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Afghanistan updates: World Bank freezes aid after Taliban takeover

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Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Chaos has enveloped Kabul after Afghanistan’s government’s collapsed and the Taliban seized control, all but ending America’s 20-year campaign as it began: under Taliban rule.

The U.S. has evacuated approximately 37,000 people since the effort began on Aug. 14, Pentagon officials said Monday, while reiterating their focus remains on maintaining the airport perimeter and increasing the number of evacuees out of Kabul ahead of the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline.

President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House last week, the president’s first interview since the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden has also addressed the nation several times since.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Aug 25, 7:18 am
US evacuates 19,000 people from Kabul in past 24 hours

The United States has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of some 82,300 people from Kabul since Aug. 14 when the Taliban closed in on Afghanistan’s capital, according to a White House official.

In a 24-hour period from Tuesday to Monday, 42 U.S. military flights carried approximately 11,200 evacuees out of Kabul. Another 7,800 people were evacuated via 48 coalition aircraft. Since the end of July, approximately 87,900 people have been relocated from Kabul via U.S. military and coalition flights, the White House official said.

Aug 25, 6:20 am
World Bank freezes aid to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

The World Bank said it has suspended funding for projects in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s return to power, becoming the latest international organization to do so.

“We are deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and the impact on the country’s development prospects, especially for women,” a World Bank spokesperson told ABC News in a statement Wednesday. “We have paused disbursements in our operations in Afghanistan and we are closely monitoring and assessing the situation in line with our internal policies and procedures.”

“As we do so, we will continue to consult closely with the international community and development partners,” the spokesperson added. “Together with our partners we are exploring ways we can remain engaged to preserve hard-won development gains and continue to support the people of Afghanistan.”

The World Bank, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has committed some $5.3 billion for reconstruction and development projects in Afghanistan since 2002.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund announced that its financial resources will no longer be accessible to Afghanistan due to a “a lack of clarity within the international community” over the country’s government, after the Taliban seized control of the capital.

Aug 24, 9:09 pm
2 House lawmakers take unauthorized trip to Kabul amid evacuation operation

Veterans and Reps. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., and Seth Moulton, D-Mass., traveled to Afghanistan to review the situation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul – an unauthorized trip they are now defending amid criticism that they distracted from the evacuation mission.

The Washington Post first reported on their unauthorized trip, and the anger it prompted inside the Pentagon and State Department as officials work around-the-clock to evacuate endangered Americans and Afghans.

Their trip prompted the letter to lawmakers House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent Tuesday that said travel to the region would distract from the ongoing evacuations.

Official travel by members of the House must be approved by the speaker or relevant committee chairs.

In a joint statement, the two representatives said they conducted the visit in secret to gather information about operations there and not disrupt them.

They provided few details on what they learned — except to say how proud they are of the U.S. officials — military and civilian — on the ground. They added that “Washington” should be “ashamed” of the position they’ve put these public servants in.

They added that they went into the visit wanting Biden to extend his deadline, but after talking to commanders on the ground, it is impossible to get “everyone out on time,” even if Biden pushed back the full withdrawal until Sept. 11.

“Sadly and frustratingly, getting our people out depends on maintaining the current, bizarre relationship with the Taliban,” they said in the statement.

While a congressional delegation to this humanitarian crisis took up time and seats, the two lawmakers defended themselves in their statement by saying in part, “We left on a plane with empty seats, seated in crew-only seats to ensure that nobody who needed a seat would lose one because of our presence.”

Aug 24, 7:52 pm
Pelosi warns lawmakers to avoid travel to Afghanistan

In a dear colleague letter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned lawmakers to avoid traveling to Afghanistan given security concerns.

“Given the urgency of this situation, the desire of some Members to travel to Afghanistan and the surrounding areas is understandable and reflective of the high priority that we place on the lives of those on the ground,” she wrote. “However, I write to reiterate that the Departments of Defense and State have requested that Members not travel to Afghanistan and the region during this time of danger.”

“Member travel to the Afghanistan and the surrounding countries would unnecessarily divert needed resources from the priority mission of safely and expeditiously evacuating (Americans) and Afghans at risk from Afghanistan,” she continued.

