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More States Start to Quarantine; Obama Pushes Back on Quarantines; School Shooter Hinted At Violence; Quarantined Nurse To Meet With Attorney; Marysville Rocked With Grief By Shooting

Aired October 26, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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


FREDERICK WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Live pictures right now, outside Bellevue hospital in New York where in past 15 minutes or so, we are expected to hear from the New York City mayor Bill de Blasio on the fight against Ebola in the city. Bellevue hospital is where Dr. Craig Spencer is being treated. Of course, when that happens, we will bring that to you live.

Other major developments today, Illinois is now joining New York and New Jersey, announcing a 21-day mandatory quarantine for high risk people returning from Liberia, Sierra Leone and New Guinea. Florida announced mandatory monitoring and now there's concern that response could stop healthcare workers from going to West Africa to help fight Ebola at the source.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases spoke out on "CNN's State of the Union" today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Look at the evidence. Who has gotten infected outside of the health care setting? The two people, one of whom I took care of, got infected because she put herself in harm's way of a patient with advanced disease. You got to keep looking at the facts. Not what if, what if, what if. If you do that scenario, you could have any situation that you could create in your mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Today, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power arrived in Guinea in a trip focused on Ebola. She said the last thing we need is to discourage health workers.

And scathing words from the American nurse under a forced quarantine right now in New Jersey. She wrote in a letter to the "Dallas Morning News." "I sat alone in the isolation tent and thought of many colleagues who will return home to America and face the same ordeal. Will they be made to feel like criminals and prisoners?"

You can sense there just how angry this nurse is about how she is being treated. Her name is Kaci Hickox and she was immediately put into mandatory quarantine when she arrived in Neward, New Jersey from Sierra Leone on Friday. She spoke today to our Candy Crowley and we picked up the story after Kaci left the airport and was transported to quarantine at the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KACI HICKOX, NURSE UNDER QUARANTINE: Once I got to the hospital, they, of course, tested my blood. They asked me a few more questions. I do want to say everyone here, all of the doctors and nurses that have been caring for me and EMS workers have been fantastic and supportive. You know, they offered to bring me books and to bring me Pizza Hut. They are fantastic. They've definitely gotten caught up in a political mess.

So I don't envy them. But yes, they tested my blood. You know, it is negative. He also confirmed that it was negative. And I know that there have been reports of me having a fever in the airport, but I truly believe it was an instrument error. They were using the forehead scanner. I was obviously distressed and a bit upset and so my cheeks were flushed. There has been some evidence that that machine is not very accurate in these situations. So when I arrived in the isolation unit, they took my temperature orally and it was completely normal.

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST "STATE OF THE UNION": Does it remain completely normal?

HICKOX: Yes. It has also been completely normal. I heard from my mother last night who called me concerned and said Governor Christie just said in an interview that you were "obviously ill." And this is so frustrating to me.

First of all, I don't think he's a doctor and secondly he has never laid eyes on me. And thirdly I have been asymptommatic since I have been here. I feel physically completely strong, and emotionally completely exhausted. But for him to say that I am obviously ill, which is even a strange statement. What does that mean? Someone define that for me. Because I don't quite understand what obviously ill means. But I am here to tell you that I am completely fine physically. And being held here is just I just don't understand it.

CROWLEY: And what is your understanding about long you will - what have they told you about tomorrow and the day after that and after that?

HICKOX: That is the other concern that I have. I have not been communicated a clear plan. My quarantine order was written by the New Jersey health commissioner and even to this day no one has told me what it means or what the plan. No one has told me how long it will last. I don't know if I'm going to be retested and if so why I would be retested. I am asymptommatic and the test is not even accurate if you don't have symptoms. And yesterday, I spoke with the assistant health commissioner, Christopher, I believe is his name. And I told him one thing - I said the only thing I have to say to you is I want an answer for what is my clear plan. No one has communicated with me. You have put me in an isolation unit without communicating medically or public health - you know, scientifically logical chain of events that need to happen next. This to me, is just completely unacceptable.

