intelligence tell him, and when, about how fast afghanistan could fall our richard engle on the ground. >>> also, u.s. health officials expected the make the case for covid booster shots eight months after the second dose for most americans. how soon they could go into arms. also, the governor of texas who banned mask mandates testing positive with a breakthrough case. and the covid crisis for children -- cases up 300% in a month we're on the front lines. >>> the death toll rising in the haiti earthquake survivors evacuated on choppers as flooding from tropical storm grace slows the response tropical depression fred on the move report of tornadoes. 20 million under flash flood watches from georgia to new york. >>> and celebrating one of the world's ultimate puzzle masters. >>> good evening tonight, the last vestiges of american military might in afghanistan restored control for more what is the only way out. troops are firmly in charge of the military side of the kabul airport where flights have resumed today, fewer scenes of complete chaos, but no less amount of fear and desperation a

richard engle is back in afghanistan >>> as covid cases explode, the new warning -- the unvaccinated are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized and we're inside one hospital seeing its worst covid surge ever plus the governor warning tourists to stay out of his state to stop the spread >>> the vice president's trip to vietnam delayed for hours after two u.s. diplomats report mysterious health symptoms >>> a 3-year-old girl disappears, still no sign of her months later. why one group of americans says it is part of a disturbing trend. >>> remembering a music legend, tributes pouring in for rolling stones drummer charlie watts. >>> and the american hero still jumping at the chance to honor those who served with him in world war ii. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >>> good evening, everyone president biden announced late today that the u.s. is on pace to finish the removal of u.s. citizens and military troops from afghanistan by the august 31st deadline the president, however, leaving the door open to stay longer, acknowledging contingency planning is under wa

richard engle, thank you. let's drill down on the urgent new warning president biden was given today that another terror attack is likely. it came as he defended his withdrawal strategy amid criticism. >> reporter: 24 hours after the deadliest assault on u.s. troops in more than a decade, the national security team giving him the dire warning, another terror attack in kabul is likely, but saying they're taking steps to protect u.s. troops there. the president was told the next few days of the mission will be the most dangerous period to date, today meeting with the israeli prime minister, president biden mourning lives lost, but standing by his operation. >> the mission there being performed is dangerous and is now come with significant loss. >> reporter: after thursday's deadly attack, the execution of that mission under withering criticism has new backlash, including the reliance on the taliban for security of the u.s. troops at the airport. >> if we're trusting them to screen people to get to the airport, h

richard engle leads our coverage tonight. >> reporter: these are the united states security partners in kabul the taliban protecting american forces at the airport their way, keeping afghans from reaching the airport gate, extending the security perimeter while hundreds o americans have been evacuated in the last 24 hours, if you're an afghan trying to get to the airport now, the path is blocked. the u.s. military says it is coordinating security with the taliban closely, needed now more than ever after yesterday's suicide bombing killed 13 service members, most marines, while doing pat downs of evacuees among them, maxton soviak from ohio whose sister describes her baby brother as beautiful, intelligent, beats to the sound of his own drum. 20-year-old david espinoza born in texas. the mayor calling him a fallen hero a marine, rylee mccollum, a wrestler from wyoming, expecting a baby in a few weeks. kareem nikou and hunter lopez, both from southern california, and jared schmitz. a marine from missouri more than 150 afghans were killed. kabul's main hospital today, the butcher's bill

nbc's richard engle documents the emotional journey out of the capital for those lucky enough to get on a plane. >>> hurricane warning, henri is expected to strengthen to category one in the next 24 hours. warning it could unleash three to the national hurricane cente warning it could unleash three to five feet of storm surge. the governor of connecticut declaring a state of emergency and in nearby massachusetts, officials urge people to take the storm seriously. >> the impacts of the storm will be widespread due to significant rain and high winds, everyone in the state if possible should plan to be at home by saturday night, plan to stay at home sunday >> nbc news meteorologist bill karins covering the storm. karins covering the storm. of i've covered some nor'easter's in the past this is more serious than a nor'easter and the past path shifting to the west. >> nor'easters have the same winds, but there's no leaves to catch the wind in winter, so we don't get massive power outages we'll get with this storm. start with hurricane warnings. it has been since 2011 with hurricane irene l