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In private, Qatar warn US officials of ‘growing crises’ at bases housing Afghans: Internal report

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Sgt. Jimmie Baker / U.S. Army via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Tens of thousands of Americans, Afghans and other foreigners have been evacuated from Kabul’s international airport to U.S. military installations in Qatar, a key U.S. partner in the Middle East that has received public shout-outs from President Joe Biden and his top officials.

But privately, Qatari officials are warning their American counterparts that the situation at U.S. facilities, where thousands of Afghan evacuees are being housed, is growing more dire, according to an internal State Department report obtained by ABC News.

Some Afghans and Americans who have been housed at the bases have spoken publicly about the lack of space, food and water or facilities. But the urgent warnings from Qatari officials to their American counterparts speak to how thin-stretched facilities have become — and the risks that it entails, including for human trafficking.

Asked about conditions on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the administration was “aware” of issues, but “worked quickly to improve” them.

“Certainly, we want the individuals who are being evacuated to be treated with respect. We also want them to be safe, hence the speed necessity, but we worked to improve the conditions as soon as we learned,” she said.

In meetings Monday, however, Qatar Foreign Ministry officials were still expressing concerns about “deteriorating health and security conditions” and over-crowding at Al Udeid Air Base and Camp As Sayliyah, according to the internal report.

In particular, Lolwah al Khater, a Qatari assistant foreign minister, told U.S. Ambassador John Desrocher that both bases “had hit maximum capacity to house in a safe and secure manner” and warned of “growing crises” at each.

Both Qatari bases include U.S. military installations that are hosting thousands of evacuees, although the pressure on them has decreased in recent days as more U.S. allies accept evacuation flights, especially Germany.

“The fact that we now have more than two dozen countries, across four continents, taking part in this operation has already provided relief to crowding in Doha,” a State Department spokesperson told ABC News Tuesday, adding they are “working closely to improve conditions on the ground in Qatar.”

Qatari officials were especially concerned about Al Udeid’s “ill-famed ‘Afghan hangar,'” according to the internal report, which houses some 4,500 Afghans. There are another 4,000 Afghans at Camp As Sayliyah, where the Qatari officials warned there were “increased tensions among the Afghan population,” according to the report, which provided no other details.

Khalifa Jassim al Kuwari, Qatar’s foreign aid and development chief, also “doubted that the USG (U.S. government) had sufficient personnel, food, medicine at CAS (Camp As Sayliyah) to care properly for Afghans there,” the report said he told U.S. officials.

The U.S. facility there lacks sufficient toilets and basic sanitation, the Qatari officials told their American counterparts. In fact, Qatar’s Red Crescent Society had already provided mobile shower trucks and hygiene kits in recent days to help address the desperate needs, and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged for cleaning services.

A State Department spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday that the administration was working to improve conditions, including by bringing in air-conditioning units, improving sanitation, increasing supplies, expanding housing and surging staff to more quickly process some people out of Qatar.

“Qatar has been at the forefront of our efforts as the first evacuation site. We are grateful to the Government of Qatar for their generous assistance that has allowed us to take-in over 20,000 people and sent hundreds of U.S. citizens to the United States and thousands of Afghans to the United States, Germany, and Italy for further processing,” they added in a statement.

Beyond food and water, Qatari officials expressed concern about “whether the USG could provide sufficient medicine and health care requirements for the large numbers of Afghans incoming,” the report said. Al Khater urged U.S. military officials to “muster greater health care resources … to care for the relocating Afghans,” it said.

Qatar also has safety concerns.

Al Khater told U.S. officials there was a “danger of human trafficking in such circumstances and highlighted the cases of unaccompanied minors coming from Kabul,” according to the internal report.

The U.S. government has been working to reunite some unaccompanied minors separated from their families amid evacuation efforts, a second State Department spokesperson told ABC News on Saturday, adding they had already successfully reunited “a number” of them with parents and loved ones.

State Department and Defense Department officials at the Kabul airport were “assisting” a number of unaccompanied minors “sheltering” at a “reunification center” run by Norway, according to an internal situation report from Monday that was also obtained by ABC News.

