your cellphone or connected tv. cbs new it's wednesday, september 1st, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." defending the departure. president biden forcefully stands by his decision to end the war in afghanistan saying that staying was not an option. how republican critics are responding. race to escape. california's caldor fire explodes in size threatening tens of thousands of homes and businesses. where new evacuation orders are being issued. ida's aftermath. more than a million people are still in the dark after hurricane ida's wrath. how long they'll have to go without power as the heat index is expected to reach into the is expected to reach into the triple digits. captioning funded by cbs

good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with president biden defending his decision to end the 20-year war in afghanistan and the way in which he did it. he called a military airlift to evacuate americans and afghan allies an extraordinary success. the pentagon released these nighttime images of 500 soldiers boarding military planes. as the u.s. troops pulled out, more than 100 americans and thousands of afghans were left behind. bradley blackburn has the latest from new york. good morning. >> reporter: anne-marie, good morning. the president seemed at times frustrated, even angry w with t criticism he's received over the withdrawal. he was defensive but also marked a moment in history. he wanted this war to end years ago, and now it has ended on his watch. >> my fellow americans, the war in afghanistan is now over.

>> reporter: president biden addrd tionrd in a speech marking the end of the longest war in u.s. history. >> i was not going to extend this forever war, and i was not extending a forever exit. >> reporter: critics have accused the president of mishandling the withdrawal leading to a chaotic evacuation that included a suicide bombing that killed 13 u.s. troops and scores of afghans. the president said the tragedy emphasized why it was time to get out. >> i don't think enough people understand how much we have asked of the 1% of this country who put that uniform on. >> reporter: republican critics insist the move has weakened american security and reject the taliban's promise to keep extremist groups like al qaeda and isis out. >> the terrorists in charge of afghanistan are not your friend. president biden screwed this up every way you could screw it up. >> reporter: house minority leader kevin mccarthy noted that more than 100 u.s. citizens were left behind. >> to get every american home. i believe there should be accountability for what i see as

probably the biggest failure in american government on a military stage in my lifetime. >> reporter: the white house says the state department will continue to work to get these people out of afghanistan. in his remarks, the president said the end of this war is bigger than just afghanistan. he said it marks the end of the era of american nation building around the world. he wants foreign to now focus on challenges from russia and china. >> thank you. breaking overnight, we are learning a u.s. navy helicopter crashed about 60 miles off the coast of san diego, california. officials say it happened yesterday during a routine flight from the aircraft carrier "uss abraham lincoln." one crew member was rescued, five others are still missing, though. search and rescue operations are ongoing, and it's not clear what caused the crash. and the death toll from hurricane ida has risen to at

least four, and it's only expected to rise more. the situation is dire in louisiana as we get a clearer look at the devastation in that state, ida made landfall sunday. it left more than a million people without power and some customers could be in the dark for weeks. that means people won't have air continuing even as heat indices are expected to reach the triple digits. >> reporter: aerial footage shows the extent of the damage over grand isle, louisiana, as a result of hurricane ida. 165 mile-per-hour winds and nearly a foot of rain shredded the island. a power station was blown to pieces. >> the schools are not open. 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: the storm caused severe devastation throughout the region. here seeing the roofs of homes like this one. >> you never know what you're going to come back to. it's better to be safe than sorry. >> reporter: customers along

southeast louisiana, mostly in new orleans, are still wut power, where a nighttime curfew is in effect. >> now is not the time to return home. we have limited -- very limited capacity here. >> reporter: in some of the neighborhoods that are still flooded, the water is starting to drop, but very, very slowly, all of that making it much more difficult to get around to get started with the cleanup process that could take weeks. after weathering the storm away from home, joe corona returned to check on his auto business which suffered major damage. >> been here a long time, and just going to figure out way to get through it. >> reporter: in southern mississippi, ida left nearly 60,000 customers in the dark, and fast flooding caught many by surprise. >> i have lived out here 30 years, and i have never seen it this bad. >> reporter: with temperatures climbing, the biden administration says fema is staging more than 200 generators in the region as thousands help restore power. jason allen, cbs news, laplace, louisiana. this morning the caldor fire

in northern california is threatening more than 33,000 homes and businesses near lake tahoe as new mandatory evacuation orders are in effect across the border in nevada. time-lapse satellite video shows the fire burning south of lake tahoe yesterday as thick smoke spreads to the east. the area normally bustling with tourists is now a ghost town. an estimated 50,000 people are under evacuation orders. more than 3,500 firefighters are on the scene. the fire has exploded in size. it's burned almost 200,000 acres and destroyed 675 buildings. >> we've used the terms such as anomaly, unprecedented, or extreme to describe the wildfires. these terms are no longer appropriate. >> wind gusts up to 45 miles per hour carried embers that ignited spot fires.