evacuation from saigon. >> richard engle in kabul, stay safe we'll be back with you thank you. >>> the chaotic scenes in afghanistan have quickly become the biden administration's biggest foreign policy challenge. they're scrambling to contain the fallout. peter alexander is picking up that part of the story hey, peter good morning >> reporter: as this crisis unfolds, president biden remains at camp david conferring with his advisers he has not spoken publicly about afghanistan since last tuesday and the white house is now evaluating that americans want to hear from him the president now facing mounting criticism as you've heard, both about his decision to withdraw u.s. troops and the chaotic way this is all playing out. president biden this morning facing a catastrophic failure of u.s. foreign policy. our only glimpse of the president in the last 24 hours, this white house photo showing him seated alone at camp david, consulting by video conference with national security advisers, including vice president kamala harris despite the president's promise that the withdrawal of american tr

richard engle joins me from doha, qatar. the threat was out there a few days. the specific threat from isis-k is something the administration was worried about, publicly warned about, and here it is. this is obviously setting back evacuation efforts. could this essentially end them? >> reporter: no, it couldn't end the evacuation, it shouldn't end the evacuation. it is not an attack of that kind of magnitude. it didn't impact the runways, didn't impact the planes. there were three main gates into the air base. what this was was a horrific attention grabbing suicide attack, complex attack, at least one suicide attack and another bomb right outside the gate, and all indications are this was the work of isis or of a member of isis, and as the taliban rolled into kabul, they set free a lot of prisoners or prisoners in the chaos were able to set themselves free, break out of jail, and these are enemies of the taliban. for the last week or so, they've been roaming free. they've had no place to go. seems at least one or possibly more attackers took the opportunity tod

nbc's richard engle documents the emotional journey out of the capital for those lucky enough to get on a plane. >>> hurricane issued for parts of long island and connecticut henri is expected to strengthen to a category 1 in the next 24 hours. the national hurricane center warning it could unleash three to five feet of storm surge. the governor of connecticut declaring a state of emergency and in nearby massachusetts, officials are urging people to take this storm seriously. >> the impacts of the storm will be widespread due to significant amount of rain and high winds, everyone in the state, if possible, should plan to be at home by saturday night, and plan to stay at home on sunday. >> nbc news meteorologist bill karins tracking this storm bill, i covered nor'easters up in new england and cape cod. this obviously more serious and the path of this shifting again to the west. >> glad you mentioned that because what's interesting is that nor'easters can have the same strength winds as this hurricane will have, but the difference is there's no lees on the trees to catch the wind in th

. >>> want to go to kabul where richard engle is standing by. he has been reporting on the activity there allpo day. richard, what is the situation in kabul? >> well, we are still seeing the evacuation. we are hearing now more solid ground that it is going to take three days, and that the u.s. embassy is going to close after that.e i wouldn't be surprised, looking at the pace, if it is actually wrapped up before three days. that might be an outside estimate because we have been hearing and seeing the helicopters going all day long. here in kabul, i think it's fair to say that the situation -- that the city has collapsed. there is no real security on the streets anymore. we are starting to see signs of looting. i just got back. we were walking around an area that iwa reported on many times before. we used to go to this one salon, beauty salon because it was a good place to interview women and talk about women in society and their hopes. obviously, that's very different under the taliban. out in front of the shop, there were these large picture win

chief foreign correspondent richard engle is in kabul with the latest. richard? >> reporter: afghans are tlonging to the airport, desperate to leave the country at any cost. scaling the airport walls, rushing in this morning. no streeng, no security checks. just force of numbers. when they manage to push aboard planes, they're so crowded, pilots won't take off. no one agrees to disembark. it is all happening a few hundred yards from the military side of kabul airport, now separated by a row of barbed wire from the civilian side in chaos. the military side where the u.s. is staging an elaborate evacuation of american diplomats from the embassy. even here, afghans manage to push through, willing to cling onto an aircraft as it took off, rather than stay in afghanistan. afghans say americans are only focused on getting u.s. citizens out, along with interpreters. although tens of thousands of translators have no u.s. visas, so they, too, are left to the taliban. the militants took control of kabul yesterday. we watched them move in. >> kabul is falling. we left our o

