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New Ebola Guidelines Set by CDC; Gacy Horrors; Florida Governors Debate Tonight on CNN; Giants, Royals to Face Off Tonight in World Series Game One

Aired October 21, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in THE NEWSROOM: breaking overnight, strict new Ebola guidelines issued by the CDC, vigorous training, how to put those hazmat suits on. But is it too little too late?

Also, Fangate. The Florida governors' debate tonight overshadowed by a desk (ph) fan. Keeping cool with Charlie Crist, straight ahead.

And play ball, just don't say Royals in San Francisco. Andy Scholes on the road for us in KC.

Let's talk live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

The World Health Organization, the W.H.O., says Ebola vaccines could be tested in the next few weeks in a few countries, including the United States. By January, those vaccine trials will expand to hard hit West African nations where thousands have died. The global health agency also plans to test experimental Ebola drugs in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Today's announcement comes one day after the CDC updated its own guidelines to better protect caregivers. One of them, of course, Dallas nurse Amber Vinson. She's currently being treated for Ebola in Atlanta. But before her diagnosis, Vinson flew to Ohio after getting the OK from the CDC. Vinson's mother, speaking out while in quarantine, tells CNN that in no way was her daughter careless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBRA BERRY, MOTHER OF NURSE AMBER VINSON: She would not have placed her life at risk, first of all. Just, again, being a caregiver because part of what she needs to do is be healthy so she can help others. And, you're right, also to not effect anyone negatively. And then being her mom, Amber would never do anything to negatively impact me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk about all of this. I'm joined now by CNN national reporter Nick Valencia. He's in Dallas. And here with me Dr. Devi -- I'm going to mess up your name again.

DR. DEVI NAMPIAPARAMPIL, ANESTHESIOLOGY PROFESSOR, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: It's OK. Give it a shot if you want.

COSTELLO: I am. Nampiaparampil.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: That's perfect.

COSTELLO: Oh, very good. Dr. Devi's with me now. She's the assistant professor of anesthesiology and rehabilitation at the NY School of Medicine.

Welcome to both of you.

Nick, I want to start with you though and I want you to talk about these new guidelines. What are they?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: Yes, good morning, Carol.

The CDC director, Tom Frieden, says that this will provide an increased margin of safety for those treating the virus. And it's all based on people who have already treated Ebola patients. It essentially boils down to three main requirements. One is repeated training or muscle memory in the dawning and doffing that's taking off and putting back on the removal, the PPE, I'm sorry, the personal protective equipment that these doctors will be using. Second is making sure that no skin is exposed during that process. And third is the buddy system, having a trained monitor there during the removal process of the personal protective equipment. CDC Director Frieden says that the old guidelines clearly were not enough for Texas Presbyterian. Yesterday, though, we saw dozens of nurses from this hospital stand front and center in solidarity with the hospital.

Meanwhile, today, Carol, it's also a big day for five additional patients who are still being monitored for Ebola-like symptoms. I spoke to the Dallas County judge, Clay Jenkins, and he tells me that he should have an update on their conditions and whether or not they're going to be cleared from this so-called watch list at around 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. Is that you putting on the protective suit, Nick, and that I saw in those pictures?

VALENCIA: Yes, actually earlier this week I was in Anniston, Alabama, where the CDC had instructors in Anniston and they're training workers who are on their way, doctors and clinicians, who are on their way to those three countries in West Africa affected by this outbreak. And a lot of it, as you can see, is repetition. It's muscle memory.

They've had a lot of demand too. These are doctors and nurses that are sponsored by NGO's here in the United States and are going to the so- called hot zone. Initially this training was supposed to stop in January, but they've extended that because they've gotten so many inquiries. I asked them if there was a chance that domestic workers could perhaps have the same training, people here in domestic hospitals. They said that's on the table but so far it's just for people who are going to West Africa. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Nick.

So, Dr. Devi, I'll ask you about these new CDC guidelines. So it kind of seems like common sense.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: I agree.