Additionally, al Khater and other Qatari officials asked the U.S. for manifests of all incoming and outgoing flights — saying they appreciated U.S. efforts, but were concerned there wasn’t a “rigorous filtering system to board those flights” in Kabul.

U.S. intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism officials are conducting screening and security vetting on all Afghans before they can enter the U.S., the first State Department spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday. But it’s unclear what steps are being taken to assure Qatari officials.

Despite the high-level concerns, the internal State Department report noted that cooperation between the two countries on the “Afghan relocation crisis has improved markedly in recent days,” praising the “unprecedented level of senior- and working-level teamwork.”

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COVID-19 live updates: Kentucky reports record hospitalizations, ICU patients

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Lubo Ivanko/iStock

(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 630,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 60.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:

Aug 25, 7:00 am
J&J says its vaccine booster shot raises antibody levels 9-fold

In the midst of a delta variant surge, a new study finds that giving a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot six months after primary vaccination results in a nine-fold increase of a crucial antibody response, according to a company press release.

Meanwhile, a prior study found that people vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine still had a durable immune response at least eight months later, even without a booster.

Collectively, the findings could help inform the U.S. government’s recommendations about booster shots for the 14 million people who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Boosting after six months “appears to be safe, and boosts immune responses substantially,” Dr. Dan Barouch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told ABC News.

Aug 25, 3:53 am
COVID-19 cases rise among athletes at Tokyo Paralympics

Several Paralympic athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tokyo in recent days.

According to daily figures released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, at least eight positive cases have been confirmed among unnamed Paralympic athletes so far, with two new cases reported on Wednesday following the opening ceremony.

The 2020 Summer Paralympics officially opened in the Japanese capital on Tuesday, after a yearlong delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Like the 2020 Olympics, which ended on Aug. 8, this year’s Paralympics is taking place under a state of emergency as Japan struggles with a growing COVID-19 crisis.

Aug 24, 9:01 pm
Another Florida school district issues mask mandate

Leaders of the Orange County public school system voted Tuesday to require a mask mandate for all students and staff.

The rule goes into effect on Aug. 30 and will last for at least two months. There will be exemptions for medical reasons.

School board members cited the growing COVID-19 rates and hospitalizations in the area as the reason for their decision.

Aug 24, 5:54 pm
NYC School chancellor discusses teacher vaccine mandate

New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter spoke with ABC News about the vaccine mandate for public school staff that goes into effect Sept. 27.

Porter said she was confident that teachers and other staff members would comply to ensure that classrooms are safe for everyone.

“This is the additional extra layer of protection that we didn’t have a year ago,” she said.

Porter said she has been in discussions with the United Federation of Teachers over what the penalties will be if a teacher doesn’t comply, and she was told that “many of their members are already vaccinated.”

The chancellor said those who still have concerns should know that the Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the Pfizer vaccine and it has shown to prevent severe illness.

Aug 24, 5:38 pm
Kentucky reports record hospitalizations, ICU patients

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted a dire update on the state’s COVID-19 cases.

The state health department reported that 2,014 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, 589 of whom are in intensive care units and 338 are on ventilators. Beshear said these are record numbers.

“Folks, this is dangerous. Please, get vaccinated and mask up indoors,” the governor tweeted.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

J&J vaccine booster shot raises antibody levels nine-fold, company says

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zoranm/iStock

(NEW YORK) — In the midst of a delta variant surge, a new study finds that giving a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot six months after primary vaccination results in a nine-fold increase of a crucial antibody response, according to a company press release.

Meanwhile, a prior study found that people vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine still had a durable immune response at least eight months later, even without a booster.

Collectively, the findings could help inform the U.S. government’s recommendations about booster shots for the 14 million people who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Boosting after six months “appears to be safe, and boosts immune responses substantially,” Dr. Dan Barouch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told ABC News.

The new data shows “a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine,” said Dr. Mathai Mammen, Global Head, Janssen Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson, in prepared remarks.

“This data will likely be reviewed by federal health authorities in their discussions about recommending boosters,” Barouch said.

Scientists said emerging evidence suggests vaccine efficacy for all three vaccines wanes slowly over time. And in the face of the highly transmissible delta variant, more frequent mild breakthrough infections have been reported, but so far, evidence indicates that vaccines are still dramatically reducing the risk of hospitalization and death.

