. put off chores and use less energy from 4 to 9 pm to help keep our state golden. today, the taliban rules all of afghanistan with this being the first day in 20 years that a single american soldier was not on the ground. the extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery, and selfless courage of the united states military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals. >> and yet almost 200 americans still remain in afghanistan at this very hour the images from hurricane ida are breathtakingly sad

this as crews work around the clock to help those in need. and the latest on opening day of the fraud trial of one-time wall street elizabeth holmes of theranos and when gaming goes too far, what do you do to help kids who seemingly can't walk away from video games "early today" starts right now glad to be with you. i'm frances rivera america's longest war finally draws to a close ending with a chaotic departure from afghanistan and leaving the country firmly in the grip of the taliban. but in the face of political backlash, president biden remains defiant. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more from d.c. the president was emphatic, this war has to end >> he argued not only that the war had to end but that it needed to end by yechlt's august 31st deadline. the president under pressure to keep to that date. he also praised the evacuation effort of what turned out to be

124,000 people as an extraordinary success. critics take issue with that but the president's main point as he addressed the nation was that 20 years in afghanistan was enough >> i was not going to extend this forever war and i was not extending a forever exit those asking for a third decade of war in afghanistan i ask what is the vital national interest it was time to end this war. >> i mention the president's critics criticizing how this was handled. as many as 200 americans were left behind, and the administration says they will continue to work to get those who want to leave afghanistan out even after this deadline but critics say that wasn't the president's promise, and that's not how this should've been

handled. >> -- you don't leave your people behind. i'm afraid they're going to kill these people and hurt them the entire time they're dying. >> the end of this 20-year war leaves the taliban in charge we saw them going through the airport yesterday after the u.s. military left, leaving some of our vehicles and equipment there, but they were left disabled so that the taliban can't use them the big question now is what will relations be like between the u.s. and the taliban the white house saying that they won't immediately acknowledge any government set up by the taliban, but they will still need to work with them to try to get americans out. >> tracie, thank you the taliban quickly declared victory after the last american troops left, celebrating as they roamed the kabul airport nbc's richard engel has the latest on what comes next for afghanistan. >> reporter: victory day for the

taliban entering the airport there are fighters inspecting the spoils the u.s. left behind at what was the last american tow hold in afghanistan. the taliban spokesman saying the group wants new relations with the west and are even open to foreign investment they looked over the aircraft and weapons u.s. troops abandoned and decommissioned so they can't be used but american forces did not damage the airport itself. the united states is relying on the airport to reopen quickly to evacuate american citizens and translators who never made it out in the airlift some of them now in hiding from the taliban, and who one day once they have documents will have to pass through here to leave. the taliban insisting they'll let them go. the taliban also promising to fight isis and never allow afghanistan to be a sanctuary for terrorism. but will they? in the remote province, the

taliban held another victory rally. a speaker praised the isis suicide bomber who killed 13 u.s. service members and 200 afghans. saying the taliban have now established the islamic state. they promised to both fight isis and incorporate them into their ranks, hoping that under the taliban's influence isis will become more moderate frances? >> richard, thank you. now to the heartbreak that continues to grow in the wake of hurricane ida. aye the. will power says two linemen were killed while supporting a storm restoration effort the two workers were electrocuted while they were repairing lines. and in louisiana a 71-year-old man is missing and presumed dead after he was attacked by a large alligator while walking in floodwaters. his wife told deputies said she saw the attack and went to go

get first aid supplies and her husband was gone when she returned officials say grand isle is completely uninhabitable >> reporter: it's a slow-motion disaster, leaving more than a million people in the dark do you have any idea when you'll get power back >> right now, no >> reporter: ida crippling a massive power grid the energy provider saying it could take three weeks before hard-hit areas are back up >> the schools, the businesses are not open, the hospitals are slammed. there's not water in your home and there's not going to be electricity. >> reporter: in st. charles parish, officials warning residents to now prepare for more than a month. fuel for this man's generator more precious than water >> i'm on diesel and i can't get diesel once it goes, it goes.

