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Heavy Clashes between Taliban and Afghan Resistance in Panjshir Valley; Former Afghan Translator and Family Start New Life in U.S.; Louisiana Nursing Home under Investigation for Resident Deaths; Seven Wounded in New Zealand Supermarket Terror Attack; White House May Have to Scale Back Booster Plan; Medical Expert Says the Reality is a Three Dose Vaccine; Hurricane Larry Strengthens to Category 3 Storm; U.S. Paralympian Oksana Masters Wins 10th Medal. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 04, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, with the Taliban close to setting up a central government in Afghanistan, women taking to the streets, protesting for the right to work.

President Joe Biden promising help is on the way after Hurricane Ida leaves destruction from Louisiana to New England.

And new details emerging in that terror attack inside a New Zealand supermarket. Authorities now saying the suspect was released from prison just weeks ago.

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HOLMES: Afghanistan's new rulers have yet to unveil a formal government and that has presented a small window for Afghan women to publicly demand their rights be protected.

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HOLMES (voice-over): But as you can see here, even this small demonstration was enough to provoke the Taliban to try to break it up. The protesters demanding that women be allowed to work even as militants have forced some women to leave their jobs.

The women also insisting on having a continued voice in the country's affairs, especially in areas like education and health.

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HOLMES (voice-over): Meanwhile, celebratory gunfire broke out in Kabul after the Taliban claimed to have seized the rugged Panjshir Valley north of the capital. Resistance fighters who have held the valley for decades deny the Taliban claim.

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HOLMES: CNN's Nic Robertson is following all of this from Islamabad, joins me now live.

Tell us more about this resistance in the Panjshir Valley and what the fight means in the broader picture and their chances of getting any real foothold.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I think the bigger picture, Michael, is simple: if they can hold out in the Panjshir Valley, if they can set up a base for resistance against the Taliban, then some of those former warlords that fled the country because the Afghan national army collapsed, because their president fled the country, then they could sort of get back to sort of a broader resistance, a broader insurgency, if you will, against the Taliban across the country.

That's why it's significant. Now the former vice president, Amrullah Saleh, is up there in the Panjshir Valley. He's not the main commander. He used to be the significant political figure. But he did issue an on-camera statement yesterday.

He said, look, it's a difficult situation. We've had casualties on our side. They've had casualties on their side. But we're not going to give up. We're going to keep fighting. We're the national resistance.

So that's the danger for the Taliban. And this valley, the Panjshir Valley, historically, very difficult for invading forces, be it the Russians or the Taliban back in the '90s, to actually get into. It's always been somewhere that's been strongly and strategically defended. But the Taliban have numbers.

Can they crack it this time?

We're not at that stage yet.

HOLMES: I want to ask you, too, we mentioned the formation of a new government everybody's waiting for.

What might it look like?

ROBERTSON: Well, here's the thing. I think there's a couple of things that we can say and some of them are what the government won't have. I mean, the best understanding I have is that you won't see a woman in a ministerial position.

You won't see a former senior Afghan politician, like Hamid Karzai or Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who had been negotiating with the Taliban, you won't see them in a leadership position.

You might see one of the former conservative politicians -- actually a former prime minister in the country, back in the mid-'90s, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar here, his name floated around as somebody who is perhaps slightly more ideologically aligned with the Taliban. He could be a non-Taliban member in that government.

But also what's being spoken about here and in Pakistan, at least, is the possibility of a family member of somebody like Hamid Karzai or Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, a son, something like that, being in the government.

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ROBERTSON: But the reality is, unless they get a strong influential position in the government, it's not going to look particularly inclusive to the West. You know, as the G7 nations hold so much power over the IMF and the IMF having frozen Afghanistan's assets, that's going to be a tough -- you know, a tough point of call for the international community.

Mullah Baradar expected to take a leadership position, the commander of the faithful as a sort of ultimate leader. Mullah Akhundzada is known as a real Taliban leader, expect him to remain in that position.

