Well, welcome back. Zerlina and mehdi, our loverly colleagues, theyre great, but theres only one you. We missed you. Welcome back. Thanks to you at home for being with us today. Happy to have you here. Cnn is reporting tonight on what sounds like it may be a dramatic turn in the investigation into the January 6th attack on the u. S. Capitol. Nbc news has not verified this reporting. Im just citing what cnn has reported. If in fact this is borne out, this would be sort of a big hairy deal. What cnn is reporting tonight is that the January 6th investigation, the select committee investigating the attack, theyre about to send requests to Cell Phone providers, requesting that those Cell Phone providers preserve records from Phone Calls and the usage of Cell Phones by several people linked to the attack, including members of congress. The Preservation Notices are apparently reportedly due to go to the Telecom Providers as soon as this week. The committees chairman, congressman Bennie Thompson, has also previously said that he starts to plans to start sending out the committees first subpoenas as of next week. The investigation into the attack on January 6th isnt just about what happened that day during the attack and why the Security Arrangements in the capitol were insufficient to protect the building from being breached and members of congress being directly threatened. Its about that, but its also about how the attack came to be. And who is culpable for arranging or indeed abetting the attack. Chairman Bennie Thompson is confirming tonight it is hundreds of people for whom theyre going to be seeking Cell Phone records. But if cnns reporting is right, and among those people whose Cell Phone records are going to be sought are members of congress, which ones . Which members of congress are about to become part of this investigation . We dont know. Presumably, well find out in good time. There are two very well known republicans in congress who have already admitted they were on the phone during the course of the attack or at least on the day of the attack with then President Trump, the leader of the Republican Party In The House, Kevin Mccarthy has said he spoke with trump during the attack. Republican congressman Jim Jordan has also since admitted to speaking with trump on the day of the attack as well. But because the investigation covers not just what happened during the course of the attack but also what may have led up to it, may have set it off, theres also hard questions of course being raised about congressmen like Paul Gosar and Congressman Andy biggs, both of whom have been accused of being involved in meetings and discussions with people who have claimed credit for instigating the whole January 6th events. It also raises questions about Alabama Congressman Mo brooks. Who gave a famously incendiary speech at the January 6th rally just before the attack on the capitol started. Congressman Mo Brooks later admitted he was wearing Body Armor under his Flannel Shirt and Wind Breaker that day. Body armor. Despite the fact he also claimed that his speech that day was when he was talking about the need to fight, that was just metaphorical thinking. He had no idea, no inkling there would be an actual fight. No inkling that the crowd was actually riled up enough to go do anything dangerous that day. He says he had no clue of that. He just also felt the need to wear Body Armor while he spoke to them, and you know, who among us cant relate to that . Who among us has not slipped into full kevlar plates and a helmet while go to the local League Of Women Voters meeting. Heading down to the rotary meeting to calmly discuss the discussions of the darx dont forget your kevlar. But its interesting about Congressman Brooks. Congressman Mo Brooks this weekend spoke at the Trump Rally that was held in culmin, alabama. Mo brooks is going to give up his seat In The House to run for the United States Senate Seat from alabama thats coming up. He has attached himself at the hip to former President Trump in order to try to win that senate seat. You might have seen footage about that rally this weekend. This is the rally where former President Trump was sort of mildly booed by the Alabama Crowd for telling them that they should get vaccinated. Alabama is a state that ran out of icu beds last tuesday. They have federal disaster teams coming in to their hospitals to try to keep them afloat because alabama hospitals are so overrun by very Sick Covid patients. Mobile, alabama, at one point last week had no ambulances available. If you called 911, there was no ambulance to get you because theyre so tied up with Sick Covid patients there, and there were no ambulances left to respond. Trump at the rally this weekend suggested that people there should get vaccinated. The crowd mildly booed him when he told them that, and when he reminded them he himself had been vaccinated. That got a lot of attention for obvious reasons. But i say that they sort of mildly booed trump because it was a scattering of boos. You really want to see someone get nearly booed off the stage, Though, booed to the point of intimidation, look at how that same crowd at that same event responded in alabama to Congressman Mo brooks. When Congressman Mo brooks was not talking about vaccinations and covid, when instead he was talking about the last election. At the rally, he tried to dial back his previous incendiary position on how the president ial Election Shouldnt Count and it was all stolen and trump really won and not biden and we must fight over that. He tried to walk that back to this