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NEW DAY SUNDAY

Ten Americans Returning For Ebola Observation; U.S.-Iran Prepare For New Set Of Nuke Talks; "The New York Times": CIA Cash Ended Up In Al Qaeda Hands; ISIS Suicide Bombers Carry Out Deadly Attack; Protesters Call For Ferguson Mayor To Resign

Aired March 15, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Americans possibly exposed to the Ebola virus are returning to the States from Sierra Leone, some going directly into quarantine.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And the White House sending a strongly worded letter to one GOP senator, "Keep your nose out of nuclear negotiations with Iran."

BLACKWELL: Tragedy and devastation in Vanuatu, buildings flattened, trees snapped like toothpicks as workers begin to assess the damage from one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall, Tropical Cyclone Pam. Relief efforts right now are under way.

PAUL: And good morning to you. We're so grateful for your company as always. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Beginning this morning with the latest on several Americans possibly exposed to Ebola and their return now to the U.S.

PAUL: Those Americans we understand expected to return to the U.S. between now and tomorrow. And they will immediately be transferred, at least some of them, to either Emory Hospital in Atlanta, the National Institute of Health in Maryland, or the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha for observation.

BLACKWELL: Ten patients in total are being flown back home. None of the individuals returning has been diagnosed with Ebola, but health officials are concerned they may have been exposed to Ebola virus while some Sierra Leone after an American health care worker contracted the deadly virus.

That patient is now back in the U.S. and being treated at the NIH facility in Maryland, right now, listed in serious condition. Let's bring in CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. She joins us by phone now. Elizabeth, what more do we know about these ten Americans?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Christi and Victor, it's important for us to remember that these Americans do not have Ebola. They were exposed to Ebola and so there is concern that they could develop the illness.

Now we don't know what level of exposure and that is really important. For example, if, you know, someone, say, had been near some of the people and that person had vomited on them that would be considered a very high level of exposure.

If, say, for example, they were just working alongside this person and may have had some exposure that would be a much lower level of exposure, and we don't know what is going on here.

What we do know is four of these folks arrived at Nebraska last night and they have the highest level of exposure and that's according to the University of Nebraska and they are being quarantined in housing on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus.

The other six are scheduled to arrive today and tomorrow at Emory University in Atlanta and at the National Institute of Health outside of Washington, D.C. Now some of those people we're told will be quarantined.

They won't be leaving their hotel or whatever housing they are in, but some of them will be allowed to come and go so different rules for people, probably based on those different levels of exposure.

BLACKWELL: Elizabeth, do we know if any of the persons are showing any symptoms of Ebola thus far?

COHEN: They are not. If they were showing symptoms, Victor, they would be hospitalized. What they are doing right now is closely monitoring these people. So the hospital or perhaps the county health department that they are in, they are monitoring these people.

They are taking their temperatures. They are asking them, you know, likely several times a day how are you feeling? Do you feel ill? When they do start showing symptoms, if they do start showing symptoms, then they will be hospitalized.

Right now, they don't have symptoms and it's important to remember if you're not showing symptoms of Ebola, you cannot spread Ebola so, at this point, they are not a risk to the public. If they do start showing symptoms, then they would become a risk.

BLACKWELL: All right, CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, on the phone with us. Elizabeth, we will check back throughout the morning. Thank you so much.

The White House is sending a warning to top Republican senator this morning saying his bill, which would allow Congress to vote on an Iran nuclear deal could derail negotiations.

PAUL: In a letter to Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough writes in part, quote, "The legislation you've introduced goes well beyond ensuring that Congress has a role to play in any deal with Iran, instead the legislation would potentially prevent any deal from succeeding." Last Thursday, Corker wrote President Obama saying there is, in

his words, significant and growing bipartisan support for Congress to consider and vote on any plans.

So with a new set of Iran talks, set for this week, in fact, what impact could this rift between Republicans and the Obama administration have because the White House is giving a glimpse in that letter to Senator Corker.

Here is something else that was in it. They wrote, "If congressional action is perceived as preventing us from reaching a deal, it will create divisions within the international community putting at risk the very international cooperation that's been essential to our ability to pressure Iran.

Put simply it would potentially make it impossible to secure international cooperation for additional sanctions while putting at risk the existing multi-lateral sanctions.

Let's talk about this with Kimberly Dozier. She is CNN's global affairs analyst and contributing writer for "The Daily Beast." Kimberly, always good to see you.

Is there truth in what they are saying there that congressional action would impede in some part U.S. relationships internationally?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, what McDonough is saying is that adding extra pressure to the negotiations right which are in their final two weeks in Geneva. Iran therefore is pushing harder for things like a faster lifting of both U.N. and U.S. sanctions.

And it's fighting back on things like the request for a strict inspection regime. Now the Iranian negotiators are under pressure too from their own hardliners.

So every time something like this comes out of Republicans in the U.S. Congress, the hardliners say to their negotiators why should we go ahead with this deal at all because these U.S. lawmakers are going to force the U.S. to repeal it anyway? -- Christi.

PAUL: So why do you think congressmen are so determined to get into this at this stage right now?