And expect the structure to be something like an Iranian model, where you'll have a potential president but, above him, you'll have a supreme leader. That's the sort of structure we might be looking at.

HOLMES: All right. And capabilities yet to be tested in terms of actually running the country in a bureaucratic sense. Good to see you, Nic. Thanks for that. Nic Robertson there in Islamabad for us.

Now the White House detailing what was said between the U.S. President and former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani during their last phone call before the Taliban takeover. Have a listen.

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KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: President Biden was telling Ghani three things: work with my team to nail down the details of an effective military strategy, consolidating around population centers.

Two, let your military commanders implement that strategy.

And, three, rally the political leaders behind that strategy, to reinforce the confidence of the Afghan public and the international community behind that strategy.

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HOLMES: Now the White House added, unfortunately, Ghani couldn't or wouldn't heed that advice. Now this all comes after Reuters reported it reviewed a transcript of that phone call. And much of the conversation was focused on what President Biden called the Afghan government's "perception problem."

Now Mr. Biden has tapped former Delaware governor Jack Markell to lead the administration's Afghan resettlement efforts. More than 40,000 evacuees, including Afghan refugees, have already been admitted into the United States.

And now we're hearing from one of them. CNN's Brynn Gingras sat down with a former Afghan translator, starting his new life in America and worried for the family he left behind.

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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the first day of a new life for Zubair and Shabano (ph). This tiny one-bedroom apartment in Buffalo, New York, is their new home.

ZUBAIR, FORMER U.S. TRANSLATOR: I can't believe that I'm here in the United States. Sometimes I'm telling to my wife, I'm not sleep. She says no, now you wake up.

GINGRAS (voice-over): It was one week away from when Zubair was living a nightmare in Afghanistan.

ZUBAIR: It was really bad. We are stuck at home. One minute is like one day.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The former translator worked alongside U.S. forces for four years. He applied for a special immigrant visa more than two years ago. Zubair was one of the lucky ones. It was granted, just two days before the Taliban overtook Kabul.

But Zubair needed to get his family to the airport. He and his father both worked with the U.S. government and they knew if they stay in Kabul, their lives would be in danger. Zubair was getting text messages from friends also trying to escape.

ZUBAIR: Says it's like horror movie. He says that Taliban are like zombies.

GINGRAS: What were you thinking watching this?

ZUBAIR: I thought I can't get out of Kabul.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Zubair says he was on his own. With visa in hand, he spent days trying to get himself and his family past the Taliban, with no help from the Americans, he says.

ZUBAIR: The Taliban was behaving very bad. Most of them were beating people. I was seeing this, I caught gate inside the Kabul airport.

GINGRAS: But his father...

ZUBAIR: I leave him at the gate, the last think -- I couldn't talk with him, because I was intending to leave Afghanistan.

GINGRAS: So, you didn't get to say goodbye?

ZUBAIR: No.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The couple fled with just these three bags, leaving everything else behind -- family, friends and former co- workers.

"Z," a fellow translator, says he was days away from getting his visa when the Taliban took over. He's still stuck in Kabul. He asked we not disclose his name or show his face for his safety.

"Z," FORMER U.S. TRANSLATOR: People like me, there are a lot of people like me who was working with the same company. We all left behind. So, we're currently, we are -- we're receiving the threats, my family and my life is really in great danger.

GINGRAS (voice-over): His plea to the U.S. government:

"Z": My message to Mr. President Joe Biden is don't leave us behind.

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GINGRAS (voice-over): Zubair calls friends of his left behind daily. He says his mom is too heartbroken to speak with him, but he keeps hope.

ZUBAIR: I have hope that, one day, there will be, today in America, I see him here alive.

GINGRAS: In the meantime, he and his wife are starting over with help from a resettlement agency, Journey's End Refugee Services, which expects to assist many more Afghan families in the coming months.

The couple says they feel safe here, they can finally sleep and dream about what lies ahead.

