Might save one life, maybe 1,000 lives. I dont know. I want his story to be told. Michelle, thank you for telling dannys story. We, too, hope thank you. That people hear it and understand the stakes, as we see this surge in coronavirus cases affecting even people who do not have the disease. Michelle, we are so sorry for your loss. I just firmly believe that everybody needs treatment when they need treatment, especially for lifesaving treatments. Youre right, michelle. Michelle puget, thank you so much for being with us. Youre welcome. Thank you. New day continues right now. Very good morning to viewers in the united states and around the world. It is monday, august 30th. Im Brianna Keilar with john avlon. Good morning. Good morning to you. We have Breaking News on two fronts. Hurricane ida has been Downgrade Ed to a tropical storm after inflicting devastating, catastrophic damage in New Orleans. The day is early. Were trying to get a sense of things and where the damage is. 1. 1 Million customers are without power. This includes the entire city of New Orleans exactly 16 years after hurricane katrina hit. The storm overtopped levees, has trapped people on roofs, we understand from rescuers, and efforts to get those people are getting under way this morning. We have a live look at ida, as it continues its path toward mississippi. Theres still a risk of dangerous Flash Floods here. Also Storm Surge and possibly even tornadoes. Also breaking this morning, the final hours of the u. S. Troop withdrawal from afghanistan was pupth waited overnight by rocket fire, targeting afghanistans international airport. A burntout car was apparently used as an improvised Launch Pad to fire five rockets. Five hours earlier, the u. S. Carried out a preemptive Drone Strike on a Suicide Bomber calling it an imminent threat by isisk. Cnns Clarissa Ward will join us ahead. We begin with the utter devastation from Hurricane Ida. Derek Van Dam is live in hardhit homa, louisiana. Reporter we have first light here in houma, louisiana. Battered winds of a powerful category 4 hurricane that pivoted over this exact location. Equivalent to a 50milewide Ef3 Tornado for several hours at a time. Look what it did to what was our evacuation center, courtyard mariot, taking the sign, ripping it off from above us, splintering this Air Conditioning Unit below. What i found interesting is when it broke the sign in half, the a was separated, the r was separated. We dont know where the d is. You can see the R Right behind me. I want to talk about how wet it is. We have such a saturated start to the year. Wettest weather in New Orleans, for instance, since in history, i should say. Look at this tree. Its a saturated environment. It didnt take much for it to topple down. With winds over 100 miles an hour, snapping like a twig. We havent been able to, let alone move from this area, talking to residents who Shelter Ed in this Courtyard Marriott with us, they want to get back to what is left of their homes to see and assess the damage to their property and businesses as well. Houma was hit particularly hard. We know once we start to navigate the City Streets across this area we believe we will see major damage throughout houma. Back to you, john. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much, as always. Good luck today. Joining us now, atlanta governor of louisiana, billy nungesser. Thank you for joining us. We know youre in Baton Rouge right now. What are things looking like where you are . Weve gotten through the worst of it here. The wind has died down. Where the levees have seemed to f have failed, were working to get people as the water is rushing up highway 23, another area heavily impacted. As the sun comes up well see widespread destruction from the winds and the water. At this point, is it unknown . Do you have a sense of what the damage may be, of what the Human Toll may be . We know that st. John the baptist parish has been inundated with 911 calls for rescues because of flooding and yet we know rescuers havent been able to go to the folks who need help. Weve gotten calls overnight of people that were stranded because of the safety issue, they couldnt go out till this morning. Im sure were going to find many people in their attics, on r rooftops that rode this thing out. Hopefully, were hopeful that we can find everyone alive. But looking at the videos and the Phone Calls from places like grand isle, laplace, st. John parish, were going to see a lot of Dv Station and hopefully little loss of life. Because of Transmission Line s taken down, New Orleans completely lost power. Im talking to you from the only Cell Phone working at my location. A Tc At T is out. Many of the cell services even at Baton Rouge, is not working. Communications for the public is limited in getting in touch with loved ones. So, thats going to further affect how we get to those areas and also communicate with loved o ones, as we find people that rode it out safely. How do you check on people if they Cant Contact you . Its very difficult. You know, the communications between the first responders and wildlife and fisheries, as they go out, theyll have a great network to go out and rescue those people. Until we get people back to communications, its going to be very difficult. My phone was filled up Last Night several times as we were evacuating people all through the night. And im sure that personal cell is filled up with people wondering, did we get everyone out. Its just another bit of stress that people are going to have to deal with until we can get these lines back up of communication. All right. Lieutenant governor nungesser, thank you so much for take ing e time to speak with