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CDC Rethinks Ebola Protocols After New Case; ISIS Fighters Tighten Grip Near Kobani; Obama Meets with World Defense Chiefs; Kim Jong Un Resurfaces in New Photos; McDonald's Ask Us About Our Food

Aired October 14, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, you guys. Thanks so much.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, we're tracking two big stories.

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: Stopping Ebola is hard.

CABRERA: A Dallas nurse and her dog in isolation this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that there is that fear factor.

CABRERA: Her friends and neighbors voicing concern.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am taking comfort in the fact that she is reported to be in stable condition.

CABRERA: We' talking through CDC procedures.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right there one possible exposure and over here in my neck. One possible exposure.

CABRERA: Are health care workers safe?

Plus the bombardment of ISIS rages on. But are the airstrikes working?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: We haven't stopped them yet. The airstrikes were supposed to stop them, they didn't.

CABRERA: The brutal militants closing in on two key cities fighting fire with fire.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Three ISIS car bombs may have gone off, too.

CABRERA: We're live on the ground in Iraq and Syria.

Let's talk live in the NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Good morning, I'm Ana Cabrera in for Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being here.

We begin this morning with the CDC rethinking now what needs to be done to stop the spread of Ebola after that Dallas nurse contracted the deadly virus. Now the Associated Press is reporting Nurse Nina Pham was one of about 70 staff members at the Dallas hospital who cared for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan.

Duncan who's from Liberia died last week. He was the first person diagnosed with Ebola here in the U.S. As for Pham, the 26-year-old nurse, who's listed in clinically stable condition, we know she has already received a blood transfusion from American Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly.

The CDC chief and other officials briefed President Obama yesterday on Pham's case. The Federal Health Agency is now flooding Dallas with more personnel and more resources.

Now one new approach that is being considered is whether nurses and other medical workers should be sprayed perhaps with a disinfectant of some kind after leaving a patient's room and before they remove that protective gear they're wearing. After all, officials say Pham was wearing all that gear, but still became infected.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is outside the hospital in Dallas.

Elizabeth, is it likely this new step will actually be implemented soon?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I did speak with an official about this and it does seem that it is being seriously considered and here's why. We've been hearing that Nurse Nina Pham was meticulous, a very careful nurse but no matter how careful and how meticulous you are -- I don't mean to be too graphic here -- Ebola patients put out copious amounts of fluid.

It is very hard to take off that gear that has then been contaminated. And these nurses and doctors, they are the heroes in all of this. So of course we want to protect them as much as we can.

You know, when you look sort of at the big picture this Ebola outbreak is not going anywhere. The World Health Organization just tweeted that today -- they said by Tuesday, I'm sorry, they said that by December 2014 5,000 to 10,000 Ebola cases per week are anticipated in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

You know, when you hear those huge numbers, you know that there may be more cases here in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): This morning, doctors in Dallas anxious to see if a blood transfusion may save the life of a critical care nurse Nina Pham, the first person to contract Ebola within the U.S. She cared for the now deceased Liberian Thomas Duncan.

Pham received the donation from Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly on Monday. The hope that his blood may provide key antibodies to fight the disease.

PHONG TRAN, FAMILY FRIEND: Everybody should ask God to help her to get over this and I know in the long run she will help a lot of people.

COHEN: The 26-year-old is one of around 70 hospital staffers who cared for Duncan, according to the Associated Press. The AP reports they reached that number after being given Duncan's medical records by his family. The CDC says they're working to compile a list of health care workers who came into contact with Duncan.

FRIEDEN: If this one individual was infected, and we don't know how, within the isolation unit, then it is possible that other individuals could have been infected as well.

COHEN: An official with direct knowledge of the investigation tells CNN that CDC detectives who interviewed the nurse several times believe there are, quote, "inconsistencies in the type of gear the nurse used and how she put it on and took it off."

But fellow nurses say Pham was always careful.

JENNIFER JOSEPH, FORMER COLLEAGUE OF NINA PHAM: Knowing Nina, she is one of the most meticulous and thorough effective nurses. Like she taught me hand control and hand hygiene and protocol. I learned so much of that from her.

COHEN: State and federal health officials are still unsure how Pham was infected but they say it may be time to reexamine Ebola safety protocols.

FRIEDEN: We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection control.

