Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY

New Ebola Czar Draws Controversy; Interview with Rep. Pete Sessions; Unidentified Man Rescues California Man from a Fire; Interview with Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby

Aired October 20, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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


CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Elizabeth, what do we know? Hopefully it's not really a crisis now.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hopefully we're coming out of a crisis, let's put it that way.

Let's start with the condition of those two nurses who took care of Thomas Eric Duncan. Nina Pham is at the NIH. We are told that she is doing well and in fair condition. Amber Vinson's family has not released a condition on her, but we are told that she is able to speak with them.

Now, a family attorney issued a statement in response to some concerns that amber Vinson may have traveled even though she probably wasn't feeling well. The attorney says that's not true and made this statement. He said first of all that she checked her temperature three times and reported them to the CDC and given the clear to travel.

Then he went on to say one day after returning to Dallas on the morning of Tuesday, October 14, Amber first reported a temperature of 100.3 degrees. Suggestions that she ignored any of the physician and government provided protocols recommended to her are patently untrue and hurtful. Now all those other health care workers, 70-something of them who also took care of Mr. Duncan, they are to monitor their health, and they have restrictive movements can't get on airplanes, other restrictions until October 29th. Now, as for Duncan's family, they ended their quarantine yesterday. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Elizabeth. And now we have these new questions, is 21 days enough? They are supposed to be doing blood testing. How are they going to do it? So there are going to be more questions here. Let's take it as good news for now. Thank you for the reporting.

And another big aspect to this, the president's new Ebola czar Mr. Ron Klain, he's already coming under fire from Republicans and some in the medical community, frankly, and it's just day one on the job. It's seems a lot of people are criticizing this pick as the more political than practical. Let's bring in Michelle Kosinski live from the White House. And the big ticket item here is, Michelle, he doesn't have a medical background.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Chris. Ron Klain has been in politics for a long time. Former chief of staff to vice president's Gore and Biden, very high profile positions there. It's been interesting because for a long time now we heard Republicans call and call for there to be an Ebola czar, although he doesn't want to be called an Ebola czar, an Ebola response coordinator. But now the criticism is that he's not coming from the field of medicine but the field of politics.

As for the administration, we heard them repeatedly say they didn't want or need to appoint such a coordinator because that would just add another layer of bureaucracy. The CDC and others, though, have been saying, OK, a coordinator is what's needed, not necessarily another doctor, because there are plenty of those on the team.

In fact Klain was seen at the White House over the weekend on Saturday, the same day there was this big meeting with President Obama, his public health team, his national security team. But Klain didn't attend. He wasn't officially on the job yet. We expect him to be today. Yesterday we heard the president seemed to hit out at his Republican criticism concerning lately, although he didn't mention Ebola specifically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only plan they've got right now is try to make you so afraid, so discouraged to tell you, to remind you everything that's not working right. That's their plan is to just make people feel like government can't work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: Also remarkable today, we are seeing the Pentagon start to develop this 30-person rapid response team to deal with any future cases of Ebola in America. Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Michelle Kosinski, thanks so much for that.

Let's bring in Republican Congressman Pete Sessions. He's chairman of the House rules committee. He represents the district in Texas that includes Texas Presbyterian, that's the hospital where Thomas Eric Duncan died and where two nurses contracted the virus. Congressman, great to see you this morning.

REP. PETE SESSIONS, (R) TEXAS: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: All right, when we last spoke, you thought the administration was not doing enough to combat Ebola. Since that time a few things happened. This weekend, the president named an Ebola czar or coordinator, Ron Klain. Are you encouraged by that?

SESSIONS: I am. And I really am encouraged. We needed the president of the United States involved in this. I find it very interesting the first meeting that was held, Mr. Klain did not even attend that, probably wasn't even invited, and that's disappointing.

But the bottom line to this whole thing is that the government needs to take quick action. They need to deal with other countries well. We only learned last week that in fact when this crisis was going on, the United States would not even provide Liberia with the name of the person who had Ebola so that they can do their own work. And that's the kind of really missteps and inaction we saw taking place, which is why I was asking for us to get direct action out of the White House. It looks like that's happening.

