President Biden pushing a boost in the nation's fight against COVID the lead

starts right now. This hour President Biden set to speak about his

administration's new recommendation a third vaccine shot but still many

questions about the science and priorities behind that call and we have the

experts to answer them. Then top defense officials admit nothing indicated to

them how fast the Afghan military would collapse and now gunfire and

beatings from the Taliban were live in Kabul as the Taliban shows they have

not changed. Plus, thousands evacuated as a new fire explodes east of the

California Capitol and cripples in size in a single day.

Welcome to the lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We start with breaking news in our

world lead moments ago we heard from the US Secretary of Defense and the

chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the first time since Afghanistan fell

to the Taliban. General Mark Milley pledging to get all Americans and Afghan

allies safely out of that country and defending the intelligence behind the

troop withdrawal saying absolutely nothing indicated to the Pentagon that the

Afghan government and army would collapse in only 11 days. The situation on

the ground getting increasingly harrowing for the thousands of Americans and

Afghans trying to reach the Kabul airport to escape.

That's the sound of the Taliban firing reportedly to disperse crowds outside

the airport. Desperate Afghans have been telling CNN that even after

presenting the correct paperwork Taliban fighters are not allowing them to

enter the airport to board evacuation flights and the US embassy put out a

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