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NEW DAY

Ebola Czar Klain Begins New Job; Are Hospitals Prepared For Ebola?; Growing Number Of Lawmakers Demand Flight Ban; U.S. Airdrops Weapons And Supplies In Kobani; Remains Found in Hannah Graham Search

Aired October 20, 2014 - 06:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, the quarantine is now over for family of Thomas Eric Duncan, the Ebola patient who died. So, they did not contract the deadly virus, but two nurses did. Why? This as the Pentagon prepares an emergency response team to tackle the virus.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And chilling discovery, police are investigating the scene where human remains were found in the search for Hannah Graham. Is it the missing University of Virginia student?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Fear for his life. In his first public account of what happened, the police officer who killed Michael Brown says he felt threatened during a struggle with the unarmed teenager in his vehicle. What will Officer Wilson's testimony mean for the grand jury's decision?

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to NEW DAY. It is Monday, October 20th, 6:00 in the East. I'm Chris Cuomo along with Alisyn Camerota.

CAMEROTA: Happy Monday.

CUOMO: Happy Monday, it's good to be here with you. And we do have news breaking overnight. The family of Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian national who died of Ebola in a Dallas hospital, is showing no signs of infection after 21 days in isolation. That's the magic number, right, so they are now out of quarantine. We are also seeing a new urgency in the Ebola fight. The Pentagon is assembling a domestic response team. Thirty medical experts ready to fly anywhere if a new Ebola case surfaces.

CAMEROTA: This is also day one on the job for the new Ebola czar, Ron Klain. Critics are blasting the president's controversial pick as too political. The CDC is scrambling to finalize new guidelines for health care workers who are treating Ebola patients including the use of protective gear with no skin exposed this time.

CNN's complete coverage of the Ebola crisis begins with CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Good morning, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. First, I want to get you catch you up on the condition of those two nurses who become infected with Ebola while they were taking care of Thomas Eric Duncan.

Nina Pham is at the National Institutes of Health and we are told that she is doing well. She is in fair condition and resting comfortably. Amber Vinson is at Emory. They haven't issued a condition report for her, but they have said that she is conversing with her family.

Also, her family made a statement. In it, they said that she reported her slightly elevated temperature several times to the CDC before flying. Several times was given the clear, given the OK to fly back to Dallas.

Now, the other health care workers who also took care of Thomas Eric Duncan, they are in quarantine or they are monitoring themselves until October 29th.

So they still have a while where they still need to be monitoring themselves and where they still have limited movements and can't get on airplanes and that sort of thing.

Now we mentioned that the family of Thomas Eric Duncan. They are out of quarantine. That ended yesterday and Mr. Duncan's girlfriend issued this statement. She said we are so happy this is coming to an end and we are so grateful that none of us has shown any sign of illness.

Our happiness is mixed with sadness at the same time. We continue to mourn Duncan's loss and grieve the circumstances that led to his death just at the time we thought we were facing a happy future together.

Now also this weekend, there is a memorial service in North Carolina for Mr. Duncan -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Elizabeth, thanks so much for that update. It should be an interesting first day on the job for the new Ebola czar, Ron Klain. He is tasked with overseeing the nation's response to a potentially deadly domestic outbreak while being roundly ripped by Republicans before even showing up.

Let's bring in CNN's Michelle Kosinski live from the White House. He has his hands full -- Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Alisyn, this morning, we are seeing the administration's response to the Ebola crisis, grow in its complexity, but so, of course, there are some of the reactions to it politically.

I mean, first of all, we are seeing the Pentagon now developing a 30 -- a 20-person rapid response team. Doctors, nurses, trainers, they would respond within 72 hours to the next possible Ebola case in the U.S. They would also potentially be directly treating the patient.

So now, essentially, you have boots on the ground against Ebola here in America. We are seeing the CDC coming up with much more stringent protocols and this new Ebola czar doesn't want to be called the Ebola czar, the Ebola response coordinator starting on the job.

