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New Texas Law Bans Abortion at Six Weeks of Pregnancy; Thousands Face Weeks Without Power and Dangerous Heat; Significant Gas Station Outages Reported in Louisiana; 50K Told to Evacuate as Caldor Fire Threatens Lake Tahoe; Biden Defends Decision to End America's Longest War; Taliban Escorted Americans to Airport in Secret Deal; EU Divided on Offering Asylum to People Fleeing Taliban. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired September 01, 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.

We begin with this breaking news. Texas is now home to the most restrictive abortion law in the United States. It would ban abortions at six week of pregnancy before most women even know they are pregnant. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, only medical emergencies. The U.S. Supreme Court and a federal appeals court failed to rule on emergency challenges to the law, meaning it went into effect just hours ago. CNN's senior legal analyst Laura Coats explains how this law is different from others around the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA COATS, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: If you're talking about up ending the trimester framework not only of Roe v. Wade but of subsequent decisions that talk about a woman's right to choose prior to the viability of a fetus, meaning it can actually exist and survive outside of a womb, in touch with her own Doctor.

Now what they are doing is so sneaky, it really needs to be explained even more. What they have done in Texas is essentially said any person can sue anyone in a very vague term who aids and abets an abortion, meaning somebody who encourages, who drives you to, who performs, who speaks to you about it in some way, somebody who may have donated money to an abortion-related cause in some form or fashion, that person could then have to pay a penalty of about $10,000.

The idea of a plaintiff who might have to have something that they cannot reverse in the form of having a risk of imminent harm by a law, they can't now go to the courts to redress their grievance, they have doctors who now can't perform what is legal under Roe v. Wade. The only option now essentially if the Supreme Court either say look, the fifth District Court -- Circuit Court appealed -- Fifth Circuit, excuse me, could have to say that the lower court actually gets to decide in this point in time whether the law is actually unconstitutional or the Supreme Court can do it themselves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted: This is a full-scale assault on patients, our health care providers and our support systems. This abortion ban is blatantly unconstitutional. We won't stop fighting until it is blocked.

And we will have much more ahead on this breaking news.

Meanwhile, the Texas governor is vowing to sign a bill that will tighten the state's voting rules. The Republican-controlled legislature passed the bill Tuesday on a party line vote after Democrats ran out of options to block the move. The legislation includes new I.D. requirements for mail in ballots and broad access for partisan poll watchers among other changes.

Along the U.S. Gulf Coast, more than a million homes and businesses are without power. Mostly in Louisiana after hurricane Ida damaged the power grid. On Tuesday, the death toll from the storm rose to at least five people. Hundreds more have been rescued. Search efforts are still under way, but access to some of the hardest hit areas remains difficult and it is unclear how much people might still be trapped.

Meanwhile power crews are hoping to restore some service to New Orleans by Wednesday night. But officials say that process could take weeks in other areas. This as sweltering heat and humidity are only making conditions worse. Well, now Louisiana's governor is telling residents who evacuated to stay away for now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): I'm trying to make sure people understand is many of the life-supporting infrastructure elements are not present. They are not operating right now. So, if you have already evacuated, do not return here or elsewhere in southeast Louisiana until the office of emergency preparedness tells you it is ready to receive you. Schools are not open, businesses are not open, the hospitals are slammed, there is not water in your home and there's not going to be electricity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And for those who decided to stay in the New Orleans area, the mayor says distribution centers are being set up with essentials like food, water and charging stations. But in other hard-hit areas, officials say vital supplies including gasoline are quickly running out. CNN's Brian Todd is following that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:05:00]

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Urgent and sometimes desperate measures people are taking to get the things that they need. It's not just gas but it's food, water, other supplies. This is a line for gas here in New Orleans. We are in the Chalmette area just south of east of New Orleans. Look at this line, this line goes down this street and I'll have our photojournalistic Dave Catrett (ph) shot as far as we can. It's is dark.

So, you can see some of the cars on the adjacent crossed street gone that way. But we walked down that line, that line goes as far as the eye can see. You talk to motorists here who have waited three, four hours to get gas. This is their destination, this racetrack station in Chalmette, Louisiana, again, just outside of downtown New Orleans.

We tried to talk to the owners of the station to get an assessment of how much gas they have left, when they think they might run out because there was a Shell station that we were at just next door yesterday. He ran out of gas as of last night, and there were long lines of very desperate people to get gas in his station. And there was altercations along the way.