joining me, kelly o'donnell, richard engle, courtney kube.t seemed all of the momentum was moving in the direction of the president having basically a ton of support, whether it is our allies in europe, capitol hill folks, whether adam schiff getting a briefing, everybody on the same page, making it clear august 31st is an impossible deadline to meet. then we have the meeting with the taliban, clearly that didn't go well. now we have this reporting that he is going to stick with august 31st. basically the taliban has told us they're not giving us leeway after the 31st, we're just not prepared to say that? >> reporter: at this point, the latest information we have from a lot of conversations with administration officials and courtney will explain what she's learning from the pentagon is that the august 31st timeline remains in effect, with the president telling his military commanders he wants continued contingency planning in case there's a need that goes beyond that date. what would that involve? the mission to get americans and sivs, specia

richard engle.s, kabul. >> i want to bring in nbc's chief white house correspondent peter alexander. courtney kube who covers the pentagon for us, and ronald newman, former u.s. ambassador to afghanistan and president of the american academy of diplomacy as well as peter baker, chief white house correspondent for "new york times." peter alexander, start with you. we are hearing from the president this morning about the situation we are watching unfold at the kabul airport and extensive interview. what stood out? >> reporter: a series of headlines, most importantly on the ground as richard reported, the president's commitment to saying he is leaving no american behind, that u.s. troops would stay there beyond the president's self imposed august 31st end of month deadline to get troops out. he would not make the same commitment for tens of thousands of afghan allies and their families that are there. obviously the challenge still exists now to try to get these americans and afghans, many scattered thr

richard engle is back in afghanistan >>> as covid cases explode, the new warning -- the unvaccinated 29 times more likely to be hospitalized and we're inside one hospital seeing its worst covid surge ever plus the governor warning tourists to stay out of his state to stop the spread >>> the vice president's trip to vietnam delayed for hours after two u.s. diplomats report mysterious health symptoms >>> a 3-year-old girl disappears, still no sign of her months later. why one group of americans says it is part of a disturbing trend. >>> remembering a music legend, tributes pouring in for rolling stones drummer charlie watts. >>> and the american hero still jumping at the chance to honor those who served with him in world war ii. >> announcer: this is

richard engle in qatar, matt bradley in germany, mike memoli at the white house, courtney kube at the. we have david rode, who was kidnapped by the taliban 12 years ago. good to have you here. richard, what's the latest happening on the ground in afghanistan? >> reporter: well, they are moving very, very quickly on the base and flights are coming in, flights are going out. people are getting processed. the problem is still at the gate. we talked a lot about the gate. they're in a rush to get to the gate. word has gotten out in kabul that people can leave and some people who were initially sticking it out, thinking maybe the taliban wouldn't be that bad, some of them are having second thoughts, perhaps these are people that would always want to leave, according to an official i have spoken to here in doha. this is one of the transit destinations that people are coming to. about half the people that they are now interviewing would not, do not qualify for onward visa, have no third countries, they're not american citizens, didn't work for contractors. the u.s. is scooping up a lot of peo

intelligence tell him, and when, about how fast afghanistan could fall our richard engle on the groundlth officials expected the make the case for covid booster shots eight months after the second dose for most americans. how soon they could go into arms. also, the governor of texas who banned mask mandates testing positive with a breakthrough case. and the covid crisis for children -- cases up 300% in a month we're on the front lines. >>> the death toll rising in the haiti earthquake survivors evacuated on choppers as flooding from tropical storm grace slows the response tropical depression fred on the move report of tornadoes. 20 million under flash flood watche

richard engle is back in afghanistan >>> as covid cases explode, the new warning -- the unvaccinated9 times more likely to be hospitalized and we're inside one hospital seeing its worst covid surge ever plus the governor warning tourists to stay out of his state to stop the spread >>> the vice president's trip to vietnam delayed for hours after two u.s. diplomats report mysterious health symptoms >>> a 3-year-old girl disappears, still no sign of her months later. why one group of americans says it is part of a disturbing trend. >>> remembering a music legend, tributes pouring in for rolling stones drummer charlie watts. >>> and the american hero still jumping at the chance to honor those who served with him in world war ii. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >>> good evening, everyone president biden announced late today that the u.s. is on pace to finish the removal of u.s. citizens and military troops from afghanistan by the august 31st deadline the president, however, leaving the door open to stay longer, acknowledging contingency planning is under way the