I spoke with him at 6:00 p.m. last night and now it's 11:00 a.m. and I still have not heard from anyone as to what the plan is next for me.

CROWLEY: As far as we know and this certainly does not relate specifically to your case, it is a 21 day quarantine. Can you describe to me like where you are right now? What does it look like? Are you in the hospital, in a room? Are you (INAUDIBLE).

HICKOX: I am outside of the university hospital itself in a building, I believe, although I can only say what I can see from my tent. I am within a building. And I, you know, it's just a basic tent structure. There's a hospital bed. Obviously they bring me food. I have kind of a port potty type restroom, no shower facility and no connection with my outside world except my iPhone which I insisted that I brought with me when I arrived late Friday night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The university hospital of Newark and New Jersey Department of Health just releasing a new statement reaction to Kaci Hickox's interview with us. It says "the patient remains isolated and under observation in a climate controlled indoor extended care area in a building adjacent to the hospital. The CDC team has toured the facility and consulted on sight. The patient has computer access, use of her cellphone, reading material and has requested and has received take-out food and drink."

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: And now this breaking news we're getting new information on the White House's response to the state imposing quarantines due to Ebola. Erin McPike is live for us at the White House with the latest. Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the "New York Times" is reporting this. The White House is pressing the governors of both New York and New Jersey to over turn these new regulations. We've been asking the White House to confirm that basically all day but it comes as no surprise because we've been hearing from what White House officials really all day, on the Sunday shows this morning, et cetera.

Also the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power made much the same comment in an interview with NBC News today. She essentially said these new regulations are haphazard and not well thought out. We're hearing also from Dr. Anthony Fauci who was on CNN's "State of the Union" this morning. They're both saying that health care workers who go to these countries in West Africa need to be treated like heroes. They want more health care workers to go because, of course, they want to control Ebola at its source, which is in these three countries in West Africa. They would also like to see other countries get involved and send health care workers there as well.

Again, we're still looking for confirmation from the White House but the "New York Times" is reporting that they are pressing these governors to overturn those regulations, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. Erin McPike, thank you so much.

I'm joined now by the Dr. Jay Varma, the deputy commissioner for the New York City Health Department. Dr. Varma, good to see you. OK. So we haven't heard from the White House directly but reportedly through the "New York Times," the White House is requesting a reversal in Knew York and New Jersey and possibly Illinois as well. What's your reaction to that?

DR. JAY VARMA, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK CITY HEALTH DEPT.: You know, here in New York City, we have been preparing for the threat of threat of Ebola for months now. And as part of that preparation, we included the possibility that some people at very high risk would have to be quarantined. I mean, I think our biggest concern right now is one, similar to the ones that other people have expressed. We don't want to do anything to discourage people from going where health care workers are most needed which is in Africa and at the same time, we want to make sure that our policies are based on the best available evidence. Who actually is at risk? We recognize that putting people, separating them for 21 days is incredibly difficult for people. People who are otherwise healthy, and so we want to be very judicious in how we fight that.

WHITFIELD: So can you have it both ways? You said you certainly don't want to be in a position where you're discouraging health care workers going to West Africa to try and battle Ebola at the source yet at the same time I'm hearing you say that preparations have been made and you have been thinking about it for a long time, quarantines. But when you have a blanket now rule about mandatory quarantines in New York and New Jersey and now Illinois, that would be targeting health care workers who are returning from those Ebola countries. I mean, it sounds like you can't have it both ways, can you?

VARMA: Well, that's what we're worried about. I mean, to be honest, this was never a strategy that we had planned. Our strategy for returning healthcare workers was based on those who had an identifiable risk of having Ebola. So in other words if you were in an area where you strictly adhered to personal protective equipment and had no obvious other exposure to bodily fluids or somebody with Ebola, we have a strategy that we planned called active monitoring.

WHITFIELD: OK.

VARMA: Where we follow you up.

WHITFIELD: So New York City was caught off guard. Is that true? New York City caught off-guard. The governor put this in place for the state of New York?