us this morning. Best of luck. We are certainly wishing for the best as we get a better sense of the rescues that will be under way. Thank you. As you just heard from the lieutenant governor, Emergency Services are being inundated with calls of people needing rescuing. U. S. Coast guard his stoondby. What are your teams seeing from the Air Today as Daylight Riss . Good morning, john. Thank you so much for your focus on this issue. We launched our first rescue assets out of mobile, alsz, aviation training center. At the same time we launched the first wave from houston. Those assets are just now arriving on scene. We launched them about half hour before sunrise. That way they can be there just after sunrise. There are reports of people on the roof right now and people actively looking for help. I dont have any numbers for you right now. You know, those are literally coming in just minutes ago. But youre actively seeing people gathered on roofs in need of rescuing . Its too early for data, but that need is there as the sun rises in the region . Yes, yes. What is your teams specific role . I want folks to understand what it is specifically you do in the aftermath of hurricanes. Yes, sir. We started a couple of days ago by flooding the area with Coast Guard resources. We got nine states worth of Coast Guard forces here. Weve got ships at sea moving in from the south. Weve got 54 aircraft on the left and right side of the storm. Theyll actually be out looking for people, look ing for enviro environmental. Hoisting people off rooftops if they need, from clearings, taking them to hospitalors safer places to be. Storm surge, rising flooding. Your unit is there to save their lives. Captain, Take A Look at this video. Its pretty incredible. Riding out the storm in a boat. What goes through your mind when you see something like this . Well, the Fir Thing we always tell people a couple of days before something like this is come back from sea if you can, and get to a safe place. The minute you get into Trouble Call 911. Once you have called 911, stay somewhere safe and wait for help. You can see from this video, riding out the storm in a boat has to be the kind of thing that drives rescuers theres no way to get help in the middle of a storm. But hopefully, this person will be rescued and will be safe soon. I want to comparatively were on the 16th Anniversary of katrina. How does Hurricane Ida compare so far to the other storms youve seen in the region . So one of the things we always do in the Coast Guard is even if theres only a 5 chance of a Storm Hitting or it wont be that bad, people say we always plan for the worst Case Scenario. All the lessons that are learned through the 33,000 people we saved in katrina, all the lessons learned in harvey we apply every single one of them to every single storm. And we were ready for this one. That is a blessing. Thank you for your Teams Heroism and hard work ahead to save more lives in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Captain hulser, thank you very much. Ida has weakened but lets check in with Chad Myers to tell us more. Were waiting as day is breaking to see what this storm has brought. We still have 45mileperhour winds. Thats not even a severe thunderstorm, but there will be a lot of rain with this. This is a tropical system, which means theres tropical moisture thats still in the storm. I just counted. We have 19 Flash Flood warnings Going On right now. I lost count at 14. I just recounted them. 19 different areas in the parishes of louisiana, mississippi and even into alabama with Flash Flood warnings there. Theres the rain right now. Its moving to the north. We still have these tornado watches in effect for these counties and parishes off to the east. The right side of that eye, Northeast Quadrant of any eye is where tornadoes can be possible because of the storm thats already happening with the storm itself. Look how far we go. Orange, four to six inches, all the way up into pennsylvania the next couple of days. I put it into motion for you, turning to the northeast as we work our way into later on today. Still raining across the Gulf Coast. Still some surge there. One or two feet. Just Wind Action pushing waves on shore. Then you get a high tide. Then the rain gets into pennsylvania and even into new york. Thats your Flash Flood watches, up toward Cincinnati And M marietta, ohio. It came in as a 150mileperhour storm. The worst of it right there was grand isle. It didnt lose intenseity. Typically we hit land. Brianna, theres not much land in north of grand isle. Its swamps, ditches and marshes. Thats why it didnt lose intensity until it got west of New Orleans. These spots have picked up 10 and im hearing now 17 inches of rain since the storm started. 17 inches of rain, my goodness. Chad, were still waiting to see, right . Thats the bottom line. A lot of this has happened overnight. We wait to see what happens happened. Thank you. Breaking developments on evacuations from afghanistan. New numbers on how many are getting out with just hours left until the withdrawal deadline. And rockets aimed at Kabuls Airport intercepted by u. S. Defense systems. A live report from cnns Clarissa Ward. Later, the pastor who was fired for promoting covid vaccines on television. What happepens when we Welcome Change . We can make Emergency Medicicie possible at 40,000 feet. Instead of burning our past for power, we can harness the eney of the tiny electron. We can create new ys to connect. Rethinking how we communicate to be more inclusive than ever. Wi app, cloud and anywhere workspace sotions, vmware helps companies navigate change. Faster. Vmware. Welcome change. Oh are you using liberty