martha raddatz interviewed abdul, an interpreter who was on the front lines with u.s. forces in afghanistan. overnight, we received a photo of taliban militants coming to the door of his home literally hunting him down. thankfully he was able to escape, but he is obviously still in mortal danger. what would be your message to abdul, his wife and his three young daughters? >> we want you to be able to get to the airport, contact us, we'll see whatever we can do to get you there. >> reporter: on that same day, we got a message from abdul, saying he did his job with "honesty and pride," but that americans had "left us to people who are not human and will cut off our heads in front of our families." for days, abc news and others in and out of government worked tirelessly to help and now, there is good news to report. abdul and his family have all left afghanistan, safe. >> and look at the faces of his children, the smiles there. let's bring back in martha tonight. we've been talking about abdul for days, you've been texting me updates and photos. i know you kept this a sec

martha raddatz with late reporting tonight and ian pannell's interview on this emergency effort in kabul. >>> also tonight, major news on the pandemic here in the u.s. both pfizer and johnson & johnson tonight saying they now have evidence vaccine booster shots dramatically increase protection from covid. tonight, the new evidence and what it shows for the johnson & johnson one-shot and the booster. and for pfizer, the level of antibodies after the third shot. this comes with more than 100,000 people in the u.s. now hospitalized with covid. our team tonight inside a hospital at the breaking point in texas. patients now lining the halls. >>> the new images coming in tonight. the raging wildfires in california. the caldor fire burning more than 123,000 acres. seven states now with serious concerns over air quality. from california to colorado. matt gutman standing by on the front lines. >>> the heat wave building across much of the country tonight. heat alerts now in 29 states, from california all the way to the northeast. the heat index in the triple digits for several days. washington, d

let's go straight to abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz. martha, you were on the ground in afghanistan a month ago and met with a taliban elder who told you at the time he had no doubt the taliban would take over kabul. was the writing on the wall that this outcome was inevitable? >> reporter: it was, linsey. that trip to kabul was eye opening for me. everything felt different, and that warning from the taliban elder was chilling, but u.s. intelligence did not predict the speed of this taliban takeover. they underestimated the taliban and overestimated the afghan forces. senior pentagon leaders were saying they were hopeful that the afghan forces could handle this, and they could not, but however anyone feels about whether we should have stayed in afghanistan or gotten out, it is how we did in that is so troublesome. the u.s. should have had a plan to get the interpreters and vulnerable afghans who have helped the americans out before the u.s. military left. istead, many will likely be killed, linsey. >> and, of course, just last month presi

our own martha raddatz pressing defense secretary lloyd austin on american operations there. tens of thousands still desperate to get out of the country. flights resuming today under heavy security. u.s. officials saying 3,800 evacuees removed in afghanistan in 24 hours. 17,000 in the last week. here's abc's julia macfarlane with the fast-moving developments. >> reporter: tonight, chaos in kabul. scenes outside the airport reaching breaking point. the uk ministry of defense confirming that seven afghan civilians were killed today in the crowds. heartbreaking images showing bodies covered in white tarps. soldiers struggling to keep the terrified crowds calm and hydrated in the brutal heat. [ crying ] >> reporter: desperation growing as thousands more arrive each day. nato troops trying to keep the airport secure. >> stay there! stay there! >> reporter: the u.s. embassy warning u.s. citizens not to make the hazardous journey to kabul airport unless they have individual instructions from a u.s. government representative. on thursday, three u.s. chinook helicopters airlifting ame

martha raddatz with late reporting. a special edition of "world news tonight" begins now. >>> good evening. it's great to have you with us on a sunday night. and we are in on a sunday evening because of these two pm. the u.s. strike in afghanistan, and the solemn scene here at home. the dignified transfer. the 13 fallen servicemen and women returning from afghanistan. but we begin with the category 4 hurricane slamming into the u.s., making landfall just before 1:00 p.m. eastern this afternoon. as an extremely dangerous cat 4 storm, winds reaching 150 miles an hour. unleashing damaging winds, torrential rains, and a life-threatening storm surge. as we noted, this is 16 years to the day since katrina hit there. there is growing concern in grand isle, louisiana. images of water rushing into homes. calls for help. rescuers unable to reach them for some time. authorities warned that once the hurricane hits, it's difficult to get to anyone. in houma, louisiana, this roof ripped off. slamming into utility poles, taking it dow

