Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden Under Pressure to Extend Evacuation Mission; U.S. Source: 6,500 At Airport Awaiting Evacuation; U.S. Lawmakers Believe Evacuation Deadline Not Realistic; Pfizer-BioNTech Covid Vaccine Receive Full FDA Approval; Vietnam Next Stop on U.S. Vice President's Southeast Asia Tour; Kathy Hochul Sworn in as New York Governor; More than 1.5 Million Acres Burned in California in 2021. Aired 4:00-4:30a ET

Aired August 24, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are not leaving Americans who want to return home. We are going to bring them home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will continue to get Afghans at risk out of the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Biden facing pressure to extend his evacuation deadline while thousands remain desperate to leave a Taliban- controlled Afghanistan.

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine gets full FDA approval but is it enough to get unvaccinated Americans on board.

And Japan will host another athletic spectacle, we are live in Tokyo for the Paralympic games.

Good to have you with us. Well, it remains to be seen if U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan past the August 31 deadline to help evacuate the thousands of people still trying to leave the country. G7 leaders are expected to pressure U.S. President Joe Biden to extend the mission during a virtual meeting a few hours from now. The U.K. defense secretary says it is unlikely but worth a try. And U.S. military advisers have told the White House they need to know today if the deadline stands. The Taliban want the Americans out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We are well aware of the stated desire to -- by the Taliban to have this mission completed by the 31st of August. I would tell you that we too are still planning on completing it by the 31st of August. That's the mission that has been assigned commander in chief assigned to us and that's what we're trying to execute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, the U.S. says more than 16,000 people were evacuated from Sunday into Monday, more than double the number from a day earlier. But a source close to the operation tells CNN about 6,500 people, mostly Afghans, remain at the airport. The source says Afghans holding Special Immigrant Visas are now permitted on to the base but the gates are still closed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We are engaging with the Taliban, consulting with the Taliban on every aspect of what's happening in Kabul right now. On what's happening at the airport. On how we need to ensure that there is facilitated passage to the airport for American citizens, SIVs, third country nationals and so forth. We'll continue those conversations with them. Ultimately it will be the president's decision how this proceeds, no one else's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: New satellite images from Maxar Technology show the huge crowds outside the airport hoping for a chance to get in. A U.S. Army general says the military has relocated 42,000 people out of Afghanistan since the end of July.

And CNN's international security editor Nick Paton Walsh joins us now live from Doha in Qatar. Good to see you, Nick. So, what is the latest information you have on this evacuation mission trying to bring these thousands of people out of Kabul but then of course this him looking August 31 deadline.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, I mean, they are into a matter of days where they still have the chance to get people on to the airport if they are going to get the 5,800 troops facilitating this operation out of the airport by September. So, a definite race against time here. Make no mistake, you heard Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby essentially saying they're still start planning for that deadline. I'm fairly sure the military's perspective is this is not something that they can continue do indefinitely.

But today it is a very different scene on that air base with 6,500 actually there, flights still taking off. You can see on open-source trackers three, four C-17s on the tarmac. Potentially that could be taking a significant number of those 6,500 off. The question is, who are they bringing back on to augment those numbers. We know overnight -- according to a source familiar with the situation -- 300 American citizens were brought on. Those are through these alternate routes which John Kirby elaborated on a little bit yesterday. Suggesting that Americans are going out to get Americans. But no further details on that.

Those numbers though not enormous. So, the question is not about the allied Afghans, the SIV -- Special Immigrant Visa applicants as well. Well, while yesterday's policy was, no, they cannot come on. That appears to have changed a little today.

[04:05:00]

They are allowed on if they can get there at the discretion of staff on that base. People with a clear and credible link to the United States government. So, an opening up over the aperture you might say that allows people in, but the gates are still closed. The Taliban are still running the checkpoints to the airport. You saw on the images there, still huge crowds outside.

So, unless you essentially have a way in that is not the gates and there does appear to be sort of flow running unofficially via Afghan security forces securing that base, they may be responsible for the constant trickle that makes it hard to tally the numbers of who has flown out, who's known to be there, who's registered or who's just simply on the tarmac waiting to get away. That flow continues, 5,000 we believe of the people inside of the 6,500 are Afghans.