VARMA: Well, right now we are in fact waiting for guidelines from the governor directly about what exactly this means.

WHITFIELD: OK. So will you -

VARMA: We need to identify - WHITFIELD: Will you be upholding this mandatory quarantine and if so, how do you do that? What's the infrastructure in place? What's the procedure? Does it mean people have to be quarantined in their homes? Do you have a facility where these medical workers are pinpointed as soon as they get off the plane and then they go to a certain facility at a hospital or somewhere else?

VARMA: Well, as you know, we actually currently have three people in quarantine right now. These are the contacts of the patient that was diagnosed on Thursday. So we have a very clear plan in place to make sure that somebody can be kept either in their home or if necessary in an alternative facility. Right now all three people who are in quarantine in New York City are being kept in their homes. They get a daily visit both by a medical officer from the medical department to check on their health as well as a visit by a welfare caseworker. Somebody who can basically take care of anything they need unrelated to their health whether it's food or books or entertainment. So we have planned to make sure that people who are kept in quarantine are ideally kept in their homes. And even more importantly, that their emotional and physical are supported during that -

WHITFIELD: And how is this financed? Because we're talking about putting people in a position where they can't go to work. They can't earn a living. How do they go on with that kind of financial support? Is that something that New York as a state or even as a city is supporting?

VARMA: Right now, as a city, the case managers that are working on this are from the Human Resources Administration. They are the people who also manage programs like welfare. So they are very well prepared and frankly financed by our city to make sure that people get cash assistance if that's necessary. You know, we thought through this very strongly. Before we even started - before we began implementing this, we already had plans in place and those included consultations with ethicists and others. You know, we take it very seriously.

Taking somebody and separating them from other people really has to be based on the highest possible evidence. And when you do that, people there have to be treated extremely well. These are healthy people. It's important to keep that in mind. We should not even be referring to them as patients which is something that I heard in the previous segment. These are people who are healthy right now.

WHITFIELD: But then it sends a different message if they are in mandatory quarantine, doesn't?

VARMA: Well, it really shouldn't.

WHITFIELD: Well, you're kind of telling (INAUDIBLE) you're not so sure if they're healthy.

VARMA: No, we know that they're healthy. They just have not developed disease yet. That's something important for people to know. It's always possible when you walk into any area you're at risk for developing something. It doesn't mean you have that something. You know the same thing people get a genetic test because you're at risk (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Do you worry about the mixed message that it's sending?

VARMA: We're not sending any mixed messages. If people are interpreting it one other way, I supposed that's a problem and we'll continue to make it clear. Every time I'm asked about people in quarantine, I make it explicitly clear, these are healthy people. They are not patients. They are at risk of developing a disease. And unlike some other diseases, where you may never know until you guys have something else, whether you'll get it, we know for sure that these people go 21 days after the period when they were last exposed then they are free and clear.

WHITFIELD: We heard from one medical professional who said the concern that he had is this doesn't deescalate anxiety. If anything it sends it the other direction.

VARMA: Well, I think one of the challenges that we're facing is really being consistent. We know a lot about the science of this disease. And we're learning more, obviously, as things are going on. It's important for people to keep in mind that this is not a disease that is as infectious as people think it is.

You have to come into direct physical contact with body fluids. We know that the patient in Dallas, his family members did not get sick. As far as we know, people who traveled on the airplane with the nurse who initially developed symptoms has not gotten sick. This reaffirms to us what we already know and we hope it reaffirms to the public the understanding that yes this is a terrible disease but the risk of getting it is actually quite low and especially for the average person.

WHITFIELD: Dr. James Varma, thanks so much.

VARMA: Great. Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Stick around. We are watching Bellevue Hospital in New York City where Mayor Bill Deblasio is scheduled to give an update on Ebola any moment from now. We'll take you there, live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Live pictures right now at Bellevue Hospital in New York where any moment now we're expecting to hear from the New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio on the fight against Ebola right there in the city. Bellevue Hospital is also where Dr. Craig Spencer is being treated for Ebola. Of course, when that happens we will take you there live.

