Worst. Every single county in both those states is in the high transmission category. We have 50 of the country is not fully vaccinated. Thats a problem. We have the tools to do this. This is an unnecessary predicament were putting ourselves in. But a sign that the push to get more shots into arms may be working is that the pace of vaccinations is heading up. Its now the highest its been in two weeks. And just hours ago, new Yorks Mayor announced a new Vaccine Mandate for all City Workers. So lets go to cnns Shimon Prokupecz. Reporter some 340,000 City Workers are going to have to be vaccinated in order to return to work and if theyre not vaccinated, theyre going to have to submit to weekly tests. This, of course, applies to teachers, firefighters, Police Officers. Last week already the mayor saying that medical staff at city hospitals, same thing, were going to be required to be vaccinated. All of this is coming, obviously, as there is an increase in concern over the fact that many people are not being vaccinated and the spread of the coronavirus. The other thing thats also significant in this announcement is that the mayor is hoping by doing this, he also puts pressure on business owners, private business owners, to institute the same policy. People across the country in private businesses and even in local governments have been hesitant to do this, and hes hoping that sort of these planting the flag here to make sure that perhaps people here in this city, at least, for City Workers and perhaps even across the country also start taking this position where they force people to get vaccinated. This is a big concern. The other big question here, guys, is going to be, how do the unions react to this . Are there going to be any kind of lawsuits against the city to prevent them from forcing folks to get vaccinated . Well see how that plays out. Right now, we havent heard from the unions about that. That is certainly something that the city is going to be looking at, but overall, a significant announcement here from the mayor and that City Workers, 340,000 City Workers, are going to have to be vaccinated. If not, theyre going to have to submit to Weekly Testing. All right, Shimon Prokupecz for us. Thank you. Lets bring in dr. Leana wen. Quick reaction to the news out of new york. I think this is exactly right. I think we should be doing this all across the country because what the mayor is saying is, youve got two choices. You can get vaccinated, thats the easy choice, or theres another way to make sure that other people around you at work are safe as well, so you dont have to get vaccinated. You can still go for Weekly Testing as an optout. I really wish that more businesses would be doing this because otherwise, its hard for those of us, for example, who are parents of unvaccinated children if were told that we have to come back to Work Inperson and be sitting shoulder to shoulder with other people who Are Unvaccinated and we dont know whether theyre carrying covid . Thats really dangerous for us, so this is really about protecting Peoples Health and safety. Dr. Wen, i want to get your take on another suggestion for how to get more people vaccinated. This came from the former surgeon general, jerome adams, yesterday on cbs. Heres his suggestion. The quickest way to get people vaccinated is through mandates, and we cant have Mask Mandates, we wont, youre hearing this from the military and from other businesses, until you have full licensure of these vaccines. So if you want to get a bunch of people vaccinated really quickly, get these vaccines licensed, and then youll see the military make it mandatory. Youll see businesses make it mandatory. So, what hes saying is that when the fda gives full approval for these vaccines, that then the military, businesses, you know, federal employees, whatever, then there can be mandates for it, and so can you just, again, help explain to us why isnt there full approval of the vaccines, and is this really just that there needs to be more testing or is it mired in some sort of bureaucracy . Is there any way to fast track that . It is really the latter at this point. Theres a lot of Red Tape involved in the regulatory process, and look, i understand, of course, we dont want to shortchange the science, but at this point, these vaccines have been given to hundreds of millions of people. They are among the most tested therapeutics that are out there in the world. I really dont understand what the delay is at this point. I think the fda owes us an explanation of why this is so slow. Because it really is holding us up at this point. We have reached a wall. We have hit this wall when it comes to vaccinations. Thats causing the latest surge that were seeing. Were not able to make a lot more progress unless there are Vaccine Mandates and so i do agree that having full approval at this point would pave the way for a lot more businesses feeling comfortable from a legal perspective to allow for mandates. Although i will say that universities and many businesses have already done something approaching mandates or at least you can do an optout. Again, as new York City is doing, and many other places are doing, say, testing or a vaccine. And i think that could be a way around the situation until we get full fda approval. Lets talk about these Breakthrough Cases that make the news because there is so much protection from the vaccines. The vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths, those are of the unvaccinated. But for those of us who are vaccinated, should we start to consider to voluntarily wear masks indoors, regardless of mandates . Should we start to social distance again because of what were seeing . I see your facial expression. Victor and i have been wondering. Weve done everything right. Were fully vaccinated. Is it time for us to change our behavior . Yeah, i think its really unfortunate that the vaccinated people are paying a price for the actions of the unvaccinated, because what we know is that the vaccinated are very safe around one another, so the two of you, All Of Us, if were vaccinated, were safe around Each Other. But if were vaccinated and were surrounded by a whole bunch of unvaccinated people, especially in areas with high coronavirus transmission, theres going to be spillover, and thats what were seeing. Were seeing vaccinated people also get infections. Now, they tend to not be severe infections, which points to the effectiveness of the vaek vaccine, but its possible that especially with the Delta Variant, we could still get ill, we could pass it on to our Family Members and so i think its really important that vaccinated people stop thinking that were fully protected. Were very well protected but as long as there are people around us who are continuing to spread covid19, thats actually making us less safe, and i also think the idea of All Of Us going back to wearing masks again, a lot of people dont want to hear that but we should not see this as failure of the vaccine. We should see it as the failure of individuals to make the responsible choice, by people saying, im not going to get vaccinated, theyre actually choosing to endanger everybody else and theyre prolonging the pandemic. So were okay right now in new york. Thats what im getting from this. At the moment. All right. Meanwhile, dr. I think youre okay around Each Other. Yes, i mean, in our fully vaccinated. Yes. Thats exactly right. And thats why these mandates are really helpful for ensuring a safe workplace. Dr. Wen, what about the Booster Shot for immunocompromised . Is that coming . Are we about to see that . I would not be surprised at all if we get guidance about this pretty soon from our federal health officials, and thats because many clinicians are already recommending to our patients that if they are severely immunocompromised that they should be getting a third shot. I would also not be surprised if before it gets cold, before we get the Fall And Winter respiratory season, if older individuals and those with chronic medical illnesses who got the vaccine earlier on during the vaccine rollout, if a third shot is recommended too. That hasnt come yet but i think that i would anticipate that It Will. Dr. Wen, let me ask you about schools. Ive got a superintendent in iowa whos coming up a little later, where iowa has banned Mask Mandates for those schools, most grades are not eligible or a lot of kids are not eligible for the vaccine because theyre under the age of 12. What should be the Testing Regimen for these schools . Should they start with a baseline of every student being tested . Should there be testing every week, every two weeks, month, what do you think . Yeah, i mean, i think its too bad that these schools are not requiring masks because they are a really effective layer of protection. We can think about this as if youre going to remove the layer of masking, what can you replace it be w . Ideally its with vaccination but if thats not possible, twice Weekly Testing for every Student And Teacher thats unvaccinated can be a replacement for masks. Not completely, though. And so thats why i really hope that parents and these schools will still consider wearing having their Child Wear masks but i also think that twice Weekly Testing can be a really important addition to help to make schools safe. Dr. Wen, thank you. We always appreciate talking to you. Thank you. Okay, now to this. Conservative Radio Talk Show Host Phil Valentine is in the hospital, seriously ill with covid. And hes changed his position on vaccines. Months after downplaying the need for them. His family has posted online that valentine contracted the coronavirus more than a week ago and is now in very serious condition with pneumonia. They go on to say, quote, phil regrets not being more vehemently provaccine and looks forward to being able to more vigorously advocate that position as soon as he is back on the air, which we all hope will be soon. Among some of the false claims that valentine had pushed, he said this in december. If i decide not to get vaccinated, im not putting anyone elses life in danger, except perhaps people who have made the same decision. Phils Brother Mark Valentine joins me now. Thank you so much for your time. Were so sorry that your family is going through this ordeal. Well, its a trying time, for sure, and im delighted to be here and i appreciate you having me on. How is phil doing . He is better than he was a few days ago. Hes very still very deep in the woods. He is not on a ventilator, has not been on a ventilator, and he is breathing with assistance via a Highflow Oxygen Machine during the day, which is a canula affair, and at night, a Bipap Mask to keep his o2 levels up, and that apparently is the name of the game to keep his Oxygen Levels up and thats whats going on. As recently as yesterday, he was i mean, when hes not sleeping, hes fully communicative, talkative, as you might imagine, and yesterday was up, you know, looking at his computer and, you know, talking normally and we took that as a very good sign. Its just its as was described by one of my doctor friends, its a nonlinear recovery, and so its ups and downs, and you know, one step forward, two steps back, sometimes the opposite. But