bring in our chief national affairs correspondent, jeff zeleny and white house correspondent kaitlyn collins. let me start with kaitlyn. what do we expect to hear from the president when he speaks to the american people around 3:45 is when it's scheduled to happen today. >> reporter: we should note the white house told us this morning before president biden left camp david to come back to washington to make the remarks, his first remarks on afghanistan since last tuesday, they say he was briefed by his national security team. including defense secretary loyd austin and chairman of the joint chiefs milley this morning on what is happening at the airport. we have seen the images of some of the afghan nationals clinging to the tires of u.s. planes, trying to get out of there. several of them have fallen to their death. a tragic situation unfolding. the white house says president biden is aware of what's been happening on the ground there. they say he was wreefed on the ongoing efforts to safely evacuate citizens and embassy personnel and local staff including, of course, the afghan nationals wh

sabrina, and kaitlyn collins.ws that the united states is now looking to use an air base in germany and perhaps other locations around the world, that's part of diplomacy on the president's part to try to alleviate the crisis, find me new places to send the afghans. >> that's why the coordination with other world leaders has been a question. and that's why it took a little bit for the president to be on the phone with counter parts. tuesday evening with the british prime minister, boris johnson. this is what the white house says they're focussed on instead of looking back as you've seen critics and even democratic allies of the white house talking about how this was carried out. they're focussed on trying to get this done and get everyone out of there in a safe way, because so far they have been working, of course, with the taliban to facilitate passage to the airport. that's a precarious situation. they're counting on the good will of the taliban to let people through. they're fleeing the taliban. i think a lot o

let's get the view from kaitlyn collins. you've been reporting on this. our allies -- are allies and many americans finding a different joe biden? >> reporter: yeah. i think a lot of european leaders thought they knew how his time in office would go. he's had time as senator and vice president. as president it changes. when you're calling the shots and making the changes when it comes to u.s. presence in afghanistan. i think that's been a big question we've seen play out since kabul fell to the taliban on sunday. remember, it took quite a little time before his first call with the foreign leader. the first one was boris johnson. today i believe we're expecting him to speak to the french president as well. those are calls that happen more delayed than when you saw other european leaders calls one another. the white house said there were calls at a lower level with the secretary of state calling his counterparts, the national security adviser on the phone as well. i think the question they've had is how this response has gone. i think they thought it was go

we're joined by kaitlyn collins. we did not hear from the president today.g behind closed doors? the white house. what's going on? >> he is going to speak on afghanistan tomorrow. this is going to be mid morning. it's not expected to be as formal of an address as it was on monday where you heard the president come out, he spoke at length for probably 20, 25 minutes not talking about how the draw down is going but why he felt it was so necessary for the u.s. to leave afghanistan. we will hear from him tomorrow which is notable. he has not taken questions on it since he did an abc interview overnight. that was of course talking about what was on the ground, what he was seeing, what their effort was going forward when it came to these evacuations that we're seeing. it will be notable to see the president talk about this and if he does take questions, to see what has transpired. >> is there any sense from the president's advisers for him to get through this he needs to be more straightforward about everything? is that not a point of discussion? >> i think his ad

first let's go to kaitlyn collins. we heard from the president a little while ago as he sticks with his withdrawal deadline. >> reporter: yeah, wolf. he is sticking with that. that means the clock is now ticking. with just seven days left to complete this evacuation from afghanistan before the president says he is going to standby august 31st as the exit date. this is raising questions about the number of afghan allies are getting out. this all hinges on the cooperation from the taliban and whether or not they disrupt these last several days with the u.s. in kabul as they try to evacuate u.s. personnel, afghan allies and then of course at the end it has to be the troops who have to get out as well. and right now president biden says one big reason he is sticking by that august 31st deadline, wolf, is because of a threat of potential terror attacks and what it could pose to those u.s. troops. with the deadline to leave just one week away, the u.s. has started evacuating the first troops from afghanistan. >> the sooner w