Mutuals Coverage Customizer tool . So you only pay for what you need. Sorry . Limu, youre an animal only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Breaking news a short time ago. The White House now telling us 1200 people have been evacuated from kabul over the past 24 hours. Also breaking overnight, u. S. Defense systems shot down a series of rocket fire. Video shows the car that is believed to be behind the attack, which, as you can see here, is now incinerated, and the White House says that President Biden was briefed on the situation overnight as evacuations are continuing ahead of tomorrows final deadline to withdraw u. S. Troops. Lets go now to cnns Clarissa Ward, live for us in neighboring pakistan. Tell us the latest here, clarissa, as we are seeing this final stage of evacuations and draw drawdown. Despite that huge blast on thursday, despite Isis Car bombs driving around the area, one being hit with a Drone Strike, despite five rockets being fired off. In spite of all of that, and the continued threat, the evacuation is continuing. And i think at any moment, frankly, it could be drawing to an end, because weve always understood that tomorrow is the D Deadline before then. Were definitely seeing a steady decline in the numbers, something like 2,900 from saturday to sunday. Thats dropped to just over 1,000 it appears theyre in the final throes of this operation. Thats one of the most vulnerable moments. That is when youre pulling back the perimeter, extracting your own people, extracting any sort of weaponry that you might have to or destroying anything that might be left behind. And in terms of who may be left behind, we are learning a little bit more about that. Ive been speaking to an american family this morning, a family of four from houston, texas, who have been trying to get into the airport now for two weeks. Theyre saying theyve not been able to get past the taliban checkpoint. The u. S. Military has been trying to help them but so far theyve not been able to get into that gate. There is a sense talking to people on the ground outside the airport now that that gate appears pretty much firmly shut, which is not to say there arent exceptions. There may well be, but certainly people were talking to say they do not see a lot of movement in terms of people getting in to the airport at this stage. It is important to point out since august 13th, 113,000 people have been evacuated. That is extraordinary. The White House said there are still 350 some americans, americans. Not special immigrant visa holders, who need to get out of the country. Is there expectation as these final flights are going that those 350 will get out of the country by the end of the day . Reporter its unclear at the moment. From what were hearing from americans who are still on the ground, its not looking positive. Obviously, the u. S. Has made a commitment to get its citizens out. I know when ive spoken about this in the past, a lot of people react and say why did they take so long to get to the airport . Or they shouldnt have waited so long. Some of the americans ive spoken to didnt wait so long. They have been trying for a while. But other people afghanistan is a huge country. And with all civilian Air Traffic basically not happening, if youre Try Ining to get Fr Harat to Kabul Airport by road, that takes some time. So its not a case necessarily of people just snapping their fingers and forming a line outside the Kabul Airport. The fear that these americans have is that once the u. S. Has eva evacuated, they will be in a situation where its very difficult for them to get out. Now, i want to say, though, the taliban has been clear on multiple occasions that it intends to honor its commitment to the international community to allow anyone who has the appropriate Paperwork Or Anyone who is a foreign national to leave the country without problem. But for a lot of people on the ground understandably, they find it hard to trust in that. So there is a lot of Fear And Anxiety in these sort of final moments of this evacuation. I think it goes to the point of how quickly afghanistan fell, right . I know weve all spoken with families who ive spoken with one who, thank god, they are out now, but their Flight Back was in september. And The Fall Of Kabul came just a few weeks before they were supposed to fly out. They thought, hey, this is the last time were going to see our parents and our grandparents maybe ever. So they decided to proceed with the trip, thinking they were getting out in time, you know. But i wonder, when we hear from u. S. Officials, like the national Security Adviser, who say, clarissa, the biden administration is committed to safe passage and they say they do have substantial leverage to hold the taliban, to making sure that that August 31st, tomorrow, isnt a cliff. You know, what kind of leverage are we talking about here . Reporter so, i think that there are two main issues where the u. S. Might have leverage. One is that the taliban, by their own declaration and certainly in interviews ive done with them, want to be part of the international community. They dont want to be a pariah. They dont want to be isolated. They want to have that support and that rapport. They also understand, which brings me to the second point, that if they are part of the international community and have sort of relationships with other countries and abide by international norms, that opens up the Purse Strings for international aid and financial support, which they desperately need. The taliban is just embarking on this journey after 20 years of being sort of a Guerrilla Warfare Insurgency movement to governing a vast country with a sort of