Expected to authorize a third vaccine shot, a booster for people who are immunocompromised which may include people undergoing Cancer Treatments or organ transplants or hiv. Pfizer working with moderna to provide a booster for those people with immunocompromised individuals. It is about to assure the most vulnerable who may need an enhanced vaccine to help their immune system. And meantime, the headlines from covid from the south have gone from bad to bleak. Wrap your head around this, 40 of the new covid hospitalization, and 40 are coming from florida and texas alone. And now more people hospitalized with the covid in florida than there were in New York during the worst of the worst last year. So many overflowing e. R. S and icus that one Florida County is asking residents to use 911 sparingly. And they are asking the federal government for ventilators, too. And in texas, one hospital is setting up tents outside in texas in august outside. And they are asking for nurses to come to texas to come to handle all of the covid patients they are seeing. At the same time, both of the governors are issuing order to ban Mask Mandates in schools and cities. We are joined by Kerry Sanders and nbc medical contributor blackstock. I will start with morgan which is something that bears repeating. 40 of all new Covid Hospitalizations in the united states is coming from texas and florida. It is extraordinary. So in dallas, how are the hospitals hanging on, morgan . Barely. Barely, garrett. They are doing whatever they can to hang on to the patients that keep flooding into the doors. We know that right now the surge is outpacing the staffing in almost every corner of the state. And here in parkland, while we are talking about the numbers, consider this, the governor announced yesterday that 2,500 Medical Personnel will be disbursed throughout the state to try to shore up the staffing at hospitals like this one in dallas, but i want you to hear what the Chief Medical Officer told me when it came to just nurses. Take a listen. Let me just paint you a little picture, less than five weeks i was at seven patients with active covid in this hospital. Last week 90. Today, 120. And right now in the hospital, i am 500 nurses down from where we need to be. 500. 500. That is not an exaggeration, but that is an exact number. The nurses are nowhere to be found. 500 nurses short. This one hospital is one hospital in the state of texas that is currently trying whatever they can do to handle this surge of patients. We know that an Emergency Room outside of the Houston Area had to shutdown temporarily to send the staff elsewhere within that specific Health System to try to take care of the patients there, and the main concern now with the State Vaccination Rate at 44 at last check, and even if the people are vaccinated today, it is not going to be seeing the significant impact on the current Infection Numbers until several weeks or a month from now if not more, and that is why the cmo here told me it is with the such regret on both sides that they are treating the patients who are unvaccinated that they realized they could have done something prior to now spending days if not weeks inside of the Hospital Room struggling to breathe. And he echoed the sentiment that we have heard all across the country, and seeing younger patients and more of them without any underlying conditions struggling mightily under the delta variant. Incredibly frustrating. Kerry, the medical situation is just as bleak, but florida is kind of the political epicenter of the crisis, and talk to me about the Mask Battle there as the kids are returning to school. Day three here at Palmdale County and we are here at the Berkshire County where most of the kids are wearing masks. It is strongly encouraged, but not mandated. Two counties in the state of florida who have defied the governors orders that there cannot be a Mask Mandate in Broward Or Apalache county. They say they dont care, but the governor said that the superintendents will lose their salaries and the School Board members and the schools themselves get funding of 9,000 per student, and this is potentially lost as well. Here in palm beach county, an alarming day on day two, and we are day three, and the numbers showed that 440 students at The End of the day had to go into quarantine. This is the tenth largest School District in the country. If you are understanding anything about mathematics and covid, you know how the curves go. And the real concern is that at The End of day three, what are the Numbers Tomorrow with so many already in that quarantine, and this is what the School Superintendent here told us a short time ago. The governor has to take responsibility for the establishing the Ground Rules that we are operating under, and this ability for the families to optout is leading to more cases which is ultimately going to send more kids home, and deprive them of to traditional classroom experience. We interrupt kerry here and going live. Sorry, we have to go live to the State Department where Ned Price is briefing on the other breaking story and the situation in afghanistan. We will listen in. That is still the number or we are at 1,200 as of today. Oh, sorry, did i miss that at the opening. Sorry. And these new flights, that are starting daily like today . They will start daily in coming days. Our focus is on increasing the tempo of our Relocation Operations as we have said that we have a solemn, and a sincere responsibility to the brave afghans in many circumstances and many cases at great personal risk to themselves have worked with the united states over the past 20 years, and we are going to honor that responsibility and increase the pace of those relocation flights. Okay, and im sorry, i missed that. And then on the embassy when you they it is going to remain open. Will it remain open in the current location . Let