>> martha raddatz with me all day long here. martha, thank you. and our thanks to ian, as well. our coverage of afghanistan tonight. we will have much more on "nightline" and tomorrow on "gma." >>> but we continue tonight with news on the pandemic in this country. this evening, the alarming new forecast. authorities now say we could see nearly 100,000 more covid deaths by just december. the u.s. now recording its fourth day with more than 150,000 new cases in just the last week. more than 12,000 new covid hospitalizations every day, that's the highest number now since january. the vaccination rate is going up amid all of this. 202 million people now with at least one dose. that's 71% of everyone 12 and older. and tonight here, the cdc continuing to warn about the dangers of using a drug intended for horses and cows, a deworming medication, touted on some cable news. abc's marcus moore from texas tonight. >> reporter: the country tonight facing a dire forecast, estimating nearly 100,000 more americans could die of covid between now and the first of december if current trends cont

>> martha raddatz with us all day long here. martha, ian, stephanie, our thanks to you all. and our coverage of afghanistan will continue later tonight on "nightline" and first thing in the morning on "good morning america." and president biden will sit down with george stephanopoulos one-on-one at the white house this wednesday for his first interview since the withdrawal from afghanistan. it's an abc news exclusive. it will air here on "world news tonight," on "gma" and across all of our platforms. >>> in the meantime tonight, we move onto the other news this monday evening. the major tropical storm slamming into the u.s., into florida today. and then right behind it, the tropical depression. that storm hitting haiti at this hour, after the devastating earthquake there. we'll take you to the scene in just a moment. here in the u.s., fred strengthening all day before making landfall on the florida panhandle with 65-mile-an-hour winds and a dangerous storm surge. threatening flash flooding and possible tornadoes now up through atlanta and then moving into the mid-atlantic. l

so, let's get right to martha raddatz, she's live in washington. and martha, president biden has said that he was surprised by how quickly the afghan government collapsed. but tonight, you're learning that some u.s. diplomats on the ground in kabul were warning of this weeks ago and they were asking for help, particularly for the afghans who helped the u.s. >> reporter: that's exactly right, david. a source telling us tonight that u.s. diplomats at the embassy in kabul warned secretary of state tony blinken in mid-july that the afghan government was in danger of collapse and urged the biden administration to begin airlift operations immediately for those afghans at risk. the state department would not say how the secretary responded to the classified cable, but they said he did read it and respond. >> in the meantime, there are also questions tonight about whether the president's military advisers had actually urged him to leave a small number of american troops in afghanistan. george and i were talking about this on the air last night here. and her

our people with the appropriate credentials to get through the check points. >> let's bring in martha raddatz. martha will be hosting "this week" where she'll air the full interview. martha, good morning to you. i want to pick up on something that was implied at least in that exchange. do you think there's a chance the u.s. military would go into kabul and launch military operations in order to rescue people into a city now controlled by the taliban? >> reporter: the problem, as you well know, dan, it's tough to go out into a crowded city with convoys. they would have to have some negotiations with the taliban to do that. we know three american helicopters went over the wall and picked up 169 people. i talked to secretary austin about that. that was only 1,000 yards. they left 1,000 yards. i do ask him about going into the city. he said it's something they have discussed. i'm sure discussions are ongoing because, as nicely as he put that if you have a passport you can get in, that's not always true. there has been some violence and there have been people turned away once they get to the airpo