were very hopeful, you know, its not time to say hes turned a corner, because he hasnt, but we are hoping and praying thats going to come soon. Absolutely. And we know this is not linear. This is a roller coaster. I mean, every person, every Family Member virtually that weve talked to has described setbacks, good days and then setbacks. Because hes communicating with you, and youre talking to him, do you know how this experience has changed his thinking on vaccines and getting vaccinated . I do. Whats he said . Let me clear up one thing. Im not able to talk to him directly because of the way that the restrictions are in the area where he is so im having to communicate with him with susan, his wife, being the translator. So, i text her, she talks to him, and then she sends information back. So to that extent, i am communicating with him. To answer your question, he first of all, phil has never been an antivax person. If you look at his his thoughts and communications are welldocumented and he has historically said, assess the situation based on your own, you know, your own risk environment, talk to your physician, and that sort of thing, and then make up your mind. But hes never been one to oppose vaccinations in general. But he recognizes now that his not getting the vaccination has probably caused a bunch of other people not to get vaccinated, and that, he regrets. He regrets not being more provaccination and more vehemently advocating that position as the Press Release said. So, it is it has been a Cathartic Event for him. Understood. As it would be. And i hear what youre saying, that he hasnt ever been an antivaxxer, but he has i mean, he has at times sounded as if he was mocking vaccines, and just a couple of examples. He performed a parody of the Version Taxman called vaxman. He said if youre not at high risk of dying from covid, then youre probably safer not getting the vaccine. I mean, this was not, obviously, a provaccine position. And so, do you know what how hes changed his tune . What he plans to say now, once hes able to get back on his radio show, do you know what he plans to tell his fans and followers . I do. I do. And i intend to tell them that in his stead until hes able to do it, and that is, this is a real threat, it is a real public health crisis, and it is something that if he had to do over again, that Parody Wouldnt have been made. His cavalier Attitude Wouldnt have been what it was. And he would have gotten vaccinated and encouraged everybody to get vaccinated. The Problem Weve got here is, if you look at the data, he was in the group where, you know, he hes in good health. He understands the medicine, he understands keeping the Vitamin D Level up and the c and all that stuff. He exercises. He doesnt smoke. He doesnt drink. So not much. And so, he hadnt been in a Highrisk Situation so the statistics said, if you fit in this profile, then your likelihood of being, you know, killed by this vaccine is about a 0. 5 to 1 . And so what weve got going on, and i was listening to your previous segment, what weve got is a crisis of confidence in the general public. It has turned into a political a polarized political situation that should not be that way, but it has been. Because, you know, and theres blame to go around. Were hearing everybodys running around like their hairs on fire because it should be, but nobodys discussing the fact that were Importing Thousands of cases of covid at the southern border and placing them around cities all over the country and mark, i mean, but mark, dont you see that youre politicizing it right now . I mean, shouldnt The Message be whether or not however you feel about immigration, whether youre a republican or democrat, shouldnt your message be, right now, because your brother has, god willing, come out of the woods, shouldnt it just be, go get vaccinated . Its safe. That is my message. And thats what i want to leave you folks with. What im saying is, if we want to get people vaccinated, which we do, and were going to be as vocal about that as anybody, th then, you know, we need to look at this thing as were all on the same team. Were all trying to beat this thing, and thats exactly The Message that i want to take. Id like to see politics gone out of this thing. Id like great. For people to see it as a public Health Issue and the defining number for me and, you know, i got mine, but the defining number for me is this. 97 of the people in the hospital with covid Are Unvaccinated. That ends the discussion as far as im concerned. It does. Thats it. I agree with you. Thats total agreement with that. Yes. Then, thats The Message that you need to get out. One last thing. That is The Message. Mark, one last thing before i let you go. I just want to ask, is phil, your brother, well enough to post a message on his Blog Today or to tweet something out today . Because i know that his fans and followers are eager to hear from him about all this and it could change peoples minds. You know, thats a good question. And i will check with the folks that are taking care of him, whether hes in a condition to do that. His abilities in that area vary from daytoday. And so, you know, i volunteered to come out here and try to do what i can. Let me leave you with this as something thats positive coming out of this thing. We have had dozens and dozens of people who have responded to the different media that were, you know, presently involved with, that have said, we went and got vaccinated because of this. Bingo. That is what i want to see happen. I want to see people regardless of whatever threat, risk you think you are, go get the dadgum