CAMEROTA: And one of the other things that you had stated last week you were interested in was seeing the director of the CDC Thomas Frieden step down. How do you feel about that this week?

SESSIONS: Well, I felt like when I saw the actin that was taking place in Dallas, Texas, and the calls that were taking place, the director said that Ebola would be stopped in Dallas, Texas. And then we had people traveling throughout the country. We saw where they were unprepared with the kind of materials that people would wear, the covering, the protective gear. That was not in place. I saw things happening over and over where I did not see the CDC in charge, and that is why I paid the statement that I did. The White House is obviously seeing the exact same thing, and I'm happy that we now have a director out of the White House.

CAMEROTA: So are you willing to give Thomas Frieden another chance this week, or has he blown it given everything you just enumerated?

SESSIONS: First of all, let me say, I think he should have come to Dallas, Texas, and taken control of the circumstance and the situation. Second of all, I think we were expecting him to make decisions that everyone at the White House didn't want him to make, and that was dealing with the 13,000 visas that were issued from these four African countries.

But he was providing the overall information to the president indicating we did not need to stop air travel or this migration. Well, there was a report out last week saying Africa has made progress exactly because they have put these travel bans in place. It was the right thing to do. It still might be the right thing until this has stopped. And now the White House will take personal responsibility for that instead of it being in the gap in between.

CAMEROTA: So it sounds like Thomas Frieden can stay in his job now that some of this --

SESSIONS: I tell you what it sound like -- he is best suited evidently there at the CDC, but not in a policy-advising position at all that I can see for the United States.

CAMEROTA: OK. So congressman, today, where are you on a travel ban?

SESSIONS: Well, I believe that what we should do is rescind the 13,000 visas, meaning that people could not travel at this time. You know, when you go into a travel ban, everybody takes that to the unlikeliest connection of closing our borders. Even my mother screamed and yelled at me about that. That's not what this is about. It's about controlling the spread of Ebola. And that takes place I believe by making sure that you have a ban in place from people. Keep them in the place where they are. Let's know what the incubation period is. Let's let the military response team work in Africa and in the United States. Then we are better prepared.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Fauci from the NIH talked about that this weekend and talked about how complicated it is to issue a travel ban even just from passengers coming from those West African countries. Let me play for you what he said this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The fact is it would be very, very difficult if you lost control of easily tracking people. You have to look at the numbers to look at how many are trying to get into the country. You know, 36,000 people in two months went to airports get out of those three countries, 77 were blocked because of a health issue. When they investigated them, none of them had Ebola. A lot had malaria. So there's not a lot of people trying to get into the country. So that's the thing that needs to be understood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Congressman, he's throwing around a lot of numbers. Here are the numbers that we know -- 150 people a day from West Africa do try to get into the United States. We crunched those numbers, and over the course of two months, that's 9,000 people. That's not insignificant. What should the U.S. do about them?

SESSIONS: Well, the United States should make sure that what we're doing is isolating the people who can come, why they are coming, and who they are. And we need to know about whether they live in the city, whether they live in places where this Ebola is taking place. But we can certainly protect the United States, and that's what this effort is about. It's about isolating there where it is, exactly what the African nations said they have done to create a circumstance where it is not passed on. It has nothing to do other than with common sense. What we should do is restrict the amount of travel visas that we have to American citizens travel back and forth, and the visas only to essential personnel that need go back and forth. That's what we should do.

CAMEROTA: Common sense, that's always a good rule to go with. Congressman Pete Sessions, thanks so much for joining us.

SESSIONS: You bet.

CAMEROTA: Let's go over to Michaela for some other news.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, you want common sense over here, too?

CAMEROTA: Please.

PEREIRA: All right, Alisyn, thanks a lot. Nine minutes past the hour. Let's look at your headlines. A shift in the White House approach to the Syrian city of Kobani. The U.S. air dropped weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies to Kurdish fighters trying to keep the city from falling to ISIS. The administration had been downplaying the significance of the battle for Kobani. Collision airstrikes continued through the weekend as well helping to slow the advance of ISIS fighters.

