it's been a very worth while effort. you know, it's incredibly exciting time for us as an organization. with everything going on, i think the major thing that we focus on is the fact that, you know, not so much -- i think we just want to make sure that where the government is falling short we can fill in. because we know there is bureaucracy in many ways. but overall, things are going as smooth as they can. but we're always looking for support. so we ask people to go to www.nooneleft.org. >> thank you. my thanks to the three of you. sorry our time was short. hope to have you back soon. more of the day's coverage starts right now. >> good afternoon, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist in for ayman mohyeldin. as president biden finds himself

dealing with two major unfolding crisis. any moment now pentagon press secretary john kirby will hold his second briefing of the day on the situation in afghanistan. we'll bring that you to live when it begins. this comes as the pace of evacuations picks up. the pentagon saying at least 16,000 people were taken out during a 24-hour period. but, there are new concerns about security outside the kabul airport after the german military said one afghan soldier was killed and three others were wounded in a gun fight that did involve u.s. troops. the president did get some good news on the coronavirus pandemic today. the food and drug administration gave fool approval to pfizer's vaccine. now he hopes this will change the minds of people who have been hesitant to get the shots until full approval. >> the moment you've been waiting for is here. it's time for you to go get your vaccination. get it today. vaccination is free. it's easy.

it's safe. and it's effective. >> on capitol hill, the house is taking a short break from its august recess to take up a budget resolution. it provides a blueprint for the reconciliation bill focusing on other infrastructure priorities. but a group of house moderates is pushing for a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill first. we're going to talk about that and the situation in afghanistan with colorado congressman jason crow a little later. and new york governor andrew cuomo spoke to new yorkers one last time before he leaves office. he talked about his accomplishments and he took another swipe at he investigation that led to his resignation. >> the attorney general's report was designed to be a political firecracker on an explosive topic and it worked. there was a political and media stampede. but the truth will out in time.

>> let's begin with the pandemic. a major development in the push to get americans vaccinated. the fda giving full approval to the pfizer covid-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older. the first one to be approved here in the u.s. the f.d.a.'s decision could trigger widespread vaccine mandates for companies, colleges, health care centers. here's more of what the president said about it this afternoon. >> the pandemic of the unvaccinated is a tragedy that is preventable. people are dying and will die. we don't have to. so please, please if you haven't gotten your vaccination, if you haven't gotten vaccinated, do it now. >> also today, new york mayor -- new york city mayor bill diblasio announcing the public school employees must receive at least one dose of the vaccine by september 27th. no exceptions. joining me now by phone is new york city's democratic mayor

bill diblasio. mr. mayor, we appreciate your time today. >> thank you, aaron. good to be with you. >> you're a little less than a month away perfect schools opening. talk about what pushed you to make this decision right now. >> aaron, look, i was a public school parent with my kids. i know for parents it's all about the health and safety of kids. we need our kids back in the classroom 100%. we need to leave the error of remote behind. this is the right thing to do to ensure a safe environment. so now our parents will know and all our employees will know that every single employee in there has been vaccinated and that's how we keep this school system safe and we bring our kids back. >> can you tell us why you decided to issue this mandate with no exceptions? there are other places that said vaccine or testing, you said no exceptions to getting vaccinated. what does that mean for people who may have religious objections or medical exceptions? is. >> aaron, obviously something medical confirmed by a doctor, that's something we'll look at.

it's not a choice to test as opposed to vaccinate. if someone has a serious medical condition, of course that, is something we work with doctors on to address. we need to increase the race of vaccination much more quickly. we need to do something to ensure that our school system is safer. and it just makes so much sense to have a single clear standard. you work in our schools, you got to be vaccinated. we'll work with the labor unions that represent teachers and food service. we'll work with them on how to do it the best way. but it will happen and it will happen activated on september 27th. >> some of the unions told our nbc station in new york that they were concerned that they were not negotiations before you made this announcement. what happens if a teacher refuses to comply with this mandate.

