COVID booster shots, leaving Afghanistan, storms Grace and Henri: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of 5 Things: The U.S. is set to announce COVID-19 booster shots are coming. Plus, the Taliban makes statement on women's and girl's rights, Tropical Storm Grace may become a hurricane, opening statements begin in R. Kelly's trial and Naomi Osaka is back in tennis action.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson, and this is 5 Things you need to know, Wednesday, the 18th of August, 2021. Today, finger pointing in Washington after the Taliban takeover. Plus, Tropical Storm Grace could become a hurricane, and more.

Here are some of the top headlines.

1. The Calder wildfire burned through the Northern California town of Grizzly Flats on Tuesday. It burned at least 50 homes along with a post office and elementary school in the town of 1,200.
2. The Delta variant is now responsible for 98.8% of new US COVID-19 infections. There have now been 37 million confirmed COVID cases in all in the United States during the pandemic.
3. And Pope Francis wants people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He said Wednesday, "Getting the vaccine is an act of love."

Taylor Wilson:

The United States is still working to evacuate civilians from the Afghan capital of Kabul, and the White House said Tuesday that the Taliban has agreed to allow safe passage for those trying to get to the airport for the US directed airlift. US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.

Jake Sullivan:

The Taliban have informed us that they are prepared to provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport, and we intend to hold them to that commitment.

Speaker 3:

Do you believe them?

Jake Sullivan:

Yes.

Speaker 4:

Just for clarity on that, is there a deadline that's been set? Has the Taliban given assurances that this will go till August 31st? Is the deadline before that or after that, for clarity on what you just said?

Jake Sullivan:

We believe that this can go till the 31st. We're talking to them about what the exact timetable is for how this will all play out, and I don't want to negotiate in public on working out the best modality to get the most people out in the most efficient way possible.

Speaker 5:

So, let me go [crosstalk 00:02:09], Jake-

Speaker 6:

Will the US government commit to ensuring that any Americans that are currently on the ground in Afghanistan get out?

Speaker 7:

That's right.

Jake Sullivan:

That's what we're doing right now. We have asked them all to come to the airport to get on flights and take them home. That's what we intend to do. In terms of people being turned away, by and large what we have found is that people have been able to get to the airport. In fact, very large numbers of people have been able to get to the airport and present themselves. There have been instances where we have received reports of people being turned away or pushed back or even beaten. We are taking that up in a channel with the Taliban to try to resolve those issues and we are concerned about whether that will continue to unfold in the coming days. As things stand right now, what we are finding is that we are getting people through the gate, we are getting them lined up, and we are getting them on planes. But this is an hour by hour issue and it's something we are clear-eyed about and very focused on holding the Taliban accountable to follow through on its commitment.

Speaker 8:

Jake, can you confirm that when it gets to August 31st and your troops leave, will you abandon them or will you stay and save them?

Jake Sullivan:

Our plan is to safely evacuate the people who worked with the United States, who are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas, which is a generous program set up on a bipartisan basis by our Congress. We have identified those individuals and families. We are making provision to have them come to the airport and get on evacuation flights out of the country. That is what we are going to do between now and the end of the month.

Taylor Wilson:

Sullivan also said that the Taliban had seized what he called "a fair amount of military equipment" that the US provided to Afghan National Security Forces. The US pumped more than $80 billion in equipment and training into the forces since launching a war there in 2001. The US was responding to the 9/11 terror attacks to root out Al-Qaeda, the terror group that orchestrated the attacks from Afghanistan while being sheltered by the Taliban. Afghan forces collapsed to the Taliban over the weekend after insurgents stormed through the country in a matter of weeks.

Taylor Wilson:

Meanwhile, the Taliban appears to be trying to convince citizens that things will be different this time than their previous rule of Afghanistan. On Tuesday, they vowed to respect women's rights, forgive those who fought against them, and ensure the country does not become a haven for terrorists. But particularly on the issue of their treatment of women, the Taliban remains vague. Long-time Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid made his first ever public appearance Tuesday. He said women's rights will be honored within the norms of Islamic law. Past Taliban leaderships have made similar comments only to publicly execute women who broke dress codes, and forced girls to stop going to school.

Taylor Wilson:

Mujahid also said the Taliban would not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base for attacking other countries like it was for the years before 9/11. That assurance was part of a peace deal made last year between the Taliban and then President Donald Trump. Stateside, the blame game has started in Washington. President Joe Biden said this week that his administration was caught by surprise at how quickly the Taliban took over. But some experts, including current and former intelligence and military officials, say the White House had plenty of warning about such a catastrophe.