>> martha raddatz with us all day long here. martha, ian, stephanie, thank you. and our coverage of afghanistan will continue on "nightline" and first thing in the morning on "good morning america." and president biden will sit down with george stephanopoulos this wobd for his first interview since his first withdrawal from afghanistan. >>> in the meantime tonight, we move onto the other news this monday evening. the major tropical storm slamming into florida today. torm hitting haitierngthquake wel you the sne i. ahe i the u strengthening all day before making landfall. mid-atlantic. let's go to rob marciano tracking it all tonight. rob? >> reporter: david, i can tell you, certainly felt like a hurricane coming ashore just a few hours ago. still a formidable storm to our north and east where damaging winds and tornadoes are a possibility over the next couple of hours. the watches remain up until 8:00 and the tropical rains, all of it, will be drifting north. the flood watches now into north carolina. this rain will get all the way up into the northeast. grace ju

martha raddatz live in washington. and stephanie ramos with late word from the white house tonight. >>> also this evening, that tropical storm set to become a hurricane in the coming hours. tonight the warnings and watches up right now in the northeast. alerts in six state as we come on the air tonight. henri gaining strength as it moves up to coast. winds topping 75 miles per hour. new jersey, new york, massachusetts tonight, connecticut already declaring a state of emergency. rob marciano standing by with the new track now shifting inward. >>> news on the coronavirus tonight -- the u.s. now recording its worst day in nearly seven months. nearly 158,000 new covid cases in 24 hours. tonight from florida to mississippi to oregon, what they're now seeing. >>> the accident on the tarmac -- two passenger planes clipping their wings. >>> and the new jeopardy host stepping down just nine days after getting the job. >>> good evening, and it's great to have you with us as we near the end of another week together here. we will

martha raddatz again tonight. our coverage of afghanistan this even pg. they'll have much more on "gma." >>> in the meantime, the number of covid cases in children soaring across the u.s. nearly 204,000 new pediatric cases in a week. and there is that developing headline on booster shots. here's abc's steve osunsami. >> reporter: the government says there are more children in america tonight rushing into hospitals with covid-19 than at any other point in this pandemic. and that just last week, there were nearly 204,000 new cases reported of sick children, the second highest week on record. >> we are worried, you know, how are things going to be when kids go back to school if we're seeing this now? >> reporter: this worrying report card is frightening health officials just as students in chicago, for example, are heading back to school rooms for the first time in nearly 18 months. the department of education tonight, they're pushing for face coveri iings in schools. and they're taking a big step with a new civil rights investigation into five states where

>> martha raddatz and ian pannell with me every night of the week here. thanks to you both. our coverage of afghanistan here tonight. >>> but we move on this evening to the major hurricane threat we're now tracking tonight, hurricane ida heading over the very warm waters of the gulf, set to grow even stronger. and authorities now say possibly growing to a category 4 storm before slamming into louisiana, potentially new orleans. winds up to 140 miles per hour. 16 years to the day after katrina, which is just extraordinary. rob marciano, you and i both remember very well reporting from the ground in katrina. what are we looking at now tonight? >> reporter: that was such a horrific experience. this is a different track from katri katrina. unfortunately could be a more damaging track. the storm now is heading into western cuba at 80 miles per hour. once it gets to the gulf of mexico, very warm water, it will intensify rapidly. potentially a category 4 storm making landfall sunday afternoon between lafayette and louisiana border. warnings are up there. surge, we're going to see 1

martha raddatz with late reporting. >>> and the images now emerging, with the u.s. now gone. taliban fighters appearing to enter a hangar with helicopters, walking the tarmac. more than 70 aircraft abandoned. the pentagon saying they were left inoperable. across that country, 76,000 u.s. military vehicles. .sw will the u. make sure afghanistan doesn't become a safe haven for terrorists like it was before 9/11? ian pannell in doha. >>> tonight, the other major headline. first hurricane ida and now those storms barrelling across several states. that deadly collapse of a highway. the storms headed right into the northeast. warning tonight of straight-line winds, possible tornadoes. and our team in the air today with the coast guard over louisiana. homes and entire communities surrounded by water. hundreds of thousands still without power. matt gutman reporting on the ground tonight. chief meteorologist ginger zee with the new threat. d.c., philadelphia, right up through new york city. >>> more than 80 large fires burninging as we come on the air. states of emergency issued for n

joining me now, nbc's chief global affairs correspondent, martha raddatz.e're learning a lot more about isis-k, the isis affiliate enemy of the taliban, today claiming responsibility for the attacks. and president biden vowing retaliation. what can you tell us about the strike plans he's asked his commanders to prepare? >> i am sure they are just putting those together now, juju. they always talk about contingency plans. but president biden did say he thought commanders knew where isis leadership, isis-k leadership as it's called, was in afghanistan and was very firm about hunting them down. and we will go after you at the time and place of our choosing. they won't really choose the place because wherever that isis leadership is is where they would attack. you know, they had very good intelligence about a possible attack. they were alerting americans to get away from that gate. but it happened anyanyway. so intelligence is never perfect. and it will probably take awhile before they find those isis commanders and can plan some sort of strike. but i believe t

