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U.S. Strikes Back For Kabul Bombing, Evacuations In Final Phase; Drone Strike Kills Two High-Profile ISIS Targets According To The Pentagon; Ida Expected To Hit Louisiana Tomorrow As Category 4 Hurricane; Anti-Vaccine Protesters Harass Hawaii's Lt. Governor; Team Rubicon Preps To Respond After Hurricane Ida Hits; Biden: Another Kabul Attack "Highly Likely In Next 24-36 Hours"; Ivermectin Debacle Exposes Hypocrisy Of Anti-Vax Crowd. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 28, 2021 - 18:00   ET

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

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for being with us on this Saturday.

And we are following two major stories this hour. Tonight, President Biden is warning another attack on Kabul Airport is quote, "highly likely" in the next 24 to 36 hours. And he is also vowing that today's U.S. drone strike against ISIS-K terrorists would not be the last.

Also tonight, we are tracking Hurricane Ida as it barrels towards the Gulf Coast. The Governor of Louisiana warning, it could be quote, "one of the strongest storms to hit the state since at least the 1850s.

But let's start tonight in Afghanistan. The Pentagon has confirmed two high-profile ISIS targets were killed last night in a drone strike. It was retaliation for Thursday's suicide bombing that left 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 other people dead.

[18:00:03]

The Department of Homeland Security is tracking three primary threats. One being the possibility ISIS or al-Qaeda members could use this relocation process to enter the U.S. Afghan allies who were able to escape the horror are seeking shelter around the world, including the U.S.

And today, we saw more refugees land at Washington's Dulles Airport to start a new life free of the Taliban's grip.

CNN chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins and CNN Pentagon correspondent Oren Liebermann join me now.

So Kaitlan, the President is sounding the alarm tonight about another possible attack. What more do we know?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pam. As this evacuation is winding down, the President said the threat still remains very high. It could be the highest right now than it has been in this entire evacuation mission given there are still thousands of U.S. troops on the ground. And so the President has continued to be updated every single day this

week by his National Security team. This morning was no different. They spent about an hour and a half in the Situation Room and the White House readout of that meeting is pretty blunt, saying that the President was told that right now the threat of an attack is quote, "highly likely" in the next 24 to 36 hours.

He said, the situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous. And of course, the threat of terrorist attack still remains high. And that is something they are monitoring very closely as they are continuing these evacuations out of the airport for the next, you know, several -- it's not clear exactly how long the evacuations will go on.

They've said they'll go on up until the end, though we are told those numbers will likely reduce as they start to focus on retrograding this mission, which means basically pulling out those troops, pulling out their resources, and their weaponry, that is going to be the next big phase of this.

And of course, that is a concern for the White House. That as the smaller that troop presence gets, the higher the risk becomes to those troops who are still on the ground. And of course, given what happened this week with those 13 U.S. service members killed, Pam, this is top of mind for the President and for his top aides.

BROWN: Yes, we are on high alert there at the White House.

And Oren, what more have you learned about the drone attack that the U.S. carried out overnight killing to ISIS militants?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This drone attack was carried out in the City of Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province, east- southeast of Kabul Airport.

The initial assessment from The Pentagon which came late last night right after a U.S. Embassy warning telling U.S. citizens to leave the vicinity of the airport. That initial assessment said that one ISIS-K planner had been killed in the attack. That was updated this morning that it was a planner and a facilitator for ISIS-K that were killed in the drone attack, and another ISIS-K militant or member was also wounded in the attack.

The Pentagon says they're not aware of any civilian casualties. But we should note that CNN has spoken with Afghan locals who say there were three people killed in the attack, a man, a woman, and a child. So, we'll certainly keep on top of that.

Meantime, the retrograde, the withdrawal and perhaps destruction of some of that U.S. equipment and forces that has officially begun, meaning this has entered as Kaitlan points out, the most critical and dangerous period of the evacuation winding down into the end.