me be clear because this is a point that i dont want to remain any uncertainty about. The embassy is open, and we continue our diplomatic work in afghanistan, and we will continue to do the priority functions. That includes supporting peace, security, assistance, cooperation on Counter Terrorism, consular services as we have been talking about and especially in the context of the special Immigrant Visa program. We are always, as i said at the top, reviewing the environment and especially complex Operating Environments and of course that includes kabul, and so todays announcement is really a continuation of one of our most important responsibilities. And that is doing all we can to ensure the safety, security, and the welfare and the wellbeing of our people. As you know, we went on Order Departure In Kabul on April 27th with the eye to the security environment, but since then and going forward, we are going to continue to prioritize these key areas knowing that our partnership with the afghan government and our partnership with the afghan people will be enduring, and so that is going to continue. Sorry, my question was is the embassy going to remain open in the current location . The embassy is going to remain open and is that is going to we are always evaluating the situation on the ground. We are planning for all contingencies. This is a contingency in fact that we had planned for. So i am not going to entertain hypotheticals and go into what additional contingenies may arise, but our embassy is going to remain open, and the it is not a hypothetical, is the embassy going to remain open at the current location or moving to the airport or anywhere else. Christina, the embassy remains open at the current location. I will not entertain hypotheticals from there. And the last one and then i will let everyone else go, but the last one is that the people being drawndown and the staffers leaving are they flying out commercially or is that what the military going in to do to take them out . The military is going to be there to help effect an orderly and a safe reduction in our personnel. I do expect that the military will help with these relocation operation, but as we know Hamid Karzai international is open and commercial flights are landing and coming into and out of that airport. So it is safe coming into and out of that airport . The situation is that this president prioritizing the Safety And Security of those americans serving overseas. We have planned for any number of contingencies with the eye towards the deteriorating Security Situation. We have said for some time now that we have been gravely concerned by developments. So given the situation on the ground, this is a prudent step, a prudent reduction in our civilian workforce. Yes, christina. Is there some kind of staffers, and you cant tell us how many people that you think are leaving and can you give us a percentage or how big of a reduction this is of the footprint, and does this change the Exit Time Line of the overall u. S. Withdrawal or is that being expedited and do you think that you can get the number of sivs out on these flights with the tempo picked up and can you get them out in the time that you have the facilities and the capacity. You are right, we can speak to numbers, but what we can speak to is the functions that we intend to press forward with. Given our diplomatic presence on the ground In Kabul. So that includes engagement with the government of afghanistan, and including engagement with the people of afghanistan specifically our efforts to press forward with diplomacy, security, assistance, and Counter Terrorism cooperation and consular Service And Processing of the siv applications. We cannot give numbers, but those are the details that we are pressing forward to. And with those staying to do that, what staff is leaving . The staff involved in the reduction of the personnel include for example those who may be able to perform functions back, well, elsewhere. Whether that is back here in the united states or elsewhere. It includes staff who may not be necessary to continue with those core functions. So we are taking a very close look at our staffing footprint. A raid against this set of priorities knowing that we are committed to enduring relationship with the people of afghanistan, committed to a diplomatic relationship as well, and so we are taking a very close look, and well start that reduction in Civilian Personnel in the coming days. Kiley . Is it different it is not different, and as we said, we went on Order Departure in april, and we have undertaken a reduction in staffing since then. And we obviously have not detailed the numbers, but as we have said, including in the context of the Siv Processing we determined that there were people based at the embassy who could have been based back here in the washington, d. C. Area who could help to adjudicate the chief Emission Level Processing for siv applicants. Now, what is true is that we are going down to a smaller diplomatic presence given the Security Situation, but as you said, our overall status has not change. We have been on Order Departure since April 27th, and we have taken prudent measures since then to reduce the size of our footprint in afghanistan with the eye towards security environment, and that what we are doing here. Yes . So you said that today is a continuation of what has been happening. But it appears very clearly to be a preparation for a full evacuation of all u. S. Diplomat from afghanistan, so what is your response to that . My response to that is that it is not true. This is not a full evacuation. Preparations we are in i think it is a very important distinction between Planning And Contingency planning. Right now, we are, the embassy remains open. We will continue to have a diplomatic presence on the ground to fulfill these important functions. Now, of course, the