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Top U.S. Military Leaders Testifies Before Congress On What Went Wrong In Afghanistan's Withdrawal; Japan's Ruling Party Votes For New Leader; North Korea Says It Test-Fires New Hypersonic Missile; Prime Minister Boris Johnson: Fuel Supply Situation Starting To Improve; Haiti's Prime Minister Speaks To CNN On Migrants And President's Killing. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 29, 2021 - 00:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, the evacuation was a huge success, but the war, a total failure. The blunt assessment by America's most senior general on 20 years of U.S. occupation of Afghanistan.

The race to be Japan's next prime minister with the ruling party voting for a new leader, who will likely lead the country at least until general elections in November.

And authorization for COVID vaccines for children ages five to 11 is looking to be much closer to Thanksgiving in the U.S. than Halloween.

Senior leaders of the U.S. military have been publicly grilled for hours on Capitol Hill, with members of Congress demanding answers to what went wrong in Afghanistan. How could the Taliban emerge victorious after 20 years of fighting, which costs thousands of lives and trillions of dollars?

For some lawmakers, this was their YouTube moment and partisan point scoring took precedence. But for most, the questions kept returning to how could the Afghan government collapse in just 11 days? How could the national army for the most part just surrender? Could different decisions by either Presidents Biden or Trump prevented the Taliban takeover?

From Washington, CNN's Alex Marquardt begins our coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The U.S. military's most senior leadership in charge of the war in Afghanistan today facing tough questions from a Senate Committee.

GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We certainly did not plan against a collapse of the government in 11 days.

MARQUARDT: Questions about the chaotic evacuation, the decision to withdraw, troop levels and how the Afghan army and government imploded so quickly. AUSTIN: The fact that the Afghan army that we and our partners trained simply melted away in many cases without firing a shot, took us all by surprise, and it would be dishonest to claim otherwise.

GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I think there was a lot of intelligence that clearly indicated that after we withdrew, that it was a likely outcome of a collapse of the military and collapse of the government.

MARQUARDT: The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley also in the hot seat over a series of revelations from the new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, called Peril.

The book reports that Milley reached out to his Chinese counterpart in the days before the presidential election, assuring him that all was OK and that the U.S. would not attack China.

MILLEY: I am certain that President Trump did not intend to attack the Chinese. And it is my directed responsibility and it was my directed responsibility by the Secretary to convey that intent to the Chinese.

My task at that time was to deescalate. My message again was consistent, stay calm, steady and deescalate. We are not going to attack you.

MARQUARDT: He spoke with General Li again after the January 6th insurrection. Milley says he told not just his boss, the Acting Secretary of Defense, but the Secretary of State and the White House as well.

MILLEY: I personally informed both Secretary of State Pompeo and White House Chief of Staff Meadows about the call among other topics.

Soon after that, I attended a meeting with Acting Secretary Miller, I briefed him on the call.

MARQUARDT: The hearing highlighted that the top generals thought that at least 2,500 U.S. troops should remain in Afghanistan, putting them at odds with President Biden over his decision to withdraw all troops.

GEN. KENNETH MCKENZIE, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I recommended that we maintain 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. And I also recommended earlier in the fall of 2020 that we maintain 4,500 of that time, those are my personal views.

I also have a view that the withdrawal of those forces would lead inevitably to the collapse of the Afghan military forces and eventually the Afghan government.

MARQUARDT: Biden had told ABC News he didn't remember anyone recommending those levels to him.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC ANCHOR: So, no one -- no one told -- your military advisors did not tell you no, we should just keep 2,500 troops, it's been a stable situation for the last several years, we can do that, we can continue to do that? JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, no one said that to me

that I can recall.

MARQUARDT: Today, the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters there were a range of viewpoints presented to Biden.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I would note today in the testimony that was given by Secretary Austin, by General Milley, they made clear, Secretary Austin specifically said, if you stay there at a -- force posture of 2,500, certainly you'd be in a fight with the Taliban and you'd have to reinforce.

MARQUARDT: Milley told lawmakers that right after the November election, he got an order from Trump to pull out all troops by January 15th right before Biden's inauguration.

That order was rescinded but the Pentagon officials said today that Trump's deal with the Taliban last year to withdraw had demoralized Afghan forces and contributed to their collapse.