COSTELLO: Of course all of your skin has to be covered. So you have to wonder --

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: I agree. I agree. I don't think there's a big revelation there. I mean I think it would be more helpful if they listed out actually where people are most likely to have problems. So, for me, just having worked in the O.R., you know, we wear these shoe covers sometimes so that we don't get blood on our shoes, right, and so that we can dispose of those covers. But it's actually very hard, even if you're wearing sneakers, to kind of wrap them around your foot and get them off. So a lot of times people will, you know, stick one arm out literally and hold against the wall to pull it around. Well, if you do that, you might get something on the wall that could contaminate somebody else.

So I think that having people who have done this, maybe in West Africa, seeing where the problems are, watching, using them as trained monitors, would be more effective. And even with the googles. Now they've changed that to face shields, so that's changed. But, still, if you think about doing these procedures, you know, you know, people have had this experience in the winter where it kind of fogs up. You know, you're breathing heavily. Your eyes are covered and then it becomes difficult to see. So I would worry also about people doing procedures in this gear because there's more chance of maybe getting a needle stick or some other kind of accidental problem when you're not used to doing these things in this outfit.

COSTELLO: So maybe the best practice would be to transport patients to the hospitals that specialize in treating such cases.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Exactly. That's what I think too. I mean I think it's important for people to know how to don and doff this gear because if somebody comes into their hospital, then at least they'll be prepared. But one other thing that I've been wondering, I mean we've formed this strike team. The Pentagon has formed one. Why not have the strike team actually go to patient's homes as opposed to see them in the hospital? I mean we know the people who are at highest risk are the ones coming from West Africa, right? So why not give them a sheet with a number to call if they have fevers then -- rather than potentially infecting people in the ambulance and along the way in the ER. Why not have somebody kind of talk to them on the phone, find out what their symptoms are and then maybe send the strike team directly to the house or the hotel to find out what's going on.

COSTELLO: Right. Here's the number to the CDC. Thank you so much, Dr. Devi, I appreciate it.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Oh, thanks.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, police say a murder suspect leads them to even more bodies and horrors that still seem fresh decades later. The haunting legacy of a serial killer casts a long shadow on to this rustbelt town. We'll talk to one of the last lawyers to represent John Wayne Gacy.

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COSTELLO: In Gary, Indiana, police are trying to unravel the movements of a possible serial killer. They say Darren Deon Van confessed to a weekend murder and then led them to six more bodies. All appear to have been recent victims dumped in abandoned homes across the rustbelt city, just a half hour drive from Chicago. Now that dredges up haunting memories of John Wayne Gacy, the Chicago contractor implicated in the murders of 33 men and boys. Tina (ph) Conti is a longtime trial attorney who represented the serial killer in his final set of death row appeals.

Welcome, Tina (ph).

KAREN CONTI, REPRESENTED SERIAL KILLER JOHN WAYNE GACY: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you for being here. Do you see any similarities in these cases?

CONTI: I absolutely do. You know, serial killers are basically evolved predators. These are people who are very manipulative, they know how to choose their victims, they know how to choose people who may not be missed right away, they know how to lure people in with manipulation and charm and wit, and they know how to kill swiftly and to hide bodies and move on with their lives and live in kind of a duplicitous life. One part of their life is they're successful, they may be family people, and the other part of them is this dark side. So there's definitely similarities here.

COSTELLO: So if Van, this most recent serial killer in Gary, Indiana, is indeed confessing, as police say he is, why would he come clean now?

CONTI: Yes. You know, it's interesting, a lot of these serial killers do that. And, you know, for one reason is that they're proud of their accomplishments. These are people who don't understand that what they did is really, really wrong. They're proud. They have a good memory of these crimes. They may even have kept souvenirs. And they want to show the police that they're in control and they know where those bodies are and can describe in great detail what happened.

There's also a part where they may be unburdening themselves. This guy may have been committing murders for 20 years or so prior to this time, we don't know that yet, but after all of the anxiety and all of the build-up, it may be a release for him to finally say, yes, I did this one and also these other ones.

