>> announcer: this is "nightline." tonight, lifeguard shortage. beaches left unguarded, pools shutting down. the dangerous struggle to protect swimmers. >> our policy is if we do not have enough lifeguards it's swim at your own risk. >> how a new class is answering the call. >> we are the first responders at a beach like this. >> to hit the beach running "baywatch" star. >> come away from the beach. plus barbiecore, the new hot pink trend fueled by a pop culture icon. from runway fashion to your very own barbie dreamhouse. >> i really love how she always express positive girl power. >> how living the barbie girl lifestyle has even inspired a live action hollywood movie.

and celebratiing nipsey hussle. the rapper honored with a star on the hollywood walk of fame. >> announcer: "nightline" will be right back. ♪♪ a new chevy is the smart way to hit the open road this summer. the smart way to road trip, and seek new adventures. go a little farther this summer in a new chevy. find new get up and go. find new roads. enjoy the open road and make no monthly payments for 90 days on all 2022 silverado 1500 pickups.

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afghanistan. thousands of afghans rushed to flee the country amid the u.s. military's chaotic withdrawal. tonight abc's chief foreign correspondent ian pannell is back on the ground in kabul. ian. >> reporter: yeah, byron. tonight the city is quiet after a day of celebrations by the taliban. the very people that america and the west just spent 20 years trying to defeat. we saw thousands of heavily armed fighters, some of them carrying american-made weapons, others standing on american-made military equipment, parading through the streets. they were declaring independence and victory over america. but for the vast majority of afghans there was nothing to celebrate. most parts of the city actually were quiet as people reflected on a year of broken promises and lost dreams. as many feared, it's women and girls who've been the biggest losers in the new afghanistan. many women have been barred from the workplace, have been forced to wear the veil, and encouraged to stay at home. this weekend a handful of them bravely took to the streets calling for freedom, totally peacefully, only to be greeted by taliban fighters who opened

up their weapons, firing over their heads. high school girls have also had their education taken away from them, many of them now resorting to secret underground schools just to try and continue their studies. and today afghanistan is in economic freefall. the world food program now feeding around half of the population with more than 90% of households going hungry. we went to one of the city's main maternity and children's hospitals, and there the wards are packed with severely malnourished babies. one year since the american and allied withdrawal and this country is hungrier, more isolated and disillusioned than byron? >> thanks, ian. now we turn to a problem here along our coasts and across the country that may have disrupted your summer. the shortage of lifeguards. here's abc's ashan singh. >> reporter: the summer sun beating down. and sand that's hot to the touch

could get anyone off their beach towel and into the water. mario coju is one of the handful of new lifeguards keeping connecticut beaches safe this summer. >> whether it's being up in the tower or walking on foot patrol along the shoreline, we're really just looking out for any sort of emergency that may come. >> reporter: 18 years old and headed to college in the fall. spending his senior summer working the local beach didn't sound like such a bad idea. but mario's actually part of a dying breed. of lifeguards. just months ago mario's boss wasn't sure they'd be able to fill all their watch towers for the summer season. >> going into the spring, we were only seeing maybe one or two dozen applicants that came through, and that plus our 30 lifeguards that decided to return to us for this season put our numbers at only 40%. >> what does 40% of lifeguards staffed look like on a beach if

it were to go this way into beach season? >> it's our policy if we do not have enough lifeguards it's swim at your own risk. >> reporter: and it's not just connecticut. nationwide a lifeguard shortage is shuttering pools and leaving beaches defenseless. the past two years of pool closures and canceled training sessions due to the covid-19 pandemic adding to an existing deficit in certified guards. why do you think it's so much worse this year? >> in order to do our training we have to get up close and personal. and we haven't been able to do that. you can't do that virtually. so those who normally come back with us took other jobs. >> reporter: wyatt wermouth is the spokesperson for the american lifeguard association. >> another thing we're seeing is they canceled the work visas that allowed foreigners to come in and work their summer jobs. >> reporter: banned at the outset of the covid-19 pandemic by former president trump. those work exchange visas now reinstated. but the backlog of trained guards remaines. >> game plan for today. >> reporter: water safety coordinators like sarah had to

reevaluate how to recruit new guards. >> we were able to increase our starting salary, and then we started to see hundreds of applications come in. and that was excellent. and that salary increase was on top of the incentives that we already had in place to ent ent people to come and work for us. >> what were some of those changes? >> we've invested in professionally developing our head lifeguards, giving them instructor certification so that we could then train applicants ourselves. we're not just going to provide you with the free training. we're going to pay you to go through the training. >> and what are your numbers looking like right now? >> we're up at 88%, 9 o'% full. about 93 guards on staff out of 110 positions. >> reporter: sarah's plan worked on mario, who jumped at the chance to make some extra cash this summer. >> i'm not going to lie. 19 an hour for a recently graduated high schooler that's pretty good compared to other jobs. you don't really find that anywhere else. >> reporter: while the money seemed good and the job for the