are you firing teachers? >> we already said to all the unions we'll start negotiation this is week on the issues like that. we're going to work through the penalties. there will be consequences. our goal is to get people there. we're going to figure out best way to convince people that this is the right time to do it. the president's right. we now have that fda approval on pfizer. that's a game changer. it's the right time for all adults who work with our kids to get vaccinated, period. this is just -- this is such a clear moment. >> do you have any concern and back dwrup plan if you have a lot of teachers who opt out of getting vaccinated?

do you have a backup plan if you have significant numbers of people that don't want to go along with this plan? >> what we're finding is as we've been implementing man dates, people overwhelmingly comply. i think for months and months we tried incentives and voluntary and that was the right thing to do. but human beings respond to mandates. and everyone see what's is going on with the delta variant. i think we'll have overwhelming compliance. we have lots of substitute teachers that can help us. the i think what will happen over the next weeks is people are going to realize especially with the fda approval this is just the time to step forward. and confident we'll have the staffing we need to run our schools well. >> before i let you go, i want to x. today is andrew cuomo last day in office. can you talk about what you hope to see from the incoming governor as she gets ready to take office? >> we're seeing it already. she is a grounded human being

who, you know, wants to communicate, wants to work together. it's not this whole painful history we had of everything with a political back stabbing. it's a breath fresh air. i'm really looking forward to tomorrow when i'll be working with the governor who just wants to work together. i really believe that's who she s. >> new york city mayor bill diblasio. let's go to the pentagon for a briefing on afghanistan. >> we want to thank our partners who provide airlift and support to the defense teams m reported on the secretary's decision to activate stage one of the civil reserve air fleet. and we greatly appreciate the team work and conversations of our commercial aviation partners. let me just close by saying that for many like all of our veterans who serve in afghanistan this mission is very personal. i assure you that we will not rest until the military is complete, the mission is complete. and we have evacuated americans

who are seeking to be evacuated and as many afghan partners as humanly possible. i could not be more proud of the team, our relationship with the u.s. central command and our contribution to this important effort. i'll be happy to take any questions the press may have. thank you. >> thank you, general. we'll start with the bob burns, associated press. >> thank you, general. bob burns with ap. thank you very much. a couple questions. currently what is your maximum capacity for airlifting out of kabul airport in terms of the number of people can you get out in a single day based on the aircraft and crews and so forth that you have available to you as of today and the second question is regarding fuel. wondering if you can describe how you're managing to keep sufficient fuel on hand at the airport given the limitations of that facility. >> let me take fuel fist.

we do manage fuel. we're -- we intentionally do not take fuel on the ground. we have enough fuel to go in and go out without taking fuel. if the legs are longer coming out, that is if necessary. >> more than 10,000 -- well more than 10,000 evacuees moved. we'll sustain that effort and improve that effort to be honest with you. my commitment is never constraint in this operation. we're trying to synchronize that as we go. but we are clearly razor focused on clearing the kabul international airport of every evacuee that can move.

>> we saw a french cargo plane have to shoot out flares as taking off. what are the crews preparing for and can you put this in context of other threat environment that's your cargo aircraft had to fly into over the last couple years? >> thank you. the threat is significant. as you know, i won't get into details. i would just say as we watch that, you know, our crews are the best in the world. that machine, the c-17 is the best in the world. and i'm confident that we're taking the right measures to mitigate the threat and we're connected to the right sources in taking the right kind of measures. i'll probably leave it at that

for good reasons. >> you were discussing earlier today the briefing about just the one hour on the ground quick rotation, can you talk about how you're managing that, how the planes and the crews are managing that? >> yeah. it's quite remarkable we got a number of planes in the system but twice as many crews. the idea is to keep the claims moving all the time. either by extending the crew day or preferably by swapping crews. it's a very, you know, very tight detail management system to do that. critical to that, of course, is what you mentioned which is ground time. the faster we can turn either load or discharge the faster with he can turn that aircraft. and we're razor focused on bringing down -- i really appreciate the work i'm doing in afghanistan to bring it down to under an hour.

