Good evening. We have two breaking stories tonight. Each, with considerable impact now. And one almost certainly for years to come. There is the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and Rescue Operations underway right now. Zwlf zwlf zwlfrmgts. First, though, this countrys 20year War In Afghanistan is over. With the last C17 Transport lifting off just one minute before the President S selfimposed August 31st deadline arrived in kabul. He will be addressing the nation tomorrow. The Secretary Of State spoke just a short time ago, and addressed the issue of americans remaining in afghanistan. We believe there are still a small number of americans, under 200, and likely closer to 100 who remain in afghanistan and want to leave. We are trying to determine exactly how many. Were going through manifests and Calling And Texting through our lists, and well have more details to share as soon as possible. Our commitment to them and to all Americans In Afghanistan and everywhere in the world continues. The protection, the welfare of americans abroad remains the State Departments most vital and enduring mission. He said the State Department would help americans leave no matter when they decide they wish to depart. Meantime, celebratory gunfire by the taliban had heard in parts of kabul according to a local reporter working with cnn. Certainly, not The Ending anyone anticipated including the 13 final american troops who gave their lives helping others get out safely. Its a lot. It is history. And the effects will be felt for generations. Cnns Clarissa Ward was in afghanistan throughout the war, including the final american chapter. She joins us now. So, as someone who spent a lot of time in afghanistan covering the war, what is it like to know the u. S. Has finally left . Reporter i think its such a mixture of emotions. And its such an extraordinary moment to be thinking that 20 years ago today, the taliban was in control. And all these decades and lives lost and money spent and efforts put in later, the taliban is back in control. You heard secretary of State Blinken Talk about tough lessons to be learned. And i definitely think that you cant feel anything other than humbled on a day like today. I think, definitely, there are questions about how this can affect americas standing in the world. The fact that even with the worlds most powerful army and all that money and all that effort that, still, ultimately, the u. S. Was defeated by an insurgency. That is a bitter pill to swallow for a lot of people. I know that my phone has been inundated since the news broke that this is really, truly over, anderson, from servicemen, special forces, former intelligence who are heartbroken. Who feel angry. Who feel that america has betrayed the afghan people, and has abandoned people. And on the other hand, though, i hear from a lot of americans who simply say at least this was done in the most remarkable way it could have been, in terms of managing to evacuate well over 100,000 people. And now, its time to draw a line under it. So i think the History Books will ultimately be the ones to decide which narrative is closer to the truth. But certainly, afghanistan has many challenges ahead. Right now, it seems there is probably no Air Traffic controllers in the airport in kabul. Weve seen, obviously, taliban taking over the airport already. But theres not commercial flights in and out of afghanistan. Is it clear to you what happens now with kabul, in terms of i main aid going to the country . Obviously, the economy is in free fall. So much foreign aid has been propping up the country for the last 20 years. Um, even getting the remaining american citizens out and possibly other allied afghan citizens who may want to if the taliban would allow them to leave. Will only be possible if the airport is up and running. Right. I mean, Secretary Of State blinken really wanted to emphasize that any americans will be able to leave even if they decide they want to leave in a month. And talked about this agreement thats been hashed out with Turkey And Qatar potentially to allow charter flights in but as you say, all of this really will be contingent on a very major factor here. Which is whether the taliban can adequately and sufficiently secure and staff that airport. And i think they are desperate to make it happen. So um, there is every chance that they will. But there are certain challenges that they will be facing, as well. Security being a primary one. Cnn spoke to a taliban source earlier who said that the problem they have at the moment is that isisk fighters have, quote, melted into the taliban. Meaning that its impossible for taliban leadership and taliban fighters on the ground to distinguish isisk militants who are perhaps poised to carry out an attack from ordinary taliban fighters. So they have quite a mission on their hand now on their hands now to try to, you know, sustain security not just in kabul but across the country. Open up a major international airport. Get those flights up in the air, again. And it just isnt clear to any of us yet, i think, anderson, how quickly they will be able to pull it off. There had been report a couple days ago that the taliban had perhaps reached back out to turkey to see if they would, once again, take over security at the Airport Or Control of the airport. Do you know anything about that . Whether Thats Something Turkey would agree to . I think that Turkey And Qatar are you know, because they have close relationships with the Muslim Brotherhood or are affiliated directly with the Muslim Brotherhood, these are two country that the taliban feel they can work with and they feel they understand the taliban and know how to work with them, as well. So if anyone is going to be able to do this, um, then it likely would be a country like turkey and, of course, they have