So again, it's a very tense situation tonight, as the gas shortages continue here in New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we're also getting a better sense of the extent of this storm damage. These before and after satellite images are from St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana. And you can see just how much water levels rose across the area. The Parish president says Ida, it's the worst disaster they have ever seen. One resident there posted video to social media as he waded through waist deep water on Monday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER VILLAGRAN, LAPLACE, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: Had to go back and get the supplies. Need that gas. Tired. This water is nasty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in LaPlace where he spoke with one homeowner who is just beginning to assess the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The water got up just above the floor board.

DOMINIQUE THOMAS, LAPLACE, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: Yeah, just above the floor board.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The day after Hurricane Ida wrecked Dominique Thomas's home, she's cleaning up the disaster. She says she's lived through many storms before but this was different.

THOMAS: You can still just hear everything ripping and flying and banging and people's roofs were coming off and we just -- we prayed that we would all might live.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): And the emotions of experiencing Hurricane Ida's furry have caught up to the 32-year-old mother.

THOMAS: The most scariest thing we ever did, it really was. We were there for so long not knowing how high the water was going to get. I don't think I'll ever stay again.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The day after hurricane Ida ripped through southeast Louisiana, officials are warning residents across the region it will take considerable time to get life back to normal. There are more than a million customers without electricity and for many, it could take weeks to get the power restored. Water systems are down, as well and cell phone communication is spotty. The coming days and weeks will be long and hot.

JACLYN HOTARD, ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, LOUISIANA PRESIDENT: We are resilient group of people. This is going to be very difficult, worst disaster that we've all seen in St. John Parish. And it's going to take a long time.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): In LaPlace, residents say they were stunned by the intensity of the storm's winds and the structural damage it caused.

DEBBIE GRECO, LAPLACE, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: It was horrible. It was -- the wind, I never had wind shake the house the way it did.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Debbie and Ronnie Greco say after 4 feet of water poured into their home the roof started to collapse.

GRECO: The ceiling started caving in, that's when I really got scared. Because it was like, oh my God, is the roof going to blow off and we're going to be out exposed?

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Some of the hardest hit areas of southeast Louisiana are still nearly impossible to reach. This is what Grand Isle looks like. This video was captured by one of several dozen people who didn't evacuate and are now stuck on the barrier island.

THOMAS: It was seeping in from all the doors, all the closets.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Dominique Thomas is bracing for weeks of recovery but she can't stop thinking about the eight brutal hours her family endured through this storm.

THOMAS: The doors were rocking back and forth. The windows were shaking. It was just a matter of time before you felt like everything was just going to go poof, right off.

LAVANDERA: The cleanup process in some of the smaller communities surrounding New Orleans, some of which were the hardest hit by hurricane Ida, is still in its early stages. Crews are still trying to clear roadways of downed power lines and large trees. In fact, local officials are urging people who evacuated not to come back for as long as they can so that crews can get as much of that work done as fast as possible.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, LaPlace, Louisiana. (END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:10:00]

CHURCH: The Lake Tahoe region is normally a popular tourist attraction right now. Instead, more than 50,000 people have been told to evacuate because of a wildfire near the California/Nevada border. The fire is being fueled by dangerously dry conditions. CNN's Dan Simon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are looking at a potential worst-case scenario with this fire pushing its way into the Lake Tahoe region. This community of South Lake Tahoe has completely emptied out with people heeding the evacuation orders. This is a very popular tourist destination. So, you are talking about hotels, restaurants and stores that have no customers. Of course, it could have a devastating impact on tourism. But the most immediate concern is people's safety. And I want you to listen now to one resident we spoke to who was packing up her belongings as she was about to head out of town. Take a look.

STEPHANIE BUSBY, CALDOR FIRE EVACUEE: We're all packed up, ready to go to Reno. We have friends in Reno. So, we'll figure it out.

SIMON: What is going through your mind?

BUSBY: Everything we're leaving, you know, our hotel, our whole town, our jobs, everything.

SIMON: California officials have been predicting a very active and challenging wildfire season. Of course, we have seen that and more. The Caldor fire is the number one firefighting priority in the country, so the race is on right now to save this and other nearby communities.