>> can you give us a sense how you foresee the mission changing as the u.s. draws down the number of ground forces in afghanistan in the final days of the month? and what the mission will look like if there is one post august 31st? >> yeah. i mean, every day we take as the day comes. we are razor focused on neo. we know and are linked very closely with central command, potential operations to close out the mission by the 31st. that was the direction given by the president. we have to execute the operations. and we're well synced with central command. we have a great relationship, great team work. and so i think we're -- we are pushing the limits to do everything we can to get every single evacuee out of kabul.

>> do you foresee fewer flights in the 28, 29, 30, 31st of the month as there are fewer ground forces in kabul, presumably. >> well, i prefer not to get into numbers of flights by day. i would not say that we're going to let up. the we're not going to let up, you know, full accelerator. we're not going to let up. as long as there is a mission to be accomplished, we'll be out there. >> i forgot to ask you, to introduce yourselves. the general can't see you. courtney? >> general, this is courtney cubie from nbc news. you said you're pushing the limits. can you just explain a little bit more what you mean fwha? pushing the limb et cetera to get as many people out. and then are you able to give us a big picture look at how many c-17s out of the total air force fleet are dedicated to this

mission right now out of the entire u.s. military fleet? >> well, it's at, you know sh it's all the resources are focused on this effort. there are a number of ways that can cut the numbers that may not be helpful. right now, the air component has well over 200 aircraft committed to operations. some of these are kc 10s are committed to the operation in some way or fashion. so when i say we're all in, i mean to present to meet the president and secretary's directive to ensure that every evacuee that is cleared and cleared to move can move. i know the leaders are pulling crews out to make sure dwoent

we don't have safety issues. they are motivated and fired up and committed to complete this mission. >> one more about any covid-19 mitigation. any efforts you're taking. you are doing anything to ensure that your crews are safe from covid-19? can you give us details on what that is, what that looks like? >> it's a great question. all the crews are obviously masking and the afghan that's are on the aircraft are not masked. there is screening that occurs before they load. and then these other hubs and lilly pads, there are resources being applied to further test the evacuees upon arrival to the various temporary safe havens.

>> all of your crews vaccinated or getting tested periodically to ensure that they're safe? >> the vast majority are tested. i can't say conclusively that they all r great news today from the fda. so pretty soon we'll all be vaccinated. [ inaudible ] fox news. can you talk a little bit more about the constraints you faced and how you resolved them? and also, in the last 24 hours, you got 18,000 or 11,000 passengers out of kabul, clearing the backlog. are you concerned that there are not enough people cleared through into the airport that you may have to take off with empty planes? is there any sign that you have to take off because of that quick turn around with empty planes? >> great question and not at this time.

we're in touch with centcom continuously. the idea is we never want to leave kabul airport on an empty plane or even a partially full plain plaen if we can avoid it. so we're not doing that. as a matter of fact, we're filling the aircraft to about 400, 450 passengers in a full load configuration. any time we move this fast, there is going to be friction. it's trying to achieve equilibrium in a very large network of not just airports but ground operations and multiple modes throughout the network. initially, it's moving quick. you're trying to grow capacity. you're moving as fast as you can. sometimes you get a little ahead of yourself. and then trying to equalize out and making sure you got a critical path open. but again, right now we'll

sacrifice the back end of the -- of all the modes to make sure that we're clear at kabul international. that's what we're doing now. >> let's go to the phones. stephen lucy? >> question, there are reports about the threats that isis made. i know you won't talk about specific threats. can you talk about how the mult is communicate wk the sal ban regarding the threats? you are tell the taliban it's their responsibility to keep isis away from the airport? and what happens if isis decides to embarrass the taliban by launching terrorist attacks on the perimeter or the civilians trying to get into the airport? >> i'll take that. that is more appropriate for me. as we talked about many times over the last several days, we are in daily communication with taliban leaders outside the

airport. sometimes multiple times a day. to help ensure help nly access to the airfield for american citizens in particular. and that communication continues to happen. we're mindful about what they speak. they, too, are mindful of that threat. i won't begin to hypothesize what could or could not happen. i think can you understand that at the podium we wouldn't get into specific intelligence streams or what we're watching. nobody wants to see anybody else hurt. and certainly nobody wants to see anything that could impact our ability to continue to conduct this evacuation operation. all i would tell you is we're focused on this.