shot and dont put people that you love in the position that susans in right now, having to be with him 14 hours a day, not knowing whether hes going to live or die. Thats not a hard question for me to answer. At least it isnt now. Mark, thats a great message to end on. We are wishing your family good health and we certainly will watch what happens with phil and we hope that he comes out of this very soon. Thank you very much for your time. You bet. Thank you. That almost went in a completely different direction. It was about to. But lets all stay on track. Yeah. With The Message that, as he just said, 97 or 98 of the people in the hospital Are Unvaccinated. Lets all just stay on that message. Because its important. That is the number that separates this pandemic among the unvaccinated from the rest of us. Were also keeping our eyes right now on the White House where President Biden is set to announce The End of the Combat Mission in iraq as he meets with the countrys Prime Minister. And the feud between House Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin Mccarthy is escalating. The Power Play over the January 6th commission. Well talk about that next. Youve been taking Mental Health meds, and your mind is finally in a better place. Except now you have uncontrollable Body Movements called tardive dyskinesia td. And it can seem like thats all people see. Some meds for Mental Health can cause abnormal Dopamine Signaling in the brain. While how it works is not fully understood, ingrezza is thought to reduce that signaling. 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Sorry your Vacation Request took so long to get approved, so you missed out on the suite special. But lucky for you, they had this. When employees are forced to wait for Vacation Request approvals,it can really cramp their style. Im gonna leave you to it. Um, just with paycom, employees enter and manage their own Hr Data in a single, easytouse software. Visit paycom. Com and schedule a demo today. Right now, the house select committee investigating the January 6th attack on the u. S. Capitol is meeting to prepare for the first hearing tomorrow. This as the feud between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi And Minority leader Kevin Mccarthy intensifies following the Speakers Rejection of two of Mccarthys Committee picks and replacing one with republican Adam Kinzinger. Melanie joins us from Capitol Hill. So, this is now becoming a childish namecalling event. Kevin mccarthy is now calling Cheney And Kinzinger Pelosi Republicans. Reporter yeah the namecalling is picking up here, things are starting to intensify, and republicans are ramping up their attacks not only on Speaker Nancy Pelosi but also on Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, the sole republicans to serve on that panel. Kevin mccarthy has labeled them as, quote, Pelosi Republicans, and were also hearing that members on the far right want to punish them and get them kicked off their Committee Assignments. So, look, all of this is coming on the eve of the first hearing for the select committee, but investigators are determined to not let this get in the way of their work. Take a listen to what Adam Kinzinger said when he was asked earlier today. No sound. All right, kinzinger earlier today was saying that he was not happy with the childish remarks that Kevin Mccarthy was saying earlier today in reference to him and Liz Cheney. Democrats are also coming to their defense as well. But like i said, theyre meeting right now to finalize their strategy for tomorrow ahead of this first hearing, which is supposed to feature testimony from the Police Officers who responded to the attack that day. Theyre also going to be playing Video Clips and bodyworn Camera Footage from the events that day in an effort to paint a vivid firsthand account of what happened, so bottom line, were expecting a very emotional and powerful day here up on Capitol Hill tomorrow. All right, melanie, we will have it live. Thank you so much. Lets bring in cnn political director david chalian. David, lets start with this new moniker coming from the Minority Leader and were going to hear from i believe we have both representatives Cheney And Kinzinger on this new name from the Minority Leader. And you know, some republicans have been saying that the Gop Shouldnt Play ball on this committee. Really . Who is that . Adam and liz . Arent they kind of like Pelosi Republicans . Very serious business here. We have important work to do. And i think thats pretty childish. If the conference decides or if kevin decides they want to punish, you know, Liz Cheney and i for getting to the bottom and telling The Truth, i think that probably says more about them than it does for us. Anna navarro is joining us in a moment too but david, let me start with you. These members have now accepted if they lose their seats because they are standing up for The Truth, so be it. A little namecalling, what is Kevin Mccarthy trying to accomplish here . Well, hes trying to diminish the seriousness of what this committees investigating with, you know, throw in some snarky language about Pelosi Republicans around. His goal is to try and muddy the waters as much as possible so that what the work of this committee is doing is seen purely through partisan lenses. Of course, Nancy Pelosi is trying to counteract that. She initially added Liz Cheney, now adding Adam Kinzinger, shes doing everything possible to try and make sure that whatever product this committee ultimately presents the american people, that it is seen in a bipartisan authoritative lens. That is not how Kevin