been running security at that airport in their Nato Role to many years now. But again, there are still so many questions as to, like, the mechanisms of what that would look like. Perhaps, they have hammered out a deal behind the scenes. We have seen the images now of taliban special Forces Kind of storming into that Airport Hangar looking at those u. S. Military planes that remain even though theyre not functional anymore. Thats a powerful symbolic moment for the taliban. But now, the really hard work begins, anderson. What the other thing that seems unclear is whether taliban will actually help or let american citizens safely leave the country now. Um, i know you have been speaking to two taliban individuals. Do you have a sense of how they plan to, you know, rule in kabul, maintain security, especially the threats from isisk and their ideology . So they say, and they keep repeating this, particularly to other sort of nations in the international community, that all foreign nationals will be allowed to travel freely. Will be allowed to leave the country. I think that probably the sort of between 1 and 200 americans that Secretary Blinken alluded to will have an easier time getting out than, certainly, u. S. Allies in the form of afghan citizens. Some of whom, may have green cards. Some of whom, may have those siv, those special immigration visas. But who have the sort of stigma associated with having worked with the u. S. Military or the u. S. Embassy in some capacity. And while the taliban has said theres a Blanket Amnesty here and No One will be punished. Privately, when i talk to people who are sort of ideologically aligned with the taliban, i hear something very different. Which is that people who collaborated with the occupiers and the invaders need to face some kind of punishment. And its important to remember that the whole reason the taliban has really been able to get this far is by the fact that they can create a secure situation through really draconian rule. And so, in order to continue to secure the country, it follows that they are going to have to implement pretty draconian rule. And that is why so many people and were talking thousands, Tens Of Thousands potentially, anderson are deeply fearful tonight now that those last u. S. Planes have left. Does that mean that their chance of getting out of the country has now gone, forever . Yeah, Clarissa Ward, appreciate it. Thank you. From pakistan tonight. The end of the war will bring a lot of questions. A lot of Study And Analysis including what happens to all the u. S. Military hardware left behind. Clarissa just mentioned a video that provides a stark answer tonight. It was shot reportedly just after the last u. S. Flight left. L. A. Times journalist took the Video Walking behind taliban fighters who were wearing, clearly, what seems to be u. S. Supplied gear, carrying american m4 weapons, walking toward what was just before a u. S. Helicopter. It is now in the taliban hands. I spoke with them just a few minutes before air time. Explain when you shot this video and and what it is were were seeing. What happened here . So we took this video minutes after the last american plane had left. At that point, you had the taliban sort of around the sides of the airport. And then, when they saw there were no more planes, they waited a bit and then went inside, en masse. To go towards the gate. Before manned by the americans. And they went in, they were able to examine the hangars, the tarmac, of course. And they were doing a full sweep of what they had basically been able now to commandeer. Fully in their hands. An entire area now. This is a hangar. I is this is it your understanding this was a hangar that was, up until a short time ago, occupied by u. S. Forces . It look that looks like a Chinook Helicopter that was used to ferry Embassy Employees and others. Yeah. And those have been i think partially dismantled but you also had other helicopters as well and there was even an mrap, as well. The so you think that helicopter has been disabled . I mean, you know, im no expert, to be clear. So i dont want to pretend to know what i dont know. But it seems that it was dismantled. So it hasnt been left in a way it can be assembled well and this isnt easy, right . Some Skill And Knowledge and training, of course. The uniforms that the taliban soldiers appear to be or that the taliban soldiers are wearing. I mean, it those look like american uniforms. Do you know where they come from . I mean, surely they are u. S. Supplied. I cant tell you whetre they cae from exactly. They also had Night Vision goggles and all those were supplied by the u. S. And uniforms, of course, are the same. Well, whats the situation between reporters and the taliban now . What is the whats the feeling like in kabul . I mean, at the moment, its been calm for us, reporters. But again, i have to stress i am in a very privileged position in the sense that i am not a i mean, i dont want to sort of compare myself to a local afghan journalist who doesnt have the same protection. They wouldnt have the foreign passports. They face, you know, much higher dangers. So with that being said, you know, we you know, were able to get permission to work with the taliban, you know. And again, that area in the past with see what was going on with the gates. And we got to know this one Ma Commander who was able to bring us into the airport when they take it over. I got to say, it is startling to see taliban fighters dressed in what are seem to be americansupplied uniforms. Perhaps, supplied to the afghan military with american weapons and nightvision goggles. Do you see a lot of that now . Yes. I mean, of course, you know, throughout kabul, you see the you know, i mean very often, its real sight. You see taliban, you know, the ford f150. I mean, the ford ranger. I know, all these various pickups. So i mean, you are talking about, you know, all the stuff is supplied by the u. S. , right . And of course, they are carrying m 16s. Just a real sight to see taliban on the streets of kabul to begin with and then to see them with these weapons is even more surreal. I appreciate you talking with us. Be careful. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Lets get some perspective now on what is really a historic night from cnns Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria gps. Author of ten lessons for a postpandemic world. Fareed, what do you make of this . I mean, for all what we have witnessed over the last week or or more, it was still startling to see the News Today that the the last plane left. It was startling. It was historic, anderson. And i think all the feelings of Frustration And Anger all come down to to one very simple thing. Which is that the united states was not able to achieve its mission in afghanistan. The mission in afghanistan was to defeat the taliban, and to establish a democratic government that could command the legitimacy of of the afghan people and control the country. And i think you will be very hard to make the case on either front. Look. The taliban over the last ten years has kept gaining, gaining ground. Even after the surge. You will remember there were 130, 140,000 Coalition Troops in afghanistan. By 2015, the taliban had made gains. They were controlling almost 30, 40 of the country. If you look at the government um there were some good things, without any question. But at The End of the day, in the last election, 1. 8 afghans voted out of and thats in a country of 39 million. 1. 8 million. The army turned out to be nothing like what what it had been advertised to be. So its really because this you know, this was a failure and its theres no theres no easy way to say that. And theres no easy way to lose a war. Is there any way to know what The End of this war, which is americas longest war, means both in the shortterm and the longterm for for afghanistan . I mean, there there are so many unknowns of what sort of rule the taliban will have. Their abilities to actually rule the the country. And what happens next . You put it exactly right, anderson. I think anyone who claims that they can foresee this. Its its incredibly complicated. What we can say is historically, afghans have been able to come together or create some sense of national unity only when there is a foreign presence. When you know, when there are foreigners there, there is a degree to which you can play with the that nationalist feeling. Left to their own devices, its a very tribal society. Many different ethnic groups. Many of them dont like Each Other much. And there have been long periods of either, you know, kind of me, you. You run your part of afghanistan. We run our part. Or actual civil war. So the the taliban are pashtuns. Pashtuns make up 50 of afghanistan. But there are tajiks and uzbeks. And so history would suggest the taliban is going to have a tough time and add to it the afghanistan of today is very different from the afghanistan of 20 years ago. Um, there were no Cell Phones in in afghanistan 20 years ago. I think something like 70 of the population have Cell Phones. Women are educated and theyve been working. The population is much younger. People have gotten used to a certain level of economic standards of living and and activity. Will they be able to just shut that all back . Remember, the last time they came in, it was The End of a tenyear civil war. Soviet withdrawal. It was very different. This is this is going to be tougher for the taliban. They have no money. They have no expertise. They Cant Pay Government salaries. So i suspect we will see a period of of a great deal of ambiguity. A certain amount of contestation. And all of which, by the way, gives america some leverage in asking that afghan allies get get get, you know, allowed to leave. Whatever americans want to leave can leave. We have leverage with the taliban. I mean, this is a country which is, obviously, there is potential for huge Drug Trade continuing. Theres but this is a country which has existed by through foreign money for a very long time. I mean, the reason there are mcmansions that have popped up in kabul over the last 20 years is because all the u. S. Dollars we have poured into this country and i assume have been syphoned off and gone into peoples pockets and they build nice houses or big houses, at the very least. What what does this country do, unless they are able to continue to get foreign aid . Very good question. Afghanistan is one of the rare countries where its Defense Budget was larger than its gdp. The amount the americans were were putting in was just massive. And what we were doing was we were trying to, you know, win a war. So, money was no expense. It went out fast. There was little accountability. And so, as you say, its sloshed around the country. Now, Theres None of that. So what do they do . Well, um, as you say, opium has been a big, longstanding business. It is mineral rich and there is one possibility that you end up, you know, afghanistan, through pakistan, which has essentially become a chinese satellite state. Now, moves toward china. The chinese Demand Mineral rights and they get some kind of foreign aid in that in that form. But again, it wont be at least historically, it wont be that easy because one of the reasons the the minerals have been tough to extract in afghanistan is because there is often a lot of political instability. There are often people firing at you while you are trying to mine those minerals. So, will will all that go away . Will the will the taliban be able, as clarissa was saying to you, to impose a kind of draconian rule on afghanistan . If if they can, then this China Angle perhaps becomes a viable one. Yeah. Fareed