♪ good morning to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. it is wednesday, august 18th. i'm brianna keilar along with john berman on this "new day." and the exodus from afghanistan is accelerating this morning. u.s. military flights evacuated more than 1,000 people on tuesday including 330 american citizens and permanent residents and another 770 family members. administration officials believe up to 15,000 americans may still be in afghanistan, meaning that the u.s. must now rely on its adversary the taliban to exit its longest war. and this morning, new graphic images of the scene outside the airport in kabul. remember, that's the only way

out. los angeles times photographer captured what appeared to be a brutal crack down by taliban forces. he spoke to anderson cooper overnight. >> i think a lot read on facebook that the americans were taking afghans and taking them out of the country, so they didn't just want to try their luck. and this is on the road on the side of the airport, outside the airport. so, the taliban basically were doing crowd control. i watched several taliban fighters walk around with sticks, they used the butt of their rifles to hit people and chase them around and shoe everybody around. they just wanted everybody off the streets. i even watched one taliban fighter after firing some shots in the general direction of crowd smiling at another taliban fighter. like a game for them or

something. >> again, this is what the photographer said was happening when people tried to get to the airport. which again is the only way out of the country. he says he saw at least six people hurt including a woman and her child. let's go to streets of kabul right now. we're joined again by cnn chief international correspondent clarissa ward there. as always, we want to know exactly what you're seeing what the change is this morning and also just shed some light on what we just saw there the photos, if you can, of what's happening when afghans try to get to the airport which is the only way out of the country. >> reporter: so essentially at the airport what you have is this bizarre situation where the u.s. and also british forces are cooperating and communicating with the taliban to try to lessen the sort of crush of people that have been descending on that entrance of the airport

everyday. the idea, of course, is to prevent chaos, to prevent pandemonium but what's actually happening as you heard there from the very brave and talented photographer, marcus llam is that the taliban is put in charge of crowd control. the way they carry out crowd control is different. they've been whipping people, firing shots in the air, firing shots at people. you saw that spectacularly harrowing image that he captured of a woman and a child who were very seriously injured when they were shot by the taliban. so, inside the airport it appears less chaotic because it is having some effect. it is sort of thinning out that crush of people who have been pouring into the airport. but, on the perimeter, it is, of course, incredibly intimidating for people who desperately want to leave this country. and they're fearful that the taliban won't even let them pass those check points.

one thing that's really interesting, obviously i'm back on the streets here today. this is a location we've done a couple of live shots for you from before, but what's really noticeable today is, no taliban. far fewer taliban check points on the streets we've noticed. i'm not saying they're not around, they're definitely around. we see them in their pickup trucks with weapons but it's definitely a smaller footprint than what we had seen previously. it's unclear whether the onlyive behind that is to try to get normal life going again. to try to lessen the sort of intimidating factor of having all of these heavily-armed and let's face it pretty scary-looking men out on the streets. you can see steady stream of traffic a lot of shops are open again. there is definitely a sense that bit by bit life is creeping back more to normal at the moment. whatever, though, with the

caveat, whatever normal may mean. john, brianna. >> and a normal obviously very different there on the streets of kabul compared to what we were seeing at the airport as people are trying to exit. it doesn't seem that, you know, the supply to get people out is at all anywhere close to meeting the demand, clarissa. >> reporter: i mean, i just can't stress this enough. i get a phone call, a text message, a whatsapp, a tweet every 20 minutes, please can you help this person get out of the country. please, can you advise this person how to leave. please, can you help this person get to the airport. the desperation and the volume, the scale of the amount of people that want to get out who are so frightened about facing reprisals. we interviewed someone earlier today. he was part of president ghani's security detail. he can't leave the house.