. >>> abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz has spent a lot of time in afghanistan and has been in touch with people that have incredible stories. martha? >> andrew and kaley, one of the things we all have to think about is the women of afghanistan. the young girls in afghanistan. women and young girls under taliban rule 20 years ago and they are now going to be ruled by the taliban again. there was a young girl, who i spoke to, a little over a month ago when i was in kabul, who was badly injured in a bombing that killed 80 others. in her school. she was so determined to go back to school. taliban said they can go back to school. i, for one, don't believe them. the taliban has a purpose. it is shar lthat. that is something we have to keep our eye on. there is an incredible woman, who i spoke to who started a business under the taliban. secretly making dresses. that business has grown. i spoke to her over a month ago. she doesn't want to leave the country. she wants to stay and fight even though the taliban is coming in. she sent her own family out but she is determin

i'm joined by my co-anchor, martha raddatz. martha, you were in afghanistan two months ago. as you know, president biden's top military advisers advised against a total withdraw here. >> reporter: they did not want all u.s. forces out of there. they wanted to keep a force of about 3,500 to 4,000 u.s. personnel in afghanistan. just to provide intelligence, to provide some security and keep the afghan forces on track. we don't know whether that would have made a difference. i can tell you of the failures, jon, that are so obvious at this point. the training mission of those afghan forces, $83 billion worth, clearly failed. the negotiations with the taliban, clearly failed. you also had a really massive intelligence failure here that the u.s. did not realize how quickly the taliban could take over. we have been there for 20 years. we know the taliban. we have people on the ground and yet the u.s. was caught unaware and completely off guard, jon. >> what is your take? why did this -- how did this deteriorate so quickly? >> reporter: you've made the point today, jon, that i know

let's bring in martha raddatz tonight. martha, i was struck by what the taliban told the afghan people at this news conference today, they said, afghan nationals should head back to their homes, their jobs, their normal lives, there is no danger to them. they said, women should stay home for now for their own safety, they will not be prevented from working, the taliban claiming. and they called on afghans to, quote, let's live together, the war has finished. but this is a real leap of faith and ese concerns are very real tonight, martha. >> reporter: they sure are, david. they simply can't take the taliban at their word. those afghans who worked for the americans who have not completed paperwork and still want to get out will be in pearil. and how they get out with the taliban fully in charge of the airport, with no american backup, is unknown. even though informal veterans w been trying to save their afghan friends will have a near impossible task getting them out. we're hearing harrowing stories from all over aftghanista

martha raddatz live in washington with late reporting. can this deadline be met? >>> also tonight, news on the pandemic. the u.s. now reporting more than 140,000 new covid at a breaking point. dr. fauci tonight on what the u.s. needs to do to get control to have some sort of normalcy by next spring. and new numbers just in tonight from the cdc for fully vaccinated americans, how quickly does the vaccine begin to wear off over time? just as these boosters, these third shots, will soon be made available. >>> also tonight, breaking news from capitol hill at this hour. the major milestone in the house on the president's sweeping infrastructure plans. the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint narrowly passing the house. but a reality check tonight, karl is standing by.ead and jon- >>> the scare forcing vice president harris' flight to vietnam to be delayed for several hours. at least one staff member at the u.s. mission in hanoi stricken with what could be that so-called havana syndrome. th in cuba. authorities say it can cause headaches and potential brain injury. >>> news o