wor with the government that they just overthrew the question is, can they be believed hoda >> richard engleor uth thank you, richard >>> taliban takeover, president biden once again defended his decision to withdraw u.s. troops and blamed much of the current crisis on the afghan government and military critics on both sides of the aisle are lining up and demanding to know why the u.s. was not better prepared for this withdrawal chief white house correspondent peter alexander on duty this morning. peter, good morning to you >> reporter: good morning to you. president biden back at camp david after describing this pullout as hard and messy conceding his administration was caught off guard by the speed of the taliban takeover but he's arguing what is happening there in afghanistan only reinforces his decision to get out. still, his critics are furious that if the president was so clear eyed about the risk, why wasn't the u.s. better prepared? >> i am president of the united states of america. and the buck stops with me >> reporter: president biden breaking his silence amid the chaos in kabul t

and richard engle's firsthand account of americans facing to get out. >>> breaking point, hospitals being pushed to the brink and running low on staff with covid cases rising fast. this morning, the new cry for help with some doctors now refusing to treat the unvaccinated and the breakthrough cases now gripping washington three senators testing positive. >>> tense standoff, a north carolina man now in custody after driving to capitol hill and making a bomb threat that led to hours of uncertainty. streets shut down, congressional offices evacuated. all while he went live on social media. >> looks to me like i'm getting ready to make a phone call >> coming up, the dramatic moment the suspect finally surrendered and what police discovered inside his truck. >>> those stories, plus host of issues the intense firestorm surrounding the new face of "jeopardy" over his selection and disparaging comments in his past as filming on a new season begins can the host, mike richards, survive? >>> and jaws of life, the dramatic rise in shark sightings up and down the east coast and why some say they're a

statements from the taliban against searing memory of who the taliban are and what they are capable of richard engle and his team are in kabul tonight with details. >> reporter: today we made it on to the military side of kabul airport. this is where the u.s. is carrying out its final withdrawal from afghanistan. the american flag still flies here this side of the airport has long been an american and nato base, and it's full. with extra troops brought in to protect the evacuation this has become effectively the last u.s. military base in afghanistan, the last presence of american troops in this country after 20 years they're only focused on one thing -- wrapping it up the evacuations are mainly bringing out americans and other foreign nationals. lo along with afghans who managed to get visas and are happy to be leaving. hundreds packed into one cargo jet. the biden administration promised to expedite visas for afghans who worked for the u.s. military become you ten of thousands are still waiting. i spoke to a group of afghans. they've all work on this base for over five years not one has a visa wha

richard engle is there tonight. >> reporter: at kabul international airport, time is running out. the u.s. and nato allies have just one week to pull out all their citizens and vulnerable afghans after the taliban today again insisted they'd accept no extensions beyond august 31st, or there would be consequences. the u.s. embassy apparently feeling the strain, issuing a final alert for american citizens to leave tonight or they'd be on their own. then recalling it 30 minutes later this is now an extremely busy airfield every few minutes new planes are coming in, and they're not just from the united states we have seen them from the uk, qatar, australia, civilian aircraft this is a truly global airlift. these satellite images show the huge crowds trying to leave the airport. but now, finally, the departures are going smoothly we watched a qatari air force plane boun air traffic from the runway but will the air lift need to fly out afghans but also themselves we just left kabul airport, and you go through the american checkpoint and then you're headed to what looks like another amer

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engle made his way to doha, qatar, grateful refugees are arriving at all hours there. richard, what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, it is not just a matter of throwing resources at this problem. the base in kabul, we came from that base, is somewhat overwhelmed. they're operating like an island and are surrounded by hostile territory. putting in more troops there helps secure the base. eventually those troops have to be pulled out. the problem is really one of coordination. if you imagine most of the country except for this base, nearly all of the country is controlled by the taliban. you have people in afghanistan who want to leave. they are spread ought all over the country. some have documents, some of them don't have documents. they're trying to figure out how to get to the airport. they're trying to figure out how to get to the airport with their families. again, vehicles are an issue. once they get there, they're just closing the vehicles, dropping the keys and getting on. sometimes they're waiting for -- they're walking the last few hundre