Alabama Crowd this weekend, and watch how they responded. There are some people who are despondent about the Voter Fraud and Election Theft in 2020. Folks, put that behind you. Put that phind you. Yes. Look forward. Look forward. Look forward. Beat them in 2022. Beat them in 2024. All right. Well, look back at it, but go forward and take advantage of it. That was this weekend, Hometown Crowd lustily booing. Booing the heck out of alabama republican Congressman Mo brooks for him having the gall to suggest that, yeah, the election was stolen, and really, trump won and biden didnt win, but they should move on from that and work on the next election where incidentally hes hoping to be on the ballot for united states senate. That crowd was absolutely not having it. And you can tell in that footage, Congressman Brooks seems to be shocked by the reaction. Surprise, yeah, i Thought frankenstein would love his creator as well. In the wake of that just screaming rejection from his own Base Voters on that point, Mo Brooks has since flipped again. Now insisting in an online statement, quote, let me be clear, the 2020 election was fraught with Voter Fraud and Election Theft on a massive scale. Trump won the election. I support audits of state 2020 Election Results. I eagerly await their findings. Trying to go back to that way of dealing with the issue. The man knows what side his bread is buttered on. As for him eagerly awaiting the supposed State Audits of the Election Results, he is going to have to wait longer, along with anybody else in the same boat with him. The flagship ridiculous 2020 Election Audit is a first one in arizona, it was april when republicans in the Arizona Legislature first handed over most of the actual ballots from Arizonas President ial election and tons of voting equipment, handed it over to a qanon promoting Trump Election Conspiracy theorist who runs a one Man Band Company named cyber ninja. That company and the Arizona Republicans said their socalled audit of Arizonas Election results would take three weeks. Its now been five months and counting. They said last week that the report from that audit would be in by friday, this past friday. It was not in by friday. Then they said it would be in by today. But then at The End of the day today, Arizona Republicans released a statement saying, quote, unfortunately, cyber Ninjas Ceo Doug logan and two other members of the Fiveperson Audit Team have tested positive for covid19 and are quite sick. And therefore, the report on the audit will not be submitted today. That, of course, is terrible news. And we wish them all the best. Arizonas Republican Senate President , karen fan, told the Arizona Mirror Today that one of the three people on the Audit Team who has covid is not just quite sick with covid but actually hospitalized with covidrelated pneumonia, which is terrible. Again, we wish them the best whoever they are, but i will tell you, even this part remains mysterious. First of all, this assertion that three people of the Fiveperson Audit Team are very sick with covid is the first News Anybody has had that theres a Fiveperson Audit Team. Whos on the team . Who were the other four people besides Doug Logan . Its like when people talk about Doug Logan running a company called Cyber Ninjas. That technically is true, but has anybody turned up a single employee of Cyber Ninjas other than Doug Logan . Its kind of a oneman band. They had millions of ballots from the arizona election, and all of this Election Equipment from Maricopa County for five months for their oughted that was supposed to take three weeks. The arizona Senate President who hired this entity, the Cyber Ninjas, to do the audit. Shes supposedly been supervising it all along. She expressed surprise to local reporters, surprise at this covid news. Because that was the first that she learned there was a Fiveperson Audit Team producing this audit. She reportedly says she doesnt know who else other than Doug Logan is on this fiveperson team. A former Republican Official named ken bennett, who has served as the Senate Liaison for the audit, basically the person in charge of explaining to the press and public whats going on with the audit for all these five months, he said today after the statement came out saying the report was not coming and it was because three people on the Fiveperson Audit Team have covid, he said today that not only did he not know it was a Fiveperson Audit Team, and not only did he not know who is on this Fiveperson Audit Team, he said today that he actually Thought it was a nineperson Audit Team. If so, what happened to the other four . This deep into the process, they purport to have absolutely no idea whats happening. In any case, the contention now is the Audit Report is not ready even today because the head of Cyber Ninjas and maybe some other people are very sick with covid. But nobody knows who they are or what their actual involvement is. I will tell you Arizona Republicans also announced today that aside from the covid problem, theyre actually still not done with the audit anyway. Something Something Ballot Envelope something something. So maybe its going to take another week or so. This is the very professional audit that Trump World trusts. Because they believe the results of this audit will make way more sense and be way more solid and be way less shady than actually just looking at the certified Election Results from the county and the state. Mo brooks is eagerly awaiting the results of this audit to find out what the real story is. So were following those developing stories