A very good day to all of you from Msnbc World headquarters. Welcome to Alex Witt reports. Well begin with Breaking News. The northeast is bracing for impact from Hurricane Henri. Landfall expected within 24 hours and right now people have New York to New England are wrapping up their preparations as this storm is closing in. Hurricane hunters flew into the Storm Today and reported winds up to 75 miles an hour, on the Coast Storm Surge up to 5 feet is possible, and Flooding Rainfall expected on alreadysoaked lands. Conditions are going to begin to worsen as soon as tonight. Millions will be without power by monday morning. Our meteorologist Michelle Grossman and Vanessa Webb are watching for us. Lets talk about the latest Forecast Track at this hour. What are you seeing . Alex, good to see you. Were seeing changes since the last time we talked. We have an advisory coming out at 2 00. Now its a Hurricane Category 1 and thats what we expect as it enters into New England it will be downgraded back to a tropical storm. Right now were looking at Flash Flooding and strong winds and Power Outages. Alerts are in place where you see the red, thats your Hurricane Warning and that really is the message to say get ready, today is the day. Thats where the Calm Before The Storm comes from. Were going to start seeing impacts as early as tonight when were sleeping, into tomorrow. So here is the latest as of the 11 00 advisory. Category 1 storm, 75 mile per hour winds, and i dont want you to get too caught up on the winds. Its either going to be a very strong tropical storm or a category 1 storm. Either way well see the impacts. Its moving northnortheast at 14 miles per hour, so moving at a pretty good pace now. But once it crosses over Long Island into New England, were going to see it slow down, kind of putting the brakes on and well get major troubles with Flash Flooding. Early tomorrow morning, still a category 1 storm, then we do expect it to cross over Long Island, the eastern part of Long Island as a category 1 storm and then it will probably make a second landfall as it enters New England as a tropical storm. And this is where the trouble is going to come. Look at this graphic. You can see the white lines. Those are 12hour increments and what that means is its not moving very far in those 12 hours. So think of a tropical storm with all that moisture, a sponge that gets rung out and thats going to happen and it will be over the same places, and its over the same places that are already saturated from what we saw from fred last week. Its going to be big trouble from sunday, monday, into tuesday, with Power Outages, trees coming down, Flash Flooding. Monday by 8 00 a. M. , a tropical storm, and then it jogs to the west and sits and spins and it stays over that same area. Then it moves off to the east, finally. Tuesday its out of here, but we could still be seeing some Power Outages at that point. Lets talk about the Storm Surge. What is Storm Surge . Its a wall of water. So what happens is this hurricane is going to push that wall of water onto dry land, so its saltwater being pushed onto dry land and its a wall, so its dangerous. Were looking at lifethreatening surging, especially in the back bays of Long Island. Be careful along the beaches, even today, new jersey, delaware, up into New York and connecticut, the waves are going to be picking up today as well. Flash flooding is going to be a big story over the next several days. Again, we are so saturated from fred, we are seeing loose soil already. Were going to add rain on top of that and add hurricane, tropical Storm Force winds and it will topple trees, bring down power lines. Its august and hot and a lot of us will be without airconditioning and some could see 10 inches of rain on top of Record Rain in july. Considerable Flash Flooding, so prepare for that. Prepare today. You want to charge cell phones, fill water bottles. Damaging winds, were looking at tropical storm winds, Hurricane Force winds as it comes on land. Thats going to quickly diminish. Downed trees, impassable roads, things like that, Power Outages a Big One. Where you see the red, thats your significant power outage. Connecticut, rhode island, parts of New York are going to see major impacts in terms of the winds and Power Outages. So lets track it for you. Category 1 storm, again, dont get too caught up on that because we were at 70 mile per hour winds for so long, now its 74. Its a strong storm. Well see major impacts and it will keep heading to the north today. Well see the waves picking up. I know its beautiful today, a lot of the beaches, but the waters are rough. Be careful if youre headed out and then prepare for sunday. Tonight well see the impacts while were sleeping and then sunday is when the impacts are going to hit us, especially in the afternoon. Thats when we expect landfall. So sunday, torrential rainfall, reaching Long Island and New England. Widespread Power Outages. Monday, thats where it moves so slowly. Its almost slow motion, the brakes are put on it. Well see Rain Dumping in many spots and Flash Flooding occurring. Then its out of here by tuesday. Today, though, you want to prepare for the storm thats going to come tonight. Janessa is going to talk more about storm preparations. Again, its Flash Flooding, strong winds and Storm Surge, alex. I was looking for a bright spot in all of that. I didnt hear much until about tuesday. Thank you very much. I know we get the latest update from the national Hurricane Center at the top of the Hour And Youll talk to us then about what you heard. Thank you so much. Well talk about the Calm Before The Storm. Lets go to Janessa Webb in long beach, New York. We have folks on the boardwalk and theyre walking out and about. How does it look to you now . Reporter you know, its actually a pretty great day. People are not taking real heed to this Storm System, but now that it has been upgraded, were hoping people will start to take notice of it. As you can see, we still have hundreds of people that are enjoying their saturday afternoon. But i have talked to a lot of them, they are starting to get prepared now that we are starting to see a hurricane. You can see these sand dunes. Ive talked to some officials that they