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Wall Street Nightmare; Second Royal Baby Due April 2015; Quarantine Ends for Duncan's Fiancee; Is 21 Days Enough for Ebola Quarantine?; Tensions High in Ferguson Over New Forensic Report
Aired October 20, 2014 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello. Is the nightmare on Wall Street over? With the opening bell moments way from ringing, investors are hoping for a big change from last week's gut-wrenching roller coaster ride, a ride that erased all Dow's gains for the year.
CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans joins me now. And OK, we've got 30 seconds to go or so. What are the futures looking like?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They look terrible, actually. The Dow futures are down, but this is almost all IBM. IBM lowered its earnings forecast, spinning off a unit. IBM is a very big, important company. There are only 30 stocks on the Dow so obviously if IBM is lower, that's going to take the market down with it.
A lot of earnings this week, a lot of economic reports. I'm really interested to see what housing numbers are going to look like. But Friday was the second best day of the year. And so now you're going to give it back. It's just been this very up and down market as we've I guess adjusted to these new realities.
How are companies, big multi-national companies? It's weak in Europe. China is slowing. And the Fed's getting out of the stimulus game this month. You know, the Fed's going to be out of the stimulus game. So a lot of big, important milestones happening, really.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, after experiencing 2008, I can't say I'm overly worried. But should I be?
ROMANS: I never -- you know, no, don't be worried. This is not the time to be trying to go find your 401(k) log-in. You know, when the markets are crazy is not the time to be tweaking. On your birthday or twice a year, take a look at what your allocation of stocks, bonds and cash should be and tweak it like that. Don't tweak when it's very emotional.
You know, the Dow is down about 1 percent for the year, but stocks like Apple, up 22 percent. You've got a lot of other movers that have had a very, very nice year. Apple's going to report after the closing bell. So Apple could be a driver tomorrow. You never know. But big blue, IBM, definitely the driver today. COSTELLO: Oh, Coke's going to --
ROMANS: Coke is going to --
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROMANS: And then later this week we'll hear from Ford, we'll hear from GM. So there are a lot of different companies that could be setting the tone depending on what they have to say.
COSTELLO: And I know car sales are up, because you told me so.
ROMANS: I know, car sales have been doing great. I can't wait to see GM earnings, actually.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, I hope they're good. Christine Romans, thanks so much.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Prince William and his wife Kate are now revealing when royal baby number two is due. CNN royal correspondent Max Foster is all over this story for us.
Good morning.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: We have the date for you, or thereabouts, Carol. Also, details on whether or not it is indeed twins.
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COSTELLO: Oh, just hours ago we learned the due date for the next royal baby. Stoop dissing (ph) me. I love me my Kate Middleton. Prince William and Duchess Kate say they're expecting their second child in April. They made the announcement this morning via their official website. CNN royal correspondent Max Foster live in London.
Twins? That would be more than I could bare.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: There's all sorts of talk of twins, but we don't get very much information on these statements, I have to say, Carol. But we can tell you that they are expecting a baby in April. We knew it was end of April, beginning of May. So we can now say that it's probably the end of April. A flurry of bets, I have to say, Carol, today, according to the betting agencies, on the 29th of April, actually, because that would be their wedding anniversary. And some concern, I have to say as well, in Westminster, because the general election is on the 7th of May. So if she's overdue, she could disrupt the whole political process in this country because people are probably going to be more interested in that.
COSTELLO: Oh, the power of a pregnant woman, it's fantastic. I know she's been ill with morning sickness. How's she doing?
FOSTER: Yes, that's the other thing that they did say. I mean she's cancelled so many engagements because she's been so poorly with this very acute morning sickness. But it does say her condition is steadily improving. Also, we can assume that because they issued this very formal statement that she's had her 12 week scan as well, so the baby, I'm sure, is healthy as well and she's healthy. So good news on that front as well.
And we'll get the first since of what she looks like as well tomorrow, Carol, because she's got her first official engagement since the announcement. She's going to meet the president of Singapore. And because this came out today, I think we can assume that she is planning to go to that as well. So some pictures this time tomorrow as well of the pregnant duchess.
COSTELLO: Oh, good, because that means she's feeling better and everything is going well and I love Kate Middleton. Thank you, Max Foster. You made my day.
I'll be right back.
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COSTELLO: Some better news out of Dallas this morning. The quarantine period has now ended for those who had initial exposure to Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who became the nation's first Ebola fatality. In all, 44 people end their three weeks of monitoring, including Duncan's fiancee and her family.
Joining me now to talk about this is Dr. Devi Nampiaparampli.
Did I -- did I get it?