Still, the numbers are moving out; 6,800 people evacuated in the span of 24 hours including 4,000 by the United States. In terms of the average numbers of people on a flight, it's down to about 125, far below the 350 average per flight that we saw just a few days ago, that a very strong indication, as this winds down and transitions from the evacuation to the withdrawal effort, some equipment also being brought out on those flights.

BROWN: And how confident, Kaitlan, is the White House that it will be able to evacuate all those remaining Americans out of Afghanistan on time?

COLLINS: Well, they say there's about 350 that they are actively working to get out right now. They say there are a few hundred who have said that they do not have a plan to leave, do not plan on that right now.

Of course, some of those circumstances, we're not fully aware of, all of those. Some of them may have family members that can't come back or other extenuating circumstances. And so that is of course, a big part of this because President Biden did say that we would get all Americans out by that deadline on Tuesday, just 72 hours or so away.

But of course, a big concern about that is what happens once the U.S. is gone from there? What does this airport look like? And those are details, Pam that we still don't know of who is going to be running this. We know it will no longer be a U.S. responsibility, though. There have been talks about with others in the international community, including Turkey, about keeping that airport running.

They said that the Taliban do have an interest in keeping the airport functional. And so that has really been a big concern for the White House, it is still getting those people out who want to get out.

And the President said in his readout today that despite the treacherous situation in Kabul, they are continuing these evacuations up until the end. We've seen some other nations say that they have unfortunately had to stop there given the security level.

So, we'll keep looking for these numbers from the White House on these evacuations. Of course, we do expect them to dwindle as we get closer to Tuesday.

BROWN: And we should just highlight that these U.S. service members were there at the airport continuing their duty in the face of this heightened threat environment and we shouldn't forget about those 13 U.S. service members who were killed in the latest attack.

[18:05:09]

BROWN: Oren, what more can you tell us about them?

LIEBERMANN: Eleven Marines, a sailor, and a soldier. What struck me as the Department of Defense began to release information about those who were killed in the attack was how young so many of them were.

Here's a list of the service members, the troops who had the bravery and the heroism to go to Afghanistan to continue this mission on behalf of others. Staff Sergeant Darin Hoover, Sergeant Johanny Rosariapichardo, Sergeant Nicole Gee, Corporal Hunter Lopez, Corporal Daegan Page, Corporal Humberto Sanchez, Lance Corporal David Espinoza, Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, Lance Corporal Rylee McCollum, Lance Corporal Dylan Merola, Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, Hospitalman Maxton Soviak, Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss. May their memory be a blessing.

BROWN: All right, Oren Liebermann, Kaitlan Collins, thank you so much.

Well, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for Thursday's deadly attack, but what is ISIS-K?

CNN's Brian Todd explains.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, we have new information now on ISIS-K, its background, where its fighters are from, and its ideology.

It is a group considered to be an archenemy of the Taliban, but even more vicious.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): ISIS-K, the K for Khorasan, an area around the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. ISIS-K claims to be a branch of the main ISIS terror group, which gained power in Syria and Iraq seven years ago.

Experts say ISIS-K comprised of some veteran jihadists from Syria and elsewhere, has lost ground and manpower since 2018, but still has a presence in eastern Afghanistan and has formed cells in Kabul.

In total, according to a U.N. report, they're believed to have between 1,500 and 2,200 fighters in Afghanistan.

PETER BERGEN, AUTHOR, "THE RISE AND FALL OF OSAMA BIN LADEN": A lot of these are former Taliban who slapped on the ISIS patch in order to sort of make themselves the biggest and baddest guys on the block.

TODD (voice over): But ISIS-K is now a sworn enemy of the Taliban.

BERGEN: The Taliban are fighting them. Really, you know, it's more local rivalries.

TODD (voice over): Why more broadly have the two notorious terror groups turned on each other?

COLIN CLARKE, THE SOUFAN GROUP: It ranges from ideological to political to military. It doesn't believe in a political agenda. ISIS believes that only God can rule, and even though the Taliban is attempting to establish an Islamic Emirate, that's not enough for ISIS. ISIS is a bit more hardcore.