as i said, the communication with the taliban continues. rob? >> first of all, can you tell us the total estimated cost of the evacuation? and then also can you explain the discrepancy between the state and dod numbers on the number of people evacuated, state is saying 25,000 since the operation began. but major general taylor earlier today, i believe he said 37,000. so what is that discrepancy? >> i can't speak -- i don't know where the other number came from. but i think we're all in in the inner agency we're all tracking the numbers. the numbers that we put out this morning. i think you saw the white house actually put the numbers out before we did. so that 37,000 since the 14th is what we're counting on.

and i'll turn it over to the general. whatever the costs are going to be are bigger than just the airlift. we don't have an estimate now. the folk us is to get as many people out as fast as we can. we can't cost drive the operation. the operation is driving the operation and the need to do this in a very urgent and orderly way. i'll ask if there is any more data for new terms of the cost from his perspective. >> yeah. i couldn't have said it any better than mr. kirby just said it. i mean we're aware and tracking costs fwhout where close to accumulating that data for public dissemination. >> i'm sure that when all is said and done, i mean, at the appropriate time we'll be able to provide an overall sense of

what the cost is. the real cost that we're focuseded on now is human life. that's the cost that we're focused on. >> if i could just follow up. general, are you concerned about the taliban's ultimatum that they issued? what is the plan to protect forces and the evacuees in that case? >> again, as i said, you know, we watch all risks and threats very closely. i defer to central command on most of the questions. the we're in direct contact with them, regularly, continuously, and then we, you know, we have our own processes and defensive measures and techniques and tactics and procedures to take, you know, to protect crews and aur craft going in and out. >> i'm going to -- so you and

then tear easa. . >> okay. you know, can you speak to us about the cooperation with the turkish forces at the airport? what kind of relationship do you have with them? >> yeah. i would defer to u.s. central command for that question. i wouldn't be able to characterize the relationship on the ground. i know there is a relationship. i would not be able to characterize that for you. >> remember, the turks on the ground are a security perspective. it is more of a central command for a relationship that they're managing with the turks every day. the turks are still there and, of course, you know at what scale that we're there. >> thank you. general, are medics being provided for each flight? i know there is a concern about

capacity. you're trying to get as many people out. but are medics being provided? there are reports that a woman had a baby during one of the flights. do you have medics that will be onboard to handle in i emergency situation that may come up if someone has a baby or, you know, falls and gets sick or something in that instance? >> yeah. that's a great question. we do not have medics on every flight. there is a medical screen. as part of the screening and boarding process. you'll confess that many people have to self identify any kind of medical issue. really exciting. i really appreciate the news reporting on the baby being born. just an incredible, incredible operation on going. just impressive work by our great airmen.

>> what do you mean fwha? >> how many babies? >> more than one baby. >> no other babies. >> my last data point is three. i don't have a formal tracker. but those are -- so we'll keep you posted. >> all right, sir. we'll follow up and try to get you information on the other. two we have to let the general get -- >> supplies though? >> we heard some concerns that there wasn't enough food or water for the evacuees at the airport. can talk about the efforts to fly in more sanitation, more mras for those trying to flee kabul? >> sure. you see all the aircraft going in. there we never want to send and aircraft empty if we don't have to.

and there is sustaining on those flights coming in. we're taking evacuees out. centcom is addressing that issue. >> general, we're going to let you go unless you have any closing thoughts or anything you want to hit at the end here. >> john, again, thank you for being heart of this today. you know, again, how proud i am of our mobility airmen just operating around the globe. everybody is just in this all in, rolling as hard as we k we're going to make this happen. >> thank you for your time today. thanks, everybody. we'll see you back here mid morning tomorrow. thanks very much. >> briefing at the pentagon today. primarily with army general stephen lions, the commander of the u.s. transportation command. the group of people in charge of flying those aircraft out of afghanistan.