Still, this new phase of the pandemic means federal health officials are now likely to endorse booster doses.

“We are prepared to offer booster shots for all Americans beginning the week of Sept. 20 and starting eight months after an individual’s second dose,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, speaking at a press conference Wednesday.

But the Biden administration’s Wednesday announcement on booster doses only included people who received the Pfizer or Moderna shots, omitting a specific recommendation for those who received Johnson & Johnson. Walensky said data on Johnson & Johnson could be expected “in the next few weeks” and that “with those data in hand, we will keep the public informed with a timely plan for J&J booster shots as well.”

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were authorized in December 2020, while Johnson & Johnson was authorized in February 2021. Because large clinical trials for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine began months later than the other two vaccines, data for this vaccine often takes a few weeks longer to be published.

The new data, which still has only been described in a press release and has not yet been peer-reviewed, will likely help inform recommendations about if, and when, booster doses will be needed for those who got the Johnson & Johnson shot.

“It’s some of the data people been asking for and waiting for and wanted to see,” Barouch said.

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House passes John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

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(WASHINGTON) — The House on Tuesday passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act legislation that aims to strengthen a key component of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 after it was weakened by two Supreme Court decisions.

The legislation, named after the late civil rights icon, passed the House with a final vote of 219- 212. There was no Republican support.

HR 4 would restore the pre-clearance formula from the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a key provision that mandated federal review of local election laws and states with a history of voter discrimination, was removed after Shelby County, Alabama, filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court ruled that requiring states to seek approval from the Department of Justice prior to changing voting procedures was unconstitutional.

With at least 17 Republican-led state legislatures passing voting restrictions recently, Democrats and voting-rights advocates said the bill will ensure ballot access for minority voters.

“It is unpatriotic to undermine the ability of people, who have the right to vote and to have access to the polls. As John knew, this precious pillar of our democracy is under attack from what is the worst voter suppression campaign in America since Jim Crow. Unleashed by the dangerous Shelby v. Holder as mentioned in 2013, in 2021 state lawmakers have introduced over 400 suppression bills,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during a debate on the House floor.

House Republicans blasted the bill as a “federal takeover of elections” and a “power grab” by Democrats who would undermine the state election process.

Alabama Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell, who authored the bill, told reporters that federal intervention is necessary to combat what Democrats describe as voter suppression across the country.

“Old battles have become new again,” Sewell said in a joint presser with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and Democratic state lawmakers from Texas who have remained in the nation’s capital after “fleeing” their home state to break quorum over six weeks ago to prevent a new state election law.

“When we see states running amuck, we need federal oversight. If it wasn’t for federal oversight, we not only would not have gotten the Voting Rights Act, we wouldn’t have gotten the Civil Rights Act. After the Shelby v. Holder decision, we saw states like North Carolina and Texas reinstate restrictive voting laws and those voting laws are suppressive, oppressive, and depressive. They stop the people who need to vote from voting,” Sewell said Tuesday.

The House passed an older version of the voting rights act last year following the death of Lewis, but it ultimately stalled. The bill now faces a similar uphill battle this year as it moves to the Senate, where there is strong Republican opposition in the evenly divided body.

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Nevada records worst air quality on record as wildfire smoke spreads

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YorkFoto/iStock

(Reno, Nev.)  — Smoke from the raging wildfires in the West Coast was so severe that it created an air quality alert as far as Reno, Nevada, on Tuesday.

Several Nevada counties reported their worst recorded air quality index numbers in the two decades they’ve been monitoring air quality.

Washoe County, which includes Reno, recorded a high of 291 AQI Tuesday, according to the Washoe County Air Quality Management Division.

The agency noted that the levels of fine particle matter, PM, was dangerously high.

“With a new record set, the top 10 worst PM2.5 daily average AQIs have now all occurred within the last 11 months. We also set a record for the worst PM10 day as well with an AQI of 183,” the agency tweeted.

The poor air quality resulted in the closure of schools in several Nevada counties and Lake Tahoe Community College Tuesday. Clark County, Nevada, issued an air health advisory and urged people to stay indoors and close their windows.