zakaria, appreciate it. Thank you. Coming up, next. The wife of one of the 13 americans who died defending the kabul airport. Died doing what she said that her husband loved the most which was helping other people. And that, he certainly did. Helping others to get out of kabul. Impressive aveeno® healthy. Its our nature. ™ try the body wash, too. [narrator] as you get ready for whats next, Custom Gear from Custom Ink can help make the most of these moments. Weve developed new tools to make it easy for you. Custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. Upload your logo or start your Design Today at customink. Com oh no. I thought i just ordered tacos. Nope . Ramen. Burgers. Milk from the store, and. Cookies . Wha, Me Hungry here, ill call some friends to help us eat. Yeah, that good idea. Get more from your neighborhood. Hey yo, grover doordash. As someone who resembles Someone Else. I appreciate that Liberty Mutual knows everyones unique. Thats why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. [ nautical Horn Blows ] i mean just because you look like Someone Else doesnt mean you eat off the floor, or yell at the vacuum, or need flea medication. Oh, yeah. Thats the spot. Only pay for what you need. Liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty you need an ecolab scientific clean here. And here. Which is why the scientific expertise that helps Operating Rooms stay clean now helps the places you go too. Look for the Ecolab Science certified seal. Repeating our Breaking News tonight. Americas ended its 20year in afghanistan. The last the last c17 left canel just before maidnight there. Staff Sergeant Ryan Knausse was 23 years old when he died along with 12 other american Service Members. He was assigned to the army Special Operations forces psychological operations unit. Those barest of brief biographical details, of course, dont tell you nearly enough about who he was and what he was like. Well, just before air time, i spoke to his wife, alina, about Ryans Life and service. Alina, thank you so much for joining us. I am so sorry for for your loss. Um, how are you holding up . I know grieving is a different process for everyone so as well as i can be, at the moment. What was ryan like . Um, i think the word that has been most commonly used these past few days is very charismatic. Um, theres not we dont have the time, you know, to to talk about every, little thing about him. And i wish we did because i wish i could give that little bit of him to people because he was just wonderful. Through and through, he was one of those people you could not hate. And when you met him, you thought about him until, you know, one day, youre like why am i thinking about this person . He was just really one of those people that he could have the smallest interaction with and truly touch them. Now, i understand that you went to you kind of went to rival High Schools, didnt you . Um, in in a way, yeah. Its Gonna Sound Bad But um he went to gibbs which was like the local High School. And i went to i didnt want to go to gibbs. I wanted to go to the science technology, engineering, and mathematics downtown. And so, he always gave me so much, you know, flack for not going to the local one. Hes like you just really thought you were above everyone. I was like no, i just wanted to break out, you know . Uhhuh. But but you but you were High School sweethearts. How did you meet . Um, we worked at a very small Pizza Shop in fountain city, tennessee, together. Um, his brother was actually the manager at the time. And i had worked with his brother, and we were really good friends. And then, one day, this kid showed up and um i was like, god, he he thinks he owns the place. Like, who is this guy . I was just like who like and he was like, oh thats my brother. And i was like, oops. Okay. Give him a hard time. He needs to be knocked down a little. And ive been doing it ever since. Um, he was obviously he was very good looking. I have heard you say that. I i ive heard ive heard that you actually didnt do much work when he was around because you were kind of smitten with him. Is that true . Yeah. He would get frequently annoyed. I keep telling people i was his pr because i mean, he would be trying to talk to me. Or um i mean, just even eat in peace. And i would just be over there with like, you know, my phone. Like, just look that way. Look that way. You know . Just i was smitten. People say that the Cupcake Phase or the Honeymoon Phase ends and it did not for us. Which i am so grateful for. October 7th was going to be your your fifth wedding anniversary. It is going to be your fifth wedding anniversary. Yes. When did you when did you know you were going to marry him . When did you know he was the one . Also, not the second i met him. He was i think i told Someone Else earlier, he really hounded me those first few years for a date. And its like i knew the second i met him that, one, he drove me crazy. And, two, i was gonna marry him. I heard your mom is the one who actually got you to go on a date with him . She did. Um, she would come in for pizzas because, you know, we worked there so we had a discount. And um, he was just so nice. Thats who he was. And it was genuine, you know, but of course my mom was like, oh, this nice, young man. Um so she was like, alina, if you do not you know, at least give him a chance, he will be the one you always wonder about. And she just she hounded me just as much as he did and finally i gave him the chance. And i was like okay. So we are getting married. I i get it. Yeah. Moms always know. And he always and ryan always wanted to be in the military . Absolutely. I mean, i think something recently surfaced where in 2nd Grade he had written i want to be a marine. Poorly. You know, but he had written it. I love that you point out poorly. Like i said, ive always its been my job to keep him humble just as much as it was to be smitten with him. That was our dynamic. Hmm. So he was he was living his dream, not only his dream with you but also being in the military. 