TODD (voice over): So hardcore, according to analyst Colin Clarke, that ISIS-K is thought to be even more draconian than the Taliban.

In areas they control, he says, they impose harsh Sharia law, execute civilians and others who they suspect are spies. CLARKE: They want to attract and recruit the most ardent sociopaths in

the country, and their calling card is this, you know, rapacious and wanton violence against anyone that stands in their way that actually helps them bring in other fighters into the organization that have a similar mindset.

TODD (voice over): Some of those fighters have been sprung from Afghan prisons.

ISIS-K has carried out several bombing attacks in Afghanistan in recent years, including an attack on a school for which according to a Pentagon assessment, killed at least 68 people, most of them girls.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Is ISIS-K a threat to wage broader war against or even overthrow the Taliban? The terrorism experts we spoke to don't think so. The Taliban have far greater numbers of fighters, they say.

ISIS-K could become a violent nuisance to the Taliban conducting IED attacks, suicide bombings, hit and runs according to experts, but they say ISIS-K is not going away without a fight -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, thanks so much, Brian.

And tonight, time is running out for people in Louisiana to get out of Hurricane Ida's path. Our meteorologists and reporters are tracking the storm and the emergency preps.

Also ahead tonight, as COVID cases and hospitalizations soar, misinformation is convincing some people to take unproven treatments, including medicine for horses and cows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I highly suggest people stop injecting themselves with Ivermax and start injecting themselves with a vaccine, because that's free and that is $300.00.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:13:30]

BROWN: The ghost of Hurricane Katrina is looming large over the Gulf Coast tonight as Hurricane Ida grow stronger and more ominous. The storm is charging straight toward Louisiana and it is due to make landfall tomorrow as a Category 4 near New Orleans, and on the 16th anniversary of Katrina's landfall.

This afternoon, Louisiana's Governor stressed the historic nature of Ida's threat.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): This will be one of the strongest

hurricanes to hit anywhere in Louisiana since at least the 1850s. We can also tell you that your window of time is closing, it is rapidly closing. And just like we said yesterday, by the time you go to bed tonight, you need to be where you intend to ride the storm out.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BROWN: Parts of Louisiana are under mandatory evacuation orders and many highways and roads are clogged with traffic from people heeding the warnings.

In Mississippi, which was also ravaged by Katrina, the Governor has declared a state of emergency. The National Weather Service is underscoring the dire stakes here, warning that some places might be quote, "uninhabitable for weeks or months."

We're recovering all the angles of the approaching hurricane and the growing sense of urgency. Let's begin with meteorologist, Tom Sater and the CNN Weather Center. Tom, how's it looking?

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well Pamela, if you look at the visual satellite imagery, it looks quite impressive. It is well-organized and getting even more organized, which means as it moves northward into the extremely warm waters, the environment is perfect for this to just erupt in intensification.

[18:15:13]

SATER: Now, what you see in a visual satellite imagery is quite impressive, especially as the sun sets. You start to see more detail. Where the thunderstorms are firing up, you see the shadows. You get a better idea of where the eye is.

Now at 5:00 p.m., we did have a few slight changes, the center moved just a little bit from where it was to the north and northeast, so maybe only by a few miles, but that's important, because that ultimately changes where landfall will be and they did nudge it just a little bit to the east. We'll have to see if that trend continues.

Now breaking this down even further. Also, in the 5:00 p.m. update, because it was edged a little bit to the east, they have extended the surge warning to now include all the way to the border of Florida, Mobile Bay, do not let your guard down with this. If that trend continues, it means worse problems for Metro New Orleans and all points including Biloxi.

Now, this is an infrared satellite imagery and we talked in the last hour how we had about six hours of a time period without some good data. But a NOAA aircraft took off from Lakeland. They are now into the center right now. They are finding the pressure dropping, so eventually, the winds will increase.

We also have an Air Force hurricane hunter that had to take off from San Antonio. It had to leave Biloxi. So, it's taking off from there. They are going to make several passes into this and we are going to get much more information, valuable information that could take this from a Category 2 to a Category 3.