Mccarthy wants this to be seen. Ana, isnt It Interesting that some of the republicans, the more conservative wing, the socalled freedom caucus, want to deny Cheney And Kinzinger, their fellow republicans, the freedom to investigate what happened January 6th . They want them to be penalized. They dont want them to be part of the committee, and they want them to be stripped of their other Committee Assignments. Yeah, look, i think part of it is selfprojection, right . And so, what Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney are doing by standing up for The Truth and for facts and for historical accuracy is putting into evidence just how complicit and how cowardice other republicans are. And so i think they have to look at themselves in the mirror and thats really hard to do. And they would rather not be shown as the lilylivered, you know, partisans that they are by Kinzinger And Cheney, and so its better to distract by trying to punish the two that are speaking their conscience. But i think in decades to come, we are going to know the name of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger in the same way we talk about Margaret Chase Smith today, somebody that did the right thing and was on the right side of history. David, this move among some republicans to strip Kinzinger And Cheney of their Committee Assignments, i mean, we just saw cheney was voted out of leadership a couple of months ago. Do you expect there will be enough fuel behind this move, that there will be a move on those Committee Assignments . Well, well see. We have seen Kevin Mccarthy not necessarily take such action, even when a Core Part of the base starts demanding it, but you raise the most prime example, victor, which is that Liz Cheneys Leadership Position was put up for a vote, and she was stripped of that Leadership Position. This will be a total distraction for republicans who are desperate to try and turn the conversation to what they see in terms of concern over inflation or rising crime, places where they think they can make arguments to the american people that their ways are better in the 2022 midterms and if the party is completely inward looking and in this internal battle, thats not going to serve the purposes very well for them about trying to become the Majority Party and win over the middle of america, which they will need to do in order to be victorious. Ana, The Truth is, Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney are not pelosi toadies. They are not likeminded with Nancy Pelosi. Thats just The Truth if you look at Everything Theyve ever said, look at their record. So what role do you think they will play on this select Appro Committee . We know the democrats do want to determine Donald Trump did that day, why he went awol, where he was for those hours, why backup wasnt called in soon enough. What do you think Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger will do differently than democrats . Look, whether some republicans like it or not, acknowledge it or not, accept it or not, adam and Liz Cheney are republicans. In fact, Liz Cheney is a very conservative republican, far more republican than Elise Stefanik and i think the role theyre there to play is to be principled, to show moral leadership, to put country over party, to put truth over fiction. That is their role, and i think its one that they are willing to accept, and accept readily, knowing that they may be consequences. But lets also not forget how well Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney have done in fundraising since this all started happening. And its such, you know, i look at what Kevin Mccarthys doing, trying to label them Pelosi Republicans. There is no such thing as a pelosi republican. And adam and Liz Cheney are no different today in their positions and their principles and their convictions than they were a year ago. When they were Kevin Mccarthy republicans. And if, you know, he thinks that by calling them Pelosi Republicans, hes insulting them, i think a lot of america has two words that come to mind when they think of Kevin Mccarthy. Unfortunately, because of fcc regulations, i cant say them at 2 00. All right then. David, let me come to you on another topic here. President biden, fundraising, campaigning over the weekend. I want to play what he said, which shows that he still thinks going after President Trump and tying candidates to President Trump is fertile for the party. I ran against Donald Trump, and so is terry. And i whipped Donald Trump in virginia, and so will terry. Is that the strategy were seeing beyond the virginia Gubernatorial Race . It was really instructive to see Joe Biden in Blue Virginia or blueleaning virginia, no doubt, but the fact that he leaned into The Message of trying to hang Donald Trump around the republican candidates, that indicates he thinks that is a pretty popular position to take heading into this election season. All right, ana navarro, david chalian, thank you. Thank you. Okay, so, moments ago, President Biden spoke with reporters during this meeting that he was having with the Prime Minister of iraq. Yeah, among the questions the surge in covid, amid the unvaccinated. Lets take a listen here. Known Each Other for some time. And welcome to the White House, welcome to the oval, mr. Prime minister. Iraq has been a vital partner for the united states for some time now in the Middle East and we have engaged deeply in iraq for my entire career, back in the senate, as Vice President , and as president. And i worked with iraq to and as a matter of fact, my son, beau, was in iraq for a year with the army