ZUBAIR: The feeling that I will start everything again, it looks like a mountain, very high mountain. Now I am looking how I can climb this mountain. I shall find a way.

GINGRAS: And we didn't disclose the last name of the couple for the safety of their family in Afghanistan. Their families, just like Zubair's former co-worker, says they feel like sitting ducks right now.

They say everyone knew they worked with the United States; their community, their neighbors. And so, their lives are at great risk. Secretary of State Blinken said on Monday that the U.S. is committed to getting these vulnerable Afghans out of the country.

But for these families, the big question is, who is going to come for them first, the Americans or the Taliban? -- Brynn Gingras in New York, CNN.

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HOLMES: The U.S. President Joe Biden says help is on the way to Louisiana after Hurricane Ida pummeled the region last week. The president saw the damage firsthand on Friday, while touring communities ravaged by the storm.

He emphasized the need to fund climate-resilient infrastructure and promised hardhit communities that they have his support.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's much to be done. We're working around the clock with the governor and the elected officials here until we can meet every need y'all have.

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HOLMES: The state faces a long road to recovery with some areas remaining underwater. Nearly a quarter of a million homes and businesses still in the dark. And fuel shortages are hampering recovery efforts.

Louisiana officials, meanwhile, have launched an investigation into the deaths of several nursing home residents. The state's attorney general says hundreds of residents were evacuated ahead of Hurricane Ida to a warehouse. CNN's Brian Todd with the details.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wheelchairs and hospital curtains scatter the site of this remote warehouse where four nursing home residents died.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a nightmare. It's a nightmare.

TODD (voice-over): Local leaders now looking for answers for what went wrong.

ROBBY MILLER, PRESIDENT, TANGIPAHOA PARISH, LOUISIANA: That nursing homeowner should be held accountable. As far as an investigation, we understand there is one.

TODD (voice-over): The warehouse at Independence, Louisiana, served as a temporary evacuation facility for more than 800 patients from seven area nursing homes. The conditions inside were appalling.

MILLER: Crowding, mattresses on floors instead of beds, Porta-Potties instead of bathrooms and probably not enough of them. It is just things that none of us would want our family members to go through.

TODD (voice-over): And according to one patient who was inside, insects were crawling all over the mattresses. The Independence police chief says the facility was prepared for a certain number of residents, but the number nearly tripled quickly.

CHIEF FRANK EDWARDS III, INDEPENDENCE, LOUISIANA, POLICE: Well, I believe that the corporate management planned for 350. For whatever reason, they sent in 850. And where they failed was in not proactively seeking to move those patients to appropriate facilities.

TODD (voice-over): Renato de Rosas' (ph) 84-year-old mother made it out, but she suffered for several days with a 103 degree fever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I could tell she was upset but at least I knew she was alive. And if we would have known it would have been a place like this, I would have took her with me.

TODD (voice-over): With no power, generators required to provide patients oxygen failed and the heat was oppressive. The state says the health department tried to intervene Tuesday when they heard about the deteriorating conditions.

GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): LDH inspectors visited the site and, I will tell you, were expelled from the property and prevented from conducting a full assessment.

TODD: CNN obtained property records showing Bob Dean owns all seven of the nursing homes, plus the warehouse. Dean has a history of poor disaster management. A local investigation from nola.com found he made a similar plan to evacuate residents to a warehouse during Hurricane George in 1998.

MILLER: I would hope that his license for nursing homes is revoked, the outcome that he doesn't get to do this again.

TODD (voice-over): The governor committed to a full investigation, a promise relatives will not let them forget.

SABRINA COX, NIECE OF NURSING HOME RESIDENT: Why didn't you contact anybody for help, let somebody know what was going on, contact one person?

But people shouldn't be treated like that. You should be held accountable.

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TODD: We reached out several times to Bob Dean, the owner of the nursing homes and this warehouse facility, for comment and any explanation for what happened here. He didn't respond to us.

