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First Ebola Nurse Said To Be Doing Well, Eating; Cruise Ship Heads To Texas Over Ebola Fears; Big November Election Issue: Ebola; Obama Appoints Ebola Czar; Politics Of Ebola: Will "Czar" Fix Problem?; "Doctors Without Borders" Battles Ebola; Training U.S. Health Workers For Ebola

Aired October 18, 2014 - 12:00   ET

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


DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick. So glad you could spend some of your Saturday with us. I'm in for Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories we're following in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The Ebola fear growing in America. Now the CDC planning big changes to how they will handle the virus, but is it too late?

Then, double trouble at sea. Hurricanes battering a popular vacation spot in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Our meteorologist is tracking both those storms.

Plus, brand-new evidence emerging from the shooting of Michael Brown, what police claim they found in and around Officer Darren Wilson's car that could be a game changer.

Well, we begin with some major steps being taken to handle the Ebola crisis. The World Health Organization vowing today to make public a full review of its response to the deadly outbreak in West African countries, but that's once the crisis is under control.

And just last night, a federal official says that the CDC will issue new protective equipment guidelines, quote, "very soon," unquote. Meanwhile, controversy builds over the new point man in charge of the U.S. response to Ebola.

He is Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice Presidents Joe Biden and also Al Gore. Klain has virtually no medical experience and that is not sitting well with some Republicans. The administration saying he was tapped for his execution abilities.

A week ago, Nina Pham made history. The Texas nurse is the first person to have contracted Ebola in the United States. This morning, she is said to be doing well, sitting up and eating in her isolation room at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Athena Jones is there covering the story. And Athena, what is the latest? Have we heard anything more from the hospital?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Deb. The hospital says that they will update us when there is a change in Miss Pham's condition. So we haven't heard any new news on that. We know that she is in fair condition. She's stable, as you mentioned. She's sitting up, able to eat.

We're also told she's in good spirits, able to interact with the hospital staff, and that her mother and her sister are in the area to be near her. In fact, doctors had a lot of nice things to say about Miss Pham when they spoke about her, saying she's a terrific person, saying she's brave and a trooper.

And Dr. Anthony Fauci described a little bit of what her days are like as she's being treated here. Let's go ahead and play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: She is in isolation, but she has almost continual person-to-person contact. We have nurses going in, doctors going in, a screen in the nurses, where we can speak to her. She has her iPad, all of the things she has got, person-to-person contact.

When we say isolation, let it be clear, this isn't a torture chamber. This is an individual who is constantly being cared for, cheered up, with our nurses are spectacular and they do that all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And you heard Dr. Fauci talk about spectacular nurses. Of course, this is a hospital used to dealing with the sickest of patients and Nina Pham is being cared for by a whole team of experts who are highly trained and highly specialized.

And I should mention those nurses, they're working in two 12-hour shifts, four or five nurses on each shift, and anytime a nurse goes into the room where she is being kept in isolation, they do so in pair, to make sure there is no breach in protocol.

To make sure there is no more health care workers are exposed to this virus. Now doctors wouldn't talk much about Nina Pham's prognosis, but they did say that they fully intend to have her, this patient, Nina Pham, walk out of here and they're doing everything they can to make sure that that happens -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes, and Athena, you talk about, you know, them working in pairs now. That was one of the early questions as to whether, in fact, the lack of this sort of pairing, this team, this buddy system, perhaps, contributed to this other nurses getting infected.

But let's talk about the NIH because this is a big coup for them. They not only treat these infectious diseases, but they try to find cures and they try to find treatments. So what are we hearing about what's going on with Miss Pham and possible new treatments?

JONES: Well, that's an interesting question that was brought up in the press conference with the team of doctors here. And they say, of course, as you mentioned, this is a research hospital and so while they're working to treat and to cure Nurse Pham, they're also going to be studying this disease. They called it the pathogesis of a disease. So how this illness, how it develops, how it responds to different treatments and so that's all going to be part of what they're doing.