COHEN: Officials even considering moving patients to special containment hospitals. This as Ebola fear escalates amid international flights into the U.S.

Shortly after landing in Boston Monday, a hazmat team boarded an Emirates Airline flight from Dubai and removed five passengers presenting flu-like symptoms. After examination officials determined none of the five met the criteria for Ebola and none of them came from West Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Now Nina Pham got -- is getting that experimental blood transfusion very quickly. She was in the hospital for a short time before she got it. Unfortunately, Thomas Eric Duncan was not so lucky.

I was just speaking with his nephew and he told me that the hospital said they wouldn't give him a transfusion. They said it was experimental. It wasn't proven. He said he was the one who had to reach out and inquire with Brantly and with other donors. Unfortunately, Mr. Duncan wasn't a match with any of them -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks for the update.

With so much focus on the gear these medical workers wear to protect themselves against Ebola, our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will suit up and show us how it should be done and whether it remains the best line of defense in stopping transmission from patients to workers.

Now coming up in about 30 minutes, a really eye-opening demonstration for you.

Sadly this morning, a new Ebola death to tell you about, this time in Germany, A German hospital says the victim was a United Nations medical worker who was infected while working in Liberia. The 56- year-old man from Sudan was being treated in a secure isolation ward at the hospital.

He is now one of more than 4400 people who have died from Ebola this year, and the World Health Organization says the total number of Ebola cases could rise above 9,000 this week.

The freelance American cameraman stricken with Ebola in Liberia lass tweeted that he's on the road to good health, so finally a good sign coming out of the Ebola cases in the U.S. Ashoka Mukpo tweeted he's on the road to good health and he is receiving treatment at an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital. Like the Dallas nurse, he too, received a blood transfusion from Dr. Kent Brantly.

Mukpo also tweeted, quote, "Now that I've had firsthand experience with this scourge of a disease I'm even more pained at how little care sick West Africans are receiving." Mukpo had been working with NBC medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman and her team when he contracted Ebola. Snyderman is now apologizing for violating a quarantine that her team was placed under after Mukpo's infection.

Let's turn to ISIS this morning. Right now that terrorist group is still on the move, edging toward the capture of a key border town in Syria near Turkey. Despite intense fighting by Kurdish forces there militants appear to be making steady gains all around Kobani and this as coalition forces carry out new airstrikes to target the group's oil refineries.

In neighboring Iraq, ISIS fighters have now seized a vital military base in Anbar Province so the group controls at least 80 percent of territory in that province and new propaganda photos are triggering fears that ISIS may be closing in on the capital city of Baghdad. ISIS fighters are believed to be within 10 miles of the city's airport.

Let's bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon on the ground, joining us by phone from the Turkish-Syrian border.

Arwa, set the scene there right now for us.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've seen a number of airstrikes throughout the day, some of them to the south of Kobani, but a fair number of them at times seeming like two or three hits in the same location, very close to the border crossing between Kobani and Turkey now.

We spoke to a Kurdish fighter, fighting with the Kurdish force, the YPG, who was saying that ISIS has positions in a market place very close to that vital border crossing and that their aim right now is to take it over. If they are able to capture the border crossing, this fighter said that it would be over for them in Kobani. That ISIS would have won.

That would effectively mean that the predominantly Kurdish fighting force inside Kobani would be fully encircled, they would have absolutely no way of any sort of escape or logistical resupply. That is something that they have been struggling with. They only have light weapons up against the ISIS tanks.

We did, however, throughout the day see a number of airstrikes on what seem to be key ISIS targets.

Now we did also, though, despite those airstrikes see a flag to the southern part of the city. An ISIS flag that we had not seen on the building before but to the west it seems as if the YPG, the Kurds managing to make some gains. A few miles outside of Kobani, a hilltop that used to be under the control of ISIS now has the YPG flag is flying above it, but after according to another fighter CNN spoke to an airstrike took place there early in the morning -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Arwa Damon, thank you.

As the fight against ISIS intensifies, President Obama is now scheduled to meet with top military commanders from the U.S., as well as at least 20 other countries today to discuss strategy. The big question, whether this current air campaign will be enough to hold off ISIS from gaining even more ground.

Let's talk it over with CNN political analyst Josh Rogin. He is the senior national security correspondent for "The Daily Beast."