But he did tell CNN affiliate WVUE, quote, "We did really good with taking care of people." -- Brian Todd, CNN, independence, Louisiana.

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HOLMES: Now in the northeast, at least 50 people now confirmed dead after the remnants of Ida unleashed catastrophic flooding across the region. The waters engulfed cars in parts of New Jersey and left homes severely damaged, turning neighborhoods into waterways.

In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced a plan for improved warning systems when dangerous weather is approaching. State officials are warning that the road to recovery will be a long one. CNN's Miguel Marquez with a look at the devastation from Pennsylvania to New York.

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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In Passaic, New Jersey, dive crews have suspended the search for two missing people. Officials say a man and woman were in a car near a drainage ditch when they got out or were forced out by the floodwaters. They were then swept away by Ida's deluge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was seven feet water at that time. The water force was so high and they might be somewhere in the bank of rivers.

MARQUEZ: The drain empties into the Passaic River, which remains above flood stage at this hour. Tonight in Philadelphia, floodwaters haven't fully receded along many streets and parking lots that remain underwater.

COMMISSIONER ADAM THIEL, PHILADELPHIA FIRE DEPARTMENT: At the same time, we're moving into a recovery mode and a cleanup mode. The recovery process for this is going to take months.

MARQUEZ: Damage from a tornado just outside Philadelphia, no one prepared for a tornado here.

CHIEF ANDREW RATHFON, FORT WASHINGTON FIRE COMPANY: It's unimaginable.

MARQUEZ: The twister winds up to 130 miles an hour ripped through Fort Washington, damaging home, businesses and bringing down power lines.

RATHFON: I mean, the landscape of our community is completely different.

MARQUEZ: Power poles strewn across streets, huge trees uprooted in neighborhood and even roads and overpasses left in disarray.

Today, 4 million people in the northeast remain under a flood advisory due to swelling waters. At one apartment complex in Philadelphia, the National Guard rescued almost a dozen people and their pets, one of several in the area.

JAKE BLANK, RESIDENT: We really appreciate it. You know, we were waiting for quite some time and you don't really expect these types of things to happen when, you know, you are in a big building like this.

MARQUEZ: Today, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy getting a firsthand look of the devastation in his state. That's where at least six people remain missing and more than two dozen reported deaths.

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): It is quite clear our state and our nation does not have the infrastructure to meet this moment and to meet the future as it relates to these storms.

MARQUEZ: In Mullica Hill, families are trying to recover after a tornado ripped through their homes.

PAULA MENZONI, RESIDENT: Our house is gone. I said what, do you mean? He said the tornado.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were all muddled. Everything was falling on our backs and luckily our house has a walkout basement or we would have never gotten out.

MARQUEZ: New York also the worst flash flooding in the region. At least 16 people died across the state with nearly a dozen victims in Queens alone.

AMRITA BHAGWANDI, FLOOD VICTIM: There was only sadness and it's just overwhelming.

MARQUEZ: At least eight of the victims in New York City died in basements.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): Those who lost a loved one, someone swept away in a car, people trapped in their basements, not able to escape, those are the images that haunt me in the aftermath of this storm.

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HOLMES: Miguel Marquez reporting for us there.

Quick break here on the program. When we come back on CNN NEWSROOM, new details on Friday's terror attack in New Zealand. What we're learning about the suspect after the break.

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HOLMES: Now we want to bring you some new details on Friday's terror attack in New Zealand. The number of victims has been updated to seven wounded, following that knife attack on Friday at a supermarket in an Auckland suburb. Five people still in hospital, three in critical condition.

For more, let's bring in CNN's Selina Wang, joining me now live from Tokyo.

The prime minister had another news conference, Selina.

What more did we learn about what happened and the man?

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, we learned from the prime minister that this attacker was released from prison in July after every legal action was taken to try and keep him in custody.

Now his identity could not be revealed because of suppression orders. But we learned he was a Sri Lankan national. He had spent three years in prison up until that point in July and he was initially arrested in 2016 in the Auckland airport.