national guard. And the sacrifices that so many have made to build their u. S. Iraq partnership has been real, and its consequential. And my administration is committed to strengthening that partnership, mr. Prime minister. And the u. S. Iraqi strategic dialogue is about commitments that expand our cooperations on issues like healthcare, climate, energy. As a matter of fact, i want to tell you, i was told that half a million, 500,000 doses of Covid Vaccine were sent, i was told you were told they wouldnt come for a while. Theyll be in a couple weeks. Thank you. Theyll be there quickly. And you know, we support strengthening iraqs democracy, and were anxious to make sure the election goes forward in october, and were also committed to our security cooperation, our shared fight against isis is critical for the stability of the region, and our Counterterrorism Cooperation will continue, even as we shift to this new phase were going to be talking about. Im looking forward to consulting with the Prime Minister today. We have a lot to talk about. Hes been a good friend, and im anxious to get going. Floor is yours, sir. Thank you, mr. President. This is a great honor to be here today with our american friends. We have strategic partnership. Im happy here in washington to discuss the future of our nation and how to prove this relation between our two countries. American, they help iraq. Together, we fight and defeat isis. And i would like to thank the american people on behalf of all iraqs people, mr. President. I thank you. For that america has given. Today our relationship is stronger than ever. Our partnership is safe for our economy, health, education, culture, and more. Im looking forward to work with you, mr. President , to bring our two countries more closer for benefit of iraq and united statesment. God bless our two countries. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you. Today . Thank you. Mr. President , mr. President whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa. Hang on a second. If you want to talk about iraq, ask me a question about iraq. Mr. President , mr. President , mr. President. How many troops would you like to see in iraq by The End of this year, and how does the relationship changes considering this is the last strategic tie that you have with iraq and the Prime Minister . This most recent dialogue, you mean . Weve been talking a lot. Our foreign ministers, our Cabinet Members have been talking. Were looking forward to seeing an election in october. Were working very hard with the iraqi government to make sure the u. N. And the gcc are we have oversight, that these are full and fair elections. Ive been in contact with kadhimi. I have anyway, i think things are going well. Our role in iraq will be as a dealing with not its just to be available to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with isis as it arrives. But we are not going to be in a Combat Mission. Thank you guys. Mr. President , Veterans Affairs have a mandate you are such a pain in the neck but im going to answer your question because weve known Each Other so long. Ill answer your question. Yes, Veteran Affairs is going to, in fact, require that all docs working in facilities are going to have to be vaccinated. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Mr. President , mr. President , mr. President. Question for thank you. Lets go. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Lets go. Question for Prime Minister. Okay, youve been watching President Biden there meeting with the iraqi Prime Minister. Joining us now to explain exactly what was established and what It Will look like moving forward, chief white House Correspondent kaitlan collins, Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr and senior international correspondent Arwa Damon. So, barbara, they agreed to The End of the combat presence, it sounds like, but what specifically does this mean on the ground . Reporter well, hard to say that it means a lot, because there wasnt a lot of u. S. Ground involvement in Combat Missions on a routine basis, but what they are saying is that the 2,500 u. S. Troops that are there will not be in a Combat Role by The End of the year but will be more in the role that weve heard so much about, train, advise, and assist. Importantly, they didnt say anything about the 900 u. S. Troops that are just across the border in eastern syria, also like in iraq, going against isis, but inside iraq, one of the major challenges not addressed is the rise of these iranianbacked militias in iraq. They pose a challenge to the iraqi government. They are believed widely believed to be responsible for several attacks against u. S. Troops, against u. S. Base locations. The u. S. Has been pressuring the iraqi government to deal with these militias. Theyve had very mixed success on it, so thats going to be one of the major i wndicators to watch, what these militias will do between now and The End of the year. Will they move against u. S. Troops, will the iraqis be able to maintain Security Control and still go after isis . All right, lets take that straight to Arwa Damon and the strength of the iraqi army, the iraqi government there after the u. S. Troops pulled out in 2011, they had to go back several years later to fight isis. Whats the strength of the iraqi forces now, and to, i guess, convince americans that the u. S. Troops wont be back there in a few years from now . Reporter well, look, if theres one thing that the Middle East has taught All Of Us, especially iraq, that is that it is entirely unpredictable, but to specifically address your question, if we just