They did mention they're open to experimental treatments, but it's not clear what other various patients have gotten. What's working and what isn't. That's something they're going to be studying -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Clearly a huge learning opportunity for the NIH and possibly for everyone around the world who's trying to fight this disease. Thank you, Athena Jones.

And now to that Carnival cruise ship carrying a Dallas hospital lab worker who had indirect contact with Ebola patient, Tom Duncan. The Carnival "Magic" is on its way back to Galveston, Texas, because the government of Belize refused to allow that lab worker to come ashore, at all! Even to be airlifted out.

I want to bring in CNN's Alexandra Field with more on this story. And Alexandra, what happened? There was a little bit of pushback between the U.S. State Department and the government of Belize.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a flat-out denial of this request from the government of Belize, which I think surprised a lot of people especially considering the fact that there was a request made by Secretary of State John Kerry. He asked the prime minister in Belize to accept the ship there.

He wanted the Carnival cruise ship to dock in Belize and have the passenger of concern and her travel companion taken by private plane back to the United States. That was the first course of action that was sought here, but Belize said no, they regret it.

But they couldn't accommodate the request by the United States. They were doing so out of an abundance of concern for the welfare of their own citizens. This is how the State Department is reacting to that response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE HARF, DEPUTY SPOKESWOMAN, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: I think we probably feel it could have been handled differently, but what we're focused on now, this ship is en route back to Galveston. Obviously, we will provide any medical care we can - not the State Department -- inside the United States when they return.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: All right, so it's time for plan "b" now, which is take the ship all the way to Galveston, and that is where this passenger will disembark. Tomorrow, also marks 21 days, though, since she may have had contact with a specimen from Thomas Eric Duncan, the Ebola patient, and so far, no signs she's showing any symptoms.

FEYERICK: Which is fascinating, everybody is very scared, anyone who may have been anywhere near Thomas Duncan is being looked at somebody who is possibly contagious, which isn't necessarily true. But what about the passengers on that ship, are we hearing from them? Were they frightened at any point?

FIELD: Look, we've had this situation before where passengers find themselves on a ship where there's an outbreak of norovirus. This is nothing like this. This is a person considered to be very low-risk by the CDC. Again, she has been monitored by doctors on the ship and has been doing self-monitoring.

No signs of a temperature, no signs of any other symptoms. What she is doing is self-quarantining with her travel companion and that's really the step that the CDC is suggesting that they take right now. Those are the only guidelines they can follow.

Look, if you're on board the ship and you missed the stop in Cozumel, Mexico, which is what they had to do, that's just a fact and a function of where we are right now.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. And clearly, not good news for the cruise ship industry, even though it can't be transmitted through this sort of casual contact, certainly, airlines having the same issue as well. Alexandra Field, thank you so much. We appreciate that.

Well, thousands do not have power right now after a hurricane slammed the island. Another hurricane in the Pacific will narrowly miss Hawaii. Chad Myers has more on this double threat.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Deb, Gonzalo now obviously dying off as it's getting into colder water. It will affect parts of eastern Newfoundland later today, but the eye rolled right over Bermuda, both sides of the eye.

The eye wall on the north side and the eye wall on the south side hit from different directions and the eye at least for a while in the middle was very calm. Winds, 96 down to 29, and an hour later, up to 113-mile-per-hour gusts, that's when you know you've got the eye.

The eye right over that island for many hours, 80 percent of the island now without power still and they're going to have a number of hours, a number of days to pick up the pieces there.

Still a Category 1 storm until it makes its way towards Newfoundland and down just a tropical system at 70 miles per hour. Ana, Ana in the Pacific, could have been a land falling hurricane. It was forecast to be a couple of days ago.

That's why you have to watch the cone and not the line. The line was right over the big island. But the cone was not. The cone was south of the big island, and also north, because it was so far away.

Well, the storm did miss all the islands, although missing with the wind and the eye, but not so much missing with the waves and also the potential for an awful lot of flash flooding.

We could see 6 to 8 inches of rain, and some spots on the mountains up here, obviously the volcanos, could get much more than that, could get a foot of rain. That could cause mud slides and washouts.