i want to bring in abc's chief gobal affairs correspondent martha raddatz with us. you pressed the secretary of defense on this just this weekend. what are you learning from your sources tonight on this deadline as it approaches? >> reporter: well, the defense secretary told me the goal is to finish the evacuations by that deadline. the complication is that we now have close to 6,000 troops there to facilitate the evacuation. so that troop withdrawal in itself would take several days and that means they would have to get american citizens and afghan allies out of afghanistan by next weekend, if not sooner, in order to then get the troops out by the deadline. a u.s. official tells me at this point it is unlikely the deadline will be extended, but the negotiations are ongoing. david? >> martha, thank you. >>> we move on this evening to the horrific and deadly weather here at home. the flooding tragedy in tenness tennessee. at least 21 people now killed, including 7-month-old twins swept away from their father. and tonight, loretta lynn heartbroken following the death

martha raddatz, thank you again this morning. we appreciate it. be sure to watch "this week" later on this morning. as we noted, martha interviews secretary of state antony blinken about the race to evacuate americans and allies from afghanistan before that august 31st deadline. plus, dr. anthony fauci discusses the latest plan for coronavirus booster shots. eva? >>> breaking news, the yemen military is saying 30 troops were killed and 65 wounded in a drone attack on the military base. they say ale larnded in the base's training area. officials believe rebels are responsible for the attack on the base. the houthis have not commented. >>> time now for our check of the weather. let's go back to ginger zee in new orleans with more on ida, and those hurricane alerts. good morning again, ginger. >> reporter: we just saw a tornado watch posted. we'll see the possibility from mobile and pensacola to new orleans. it's the core of the storm where we get the most concern, the immediate risk to life and property. i think people will be without power for weeks

this morning, abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz says there is only a small chance think the contingency plans are if there is something extraordinary that happens. the military could possibly adjust to that and get more people out. but i think at this point the plan is to go ahead and try to get out as many as they have. jobina: coming up on gma, martha raddatz talks about the $80 billion in abandoned u.s. military equipment now in the hands of the taliban. the taliban has rejected any plans for an extended u.s. troop withdrawal. this morning, the militants are blocking afghans trying to leave the country from reaching the airport, claiming it wants to protect people from terrorist threats. more than 70,000 people have been evacuated in the past 10 days, including more than 5400 americans. reggie: mexico has accepted its first group of refugees from afghanistan. among them are five members of afghanistan's prize-winning girls robotics team. mexico is committed to granting them whatever legal status is best, including asylum or refugee status. the team had most rece

martha raddatz with late reporting tonight and ian pannell's interview on this emergency effort in

martha raddatz live in washington with late reporting. can this deadline be met?o tonight, news on the pandemic. the u.s. now reporting more than

martha raddatz has a closer look. good morning, martha. >> reporter: good morning, george.they have changed this morning promising amnesty and urging women to join the government. but the extremist group is still designated a terrorist organization, although their rapid takeover of afghanistan shows they this was a smarter, more media-savvy taliban when they caught the biden administration off guard as taliban forces entered the presidential palace in kabul over the weekend, taliban senior leaders were huddled around a laptop apparently watching their men via livestream, and just like anybody living in the modern age, twitter is one of its primary weapons in controlling their message. now posting direct to camera messages from rooftops sharing their locations and assuring their followers the city is under control. their leader rarely seen in public, a former taliban judge. senior leaders claiming they want to form an inclusive islamic government, the group is establishing a civilian casualty prevention and complaints commission, tweeting out whatsapp phone numbers for afgha

. >> last month, my colleague martha raddatz interviewed abdul, an interpreter on the front lines with u.s. forces in afghanistan. overnight, we received a photo of taliban militants coming to the door of his home, literally hunting him down. he was able to escape, but he is obviously still in mortal danger. what would be your message to abdul, his wife, and his three young daughters? pres. biden: we want you to be able to get to the airport. contact us. we will see whatever we can do to get you there. we have got to get you out. we are committed to deal with you, your wife, and your child, to get all three of you out of afghanistan. that is the commitment. >> thank you, sir. pres. biden: meredith of pbs newshour. >> you mentioned just now using every resource available for evacuations. why haven't you ordered the military to expand the security perimeter around the kabul airport? do you have any plans to do so given that will likely require more u.s. troops? and are you considering rescue operations to recover american and afghan allies stuck behind taliban checkpoints? pres. biden: t