So there still seems to be some sort of route where you can get on, but not an official channel for allied Afghans. There are still potentially thousands of locally employed Afghans who work for the American Embassy out in Kabul waiting for assistance to get to the airport. Getting them in is something that of course the U.S. have proven that they can do secretly with American citizens. That may be something already under way.

But then you get into the numbers game of how many can you do this with? How long can this go on for? How many more days do you have to do this?

Joe Biden will be speaking to the G7 counterparts today. They I think will be asking for a little more time but then also too, if you look at the actual facts of the operation on the ground, the British have been having a terrible time just trying to keep their area under control. There's crushes there. It's been very hard for them indeed.

So, I think we run into the valiant aspirations of politicians to save as many as they can and keep this going for as long as they can. Versus the cold harsh reality of how do you physically get people safely on to the airport without sparking another crush, another rush, and then also the clock ticking on this Taliban-imposed deadline.

Essentially nobody wants to see scenes where people lose their lives or come under risk trying to get on to the airport. And the Americans could be a victim of their own success. If they find themselves able to keep these numbers getting off the airport so high, more will come -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, it is a difficult calculation. Nick Paton Walsh joining us live from Doha. Many thanks.

Well, the Taliban's swift takeover and ensuing chaos in Afghanistan have roiled U.S. politics. Republicans are criticizing President Biden for the withdrawal although it was initiated by his presented predecessor Donald Trump. But House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff and other lawmakers say they don't believe the situation was the result of intelligence failure. And right now, many U.S. lawmakers are pessimistic about the goal of getting all Americans and allies out of Afghanistan by the end of the month. This is what the first Afghan American woman elected to office in the U.S. had to say about the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AISHA WAHAB, FIRST AFGHAN AMERICAN WOMAN ELECTED TO OFFICE IN U.S.: We need to come together as Americans and understand what the objective is right now in this moment. Which is basically we need to focus on how we can support our allies and how we can heavily lean into humanitarian aid and diplomacy now that President Biden has made the difficult decision to withdraw. These are reasonable critiques that we are hearing but this withdrawal was negotiated with the previous president and President Biden is taking responsibility and everyone is counting on his leadership to fix a bad deal. Our international reputation is at stake. But more importantly, lives are at stake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meantime U.S. troops are scrambling to meet that evacuation deadline in one week. And these photos of troops at Kabul airport helping Afghans flee to safety speak volumes. Families and children leaving behind the lives they knew in fear of the Taliban. And as they wait for their flight to freedom, you can see the troops comforting and playing with the children, just a few minutes of normalcy during a turbulent time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. STEPHEN HAHN, FORMER U.S. FDA COMMISSIONER: We have over several hundred million people around the world vaccinated with this vaccine. What does that tell you? That tells you that we have more data about efficacy and safety than almost any other vaccine in the history of vaccination. The data are clear, the FDA has spoken, the vaccine is safe and effective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And that was former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn assuring the American people of the safety of the Pfizer vaccine following its full approval by the FDA on Monday.

[04:10:00]

After the announcement, infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci said if most people who are eligible get vaccinated, then the U.S. could have the pandemic under control by next spring.

But despite the best efforts of health officials to assure the public of the vaccine's safety, skeptics remain. Elizabeth Cohen has more on how this FDA approval could hopefully change minds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: On Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval for the first time to the maker of a COVID-19 vaccine, it is for the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine and let's take a look at what difference it might make that now this vaccine doesn't just have emergency approval, they actually have full approval from the FDA.

The hope is that full approval, so not just emergency authorization anymore, but actual full approval like other drugs will make a difference in some unvaccinated people will say now I feel more confident, I'm going to roll up my sleeves and take a shot. Also full approval legally allows Pfizer to market and to advertise this vaccine and pharmaceutical companies are good at doing that, advertising drugs and vaccines.

Also, the hope is that more employers, more restaurants will feel comfortable requiring the vaccine now that it does have full approval and when there is more mandates, more requirements that more people will get vaccinated.

