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NEW DAY SUNDAY

First U.S. Military Death in ISIS Fight; Kurds Battle ISIS in Key Syrian Border Town; U.S. Ebola Patient in Critical Condition

Aired October 5, 2014 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. So glad to have you with us. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 8:00 here on the East.

We begin with the fight against ISIS. A 21-year-old marine is believed to be the first American casualty of current coalition operations.

PAUL: Corporal Jordan Spears bailed of an MV22 Osprey -- just like the one you see here -- when it appeared that it might crash into the Persian Gulf.

Now, he disappeared on Wednesday and the Pentagon released a statement yesterday saying he's now lost at sea.

BLACKWELL: And the Human Rights group says coalition airstrikes killed at least 35 ISIS militants in northern Syria yesterday. Kurdish forces are pushing back against ISIS fighters in the key border town of Kobani.

PAUL: Let's bring in CNN's Phil Black. He can see that border town right behind him as he is live at the Syrian-Turkish border.

And, Phil, last hour, you were showing us these pictures of -- and we can hear them behind you, of all the fighting that's going on. All I could think about what was the fate going to be for these Kurds who have stayed back to fight if ISIS takes that. And we know that it is not good.

Is there any way to gauge, though, how many Kurds have stayed back to try to fight ISIS off and are they making any progress?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christi, we're told thousands, probably. We don't know for certain, though. There's a mix of men and women who have stayed back to stay and fight and defend their homeland and they are doing -- they are really digging in and we're seeing this being played out behind us just across the border right now.

We've got to pan in close, zoom in close, I should say, and pan across so you can see the eastern-southeastern corner of Kobani here. This is where we have been witnessing today I think the greatest bombardment by ISIS forces against the Kurdish fighters that are still in the city. The Kurdish fighters in the city tell us that there are a number of is tanks maneuvering on the eastern side of the city of that mountain that you can see there and they are just continuously firing into those positions.

What we are hearing a lot now, in the near distance as well, is small arms fire, which suggests fighting at much closer quarters. This is what the Kurdish fighters in that city have been warning about and really expecting for some days now. This is ISIS on the final approach, really, at the gates, fighting from street to street. This is urban warfare. That is what these fighters in that region have been expecting.

Look, a big blast just across the hill there. We're going to zoom in so you can see that. This is what is unfolding before us. It is -- it is a desperate battle, really. We are seeing a very concerted effort by ISIS to strike and pound this city at a very desperate effort by the Kurdish fighters still in the city, both men and women, to repel them.

BLACKWELL: All right. Phil Black, as we see live here, ISIS' effort to take this key city of Kobani near the Turkish/Syrian border. Phil, thank you so much.

Remember how pivotal it is, because if they take this city, that means that they have secured 60 miles of territory in Syria, and again, I cannot help but think of those people that say back those women and men, because we know what ISIS does to people that they deem their enemy.

And the question is, when will Turkey and how will Turkey get involved here? The prime minister said that the Turkish fighters will support the Kurdish fighters but if not now, when? Here's a map of the contested or the controlled by ISIS, as they tried to build what they call this Islamic State. Of course, we'll continue to follow what's happening there.

PAUL: We do also want to talk about the first patient diagnosed with Ebola here in the U.S. because apparently he's getting worse.

BLACKWELL: Yes, Thomas Eric Duncan who travelled to Texas from Liberia is now in critical condition. He had been in serious condition earlier.

PAUL: In Newark, the CDC temporarily quarantined then a United Airlines flight from Brussels because officials say a man was vomiting on that plane. They did check him out. They say it does at this point appear to be Ebola.

BLACKWELL: And you remember the American doctor who survived the disease? Well, he's back in a Massachusetts hospital this morning. His name is Rick Sacra. He has a cough and fever. Tests are due back tomorrow to determine exactly what's going on here.

PAUL: We're obviously covering the Ebola scare both here in the U.S. and in Liberia, where Thomas Eric Duncan got on a plane on September 19th.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Nima Elbagir is in Liberia's capital of Monrovia. CNN's Nick Valencia is in Dallas where Duncan is in the hospital.

Nima, I want to start with you. What's the situation like there in Monrovia?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is only getting worse, Victor. We spoke with family members of Marthalene Williams, who you remember, was the 19-year-old pregnant lady that Thomas Eric Duncan is believed to have been one of many neighbors helping her to get treatment.

We understand now both of her parents have now been confirmed with Ebola and they are in the governor mental treatment facility. We also understand that her best friend, who was one of those taking care of her, she has now passed away. I think that just really gives you a sense of how this disease is decimating communities.

We spoke about Thomas Eric Duncan and his bringing of the Ebola to the U.S. but here in Liberia, he's just one of dozens, hundreds even, of people within just that small community who rushed to this pregnant teenager's aid, believing that she was just suffering complications from her pregnancy and are now paying a really horrifying price, Victor.

PAUL: So, Nima, so can you help us understand how they are trying to contain this there and what the biggest challenge is in doing so?