we want to get it started this morning with nbc's richard engle. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. the united states is wrapping up its longest war in history, the 20-year mission in afghanistan. but now the u.s. is withdrawing under fire, not from the taliban, but from isis. and u.s. military officials worry the extremists will continue to target americans or try to target americans until they leave. this morning, the planes in kabul are flying. but the evacuation that has already taken out more than 100,000 u.s. citizens, afghanistan contractors, and asylum seekers now has greater urgency and even more heightened security concerns that isis could try to shoot down a flight or carry out another attack. >> we believe it is their desire to continue those attacks and we expect those attacks to continue. and we're doing everything we can to be prepared for those attacks. >> reporter: in kabul, medical officials keep raising the death toll to at least 100 killed and dozens injured from two bombings, one at a crowded airp

we'll start in kabul with nbc's richard engle. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. a surprising admission from the taliban, one of their top leaders just telling today nbc news that even they were surprised that kabul fell so quickly, that they didn't have the resources in place to take the city but they took the city nonetheless. and here from this very base, the evacuation of americans and american contractors and foreign contractors is now moving along very quickly. we made it on to the military side of kabul airport. the last place in afghanistan where the american flag still flies. here is where the united states is overseeing an elaborate evacuation from the country. this has become effectively the last u.s. military base in afghanistan, the last presence of american troops in this country after 20 years. they're only focused on one thing, wrapping it up. the evacuation is mostly focused on air lifting americans and other foreign nationals. and afghans who managed to obtain visas and who are happy to l

we have two reports this morning from the white house and kabul we'll start in afghanistan with richard engle. once again, good morning >> reporter: good morning. the race is now on to get people out of this country. united states and other nations have already evacuated tens of thousands of afghans, the equivalent of a small city that is a massive logistical challenge. but there is another problem where to keep and house them all while their paperwork is verified and processed the clock is running out on america's longest war, the taliban stressing it's time for the u.s. to pack up and fly out. now what may be the biggest air lift in american history is in full swing, finally working with spectacular efficiency transport planes and civilian aircraft brought in from around the world. the loading, often done with care and compassion, but that doesn't always last once they land there's a huge and ugly bottleneck at transit hubs one of the main ones is at the u.s. base in doha, qatar thousands crowded in holding areas, temperatures well over a 100 degrees a day. qatari officials tell nbc news th

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engle is in doha, qatar, where some of the evacuees are arrivingchard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, tom the u.s. military and other countries are working extremely well, efficiently, and hard to get people off of that base. there are about 13,000 people on that base right now. the problem is at the gate there are lines that stretch for up to two miles in front of the gate there are even scammers asking people for $2,000 or $3,000 to get them to the front of the line with the promise that they can get them in. and then amid that mob, there was a sniper attack. no indication that it was the taliban that opened fire more likely it was an isis sniper, but it added to the chaos at the gate. the u.s. is steadily evacuating people from kabul airport. the desperate crowds pushing to get in, causing chaos. 20 people have been killed around the airport, most in mass shootings and stampedes. overnight, a clash outside as afghan guards exchanged fire with unidentified gunmen one guard was killed in the clash which involved american and german soldi

chief foreign correspondent richard engle has the latest from kabul. richard, what are you seeing? >> reporter: the evacuation flights are coming in frequently now. you can sense there's urgency about them. they land, they're only on the ground a few minutes before they take off again. it is clear the u.s. wants to wrap it up as quickly as possible. kabul airport this morning is back up and running, evacuation flights for u.s. embassy personnel and contractors in full swing. flights were stopped yesterday and tens of thousands of afghans stormed onto the runways desperate to leave, clinging onto aircraft, trying not to be left behind as the americans pull out. u.s. troops found themselves overwhelmed, as they tried to clear the airport, firing warning shots. the pentagon says american troops killed two armed afghans, some afghans were able to get out. on one flight so full, it may have set a record for the number of people can fit on an american c-17. afghans are running from the taliban now in full control, setting up check points with the weapons american taxpayers bought for the

richard engle is on the ground in kabul. mike memoli is near camp david. we're also joined by doug olivant. he is also a retired army lieutenant colenel in afghanistan. good to have all of you here on a very important day. richard we have to start with you on the ground. the situation still very much unfolding. what are you seeing right at this moment? >> so courtney just confirmed that the flights out of kabul are supposed to resume soon. we are very close to that airport. i have been watching it for the last several days. we have not seen those flights resume at the moment. but the operation that has allow it'd to reopen has been under way to clear the people off of the tarmacs. starting last night, about 24 hours ago. tens of thousands of afghans broke through the doors. they rushed through the security checkpoints, but the security at the airport already collapsed, and they burst right on to the run way and they started climbing into and on planes, getting into the baggage areas, and they were able to push their ways on to the military said of the airp