Let me show you, when you take this infrared imagery and you just kind of slightly change the dynamics of the picture, you can really start to see the ridging, and that's what we're watching -- what's happening around the center. When it starts to band like that and the thunderstorms appear with the lightning, you know, this thing is breathing and all cylinders are on fire here.

Now, we had a wind gust all the way in Key West this morning, 67 miles per hour. So you don't have to be near the center to possibly have a downed tree or even some power outages. But we're going to concentrate on the center right now. And I want to add a little bit more to what the Governor said just moments ago when he said, you know, this can be one of the worst since the 1850s. Here's why.

Records go back to 1851. When you want to look at winds like this, that's a Category 4 or Category 5. There have only been five hurricanes to do this with this type of wind. One was in the 1850s, one in the 1890s. They were unnamed.

Then you had Betsy 1965, Camille 1969, and last year's Laura. What is not on the list? Katrina. These winds will be stronger than Katrina. Now, they are two totally different systems.

Katrina actually had a wind profile that was four to five times larger than this one. So again, and with the surge and the levees breaking, it was just obviously a mess. Eighteen hundred people lost their lives. And that anniversary, the landfall is tomorrow, 16 years.

These are the model differences and there is not much of a difference, 1:00 p.m. local time in the afternoon, the European model is a little slower, but pretty much in the same location. As we get this information in from the hurricane hunters in the aircraft, we're going to have a better idea to see if that trend continues eastward, which would put the strongest winds in New Orleans.

And again, the problem that we're been talking about all day long is the force of this Category 4, if it continues on this forecast, and its forward movement, it is not going to lose its Category 4 status right away. It is not, as soon as it hits land and all of a sudden, it goes down and tropical storm.

Hour by hour interaction, with that land is going to squeeze out tremendous amounts of rain. We could see well over a foot, even up to two feet in some areas, as it then starts to race across the Tennessee Valley.

So there is a lot to talk about. The winds, the surge as mentioned extended, Pamela, but again, the heavier amounts of rain. I certainly hope everyone is out of the parishes in Southeast Louisiana, especially Plaquemines Parish where there's still some levees that are not quite up to snuff or repaired from the last couple of problems they had.

Obviously, the levee system in New Orleans has been as much better with all the engineering and of course the $20 billion they put into this. This can really have some heavy amounts of rain all the way up into areas of the northeast.

A lot to watch in the next couple of days, but the next few hours are critical.

BROWN: A lot to watch, and you we heard the Louisiana Governor say to all the residents there that the window is closing to evacuate before this massive storm hits. Meteorologist Tom Sater, thank you so much.

And now, let's go to southwest of New Orleans to Houma City and the projected path of the storm. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is there. So, what are you seeing there, Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Pamela. They are taking advantage of that narrowing opportunity to save property and to save lives. You can see the individuals from Houma, Louisiana and the Terrebonne Parish taking advantage of the sand that has recently been deposited here, filling up sandbags, of course, they're bringing them to their homes, to their businesses to protect them from the floodwaters that are indeed going to come to this region.

What makes this area so vulnerable? The Terrebonne Parish? Right where I'm standing, only 10 feet above sea level. Can you imagine that? That means any storm surge above that has the potential to really inundate this area.

[18:20:12]

VAN DAM: Of course, there's a series of levees and flood gates, which by the way have been closed. The Morganza Levee System built in 2013, meant to protect this particular parish and its 100,000 residents is meant to protect from a Category 3 or one in 100-year event. This storm will arrive on our shores as a Category 4 hurricane. That means, it is going to test the limits of that particular levee system meant to protect these particular residents as well.

I talked to a nurse from a local hospital within this area. She didn't want to be interviewed on camera, but this is interesting. Remember, all of this is unfolding amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Katrina, she was evacuated. The residents and the patients from the hospital were evacuated as well, easily because hospitals around the area weren't full. That is a different story now. There is nowhere to bring residents, excuse me, to bring patients from local hospitals because all the hospitals are full with COVID patients.