Dan Simon, CNN, South Lake Tahoe, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with the latest on all of this. Pedram, what are you seeing?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Rosemary, you know, we're going to start off with what is happening across portions of Louisiana. Because as we noted here, of course, massive power outages still remain in place for upwards of a million customers. But the temperature is as incredible as it gets. A peak summer-like weather across this region right now with heat indices or what it will feel like close to 100 degrees in some areas such as Baton Rouge already exceeding 100 degrees. It's a Wednesday afternoon.

And notice this, heat advisories from the National Weather Service including much of southern Louisiana, portions of Texas into Oklahoma, climbing up to 110 degrees. Again, incredible heat if it was the middle of July when it is peak season for excessive heat, but here in September, we're seeing them take place across portions of the South. Now what is left of the storm system? Well, there it is, you kind of

still see some organization with this. It's a tropical depression as it rains itself out across parts of the Ohio Valley into the Northeast. And tremendous amount of rainfall in store here across the Northeast. Upwards of 70 million Americans already underneath a flood risk in place here. Storm Prediction Center gives this a level 4 on a scale of 1 to 4 for excessive rainfall risk including some of those major metro cities in and around New York City whereas much as 3 maybe 4 inches of rainfall are possible in this area.

And the storm system kind of its final act here. And you notice what happens on Wednesday afternoon, we do expect some of these storms to be severe a level 3 and enhanced risk on a scale of 1 to 5 for the severity of the storms. Even gives about a 10 percent chance of any point within 25 miles or so in this area indicated in orange in that region for tornadoes to be possible into this afternoon and this evening.

So certainly, the storm system that has quite a bit of potency left before it is all said and done just in the form of remnants of what was once hurricane Ida.

But into the tropics we go. This is what's going on. We have a tropical depression in the way of Kate weakening. We don't expect much from this storm over open waters. It's tropical depression 12 that we're a little more concerned about coming off the coast of Africa. Very early in the ball game here, but the initial forecast at least the next five days, keep it over open waters, but you'll notice gradual strengthening. And of course, we'll follow the track very carefully into early next week and see where a tropical storm and then eventually hurricane Larry ends up as that would be the next storm in line here, Rosemary. So, a lot of activity in the world of weather right now.

CHURCH: Yes, there most certainly is and you are staying right on top of it. Thank you so much. Pedram Javaheri appreciate it.

And for more on how you can help those affected by hurricane Ida, just go to CNN.com/impact. You will find a list of verified organizations already making a difference.

And still to come, President Biden responds to his critics forcefully defending his decisions on Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those asking for a third decade of war in Afghanistan, I ask, what is the vital national interest?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We will have more on the president's address to the nation ahead as he explains why it was time to end what he calls a forever war.

Plus, the U.N. is warning of a humanitarian crisis, how the world body is vowing to stay involved in Afghanistan. That's next.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: With Joe Biden facing criticism for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. president is striking a defiant tone defending the evacuation efforts as an extraordinary success despite up to 200 Americans and thousands of Afghan allies being left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: This decision about Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. It's about ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries ...

That was the choice, the real choice between leaving or escalating. I was not going to extended this forever war. And I was not extending a forever exit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: In his address to the nation on Tuesday, President Biden reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to help those who still want to get out of Afghanistan. And he defended the timing of the U.S. withdrawal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Imagine if we had begun evacuations in June or July, bringing in thousands of American troops and evacuating more than 120,000 people in the middle of a civil war. There still would have been a rush to the airport, a breakdown of confidence and control of the government, and it still would have been very difficult and dangerous mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:20:00]

CHURCH: The president also said an evolving terrorist threat means the U.S. strategy must change too. And he issued this warning --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Let me say clearly, to those who wish America harm, to those engaged in terrorism against us or our allies, know this, the United States will never rest. We will not forgive. We will not forget. We'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and you will pay the ultimate price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Taliban is faced with moving beyond celebrating victory to governing a country in crisis. The militants drove into Kabul's airport Tuesday, now empty after two weeks of frantic evacuations. The U.S. insists the major military equipment left behind was disabled. But the Taliban has released video that purports to show fighters driving some of the 70 mine-resistant ambush protectant vehicles that were left behind.

Well, there were many logistical elements to air lifting more than 122,000 people out of Kabul. Details are now emerging about one that had been kept secret. An arrangement with the Taliban to escort groups of Americans to the airport gates. CNN's Oren Liebermann has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Taliban has been a part of this process, the U.S. evacuation and withdrawal pretty much since the very beginning, and they only became a bigger more critical part as the U.S. evacuation and withdrawal neared its conclusion. Daily communication, constant communication on the ground between U.S. forces that were there, the commanders there, and the Taliban.

