteorologist Derek van Dam is there tracking some of the developments. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: New England is in damage assessment mode with tropical storms passing across western Rhode Island. In fact, it made landfall in Westerly, Rhode Island, just down the coast from where I am standing now. This is the Newport Harbor. You can see occasionally we get tropical storm force gust but the rain has already come to an end here and we were largely spared the worst that the tropical storm could have potentially brought to this region.

But at the peak of tropical storm Henri there were numerous trees that fell across some of the coastal communities, knocking out power. This is a state in the region that is very vulnerable to power outages especially when tropical systems move through just like this. There were over 100,000 people without power at one stage. And in Rhode Island alone over 75,000 customers without power.

Now, the concern going forward as the temperatures start to rebound in the coming days, those still without electricity will have to deal with the oppressive heat and humidity that's going to build in across the eastern seaboard, which will make life very difficult for anyone living across this region.

But as the storm starts to peter itself out, rain itself out across the northeast, still the ongoing threat for flooding and we will be monitoring that very, very closely across New England.

I'm CNN meteorologist Derek van Dam from Newport Rhode Island. Back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Thanks for. And let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri now. Good to see you, Pedram. So, what is the latest on this tropical depression? And of course, where is it heading?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Rosemary, a slow mover. Only eight-mile per hour movements so about 12 or 13 kilometers per hour. And right now, it is still moving to the west, northwest, so is still moving away from the water but we do expect a sharp right turn within the next several hours. And gradually pulling back off towards the east. And that's the concern.

It's already rained here quite a bit in the past 24 hours. And we know the month of July brought in the wettest month on record for the New York state, as well as the state of Massachusetts, and of course remnants of a tropical depression by the name of Fred then move across this region in the last week and a half or so that have all made this area very saturated.

So when you have winds of 50, 60, and 70 miles per hour, or up around near hurricane-force, it's not going to take much to bring trees down and that's why we saw 100,000 customers without power and still watching the flood alerts widespread in this region, rainfall amounts again in millimeters exceeding 200 in a few spots there from Brooklyn up towards Cranbury, new Jersey there, picking up 226 millimeters in just 24 hours.

But again, right now moving away from the coast but in the next few hours makes a sharp return and then gradually moves back towards the water where it originated from and essentially rains itself out in this region.

So, we do expect another round of maybe four to six inches before it's all said and done, especially on the far eastern coastline there of say, Massachusetts into parts of Vermont and New Hampshire. That's why the weather service does give an elevated risk here of level three on a scale of one to four for excessive rainfall into portions of New England.

[03:39:59]

Now, we also talked about what's happening across the state of Tennessee. An incredible amount of rainfall, really you cannot overstate the amount of rainfall that occurred here. You don't see this very often. Seventeen inches or 40 plus centimeters came down in 24 hours. The all-time wettest number there for the state of Tennessee. And in fact, a one in 1,000-year event taking place there, off the charts when it comes to how much water was available for this amount of rainfall to occur.

That's a .1 percent chance of something like this happening, Rosemary. And with climate change we've often talked about these events becoming more and more likely. So, when you see a one in 1,000 happened this weekend, you know this is certainly a serious story there in Tennessee.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. Pedram Javaheri, many thanks.

Ning Lin is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University and she joins me now. Thank you so much for talking with us.

NING LIN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Thank you, Rosemary. Thank you for inviting me.

CHURCH: Absolutely. So, we have been witnessing extreme weather conditions across the globe for some time, and we are now seeing hurricane Henri in the northeast, deadly flash floods in Tennessee, and across Europe, heat waves, bush fires, droughts. How big a part is climate change playing in all of this?

LIN: Well, it is difficult to determine if extreme event is caused by climate change. But studies have been able to show that climate change has made some extreme events more likely to happen and with higher impacts. Practically, it is known that American warm air can hold more moisture and as climate change can increase rainfall associated with hurricanes and other weather systems such as the severe inland flooding in Tennessee on Saturday, as you mentioned.

But in hurricanes, changes in these storm features can also contribute to the increase of rainfall hazard, including the strengthening, slowing down, and moving further inland of the storms. And also, if we talk about coastal flooding the important factor is sea level rise which is base as a result of climate change.

In our previous studies we found that sea level rise is dominant in changing the coastal flood risk especially for the high regions including New England. Although hurricane climatology change also can significantly affect the risk for low latitude in gulf regions.

CHURCH: So, if nothing is done about this, can we expect more floods, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, and hurricanes ahead? And what will life look like in five or 10 years from now?