[00:05:09]

MCKENZIE: The Doha agreement did negatively affect the performance of the Afghan forces (INAUDIBLE) in particular by some of the actions that the government of Afghanistan was required to undertake as part of that agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT (on camera): General Milley faced significant criticism from Republican senators on Tuesday for speaking with reporters writing books. He admitted that he'd been interviewed for at least three books that were critical of former President Trump.

Senator Josh Hawley asked if Miller was distracted from Afghanistan as a result and told Milley he should resign. Milley told the senators that transparency is important for the American people to understand how the government works.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

VAUSE: Joining us now is retired U.S. Army Colonel Jeffrey McCausland, a national security consultant, Visiting Professor at Dickinson College.

Colonel, thank you very much for being with us.

JEFFREY MCCAUSLAND, RETIRED U.S. ARMY: John, it's great to be with you.

VAUSE: OK. Well, much of the contract -- much of the focus has been on this contradiction between Milley's own view about a residual force in Afghanistan and what the president told ABC News that no senior military commander had recommended against a full troop withdrawal.

There is testimony though from Milley that the status quo of relative common Afghanistan in recent years was about to end.

He told the committee, on the first of September, we were going to go to war again with the Taliban. Of that, there was no doubt.

The White House Press Secretary also on Tuesday tweeted this out. The President told ABC News advice was split, but consensus of top military advisors was 2,500 troops staying meant escalation due to the deal by the previous administration.

Does that provide enough context here? Does that take some of the gotcha moment out of Milley's testimony regarding the residual force in any differences with Joe Biden?

MCCAUSLAND: I think it does (INAUDIBLE) as far as this, certainly the senior military leadership. Obviously, the president seemed pretty adamant that there was no one who is opposing. Oppose his logic of pulling troops out and no one was arguing for residual force. There seems to be a little bit of a difference right there.

Again, the White House has attempted to cover that up as you rightly point out by saying that there was a consensus. And when the White House Press Secretary was pressed about this, she went on to say, you know, she was going to reveal names those who agree with the president, as opposed to General Milley and apparently, also General McKenzie, the CENTCOM commander, who was also in those hearing today also seem to recommend that 2,500 force stay on.

But as again, John, you were -- you're right as well, that all those people there today seem to agree that without question, if we stay beyond one September, then the Taliban would have begin grievous (PH) attacks on our forces, we would had to reinforce those forces, would have been taken casualties in that moment on.

VAUSE: And just to that point, if there had been this residual force of 2,500 U.S. troops beyond September 1st, ultimately, that number would have -- would have to increase?

MCCAUSLAND: It would have to increase without question and certainly would be very, very difficult depending on when that force was deployed. Because of course, by the latter part of August, we basically controlled only the Kabul International Airport.

So, bringing a force in under fire, trying to take control back once again of Kabul would have been a major major military undertaking, a lot of fighting there in Kabul, which resulted on large scale casualties on both sides, as well as the large-scale casualties for our NATO allies, because they had forces there as well.

VAUSE: Much of the criticism of Milley, especially from Republicans, seems to sit on this idea that he should have resigned when it became obvious that the president decided not to follow what he really truly believed which was leaving behind this residual force.

Here's part of his answer when a Republican senator asked him quite bluntly why haven't you resigned. Here's General Milley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLEY: Just from a personal standpoint, you know, my dad didn't get a choice to resign at Iwo Jima and those kids there at Abbey Gate, they don't get a choice to resign. And I'm not going to turn my back on them. I'm not going to resign -- they can't resign, so I'm not going to resign, there's no way.

If the orders are illegal, we're in a different place. But if the orders are legal from civilian authority, I intend to carry them out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In other words, it's simply stating out what the chain of command is. There is a commander-in-chief who makes the final decision.

MCCAUSLAND: Exactly right. And I thought in many ways, what General Milley did there on T.V. today was actually teach a civics lesson and the importance of civil military relations and civil control of the military to a bunch of senators, which was a little bit surprising to say the very least.

Underscoring the point for our country, at least, civil control the military is a bedrock of our democracy. And again, a president of the United States takes that military advice from the -- senior military leadership, but then he or someday she has to make that call (PH) and make that final decision.

And I can tell you, all my time in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the briefings I ever sat in on, all of them emphasize as far as our strategy for either place, Afghanistan in particular was the integration of the military component, certainly the economics, diplomacy, politics, information. The president has got to weigh all of those things, as well as that military advice.