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engle is in doha, qatar, for us again this morning.ood morning. >> reporter: good morning, craig. this is victory day in kabul and across afghanistan. the taliban are flying their white flag. they believe that this is the start of a new era for the taliban running the country. but the collapse of a state in central asia, taken over by the taliban has consequences. it may be a relief to many americans, but it will have a tremendous impact on the lives of afghans, on the entire region, potentially on americans, as well. 20 years of war now come down to just two iconic photographs. one of the last american c-17s taking u.s. troops on the lonely trip out of afghanistan. and this photo released by the military of the last soldier to leave, major general chris donahue of the storied 82nd airborne division. >> i'm here so announce the completion of our withdrawal from afghanistan. >> reporter: just hours later, the taliban rolled into kabul airport, taking over the final piece of afghanistan to be held by foreign troops. they fired in celebra

nbc's richard engle has made his way back to kabul. he joins us live with the very latest. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, craig. as we all know when the afghan government collapsed, when u.s. troops pulled out, the taliban rolled into kabul. there was panic here, there was a scrambling, a mad rush to get to the airport and a rush to get out american citizens and people who worked with the united states. but also, many, many people in this country just started rushing and rushing to the airport, and we saw those violent and chaotic scenes. now, we're up against a deadline. president biden says he wants this done by august 31st. he may have to decide as early as today if he's going to extend that deadline. and just yesterday, nbc news has confirmed, "washington post" first reporting it, that the cia director was here on a secret mission in kabul, meeting with the taliban's top political leader. the clock is ticking at kabul international airport with the evacuations in high gear. the u.s. only has one week to get this done. the taliban saying if the

. >> richard engle in kabul today showed this photo with us of a visa processing office in chaos as afghanis scramble to fill out forms as a fear to stay in the country sets in. we learned this morning the u.s. will send an additional 1,000 to help with the security situation. that's in addition to the 5,000 president biden promised saturday. >>> meanwhile, the haiti, the death toll from the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked the region yesterday is now 724. nearly 3,000 people are reported as injured with the number expected to climb as rescue missions are under way to search for survivors trapped underneath the rubble. thousands of buildings collapsed. major roads remain blocked. the quake was more powerful than the one that hit the nation in 2010 that killed over 220,000. both the u.s. and the u.n. have committed to dispatching aid to the effected areas. we will keep you updated on all of this. rev? >> thank you, richard lui. we go first to nbc's ali arousi from joins us from iran. the u.s. embassy in kabul issued a statement just a short time ago stating that the security situation in

this morning, richard engle back on the ground in kabul with an inside look at the scramble for safety> pushing the needle with pfizer's shot now fully approved, president biden urges more americans to get cc

richard engle has the latest from doha, qatar, courtney kube at the pentagon also. what's the situation like on the ground? >> reporter: well, it is wrapping up. we are in the final stages of this. i expect we will hear some announcement in the coming hours or overnight, courtney may have more information on the timing of that. the last phase is secretive, sensitive. the military is not going to say there's one plane left, two planes left, we're almost out. i don't think we're going to hear until troops are out safely. but not everyone is getting out. there are many afghans that thought they qualified, want to get out, asylum seekers that haven't been able to get out. the situation has gotten significantly worse in the last several days, since last thursday's suicide bombing. it was always difficult to get onto that air base, to get onto the military side of the kabul airport. you had to push through crowds, push through the taliban. after that, suicide bombing, killed 200 afghans, 13 service members, most marines, got more difficult. the taliban who are partners, te