he's been getting threatening messages from the taliban, we believe. we know who you are. you'll never escape up. he used to reach out to general miller, when he was in country. i worked closely with the americans for more than a decade. his actual quote, i started working with the americans when i didn't have a beard. and now my beard is white. from the fear of what's going to happen to me. he very much believes that he and his family will be killed. and i said, have you done your paperwork? because when i asked the pentagon spokesperson yesterday, john kirby, that's what he said. they have to do their paperwork, to which he said we had no idea that this could happen so quickly. i don't even know how to begin doing my paperwork. i don't have an internet connection. i'm moving house every night. i'm sleeping on floors. i'm trying to keep my children alive. so this is the reality on the

ground here in kabul. >> paperwork, try to write something down on a piece of paper or type something into a computer with a figurative or some cases literal gun to your head. it's not easy to do. it's not where your heart is in moments like this. clarissa, one of the things that can happen in a town or city after a military takeover, you know, no fuel. no water. no services. no cash. what are you seeing in terms of just those types of services and things? >> reporter: yeah. basic services are running. bakeries are making bread. you can get fuel. we need a lot of it for our generator. you can get food. you can get any number of things on the streets. believe me when i tell you, that the taliban understood how important it was to keep this city running, to keep things functioning, to show that they can govern. that's why yesterday they said anyone who is a government

employee, who works in a ministry or whatever capacity, you need to get back to work. that's why we saw traffic policemen yesterday for the first time. they know the world is watching and they want to show that they can pull this off. and i think that's why they're a lot savvier than they were before. they're making sure that things are running. they're trying to provide some law and order and lightening their footprint a little bit on the ground today, trying to get people to feel more at ease that their presence isn't threatening. but as i said before 100 times now, that is not enough to assuage the fears of people who worked with the americans and who now believe that their lives are in very real danger. >> yeah. we're seeing, clarissa, people certainly on social media who worked with those afghans quipping darkly after 20 some years it looks like the taliban has figured out public relations. but is it smoke and mirrors? that's going to be the question here. they think it is. clarissa, thank you so much.

we of course, will be coming back to you throughout the show. appreciate your report. as of now, nato suspended all support for the afghan government, which is now basically the taliban. joining me now is the nato secretary general stoltenberg. thank you for being with us. we have been hearing the difficulty that thousands and thousands of afghan allies to nato and the u.s. are having getting to the airport. what is nato's role in getting these people not just out from the airport but to the airport so they can leave? >> so, we have been working now for a long time on how to evacuate as many people as possible. this is part about making sure that allies are ready to resettle afghans who are supported those and worked for decades in afghanistan. i welcome the fact that allies are ready to do so. then it is about getting people out from the airport and on

monday we had somebody difficult images from we have restored operations and the planes are flying in and out and we are doing whatever we can to increase capacity. there are around 800 civilian nato personnel at the airport providing critical services such as air traffic control, communications, and other essential services to make sure that the airport can function. and then it is the issue of getting people to the airport. our diplomats on the ground, our people on the ground, are working hard to enable those who are threatened, those who worked for us, staff and others, to enable them to get to the airport and we're also sending a very clear message to the taliban that we expect them to provide safe passage to enable people to get to the airport. >> as of now, it seems like what

you're saying this depends on the good graces of the taliban? >> we don't control the territory outside the airport. and therefore there are contacts between nato allies, tactical contacts on the ground to make sure that we are able to get people from kabul to the airport and then out of afghanistan. we have seen progress when it comes to operating the airport. that is, of course, crucial. we are able to get thousands of people out but we need to help people get to the airport. that's exactly what we're working hard on now with the people we have on the ground. >> when is the last time you spoke with president biden? >> i haven't spoken with him now since we had the meeting here in brussels in july. but i have been in regular contact with secretary blinken and we meet, of course, regularly with the u.s. and i

consult with other allies here in brussels and also on phone. and we were aware of the risks entailed to the decision to end the nato military presence in afghanistan. the risk of taliban returning. but we also knew that the alternative to end our military presence was an open ended military presence in afghanistan most likely with more troops, nato troops, in afghanistan, more combat, more fighting, more casualties, more loss of life of nato soldiers and also more civilian casualties because of the increased fighting we had to expect if we remained in afghanistan. so we were faced with a very difficult delemma, to leave and risk taliban returning or stay and risk more casualties and more fighting and therefore allies agreed to make the