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MCCAUSLAND: But obviously, a general who resign every time the advice is not taken, we're going to rotate through generals pretty quickly. And that will be the end of civil control of the military and an absolute politicization of our senior military leadership.

VAUSE: I guess the problem that many Republicans have, though, with Milley is that he was willing to follow to the letter orders from Joe Biden, but months earlier, it was he -- in their view, actively tried to undermine President Trump by inserting himself into the chain of command for a nuclear strike.

He spoke with his Chinese counterpart, that kind of stuff. Is there an argument here or we're like sort of comparing apples and oranges in this case?

MCCAUSLAND: I really don't think there's any argument here. I worked from the Pentagon, I worked on the National Security Council staff in the White House. And I can tell you that the contact between people at all levels with foreign governments, friendly and adversaries is fairly routine, particularly to crisis.

And this is really a unique situation. There was intelligence, General Milley talked about that, that the Chinese had to believe that we might well attack them during this very turbulent period of this transition.

And what he was doing was calling his counterpart, well, by the way, there were memorandums of agreement between Department of Defense and the Chinese on how this all is done to reassure them that that type of an attack was not about to occur, and if you will, defuse a potential crisis.

And he went on in great detail as well, John, to point out to everybody at that hearing. If he did that, the full -- the full knowledge of that then Secretary of Defense Esper, subsequently Acting Secretary of Defense Miller, Secretary of State Pompeo, as well as Chief of Staff McCarthy in the White House, all those players and numerous other people were aware of all this. Some 13 people listened to the call.

And therefore, I think in many ways, Milley was doing his job and averting a potential crisis based on misunderstanding and miscommunications with the Chinese who were very uneasy at that particular moment.

VAUSE: Colonel, thank you. Colonel Jeffrey McCausland and we appreciate your time, Sir, thank you.

MCCAUSLAND: Thank you.

VAUSE: Right now, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is voting to elect their new leader or the next leader, and likely to be next Japanese Prime Minister.

As for the first time in a living memory, this result is not a foregone conclusion, with a four candidate race to close to call.

CNN's Selina Wang following developments in this vote live for us this hour from Tokyo.

So, when will we know the results here of this internal party vote, which is underway? Because the Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced he was stepping down as party leader earlier this month.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we should have the results in just a few hours and this is one of the most unpredictable LDP races in decades.

Now, the leader of this race is going to virtually become -- virtually assured to become Japan's next prime minister because of the dominance of the LDP and Japan's parliament.

Now, this race is also significant because it is the first LDP election where there are two women vying to become president significant in a country where women are vastly underrepresented in politics. Now, of the four candidates, the most popular one from the public opinion stance, according to the polls is current vaccine minister Taro Kono. He is seen as this outspoken political maverick. He speaks perfect English. He has an active Twitter following. He has more than two million followers. He often speaks directly to the people on social media. He's positioned himself as someone who gets things done, who isn't afraid to tear down bureaucratic barriers if necessary.

Now, up against him. Another leading candidate is Fumio Kishida, who is seen as a moderate liberal that is also a consensus builder. He has talked about trying to reduce the income gap and also proposed a hefty economic recovery package.

Now, many analysts predict that Kono will win the first round of voting, but not by enough to secure a majority and that ultimately Kishida will defeat him in the runoff.

Experts tell me that while Koto is very popular with the public, his positioning as this outspoken maverick does not sit well with Japan's conservative heavyweights and that Kishida is seen as a more stable and safe choice.

Now, for the two female candidates. They are not expected to gain enough support to become Japan's first female prime minister and the candidates, John, are almost completely polar opposites.

On one hand, you have Sanae Takaichi, who is an ultra-conservative. She opposes legal changes that would allow Japan's prime -- Japan's emperor to be a woman. She opposes same sex marriage. She also has revisionist views on Japan's wartime atrocities.

On the other hand, you have Seiko Noda who has campaigned on diversity and inclusion themes.

And John, regardless of who ever wins this race, Japan's next prime minister is going to have to deal with challenges including the pandemic dealing with rising China, Japan tensions, as well as the stagnant Japanese economy.

The big question as well is just how long lasting is this next prime minister going to be? Is Japan going to return to this era of revolving door premiership? Because before Shinzo Abe, Japan withdrew six prime ministers in six years, John.

