now 90% complete our richard engel inside the firefight with afghan troops tasked with holding the line against the taliban. >>> new york becoming the first state to declare a disaster emergency on gun violence. what will change under that order. >>> breaking news on sha'carri richardson the star sprinter's last hope for competing in tokyo not happening. >>> and our exclusive with billionaire richard branson on making history in his race to space. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening. i'm kate snow in for lester tonight. it is rare to see hurricane warnings on the west coast of florida in july. but that's exactly what we have tonight. tropical storm elsa dumping heavy rain on the florida keys today and then strengthening over the open water with maximum winds now just below hurricane strength and the threat of life-threatening storm surge the tampa area bracing with forecasters expecting the storm to become a hurricane just before making landfall tomorrow morning, likely somewhere north of tampa we'll have the full forecast ahead, but we begin with

our richard engel got access inside that new eerily quiet facility.the only sign of the afghan army now in charge of bagram air base is at the entrance. inside, there are miles of unguarded roads and barracks. and the relics of the u.s. troops who just left. a chill-out area, christmas ornaments, care packages, and hundreds of very usable vehicles, nearly all white. some fire trucks too, and the heart of the base, the runways. i borrowed a bike soldiers left behind and pedalled down what was one of the most active runways for strikes against the taliban and al qaeda. it doesn't just feel like a ghost town. it almost feels post apocalyptic. no tumble weed. a can of energy drink hopped along. not long ago, bagram was the epicenter of america's longest war. up to 100,000 troops planned and executed counterterrorism missions here. so this was the command center. there is no light? >> reporter: when u.s. troops left, they cut the power. the afghans, a soldier told me, can't get it working. how do you feel about the way the americans left this base? >> tran

. >>> our richard engel inside bagram air base in convalescent. what u.s. troops left behind. >>> my exclusive conversation with eight of bill cosby's accusers. how they felt when they learned he was going free. >>> and the price you pay for groceries surging. why stores are stockpiling these household staples. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening. i'm kate snow in for lester tonight. for days, for day, floridians have been bracing for hurricane elsa. the storm interfering with search efforts at the collapsed tower in miami-dade. tonight reports of a likely tornado in jacksonville. elsa making landfall this morning on florida's gulf coast, bringing driving rain, whipping winds, and some road flooding, and thousands are without power tonight. the tornado threat in georgia and the carolinas continues, and this rare early july storm is headed for the midatlantic and northeast later this week with tropical storm alerts now extending about a thousand miles. we begin tonight with catie beck in tampa. >> reporter: elsa is char

our richard engel on the ground. >>> the 737 cargo plane crashing off hawaii. both pilots rescued. you'll hear the urgent call from the cockpit. >>> and our nbc news exclusive. the team usa star suspended after testing positive for marijuana. could she still compete in tokyo? >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening, everyone. determined not to lose another summer to covid, independence day will take on an this holiday weekend, touchstones of summers old, from big gatherings to big travel plans projected to rival previous all-time records for the weekend. and while that certainly sounds like we are back, it will not be like the good old days for many, not with the highly contagious delta covid variant rapidly spreading in this country. certain to put more unprotected people at risk. we'll get to that in a moment. but first, tom costello and what to expect as all that pent-up travel demand spills out into highways and runways. >> reporter: it's a july 4th getaway looking more like a thanksgiving travel rush. from the roads to the airports, 48 millio

forces as richard engel saw exclusively from the front lines.n rule, but president biden is firm in the commitment to ending america's longest war, and he says that the u.s. is going to continue to support the afghan government, but after two decades oth

