and you, the state department says that's key to securing ukraine's democratic institutions . it's economic prosperity in euro atlantic future every year. the same message from the us from europe, year after year. why are you not doing better on this front? well, 1st we're doing it for ourselves. not for the sake of support. when you're not doing it, you're doing, you're not doing it until you're not getting to grips with well, you on your, your, your, your, your, your either misinformed or exaggerating. it was under the president of the under the president zelinski, the anti corruption court finally started functioning the ukraine and it was a very long battle to set up the court and make it operational. unfortunately, the previous president did not allow that to happen. president zalinski did, and he does not interfere in the operations of the court when the constitutional court of ukraine and other by the judicial system, tries to destroy an anti corruption reform. it was the president who stepped in immediately. and then if he was followed by the government and the parliam

if you look at the state department, human rights report, the latest one. what, what is the, what's damaging western confidence in you is this continue drumbeat of human rights abuses that are reported in your country as pointed out in the latest human rights report from washington. the concerned that's highlighted is not just the abuse, but with a corruption. the abuse or torture that's carried out by state employees in your security service, that's bad enough, but the impunity that surrounds them. the fact they can violate the, or with a pretty strong assurance that they'll get away with it. are you happy about that? when it comes to human rights abuses, insecurity institutions, you know, this is something that is not says neither systemic nor large scale. and unfortunately, to my deepest regrets present not only in ukraine, but also in other countries of europe. we follow recommendations of the european committee against torture on that, and we enjoy excellent cooperation with them. otherwise, i do not understand what kind of systemic violations of human

and that's a serious concern for the state department. the non-reviewability has been carefully protected and there are reasons for that to stay in place. so, those are some of the challenges. deciding who will actually be evacuated, which family members are going to be able to accompany the principal applicants, getting the word out into far long -- along -- flung areas of afghanistan, all of these are special challenges. and the white house is talking about moving people by the end of this month. so, i expect that others working on this are getting very little sleep because it is a huge, hugh challenge. but i do know that the white house is committed to helping folks who have helped us and i can tell you the people involved from a consular and visa perspective also share that commitment. and one last thing is that certainly the state department is going to be asked to put additional officers onto this task. consular affairs is fee-funded. and unfortunately during the pandemic, especially with the halt in visa operations, revenues for co

that is a serious concern of the state did in the department. the vulnerability has been carefully protected by the department. there are important reasons for this remain in place so those are some of the challenges. in deciding it is actually going to be evacuated, which family members are going to be able to accompany the applicants as people mentioned here in getting the word out into areas of the afghans and all of these are special challenges. in the white house is talking about moving people by the end of this month so i suspect that ambassador jacobson others are working on this argue because they are challenging. the white house is committed to helping those who that it helped us and i can tell you that as i said at the beginning, the people involved from the counselor perspective also share that commitment. the last thing is that certainly the state department is asked to put additional consular officers under this task. counselor affairs is defunded. and unfortunately during the pandemic, especially with the halt in visa operations, r

he also just made lgbtq history at the state department and joins us after the break. break this may look like a regular movie night. but if you're a kid with diabetes, it's more. it's the simple act of enjoying time with friends, knowing you understand your glucose levels. ♪♪ this is cynthia suarez, cfo of go-go foodco., an online food delivery service. business was steady, until... gogo-foodco. go check it out. whaatt?! overnight, users tripled. which meant hiring 20 new employees and buying 20 new laptops. so she used her american express business card, which gives her more membership rewards points on her business purchases. somebody ordered some laptops? cynthia suarez. cfo. mvp. get the card built for business. by american express. there's interest you accrue, and interests you pursue. plans for the long term, and plans for a long weekend. assets you allocate, and ones you hold tight. at thrivent, we believe money is a tool, not a goal. and with the right guidance, you can get the financial clarity you need, and live a life rich in meaning, and gratitude. to lear