started to put these up early this morning, because they are taking precautions. This Storm Surge is going to be very major across this area compared to the winds and they want to limit the flooding. So thats what theyre trying to do right now. Also, officials have told me there is no swimming allowed in the water here at long beach. Some people are listening to that. Just a few over there, you can see havent listened to those warnings, but emergency officials have told me, lifeguards will not be saving anybody unless its an emergency. So we are watching this pretty closely as the Storm System is supposed to be tracking in. Now, alex, ive talked to quite a few people, we were supposed to have a State Fair today, many events. Its the weekend and people want to be out and about, and theyre still concerned about what happened at sandy, and so listen to some of these Sound Bites and how they are taking precautions. I have a boat that i had to secure, put extra lines on, and get all our furniture ready, get the generator gassed up and ready to go, all the furniture we had to move off of our porch. Were just waiting to see what happens. I was at Stop N Shop this morning and there were literally lines like you remember from tropical Storm And Hurricane sandy. Reporter one last thing, alex, you know, were seeing this tide and its rough waters out there. The Rip Currents continue to be pretty heavy and were going to see high tide around 8 14 out here. When i see you tomorrow, this will be a completely different scene, so were really asking people to get prepared now. Yeah, i appreciate that. And i also appreciate seeing that mom in the Camera Shot we just had taking her kids away from the water. Good job, mom. Thank you so much, janessa, for that. Lets go to the Breaking News from afghanistan. President biden is canceling plans to go to delaware this afternoon after a briefing with his national security team. Of course, The Big Story In Kabul at this hour, a new Security Threat outside the walls of the international airport, and a warning to americans trying to leave the country to stay away from the airport for now. Again, im not going to get into specific threat assessments. The situation in kabul and the whole city is fluid and dynamic and you have seen the images over the last 2448 hours yourself of the situation outside the perimeter of the airport. And it changes. It changes almost by the hour. In spite of the chaos, the military has been able to transport about 3,800 passengers out of kabul over the 24 hours. Hundreds of evacuees arrived in europe, and this is a new video of a camp set up at the Ramstein Air Base and that can house up to about 5,000 people. Nbcs Courtney Kube is joining us from The Pentagon. Welcome to you. I know you have Breaking News to report this hour. Reporter thats right. So weve spoken to a number of Defense Officials and we know more about what this threat is to americans in kabul. Theres been an enduring threat throughout the course of the last week from concern from the taliban, but this is different. This is now a specific threat that isis, the islamic state, may be trying to target americans and Target Hamid karzai international airport. This may be one of the reasons that the embassy there is warning americans to stay away. What we now know, according to u. S. Defense officials is that the military is trying to figure out how to get americans safely to the airport, and theyre exploring other ways to do that. So that includes potentially having small groups of americans meet at locations where they can be safely brought to the airport in small groups. One of the Big One of the threats that has evolved, really just in the last 2448 hours, is these large groups of people that have gathered outside the gates at Kabul Airport. Many of them, of course, weve seen the pictures, weve seen the video, many are civilians who are desperate and trying to get into the airport because they want to leave the country. The concern is who else may be among these crowds. We know there is an Isis Presence and an Al Qaeda Presence in afghanistan and there has been some presence in kabul in recent months. And the big concern is, if any of those isis or Al Qaeda fighters, in this case they are really worried about isis particularly, if they make their way into those crowds, they could threaten americans and afghans who are trying to get to the airport. So, again, the u. S. Military is now looking at alternative ways to get americans and afghans safely to the airport, alex. I dont know, courtney. This is really darn explosive, this report that isis is making threats against the Kabul Airport. Stay with me as i bring right now into your conversation, Nbc News Correspondent and tehran bureau chief. What do you make of this development that isis is potentially threatening those at the Kabul Airport . Reporter that reporting by courtney really does change the dynamics on the ground, because as we know, the united states had made some sort of an arrangement with the taliban to be able to evacuate all u. S. Personnel and translators, et cetera, that had worked for them to sort of get them out of the country by the 31st, and the taliban by and large seemed to be cooperating. But if there is elements of isis and Al Qaeda on the ground there, that really does change the dynamics and it really does give a lot more heed to that warning the united states gave advising Americans In Afghanistan to avoid traveling to Kabul Airport. As weve seen from the pictures, theres still thousands of people outside the perimeter of the airport trying to get in, and based on courtneys reporting its unclear who would be amongst them making the situation even more dangerous than it is now. John kirby, The Pentagon spokesman, said that the mission still remains the same. Lets take a listen to what he had to say and we can talk after that. The Mission Hasnt changed. The mission of the united States Military in kabul is to secure that airport, keep it secure, conduct, manage and lead Air Operations so that we can continue to move people out. Thats the focus of the military. Reporter whats interesting, alex, was that the other day after President Bidens speech we learned that 169 americans were evacuated from