richard engel got us an exclusive look. ard engel got us exclusive look >> what is it like fighting all on your own, no american support? >> so we are ready to fight. if we die, we don't care about it. if we die, we don't reca about it washed your hands a lot today? probably like 40 times. hands feel dry? like sandpaper. introducing new dove handwash, with 5 x moisturizer blend. removes germs in seconds, moisturizes for hours. soft, smooth. new dove handwash. [peaceful music plays] [soft cymbal crash] ♪ watch the olympic games on xfinity ♪ [ ♪ root for team usa] and feel the energy ♪ ♪ 7000 plus hours of the olympics on display ♪ ♪ with xfinity you get every hour of every day ♪ ♪ different sports on different screens, ♪ ♪ you can watch it anywhere ♪ ♪ and with the voice remote ♪ ♪ you never have to leave your chair ♪ show me team usa. ♪ all of this innovation could lead to some inspiration ♪ ♪ and you might be the next one to represent our nation ♪ ♪ this summer on your tv, tablet, or any screen ♪ ♪ xfinity is here to inspi

those back in certain parts of the country. >> joining me now nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel this better than anyone. first of all, the president says that they'll have to have their air force do the job, we know that without u.s. contractors replacements, spare parts, repairs and a lot of that is at stake and that's for the air force. what about the ground forces and the taliban advancing as we speak? >> so the -- some of the units of the afghan security forces are starting to collapse, and you mentioned a clip from general millner which he talked about the rapid loss of district centers. what has happened is a lot of these district centers which are effectively government centers are simply being handed over to the taliban, the afghan police or tribal forces or in some cases regular afghan army are walking away. the taliban will arrive and they will have a negotiated surrender, surrendering their weapons and surrendering their bases and the afghan, and the taliban will, in some cases give them money, bus fare home in kind of an act of humiliation say thanks for your weapon.

commandos to stop the taliban from taking over. >> joining me now is nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel you safe and well after those difficult scenarios with the u.s. forces withdrawing. this is -- this is happening so, so quickly. >> reporter: that's happening very quickly. the taliban are advancing very quickly and that's the way this happens, is once you have a crack and once things start to fall apart, they fall apart very quickly, and what is happening now is the taliban are taking over -- not commando posts, the reason we were out with the commando is that is the one unit that is really still engaged in the fight. it's the big army, the afghan national army and some of the smaller police divisions that are crumbling and in many cases they are not putting up any kind of resistance. they are surrendering their bennons and their posts to the taliban. the taliban captured those weapons and captured the imagery of the sur renter and that intimidates other afghan posts. so the next ones fall. they capture more weapons and it snowballs and that's what we're seeing. right now the taliban

. >>> when we welcome our west coast stations, richard engel inside a firefight with troops as the u.s. with draw. and, our exclusive with richard branson on his billionaire space race against jeff bezos when we see you right back here. here are the two battling to the line and allyson felix... simone manuel's above her trying to fight on, and above simone... getting an opportunity to show her stuff. nonstop, displayed at the highest performance level... finding something and the us takes gold! ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ - yes! ♪ ahhhhhhh ♪ ♪ dream until your dreams come true ♪ delicia: this is where all our recycling is sorted -- 1.2 million pounds every day, helping to make san francisco the greenest big city in america. but that's not all you'll find here. there are hundreds of good-paying jobs, with most new workers hired from bayview-hunter's point. we don't just work at recology, we own it, creating opportunity and a better planet. now, that's making a difference. >>> take a look. we don't see this too often in the bay area. a chp video of a high-speed ch

nbc's richard engel reports from kabul. >> reporter: the taliban aren't even waiting for u.s.roops to finish their withdraw from afghanistan before launching their takeover. emboldened and increasingly confident the taliban have taken around 150 afghan military posts in the last two months, dozen this weekend. afghan forces trained and supported by the u.s. military, are in many cases giving up without a fight. are taking the weapons, keeping some, and selling others to pakistan, according to afghan officials. this video taken by witnesses, the event confirmed shows local villagers moving in to loot a base for anything the taliban left behind. but one unit that hasn't been collapsing is the afghan commandos. elite special forces trained by american special forces. they're launching around 100 operations a day, shouldering about 90% of the fight. this morning, i spoke to their commander. >> if americans will keep supporting us financially and the way we want our armed troops for the future and our afghan air force, of course, we can fight. >> reporter: there's a troubling devel