difficult decision to oend our military decision. >> there are those who suggest it wasn't a complete binary choice. you can leave but do it in a way that isn't nearly as chaotic. now you have nato member states who is suggesting the way this has happened has diminished nato in europe in the eyes of the world. he said this kind of troop withdrawal caused chaos. chaos causes additional suffering. this era is over. unfortunately the west and europe in particular are showing they are weaker globally. that is from the latvian defense minister, a nato member. >> whatever happens in afghanistan europe and north america has to stand together. it is our national security interest to work together

especially in light of shifting global balance of power with the likes of china and more assertive russia. all makes more important that europe and north america stand together and also for the united states to have friends and allies in nato is extremely important for united states because no other major power house has friends and allies as the united states has in nato. >> there is a suggestion among some that nato was pushed into this by the united states. that somehow now this was something that nato might not have done had the united states not been -- president biden, been to adamant and president trump. this is criticism from nato secretary general back on september 11th, 2001. he says, it weakens nato because the principle of in together, out together, seems to have been abandoned by donald trump and joe biden. is this something that you were pushed into by the united

states? >> well, it is correct that in february, last year in 2020, the united states signed an agreement with taliban where the united states committed to leave afghanistan by may. and where taliban agreed to make sure that afghanistan do not host, does not host international terrorist groups. after close consultations, all nato allies then agreed to follow the u.s. decision. also because, of course -- canadian, partner country troops have served in afghanistan and many have paid the ultimate price.

it was very -- it was actually politically impossible for european allies to continue in afghanistan given the fact that united states has decided to end its military mission. we went in together and we adjust our presence together and now we leave together. after close consultations among all 30 allies. >> sounds like so the u.s. decision tied nato's hands? >> the u.s. decision, of course, framed or created the conditions for the nato to decision. it was an agreement signed in february last year. where it was a timeline when the u.s. was going to leave and of course, all european allies had to take that into account when we made our decision as nato later on. but, all allies realize the risks of leaving but also the risks of staying for more

casualties, more civilian suffering with more combat and the need for more nato troops because it was not possible to continue with the level we have seen of troops over the last months because that was a result of the agreement that made the atlanta ban agree not to make nato troops. if we stayed, they would start to attack us and we would have been enforced to engage more in combat with taliban again. >> nato secretary jens stoltenberg, we appreciate your time. thank you for being with us. >> thank you so much for having me. so, disturbing new video overnight of women inside afghanistan worried that they will be killed in a taliban massacre. we'll hear from them. plus, a dire situation across the u.s. as five states hit 90% capacity in their icu units and one state is running out of beds all together. and he doesn't want mask mandates, he's been out and

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♪ the new surge in coronavirus cases fueled by the delta variant is pushing hospitals to the brink, past the brink honestly. five states icu beds are at more than 90% capacity. alabama, there is negative availability, meaning there are more intensive care patients than there are icu beds to treat them. this morning, students returned to school in broward county in florida with a district wide mask requirement in place in defiance of the governor's order. cnn's amara walker is live outside a school in broward county. broward going its own way despite whatever penalties, you know, governor ron desantis now threatening, amara. >> reporter: yeah, it sure is, john. so 261,000 students across broward county public schools will be returning to the classroom in the next couple of hours or so, including here at

bay view elementary school. as you said, face masks will be required. if anyone refuses to do so, they will be turned away per broward county public school policy. as you know, john, there's been a lot of drama in the lead justleadup to the reopening of the school year and last year it culminated by the vote by the florida board of education to take the next steps to punish the district over masks. it's the first day of school here in broward county florida and students will be required to wear masks, the decision defying the governor's order. >> we have districts who are picking and choosing what laws they want to follow. >> reporter: a move school officials say is worth the risk. >> we're also very concerned about the number of cases that are happening here within broward. as of this morning, we only have five, five icu pediatric beds available. that's it.