complex, ethnic and sectarian makeup. I think theyre a mature enough force now to understand that they will really need support, particularly financial support, in order to pull that off. That is definitely some leverage that the u. S. And other international actors might have. At the same time, i have to say, ive had conversations with people who are not part of the taliban, but who share the talibans ideology, and they see things in much more black and white terms, which are if you wor worked with the occupiers, the occupiers being the u. S. , if you worked with the then you must pay for that. You must go to court and suffer a punishment as a result of that, what they would see as a crime. You see the disparity of what the taliban says on the surface, which is exactly what the international community wants to hear, and what people who hold the same ideology as the taliban say privately, which is all these people must be punished and have to pay anything they did for the u. S. Basically during the last 20 years. And thats why you have this incredibly high level of Fear And Anxiety among so many people. Not just americans who could Poe Tepgsly be left behind, but many afghans who might be Green Card holders, might be sivs, special immigration visa holders or people who are part of the feminine rights activists, a lot of people who feel vulnerable and at risk at the moment. Exactly right. Clarissa ward, thank you very much for your reporting and insights, always. We do have some more on this Breaking News and what President Biden is really doing behind the scenes as the u. S. War in afghanistan is entering its final hours. Plus well go back to louisiana and mississippi, where fema tells us theres catastrophic damage from one of the strongest storms to ever hit the united states. And where the Coast Guard tells us rescues are under way right now. brad how has apartmentsdotcom helped more renters get into new homes than any other site . By working tirelessly to design 3d virtual tours that are so realistic it actually feels like yoyoure there. 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Perfect because were building a better network every single day. The White House says 1,200 people were evacuated over the last 24hour period, and for those Green Card holders and Afghan Allyies who helped american troops, national Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the taliban is promising to let them leave after August 31st. Joining us now is cnn counter down to a population of 300 or fewer american citizens who have yet to get out. We have evacuated more than 5,000. We evacuated well more than 300 just yesterday. We believe theres still an opportunity for american Ci Citizens to get to the airport, get on planes and get home. But youre right. August 31st is not a cliff. After August 31st, we believe we have substantial leverage to hold the taliban to allow safe passage for american citizens, legal permanent residents and afghan allies who have Travel Documentation to come to the united states. Lets talk about this now with Cnn Counterterrorism Analyst and former Cia Counterterrorism Official Phil Mudd as well as former adviser on pakistan and Afghanistan Shamila with us as well. Is it a cliff, is it not a cliff . Do you think people should feel comforted by the ability to get people out after tomorrow . I think it is comforting to see just how many american bes the administration has gotten out in a short amount of time i agree with Jake Sullivan in that its not a cliff, but we do have to understand that its not going to be 100 what we want. The taliban dont have theyve been out of government for a long time. They need to figure out the modalities of running an airport, a government. The u. S. Doesnt have a permanent presence on the ground anymore. In the absence of a diplomatic mission, theres going to be a large amount of Chaos And Uncertainty on the ground. But, phil, theres a lot of faith being placed in the talibans alleged pragmatism. Forgive me if i say the history would suggest following the Talibans Word may not be the best basis. Yet were being told the 31st not being a cliff depends on a specialized deal with the taliban, that the u. S. Has leverage. Whats that leverage look like . Im not that hopeful. I would put this in terms of a stream. We go from a stream to a trickle. You mentioned leverage to get people out. We have some economic leverage. Clarissa ward and others have talked about the taliban wanting to participate in an international community not because theyre nice guys. Theyre not going to evolve. Just because theres a lot of money involved there. You start thinking about food, energy. Youve got to get access to that international money. That said, let me put stuff into two categories in terms of why i said flow to trickle. U. S. Citizens, relatively small, dual citizens, batting around the number 300. If youre taliban, you might be saying whats our interest in keeping those folks . Thousands of people who cooperated, in theory, theres an agreement with the taliban to get them out. I dont buy it, john. If im the taliban, and youve heard this already, they might be saying these arent u. S. Citizens. These are afghans. We had an agreement to get people out but these people have broken the law. They cooperated with foreign invaders. We cant let them out. Furthermore its an embarrassment for the taliban to watch the outflow. Maybe a few 00 more will trickle. But thousands of afghans . I dont know about that. I agree with phil, these are not good guys. This is where diplomacy becomes more important. Working with international partners on the ground, with those countries that still have their missions functioning