Back here at home this morning, Michelle Knight says she has forgiven her captor Ariel Castro. The 53 year old hanged himself in prison. He had held Knight hostage for 11 years. Castro raped knight repeatedly, leading to five miscarriages. During a public appearance Sunday in Ohio, she says it's not his fault, claiming that he suffered from a disease. Knight was freed last year and said she needed therapy to move on and find peace.

Boy, things got ugly at an annual pumpkin festival at Key, New Hampshire, this weekend. Police had to resort to tear gas and pepper spray to get a rowdy crowd under control. Dozens of people were arrested at a chaotic scene that saw fires lit, at least one car flipped, and a street littered with broken bottles. Volunteers did show up Sunday to clean up the mess that was left behind. Again, a pumpkin festival. We just had to remind you of that.

Now to a remarkable story of heroism and mystery. A stranger caught on video calmly walking into a Fresno, California, home engulfed in flames, rescuing an elderly man trapped inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a man in there.

PEREIRA: A daring and dramatic rescue caught on camera. Watch as fire engulfs this house in Fresno, California.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, they're still blowing up inside.

PEREIRA: Neighbors gathered as 73-year-old Robert Wells is trapped in the house. The daughter making it out with her grandson now screaming in desperation for her hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dad! We got to get him out of there.

PEREIRA: The eyewitness who shot this cellphone video describes the intensifying scene.

BETH LEDERACH, EYEWITNESS: They were trying to put the hire e fire out with the hose already. And I saw water shooting there, and then a neighbor coming back. And we went if close, and it started to be like a little mini-explosion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got to get her dad out of there.

PEREIRA: Then watch as the unidentified man calmly walks into the house and enters the flames.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, there is a man inside. PEREIRA: Moments later, he emerges carrying wells over his shoulder.

Officials say the unidentified man should recover after suffering from smoke inhalation. This morning, he is being hailed a hero.

LEDERACH: All the heroes stepped up. Not me, but the other people tarp there, you know, doing the right thing. That was beautiful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: That man right there, the elderly man, his name is Robert Wells, was rescued by the unidentified hero in the Dodger's hat. He says he is thankful to be alive this morning. He told CNN affiliate KFSN he couldn't move fast enough. He apparently was attached to an oxygen tank. Two guys in the gray shirts were trying to help get him out. They weren't moving fast enough, and this guy in the Dodger's hat just comes in, picks him up, throws him over his shoulder, gets him out of the house.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh, what an angel. Good Samaritan, that's a great message for everyone.

CUOMO: If that guy gets interviewed, nine times out of 10 he will say I just did what anybody else would do in that situation. But the fact is the facts. People don't do what that man just did.

PEREIRA: Everybody is running and he goes in.

CUOMO: He doesn't want to hear it, but you are a hero. Thank you. He did something extraordinary. And I know that family will thank you.

CAMEROTA: And call us. We want to know who you are.

CUOMO: Come on our show.

CAMEROTA: Meanwhile the Pentagon assembling a specially trained 30 member support team to fight Ebola in America. We are getting details first hand of the military's new emergency strategy from the Pentagon.

CUOMO: Mid-term elections only two weeks to go -- contain your enthusiasm. However, some surprises are in play, in several crucial Senate races -- not easy to say, even harder to understand. John King has been a real road warrior for us lately. He is going to show you how the money reveals the races that matter. Big numbers ahead on INSIDE POLITICS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: More aggression. That's what we're seeing in the approach to fighting Ebola from the United States Defense Department, at least. The U.S. military is forming a 30-person quick strike team, that's what it's called, and they are equipped to provide direct treatment to Ebola patients inside the U.S. The team is made up of doctors, nurses, specialized trainers, and they're going to be under orders to deploy within 72 hours at any time over the next month. Will that be extended? How does this work? Are going to take over the hospitals? Let's get some perspective and answers from Pentagon press secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby. Admiral, always a pleasure. Thank you for joining us.

