and then resurgence of covid. a brand-new exclusive nbc poll drops at 9:00 a.m. eastern. we'll have all the detils right now. good morning. it's sunday, august 22nd. i'm maria teresa kumar in for ali velshi who is taking some much very deservedly time off. we begin with the latest on henri which has just been downgraded to tropical storm. it's still expected to cause dangerous conditions when it makes landfall in a matter of hours. let's get to meteorologist bill karins. we rarely see tropical storms hit the northeast. what can we expect? >> good morning. we're going to still see -- just because it got downgraded from 5 miles per hour, that's it. it's really not much of a difference. low category 1 and a strong tropical storm. still deal with the same storm surge.

maybe slightly less wind damage and then we're still going to have epic amounts of rainfall. we've already seen that in some areas of new york city. some areas reported six inches of rain overnight. to the latest on the storm, see where it's located just south now of about new bedford and newport, rhode island. the storm is starting to bend to the left. we are going to have this heading up towards the connecticut/rhode island border. doesn't look like we'll get that island landfall, but it does look like it should be happening near westerly, rhode island. winds are starting to pick up along the twin forks of long island. a wind gust on block island up to 50 miles per hour. slowly the winds are moving onshore and we'll begin to have power outages. right now we're doing okay. here is the new -- now we're getting hourly updates from the hurricane center. the storm is only 40 miles south-southeast of montauk and heading up to the east of montauk. winds at 70 and moving at 16 miles per hour.

pretty quick pace. you can do the math. in three to four hours we'll get our landfall and this is the latest hurricane center track over the top of block island. landfall into rhode island. that would bring the strongest winds in. widespread power outages are likely and storm surge happening later in those areas back to cape cod. luckily high tide is occurring now and the tide will be going out when it makes landfall. the storm rains itself out slowly over the next two to three days. as far as maximum wind gusts. the highest gusts will be from new london to newport to block island. 60 to 80-mile-per-hour gusts. that's where the worst power outages will be. storm surge to the east of the center, rhode island and cape cod. those high tide times occurring as we go throughout the next two hours. we'll continue to watch and monitor this. i think we'll get a landfall here late this morning into rhode island. >> bill karins, always super thorough.

thank you. we'll check in with you soon after. turning out to the unfolding and unraveling situation in afghanistan and the fallout facing the biden administration here at home. and breaking this morning, just moments ago, the defense department has activated the civil reserve air fleet to assist in evacuation efforts. this gives the department access to commercial airlines. the current activation is for 18 total aircrafts from american airlines, atlas air, delta, omni air, hawaiian airlines and united airlines. notably airlines will not be flying into and out of kabul but instead will take evacuees from secure locations in the middle east and europe to the united states. it comes amid the chaotic situation of much of afghanistan especially in and around hamid karzai international airport in kabul. according to a state department bulletin sent yesterday, the morale at the embassy has plummeted.

there's a sense of betrayal and disrust of the american government and that they are prioritizing senior afghan contacts who may have other options available to them. one local embassy staff member to tried to get to the airport said it would be better to die under the taliban's bullet than face the crowds again, adding, we are human beings and considered as animals and abused. happy to die here but with dignity and pride. overnight the british military reported seven afghan civilians have been killed in the crowds near the airport. another afghan staff member of the u.s. embassy reports that his family home was spray painted, a tactic the taliban used to identify occupants they want to question and who are often subject to retaliation. that staff member has luckily fled his home with his family but still remains in afghanistan unable to get to the airport. yesterday the embassy issued a warning to american citizens not to travel to the airport unless they are specifically told to,

due to, quote, potential security threats outside the airport gates. president biden is meeting with his national security team this morning and is expected to update the national -- the nation at 4:00 p.m. eastern. joining me is ann gerren, a white house reporter for "the washington post" with a focus on foreign policy and national policy. her latest piece is "america first lite." afghanistan withdrawal brings a biden doctrine into focus. thanks for joining me. i have so many questions. i read your piece with such fascination. it's basically couched and i quote, one of the people you quoted saying that america is becoming the country of a gated community and we're talking a little about how that is very much the case in what we're seeing right now in afghanistan and the president's address. can you elaborate? >> yeah, good morning. so the piece we tried to do is a