ned price, the first ever outgay state department spokesperson. and at the end of the hour, we'll meet reggie greer, the senior adviser on lgbtq issues in the white house. this is what it means to be seen and heard. biden appointees have tremendous influence over the direction of the administration, so it's essential that lgbtq voices are at the table. allies are invaluable. but the impact of policies on lgbtq lives is best understood by those within the community, and these officials work on more than what we might consider traditional lgbtq issues. they're in health care, the epa and the small business administration. lgbtq people are at almost every table because we're impacted by every policy decision this white house makes. so let's get started. in 2019, pete buttigieg was the first outgay candidate to run for a democratic presidential nomination. he eventually became the first openly gay person of any party to earn a delegate and win. now he's the first out gay person to be confirmed by the senate to a cabinet level position. quite a change

so they just from the state department, while they're still continuing their regular briefing, we have had from the state department talking about what's going on in afghanistan and really nothing and whitening from them. they continue to part of the lines essentially, that they are committed to the afghan government. we've also had from the pentagon in the last hour saying that the decision to pillow to buy graham was passed to the afghan authorities if it was not sent down the line to local commanders. that isn't really something that the us can do anything about. we have also had from the state department saying that they are going to continue to keep troops in the country. and we know that that's going to be somewhere between 652002 protect the compound there at the american embassy and also the international airport. but the also reiterated that they are constantly reviewing security. should the taliban make such swift gains? that cabal falls to them. they are talking about negotiated settlement, but certainly what we've had from joe biden, over the last week or so from the state

and that is, that's a serious concern for the state department.the non review ability has been carefully protected by the department. there are important reasons for that to remain in place. so those are some of the challenges. deciding who is actually going to be evacuated, which family members are going to be able to accompany the principal acts like guns, as people have mentioned here, getting the word out into farflung areas of afghanistan, all of these are special challenges, and the white house is talking about moving people by the end of this month so i suspect that ambassador jacobson, our bus drivers, and others working on this, are getting very little sleep. because it is a huge, huge challenge. but i do know that the white house is committed to helping those that have helped us and i can tell you, as i said at the beginning, the people involved from the consular perspective, from the visas perspective, also share that commitment and one last thing is that certainly the state department is going to be asked to surge, to put additional co

the state department is to charter commercial as opposed to using military aircraft. with respect to leadership, the former head of the national counterterrorism center is coordinating the interagency policy process. location destinations are still in flux but ambassador tracy jacobson is leading the state department ordination unit, lending credence to the earlier report that central asian companies maybe one of the destinations. with respect to actual investigations, we do not know how many of the pipeline and how many thousands of family lives will be saved by commission or where they will go. we are also deeply concerned about how people outside of kabul you can access. we are seeing reports that the additional number of afghans who may be evacuated and other reports stating the administration would not publicly release information on destinations. we have also seen varying reports about locations of activations, whether some would be brought to the united states or other territories. on july, it was a leak from the white house indicating they were considering thr

state department has banned former honduran right-wing president porfirio lobo and his immediate familym traveling to the united states. lobo is accused of corruption and accepting bribes from drug traffickers. he rose to power in 2009 in a contested election that took place after a u.s.-backed military coup overthrew honduras' democratically elected leftist government that same year. lobo was asked by the obama administration. -- backed by the obama administration. french president emmanuel macron has been identified as a potential surveillance target for morocco in the major data leak of israeli company nso and its pegasus spyware. 14 world leaders, including south african president cyril ramaphosa and pakistani prime minister imran khan, appeared in the list of 50,000 phone numbers that were people of interest for nso clients since 2016. the world's richest man completed a 10-minute suborbital flight aboard his blue origin spacecraft tuesday. jeff bezos spoke at a news conference after his crew landed. >> i want to thank every amazon employee and every amazon customer, because you gu