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Good morning. Good to be with you, Chris.

CUOMO: So what is the answer, Admiral? Is this team going to replace or are they going to aid? How will it work?

KIRBY: This team is really to be an assistance, to help civilian medical authorities where and when they're needed. So they're going to start training here hopefully within the next week or so. That training will about a week or so. And then when they complete that training, they'll be on what we call prepare-to-deploy orders for about 30 days, for about a month, and they'll be responsible for being ready to go at 72 hours' notice or less.

CUOMO: One person in charge, Ron Klain. Is this something that is outside your pay grade or can you tell me if you think this is a good idea? Does it help the situation?

KIRBY: Well, look, we don't make policy here; we execute it. I mean, we're going to do whatever we can in the Pentagon to support Mr. Klain in his efforts, as we are right now in supporting the inter-agency effort against Ebola. In fact, this -- the request for this team was a part of a discussion that Secretary Hagel had with Secretary Burwell at Health and Human Services. And they decided they needed this capability so we're going to provide it.

CUOMO: My understanding is the quick strike force had been on the table and suggested by you all at the Defense Department very early on in this process here of cases coming in to the United States. Is that true?

KIRBY: Well, I haven't heard that it was a part of the discussions very early on. But what I can tell you is from that from the very beginning, Secretary Hagel has been very clear that the United States military has unique capabilities, things that we can offer and provide, and he's made it very clear to all the leaders in the government that we're standing by and ready to provide that -- those capabilities whenever we can.

CUOMO: How is it going in Liberia? Has anyone contracted the virus that we don't know about? What do you think the progress is?

KIRBY: No, none of our troops have contracted the Ebola virus. None of them have shown any symptoms.

It's going OK. And OK I mean that we're on track to get those first emergency treatment units up. The first one will be done by the end of this month. The second one probably the first week of November. We're building the training site.

It's going OK. But the weather and the infrastructure still a problem. I mean, it still rains much of the day and it just slows us down a little bit. But our troops are working really, really hard and they're very proud of the contributions that they're making.

CUOMO: And I know that Ebola doesn't move in water necessarily, or at least they don't understand it that way. But a wet environment is obviously something of concern with something that is a wet virus.

Let me ask you something. There is a headline: "Nigeria now Ebola free." They haven't had a case in a certain amount of time and that is what qualifies it. People take that news and say, well, if Nigeria can do it, certainly the U.S. forces can get that done very quickly anywhere else. How hard a challenge is that?

KIRBY: Well, it's still going to be quite a lift. This disease is very, very deadly and it's spreading down there, there's no question about that.

I want to make sure that I make it clear that the U.S. military is not coming to the rescue here all by itself. We're providing some unique capabilities but we're a supporting element to USAID and the CDC as well as the government of Liberia. There's an awful lot of people down there, health care workers from non-governmental organizations, as well as governmental organizations, that are doing a really, really, really good job trying to get their hands around this. And we're just there to support them.

CUOMO: Head likes from the other virus that we're attacking called ISIS, that the U.S. coalition is going after. We keep hearing they can't take Baghdad. The coalition says they can't take Baghdad. But they keep moving closer. We have the suicide bombing yesterday in a predominantly Shia area, killed 21 people. They seem -- they haven't taken credit but it seems they're behind it. Is the analysis changing on the vulnerability of Baghdad?

KIRBY: Not really, no, Chris. We still don't think that the capital city is under imminent threat. It's not like there are formations of ISIL fighters outside the capital just waiting to storm in. They do foment violence; there's no question about that. We have seen IED attacks there in the city before.

But our assessment is that the Iraqi security forces are stiffening their resolve, stiffening their defenses, and that they're capable right now of defending the capital city. And, believe me, they know how important Baghdad is to their people, to their country, to their security.

CUOMO: Admiral, two questions in one here to end. Kobani -- at first it was there are many Kobanis all along the border, but now there is a lot of effort and attention being given to this one place by the U.S. coalition and the airstrikes. Why?