safety, the security and the welfare and the wellbeing of american citizens serving overseas is of the utmost priority to this president. So of course, we are undertaking prudent contingency planning, and that is precisely what we did to lead us here today. We have watched as the Security Situation has changed. We have watched very closely, and not only have we watched, but we have engaged in planning exercises to prepare us for an eventuality like the one we are talking about today, and that is what we will continue to do. What message does this send to the people of afghanistan today who are facing these threats from the taliban and the offenses that the u. S. Is not only withdrawing, but taking out some of their personnel . The message that we are sending to the people of afghanistan is one of enduring partnership. We have said from the beginning that the united states will be a committed partner to the people of afghanistan. And you can measure that in any number of ways. Today, of course, we are continuing to have a diplomatic presence. Our embassy remains open, and our diplomatic engagement on the ground will continue to allow us to fulfill the consular services, the humanitarian support services, and on the topic of humanitarian support, you look at what the united states has invested in the people of afghanistan, not only in recent days, but of course, over the past 20 years. On june 4th, we announced more than 266 Million in new humanitarian assistance for afghanistan, and that Sum Total brought the total u. S. Humanitarian aid to afghanistan to nearly 3. 9 billion over the course of our involvement in afghanistan. That will not change. Even given the more difficult security environment, we can continue to provide humanitarian support, and continue to provide humanitarian assistance, and importantly, we will continue to press forward in every way we can with the diplomacy to have an effort to bring about a just and durable solution to this conflict. Let me spend a moment on that. I know that we have talk about that in a number of times this week, but there has been continued to be movement on the ground. As you know, Ambassador Khalilzad and his team have been in dha this week, and they have taken part in a couple of gatherings already, and today, they have taken part in a gathering of countries in the region and beyond as well as from the Multi Lateral Organizations with a couple of roles in mind. Number one, to press for a reduction of violence and a ceasefire, and number two, and this is important, a commitment on the part of those countries represented in those organizations that are Rep Sented in doha not to recognize any entity that takes control of afghanistan by force and not the recognize any force that seeks to take control of afghanistan at the Barrel Of A Gun. The Meeting Today has included representatives not just from the united states and qatar which is the host, but also the u. N. , china, uzbekistan, pakistan, the u. K. , germany, norway, turkistan, uzbekistan, and that is a broad group of international organizations, and this group, they actually came together, and you will be seeing this later today in the form of a formal statement that is going to emanate from this gathering that they agreed first and foremost that the Peace Process needs to be accelerated and they agreed importantly, that they will not recognize any government that is imposed through militaries for. So this is not just the united states. Making this point. This is not just the united states speaking with our voice. This is the international community as you can see represented in the consensus that has emerged today, regarding this very simple point. Any force that seeks to take control of afghanistan with the Barrel Of A Gun, through the Barrel Of A Gun will not be recognized, will not have legitimacy, and will not accrue the international assistance that any such government would likely need to achieve any semblance of durability. Before i go on, let me just say that this is an important statement that either or soon will emanate from doha today, but it is not the first of its kind. We have seen the international community come together to speak with one voice on this very point over the course of weeks and months. Vi spoken just recently about the u. N. Security Coup Sill Statement that emanated last week where the members of the Security Council were called with resolution 2513 and they are not a ware of the conflict, and they do not support a resolution of the united states emirates, and there is a number of settings or venues that in the recent weeks and months that we have seen the message go with the extended troika meaning russia, afghanistan and pakistan. So there is no negotiated peace plan. So that is the only way forward. The u. S. And europe communicate which includes eu, france, germany, norway and the uk and we confirm, there no conflick, and we Stand By the u. N. Resolution 2513 and we do not support any military through force. There is Kazakhstan And Turkistan and uzbekistan, and only recently In Kabul, did they put out a similar statement signed by canada, czech republic, finland, france, italy, japan, korea, netherlands, spain, sweden, the u. K. , and just today, we heard a similar statement from the german foreign minister, and the Indian Government who has made a similar point as well, and this has been, i hesitate to call it the emerging consensus, because it is the established consensus of the united states. Nick. What to you think that the new declaration is going to go against the taliban. We have heard this again and again, and it has not stopped them from seizing ten provincial capitals. Every time the taliban hears international community speak with one voice, it reinforces that one message. You are right that the diplomacy has not achieved what we want to see achieved. We are not trying to