tonight. Theres also late breaking News Tonight about do you remember my boyfriends love and Egor Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were colleagues of Trump Lawyer Rudy giuliani. They were arrested in 2019 and charged among other things with allegedly funneling large illegal foreign donations to a pac supporting trumps reelection and to other republican candidates. Both lev parnas and Igor Fruman pled not guilty. Mr. Parnas had since made public claims including on this show he was basically bamboozled into a plot by Giuliani And Trump and some other Trump World figures to try to Wheedle Dirt Out of the nation of ukraine to be used against Joe Biden in the 2020 election. That plot ultimately led to trump impeachment number one. Lev parnas has publicly named not just Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump but also Trump Administration officials including william barr, the former attorney general, as having been in the loop on some of that scam. Mr. Parnas has kind of fairly high Profile Figure since he was charged, even as he is fighting these charges and pleading not guilty. Mr. Fruman has been much less of a high Profile Figure, but its mr. Fruman, who is apparently going to change his plea from not guilty to guilty. A change of Plea Notice was docketed in his case today. Hell have a hearing on that matter before a federal judge in New York on wednesday. Now, in the filings around that wednesday hearing, at the hearing itself, we may learn the circumstances of his guilty plea. Whether this means he is turning states evidence, whether this means Igor Fruman is cooperating with prosecutors to tell them what he knows about other peoples actions, other potential crimes. Because of Igor Frumans links with former President Trump and mr. Giuliani, because of the subsequent revelations about giuliani being under investigation. Igor pleading guilty has to be a very uncomfortable Making Development for parts of Trump World tonight. If his guilty plea is going to be accompanied by a Cooperation Deal with federal prosecutors. We shall see. So were following that. Also, coming up in a moment, were going to be speaking with John Kirby, admiral John Kirby, spokesperson, the Press Secretary at the pentagon. Lots to talk with him about today with the Fda Giving Full Gold Standard approval to the Pfizer Vaccine against covid19, that cleared the way within Hours Today for the pentagon to institute a new requirement that all active duty u. S. Troops must be vaccinated. Thats fascinating new Development Today at the Defense Department, and well have big implications in terms of how quickly its rolled out and what happens to Service Members who may refuse to get vaccinated even Though theyre required to get lots of other vaccines as part of their service. Admiral kirby of course has been the main explainer to the public and press on the urgent and increasingly massive u. S. Air Lift Effort to evacuate americans and our afghan allies out of afghanistan. The pentagon announcing today between yesterday and today, they got nearly 11,000 people evacuated in one 24hour period. They said last week their maximum range was 5,000 to 9,000 people being evacuated per day. They evacuated nearly 11,000 in the last 24 hours. That means the pace of this evacuation is picking up substantially. Well talk with Admiral Kirby about whether or not they aim to sustain that rapid pace. Admiral kirby has also sort of cagily fielded questions, cagily addressed recent reporting that u. S. Forces are now at least occasionally using helicopters to go get people and bring them to the Kabul Airport amid increasingly desperate and dangerous circumstances outside the gates and blast walls of the airport. That sort of aggressive Exfiltration Effort by air has been of great interest as we have seen the scenes outside the gates of the airport get more harrowing and more dangerous each day, and as we hear about Terrorist Threats against those crowds outside the airport. You may have also seen the reporting this weekend about a woman, an evcuee from afghanistan who literally gave birth to a baby onboard one of the u. S. Military C17 Evacuation planes just after it landed at Ramstein Air Force base in germany. Just a crazy story, it puts your heart in your throat to know this woman was this pregnant, this close to delivering, when she got herself and her family onboard that c17, and then to have given birth on the tarmac onboard the plane. U. S. Service Men And Women Racing onboard that cargo plane, delivering the baby right then and there onboard the plane before they were even able to disembark her. Mother and baby are both reportedly doing fine. But i have to tell you, that dramatic situation this Weekend Led to this Question And Surprise answer at the Pentagon Press Briefing this afternoon. I dont know if you have seen this footage today. It started one way and went dramatically off the rails to the surprise of everybody except one person in the room. And went off the rails not in a bad way, but in a way that definitely makes me want to know more. Watch. General, are medics being provided for each flight . I know theres a concern about capacity because youre trying to get as menopy people on, but are medics being provided . The reason i ask there is there are reports a woman had a baby during one of the flights, and so do you have medics that will be onboard that will be able to handle any sort of Emergency Situations that may come up, if someone has a Baby Or Falls and gets sick or something in that instance . Yeah, thats a great question. We do not