look at how in the current situation, which is really the largest foreign policy crisis of joe biden's young presidency, what we can determine about the way he sees the world. the foreign policy wonks like to call that a doctrine. in this case, the biden doctrine. and it's really one that the expert you note there describes as a gated community mindset and that biden is not the originator of that but that's where the united states is increasingly going. and there is -- there are really some powerful strains of that that we're seeing play out in the response to afghanistan, but the president's own peninsula and the public opinion surrounding it in the united states. what he means by gated community mindset is that we want to protect americans first. and we're seeing that happen in afghanistan. we want to be a generous country, but there's really only

so much time, effort, money and other resources that people are willing or able to devote to what is outside the gate. that's exactly what we're seeing play out in afghanistan right now. and the embassy cable you referenced a moment ago, you know, it shows that that isn't -- that doesn't sit well with everyone. but it is certainly the bet that joe biden is making here that by protecting americans, by fulfilling what he sees as an important duty to be the president who ends the war, that ultimately, that is what the united states -- that is in the u.s. interest and what the united states wants, and then he'll be judged well for it. >> so anne, we're expecting the president to address the nation at 4:00 today eastern time. what can we expect from him in that address? specifically, how it relates to evacuating afghans and also on

the table, will he address any of the arsenal, the money the taliban has access to that they didn't have before? do we expect him to address that as well? >> i don't know on the second one. i have not heard that he's going to give an operational update on taliban finances, although certainly many people are waiting for that and watching where the money is going. the taliban came into a good bit of it by taking over the central government. it's not clear yet what they are doing. it's actually not clear how fully in control the taliban is of the central government. but leave that aside for a moment. one thing we expect to hear from the president is a sort of operational update on where the numbers are and where his policy is going on evacuating americans, which he's already said he will do and that any american who wants to leave can leave. but also really that hanging

question is how much additional effort and potentially time will the u.s. government put to evacuating afghans. there were strong indications yesterday from the pentagon, the military will now make what amount to commando raids beyond the perimeter of the airport to pick up people and bring them to the airport. european commandos have been doing this all week. we expect to see that happen going forward by americans. >> thank you so much, anne gearan. joining me now is democratic representative gregory meeks of new york. the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee. congressman, thanks for joining me. we just heard an update from anne geary from the white house. what do you expect from the president today at 4:00 p.m. >> i think he'll give us an update as to the number of individuals that we have brought out of afghanistan and maybe what the continuing plan will be

as we move forward in that regard. and just giving us a general update. and i think -- of what the progress has been and of what we think will happen in the next few days. >> congressman, something that piqued my interest was your critique of the administration. they said that they were going to extend the evacuation until august 31st. that's just less than ten days from now. what is your response? should this be an arbitrary deadline or should we make sure that we get as many people out as safely as possible? >> i think that we have -- we are committed to our promise of making sure that every american citizen that wants to get out, gets out. and those individuals who put their lives on the line, who worked as interpreters or engineers or drivers or ngos et cetera that helped our men and women when they were on the ground there, we get them out also. and if it takes longer than

august the 31st, then we will still be there until we live up to our commitment. i believe that's what the president will -- >> congressman, you have shared your concern with the hastiness of this evacuation that the taliban caught us short-footed. you requested a meeting with secretary blinken. what do you expect to come out of that? what would you like to hear from him? >> yeah, we're going to -- as the chair of the house foreign affairs committee, zee oversight jurisdiction. so we want to find out what took place. why did we not anticipate or when did we know that the afghan security forces did not have the will to fight? and then what did we do subsequent there, too. let me first say that our first focus is to get every american and our afghan allies out of afghanistan and then we will do

a complete review. but right now, the focus is, and this is what we want to really talk to secretary blinken about, and is to -- how and what plans we have to make sure that we get everybody out. and speaker nancy pelosi has arranged for us to have a classified meeting. every member of the house of representatives on tuesday. and i'm going to have another classified briefing on wednesday for members of the house foreign affairs committee and then we'll be looking to do a full hearing with secretary blinken thereafter, probably in the next week or so. so we're focused on right now getting information and we want to make sure we get all of our people out of afghanistan. >> and just as a follow-up question, one of the things we're learning is that when the president stated that al qaeda was gone, we are actually -- we were able to reference a report in june from the united nations saying that that is not the

