♪ hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. just ahead on "cnn newsroom," competing claims over the last anti-taliban stronghold in afghanistan. we will have details in a live report from kabul. delta variant hospitalizations and cases are surging. now america's top infectious disease expert says three vaccine doses may be the best way out.

and celebrations in guinea after the military takes over in an apparent coup. good to have you with us. the taliban are now claiming to have taken complete control of the last holdout province in northern afghanistan. the panchia province has been the scene of first fighting but the taliban's claim is being denied by the national resistance front. a spokesman told cnn resistance forces are still in strategic positions across the valley and are continuing to fight. meantime, a vital lifeline for afghanistan has reopened. the kabul airport is now seeing more domestic flights resume,

and on sunday aid planes brought in more than 50 tons of medical supplies and food. so let's head straight now to kabul where journalist ben farmer is standing by. he joins us now. so ben, we are getting these mixed reports on where things stand in northern afghanistan. what are you learning about who has control in that region after some fierce fighting there? >> reporter: just in the last few minutes, the taliban have begun a press conference where they have announced that they have completely conferred panjshir valley. they have asked their fighters to celebrate but not to fire in the air, as they have done in the past. they say that they now are in complete control of afghanistan. as you say, that's contested by the resistance forces. the resistance forces say they still control strategic positions in that valley, and they also control many of the side valleys that branch off it. however, dough know that the resistance forces have been facing great difficulties. overnight, they appealed for a

cease-fire. and they said that they would begin talks. they still say that they haven't been defeated, but the taliban are now saying that they control the whole area. >> ben, we're also hearing that the airport in kabul has reopened and domestic flights have resumed. what is the latest on that, and of course these aid supplies coming in? >> yes, the resumption of flights into the airport is of huge significance in afghanistan. the flights are going to some of the major provincial cities, kandahar, mas zar e sharif. air flights crucial in a country facing a terrible humanitarian crisis. it was a crisis that was very severe even before the taliban takeover, after months and months of fighting. it's getting worse with the dire economic situation. as yet, though, we do not have

international flights which would allow people to leave. there are so many people who fear living under the taliban and are desperate to leave. but international flights have not resumed. we understand that's because there is no radar at the moment, and that makes it impossible for commercial flights to begin again. >> all right, journalist ben farmer joining us there from kabul on the phone. many thanks. the white house chief of staff says the administration believes there are around 100 americans still in afghanistan and says the u.s. will find a way to get them out if they want to leave the country. but one republican lawmaker claims the taliban are now preventing some u.s. citizens from flying out. >> we have six airplanes at maser sharif airport, american citizens on them as i speak, also with these interpreters, and the taliban is holding them hostage for demands right now. we have -- state has cleared

these flights and the taliban will not let them leave the airport. >> satellite images from friday show six planes on the ground at mazar-e-sharif airport, but cnn has not verified if those planes were the same ones referenced by mccall. it has been a week since hurricane ida charged ashore in louisiana, and it's still claiming victims. a 74-year-old man from new orleans died of heat exhaustion, according to the state health department. the tally of storm-related deaths in louisiana is now at 13. complicating matters, power outages are still widespread amid scorching temperatures. cnn's nadia romero has that part of the story from hard-hit areas. >> reporter: hundreds of

thousands across louisiana still without power over a week after the storm. and no power means no air conditioning. and what has become a hot, sweltering moment for the state of louisiana, especially in kenner, right next to new orleans. take a look behind me. this is what the street looks like in this neighborhood. this power line down. this power pole, another one, another one. it just keeps going on and on down this street. the neighbors say they felt barricaded inside their homes, trapped inside because of the downed power lines. they had to get in their cars and drive across their neighbors' lawns just to get out of the neighborhood. one woman tells me there's a bit of a silver lining when it comes to this storm, and it regards her mother. >> my mom, thank god -- well, i say thank god -- but she passed from covid in march of 2020. so i'm just thankful that she was not here to witness any of this. because she would have been so miserable right now. she really would have. >> reporter: i'm so sorry to hear about your mother. it's one storm after another for