[00:15:08]

VAUSE: Oh, yes, those were the days, they kept having a new one every year. It was a -- it was a typical time, I guess for the country and for the party.

Selina Wang, thank you. Selina Wang there in Tokyo.

Well, North Korea says its latest missile launch was a test of a newly developed hypersonic missile. The tech (PH) media says the new weapon boosts the country's defense capabilities a thousand-fold. North Korea has carried out three missile tests just this month. CNN's Will Ripley is following developments live from Taipei. And part

of this sort of regional arms race I guess South Korea is set to unveil a new submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But this hypersonic missile is pretty unique, John. If the North Korean claims are true, they're calling it the Hwasong-8 and a hypersonic missile by definition is a missile that cannot only travel at least five times the speed of sound, which would be around 4,000 miles an hour, roughly one mile per second, but it's also a missile that can change direction.

So, a lot of ballistic missiles already traveled at hypersonic speeds but once they launched, they're kind of on a set trajectory. A hypersonic missile analysts describe as something that could be launched and then can kind of move around, making it a lot harder for missile defense systems to counter.

Currently, only two countries have these missiles deploy that would be -- at least confirmed to be deployed. That would be China and Russia. The United States has also been testing and developing hypersonic missile technology.

If North Korea is now a member of this very small club of countries that are involved in a hypersonic arms race, some analysts say it could actually be a game changer.

But we don't have a whole lot of information to go on right now. We have a basically some state media images of the Hwasong-8. Analysts are looking at those as carefully as they can, but you can only ascertain so much.

This is not coming as a complete surprise that North Korea has developed or claimed to develop this kind of weapon. It was actually on their wish list back in January, when the North Korean party congress met. They talked about wanting a hypersonic missile with a gliding flight warhead, which is what they say they've developed a missile that could shoot up and down -- shoot up and then down into the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. And then, the warhead actually detaches and can travel potentially thousands of miles on a glider potentially putting in striking range the mainland United States.

There are other weapons that Kim Jong-un has on his wish list, including new and better intercontinental ballistic missiles, including one that could potentially have a range, John, of 15,000 kilometers 9,300 miles.

So, no immediate comment or response yet from the United States and South Korea, but you can bet they are scrutinizing those images, scrutinizing what they can see about the flight path from that launch, to figure out if this is indeed a hypersonic missile and the game changer that some analysts are calling it.

VAUSE: Yeah, one thing about the North Koreans often what they say they've done is in fact what they had done. Well, I guess we'll find out.

RIPLEY: Exactly.

VAUSE: Will Ripley live in Taipei.

Well, the British government says U.K. fuel crisis is easy. So, they come though long lines at the pump persists and the fundamental problems remain.

Also ahead, the island of La Palma declared a disaster zone as its volcano continues to erupt the new danger threatening the area when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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VAUSE: Lava from the volcano on Spain's Canary Islands has reached the Atlantic Ocean as eruptions continue for the 10th straight day.

Officials say residents on the island of La Palma should shelter in place until further notice. Its dangerous gases are released when the lava reacts with the ocean water.

Thousands of people were evacuated before the lava flow destroyed hundreds of homes as well as banana plantations. Spain has designated La Palma a disaster zone.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says it appears petrol shortages are beginning to ease across the country. And the Petrol Retailers Association says just over a third of its members are without petrol, down from about two-thirds on Sunday.

Still, many drivers continue to wait in long lines to fill up. The government has again stressed fuel is not in short supply. There's just a shortage of tanker drivers to deliver petrol to the pumps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: We now are starting to see the situation improved by hearing from industry that supplies are coming back onto the forecourts in the normal way.

And I would just really urge everybody to just go about their business in the -- in the normal way and fill up in the normal way when you -- when you really need it and you know, things will start to improve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, things are starting to improve. CNN's Anna Stewart has saw it firsthand from London motorists who are dealing with this fuel shortage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, as you can see, there is a queue of drivers at this petrol station in East London. But actually, the queue has been moving pretty fast and this petrol station had a big delivery of fuel this morning.

In addition to that, we're hearing optimistic noises from within the industry and also the U.K. government saying that the fuel prices could now be easing.