two fires crept to within five miles of lae tahoe city limits. the caldor fire is only 18% contained. one of the strictest abortion laws in the country is in effect in texas. the law which went into effect at midnight bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. that can be as early as six weeks of pregnancy. opponents say it will outlaw 85% of abortions in texas and force many clinics to close. abortion providers had filed an emergency appeal with the u.s. supreme court to put the law on hold, but the court did not act on the request. also in texas a controversial voting rights bill is closer to becoming law. yesterday the republican-controlled state legislature approved sweeping changes to election rules. it includes limiting voting hours and giving partisan poll watchers greater access to voting locations. democrats fought the bill for months, some leaving the state. the governor says he'll sign the bill. coming up, he's out on "jeopardy!". why mike richards is also

stepping down as executive producer of the game show. and selling counterfeit covid cards. how much one woman was allegedly charging for fake vaccination cards. this is the "cbs morning news." is the "cbs morning news." my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. janssen can help you explore cost support options.

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or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. there's another job opening at "jeopardy!". mike richards is out as executive producer just days after he was ousted as the new host. it's the latest fallout from disparaging remarks he made on a podcast years ago about women and the homeless surfaced. fans called him unsuitable for the show, and there were reports of dissatisfaction by staffers. "jeopardy!" will continue to search for another host to replace the late alex trebek. a woman has been charged with allegedly selling fake vaccine cards, and president biden shores up ukrainian relations. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." "reuters" says president biden will welcome ukraine president

volodymyr zelensky to the white house today. the biden administration says the visit will affirm the unitee face of russia's ongoing aggression. ukraine and russia have been at odds for years. the two will also discuss ukraine's energy security and the president's efforts to tackle corruption and implement reforms. "the new york times" reports a new jersey woman calling herself anti-vax mama on instagram was charged with selling fake vaccination cards. jasmine clifford is one of 15 accused in the conspiracy. prosecutors say she sold about 250 forged card over instagram for $200 each. another woman who worked at a medical clinic allegedly entered names into the state's vaccine data base for an extra $250. some of the alleged customers worked in hospitals and nursing homes. and our new york city station wcbs says two 6-year-old boys were sworn in as honorary

new jersey state police troopers through the make-a-wish foundation. they were sworn in yesterday during a special ceremony. the boys are fighting two different illnesses. >> you need not look any further than to your left or to your right or into the eyes of these young boys to understand that we have chosen the most noble profession on the face of the earth. god bless you two boys, and welcome to the new jersey state police. god bless you. >> more than 100 officers from dozens of law enforcement departments took part in the ceremony. coming up, celebrating labor day safely, of course. the cdc recommends activities for vaccinated americans as we get ready to mark the holiday. a. is struggling to manage your type 2 diabetes knocking you out of your zone? lowering your a1c with once-weekly ozempic® can help you get back in it. oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! my zone... lowering my a1c, cv risk,

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you're looking at the fossilized remains of big john, the triceratops, the dinosaur skeleton set to hit the auction block in paris later this month. it was discovered in south dakota in 2014 and is estimated to be more than 66 million years old. big john is expected to fetch more than $1.5 million. on the cbs "money watch" now, tips for celebrating labor day safely this year, and a cheesy ice cream is making a return. wendy gillette is at the new york stock exchange with those stories and more. good morning, wendy. >> reporter: good morning. the three major indices closed marginally lower yesterday, but wall street still ended august with a gain for the seventh straight month. the dow slipped 39 points. the nasdaq dropped 6 points, and the s&p 500 also fell 6 points. the cdc is urging people who

are not vaccinated against covid to stay home this labor day weekend. director rochelle walensky said people who didn't get a shot should avoid traveling. she said those who are fully vaccinated and wear masks can celebrate. she recommended spending time outdoors with other vaccinated family members and encouraged everyone to mask up when indoors. her remarks come as covid cases spike due to the highly contagious delta variant. walgreens employees are set to get more green. the drug store chain announced its new starting pay for all hourly employees will be $15 an hour. walgreens is making the move to recognize the critical role team members play in serving customers, patients, and communities. the company will begin phasing in the new hourly wage next month. the policy is expected to roll out across the country by next november. and cheese lovers, get excited. kraft is bringing back its mac and cheese ice cream which debuted earlier this summer.