your family, it seems like. >> it seems, yeah. but this is the nature of the beast if you live here in southeastern louisiana. you can expect this sort of thing to happen on a regular basis. that's the crazy part. >> reporter: the area's power company says this particular city should have its power back on by september 8th, which is wednesday. people in the neighborhood are not very hopeful or optimistic that they'll meet that deadline. nadia romero, cnn, kenner, louisiana. in the northeast u.s., ida's rainfall and flooding left at least 50 people dead. cleanup and recovery efforts are ongoing. president joe biden has issued a disaster declaration for new jersey that will speed up federal aid. meantime, cnn obtained this video from new york's police department showing heroism and heartbreak amid the flooding. this is a first responder wading in chest-deep water wednesday to investigate reports of people in a flooded basement.

you can see stuffed animals and toys floating in that murky water. the officers were blocked by locked doors and live electricity. the fire department had to bring in specialized equipment, and tragically discovered the bodies of three people who had drowned. from a heat wave to another hurricane in the atlantic, meteorologist tyler mauldin is here to get us updated on the week's forecast. good to see you, tyler. the extreme weather conditions, they have been just relentless. what are you seeing in the forecast? >> extreme heat is the deadliest weather hazard of all. unfortunately we're seeing extreme heat across southeastern louisiana and southern mississippi. the areas that just took ida directly on the chin. that's the reason why we always say the fact that extreme heat is the deadliest weather hazard, that's why we say, stay inside if you can. but unfortunately, because of ida, this entire area pretty

much is without power. you can't really escape the heat. that's what makes this situation a little dire. heat advisories in effect for the area in orange because the heat index could get up to the low 100s. in new orleans, the heat index on monday afternoon is going to get up to 97. it's going to get up about 95 in morgan city and gulfport. it will be in the mid to upper 90s there so do make sure that you find shade if you can. relax if you can. don't overexert yourself in southeastern louisiana. make sure you stay hydrated. the heat is not just in the lower mississippi, though. it's also out west, too in portions of california and also arizona and nevada as well, where temperatures are going to just be dangerous in that area as well. we're talking about temperatures in the triple digits. we also have heat and ongoing drought across the northern rockies. you add that together and you've got a red flag warning which

means fires could potentially spark in that area. this is in addition to the 73 large active wildfires that we currently have on going. that's spanning about a dozen states, and it's scorched nearly 3 million acres thus far. we also have tropics. we're nearing the -- we have the peak of hurricane season, which is september 10th. i can tell you with absolute certainty that louisiana at the moment doesn't look to be impacted by any tropical systems. but this little disturbance coming off of central america looks to twak toward the state of florida and could wrap up into our next named system, bringing them squally weather later this week. larry as fish storm, a category 3 hurricane, our third major hurricane of the season. and you can see it looks really healthy on satellite imagery. it stays to the east of bermuda, stays east of nova scotia. that doesn't mean they're not going to feel any impacts, they

could. but we here across the east coast of the u.s., we don't have to worry about it, it's not going to impact us. all it's going to do is 50 large swells and rip curts. if you are heading to the beach any time soon over the next seven days, be mindful of that. >> many thanks, tyler mauldin, bringing us up to date on all of that. more than 200 medical journals are calling for urgent action on climate change. they say the climate crisis is already taking a toll on our health with illnesses, including heart and lung disease, kidney problems, skin cancer, and pregnancy complications. they go on to say many governments met the threat of the covid-19 pandemic with unprecedented funding. the environmental crisis demands a similar emergency response. huge investment will be needed beyond what's being considered or delivered anywhere in the world.

coming up on cnn newsroom, the rollout for covid boosters is approaching and the nation's top infectious disease doctor says the delta variant is driving the push to get shots into arms. >> in this country more than 99% delta variant. neutrogena® makeup remover wipes remove the 30% of makeup ordinary cleansers can leave behind. your skin will thank you. neutrogena®. for people with skin.