if you look at the state department, human rights report, the latest one. what, what's clear is that what's damaging western confidence in you is this continue drumbeat of human rights abuses that are reported in your country. as pointed out in the latest human rights report from washington. the concerned that's highlighted is not just the abuse that corruption, the abuse or torture that's carried out by state employees and you know, security service that's bad enough, but the impunity that surrounds them. the fact they can violate the, or with a pretty strong assurance that they'll get away with it. are you happy about that? when it comes to human rights abuses, insecurity institutions, you know, this is something that is not says neither systemic nor large scale. and unfortunately, to my deepest regrets present not only in ukraine but also in other countries of europe. we follow recommendations of the european committee against torture on that and we enjoy excellent cooperation with them. otherwise, i do not understand what kind of systemic violations of

i've seen some lower level officials at the state department have been quoted talking about turkish sovereignty. can you affirm the united states rejects the notion of two states? >> absolutely. as i said in my statement, we think only this process by communal will bring peace and stability. >> are week working to ensure there would be a un resolution on this? >> we are and we have consultations yesterday in the run and they will continue until we have the product. >> is turkey establishing are drunk based? >> are not personally unaware about but i will take it to look at. >> my information is that they are and the question if they are, what are the implications of such a move from a part of the european union and others in the region like israel and egypt? >> would obviously be destabilizing. >> we are agreed. over the past year turkey violated week airspace and acted aggressively the exclusive economic zone. this has been happening in two eu member states. plaster muscles considered sanctions that are responsive to this behavior but ultimately decided against strong measures. are you familiar

the state department is to charter commercial aircraft as opposed to using military aircraft. with respect to leadership, russ travers the deputy homeland security adviser and former head of the national counterterrorism center is coordinating the interagency policy process. while location destinations are still in flux, but ambassador tracy jacobson is leading the state department coordination unit, lending credence to the earlier reports that central asian countries may be one of the destinations. with respect to actual evacuations, we do not know -- selected how many of the 18,000 siv applicants in the pipeline and their more than 50,000 family members will be saved through evacuation and where they will go. we are also deeply concerned about how people who are outside of kabul would even access the evacuation. we're seeing various reports about the potential initial tranche of 2,500 afghans who may be evacuated to u.s. military installations and other reports stating that the administration would not publicly release information on destinations or numbers of afghans. so a

the state department says they are i state departments a? e us has recognised him in that position. there is a fair amount of concern here about whether or not he should be the head of state in the interim until elections are called but it's just part of the overall chaos that this assassination has thrown haiti into. . .,, , this assassination has thrown haiti into. . , ., this assassination has thrown haiti into-— jason - into. chaos is the word. jason beaubien. _ into. chaos is the word. jason beaubien, thank _ into. chaos is the word. jason beaubien, thank you. - into. chaos is the word. jason beaubien, thank you. you're. into. chaos is the word. jason - beaubien, thank you. you're welcome. thousands of foreign children are facing a lifetime of imprisonment in camps and jails in?syria with little hope of being released. a bbc investigation has found that the children, whose parents supported the islamic state group, are being moved?from desert camps?to secure children's homes and onto adult prisons in a conveyor belt of incarceration. the

scammers forced the state department to shutdown online booking for urgent appointments.meg oliver has the details. >> reporter: tonight long lines at u.s. passport offices at travelers rush to get passports as the state department temporarily shut down the agency's emergency appointment booking site. >> this is my one and only chance. my flight is in two days. >> reporter: the state department says third party actors are using bots to book all available online appointments. some are selling them for as high as $3,000 to applicants with urgent travel needs. >> i am freaking out. >> reporter: kelsey and heston renken applied for passports in may, but only one has arrived. their nonrefundable flight to mexico leaves in two weeks. >> i call every day to try to get an answer and get the same run around that, oh, we can only push it a week before your travel. a week before your travel is kind of cutting it very close. >> reporter: in the last two years the couple suffered the heartbreaking loss of a still born and two miscarriages. >> we just need to get a break, get a mental

