Announcer live from cnn center, this is cnn newsroom, with Robyn Curnow. Exactly 21 years ago, no one could believe that commercial airliners could become weapons of war but thats exactly what happened in the horrific attacks of 9 11, changed the course of history. In the coming hours, americans and indeed people around the world will pause to remember the enormous loss that day and reflect on what happened since. In New York, the epicenter of the attacks, the missing Twin Towers are now replaced in the Manhattan Skyline by beams of white light. This Years Anniversary also coincides with the u. S. Ending its 20year War In Afghanistan that followed those attacks. Earlier, President Biden reminded americans of the resolve that emerged in the aftermath. We also saw something all too rare, a true sense of national unity. Unity and resilience, the capacity to recover and repair, in the face of trauma, unity in service, the 9 11 generation stepping up to serve and protect in the face of terr
Tonight president Bidens Message to the republican governors criticizing his sweeping new Vaccine Mandates and threatening to sue to block them, and i quote, have at it. And as the Delta Variant spreads like wildfire, Tonight Big Developments On Mask Mandates in schools in two states where the virus is surging. Plus californias recall Election Hasnt even happened yet, and rightwing media is already spreading lies about the states democratic governor, Gavin Newsoms potential to beat back the recall. Also ahead, my interview with a prominent Professor And Commentator on race, telling me what he got wrong about the state of race in america after living through the trump era. You dont want to miss that interview. I want to bring in cnn global Affairs Analyst Susan glasser, and national correspondent philip bump. One day i will see you in person in studio, hopefully soon. And the reason why i havent seen you is because of this. So, susan, President Biden has a message for the republican gov
States down south are still without power. And it could be for weeks before that power is restored. The storm left a trail of destruction in louisiana and mississippi, and now comes the scorching heat with no power. Temperatures could hit 103 degrees today. Overnight, two people were killed when floods washed out a major roadway between mississippi and louisiana. First, afghanistan, the challenges still ahead, and the legacy of what has been left behind. Joining me now is pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby. Thanks so much for being with us. You know, im cognizant of the fact that you spent your life in public service, a big chunk of it in the military. Whats it like for you to wake up this morning and after 20 years, for the first time in 20 years, to have no u. S. Troops in afghanistan . Yeah, i think were all still processing that, john, to be honest with you. It is something that for two decades weve all been connected to, without question. And i think its going to take time for ev
propane. there is none in the area. no water. i have a 7-year-old, it s like, he s cold. i want to go to dallas and cnn s ed lavandera. the organization that managing the power grid, ercot, its ceo repeatedly asked about ercot s accountability in all this. what can you tell us? reporter: they have been saying throughout, especially in the last two days, as the governor of texas has unleashed a barrage of criticism at that organization for what he says is a failure, an epic failure here in this state, but ercot officials, the name of the agency that runs the state s power grid system, says they did what they had to do to protect a much larger catastrophe. those officials saying seconds if not a couple minutes away from a total collapse across the grid. that is a political fight that will continue to play out in this state, in the coming days and weeks. state lawmakers are in session in off then. obviously, this is something that will continue to play out, but the more pr
so it s very positive. i view this as an early test whether the democracy was recovering. meanwhile trump loyalists in congress targtding colleagues for the sin of voting to actually do something, a situation that left a republican congressman that voted for an infrastructure bill searching for words after getting death threats like this one. voted for dumb ass biden. you re stupider than he is. [ bleep ]. piece of crash. i hope you [ bleep ] die. i hope your [ bleep ] family dies. i hope everybody in your [ bleep ] staff dies. it is so unsettling. you know? this is not what our democracy is about. these physical threats not only to ourselves but to the family members as well as to our staff. it is a sad day in america when this type of stuff i got a better four-letter word for it but i ll save you, when it happens. president biden is going to sign that infrastructure bill into law tomorrow and the administration out in force today to assure americans they have a pl