have medics on every flight. There is a medical screen as part of the Screening And Boarding process. But ill confess to you that many people would have to selfidentify any kind of medical issue. Really exciting. I mean, really appreciate the News Reporting on the baby being born, as that flight came in to ramstein. As a matter of fact, theres actually been more than that, so its just an incredible, incredible operation ongoing. You know, just impressive work by our great airmen. More than that . Im sorry. What did you mean by more than that . More than one baby . How many babies . Asking if there was more than one baby. Well, my last was three. I dont have a formal tracker, but those are, you know, so well keep you posted. All right, sir. Well follow up and try to get you information on the other two. All the reporters go, wait a second, did he say more than that . Does he mean more babies . Theres more little babies . Somebody says, theres more little babies intheres more than one baby . Admiral John Kirby flummoxed by that as well. Did you just say three babies, sir . Well get more on the baby situation. Admiral John Kirby said he would get more on that to explain. Hes here with us next. Stay with us. When our daughter and her kids moved in with us. Our Bargain Detergent Couldnt keep up. Turns out its mostly water. So, we switched back to tide. One wash, stains are gone. [daughter] slurping dont pay for water. Pay for clean. Its got to be tide. When the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff was admiral mike mullen, his spokesman, his spokesperson was the man you see here on the left. A man named John Kirby. John kirby was the voice of the joint chiefs during the height of the wars in iraq and afghanistan. John kirby can also be seen here in this photo with former Defense Secretary Chuck hagel. John kirby was his spokesperson at the pentagon for a while, too. That was before mr. Kirby went on to become spokesperson for the Secretary Of State, when John Kerry was Secretary Of State under president obama. Hes had these very high visibility jobs at the pentagon, at the State Department, hes also a rear admiral in the united states navy. John kirby served in the nave eas the public Affairs Officer for the blue angels. He served as the editor in chief of the navy magazine, he serves as the spokesperson for the navy. These days hes back at the daapartment of defense, revising his role as Press Secretary, this time in the biden administration for a Defense Department that is now led by secretary lloyd austin. John kirby has been a very, very highprofile person in washington for a long time. Right now, he has one of the most difficult and most scrutinized jobs in washington, because right now, daily, sometimes multiple times per day, he is briefing the Defense Department Press Corps, which is not a bunch of pushovers, briefing them, briefing through them the rest of the world, as the united states attempts to wind down its longest war and engages in a big, very, very difficult, very contested Evacuation Effort in afghanistan. Just today, John Kirby has already briefed the press twice. Two separate Pentagon Briefings already today. On everything from Helicopter Exfiltrations of afghan evacuees to Evacuation Flights and their numbers to babies be born onboard those Evacuation Flights. Hes done a lot of work already today, but i still have more questions and hes been kind enough to join us tonight to answer them. Admiral kirby, thank you so much. I know its been a long couple weeks. Even a long day today. My pleasure, rachel. Thank you. Let me start by asking you not about the most important thing, but something my interest was very piqued by at the second Pentagon Briefing in which we learned there wasnt just one baby born on one of these flights, one of these Evacuation Flights this weekend at ramstein in germany, but the general who you were briefing with, actually said theres been three babies born in these circumstances. Yeah, thats right. He surprised everybody, including me, on that. This is general steve lyons, the commander of u. S. Transportation command. We wanted him to come in and talk to our Press Corps about the incredible Logistics Effort that is going in to moving these thousands of people out of afghanistan into temporary Safe Havens elsewhere as they work back to the united states. Right at The End of the briefing, he got asked about the one baby that we knew had been born, because there was great photographs of that, of course. And he let it slip that in fact, actually, two others had been born. We and the Press Corps here at the pentagon are trying to chase down the details on this because its just a great story and just another indication of the humanity and the professionalism and the kindness with which u. S. Military members are really treating their important evacuation work. It also tells you about the humanity and the desperation of the people who are getting out. For somebody to be not just pregnant but pregnant upon the moment of potentially delivering, somebody who is going to go into labor during the flight and still at that moment putting themselves in peril, taking their fragile selves and their families and getting onboard one of the military transports, the extremes these women and their families are in to do this, it does make me wonder about the kinds of medical resources that are being made available to these refugees, the kind of resources they need once they land. How long theyre staying at the initial place they first land once theyre taken out of afghanistan. What can you tell us