Nbc nightly news with Lester Holt good evening, Everyone President biden announced late today that the u. S. Is on pace to finish the removal of u. S. Citizens and military troops from afghanistan by the August 31st deadline the president , however, leaving the door open to stay longer, acknowledging Contingency Planning is under way the u. S. Tonight caught between the Proverbial Rock and hard place on one side, the enormous challenge of getting the last of americans safely out while at the same time demobilizing the last of our troops there. On the other side, the risk of renewed conflict with the taliban and potential Terror Attacks tonight, the pace of Evacuation Flights is picking up, but will it be quick enough as the clock winds down Peter Alexander has late details. Reporter tonight with the Frantic Rush to evacuate Stranded Americans and desperate afghans and despite please from g7 allies to stay longer, President Biden is sticking with his selfimposed August 31st deadline for u. S. Forces to leave afghanistan. We are currently on pace to finish by August 31st. The sooner we can finish, the better. Reporter it follows a secret meeting monday in Afghanistan Betwee Cia Director William Burns and a top Taliban Leader who previously spent eight years in prison after being arrested by the cia. After the meeting the taliban declares the u. S. Must leave by The End of the month as promised, threatening consequences if not. The President Today saying hes asked for Contingency Plans to stay longer if needed, but that hes worried about a Terror Attack there. Im also mindful of the increasing risk that i have been briefed on every day were on the ground is another day we know that isisk is seeking to target the airport. Reporter officials tell Nbc News 4,000 americans and their families have been evacuated from afghanistan, but thousands more remain trapped. The u. S. Is still relying on the taliban to allow Safe Passage For Americans to the airport, that the State Department warns is a dangerous trip, and the taliban is now vowing to block afghans from leaving the White House says evacuations have accelerated 12,000 people in the last 12 hours but a top democrat argues its very unlikely the u. S. Will be able to get all americans and afghan allies out in seven days it is hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and The End of the month. Reporter republicans slamming President Biden for the chaotic withdrawal. Particularly after the decision made today and what we heard today, he will have blood on his hands. People are going to die, and theyre going to be left behind. Reporter meanwhile afghan refugees arriving today in the u. S. Are detailing their terrifying exit from kabul, saying people died in the chaotic crush trying to get to the airport. Yeah, the children were dying because there were many people pushing. Is aay they have to get to their flight, to the terminal peter, there have been reports of refugees evacuated by u. Facing some pretty dire conditions at a qatari air base. What do we know . Reporter thats right, lester. Axios obtained internal governmen emails that say those refugees are, quote, living in hell, including a rat infestation. The pentagon says it is working to provide humanitarian assistance also the White House acknowledges to get american troops out by the 31st, evacuations will have to wind down even sooner. Lester a lot of Moving Parts tonight. Peter, thank you and on the ground in afghanistan, signs everywhere of an era coming to an end many still desperate to get out in time the airlift now in overdrive, the taliban exerting new authority. Richard engle is there tonight. Reporter at kabul international airport, time is running out. The u. S. And Nato Allies have just one week to pull out all their citizens and vulnerable afghans after the Taliban Today again insisted theyd accept no extensions beyond August 31st, or there would be consequences. The u. S. Embassy strain, issuing a final alert for american citizens to leave Tonight Or Theyd be on their own. Then recalling it 30 minutes later this is now an extremely busy airfield every few minutes new planes are coming in, and theyre not just from the united states we have seen them from the uk, qatar, australia, Civilian Aircraft this is a truly global airlift. These Satellite Images show the huge crowds trying to leave the airport. But now, finally, the departures are going smoothly we watched a qatari Air Force Plane bound for doha being loaded as u. S. Forces Monitor Air Traffic from the runway but will the Air Lift be done in a week . Maybe, but it will be difficult, because u. S. Troops dont just need to fly out afghans but also themselves we just left kabul airport, and you go through the american checkpoint and then youre headed to what looks like another american checkpoint. You see the uniforms, you see soldiers in black jackets, eye protection, new weapons m4s, perfect condition. They know how to carry them theyre not american soldiers theyre the taliban. The images are hard to believe, that this is how the united states is ending its longest war. American troops just yards from the taliban helping the u. S. Get out and go home. The taliban are now on almost every corner in kabul. They werent hostile to us or anyone we saw. The taliban claim to have found tolerance since they were in power two decades ago. The old tricolored afghan flag still flies, and kabul for now is calm. Traffic cops from the deposed u. S. Backed government have returned to work the taliban move among them, and theyre giving the orders. Theres an old Taliban Expression that the americans have the watches, and they have the time it seems they were right, and the americans time is about to run out richard, you have been in and out of afghanistan dozens of times covering this conflict what struck you most when you returned today . Reporter i think it was coming out of the airport and seeing the taliban soldiers so well armed with american equipment its clear theyre in control