>> reporter: at least 4,700 florida students and staff tested positive for the coronavirus in the 15 largest school districts already in session. and at least another 14,200 others are in quarantine or isolation due to the virus. >> we're flying with reckless captains. we have governors who actually issued mandates that school districts are prohibited from issuing mask mandates and we're really in a terrible situation because we don't have the appropriate response. >> reporter: the battle over wearing masks in schools isn't just in florida. arizona's governor is threatening to with hold funding increases for schools requiring facial coverings. it's the same in texas where the school mask mandate is being fought in court and where governor greg abbott announced he's tested positive for covid-19. >> i have received the covid-19 vaccine. and that may be one reason i'm really not feeling any symptoms right now. >> reporter: there's only about 300 intensive care beds available in all of texas.

and in alabama, there's none available within the entire state. >> we have never been here before. we're truly in uncharted territory in terms of our icu bed capacity. fortunately we still do not have an issue with ventilators. >> reporter: new coronavirus infections are on the rise in at least 37 states, with the surge masks will be necessary at outdoor concerts and sporting events with more than 10,000 people in los angeles county starting tomorrow. the tsa is also extending its federal mandate requiring masks on planes, trains and buses through january. >> for the masks, that's a no brainer. right now we're at a screaming level of virus transmission in the united states. we're pushing up to 150,000 new cases a day. >> reporter: so the governor ron desantis has threatened to with hold the salaries of the superintendents and school board members at broward county schools also another school district, but it turns out he cannot directly do that and

that's because they are not on the state's payroll. so what the governor would have to do is with hold funding equal to the amount of their salaries, although the white house has expressed support for these two school districts saying they would make federal funding available if necessary. john? >> the question is how far does ron desantis want to go to limit local control and the decisions of these school boards. amara walker, thank you so much for that report. appreciate it. now, according to a new cnn analysis, covid cases rise, vaccinations among teenagers are also increasing nationwide and cnn's jacqueline howard is joining us with more on this. this is an interesting trend. >> it san interesting trend. we've been tracking covid-19 cases and vaccinations during the summer, and we did notice this parallel increase where cases have been going up but so have vaccinations. brianna, pediatricians i have talked to said there are many factors at play here, but they believe that as more young people have been hospitalized

with covid-19, parents have noticed that, young people have noticed that and it's really driving and motivating them to get vaccinated. so during the course of the summer when it comes to the covid-19 case rate among the youngest age group eligible to get the vaccine, ages 12 to 15, we noticed that case rate go up nearly five times. there are 3.4 cases per 100,000 adolescents, 12 to 15 in june. that went up to 9 in july. it reached 14.6 in august. and at the same time, when it came to vaccinations in this age group, the age group 12 to 15 represented 31% of all people who received at least one dose of vaccine in june. that went up to 39% in july, 45% in august. so this is a good sign, brianna, that we're seeing more young people getting vaccinated. as time goes on, we hope that that will add to this share of young people who are fully

vaccinated because there's still a ways to go. at this time, we're still at 32% of all adolescents 12 to 17 being fully vaccinated. but, we expect that to go up. brianna? >> good news. yeah, the risk is low, but it's not as low as it was and it's not low enough for the comfort of a lot of parents i think we're seeing. thank you. so as we mentioned texas governor greg abbott who has banned mask mandates in texas schools, who said that local governments and school boards cannot make their own decisions about mask requirements in schools, he's tested positive now for covid. abbott is fully vaccinated. and we're told is experiencing no symptoms, according to his office. we will note he is getting antibody treatment, though. but look at this video shared by his campaign on twitter. it shows abbott in a packed room for a party on monday night, no mask on, abbott's office says everyone who has been in close contact with the governor has been notified. joining us now is ron

brownstein, senior editor at the the atlantic. ron, it's good that the governor has no symptoms, which is what we expect from someone who has been vaccinated. yet to see that picture from the night before in a crowded room, no mask, it does create a sense of political irony. >> yeah. well, look, you don't wish covid on anybody, but it is pretty striking that they announce that the governor has covid on the same day that the state republican attorney general is asking the state supreme court to overturn the mask mandates from school districts in all of the largest cities in texas. and obviously, young kids under 12 can't even get vaccinated. while he is getting the best care, the county executive, the county judge in dallas, announced the other day that they were literally no pediatric icu beds left in north texas, even as they are opening the schools and he is attempting to ban them from requiring masks. >> yeah. it's very let them eat hydro chloroquine because he's getting