about that . So, theres a initial medical screening at kabul before they get onto a flight. We want to make sure that theyre okay, so theres some medical treatment there. There are and the general said this, theres no medical personnel on these flights. Were saving every available space for passengers, for people that want to get out, who are, as you rightly said, desperate to leave. Were not putting medical personnel on these flights. Then when they get to these semperary Safe Havens or Staging Bases, if you will, for onward movement, they again are evaluated for any medical issues and given a chance to get some more screening there. And then of course, when they get back to the united states, we go through that again. We definitely screen them for covid, at some of the Staging Bases, all of them are getting screened for covid when they get to the united states. Right now, theyre coming in to dulles, so theres constantly throughout the process medical personnel that are trying to look after them as best we can. Is there going to be a sort of call to the american people, and Civil Society Organizations in the united states, to help resettle people . To do Community Resettlement efforts, to donate things that these new families may leave, to find them housing, to get them in english as second language courses if theyre resettling here . I know not everybody is going to be coming to the united states, but thousands are. Is there a call now from the u. S. Government, indeed from the Defense Department, for the american people to step up and help . Were actually starting to see that, rachel. Certainly, lots of nongovernmental organizations are already helping the State Department and dhs as these afghans are ready to move into american society. Theyre already going to relocation centers and getting help starting their new lives. Absolutely. But you know, the Commanding General of ft. Bliss, texas, where some have already gone for this followon final paperwork that they have to complete before they can become citizens has said that hes been deluged with Phone Calls and emails from the people living outside ft. Bliss, texas, just wanting to know what they can do, blankets, food, whatever they can do to help. Were already starting to see the american people in many of these communities really reach out and want to do what they can to help what will be their future fellow citizens. I will tell you, just anecdotally from our experience, were just a Cable News Show that covers this process, and that has covered some individual stories of people who have been evacuated with their families, and we have been inundated with requests just from our viewers in terms of how they can help. I know youre in a different role as the Press Spokesman at the pentagon, but i think there is a real hunger among the general public watching this to want to step up and do something, especially as we learn more about how hard these Flight Crews are working and how hard these thousands of u. S. Troops are working to try to make the best of this very difficult situation. I do think there is public appetite to do something, to sort of put our money where our mouth is, to be part of this process in some way. I dont know the thats i doubt well hear that from you at the podium, but i do feel like we have to hear that from the administration, from the government in some way because it needs to be channelled because its too valuable to leave on the table, it seems to me. I agree, and that is what is quintessentially so great about our country. Americans are a generous lot and were an immigrant nation, and were used to these stories, as sad and desperate Though they may be, and we are used to reaching out to people that are in need and really want to start a new life here. So i think, you know, just that one little base in texas is one small example. I think youre going to see that all over the country, and again, thats one of the great things about living in this country, and i think these afghans, that will be something they take away too. Tell me about something that you have received lots of hard questions about all last week and over the weekend and today, which is the issue of safe passage out. Obviously, getting control of the airport, getting control of the tarmac, getting control of the runway, lining up these Staging Bases for onward movement, as you were describing. All of that we have seen the military sort of systematically get that in order and we have siultaneously see the number of evacuees rise to this incredible number of almost 11,000 in one 24hour period between sunday and today. But there is still the front End Issue of how people get themselves into that safe system. How people get into the airport, how not just americans but people linked to the u. S. Government, people who are afghan evacuees who we are going to prioritize, how theyre going to get out. Tell me big Picture Progress toward making more safe that part of their journey. So, theres a couple of pieces here. You may have heard me talk about this a little bit ago. Were in constant daily communication with taliban leaders who are outside the airport. And we have been making it clear to them what the credentials like like, who we want to see get through their checkpoints, who are absolutely entitled to get on these flights, and thus far, Though there have been certainly cases of harassment and even Violence Harassment of some qualified individuals, by and large, these american citizens and these special Immigrant Visa Applicants are being able to work through those checkpoints. Were also in