We've now learned just how deep that was, a secret arrangement according to two defense officials where the U.S. would tell American citizens to go to a gathering point or a muster point and then the Taliban would bring them from that point to the airport. It could only be revealed now because of how sensitive this is.

First if the Taliban had to respond in some way. And second, if ISIS- K, the threat we saw, knew about this, they will have another chance to target Americans on the way to the airport. And that's why this was kept secret until now.

But there was another part to the evacuation, the secret attempts to get Americans out of the country. Special operations forces that were operating on the ground there had a secret door to the airport that they would use to guide Americans to that door and bring them on to airport grounds. Now, it's unclear to what extent the Taliban allowed all of the Americans through to the airport, there are reports of them not letting all Americans through. And if some were stopped and turned back, that remains part of the question.

We do know that General Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command acknowledged how much special operations forces did in the final days there, that's because he said on Monday when he spoke at a press briefing at the Pentagon that special operations forces brought in more than 1,000 American citizens and 2,000 Afghans Special Immigrant Visa applicants. And so now we're getting a clear sense of the level of the operations used to bring in Americans and the connections around that.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And for the regional perspective, let's turn now to Nic Robertson who is joining us live from Islamabad. Good to see you, Nic. So, the Taliban now have -- they have to govern Afghanistan. And to do that, they will need help and support from the international community. So how is this going to work, and how are they likely to govern? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, we're

expecting to hear the makeup of the new government in the upcoming days. They had over the past three days a senior council meeting, a leadership council meeting in Kandahar, which is their spiritual heartland. I think that's kind of significant that they didn't actually hold it in Kabul.

But that significant but it doesn't make a great matter on the outcome. The outcome of how they shape their government is important. It's because they promised to include non-Taliban members. And I think everyone is looking to see how prominent those non-Taliban members are in that government. Do they have roles of significance? And I think the early assessment is that's unlikely.

But you know, the pressure on the Taliban as you say to govern, the pressure is on them. It's a country that is racked with a poor economy, racked with a drought at the moment, dependent on international aid. And really that's where the levers of international influence are over the Taliban.

But you know, the mechanism by which those levers can be used is really unclear. There's a lot of diplomacy still going on with the Taliban, with regional parties like Pakistan, the Dutch foreign ministry is here meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Minister, the German Foreign Minister was here meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Minister yesterday.

[04:25:00]

So, I think that lot of effort is being applied to the Taliban to try to make sure that those other Afghans who were associated with NATO inside Afghanistan that wanted to leave, are able to leave, those other American citizens who are in Afghanistan who want to leave are able to leave.

But really, you know, the next steps at the moment really depend on the formation of that government and the longer the Taliban waits to announce that government, the more the country is in essence, in limbo. The more the economy is hurt and the greater the possibility of people wanting to flee the country.

CHURCH: All right, Nic Robertson joining us live from Islamabad. Many thanks for that.

Well, the U.N. is vowing to stay in Afghanistan amid the deepening humanitarian crisis. For the tens of thousands of Afghans who manage to flee the country and escape Taliban rule, they don't know what comes next or where they will be able to make a new home. The European Union doesn't know either. On Tuesday, the bloc met and offered to boost aid to Afghanistan and its neighbors, but it's sharply divided when it comes to offering asylum to these evacuees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YLVA JOHANSSON, EU COMMISSIONER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: We are in a situation of course where we need a comprehensive approach towards Afghanistan. We need to avoid a humanitarian crisis. We need to avoid a migratory crisis and we need to avoid security threats.

KARL NEHAMMER, AUSTRIAN INTERIOR MINISTER: What is the most important thing now -- the most important thing now is to send the right message into the region. Stay there and we will support the region to help to people there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Western allies evacuated about 100,000 people from Afghanistan before the airlift ended. European leaders say they do not want to repeat the region's immigration crisis of 2015.

Well, just ahead, hurricane Ida's fierce winds and torrential rain left the small town of Grand Isle, Louisiana in ruins. We will take a tour of the city and meet one longtime resident who says he won't rebuild.

Plus, more on our breaking news out of Texas which now has the most restrictive abortion law in the United States.

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