i came into the state department in early 2019.lab exactly the way that they have always behaved and the way that we should expect them to behave. as jamie pointed out, they kicked these french scientists, researchers out. they were there to ensure that it was a level 4 biosafety lab. they were there to ensure the design, the the technical buildout and the chinese basically said nope, we are not allowing any foreigners in, no scientists. this, by the way, continued into the trump administration where you saw the nih funded this lab. there were u.s. aid grants that went to third parties. >> tammy: morgan, wouldn't it be fair to say that the bureaucracy that was handling all of this simply continued rolling on eryp until the pandemic? >> well, one of the things that we did, tammy, under mike pompeo at the state department is we started taking a very, very critical look at every activity that we were engaged with the chinese communist party. and the scientific parts of our government should have been doing that as well knowing their b

the state department or the u.s. government. reporter: high-ranking officials. jen: let me get you more information after the briefing. our special guest -- where are you from? have you been here before? >> i haven't. jen: welcome! ok. [laughter] reporter: thank you my question . my questionit's about vaccination rates in rural counties. we are seeing a significant rise in covid cases. are there specific plans to the administration has to increase vaccination rates in rural counties people don't have where any intention of getting the vaccine? jen: we have talked about this a little bit, but what we are doing in rural communities is employing a number of the tactics that we have seen work around the country. so we know access is a huge issue in rural communities because people may not live near a pharmacy. they may not know where to get a vaccine. we certainly understand that. part of what we are trying to do is deploy and make sure we are expediting our deployment of mobile vaccine units to bring the vaccine to where people are and where they live to make it as

do you think the state department really needs to step it up?especially if they're having shortage in staff? >> yeah. i absolutely agree. i mean, we know this moment was going to come. it's -- it is difficult. we need to understand this is a once every 100-year pandemic. but we've got to get some answers, too. we've got to learn from this experience. i think we -- the administration is being responsive. they're trying the best they can. we need to find out what happened. >> well, anecdotely i know the local congressman and women have been helpful to many of the constituents who have been needing a passport and getting them for them. so appreciate your time and your efforts, congressman. thank you very much. >>> and you can -- >> thank you so much. >> sure thing. >> you can see much more of my colleague frederica whitfield's interview with jon ossoff next hour. we'll be right back. (sounds of car doors closing) (screaming & laughter) ♪ ♪ (sounds of car doors closing) (crash sound & tires squealing) (phone chimes) this is onstar. we've detected a

this is the state department spokesperson. >> it is not just the government in afghanistan. not just the united states. not just the international community that recognizes that there is no military solution to this conflict. the fact that the taliban continues to engage in delhi, engage in dialogue is itself most likely a reflection of the fact that the taliban understands that only through diplomacy can they garner any sort of legitimacy. anchor: are you getting any sense that this is not going according to plan? reporter: we are not getting that sense. in fact, the pentagon spokesperson was pressed on this point during his briefing. he said the afghans knew when we were going to be leaving, new we return control of the airbase, they knew this was coming. we gave them multiple tours to show them how to run the base once u.s. forces leave. there is a bit of defensiveness, but there is also a resolve that the u.s. military is leaving afghanistan in large part because trying to prosecute a war after nearly 20 years is not making a difference, and it is time for the afghan gove

the state state department correspondent rich edson shows us. >> the state department argues it's a showcase republicans call it grabbling, insane and some kind of comedy skit. >> it's stupid. before you get to the human rights record in the u.s. rank them in order of problematic. there is 199 other places we would have to deal with first. this week secretary of state tony blinken invited envoys to the united states to examine racism and human rights. the white house is this should invite united nations to examine their own record. >> acknowledge it improve it and push and lift up and shine a light on other countries that need to do better. that is the role we are playing here from the united states. >> state department invitation follow as report last month from the u.n. high commissioner for human rights. it crites george floyd's murder and the protest that fossilled in detailing worldwide police brutality against those of african dissent. in criticizing the announcement republicans note who is looking at the united states. >> i'm so sick and tired of the left thinking that everything they