what he said when asked is a taliban takeover of the country inevitable our richard engel in kabul. >>> the death toll rising in the surfside collapse what we've learned about a repealed florida law. could it have prevented the disaster >>> deadly tropical storm elsa drenching the east coast warnings for nearly a thousand miles the new track. >>> the tokyo olympics banning fans days before the games begin. a state of emergency declared as covid cases rise >>> new video of assassins outside the home of haiti's president, and tonight a u.s. citizen is among the suspects >>> the dramatic body cam. a 6-year-old girl rescued from an alleged kidnapper's car. the hero officers speaking to us >>> and tennis superstar naomi osaka's new message on mental health ahead of the olympics >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >> good evening. i'm peter alexander in for lester tonight what could be major news in the fight against covid. pfizer now says a booster shot of its current vaccine strongly extends protection against the virus. they're also developing a booster intended to

>> richard engel in afghanistan tonight, richard, thank you >>> tonight a breakthrough between the u.s. and russia allowing urgent aid deliveries for syrian refugees displaced by civil war. chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell recently traveled to both of those border camps andrea, this deal came right before the deadline >> peter, only hours before the u.n.'s aid to millions of syrian refugees was to be shut down, russia agreed to let it continue for 12 months, but only through one corridor from turkey. we visited that border crossing last month with u.s. u.n. ambassador linda thomas greenfield who negotiated the aid renewal with her russian counterpart in around-the-clock talks at the u.n president biden commended the renewal in his call with vladimir putin today but critics say it's not enough given the dire conditions. last saturday, russian air strikes and syrian artillery struck more villages in the area, relief workers say killing eight, including children peter? >> andrea mitchell, thank you very much. >>> heavy rain is falling across parts of new england tonight

richard engel reports from the afghan capital of kabul. >> reporter: as the u.s. military winds down operations, the top american general handing over this morning to a new leader with a far more hands-off mission. the taliban are closing in on kabul. as u.s.-trained of a began military forces put up halfhearted resistance or surrender outright. so, is the united states heading right back to where it started? the u.s. invaded afghanistan nearly 20 years ago because the taliban were in power, and they hosted osama bin laden, whose group, al qaeda was responsible for 9/11. now one group is fighting hard, the elite afghan commandos. i recently saw them in action, attacking a taliban safe house. what about foreign fighters? extremists? terrorists? we understand that they are starting to come back in once again. >> these people who are coming to create troubles and problems for the world, for the future as they did in 9/11. >> even worse than 9/11. i'm telling you. >> reporter: she is a member of parliament and negotiator with the taliban. extremists tried to assassina

. >> we'll get a report from nbc news chief correspondent richard engel in kabul. i'll speak with chairman of the senate armed services committee jack reed of rhode island. >>> plus, whitewashing january 6th. >> if you didn't know it was video from january 6, you would think it's a normal tourist visit. >> as a growing number in the gop try to deny what happened at the capitol, one republican says the vast majority in his party know the truth but refuse to di admit it. my guest this morning, congressman adam kinzinger of illinois. also, eric adams beats out progressives in the democratic primary for new york city mayor. >> i am the face of the new n ig democratic party. >> what the non-woke former police captain's victory says about the kind of democrats that are actually winning elections. joining me are nbc news capitolr hill correspondent kasie hunt, mark leibovich from "the new york times," former obama white house senior adviser stephanie cutter and republican strategist al cardenas. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in wash