The prime minister said that, after he was released from prison, he was under constant surveillance, requiring up to 30 police officers at any one time because of those concerns about his violent and extremist views. Take a listen to what else the prime minister had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: At every turn, every legal avenue that was available was utilized and when it was no longer possible to legally have this person detained, that is when the police came in with their constant monitoring.

But what you can see -- and overseas examples have demonstrated also -- when you have a highly motivated lone actor like this individual, it is incredibly tough.

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WANG: And Michael, the police said that they were monitoring this man as closely as possible without detection on Friday, when he went into that supermarket. Police said that he took a knife from the supermarket, used it to stab shoppers before police shot and killed him.

The police commissioner said the fact that they reacted to this within 60 seconds showed they did everything they could legally within the law. The context here, Michael, is that New Zealand has been on high alert for attacks since the Christchurch attacks, in which 59 people were killed in two mosques.

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WANG: Ardern made sure to emphasize this attack was carried out by an individual, not by a face, not by a culture, not by an ethnicity. Take a listen to how she ended her statements today.

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ARDERN: The last thought I will leave is from the imam of Al Noor Mosque, who knows the impact of terrorism better than anyone.

He said, and I quote, "All terrorists are the same, regardless of their ideology. They stand for hate. We stand for peace and love. We have it within our powers to ensure the actions of an individual do not create a knock-on of hate, judgment and vitriol."

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WANG: Last month the government had discussed strengthening counterterrorism laws to make it illegal to plan a terror attack, whether or not it is actually carried out. Ardern said that she plans to put that law into action as soon as possible and get it passed -- Michael.

HOLMES: A lot of controversy over why the law doesn't exist already. Thank you, Selina. Selina Wang there in Tokyo for us.

Now to the pandemic and a big question in Britain whether to vaccinate healthy 12- to 15-year olds. The U.K.'s four chief medical advisers are being asked to weigh in on that issue.

Britain's vaccine advisory board has already said it won't recommend it, declaring the shots would offer only a marginal benefit. The British health secretary says a decision will be made shortly.

Stay with us. We'll have more on the U.S. administration's plan for rolling out a COVID booster and how it could leave out a whole group of people who have already been fully vaccinated.

I'm Michael Holmes. For our viewers here in North America, CNN NEWSROOM continues in a moment. For everyone else "AFRICAN VOICES CHANGEMAKERS" up next.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

The White House might have to scale back the vaccine booster rollout that is slated to begin in the coming weeks. President Joe Biden revealing the plan last month, telling Americans to get ready for booster shots starting on September 20.

But now a White House source tells CNN the initial rollout might be limited to Pfizer, since there isn't enough data just yet on Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. However, on Wednesday, Moderna said it has begun submitting booster data to the FDA. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains what it all means and why.

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ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Several weeks ago, when the Biden administration announced that there would be a booster rollout, starting September 20th for the COVID-19 vaccines, that left many people scratching their heads.

You can't have a booster rollout until the FDA and the CDC review the data and weigh in. And that has not happened. There have been no announcements for any of the three COVID-19 vaccines.

So here's the issue: it is possible that Pfizer could have a booster rollout, starting the week of September 20th. And here's why. They've submitted their data. They have a date, September 17th, to speak to the FDA's advisers. So they could have a rollout on September 20th.

But not everybody got Pfizer. Let's take a look at these numbers.

As you can see among vaccinated people in the U.S., 54 percent got Pfizer, 38 percent got Moderna and 8 percent got Johnson & Johnson. So here's the bottom line for people who are vaccinated.

There is an excellent chance, no matter what vaccine you got, that you will be told to get a booster sometime in the coming months. We don't know exactly when but it really is very, very likely that you will be getting a booster sometime in the coming months. The concern here is really for the folks who are unvaccinated. The

concern is that all this back and forth over boosters is going to make this group even more mistrustful of the government. These are folks who are not listening to health authorities. They're not getting vaccinated and.