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have laser-drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. tylenol rapid release gels. the proposed rollout for the white house covid booster plan is exactly two weeks away. and top u.s. disease expert dr. anthony fauci says it's very likely at least part of the plan will roll out on the 20th, which at this stage only includes pfizer. moderna doses may be delayed, as data for that shot is being reviewed. he also says data on mixing and matching pfizer and moderna doses may be a couple of weeks away. part of what's driving the push is the rampant spread of the delta variant. the u.s. is hitting over 150,000

cases daily and covid hospitalizations are pushing health care systems to the brink. this is largely being driven by unvaccinated americans, as only 53% of the population is fully vaccinated. and health care experts say the delta variant could be a factor in waning community among those who are vaccinated. >> remember, we made it a two-dose regimen. we were dealing with an emergent situation. we needed to get those vaccines out because they were life-saving. and in fact, they have been life-saving. what we're observing now, not only here in the united states but in other countries including israel and the uk, that the durability of the protection tends to wane, particularly in the context of the delta variant. >> cnn medical analyst dr. larry brilliant is the founder and ceo of pandefense advisory and joins me now from mill valley in

california. he is also an epidemiologist and a philanthropist. thank you, doctor, for being with us and for all that you do. >> thank you, rosemary. >> so doctor, the big question everyone's asking is, when will this pandemic end? vaccinations are available to all americans, and yet some refuse to get the shot. europeans will see their vaccines much later. but now they have higher vaccination rates and are reclaiming their lives. when will this end in america, if 20% or more refuse to get vaccinated and wear masks and hospitals are full? >> my colleagues and i wrote an article in "foreign affairs" that was titled "the forever virus." i lament that title. i hope to god that title never comes true and we are wrong. but it seems like the coronavirus that we're looking at right now has found within itself, within its genetic code, a methodology for increasing

creating variants. i think we're going to be in for a long road, fighting against them. i'm very concerned, actually, about some of the new variants. but i'm mostly concerned about the fact that in the united states, we're averaging about 160,000 new cases. and it's labor day. and last year at labor day, we only had about one-third this number of cases. we're averaging about 2,000 deaths, last year we only had half that many deaths per day. it seems like with all the new vaccines that we have, we should have been able to offset the new delta variant. but that's not what's happening. we're losing ground a little bit. and i'm concerned about that. >> yeah, understandably too. the medical data on the vaccine show zero deaths or hospitalizations for 99.99% of fully vaccinated people. and yet some anti-vaxers are so afraid of taking the covid vaccine that they are turning

instead to a deworming drug designed for horses and cows. a drug being promoted by some anchors on fox in an effort to spread disinformation, and that's resulting in a spike in overdoses. how is that even allowed to happen? and what might the consequences be, do you think? >> i think two separate issues. one, it gets confusing when we talk about a third dose and we talk about the fact that these -- that the mrna vaccines don't protect as much as they did before about people getting the disease. i think that sounds confusing. it sounds like, well, maybe the vaccine's not so good. let me be clear. the vaccines are great. they're legendary, they're historic. but it is true that they protect us against getting sick, which is what they were designed for, and they are showing a waning immunity or inability to prevent the delta variant from infecting us. but people who get the disease, if they've gotten two mrna

doses, they're not dying. they're not going on ventilators. they're not getting very sick. so the vaccine's doing what it wants, but it did provide an opening for people to look at other treatments. and you know, they've come up with some incredible ones, from bleach to hydroxychloroquine, to this, which is actually a horse deworming. >> dr. anthony fauci says dramatic data coming from israeli studies support the case for covid boosters. you mentioned this third shot. what is your view on when people should be getting that third shot? >> you know, i'm very sorry to hear and feel this kind of conflict between taking the doses that we have and sending them to country that is have had no doses versus vaccinating at home, people who need that third dose. and i don't think we should be in conflict. we have a number of senior citizens over 65 who are immunocompromised, who perhaps haven't had their dose in eight months. they should certainly get a third dose. but after that, i wish we would

pause and look at the data and then understand that if we don't vaccinate everyone in the world, we will continue to import new variants. and it's a tradeoff. but we need to become the greatest exporter of vaccine. and i hope vaccine manufacturing facilities. >> dr. larry brilliant, always good to get your analysis. many thanks, as always. >> thank you. nice to see you again. daily covid cases fell in israel over the weekend. on saturday the country reported its lowest daily case count in three weeks. it comes a month after the country began offering a third dose of the vaccine. and israel's covid czar says that another round of booster shots could be on the way. in australia, authorities in new south wales said monday, they expect new infections to peak