communication with the taliban about making it easier for the safety a more Safe Perimeter around The Field so that there are fewer crowds, because crowds have also been an impediment, not from a violence perspective, just from a dense perspective. Were working with them to try to make sure theres enough access around the airport for people to get in more freely, and every day our commanders on the ground are pursuing opportunities to make Access And Passage to The Field easier and safer for americans and these Siv Applicants, pretty creative ideas theyre putting into place, and obviously, its a dense and dangerous environment. We have a legitimate Counterterrorism Threat there, Terrorism Threat around the airport that we have to take seriously, but once we get them on to The Field, they go through a whole series of processing and manifesting, as i said, medical screening, make sure they have food and water, and we try to get them on the very next flight out thats available. And these flights, at least yesterday, rachel, they were leaving one almost every hour. Now, we hope to be able to continue that sort of pace going forward. Obviously, its weather dependent, its population dependent. But thats the kind of through put that were trying to reach so we can keep these numbers up for as long as possible. Should we expect to see more evacuations, more transit to the airport aided by u. S. Helicopters . You have talked about this a little bit at The End of last week and also today, that there have been a Couple Helicopter borne u. S. Facilitated movements. One from a group that was very close to the airport and i know that was described as elsewhere in kabul. Should we expect there to be more of those . That seems like a sort of tidy answer to it from those of us looking from this distance, or is there something thats particularly dangerous about the Helicopter Air lifts that we dont understand that means that will continue to be quite limited . Well, the commanders on the ground have the authorities they need to pursue opportunities to bring people in. And one of the means at their disposal is rotary aircraft helicopters, and we have done that on a couple occasions. I certainly wouldnt rule out we would do it again if it was the best way. Thats what it comes down to, what is the best, most effective, and safest way to get americans and other Siv Applicants into the airport. So again, sometimes helicopters are had answer. Sometimes not. And theyre pursuing all kinds of different opportunities to make this happen. So i certainly wouldnt rule it out. But it is not the only way in which we are encouraging and trying to facilitate the safe passage of people into the airport. Let me ask you about one very different perspective on this, which is obviously we saw the taliban take over of the country, almost every province in the country, in some cases without firing a shot, including walking into kabul without having to be a military victory. It was essentially arranged as far as we can tell, but there is resistance to the pentagon. We have seen demonstrations first by brave women in kabul, and then people in southeastern afghanistan. Were seeing organized resistance, speaking out, getting some international press. We saw antitaliban fighters take back some parts of a different province over the weekend, alThough the taliban now says they fought and brought those back. If there is significant resistance to Taliban Rule, is the u. S. Going to ignore that . Or is there provision in our postwar planning to give assistance to those who are resisting Taliban Rule and who indeed may be fighting them for control of parts of the country . Well, i certainly wouldnt get ahead of Policy Decisions that havent been made on that, rachel. What i can tell you is that our presence there at the airport, the 5800 troops that we have right now, their focus is really on three things. Making sure we can defend the airport and keep the operations going, and working the Evacuation Mission to the maximum degree we can, and number three, making sure were as appropriate, reaching out to american citizens who need to be brought in and finding out ways to do that. Thats really what our focus is on right now, and i think we have been very clear, the Military Mission is really confined to those three things. I wouldnt want to speculate about what might be in the offing for the future. Admiral John Kirby, pentagon Press Secretary, making the most of what is a very long day by staying up late with us. Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. Anything you would like to come back, we would love to have you. [truck horn blares] vo the subaru forester. Dog tested. Dog approved. Even if you had to miss your quince. Theres always your quince plus one. If you have this. Consider adding this. An Aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan from unitedhealthcare. Medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesnt. And let you see any doctor. Any specialist. Anywhere in the u. S. Who accepts medicare patients. So if you have this. Consider adding this. Call Unitedhealthcare Today for your free decision guide. So we just spoke with pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby. You may remember last week, it was he who announced the Defense Department had stood up five active duty medical teams to help civilian hospitals in the u. S. Overrun by Sick Covid patients. Late last week, we saw the arrival of the first of those teams, Navy Personnel arriving at a hospital in lafayette, louisiana, to help the doctors and nurses there who have