The concern is this could make it worse. Let's take a look at this number. More than 1 in 4 eligible Americans have not gotten even a single shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Again, the concern is that this back and forth will make them even more reluctant to get a vaccine. The concern here is that the Biden administration needs to work on its messaging. Back to you.

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HOLMES: Anne Rimoin is a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She joins me now from Los Angeles.

Good to see you. Um, I -- just among my own circle of people, there is confusion about boosters. I think it's because it seems, every other day, there is a report we need them. Then, another saying, we don't need them. And then, another one saying, we will, eventually.

What's your read on the data?

ANNE RIMOIN, EPIDEMIOLOGY PROFESSOR, UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, Michael, I think that there is a lot of confusion because there's so much data that is emerging right now. And the messaging is a little bit confusing.

So what we know is that we're seeing from several studies and in particular studies from Israel, that -- that we're seeing antibodies decrease over time. And infections becoming more common. In particular, in older individuals who are having more severe disease.

And that is a real indication of -- of having waning immunity. That the immunity to the virus is now decreasing over time. And -- and that's something that we had always said was a possibility. That we were giving two doses, a few weeks apart. And that there may be a need for a booster when we would start to see more cases coming over time.

So -- so, I think that that's the real key here that we've seen evidence of waning immunity, in particular with the Pfizer vaccine in Israel. And -- and that's where this impetus to start boosting looking at countries that are ahead of us.

HOLMES: So what would you say to -- to people who -- um -- have two doses, so far and no booster?

What do you tell them if there's efficacy concerns?

RIMOIN: Well, what -- what -- I think there are a couple of pieces to -- to unpack here. The first thing is that we are talking about this as boosters. But really -- um -- what we're talking about, in reality, is having a three-dose vaccine.

And -- and this is because we -- we're starting to see the need for -- for a way to be able to keep these antibodies up. To be able to -- to really get a boost of neutralizing antibodies. And this third dose is very likely going to provide longer-term immunity.

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RIMOIN: We don't know for sure because this is still all, you know, ongoing. We're still learning about it but that's very likely. And that is what we see, for example, with the hepatitis vaccine.

And -- and so, it's very likely that this is just a third dose to be able to boost your immune system. In terms of efficacy, these vaccines are all doing an excellent job of reducing severe disease, hospitalization and death.

We have to remember, you look at those numbers, who is being hospitalized?

Who is dying?

The vast majority of those people are unvaccinated. It is very, very rare for somebody who is vaccinated to have one of these very severe outcomes. So the vaccines are really holding up well. It's just that we're starting to see a lot of these, what we're calling, breakthrough cases. People who are fully vaccinated getting infected.

But they're not getting severely ill.

So we have to really think about what do we want these vaccines to do?

We want -- we want to keep people out of the hospital and from dying. Um, most importantly. But if we can really get ahead of this and give people boosters -- um -- or third doses to be able to prolong this kind of protection, that's a really great thing.

HOLMES: Yes. We are already -- already seeing increases in cases in kids in areas with low vaccination rates. So I mean, the -- the -- the -- the fallout from being unvaccinated, it couldn't be more clear.

So just -- just quickly, if -- if we do get these third doses, boosters, should it be with the same vaccines?

And -- and should the timing be oriented towards more of what the variants are doing, what's out there, their effect and so on?

RIMOIN: Well, I think that it -- it's really about having this -- this third dose, you know, approximately six to eight months later, that's going to provide this kind of longer-term immunity, we -- we hope.

You know, whether you get the -- the vaccine that you started with or not is really something we should be basing it -- basing on data. And right now, we don't have that data. We know, from these Pfizer studies that we're seeing, that the third

dose of that Pfizer vaccine is going to significantly increase the -- the antibodies and these neutralizing antibodies that will provide protection.

But you know, I think that these data -- these studies are ongoing. We are going to have those data. And so, whether or not you want to mix and match vaccines, you know, we can learn about that later.