If you're going to be driving around especially after dark tonight in the Hawaiian islands. There could be an awful lot of weather you still have to deal, even though Ana missed you -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Chad Myers, thank you.

Well, don't go anywhere, everyone, we have a lot of news coming up ahead including Nick Valencia. A new development about the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri -- Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: Good afternoon, Deb. Much had been made about what happened outside of Darren Wilsons police cruiser. Now new details about what may have happened inside. We'll bring you that report after the break. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: A new report in the case of Michael Brown, the unarmed Missouri 18-year-old shot dead by a police officer in August, prompting weeks of protest. Well, "The New York Times" now reporting that tests show Brown's blood was found on the gun, uniform, and inside the car of Police Officer Darren Wilson.

"The Times" also gives Wilson's side of the story. Nick Valencia has been covering this case since August. Nick, a lot of other details are emerging that suggest that, in fact, perhaps Mr. Brown had gone after the officer.

VALENCIA: Yes. And that's actually what Officer Darren Wilson has maintained the whole time. Deb, I should start by saying that this is coming to us from "The New York Times" and that CNN cannot independently authenticate these details.

But they seem to verify what Officer Darren Wilson has been saying all along. That there was a struggle inside that police cruiser. "The New York Times" citing forensic evidence, saying that that gun went off at least two times in the police cruiser, striking Brown once in the arm and the other one missing him.

Now they cite forensic evidence from an unnamed government official who's familiar with this investigation. I've reached out to residents in Ferguson, I've been on the phone with them throughout the day, and as you can imagine, this reaction has varied.

Michael Brown supporters, they just don't buy it. Darren Wilson supporters, they've maintained all along that the officer was justified in his shooting and that he need to fatally shoot Mike Brown, because he feared for his life.

Now, I spoke earlier with the pastor of the Brown family, and he told me that this report is just another excuse to help and encourage office Brown from being let off the hook. The grand jury has not released their findings yet.

Initially, we were supposed to get those findings or we thought they would come out in mid-October. The point or fact is, we don't know when those findings will come out, but already a tense situation in Ferguson.

When I was there two months ago, our crews were caught up in the riots. A myriad of reporters were also caught up in that escalating violence there. Tension is high, obviously, and it has been. No telling how this will contribute to that tension. You know, right now, varying reaction in Ferguson -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes. And there has been a call for the prosecutor to step down, but I spoke to a lot of lawyers there who say, they're not 100 percent sure there is going to be some sort of indictment given the facts from both sides. That's why we've got a civil rights investigation. Nick Valencia, thank you for us.

And President Obama tapping what he's calling an Ebola czar, but here's just one thing missing from the man's past -- a medical background. We'll take a look at the politics involved, coming up next.

But first, each week we are shining a spotlight on the top ten CNN Heroes of 2014. You can vote for the one who inspires you the most at cnnheroes.com. This week's honoree is helping save her community's kids with a little help from some unlikely friends. Meet Patricia Kelly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough. It was tough growing up here. It was just so easy to take the wrong path. I was walking around with a lot on my shoulders. At a young age, I didn't really care about life anymore. When I met Miss Kelly, everything changed.

PATRICIA KELLY: Bret was hurting. He needed a place that he could just be himself. Our program provides a year-round urban oasis. Seven days a week, twelve months a year, for children 5 to 19 years old. We use horses to create pride, esteem, and healing.

The children take care of animals, take care of the farm. When they get to a certain riding level, young men become mounted park rangers. When they put their cowboy hats on and they go out on patrol, the myth of the urban male is changed instantly. When kids see other kids ride, they want to know how it's done. That's the hook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell you where I would be without this program. It changed my life. It helps me set goals for myself. I'm a part of something.

KELLY: When you teach a child how to ride a horse, they learn that they are the center of their environment. Once they make that connection, they can change what happens in school, at home, and the community. It's through their minds and through their hearts. They have ability. They just have to unlock it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: So for those of you who have lost count, it's actually 17 days until Election Day and hanging in the balance is control of the U.S. Senate. The big election issue this fall, the so-called October surprise, is nothing that anyone expected, because it's Ebola.