DOZIER: Well, even though the White House has said it will bring this -- any comprehensive deal to Congress for them to vote on, Republicans in Congress want to make sure it doesn't get that far. They would like to derail a deal that is part of their maneuvers all along. So every time they can add friction to the talks, that's what they have in mind.

PAUL: Do we have any gauge how close an acceptable deal to both sides is right now anyway?

DOZIER: Well, there are some sticking points that are being labored over right now specifically Iran wants a very swift lifting of U.N. sanctions. That would mean that the U.S. has to go to the U.N. Security Council, which is part of the negotiations, but the full Security Council would have to vote on lifting those sanctions quickly.

The complication with that that Congress foresees is if the U.S. is part of a U.N. vote that lifts those sanctions that could bind a future American president to this deal. Right now, what President Obama is doing is using his executive action to negotiate a deal with Iran so that could mean that technical future presidents could walk away from it.

But if the U.S. is part of a U.N. Security Council vote lifting the sanctions, that gives the force of international law to this and Iran could use that in the future to say, U.S. signed this deal, you can't walk away.

PAUL: All righty, Kimberly Dozier, great explanation, thank you so much.

DOZIER: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: There is a new Afghan government in place and security concerns, they are growing. What Afghanistan is asking the U.S. not to do before the end of the year.

PAUL: Look at the latest pictures we are getting in from Vanuatu. Cyclone Pam left a mark there. What we are learning about the cleanup and aid that's headed to the island chain today.

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PAUL: It's 11 minutes past the hour right now. A senior White House official is telling CNN President Obama is considering backing away from his plan to draw troops down in Afghanistan by year's end.

BLACKWELL: Yes, this proposal calls for reduction to about 5,500 troops, nearly half the current number now, but the new Afghan president has asked President Obama for, quote, "flexibility" in that time line citing a developing security strategy. That administration official says no final decisions have been made.

PAUL: Also in Afghanistan, "The New York Times" reporting millions of dollars paid by the CIA to former Afghan President Hamid Karzai wound up in the hands of al Qaeda. The money which the "Times" says was to buy loyalty of officials in the Karzai regimen was used instead to free this man, Abdul Farahi.

An Afghan diplomat kidnapped by al Qaeda. Now Afghan officials who had difficulty raising cash for a $5 million ransom apparently dipped into that CIA fund. CNN intelligence analyst and former CIA operative, Bob Baer, explains how this could happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: It does not surprise me. This is the problem with covert action. It's neither covert nor action. The money gets misspent one way or another. It's not like the CIA will be surprised by this. It's just the unfortunate way things work in that part of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And Afghan officials tell the "Times," while those cash payments have slowed since the new president was elected, they are continuing. Now the CIA declined to comment on that report.

BLACKWELL: To Iraq now where ISIS suicide bombers have carried out a deadly attack in the city of Ramadi. At least two members of the Iraqi special operations forces are dead and five others are wounded. As CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports, this is the latest in a series of recent attacks on the city.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to senior officials in Anbar Province, at least two suicide bombers attacked a building used by the Iraqi Security Forces in the city of Ramadi. According to the deputy head of the Provincial Council in Anbar, he says that this building, he described it as strategic.

He says security forces use it for monitoring and also as an outpost used by snipers. He said the eight-story building was attacked by these two bombers driving bulldozers.

Now the first bomber he said on Saturday struck the concrete barriers around the building, opening up the way, allowing the second suicide bombers to strike the building and flattened the whole building.

Now this is the latest in a series of attacks that we have seen taking place in Ramadi over the past few days. Starting with that offensive carried out by ISIS on Wednesday.

A complex and coordinated attack using multiple suicide car bombs and also more than 150 mortars striking the city, according to officials there. Now for months, ISIS has been trying to gain control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, this vast desert province predominantly Sunni that most of that province is under the control of ISIS.

Officials say as ISIS is coming under pressure by the Iraqi forces in Tikrit. It is striking back in Ramadi sending a message that the group remains strong and is capable of carrying out deadly attacks against the security forces and the Iraqi government. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Baghdad.

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BLACKWELL: Deadly cyclone brings devastation to the Vanuatu Island. You'll see the destruction and we will have a live report on the storm's status coming up.

PAUL: Plus three years after the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the families are seeking retribution and it involves the mother of the shooter.

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BLACKWELL: It's 19 minutes after the hour now. Let's take a look at other stories developing this morning. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party is trailing in the polls in the final days before his country's election and that, of course, means his re- election is in jeopardy. The three-term prime minister is now accusing unnamed foreign governments and tycoons of pouring money into his rival's campaign.

PAUL: In the meantime, Netanyahu rivals are using the rallying cry anyone but Bibi. The Zionist Union Party is emerging as a favorite to win Tuesday's election.

BLACKWELL: Families of the children murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre filed lawsuits against the estate of the shooter's dead mother. The suit alleged the Nancy Lanza was careless and negligent living a Bush Master AR-15 assault rifle so unsecured in her home.

Her son, Adam Lanza, used that gun to kill her and 26 others at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. That was December of 2012. He later killed himself.