All right, this is what's happening in the Terrebonne Parish. I'm going to send it just to my east in New Orleans where my colleague Nadia is standing by.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Derek, you know, this area well here in New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina tomorrow, marking 16 years since the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. That storm, a Category 3.

Now we know what was more significant was when the levees broke, when the levees just didn't work all across that area that flooded major parts of New Orleans. This storm though, Hurricane Ida expected to be a Category 4.

So take a look here in the French Quarter. You've had businesses that are getting ready, putting sandbags out. We've seen people putting sandbags out. We've seen people boarding up their businesses all morning long.

And then we talked to a man, his name is Jesse who lives in the area. He said he stayed in New Orleans during Rita and Katrina. He's not going anywhere for Ida. But he says he is concerned and so are his employers. Listen why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE GIALLAHAN, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: I've been boarding up windows for businesses, sandbagging getting these businesses ready to close down like -- we are just talking about Stanley's earlier, like when I go there, I'll be cleaning out their freezers, putting all the rugs up, taking their chairs, just you know, preparation for hurricanes and people don't realize the business preparations are actually more than household preparations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So much to do for businesses and for home owners. Now he told me after he gets done boarding up some 20 businesses throughout the French Quarter, he is going to go home and make sure that he has enough things that he needs in order to ride out this storm.

And we're concerned about the storm surge, the flooding, and the power outages. That's why when we went to the grocery stores, there were so many of shelves that were just empty, completely empty. No water, no bread, none of the essentials because people knew they needed to take those and hoard them just in case they lost power for a week or two weeks or however long depending on where they live.

But this is interesting, Pam. We ran into residents, people who live in New Orleans who were here during Katrina, but we also ran into plenty of tourists who were waiting today in order to leave. They wanted just one more day of that vacation, and now, they are stuck.

They did not heed the warnings from earlier this week from the Governor, from the Mayor to get out while they could. Now they have to stay in this city for as long as they might need to because they waited just too long -- Pamela.

BROWN: They just pushed it. All right, Nadia Romero, that is interesting. Thanks so much.

Well, COVID is keeping tourists away from Hawaii and state officials are being threatened as they try to get this pandemic under control. Hawaii's lieutenant governor joins me up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:28:13] BROWN: Ida is expected to slam into Louisiana tomorrow with COVID

cases already overwhelming hospitals there. The state is reporting more than 2,400 COVID hospital patients ahead of Ida's landfall. The Governor says evacuating hospitals will not be possible.

Louisiana is in the middle of a severe COVID outbreak. The state now reporting 3,400 new cases just yesterday. And if you're looking for a pandemic retreat, the Governor of Hawaii says don't look here. He wants tourists to stay away as cases surge in his state and hospitals fill up.

Hawaii has fully vaccinated more than half of its residents, but the state is battling a high level of community transmission.

Josh Green is the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii and an ER physician. He is with us live from Honolulu. You have been a very busy man dealing with all of this. Why do you think your state has seen a surge?

LT. GOV. JOSH GREEN (D-HI): Well, thank you for having me. We're having a surge for the same reasons others are having a surge and that's that the delta variant is super infectious.

Its R-naught or its infectivity is just crushing people who are unvaccinated. There are some breakthrough cases, but in spite of the fact that more than two-thirds of all of our people have initiated vaccination and actually 84 percent of those who are eligible to be vaccinated have gotten the shot started, we still have a couple hundred thousand people that are vulnerable and they're all catching delta.

BROWN: And you're an ER doctor, in addition to being the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, what are you seeing in the hospitals?

GREEN: I'm seeing heartache. I'm seeing exhausted nurses and doctors. I'm seeing preventable fatalities. That's what we're seeing here in Hawaii and what we're seeing sadly all across America, so all I can say is, everyone, we hurt with you.

[18:30:11]

Please, please get vaccinated. This should not be a political battle. This should not be an intellectual fight. This should be something we do to save our families from suffering.