martha raddatz interviews secretary of state antony blinken about the race to evacuate americans and allies from afghanistan before that august 31st deadline. >>> we do turn now to the pandemic and the growing crisis facing hospitals in some parts of the country. pediatric covid admissions, those 17 and under, reaching record highs. overall, hospitalizations jumping 541% in just two months nationwide. and deaths now surging. the u.s. losing an average of more than 900 people per day, up more than 173% in the past month. here's abc's elwyn lopez from atlanta. >> reporter: tonight, the wave of young patients struggling to breathe battling covid in the hospital now at its highest point in the pandemic. >> we walk in the hospital, and it feels like the world is on fire. seeing younger patients fall this sick and die, is -- has been awful on all of us. >> reporter: on average, more than 300 children are landing in hospitals across the country every day. >> we took her to the emergency room, and they admitted her. she couldn't even walk in. she couldn't breathe. >> reporter: in south carol

we're going to turn back again to martha raddatz. you were talking about a video right now, and we have that for the viewers. if you can describe what it is, what you see, what you hear. >> reporter: what you are seeing right now is the live shot from kabul. it's probably about 6:30 there, and that is our night video. that's the last video we have from abbey gate. this was many hours ago. it was in the middle of the night, but what you hear are those surging crowds going up to abbey gate. i'm going to let you hear that. and right there, they were throwing flash bangs to disperse that crowd. this was taken by jericho denman. he has been filling us in on what's going on inside. this is not right now. this is last night, but it gives you a sense of ab give gate and what was happening there overnight, and you can hear those crowds, and we do have reports from today that there was another a gunfight after what initial reporting is there was some kind of suicide bombing that could have been a gunfight. it could have been troops firing on p

our martha raddatz in afghanistan last month speaking to one interpreter who was side-by-side with u.s. marines in helmand province. he says his family's lives are on the line. >> if they take over kabul, then they will come and they will behead us all. they will kill us. >> reporter: tonight, the afghan government is fighting to keep control, but the taliban have been gaining momentum, capturing more than half the country's 400 districts. whit? >> julia macfarlane, our thanks to you tonight. >>> and in france, thousands turning out against the government's new health pass. some of the protests turning violent. police clashing with demonstrators in paris. starting august 9th, the pass will be needed to prove businesses. cases and hospitalizations are surging now in france. >>> there is much more ahead on "world news tonight" this saturday. the rapid spread of the delta variant leading some major companies to put the brakes on their office re-opening plans. stay with us. [sfx: radio being tuned] welcome to allstate. ♪ [band plays] ♪ a place where everyone lives life well-protected. ♪ an

. >> martha raddatz has more on this.have been talking about admitted no mistakes but he and the military leader yesterday really pushed back on this idea that they ignored any intelligence warnings about the taliban takeover. >> reporter: they sure did and they will say there were warnings about a taliban takeover, but later in the year and after all the u.s. military was out. they were adamant yesterday, chairman milley said nobody, nobody predicted in their 17 intelligence agencies, no one predicted it could happen as fast as it has happened. the intelligence community has been defensive about this in the last week or so saying, yes, we said it could happen rapidly, but they made very clear that rapidly did not mean as fast as it happened, george. >> martha, the president also made this promise yesterday for the first time that american troops would stay as long as it takes to get all americans out. any idea from the military about how long that is going to take? >> reporter: you just look at the numbers every day and

my colleague, martha raddatz, interviewed abdul an interpreter who was on the front lines with us forces in afghanistan. overnight. we received a photo of taliban militants coming to the door of his home, literally hunting him down. thankfully he was able to escape, but he is obviously still in mortal danger. what would be your message to abdul his wife and his 3 young daughters we want you to be able to get to the airport contact us. we'll see whenever we can do to get you there. we've got to get you out . we are committed to deal with you, your wife and your child to get all 3 of you out of afghanistan. that's the commitment. thank you sir. meredith lee of p. b. s. news our you mentioned just now using every resource available for evacuations. why haven't you ordered the military to expand the security perimeter around the cobble airport? do you have any plans to do so giving that will likely require more us troops. and are you considering rescue operations to recover americans and african allies stuck behind taliban checkpoint? last the answer is yes. last question. we're considering