on the ground, there has to be a lot of Communication And Coordination between those groups. Thats how were going to get there. Its not going to be perfect. Its not. But its not in the Talibans Interest to have dead americans and dead foreigners after August 31st, like lying around kabul, lying around the airport. Can you address the issue of Green Card holders . Just to be clear, were talking about people who have lives and families in the u. S. They are legally protected residents, and its really been difficult to even get a sense of how many might be remaining in afghanistan, but anecdotally, just journalists im speaking with, people who are trying to help rescue people, theres a ton of them. Brianna, youre right. Its very sad to hear the stories of the families being separated. We talked about this before on this program. U. S. Governments first and foremost priority is always to focus on citizens. We dont like this hierarchy, but it does exist. Reading between the lines of what the administration is saying, theyre going to work on taking care of these Green Card holders. They skrust cant do it by August 31st. Thats where the communication with the taliban and this negotiation becomes all the more critical. Phil, we have seen, in addition to, i think, the extraordinary evacuation since august 14th, ramping up of Drone Str Strikes in response to isisk and the attack on the airplane. And the expectation that this might be something that the u. S. Starts doing more so than in the recent past, to push back upon the terrorist elements. The taliban allegedly part of their deal with the Trump Administration is that they would contain terrorism in the region. Given your experience inside the agency, what do you see about the escalation of these Drone Strikes, which weve already seen Paerm Have caused Civilian Cas casualties. Look, my generation is still at the agency. Were still scarred by what we saw 20 years ago. If there is threat and that threat persists after september 1st, and it will, you will not go back to a time that says were reluctant to strike a group that has already shown theyre willing to strike the united states. Look what happened in yemen, somalia. If people think August 31st means no more lethal action in afghanistan, no how, no way. People i work with will say if we identify individuals that operate in cells that have or will target america, they will be done. Thats not going to stop, john. Phil, shamila, thank you very much as always. Hurricane ida is now leaving all of New Orleans without power. Were hearing of people trapped with Water Chest high in their homes. Plus, how promoting covid vaccines on Tv Cost a Tennessee Pastor his job. He will join us live. I brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. Those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks [sighs wearily] here, ill take that woohoo ensure max protein. With thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and now with two new flavors this may look like a regular movie night. But if youre a kid with diabetes, its more. Its the simple act of enjoying time with friends, knowing you understand your glucose levels. You founded your Kayak Company because you love the ocean not spreadsheets. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. Indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. Visit indeed. Com hire every time nacho fries came back, that Bold Seasoning was drawing something closer. And once they taste that warm nacho cheese sauce. They wont stop till Theres Nothing left. Taco bells fry force. Now serving at a Taco Bell near you. Hurricane ida, now a tropical storm. Still lashing new Orleans Air with wind and rain. And the storm leaving all of New Orleans without power. Loui Louisianas Jefferson Parish lost about 95 of its electricity as of Last Night. There is a Boil Water Advisory in effect for much of the parish and there are reports of Chestlevel Water in peoples homes there. For more on this, we are joined now by the president of Jefferson Parish, cynthia lee chang. Please tell us what youre seeing, what your residents are seeing this morning as of sunrise, how bad is it in Jefferson Parish . Weve only had sunrise for about an hour. Our Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office with our louisiana national guard, Fire Services are out doing search and rescue. Im hearing its worst than Chest Level in lower lafit, its up to the roofs. We were get ting reports that Te Water was rising. And overnight, it seems to be a terrible condition. So im hoping for very good survival rates. It must have been horrifying evening for people stranded in water In The Dark since Last Night. Obviously we have System F failures in upper jefferson with no water, no electricity no, commun communication. So if youre talking about water up to the roof and people riding out the storm by the way of wind they would have to be inside in some cases in their attics. How will rescuers go about rescuing them and locating them, considering means of helicopter as we saw in katrina in some cases. The sheriff was very active going House To house. This was under a mandatory Evacuation Order but some didnt leave. Knowing that the sheriff took a Couple Dozen teams, went House To house, asking where they were, what their numbers were, where they lived, how many people were there. They do have that. It was hard to hear the mayor say yesterday getting reports of rising water, we need this water to stop and stay low. Unfortunately the worst Case Scenario seems to have happened. Im getting credible reports of people who have its beyond chest high. Its up to the top of the roof. If they were in the attic. If you could survive