On Tuesday, the government said they put the army on hard standby to step into help if needed. It's not an issue of a lack of fuel within the U.K., it's a lack of drivers, you can get it from platforms and refineries to the petrol stations that need it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going to take long journeys because you don't know if you're going to get some fuel somewhere or not. It's really, really bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all need, you know, fuel to work and our emergency services need it more but we still need it as well to do our jobs, so now it's really hard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I should have got some on Saturday but I left it. (INAUDIBLE) he says he got the army on standby, why don't he just employ and just get the situation so -- you know, sorted out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we have like the line just for the motorcycle, so it's better, but most places we got to stay behind lines like, you know, for I don't know how many, you know, miles. It's just it's a pain in the -- in the butt.

STEWART: The British Chambers of Commerce compare the temporary visa scheme to throwing a thimble of water on top of a bonfire. And that's because while this petrol crisis may be beginning to ease, the shortage of drivers has been an issue for well over a year and it's hitting supply chains for multiple sectors.

So, things might be improving here at the petrol pump, but we could be looking at a winter of discontent, as a problem has huge ramifications across different sectors.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Environmental activist Greta Thunberg has once again lashed out at world leaders over decades of empty promises on climate action. She made those comments during a youth climate summit in Italy. Hundreds of young activists are there to meet with policymakers and hammer out possible solutions ahead of the U.N.'s COP 26 climate talks. But Thunberg remains skeptical, saying time is running out to avoid catastrophe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRETA THUNBERG, CLIMATE ACTIVIST: There is no planet B. There is no planet blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This is not about some expensive politically correct green act of bunny hugging or blah, blah, blah. Build back better, blah, blah, blah. Green economy, blah, blah, blah. Net zero by 25 -- 2050 blah, blah, blah. Net zero by 2050 blah, blah, blah. Net zero, blah, blah, blah. Climate Neutral, blah, blah, blah.

This is all we hear from our so-called leaders, words. Words that sound great, but so far has led to no action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Study published in the journal science underscores her concerns finding that a global temperatures keep rising. Today's children will see around three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Haiti's Prime Minister says he will cooperate with the U.S. as it deports thousands of Haitian migrants.

Ariel Henry is also addressing accusations. He hampered the investigation into the murder of the late president.

CNN's Melissa Bell has more now reporting in from Port-au-Prince.

[00:25:10]

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Haiti is a country in the midst of multiple crisis, the migrant crisis that we've been talking so much about over the course of the last week, the abject poverty of course, that continues to be such a difficult thing for so many people day to day, the gang violence that now grips so much of the Haitian capitals with daily kidnappings on its streets.

But also, there is the political crisis in which it currently finds itself at the helm of Haiti at the moment, with the departure of U.S. special envoy to Haiti described as an unelected de facto leader, the man who is currently the Prime Minister of Haiti. CNN got a chance to sit down with him for a chat.

Since the migrant crisis and the deportation of thousands of Haitians, the man now in charge of Haiti gives an exclusive interview to CNN.

ARIEL HENRY, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We saw some of the mistreatment that these Haitians suffering and it struck us a lot. What we are saying is that as long as there are countries that are better off than others, there will always be an appeal to those wealthier places.

BELL: But despite the migrant crisis, Prime Minister, Ariel Henry says that Haitian cooperation with the United States is good, and that he means it to remain so.

Ariel took office just two weeks after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, elections had been due in September, they've now been pushed back.

HENRY (through translator): The train has derailed for some time in Haiti. We have no more elected officials, only 10 senators who cannot pass a law because there aren't enough of them. We want to move as quickly as possible to the restoration of democracy through elections. BELL: But since taking over Ariel has been accused of hampering the investigation into the late president's murder by firing the prosecutor and the Justice Minister.

How can people have faith in the investigation when the executive is meddling in the Judiciary?

HENRY (through translator): The prosecutor was dismissed for breaking the law. The Minister of Justice was dismissed for breaking the law as well. It is important for U.S. that President Jovenel Moise has justice, it is fundamental for us and we are going to do everything so that justice is done.

BELL: The prosecutor had wanted to see charges brought against Ariel over alleged phone calls that were made in the hours after the assassination with one of the main suspects is Joseph Badio, who is still on the run.

The questions that the prosecutor had were about phone calls that you'd received from one of the main suspects. What is your relationship with Joseph Felix Badio?