i want to bring in chief global affairs an kor martha raddatz. e getting stunning images right now of afghans clinging to the sides of transport planes. this appears to be the saigon moment in afghanistan. >> reporter: it certainly does george, looking at that is just appalling. having citizens run out on a tarmac, grabbing onto u.s. transport planes. risking their lives. climbing up on that aircraft. also thinking about the crews on that airplane. what do they do when they see these citizens down there? they undoubtedly have a lot of people already on board that c-17 plane. trying to get them out. but that is the scene there right now, george. i'm in touch with people there. they're desperate to get out. people look at this and think there are bad things happening all over the world. many of these people were interpreters. they helped americans during the last 20 years and americans have abandoned them. whether you want to get out of afghanistan or not, and president biden can make that argument, the way this is happening is very, very tragic. th

we'll turn to our chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz, and martha, we're now hearing thathere will be a briefing around 10:30 where we're hopefully going to get more details, but if you can give us a sense of what you have learned over the past few minutes, we know the details are fluid. >> reporter: even overnight, i was spent video from the airport, from abbey gate, and there were stories of people being turned away because of that urgent alert from the u.s. state department to stay away. this is what's called a threat stream that they have had for days now. they worried about this exact scenario, that a suicide bomber and that's our initial reporting that it was a suicide bomber, gets into one of those crowds and causes mass casualties, and this is why last night it was so urgent and so imminent, and we heard the ambassador this morning, the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan say how serious a threat this was, and that it was imm imminent, and they would not have put that alert out if they did not think someone was on their way to do harm. this is truly a nightmare scenario

martha raddatz's exclusive interview with defense secretary lloyd austin. >> we'll look at every meansble to get american

. >>> let's bring in our martha raddatz. we just heard ian say he doesn't think everyone will get out by august 31st but the president seems to be sticking to that deadline. >> reporter: he sure does, george, and he has gotten a lot of pushback on this. i think there is a very tiny, tiny chance that they could extend the deadline, but right now, they're very solid about that deadline and they talk about contingency plans. the president said we're going to look at contingency plans. i think the contingency plans are, if there is something extraordinary that happens, the military could possibly adjust to that and get more people out but i think at this point the plan is to go ahead and try to get out as many as they have. they have actually done a phenomenal job getting as many out as they can in these last days, these last desperate days but there are so many trying to get out. our afghan allies, we have these informal teams of veterans who i am in touch with, trying to get people out outside of the government, and that has wo

abc news martha raddatz is on "gma" talking about the evacuations. martha: this emphasis on force protection does seem to be limiting the number of evacuees getting onto the airport. af bn io the airrt even those flashing u.s. passports. jobina: biden and the first lady met with the families of the service members killed in an attack. president biden has direcent b homeland security to take the lead in resettling refugees. kumasi: today is your last day to register to vote in the recall election. voter registration forms sent by mail must be postmarked by today's date. you can pick up a paper application at the post office or dmv or find it online at register to vote.ca.gob. -- gov. the recall election is just over two weeks away on september 14. we have in-depth coverage of the candidates, issues and voting processllade easy for you on our website. caltrain combat positive. a huge half off price cut just for you by stepping aboard. >> plus, remembering at asner. a look back at his storied career, and the causes he helped offscreen. man, look at that

martha raddatz is back with that. good morning, again, martha. >> reporter: good morning, michael.st infants when the war in afghanistan began. their remains now back on u.s. soil. a solemn heartbreaking day at dover air force base in delaware, sunday president biden attending the dignified transfer of the flag draped remains of 13 u.s. service members killed in the suicide attack at kabul airport while helping evacuate more than 100,000 afghan allies and american citizens. the fallen include 11 marines, a navy hospital corpsman an an army soldier, all of them so young. the country pausing to mourn to honor their sacrifce. marine lance corporal david espinoza just 20 years old. marine sergeant nicole gee, 23 years old, days before her death, she was featured in this photo cradling an afghan baby at the kabul airport writing on instagram, i love my job. marine staff sergeant darin taylor hoover from salt lake city at 31, the oldest. his father calling him one heck of a leader. army staff sergeant ryan knauss, 23, marine corporal hunter lopez, 22. marine lance corporal rylee mccollum