most part seems pretty chill, it's easy to forget just how difficult it is to become a lifeguard. >> why are so many people reluctant to be lifeguards these days? >> you have to be a strong swimmer. you have to be attentive. you have to have that higher level of first aid training. it's a really niche job. so there's a lot of people looking for what is essentially few candidates. >> it's multifaceted for sure. >> yes. definitely. >> reporter: in addition to unguarded beaches, the american lifeguard association estimates a third of pools have been affected this year. those pools are either closed, have modified hours, or are lowering the amount of patrons that can visit at one time. in philadelphia just 50 out of the 65 public pools are open this summer. one woman not only stepped up but came out of retirement to help fix the issue. >> i decided to become a lifeguard because i wanted to do something for the community the way the city was going down. the killings have risen now.

so i wanted to do something positive, some type of small thing i could do for the kids. >> reporter: at 70 years old robin borlandoe has seen that public pools aren't just a way to beat the heat but also a safe place for kids to spend their summer days. >> we know that when they're here they are our responsibility. so each of these lifeguards here take it upon themselves to embrace them. so when it gets hot in the city the city gets hot. so i'm expecting that there's going to be a lot of things going on outside of these pool areas that are going to affect the kids crimewise. >> reporter: according to the cdc, an average of almost 4,000 unintentional fatal drownings occur every year. that's 11 per day. >> it's really, really, really important because we are the first responders at a beach like this. sometimes it's overwhelming, the fact that we don't respond medically. but it's almost half of our job. we're responding to a lot of emergencies every single dpap. >> reporter: at ham nasette beach it's one of the largest beaches in connecticut.

anin-second rch ofda forveuard that's not on100 yar attention!ncove this is just a drill! >> reporter: those 30 seconds can make all the difference. which is why sarah conducts frequent training sessions throughout the summer. demonstrating a real-life emergency. one lifeguard feigns drowning. [ whistle ] the lifeguards on shore immediately spring into action. >> active drowner. >> on my way. >> reporter: rescuing the guard in the water by pulling them onto a surfboard and on to shore. then the team gets to work assessing and treating injuries. >> no pulse, no breathing. >> they perform cpr on a dummy. >> appears unresponsive. >> until professional help arrives. >> good job, guys. >> reporter: despite all that it's the only emergency response team that seemingly all of us take for granted. >> my view is that all

lifeguarding should be under a public safety entity, not parks and rec, public safety, because that's what we do. and once we get there i think until he with get there we're going to be where we're at right now and we're going to find that there's a shortage and it's not looked at professionally. >> reporter: not to mention times ang. >> you know, you see in the movies like "baywatch" and tv -- >> i wasn't sure if you all still knew what "baywatch" was. >> i mean, it's definitely overexaggerated but there's a lot of stigma to lifeguards. in real life it's a lot more serious. >> we had "baywatch." it was exciting. you know, we watched that. we wanted to have that lifestyle. you don't have anything like that right now. >> reporter: while this new school of lifeguards are up for the challenge, the experts want to make sure that these first responders get the respect and recognition they deserve now. so no beachgoer has to realize the hard way later. >> we are a protective service on the beach. a layer of protection. and while you may be a strong

swimmer or whatever, that if an emergency happens your chances of surviving it and a good outcome increase dramatically when a lifeguard is on duty and can respond effectively. >> our thanks to ashan. up next, the blazing hot pink fad seen on the runway and in hollywood. all in the name of barbie. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief.

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it's been hard to miss the photos of margot robbie and ryan gosling as america's favorite plastic couple, barbie and ken. but their iconic outfits aren't just for superstars. hot pink is this summer's hottest new fad. here again is our ashan singh. >> reporter: what does it mean to be a barbie girl? today's definition is a heck of used to. but you do have to dress the part. the freshest fashion trend this summer is called barbiecore, a blazing hot pink look that's all about in your face girl power. boosted by the upcoming live action barbie movie with margot robbie and ryan gosling as barbie and ken. now hollywood's finest from anne hathaway to ariana debose have been seen donning the doll's favorite color and not being shy about it. signifying a renaissance for the style that was once considered a major player in upholding unrealistic and outdated gender norms. >> people are using the term to

reclaim that and saying yes, i am hyperfeminine and this is my style and this is a part of me. >> reporter: but how do barbiecore outfits make it from the rack to the runway? shade aspen is a stylist in l.a. who helps her clients embrace the pink within. >> this is like straight out of barbie's closet. >> the ruffle hyperfeminine, something that's just like i'm not afraid to be a woman and have the barbiecore pink. i have strong opinions on pink. i am very particular about my shades of pink. >> reporter: she's been rocking bold and brash colors since her start in the fashion industry in new york. >> i started wearing a ton of color as a form of resistance against this new york city black aesthetic. >> reporter: when did you actually notice the landscape started to shift where they were accepting of your style and they were willing to employ pink in new york city fashion? >> i never saw pink in new york city fashion until barbiecore.