Now, Josh, what do you think is going to happen at today's meeting?

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's clear that the coalition countries represented at today's meeting, 21 of them, will have to come to some sort of agreement about what more to do to make the mission against ISIS more effective and more successful.

It's been two months since the U.S. and its partners began bombing in Iraq and one month since the coalition has started bombing in Syria. Yet ISIS is on the march. It's clear the airstrikes are not enough.

So this will be a call to all of those countries to put on the table what more they can do. Now there's also a limit because the U.S. has said it's not going to put ground forces in Iraq, it's not working with ground forces in Syria, so airstrikes will never be enough really to defeat this group but they've got to come up with more creative, more aggressive measures to stop ISIS before they take over more Syrian towns and get even closer to Baghdad.

CABRERA: I want to read something that you wrote in "The Daily Beast" today, really interesting. It says, "Top administration officials have repeatedly acknowledged that airstrikes will not be enough to accomplish President Obama's stated goal to degrade and destroy ISIS," as you just mentioned. "But a month after the U.S. and its partners began bombing inside of Syria, there is still no military coordination with the rebels fighting ISIS on the ground and no plans to do so."

You point out that no representatives from inside Syria will be at this meeting today, why?

ROGIN: Yes, it's really amazing, the U.S. and the administration keep saying that the key to winning on the ground especially in Syria is to have indigenous forces take the fight to ISIS. There are forces doing that now, they're called the Free Syrian Army, but the U.S. government simply does not trust the forces to be partners in this mission. They don't think they're reliable. They don't think they're credible and they don't think that they can coordinate with them effectively.

This comes to the great anger and disappointment of those forces who are literally begging the U.S. for more support, more weapons and to be included in meetings just like these. What this means is that the U.S. is going to build a new rebel force inside Saudi Arabia, in other places from scratch, it's going to take years.

And so the U.S. is basically saying by not inviting the Free Syrian Army to this meeting, that you're not a partner in this coalition and the ground game in Syria will have to wait possibly years, and meanwhile ISIS will continue to hold grand swathes of territory and lots of resources all over that country.

CABRERA: I know you're in contact with some of those Syrian rebel forces and the leaders of those groups. What are they saying?

ROGIN: They are angry. They're disappointed. They are literally getting -- having their forces killed by the scores every day by ISIS. They also want to fight the Assad regime. They don't believe that ISIS can be solved without attacking the Assad regime as well because they believe that Assad is the magnet for terrorism.

Interestingly, that's what the Turks believe also. So they basically don't think that the U.S. campaign against ISIS in Syria is a serious one. They don't think it has a chance of working unless they're included. They really want to be included but they're coming around to the cold realization that the U.S. doesn't want them to be included. And that's disheartening for them as they continue to lose this fight in Syria.

CABRERA: It's been disheartening for the world to watch these airstrikes not being effective and ISIS continues to advance as well.

ROGIN: Yes. CABRERA: Josh Rogin, thanks so much for your time.

ROGIN: Any time.

CABRERA: Still to come, Kim Jong-Un seen now with a cane. New pictures deepening the mystery surrounding this North Korean leader.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Checking top stories now.

It's day two of the sentencing hearing for sprinter Oscar Pistorius. The defense has argued prison is not the place for the amputee, while prosecutors are trying to discredit his charity work. Pistorius was found guilty last month of culpable homicide in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Activist and author Cornel West was one of the 49 people arrested during Moral Monday event in Ferguson, Missouri. Demonstrators were demanding the arrest of the police officer who killed unarmed teenager Michael brown. Police say most of these arrested were trying to push through a police line.

An American Airlines flight forced to make an emergency landing after some cabin panels buckled. An American spokesman says there apparently was a problem with the air ducts which caused the plane to loosen. Now, the plane made a U-turn and fortunately landed safely in San Francisco.

Kim Jong-un is back and with something he has not been seen with before, a cane. North Korean state media released these new photos of Kim, but we're still not just sure how new these pictures really are.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul, South Korea.

Paula, fill us in.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, we don't have a date on these photos which is significant. North Korean state media would like to us believe that they are recent and they want to show Kim Jong-un is back and he is in control.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): He's back with a smile and a walking stick. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is on the front page of the country's newspaper Tuesday, doing what he does best -- giving field guidance.

