months of saenz in ethiopia's tigray region have highlighted the growing ethnic kawhi divide, i a wakeld rival rills and produced new alines of scrimmages. earlier this week, he called all, in his words, all capable either yepians to join the army and stop the oj's rebels once and for all. the tigray's liberation front responded with joining forces with another rebel group to fight the government. it means the conflict is no longer contained in one region and there are growing fears it could lead to an all-out civil war. the government condemns this latest-esque lakes. >> no group can claim to be for the people while it was using or killing the people of the region for its individual political gains and no entity can claim to be for the people of tigray while it's also killing its own people. people were tortured, killed and displaced or disappeared. many banishing them as part of their organization so i don't believe that the youth of the region are in alignment to this as well because this is an alignment of two terrorist organizations. >> the military wing of the liberation front's

arlette saenz also. also with us, kylie atwood. sam, let me start with you first on the phone with us. it's been a week since the taliban took kabul. what your seeing and is the situation any less chaotic at the airport? what can you tell us? >> well, jim, i've only beenage to see the airport itself, not what is going on beyond it. clearly the reports of the 2,000 people pressed up against its walls possibly lower than in the past because there are so many thousands inside the airport itself. i'm not sure exactly what the figures are at the moment because they change constantly. sort of 8,000 or more at any one time. there are aircraft taking off on a regular basis. we've also seen nonmilitary aircraft coming and going. it's not clear whether or not they're evacuating civilians. but very large numbers of civilians are being evacuated in long queues. mostly on to c-17s from qatar, the united states and other countries, from hungary. they're going off to places as far flung as georgia, ramstein, the u.s. base in germany, qatar itself

let's bring in arlette saenz in washington. i -- i guess this is a worst-case scenario for president biden. he said he had contingency plans thursday. said we will hunt you down and make you pay. is there any indication how? what can he actually do about this attack? >> well, michael, president biden was pretty forceful in making that vow that the u.s. would retaliate against those responsible for this attack. but the question is when and how? now, the president said that he asked the military to draw up some options for how to respond, including possible strikes against isis-k assets and leadership. he said that they have an idea of who may have been responsible, specifically, for this attack. but they are still waiting for those final ascertainments as they are looking to retaliate for this incredible loss of life, which included 13 u.s. service members. the president and other military officials have, also, warned that another isis-k attack could be possible as they are evaluating further threats around the kabul airport. es

cnn's arlette saenz has more from the white house. >> reporter: president biden once again pledged toll americans out of afghanistan safely, and said the u.s. troops may need to remain in the country past the august 31st draw down deadline in order to make that happen. the president said discussions are underway with his team about the progress of evacuations, and he said he does hope they will be able to leave by august 31st, so it will be dependent on the status of americans who are in afghanistan. now, the president's remarks came as he addressed the country for the third time since kabul fell to the taliban. and while the president offered these assurances about evacuating americans and afghan allies safely and in a quick manner, he also said that there is still room for something to go wrong in this process. take a listen. >> there's no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss of heartbreaking images you see on television. it's just a fact. my heartaches for those people you see. we are proving we can move thousands of people a day out of kabul. we're bringing our c

arlette saenz at the white house. arlette, to you. what is the president doing with a situation that is so fluid this moment. >> reporter: it really is so fluid. and president biden is meeting to receive the latest update on afghanistan. as for the air strike, it's simply president biden making good on that promise to retaliate for that terror attack out of the kabul airport which killed at least 13 u.s. service members and dozens more afghans. we have very few details about what this air strike entails. around 9:30 last night, the first reports of that air strike came in, with central command, saying it was an over-the-horizon strike against an isis-k planner. it was also an unmanned strike suggesting it was done by drone. and the over-the-horizon point suggests it was done from out of the country. but really, this is just the latest step from the president as he is trying to identify and find those perpetrators of the attack and hold them responsible. and this all comes as there's a very precarious situation that the administration

cnn's arlette saenz is at the white house for us. what do we know about what will be set?set to speak around 4:00 p.m. from the roosevelt room where he'll discuss both the efforts to evacuate americans and american allies from afghanistan along with preparations for tropical storm henry. the president this morning met with his national security team here at the white house. in fact, we saw just a short while ago general milley and secretary of state antony blinken both departing from the white house. the president was receiving an update on where those evacuation efforts stand and the security situation at the kabul airport. the white house this morning gave some updated numbers for the amount of people who have been evacuated from afghanistan over the course of the past day. it's been about 7,800 people. half of those came out on u.s. military flights, while the other half left the country on coalition flights. the pentagon today is also mobilizing 18 commercial airliners to help transport these evacuees. these flights will not be going into hamid karzai airport. instead