that is with the evacuees coming from afghanistan. the general making the pount there are more than 200 aircraft committed to this operation that we've been watching unfold for the last week or so. the general also talking about the reality on the ground there. that there are risks. . there are threats that very much aware offen that they have plans in place to be able to manage those risks and threats as fim goes on as they continue this operation. 37,000 people have been lifted out since the 14th of august. we'll, continue to pull information from the pentagon. obviously, learning that there were three birts on three of those flights. pretty surprising as we heard about one birth. joining me now is the former deputy assistant of defense. i'll ask your thoughts yushgs biggest take aways from the briefings we heard a few minutes ago? >> aaron, thank you for having

me on. i'm going to try not to cry. because i've been on the phone, texting with afghans and with americans and germans trying to help them get out. listening to the briefing, it's obvious that our military, our government is trying really hard now to get people out. but the reality is that we're not doing enough. the parameter is -- it needs to be expanded. people cannot get to the airport safely. the people that i'm communicating with are on list. they should be on land by now. but they can't get to the airport in safety. and once they get to a gate, they're not admitted. part of the problem has to do with charter flights. marines are not checking charter flights. they need a gate for charter flights. the bottom line, aaron, is in a i don't think will is enough time. there is also paperwork problems.

i hear charter flights are going out without all the seats full. in fact, barely full. so the bottom line is there is a lot more that can be done if people make decisions about extending the parameter and going out to get more people from collection points. en that is something i'm hearing not just from americans and afghans but also again as i mentioned from germans. i think we can do better. >> i want to go deeper. we have exclusive reporting at nbc news on an internal state department cable that detailed the betrayal and distrust felt by afghan u.s. embassy personnel in particular. we'll put that on the screen here. it would be better to die under the taliban's bullet than face the crowds at the airport again. a staff member was quoted saying that in the cable n your opinion, what can, what should the u.s. government do to help afghan who's worked with them

and folks who didn't but are still at risk in afghanistan right now? >> aaron, that quote is really interesting. i got a quote from someone else that said the feeling was that now that the u.s. government is complicit in all of the atrocities and the behavior of the taliban and others in that parameter. i mean afghans who are working for our embassy are right. i mean it's almost more dangerous for them to leave whatever safe area they're in. but of course that safe area is temporary. what we need to do is provide humanitarian parole f people have one scrap of paper or someone who can vouch for them in the u.s. or another government or ngo or media organization, we ought to be able to get them on a plane and get them out. they are clearly not terrorists.

frankly, you know, awe lot of the people, they don't care. they'll go to another country as long as they can get out of afghanistan. we'll be leaving americans behind. just the example i gave you before about americans whose children don't have their paperwork. no mother and father are going to leave their children behind in afghanistan. that means those american citizens will by definition be needlessly left behind. as i said, it is expand the security perimeter. get more security to collect people from at least kabul if not beyond kabul. i know reporters are asking about beyond kabul. we need to do better by the people, especially american citizens and then, of course, the after the began who's helped us. >> and very quickly before i let you go. want to ask you more about the potential threat here. we asked about the airport in particular in the days right before president biden trud to quell concern about terrorist

groups in the region. what is the real depth of the threat there from your understanding? and it could be a real danger for the on going operation there? >> aaron, obviously, there is always an on going terrorist threat. it doesn't have to be from ice is. it could, of course, from al qaeda. and people are still in afghanistan. taliban themselves are a menace every day to some extent. of course, the taliban don't control all their rank and file. as long as you don't have intelligence on an imminent threat on an athak is likely to occur any munn, can you mitigate the risk. you just have to, you know, conduct yourself wait that the military knows how to conduct itself. marine corps and other, you know, elements of the u.s. military know how to secure perimeter and how to mitigate the threat posed by terrorism. yes, if there is information or intelligence on an imminent attack, that's a different story. then with very to halt our