Meantime, Ebola has killed one person on U.S. soil but the panic in this country has spread far faster than the virus itself. So is there an overreaction out of fear? Let's bring in Professor Mark Rothstein, a bioethicist who teaches at the University of Louisville Law School and School of Medicine. All right, good to see you. So when you hear about three states now that have a mandatory quarantine, does this escalate panic or is this, you know, fitting for what could be to come?

PROF. MARK ROTHSTEIN, BIOETHICIST, UNIV. OF LOUISVILLE LAW AND MEDICAL SCHOOLS: I'm afraid that it's contributing to panic. It's the wrong way to go. It sends terrible messages to the public. First, that the CDC is not acting enough for their safety. Second, it's inconsistent between states and the public doesn't know what to believe, and I think there is a great tendency to be super aggressive. They try to protect the public but when you do it without good medical basis, then this is what's going to happen and unless we get a handle on this, it could get worse in terms of the panic.

WHITFIELD: So what should be the proper response at this point? Of course, we are waiting to hear from the New York City mayor at Bellevue Hospital momentarily about how that city is handling it and perhaps even how the city will even correspond to what the state of New York is demanding mandatory quarantine.

At the same time when we hear reportedly from the White House is maybe actively requesting that New York, New Jersey and Illinois reverse these policies of mandatory quarantines. Is the message now that there is a problem between communication between the state and federal level? I mean, is it only getting worse or is there a way to clean this up?

ROTHSTEIN: Well, that's one of the big challenges of our public health system. It's decentralized and is fragmented. We need all the actors who have different jurisdictions and different responsibilities to work together. Without cooperation, if everyone is at everybody else's throat, it's going to be a mess. So all these governors and I would say the leadership in Washington need to sit down and calmly and with input from experts develop the policy that everyone is going to follow. If we don't do that it's just going to be a mad scramble.

WHITFIELD: Is this now going to be true test for, you know, the new Ebola czar that perhaps this is the juncture in which one voice should be heard?

ROTHSTEIN: Well, I think that is why he was appointed not because of his scientific acumen but because of his leadership and the way he has been able to get things done. And this is the kind of thing we need to get done. We don't want to turn what is a health problem into a political problem or a tug of war between the federal government and state government or worse that it's somehow a partisan political issue. The public just really can't stand for that and things will get worse everywhere, I'm afraid.

WHITFIELD: And then the other side of this thinking is because of the fear of the unknown, drastic measures, or some would say very adequate measures of say a mandatory quarantine or even a mandatory monitoring has to be imposed.

ROTHSTEIN: Well, one of the principles in public health ethics is proportionality. We have a risk that's very definite. But we need to respond in a way that is proportional and this automatic mandatory 21- day quarantine period is not proportional and it's not risk free. Things happen that are very harmful by putting people basically out of commission for 21 days.

Many of these people could conceivably lose their jobs. They will have no income for the 21 days. It will discourage people from volunteering. There is a higher rate of non-compliance with quarantine along with the quarantine period is. And then we have the question of what are we going to do when people try to break quarantine. This is just - it's not an easy solution, the way, I'm afraid, some of the state people think it is.

WHITFIELD: All right. Professor Mark Rothstein, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

ROTHSTEIN: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, this young woman, a teacher, now being hailed a hero, right there. We will tell you what she did that may have kept Friday's school shooting from being even more deadly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. At any moment now they are at Bellevue Hospital, New York City Mayor Bill Deblasio will have a press conference. We will take you there live as soon as it happens.

Meantime, on the West Coast, a Washington state community reeling over Friday's school shootings. Two dead including the shooter. Four critically injured. But in the midst of that tragedy, some heroism. This first year full-time teacher, Megan Silberberger, confronted the shooter at the scene. The school district posted this message from here on its website saying this "While I am thankful and grateful for the support from everyone at the time, I am requesting privacy for myself and my family."