The smoke has been an ongoing problem for the West Coast as several wildfires are burning in California. The Caldor Fire, which Washoe County AQMD said is the cause of its poor air quality, has burned 117,704 acres and was only 9% contained as of Tuesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

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Hawaiian locals beg tourists to stay home, citing COVID-19 concerns

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(HONOLULU) — Many local Hawaiians have been asking tourists to stop visiting the islands during the pandemic, and the governor is now echoing their calls.

“It is a risky time to be traveling right now,” Gov. David Ige said at a press conference on Monday. “We know that the visitors who choose to come to the islands will not have the typical kind of holiday that they expect to get when they visit Hawaii.”

The delta variant is ravaging Hawaii, with the state having more confirmed cases than at any point in the pandemic. Averaging more than 700 cases a day, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, roughly 72% of the state’s hospital beds are full.

Despite the growing number of cases across the country, particularly in areas with low vaccination rates, tourism is quickly matching pre-pandemic levels. In June 2019, there were 277,930 daily visitors on average, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. In June 2021, that figure was back up to 255,936.

Only about 62% of Hawaiians are fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins, creating a growing risk for those who remain unvaccinated as tourism ramps back up.

Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO John De Fries told ABC News that the visitor experience to the state will not be the same. Restrictions are in place that reduce restaurant capacity, and many events or venues are simply closed.

However, De Fries added, although tourism in Hawaii tends to slow toward the end of the summer anyway, residents have said for quite some time that wide-reaching tourism has been a danger to locals.

“During our lockdown in 2020, we were able to see what Hawaii was like without tourists and we realized the adverse impacts that tourism is having on our islands,” said Healani Sonoda-Pale, a spokesperson for the local advocacy group Ka Lahui Hawaii. “When tourism came back, it came back with a vengeance.”

During the lockdown, Sonoda-Pale and other Hawaiians enjoyed empty beaches, emptier streets, short lines at grocery stores and the comfort of knowing that delicate ecosystems were safer. Tourism was taking a toll on the natural environment and the well-being of locals and native Hawaiians, according to the HTA.

But when the islands began to loosen restrictions during the summer, coronavirus cases began to climb, and endangered animals quickly became playthings for tourists.

The island has had to increase the patrolling of Turtle Beach, where sea turtles were being harassed by hundreds of tourists, and one visitor was fined $500 for touching endangered monk seals, as more videos of tourists posing with the Hawaiian animals has gone.

“They don’t come here with any kind of respect or idea of some of the things that they’re doing are actually hurting our environment, or hurting our communities and hurting the residents and the Kanaka Maoli people here,” Sonoda-Pale said.

However, tourism doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon — it’s the largest source of private capital for the Hawaiian economy, according to the HTA. But Sonoda-Pale said the pandemic is a perfect time to reimagine the community’s relationship to tourism.

Before the pandemic, which highlighted the island’s alarming reliance on tourism, De Fries said the HTA has been attempting to make moves toward educating visitors on the culture and the treatment of the land and people.

“Malama means ‘to care for, to protect, to nurture,'” said De Fries. “If you care about Hawaii, when you travel here, you must understand the ways in which we Malama. There’s a heightened level of visitor awareness and appreciation and sensitivity that we are committed to sharing with the visitor.”

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Army, Marine generals on Afghanistan evacuation: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it’

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(WASHINGTON) — The clock is ticking for thousands of Americans and allies trapped in Afghanistan, with an evacuation deadline in exactly one week.

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Farrell J. Sullivan, one of the two American generals in charge of the operation to evacuate American citizens and Afghans, said they’d “get as many out as we possibly can with the time we have available.”

Sullivan and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne, spoke with ABC News’ Ian Pannell in an exclusive interview at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport about the evacuations taking place there.

Both Donahue and Sullivan have served multiple tours in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, but in the wake of the Taliban retaking control of the country, Sullivan acknowledged that his Marines are managing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

“I think whether you’re in a combat situation or a humanitarian operation, the human element is always there,” Sullivan said. “But this event is an unprecedented event. I have my years of deploy[ment] into combat and to other crisis areas… I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, approximately 70,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul since Aug. 14, when the Taliban took control of the government, according to President Joe Biden.