But this after the administration repeatedly it didn't want or need to appoint such a person because that would just add another layer of bureaucracy. Well, now, they have appointed Ron Klain, former chief of staff to Vice Presidents Gore and Biden.

But that is drawing plenty of criticism from Republicans. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: We don't need another White House political operative, which is what Mr. Klain has been. What we need is presidential leadership. Two weeks ago, the president should have stood up and suspended flights from these countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINKSI: Well, there is another area where we are still hearing some criticism from Republicans and some Democrats still calling for a travel ban. We've heard one Democratic congresswoman say that the CDC should consider that there could be a longer incubation period for Ebola -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Michelle, there is no question that the politics will play out more. Maybe that's an indication that the real concerns are starting to abate someone because the point is to calm fears by showing the government is ready for whatever comes, right.

So let's get some hard truth on how the administration is handling Ebola. We have a great panel for you, Mary Schiavo, CNN aviation analyst and the former inspector general of the Department of Transportation.

We also have Dr. Amesh Adalja. He is with the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and Dr. Alexander Van Tulleken, a CNN medical analyst, senior fellow with the Institute for International Humanitarian Affairs.

Good Monday to all of you. Thank you for joining us. Dr. Van Tulleken, I'll start with you because you are next to me, not as much Ebola panic out there and I think we would all agree, that's a good thing as long as it matches the practicalities. Are we tiring of this story?

DR. ALEXANDER VAN TULLEKEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think if terms of domestic threat, a number of people exited this 21-day quarantine period, globally, which is where the threat is really in West Africa, it's a very, very long way.

We haven't mobilized anything like sufficient resources. The U.S. is a significant contributor. We still haven't scaled off our response enough. The disease is spreading geographically in terms of the number of patients infected.

CUOMO: And as long as that happens, the risk at home is real because that's the only reason there is a risk in the first place.

TULLEKEN: Exactly. It's really important to say there is absolutely no way of preventing more Ebola coming to the U.S. no matter what airport measures we put in place, what travel restrictions we put in place. We can get more Ebola here unless we rolled it back in West Africa.

CUOMO: All right, so let's talk about what we have done here to make things better. Dr. Adalja, this new report in the "Wall Street Journal" that says the CDC has new rules for treating Ebola patients, more stringent full body covering. It seems like a big duh, why wasn't it like that from the beginning?

DR. AMESH ADALJA, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: It's probably because we have dealt with Ebola in very resource poor settings before. Paradoxically, we didn't really realize that health care workers in U.S. settings and modern ICUs were advanced, techniques are being employed, would be at higher risk because of the high blood and body fluid and after we saw what happened in Texas, there was a consensus the guidelines weren't strong enough given what happened to Mr. Duncan.

CUOMO: OK. That's an understanding although we are so resource rich here. The WHO has done this way when Dr. Frieden from the CDC went to visit people, he was completely covered. It seems like they may be underestimated the risk or is that my naivete.

ADALJA: You know what? I think it's definitely true that the risk was underestimated by a lot of people. Ebola had never inside of a U.S. intensive care unit. We really didn't know how this pathogen would behave there. We know that lots of other infections spread around intensive care units because of all the blood and body fluid that's available there.

Mr. Duncan got the most advanced techniques to save his life and continued dialysis, being put on the ventilator, things that had never happened before with an Ebola patient. That put the nurses at an increased risk because of the high amounts of contact they would have had with his fluids.

CUOMO: All right. I understand that part. Let's get to how we keep it from coming in here, if possible. Mary Schiavo, what did we see? There was a woman on a cruise ship. She wound up testing negative. Belize, Mexico, they wouldn't let that ship anywhere near them.

So there is a very aggressive move towards retaliation against any potential contagion, maybe too much. Maybe it's fear-based. How long do you think we will keep doing the screenings here? Do you think they're helpful and there are now 100 senators backing a ban in travel. What do you think happens there?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I think the screenings must continue. It's absolutely imperative because again there are two parts on the travel. It's not just everyone on a plane is going to get Ebola. We know that's not going to happen. It's that the total disruptions to the lives of people.