. >>> i'm richard engel. today the taliban took over another small base from u.s.rained afghan security forces lowering the flag. the taliban have not been this strong since the u.s. drove them out 20 years ago when the militants ran afghanistan and hosted osama bin laden, whose group al qaeda carried out 9/11 one unit is fighting against the return of the taliban and new bin ladens afghanistan's commandos. we recently saw them in action. their general says foreign extremists are rushing back to join what they see as the victorious taliban >> these people who are coming to create trouble and problems for the world for the future as they did in 9/11. >> even worse than 9/11, i'm telling you. >> reporter: fawzia koofi is a member of parliament and a negotiate were the taliban. extremists tried to assassinate her twice. >> you have been in war, and in war, people don't distribute sweets. they kill each other so you think those actually have been killed, they will not go for revenge and hostility? they will. >> reporter: i put that question to a former taliban leader w

we'll tell you where it's headed >>> our richard engel goes inside the firefight for troops taking on the taliban as the u.s. withdrawal is almost complete and enemy retribution explodes across the country. >>> sha'carri richardson banned from competition for marijuana use. this morning, the fallout from her olympic dreams dashed. >>> what have we learned from one of the most expensive and extensive investigations in aviation history >>> and the made for tv golf match with aaron rodgers and bryson dechambeau did not disappoint "early today" starts right now. >> elsa may be downgraded to tropical storm but it's still packing packing a punch. t there are even tornado watches in place this morning. the governor warned nefreveryon the coastal area to be prepared to lose power for several days good morning >> hi, good morning, guys. i have some better news this morning. a collapsing storm system on the eastern side of this storm but what you're seeing right now across central florida is severe weather. these are the outer bands really impacting that area, and that will be in place for at l

richard engel, nbc news, kabul >>> pope francis is recovering this morning after undergrowing surgery. the vatican says the pontiff reacted well to a planned procedure to treat an issue s large intestine. only hours before the surgery pope francis greeted the public in st. peter's square for his usual sunday blessing. this marks the first known hospital visit for pope francis since he took office he does suffer from sciatica and decades ago had part of one lung removed. >>> well, two years after bursting on the scene, coco gauff continues to open eyes at wimbledon. gauff took on slovenia's calla juvan in the third round the 17-year-old dominated throughout, taking the match in three straight sets. the win returns the american to the fourth round at wimbledon, where she was eliminated in 2019 she'll face off against former wimbledon champion angelique kerber with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. >>> all right. as we promised, let's bring in nbc meteorologist janessa webb a lot to discuss in the weather she's tracking this morning. janessa, hello again >> hi. you know, these tro

some very tough decisions that will have to be made in realtime if that happens. >> all right richard engel on the ground in kabul for us as he always is in these unsafe and unstable places richard, thank you. >> reporter: sure. >> all right joining me now is democratic senator of rhode island chair of the services welcome back to "meet the press. i do want to make a note a lot of you were going to see jake sullivan here. the white house told us yesterday he would be unable to appear for personal reasons. senator reed is the current head line in the economist. america's longest war is ending in crushing defeat it's a pretty rough head line. do you agree with it >> it's not accurate the purpose that we went into afghanistan for was to degrade and disrupt al qaeda to limit their ability to project attacks outside of afghanistan to a great degree we've done that the job is not over. this is not a closure. this is a transition we have to maintain continual involvement, both with the afghan government, by supporting them financially, also providing the kind of technical assistance they need for

. >> richard engel is on the ground in kabul for us.how it's looking there. >> yasmin, there were multiple intelligence estimates that afghanistan would face challenges before u.s. troops pulled out. well, it is happening very quickly. this country is fracturing even as this withdrawal is entering its final stages. in many cases, the afghan army, afghan police are not putting up much of a fight or a half-hearted fight, in some cases they're not fighting at all. there was one incident where several hundred afghan soldiers facing a taliban assault fled the country, they crossed the border into tajikistan. now the afghan government is trying to negotiate their return. the taliban are taking over many small towns and villages particularly in the outer provinces, not all of the afghan units are collapsing, one in particular called the afghan commandos which was trained by elite u.s. special ops, they are shouldering a lot of the burden, they're carrying out about 100 operations a day, but the main army, the big army, trained by the u.s., fun