Now, let's take a look at who in the United States has not yet gotten even a single shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. When you look at folks in the U.S. who are eligible for a vaccine, that's anyone ages 12 and older, about 82 million people have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine. That's 29 percent of the eligible population. And to be clear, COVID-19 vaccines in the United States are not only free, they are everywhere. They are very, very easy to find. So, the hope is that now that Pfizer has full approval, that more people will roll up their sleeves. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: But so far just over 51 percent of the American public is fully vaccinated. And some health experts say the U.S. must get at least 80 percent of the population vaccinated to get the virus under control. We are told the daily pace of vaccinations has been steadily over 400,000 throughout August. The latest state to fully vaccinate at least half of its population is Michigan. Wisconsin is another of the 25 states to hit the 50 percent threshold. Its governor announced a $100 prize for anyone getting their first dose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): We are no longer in the fight against COVID- 19. This is now against the fight against the Delta variant and all the potential variants that could follow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile hospitalizations have been up all this month, which is putting a tremendous strain on the U.S. health care system. And earlier I spoke to Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center's division of infectious diseases, and I asked him if he thought the approval could lead to vaccine mandates. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: We're in a war against this virus. And so far, we've depended on a volunteer army. Those who come forward to be vaccinated. But Delta changed the war. Now we have to draft people.

CHURCH: Do some doctors throw their arms up in the air and just wonder sometimes when you have to work with and maybe save the life of someone who is not listening to this scientific data and to advice from medical experts?

SCHAFFNER: Well, I will tell you honestly that there are people who are on the front lines in the intensive care units, not just the doctors, but the nurses and the technicians, who have had to from time to time take a deep breath because they are asking themselves that exact question. Why are you coming into us so sick when all of these hospitalizations could have been prevented?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): Dr. Schaffner added that unvaccinated patients are putting medical workers who care for them at risk.

Well, the U.S. Vice President is in Southeast Asia outlining regional foreign policy goals, but she keeps getting asked about Afghanistan.

Plus, Andrew Cuomo leaves the New York governor's office amid a string of scandals, but not before taking some parting shots at his critics, that's just ahead.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Vietnam is next on U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris's tour after wrapping up a summit in Singapore. She's meeting with regional allies and talking about how to contain China's influence. But Afghanistan has threatened to overshadow the Biden administration's foreign policy initiatives. And have a Manisha Tank is covering the Vice President's visit. She joins us now live from Singapore, good to see you, Manisha. So, Vice President Harris had strong words to China but couldn't avoid the issue of Afghanistan. What all did she have to say?

MANISHA TANK, JOURNALIST: Yes, I mean she couldn't. And actually, it's quite interesting because was part of a press conference yesterday on her first day here in public engagements. And she had to face a lot of questions from journalists. And it seemed clear that they weren't necessarily pre-prepared remarks for those.

Today she started a long-awaited foreign policy speech about the U.S. position Indo Pacific, which would've been gone on for some time but she preceded it by addressing Afghanistan understanding that the world is watching the situation there. And then reiterating the administration's position on focusing on the task at hand and evacuations of refugees. But the big issue on the plate today was the South China Sea disputes.

And this is something that she talked about. This is something that lot of academics in this region wanted to hear about the U.S. position, and how it was going to approach that situation here. She had very strong words as you've indicated. Let's hear what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our vision includes freedom of navigation, which is vital to us all.

[04:20:00]

The livelihood of millions of people depend on the billions of dollars in trade that flow through these sea lanes each day. And yet in the South China Sea we know that Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TANK (on camera): Well, you know, many here are asking what does China think of all of this, those words were meant to be heard in Beijing and they were. In fact, the foreign ministry there doing a press conference and we know that a spokesperson saying that the current events in Afghanistan clearly showing people what the rules and so- called order of the United States mean. Because talking about the rules-based order is something that the Vice President Kamala Harris did, there has been a Chinese response, and obviously it was a strong position to take and it was meant to be that way.

Moving on, I can tell you that Vice President Kamala Harris was due to take off about 20 minutes ago from Singapore but hasn't yet. It's been bit delayed. It has been raining all day here. I wonder if the weather played a part of it -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right Manisha Tank bringing us the latest from Singapore, many thanks.

Well, we are following a major development in the January 6 Capitol attack investigation. Sources tell CNN the House committee investigating the riot will seek phone records of several people including members of Congress. The committee is preparing notices to several telecom companies requesting that they save documents. This step could eventually lead to witness testimony.