>> reporter: what then >> that's it >> reporter: many hospitals including new orleans health are still relying on generators. >> we brought him into the operating room, taking a piece of the skull right off in the middle of a hurricane. >> the lights flickered right before we were starting. and dr. smith looked at me and says i guess we'll do the whole thing under candlelight. >> reporter: thousands of line crews racing against time, fighting brutal heat in ida's aftermath to bring one disaster to a close and this morning governor john bel edwards says more than 25,000 linemen from 22 states have converged in louisiana to help restore power but even with all that help, entergy, one of the main providers here in louisiana said while some people could see power restored in the next 48 hours, there's still no definitive timetable on when the whole grid will come back online the explosive caldor fire is

now directly threatening communities on lake tahoe. but this is just one of the tens of thousands of properties that are in the line of danger this morning. nbc's steve patterson is there >> reporter: frances, there isn't much standing between the eastern edge of this ravenous caldor fire and 33,000 homes that's what firefighters are worried about. that's why so many of them have been deployed to this area to save this community, but they have a lot of challenges facing them including the weather, including the conditions, and including this fire which keeps pushing forward before they're able to get more containment on this a field of ravenous flames swirling at the doorstep of thousands, laying siege to south lake tahoe, forcing a state of emergency. through choking smoke, firefighters push back, working around the clock to protect homes in neighboring communities. but the sun rose over the caldor fire's ever-expanding plume,

destroying another 5,000 acres, now threatening more than 30,000 homes with more than 50,000 residents under mandatory evacuation monday's mad exodus caused gridlock as thousands of evacuees clog the highways >> you realize how many things you left behind. >> reporter: at nearly 200,000 acres, the erratic caldor fire is now the country's highest priority its powerful winds spread the eastern front over bone-dry brush. >> what we're experiencing is not normal i hope it's not the new normal >> reporter: red flag warnings are in place through wednesday with heavy winds and high temperatures in the forecast and south lake tahoe now abandoned. now heading into labor day weekend, south lake tahoe is a prime tourist destination, it should be bustling with tourists but because so many evacuated, it's an absolute ghost town. an ominous sign because of how close this fire is

and now with the winds picking up, the danger elevates. breaking news, after three years of mediation, the legal fight in the larry nassar sex abuse scandal may soon be in its final phase. reportedly reached a proposed $425 million settlement. the proposal is nearly double the 215 million that usa gymnastics proposed last year. the settlement proposal was filed in u.s. bankruptcy court on tuesday it is unclear how much each survivor would receive as it still needs to be approved by the survivors and any other creditors. usa gymnastics said it anticipates that this plan will be confirmed nassar is currently serving up to 175 years in prison for sexual assault and possession of child pornography. let's get a look now at what's ahead on this first day of september with nbc meteorologist janessa webb hi, janessa, good morning, what are you watching

>> i'm still watching ida, unfortunately. this storm system has not died it's causing flood watches across the northeast to the mid-atlantic today some of that weather is going to get severe this afternoon. we have strong wording coming from the storm prediction center several tornados possible from d.c. all the way into new york city today 43 million people going to be impacted by this severe weather as ida continues to make its trek into the northeast today and tomorrow afternoon look at all these flood watches. 64 million people going to be impacted all the way from the higher elevations of north carolina to the boston area. our rivers are definitely overstreamed right now, and we're going to continue to deal with major flooding across the area from pittsburgh all the way to the hartford areain

temperatures actually cooling off for chicago. upper 70s. pacific northwest completely different story. the heat's building, and low humidity we'll talk about that coming up. >> that's important to hear. thank you, janessa one businessman from houston is going above and beyond to help those affected by hurricane ida. his name is mattress mack, and he's launched several initiatives to help those in need not only has he set up a gofundme account that's already raised over $32,000, but he's also collecting perishable food items and toiletries at his store. mattress mack is offering louisiana flood victims shelter at the gallery furniture store for free for more information, visit galleryfurniture.com we have the latest on the

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♪ new kellogg's special k dipped. do what's delicious. breaking this morning, a search and rescue mission is underway in california after a navy helicopter crashed off the san diego coast. six service members were on board. one crew member has been rescued. their condition is unknown at the time the search continues for the remaining five the chopper was assigned to the uss abraham lincoln. it was en route flight operations when it came crashing into the sea more americans are getting the jab according to an axios/ipsos poll, only one in five americans say they won't get the covid vaccine. but cases across the country continue surging the latest infections surpassing 39 million, 324,000. and hospitals in the south have been pushed to the limit in georgia nearly out of icu

beds with less than 10% capacity left still to come, it was a promise too good to be true even for silicon valley the explosive case against the founder of theranos, elizabeth holmes and pressing pause american parents react to the new law in china limiting children's online game time. not touching is still touching protection. adding lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria. detergent alone, can't. lysol. what it takes to protect. i wonder where froot loops come from? follow me! ♪♪ just follow your nose! mmmm! part of a complete breakfast. i'm 53, but in my mind i'm still 35. that's why i take oste bi-flex to keep me moving the way i was made to, it nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. osteo bi-flex, plus vitamin d