a hotel where they were gathered and brought back to the airport, and one of the reasons they had to be taken by helicopter from that airport was because they were simply too scared to traverse through those crowds. And now were learning why. Absolutely. So, courtney, as he played the John Kirby Sound Bite and we talked about that and the mission remains the same, but how has your reporting, what youve learned, how has that changed the Military Mission right now . Do you have evidence, proof, has anyone told you that theyre stepping things up at the Kabul Airport for fear of some sort of reprisal from isis, and what would that look like . Reporter right now the military officials are saying that the airport still remains secure. The concern is to americans who are is more about americans who are outside the airport. Of course, theres still a concern at the airport and to people who have gotten in, but right now they are really focused on americans and afghans and other thirdcountry nationals who theyre trying to get safely to the airport to get out of the country, making sure they remain safe from this potential Isis Threat. And we should take a step back because there was a lot of Talk Yesterday after President Bidens discussion or actually even earlier this week as well about President Biden has spoken several times about the reality of the Al Qaeda and Isis Threat on the ground in afghanistan. I think a lot of our viewers may not realize where that stands. And i did a story about this last week, about a month ago, i spent a bunch of time digging into where the threat really is from these Terror Groups in afghanistan, and right now theyre somewhere in the neighborhood of about 200 to 300 total Al Qaeda fighters believed to be in afghanistan. The number is tough to come by, but thats where the best estimates are. Right now the threat from them is really internal. Theyre inside the country. We often think, americans think of Al Qaeda and what the military calls trans national threats or threats they may have against the west, the homeland, major attacks like 9 11. Right now, the Military Assessment is they dont have the capability to carry out those kinds of attacks outside of the region, but the concern is as the taliban have taken over afghanistan, that they will theres just not enough taliban, frankly, to run all of afghanistan. There are many ungoverned spaces and they may not be able to stop Al Qaeda from moving more fighters in, from growing, from reconstituting and from being able to rebuild themselves to the place where they can actually carry out attacks against the west. Thats the big concern, according to intelligence and Defense Officials who study this kind of thing. On the isis front, though, the Isis Affiliate that is in afghanistan has not been historically very strong there, because up until recently, they were getting hit from all sides. Al qaeda doesnt get along with them, the taliban doesnt get along with them, and then the u. S. And international Nato Coalition doesnt like them. They were taking heat from everywhere and they had not found a strong foothold in afghanistan, with the exception of some small areas in the east not too far from the border with pakistan. So it makes sense when you put all that into perspective that isis would try to carry out any attack that they possibly could against the u. S. And western allies before they leave the country because they dont really historically have the ability to carry out any of these attacks outside of the region. It makes sense that they would try to take advantage of this country before all these countries are out by august 31st. So a couple more questions to you. So this isis, based on your reporting, is that the group that is making these threats right now against the Kabul Airport . And to the point that John Kirby made, ali brought to us as well, is that the united States Military has secured the airport as best they can under these very difficult conditions. Are they also now doing patrols . Is that part of their mission, to do patrols and keep isis from launching any sort of attacks on individuals throughout the city . Or is that not part of their operation right now . Reporter they are not doing any patrols outside the airport. And you make an excellent point. They are securing the airport the best way they can. Theres upwards of 5,800 u. S. Troops and other partners nations that are helping secure the airport, and particularly the perimeter. But they are not going outside the wire to do any kind of patrols around the airport. Now, theyre watching the outside, of course, but that is still that is still a difficult job. And especially when you consider there are these crowds. Most likely, this threat, the immediate impact its going to have in addition to making it more difficult for americans and afghans to get to the airport safely, its probably also going to have the Ripple Effect of making it even more difficult for people to get through those gates. Think on it, imagine youre one of these soldiers or theres a british marines or turkish, even some afghan military that are there patrolling or, you know, watching these gates and letting people through. Now that you know that there may be this threat from isis trying to hit the airport, arent you going to be even more careful about letting people through than you were before . So this could have yet another Ripple Effect of making it even more difficult for people who legitimately have the paperwork and the ability to get through to get onto the aircraft, this may make it even more difficult and cause more of a logistical hurdle when this has been a task of trying to get people safely out of kabul. Common sense tells you its going to slow everything down further as they have to check everything. So ali, courtney, as you get more information on this, come on back any time. Thank you for staying vigilant on that. We have a very interesting guest, as my next guest was kidnapped by the taliban and spent months trying to save the family of the man who saved his life. Joining me now, david rhode, executive Editor Or News at the New Yorker magazine. David, i welcome you back to the broadcast. You have always done tremendous reporting. This one is personal and