let's start with kaitlyn collins. you were there. you were in the room. the president was very determined to make it clear the u.s. is getting out, but the effort to find americans and afghan allies will continue. >> yeah, wolf. the president essentially argued that was part of the reason why they are maintaining that august 31st deadline, because he said there are still american citizens, green cardholders, permanent residents and special immigrant visa applicants that have to get out of the country and have a desire to do so. he echoed that this mission is going to continue. but, of course, talking about that grim attack today that left 12 u.s. service members dead, the president did vow retribution. he vowed to hunt down those who are responsible and said he believes he knows where some of these leaders of isis-k, that offshoot of the islamic state may be hiding. he didn't say where. but he has instructed the pentagon, according to the president, to develop plans to strike isis-k assets. that is obviously in response to what happened today. a big quest

kaitlyn collins is live at the white house. kaitlyn, first of all, this huge decision by the president, what more do we know about it and what do we expect to hear from him on this when he speaks later today? >> well, he could very well explain his thinking behind this decision. because it does not come as a surprise to those in the west wing who knew that a lot of the president's top advisers were advocating against extending that deadline past august 31st. aware of the security concerns on the ground. that has been something big they have been monitoring on a daily basis. the potential threat for terrorist attacks given that chaotic situation outside the airport in kabul. so that played a big factor into president biden's decision here to stick with this august 31st deadline to remove all u.s. troops from afghanistan. we should note there is a caveat here as there usually is in a situation like this will things are fluid and president biden asked the pentagon for contingency plans in case they move it past the deadline in the

let's go to our chief white house correspondent kaitlyn collins. this is a life and death moment in the pandemic. what is the administration saying tonight? >> well, they're making a concerted effort to try to get the messaging more clearly stated to americans who are understandably confused by that new cdc guidance. they needed to wear a mask indoors in certain places in the u.s. where you are seeing cases rising. that is something the cdc director in a briefing tonight talked about, the casing going up, hospitalizations as well going up as they are lamenting the fact that there are still 90 million americans who are eligible to get vaccinated who still haven't made the choice to do so. with the delta variant fuelling outbreaks nationwide, president biden is hitting a key vaccine goal tonight, almost one month late. >> i would say it's a significant step that we have hit 70%. >> 70% of adults in the u.s. have now received at least one shot, a milestone biden hoped to reach by july 4th. the u.s. reported over 800,0 0 new shots were administered yes

kaitlyn collins is joining me now from the white house with this.a lot to balance. they're essentially triaging this based on what is most important at the given hour. it's an hour by hour basis here. but president biden's schedule the last several days has been filled with briefings revolving around the hurricane and now the damage that has been caused by the hurricane. also the unfolding situation in afghanistan which has been a very chaotic feenl hours as we are approaching this deadline of which all u.s. forces are expected to be out of afghanistan according to the white house. so those are two things the president is balancing. he was briefed this morning by his top national security aides on afghanistan. we are still waiting to hear from them on what exactly this exit is going to look like and whether or not president biden. they have said it will enter the most dangerous phase as they were at the end of the evacuation. they've been talking about the numbers that they've gotten out. obviously we've seen the numbers of evacuees reduce in the mo

our chief white house correspondent kaitlyn collins is joining us right now. florida's governor and president biden have been on a collision course over covid and masks, other issues. what is the latest. >> yeah. governor desantis says he doesn't want the federal government to tell florida what to do. but he is telling different localities in his state what to do. with this threat, they are saying they can withhold these funds. it is likely something president biden is not likely to take kindly to, given his message has essentially been do no harm with president biden saying if you are not going to help us implement these public health measures, then at least get out of the way of the officials who are trying to do so on local levels like states. you have seen republican senators pushing back on the idea that governor desantis is trying to ban things like mask mandates in certain schools. wolf, this all comes as there are big questions and headlines coming out of d.c. tonight on coronavirus. one is that the vaccine advisers will be meeting on friday to talk ab