case. that they seemed to continue being in at least 15 provinces in afghanistan. are you concerned there may be a resurgence of al qaeda? >> well, you always have to be concerned about terrorists and terrorism. and i know that we've got to continue to practices of which you've been able to utilize, and not only in afghanistan but throughout. yemen, parts of -- different parts of the continent of africa. we know about the threat of terrorism. we have ways of fighting to get that done without nation building in that regard. i think that's part of the lesson that we learned here. we have to be ever vigilant and to make sure those terrorists don't reappear and we've got to make sure that we keep our eyes and ears on the ground in that regard. and i must give some compliments to some of our regional allies. working with us in the evacuation part of this as well

as keeping their eyes and ears on us for any threats that might start to rear its ugly head. >> we have to remind ourselves and our viewers, the united states was not the only one in afghanistan. it was a group of ally coalitions that made sure there was continued safety. this caught everybody by surprise. i do want to ask one last question. the president just announced that commercial airlines are going to be air lifting. can you talk about those efforts and how important it is to recognize that there's going to be a commercial business presence trying to airlift as many people to their safety. >> all of that is important because we've got to get as many people out in as timely a fashion that we can get out. i look at what we did during the berlin air lift. we need to do something similar to that. this is not like saigon where people were saying that this is vietnam. because at that point, people were shooting at the united states. and we -- so that's why that was a retreat then.

this is not. this is a rescue, an effort to just get people out. and not shooting at us, at this juncture. we need to get commercial airlines, charter airlines, into the airport in afghanistan to get people out in as timely a fashion as we possibly can. >> congressman gregory meeks, house chairman -- chairman of the house foreign affairs committee. thank you for your time today. >> thank you for having me. still ahead -- a wife whose husband is stranded in afghanistan. a veteran who can't stand to see the people who once helped her trapped behind enemy lines. i'll talk to two women fighting for those in afghanistan, next. later, new york congressman ritchie torres joins the discussion on the afghan evacuation. plus, we're tracking trackical storm henri. where and wen it will hit the hardest coming up next.

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let's now bring in two women who bring unique perspectives to the horrors unfolding on the ground in afghanistan. zora joins us. her husband is currently trying to get out of kabul and kristen is a veteran of the war in afghanistan who remains in contact with many people living trapped behind taliban lines. thank you for joining me. zara, you are an american citizen born here in the united states. you met your husband online. and now he is stuck in afghanistan. can you talk about what the situation is over there because from what i understand, he applied for a visa in 2019. two years later, he still has not received his documentation. >> yes, and he was approved with the national visa center in june of 2020. so we've been waiting since then. initially it was because of covid. they resumed visa services in

february. and they prioritized the siv cases. so we got pushed back to the -- back of the line. and my husband is currently in -- my husband is currently in a private location because his face was plastered so i want to be careful. he pushed through a crowd, a huge crowd of thousands and thousands of people, finally to make it to the americans after 40 hours of no food, no water, no sleep only to get denied after having all proper documentation. >> just for our viewers to understand, the reason that he is -- his face is not being shown is for his own personal safety. because -- >> y thank you. >> explain to us what may happen if they were to find that the taliban were to recognize him? what do you fear? >> he's a traitor. he would die. they would kill him. this is my biggest fear.

not only would they kill him but they'd kill his family, too. for -- initially for being married to an afghan american. that's one of the main reasons. next is for leaving his country and going to america. you are considered a traitor. so not only are you a traitor with the special immigration visas but you're a traitor with the immigration visas as well. so we need to help both these -- both these categories. thousands and thousands of people, including u.s. citizens who can't get through. >> kristen, what zorah is describing is the very reason you are now trying to help individuals get out of afghanistan. people who were friendly to americans, who were trying to stabilize their country, trying to learn. can you speak a little bit about what you're doing to address zorah's situation, more or less, of people whose -- like her husband, that are in similar situations? >> what zorah is describing is

absolutely the reality. it's not the exception. it is the norm. people are waiting for hours, days, to get into gates of an airport that is the only way out right now from a country that is under -- it is -- the entire country of afghanistan has active shooters trying to kill our friends right now. our friends are being hunted down, if they are trying to find a safe place to rest. if they are in front of the airport, taliban are the outer cordon security at the airport for people who are trying to flee the taliban. and the number of people who have gotten into the airport and are flown out on these evacuation flights thus far are a tiny, tiny percentage of the people who need to get out. the shootings outside, the tramplings. children are being killed. i mean, like the horrors that i'm hearing every day from the -- just the folks in my network that we're trying to get

