good morning to viewers here in the u.s. and around the world. it is monday, august 16th. we are beginning with our special live coverage of the fall of afghanistan, nearly two decades after 9/11. moments ago the u.s. temporarily suspended all air operations at the airport in kabul. we re seeing can haotic scenes e this. this is part of the reason for the suspension, desperate afghans chasing down u.s. planes that are leaving the tarmac, some clinging to the fuselage as the airplane taxied. the taliban is now in charge as it seized control of the capital without hardly a shot fired yesterday. insurgents overran key provincial capitals in the span of the last week. embassy officials have warned americans still in the city not to travel to the airport because it is unsafe. but as of now, it is the only way out. we heard from a white house official, there s no way to get those folks to the airport. the pentagon is rushing 1,000 more combat troops to secure the perimeter to get a
another mr. president how is the first lady, sir? you re going to find out in a minute. welcome to the lead, i m jake tapper. you ve been listening to president biden speaking about the urgent need for more americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. the president announced some new requirements for all federal employees and federal contractors. he also laid out new incentives to get more people vaccinated including asking states to give $100 to every newly vaccinated person and reimbursements for companies who give their employees paid time off to get their shots. president biden also addressed the new mask guidance from the centers for disease control and prevention and the mask mandates popping back up in cities across the country. let s get straight to cnn s jeff zeleny right now live at the white house. jeff, the white house obviously is worried about the trajectory that the u.s. is on with the delta variant, and too many americans still refusing t
vaccinated person that i ve still diagnosed with covid-19. plus who still hasn t gotten the vaccine and can they be convinced to get it? and the bipartisan infrastructure deal facing another hurdle this hour. progressives are not happy. some promise to tank a top biden priority if they don t see action on voting rights. a pathway to citizenship and police reform. up nfirst today, the war chz changed. the war has changed. that s the rethink everything take away from a brand new alarming cdc document that says delta covid variant is as infect x as chickenpox and new precautions are needed. days ago scientists put the delta variant on par with the common cold, believing each infected person transmit the virus to maybe two other people. the new analysis says each infected person on average is actually infecting eight or nine others. cnn national correspondent christen holmes with more on the alarming, alarming findings. christen? yeah. john, i mean, there s no doubt about i
australian government says restrictions will continue where required. brisbane is the latest city, along with other areas in the state of queensland, to undergo the snap lockdown. some people are stocking up before staying at home. very unfortunate in this sort of situation, but i guess do it hard, fast now, hope we don t see that happen here. reporter: emphasizing that vaccines are the best way out, the world health organization warns the world is at risk over losing its hard-won gains against the virus. a back sliding that s evident in countries that were once relatively successful in curbing covid-19. thailand and malaysia are experiencing surges of disease, and on saturday reported record-high daily infection numbers. india was slowly recovering from being a previous epicenter of the virus. it s now imposing new lockdowns in some states where cases are once again rising. and experts warn another wave could hit soon if vaccinated don t pick up pace. the highly tran
but still, just over half the u.s. population is fully vaccinated and thus not fully protected against the virus. one former health official warns, those who aren t vaccinated or haven t already have covid will almost certainly get it now. the delta variant is that transmissible. even though prevention measures and new mask mandates seem to be cropping up across the united states with new york city considering new mask guidance tomorrow, one covid hot spot is doing just the opposite. in florida, coronavirus cases are absolutely surging. the state accounts for nearly 1 in 5 new cases in the u.s. and yet, florida s governor, ron desantis, is flying in the face of cdc recommendations on masking in schools. issuing an executive order to prevent school mask mandates. cnn s randi kaye joins me from rif riviera beach, florida. you ve been all over the dynamics here. talk to us about the rising numbers but also the latest order from desantis and what it all means. well, first, phil