. >> with me to share the reporting and their insights, kaitlyn collins, our chief white house correspondente and tarini. elie honig is also back with me. i want to start with the point senator blumenthal was making. we can put up on the screen, jeffrey rosen, richard donahue was his acting attorney general. jeffrey clark, the lawyer who was apparently willing to do his bidding. is there criminal activity here? as congress looks into this, do you see the potential for either the former president or those around him trying to help him, do they have criminal ku culpability? >> i fall on senator blumenthal's side. i think there's criminality here that needs to be investigated by the justice department, but this is an important distinction. the report is that jeffrey rosen has been talking to congress, which can't bring criminal charges. they can refer it, but can't bring criminal charges. but also the justice department inspector general, however, the inspector general does not bring criminal charges either. they do internal discipline and review. so according to the reporting, jeffrey rosen is

let's start with cnn's kaitlyn collins live at the white house. what are you hearing about this from the white house? >> reporter: it's exciting news. this is something the white house has been waiting to hear for a long time. we've heard fda officials say the white house stayed out of their way when they were working on the review process and how lengthy it was as they were waiting to grant the full approval. it's significant for the first covid-19 vaccine. but they are excited that this news came today. they had an idea based on what health officials are saying and based on public reporting that this was something that could happen as soon as today from the fda. and so officials actually spent the weekend meeting sometimes in person, sometimes virtually, to talk about what this rollout is going to look like. they know this is a critical moment to get the messaging right, given they believe there are still about 85 million people here in the u.s. who are eligible to get this vaccine, but have not made the choice to do so yet. and so when presiden

we'll tart with kaitlyn collins at the white house.ny ownership for this disaster? >> reporter: that remains to be seen. we will hear from the president. they just called reporters to gather to go into the room. president biden returned to the white house to give this speech. he had been at camp david monitoring the situation from there. the white house showing a lone president in the room being briefed virtually. there's mr. questions facing the white house over how this evacuation has proceeded. some of talking points they have circulated among their democratic ally on capitol hill said they plbelieve what you're seeing was a possibility but not inevitable. this president was confident six weeks ago saying it was highly unlikely that the taliban would be running everything and we have now seen how they have over run afghanistan and afghanistan's former president has now fled the country within matter of hours of that happening. major questions are facing the president over how this was exe executed. we expect him to because we know t

let's bring in our chief white house correspondent kaitlyn collins.hat do you make of this as the white house is clearly on the defensive. >> one big reason is president is saying this chaos is unavoidable is talking how quickly the capital of afghanistan fell to the taliban. this is a question that even democratic lawmakers who are normally allies of this white house are raising, which is why they did not move to evacuate more of these endangered afghan nationals sooner given something like this. we do know that is a process they are very much in the middle of right now, which is trying to get thousands of people out of afghanistan, and the state department says there will be 20 planes leaving afghanistan tonight. they say they have 6,000 people processed and ready to go as they are trying to move as swiftly as possible here. it is unclear how many of those 6,000 people will be on these 20 flights that are leaving. but president biden made clear he does not like to see any empty seats on these planes. the race to evacuate thousands from afghanistan i

he's protecting the rights of parents to make decisions for their own families, and as cnn's kaitlyn collinshere are no signs that either side is ready to back down as covid rages out of control in florida. >> so we're here to state the facts. >> reporter: with florida breaking its pandemic record for covid-19 hospitalizations, the white house is delivering a blunt message to the state's republican governor. >> 25% of hospitalizations in the country are in florida. it is also a fact that the governor has taken steps that are counter to public health recommendations. >> reporter: for days governor ron desantis and president joe biden have feuded over covid-19. >> joe biden suggests that if you don't do lockdown policies then you should, quote, get out of the way, but let me tell you this. if you're coming after the rights of parents and florida i'm standing in your way. i'm not going to lit get away with it. >> reporter: desantis went further calling biden a power hungry tyrant in an email and press sect jen psaki fired back. >> frankly our view is that this is too serious, deadly serious, to