sugarcoat this. It is a tough road. It is a tough slog. There are important contextual data points, and as we have said before, this diplomacy is on going for a year, and a year ago, the islamic republic, the Republic Of Afghanistan and taliban were not speaking to each other, and not sitting in the same room, and that has changed. Earlier, it has changed within the past year. Another important data point. They are sitting in the same room right now. Abdullah abdullah, the Chairman And Abdullah matullah are together, and they have presented to the gathering and presented their ideas going forward. Now i want to be clear, there is daylight between the presentations that have taken place so far, but the fact that they remain engaged in this, and the fact that the international community is speaking clearly, speaking resolutely, and speaking with one voice, we intend to move forward with that process, to continue at it, and to continue to support these intraafghan talks in the hopes and ultimately something that we will do all we can to support, that this ends up in an afghanowned, afghanled political solution to what has been, again, not three weeks, and not three months, and not sixmonths, but really 40 years of conflict. The people of afghanistan deserve an end to this conflict. They dont want to see 40 more years of civil war. They dont want to see four more years of civil war, and we dont want to see four more months of conflict. We are realistic about the difficult road that we have already been down, and the difficult road that presumably lies ahead. But we are going to continue to supporting this diplomatic effort, because we know, and our international partners Writ Large knows that the only way to diminish the violence to, establish the ceasefire, and to put the parties down a load to the political settlement is through diplomacy. Nick . Did you say 100 of the civilians are the civilian population is being drawn down . I am not in a position to speak to numbers more than half or less than half . Again, i am not in a position to speak to numbers. Nick . Can you lets do a couple of more questions to afghanistan, and then we will switch to western hemisphere. I understand that you dont want to talk about the numbers, but can you give us some sense of all right. That is Ned Price, the spokesperson for the State Department here updating the news at the very top, and the u. S. Is going to drawdown its footprint at the embassy In Kabul to just the core diplomatic presence to help to handle that goal. The d. O. D. Is going to get involved and move some type of Troop Presence to the airport there In Kabul to help with those in evacuations. A good bit of spin there in the Press Conference and we will try to unspin it now with the Pentagon Correspondent Courtney cube joining me, and Matt Zeller who was embedded with the Afghan Security Forces while in the u. S. Army. Courtney, i will start with you. We heard the State Department spokesperson talking about a more difficult Security Situation and environment in afghanistan leading them to speed up the evacuations which were to be done by The End of the month. What does that actually mean . What is the specific situation on the Ground Today that is driving the decisions . To put it simply, the taliban have been moving to isolate kabul, and they have been successful at it. They have taken several major cities, strategic cities, including kandahar city, and threatening and maybe harat city in the west, and sharif city, and that is three key cities, and the taliban is getting stronger, and the afghan civilian forces are fading away. They are rolling through faster, and the concern according to the Defense Official as they are isolating kabul, it is more and more under threat that is what lednounsment today. We know a little bit more, but according to Defense Official, it is several thousand troops who are going to deploy back to afghanistan in the next 12 to 24 hours and most of them from the region, and moving in quickly, and be there with one specific mission, and that is to support the evacuation of the Civilian Personnel who are there, and the civilian americans who are there In Kabul, and to support any siv, and special Immigrant Visa candidates who need help getting to the airport. Right now, the airport In Kabul where the potential candidates would be leaving from, it is secure, but there is a real concern that in the coming days that as kabul is threatened that the airport is no longer secure, and they will not have safe passage out of the country. Moving several thousand troops in and to get several thousand troops out at the speed this is all going, courtney, can that be done safely for everyone involved . Yes, absolutely, and in the movement of thousands of people, it is not significant, and thousands of troops, but in this case, they rshlg inside of the region already, and they can do it. They will base them at Kabul Airport, and the official that i spoke with wanted to really reinforcement that they dont want this to be seen as they are sending in troops back in to fight the taliban, but it is specifically for the evacuation, and also, we should point out that in the briefing that we were just listening to with Ned Price over at the State Department, he talked around the possibility that the Embassy Staff of the small core Embassy Staff that is going to be behind, he did not confirm whether they are going to move the embassy or move them to the airport, and i am sure that matt well knows this, there has been a Military Presence at the Kabul Airport for some time, and there a base there, and there was a large number of u. S. Military there for some time, and so there is a infrastructure that exists that they can move the troops into relatively easily. And matt, you heard a lot of talk from the military spokesperson there that there is not a Military End to this, and