. >>> as you just mentioned, that august 31st deadline just days away so let's bring in martha raddatzre in washington. martha, we are down to the wire, ian was just saying, getting all these americans and allies out not to mention the thousands of u.s. troops. we're talking about a major logistical challenge. what are you hearing from your sources on this? >> reporter: that's exactly right, cecelia. this is complicated by the fact that getting u.s. forces out of there after the evacuations will take several days in itself. they now hope they can get as many as 80,000 people out before the military has to move out. but the fear is, if the deadline is extended there is a possibility that u.s. forces are attacked by the taliban. and the last thing the white house wants right now is a scenario where u.s. forces are in a firefight that is one of the reasons there have been very few rescue missions into the city but the threat from isis is also acute around the airport in particular. i'm told by u.s. officials because of those dual threats, it is unlikely that president biden would stay if

our chief global affairs anchor martha raddatz starts us off with the very latest. morning, martha. >> reporter: good morning, michael. it has been a chaotic and tragic end to america's longest war with those 13 service members and more than 170 afghans killed by a suicide bomber before that final military flight lifted off. this is the last american service member out of afghanistan. in this image released overnight major general chris donahue who was leading the evacuation mission at kabul airport seen boarding the last military flight out of kabul nearly 20 years after he first deployed to afghanistan in 2001. those final flights departing kabul transporting all u.s. military forces and all u.s. diplomats marking the end of america's longest war. the last massive c-17 like this one packed with american service members left afghan airspace at 3:29 p.m. eastern time, just one minute prior to the august 31st deadline. below, celebratory gunfire filled the air. secretary of state antony blinken stopping short of labeling the taliban as the legitimate afghan governmen

. >>> let's bring in martha raddatz this morning. good morning to you, martha. we just heard president biden there vow to hunt down those responsible for yesterday's attack. so first do we have any indication of what his plan is to do that and how is the administration handling the threat of even more attacks there in afghanistan? >> reporter: amy, the president has ordered commanders to develop plans to strike isis assets, leaderships, facilities but first they have to be certain where they are. we've had a vast network of intelligence in afghanistan for 20 years along with the military presence, but as of tuesday the military, of course, will be gone and the intelligence gathering on the ground was already reduced when u.s. forces, the ones actually deployed to the country, not those on temporary mission were withdrawn in july. so the u.s. will be conducting this so-called over the horizon watch meaning our u.s. forces and intelligence operations will be based nearby, not in afghanistan. but clearly the u.s. knew the wave of suicide bombings was possible even

here's abc's martha raddatz: >> you also had a really massive intelligence failure here that the u.s. did not realize how quickly the taliban could take over. >> massive intelligence failure. >> stephen: it's gotta sting when people describe your foreign policy the same way they'd describe ron desantis. the white house tried to get ahead of the bad press by releasing this photo of biden in a virtual meeting with top security officials. but all people could talk about was the fact that the clock has the wrong times for london and moscow sparking conspiracy that the pic was staged. come on, people. let's not nitpick. the only clock that matters is the one in afghanistan, and it's just been reset to the thirteenth century. plus, if it was staged, would they have put him completely alone at the conference table? apparently there's also been a rapid withdrawal from joe biden. he looks like the only grandpa in the dayroom watching jeopardy. can we get a closer look at who he's talking to? okay there's kamala harris, the cia, and, j.f.k.? makes sense yneedice onandling a complete airport mel

. >> announcer: here now co-anchor, martha raddatz. >>> good morning. welcome to "this week." it has been exactly one week since the fall of afghanistan. a swift, stunning outcome that has created a political crisis for the biden administration and a desperate humanitarian mission. there is chaos in kabul and renewed urgency to rescue some 15,000 americans on the ground and the tens of thousands of afghan allies. those that remain are facing increasingly dangerous conditions. gunfire erupting above swarming crowds outside the airport where stampedes have left several dead. children being hoisted over razor wire into the hands of u.s. military as reunification efforts are under way for minors now separated from their parents. a month ago 70% of the country agreed with president biden's decision to end military operations by that iconic september 11th deadline. the issue is not withdrawal. it is a failure of intelligence and planning that led to the chaos we're seeing which president biden now says was always to be expected. we'll coverall of it this morning. we begin with abc's