BROWN: How frustrating is it for you as a Lieutenant Governor and an ER doctor to be on the front end of both of this on trying to get the message out to the state, get vaccinated and then you're seeing these people come into the hospital who were unvaccinated so sick with COVID. How frustrating is that?

GREEN: Well, it's a little frustrating because it has lots of implications. Number one, every single person I've cared for in the hospital with COVID has been unvaccinated, a hundred percent for me. It's about 90 percent statewide of our hospitalizations are amongst those who are unvaccinated. These are all preventable sufferings, all preventable deaths.

It's also a frustration because some of the protests that go on and I'm totally an advocate for free speech and protest, some of those protests are scaring others from becoming vaccinated. And then there's misinformation from some of the other news channels and, of course, the internet.

It's frustrating because it doesn't have to happen that way. This is not something that should divide America, our capacity to care for one another should unite us. But when I go on call again next weekend, I will certainly see some people who are suffering. And it does also resonate beyond just COVID.

Two weekends ago, I took care of a 74-year-old gentleman who had a big heart attack. It was on the Big Island where I do my ER work and it took me many, many hours to transfer him to a hospital that could provide cardiology care. So people are not getting care because the beds are full.

Another woman who's in her 40s who I'm familiar with who has breast cancer can't get her mammogram and subsequent mastectomy for many weeks because we don't have capacity to do the elective procedures. So this resonates to those individuals. Also, it's a big problem for all of America.

BROWN: You were talking about the protests and everything going on there. You've actually been the target of protesters and harassment, including right outside of your home. Tell us what that has been like.

GREEN: Well, it's no joy. I have little kids and wife who I love and neighbors who I respect. So when people come to my home to protest and sometimes say some pretty unpleasant things, it's not anything that you like. But I will say this, there's a lot of rage and fear out there and if I can absorb some of that fear and some of that rage, and instead places some attention on the need to get vaccinated, then it's OK, because I really want to encourage all of our country and all of our state, of course, to increase their vaccination rates.

For every hundred thousand people that we vaccinate, we decrease by 5,000 the number of hospitalizations and by 500 the number of deaths that occur. That's in Hawaii, that's in Minnesota, that's in New York, that's in Iowa and California, everywhere.

The protests were misdirected. They should, of course, be directed at me when I'm Lieutenant Governor at my office, but freedom of speech is very American. Let's just do it right.

BROWN: All right. Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Josh Green. Thanks for joining the show on this Saturday. We appreciate it.

GREEN: Thank you for having me.

BROWN: As Hurricane Ida approaches the Gulf Coast, Team Rubicon is preparing to mobilize. This nonprofit group prepares first responders and military veterans for rapid response to communities in need. Just a week ago, Team Rubicon deployed to Waverly, Tennessee after that catastrophic flooding left 20 people dead and hundreds more homeless.

Current tracking models show that Ida could impact that very same area early next week with possible tornadoes and more flooding. Kate Stevens is an operations associate at Team Rubicon.

Kate, thanks for being here with us. Let's start with Louisiana and Mississippi. Tell us how your group is preparing for the initial impact of this storm. What kind of assets do you have ready to go?

KATE STEVENS, OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE, TEAM RUBICON: Thank you so much for having me. Currently, we have two route clearance teams that are standing by to assist local agencies as soon as the storm passes through to make area roads accessible, especially for those first responders. And then once the storm clears, we're going to send out four recon teams to survey the affected areas and determine how best we can meet the needs of the local communities.

BROWN: So Team Rubicon, you send people in every time there was a natural disaster. As we watch this hurricane, it's looking really bad. We expect it to be at least a category 4 when it reaches Louisiana tomorrow. That is the expectation. The path could change. How much are you and others with the organization bracing for all of this?

STEVENS: Well, we lean into these opportunities to get out and assist citizens. We have supported many of these same communities last year with hurricanes Laura and delta. We did muck outs and roof tarping as well as home repair and debris removal for over 400 homes. Since then we started long-term recovery. We've rebuilt 10 homes.

[18:35:00]

We have six under construction and 13 more in the pipeline. So it's very important to us to be able to reach out to these communities and help these folks at the hour of their greatest need.