antibodies generally for people who have symptoms and it's not easy to get. it's available but not widely available. and so there's this disconnect. and i wonder, ron, if -- look, hopefully there are no problems health wise for the governor. nonetheless, what about his policies? >> well, look, i think what you're seeing in texas, what you're seeing in florida, what you're seeing in arizona, all three of those governors yesterday significantly escalated their kind of offensive against localities that are requiring masks whether in court or trying to with hold federal funds in arizona or the state board of education looking for ways to punish the executives in broward county. to me, this is -- what we are seeing from local governments, brianna, i think is the biggest pushback against state preemption really in this modern era of about ten years. the story we're seeing across the sun belt is basically every metro in the sun belt from orlando to atlanta to houston

and dallas and austin and phoenix, generally has been growing more democratic over the past decade. as they have grown more democratic, we have seen republican-controlled state government moving more aggressively to overturn their decisions on everything from regulating plastic bags to police budgets. we saw a lot on lockdowns and business hours. but this year there is more push back, more open defiance than ever before. this attempt to stop school districts from mandating the masks when covid cases are surging as someone said to me is a breaking point in texas and these other states and now i think this battle is joined not over by any means. a lot of questions about whether the biden administration can do more to support the local governments. you are seeing open defiance. >> everyone should use the next commercial break to go out and read ron's amazing column, a lengthy, lengthy look at this issue. the red state, blue city divide and specifically why this

discussion over masks and local control over masks could be the beginning of a new political trend there. ron, it's really good. thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> thanks for having me. up next, cnn live in haiti where the death toll is rising as the need for aid grows more desperate. and tropical weather making a mess parts of the south. where does the storm head from here? and this reminder, join cnn this weekend for "we love new york city" the homecoming concert, a once-in-a-lifetime concert event saturday starting at 5:00 p.m. eastern, exclusively on cnn. ♪ millions of vulnerable americans struggle to get reliable transportation

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this weather is brought to you bycarvana, the new way to buy a car. georgia, florida, 4 to 6 inches of rainfall on the ground already and much is running off of flash flood watches and warnings still in effect and more to come today. there's a lot of areas here that are going to see more orange here, 4 to 6 inches of new rain on top of fairly saturated ground. so we have to watch for more flash flood warnings, also even the potential for a tornado or two. brianna? >> chad, thank you so much. we'll be keeping our eye on that for sure. rescue efforts in haiti have been hampered by a lack of resources and heavy rains battered the island causing mud slides that are now blocking roads. at least, 1,941 people are now dead. more than 9,000 injured and officials fear the toll will keep on ridesing. cnn's joe johns is live in p

port-au-prince this morning to give us a sense of where things are headed, joe. what are you seeing? >> reporter: john, the increase in the death toll has only increased the concerns for the living, concerns for the survivors of this earthquake, especially the children. unicef says about 500,000 children were affected. the big concerns are about how many have been orphaned, how many have been separated from their parents. generally the needs are as you might expect, food, water, clothing and medicine. also shelter extremely important. the mayor on the ground of those affected areas have sent word they don't have nearly enough tents and tarps to help the tens of thousands of people who lost their homes in this earthquake. so, that's very important. there's one other necessity that's coming to the fore right now and that is the need for law

and order on the roads leading to the affected areas. we know that haiti has over the years and even decades had a huge problem with criminal gangs controlling the roads, almost anywhere outside some of the major cities. and that's the case here. the united nations has sent word that if this government and if the people here don't get control of the situation on the roads, tens of thousands of people could die. back to you. >> all right, dire situation. joe johns, thank you for being there for us. women facing an uncertain future under taliban rule. one even now warning of a massacre. the chilling new tape received by cnn. and a teacher in texas afraid of dying from covid just for doing her job. her plea to parents now going viral. >> we want for your child to be comfortable, but more than anything, we want them to be