i want to remind our viewers that you were kidnapped with an Afghan Journalist and a driver. But im going to tell people that you and i talked very quickly during the commercial break. You do have some good news about this family. Give me a little bit leading up to the good news you have to share. Thank you, alex. Thats kind of you to have me back. So it was 12 years ago the three of us were kidnapped. The taliban commander invited us to an interview. We met him outside of kabul and he and his men abducted us and took us into the tribal areas of pakistan, the Safe Haven. Part of the reason is taliban has won is by having the Safe Haven in pakistan. After seven months, the Afghan Journalist, who was kidnapped with me, helped me escape. He saved my life. The driver was able to flee several weeks later. Both of them have arrived in the u. S. The Issue Today is that taharas family, his wife and children, had remained in kabul. He was trying to bring them into the u. S. Hes now a u. S. Citizen and he applied in march to bring them here. Thats his legal right as a u. S. Citizen. And i spent all spring working with tahir to get american officials in the State Department to approve their applications and there was an enormous backlog that emerged after President Biden announced the withdrawal, so they have been trapped in kabul since the taliban took over. But the good news is, have they gotten everything approved . And by the way, i got so frustrated reading your article. I guess his youngest child got approval but not the rest. It was so piecemeal. It didnt make sense. Our bureaucracy, and we can talk about the threat at the airport, is too slow. We are too afraid of terrorist threats. These are children, between 4 and 14. He applied in march to bring them to the united states. And The American Bureaucracy Couldnt approve those cases. Thats how slow everything is. And they spent several terrifying days in kabul. They had the taliban patrolling the streets outside of their house. They were terrified that a neighbor would say, thats the family of the Afghan Journalist who helped The American escape from the taliban. They went to the gates. They received a message from the u. S. Embassy saying on wednesday, go to this specific gate. They made it through taliban checkpoints on wednesday. They worked their way through the crowds, the video you just saw. When they got to the gate, it was closed on wednesday. They spent nine, ten hours, trying to get in, and the gate was blocked and they went home and were super discouraged. They came up with a new plan and they made it to the airport. Im so happy to say, late last night, this morning, in kabul, and im so relieved and i dont want to get into the details, but they are inside the airport there safe and i just you know, thank god for this effort. Prayers answered, for sure. I want to ask you a little bit about your kidnapping for those who havent heard you tell about this tale. And Tahirs Role in it, its my understanding that you were treated fairly well, i mean, you were kidnapped by the taliban, but as compared to tahir, he went through extraordinarily awful threats, right . I mean, scared for his life . Yeah, they considered him a traitor. They hated him in more ways than they hated me, and that he wasnt supporting the taliban as an afghan. Tahir is a devoutly religious muslim, he felt it was his duty. He said islam taught him to protect me. He helped me escape, he saved my life. But the reality was that my life was seen as more valuable by the taliban than the lives of these afghans, because they thought they could get a bigger ransom for me. And i just want to fast forward to the Threat Today and how important it is to give these afghans who are trying to get out of the country, the estimate from one ngo is that 300,000 afghan civilians participated in The American effort since 2001. 300,000 of them. I think weve moved maybe 12,000. 20,000 of them are military translators. Theres been a theme throughout our time in afghanistan that american lives are worth more than afghan lives. That happened in my kidnapping. We cant be so afraid of a threat from isis of a bomb at one of those gates to close the gates. We have to take risks. Its easy for me to say and i salute the soldiers that are there. But we should welcome these we will vet them, theyre going to military bases, but there are thousands and thousands of families like tahirs that are dying to come to the united states. We have to keep the gates open, we have to keep u. S. Troops at the airport, and we have to bring them to u. S. Bases and then vet them, and i hope eventually bring them here. David, i want to thank you for talking about all of this. Im so gratified to hear the good news. For anybody, your article was posted in the New Yorker. Com on the 18th of this week. It was extraordinary. The tale you tell is remarkable. Thank you for joining us. Stay safe and im so glad for the news about tahir. We have to go to a briefing by new York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Were looking at the incoming Hurricane Henri. Lets take a listen. The national guard we are calling out with the necessary equipment that the national guard brings with them. High water vehicles, et cetera. The state police will have approximately 1,000 personnel who will be on duty in the affected areas. Port authority expects flights to be canceled. Obviously i would check with your airline before you go to the Airport Tomorrow into monday, maybe tuesday. The mta is preparing for the storm. They have their Emergency Equipment out, their Flooding Team out, their pumpers out, et cetera. Theyre going to cancel service in Long Island starting midnight tonight. Theyre planning to cancel service, and that would be at about midnight. Theyre also thinking of canceling the Harlem Line Service and the New Haven Line service. That, again, would be about midnight tonight. But you should check with the mta on the website, obviously, before you proceed to any of those trains. Were working with the Power Companies. I have told them clearly and convincingly, in my opinion, that this is what we pay the Power Companies to do, to be ready for storms. Weve seen this movie before. We dont pay Power Companies to be