ELBAGIR: Well, the family has been quarantined. The aunt who is one of the family members we were speaking to, she has now been brought in to look after the younger Williams' siblings because with both her parents in the hospital and the other aunt who was looking after him passed away. And this is a story we're hearing again and again, and that is the biggest problem, is how do you get these people the care and help they need when so many people are afraid and so many people are ill and dying.

So, they've put in place a quarantine, but they have no way of knowing how many people came in contact with Marthalene Williams when she was unwell, and how many people came to the wake because it wasn't believed that she was suffering from Ebola and how many since then have scattered and come into contact with other people?

And that's what's really so horrifying about this disease, is that it almost asks that you put aside your basic humanity. How do you see a teenage girl fall to the ground and not rush to help her? And yet, but when you do, the consequences are so horrifying, not just for you but everyone that you come in contact with, Christi.

BLACKWELL: Yes. All right. Nima Elbagir there for us in Monrovia, watching the situation in Liberia. Let's take an element of what we just learned and take it to Nick Valencia who is in Dallas. Nick, we remember the nephew of Thomas Eric Duncan said he did

not know he was in contact with this girl and she had the symptoms or what tested positive for Ebola. Of course, he's been accused of lying on the form. His family said that he did nothing --

PAUL: He didn't lie. That he didn't lie.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Nothing malicious here.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Certainly conflicting information we're getting, one story from the family and another story from the Liberian Airport Authority, who has accused Thomas Duncan of falsifying those health screening test.

On that form, there's a variety of questions. One of the questions is, have you ever come in contact with somebody who has Ebola? We know from reports that Duncan helped a pregnant woman in Liberia and that's perhaps house he contracted the illness. We know his condition, the latest information that we have today here in Dallas from Texas Presbyterian Hospital is that he has been downgraded from serious with stable condition, to now critical condition.

We don't know exactly the details of how he's being cared for, but we do know that he is in intensive care and he's been isolated from the rest of the hospital patients.

And if we can provide any context here, Dr. Nancy Writebol, the American aid worker working in Liberia, she battled this illness for three weeks, her condition worsened before getting better. So, if that's any indicator of optimism here in Dallas, you know, the family, I'm sure, is hoping that is the case anyway. A lot of people are very concerned, curious as to what the outcome will be for Thomas Duncan -- Victor, Christi.

PAUL: What about the other people who were around him? Do we know how they're monitoring them on a daily basis?

VALENCIA: Well, we've been told by Dallas County health officials that they are asking these people to check their temperature, that they started really from the inside outride there at the complex, to see who Duncan had contact with. We know, of course, that the family of four in the apartment complex, including his long- time girlfriend were isolated there. They were quarantined there and moved to another facility. They are really the ones that were exposed the most and had that direct contact. They are at highest risk to getting Ebola.

You know, there's been concern all across the country. Dr. Frieden spoke about that yesterday at a media briefing. Take a listen.

Well, I thought we had that sound bite there. But just to reiterate that point, Frieden spoke yesterday and said, you know, Duncan is the only person on American soil that has symptoms, that has signs of Ebola and while the public is concerned and definitely being cautious, you know, we've spoken to a lot of people here in Dallas who are very concerned, he has reiterated that so far Duncan is the only person to show signs -- Victor, Christi.

PAUL: All righty. Nick Valencia, thank you so much for the update, Nick. We appreciate it.

VALENCIA: You bet.

PAUL: Boy, what a surprise in St. Louis yesterday. A requiem for a slain teen Michael Brown, something you probably wouldn't expect.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

PAUL: That's how these people brought the symphony to a halt.

BLACKWELL: We also have information about a huge ground beef recall. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: All right. We just brought you Phil Black, who is live for us at the border of Turkey and Syria, and he was just in a group of people where tear gas was thrown as we see ISIS really making its way toward Kobani in a way that it doesn't seem like the Kurds can hold them off much longer.

BLACKWELL: Yes, he was reporting for CNN International. We want to show you a clip of what happened right after he finished our live report here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: The Turkish security forces respond with tear gas and there's a couple of canisters that have just gone off around us. The wind is largely keeping it away from us but not entirely. We're just going to have to move this way to stay out of the way here.

Claudia, this way. Claudia.

And so, all of this is just -- it's really just a backdrop to the conflict, Jim, that is going on across the border behind us.

We're just falling back a little bit here, Jim, because of the tear gas.

Not that we saw, Jim, no, not that we saw. We weren't able to see that -- they just and we've been seeing try to get across this border fairly regularly. Some are successful, some are not.

Quite often when they get across, particularly if there's a big crowd standing by, watching, they react with great encouragement as we just saw there, make a dash to that more secure zone, as we just saw. And the local security forces get a bit nervous and drive them back, using either tear gas as they have used around us just now, and which is still very much in the air, or even water cannons as well. But I think the key thing, Jim, is that this is a backdrop to the

conflict that is taking place just over here. This is where you can see the battle of Kobani going on in the distance. This is where we have witnessed, through the course of this morning, a very heavy shelling and bombardment by ISIS forces into this eastern and southeastern pocket of the city.