100 . He um i thought he should have been a history professor. I thought he should have done, you know, he could he was one of those people. He was just so brilliant. He could have done whatever he wanted but he wanted to serve his country. And he did. And it was so fulfilling for him. And, you know, he went through so many different mos changes and finding out his niche and he really did, in The End, there with psychological operations because he was fulfilling his role in its fullest capacity. He was brilliant and he was using every capability he had to help people. When you heard that there had been an attack, initially the reporting was that it was marines and a navy corpsman. Did you feel did you you didnt know, initially, that he had been in the in the attack . Correct. His mom called, and she said, alina, you know, im worried about ryan. Have you heard anything from him . And i was like, no. Im im i havent. You know, but hes working and i will ill reach out to him. But i was like, you know, dont be worried because, you know, well know before the media, god forbid, anything happened. And um, so, i sent him a text. And it was the last text i sent him. And it was along the lines of, you know, hey. I love you. I know youre busy. But when you get the chance, everybodys worried so just let me know youre okay. And um we know now he wasnt okay. Unfortunately. What do you what do you want people to know to know about him . I read an article, i think i dont know if it was you or your mom. But this is what he this is what he loved to do. And i mean, service was something that was that that the need to serve ran very dw deep in him. It did. And i think um it takes very unique people to do something in that field. Something very, very selfless. Um, you know, you serve regardless of the president who is in position. You do it not for politics but for helping people. You know . And um, i want people to know that he was doing what he wanted to be doing. And i i keep saying it and i will always say it. But, you know, if it had been one person over there who needed him, he would have been there. And if he wouldve known the outcome, he would have still done it because it was the ultimate sacrifice that he could give for his country. He sounds like just a really remarkable guy. And i think were all poorer for not having for not having known him and for not having him still with us. Um, thank you so much. Absolutely. For talking to us about him. And and letting us know him a little bit. Of course. Thanks for having me. And thank you for letting me give you all a little bit about him. Just sounds remarkable. Coming up next. The very late eblt live reporting from southeastern louisiana. Where a full accounting of Hurricane Idas destruction might not be phonknown for days. Thanks, gary. And for unexpected heartburn. Frank is a fan of pepcid. It works in minutes. Nexium 24 Hour And Prilosec otc can take one to four days to fully work. Pepcid. Strong relief for fans of fast. As your business changes, the United States Postal Service is changing with it. With ecommerce that runs at the speed of now. Next Day And Twoday shipping nationwide, and returns right from the doorstep. Its a whole New World out there. Lets not keep it waiting. Advil dual action fights pain 2 ways. Its the first and only fda approved combination of Advil Plus acetaminophen. Advil targets pain. Acetaminophen blocks it. Advil dual action. Fast Pain Relief that lasts 8 hours. Pain hits fast. So get relief fast. Only Tylenol Rapid release gels have laserdrilled holes. They release Medicine Fast for fast Pain Relief. Tylenol rapid release gels. As of now, two people are known to have lost their lives in the wake of Hurricane Ida. No one pretends that will be the final number. Louisianas governor saying he expects it to rise, quote, considerably. When it came ashore yesterday as a strong category 4 storm, ida tied to Hurricane Laura last year as the strongest storm ever to hit the state. Which means the damage is extensive. Powers out for about 1. 1 Million people across the area. Trees are down. Roads blocked. Access, obviously, difficult. In west of New Orleans and elsewhere outside the city, members of the cajun navy are conducting Rescue Operations with the other volunteer and other official agencies. One Fleet Captain telling us he believes there are hundreds of people, possibly more stranded in their homes. But again, hard numbers are still very difficult to come by. South of New Orleans, flooding reportedly sent some people to their rooftops. Same in another town nearby. Levee overtopping being blamed for some of it, as well. However, unlike during katrina which hit 16 years ago to the day before Hurricane Ida, the big levees protecting New Orleans did not give way. So there is a lot to be thankful for. Not seeing anything like what transpired back then. Theres been a preliminary Damage Assessment of levees today. People getting eyes on those levees. We dont Believer T there was a single levee anywhere now that actually breached, that failed. And that is no small thing. Cnns Ed Lavandera joins us now from gonzalez, louisiana. On the road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. What kind of damage have you seen, ed . Well, anderson, the amount of Damage Weve seen this far inland from where Hurricane Ida came ashore is rather quite impressive. A decent amount of structural damage, downed Power Lines everywhere weve been. And people having to be rescued and taken out of neighborhoods all through this region. Essentially, the eye of this storm, thread the needle, coming ashore between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. And