But my -- my guess is, is that those -- those differences are going to be incremental. That the real benefit is just going to be having this additional dose six to eight months later.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes. I guess -- I guess, the lesson is the damage done by bad messaging. Great information from you, though. Anne Rimoin, thanks for clearing things up.

RIMOIN: My pleasure. Always a pleasure to be here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Opponents of a controversial Texas anti-abortion law won a small victory on Friday. A Texas district court judge granted a temporary restraining order that bars the group Texas right to life from suing Planned Parenthood providers in the state.

The law bans abortions after only six weeks and is the most restrictive in the nation. It also allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps a pregnant person seeking the procedure.

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NANCY NORTHRUP, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: What Texas has done is to off-load, you know, its responsibilities to protect the Constitution and empower individuals to be bounty hunters.

The $10,000 is a minimum. A court could impose more fees but also attorneys' fees on the people who are sued. And this was not going to be limited to abortion for the court to hold it up. It means that any constitutional individual right could be on the chopping block.

Texas could deny people the right to vote and say, but we're just going to empower private individuals to do this, or the right of kids to get education, a whole host of individual rights.

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HOLMES: Planned Parenthood said in a statement that it is, quote, "relieved" that the court acted quickly to grant that restraining order.

A massive fire is threatening a popular tourist area in California. When we come back, details on the fight against the blaze and why firefighters say things might finally be looking up.

Also, another hurricane developing in the Atlantic. It's expected to strengthen in the coming days. We'll have a look at where it's forecast to head in just a moment.

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HOLMES: States across the Northeast are facing a daunting road ahead as they begin rebuilding communities devastated by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. At least 50 people now confirmed dead in the region after Wednesday's storm.

Emergency declarations have been made for New Jersey and New York as they work to repair flood damage.

At least eight tornadoes were confirmed across the region on Wednesday, including four in Pennsylvania, which severely damaged dozens of homes.

While millions are recovering from the impact of Hurricane Ida, we are tracking another storm strengthening in the Atlantic.

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HOLMES: Now firefighters battling the Caldor fire in northern California say they are now cautiously optimistic. Officials say improved weather conditions have significantly slowed the fire's growth.

That blaze has been terrorizing the region for nearly three weeks now. Thousands of people forced to evacuate the popular Lake Tahoe area. The Caldor fire still only 32 percent contained. CNN's Stephanie Elam is there.

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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know it may be hard to tell but what's behind me is a mountain ridge, where we've been watching fire burn. And this smoke that you see is all from the battle that these firefighters are waging on these blazes.

The way firefighters really go about fighting fires is they start by making sure that people are safe and then property. And what's down here in this valley below me are a bunch of houses. There are a lot of people who live in the Lake Tahoe area year-round.

So you see a lot of homes down here and I can tell you fire trucks have been down there protecting these homes. I can see some fire retardant down there as well. They're battling the fire up on the ridge, hand crews getting in there, trying to put a black line between where the fire is blazing and where it is going.

I can tell you that, looking at the map, this fire has burned over now across the border into parts of Nevada.

The good news is, as you're looking at this Caldor fire, which has burned more than 212,000 acres -- and we've seen the containment go up as well -- is that they do believe that it looks like the actual resort area, the ski town and where people come to enjoy the lake as well around Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe, it looks like it is in the clear for now.

But they're not ready to say that. Part of the reason is that fires can change on a dime, especially with weather conditions changing. There is a light breeze out here and that could play a part as well. It still takes time to get the infrastructure back up, trees cut and utilities back up after a fire.

So those are all the things that are keeping many residents away. But for now, some signs that things are looking better here -- In Christmas Valley, I'm Stephanie Elam, CNN.

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HOLMES: Coming up on the program, Oksana Masters has gone from orphanages in Ukraine to Paralympic gold. Our conversation with the history-making athlete after the break.

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[03:50:00]

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HOLMES: Defending champion Naomi Osaka is out of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, suffering a loss that left her near tears and saying that she doesn't know when she will next play a match.