CNN's national correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, reports in America's Choice, 2014.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Move over immigration, ISIS, and Obamacare. The mid-term elections have caught a case of Ebola.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ebola is the October surprise of 2014.

MALVEAUX: Including Senate races in North Carolina, New Hampshire, Iowa, Virginia, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Ebola, front and center in debates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Pryor won't even hold President Obama accountable for not protecting our country and our families from Ebola.

MALVEAUX: Slickly produced in attack ads. Democrats are blaming Republicans for cutting funding that would have helped the U.S. better prepare for an outbreak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The CDC says its discretionary funding has been cut by $585 million.

MALVEAUX: Republicans are attacking Democrats by going after the president, criticizing Mr. Obama for not enacting a travel ban on Ebola-plagued West African countries.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: If you want to visit your son or daughter and you're coming from Liberia, couldn't you have waited a couple of months.

MALVEAUX: A topic that has gained momentum as Americans had become more fearful of flying. Public health officials grilled on the Hill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the White House considering a travel ban?

TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: I can't speak for the White House.

MALVEAUX: Late in the day, the president did.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A flat-out travel ban is not the best way to go.

MALVEAUX: In one of the most contentious Senate races, New Hampshire, Republican Scott Brown is using Ebola to make his case for closing the border. GOVERNOR SCOTT BROWN (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE (via telephone): I have been so adamant about closing our border, because people are coming in from normal channels. Can you imagine what they can do to a porous border?

MALVEAUX: Political analysts warn, fear mongering from both sides could backfire, turning voters off.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Tying Ebola to the immigration issue on the Southern border seems absurd.

MALVEAUX: Comedians like Stephen Colbert have picked up on the absurdity too.

STEPHEN COLBERT: One person out there who's irresponsibly calm is President Barack Ebola.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: But a recent poll shows that 43 percent of Americans disapprove of how President Obama has responded to the Ebola crisis, compared to 41 percent who approve, forcing vulnerable Democrats in tight races to distance themselves from the president. And it's not just the midterm elections. With Ebola fears spreading

so quickly, the issue is likely to play out in the 2016 presidential election as well -- Deb.

FEYERICK: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you. And to stop all the fallout from the Ebola crisis, the Obama administration decided to tap a Democratic insider, Ron Klain, naming him the Ebola czar. But Klain has no medical background, so is this too little, too late?

CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, is editor and director of the "National Journal," a publication I once worked for as a young intern. He is in our Los Angeles bureau.

So Ron, Klain is the former chief of staff to vice Presidents Joe Biden, Al Gore. Can he really make a difference? Is this all this crisis needs, is someone who can oversee everything that's going on, a figurehead?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It needs more than that, but the White House made a clear choice here. There are two ways they could have gone on this. They could have gone for the reassuring, fatherly physician type.

People have talked like C. Everett Coop, who was the surgeon general in the Reagan years, who could have been a reassuring figure. They decided instead what they need was someone who had experience wrangling the federal bureaucracy, managing messes, but also managing the federal system.

People in that first camp, the kind of reassuring physician probably wouldn't have had the second skills. And Ron Klain, who has a lot of skills inside the government, really doesn't have the qualifications in the first group. He's not going to be a figure who is going to be out there reassuring the public. They're counting on their existing team at CDC and NIH to do that. But this is really a pick about both managing the government and managing the message.

FEYERICK: But do you think by picking somebody who doesn't have any sort of medical background, why not reach across the aisle to somebody like Bill Frist, for example, who's a doctor, who was over treating -- over working as a missionary.

Why not somebody who can actually say, look, I've been there, here's what we have to do, everything's OK? We're not really getting that, not yet, anyway.

BROWNSTEIN: Right. And as I say, that is the other -- Bill Frist would have been a very good choice, actually, as well. But that is a different choice because Bill Frist is someone who is very qualified, a former Senate majority leader.