efforts and make sure that our forces are protected and our military. >> we'll leave it there for now. we appreciate your time today. thank you. >> thank you. joining me now from the pentagon is nbc news correspondent courtney cubie. she was in the briefing room. i'll ask you first, what stood out to you in the briefing to day? anything new we should be focusing in on? >> so when we heard from general lions, he's the head of u.s. transportation command, basically, he's the general who is in charge of coordinating all of the aircraft. one thing that stuck out to me is he said there are 200 u.s. military planes dedicated to this mission. that's an enormous number. just tag a step back, we're focus odd whan is going on at the airport. this has been an enormous low logistical undertaking. so he is giving us a look at what it is taking. a couple of other, you know, tidbits of information that sort of gives us a sense of how hectic things are on ground at

kabul airport. they only have one hour on the ground before they have to tau off again. that gufz you a serns of how quickly they're pushing the aircraft through, get them loaded up and out of the country. he also explained that they're bringing the aircraft in now in many cases loaded up with food and water and sustainment for all of the thousands of people that are at the kabul international aairport waiting to get out. as you mao know, aaron, it is hot in august in kabul. and many of these people come there without food, without water. so the u.s. military is trying to get as much sustainment and supplies into them as possible. finally, he talked about the aircrew issue. the so, you know, think about it. each one of the airports coming in, this is an aircrew that is having to move quickly and they have double the number of crews available as they do aircraft he

didn't touch any of the policy discussions. they only talked about the undertaking that they're talking about right now. >> a lot of focus on. that we know there was reporting from sky news who spoke to a member of the taliban this morning who said that that august 31st is a red line. and there will be consequences if the u.s. stays any longer than that. what do we know about communications with the taliban at this point? and what does that red line mean for the likelihood of being in longer than august 31st? >> the defense officials i spoke to seem confident this mission is not going to extend beyond august 31st. obviously this is a policy decision and up to the white house. up to president biden what he wants to do. there is a real confidence here and beyond with military officials that i'm speaking to who think that they are -- they have to be done on the 31st. they have to have as many people out as they can.

that can change. about the conversations with the taliban, we know that the u.s. military commanders there on the ground are speaking to who are essentially the counterparts in the taliban. and it's -- they're described as regular conversations. many of them are awe more tactical level. so they talk about safe passage of americans. they're now talking about, you know, even more specific things as far as specific groups of americans allowing them it safe passage to get to the airport. there is real coordination on the ground with the taliban right now. but nobody will tell us with any certainty whether that includes any real conversation where the u.s. military said made them an assurance they would be out on the 31st of august. no one wants to talk about that specifically in the pentagon. and it seems that they want that to be a fluid conversation. more of an on going discussion about, you know, every single day what is going on there on the ground. and then i just have to mention one other thing. there say lot of interest in a

story coming out of germany right now. and that was that an afghan woman on the flight gave birth to a baby and the general told us today there were three such cases so far. so we're trying to get more information about that as well. >> all right. courty cube, thank you. >> joining us no you to continue the conversation is colorado democratic congressman jason crow. he is an afghanistan war veteran. he sits on the intelligence and arms services committees. congressman, thank you for being here today. i know you've been a leader in the effort to help afghans who worked with the u.s., who worked with coalition forces. what more do you think the biden administration should be doing to help these people get out? >> some of your guests pounted out, this deadline has to extend. there is no way to get the people out. it's not going to happen. and anybody who says that it can

happen, i understand the military is doing the best they can. they're doing a remarkable job, by the way. but they're not going to be able to make that happen. that deadline needs to extend. we need to extend beyond the airport. there are additional forces on the ground and make sure there is property security in the aurpt as well. and then the near term in, the long term, of course, we need to make sure that legislatively we'll have an extension of the sid program and the immigrant visas adding more expediting the processing of visas and making that we have the property support for the folks as they come to the united states. >> do you think the taliban is just blowing smoke as they talk about there being a red line on that august 31st date? is that something that doesn't concern you? ? you think extend that deadline as far as the u.s. is concerned? do what needs to be done and worry about the taliban later? >> i think that if it there is anybody that tells you they know certainly what the taliban is going to do one way or another,