HENRY (through translator): I have no recollection of this telephone call or if it took place. I have no interest in being associated with these people. And I have never been and never will be.

BELL: Despite the controversy that has surrounded him so far. Ariel says that he's determined to bring stability to Haiti by taking on the gangs that control so much of the country.

HENRY (through translator): We have asked friendly countries for help in supporting our police to fight these bandits, and get them out of public life so that the economy can pick up, so that our children can go about their normal lives.

BELL: Little comfort to the deportees returning to a country more violent and politically unstable than the one they left.

That gang violence and the kidnappings that we've seen spiraling over the course for the last few weeks really what is on the mind of Haitians as they try and go about their daily life.

But you will only really see people out on the streets during the daytime since after dusk, the city simply becomes too dangerous for people to head out onto the streets.

In fact, as we left the Prime Minister's residency rather chillingly warned us to be careful since the streets of Port-au-Prince might not be that safe.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Port-au-Prince.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Still to come, COVID vaccines for younger children in the U.S. may take a little longer than initially thought. So, when will the first little jabs go into little arms? We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:31:31]

Russia reported its highly -- highest daily death toll from COVID on Tuesday: 852 dead in 24 hours, breaking the previous record, set four days earlier. A public officials says less than half of Russia's adult population have had a vaccine dose.

Daily cases began to increase earlier this month when millions of Russian students returned to schools and colleges.

After nearly six months, Japan is set to end a coronavirus state of emergency in all regions Thursday. Restrictions will be eased gradually, with some limits on restaurants and big events remaining in place for about a month.

The Delta variant caused a fifth wave of the virus, with infections reaching record highs last month.

A COVID vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 is inching closer, with Pfizer sending data on clinical trials to regulators in the United States. But the pharmaceutical giant could still be weeks away from making a formal application for emergency use authorization.

Just over a week ago, Pfizer released the results from trials involving more than 2,000 children, which proved their vaccine to be safe and effective in low doses. But a weekslong delay in seeking emergency authorization means a child's COVID vaccine is unlikely to be available before November, dashing hopes that vaccinations for children could begin as soon as next month.

Health officials are promising a speedy approval process, once they receive Pfizer's formal application.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: We are all enthusiastically awaiting these data. As soon as they get submitted to the FDA, I know the FDA is urgently planning to review these data. It will go from the FDA to the CDC, and we will review it with similar urgency, I'm hoping in order of weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is a board-certified internal medicine specialist and viral researcher. He joins us this hour from Los Angeles.

Welcome back.

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, BOARD-CERTIFIED INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST: Thank you, John. My pleasure.

VAUSE: OK. So the timeline for kids' vaccine has changed significantly since we spoke last week. And, like "The Wall Street" [SIC] is reporting, as well as others, Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for kids may not be FDA-authorized before November. And it's looking likely to be a lot closer to Thanksgiving, at the end of November than Halloween at the end of October.

And this delay seems to be entirely resulting from Pfizer's decision not to submit a formal application for a few weeks yet. So why? What more needs to be done beyond those clinical results?

RODRIGUEZ: Actually, that's a little bit of a concern to me, because it means that they may not be 100 percent sure of their data. And the truth is that no more mining or researching the data is going to change what they already have at hand.

So it's a little curious. I think they should just submit it, let the FDA look at it, see if it seems valid. And then at that point, they can submit for an emergency use application.

You know, children is that one void that is still missing being vaccinated, and that the virus is jumping on already. So, we need to get children accessible vaccines as soon as possible.

VAUSE: Moderna hasn't even started trials for a vaccine yet, so a lot is riding on Pfizer. And for some parents, it's a concern now because of the size of Pfizer's trial. Just 2,000 participants, which is considered, I guess, relatively small.

And they're weighing that up against the benefits here. Because most unvaccinated children who are infected with COVID tend not to get seriously ill. And so they're kind of hesitant about getting the kids vaccinated, asking, is it really worth it? So what do you say to those parents?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, what I say to those parents is that we've seen a tripling in the amount of children that are getting COVID and getting seriously ill. And children are in these little petri dishes called schools, where if it's going to go to one kid, it's going to go to many of them.

[00:35:11]

You know, the reason that you can't get that many children in a study, is because not many are available. Not many parents are willing to put them in studies. So you're not going to get children sick on purpose, in order to get valid data.