The average American citizen can't disappear for 21 days. You got jobs, you got kids. So it's the disruption, it's the total shut down of the system if there is a lot of Ebola and quarantine in the United States. That's the problem in mixing a deadly disease communicable through contact on transportation that moves very quickly.

That's why we like it and is borderless. A national border doesn't mean much to aviation. So that's why everyone and the hundred senators are clamoring for the travel ban because it makes sense. The CDC's response was really a kind of a new level of hypocrisy.

They said, well, if you don't let them in through the airlines, through the regular methods of transportation, they'll go to our poorest borders and sneak in.

Now I'm not even going to justify that. The point is that you are dealing with a crisis. You cannot disrupt the system of transportation because our entire economy depends upon it. We saw that first hand after September 11th 2001.

That's why the travel ban makes sense and the senators who want it are simply trying to project the economics of the United States of America.

CUOMO: The president gave it some space, right. He created some possibility there by saying not philosophically opposed. We'll have to see what happens, right. Let's tick through some new information this morning. Get you guys take on it.

First is the 21-day quarantine is over for the fiancee and family of Thomas Eric Duncan. So that is good news. However, why 21 days? Now we are hearing the biblically scary number of 40 is the real quarantine day.

But we also hear that there is a blood test that you can do within the first week to see if somebody has it. What's going on?

TULLEKEN: We are raising all kind of questions about the CDC in terms of their decision making, their risk management. The 21 days is based on data from 1976. If you start to review as Charles has done. He is from Drexel University. He has published the paper online looking at all the data.

He says an average incubation period is much longer. He says over 12 days and he says at 21 days, you could miss up to 12 percent of the cases. So that's the argument -- he recommend --

CUOMO: So why not do the blood test?

TULLEKEN: It's very interesting. It's not clear to me why all kinds of things haven't been done. The CDC web site at midnight last night still didn't have updated protocols for putting on gear. If you want to know how to put on your personal protective equipment, we still can't get that off the CDC web site, which is extraordinary to me. They could have at least posted a link to the MSF website or the WHO web site. So I think CDC has been behind the curve on so many things.

CUOMO: Are we wrong about the blood test? Are they not as easy? Are they not as predictive as we are suggesting?

TULLEKEN: I think the issue with the blood test, you have to do it every day and it would probably give you a couple days head start most on the virus. It would certainly make a decision about quarantining and about risk management much, much easier.

CUOMO: All right, I am stuck on time. I want to get you, Dr. Adalja, give me a quick take on Ron Klain. OK, a lot of people in your community are saying, you got to have a medical background. It can't just be the politically astute. What is your take, quickly?

ADALJA: I think it's essential that this person whoever it may be is able to coordinate a response and understand and integrate all the scientific information about Ebola, whether that's a doctor or somebody else. It won't matter unless that person is up to the job.

CUOMO: You have to understand the systems as not so much the medicine as it is the system that is going to have to negotiate. Thank you for your take, Dr. Adalja. I appreciate it. Mary Schiavo, always a pleasure. Dr. Van Tulleken, thank you -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, breaking news overnight, the U.S. providing help for Kurdish fighters in the Syrian city of Kobani. Weapons, ammunition and medical supplies were air dropped to fighters trying to push back ISIS terrorists who want to claim that city.

This after coalition airstrikes continued through the weekend. CNN's senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh is live on the Turkey-Syria border with more -- Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we are hearing from Kurdish fighters inside the town is those air drops last night, three Americans C-130s dropping 27 separate bundles of ammunition, medical supplies and food actually delivered some M-16 rifles, according to that fighter. He's going to assist.

They need a more stark move by the United States to use its power aircraft to take this aid from Iraqi Peshmerga is in fact in Iraq and drop it off and bolstered as well by news we are hearing that Turkey who frankly sees the Kurds fighting is far from their friends.

In fact terrorists in some eyes have in fact allowed Peshmerga, more Kurdish fighters through their territory to enter that city of Kobani and assist the fight for it.