i want to bring in kaitlyn collins at the white house. let's talk about this warning that the president received this morning from his national security team. >> yeah. this is a readout we're getting from the press secretary. she is going to be taking questions from reporters in a few moments. she'll likely expand on these thoughts and readout. but this is pretty blunt. this is saying president biden had this meeting this morning. he saw the top national security aides including lloyd austin, the secretary of state, the director of national intelligence as well. and what they told the president and the vice president who was teleconferencing in is they believe that, quote, another terror attack in kabul is likely. they did say the team on the ground is taking the maximum protection measures at the kabul airport. hopefully to thwart that attack. of course, as we saw yesterday and what we've heard from the pentagon is sometimes it's really hard to find a suicide bomber. talking about, of course, how close quarters they are with people who a

first let's go to kaitlyn collins.he biden administration is making it abundantly clear that the terror threat is ongoing, very specific and credible. >> reporter: yeah, wolf. they're warning these last few days where these troops are in afghanistan could be the most dangerous of this mission. president biden was briefed on this this morning in the situation by his own aids. but despite those, they are continuing on with this mission to evacuate people from afghanistan. officials are warning we could see those numbers drastically reduced in the coming days. the u.s. on high alert tonight as the white house warns another terror attack in kabul is likely. >> the threat is ongoing and it is active. our troops are still in danger. >> reporter: the death toll from the airport bombing in afghanistan is now at 170 civilians and 13 u.s. service members. president biden's national security team warned him today that more attacks are expected. >> the mission there to be performed is dangerous. >> reporter: despite the new threat

but when you were asked today by our chief white house correspondent kaitlyn collins, you said those numbers were from january through june. june. and didn't reflect the data we have now from the delta variant, which i'm told by experts is entirely different than the older variants, very highly transmissible, much more deadly. do you have updated data that includes the delta variant? >> we're working closely with the states and in touch with them in terms of their reports. there was a terrific kaiser family foundation analysis that was done, including 25 states that suggested that those data still hold, that over 99% of hospitalizations, over 99.9% of deaths still are in unvaccinated people in these hospitals. >> so when do you think we could expect to see the new data on breakthrough hospitalizations and deaths? we're talking about fully vaccinated americans in light of the delta variant. and does it closely reflect the statistics you have been citing that entirely almost all the hospitalizations and deaths are among unvaccinated? >> all of the data that i have seen to date have dem

kaitlyn collins is standing by. >> reporter: anthony blinken has been one of the top officials at the alongside president biden, given they were already in the situation room for a prescheduled national security meeting this morning when this explosion happened. my colleague bitsy kline says that the secretary blinken has left after being on campus for three hours. we assume he's going back to the state department to continue to monitor this from there. this comes as president biden now after spending the morning in the situation room is in the oval office and is receiving regular updates on what has happened and what has june folded in kabul with this explosion outside the airport. of course, the number one question for officials is what has happened to u.s. service members on the ground who were operating. a lot of the gates where you saw hundreds of people waiting outside. the same gates the state department was telling u.s. citizens last night not to approach and to leave the gates given the security threats that were happening and came to fruition this morning. we're waiting for

. >>> joining me now is kaitlyn collins. david axelrod, and retired former aid to general petraeus. the president is -- and the mark administration made a promise to applicants in afghanistan that they would get them out. and yes, they got a lot of people out. biggest noncombatant evacuation in u.s. history. they still fundamentally broke their promise. how are they going to deal with that? >> well, president biden is someone who has said he wants to be measured against his own word and the promises he makes. that's an assurance he gave earlier just a few weeks ago when he was doing an interview and he was asked will troops stay in afghanistan until every american who wants to leave has left? and what we heard from the commander of central command yesterday was saying there are still americans in afghanistan who do want to leave. who were either unable to make it to the airport. they said they could not accommodate them. it's not clear what the details were for the people. the secretary of state, anthony blinken, said it's about closer to 100 people they believe that are still there