cnn's arlette saenz. but what is he facing right now and when he returns to the white house? >> reporter: the challenges are certainly piling up on president biden's plate and this is a working weekend for the president in camp david. perhaps top of mind for him is the deteriorating security situation in afghanistan and to that end, we are told that the president received a briefing this morning on that situation in afghanistan. you can actually see in this photo released by the white house, a secure video conference with vice president harris, secretary of defense lloyd austin, national security adviser sullivan and other officials to talk about the drawdown of embassy personnel in afghanistan. the president already ordered 3,000 military members to go in to help with that drawdown and evacuation and are also talking about the processing of those special immigrant visas for countless afghans who helped the united states during this 20 year war. now through all of this, the president has remained steadfas

want to bring in arlette saenz.ou heard him say hurricane ida which is going to land tomorrow, category four, a very dangerous storm. he is getting briefed by fema on what's going on. this is very worrisome. what are you hearing there? >> well, the white house is putting emphasis on preparations for the storm as it is expected to make landfall at some point tomorrow. the president said this is going to be a very, very dangerous storm and he also drew parallels to hurricane katrina which hit new orleans and louisiana area 16 years ago this weekend. he said that serves as a stark reminder of need to be prepared, to be able to deploy as many resources as possible ahead of the storm. yesterday, the president approved prelandfall emergency declaration for louisiana. that opens up resources to the fema has already deployed employees and staff. you heard the president speaking to that as well as resources and supplies down to the state. that includes food and water, generators, as they're trying to ensure that the folks on

. >>> and arlette saenz is live in washington for us.ericans dead at the hands of terrorists based in afghanistan. it is just an awful, awful situation and this is a scenario that the white house did not want. but the president ended his speech yesterday, his defense of the evacuation, by saying that it was time to end a 20 year war. do they feel like they made their case? >> reporter: the president has repeatedly gone back to that argument that this was the time for the war in afghanistan to end and ultimately the white house and the president believe that americans will be on their side with that. but one question going forward is how americans will assess this drawdown, chaotic scenes that we've seen play out and the ultimate death of at least 13 u.s. service members and dozens more afghans in that terror attack by isis-k. now, the president has said that he bears responsibility for what has played out recently in afghanistan. but he also has pinned some blame on his predecessor former president trump saying that he was hamstrung by t

. >>> let's turn now to cnn's arlette saenz who has reaction from the white house. our natasha bertrand is covering the u.s. state department. lette, obviously this was the worst-case scenario for president biden. he's saying he will hunt down and make pay those who did this. is there any indication how? >> reporter: well, that's exactly what president biden is trying to work through at this moment as he's vowing retaliation for this terror attack at the kabul airport. now, the president when he was delivering remarks at the white house yesterday said that he has asked his military commanders to draw up options for how to respond to this, including possible strikes against isis-k assets and leadership. the president has said that they have an idea of who might have been responsible for this attack, but they are still working on that full ascertainment. this comes at a time when the president and top military officials have warned that another attack from that islamic state offshoot could be possible, possibly imminent as that august 31st deadline for a drawdown appr

arlette saenz is at the white house for us. the president is at camp david. we have this statement from the president in just the last hour or so, arlette. what more are you learning? >> reporter: jim, this is really the most robust statement we've gotten from president biden since the security situation in afghanistan has deteriorated. and the president explains how he has authorized the deployment of 5,000 american troops to afghanistan to help draw down and evacuate american civilians, and also help get those afghans who had helped the u.s. over the course of this 20-year war. now, just to clarify, the majority of those 5,000 troops were either already on their way or in afghanistan, but there is an additional 1,000 troops who are now being sent that way. now, in the statement the president also issues a warning to the taliban saying that they have warned them that there will be consequences if americans are put in danger. the president says that they warned the taliban through representatives saying that any action on their part on the ground in afghanist

let's turn now to arlette saenz in washington. in just a few hours the president and vice president will meet with their national security team. similar question to what we were tal talking about with nick, the attack obviously prevented a lot of afghans from making it to the airport. do you hear that it will impact the u.s. plans to have the drawdown complete by the 31st? >> reporter: president biden has really remained steadfast in that august 31 drawdown. in fact yesterday at the white house the president even argued that the threat of possible terror attacks is one of the reasons why that mission needs to continue on that time line. and you've heard the president and top military officials warn that another attack from isis-k may be possible especially as this mission to evacuate and drawdown from afghanistan quickly approaches. but president biden has also vowed to retaliate against those who perpetrated this attack. and insisted that these actions by those terrorists will not change the american plans. take a listen. >> we w