But he is not someone who necessarily has those experiences within the federal government managing it and making it work. And also, let's face it. This is an administration, like most administrations, when they are under siege, they kind of circle the wagons and look to people they know and the people that are familiar with.

They don't necessarily reach out beyond their comfort circle, and certainly, Ron Klain is someone who fits within that circle for President Obama.

FEYERICK: Do you think the administration could get some brownie points, additional brownie points, let's say, if they focused on the U.S. efforts that are now being made in West Africa. Because you've got troops there, you've got, they're essentially building parts of Liberia.

Including re-paving roads and trying to fix the health care system there. But we're not really hearing that coming out in the messaging. We're hearing two nurses here. Are they missing an opportunity?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I think this is the fundamental debate, which is -- and it runs through a lot of the different security issues we now face in this highly interconnected world.

If you look at the debate over ISIS, if you look at at the debate over the Central American kids crossing the border earlier this year, and certainly if you look at the debate over Ebola.

The question is, what is the best way to protect America, by focusing our defenses here or by trying to deal with these problems at the route, at the source.

And you know, I describe this as a barricade strategy versus a bridge strategy. And the president clearly believes, and as you see in his resistance in the travel ban and his pressure on other nations to do more in west Africa, that the only way to truly deal with this problem is, in fact, to have an intensified effort at the source. It was the same thing when we had the flow of Central American kids coming across the border. He resisted the toughest militarization of the border ideas, and instead tried to work with the Central American countries and Mexico to reduce the flow. That is a basic debate.

And what you are hearing now in the Ebola debate, where it merges with the immigration debate, is really around this core idea. Can we protect America, primarily, by fortifying our own domestic defenses, or do we have to kind of reach out abroad and deal with the root causes?

here's no question where the president stands on that, but in this case, his response has been undercut, A, by a lack of attention, but, B, a bigger problem, kind of a sense of lack of competence in handling the domestic part of the response.

FEYERICK: Is it lack of competence or simply bad timing? You look at is, ISIS is like the Jihadi version of Ebola. All of a sudden it was growing and all of a sudden it burst on to the scene, much the same way as Ebola.

Everybody knew what was happening in West Africa, now all of a sudden it's in America. So everybody changes. Do you think that more attention needs to be paid to these horrible issues sooner rather than later?

And should the administration stand up and say, now, now is the time. We can't wait a month, can't wait two months, it's got to be done.

BROWNSTEIN: Right, look, as I say, the bridge-building strategy is where Obama places his chips. And that's requires working with other nations, it requires building coalitions. That takes time. But I think the fairest critique of the president on all of these issues is whether the focus is intense enough and the action is quick enough.

Certainly, looking back, no one would say that they were quick enough in dealing with the threat of ISIS. All the things they are doing now would have been available within months ago. Same issue with the increasing flow on the Central American border, whether they acted too slowly.

And here with Ebola, there was this reassurance that hospitals were ready for this. And it turns out, as we see in this first catastrophic case, that they were not.

That is the fairest critique, that they have not acted quickly enough to deal with these challenges, even if they were focused on the right strategy in the long run, with trying to deal with them at the root cause.

FEYERICK: Ron Brownstein, as always, a pleasure. Thanks so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

FEYERICK: And growing concerns about Ebola protocol here in America after two nurses at that Texas Presbyterian Hospital were infected. Our next guest treated Ebola patients in Liberia and worked with one of the American Ebola victims. She explains why we all need to calm down, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick. Here's a look at the top stories making the news right now.

In the fight against ISIS, the U.S. has launched 15 airstrikes against terrorist targets in the last 24 hours. Two of those happened near Kobani, Syria, which is on the border with Turkey. There have been more than 120 air strikes in Kobani in the last three weeks.

Kurds on the ground tell CNN the air strikes have helped them push ISIS back preventing the militants from taking the full control of the border town.