, nbc news, afghanistan. >> nbc's richard engel with afghan commandos.arkable and scary reporting on that fight that remains as u.s. troops withdraw from afghanistan. today the pentagon said the u.s. withdrawal from america's longest war is more than 90% complete. in addition to pulling out troops and the equipment that go with them, that goes with them, the u.s. military handed over seven military facilities to the afghan defense ministry including bagram. the bagram airfield. the speed means the pentagon will almost certainly complete the withdrawal by the september deadline and raises concern of the aftermath of the u.s. forces leaving. this weekend the top u.s. military official in charge of overseeing the withdrawal raised alarm of how quickly the taliban is growing the control over large swaths of the country. warned of a possible civil war. warned about the potential for a full taliban takeover of afghanistan. and that prospect raises questions about the length of this war, what choices we as a current have to make on our way out the door. what op

in just a minute we'll be joined live by richard engel.has a lot to say about his time in afghanistan last week. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. isn't it disappointing when your plug-in fades? once that freshness goes away, you're left thinking, “okay....now what?” febreze fade defy plug works differently. it's the first plug-in with built-in technology... to digitally control how much scent is released... to smell 1st day fresh for 50 days. it even tells you when it's ready to be refilled. upgrade to febreze fade defy plug. >>> this is the headline from the "arizona republic" today. andy biggs and paul gosar vote to abandon the afghan allies. they're part of a small group of 16 republicans who voted against an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill to expedite the process to get afghan translators who helped u.s. forces to safety as america ends its longest war. quote, when the u.s. pulled out of vietnam, there were unfortunate, sometimes tragic repercussions for some of the vietnamese who assisted our troops. the idea of the house bill

richard engel, nbc news, kabul. >>> californians will get their say whether to recall governor newsomfice. mark your calendar for september 14th. the date was just announced by the secretary of state after recall petition was certified. county election officials will have to send out mail-in ballots by august 16th. political science professor james taylor says as covid phases, return to normal, support for that effort not growing. >> the economy's coming back and every injection i think that california gets actually helps governor newsom with votes. >> democrats in the legislature voted this week to change election code, allowing for it to take place sooner than expected. republicans leading the effort to oust governor newsom from office say that it was a manipulative move, but they are ready to mobilize. >>> once you get that ballot in the mail, you will have to fill out two sections. now, in the first part, you'll be asked if governor newsom should be removed from office. it's a yes-or-no question. in the second part you will pick a replacement candidate. now, you can vote no in the

that announcement from president biden today richard engel has more on this. >> reporter: president bidenith iraq's prime minister announced the end of an era, that the combat mission in iraq is over, again. >> our shared fight against isis is critical for the stability of the region, and our counterterrorism cooperation will continue even as we shift to this new phase we're going to be talking about. >> reporter: it's the second time the u.s. has ended combat in iraq after president biden invaded in 2003 to overthrow saddam hussein, claiming he was developing weapon of mass destruction and kicking off a civil war. it took nearly eight years for the u.s. to declare the combat mission complete. >> america's war in iraq will be over. >> reporter: then vice president biden with president obama welcoming back the last troops from iraq. but with u.s. troops outside, iraq collapsed, becoming a safe haven for isis terrorists. so the u.s. went back in. todayt combat administration, iraq 2 is over. but this time a few thousand u.s. troops will stay in iraq in a support capacity and conduct counter

. >> our pentagon correspondent richard engel has the latest. >> reporter: with the troops clearing out of bagram without celebrations or fanfare, and the u.s. is shutting down the longest war extremely quietly and not announcing how or when the troops are leaving for their safety. this is not a victory lap, but a stealth move out of the door after 20 years. when osama bin laden masterminded from afghanistan, the u.s. invade and within weeks overthrew the taliban who had been protecting him. starting off small, the war dragged on and grew. more than 750,000 american troops rotated through. 2,042 died here. but afghan security troops are collapsing to a resurgent taliban and the propaganda channel shows that afghan soldiers and police are turning themselves in, and handing over the small base, and the taliban giving them pocket money for transportation home, demoralizing. the american general tasked with shutting down this war is not painting a rosey picture. >> they have gained some of those back in certain parts of the country. >> the return of the taliban would be catastrophic for mil