ready, to prepare power for sunny days. We pay them to prepare power when its hard and to recover quickly after a storm. They have all been communicated with. They are calling in all additional personnel. Theyre calling in all additional private contractors and we have made it abundantly clear to them that we do expect significant damage and we want them to have the resources in place to deal with that damage quickly and professionally. Im going to declare a State Emergency Declaration for Long Island, new York City, westchester, hudson valley, and the Capital District region. As the storm hits Long Island and moves north, and moves north right along the State Line is the current track, and thats why youll see it go right up north on the northern side, on the eastern boundary. And thats westchester, hudson valley, Capital District. Again, were hoping that it misses new York City proper, but were also keeping our eye on that. I spoke with the White House. The president is willing to sign what is called a Prelandfall Emergency Disaster declaration to qualify for federal funding, there has to be a federally declared disaster. And you can actually request that a disaster be called prelandfall. Thats important because all these Preparation Costs for the state, local governments, are then covered. And the president has said that hes prepared to sign that and that is good news. I spoke with head of fema. They are predeploying fema teams, which is the federal Emergency Management. We coordinate with them again in the same areas, Long Island, new York City, where we expect some flooding, but then primarily Capital District and the catskills. Our priority now is to protect life and safety. Thats job one. Job two will be, once the storm is over, we assess the damage and we come up with a plan to rebuild. But the focus now is on life and safety. We have probably the most experienced Emergency Management team this state has ever had in place. Mother nature has created more emergencies for us than at any time in the states history. My father was governor before me, as you know, for 12 years. A snowstorm was a natural emergency. Do we close the throughway or not was always the big question. This is a total different environmental situation. Hurricanes, floods, they didnt happen in New York, but they do now. And weve gone through it a few times and i feel confident saying to New Yorkers that they could not be in better hands in terms of an experienced team. Now, that doesnt mean that Mother Nature doesnt win. She wins. She wins. She won at superstorm sandy, she wins every time. But we will be doing everything that we can do to be prepared. We have briefed all the local governments, weve briefed the assembly, weve briefed the senate, we briefed the Lieutenant Governor on the situation, we briefed the White House, we are briefing federal officials, speaking with County Executives. County executive, suffolk County Executive has urged a voluntary evacuation of fireeye land. I think that is very important. I second the County Executives call. I think hes exactly right. If you are on fireisland and you do not evacuate now, i think you are putting yourself in a position of danger, and youre doing that needlessly. So, please heed the County Executives warning. Last point is we can do everything we can do to get ready, but this is not our first rodeo, and at the end of the day it is up to the people of the state to make the right decision. If you know you are in an area that tends to flood, if you know you are in a tidal area that tends to flood, if you know you are in an area that is subject to tidal surges, get out of that area now, please, and get to another and better place of safety. The main situation we have in these emergencies are trying to rescue people who stayed in place, and then they create a dangerous situation for everyone. Ive been on the swift Water Rescue teams. Ive been in the boats in the middle of storms trying to get to people as their homes are getting washed away, trying to take children out of windows before the house gets washed away. If you dont take the right actions, not only do you put your life in danger, you then put the Life And Danger of the Emergency Workers who have to come to help you, and that is an unnecessary risk. I understand we didnt have the buildup that we had with supersandy, and i understand that superstorm sandy we did a number of briefings and people were acclimated. Dont be deceived by that. Its because the trajectory of the storm changed and we have short notice. Were talking about tomorrow. So if you have to move, if you have to stock up, if you have to get to higher ground, it has to be today, please. Now, i know New Yorkers and i know New Yorkers are tough, and i know their first instinct is we dont have to go anywhere, were going to batten down the hatches and were going to be fine. I understand that instinct. And i understand the questioning of the weather reports. I got into a lot of trouble once with all the Weather Forecasters across the nation when i suggested that a Weather Forecast turned out to be incorrect. I understand that also. But were talking about tomorrow and were talking about the day after tomorrow. So this is not a longterm projection. Normally when you get this close to the event, the forecasts tend to be accurate. The track can move plus or minus, but the basic track doesnt change. So, please, take this seriously. Yes, New York tough, well stay in place, well beat the storm. New york tough also means New York smart, and New York Smart Today means get out of harms way, please. With that, ill turn it over to questions on this topic, please. Thank you, governor. If you would like to ask a question, please use the raised Hand Function at the bottom of your window. Well take just a second to compile the Q A roster. While were doing that, the most recent update, 7 00 a. M. Landfall tomorrow, Eye Of The Storm over Long Island 11 00 a. M. And, again, this is a large storm. Just because youre not on Long Island, dont say, well, then were fine. Its Long Island, flooding in new York City, Storm Moves north, affecting westchester, hudson valley, Capital District, right up the line. Governor, your first question comes from john campbell. Just