out, it has been just absolutely gutting. i get calls and voice messages with machine gunfire so loud and so constant that i can barely hear what they're saying. this is absolute horror, and we have to open up humanitarian parole visas. let people in. get them out. sort out the paperwork somewhere else. i mean, parents are trying to keep their children alive. families are trying to reunite. we have people trying to get back to the states to their loved ones. but, you know, just in my network alone, we're tracking more than 70 afghans connected with our mission. the u.s. mission. these are interpreters who we couldn't have done anything in afghanistan without. these are people we trust with our lives. we've people trusted with our lives who we are leaving behind. they are begging me through emails, voice messages, every

way that you can reach somebody digitally they're saying, just minutes before i got on -- before this broadcast, i am getting a message, please, ma'am, make a way out for us. please, please make a way out for us. >> something that you are mentioning and that's striking is "the washington post" did a piece on how many americans in social services are uniting, are coming -- are stepping up saying, we will welcome you. how can the government do differently right now? if you were to give one single piece of advice? >> we must get people out. open the gates. open the gates, evacuate. humanitarian parole now. we have people fussing over what do you have? do you have this kind of visa. did you complete the process. do you have the right passport? is it expired? do you have your -- i mean, like we're -- we're troubling people with paperwork and even when they have it, they can't get in. and we have parents just handing

their children over barbed wire because they're so hung up in bureaucracy that they just want their kids to live. >> i think that's absolutely right and we're starting to see some glimmers of hope with the commercial airlines coming in and hoping to rescue as many people as possible. zorah and kristen, thank you for sounding the alarm. thank you for sharing your stories. >> thank you for having us. ron desantis has shown time and again that he truly does not care about the health and well-being of florida's children. up next, we'll talk to a woman whose two young children became sick with covid because their school is following the governor's ban on mask mandates. more "velshi" right after a quick break. mm. [ clicks tongue ] i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? might just need to break 'em in a little bit.

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across the country, covid cases and hospitalizations are spiking at catastrophic rates. yet several republican governors

mostly in the south are intent on endangering the lives of their constituents. georgia's governor brian kemp recently signed an executive order that allows businesses to ignore local masks and vaccine ordinances even though cases there are up 70% over the last two weeks alone. in texas, some schools have been forced to add masks to student dress codes just to get them around covering -- around george abbott's -- greg abbott's nonsensical mask mandate. you can tell i'm annoyed. it just puts people in danger. he himself, the governor, is fighting covid as we speak. one of the worst situations is in florida where this weekend it became just the third state to reach 3 million total covid cases. according to "the new york times," the state tracked more than 33,000 new cases on friday alone. anyone else may look at the situation as a dire emergency. but governor ron desantis has no problem playing politics with

american lives. more specifically, the lives of children are too young to get a vaccine. in the most recent seven-day period in florida, 1 out of every 4 covid infections was someone 19 or younger. desantis has repeatedly shown he can't be trusted to keep children safe. not only has he implemented a ban on mandates in public schools but his department of education is now saying that it will fine school districts that don't comply. for more on the potentially lethal situation in florida, i'm joined by emily peacock, a resident of suwanee county. two of her children recently fell ill with covid after going to public schools without mask mandates. and also with is dr. kavita patel. emily, how are your children? >> they are disappointed to be missing school. they're sick.

they don't feel like themselves at all. and they are confused about why something that could have been prevented in a community has -- was made no effort to protect them. >> somehow the use of masks has become a cultural war, emily, and something that you speak of is the fact that your child, your daughter was getting bullied for wearing a mask. can you elaborate on that? >> sure. yes, both my second grader and my fifth grader explained that their classmates continually question them and criticize them about wearing masks. they encourage them to take it off and random settings, and the school has no policy for masks. they kindly request masks but they are not required by students or faculty to wear. and so my children are among the few, very few, who actually do

wear masks in crowded classrooms, cafeterias, hallways all day long. my oldest is -- >> this is your daughter's message. let's watch this video from your daughter. >> people have told me, why are you wearing a mask? you do not have to wear a mask. and that comes from a friend of mine. and it shocks me how people are so rude and they do not understand what life is now. they do not understand, you know, what could really happen to them. >> how did you react to her confession that even people that she knew, her friends were having this reaction to her wearing a mask? and how do you feel now that two of your children have been