richard engel is in kabul, afghanistan and joins me now. richard, what are we expecting now? u.s. troops are leaving this country. nato troops, coalition partners are leaving with them. some of the coalition partners express concern. they thought that this country is not ready to be completely on its own, the afghan government and security forces aren't strong enough to stand up against the taliban and need support. since the u.s. is leaving the coalition partners are leaving as well and today with the departure from bagram, it took a major, the u.s. took a major step toward that final departure. it is not just bagram. the u.s. has been shutting down evacuating personnel from lots of bases over the last several days and weeks. the ultimate deadline for all u.s. troops to be out of here is september 11th. based on what's happened today and the last several days it looks like u.s. forces are going to be going well before the september 11th deadline. but they are not making a big show of it. this is not like the withdrawal from iraq when we were able to ride with the last convoy

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. >> richard engel's exclusive report from inside a fire fight between afghan forces and the taliban. we'll have the latest on that. incredible reporting. we have sam stein, former aide for the george w. bush white house and state department, elise jordan, and host of "politics nation" and president of the national action network, reverend al sharpton is with us this morning. we're going to begin with former police captain, eric adams, poised to become new york city's next mayor after being declared the winner in a hotly contested democratic primary. the ap called the race for the brooklyn borough president last night after thousands of absentee ballots were counted. the numbers saw former city sanitation commissioner kathryn garcia cut the lead to 8,000 votes. with only a small amount of votes outstanding, her deficit is likely too much to overcome. adams will go on to face the republican nominee, guardian angels founder curtis leila in november's general election. >> reverend al, before we dig into this, let's just talk about what we have just seen in this race, and it really shows

richard engel is in kabul. you had a top general warning that afghanistan may be heading toward a civil war. you've been taking us inside low the u.s. left bagram. what do you anticipate will be the reaction to the president's remarks closely watched not just by americans, but by people around the world? >> reporter: afghanistan is already back at war. it's back at war with the taliban, but unfortunately it's mostly a one-sided war. the taliban is making advances. the afghan security forces, except for two real divisions, the afghan air force, and the commandos. the other divisions seem to be falling apart. with half-harded resistance. it's been mostly small towns and villages, but over the last 24 hours, there's been fighting in a provincial capital. the city has changed hands more than once, with special mosts having been called in, the taliban freeing some of their prisoners, so this country is already back at war. the security forces are crumbling. the question is, what will it means for kabul. kabul is the

either way, it is an end of an era. >> richard engel there at bagram airbase.n. interesting stuff brought up by richard. how is the pentagon responding this morning? what are you hearing from sources about these reports that there are those in afghanistan who are troubled, felt like it was rude, as engel pointed out there, that this exit was hasty and poorly communicated, in their view. >> so what this entire withdrawal process is shown, the u.s. does not trust the afghan government, the afghan partners they've been there, heard for years, standing shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand. it's clear they don't trust them with information like specifics when the u.s. is leaving specific bases, so if you look back to several weeks ago when the u.s. turned over the base at southern kandahar in afghanistan there were a series of small rocket attacks and mortars that came in on base that set a tone. there was a lot of concern about providing any specific information when the americans and nato allies would be leaving some of the bases. bagram as richard was showing th

. >> joining me now from kabul, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel and pentagon correspondente. you were speaking with general mckenzie, i believe, on your flight over. what did he tell you? >> reporter: that's right. he really laid out the security situation here, which there's a lot of concern about. the taliban are making a lot of advances throughout many different parts of the country right now. the afghan security forces in some cases have been able to push them back. but the concern right now is if they start to go after some of the capitals. he believes they are looking to a military solution to the conflict, which both the u.s. and afghan government have said, no, we need a negotiated peace settlement, no military solution. the concern is that the taliban will keep trying to push forward into some of these centers, and ultimately he said they know they need to take kabul if they really want to take this country over. but mckenzie also spoke about his concerns about the intelligence piece here in afghanistan. now, the afghan government actually has been able to provide