go back in history to The End of 2011 when the then Obama Administration, with President Biden, then of course as Vice President , took the decision to withdraw all u. S. Troops from iraq, that was and ended up being one of the many factors that allowed for isis, which was then the islamic state of iraq, to grow, thrive, and become even more powerful. Than it was before. Now, back then, the reasons for not extending the u. S. Mission were largely entrenched in politics. The two countries couldnt agree on conditions for immunity, but that being said, there was also very little appetite by the then Obama Administration to actually stay in country. One would think that right now, with biden coming at this for a second time, and with the iraqis having also learned the very bitter lesson of Isiss Growth and emergence, they do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past. That being said, the situation for iraq is even more tenuous than it was before because iran and these iranianbacked militias that barbara was talking about are even arguably more powerful than they were back then. But at this point in time, one of the best tools that iraq has to fight against isis is the u. S. Presence. One of the best tools that the u. S. Has to be able to counterbalance Irans Influence is by staying incountry. Kaitlan, while we have you, i want to ask you about the question that one of the reporters snuck in there to President Biden that he seemed to think it was slightly Out Of Bounds there at The End, but that was that the veterans Affairs Administration will require federal Frontline Healthcare workers to be vaccinated. Reporter yeah, this is huge, because this is the first part of the federal government that is actually requiring vaccines, and it comes as there have been more questions and Vaccine Mandates have been gaining traction, as you have seen so many of these outbreaks fueled by the Delta Variant happening across the united states. Its a big discussion for City Government officials, for private businesses, what is going to happen with this and now we do know that the department of Veterans Affairs will be mandating vaccines for its medical staff, the doctors, the nurses, and pharmacists, going forward and confirming in an Announcement Today that staff has about eight weeks to become fully vaccinated. And this comes after they say that four of their employees at the department of Veterans Affairs tested positive for coronavirus and died from coronavirus, three of them because of this Delta Variant, which we know is highly contagious, and we are seeing the effect that it is having on those who Are Unvaccinated. And so, of course, we should separate out that this is for medical personnel, so whether or not that is where the limit is reached, it really remains to be seen, but i do think its notable and President Biden did confirm that news that had broken just before he was there, sitting with the Prime Minister of iraq, talking about this, and so i think there are going to be questions going forward about what the White House is doing, given we only have 49. 1 of the u. S. Right now fully vaccinated, and this is something that theyve been dealing with, but this idea of backing mandates for vaccines has not really been something that the White House has embraced but you saw today Jen Psaki in that briefing before this was announced came a lot closer than we have seen officials doing so so far. So, i do think it raises questions going forward, in addition to those questions that we know are under active consideration right now, which is whether or not fully vaccinated people are going to be recommended by the cdc to put their masks back on. All right, kaitlan collins, Arwa Damon, Barbara Starr, thank you. And a lot of parents have some serious questions, trying to prepare to send the children back to school as this conversation over masks and vaccines for young children continues. Weve got the latest guidance as this debate continues. Im so glad youre ok, sgt. Houston. This is sam with usaa. Do you see the Tow Truck . Yes, thank you, that was fast. Sgt. Houston never expected this to happen. Or that her Grandpas Dog tags would be left behind. But that one call got her a tow and rental. Paid her claim. And we even pulled a few strings. Making it easy to make things right thats what were made for. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Get a quote today. Agerelated Macular Degeneration may lead to severe vision loss. So the national Eye Institute did 20 years of clinical studies on a formula only found in preservision. If it were my vision, id ask my doctor about preservision. Its the most studied eye vitamin brand. If it were my vision, Id Look into preservision. Only Preservision Areds2 contains the exact Nutrient Formula recommended by the nei to help reduce the risk of moderate to advanced amd progression. I have amd. It is my vision so my plan includes preservision. Mmm, licorice records. Wonka, digital workflows for it tell us this machine needs updating. Kids dont really have records anymore. But it tastes better on vinyl. Servicenow. When you earn a degree with university of phoenix, we support you with career coaching, including resume building, interview prep, personal branding and more, for your entire career. So if you commit to earning a degree with us, we commit to standing by you until the day you retire. Thats Career Services for life. Find out more about our commitment at phoenix. Edu. Some Public School districts like thoizse in georgia are day from start of the School Year. Driks will have to contend with highly infectious Delta