we saw, you know, dozens of people being rescued from residential neighborhoods in the tune of laplace just west of New Orleans throughout much of the day today. And and how are residents in the area describing what it was like . Reporter you know, it was really staggering to see people coming out of these neighborhoods after they had just been pulled out. You know, this dazed, kind of bewildered look on their face. And these are people to a person told us we are used to dealing with storms living through storms all the time. Its just the way of life down here. But they all felt like this one was different. The intensity of this hurricane and its ability to with withhold and withstand the the intensity of the storm this far inland really rattled a lot of people. They described their walls shaking. The one woman said she was sleeping on her kitchen islands, as floodwaters were coming into her home. They knew it was going to be bad but they didnt think it was going to be this bad. What was it like for you Last Night . A nightmare. It was horrible. It was the wind. Ive never had wind shake the house the way it did. The only way we survived the night was we went upstairs on the landing. In between the two bedrooms because that was the only place that didnt have where the ceiling looked like it was weak. I lived here All My Life so we been through all the storms. And like i say, they they expected it to come and be bad but we didnt expect it to get this close to laplace. Wasnt supposed to be this close, you know . And so i am not going to take that chance again. Not with a family. Anderson, one family we talked to said that Last Night, they described it as enduring hours of agony. Living through all of this. And this far inland, really in the amount of rooftop structural damage that we have seen in in various communities. It really stands out in this storm. And our searchandrescue efforts going on throughout the night . Its hard to say and i think It Kind of depends on where you are. For example, we spent the day in laplace and that is st. John the baptist parish. There were 800 people were told by Parish Officials there that were rescued out of neighborhoods. And officials there now say that into the evening hours, its going into more of a recovery mode. Kind of depends on what where you are in terms of just how much access crews were able to get to various neighborhoods. You know, i think the further south you are, its become much its been much more treacherous throughout throughout the day. Up here, along interstate 10, they have been able to clear out some roads and they have made, i think, a pretty decent amount of progress in terms of searchandrescue efforts throughout the day today. Ed lavandera, appreciate it. Thank you. Joining us now, mike foster, president of the nonprofit Searchandrescue Team Tide water disaster response. Mike, appreciate you being with us. I know you have been out on a boat since 6 00 a. M. Whats it been like . You know, when we started this morning, we actually got The Call Last Night to head down around 12 30 in the morning. We were up trying to ride the storm out. Once we got The Call, we started heading that way once weather allowed. Um, arrived there around 2 30 in the morning. And had a few other guys there that were kind of giving us what what info they had and they said all they know is um they they were guessing upwards of 50 to 100 people trapped. Um, we assessed the situation and decided that with the winds still going on, we couldnt we couldnt get boats in the water, quite yet. So, we waited it out until sunrise came and right around 6 00 a. M. , we we got boats in the water and working with the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office and the the Fire Department, as well. With National Guard um started working into the area. And what what did you see . I mean, we are seeing some video that that you took. Obviously, theres extensive, extensive flooding. Did a lot of folks need to to be brought out of their homes . Yeah. So, when when we got there, there was Flooding Half up to windows and houses. We had some areas down there, it was all the way up to the roofs. It was it was mostly a lot of the folks had had come out already and they were making their way down to the Fire Department when we got there. Um, there was a lot of people on their upper balconies, at their front doors just hollering, asking for help. So we kind of worked our way through, Street By street, and picked Em Up As as they came. And then, once all that kind of wrapped up, it was a lot of Wellness Checks in the area of people they hadnt heard from. But it was it was pretty bad down there. I mean, the Wind Damage was like nothing ive ever seen. Um, and and the flooding just was unreal. What whats been the biggest the biggest challenge . I mean, first of all, yall got to be exhausted. But whats been the biggest challenge so far . The biggest challenge for for this was really access. Um, when we got there, we were still probably around six to seven miles from the first Dropin Point that we could even get close to. Um, so in the morning, one once we kind of figured a Game Plan out, we actually had to go i would i would think around five, six miles through highways. Taking the boats on highways, side roads, through the marshes there. And then, had to cross over the river to lafeat to finally get into the area and start working our way through the neighborhood. Mike foster, i appreciate talking to you and i appreciate all you do and thank you so much. Yeah, definitely. Thank you for having me on. Coming up next, you will meet a remarkably optimistic man who survived ida, even though his house did not fare so well. Well be right back. With Directv Stream, i can get live tv and on demand. Together. Watch serena williams. Wonder woman. Serena. Wonder woman. Serena. Wonder woman. Ace. Advantage you cannot be serious. Get your tv together with the best of live and on demand. Introducing Directv Stream with no annual contract. Your Shipping Manager left to find themself. leaving you lost. 