Now, we've been watching the shells fall. There is constant smoke, constant explosions coming from that direction. People who are still in the city, officials and fighters tell us, this is where we believe they are coming from ISIS tanks that are maneuvering around that eastern-southeastern approach and they are still able to --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: OK, we're going to continue to monitor this behind the scenes, but that's Phil Black there. Remember, if Kobani is taken, that is 50 miles of territory in Syria that ISIS has now secured.

BLACKWELL: Let's explain exactly just in the quick 15 seconds what's happening there, is that these smoke bombs, these tear gas bombs and sometimes water cannons, as Phil mentioned, is used by the Turkish forces to keep the Kurds out of that area.

We know that from the reporting there that a lot of people are trying to cross the border, to enter Kobani, to help their fellow Kurds to fight against the ISIS militants. That's what's happening there. And we understand that those tear gas bombs were -- even after this report, a few more were sent into that area to try to push people back.

When you saw the applauding and you heard the cheering, that's because as Phil said, some of these were picked up and thrown back in the opposite direction.

Again, live pictures here. You see that now instead of just the tear gas bombs and water cannons, you're seeing some of the -- in fact, the fighters there, we assume these are the Turkish fighters trying to keep these Kurdish fighters out of that area have now come up on the Turkish side of the border. And our Phil Black will continue to report there. We'll follow it, ad bring you more as it happens.

Quick break. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

PAUL: Want to get you up to Phil Black who is on the Syria/Turkey border, where he's been watching the fight in Kobani getting very fierce today.

Phil, what's going on there now?

BLACK: Yes, Christi, violence across the border in Kobani and here where we are standing as well. Well, you're joining me now, there is now the sting, the bite of tear gas in the air and I'll explain why.

Surrounding me here, hundreds, easily, of the local Kurdish population here in Turkey, some of them, no doubt, refugees that have crossed from Syria as well. You can see they are very vocal and they are cheering and they've been jeering as the battle has sort of waged behind us between Turkish fighters and ISIS, that fight raging for Kobani just there.

What happens sometimes is they get excited and run towards the border area. Under those circumstances, the Turkish military and security forces patrol this border. It is significantly fortified and there's a real effort to people away from it.

When this crowd surged towards the border, he security forces -- they respond with tear gas and just in the last few moments we saw a lot of that, a lot of tear gas canisters landing around us. It has, to a certain degree, dispersed but it's hard to breathe and still stinging the eyes as well. It's just a small backdrop to that key battle taking place over here and that's where we're seeing ISIS tanks, we are told, and artillery continually pound Kobani.

You can see the smoke rising in the pockets on the eastern out skirts of the city. Inside, Kurdish fighters are resisting them. What we are hearing now a lot is small arms fire. We strongly suggest that this fight is now a lot more intimate than it was before. It's not just pounding the city with artillery from a distance. It is Kurdish fighters versus ISIS fighting each other in close quarters, and that is what those Kurdish resistance fighters now expect for this to become very much urban warfare, battling street to street.

Christi and Victor, back to you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Our Phil Black there monitoring the situation at the Turkish-Syrian border -- thank you so much, Phil. We'll continue to monitor that as well.

A quick break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Live pictures of the shelling and small arms fire we're hearing at the Turkish/Syrian border, as ISIS tries to take this key city of Kobani there in Syria.

Candy Crowley, the host of "STATE OF THE UNION", has been watching this with us.

And, Candy, despite the airstrikes and the coalition -- ISIS is still on the march.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, STATE OF THE UNION: And that's a key question today. We're going to talk to a couple senators on the foreign relations committee to ask them if they see any progress. Now, it's only been two weeks since the attacks started in Syria

but it's been since early August in Iraq and the question really is, we always know air strikes couldn't win a war but are they making any progress? I think that's where we're center our attention this morning.

PAUL: All right. Yes, because when you think about it, we're seeing these pictures from Turkey and so that city, Kobani, that's why it's such a point of contention because it's so close to Turkey and this area here between Kobani and Turkey, Phil Black, you heard him saying earlier, it's a key supply route for ISIS. If they take Kobani, which it being looks like they are going to do.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: We're wondering what this is going to mean for the fight in general across the board, Candy, of course, right?

CROWLEY: Exactly, exactly.

I mean, you know, one of the things you want to do is cut off the supply line going into Iraq and the administration has also said, we're going to need troops on the ground. And question is, how long can you wait? The Kurds are among the fiercest of fighters, as you know. You know, U.S. politicians all give them high marks.

But at the moment, that's the one group that we know can fight on the ground. As you see, they are in this fierce battle.

BLACKWELL: All right. Candy Crowley, thank you so much. We'll continue to watch this.

And be sure to stay tuned for "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY", starts at the top of hour, 9:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

PAUL: We will keep monitoring this, of course, and keep you posted throughout the day on what's happening.

Thank you so much, though, for making us part of your morning.

BLACKWELL: "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING" starts right now.