Well, New York officially has a new governor. Kathy Hochul was sworn in as the state's first female governor overnight. Replacing Andrew Cuomo who resigned amid multiple scandals. CNN's MJ lee has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MJ LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kathy Hochul sworn in as the new governor of New York state at midnight. This is a job that Andrew Cuomo had held since 2011. Cuomo of course announced his resignation two weeks ago after an A.G. investigation found that multiple women had accused him of sexual harassment. He has said that that report was biased and politically motivated and we saw him give a farewell speech on Monday to the people of New York. And in that speech, he said that what has happened to him is unjust and unfair. Here he is.

ANDREW CUOMO, FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR: The Attorney General's report was designed to be a political firecracker on an explosive topic. And it worked. There was a political and media stampede. But the truth will out in time. Of that, I am confident. You know me. I am a fighter. And my instinct is to fight this because it is unfair and unjust in my mind. But you also know that I love New York and I serve you. That is the oath that I took.

LEE: Now, Cuomo also spent a chunk of that speech talking about COVID saying that he is very worried about the Delta variant. He also talked about some of his own accomplishments during his time as governor. And interestingly over the weekend we saw him dealing with the tropical storm that came to New York and when he was on a call with President Biden to discuss that storm, he was joined on that call by then Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul before she was sworn into office.

So, this was a sign that even hours before she had taken this job officially, it was clear that preparations were under way because as soon as she has taken that job, that issue as well as the COVID pandemic are really going to be on her plate. A lot coming her way as she assumes this new job. And do we expect Hochul will make a speech herself this afternoon in New York. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Thanks for that report.

Well, rescuers in Tennessee are searching for about ten people still missing from the devastating floods over the weekend. At least 21 people were killed, among them 7-month-old twins who were swept out of their father's arms. That's according to a family member. Just tragic.

Well, health officials in one Nevada county are warning residents to stay indoors because of poor air quality. Smoke from the Caldor wildfire is contaminating the air in Washoe County, which includes the city of Reno. Officials call it the worst air quality they've recorded in the area.

And that wildfire along with at least eight others have forced more than 42,000 people from their homes in northern California.

[04:25:00]

The Caldor fire has destroyed more than 400 homes and it's only 9 percent contained. CNN's Pedram Javaheri has the latest -- Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good morning, Rosemary. You know, this has been an incredible run here for fire weather activity across the state of California. You look at the state in particular year to date comparison, 1.5 million acres of land have been consumed so far in 2021 across the state of California. That's about 50 percent more than where we were this time last year. It is three times more than where we should be for this time of year in general. So incredible run again of fire weather activity.

You noted nine large active fires, 13 in total now dotting the state. And the Caldor fire among the largest there with 114,000 acres of land consumed. Notice the amount of coverage here in the amount of containment, as minimal as it gets, right around 9 percent at this hour.

But the concern is not just for California but the way the steering environment is in the atmosphere. We're getting quite a bit of smoke and haze and a lot of poor air quality observations being seen across the Great Western areas there into the Great Basin. Reno in particular, air quality index 251. That is in the very unhealthy category. Notice if you're tuned in across Boise all the way into Billings, Montana you're going to be feeling the impacts of what is happening downstream there into northern California. And unfortunately, it's not going to change until the weather pattern changes and it doesn't look to in the coming several weeks at least.

But again, widespread coverage here of near surface smoke taking place along the western U.S.

Now national view here shows the severe potential weather there into the Midwest. We do have big time heat to also tell you about around parts of the southern U.S. About 40 million Americans under these heat advisories, heat indices up to 107 degrees along portions of say Louisiana and in particular New Orleans. Something to watch carefully there.

And also leaving you with what is happening around the tropics, three areas of active weather that are set to really make the tropical activity pick up over the next week or so with 40, 40, 50 percent chance of development respectively -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, thanks so much, Pedram, appreciate it.

Well, coming up next, a U.S. air base in Germany is now over capacity as nearly 8,000 evacuees from Afghanistan wait for their next flight out. That story when we come back.

And concerns are growing that the Taliban takeover will make Afghanistan a haven for terrorists once again. We'll have the details when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)