please make sure your microphone is unmuted. Hi, governor. My question is, you know, the state is in a position where theres going to be a change in leadership and that could happen right smack in the middle of this storm recovery effort, and a big reason for that is because you decided on a Twoweek Transition. I want to know why was the Twoweek Transition appropriate and why are you the appropriate person to lead the Storm Effort right now rather than Kathy Hochul . The two weeks as to have an orderly transition. Theres a lot to transitioning a government. Im the longest serving governor in the country right now. You dont just flip a Switch And Turn over a government. You dont want a Mass Exodus of people. You dont want a situation where you dont brief the incoming administration on the important projects, et cetera. Normally you have, after an election, two months, you have november and december, to transition governments. And transition, i was a Transition Director for my fathers administration. I also worked in the transition of federal governments. Normally in two months its a hurry up schedule, briefing papers, policy papers, where are we on the massive Construction Projects were doing, where are we on federal relations, what do we need to get done from washington. Theres a lot. So we said two weeks, which is a very short period of time. And i am Governor Today and i am in charge. This is also something ive done a few times, john. So thats why. Thanks very much, governor. Your next question comes from bill mahoney, politico. Your line is now open. Just unmute your microphone, please. Thank you, governor. And my question was going to be somewhat along those same lines. What can we expect from you in the next 48 hours . Are you going to be able to focus on this or do you have Transition Stuff to deal with . I will be 100 available to the people of the state of New York, every minute of the day, which i have been for my entire tenure as governor. And ive been working on this already for the past 24 hours and we will continue right through the storm and then well assess the damage. Lets take one more question, guys. Governor, your next question comes from the New York law journal. Ryan, your mic is open. Can you hear me . Yes, sir. Yes, thank you. So yesterday your attorney suggested that she had information that would call into Question Charlotte bennetts credibility. She did not specify what that information was or provide any evidence. Ms. Bennetts attorney says that might raise to the level of postemployment retaliation. What do you make of that and why do you think its appropriate for your attorney to make those remarks without providing significant evidence to back up the claim . You know, i dont want to get into albany politics, which is what has been going on for the past few months. This is about a Storm Briefing to save lives of New Yorkers. But youre at the law journal. If you think justice is to accept a complaint from a person without investigation and without credibility determinations, and without looking at past actions of that person, then you dont know what the Justice System is. Youve never been in a situation where you just reiterate complaints and you dont investigate them, and you dont say whether or not the law even applies to them. Thats not justice. Thats a Bulletin Board posting complaints. Justice is, i hear the complaint, we welcome everyone to come forward, and that takes courage and that takes bravery. But we need to know the facts, right . I can make a complaint about you today, maybe its true, maybe its not true. But thats why they do investigations. New yorkers, please take this storm seriously. I know its short notice. Think superstorm sandy. That was a category 1, this is a category 1. Hopefully we dont come anywhere near the damage of superstorm sandy, but we do not know, and as i sit here today, i cannot tell you, and none of the experts can tell you whether or not the damage is going to be lessor more than super storm sandy. It depends on how fast the Storm Moves and where it goes. And we will be working around the clock and well do everything we need to do to be prepared. As i said, this team has done this numerous times. We have more equipment than ever before. We have more personnel than ever before. But i Cant Substitute for intelligent action by New Yorkers, and i understand the instinct of were going to shelter in place. Maybe the Weather Forecast is wrong. I dont want to leave my home. I cant tell you how many people i have in the middle of a storm helped out of a House Carrying Everything on their back through floodwaters, with their children, putting them into boats, in dangerous situations, and people saying to me, i should have left yesterday, i should have left yesterday. Please, please, dont make that mistake. Well update you constantly. And if there is a change and theres no rational causality to you leaving your house, i will tell you that. But we know what happened in the catskills, we know what happened in the hudson valley, we know what happened in Long Island, we know what happened in the lowlying areas in queens and in the rockaways. Weve seen this movie. We dont need to see it again. Please, act responsibly. Thank you very much. All right, everybody. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo there doing a Press Conference about the incoming Hurricane Henri, and advising New Yorkers up and around the state to take this very seriously, making the equivalency to what we all experienced with Hurricane Sandy a number of years ago. Notably, we did stay with the Q A afterwards, as you heard the governor taking questions about where he is right now in his career, how he will handle the transition, so it got very political. Of course you all are aware that hes leaving the state and his service as the governor of the state under a cloud of accusations and investigations. But nonetheless, were going to keep a very close eye on Hurricane Henri and at the top of the hour well have our nbc meteorologist joining us right after they get the update from the national Hurricane Center on the latest tracking for the hurricane. Lets go now to afghanistan and some politics. A new poll shows most americans support the withdraw of