been overrun by way too many, way too Sick Covid patients for weeks now. Loud sustained Standing Ovation for those Navy Personnel. That was late last week. Now we have word of three more of those active duty uniform military teams deploying. A team of 20 active Duty Air Force medical personnel is headed to baton rouge, louisiana, to assist our Lady Of The Lake. We spoke with that hospitals Chief Medical Officer ten days ago about the very bad situation there. Our Lady Of The Lake already got one influx of over 30 federal medical personnel. That was not enough. Now theyre also getting 20 more doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists from the united states Air Force. Two more of those active duty Defense Department teams are deploying as well to mississippi. At least 20 medical personnel from the u. S. Air force arriving at the University Of Mississippi Medical Center in jackson this weekend. 20 army medical personnel headed to North Mississippi medical center in tupelo. You will recall this isnt the first federal Help Mississippi has received. They also got a federal Dmat Team from Health And Human Services to set up and staff a Field Hospital in the Parking Garage at the university medical center in jackson. Now in addition to that, they have Air Force and army personnel arriving to provide further help. There are three vaccines that have been in use in the united states for months now. Pfizer, moderna, and johnson johnson. Before today, all three of those vaccines were approved under something called Emergency Use Authorization. Millions and millions and millions of doses safely administered of all three vaccines. They have all proven to be effective at keeping you from getting infected. If you do get infected, they reduce your chances of getting dangerously ill. These states that are so overrun, its because of low uptake of vaccines in those states. But today, interesting progress when for the first time the fda granted full unqualified not Emergency Use Authorization to the Pfizer Vaccine for Everybody Age 16 and up. Thats a sort of graduation from pfizer from Emergency Use Authorization to full approval. And that today cleared the way for among other things a new mandate for all active duty u. S. Service members get vaccinated. They had been waiting on full approval of the vaccine at the fda to do that. That full approval has been granted. The dod is now moving ahead. Within hours of the full approval, Cvs Pharmacy chains, several State University systems, the nations largest School System in new York City, they all also announced Vaccine Mandates for their employees. Experts tell us we should probably expect more of that in coming days. Joining us is dr. Ashish jha, Dean Of The Public School of health at brown university. Nice of you to make time to be here. Thanks for having me back, rachel. Why is it logical for there to be a link between requiring the vaccine at a place like the Defense Department or new York City schools or cvs as an employer, why is there a link between that and full approval . What does the vaccine have to prove to get full approval that it didnt have to prove in order to get that previous level of approval . First and foremost, there isnt necessarily a link. Lots of organizations, my university, for instance, mandated vaccines well before the full approval happened. What the full approval does is it gives people a lot more confidence, some people feel like its going to be legally a little bit going to stand up well, Though the courts have found mandatory Vaccine Orders based on an eua is totally fine. So i think this is much more a psychological boost than a legal one for mandatory vaccines. When it comes to the states that have low Vaccine Uptake that are receiving, that are experiencing such a terrible influx right now, im happy to see federal resources, including active duty military, Uniformed Resources deployed to states like mississippi and louisiana who so clearly need them. It does feel like a drop in the bucket, Though. 20 workers here, a handful of doctors there. Given the scale of the problem and how the case numbers are continuing to rise in these states where the hospitals are already overrun, is the federal government going to have to ramp up its ability to help in those overrun states . Do we have other resources we can bring to bear . Yeah, so first and foremost, its worth remembering this is all completely preventable. If people had gotten vaccinated, we would not be seeing this. Were not seeing this in vermont, were not seeing it in massachusetts. Second, youre absolutely right. Were still seeing so many infections and those people will end up in the hospitals in the days and weeks and months ahead. We have to hunker down for what is going to be many weeks of difficult times. I think the federal government is going to have to do a lot more for these states, and ultimately, theyre going to get out of it by vaccinated a lot more people. This is not the solution to a pandemic. Vaccines are. Dr. Ashish jha, dean of The School Of Public Health at brown university. Always a Pleasure And Onhonor to have you here. Thanks for your time tonight, sir. Thank you, rachel. All right, we have more ahead tonight. Stay with us. [narrator] every three minutes, a child is born with a cleft condition. In the us, children are healed at birth. But in parts of the world where the right medical care doesnt exist, children like Lexi Struggle to speak or eat. Without surgery, some will die. Those who do survive face extreme challenges. Together, we can change this. Operation smile works to