So you have to rely on safety information, and you have to rely on blood results. Are the auto immune and the immune response equal to that of adults?

And from all indications, the Pfizer vaccine is, indeed, equal in an immune response in children and in adults. So that's what I tell parents. Kids have been getting vaccines, you

know, for all of our lives, and they should not view this any differently.

VAUSE: Yes. That's a good point.

We're also hearing from basketball great LeBron James, who once a vaccine skeptic, but not anymore. Listen to him say why he changed his mind. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Everyone has their own choice, to do what they feel is right for themselves, and their family, and things of that nature. I know that I was very skepticism [SIC] about it all. But after doing my research, and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited for not only for me, but for my family, and for my friends. And, you know, that's why I decided to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, it could be argued, if he'd done enough research, he'd find out that the -- you know, the only right thing to do is for everyone to get vaccinated, with exemptions for medical conditions. Still, it seems that it is an important message, if not a little late from LeBron.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, I think it is a very important message. I think it's huge, when you have somebody that people idolized and look up to saying that. I think it will create a lot more openness for people to be able to take it.

But I disagree on one thing. It might be a personal choice, but it doesn't justify the person making the choice. It affects everyone around them.

And I must say, listen, I'm a huge hockey fan. The National Hockey League has 99 percent of their players vaccinated, and, that's who the NBA should model themselves after.

VAUSE: Go, the Ducks. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, thank you for being with us. Take care.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.

VAUSE: The World Health Organization is calling on the global community to help with a second phase of investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. And the director-general of the WHO says the cooperation of all countries, including China, is needed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: I hope these (UNINTELLIGIBLE) phase will start as soon as possible. Knowing the origin of the virus is very, very important, because you know, it's through knowing the origin or what happened that we can prevent the next one. So we expect a collaboration of China and all countries involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: China, though, says forget it, rejecting this invitation, saying the WHO's plan is against science. Dojo (ph) says the first probe had been hampered by a lack of data from the early days of the pandemic. And that data did not come from China.

At least 37 people were injured after police and protesters clashed on on International Safe Abortion Day in Mexico City.

Women marched, demanding reproductive rights and holding signs calling for legal and safe abortion. Videos on social media showed officers firing tear gas at the protestors.

Earlier this month, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that penalizing abortion is unconstitutional. The country's president says that ruling should be respected.

Still to come here on CNN, after almost two years of delays, the new James Bond film is at its world premiere. What the star had to say about his final appearances as 007. You won't want to miss that. Back in a moment.

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VAUSE: Four-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles is speaking openly about her mental health, as well as abuse at the hands of the former team doctor and events leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. Telling "New York magazine," quote, "If you looked at everything I've gone through for the past seven years, I should have never made another Olympic team. I should have quit way before Tokyo, when Larry Nassar was in the media for two years. It was way too much."

Biles says she pushed through, because she refused to allow the doctor who abused her take away something she worked so hard to achieve.

She also talked about what led her to withdraw from several events during the Summer Games before later coming back to win bronze in her final competition. Biles says one day she woke up with the mental block known as the twisties and knew she just could not continue.

Well, in the U.K., there is a message for concert goers. If you're going to do drugs, don't pee in the river. A new study out of Wales has found public urination at the Glastonbury Festival has introduced illegal substances into the local waterway, potentially harming wildlife.

Researchers at Bangor University found high levels of cocaine and Ecstasy in the river. They say the drugs can damage the environment and threaten a species of rare eel.

Even though drug levels fall sharply after the festival was over, organizers say they strongly discouraged public urination and the use of illegal drugs. Both together.

After being paralyzed by the COVID pandemic, the movie industry is celebrating something close to a return to normal. The latest James Bond film had a very glitzy world premiere on Tuesday.

"No Time to Die" was originally meant to be released in early 2020 but was pushed back as theaters, and the rest of society, shut down.

This is Daniel Craig's last appearance as 007. He says it's a relief to return to the big screen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL CRAIG, ACTOR: It's just a great relief. It's just such -- I mean, it's so important to come celebrate with all the other cast and crew crew and -- and to get it into the cinemas. We're here. Literally a year ago, I didn't think that this was going to -- going to happen. So --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It was a star-studded premier which included members of the British royal family. Everyone had to show a negative COVID test to attend.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after the break. We'll see you again, hopefully, top of the hour.

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