DR. DEVI NAMPIAPARAMPLI, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Yes, you got it. You got it.
COSTELLO: She says, oh, you can just call me Dr. Devi. And I didn't. She's an assistant professor at New York University.
Thank you so much for being with me.
So, I want to ask you first about Duncan's fiance and her family totally cleared. It's amazing to me that she and her family never contracted Ebola but these nurses did.
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: Exactly. I think its --- I think there are a lot of mixed messages because, you know, we're talking about how people need all this gear, these hazmat suits and stuff, to be near these patients. But then, at the same time, they didn't have any of that. So I think, you know, it depends on two different things.
Early on in the disease, you know, you may have symptoms, you may have bodily fluids and stuff, but you may not have as much virus in the bodily fluids. So, you know, in terms of how likely a person is to get the infection, it may be a lot lower risk. And then the second part is, you know, in terms of body fluids you're exposed to, if you're in an apartment or a home, most likely you might like see vomit, diarrhea, maybe tears, saliva. But in the hospital setting, you know, there's so many procedures that are done to people to keep them alive in terms of blood loss, the urine, just all of the stuff, it's a lot more in terms of secretions than you do at home.
COSTELLO: So as you get closer to death as an Ebola patient, the virus in your body skyrockets?
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: Yes. Exactly. The amount of virus in body, because it's talking hold. It's reproducing in your body to be able to get what it needs.
COSTELLO: OK, well let's talk now about Amber Vinson. She's one of the nurses who has Ebola now. She's the one that got on the plane and went to Cleveland to plan her wedding with her mom, right?
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: Yes.
COSTELLO: Well, her family has now hired a lawyer because they feel that Amber Vinson is being vilified, even though she called the CDC twice and asked if she would be able to fly and they told her, sure, go ahead.
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: Yes.
COSTELLO: So is she being vilified? Is this fair?
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: I don't know that it's fair because she's a hero, right? I mean she risked her life to be able to try to help this patient, a stranger, who she didn't know. And then, on top of that, you know, I think that we should talk to health care providers and have really like kind of a contract or a consent. You know, not a legal contract, but something that shows you're not just risking your own lives, you know, you're risking your families lives, your loved ones, because if you get it, the people that you're in contact with are at risk and you're risking your reputation. Realistically, all of these people, even Thomas Eric Duncan, you know, he got Ebola because he was trying to help a pregnant woman by taking her to the hospital. So, you know, even though -- he's also been vilified. You know, he actually did have really good intentions of trying to help somebody in the first place.
COSTELLO: But it's interesting because no one on the plane with him got Ebola.
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: Exactly. So I think it's the same thing.
COSTELLO: These two healthcare workers got Ebola.
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: Yes, exactly.
COSTELLO: I just want people to keep this in mind because I think there's a sense of hysteria out there.
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: It's true. I mean --
COSTELLO: Like they're closing schools and they wanted to burn the bridal dresses -- NAMPIAPARAMPLI: Yes.
COSTELLO: IN the bridal shop where Amber Vinson shopped for her like, you know, for her wedding gown.
NAMPIAPARAMPLI: Yes. And I think, again, it's the mixed messages with the hazmat suits because, if you think about it, even the people traveling -- there was one person who traveled to Nigeria on a plane from Liberia. You know, nobody around him actually got Ebola either. So it seems like it really is very difficult to contract in terms of body fluids, but these healthcare workers, especially the ones in the ICU setting, are at much more risk.
COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about the quarantine. Because many lawmakers have come forward and say, look, it should be 42 days. Because according to the WHO, it should be 42 days -- except the WHO says 42 days is for a country to say it's clear of Ebola, not a person.
NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Exactly. Well, there's a couple different things. So WHO published a study in "The New England Journa lof Medicine", which is our major medical journal, and in that study they said there were a few people, like a handful of people, who might have contracted Ebola outside of that 21 day period. Now, they didn't explain how they came up with those days. It could be that they actually saw people and they had a clear timeline. Like with these cases in the U.S., we know exactly when the nurses were exposed -- not the moment, but the day long period when they came into contact with Duncan. But in West Africa, we don't know for sure, you know, are they actually creating a timeline or was this sort of they saw people who survived and asked them, hey, when do you think you might have been exposed and let's kind of come up with a number from there.
So it's really important to go back, track people and find out where did numbers come from in the first place? Because it's a really big deal. We have to be sure about our decision.
COSTELLO: Right. OK, final question is about a travel ban. A lot of lawmakers want nobody flying from West Africa to the United States. No, no, no. Nigeria just declared itself free of Ebola -- free. No one has contracted a case in 40 some days, 40-lus days. It never sealed its borders and it never instituted a travel ban. So, what does that say?
NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Well, so I think there are compelling arguments on both sides. But again, here too, we could use a little bit more information. Who's traveling back and forth to the U.S.? If it's American citizens and they're returning back here, I think it's reasonable they have to come back in. But if it's people who -- you know, if it's tourism, I think that's something that's not essential, as opposed to if it's humanitarian aid. Well, we want those people to be able to get there.
And the other thing is, if we could bring some Ebola survivors here, I think that would be reasonable to do. Because they can't get Ebola again. They could help us with our health care workers. They could actually treat some of the patients that we have here, because they can never get Ebola again.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's interesting.
NAMPIAPARAMPIL: And they could help with research too. I mean, if they were willing, we could study their blood to find out what is different about these folks? What allowed them to beat Ebola?
COSTELLO: OK. Final, final question. In the end, when all this is over, and it will be soon, it will be, what will we have learned?
NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Well, you know, it's hard to say, because any kind of tragedy, it's hard to look at it from a positive point of view. But at least hopefully it will prepare us for any future outbreaks and working with countries and communities to try to figure out how can we address problems like this before they get to this level?
COSTELLO: Dr. Devi, thanks so much. I appreciate it.
Still to come this the NEWSROOM, new details coming in on what happened the night teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed. Ted Rowlands is live in Ferguson. Hi Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, tensions are high here in Ferguson. People waiting for the grand jury's decision and a lot of people reacting to that new reporting over the weekend. We'll have details coming up after a break.
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COSTELLO: Darren Wilson, the officer who fatally shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown, told investigators he feared for his life after getting pinned inside his own control car. A new report from "The New York Times" leaked what could be key details of the investigation, including that Brown's blood was reportedly found inside the patrol car and on Wilson's gun. Dose that prove a struggle? It could be a sign of where the grand jury is leaning, too.
Ted Rowlands has more from Ferguson. Good morning.
ROWLANDS: Good morning, Carol. Yes, that's a big concern with people here who really want to know exactly what happened to Mike Brown. They thought that information would be coming out in a courtroom, but now, especially with this weekend's new reporting, they're concerned Darren Wilson may never even be indicted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Officer Darren Wilson, according to "The New York Times", told investigators that before he shot and killed Michael Brown, the unarmed teenager attacked him. "The Times" reports that Officer Wilson said that Brown pushed him back into his police vehicle, punching and scratching his neck and face while trying to get his gun. "The Times" also reports Michael Brown's blood was found on Officer Wilson's gun and uniform and on the inside panel of the front door of the police vehicle.
Dorian Johnson, who was with Mike Brown, told a much different version of events the day of the shooting.
DORIAN JOHNSON, MICHAEL BROWN'S FRIEND: He pulled up on the side of us, he tried to thrust his door open, but we were so close to it that it ricocheted off us and it bounced back to him. And I guess that got him upset.
ROWLANDS: Johnson says Officer Wilson was the aggressor, grabbing Mike Brown first around the neck, then by the arm.
JOHNSON: As he was trying to choke my friend, and he was trying to get away and the officer then reached out and he grabbed his arm to pull him into the car, and his weapon was drawn and he said, "I'll shoot you," or "I'm going to shoot." And in the same moment the first shot went off and we looked at him, he was shot and there was blood coming from him.
ROWLANDS: Piaget Crenshaw was an eyewitness who shot cell phone video of the aftermath. This is what she said about the initial struggle when she appeared on "NEW DAY" in August.
PIAGET CRENSHAW, EYEWITNESS: From my point of view, I could not tell what was going on, but it just looked as if he was trying to pull him almost into the car.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Pull who? Who pulled -- the officer pulled Michael into the car?
CRENSHAW: Michael Brown.
ROWLANDS: We still don't know what Officer Wilson may have told the grand jury about shooting and killing Brown after getting out of his police vehicle. Several witnesses claim Brown was trying to surrender, which seems to be supported by this video of two construction workers reacting to the shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had his (EXPLETIVE) hands in the air.
ROWLANDS: Meanwhile, in Ferguson, people are reacting to Wilson's purported version of events with skepticism, while vowing to fight for change no matter what happens to Officer Wilson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about the policing of our people in this country. You have to draw the line somewhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (on camera): And, Carol, according to the local D.A. here, a decision on one way or another on whether to indict Darren Wilson should come from this grand jury any time from now until mid-November. And, as you can imagine, if there is no indictment, a lot of people are concerned with what will happen in this city. Carol.
COSTELLO: Understandable. Ted Rowlands reporting live from Ferguson, Missouri, this morning.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)