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 oh no. I thought i just ordered tacos. Nope . Ramen. Burgers. Milk from the store, and. Cookies . Wha, Me Hungry here, ill call some friends to help us eat. Yeah, that good idea. Get more from your neighborhood. Hey yo, grover doordash. Every single day, were all getting a little bit better. Were better cooks. Better neighbors. Hi. Ive got this until you get back. Better parents. And better friends. No no thats why comcast works around the clock constantly improving americas largest gigspeed broadband network. And just doubled the capacity here. How do things look on your end . Perfect because were building a better network every single day. Before the break, we got to see a small sampling of what Hurricane Ida has done to southeastern louisiana. Now, a closer look at why it was so destructive there and why others elsewhere could still be in harms way. So, what kind of danger does the storm still pose . Mainly, its flooding, anderson. But there is two types. There is Flash Flooding and then river flooding. I mean, this looks a lot different than it did yesterday when it was a giant buzz saw. Calmer shape. Drier moving in. The Centers North of jackson. It will leave the state of mississippi by morning. But the brighter colors on infrared tell us where the Flash Flooding problems are and again its been the bands throughout the day. We have a couple warnings here for flooding. It was peppered earlier today. Even to tornados. Numerous Tornado Warnings and small spinups. But everything in red is 8 to 10 inches of rain but you get into purple areas. This is 10 to 17. It takes a while for all this water to get into the tributaries. Larger tributaries, rivers, and then the mississippi. So that could pose a threat for even rescue and and, again, crews that are trying to get those boats and the barges that become unmoored. So again, thats going to be a problem for days ahead. Could cause some big problems for, again, those recovery crews. And in terms of the hardesthit areas, i am wondering what you make of the damage we have seen so far . If you go back and look at the forecast, this is amazing. 72 hours out had a beat on it. They knew it was going to be in louisiana. They even had the intensity up to a major hurricane and a category 4. But look when the areas of red. This is the track. It made a turn to the east. Thats good news for Baton Rouge but it was terrible for houma. Put em pretty much in the eyewall. They were expecting the eye to move over them. That would have given them lightened winds for several hours but unfortunately, they were into the winds. It was also Bad News for New Orleans and points to the west. Thats why we had those flashflood emergencies, which is a big concern without power for the 30 hospitals or so running on generator power. Wondering if those kind of floodwaters would, you know, kind of hamper that and shut them down with that as well. So what happens now going forward . Well, now, what we have is more flood problems. We have got a swath of 3 to 5 inches that will make its way into the tennessee valley. Really worried west of tennessee where we had these problems in waverly. And then, up areas of new england. 19 states under Flood Watches right now. This will be moving e off the northeastern coast on thursday. The other concern with over A Million customers without power. Thats actually millions of people. A customer is a home or its a business. Now, anderson, Take A Look at this. Day after day, temperatures are going to be near 90. But with all this water on the ground, the Humidity Levels will be through the roof. That gives us heatindex values in the upper 90s near 100 day after day after day. That, itself, is gonna be a lifethreatening situation. So again, its unfortunately, this is still unfolding and its just going to get worse for some until we can get power restored and we can get some supplies and, you know, the help they need. Tom sater, appreciate it. Want to go next to cnns Gary Tuchman in New Orleans with two people he has met. Gary. Well, anderson, first, what i will tell you is what happened to this house in uptown New Orleans exactly 25 hours ago. Its a very sad story but its also an incredible and amazing story. 6 49yearold dart lives here and dart was inside the house when it was destroyed when it collapsed. He was on the second floor of the house and plunged ten feet into the bottom of the house. He wasnt seriously hurt. He hurt his ankle. He hurt his hand. He hurt his foot but he will be okay. But this very same house he lived when katrina came. Roof was damaged back then. He wasnt home he was out of town but he came back and over the last 16 years, hes been fixing up this house. Hes been rebuilding things. Just got a new Lighting System a couple weeks ago and this is the man right here. This is dart and next to dart, i want to tell you, is daniel tan. Daniels a neighbor. I am going to tell you why daniels with us in a minute because that is an amazing story, in itself. First of all, i want to ask you, dart, and tell you that im very sorry for whats happened to you. That youve lost your home. I appreciate it. I want to ask how you are feeling physically and mentally . My ankles a little sore. I have a pinched nerve in my back that bothers me from time to time. It flares up. It kind of bothers me. But other than that, like the worst feeling that i have is probably a splinter in my finger. You were in the second floor. Did you hear something . Or see something first that made you know something terrible was about to happen . Should i turn . Yeah, you