More than 33,000 people had been flown out in a 36 hour period, Biden said, showing how much the operation to evacuate American citizens and Afghans has ramped up in recent days.

Although the world has watched disturbing images of crowds beaten back by Taliban fighters and crowds clamoring outside the walls of Hamid Karzai Airport, desperate to evacuate, Donahue says the U.S. has prepared extensively for such a situation.

“That’s the reason why the 82nd Airborne Division exists. … We exist to come in and create the order out of the chaos that you’re seeing happening right now,” he said. “What has been accomplished so far, it’s remarkable. … You’re seeing things stabilize here in the process of getting our citizens and other citizens out — [it all] is going much better.”

Officials have not given an exact number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, only saying that there are “thousands.” ABC News has learned that as of Tuesday 5,100 American citizens had been evacuated.

Donahue says the pace of evacuations from Kabul has improved since the country’s fall 10 days ago and that it continues to optimize as the deadline approaches.

“Each day, we’re coming up with new and innovative ways to bring people in and we are doing better and better each day,” he said.

Taliban leaders have said that Aug. 31 is a “red line” for troops to leave and doubled down Tuesday, saying they will reject any U.S. military presence or evacuations past the end of the month.

Biden announced Tuesday afternoon that the evacuation mission would end on that day as well, although he said he’d ask for contingency plans if it needed to be extended by a short time.

His announcement followed a virtual meeting with G-7 partners who had pressured him to extend the deadline.

Biden had previously said that U.S. troops would stay until every American and Afghan special immigrant visa applicant has been evacuated. But he ultimately decided to stick with the Aug. 31 deadline, U.S. officials told ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz.

Only one week remains before the deadline.

“This is a 24/7 operation,” Sullivan said. “In terms of the numbers we have gotten out thus far, the numbers we’ve gotten out are unprecedented as well, so I’m confident we will get out as many as we possibly can with the time that we’re provided.”

He added that they constantly learning about their security and risk and that they will continue to evacuate people safely as possible. He said he anticipates their risk will only rise, especially with regard to helicopter rescue missions outside of Hamid Karzai Airport.

“Clearly we’re going to go out and we’re going to bring our citizens back in and citizens of other nations,” Donahue said. “I’m not going to get into operational matters, but we have a task here [to] safely and quickly get our citizens and other citizens of other nations out.”

Sullivan and Donahue agreed that they remain laser-focused on getting as many people out of the country as possible.

“You can see it on the faces of those Americans, third-country nationals, those that are American Afghans or interpreters or whatnot, as they’re going through the terminal about to get on to an airplane, the relief, the thankfulness on their faces and that of their families,” Sullivan said. “It makes it all worth it in the end.”

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Supreme Court blocks Biden effort to end Trump ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy

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(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court Tuesday night rejected an effort by the Biden administration to formally discontinue the Trump administration’s controversial 2018 policy forcing asylum seekers along the southern U.S. border to remain in Mexico while awaiting a hearing on their claims.

In a single-page order, the court sided with Texas and a group of Republican-led states which claimed President Joe Biden did not lawfully cancel the policy and in so doing encouraged the record surge of migrants seen in recent months.

The vote was 6-3, pitting the court’s conservative majority against three liberal dissenters, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

The court’s majority said the administration “failed to show a likelihood of success” for its argument that a Department of Homeland Security memorandum rescinding the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols was not arbitrary and capricious.

Earlier Tuesday, the administration told the court that forcing them to reinstate the MPP policy “would intrude on the Executive’s immigration-enforcement and foreign-affairs authorities by disrupting border operations, diverting scarce resources from other urgent priorities, and intruding into the nation’s relations with Mexico and other foreign partners.”

Those arguments failed to persuade the court’s conservatives, who similarly blocked several administrative policy changes sought by the Trump White House which were deemed to run afoul of federal law requiring that agencies provide public notice, accept input and consider the ramifications of an executive decision before completing it.

This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.

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Teen social media stars in uphill battle against COVID-19 vaccine misinformation

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(NEW YORK) — Ellie Zeiler is known by her 10 million TikTok followers for her fashion hauls, beauty hacks and viral dance videos.