here, and it looks like they are going to be in control for quite some time. And before, afghans had hope they had hope for a better future, possibilities for traveling abroad, possibilities for education. Now all they have is faith that the taliban really have changed. Lester richard, continue to stay safe. If you havent been vaccinated, the cdc is hoping youll think long and hard about this a new study shows the unvaccinated are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with the virus than those who have gotten the shots. This comes as new infections soar 227,000 cases and almost 1,400 deaths reported in the last day. Gabe Gutierrez Tonight in florida where some hospitals are overwhelmed. Reporter at st. Josephs hospital in tampa, the pandemic is peaking daily this is not normal. Reporter Nurse Jamie Lillow says just yesterday she brought four patients to the morgue i went home last night, and i was mad why because i dont need to be doing this right now. We could have avoided this whole wave if more people in our country had gone and just gotten two shots. Reporter the Bay Care Health system now has about 1,200 Covid patients, shattering its previous record of 700 last summer. This is one of the Covid-icus'>Covid Icus theres 26 beds here, and right now 25 of them are full. The Hospital Set Up Overflow Beds in other parts of the facility. The amount of death and dying were seeing is in my whole Nursing Career i have never seen anything like it. Reporter ambulances often have to wait here to pick up patients or theyre rerouted to other hospitals that are also stretched thin. For example, if were in critical care bypass, were saying we dont have beds or staff to provide care for critical care patients. Reporter so now youre diverting ambulances half the time now because you just dont have beds exactly reporter across the country, new Covid cases are up about 12 from the previous week hospitalizations stayed about the same, but deaths are up 23 . I think the only chance we have is vaccination, and thats it. Reporter among healthcare workers, the emotional toll is measured in long shifts and longer memories just this week, Jamie Lillow helped care for a fellow nurse who came down with Covid and did not survive. It could be me, it could be any nurse, it could be anyone we know and once youre in the bed in the icu, you dont have any control anymore. Im still here, im still trying, but i want to make people better its what i do and i cant. Its awful gabe, i remember your reporting in so many hospitals at the start of the pandemic. Here we are now with a vaccine and still seeing hospitals so packed whats it like reporter lester, its very surprising i along with many healthcare workers a few months ago doubted it would get this bad. But here it is the worst its ever been of course its not like this everywhere, but for healthcare workers here and other places going through surges, it is incredibly frustrated. Lester because it didnt have to be that way. In 60 seconds, u. S. Diplomats facing a Mystery Illness delaying the Vice President s trip. And the Covid-spike'>Covid Spike in travel. What one governor is warning tourists not to do. Were back with the surprising hours long delay of Vice President Kamala Harriss Flight to vietnam, as the u. S. Embassy dealt with two new cases of that Mystery Illness known as Havana Syndrome Andrea Mitchell joins us now andrea, this is very unusual. Thats right, lester it was a Lastminute Delay on the Vice President s Highprofile Trip to vietnam after Embassy Staffers reported acoustic symptoms similar to the socalled Havana Syndrome over the weekend. At least one to be medevaced for treatment. Security officials decided there was no threat to the Vice President since th Embassy Staff was working at home due to Covid. Nbc reported as many as 200 reported cases at posts all over the world of a still mysterious ailment three hours late, Vice President harris arrived in hanoi where we are told shell be carrying out her full schedule lester andrea, thank you with cases of the Delta Variant of Covid rising, americans are once again cutting back on travel, and hawaii is telling residents of the other 49 states, dont come here more now from Tom Costello Reporter with overflowing hospitals resorting to outdoor tents, the tourist dependent Aloha State is asking tourists to stay away. Honolulu restricting Restaurant Capacity and large gatherings, including weddings 10 People Max at indoor events, 25 at outdoor events. I did ask everyone, residents and visitors alike, to reduce travel to hawaii to Essential Business activities only. Reporter while on the mainland, San Francisco joins New York in requiring restaurant customers to show their vaccine cards. Only one table of four said see ya, but otherwise everybodys thankful and very happy. Reporter meanwhile, the cdc still advising anyone at risk, including the vaccinated, to avoid Cruise Ships after a 77yearold Carnival Cruise Ship Passenger died of Covid. 27 people onboard tested positive, though carnival says the guest almost certainly did not Covid'>Contract Covid on our Ship Disney Cruise lines announced passengers 12 and older going from florida to the Castaway Island in the Bahamas Must B fully vaccinated, required by the bahamian government. They are concerned what you might be bringing to their citizens, and you need to be concerned what you might pick up when you end up in one of these sites. Reporter the hope is that the Vaccine And Mask requirements here and overseas will help stop the Delta Variant from morphing into a more dangerous form of Covid-lester-tom'>Covid Lester Tom costello tonight, thanks. The paralympics are under way in tokyo. At the opening ceremonies tonight, fireworks shot in the air as the athletes marched on The Field but stands were mostly empty because of Covid. The games run until september 5th. If theres a Rock N Roll heaven, the song says you know theyve got a hell of a band perhaps with the stones Charlie Watts on drums now Stephanie Gosk on the