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♪ we have some disturbing new audio that shows the desperation, the level of desperation of one single afghan woman as the taliban arrives in kabul. >> my life is over. and i don't know, like, i am not sure if i can keep you messaging anymore. thank you so much for everything. but i don't think it's going to work out and you guys were super late to control things. it was way too late to control the situation. i'm sorry. but your efforts don't mean anything anymore. kim, the thing is if we stay here for one more hour, there is

going to be a massacre. i'm telling you that there is going to be a massacre. everybody is going to be killed here. there is a big, big mob. they are attacking us. maybe there are taliban fighters among them and then it's like thousands of them. it's not just 200. it is thousands of them. i'm really scared. and i don't want to be here anymore because i'm really scared. i'm scared for my life and my family's life and also i'm dying of anxiety and also stress. it is really stressful. it's really, really, really stressful. and i don't know what to do. >> now, we must note that cnn can't independently verify what the woman on that tape is seeing on the ground, but joining me now is international human rights attorney kimberly motley

who is in touch with that afghan woman you just heard from and that woman is currently in hiding right now. kim, that is one woman, but this is what we're hearing from so many people who are in touch with afghans. this is moment to moment for them. they are not sure they're going to get out of this. >> absolutely, brianna. thank you for having me. it's a human rights nuclear bomb. and i'm getting so many messages from particularly women and men who are terrified for their lives. women who worked with, you know, the international community as well as men who were military -- worked alongside our military or those that are siv applicants. it's a terrifying situation. like you said, it's changing very rapidly and minute to minute. >> do you think that her pleas, that the pleas of other afghans, are being heard by the american people, by the biden administration? >> i don't think they are. frankly, i do think it's so important for the biden

administration to listen to her pleas because, you know, what we're doing is just -- we help build this. we broke it and we need to fix this. and so what i'm hearing is i'm hearing women that are being turned away from going to school. women that are being turned away from going to work. i'm hearing reports of girls being snatched away from their homes and being forced to be child brides. i have hundreds of siv applicants and dozens and dozens of afghans who worked alongside our military that just aren't being heard. and are talking about how their electronic, their phones are being taken away. if they're in communications with internationals, or if they have something on their phones that the talibans doesn't like. i'm hearing about people being beaten on the street, women, men and children. and it's extremely distressing. we definitely have a responsibility to try to do what we can. i mean, as a country went there

and sold this dream of rule of law and, you know, of democracy and frankly i think for many of those of our afghan allies that are working with us, i think it's even more crushing that the u.s. and other internationals aren't supporting them than what the taliban are doing to them because they know who the taliban are. but they thought that we were the people that would support them, that we would continue to support democracy, that we would continue to push women's rights. and i think that's what's so much more crushing for many people on the ground who are just terrified for the knock on their door. >> yeah. >> where they may be disappeared. >> now the issue is can america get them out, right? i have to be clear, we haven't seen evidence of mass reprisals or massacres in kabul, but the fear is very real and justified by the past actions of the

taliban. we heard from so many people who are watching the taliban put forward, you know, this more -- this sort of kinder or more in control, more humane front, but the u.s. is still there. so there's a question if that completely goes away. i wanted to ask you specifically, kim, i want to say, we have seen and heard reports of major issues in some border areas. you represent the afghan all girls robotics team, which, you know, i think there's many americans who have seen this, they are a symbol of a more progressive afghanistan, the ages of these young women ranging from 12 to 18, they have known nothing other than the regime that previously was in the area, in afghanistan before sunday. what is going to happen to them? >> i mean, based on a lot of the disturbing reports that i'm hearing from afghanistan, we don't know. i mean, we're seeing women and