infected with covid? >> it's so disheartening to me. and it's really appalling that those in our community that can control these factors are refusing on the basis of their rights, and they are putting my children at risk. they are endangering their lives. my response to her was to continue doing what she knows is the right thing to not be persuaded by what others around her might engage in. but she knows -- she has an understanding that life is precious. and part of being in community is that we care for one another. we're good neighbors. we're good citizens. and she wears a mask so that she doesn't put others at risk of harm. >> dr. patel, you're hearing emily's story of how she's

encouraging her family and her children to wear masks. two of her children were sadly infected with covid. what is your reaction? how effective, one, are masks and, two, what can parents in emily's situation do to help protect their children? >> yeah, good morning. i'm disgusted. that's my reaction. and emily, as a parent of two young children who are going to be starting school soon, it just honestly strikes a nerve and it reinforces what we know. and all i have to do for all the people who want to dispute the reality of how masks can protect. we actually kept schools open last year. not all of them, obviously, but of the schools that were open, we've been able to study them. there have been definitive studies that accumulated data from the united states and around the world. and one of the single driving factors in addition to ventilation and spacing are masks. and there's no question in my mind that we could prevent so many of the infections we're

seeing. and it's amazing to me still that we've got secretary of education has to get on the phone and help back up superintendents who know they want to do the right thing. and i think emily's point also, just something to illustrate about how we're watching this virus spread that isn't really obvious, what we're seeing are parents who are allowing their children not to go to school with masks and then they're bullying emily's children. these are the same families who are likely the least to be vaccinated. likely the least to engage in protections themselves as adults. now you really understand why we think of this as viral spread of misinformation as well. and i am just disturbed this is a vulnerable population. even if we only have 2% of pediatric cases being hospitalized, which is about the rate, which is quote/unquote, better than adults, why should we accept that anyone gets sick or is hospitalized when it can be preventable. >> i have to share with you, i, too, am a mother of two young children who have not started

school but this idea that someone will be so precarious with someone's life seems not only selfish but increasingly lethal. what is the likelihood that we'll have a vaccine for children under 11 years old any time soon? >> yeah, so it can't come soon enough. so -- and we don't -- let me just add that we are hearing and hoping that at least pfizer, which is the earliest out of the gate with the pediatric trials will have data ready to submit optimistically by the end of september, early october but then a three-week to five-week turn around. but that puts us squarely and most of the country in and past the surge. so not soon enough but this year hopefully. >> thank you always for your thoughtful insights, dr. patel and emily peacock. thank you. >> thank you. new york and new england, two regions not exactly prone to tropical weather. they're bracing for a rare hurricane. henri is expected to make landfall by midday.

we'll get an update from meteorologist bill karins when we return. yesterday in tennessee, another weather event caused deadly flooding in humphries county. at least ten people are dead and more than 30 missing after heavy rainfall caused intense flooding across the middle of the state. officials say that the situation is still dangerous and evolving. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ and one we explore one that's been paved and one that's forever wild but freedom means you don't have to choose just one adventure ♪ ♪ you get both. introducing the all-new 3-row jeep grand cherokee l jeep. there's only one. seeing blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. jeep grand cherokee l new parodontax active gum repair kills plaque bacteria at the gum line

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happening now, the east coast is bracing for impact of hurricane henri, a rare tropical storm from the northeast. shoreline communities from new york city to boston are boarding up storefronts and homes while sections of fire island, new york and westerly rhode island are calling for voluntary evacuations. overnight, a rain ban from the storm caused heavy rain and flooding in new york city and parts of new jersey. in clild, new york, where henri is expected to hit later today, residents are expecting for the first hurricane to hit in decades. meteorologist dave price joins me from sag harbor, new york. how are you holding up there? >> nice to see you. >> how are you holding up? >> relatively well. we're holding up relatively well. i mean, there is -- we begin the morning with some good news. and that is twofield. number one, the downgrade of the

storm from a hurricane to a tropical storm. that's a nuance which we can talk about just a little bit. and number two, what we were concerned about at 7:00 yesterday evening was a direct hit of this storm. and that does not look likely at this point. it looks like worse news for areas of connecticut, rhode island, massachusetts and in through new england. but the scene right now in sag harbor, right around east hampton and here in wanescot and through suffolk county is as you see. heavy rains, strong, strong oceans and, of course, the concern of flooding and high winds. now a couple of things to note here, we have had a notoriously wet record-setting month of july. that sets us up with saturated ground and with winds as high as they're expected to be today. gusting up to 50, 60, 70 miles per hour or greater.