next week with some parts of sydney likely hitting 2,000 cases a day. the country is currently battling a third wave of infections that has put more than half the population under strict lockdown rules. in neighboring new zealand, the prime minister announced monday that covid restrictions across much of the country will be eased starting this week. but areas around auckland will remain under strict lockdown rules for now, at least, as the city battles an outbreak of cases. mexico is still battling its latest covid surge with cases averaging just over 13,000 a day. that's high, but down significantly from a couple of weeks ago. but there are certains the progress could be erased after mexican children began heading back to school last week. the government promised the return would be safe, but many parents are not so sure. cnn's rafael romo reports from mexico city. >> reporter: for the first time in 17 months, these mexican

students are going back to school in person. other than blessings and hugs, their return is far from normal. upon arrival, their hands are sanitized. and their temperature checked. parents seem anxious. >> translator: we're in the middle of a pandemic, the highest peak as far as i know, it was not an easy decision. we hope the school has taken the right measures. >> reporter: asked how she felt about going back to school, this 7-year-old could only utter one word. "excited." >> translator: i'm afraid of getting infected and getting my whole family infected, that's my fear. >> reporter: president andres manuel lopes said in july class would resume at the end of august, rain or shine, pandemic or not. "there are no major risks for children or teenagers," the president said, "we can have

good control and the pandemic should not be an excuse to keep schools closed." more than 25 million elementary and middle school students were supposed to resume classes in person in mexico on august 30th. in the end, less than half showed up. according to figures from the mexican government, only 45% of students showed up on day one, and 52% of schools actually managed to open. were members began schoolteachers, students, ready to go back to school, given that the country's still in the middle of the pandemic? >> unfortunately, most schools are probably not ready to welcome students back in a safe and efficient manner. >> reporter: pablo clark analyzed mexico's education system preparedness for reopening, and what he found was that some schools didn't even meet the minimum requirements for a safe return. >> when parents go to their schools and actually talk to their teachers and to their principals, they realize that there are no conditions to put

in practice the guidelines that are coming from the federal government. they see that their schools do not have adequate infrastructure. they do not have access to running water. >> reporter: members of a powerful teachers union blocked the president's access to an event in chapas recently as a protest for what they consider a lack of guarantees for a safe return to the classroom. the president's answer? "i won't be black failed." by the end of may mexico was one of 23 countries around the world that still kept its schools closed due to the pandemic. many of the parents we talked to ear here in the capital were still hesitant to allow their children to go back to school because they didn't feel conditions for a safe return were met. in the end, many decided to still send them back because they were afraid of the long-term academic impact to their children after 17 months away from the classroom.

in guinea's capital, celebrations in the streets after an apparent coup. a live report on the political uncertainty just ahead. after the u.s. supreme court's controversial decision on a texas anti-abortion law, we will take a look at the future of women's reproductive rights. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches, weakness or discomfort in your hands or feet? introducing nervive nerve relief from the world's number 1 selling nerve care company. as we age, natural changes to our nerves occur which can lead to occasional discomfort. nervive contains b complex vitamins that nourish nerves, build nerve insulation and enhance nerve communication. and, alpha-lipoic acid, which relieves occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. live your life with less nerve discomfort with nervive nerve relief.

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maximum, my brother. look around, it's like that all over the territory. the guineaen people are free. >> an adviser to the president of guinea confirmed the president is under arrest. the 83-year-old won a third term in a disputed election last year. he changed the constitution to allow it, which triggered opposition protests. let's turn now to dave mckenzie. he joins us live from johannesburg. what more are you learning about this coup, and what does it mean for the nation and the region? >> reporter: the region will certainly be taking notice. this is a dramatic series of events that unfolded early on sunday when you had special forces troops entering the peninsula off of the capital connickry which houses the presidential palace and other government buildings. witnesses said there were small arms and heavy arms fire for several hours. then you had these extraordinary scenes of the 83-year-old

president sitting surrounded by these special forces, looking somewhat dazed. they spirited him away. at this stage he's at an unknown location, though they say he is safe. and it appears that the special forces, led by mamadid dembouya, have taken control of the country, at least at this stage. he appeared surrounded by his fellow coup instigators on state media later in the evening and played into the unpopularity of the president, take a listen. >> translator: the personalization of politics, of political life, is over. we will no longer entrust politics to a man, we will entrust it to the people. we come only for that. it is the duty of a soldier to save the country. the only thing that motivates us is that. we are going to put in place a system that does not exist, and we must all build this system together.