the government is involved with nato, and other allies, and coming to a negotiated settlement here, and that the taliban is not going to be recognized if they come to power through force and does the taliban care . How seriously should we take a settlement negotiation, when there are thousands of taliban fighters taking over the country at The End of a rifle right now . They dont care at all. This is not what winning looks like for us. This is what losing looks like. They know it. They are winning. They have no incentive to negotiation when they are taking over the battlefield when they are capitulating. And courtney is right, they are fighting a fight of attrition, and they have weapons and warriors coming over from the border, and killing the Command Commandos when they can. And we are tracking the number of people that we have now lost, and currently counting 669 people behind the enemy lines without contact. These were afghan interpreters and families hoping to try to get to kabul. If kandahar has fallen, you can double the number. It is frightening. This is a neveragain moment in the making. It seems that we are only concerned about is our own shameful retreat. At The End of the war is was it worth it, and how to end it. We are ending this in shame, and not with honor. I heard nothing of how to evacuate the 44,000 people that we estimate currently outside of kabul. You know, he showed the graphic that the association of wartime allies uses to track what should be the pace of flights and we should be averaging at this point, 21 flights a day, and almost 4600 people if we make an August 31st deadline, and we are not doing that, and they have moved at that point, and barely 1. 5 of all of the people they intend to move. I dont understand to be honest with them at this point. Afghans shouldnt be jerked along at this pointpointmentmen. We are not going to save them, and get to whatever safe places you can get to. And there are fewer safe places left, and we are hearing of possible kandahar the second largest place in the country, and there are reports that city is in the process of being taken, and our deadline is irrelevant to the taliban. Courtney, back to you, because you were In Kabul a month ago, and interviewing the outgoing general frank mckenzie, and he talked about the afghanistan army had to execute the plan. So did the plan not work or was the plan bad or what happened . How surprised was the u. S. Military that we now find ourselves in this position . So the plan was to consolidate the afghan military back to some of the provincial capitals and basically made a decision that they were not going to be able to hold the whole country, and choose the ones with the most strategic, and biggest populations and save those. What is telling is what we have seen in the last couple of days is that the ones that they were trying to protect or save, and in Kunduz And Herat and in sherif that is holding now, but the ones that are falling or under serious pressure, and so that is the sense of the challenge that the military is facing here. We should also point out that the taliban has been very smart in the Military Strategy of how they have overtaken the country. They have Cut Off, and taken the border crossings as matt was mentioning at spinbuldak and they have Cut Off the north and isolate kabul. They have done it quickly. And as they were rolling through the areas, they take over equipment from the afghan military and they are taking people with them as well. So at times recruiting fighters into the taliban, so as they are, the afghan military is falling, they are, the taliban is only growing. And so this momentum has proven unstoppable in the past several days, and that is one of the things that has changed the Military Calculus here, and one of the factors that has led to this decision today, to pull many, very many of the americans out of the embassy In Kabul and to send in the military to move them out, and to make it a secure evacuation. Matt, very quickly, do you see any of the same optimism that Ned Price from the State Department saw there, and any kind of negotiated settlement here or the only end is when the taliban shows up In Kabul . I dont see anything optimistic, but mass murder. Everyone is talking about that, that image of the helicopter in saigon, and that is what the biden administration is most afraid of, and through their inaction, they have engendered that moment. The helicopter did not fly to the airport, but to the Air Carrier off of the coast, because we were lucky in vietnam, because we had a ocean to work with, but we are going to be leaving the people in bagram, and i fear for all of the afghan allies, because i fear they are truly left behind. All right. Courtney and matt, we will have a pentagon Press Conference, and we will need your expertise. So Kelly Cobiella is there, and i dont know frankly how much longer she is going to be able to safely report from kabul, and we will show you what she has been able to gather from the city today. Lets watch. Garrett, another key victory for the taliban today, and important one strategically, and they claimed the city of gazni which is to the edge of the south of kabul which is strategic place which connects kabul To Kandahar The Second largest city, and traditionally a taliban stronghold. The taliban is claiming today, they have now taken kandahar and they have control of the city. There is no confirmation from the government or from the u. S. Military sources. If that city is taken, it is a huge morale and military victory for them to continue to take territory. They are also claiming they have taken the city of herat from the west and no confirmation from the government or official sources that city has in fact fallen, but if those two cities fall, it leaves just go big cities in the control of the government, sharif and kabul. People are