COSTELLO: So you've spent hundreds of hours talking to Gacy. What was it like to talk to him?

CONTI: You know, it's so strange because these people hide under the idea of normalcy. So when you're talking to him, it's not like you're looking evil in the face. You would think he'd be, you know, having fangs and blood dripping off of him. But, no, these are very normal people who know how to cope and they know how to imitate true emotion, even though they really don't have any. So the truth of the matter is that Gacy was very charming. He was manipulative. He was witty and he was very intelligent. And you wouldn't know he was a serial killer unless you knew what he did.

COSTELLO: Just so strange.

So back to Darren Van for just a second. He's led police to at least six bodies. Do you think there'll be more?

CONTI: My guess, and it's only a guess, would be that there are more. And here's why. Usually serial killers will escalate at the end when they almost want to get caught. And it looks like he's killed these last seven people in a very short period of time. He was a sex offender back in Texas some years ago, and there's some idea that he killed some other people from before. So the idea is, he probably started slowly, and it started to escalate. And so I think my guess is we're going to go back and see that he's been doing this for a long period of time, maybe some of these runaways and prostitutes who maybe people weren't looking for them as, you know, aggressively as they should have been, are going to turn up to be his victims.

COSTELLO: Karen Conti, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

CONTI: You're welcome, Carol.

I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: Who could forget a flap over a fan thrust the Florida governor's race into the national spotlight? This electric fan, there it is, was used by Democratic candidate and former Florida governor Charlie Crist in an attempt to keep from sweating during a recent debate. But that did not sit well with his Republican rival and current Florida governor Rick Scott. Scott refused to come on stage, saying the fan violated debate rules.

Well, tonight, the men will square off again in their third and final debate hosted by CNN.

Joining me now from Jacksonville with a preview is CNN's Suzanne Malveux.. So come on, is the fan going to make another appearance?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I guess that's why in some ways we are here to watch and see what happens with this fan. I mean, he had it back since 2000 when he ran for the education commissioner. So I don't know, but we're going to be looking for it.

One of the other reasons why we're here, Carol, of course, is because the Florida is the largest swing state in the country. This is the most expensive midterm race. We're talking more than $62 million in ads alone for those candidates, and also who wins the governor position here, the seat, will largely depend and impact who becomes our next president in 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): In Florida, it's the battle between the current governor and former governor. The incumbent Republican Rick Scott fighting for a second term.

GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), GOVERNOR: Charlie is a good talker. He's slick, he's polished, he's smooth, but not happens when he was governor. He had this job before and he didn't do it.

MALVEAUX: His challenger, the one time Republican turned Independent turned Democrat, former governor Charlie Crist.

CHARLIE CRIST (D), FMR. GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: Why we would reelect this guy if he's not willing to answer questions of everyday Floridians is beyond me. And that's why I don't think we're going to reelect this guy.

MALVEAUX: The biggest controversy from this contest which made national headlines came from a fan -- no, not a supporter, but an actual fan by Crist's feet at last Wednesday's debate.

MODERATOR: For that reason, ladies and gentlemen, I am being told that Governor Scott will not join us for this debate.

MALVEAUX: Debate organizers say Crist broke the rules by using the fan. The live audience waited seven minutes before Scott eventually showed up. Scott tried to downplay the incident which was widely spoofed as Fangate.

SCOTT: I don't care if he brings a microwave, if he brings a humidifier --

MALVEAUX: But back on the stump, Scott is getting big name support from probably the most popular Republican in the state, former governor Jeb Bush.

Crist is also getting high profile backers, from First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He didn't lead the Republican, it left him.

MALVEAUX: On the air, both sides have also waged a tough and expensive fight, together spending more than $62 million in ads according to the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity. Most of it spent on negative ads.

AD NARRATOR: When Rick Scott cut education by over a billion dollars, thousands of them lost their jobs.