>> reporter: so there is deep unpopularity of the president, or outgoing president, it seems at this point. they won that disputed election that you mentioned, extended term limits, also has been accused of a great deal of allegations of corruption, which he denies. but i think it's too early to tell whether those celebrations on the streets will be sustained, and the coming hours and days will be critical. at this stage we don't know yet what kind of government they are going to be putting forward, and in the next hour or so, they said they would bring in or invite the ruling -- the leaders of the country and government and parliament to come in to discuss the terms of their exit. >> pretty difficult to work out what the likely next steps are, then, here? >> reporter: i think the next steps will be, of course, like any coup, that the military leaders will try and consolidate their power. it's unclear whether there's any

divisions within the military, but this was carried out by more highly trained soldiers. the leader of this coup was a former french legion fair, had been trained in part by the americans during their special operations training that happens regularly on the continent. this is also part of a cascade of instability and coup and coup attempts in that region. echowas, the regional body which i think is the key player in the regional reaction to this has condemned this, of course, saying they should return to constitutionality. it's unclear what power they have over the domestic politics, and power within guinea, and currently the borders are closed, a curfew has been put in. relative calm in the capital, but it's unclear where the former president is, how he would be treated, and whether they can sustain this grab of power. >> david mckenzie, many thanks.

in the united states, democratic lawmakers are moving quickly in response to the restrictive abortion law in texas. the supreme court let stand the measure which bans abortions after six weeks, even though it violates the roe v. wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. speaker nancy pelosi said when the house returns from recess, it will take up representative judy chew's women's health protection act. the measure would codify abortion rights protections into federal law. >> if whipa were to pass, abortion access would be protected everywhere regardless of the types of laws that states may pass whose only purpose is to impede abortion, like dictating the width of clinic doors, forcing the doctors to have unnecessary admitting privileges in some hospital, or requiring an ultrasound. all those provisions would be

prohibited. and a woman would have the freedom of choice to make a decision that would impact her future, a choice that is -- should be a private one between her and her doctor. >> jessica levinson is a professor of law at loyola law school and joins me from los angeles. thank you so much for being with us. >> absolutely. >> so when the texas law banning most abortions went into effect last wednesday, it dealt a double blow to women. no longer could they get an abortion after six weeks, when most women don't even know they're pregnant, but additionally the draconian law would be enforced by other texans who could profit by reporting a woman and anyone else helping her get an abortion, even a taxi driver. so a few days later, what is your reaction to this texas law and what could women do about it? >> very little. i mean, my reaction is that this

really upends, as you said, not only our abortion jurisprudence, it goes directly against the big case that we know that created a constitutional right for women to obtain access to an abortion, roe, and against the updated version of roe, a case called casey. there's no way that the supreme court case law on abortion and this texas law can live together. as you said, this law or -- these are my words now -- it's just brilliantly written if you want to make it as difficult as possible for any woman to obtain an abortion, even before she knows she's pregnant. it really upends our understanding of who enforces these laws by saying to private citizens, any private citizen, you can sue another private citizen for helping a woman fill out an insurance form, giving a woman a loan to pay for an abortion, driving a woman to an abortion clinic, and you will

have to pay not only at least $10,000 if that person wins, but also the other person's attorneys' fees. this is a law that is just strategically brilliant if you want to create as many hurdles as possible for women to obtain an abortion. i just didn't think that this supreme court would let it go into effect before they overturn roe. >> it is a very dark brilliance, isn't it? then the supreme court, as you mentioned, refused to block this texas abortion law. let's talk about what that might signal for the landmark decision, roe v. wade, which gave women the right to choose to have an abortion, if that's what they wanted or needed. could the supreme court overturn that? or will each republican state simply follow the texas abortion law and render roe v. wade irrelevant? >> i think both. so i think what we're seeing in the short-term is that other states, and we've heard florida