More than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted from their school could soon be coming home. Nigeria now says it has struck a cease-fire deal with Boca Haram, the militant group that took the girls back in April. It says as part of the agreement, the group will release the girls. Boca Haram has not yet responded to this claim.

The Jacksonville, Florida, man who shot an unarmed African-American teenager over loud music will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance for parole. A judge sentenced Michael Dunn Friday for the murder of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.

Dunn fired ten times at Davis' car after an argument over the teenager's loud music. Before sentencing, Dunn told Davis' family he was sorry about what happened, but he said he feared for his life.

For health workers, learning the proper way to put on and take off their protective gear can make the difference between life and death. CNN's Jonathan Mann shows us how volunteers with "Doctors Without Borders" are taking no chances as they fight Ebola in West Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Getting ready to battle Ebola.

ESTIFANOS DEBASU, MSF TRAINER: So now, when we are getting dressed, we have to think how we are going to undress it.

MANN: Trainees for "Doctors Without Bordering" are getting a potentially life-saving lesson at their headquarters in Brussels, learning how to properly put on and remove the gowns, masks, and gloves that will protect them against the deadly virus before they head to west Africa.

We limit the number of times that we suit up and go into the actual high-risk zones where the patients are to a couple of times a day, as you said, not to risk overheat welcome dehydration, or just a little bit too much for one day. MANN: The humanitarian group has been at the forefront in the fight against Ebola, with about 3,000 volunteers already working in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. But now officials with the charity say they're reaching their limit, and urgently need other groups to step up efforts against the deadly disease.

BRICE DE LA VINGNE, MSF, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS: We still, a very slow and week capacity of other actors, including state actors, including military organization actors, like WHO, like United Nation and so on. I mean, they are deploying as we speak, but we still don't see the result in the field.

MANN: According to reports, 18 MSF workers have contracted the virus in West Africa, 10 have reportedly died. Psychologist Karla Urarte is preparing to leave for Sierra Leone next month.

CARLA URIARTE, MSF PSYCHOLOGIST: I'm a big scared of what I will be seeing, because I know there's a lot of human suffering that I will be witnessing. And I'm also scared for our staff, because my colleagues will be going back to homes in which their family members might be dying and I know that some of our colleagues die.

MANN: And despite the risk, many MSF volunteers who have been to West Africa before say they want to go back, to save more lives. Jonathan Mann, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Incredibly heroic. Well, are America's doctors and nurses who are treating Ebola patients getting the same kind of preparation? Donna Gallagher is a nurse and director of public health at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

And Donna, you've traveled to Liberia multiple times. You traveled with Dr. Richard Sacra who contracted the Ebola. Some health care workers in the United States say they are not trained or prepared the way you've been trained and prepared. Does more need to be done?

DONNA GALLAGHER, NURSE PRACTITIONER: Well, I think there's always more that needs to be done, because as much training as we've had, Ebola is not something that we see in the United States. So, yes, all health care workers need to have the extra level of training that's required to be sure that this type of a virus does not get transmitted.

And you've seen all of the procedures that MSF is using and they have had a great deal of success, and of course, we have had the two cases of the nurses. So, yes, it's always important to get the training out and, you know, my background is HIV and it's a similar case that we saw when HIV first came on the scene.

We needed to rapidly get out and train nurses who always represent the front line when something like this occurs. And they were able to quickly pick up the universal precautions and successfully treat and provide compassionate care for people living with HIV and I have every reason to believe they can do that for Ebola. FEYERICK: You heard from the doctor, "Doctors Without Borders," and he said that the World Health Organization, the United Nations, you know, they're finally sort of up and running, but they're still not there.

Plus, even governments themselves are having a hard time mobilizing people to do this work and so a huge burden is being put, really, on a very few. Why do you think there has been such a time delay in getting necessary resources there?

GALLAGHER: Well, you know, again, particularly West Africa has never really had the tools they needed to protect themselves against infectious diseases. It's always been a concern, when we travel, we always bring our own PPEs to be sure that we have some, and leave whatever was not used and share while we're there.

FEYERICK: The protective equipment?