u. S. Troops despite the chaos were witnessing in afghanistan right now. According to a survey that was conducted, nearly twothirds of adults dont believe the wars in Afghanistan And Iraq were worth fighting. Joining me now is Msnbc Contributor and washington editor. Welcome, im going to apologize. This is going to be more brief than i anticipated it to be due to the Breaking News. Give me a sense of how you read the numbers, keep in mind the growing concerns from american people right now as to what were witnessing. Yeah, thats why the president and the white House Team are so adamant they made the decision, that even after the images weve seen over the last week, the Chaos Weve seen in the process of the evacuation and the drawdown, americans still support, by and large T Idea of drawing down. They had enough of this war of 20 years and what theyve seen over the last week doesnt seem to change their minds. What are you hearing about the strategy, shortterm, longterm, what the goals are in afghanistan . I think the hope is that they can get all The Americans out or as many americans out as want to come out, that they can get as many of those afghans who have served u. S. Forces out as possible, and then claim victory for having been the president who had the courage. Were seeing White House allies and people close to the president saying this is a president who acted with the courage of his convictions. I think the longerterm question is going to be whether this damages the president in terms of, one, competency, and any damage that might have been done to u. S. Relations around the world. Weve seen remarkably outspoken comments from some senior members of parliament, including just in the last hour, about the way the White House has handled this. Theres been a hit to americas aura of competence because of the way that this has been handled amongst allies, they started to think we cant depend on america, we have to start developing our own strategy. Theres also been a realization that without America It just wasnt possible for other nato countries to stay there. They needed america in there. And i think to say that this is going to permanently damage Americas Reputation around the world, i think if they can get the u. S. Forces out and they can get a large number of afghans out and get beyond this chaotic week, then probably the White House survives this. Theyre hoping their memories are short and they can move back to issues like Covid And Vaccine distribution. And with hindsight, it will potentially be 20 20 here. This president has done what three previous administrations have failed to do. There have been those that have afforded the Word Courage to President Biden for having actually done this, and yet theres been a lot of criticism in the administration, kind of upset about a lot of the hawkished criticism from the media and otherwise. Where does that lead overall . I mean, does this create tension between the president and the media . This is a Huf Post Article were showing. Its interesting how democrats close to the president are pushing back and saying the Media Shouldnt be critical and perhaps circle the wagons and Donald Trump was much worse. I think thats a slightly false dichotomy. Its not our job to support any administration. Our job is to ask questions and to comment on policies. And you would be hard pushed to say what weve seen in afghanistan on the ground over the course of the last week was a success, i think, or was a triumph in my way. I think it was perfectly legitimate for journalists who were there to report on the chaos that we saw and journalists who were here to question how the White House has responding to that. The White House obviously doesnt want to talk about a mission that has been beset by problems. I think it would be difficult for anyone in the White House to say that there werent problems, even the president himself has said this is difficult and the scenes were heart wrenching. But i think theres a slight misreading amongest people who are saying the media has been hawkish. There are many people who are reporting the facts as they saw them and theyve been telling us, and were lucky to have them there, the stories of afghans who were try to go get out, who have been close to the administration who were trying to get out and have not so far managed to get out or have run into problems. We were lucky to have those reporters there. And then to turn around and say the Medias Job was just to be uncritical of the administration is rather missing the point of what we as journalists are meant to be doing, isnt it . I agree. Thank you so katty kay, thank you so much again. I apologize for the brevity. It is good to have you on. Lets go to Donald Trump who is gearing up for a rally in alabama later today. Tens of thousands expect to see trump make his first appearance in that state in four years, but it comes as the city hosting Todays Event just declared a covidrelated State Of Emergency as the state is struggling with a surge of covid cases. Joining me now, Donald Trumps former personal attorney michael cohen. Of course, michael is author of the New York times Best Seller disloyal and host of the Podcast Mea Culpa with michael cohen. Welcome back to the broadcast. It is good to see you. Lits go to the headlines in alabama. This state has run out of icu capacity, coronavirus cases are surging and yet Donald Trump is still holding his rally. Do you think he has any concern whatsoever about this . I mean what does it say to you about him and has he forgotten, he survived a very serious case of covid . Actually, not one but two. But what it says to me about Donald Trump and what it should say to every american out there is that it is irresponsible, it is ignorant, and, worse than that, it is immoral. First of all, the country is seeing right now in very significant spike in the coronavirus, and i believe, as you just stated, that alabama is now somewhere around 50 increase, that theres a shortage of icu beds, and he thinks now is the time to host a Moneygrifting Superspreader Rally . I mean what is going on in this Mans Mind . Nobody knows. Only Donald Trump knows, and, honestly, none of us want to be in his head. Here is the answer. It is because he