can turn, sure. The fireplace completely the the storm blew it off. And so, there was a hole In The House where the fireplace was. And then, i went over to see it because i had decided to hunker down in the hallway. I came over to see it. And the wind was blowing. I thought, okay, maybe, i better get away from here. So i i walked back toward the hallway. And i felt myself drop. I had no idea i had dropped to what was the ground. Reporter you landed on your feet . Yes. Yeah. So i youre like a cat. Nine lives. Well yeah, hopefully, i only used one of em so far. But yeah, so i felt that and then i just went and sat in the hallway. And Daniel Text me. Reporter your neighbor . Yeah, well i am going to ask dan about that really quickly. But you were In The House, firefighters came and they were amazed you were alive, right . They didnt actually come until after i sat and i talked via text To Daniel. I dialed 911. They couldnt i didnt i had bad reception so they couldnt hear me. And so, i gave up on that. And i i looked back and i realized because i thought i would come down the stairs and come out the front door. Again, i had no idea how far i had fallen. I i looked up and i realized i could see the roof. So, i realized the Attic Wasnt there. So thought, okay, this is more serious than im thinking. And then, i could see the Ground Outside and i thought, okay, that is how im going down, right . And so, i sat for a second and kind of gathered myself. And i responded that when it was safe, when it was the weather let down a little bit, id come out. And reporter i mean, let me ask you this. Can you believe now that you are thinking about it, you fell from the second story to the first. Your house is destroyed, sadly. Any of these things could ever landed on your head and killed you. Are you amazed youre okay . Yes, absolutely. But with it being my house, you just i felt at home. I i just felt like sure, looking at it from outside and seeing the the damage, yeah. Reporter it it is your home and thats why i wanted to leave the surprise about the story To Daniel over here. Daniel was in his house right next door with his wife. Very girlfriend. Oh, girlfriend, im sorry. Dont get me in trouble. Are you ready to propose . Really get him in trouble. Got him there. See, we are trying to have a good time while we are other too. But here is what i want to ask you. You saw his house collapse. You said what in the text . I sent a picture. Like hey man i got some Bad News. Your house got some pretty serious damage. He responded with im In The House. And did you freak . Well, dude. Hes In The House. Like, Me And My Girlfriend heard the sound of scraping metal. All right. And then, i found out he is In The House and i am asking if hes okay and instead of actually being like, im fine. You know, but i can come over. He tells me to stay in my house because there is a hurricane outside. He actually was worried about me. Reporter you are a good man. A final thing i want to ask you is this. Do you have insurance for your home . Unfortunately, i dont. I was paying for repairs out of pocket and it put me in a position where i couldnt afford it. I i quite honestly, im up for a promotion at work thats really significant. Ive been underemployed because the house was in Code Enforcement with the city. I had some fines and some fees to take care of. Some back taxes. So figured if my house was in Code Enforcement, i would work in Code Enforcement and be there with it. And to answer your question, no. So im sorry about that. There is a lot more to that story but sure. I am sorry about that but i want to wish you the best. We are all grateful youre okay. Absolutely appreciate it. And we are grateful you have a good friend next door, daniel. Who may propose to his girlfriend, soon. Right . Putting him on the spot. But we are happy that this man is doing okay. You can edit that part out. We can edit this part out but we are live, gentlemen. Okay. You Cant Edit that part out. Good sense of humor, this guy, despite what he went through. Anderson, back to you. Gary, appreciate it. Thanks very much. Still to come. The last u. S. Soldier to leave afghanistan. More on this photo, when we continue. We end tonight with this image. The last american soldier leaving afghanistan. It was tweeted out by the Defense Department a few minutes ago. It shows major general chris donahue, Commanding General of the 82nd airborne americas division, the last soldier boarding the last c17 departing kabul. Which again, took off one minute before midnight on august 30th. It is i mean, striking image. America leaving afghanistan after two decades, four President S, and 2,461 u. S. Service members die dying. Let me say that, again, because tonight we also want to remember the soldiers and their families and the marines who gave more than anyone during this war, including the 13 Service Members who gave their lives last week so that more americans and afghans could leave. This War Cost the united states 2,461 american lives, more than 20,000 americans wounded in the fight. Tonight, we remember their sacrifice. The news continues. Want to hand it over to chris for cuomcuomo prime time. Chris. Thank you, anderson. I am Chris Cuomo and welcome to prime time. Lets look at that of the last Service Member to leave afghanistan today. This will be in History Books. Pentagon just put it out. They say the war has ended. Army major general chris donahue. Commanding general of the 82nd airborne boarding a c17 to depart kabul. Lifted off at 11 59 p. M. Local. Just before the clock struck midnight. So, that means its August 31st in afghanistan right now. Right . Remember that date. Arbitrary. Set by the biden administration. Its about 5 30 in the morning there now. The taliban knows the united states is gone, and is celebrating with gunfire. Now, their government