heal children born with cleft conditions. With volunteer medical teams in more than 30 countries worldwide, we need you. There are still millions in dire need of healing. Go to operationsmile. Org today and become a monthly supporter. Help create new smiles and new futures. But act now. Children are waiting. Go online to operationsmile. Org to give monthly or call. upbeat music vo this is more than glass and steel. And stone. Its awe. Beauty. The measure of progress. Its where people meet people. Where cultures and bonds are made between us. Where we create things together. Open each others minds. Raise each others ambitions. And do together, what we cant do apart. This is space for dreams. Loopnet. The most popular place to find a space. Indulge me for just a moment. This did not get a ton of press in the united States Today but i think it is astonishing, and i want you to see it. There is a prison in iran that is such a notoriously bad place that i, a random american, have heard of it. I dont know the names of any other prisons in iran. But i know Evin Prison. Evin. Evin prison is, in fact, such a Standout Place for such bad stuff that the prison, itself, has been sanctioned by the u. S. For human rights abuses. Evin prison in tehran, among other things, is where iran locks up its political prisoners, including those with western ties. You might remember it from 2009 when iran held two americans there for 781 days on totally madeup charges of espionage. From 2014 when a journalist from the Washington Post was held there for 544 days, also on completely fabricated, trumpedup charges. That journalist, jason, believes he was held basically as a Bargaining Chip for the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations, which were underway at the time. Back in 2003, a canadian journalist was arrested just for taking pictures of a protest outside the prison. She ended up being beaten to death in a different iranian prison just days later. So Evin Prison has a backstory. Its known, worldwide. And its not a place we ever get to see the inside of. We barely get to see the outside of it. Thats why this is so nuts. Today, the associated Press And Voice of america released footage that had been given to them by hackers who say they infiltrated Evin Prison and, among other things, they got access to its closedcircuit Security Cameras. The associated press, doing its due diligence, they talked to four former prisoners who had served time at evin who all confirmed that the footage does, indeed, look like areas they recognize inside the prison. This is the Part I Cant get over, Though. This. Watch this. This is reportedly the Control Room inside evin where the guards monitor the closedcircuit Security Cameras all day long, every day. And if this video is what the hackers say it is, it shows, in live time, the guards there learning that they have been hacked. Watch this. Watch the screens. First, one of their monitors starts flashing red. Then, a message pops up. Whats that . You see the guy react. And then, Boom a whole bunch of the screens start flashing red. That same message pops up everywhere. Message. Look at his screens on his desk. The message in farsi reportedly reads cyberattack. And then, later, it says general protest until the freedom of political prisoners. Look. Just impossible to get your head around that this may actually be footage, in realtime, of the moment when the jailers running the most opaque notorious prison in iran learn that everyone, everywhere will soon be able to see everything they can see. Will soon be able to see what they have been up to. Government of iran is not commenting on what may or may not have happened here. Iranian State Media has not acknowledged this happened at all but we may have the footage of what happened in the moment they realized they had been breached. Just an incredible thing. Watch this space. Tech every customer has their own safelite story. This couple was on a camping trip. When their windshield got a chip. They drove to safelite for a sameday repair. And with their insurance, it was no cost to them. Woman really . 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That will officially make Kathy Hochul one of only nine female governors in the whole country. And i should note, four of those nine first got to those positions through succession, rather than election. Meaning, the dude who got elected to the job got turfed out for some reason. So they ascended to the job because of the unexpected vacancy. Kathy hochul, of course, was Lieutenant Governor to andrew cuomo. He is leaving Office Tonight following the publication of a scathing report by new Yorks Attorney general, tish james. A report that accused him of sexually harassing 11 women. Have we been able to get this up on screen yet . We just got this moments ago. Yes. This reportedly is Andrew Cuomos resignation letter, and it sure does look authentic. We received this just moments ago. Soontobe former Governor Cuomo continues to deny the allegations against him even as he leaves office but in anticipation of her taking over the top job tonight, Kathy Hochul already appointing two women to two top posts in her cabinet. As if this all wasnt dramatic enough, it will all become official at a minute past midnight tonight. A Midnight Swearing in. That does it for us tonight. I will see you again tomorrow. Now, its time for the last word with lawrence odonnell. Good evening, lawrence. Evening, rachel. I know there is a lot of News Today and a lot of stuff to cover and the networks didnt cover this. But i watched Andrew Cuomos