we have a point person in the white house and at the state department led task force coordinating all these efforts. but our message to those women and men is clear. there is a home for you in the united states, if you so choose. and we will stand with you, just as you stood with us. >> there is a home for you in the united states, if you so choose. we will stand with you, just as you stood with us. american veterans of the war in afghanistan have been reacting all day and pressing on this issue because obviously the time sensitivity of it. american veterans and advocates on this issue have been pressing, wanting more details on how this is going to work, how fast it's going to work. i will tell you, there was a state-department briefing after the president's speech today that was a bit of a bloodbath with reporters really aggressively demanding to know what this means, how exactly the afghan translators who helped u.s. troops are supposed to get out and when and where they're going to and who is going to be running it. but the commitment from the president is there on the record. the

i have seen some low-level officials at the state department have been quoted talking about turkish sovereignty. can you affirm the united states has rejected the notion of the two states? >> absolutely. as i said in my statement, we think only a process by communal well-being peace and stability. >> are we working to ensure there will be a resolution? >> we are and we had consultations yesterday and those will continue until we have a product. >> is turkey establishing a in cyprus? >> i am not aware of that but i will take it to look at. >> the question if they are what are the implications of such a move which is part of the european union but others in the region like israel and egypt for example? >> we need stabilizing so let me take that. >> we are agreed. over the past year turkey has airspace in the exclusive economic zone. this hasec been happening in two of the member states. last year brussels considered sanctions in response to this behavior but ultimately decided against strong measures. are you familiar with what role they played in the european sanctions? >> i'm not familiar with

how did it take a year to get to our desk at the state department ? it got to your desk at the same time that got to us for your intelligence briefings. it reminded me of a senior being a senior official at state before and after 9 11. we should put this tour the top of the bottom. dr. mueller will tell you it is probably more probable we will have a vital war -- bio war, versus a nuclear war. it is pretty cheap and pretty effective. i am more worried now, not just about china but about every , terrorist crackpot that i've dealt with in the world over the last 30 years coming out of the shadows and trying to get a hold of u.s technology to program these things on bioreactors on a desktop. >> i spent much of my career in biological warfare defense both at darpa and at ditra at the threat reduction advisory committee and i want to just emphasize that i agree with everything dr. asher said. export patrols -- export controls. i do want to raise another dirty little secret that really needs to be looked at by congress and that those export controls should a

it was preventing people from making legitimate appointments the state department does not charge a feee and call. >> look at that passport exprachlths don't mike a plan, thank you, valerie. >>> the nfl threw out a few more inventives to get a vaccine. failure to do so will cost teams on and off the field >>> thequest for gold set to begin. but two of americas top teams are facing pressure after some surprising losses. calls for concern? c sports jimmy roberts with us live from tokyo next what happens when you make power your thing... above everything? you decide fast... is never fast enough. you put muscle over matter. and you make horsepower... a superpower. ♪ welcome to the brotherhood of muscle. ♪ all by yourself.♪ - oh. - what? rain. cancel and stay? done. go with us and get millions of felixble booking options. expedia. it matters who you travel with. here are the two battling to the line expedia. 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... fi

>> what i say to the state department is this, this is clearly a breakdown.onsular services, passport services that are timely and effective, even in the midst of a crisis. if the state department now a year and a half into the pandemic hasn't developed the procedures to adapt to covid-19 to make sure american citizens about to embark on international travel or may be abroad, needing assistance, can't get help, then there need to be reforms at the state department. >> what's at the root of the problem. what explains the delay? >> looks to me like failure to adapt to circumstances. there were changes made to procedures at the passport offices in response to covid-19, that's fine, it was necessary from public health response to protect folks that go to the passport office and protect those that work at the passport office. we are a year into the paenndem, it is a vital service we provide to citizens, state department needs to take action to reduce delays, make sure americans can access services. >> in the interview with senator ossoff, we talked about the covid