GALLAGHER: Yes, so our colleagues can have the benefit of protective equipment. So, you know, there's not going to be -- it isn't as though there'll be a few shipments and they'll have what they need. This is going to be an ongoing problem for quite a while.

FEYERICK: Yes, exactly. And there were a couple hundred specialists before the outbreak. Now a lot more people being trained and gearing up. All right, Donna Gallagher, thank you so much. We appreciate your insights on that.

GALLAGHER: Thank you.

FEYERICK: And coming up, new reports of evidence emerging in the shooting death of Michael Brown. Our legal team breaks down what it means and why it could actually back up Officer Darren Wilson's side of the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Welcome back, everyone. Just moments ago, the governor of Ohio spoke to reporters about the threat of the virus in the state. Health officials are monitoring 16 people there who were in the vicinity of Ebola patient, Amber Vinson, who had gone there for her wedding party to try on bridal dresses.

Well, CNN's Susan Candiotti is in Akron, Ohio. Susan, does Ohio seem to have the situation under control? The governor just held a presser, what did he say?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we learned, actually, that the number of contacts that Amber Vinson had has now been widened. You just mentioned the number was 16, including her stepfather, with whom he was staying, and he is under a close watch quarantine, because he had the most contact with her.

And the other people were being self-monitored at the direction of the health department. None of them, we want to stress, exhibiting Ebola- like symptoms, all of them in good health. However, we have learned new numbers and they are these.

They tell us that they have now increased the number of contacts to 29 from 16, in terms of people who had some contact with Amber Vinson, either at her house or at the bridal shop that she visited one week ago today.

Now, in addition to that, for the first time, we are hearing hard numbers of how people Ohio is labeling as contacts of Amber Vinson on an airplane. And that is 87 people so far.

Again, these are people who had different tiers of contact with her. They might have sat on different sections of the plane, some close, some far away. All of them have been simply asked by the health department to self-monitor themselves. None is exhibiting any symptoms at all at this time. Governor Kasich wanted to make that point. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR JOHN R. KASICH, OHIO: This is not a reason for people to say, my goodness, everything is growing, OK? It's not a reason for people to say, it's getting more serious. What this is a reason to say that health officials, helped by the CDC, are making sure that anyone who could possibly have come in contact are going to be contacted and judged on the basis of the risk that they may pose.

So these numbers are going to go up. The numbers are going to go down, OK? But the bottom line is everyone's being checked.

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CANDIOTTI: And also, the governor wanted to make the point that they have wider protocols in the state of Ohio. So that the definition, "contact," now applies to people who maybe were simply in the room, but have very low risk of ever showing any symptoms at any time. But important to raise these points and announce these new numbers -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes, there's no question. People can be exposed. It doesn't mean they're necessarily going to be infected. What surprises me also is just how young these two nurses are, one of them, 26, the other 29 living their lives and confronted with something as huge as Ebola.

Susan Candiotti for us there in Ohio bringing us the very latest, we appreciate it.

Today we are hearing more on the case of the Missouri teen shot dead by a police officer in August, prompting weeks of unrest as you may remember. A new "New York Times" report gives details that have not been heard before, including evidence inside the officer's car and his version of events, according to "The New York Times."

So we want to bring our legal team, Richard Herman, criminal defense attorney and Avery Friedman, law professor, civil rights. We're short on time. Let's get right to this. We're hearing very strong evidence now that there were bullet holes inside of the car, that there was blood on the officer, meaning direct contact. Richard, how do you think this new evidence is going to affect this case?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Deb, first of all, there's no evidence yet in this case, because the only evidence is what's going to be presented in court and subject to testing by cross- examination. But what we are hearing multiple different versions and we're hearing versions that tend to corroborate some of the stories that are coming out of the police department.

If that's the case, Deb, as a criminal defense attorney, when you hear multiple different stories and multiple different accounts, what does that do? That makes you pause for a moment, to reflect. You're not sure. That's reasonable doubt. The more multiple stories that come in, the better chance of an acquittal here, just like Trayvon Martin in the Zimmerman case.