girls being eliminated from public spaces. they're painting black paint over women's faces. as though they don't exist. you know, this is 20 million women in their population. we're very concerned that their education will stop. you know, this afghan girls robotics team, you know, they deserve to be protected. they should be allowed to be educating and we're imploring upon the governments and the new government to allow women and girls to have freedom of movement, whether it be by air or land. that's extremely important. there should be women leaders in afghanistan who should be allowed to go to doha to negotiate with this new government on behalf of women of what that looks like. i think there needs to be continued scrutiny on women's rights and there needs to be consequences if women's rights are not honored within the

country. we did this. you know, we helped the afghan girls robotics team be who they are. and to take this away from them, we're putting them potentially in a situation that's even worse than when we went to afghanistan 20 years ago. >> kim, i want to thank you for coming on. i know this is a difficult time. and i know that you're watching this carefully as you're so concerned about the friends that you have made in afghanistan over the years. just wanting to see if they'll come out of this alive. we appreciate you being with us. >> thank you for having me. new this morning, some disturbing images, this is from kabul, showing what the taliban is doing to afghans who are just trying to reach the airport. the only way out of the country. cnn's clarissa ward live from kabul next. big news for vaccinated americans, the white house is about to announce plans for vaccine boosters. dr. sanjay gupta with the new information coming up. ♪ ld only imagine

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and i know it's been almost a year but i know how hard it still is. we're so sorry for your loss. we read your story in the washington post. and it's been hard. this last year has been really difficult and it's not just the loss of the man you love and the father of your children, but the loss of so much more. explain. >> yes. good morning. and thank you for having me. this past year has been the most devastating thing that my children and i have ever experienced. not just emotionally but financially and the stress of going from having two adults in the household and both earning income and taking care of our kids together to going to suddenly solo parenting while grieving and my children are grieving and at the same time trying to figure out our financial future because we lost the main breadwinner.

and it has been very stressful and very traumatic. >> covid can take so much. it can take -- >> it really can. >> it more or less took your house. you now do have a place to live. but even that has been touch and go. >> yes. it can be very difficult to find housing and we ended up needing to sell the home that we lived in because, as a single mom, working and i'm going to go to school and taking care of my kids, there was no way i could manage to be a homeowner at the same time and keep the house fixed up and all the associated expenses with that. so, we ended up moving into an apartment. and it's good. i'm happy we have it. but it's just another stress that was added after my husband

passed away. >> and of course the vaccine wasn't available when you lost your husband. it happened a year ago. you have now been vaccinated. what is your message? you have friends and family who still aren't vaccinated. what's your message to them? >> refusing to get vaccinated because i think if my husband had been able to be vaccinated that he would be alive today. and every time someone dies from covid now, a death that was preventable because of the vaccine, it just breaks my heart. and i just want to ask people to please, please, please get vaccinated. don't be afraid of it. i understand that some people are scared and there's a lot of misinformation out there, but please don't be afraid of it. i got vaccinated. i was fine. everybody i know that got

vaccinated is fine. and knowing that my friends and family that have chosen to get vaccinated, knowing that they're protected, that is worth so much to me, knowing that these people are most likely not going to die from covid because that is my worst fear is losing someone else to covid. >> lisa grim, listen, i know you worked so hard this last year to build a life for you and your kids. we wish you the best of luck going forward. we know you have great plans. we also know there are a lot of people pulling for you. and hopefully there to help. so thanks so much for being with us. >> thank you. i really appreciate it. "new day" continues right now. ♪ welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world, i'm john berman with brianna keilar on this "new day." this morning, as many as 15,000 americans, 15,000, waiting to be

evacuated from afghanistan. just getting to the airport in kabul can be a challenge, if not life threatening. the state department says it is determined to do damage control in the wake of this trying u.s. troop withdrawal. ♪ >> let me be very clear about this, the embassy remains open and we plan to continue our diplomatic work in afghanistan. this is not abandonment. this is not an evacuation. this is not the wholesale withdrawal. >> not the wholesale withdrawal? the head of u.s. central command visited the kabul airport on tuesday. operations there have resumed. they took out about 1,100 people yesterday, which is an increase but not nearly enough to meet the need. and the taliban has apparently learned something about damage control, pr wise here in the last 20 years. they held their first public news conference on tuesday