So a lot happening this morning. A lot for the United States to decide what to do to bolster the Kurds, who have been optimistic after 135 airstrikes in the past weeks and Barack Obama talking to his Turkish counterpart, talking about the need for the air drop.

And presumably exchanging different opinions about how much aid the Kurds in the city behind me should get, but they do seem to be holding their ground. Back to you.

CAMEROTA: That's the news. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much for the update live. Let's get over to Michaela for other stories --

PEREIRA: Good morning. Happy Monday you too and good morning to all of you at home. Here is a look into your headlines. A deepening crisis in Hong Kong, demonstrators are entering their fourth week as pro-democracy protesters get ready for talks with the government official.

Tomorrow's talks are still on the table despite weekend clashes between protesters and police. Dozens have been injured including 22 officers. Hopes are not high for a break through tomorrow since neither side is budging much over how the city will elect its next leader in 2017.

Six world powers can reach a deal on Tehran's nuclear program, the "New York Times" reports the Obama administration will not seek congressional approval to suspend sanctions against Iran. This report says a suspension of sanctions would be enough to satisfy Iranian negotiators, but the president, himself, cannot terminate those sanctions permanently. He will need Congress to do that.

The alleged ring leader of the 2012 Benghazi terror attack is set to be arraigned today. He is facing 17 new charges on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. The offenses could carry the death penalty. U.S. Special Forces captured him earlier this year in Libya. As you know, four Americans were killed in that 2012 terror attack including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Number 18 is now numero uno. Bronco's quarter back Peyton Manning setting a new NFL record for a career touchdown passes surpassing his 509 Sunday night. He had four TD passes including 510 as the Broncos routed the 49ers 42-17.

News this morning, we now know when the duke and duchess of Cambridge will have their second baby. Kate and Will announced they are due in April. Duchess Kate is still suffering from a severe case of morning sickness, but we are told our condition is said to be improving.

Their first child, Prince George, was born in July of 2013. So they'll be nice and close. One out of diapers, not quite, toddler and a new baby will be exciting times in their house.

CAMEROTA: That was a poorly kept secret, by the way.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: It's official. They're announcing it. So, you know?

CAMEROTA: So that's for real.

PEREIRA: We've got baby fever around here. We'll tell you about that coming up.

CUOMO: Oh, it's true. It's contagious. It turns out that Indra Petersons plans to go to Bermuda to try to combine two of her favorite things, standing in the middle of a hurricane and finding great white sharks to attack her didn't work out.

But you got some vacation. And it is great to have you back.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Thank you. And nice welcome back, by the way.

Freezing cold air settling in for the Northeast. And on top of that, we're going to be talking about what a nor'easter, yes, a lovely Monday for us, by the way. New York City, 42 degrees. Notice the difference where temperatures are on the 60s right now, down to the south.

And everyone keeps saying, is this cold air going to stay? It's all about the northeast, this cool pool of air. Notice these departures by the time you get through Wednesday, all that cool air spreading even farther into the east. This is heat. This is why we have that setup for the Northeast.

Here's the cold air. Low pressure is making its way up the coast line. Cold day pressure difference. It means wind to you. So, these strong northeasters are going to be making their way in up the coastline over the next several days.

So, Tuesday, Wednesday, even Thursday, we're not just talking about wind. Remember the wind is over the ocean. So, we are talking avenue amounts of rain over the next couple of day, even the threat for some flooding.

Look at these numbers here, one to two inches around New York City, not too bad when you talk about your days, Tuesday, source, rain on Wednesday and continuing on Thursday. You are not going to be happy, three to five inches of rain possible out through Maine.

Here's those winds about 15 to 20 miles per hour, but each day as you get closer, those highs and lows get closer to each other. You're going to be talking about stronger winds as well. The winds go up, even as high as 50 miles per hour out towards Maine.

So, thanks for the welcome back, guys, cold, rain, windy, perfect.

CAMEROTA: And pleasant. Love it.

CUOMO: You can't control the weather. Blame yourself. Blame yourself.