they're either lying to themselves or lying to others. nobody really knows. the taliban is not a he could hees you have group. it is a conglomeration of groups. there are theives, warlords, you know, the taliban have their own challenges of maintaining cohesion throughout the country. so we can't rely on any of the promises. we have to do what is necessary to get american citizens out and afghan partners out and put the troops on the ground and the resources in country to make sure that we're doing that regardless what the taliban say or don't say. it is important that we maintain an open line of communication and do the best that he with can which i think the administration is of keeping the taliban leadership, at least those in kabul, cooperating with the evacuation operation. more or less seems to be hang right now. >> i mentioneded that you said on the house untell jens committee. the you're scheduled to get a briefing, a classified briefing

on the situation a little later this evening. what do you hope to learn from that briefing today? what questions do you still have for the biden administration? >> well, the immediate question is about security on the ground. the taliban are not the only concern here. we have to protect the afghans that are swarming around the airport right now. forced protection is pry ofrt one, two, three. so i want to make sure that we're looking at every con receivable aspect of that challenge. and then we're going to have time later to look at what happened and what potentially missed. i have spent most of today actual will you reviewing intelligence. i flew into d.c. last week. i did the same.

i'm not seeing that. i'm seeing some warning signs. i'm seeing streams of information that could have let us to believe this position we would be in. so i think we have to be very careful that language we use and conclusion that's we're coming to will have time to go through the hearing and conduct a meeting to determine how we got to this point when over last six months there were some warning signals that would indicate that this was going to be the situation that we're dealing with right now. congressman jason crow, thank you for your time today. thank you. >> thank you. for women in afghanistan, it is dangerous to stay but it's almost as dangerous to try to leave. former u.n. official told "the new york times" that the most dangerous place in afghanistan right now is the airport. it's just damming that the united states and the international community have put these women in in the position

of having to risk not only their lives but that of their children and families in order to leave and save themselves and their families. she joins us now. she is a senior fellow the aat nyu's global afirz and focused on conflict resolution in afghanistan for the u.s. and for the u.s. we appreciate you being here today. last week 46 senators in this country wrote to officials asking for a special humanitarian pathway to the u.s. for women and leaders in afghanistan. you requested something similar. how urgent is this moment now? what do their lives look like under taliban control? >> prigt now, everyone that i speak to, every woman leader that i speak to isn't hiding. they're in their houses. the lights are off. trying to stay as discreet as pos ubl at their locations.

they're very much afraid for their lives. they're desperately looking to be evacuated. they've gone back and forth to the airport several times with their children. sometimes staying as long as 30 hours. without food, without medicine and they call other people that they know sobbing and begging to help them find a way out. u.s. is the staunchest allies. they're on front line and fighting for democracy, women's rights and values that u.s. and the west said that it would support. a moderate islamic country. this is what they stood for. and they are taker fired they're not going to get out by augus 31st dead line. i think what will happen as the

u.s. leaves, if they leave on the 31st of august, and the aftermath, you see atrocities carried out against thez people that are incredibly brave and who do not deserve such a fate. >> what is your reaction to what we've been hearing from u.s. officials that they're essentially coordinating with the taliban on some level of crowd control outside the airport? should the u.s. be engaging with them at this pount? >> yes, absolutely. the u.s. should be engaging. there should be on going discussions both in doja and in kabul with the taliban. they have not met the conditions. they're violating the terms of the agreement. and this time they should be held to account. and if they do attack people leaving, trying to flee the

country, that is a war crime. and we have soft tools and hard tools to make them account obl able for that. >> i want to ask about the taliban takeover in afghanistan. wooer seeing few embassies still open. what are the international implications of this takeover? >> i think it will be absolutely critical for the international community to work with these regional actors. and to ensure that there is a regional mechanism to one hold up taliban in check and, two, to ensure that one is the fear of a draconian taliban government being in place. others -- for those desperately need to work with on another level with the region. and then the international