the state department must have enough workers to meet the demand. >> so today we are calling on the state department. to put more to put some more emergency personnel in those 2 areas passports and visas so people won't have to wait months and be on tenterhooks that they might not be able to go away to their long planned wedding or honeymoon. >> schumer says new york will help in any way possible even providing extra funding. if necessary. >> going home instead of going for goal. the olympians now sitting out the tokyo games ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ monitor, check and lock down you money with security from chase. control feels good. chase. make more of what's yours. >> hey, i got a live look at downtown tokyo all eyes will be there coming up in a few days. we are just days away from the opening ceremonies of the olympics but questions remain about how covid-19 could be impacting the games a number of have been forced to stay home after testing positive for the virus for sports reporter kylen mills joins us now with the latest developments over the last 24 hours. can you imagine training for 4 years ma

blinken is briefed on this and will be in contact with those folks but we should note that the state departmentady for any requests from haiti for additional asisz tans and really what we are waiting to see. what kind of assistance do the authorities need from the united states? they have -- down they should airport. of course, trying to close down any possible way for these attackers to get out of the country. the airport would be one way. and that is also making it challenging forrist officials to get into the country but there are folks there at the embassy regular contact with the state department updating them. this is a very fluid situation. >> okay. kylie and jessica, thank you. >>> the haitian ambassador to the u.s. will join cnn next hour. >>> in spain hundreds waving flags after a gay man was beaten to death over the weekend at a club. friends and family said he was targeted for being gay. >> reporter: the calls for justice get louder. madrid to barcelona and beyond. spaniards are enraged. >> translator: this country doesn't really accept that there are many ways to love and different

it was preventing people from making legitimate appointments the state department does not charge a fees to get on the phone and call. >> look at that passport exprachlths don't mike a plan, thank you, valerie. >>> the nfl threw out a few more inventives to get a vaccine. failure to do so will cost teams on and off the field >>> thequest for gold set to begin. but two of americas top teams are facing pressure after some surprising losses. calls for concern? nb one, two! one, two, three! only pay for what you need! with customized car insurance from liberty mutual! nothing rhymes with liberty mutual. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ team usa is ready for the olympic games... ...and so are mike and eddie! show me the olympics. they easily catch every single event with the award-winning xfinity voice remote. show me bmx racing! show me swimming. track and field. shot put. skateboarding. water polo. climbing! discus. surfing. dressage. dressage? it's horse dancing. magnificent. with the best of the olympics, and everything else you love, it's a way better

and you, the state department says that's key to securing ukraine's democratic institutions . it's economic prosperity in euro atlantic future every year. the same message from the us from europe, year after year. why are you not doing better on this front? well, 1st we're doing it for ourselves, not for the sake of support, but you're not doing it. you're doing, you're not doing it until you're not getting to grips with well, you on your, your, your, your, your, your either misinformed or exaggerating. it was under the president of the under the president zelinski. the anti corruption court finally started functioning the ukraine, and it was a very long battle to set up the court and make it operational. unfortunately, the previous president did not allow that to happen. president lensky did, and he does not interfere in the operations of the court when the constitutional court of ukraine and other by the judicial system, tries to destroy an anti corruption reform. it was the president who stepped in immediately. and then if he was followed by the government and the parliamen

by the way, the state department lawyers did not like it either. this was not a new idea that i was professing. i relied on god when i was a fifth-grade sunday school teacher, too and it served me pretty well. perfect practice for being part of a complex organization. [laughter] yes. fifth-grade sunday school international diplomacy and what they have in common, it would be a long set of remarks. and love this quote from lincoln. he said, "i had been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that i had literally nowhere else to go ." the work of the organization that you are here to support today around the country, strengthens families. this organization is indispensable in that cause. i want to thank bob for his efforts to build that out. as we stare at the problem set we all are aware of today, we see on television, the breakdown of the american family is at the core of most of them. it is why the left attacks it, why the left wants to undermine the family unit upon which this nation was built. and you're all here because th