The world number three was frustrated in the third round, losing to Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez. The Japanese star also repeatedly losing her cool, throwing down her racquet and hitting a ball into the crowd. She later apologized.

Osaka struggles with depression and that struggle has raised the profile of mental health issues in sports.

The Paralympics are in full swing in Tokyo and American Oksana Masters is making history. The double-leg amputee is just the fourth U.S. woman to win gold medals in both the Winter and Summer Games. She sat down with our Selina Wang about how she did it.

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WANG: Congratulations on your second gold in Tokyo.

What was going through your head when you were standing on that medal podium for the 10th time? OKSANA MASTERS, PARALYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Oh, my gosh. I was -- probably everyone could see, I literally couldn't balance. I was shaking inside my legs. I was so excited, so couldn't believe that the stars literally aligned. It just felt like a dream come true.

WANG: What has your road to Tokyo 2020 been like?

It hasn't been easy.

MASTERS: Everybody was struggling with the extra year postponement due to the COVID situation. Then 100 days out, the celebration for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, I had an unexpected surgery that was not just a minor surgery. It was pretty big and I felt like I shot every chance I had in my foot to get on the podium or make it to Tokyo.

WANG: If I had spoken to you even a couple months before, would you have thought you could have made it to Tokyo?

MASTERS: No. Me? I would not have that thought that. But I have an incredible team behind me that just believed in me. They believed I would be able to do it.

WANG: What were the first seven years of your life like in Ukraine/

And how do you reflect on those hardships today?

MASTERS: I -- it's just so hard to put into words because, literally going from, thinking back, starting out life, coming into this world 100 percent by yourself, not wanted, living in different orphanages and having no voice, to now having the opportunity to represent something so much bigger than just myself.

And I'm so lucky and I'm still so proud to be Ukrainian and represent Ukraine and America. And people who would -- parents who adopted, kids who are adopted, Paralympics (INAUDIBLE) athletes, people with disabilities, just I would never ever have imagined in a billion years that one day, a little girl from Ukraine with no voice, would go to just standing in the middle of a podium and having a voice that's heard.

WANG: And how do you think those incredible challenges you went through as a child have shaped who you are today?

MASTERS: I use them as strengths instead of choosing to live in those moments and in those darker moments. Sports, for me, started out as therapy. It started out as a learning process for me to heal and recover mentally and emotionally on the water with sports.

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MASTERS: My competitive side, I think, comes from the fact that I lived in Ukraine, in orphanages up until I was 7. So I had to fight for myself. I had to fend for myself. I had to keep my food and just it was definitely -- I think I was ingrained with a lot of resiliency.

WANG: As a child and young teen, you had to go through two amputations, multiple surgeries.

How did you cope with that and what did sport mean to you during those times?

MASTERS: It was hard because I never saw anyone that looked like me. People would show me pictures of people who have below the amputees or just one. But it's so different when you have two legs above the knee and you walk different.

It's just comparing apples to oranges. And I thought my life was over. And only when I got back on the water and in the boat is where I felt like I could just let everything out and just scream and just feel strong again and feel untouchable.

WANG: What would young Oksana still in Ukraine think of everything that you've achieved today?

MASTERS: It's so hard to think of myself as little Oksana because I just never thought this was going to happen. It's -- all I did was just dream. It's the one dream I had was I wanted a mom. I wanted a mom. I never dreamed for a dad. I just always dreamed for a mom.

And that's exactly what I got. My mom adopted me, a single parent. And all of my dreams came true the minute she came into my life. And I just never in a million years thought I would have so many opportunities and so many second chances at life.

WANG: What's next?

Are we going to see you at the Beijing Winter Olympics just five months away?

MASTERS: Yes. That is my goal, is to make it to Beijing 2022 Winter Games. Yes, five months from now, I'll be doing this all over again, except much colder.

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HOLMES: What an extraordinary young woman.

I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Robyn Curnow next.