streaming into the capital, and we went back to the city where a number of displaced people are living right now, and they are coming here by the thousands. They arrived, and more arriving more everyday and starting to set up the tents and form more permanent living accommodation out in the open air. A sign really that they feel like they are going to be here for long haul. As for the Peace Process, no progress. The Prime Minister of pakistan says he has been told by the taliban that they will not negotiate any peace as long as the current Prime Minister is still in power. That is Kelly Cobiella In Kabul, and we are juggling two big stories today, the situation in afghanistan which is unfolding rapidly, and continue to through the course of the hour, and also the situation here domestically here with the covid19 pandemic, and the deteriorating situation particularly among the unvaccinated in this country and particularly across the south. Back with me now is msnbc medical Contributor Dr. Uche blackstock who is the Founder And Ceo of advancing health equity. Doctor, we were talking when we first came on the air about the other big news today, the expected announcement from the fda about the Booster Shots of the immunocompromised and how big of an announcement and how wide is the universe of the people who would benefit from the shots. Thank you for having me, garrett. This population of the immunocompromised people represents 3 of the population and among the most vulnerable along with children under 12 who are ineligible to be vaccinate and this is people who have transplants and history of cancer, and hiv, and other issues that suppress their immune system, and other countries such as germany have started to give the shots, and i dont want to call them Booster Shots, but it is a third shot in the regimen to other immunocompromised people. So this is incredibly significant. This is very different from the boosters that are for the general population, and i want to make sure that the public understands that, especially in the situation where we have scarce resources, and we are dealing with the global vaccine inequity. And doc, we continue to see this Tug Of War in the southern states between local officials in many cases who want to put mandates whether for the vaccines or the masks in place, and the officials over them, particularly republican governors who are blocking that, and that is what we have seen in mississippi where that states governor said he will not allow for any Mask Mandates or vaccine mandates, but at the same time health officials are saying that the Health System is on the brink of failing, and that is the actual word that the Health System is on the brink of failing and tents in garages and what is the sense that we get back to the place where Public Health officials at whatever level can make Public Health decisions or is that lost to early 2020 . Well, i think that if ever there was a crisis, we are in it right now, and especially in those two states. But i will say that we need a stronger federal response. I know that biden has spoken out in support of localities about these Mask Mandates, but we need really more forceful messaging needed from the biden administration and the cdc, but we are seeing unmitigated spread of the virus. There are no masks and very little testing happening. We know that indoor restrictions essentially dont exist any more and essentially the virus is spreading. We need to empower the Public Health Authorities who put the Mitigation Strategies in play, and we call it the swiss Cheese Model and each layer of the Mitigation Strategies are incredibly important for preventing the spread. At capacity, it is not only the patients without covid who can adequately seek care, and we have schools opening, and so it is a recipe and perfect storm for disaster. All right. Thank you for your Expertise And Patience as we juggle these two stories. Morgan chesky was in dallas talking about the situation there in the hospital, and at the same time the Texas Governor is in a showdown with several counties and cities with the enforcement of their own mandates and one is dallas county. Joining me is Judge Clay jenkins the chief executive of dallas county. And judge, you heard from morgan at the top of the hour and the challenges faced by the hospitals, there and what can you tell us about the situation more broadly in the county and do you believe that the mandates can turn the tide . The mandates that we are fighting for can slow down the unmitigated spread which can give us a little bit more time to get more staffing in our hospitals. Yesterday, we had two Pediatric Icu Beds for all of the metroplex, and not just dallas county, but all 7. 7 Million people who live in a 19county region. That is for everything, and not just covid, garrett, but for everything. So doctors are Making Decisions that were unthinkable two weeks ago. And that is why i have mandated and we started it today that every School District has every child in a mask and the teachers and all visitors. We are doing it with the businesses also and our county buildings, and our institutes of higher education. We think that will help. But getting vaccinated is important, and stopping all of this politics. Realizing that we are all on team Public Health. Dont stop us from being able to do the things that the doctors and the science and our Public Health authoriies tell us will keep us safe. You know im from texas and i have relatives in dallas, and they have taken off the masks long before the cdc changed the guidance and how confident are you that the mandates will work, and any steps that you take at this point can be enforceable in texas . Right now the law is allowing me, the judge is allowing me and the courts to make that call. People that want to shop at the store will put on a mask to do it, and the businesses have been great in doing, before doing the order, i have talked to the Chamber Of Commerce and businesses and variety of others about this. And so, you know, it is working so far. Well, judge, i wish you Luck And Opportunity to take that call. Thank you, Judge Clay jenkins, thank you. And now, let the battles begin, and Steve Kornacki has the new information that could lead to a shakeup on capitol hill. Hill. A place where everyone lives life wellprotected. And even when things go a bit wrong, weve got your back. Here, things work the way you wish they would. And better protection costs a whole lot less. Youre in good hands with allstate. Click or call for a lower Auto Rate today. From prom dresses your to workoutsnds with allstate. And new adventures you hope the more you give the less theyll miss. 