we are in touch at a senior level from the white house and state department with cds in theaters to learne about the situation and effort to move forward with democratic principles. as you know and as you asked about, there's not a lot of department even the last 24 hours legal determination about a two, it's a legal determination and we will look at the state department to conduct a legal analysis before making that determination. >> i just want to ask about the embassy in tunis which handles a lot of business for the region including libya, any change as far as operations there? >> i've not been made aware of changes but that's a decision made by the state department based on their diplomatic security and advice on the ground. >> on a different issue, people talk about covered and some of the impacts of the search we are seeing, there might be economic impacts we've seen -- [inaudible] [inaudible question] [inaudible question] >> i think an important piece to note, the way the american rescue plan was designed was for it to have lasting effects that would go over a series of several mon

why can't the state department.y it clearly this is about freedom. say it. brian: because this is the about the castros they recognize the castro regime even though one is dead and one is retired and be dead soon hopefully. they don't seem to even want to touch this policy. trump got out of that let's just forget they are communist and let's be friends policy. keep in mind, as marco rubio tweeted out expecting the internet to go down. expect the crackdown to start it would be good to know there could be ramifications if they did this. plus, china's presence is there as well ass russian presence is there cuba is all over venezuela and they are propping up that government this could be a chance to really pull out of a plantar's wart in the caribbean. ainsley: bernie sanders is getting slammed for staying silent on this. remember last year when anderson cooper was interviewing him he praised fidel castro the dictator saying he educated our kids gavenned and gave them healthcare and transformed the politic race program.

the state department announced earlier today at seven officials who were sanctioned for their actions threatening the peace, stability, and autonomy of hong kong. on transparency, the u.s. government issued a business advisory for hong kong which is intended to inform businesses and highlight the growing risk for those operating in hong kong. the bottom line is that businesses should be aware that the risks in mainland china are increasingly present in hong kong and that the president sent last month we will not waver in our support for hong kong and stand up for basic freedoms. as businesses are making decisions, we want them to be aware of the use of accessing of data inappropriately and the restriction of information and they should be aware of that happening in hong kong as well as mainland china. >> i don't have an update on travel. we continue to explore opportunities to engage with p.r.c. officials. we have been clear we would engage in conversations when there is opportunity for them to be substantive and consequential. i do not have an update on intended travel. obviously, th

this is ned price, the state department spokesperson. it is not just the government afghans then it is not just the united states. it's not just a broad swath of the international community that recognizes that there is no military solution to this conflict. the fact that the taliban continues to engage in doha to engage in inter ask and dialogue is itself most likely a reflection of the fact that the tall onto understands that only through diplomacy, can they garner any sort of legitimacy. now are you getting any sense from any of the u. s. officials that this isn't going according to plan? no, we're not getting that sense. and in fact the pentagon spokes person, john kirby was pressed on this point during his regular briefing on tuesday afternoon. and he essentially said this, look, the afghans knew when we were going to be leaving. they knew that we would eventually turn control of bog room error base over to them. they knew this was coming. in fact, we gave them multiple tours to basically show them how to run the base once us forces

the state department. i thought that was awfully nice of them. i told somebody whoit had been working with me on the confirmation about the invitation. and he said, be careful. roll you.ing to and sure s enough, we had barel gotten past when the subject of who was the authoritative -- who gave the authoritative determination on the meaning of treaties came up, and i was told in no uncertain terms that the state t department bridaled frankly at the suggestion that olc was the final arbiter of whater treaties meant when the state department negotiated them, they certainly want to w have the authority. and i listened as politely as i could and moved the food around on my m plate and got out of the as quickly as i could. there were other issues that came up as well. clearly, i'min wondering whethe steve experienced this. there are some agencies that are more tractable than others when it comes to the authority of olc toto determine what the government's legal position is. >> well, certainly, this is an issue th

this bill, introdeuced by representative meng, would spur the state department in finding