LIN: Well, we can make projections of this kind of events on the different emission scenarios and climate change scenarios. But we still have opportunities to mitigate some of these effects, although we may not be able to mitigate all of them as climate is already changing, so we would have to, on the one hand, mitigate the risk and on the other hand also reduce the emissions so to avoid this event.

So, you know, if we don't reduce our emissions and adapt to climate change, we are seeing very bad things in our projections. But we can say that our future will not be that bad if we can control the emissions.

CHURCH: So, how would you compare hurricane Henri with previous storms affecting the northeast like hurricane Sandy in 2012? And what might this signal for coastal regions and life in coastal areas going forward? Will it no longer be viable, perhaps?

LIN: Well, hurricane Sandy immediately come to mind because hurricane Sandy and Henri are similar and that they both hit higher latitude regions where people have less experience with hurricanes. It tells that hurricanes can affect this high latitude regions and maybe more often in the future.

And so, even with relatively low intensity the storms can still cause intense damage. So that we have to understand the storm change is not only, you know, they track intensity, frequency, but also size and other characteristics to be better prepared.

CHURCH: Ning Lin, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

LIN: Thank you.

CHURCH: And just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, Singapore welcomes the U.S. vice president with pomp and pageantry. We will tell you about the talks behind closed doors in a live report after this short break.

[03:45:00]

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CHURCH (on camera): Well, a busy day in Singapore for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. She and the prime minister held bilateral talks on security, economic development, and the coronavirus pandemic. They also discussed the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.

In the coming hours, Harris is set to meet with American service members at a naval base and tour the USS Tulsa.

Well, journalist Manisha Tank is monitoring all of this in Singapore and she joins us now live. Good to see you, Manisha.

So, what all is expected to come out of the U.S. vice presidential visit to Singapore?

MANISHA TANK, JOURNALIST: Well, Rosemary, we're already getting a sense that it's really the United States opportunity to say we are here as your strategic partner and we are not going anywhere. In fact, Vice President Kamala Harris using the world enduring to describe this relationship.

Quite a few times during the press conference that followed the bilateral meeting. And I can say that press conference was delayed for quite some time and I wonder if that was just because of the volume of issues that were on the table.

She did mention during the press conference cyber security, pandemic, climate crisis, all these issues being part of this new era that she describes. The issues that, you know, nations need to talk about, but she reaffirmed and talked about reinforcing the U.S. commitment in the region.

When the journalists, however, started asking questions after the presser, they were mostly interested in Afghanistan and they wanted to draw some opinion from the vice president and also from the prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. As for Vice President Kamala Harris she would not be drawn on opinions and stuck very much to the administration's mainline. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Right now we are singularly focused on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, and Afghans who are vulnerable, including women and children. And that is our singular focus at this time.

[03:50:01]

Understanding that we have a priority in making sure that the people that in particular helped America achieve its responsibilities in terms of our priorities and the reason we went to Afghanistan in the first place, that we have a responsibility and we feel a deep commitment to making sure that folks who helped us are safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TANK (on camera): It's worth, Rosemary, pointing out that it just wasn't just U.S. base, the Singaporean base as well. All of them asking that same question over Afghanistan, really, it's dominated headlines around this visit over here in Singapore. But much to look forward to. She is going to the USS Tulsa which is in port here at the moment.

CHURCH: Manisha Tank bringing us up to date on all of that from Singapore. I appreciate it.

Well still to come, a small miracle amid the desperate scramble to escape Afghanistan. A baby is born in the cargo hold of a U.S. military plane carrying Afghan evacuees.

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[03:54:58]

CHURCH (on camera): The heartbreaking images we've seen of Afghans trying to flee the country have laid bare the desperation so many are feeling. But amid the chaos and despair there

have also been some small moments of joy.

CNN's Atika Shubert shares one such story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): An image of hope amid the chaos, a baby girl born in the cargo bay of a U.S. Air Force C-17 carrying Afghan evacuees. As the plane landed at Ramstein Air Base, the 86 medical group rushed in to safely deliver her. Ramstein Air Base in Germany has become the latest hub for evacuation flights out of Afghanistan.

CNN filmed as some of the first flights arrived. More than 6,000 have been evacuated here, with 17 flights landing in 24 hours, airbase officials say, and more to come. Here there is safety, basic shelter, food, and water, but it is only a temporary measure. Many here do not know where they will go next or how. But for the moment, there is relief and reason to celebrate new life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUBERT (on camera): Now the capacity at the air base is 7,500 and even though flights are not coming in on Sunday evening they are expected to continue Monday morning. So it is filling up fast and it is still not clear where evacuees will go to next.

Atika Shubert, CNN, at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

CHURCH: And to find out how you can help Afghan refugees, just go to cnn.com/impact.

And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more news in just a moment.

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