the night, how high you could have gotten to survive the night with those winds. A very, very terrible situation were dealing with. I dont know where we are with that yet. They could not get out at night. This is an area that has a lot of swamp land, alligators, dangerous conditions. They had to wait for the sun to come out. They had a grid where they would attack, separating the teams. We have people out there, ready to clear roads. Were going to have boats, highwater vehicles. Our first responders are ready to go. They just needed the daylight to be able to do their best work. Theyve only had about an hour or so of that to work with this morning. We know youre very much in the middle of assessing this. We appreciate you taking the time to speak with us. Jefferson Parish President cynthia lee sheng, thanks. Here is what else to watch today. Up next on new day, the pastor just fired for his job. His sin . Offering praise for covid vaccines. Thats next. When you least expect it. woman laughs and open. What happened to all your things . 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We are to love our neighbors. One thing we do when we get a vaccine, we not only protect ours, we protect our neighbors. Those caring and christian words are true, but they also cost a man of faith his livelihood. Pastor Daniel Darling was fired after promoting vaccines in an oped and in an interview, losing his Highranking Position at the national religious broadcasters, major evangelical organization. Nrb says darling was Fire D because he violated the Organizations Policy of, quote, remaining neutral about covid19 vaccines. Pastor darling, former communications for nrb joins us now. Tell us what happened. How did the nrp tell you you were fired and why . Thank you, john. I appreciate you having me on. This is just a disagreement among good friends. These are my good friends at nb. It was an honor to serve them on behalf of christian commu communicators. I didnt feel i was violating a position of neutrality because i spoke of my own experience of getting the vaccine and tried to speak to the hesitancy and fears and encourage people to talk to their doctors. I dont believe the way to persuade people is to shame and to, you know, capsle. I think the way to do that is to have understanding. This is what i tried to do. I didnt anticipate this being a national news story. I wish my former employer well. Evangelicals around the country and ordinary christians who have sympathized with this, i appreciate their support. This is an opportunity for us to step back and look and ask ourselves why this has divided Amer Americans and why christians are not unified when we should be. Why do you think that is . During a pandemic that d demonstrabaly. Many have received the vaccine, many are hesitant who are interested in getting it. We have to be patient with those working their way through this decision. Evangelicals are having the same conversations every other group is having around the dinner ta table, work, and church, this is a time not for division, shaming, canceling but for unity, to work with Each Other and understand Each Other. The way to address the hesitant is not by judging. Its by reaching out. Its also about reaching out with facts in a patient way. The fact is that you were fired for allegedly violate ing a Neutrality Policy on the issue of vaccines. How does a statement of neurality on the issue of vaccines help a community confront a pandemic . I think they had good intentions and didnt want to cause further division. Promoting the vaccine a few months earlier in public, company statements. I dont want to get into a back and forth with them. Mostly we need to come together as a country and really as christians. Jesus prayed in john 17 that his people would be one. And so i believe the vaccines are safe. I believe the vaccines are good. Theres a bipartisan achievement. President trump shepherded it through. President biden is helping with the distribution. And if youve watched the process, its had Rigorous Scientific Protocols and its a uniquely american achievement, akin to what we did during World War ii, our companies coming together. I encourage folks to sit down and make this decision themselves i get why people have skepticism, because theres widespread distrust in american institutions. Yes. People are skeptical and hesitant. After seeing my comments ive spoken to folks, and reading the oped, who said im going to think through this, talk to my doctor and think about getting vaccinated. You were fair. Yet you were fired for being fair. Mark twain wrote you cannot pray a lot. Condemning lying over 100 times. Its in the ten commandments. Policy of neutrality on vaccines that punishes someone for speaking out about their truth, the scientific truth in a way thats not trying to divide but unite, what kind of message does that send . I dont want to get into a back and forth with them. This happened to you. I appreciate you trying to rise above. I appreciate that these are good people, your former colleagues. Nonetheless, you were fired for telling the truth. Thats the bottom line. This is a disagreement among friends and among Brothers And Sisters in christ. Why are we letting these things that are xliblingted and letting us divide us as christians during these times . One of the many things we should be taking away. Again, sir, you are exemplifying grace in your desire to put this behind you. In the eyes of any objective person, you were fired unjustly not only for telling your truth but the truth about vaccines during a pandemic. Pastor darling, thank you for joining us. Thank you. 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