already has plans to pass a law that looks exactly like texas' law, and frankly, why not? if the supreme court has said that texas' law can go into effect, how could it possibly then say, oh, no, but there's something different about florida's law. i think we're going to see that for potentially the next few months. and then as we know, in the next supreme court term, the court has a big abortion case that's already on its docket. it's out of mississippi. it's a ban of 15 weeks and after in pregnancy. a lot of people, myself included, thought that the court was going to wait, probably in june 2022, announce, now we're overturning roe. or so hollowing out roe that it is essentially an empty promise. but the court on its shadow docket didn't even wait. i think we're going to see states acting as if roe doesn't exist, and then ultimately, the supreme court just affirmatively overturning it. >> jessica, this texas abortion law makes no exception for rape

or incest. so if a father rapes his own daughter, she has to have that baby. where else in the world would that happen? >> not in places that you would consider to be developed countries with constitutional democracies and popularly elected representatives. this is i think a big wakeup call for a lot of people to realize that we should not take cases for granted. that we should not take rights for granted. and look, this is a really difficult question. because people on both sides of the debate feel that they are defending life. and it's different from any other legal question where we have anti-discrimination laws or freedom of religion or voting rights where you can pretty clearly see the two sides. so this is such -- this has just been an intractable question for america. unfortunately, i think we

know -- i would say, in my opinion, unfortunately, i think we know where the supreme court's going, we know where in the short-term we're going. the real question long-term legally will be whether or not states and conservative movements will press for the idea of fetal personhood. so that no state could allow access to an abortion. >> jessica levinson, thank you so much for talking with us, we appreciate it. >> thank you. still to come on "cnn newsroom," tokyo bids farewell to the paralympics. but as the games move on, japan is fighting rising covid infections. we will go live to tokyo next. built up grease and limescale could be hiding in your pipes. try finish dishwasher cleaner its dual action formula hygienically cleans hidden limescale and grease in your dishwasher. finish. clean dishwasher. clean dishes.

some final images here from the tokyo paralympics. the global competition wrapped up on sunday with a colorful celebration despite the ongoing pandemic. the closing ceremony included

singing, dancing, and the parade of nations. it took place in a near-empty stadium without spectators, due of course to the pandemic. japan found some success containing the coronavirus during the paralympics, but the delta variant is still driving new infections. now blake essig joins me now from tokyo. good to see you, blake. let's start with that closing ceremony. how is it received, and what was the overall assessment of the hosting of the paralympics? >> reporter: rosemary, late last night inside the national stadium behind me, the closing ceremony was held bringing tokyo 2020 to an end as was the case throughout the games. as you mentioned, last night's closing ceremony took place inside a nearly empty stadium. while i was lucky to be there, the people who perhaps deserve to be there the most, the people of japan, unfortunately weren't. while some people are happy that these games were held, they say they wish the circumstances were different, take a listen.

>> translator: i really hope there will never have to be a up isser games like this again, where people can't attend in person due to a pandemic. i think these games would have been better and safer if there were no pandemic, but nobody could have seen that coming. >> reporter: like i said, i was one of the lucky people to be inside the 68,000-seat stadium. like every event i attended throughout these games, it was an experience that was absolutely surreal. to sit inside a 68,000-seat stadium, seemingly all alone, and watch the celebration of sport was not only strange but exciting at the same time. something that i will never forget. >> blake, what is the latest on covid infections and hospitalizations across japan? >> reporter: really, a tale of two cities when it comes to covid-19. here in tokyo, across the country, as well as within the paralympic bubble, you have about -- i want to say roughly

200,000 people currently right now that are at home with covid-19, unable to get into a hospital because there's simply no room. you have tens of thousands of people who require hospitalization but can't receive that medical care. as a result, you have some people dying at home. but at the same time, within the paralympic bubble, because of the covid-19 countermeasures that were put in place through the olympic and paralympic games, cases within the olympic bubble remained relatively low. proof of concept for potentially future games, the games in beijing several months away, offering a blueprint as to how they might be able to successfully hold games, assuming that the pandemic continues to be a problem. >> blake essig joining us live from tokyo, many thanks. a crazy scene unfolded in sao paolo on sunday between football powerhouses brazil and argentina. less than five minutes into the match, brazilian health officials entered the pitch to remove three argentine players.

brazil says those players plus one who wasn't on the pitch made false statements upon arriving in the country, admitting that they had been in the uk in the past two weeks. under brazilian rules, they have to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. fifa says the match is suspended. still ahead on "cnn newsroom," after leaving the u.s. during the pandemic, a chinese researcher can't get back to complete his studies. why he says he is a victim of donald trump's policies. neutrogena® hydro boost lightweight. fragrance-free. 48 hour hydration. for that healthy skin glow. neutrogena®. for people with skin.