there is the threat of trees coming down, power outages and those could be widespread through this area. the wind intensity, again, i talked about a nuance, and that is because whether it is a hurricane or whether it is 5 miles per hour less, you're talking about intense winds and, of course, when you combine all of that with waves that can be between 9 and 14 feet, tidal surge between 3 and 5 feet, and areas like this, lush with greenery and trees, that combination can produce flooding, power outages and, of course, damage. this is not weather to go out in, regardless of whether you have property here or whether you have a vacation interest here. it's time on a day like today to sit in the house and let this storm pass. and if you're in the path of this storm to get out if you can

still. >> dave, i think those are wise words. i want to ask you one question that you discussed. you talked about unusual rains that happened in the month of july. that oftentimes when we talk about climate change we often look at the fires and say, yes, that's a note but this is also possibly connected to the climate change we're seeing that will cause erosion of trees -- loosening up the soil, having trees fly and can you comment on that? >> that's a much broader conversation that needs exploration. but we are seeing more extreme weather. we're seeing warmer water temperatures, we're seeing more records. we're seeing greater rainfall. and in this particular case, as we look at what happened in july, we had record-setting rainfall in july. particularly in this area, in new york city and the tri-state

area. that sets the ground, if you will, up for the possibility that trees and greenery and that which is rooted is much more easy to uproot. and when you see winds kicking up to 60, 70 miles per hour-plus, that can cause damage. the broader question of climate change, that deserves more time. >> dave, i hope that you and i can have that conversation when you're not soaking wet. enjoy sag harbor to the best of your abilities. thank you so much. stay safe. >> you bet. voting rights aren't the only rights texas republicans want to take away. up next, the fight for women's reproductive rights. you're watching velshi on msnbc. r and she's wearing my robe. mom: ahem ahem ahem we're out. as your business changes, the united states postal service is changing with it.

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washington to plead for help from congress and the biden administration. but that isn't the only high-stakes battle raging in texas right now. it seems republicans have been really busy trying to launch all sorts of cultural attacks. they're -- actually won a huge y this week that could deal a serious blow to women's health in states all across the country. back in 2017 texas republicans tried to ban a very specific abortion procedure, dne. it's the most safest and common way to terminate a pregnancy. if you want to understand why republicans want to ban this procedure, you have to understand that the goal is not safe medical outcomes. without this procedure, doctors will likely opt out of doing

them instead of using a less safe method. so texas abortion providers had sued. the fifth circuit court of appeals ruled in favor for the ban to go into effect. if the abortion providers continue the fight, this one could go all the way to the supreme court. but it would be heard by the post-trump 6-3 conservative majority. joining me now is the founder and ceo of whole women's health and a plaintiff in this case. and my good friend, the founder and chief creative officer of abortion access front and co-creator of the daily show.

can you talk to me about what happens next? >> like you said, this is an abortion ban writ large. it's banning a medical procedure, but it's similar to some other abortion bans that we've seen across the country. what happens next is us trying to figure out how to still care for the people in texas that need to end a pregnancy safely and how to be there for them compassionately as well as try to fight for them in the courts. most of our patients don't think about the court system or think about the rights framework when they're seeking to end a pregnancy. they deserve our compassion, our empathy, and they deserve access to the very best medical care that our physicians could offer. >> liz, what actually happens now with abortion care as we're seeing it erode? we know that 2021 has been a banner year sadly for moving the goal post when it comes to abortion access. >> i think it's twofold. i think often times when we

think about what happens next or what someone can do, throughout the process that this happens, people still need to access care. and so we are often saying it's vitally important that we defend the clinic providing the care, that we try to destigmatize and normalize abortion. but i think one of the most important things around this issue is that the fifth circuit, a panel of the fifth circuit initially said this ban is unconstitutional and they took it upon themselves to reverse their own decision. and when we're talking about how things are going down, there's never been precedent before on what type of abortion someone can get. what is your constitutional right to the type of abortion you can get. so we're entering into new territory to me is terrifying because if we say that abortion rights are your rights in your