death of a Rock Legend Reporter if the Rolling Stones are the worlds greatest Rock N Roll band, Charlie Watts is surely the greatest Rock N Roll drummer. The 80yearold kept the beat with Mick And Keith nearly 50 years, dropped out of the tour this month after undergoing surgery he died today in a London Hospital surrounded by family, according to a spokesperson paul mccartney, a member of that other famous british band taking a moment to remember watts. Charlie was a rock. A fantastic drummer. Steady as a Rock Reporter often impeccably dressed in bespoke suits watts was soft spoken, letting his bandmates take the spotlight want to say hello hello. He speaks reporter but he was at the heart of the rolling Stones Bassist Ronnie wood called him the engine. Watts got his first Drum Set when he was 14 years old, developing a passion for jazz he even started his own 33piece Band in the 80s. I always loved it its a thing when i was a kid, you know, 12, 13, i heard Jerry Monahue and that was it. Reporter the problem with Rock N Roll, he once said, was the regularity of it his job was to make it swing and bounce, and thats what he did Stephanie Gosk, Nbc News. Were back in a moment with a search for a 3yearold girl. Why her disappearance is part of a disturbing trend now to the search for a toddler who vanished Without A Trace in montana the case has put a spotlight on what some point out is a disparity in justice for nativeamericans, and now the federal government is getting involved here is morgan radford. Reporter nearly every day for the past four months they said thats where she went in. Reporter Erin Peppion has been searching this is where they believe she went in the river . Yes. Reporter for his little girl. So far found her coat and a boot. Reporter 3yearold arden went missing April 22nd last seen here in a remote area on the black feet Indian Reservation in northwest montana, where the man who was babysitting her claimed she disappeared while he was practicing shooting his gun near the river. After a formal search that lasted ten days, arden is still miss, which is why peppion and his neighbors have taken the search into their own hands. You think your own kids might end up disappearing, thats how bad it is. We warn our kids every day, my daughters, you cant go here. You know, you might not come home. Reporter how common is it to know someone personally here who has gone missing . Very common. Very common. As nativeamericans were forgotten. Were forgotten. Reporter what do you mean by that they dont followup with our issues, they dont followup with our missing. If youre murdered here, missing, they do their search or whatever they need to do, and thats it. Thats The End of It Reporter its a story that has played out over centuries in 2020, nativeamericans made up 10 of active missing cases, even though they make up just 1. 3 of the u. S. Population and on many reservations, nativeamerican women are murdered at a rate ten times the national average. The complexity of Jurisdiction Or Response when somebody does go missing, there isnt anyone there to hold accountable or ask those questions to reporter now the federal government is taking steps to change that, creating the first missing and murdered unit formed at the federal level, launched by the nations first native american secretary of the interior, deb haaland. This is a crisis thats been happening in our country since colonization, and its never gotten the attention, the funding, the care that its needed. Reporter for this family, that Attention Cant come soon enough do you think you would have had more support from authorities if you were not a native family to tell you the truth, yes it seems like theyre just like, oh, just another native death. Reporter what are you hoping for im hoping to find her. One way or another in The End, justice. Because shes our baby. Reporter justice for so many families like theirs. Morgan radford, Nbc News, black feet Indian Reservation. Well take a short break. Up next, jumping at life and inspiring america at 100 here at home, Inspiration Tonight from a veteran we have come to know well and who just celebrated a Birthday Milestone in high Style Reporter for tom rice, the feeling before parachuting 7,500 feet above the earth is a familiar one, and One H welcomed again to celebrate his 100th birthday. I like to jump, it gives you a new vision of so many things that 90 of the people will never be able to see. Reporter this jump far different than the One He took in 1944 over the Normandy Countryside in germanoccupied france in a prelude to the Dday Invasion a few years ago he recreated that jump, returning to france to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the invasion where i was lucky enough to meet some of the heroes of that war, with the full knowledge their ranks grow thinner by the year that feels great. Go back up and do it again. Reporter and jump again, he did. We are honoring all of those that were killed, that didnt make it, that couldnt get home. Reporter Rice Landing to cheers from his hometown of coronado happy birthday [ cheers and applause ] reporter a Birthday Celebration saluting the greatest generation and 100 years of a life well lived. Congratulations happy birthday its recognition for somebody who helped shape, you know, this world as we know it now. Happy birthday, tom. We love you. Reporter rice says he hopes to jump again when hes 101. In the meantime, he offers this advice theres a lot to be done and a lot to live it doesnt make any difference what age you are, do it end of paragraph Thats Wisdom talking. Thats nightly news for this tuesday thank you for watching, everyone im Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night im raj mathai. Flex on Nbc Bay Area news tonight, entire communities are leveled. Most peoples homes did not survive the caldor fire. Were taking a deeper look at how bad their fire is. Hawaiis governor is asking people to stay away because of Covid. What happens if you go anyway . And a big fix