No date given for the visit or the photos but this should quell some rumors about where he's been for the past five weeks.

JOHN DELURY, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: North Korea is very good at spin. So, now, I expect we'll watch them spin the new phase of the leader where he's already injured by overwork for the people and the nation. He's maturing a bit. HANCOCKS: Kim Jong-un had a profound limp before disappearing. State

media admitted he was feeling discomfort. But it may be more than that, according to Dr. Kim So-yeon, personal doctor to his grandfather Kim Il-sung and familiar with the medical history of his father Kim Jong-Il, she says both suffered diabetes, heart problems and stress.

"There are a lot of psychological problems he inherited", she tells me, "and that a history of obesity."

But what's more serious is that Kim Jong-un was artificially made to look that way, to look more like Kim Il-sung.

Dr. Kim suspects hormone shots to make him look his grandfather, the founder of North Korea, a man many North Koreans have a fond memory of. She believes Kim Jong-un's face is swollen due to pain killers and his reappearance may be temporary, forced by the intense worldwide scrutiny on his disappearance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: Now, there were more news bulletins than on an average day. All through the day we've seen photos showing Kim Jong-un back at work. This probably wasn't just for an international audience but also a domestic audience -- to show the North Korean leader even if he's not in complete health is seemingly in complete control -- Ana.

CABRERA: Still very much a mystery. Paula Hancocks thank you.

Still to come, McDonald's heading to social media to answer your questions about its food.

Alison Kosik is here live with more

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Mystery meet Delmore (ph). Mickey D's is coming clean with what's in their food? That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: This is a be careful what you wish for kind of story. If you've ever wondered what really goes into your Big Mac, your quarter pounder with cheese or better yet, the McRib, McDonald's is turning to social media to answer your questions about how their products are made and what is in them. They are enlisting the help of former "Mythbusters" host Grant Imahara.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT IMAHARA, MYTHBUSTERS HOST: I get a lot of questions. I know a lot of people out there have questions, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're ready to tell you what you want to know about your food.

IMAHARA: Is there any pink slime in your meat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no pink slime in any of our meat, not our beef, not our chicken, none of it.

IMAHARA: Zero slime in any of McDonald's products?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right, zero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: All right. I guess she cleared that one up.

Alison Kosik is joining me now more on the McDonald's mystery meat.

KOSIK: Oh, yes, pink slime, yummy. It seems to be the kiss of death.

You look at the food industry suffered a huge PR nightmare a few years ago. McDonald's was part of that because it used it in beef trimmings, it is used in beef trimmings. After the outcry, McDonald's stopped using it in 2011.

So, it begs the question what is in Mickey D's beef?

Here's what McDonald's says, "100 percent ground beef". Yes, but what kind of beef? Trimmings from chuck, round, which is often used in a roast, and sirloin. So, this whole coming clean thing is part of a new campaign from McDonald's called your food or actually it's called our food, your questions.

Here's another question for you. What's in a McNugget? White meat chicken believe it or not, ground with chicken skin and marinade. So that's kind of surprising there's nothing else in there. More and more good companies are really trying to be, you know, more transparent about what's in their food especially as more people want to eat healthier food.

But the pressure really is on McDonald's because U.S. sales for McDonald's haven't been so hot. McDonald's is facing more and more competition from trendier places like Chipotle and Panera, but McDonald's is using this campaign to kind of find out, hmm, is honesty the best policy? Well, I'm thinking the proof is in the sales numbers, Ana.

CABRERA: Or at least everybody can be educated now about what they're putting in, McDonald's can't say or they can say, we told you so.

KOSIK: Right.

CABRERA: I know we're also moments away from the opening bell. While we have you, Alison, obviously yesterday was another big drop, the markets haven't been doing so hot lately. What can we expect today?

KOSIK: Yes, yesterday was a total freefall. At the end of the session, the last hour of the session, we saw the Dow really drop when the closing bell rang, we saw the Dow lose more than 200 points.

So, the opening bell ringing in about three minutes now. Futures are looking higher but the problem is we saw yesterday shape up in the morning to look like it's going to be a good day but it certainly ended with a whole lot of red on the screen -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Fingers crossed for today, Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

And still to come, our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta suits up to show us the challenges medical workers face when treating patients with Ebola. Is it really the best way to keep them safe?

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