country, can the court decide which type of abortion you can get? absolutely not. >> so i want to drill down with something that lizz just said. and that is that this is a type of abortion that happens in the second trimester. the majority of abortions take place in the first semester. who is seeking this type of medical assistance in the second trimester? >> sure. so, the people that we serve seeking to end their pregnancy in the second trimester are often times some of the most compelling cases that we see. people who are navigating multiple barriers. they're blocked from using their insurance or medicaid to cover their procedure, they may have a medical condition, they may have sort of multiple factors that contribute to delaying their ability to get the abortion. often times those factors are some of the barriers at the present time present in texas that delay people care.

and i think in the context of the pandemic, i think we all have seen how it's really shined a bright light on our decisions about parenting and our decisions about our families in general, and nobody should be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will. and people should be able to have access to the doctor's highest level of training. our physicians are being put in a position with this ban to provide abortions differently in texas than they do in the other states they practice in. and texans deserve better. >> something that often goes unsaid is abortion bans are not necessarily impacting all women in society, that it is specifically targeting poor, often women of color, who cannot access care, but wealthier women will have access. can you speak a little bit to that? and what so many on the right use shaming when it comes to abortion to ensure that these women do not access healthcare

the way they should? >> it is a target and a cudgel for people who don't have access. states, places like new york, california, people who have means are going to be able to access the care that they need. but this yet again is a punishment for people who are low-income folks, people of color, who are just trying to make the same decisions for their lives, the kind of family they want and for their families as everyone else. and yet again, abortion bans joins a litany of other things that happen in this country that do not give access and opportunity for people to fulfill their potential, and it's shameful. >> amy, you said something in the "new york times" that i'm going to quote. in no other area of medicine would politicians consider preventing doctors from using a standard procedure. can you go ahead and expand on that? >> yes. i think what we see and abortion

care is on constant sort of regulation and political interference in the practice of medicine. our physicians and our providers are highly trained medical professionals. and for these politicians to step in and weigh in as to what procedures they can use and what procedures they can't use, it's unprecedented, it doesn't happen in other areas of medicine. i think it's directly related to the sort of manufactured shame and stigma you referred to when you were just talking with lizz. and i think we see this normal situation of restrictions on abortion over time where people come to accept that this is somehow politically acceptable. abortion remains one of the safest procedures in medicine. and we have to remember that in our women's health case in 2017, the supreme court was crystal clear that protecting women's health is at stake here and that a state can't insert itself and restrict people's access to abortion without supporting

those restrictions with medical evidence and scientific facts. and here what we have is people playing politics in texas. and it's happening in multiple areas where we're really endangering people's health and safety. and we have to center back to what's best for people in texas, what's best for families and individuals to make decisions in private with their physicians in trying to figure out what's best for their lives. and if we know and love someone who's facing decisions about ending a pregnancy, how would we want that process to be for them and to create the world where we would want our loved ones if they face this decision to be able to expect this care and compassion and the best medical care. >> in texas the governor doesn't want to instill mask mandates because it's taking away the power of the people to have agency over the health of their bodies, but yet when it comes to women's rights and agency over

our bodies he definitely have an opinion and so does the fifth circuit court. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. stay with us. we are tracking tropical storm henri has it heads towards new york and rhode island. and we'll bring you another live update. and i'll talk to new york congressman. good morning. it's sunday, august 22nd. i'm maria teresa kumar in for the one and only ali velshi. we begin with tropical storm henri. this is a live look at montauk, new york, the very tip of long island. let's get right to nbc news meteorologist phil karens. what's the latest? >> we're continuing to watch this approach land.

we're only about two hours away from landfall. somewhere right near the connecticut/rhode island border. you can see clearly where the storm is located just south of block island. and it's all heading up towards rhode island. current wind gusts, the highest gusts right around block island. that's where we are seeing winds up to about 50 miles per hour. providence now starting to pick up to 35. once you start getting into the 30s and 40s, that's when we're going to start getting some tree damage and possibility of power outage. it is really confined to the tail end of long island, eastern connecticut, and all of rhode island. martha's vineyard also just had a gust of 40 miles per hour. the winds have weakened even more now. we were at 70, now we're down at 65 miles per hour. we want this thing to get as weak as possible as it's moving on shore. it is coming onho