doesnt care about anyone or anything, even the few supporters that he still has remaining. So, like i said, it is just completely irresponsible. It is completely ignorant, and it is completely immoral. You know, in terms of what is going on in his head, michael, he was asked again this week about his 2024 president ial prospects. Lets take a listen to what he said. Are you considering a run again in 2024 . Because the Campaign Finance laws are extremely complicated and unbelievably stupid, im actually not allowed to answer that question. Can you believe it . I would love to answer it. But let me put it this way, i think you will be happy. I think a lot of our friends will be very happy, but im not actually allowed to answer it. It makes it very difficult if i do. How do you interpret that, michael . Well, it is part of the Donald Trump Money Grifting campaign tour, right. Oh, now all of a sudden he has learned about Campaign Finance laws. I wish he would i wish he would have known a little bit about Campaign Finance law as he was directing me in order to pay the Hush Money to Stormy Daniels that ended up being part of my incarceration. Which brings me to this. I want to get your reaction, michael, to the new reporting. Four people familiar with prosecutors thinking are telling cnn New York federal prosecutors they, in fact, suspect the Trump Organization Cfo Allen Weisselberg lied in testimony during their investigation of you three years ago, and despite their suspicions the federal prosecutors did not pursue Perjury Charges against weisselberg. Im sure you have a few things to say about that, so you have the floor. Well, actually, i talk about it quite a bit on Mea Culpa but what bothers me the most was they knew. The Southern District of New York, tom mckay, the whole group of them, they knew that weisselberg was lying, which, of course, is second nature to Allen Weisselberg as it is to Donald Trump. They knew he was lying and they went ahead and they used that lie in order to not only give Allen Weisselberg limited immunity but also to provide testimony against me in order to charge me. I mean now is the time for Merrick Garland to step up and to look at what is going on in the Southern District of New York. These are not prosecutors. These are people who only care about Conviction Rates and they do not care about law, they dont care about justice, and it is why as the judge wrote in 2014, why innocent people plead guilty. You know, michael, there are people who are familiar with the matter who are telling the Wall Street Journal Now Manhattan prosecutors, they are moving to advance their criminal investigation into Donald Trumps Business Affairs and they add that the prosecutors are fighting with Trumps Company over the evidence and theyre continuing to talk with a lawyer of a Trump Organization Executive who hasnt been charged. You met with the Manhattan Da multiple times as part of this investigation. Do you have a sense of where this is headed . Yes, so i would rather not discuss what i have spoken to cy vance, Mark Pomeranz and other members of the da, but just rest assured that they are not stopping the investigation, it is ongoing. The reason that Donald Trump and his lawyers are fighting all of the information is because the information puts him in jeopardy, in legal jeopardy, in financial jeopardy, and Donald Trump will do everything to save himself and to save his company, which is really nothing more than an extension of who he is. So but, you know, one of the things i didnt get a chance to say regarding the District Attorney is just this week my attorney went to the Southern District and asked them to put forth the rule 35 based upon my 300plus hours of testimony to nine different Law Enforcement agencies that provided honest, truthful, accurate information, and yet immediately, without second thought, they denied any leniency to the fact that i had 92 days remaining in my home confinement. It is really an abomination of our justice department. Yes. And Donald Trump is responsible for that. And that testimony has led to further investigations. I mean youve owned that completely. Let me ask you about 18 investigations as well as multiple indictments. There you go. Proof right there. Right. There are some new developments for some trump allies. You have a federal judge in d. C. Who has rejected the request from rudy giuliani, Sidney Powell, mike lindell, to dismiss all of the lawsuits from Dominion Voting systems, michael. This week a judge grilled Giuliani And Powell about Election Fraud claims in a 2. 7 million lawsuit filed against them by the voting firm smartmatic. Do you think we will see them held accountable . It would be about time somebody other than me, you know, gets held accountable for their actions. I certainly hope that they do. What they did was absolute it wasnt just destructive to the company that is suing them. It is destructive to our country. It is destructive to the fact that now when you go in and you put your ballot into a machine, youre thinking whether or not that that machine is corrupted simply because of the stupidity that is promoted by people like giuliani, people like Sidney Powell and others. And, yes, they should be held accountable for their actions. Michael cohen, were going to have to end it there because theres a lot of Breaking News. Im really glad we got to have you on the show. Thank you so much. Look forward to seeing you again, michael. Thanks. Good to see you, alex. Thank you. Tomorrow, everyone, president trumps Niece Mary Trump will join me to talk about her new book The Reckoning examining how trumps policy exacerbated a national trauma. It is tomorrow on Alex Witt reports. Meantime the latest from the national Hurricane Service on Hurricane Henri, where, when and how hard it is going to hit. How hard it is going to hit. Usee created for officers. But as weve evolved with the military, weve grown to serve all whove honorably served. No matter their rank, or when they were in. A marine just out of basic, or a petty officer from 73. And even his kids. And their kids. Usaa is made for all whove honorably served and their families. Are we still exclusive . Absolutely. 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