MALVEAUX: Republicans shot back with a web ad spoofing the popular reality TV show, "Say Yes to the Dress."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like the Charlie Crist. It's expensive and a little outdated, but I know best.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Carol, neither one of these guys is particularly popular here in the state. They have unfavorables hovering in the last CNN/ORC poll at 52 and 53 percent. But both of these men are in a dead heat for this race at 44 percent. They can't really stress enough, Carol, how this race could impact 2016. If you have the Democrat in the governor's house, in the mansion, then you are talking about, really, a good base for Hillary Clinton. Of course, if it's the Republican, then it sets it up quite nicely for a potential Republican Florida candidate, be it Marco Rubio or even a Jeb Bush.

And as for the fan, because we got to go back to the fan and talk about it just a little bit, CNN does have some rules laying this out tonight. I want to read it to you here. It says no opening and closing statements, no notes, no props, and no electronic devices will be allowed on stage. So they get a notebook, they get a pen, they get some water.

I don't know, though, Carol, I mean, could bit battery operated?

COSTELLO: I was going to say that!

MALVEAUX: We don't know. We just don't know. So we'll see.

COSTELLO: Oh, I think it quite aptly illustrates the state of our politics today. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much.

You can watch tonight's debate between the Florida governor Rick Scott and the former governor Charlie Crist right here on CNN. Jake Tapper will host the one-hour event. It all kicks off at 7:00 p.m Eastern.

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(MUSIC: LORDE'S "ROYALS")

COSTELLO: She doesn't even remember George Brett, but, man, I had a crush on him back in the day so thank you, Lorde. Oh, the World Series tonight and it's a tale of two teams. One's been to fall classic three times in the last five years; the other has not made it since 1985. We're talking about the Royals and the Giants World Series Game One TONIGHT.

CNN's Andy Scholes, he drew the lucky straw, he's in Kansas City today. And I envy you!

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Yes, Carol, I'm pretty excited about this match-up. You know, some are calling this World Series Team Dynasty versus Team Destiny. On one side you've got the San Francisco Giants who've won two World Series recently and then on the other side you've got to Kansas City Royals, a perennial underdog who somehow found a way to put it all together this year. And they're trying to deliver a championship to Kansas City for the first time 29 years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES (voice-over): The year was 1985. "Back to the Future" was the top-grossing future at the box office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great Scott!

SCHOLES: Mario Brothers made its debut on the Nintendo. And the Kansas City Royals were World Series champions.

Fans in Kansas City have been waiting 29 years to relive that moment. And they may get their chance soon enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hope for this day to come. You wait and you wait and you wait. And 29 years, now it's here, you're like -- it paid off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been here all of my life, season tickets with my dad. Unbelievable. 1985 was awesome, 2014 again.

SCHOLES: Winning a record eight straight games to start this post- season, the Royals are on the verge of capping off one of the greatest runs in professional sports history, and they say their fans have been a big part of it.

MIKE MOUSTAKAS, KANSAS CITY ROYALS THIRD BASEMAN: Tthese people out here are amazing. They're unbelievable fans. They're loyal, they're loud when we're playing. We're in this just as much as they are, so we're excited to have them in our corner.

ERIC HOSMER, KANSAS CITY ROYALS FIRST BASEMAN: The passion that these fans and this community has is -- they've been obviously waiting for this for a long time.

LORDE (singing): We'll never be royals.

SCHOLES: Lorde's hit song "Royals", was which was inspired by Hall- of-Famer George Brett, has been banned by San Francisco radio stations during the World Series. But in Kansas City, it's the most popular song on the airwaves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES (on camera): Now, first pitch is set for a little after 8:00 Eastern tonight and, Carol, Kansas City Royals fans are paying big bucks just to get into the stadium tonight. Standing room only. Standing room only is going for about 650 bucks. 650 bucks just to get into the stadium.

COSTELLO: I believe it. The other kind of surprising aspect of this, you watch Kansas City for its defense not its power hitting, but its defense is so exciting, it doesn't matter. Who cares about home runs?

SCHOLES: Speed, defense, and pitching. That's right.

COSTELLO: Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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