PETERSONS: Because I gave myself a lot of pass in the summer.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, Indra.

PETERSONS: Sure. CAMEROTA: Well, a gruesome discovery in the search for the missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. Police forced to make a difficult call to her parents. Has Hannah's body finally been found?

CUOMO: And you are going to be hearing a lot about the today. Officer Darren Wilson's events the day Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Missouri. His description of the events and autopsy analysis can be a big deal to the grand jury. Why he says he feared for his life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: -- missing student.

CNN's Jean Casarez has the latest this morning from Virginia -- Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials have said this is the largest search in Virginia's history and the search for University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham may be over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ (voice-over): The five-week search for University of Virginia student Hannah Graham now suspended after a shocking discovery turned this missing person's case into a death investigation.

CHIEF STEVE SELLERS, ALBERMARLE COUNTY POLICE DEPT.: Today's discovery is a significant development. And we have a great deal of work ahead of us.

CASAREZ: Saturday, as search teams scouring an abandoned property in Albemarle County, Virginia, found human remains, eight miles from where 18-year-old Graham disappeared.

SGT. DALE TERRY, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VIRGINIA SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I do believe God wanted us to find what we found. I don't know how else to explain it something inside me told me just continue to look.

CASAREZ: Shortly after, Charlottesville police relayed the news of the discovery to Graham's parents.

CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE DEPT.: Forensic tests need to be conducted to determine the identification of those remains. But nonetheless, we wanted to be quick and timely to share that information with the Graham family.

CASAREZ: Graham vanished in the early hours of September 18th from Charlottesville downtown mall. Last seen in surveillance videos with 32-year-old Jesse Matthew. Matthew is the only person detained in connection with Graham's disappearance. He is behind bars charged with abduction with intent to defile.

The remote location where the remains were found is within miles of the farm where the body of another missing co-ed was found in 2010. Twenty-year-old Virginia tech student Morgan Harrington. Law enforcement has connected Matthew to Harrington through DNA evidence, calling it a significant break in her case. Police have since seized a cab he was driving the night she vanished.

No word on how long it will take to identify the remains found over the weekend. But if they are those of Hannah Graham, Jesse Matthew could be facing a murder charge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And Sergeant Dale Terry of the Chesterfield Sheriffs Department who found the remains said there were also some tight black pants close by. Now, law enforcement tell me this is a very difficult case to process a and the crime scene processing will take place at least through Thursday. No word, Chris and Alisyn, on when that autopsy will be.

CAMEROTA: Hopefully, the process can happen quickly.

Jean Casarez, thanks so much for the update.

CUOMO: All right. Another case that you will be watching, the shooting date of Michael Brown. The Ferguson cop who pull the trigger has a story that may match up with few forensic evidence. If it does, it could weigh heavily in the grand jury's vote in the officer's favor. We're going to explain and debate.

Check out this local forecast, going to the dogs literally. Look at him. He doesn't know what to do. Is there going to be a -- wait for it -- rough patch of storms ahead?

CAMEROTA: Wow.

CUOMO: Is the roof going to cave in?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Just about half past the hour.

Here's a look at your headlines this morning:

World Health Organization declaring the Nigeria is Ebola free, after six weeks with no new cases. This announcement coming as the Pentagon is assembling a team of 30 medical experts to fly immediately to any location in the nation where new Ebola case surfaces.

Meanwhile, the CDC is scrambling to penalize new protocol for health care workers, treating infected patients.

And a King Charles spaniel belonging to infected Dallas nurse Nina Pham is now being tested for Ebola. Bentley has been quarantined for the past nine days.

New this morning, North and South Korea guards exchanging gunfire briefly across their strain border. The South claims its border guards were forced to take action of 10 North Korean soldiers approached the military demarcation line, north of Seoul, several times on Sunday. No deaths have been reported. This move comes even after the south repeated high level talks with the forth. An American couple hoping for an end to their two-year legal battle

nightmare were in Qatar and hoping to come back to the United States this week.