community. there is an enormous security threat that can still come from a country that falls under an extremist group. there is huge migration issue and refugee issue. at every level, it is absolutely vital for the u.s. to see a court issue that has to address at a political and diplomatic level. athe a humanitarian level. and at some -- the taliban at this point they need to recognize that now that troops have left u.s. is not going to give up leverage and walk away from the populations so vulnerable. >> so much to understand and process there. we appreciate your time today, your expertise and your perspective on this. thank you. >> thank you. >> still ahead, the real life implications of the f.d.a.'s full approval of the pfizer

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people are vaccinated, the unvaccinated are still at risk. let me be clear, there are cases where vaccinated people do get covid-19, but they are far less common than unvaccinated people getting covid-19. and most importantly, their conditions are far less severe. >> i want to bring in dr. robin davis now, a neurologist based in louisiana. your perspective on this? will having this full fda approval now convince more people, your patients, people in the community who have been hesitant to get vaccinated, will this move the needle at all, do you think? >> i hope so, aaron. i know there's been a lot of confusion about the emergency use authorization and what that entails. i'm hopeful the full fda approval will get people the confidence they need in moving forward with vaccination. >> we hear so many stories about doctors and nurses and folks in the medical community being worked so hard right now.

talk about the level of exhaustion amongst health care workers you've been talking to. >> it's been tough. i think this wearing on for over a year now has really worn everyone a bit thin. it's now to the point where over 800 employees of the health system i work for are working enrolled outside of their usual roles and that puts a strain on the system. >> when hospitals are short staffed like this and health care workers are suffering mentally and physically to the degree that we're hearing, how much of an impact on patient care, those coming in sick with covid or other things? >> we've had to get creative. i've had to work in a physician capacity and even as a nurse to try to help out. we've gotten creative in what we've done with our roles, the way we redistribute things, the way we organize the processes of our day. we're trying to do everything we

can to deliver the best care possible no matter what. the numbers can make that hard sometimes, though, and we're certainly having to change things like elective procedures to try to accommodate for the crush of patients in the hospital right now. >> we are reporting reverend jesse jackson and his wife are being treated for covid. they were vaccinated back in january. does this tell you anything about the need for booster shots for those over the age of 65? >> we're certainly looking to the overall guidance for booster shots and many people are looking with a lot of anticipation when they may be eligible. my health system has already vaccinated over 1,000 patients with their third booster shot and we have about 2,000 patients on the schedule looking forward to theirs. so i do think it's going to be something that will be helpful in the long run and i know that it seems our patient have a high level of interest in it as well. >> dr. davis, what do you need

right now? what do you need from your health system, from the patients who are coming in from the larger community, from the news media, what do doctors like you need right now to get from today to tomorrow? >> i need patients to listen to their physicians, to their public leaders, to their health leaders. we've been asking you for so long to be vaccinated, to be masked. so many people have done the right thing. there are a lot of people on the fence, too. if you're one of the people on the fence, we just hope that you hear what we're pleading which is for you to get the vaccine. we've lost so many people. we don't want you to be among them. >> we appreciate the message and the work you're doing and professionals around the world i hope are hearing your message today and it resonates in a way that will lead to more people doing the right thing in their communities, in their schools. we appreciate your time today. thank you. >> thank you. and that wraps it up for me

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the administration reporting today that the pace of evacuations has ramped up dramatically more than 16,000 people flown out of afghanistan in the past 24 hours. in total at least 37,000 people evacuated since august 14th. that is despite ongoing chaos at the airport in kabul. just today a deadly gunfight at one airport entrance in which an afghan soldier was killed. the president said on sunday he's considering keeping troops past the 31st to complete owe evacuations. a taliban spokesperson warned the united states would be crossing a, quote, red line if the biden administration keeps troops in afghanistan past its declared august 31st deadline. national security adviser jake sullivan reiterating the administration believes it can evacuate americans before the 31st while still leaving the door open to an