Variant. Children under 12 arent able to get a Vaccine And Mask policies are all over the place. Some districts will require every one to wear masks. There are eight states in which there are bans on Mask Mandates. Iowa is one of them with Vaccination Rate at 49 . Lets turn to mark lane. Hes the superintendent of schools. Educates about 170 students, k through 12. Thank you for being with us. School starts, classes resume, august 23rd, so about a month out. As i understand it, this ban is not just for students, its for teachers, the staff. Its for is visitors. How do you keep kids safe in that environment . I think we do what we do best in schools. We ugt people and we share the most current information and allow them in iowa to make an informed decision. Is there a way to incentivize masks for children . I know you will be wearing a mask. Youll be telling others to do it. Is there a way to get kid who is are not at home or getting masks but to make it something they want to do. I think we experience that last School Year. We started the year with Mask Man Date in our district but it was not hard to get our students and staff to embrace the idea that we are a community of care and we are doing this to make our School A Safe Place to learn and a safe place to be for every one, every adult and every student. I really think our approach from the board down to our buildings will be sharing cdc recommendations and informing our communities of that and then continuing to live our Mission And Revision that we are a community of care. We want students to be in school. We want them to be learning in safe environment. We want our employees to be working in a safe environment. That will be ou message. We know that social distancing is not possible in all situations. Out door learn ing if iowa all School Year is not an option. What happens then. Our nurses in our district again worked close to something we have developed. When we are aware that an individual has covid, they are required to have a tendaybreak from school to be able to return when they are symptom free and they had a negative test. Are they required to disclose if they are their child has covid or if they are in a home with someone with covid. If they are experiencing and what that isolation time would be. Then again if a student would demonstrate symptoms at school our nurses have done on exceptional job of working with students and staff. Okay. To ensure were following protocols. The second thing is at first thats the honor system. If someone in your home has covid then you have to tell us on the honor system. Is there virtual learning for the student who has to stay home if they have sniffles and for the parents who decide, i dont want to send my kid to classroom where there are no vaccinations and masks are optional in. We did offer a virtual Learning Option last School Year. Were not doing so this coming School Year. Were a small school district. We had about 85 students with an interest in a full virtual option last year. That number dwindled over the course of the year where we were down to about 20 students by The End of the year. We are not offering an indistrict virtual option. In iowa we have an open enrollment law. Students that prefer a virtual option could enroll to one of the public academies in our state. We wont offer a virtual option this year. If students are in quarantine, were offer virtual supports if they are in quarantine or isolation. All right. Mark lane, thanks so much for be with us. Thank you. We have new details from the White House. President biden says long term effects of coronavirus can be considered a disability under federal law and offer some help to those with socalled long covid. Welcome to allstate. Where everything just seems to go your way. Youre in good hands with allstate. Click or call for a lower Auto Rate today. Jess at safelite, we have service the way you need it. When you have a cracked windshield, schedule Safelites Drop and go service. Just drop off the car and keys in the morning. Uplifting Music Jess . And go enjoy your day. Well text you updates along the way. Or you can check the status any time. And well let you know when your cars ready to pick up. Thats service on your time. Schedule drop and go at safelite. Com. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. They said it couldnt be done but you managed to pack a record 1. 1 Trillion transistors into this Chip Whoo yeah oh, hi i invested in Invesco Qqq a fund that invests in the innovators of the nasdaq 100 like you you dont have to be Circuit Design Engineer to help push Progress Forward can i hold the chip . Become an agent of innovation with Invesco Qqq there was a rough start at Tokyo Olympics for Team Usa but it is still scooping up medals right behind china. The u. S. Has 14 medals. 7 of them gold. China has 18 medals but only six gold. The daily Covid Case , sadly, i tokyo are still riding. Its been a mixed start for Team Usa. Reporter there were some major upsets, including in Mens Basketball with france beating Team Usa ending Team Usas 25 Winning Streak that dates back to 2004. The womens gymnastic team posted lower scores than expected. I was in the stands watching the gymnasts. It was a surprise to see some unsteady landings as well as sim Simone Biles to step Out Of Bounds. They are performing with no friends and family to cheer them on. She wrote the following. She said it wasnt an easy day or my best, but i got through it. She said i truly do feel like i had the weight of the world on my shoulders at times. I know i brush it off and make it seem like the pressure doesnt affect me bu