richard engel in kabul for us. thank you very much. >>> former president donald trump is blasting the manhattan district attorney's office after the indictment this week of the trump organization's chief financial officer. ali vitali is in florida where the former president held a rally last night. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. former president donald trump back in his home state of florida last night but in a new york state of mind reacting for the first time in public to the criminal indictments by the manhattan da against his company and its chief financial officer allen weisselberg for what prosecutors called a sweeping tax fraud scheme. trump framing the charges as a witch-hunt that attacks, quote, good people simply for not paying taxes. >> never before has new york city and their prosecutors or perhaps any prosecutors criminally charged a company or a person for fringe benefits. fringe benefits. murder is okay. human trafficking, no problem. but fringe benefits, you can't do that. >> reporter: an

so even if most americans forgot about this war, as richard engel reports from kabul, for those left behind this is still real. >> reporter: they are laughing it up by applies spokesman and why not? the taliban have taken control of most of afghanistan in weeks often after firing a shot. troops are sur ending handing over posts and weapons the taliban give each soldier the equivalent of $80 pocket money for the trip home. the united states spent more than $80 billion to train annie equip afghan security forces the return on investment so far is low. >> corruption is the main defense for some of the taliban. >> reporter: this member of parliament extremists have tried to kill her twice. >> i had a meeting yesterday who tried to run away. they were steeling me stories because there was no food for them. >> reporter: when we visit the air base it was empty, i was able to bike down the runway no one even asked what i was doing. the soldiers seemed almost unaware there is a war going on. but two units are fighting afghanistan small air force and the commandos on a mission i saw them on th

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is life for us in kabul this morning with more on all of good morning. with the withdrawal of american forces, international forces from -- the u.s. mission isn't just winding down, it is more or less over at this stage. over as it has been for the last 20 years. right now the u.s. still maintains the right and still has the capacity to defend itself, to defend american and international troops as they are leaving but they are leaving. we don't know exactly when. we don't know exactly how many troops are still here because the u.s. military is keeping that a closely guarded secret. they don't want troops to come under fire as they're leaving this country. it has made for something of an awkward withdrawal. after 20 years american troops are leaving very quietly, without much fanfare, no celebrations, just packing up, getting on planes, and going, destroying equipment that they can't bring with them. some of that equipment ending up in trash dumps outside and around the bases. the pentagon said yesterday that the withdrawal will take place,

either way, it is an end of an era. >> richard engel thank you. >>> the pandemic changed not only howccording to the postal service, change of address data. mostly fueled by younger households fleeing the cities to the suburbs. that created a scattering of pandemic boom towns that is causing some problems. in boise, idaho, here's nbc's harry smith. >> mark jenkins and laurie crowell love their new home. >> and when did you move in here >> five days ago >> oh, it's that new house smell. >> it is >> brand new, in fact. >> man, how happy are you with this >> oh, ecstatic. >> love it absolutely love it it's beautiful >> lots in their subdivision on the outskirts of boise sell within days of going on the market boise, in case you hadn't heard, is booming >> we knew we wanted to move we didn't know where >> right >> and we had an idea it was boise. >> it's got the quality of life that we had in seattle, but on a smaller scale. >> at least for the moment, that is, idaho is the fastest growing state in the country real estate values in boise are up 32% in the last year. 32%. where there had b

we're going to get a report on the ground from our own richard engel in just a moment. pope is set to be doing well after surgery, a live report from the vatican coming up. you're watching "ayman mohyeldin reports." ing "ayman mohyeldin reports. d mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... ♪ if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trel