Taylor Wilson:

Marc Polymeropoulos spent 26 years in the CIA, including on the ground in Afghanistan. He said, "This is a policy failure. It was a rushed withdrawal against the advice of the intelligence community and the US military. We're much less safe now as a result." One senior staff member on the Senate Intelligence Committee said recent intelligence from Afghanistan was dire, but there are also questions beyond Biden, like whether the CIA and Pentagon simply missed months of apparent efforts by Taliban to buy off or win over Afghan civilian and military leaders, or whether Biden himself ignored such intelligence. The Senate Intelligence Committee is working with Democrats and Republicans on multiple committees to investigate actions taken by the White House, Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies.

Taylor Wilson:

Well, it didn't come Tuesday as expected, but health officials Wednesday are expected to recommend an extra vaccine booster shot for all Americans eight months after they get their final shot from their initial doses. As we talked about in Tuesday's 5 Things, the move comes amid new data that show vaccine protection starts dropping after six months. The policy shift will also be announced as the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread and particularly hit unvaccinated people. 44 states are reporting rising cases this week compared to the week before, but that's actually the lowest total in more than a month. Though, for another week, 38 states again reported rising death tolls. Meanwhile, debates continue at the state and local levels ranging from mask to vaccine mandates. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is under fire for testing positive for COVID-19 after banning mask requirements at schools. And in New York City, a mandate has begun requiring proof of vaccine status to go inside at restaurants, gyms, and other establishments. One restaurant owner, Raphael Louzon, told the AP that customers have been cooperative so far.

Raphael Louzon:

As a French person, America is like the nation of freedom. But I'm just very surprised to see that people are very obedient. Nobody complained too much. Everybody is like, "All right. We'll do whatever." So it's good for me personally as a business owner, so we can keep the city on track and everything organized and know what's going on.

Taylor Wilson:

As always, stay with our live COVID-19 updates page on usatoday.com for the latest pandemic news. Tropical Depression Fred will likely dissipate on Wednesday as it continues to move inland over the Southeastern United States. Lingering effects could hit Central Appalachia and parts of the Mid-Atlantic by Thursday, dropping up to half a foot of rain. The storm on Tuesday led to multiple tornadoes in Georgia and North Carolina. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Grace will keep soaking Haiti Wednesday with up to 15 inches of rain before moving toward Jamaica and Cuba, and forecasters expect it could reach hurricane strength as it approaches Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula by Thursday. Behind Grace, Henri, a third storm, continues to swirl near Bermuda in the Atlantic and could become a concern for the US by the end of the week.

Taylor Wilson:

Opening statements will begin Wednesday in the first trial for R. Kelly. The R&B singer faces multiple federal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. Prosecutors say the 54 year old led a criminal enterprise of managers, bodyguards and other employees who allegedly helped him recruit women and underage girls for sex and porn and across state lines to do so. Kelly has been behind bars since 2019 awaiting trial on four separate state and federal sex crimes cases.

Taylor Wilson:

Naomi Osaka, the four time tennis Grand Slam singles champion, is back in action this week at the Western and Southern Open in Ohio. Osaka lit the torch in her mother's native Japan during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics last month, but was then upset in the third round of the women's tennis tournament. Osaka, earlier this summer, withdrew from the French Open and later Wimbledon to focus on her mental health. Osaka's latest tournament got off to an emotional start when, at her first press conference since May, she broke down crying.

Speaker 10:

... how the training has been and how your preparation has been for the summer hard court swing. And the second one is just related to your tweet over the weekend related to what's going on in Haiti, and, yeah, just what your reaction is to the news there. Thank you. Sorry.

Naomi Osaka:

No, you're super good.

Speaker 12:

Okay.

Speaker 13:

Okay. I think we're just going to take a quick break.

Taylor Wilson:

Osaka said she'll donate her winnings from the tournament to help victims of the Haiti earthquake. On Wednesday, she'll play American teenager Coco Gauff. You can tune in on Tennis Channel just after 11:00 AM Eastern Time. And you can find 5 Things wherever you get your audio, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, where we ask for a rating and review if you have a chance. Thanks as always to Shannon Green and Claire Thornton for their great work on the show. 5 things is part of the USA Today network.