let's bring in arlette saenz live at the white house. what else stood out to you in the president's remarks? >> well, jim, president biden was trying to provide an update on those efforts to evacuate americans and afghan allies. and he said getting americans out of the country is of top priority to his administration. now the president said that there are operations and steps being taken at this moment that he cannot discuss for trying to get americans to the airport as quick and safely as possible. -- around the kabul airport to try to get more people in safe passage as they make their journey there. take a listen to a bit of what the president said as he explained the efforts under way. >> we have made a number of changes, including extending access around the airport and safe zone. and we've done a number of things. again, i don't want to get into detail about, but the fact is that more and more of the groups we urgently want to get out of afghanistan, starting with american citizens, and the folks who worked in the embassies and pers

cnn's arlette saenz has more from washington. >> reporter: president biden is increasing the u.s.-military presence in afghanistan, as he and top officials have watched the taliban seizing control of parts of the country with alarming speed. the president, on saturday, from camp david, announced he would send in an additional-1,000 american troops into afghanistan to help with, what he is describing, a safe and orderly drawdown. this would bring the total-u.s. presence on its way or in the country, already, to 5,000 as the president says they are trying to ensure the safety and evacuation, not just of american personnel but, also, afghan allies who had helped the u.s. military over the course of that decades-long war in afghanistan. now, the president, also, in a statement, said they've sent a warning to the taliban that any on-the-ground action, on their part, that would risk american lives would be met with a swift and strong-military response. now, president biden broke his silence on afghanistan. releasing that statement on saturday from camp david. he had not spoken on afghan

arlette saenz and natasha bertrand join me now. arlette, what else are we hearing from president biden? i understand he just put out a statement a few moments ago. >> reporter: he did, jim. really this is the most robust statement we've heard from president biden since he was asked about afghanistan on tuesday. in this statement, a paper statement, he announced that he has ordered an additional 5,000 american troops to afghanistan to help with the drawdown of personnel at the embassy and to also help evacuate those afghans who helped americans over the course of that 20-year war. in is in addition to the 3,000 members of the military that he has already deployed to afghanistan. and the president also issued a very strong defense of his decision to withdraw american troops from afghanistan by the end of the month. i want to read you a bit of what the president said. he said when i came to office, i inherited a deal cut by my predecessors in which he invited the taliban to discuss at camp david on the eve of 9/11, 2019, that left the

arlette saenz at the white house. thanks.threat involving the kabul airport comes as the u.s. races to meet that tuesday, august 31 deadline to get out of afghanistan. afghan citizens able to leave the country, they are arriving in the u.s. where they undergo thorough screening and vetting before and after they are allowed into the country. >> i want to get an update on the evacuations from this standpoint. live from an air base in germany. talk to us. we heard what the plan is. talk to us about the pace of the operation at this point with just 48 hours to go before we hit the deadline. >> reporter: yeah. i mean, the pace has been pretty incredible. for a while, the last few days you have been seeing planes coming in and out almost every hour or hour and a half. in fact, more than 20,000 evacuees have come through rthe air base. having said that, in the last 24 hours or so we've definitely seen a decrease in the number of flights arriving here and as was pointed out in the other report there, the numbers going out of kabul ai

arlette saenz, you're at the white house. the president, i take it, has been briefed by his national security team today. is that right? >> reporter: wolf, the president is currently in a meeting with his national security team to receive all of the latest updates on afghanistan. we saw the defense secretary, lloyd austin, as well as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general milley, and jake sullivan arriving a little before 11:00. that's when the meeting in the situation room with the president and vice president was set to start. and it was just yesterday that the president's national security advisers warned that another terror attack in af afghanistan was likely. you heard john kirby speaking specifically to that today, as he said that the threat there is still very real and very dynamic. another thing the white house, of course, is watching is these evacuations. earlier today, they provided the latest numbers on that, saying that 6,800 people were evacuated on u.s. and coalition flights over the last 24-hour per

cnn's arlette saenz is live at the white house with the latest here. and notable the president is not and he'll brief the country in the coming days but not today or this morning. what's the expectation? >> reporter: john, it's been nearly a week since president biden stood here at the white house and answered questions on afghanistan. it's still unknown just exactly how soon he might speak to the issue again. the president senior administration official told us that he does plan to address and speak to this in the coming days, but discussions are still under way about when and where exactly that will take place. the president is waking up once again in camp david where he is currently scheduled to remain until wednesday. there is no update yet on whether the president might be returning back to the white house early. but while he has been at camp david over the weekend, the president was receiving regular briefings from his national security team on this deteriorating situation in afghanistan. in fact, the white house released a photo just yesterday o