BROWN: And will the team members be prepared to do water rescues in the event of people being trapped by flooding?

STEVENS: We don't participate in water rescues. The best way that we can support the local emergency managers and authorities in that capacity is to clear the roads, so we will bring in equipment to clear the pathways to get search and rescue capabilities launched and keep providing access to citizens as best we can.

BROWN: And we should note that you oversee Team Rubicon operations in Kentucky and Tennessee. Forecast models show that Ida is actually heading toward - that could have further impact on Middle Tennessee early next week where there's already been so much devastation. We were covering that on the show; the flooding, homes demolished. How are you preparing specifically for these already hard hit communities like Waverly?

STEVENS: Thank you for asking that question. So we have begun our response there by providing again, muck outs and debris removal. We're staying plugged in with the local emergency management, paying attention to the weather forecast and we have contingency plans in place.

If we need to take an operational pause, we will do that. We have, if we needed to evacuate, we have plans for that. We have plans for you know sheltering, should there be the need for tornado warning, shelters and those kind of things.

So that's something that we continually do in operations is take that opportunity to reevaluate the situation as it changes and that's what we're prepared to do. We definitely talk with our teams on the ground more than once a day just to make sure that we have our finger on the pulse as to what's happening there.

BROWN: Team Rubicon has been so busy. I know Team Rubicon was helping with Haiti after the devastating earthquake there recently, now all of this. You guys have been busy. Thanks for all of your hard work, Kate Stevens.

STEVENS: Thank you so much.

BROWN: And if you would like to help Team Rubicon and its many missions, you can donate online at teamrubiconusa.org/give. You can also text the word RUBICON to 20222 to donate $10 or text TEAM to 20222 to donate $25.

The Taliban claim that they will respect the rights of women, but still base their government on sharia law. Up next, we're going to look at what life could be like now for Afghan women and girls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:42:06]

BROWN: When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the group said their government would respect women's rights within sharia or Islamic law. But here's the thing, sharia interprets the divine (inaudible) of the Islamic faith and one nation's laws can look very different from another's. So what could the Taliban's version look like for Afghan women? CNN Salma Abdelaziz, explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER(voice over): After takeover, the Taliban vowed to govern Afghanistan by sharia. When asked how that would differ from the group's rule two decades ago, this was the answer.

"If this question is based on thoughts, ideology, beliefs then there is no difference. We have the same beliefs." The group spokesman said.

The Taliban says it's forming an inclusive government that will ensure women's rights within an Islamic framework. "But because sharia is not a codified system of laws, what that means is entirely up to the Taliban themselves," says Professor Hisham Hellyer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H.A. HELLYER, CENTER FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE: When we talk about sharia in a public context, then again interpretations for how that is applied as Islamic law, they differ tremendously across the board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ (voice over): The group's record is bleak. The Taliban's Draconian regime from 1996 to 2001 was widely criticized by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In modern legislative applications of sharia by other Muslim majority states provide little comfort.

Take for example Iran, a country ruled by strict Shia interpretation of Islam. There the morality police subject women and girls to daily harassment and violent attacks says Amnesty International. In Qatar, women are denied the right to make key decisions about their lives from marriage to work without a male relative, Human Rights Watch reports.

And under Saudis' male guardianship system, women must obtain permission for some of their most basic rights. Men can even file cases for disobedience, rights group say. But there has been a recent shift in the kingdom, a driving ban was reversed and travel restrictions on females eased in recent years.

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HELLYER: There are certain interpretations that are held up and then there are other interpretations that are equally valid in Islamic law that are not, why? That's a public policy decision.

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ABDELAZIZ (voice over): And that's exactly where the Taliban say they are changing. They want to engage on a global stage.

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HELLYER: They also have to take into account relationships that they have with powerful actors outside of the country.

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ABDELAZIZ (voice over): That leaves the U.S. and its allies with one key piece of leverage; international recognition and legitimacy.