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I feel protected all day, in a fit so discreet, youd never know theyre for bladder leaks. Always discreet boutique. We did it again. Verizon has been named americas most reliable network by rootmetrics. And our customers rated us 1 for Network Quality in america according to j. D. Power. Number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. Most awarded for Network Quality, 27 times in a row. Proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. Thats why were building 5g right, thats why theres only one best network. Welcome back. As we await a briefing from the pentagon on the news of the Dod Deployment to kabul to help with the evacuations there, we will move on the other news in the last hour. A major drop of data from the 2020 u. S. Census, and dont reach for the remote. Trust me this is a big deal. The information that we are now digging through is going to be used to redraw the congressional maps and it could kick off a massive nationwide Redistricting Fight that could help to determine the midterm elections and control of the house, and the republicans could redistrict themselves into the united States House for the next decade when all of the votes are count and the maps are drawn. Joining me now from the Big Board in New York is nbc national correspondent Steve Kornacki who understands this stuff better than anybody. Steve, you have had an hour to go through the data so far, and what are you learning . Yes, garrett. A couple of the pieces of this, and every ten years, this is the forms that everybody has been filling out, and last year, you know, it is the one big sort of the good look at the country demographically every ten years. Starting with The Big Picture here. And theu. S. Population is 31 million, and the trend is every ten years and the racial and the ethic composition of the united states, and the last couple of censuses and how it is changing and how it changed according to the 2020 census. This is the 2000 census 20 years ago and the country was almost 70 white, and back then 12 hispanic, and then ten years ago we did it again with the census, and look at what happened with the white population between 2000 to 2010 dropped to under 64 , and the Hispanic Population is rising and the asian population is rising. So it is sort of setting the scene for today. How much was it going to change between 2010 and 2020 and the answer is more than expected. Check this out. This is the new racial ethnic composition in the united states according to day that we are getting, and look at this, the percentage of the population of white has dropped not just under 60ers P and we wondered if it would go under 60 , but it is well under 60. Its gone well under. 58. 7 the white population of the united states. It was 70 at the urn the of the century. Its now down to 58 . You see continued growth among the Hispanic Population. Thats getting close to 28 . The africanamerican population is steady over the last two decades but also the asianamerican population is up near 6 . The overall population increase the last ten years is one of the slowest rates on record. Grew, but didnt grow that much. All right, steve, i got to leave it there. Were going to go back tol pentagon. Secretary of defense the ensure the Safety And Security of u. S. And partner Civilian Personnel. Im going break this down for you real quick. The first movement will consist of three Infantry Battalions in the central Command Area of responsibility. They will move to the airport within the next 24 to 48 hours. Two of those are u. S. Marines is and one is a u. S. Army battalion. Support of 1,000 personnel to facilitate the processing of siv elements. The initial process of this element will arrive in qatar in the coming days. The third movement is to alert and deploy one Infantry Brigade out of ft. Bragg to kuwait where theyll be postured and prepared if needed to provide additional security at the airport. We anticipate those Air Forces will reach kuwait some time in the next week. I want to stress these forces are being deployed to facilitate the of the personnel and an accelerated process of working through siv applicants. This is a temporary mission with a narrow focus. As with all deployments of troops in harms way, any attack on them can and will be met with a forceful and appropriate response. As Ned Price, my colleague at the State Department highlighted earlier, Secretary Austin did join Secretary Blinken in a Phone Call this morning with president gani. These conversations with continue to ensure close coordination going forward. With, that well take questions. Bob, i think youre first. Thank you, john. Thank you for spelling out some of the breaking down some of the numbers. With regard to those forces going into afghanistan to work specifically on supporting their Removal Or Evacuation or whatever you call it of personnel from the embassy, is that about 3,000 people . And also, is that in addition to the 600 or 650 already there doing that sort of work . Yes, bob, those three Infantry Battalions will