after one of biden's televised speeches, richard engle said this. >> you could also look at this as a tremendously humiliating moment of american humiliation, leaving, forced to leave on the taliban's clock and with the taliban's good graces. >> i think history will judge this moment as a very dark period for the united states. howie: it was a somber joe biden, hailing the brave service members who lost their lives and delivering a stern warning to terrorists. >> they were heroes. heroes who had been engaged in the dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others. we will not forgive. we will not forget. we will hunt you down and make you pay. howie: all week while most liberal and conservative media people have been tough on this president over the afghan disaster, some began praising the evacuation efforts as a way to defend biden. >> when you hear people talking about the evacuation from kabul compared to what. when has any country ever evacuated from a foreign war in a way that's been better than what we see now. >> the scenario has been fraught with humiliation. if it coul

is there anything to be believed in the protestations of taliban spokespeople to richard engle that they changed, will respect the rights of women at the same time they say under sharia law they interpret more extremely than any other islamist group in the world and also saying that women should stay home because their fighters have not been trained to respect them. >> first, let me make clear the moral tragedy of our country leaving behind so many afghanis who supported our efforts the past 20 years is nothing short of tragedy. it is a stain we both have to live with and try to recover from. with respect to the taliban and their pledges of security, i think whether it is risible, it should not be taken very seriously. i think that the taliban of today is different from two decades ago but do i think there will be light, will they allow a civic society to prosper, do i think they'll protect and honor individuals who served in the afghan national forces and police, absolutely not. i think those people are very much at risk. that does not answer the question of can we work with the taliban

we know richard engle was at a visa application center this morning tweeting that it was a mad scramble there at that center. people were even coming up to him and begging for help, begging to get out of the country. at this point, if you are an afghan resident and you don't have a special bracelet or some kind of special immigrant visa, are you able to get out at this point? >> no, it is a dire situation. it's a situation that's been dire for the past couple weeks and it's really gotten into this critical mass period right now. the best case scenario for some of these individuals is to try to get out of the country on their own and then work on their visa process. but that is not -- that is not easily done. if commercial flights are coming and going right now, which it's not clear whether they are, then the afghans need to have the ability to get on one. they need to have the means to pay for it, and they need to have a place they can go, and then they need to work on their visa process. so it is a very critical situation. now, the u.s. military has -- is flowing about 1,000 additional

a f few weeks ago richard engle was there. he was showing us it was abandoned but lots of stuff there, vehicles and things like that. you are telling us now thatin t taliban have that? >> that's right. it was turned over from the u.s. to the afghans several weeks ago.fg with it went vehicles, equipment, weapons. i mean, just -- on top of that, a sprawling infrastructure that theuc u.s. and nato allies had built over two decades there. that all went to the afghans several weeks ago and is now -- according to the two defense officials it is now in the hands of the taliban. critically, not just the location right outside of kabulo not just the equipment that's there. butt' there is a prison facilita large prison facility that is sort of f jart or colocated wit bagram right there that we are told, according to these defense officials, the taliban took the prison facility, and they have emptied it out. why that is so important here is because there are severale thousand -- the numbers vary but we know there are somewhere in the nei

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engle spoke to him in a television exclusive. richard is in doha, good morning. >> reporter: we just arrived from doha in kabul one of the main transit hubs. qatar has helped to evacuate about 40,000 afghans. now in kabul, the race is on with only a few days left. at kabul airport this morning, these may be among the last afghans getting out. the united states and partners from around the world are scrambling to take out thousands more afghans by tuesday. but soon the foreign troops will have to be evacuating themselves, too. so the window is closing for afghans to get on flights. and not everyone will make it. last night i spoke to the taliban's spokesman and senior official. he arrived with an armed entourage. he's been doing interviews by phone and hiding for years. this is one of this first-ever one-on-one face-to-face interviews. >> the united states is evacuating, and it is taking out americans who worked with u.s. forces, but not everyone is going to be able to make it out. will you let those people leave in the future? can

the civilian airport can open, but no idea when that could happen >> chief foreign correspondent richard engle in doe har thank you. >>> back to new orleans and get a full forecast from mr. roquer. hey, al. >> hey, guys let's give you an idea of what's going around the rest of the country. a lot of wet weather here in the east because we've got basically ida pushing up to the north, fire danger out west, severe storms in the northern plains. there's what's going on around the country. we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. rashida: i told you this would happen. dan: the light was not even on. no, it was on. dan: what? with the new citi custom cash℠ card it pays to be you. from fitness clubs, gas stations, restaurants and more, earn 5% cash back that automatically adjusts to your top eligible spend category, up to $500 spent each billing cycle. . >>> good monday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we're taking a live look at the golden gate bridge where you can see the fog over the coast and draped over the bridge right now. that's going to keep our temperatures co