cnn's arlette saenz is at the white house for us.e president is likely to say? >> reporter: president biden is spending the afternoon monitoring both that storm and the situation in afghanistan. he is expected to speak in the roosevelt on both of those issues around 4:00 this afternoon. to start with, the tropical storm. the president today has approved additional emergency declarations for the states of connecticut and new york. he had approved one previously last night for rhode island. officials say he is constantly being briefed on the trajectory of this storm. yesterday he also spoke with governors from northeastern states to talk about the federal response as this storm was approaching. but also president biden's day is keeping tabs on the situation in afghanistan. he met this morning with his national security team to receive the latest security updates and updates on plans to evacuate americans and afghan allies. white house officials today have provided an updated number for the number of people evacuated from afghanistan ye

arlette saenz is live at the white house this morning. president biden saying that not one year, not five more years of u.s. military engagement in afghanistan would change the equation in that country. >> reporter: that's right, boris. president biden really standing firm on his decision. he announced earlier in the year to withdraw all american troops by august 31. president biden is currently in camp david, been there since friday, and we are waiting to hear from the white house whether there is additional reaction to the developments taking place in kabul overnight. but the president has been kept abreast of the developing situation in afghanistan. yesterday he convened a secure video call with top u.s. officials, including defense secretary lloyd austin and secretary of state antony blinken, and it was after that video conference that the president authorized the deployment much an additional 1,000 troops to afghanistan bringing the total who are expected to be there to 5,000 as they are trying to pursue what he has described as an o

mary pete saenz of laredo. nice to talk to you. best luck. hope you got the message across. >> anita: we are getting a glimpse of former president obama's big birthday bash in his martha's vineyard to stay this weekend. why the images are triggering outrage online. plus, chicago mourning the loss of one of its finest. >> john: the latest on that investigation and what leaders are saying the rise and gun violence across the country. that's all i had. >> they come to work, willing to run towards things. towards gunfire. and they are willing to sacrifice their lives. ♪ ♪ someone who resembles someone else... i appreciate that liberty mutual knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. [ nautical horn blows ] i mean just because you look like someone else doesn't mean you eat off the floor, or yell at the vacuum, or need flea medication. oh, yeah. that's the spot. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ subway has so much new, i couldn't fit it all in the last

. >> cnn's arlette saenz with the white house. nick paton walsh in afghanistan.e want to begin with arlette. we do know about the air strike, but what do we know about how it happened about the warning in kabul is likely? do they anticipate this other attack could also be from isis-k? >> reporter: well, this air strike ordered by president biden is just the latest sign that he is intent on finding and tracking down those perpetrators of that terrorist attack that killed 13 u.s. service members and dozens more afghans. now, the details regarding the strike are very limited. it was ordered by president biden, and a spokesperson for central command said it targeted an isis-k planner. it was conducted over the horizon and unmanned air strike. that suggests that it was done outside the country and it was done via a drone. we are still waiting to hear more details about the planning that went into this air strike. but it all comes as the president has been warned by his national security team that another terror threat in kabul, around kabul, is likely, in the waning d

a arlette saenz is at the white house. does the white house have answers for what's happening there? what's their explanation? are they taking responsibility? what are you hearing? >> reporter: the white house has said that president biden will speak to the nation soon but discussions are still under way about where, how and when exactly that will take place. president biden remains up in camp david. he is currently scheduled to return from camp david on wednesday. it's unclear whether he might come a bit sooner than that. so far, the rounds of defense and explanation have all been coming down to top officials at the white house, who have continued to defend the pres president's decision to overall withdraw american military presence from afghanistan while also acknowledging that they miscalculated the speed to which the situation was deteriorating in the country. take a listen to national security adviser jake sullivan, talking a bit earlier today. >> what the president kept saying over and over again was that it was not

claire saenz and her dog beanie, it is a mutt who lives in michigan and loves snuggling his hedgehog.k. she has a scary ground when she is outside but is a sweetheart she is missing her two front teeth. who is a good girl? thanks for watching the best hour of your day. make every day eight (announcer) the following is a paid advertisement for time life's music collection. (upbeat music) it was an era filled with 8-track tapes, transistor radios, bell-bottom pants, miniskirts, smiley-face pins, and great music on the radio. it was a time of pure am gold. ♪ good love ♪ ♪ good love ♪ ♪ good love ♪ ♪ why do you build me up ♪ -♪ build me up ♪ -♪ buttercup, baby ♪ -♪ just to let me down ♪ -♪ let me down ♪ ♪ downtown ♪