Although her feed often includes endorsements for major brands, her latest partnership came from the U.S. government, which asked her for help encouraging people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“They said they were starting this whole process of reaching out to influencers — people who were in the public eye … really wanting to stop these rumors and get the word out about the vaccine,” Zeiler told ABC News.

The 17-year-old, who was vaccinated in May, has continued to share her experience of getting the shot in an effort to ease the concerns of other young Americans, which are the least-vaccinated age group in the country.

“I feel great after. I feel like I have this armor around me,” she said. “I had no side effects.”

With the highly contagious delta variant continuing to impact communities and many children already beginning school, there is now a race to inoculate America’s youth.

Youth aged 12 to 15, 16 to17, and 18 to 24 have only 33.9%, 44% and 46.5% of their age group vaccinated, respectively, according to the CDC. Ages 25-39 have 50.8% of their demographic vaccinated.

President Joe Biden’s administration is reaching young people through their smartphones. They’ve enlisted some of the generation’s social media icons, like Olivia Rodrigo and Benny Drama to help get the word out.

Influencers like Zeiler are now helping inform the country about the realities of the vaccine.

“I think that that’s just the impact of social media — that anyone can do it — which is very, very special,” Zeiler said.

They aren’t just promoting vaccines, but fighting a growing tide of vaccine misinformation and unfounded conspiracies that have run rampant on social media.

“I was used to, in the beginning of the pandemic … being a friend for these people that followed me … giving them advice on whether it be fashion or friends or people … to [now, I] actually give them useful and straight up factual advice,” she said.

In an effort to encourage the vaccine and dispel misinformation, the Biden administration has organized interviews between Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the president, and a plethora of creators across social media platforms.

Many creators often rely on paid posts for their income, but many of those who have been working directly with the White House on the vaccine push are doing it for free.

“They’re doing it because they believe in it,” Taylor Lorenz, a tech reporter for The New York Times, said.

However, it can’t be forgotten that “promoting vaccination and working with the White House is a status symbol,” Lorenz said. “Dr. Fauci is a hugely viral figure. And by the way, you know, doing an interview with Dr. Fauci, that generates enormous engagement on their social channels. So these influencers are getting a lot from the deal, even if it’s not direct payment.”

This is not the first time the government has tapped digital creators to get messaging out.

“It didn’t surprise me,” Lorenz told ABC News. “Obama actually leveraged YouTube to promote the Affordable Care Act and encourage people to enroll in their health care program back in the mid-2010s and, obviously, Trump also leveraged influencers. He had very high-profile meme accounts. … This is kind of becoming more and more of a trend among politicians, I think, as they recognize that the media environment has shifted and these influencers are undeniably impactful.”

This trend among politicians has given way for a new generation of creators to organize.

Aidan Kohn-Murphy founded Gen-Z For Change, one of the organizations that Biden’s administration collaborated with to promote the vaccine.

The group has most recently been partnering with MadeToSave, an organization helping share information about the vaccine, the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services and the White House to combat misinformation and promote vaccination efforts.

Gen-Z For Change is an organization of over 500 creators, who have a combined following of about 432 million people and garner a total of 1.5 billion views a month.

Their efforts have gotten over 27.5 million views on COVID-19 related videos since the start of the pandemic.

“These numbers are huge, and I think for a long time, adults really struggled to contextualize them,” Kohn-Murphy told ABC News. “I think adults are realizing that these numbers … are actual things that you can put into action.”

Gen-Z For Change’s coalition of creators ranges from dancers to comedians to activists.

Missouri-based TikToker Alaysia Brandy, who goes by “Laysie B” online, has over 1.5 million followers. She began her online activism speaking out about social justice issues related to Black and LGBT communities. As the vaccine rolled out, she made it a point to ask Fauci about her community’s vaccination concerns.

“I know people do not trust the government,” she said, adding that she understands why there would be mistrust given the abuse that Black people have faced in the U.S.

“I understand the hesitation… But I also want to make sure that they are getting the research themselves and making sure they have reliable sources … even when I speak on these issues, I also leave [hyper]links in ways that you can go look at it yourself and see this information yourself.”