[18:45:01]

Hanging in the balance, the 20 years of gains in rights and liberties for the women and girls of Afghanistan.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, three safe and effective vaccines are available right here in the U.S. to help end the pandemic. So why are some people turning to medicine for animals for treatment? We'll set the record straight next.

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[18:49:53]

BROWN: As COVID cases and hospitalizations soar, misinformation is persuading some people to grasp for unproven treatments, including medicine for horses and cows.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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Why in the world that an individual would want to take a medication for livestock?

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ivermectin can be used to treat parasites like worms and lice in humans, but it's mainly used by vets to deworm livestock.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We typically sell maybe 10 of those a month. But in the past month, we've probably sold 50 to a hundred of each.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I highly suggest people stop injecting themselves with ivermecs and start injecting themselves with a vaccine, because that's free and that is $300.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The CDC says calls to poison control centers have tripled compared to the number of calls they were getting before the pandemic started.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking about 14 or 15 people who are calling because they may have toxicity as a result of ingesting livestock ivermectin to self-treat or self-prevent COVID.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This week, the CDC revealed that one adult was hospitalized for nine days after drinking a cattle formula, another bought pills online and took five of them every day for five days before they too ended up in the hospital. So where is this misinformation coming from?

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LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: We know that our FDA has in many ways failed us by not allowing for the use of ivermectin. TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Weinstein discussed the benefits of a

drug called ivermectin which can and is around the world used to treat and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, some have investigated whether ivermectin might help, but no solid evidence has been found that it can help people with COVID-19.

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DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Let me just say very clearly that ivermectin is not a recommended treatment for COVID-19.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Republican Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has been pushing ivermectin since 2020. His dubious claims about COVID treatments, including ivermectin earned him a one week suspension from YouTube. And just last week, he was touting the livestock drug on his official Senate Twitter account.

To be clear, these are the same people casting doubt on life-saving COVID vaccines that the FDA has found safe and effective.

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CARLSON: It makes you think once you think about it that maybe none of this is really about COVID, maybe it's about social control.

INGRAHAM: The Biden administration is about to take their pressure campaign to your doorstep.

SAM STEIN: The focus of this administration on vaccination is mind boggling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the record, the science is clear. The danger is real. Listen to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The doctors your tax dollars pay to protect public health.

Overdosing on ivermectin can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, itching and hives, dizziness, trouble keeping your balance, seizures, coma and, yes, even death.

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DR. PAUL BYERS, MISSISSIPPI STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Take only those medications that are directed by your physician. Please don't take livestock medication.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you don't have hooves, if you don't wear a saddle to work and if you don't stand in a field chewing grass, then ignore the noise on social media and the hot air coming from right wing talking heads. Or in the words of the FDA, "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously y'all. Stop it."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: In evacuation flight, no doctors and one baby ready to be born. How an airline crew helped with the special delivery out of Afghanistan?

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[18:58:30]

BROWN: Well, President Biden says the conditions in Afghanistan right now are extremely dangerous and is warning that another attack at Kabul's airport is 'highly likely in the next 24 to 36 hours'. Those sobering words come after the Pentagon confirmed two high profile ISIS targets were killed in a drone strike last night in Afghanistan.

The President authorized it as retaliation for Thursday's suicide bombing outside Kabul Airport, 13 U.S. servicemembers and at least 170 other people were killed. And it came as the U.S. nears the deadline to exit the country on Tuesday and as more Afghan refugees arrived to a new life in the U.S.

And while we can't ignore the tragedy in Afghanistan, we can also see brief moments of joy and hope in the chaos. This Afghan baby girl was born this morning aboard an evacuation flight. A Turkish Airlines' crew stepped in to deliver the child after her 26-year-old mother went into labor and no doctors were aboard. They were more than 32,000 feet over Kuwaiti airspace on the flight from Dubai to England. After a stop in Kuwait, the flight and its most special passenger continued on to the U.K.

Last Saturday, an Afghan mother gave birth on a U.S. military evacuation plane just after it landed in Germany.

Well, the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

[19:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now is the time to leave.

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