comprise approximately 3,000 personnel, and they will be in addition to those troops that are already In Kabul as we conduct in the process of conducting our drawdown, so we still have more than 650 troops In Kabul right now. These 3,000 will join them there. Can i do a quick followup . Thank you. Sure. Does the Military Mission include flying u. S. Civilian personnel, the embassy personnel, out of the country, or only processing and securing them at the airport . We certainly anticipate being postured to support Air Lift as well for not only the reduction of Civilian Personnel from the embassy but also in the forward movement of special Immigrant Visa applicants. So we do anticipate there will be Air Lift required of us, and we are working through the final plans right now to put that into place. Yeah. Tom . Thanks, john. In regards to what you just said to bob, about possible Air Lifting out of individuals, in regards to the special Immigrant Visa applicants, has It Been decided where theyll be Air Lifted to, and if so, where, please . Were still working through a series of options, tom. We anticipate well be looking at locations overseas, outside of the united states as well as u. S. Installations that belong to the united states, either overseas and or here at home. We dont have i dont have a list for you right now, but i think it will be a mix of both, and as we get more clarity on, that well certainly update you. Just to be clear, it will fall to the same criteria you outline earlier, those who have passed the Security Clearance could come within the united states, and those without, another location . Im going to defer to my State Department colleagues to talk to the special Immigrant Visas. Our job will be Locating Facilities and installations that can be used. And as we did with ft. Lee, i think you can expect the Defense Department will lean in to the part possible. Thank you. David . John, will these battalions help with a movement of diplomats from the embassy to the airport as well as moving them out of the country . And if so, will that movement be done by conconvoy, or will It B done by helicopter . And let me just add one more question. Sure. You say temporarily. I do. But arent they going to remain there in case further drawdowns are ordered . So, let me take the first one first. These Infantry Battalions will be there to help facilitate this safe and orderly reduction, and i dont want to get into too much tactical detail about what that would require. Commanders on the ground will be working with the State Department to determine whats most needed. And if it is to help facilitate and secure transportation to the airport, then our troops will be postured to do that, but again, i Cant Speak Today when theyre not there yet about what thats going to look like, what the transportation is going to look like. Some of this is going to depend upon the permissibility in the environment. But these are battalions that are ability to support in any manner what the State Department needs to facilitate this reduction. Your second question on the temporary nature, as the State Department has said, theyre going to try to complete this reduction of personnel by The End a this month, and these troops are being ordered in to help facilitate that purpose, that mission along that time line. I wont speculate beyond August 31st what the footprint is going to look like or how many troops are going to be there and what theyre going to be doing. I can tell you were focused on trying to get them there is the soon as possible to facilitate this mission, which is the reduction of personnel by The End of the month. One more was there a certain event that triggered this mission . It would be wrong to conclude there was one specific event that led to this decision. We believe this is the prudent thing to do given rapidly deteriorating Security Situation in and around kabul, so i think theres a confluence of things you guys have all been report over the last 24 to 36 hours. The taliban and where they are. And i think, again, cognizant of that Security Situation, this administration believe this was a prudent action to take. One more. Yeah, sure. 3,650, and then another 1,000 of this joint Task Force to process Joint Army air force. Thats about 1,000 personnel. Its engineers, Medical Personnel, its military police, that kind of thing. And they are going to qatar right now because as you know, we have been working with countries in the region, to toms question, to try to find Processing Sites outside of afghanistan. So i would just tell you theyre going qatar for now, and then well see what the need is after that. But we want to be flexible and get them close by and in renal, and thats why theyre going there right now. Courtney. Theres one infantry thats going to kuwait sbrks, and thats only if things go bad. Theyll be postured there if theres a need for security at the airport. Theyll be in the region and a lot more accessible. Okay, so then the ones going to qatar, thats specifically for siv applicants. Sounds like engineers, med category, mp,s theyre going to were not a saying engineers. Were talk about a small number of engineer, and its largely for electrical power. Its to make sure we have power to do the processing of applicants. By engineers i didnt mean construction and that kind of thing. The bct going kuwait, thats roughly 3,000 to 3,500 people total . Common infantry common brigade is 3,000 people. 3,000 going right away in the coming days, and then you have another 3,500 who will be there on Stand By in case of security. Im unclear on what theyre doing. If the 3,000 going its like a couple miles from the embassy to hkiya. What are 3,000 people doing . Are they securing the airport, then . Theyll be there to provide safety and the secure movement of Reduction Personnel out of the embassy to help facilitate their departure