PAUL: At least 41 people are dead after a bus drove off a cliff in Brazil. That death toll just went up in the last few minutes. It happened late last night in a rural area in the southern part of the country when the driver lost control as they went around a curve in the road. Police say another 12 people are injured and some of them are children. Passengers were headed to do a religious event.

BLACKWELL: Recovery efforts have begun now after Tropical Cyclone Pam ravaged the island of Vanuatu over the weekend. Experts say it's one of the most powerful storms ever to make landfall. Aid workers described some areas as if a bomb went off there.

Now at least six people have been killed, but that number is expected to climb, it's unclear how many thousands are displaced by the massive storm that bore the might of a Category 5 hurricane. The storm pounded the islands for almost an entire day.

All right, let's go now to meteorologist, Ivan Cabrera.

PAUL: He has been following the story from the beginning. I know it's past that area, but I mean, it's not as though this thing just fizzled out.

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's weakening significantly here so for Vanuatu, the story is over as far as the actual winds and the heavy rain and all that. What they are going to have to contend with for a long time is the recovery, which is going to be just monumental here because of the damage.

Some of the pictures that have been coming out of the region are heartbreaking here. Here is the storm right now. This is the north island of New Zealand. That is our next concern here as the storm continues to head off to the south and east.

The weather service in New Zealand is forecasting winds upwards of 75 miles an hour. We may get close to that. I'm not sold on that as of yet because as I see the satellite presentation, the storm is weakening. The reason for that is it's moving into cooler ocean waters, right.

And the winds aloft here in the upper levels of the atmosphere, kind of shearing it apart so as we take a look at the track forecast here, there you see is kind of moving east of New Zealand. Not to say they are not going to get anything.

I think there will be some heavy rain and gusty winds, but it will not certainly mirror anything we had in Vanuatu. You see the bands in this forecast track. This is generous as far as how much rainfall we are talking about, anywhere from 6 inches to 8 inches and again the gusts possible to 75 miles an hour.

But further to the north we are talking about Vanuatu, conditions much improved over the next several days and just remains to be seen how badly they fared and certainly in some of the islands here. Here is Vanuatu here, some of these islands here it is going to take while not only to recover but to get to that area.

Now, the concern is water, running water, conditions that are going to start becoming very dangerous for people with that standing water as well and disease and all that comes with it here. A few showers left over. The winds at 115 miles an hour as far as the storm, but at this point, I think we are in the clear as far as the islands.

PAUL: All righty, thank you so much!

BLACKWELL: New Ebola concerns this morning. Ahead, ten Americans returning home will be monitored for this deadly disease. We will take a look at the plan once they land.

PAUL: New arrests overnight near Ferguson, Missouri. We have that report after the break. Stay close.

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PAUL: Not a lot of change in your mortgage rates this week, but the 15 and 30-year averages did fall slightly. Here's a look.

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BLACKWELL: Coming up to the bottom of the hour now. Good to have you this morning.

New this morning, American aid workers, who may have come in contact with the deadly Ebola virus are returning to the U.S. They'll be transferred to either Emory University Hospital in Atlanta or the National Institutes of Health in Maryland for observation.

PAUL: Ten patients total are being flown home. None of these individuals, we want to point out, returning have been diagnosed as having Ebola, but this is coming just a day after an American health care worker, who is diagnosed with Ebola after volunteering in Africa arrived at a U.S. hospital.

BLACKWELL: And by far the Ebola crisis has not ended. More than 10,000 people have died in West Africa from the Ebola epidemic. Most of those deaths have been in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

PAUL: Well, two people were arrested at a protest in St. Louis, Missouri last night. One of them was Philip Montgomery. He is a freelance photographer from "Mashable." According to St. Louis Police, they were issued summonses and released.

In the meantime, the investigation is still going on in the shooting of two Ferguson police officers on Wednesday night. CNN's Stephanie Elam is there.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Christi, investigators continue to work around the clock looking for any clues into who is behind shooting two police officers outside of the Ferguson Police Department late Wednesday night.

At this point, they don't have anyone in custody, but they say it's far from a cold case as they continue to work their sources and talk to people who are out on the street and in the neighboring areas during the time of the shooting.

At the same time, in light of the Department of Justice report that has seen several people from Ferguson lose their jobs, there are more calls for the mayor to resign.

There are people out protesting in front of the Ferguson Police Department, but there are also people out there showing their support for the police and for the mayor. For his part, this is what the mayor has to say about the future of him and his position.

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MAYOR JAMES KNOWLES, FERGUSON, MISSOURI: There are ways to remove me if that's the will of the people. I have stood for office five times over the last decade and won every time. This past time a year ago, less than a year ago now, I was unopposed for office.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So you're not going anywhere is what you're telling us?

KNOWLES: Unless the residents decide to remove me, but right now that's not the indication that I get.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: The mayor is also getting support from black business owners in Ferguson saying that there are problems, but getting rid of Knowles is not the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVE MOORE, PRESIDENT, CELEBRITY SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT: And it's a major problem. But we just can't say he's all of the problem. I mean, I personally think with the chief resigning upon his own, for whatever reason, the city manager, the two other police officers, I think that is a major start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)