The second question is the air supply of weapons to the area, to the people who are fighting there, the Kurds, there is a suggestion that that would make Turkey upset and that's moving around the news now, that Turkey doesn't like what just happened. Is that rue? What's the coordination? What's the state of the play?

KIRBY: Well, let me take the second one first. CUOMO: Please.

KIRBY: As you know, the president talked to President Erdogan yesterday about this. He made it very clear what we're doing and why. So as I understand it, that was a productive discussion. We felt that we needed to this and we did. And as I said -- or have said earlier, there's -- the bulk, the great majority of the bundles we dropped we know got into the right hands.

On your other question about Kobani, what I would tell you is that Kobani matters to us because it matters to them, because they keep flowing resources and efforts to try to take that town. It matters to them. And when they do that, when they flow more resources, they create more targets. They present themselves in ways, they make themselves vulnerable to our airstrikes from the air but also from the efforts on the ground from these Kurdish forces, Kurdish force who have been very impressive and fighting very, very hard. And they were running dangerously low on supplies, and we really felt, in keeping with an arrangement with the Iraqi government, that this was the right thing to do.

CUOMO: All right, Admiral John Kirby, thank you for the updates. Appreciate it as always.

KIRBY: My pleasure.

CUOMO: Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: All right, Chris. Are hospitals more prepared this week to deal with Ebola than they were before Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed in Dallas? Dr. Sanjay Gupta and the head of the American Hospital Association tell us the answer.

And has Senator Ted Cruz already declared victory for Republicans in the midterms and set his sights on leading Congress into 2015? John King takes a look at what the junior senator from Texas may have in mind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: All right. Here's a look at your headlines right now.

The World Health Organization declaring Nigeria is Ebola free after six weeks with no new cases. This as the CDC is scrambling to finalize new protocols for health care workers here in the United States treating Ebola infected patients. Those protocols will include protective gear with no skin exposed. In the meantime, 48 people who were quarantined in Dallas because they had contact with patient -- Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, they have now been declared infection free, among them Duncan's fiancee.

A disturbing story breaking this morning out of northern Indiana. The Lake County coroner's office says bodies of seven women have been found over the weekend. It started Friday -- Friday night, in fact, when a woman was found dead in a motel. Police say the investigation led them to their suspect. He's reportedly now confessed to other crimes, not only in Indiana but Illinois as well. We'll have more details as they become available.

The Pope is moving another trailblazing pontiff towards sainthood. Pope Francis beatified Pope Paul VI, who led the church through major reform during the 1960s. The reforms known as Vatican II opened the way for a mass to be said in other languages, instead of just Latin. Paul VI is also credited with revolutionizing the Church's relationship with other religions during his 15-year tenure.

I'm going to tell the story straight. Viagra may be good for your heart, in addition, it may be good for, you know, the other things that it's good for. Other researchers in Rome say the little blue pill may help prevent early stage heart failure and keep the heart muscle from thickening. They also say there is no reason that it shouldn't be used immediately since it's already on the market and known to be safe. But they mentioned larger clinical trials could help build on the encouraging findings.

CAMEROTA: I have a lot of quips. But I'm not going to say any of them.

PEREIRA: Yes, let's go straight to John King and --

CUOMO: You know why? And here's why -- that was very well practiced, my friend, because the quips aren't as interesting as --

PEREIRA: The news that it could --

CUOMO: Because it's European. They're saying you should start doing this right away. Not here. I'm telling you right now they won't allow it.

PEREIRA: Even though it had been -- even if it had been used?

CUOMO: It's an off label use and there's this whole bureaucracy around it here. You'll see.

PEREIRA: Botox was originally used for something completely different. And then they realized it could --

CUOMO: I know, but it takes some time.

PEREIRA: They kind of rushed that to market.

CUOMO: It takes some time. You'll see. You'll see. But see how matter of fact it was to the Europeans? They're like, oh, it's already approved so we should start using it because we think it can do this.

CAMEROTA: Way to stick to the medical angle. I like that.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: It's more interesting, more interesting. The other stuff is just painfully obvious.

Unlike politics, so let's get INSIDE POLITICS on NEW DAY with Mr. John King.