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on the internet. jury selection continues in the criminal trial of elizabeth holmes today new potential jurors will will be up for questioning as both sides try to lock down 12 jurors and five alternates nbc's natalie morales has more >> i'm the founder and ceo of this company anything that happens in this company is my responsibility at the end of the day, and i hold myself responsible for that. >> reporter: that was elizabeth holmes in 2016 then the youngest female self-made billionaire in the world. she graced magazine covers as a game changer who started a healthcare tech company at 19 with the idea to draw and analyze blood with a tiny pin prick turning it into a $9 billion business. the story was broken in the "wall street journal" in 2015, exposing the company's alleged faulty medical technology and

reporting on what the u.s. attorney called a scheme to defraud investors, doctors, and patients >> i'd say where she crossed the bright red line is in the fall of 2013 when she commercialized a product, a medical product that she knew did not work >> reporter: holmes and theranos coo ramesh sunny balwani were indicted in 2018 on two charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. both deny all charges against them but shocking new court documents reveal her defense will likely present her as a victim, claiming a decade-long abusive relationship with balwani, her ex-boyfriend holmes' attorneys writing that balwani's control included monitoring her calls, text messages and emails, physical violence such as throwing hard, sharp objects at her, restricting her sleep, monitoring her movements, and insisting that any success she achieved was because of him.

and further claiming mr. balwani controlled her so much essentially dominating her and erasing her capacity to make decisions. >> i think it's an opportunity for her to get the jurors to sympathize with her. she does have incredible charisma she's a chameleon. she can really put on a terrific act. >> reporter: balwani's attorneys are firing back, saying ms. holmes' allegations are deeply offensive to mr. balwani, devastating personally to him. elizabeth holmes is expected to testify in court and if convicted she could serve 20 years in prison coming up, janessa's got a look at the rising temps across the country. and still ahead, find out which country is cracking down on video games for kids. it means experience. i mean, put it this way. if i told you i'd been jarring raspberry preserves for 85 years, what would you think? (humming) well, at first you'd be like, "that has gotta be some scrumptious jam!" (humming)

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if your kids are like mine, they have trouble putting down the controller it is a growing issue all around the world exrkts now china is implementing strict new rules to limit kids from playing online games. nbc's tom costello has more. >> reporter: it's happening in virtually every developed country in the world, young people, usually boys, unable to walk away from online video games. it could be fortnite, counterstrike, minecraft the list is long as kids sacrifice family,

friends, school, even sleep. for years, china has sent teens to addiction recovery centers. now it's setting tough new rules for minors 17 and younger, banning online video games on school days monday through thursday only one hour a day on fridays, weekends and holidays, and every gamer must register with an anti-addiction center. >> that kind of mandate would not work here in the united states, period full stop >> reporter: but it's a sign of how serious the problem has become with few friends around during covid, 15-year-old james in colorado turned to his xbox for online gaming. >> but i got a weekly report and it said he had been on for, like, 40 hours >> reporter: now his parents have had to set limits >> he has to have his homework done as well as chores as well as maintain a 3.0 or higher grade point average. then we will basically unlock

the xbox >> they make us feel really engaged. >> reporter: even a harvard psychiatrist says that etoo was a gaming addict once >> i played a lot of video games in middle school and high school, and almost failed out of college for playing too many video games. >> reporter: now he runs the healthy gamer mental health platform he estimates 10% of teenage gamers are addicted. often the addiction hides low self-esteem issues >> they have difficulty with social interactions. that a lot of times video games serve as an escape to something else >> reporter: the gaming industry tells nbc news it supports digital wellness, adding nearly all video game devices offer parental controls which allow them to set time limits. common sense media says it's time for a national psa push, teaching teens and parents of the dangers of too much online

gaming >> we strongly recommend a public awareness campaign around video game usage that's similar to what we did with kids and tobacco and smoking. >> reporter: a campaign to wean kids off of their online addiction. >> that is my life every day when i'm not here at.

wildfire emergency. this morning, on "today in the bay," is on the front line of the caldor fire as it rips ever so close to lake tahoe, destroying buildings and uprooting lives. good morning. thanks so much for joining us. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia. firefighters are still trying to prevent 200,000 acre wildfire from spreading into the south lake tahoe city limits. >> we want to go to "today in the bay's" bob redell standing by for us. bob, is the weather cooperating