it was a big seller with 6,000 pints selling out on line within an hour. kraft is teaming up with van leeuwen ice cream again to bring you more of the cheesy, creamy goodness while supplies last. anne-marie? >> wendy, i don't know about this one. i know it sold out the first time around. obviously there's high demand. i've read some of the reviews, and some people love it. some people said it was like throwing a whole package of powdered cheese down your throat which doesn't sound appealing to me. but that might be your thing. >> that's definitely not my thing. but i love mac and cheese. i love ice cream. but why would you put two great things together? not necessarily a great thing together. >> exactly. not for me, but clearly for plenty of people. wendy gillette at the new york stock exchange. thank you so much, wendy. so up next, disappointing news for the kiss army. singer gene simmons is diagnosed with covid forcing the fan to

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here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ people from around the world gathered at kensington palace in england to pay tribute to

princess diana. it was 34 years ago yesterday inataris. flowers lined the gate along with pictures of diana. people also lined up to see a statue of the late princess. the cbs daytime show "the talk" is down another host. journalist elaine welteroth announced she's leaving less than one year -- with less than one year on air. the 34-year-old released a statement saying that it was an honor to be a young black woman on the show and give perspectives that largely underrepresented. she's the second co-host to recently say that she's leaving. carrie ann inaba announced on august 20th that she would also be leaving the show. gene simmons is now the second kiss member to test positive for covid. the rock band says simmons is experiencing mild symptoms. last week fellow co-founder paul stanley said that he also tested positive for the virus. the band's farewell tour is now canceling four upcoming shows.

in a statement, kiss says that they should be able to hit the road again next thursday. and red heads around the world came together to celebrate their fiery locks. hundreds took part in a three-day festival in the netherlands. they had a series of meet-and-greet events. >> i personally feel something when i see red heads, the people. i feel like we belong to a certain community. there's something that brings us together. >> participants say they felt a sense of belonging that they say they don't get in their everyday lives. coming up on "cbs this morning," the lead singer of one republic, ryan tedder talks about the new album "human." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." " i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪

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our top stories this morning -- president biden is defending his decision to end the 20-year war in afghanistan, and the way in which he did it.

in an address to the nation yesterday, mr. biden called a military airlift to evacuate thousands of americans and afghan allies an extraordinary success. republicans criticize the president for leaving more than 100 u.s. citizens behind. and the caldor fire in northern california is threatening more than 33,000 homes and businesses near lake tahoe as new mandatory evacuation orders are in effect across the border in nevada. more than 3,500 firefighters are on the scene. the fire has exploded in size, though. it's burned almost 200,000 acres and destroyed 675 buildings. some of america's most seasoned veterans are getting a chance to relive their youth thanks to some patriotic volunteers. nikole killion has their story. has anybody got a bottle of champagne? >> reporter: at 98, loren hellickson has a lot to celebrate. >> number seven. that's my lucky number. >> reporter: the world war ii veteran is climbing aboard this restored 1940s steerman biplane

for his first dream flight. what made you want to do this? >> to encourage others. >> reporter: the nonprofit made up of volunteer pilots has launched operation september freedom. after suspending trips during the pandemic, they want to take to the skies with 1,000 world war ii vets by the end of next month. do you see this as a race against time? >> we absolutely do. we see that we have a small window here to be able to say thank you. >> i'm 98. i have difficulty finding any other veterans that are that age. >> reporter: how does that make you feel? >> old. >> reporter: but not too old for this retired navy corpsman who survived battle in the south pacific to take a victory lap. is it everything you imagined? >> and more. what a wonderful trip. >> reporter: signing off --

>> how do you spell john hancock -- >> reporter: on a mission accomplished. nikole killion, cbs news, ft. meade, maryland. coming up, a closer look at china's crackdown on video game playing among young people. plus in "the work shift," we'll hear from people about why they are still unemployed despite millions of job openings. and the lead singer of one republic, ryan tedder, talks with anthony mason about the band's new album "human." that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. ♪ have a great day.

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