hot spink a color that wasn't really popular for the past 20-some years. the last time it was populars with like the riot grrl movement in the '90s. it's because in my opinion not all pink is created equal. >> reporter: she styled red carpet and commercial looks for celebs like "snl's" heidi gardner and actress zoe coletti of "only murders in the building." >> in 2016 there was millennial pink which was the color of the moment, of the year. in my opinion it wasn't a true pink. it watered down this concept of feminism. when i want pink, i want pink fury because people feel like they're getting trampled all over right now. and having this pink color just -- it's almost like being an orange street cone, saying like stop and -- >> don't mess with me. >> yeah. it's saying stop and you're saying i'm here, like go around me instead of like walk all over me. >> reporter: now shea was ready to bring out my inner ken doll. >> we have a ken look by

moschino. >> ooh. >> there's this blazer. you can put the whole look on if you want. >> this is fly. >> yes. so barbiecore pink in this amazing moschino jacket. >> ooh. yeah. >> hey, man. >> right. >> that's pretty cool. but is barbiecore for everyone? >> absolutely. anyone can rock barbiecore. it is inclusive of all genders, all races, shapes, sizes. it is for everyone. >> reporter: and everyone has been rocking it, including content creator cha chaslin stuntson, who puts her own fairy tale spin on the barbiecore style. >> for me specifically barbie is all about being fun and not being afraid to be feminine. i think especially as i awoman of color growing up i wasn't seeing a lot of representation with girls who looked like me kind of dressing like barbie or even wearing head to toe pink. and i think, you know, back then it was like having a black barbie doll was something that

you cherished. >> when barbie sashayed onto shelves in 1959, she was a blond bombshell with a 16-inch waist. perpetuating an exclusionary ideal of beauty. the brand formerly as narrow as the waists of its dolls now representing women like model and actress laverne cox. who got to see her barbie get made at mattel headquarters. >> i'm so cheesy. >> now kids get to dream with a laverne cox barbie, the first transgender barbie. that is a beautiful space of dreaming and possibility. >> reporter: for azusa sakamoto barbie represented the possibility of a new life. inspiring the japanese-born content creator to move to the u.s. over 20 years ago. >> i'm azusa barbie. >> i would say i've never seen

anyone who is really committed to barbie more than i do. because i literally moved country, i moved to the u.s. because i wanted to be closer to barbie. >> that's why you moved to the u.s. >> yes. >> wow. >> reporter: since then she's converted her studio apartment to a real-life barbie dreamhouse. with barbie brand dolls, cookware, and even a miniature azusa. >> oh, my god. you are not kidding. this is like a barbie superhome. >> come in. >> thank you. >> even the ac is barbie. >> yeah. spray painted. >> tell me a little bit about your love for barbie. why barbie? how did you first fall in love with barbie? >> i was born and raised in japan, and i didn't have barbie doll when i was a kid. for all like japanese girls like teenagers, for us barbie was like cool pop culture icon. like pop american icon. >> she represents more than a doll. >> yes. i really love how she always

expressed like positive girl power, like the real girl power in good way. she was totally a good role model. >> reporter: as a role model what barbie was and what barbie is today is entirely different. and for the new generation that unmistakable pink is a symbol of possibility. >> she's a bad-ass bitch now. she does whatever she wants. that's what i want to do. i want to do whatever i want. i want to be barbie. she does any job she wants. and she does it well because she's barbie. >> so i think it's really about like challenging the beauty standard and embracing diversity and uniqueness, as we be should be. >> literally, when i show the word barbiecore for the first time i thought that was the world for me because i'm like living in barbiecore. you know. >> thank you, ashan. up next, honoring l.a. rapper

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and finally tonight, a musician with far-reaching impact given his shining star. an emotional unveiling, the influential rapper newy hussle, who was killed in 2019, honored today with a star on the hollywood walk of fame. >> nipsey hussle! >> his friends, family, and those in the community coming out to remember him. >> you are victorious,

legendary, one of one, life is what you make it, and you made a real movement. >> and that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.