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in the u.s., a trump-era ban on visas aimed at chinese nationals is still causing problems for students trying to get back to the united states. the policy targeted people suspected of being spies for the chinese military. now those students are warning it may drive a bigger wedge between the two countries. cnn's david culver has our report. >> reporter: heightened tensions between the u.s. and china striking at higher education, forcing some chinese graduate and post-grad students to halt their studies in the u.s. their academic futures left in

limbo. >> my research was disrupted. >> reporter: dennis hu flew to shanghai in january 2020 along with friend and lab mate matthew jikelski. while matthew, an american, returned to the u.s., hu was delayed in going back to their university in boston. first by the outbreak. several attempts to return failed. then came a new policy under president trump. >> first i think it's a policy of discrimination based on nationality. >> to suspend the entry -- >> reporter: hu was referring to proclamation 10043. in may 2020, trump blocked chinese graduate students and post-grad researchers that came mostly from eight chinese universities with suspected chinese military ties. the policy singled out those studying in s.t.e.m. fields -- science, technology, engineering, and math -- framed as part of national security. >> there certainly is espionage that goes on in u.s.

universities from china. there have been cases in the past where students have been used for espionage purposes. this policy, though, is very sweeping, it's very arbitrary. >> reporter: it's estimated there are as many as 5,000 chinese students now kept from re-entering the u.s. in response to cnn, the u.s. state department said in part that the united states welcomes international students and stated that the policy is intentionally narrowly targeted, affecting less than 2% of those applying for the student and exchange visitor visas. stressing that the proclamation is intended to protect both the integrity of the u.s. research enterprise and u.s. national security interests. but some experts fear the policy could worsen u.s./china relations for generations to come. >> i think when you get to a more fundamental level, this has been really alienating to a lot of young chinese who are predisposed to be amiable toward the united states in the first place.

>> reporter: students like hu desperate to return to the u.s. his research focuses on using social media data to assess bias in the public domain. >> i definitely don't get the impression that his research is a military-sensitive thing. i also don't get the impression that he is a person that's trying to sneak in or anything. >> it hurt me with those accusations, labeling of being a chinese spy. >> reporter: it is concerning enough for chinese officials to raise the issue of student visa restrictions in recent high-level talks with their u.s. counterparts, calling it unfair treatment. but in the u.s., there are american graduate students likewise kept from re-entering china. >> and i was essentially meant to graduate this year, 2021. >> reporter: walid khan and his brother lived in shanghai until the outbreak. the medical student thought it would be a brief hiatus and then he'd be back to finish his sixth and final year. instead, the brothers are left waiting in their l.a.-area home.

>> we want to return. we are proactive. we want to abide by the guidelines, but we need guidelines to abide by. >> reporter: china keeping most international students, including americans, from returning based on covid-19 restrictions. but khan thinks there's more to that. >> i do believe having that american passport is making things difficult because of the political conflict between the u.s. and china. i feel like we may be caught in the crossfire. >> reporter: back in china, hu is part of a group pushing the biden administration to revoke the trump proclamation. even trying to raise funds to launch a lawsuit against the u.s. government. >> trying my best to be positive. even though the reality might not always be good. >> reporter: david culver, cnn, shanghai. thank you for joining us this hour. i'm rosemary church. i'll be back with more news in just a moment, do stay with us.

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welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. just ahead, hundreds of thousands of people are still without power one week after hurricane ida came ashore. now a heatwave could add misery to cleanup efforts. competing claims over who controls the last anti-taliban stronghold in afghanistan. we'll have details in a live report from kabul.