Brandy said she hopes to bridge the information gap that has resulted in concerns about getting the shot throughout communities of color. In her home state, fewer than 50% of the total population is fully vaccinated and only 28% of the Black community is part of that group.

“In my videos, I do speak in English and Spanish and make sure I have subtitles just because I want to reach the largest audience possible,” Brandy told ABC News. “And I want to make sure that you understand, like I completely understand where you’re coming from, and I’m not trying to make you feel any less than whatsoever. But I want to talk about this and I want to understand your concerns.”

She said she wants to make sure she addresses all the reasons someone might be wary of the vaccine.

“You can’t lump people in who are distrusting of the government because we have been treated so poorly our entire existence in this country, versus people who just don’t believe in science — because that’s two completely different groups,” Brandy said.

“It is definitely very hard to navigate,” she added. “But when it comes to people saying … ‘The vaccine is going to microchip you’ … you just want to immediately knock down and debunk the stuff that’s disinformation. … Let’s stop the fear mongering so they can actually address the real concerns.”

Lorenz pointed out, however, that the misinformation is only one part of the problem. She said there are influencers who also promote fallacies.

“The campaign is up against a huge tsunami of misinformation on social media. So you have people that are also influencers. They’re solely anti-vax influencers,” Lorenz said. “You have tons of other lifestyle influencers and other people who are promoting just absolute lies. … I mean, it’s actually shocking that people believe some of this stuff.”

She said that seemingly minor inaccuracies like explaining things out of context “can plant a seed of doubt in peoples’ minds, priming them for “absolutely crazy disinformation.” Gen-Z For Change makes it a point to coach its creators about different types of misinformation online. Kohn-Murphy said he brought misinformation and disinformation specialists to the organization, who taught them about the value of a “truth sandwich.”

“[It’s] kind of coming in with a very empathetic approach, explaining a little bit of the truth behind the vaccine and then kind of dislodging the rumors and the misinformation that the person might believe without making them feel small, because nobody ever wants to be told that they’re wrong,” Kohn-Murphy explained. “Then closing out with, again, an empathetic approach and linking them to sources where they can do their own research.”

Each creator that ABC News spoke to noted that some of the inaccuracies they saw online came from their followers’ own parents. Zeiler described this reality as “frustrating.”

“It kind of transferred over [from] what parents wanted, and what adults wanted, which I think [is] why the marketing strategy with the White House was so crucial and so important,” Zeiler said. “Now, I see my friends and people on TikTok who are scrolling through, and they get to be educated themselves before having … past thoughts about the vaccine that their parents created for them, and they get to make their own narrative.”

Brandy said that some of her followers are minors with anti-vax parents who still want to get the vaccine. She said they’ve had to try and convince their parents. “Just talking about how you can help your parents find this information on their own so that they receive it and being able to try to help ease their tensions,” she said.

Experts say it is an uphill battle for these creators. A study published in July by UC San Francisco researchers found that about one in four unvaccinated people aged 18 to 25 said that they “probably will not” or “definitely will not” get the COVID-19 vaccination.

Lorenz said pro-vaccine campaigns do well and can reach millions. However, she said “it’s no match for the stuff that Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok has allowed to spread rampantly for years.”

“They’re up against this very coordinated disinformation network,” she added. “It’s very hard. I think it might just be a drop in the bucket in the end. That’s not to say that it’s not worth doing, but that is all they have control over.”

Kohn-Murphy, on the other hand, believes that if they’re convincing “one person to get vaccinated” or “debunking one person’s misinformed belief” or helping one kid gather the courage to talk to their parents about getting vaccinated, then they’re successful.

A year from now, Brandy said she hopes the pandemic is a thing of the past. She said she wants to do whatever is necessary to make that happen.

“It’s definitely a motivation factor in constantly keeping a fire under me to make sure that I’m doing my part and using my platform and my voice to get that information out there to the audience,” she said.

Zeiler, meanwhile, expressed hope and purpose in the work that she’s been doing.

“I hope that I’m helping, especially when I get that one-on-one interaction where [someone tells me], ‘I got my first shot of the vaccine today because I saw your video,’ or, ‘Because I saw you,’ which is so crazy to say out loud,” she said. “But that is what makes me continue [to] want to do it.”

 

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