FEYERICK: And that's the interesting thing. Even, no matter how many eyewitness accounts you hear, all of it is from a very distinct, limited perspective. What they saw at an exact moment. The grand jury has to piece all of that together.

Wilson, if you read "The New York Times," he was trying to leave his car when Brown shoved him back in, pinned him inside. He says that Brown tried to grab for his gun. That made him fear for his safety. You know, Avery, do you believe that there could potentially not be an indictment once the grand jury looks at all of this?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, the interesting thing about "The Times" article, a front-page article, we're really dealing with two forums. Number one, we're dealing with a state grand jury consideration, which has been going on for two months. That's a possibility.

The other issue that the article made clear, whether or not it's corroborated, there are unnamed officials, not identified in the article, that talk about whether or not there's going to be a civil rights claim coming out of Washington.

HERMAN: Never happen.

FRIEDMAN: So we have two different forms, two different forms, two different kinds of cases. The question is, is there probable cause? That's what's going to be considered in both forums. So this detonates some very, very explosive information that's generating a lot of emotion right now.

FEYERICK: Richard, what are your thoughts on that?

HERMAN: My thoughts are this. The officer went to the grand jury and testified. That rarely happens when you're a target in a criminal -- in a proposed criminal defendant in a case. He testified for four hours in front of that grand jury. Now, the burden of proof at trial, beyond a reasonable doubt, is a much higher standard than what's required in a grand jury to indict. But if there were so many conflicting versions coming in this grand jury, the grand jurors will be confused, and you may not get a true bill out of them.

FRIEDMAN: That's different --

FEYERICK: Yes -- go ahead, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: That's different than the civil rights considerations.

HERMAN: That'll never happen.

FRIEDMAN: Which is exactly why the civil rights, they're in there now looking at all of this as well. And look, a lot of people not convinced that there is going to be some sort of an indictment. Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, always a pleasure. Thank you.

HERMAN: Be well, Deb.

FEYERICK: And this story just developing, there has been another sighting of accused cop killer, Eric Frein. Now we're waiting for a police press conference. We are live with the very latest.

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FEYERICK: Well, just minutes from now, authorities will hold a press conference on the latest lead in the search for suspected cop killer, Eric Frein. A local law enforcement official has told CNN that Frein was spotted by a woman in Paradise, Pennsylvania, Friday night, dressed in black with his face covered in mud and carrying a gun.

Alexandra Field joins me now. You have been out there and following this case. He's described as a survivalist. What are we hearing about the latest about what they've found?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this could be a significant sighting. It was reported last night by a woman who says she saw this person dressed in black, which is what law enforcement believes he's been wearing this entire time, his face covered in mud.

She also believes he was carrying a rifle with a scope, which is a weapon that officers believe he has had with him since the shooting of two state police officers back on September 12th. That's the shooting that Eric Frein is accused in.

In the last six weeks, law enforcement officers have found a number of items which they believe belongs to Frein. That is what has led them to this search area including an AK-47. They say they have found a couple of pipe bombs out there. Letters, which they say confess to the shooting and describe the subsequent escape and he's managed to evade them now for some six weeks now -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Which is really incredible because initially authorities have said, look, we know you're wearing down, we know you're tired, they found food and confiscated that food. So what does that say about his ability to basically outsmart them on some levels?

FIELD: Look, from the beginning, there have been these sightings, within a few days of those shootings, there were sightings of Frein and they thought they had him in their sights. Law enforcement has seen him. He has managed to continue to evade him.

And they say the reason is because they have to get a positive I.D. before they're able to move in on him. We're talking about thickly wooded, dense area where he's been able to navigate his way around them and some of the things he talks about in the letter, actually.

FEYERICK: Which is really remarkable, well, it's going to be one to watch and clearly, he can see them before they can see him, usually. That gives him the ultimate head start. Alexandra field, thank you so much. We'll be checking in with you.

We are expecting to hear more about that case in a press conference at the top of the hour. We'll bring you that live right after this.

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