. >> michael, nbc's richard engle who is on the ground in kabul tweeted today american troops and taliban working just yards apart at perimeter of kabul airport. at a quick glance, it is hard to tell them apart. similar uniforms, weapons, kevlar, eye protection. they're not pointing guns at each other, they're working to coordinate/secure entry to airport. it seems taliban doing what they can to speed up the u.s. withdrawal, get the americans out and stop the exodus from the airport. he's also reporting the situation on the ground seems to be calmer than before. are we watching american interests converge with the taliban's desire to have the u.s. exit? >> that's a great question. and i want to underscore i'm not an expert on the taliban. but think about two really important things here. the people that we are evacuating are the very people that the taliban doesn't want in their country. these are troublemakers from their point of view. women's activists, ngo leaders, they're glad to see them leave. number two, this deadline is artificial. i want everybody to understand. go back and read

when richard engle of nbc calls it the worst capitulation of western values ever, you know there is somethingre is something else. i think this story is far from over. it is not just the fact that they have evacuated and therefore the you know, it's a humiliating capitulation. no, we've got hundreds of americans that are left there and each one is going to become a story, the taliban will make sure. each one is a story. then, the government accountability office, i saw this number, i don't know if you saw this, stuart. they project that we have left thousands of trucks and humvees there, we have left 368,000 weapons in the hands of the taliban. you think they will put them in a garage or are they going to have some offensive capability now? this one is far from over. this problem for bide is far from over. many in the media will try but fail ultimately. stuart: you're right. the problem is, for president biden and his leadership. i just saw a banner on cnn. it was a cnn headline. it describes the messy retreat from afghanistan, that is their word, messy. but raising questions about biden's le

richard engle, nbc news, kabul. >>> let's go to the white house and bring in nbc nassau correspondentresident tell george stephanopoulos yesterday that americans would stay in afghanistan as long as it took to get every american out of that country, even if it means staying longer than the august 31st deadline. we did get an update of how many people have been evacuated by the united states us the far. how many is it? how far do we have to go here? >> according to white house in the most recent 24-hour period, they were able to get out 1,800 people that brings the total since august 14th to 6,000 people. they have been able to evacuate. so they're getting up to speed on now several thousand per day. that's still short of what president biden and other officials have spoken about in terms of being able to get out 5,000 people a day or even more possibly, 7,000 a day, president biden told george stephanopoulos. officials acknowledge this is really an hour-to-hour situation and their ability to be able to do this really rests on mr. they're going to get continued cooperation from the tal

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joining us, chief foreign correspondent richard engle from doha, qatar. good morning. coming hours this is the secret part of the mission. i think we're going to get an update later on that it is over, later today or tomorrow. the pentagon is not going to tell us there's one plane left or the last plane is leaving, i don't think we're going to hear an indication until it is wheels up and troops are out and safe. we're in the final stage of this right now. it has been a chaotic withdrawal. the u.s. is withdrawing after 20 years of afghanistan and it is leaving behind a government of the taliban. it is time to look at the success that the u.s. was able to get out over 100,000 people, enormously logistical challenge, many left behind, but what is the legacy? there are people saying was it worth it, was it worth anything, we're in the same place we started from. many we are speaking to say we are worse off than the beginning. within a few weeks of launching this war -- the u.s. is leaving with the taliban in power and the united states having been driven out. it is a treme

intelligence tell him, and when, about how fast afghanistan could fall our richard engle on the ground> also, u.s. health officials expected the make the case for covid booster shots eight months after the second dose for most americans. how soon they could go into arms. also, the governor of texas who banned mask mandates testing positive with a breakthrough case. and the covid crisis for children -- cases up 300% in a month we're on the front lines. >>> the death toll rising in the haiti earthquake survivors evacuated on choppers as flooding from tropical storm grace slows the response tropical depression fred on the move report of tornadoes. 20 million under flash flood watches from georgia to new york. >>> and celebrating one of the world's ultimate puzzle masters. >>> good evening tonight, the last vestiges of american military might in afghanistan restored control for more what is the only way out. troops are firmly in charge of the military side of the kabul airport where flights