arlette saenz, cnn, the white house. >> from inside afghanistan, tracking the events from london, arlette says the situation more and more dire, particularly this breaking news that jalalabad has fallen. >> reporter: the momentum of the taliban is such that they are winning without fighting. that has been the case for at least 36 hours. their biggest military successes of the last day and a half have come without protracted battles, which in some respects is a good thing, in other respects means the security forces are folding and abandoning ground to the insurgency. if you think of mazar-e-sharif, the biggest city in the north, where the insurgency is traditionally not popular and there is resistance to the taliban, the security forces fled to nearby uzbekistan. if you think of jalalabad, set you mentioned, an hour and a half's drive away from the capital, kabul, that city was surrendered without resistance. there have been more. there are also reports, chatter of other provinces that have not yet fallen but may do so before long. whether or not there will be more resistance offered by t

arlette saenz joins us. tell us more about what the president is doing this weekend.was supposed to be in wilmington. instead, he is at the white house getting breeflgs on the storms and what is going on in afghanistan. >> reporter: that's right, boris and christi. president biden canceled his weekend trip to wilmington, delaware, and instead remains at the white house where he is monitoring hurricane henri and that developing situation in afghanistan. now, an official tells me the president will be briefed throughout the day on hurricane henri and the storm's trajectory, but he already started preparations on saturday. the president held a phone call with governors from northeastern states and joining him in that call in the oval office was the fema administrator, deane chriswell, where she outlined the steps fema has been taking heading into the storm, including deploying about 700 response personnel and also providing supplies to the regional like generators and food and tarps. and overnight president biden approved an emergency declaration for the state of rhode i

. >> cnn's arlette saenz live from the white house right now. seems like -- there are competing words this that statement. help us understand what the white house is saying now and what plan might be in place moving forward. >> well, president biden is spending the weekend, he is in camp david, and we are waiting to hear from the white house what the latest reaction is to these developments relating to kabul overnight. the president has been kept abreast of this developing situation in afghanistan. just yesterday he convened a secure video conference call with top u.s. officials, including the secretary of state, lloyd austin -- or tony blinken and the secretary of defense lloyd austin and it was after that flens call that the president really released this robust statement on afghanistan breaking his silence after not speaking about it since tuesday, and in that statement the president said that he was authorizing an additional 1,000 american troops to head to kabul to help with the drawdown of u.s. personnel and also to help evacuate those afg

arlette saenz joins me from the white house with more. what did biden mean by further retaliation? >> reporter: manu, biden has decided to respond in a time of place of their choosing but has not given any further details about what further retaliatory action might look like. that air strike that took out two isis-k targets was done with over-the-horizon capabilities. and it was an unmanned strike. that's a jet. it was done, originated from outside of afghanistan. that is something that pentagon officials yesterday said is that they would continue to maintain that over-the-horizon capability even as american military troops withdraw from this country. but this all comes at a very precarious and delicate stage in the situation in afghanistan. the president was warned by his military advisers that there was likely going to be another attack in in the 24 to 36 hours as of yesterday. he has ordered his commanders on the ground to go ahead and go toward maximum force protection and ensure that those military people on the ground have the resources needed to protect themselves at the air

claire saenz and her dog beanie, it is a mutt who lives in michigan and loves snuggling his hedgehog.y, hello boys. lastly lou not to not sent in by patrick. she has a scary ground when she is outside but is a sweetheart she is missing her two front teeth. who is a good girl? thanks for watching the best hour of your day. make every day eight tran 12. follow me on kennedy nation good night. >> chaos raining in afghanistan for the window for americans and our allies to escape is rapidly closing. president biden said he sticking to his august 31 deadline. we will talk in just a moment's. plus a very specific threat stream growing concerns of u.s. officials about isis k outside the kabul airport. congresswomaney sounds off this hour. and crisis beyond the border. the arizona ag warning of a potential

cnn's arlette saenz is joining us from the white house where both these situations are obviously beingt is being done now to prepare the federal government, the biden administration, for this very, very dangerous storm? >> reporter: well, the preparations are under way here at the white house as the administration is anticipating embracing for the impact of this hurricane, which could make landfall tomorrow. the president yet held a phone call with the governors of mississippi, louisiana, and alabama, to talk about the federal preparations as well as the state preparations that are under way. fema has already started deploying staff down to the region as well as resources, such as meals and tarps and generators, as they want to make sure that these states have the resources they need to come pat t -- combat the storm. the president last night approved an emergency declaration for the state of louisiana, which opens up more federal resources as they prepare for this hurricane. >> arlette, overnight, we also learned that the united states military conducted an air strike against an isis-