richard engel, nbc news, kabul. >>> 5:47.ore returning to a party at the white house first lady jill biden celebrated ipds peps day in philadelphia. sunday she declared that we are back together. >> that tenacity, that resilience, that love for our community is what got us through the worst of this pandemic. >> first lady also said that summer has never felt more full of possibilities, referring to the new cdc guidelines that say fully vaccinated people can gather without masks. >>> new details about money going to protect sea turtle and marine mammal wild life. state leaders are committing $1.3 million as part of this year's budget according to the chronicle that money will go to a voluntary buyback program aimed at getting fishermen to switch from nylon nets to deep set buoy gear aimed at preventing entanglement. the move will put fishermen out of business, at least some of them. >>> new video to show you of a mama bear and her cub doing what so many did the fourth of july weekend. hit the water. i'm sure this is fun, if th

nbc's richard engel has the latest >> reporter: even before u.s. troops finish their withdrawal from afghanistan, america's old enemies are making a comeback. the taliban, the group that sheltered osama bin laden allowing him to plan 9/11 is on a major offensive capturing around 150 afghan military outposts including nearly a dozen this weekend in most cases afghan security forces trained and funded the united states surrendered without firing a shot allowing the taliban to seize weapons but one group holding the line is the afghan commandos, the elite groups trained by american special ops are carrying out around 100 operations a day. about 90% of the combat missions according to their commanding general. >> we are committed. we will fight. we will push them back. >> the taliban's biggest gain so far appears to be psychological. the world watched as the u.s. left the american withdrawal is a huge morale boost to the taliban and all islamic extremists presenting this as a god given victory. several afghan officials say al qaeda, isis and others are

richard engel spoke to one of those translators who says he's stuck and fears time is running out asances. >> scott, there are still thousands of translators who work for the u.s. military who are in the country awaiting visas. many of them have already gone through the approval process or gone partly through the approval process. we spoke today with a translator who went by the name tom that's what his unit called him. tom worked with unit after unit after unit for two years and five months. we also spoke to the company commander that tom worked under who vouched for him. tom has been trying to get his visa, has already passed background checks, he said he showed me a whole list of recommendation letters we spoke to the company commander who wrote one of those recommendations letters. tom has been trying to do this for four years and yet still has not gotten there >> you helped the u.s. now the u.s. needs to help you >> yep >> simple as that. >> yeah, yeah. we need help so u.s. army, the u.s. government have to help us. >> and tom is just one of many and he says that he fears that t

richard engel with them on the front lines. >>> six months after the attack on the capitol, what the acting chief of the capitol police is saying about the future of the department. we'll be right back. ers left ina hurry, so the house comes with everything you see. follow me. ♪ (realtor) so, any questions? (wife) we'll take it! (realtor) great. (vo) it will haunt your senses. the heart-pounding audi suv family. get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. the instant air purifier removes 99.9% of the virus that causes covid-19 from treated air. so you can breathe easier, knowing that you and your family have added protection. ♪ ♪ this past year has felt like a long, long norwegian winter. knowing that you and your family have added protection. but eventually, with spring comes rebirth. everything begins anew. and many of us realize a fundamental human need to connect with other like-minded people. welcome back to the world. viking. exploring the world in comfort... once again. [peaceful music plays] [soft cymbal crash] >>> welcome back, everybody. just days after u.s. troops le

richard engel, nbc news, kabul >>> let's turn to a civilian adviser in afghanistan and senior adviser the book, the american war in afghanistan, a history. carter, thank you very much. what do you make of the withdrawal so far? >> thank you for having me on so much i think the withdrawal is something that we may have had to do, but kind of as expected it's been quite a shock to the afghan forced, and it's been harder for them to defend ground without the availability of our air strikes and without our advisers around to such an extent and that's not to say we've entirely left yet, we haven't, but it's still a tremendous obstacle and challenge for the paf can forces >> you wrote in a recent political article that as the united states loaves afghanistan after 20 years of war there can be little doubt that we lost the war. it's that cut and dried in your estimation. >> it's a little bit harder than that because in some ways we -- our soldiers did what they needed to. do they prevented terrorist attacks against the united states, but, on the other hand, our -- i think we wanted something