Dan Simon is in Washington state. So Dan, an amazing show of courage by this young teacher, what more are you learning?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Fredricka. We're in front of the school. It has been a very emotional scene here with people dropping off flowers and balloons. About an hour and a half now there's going to be a community meeting for this community to get together and sort of try to pick up the pieces and sort of move on in the best way they can. Very emotional today.

But as far as this teacher, a very harrowing account. I spoke to the leader of the local education association. He tells me that the teacher was in a nearby office, near the cafeteria. Heard the shots, ran into the cafeteria and saw some students down and was wondering what was going on and then actually confronted the shooter in some fashion.

According to witnesses, the teacher put her hand on the shooter's arm and moments later the shooter took his own life. At this point the teacher not really wanting to say anything and you can imagine why that would be the case.

Also I want to convey some other information, Fredricka. We're learning from a law enforcement source that at one point the shooter actually tried to reload his weapon but he was having trouble because his hands were shaking. He was very nervous as all of this was unfolding.

WHITFIELD: So what more are you learning from friends or people who knew this young man, Jaylen Fryberg, about his state of mind, the motive, possibly? What was going on with him?

SIMON: Well, the only thing we can sort of point to are these tweets which we have talked about, which showed that there are some angst in his life. Perhaps it was over breaking up with a girlfriend. Or there has been talk that there was a fight where he was suspended from the football team. I actually spoke to somebody who said she was close with him and that they were very, very good friends and I asked her, and she just did not seem to know. She said he was a very happy go lucky kid, very popular and of course, we all talked about, he was the prince of the homecoming that they had here just about a week ago.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Simon, thanks so much. So difficult for anybody to really understand. And there's so much grief and so many unanswered questions, what is behind the rage that leads to tragedies like this.

Joining me right now from Los Angeles is psychologist and author, Wendy Walsh. All right. So Wendy, I think no one, you know, feels like they're going to get a solid answer as to what could have been tormenting this young man. You know, what were the signs? What makes a young kid who seems like everything is going in his favor. He's popular, he was homecoming prince and then something like this happens. How do you help the people of that community try to piece things together.

WENDY WALSH, AUTHOR, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well I think it's hard to sort of cast a light on one particular red flag, Fredricka, because it is a cluster of events that came together. And let's not forget. This is a young teenaged mind. He was barely 15. Young teenagers especially boys have a hard time regulating but on top of that, if his identity was so attached of football player, prince, and boyfriend to this particular girl we heard about and all those things disappear in a short period of time, that can cause a bout of anxiety and maybe even an explosion. And the thing we're talking about a lot is attachment injuries.

You know, an attachment injury is a rupture at a critical moment of need. So he's a kid who is his first day back of suspension is what I heard.

And there was fight over a girl and you know, he is reaching out and who was he reaching out to Twitter? The whole world, the whole globe would see the tweet.

WHITFIELD: That's among the things that are so perfecting because all these things, you know, they have -- they have labels now. You're talking about attachment injuries. You know, hard time regulating, but aren't all of these things that all of us as young people.

And all young people are going to encounter whether the disappointment of a break up, not making a team, et cetera, but what is happening now, today, in this day and age?

Where these things that seem like real commonalities are now putting kids at a breaking point, life or death decisions based on things that really customarily have been kind of normal ups and downs for all of us growing up?

WALSH: The kids are experiencing more and more isolation. They're not even socializing in a crowd. They are socializing behind computer screens and behind iPhones now. And they're not given the tools that are needed to be real, to express their feelings and have that social support and peer support.

And let's talk about this, this is a generation of kids who were raised by parents of divorce whose only way to talk about feelings was to separate. And that's their only way to have resolution. So it sounds like now --

WHITFIELD: We all have to work harder at finding a new way, a new path, a new method of reaching our kids because we're not going to be able to get rid of the digital technology it's there. It's like an extension of a limb at this point for everybody and especially kids.

So what is our method? What do we have to do to better connect and better read our children before something horrible like this happens?

WALSH: Well, what we have to do is be better as adults at recognizing our own feelings, becoming self-aware and being able to express, model and showcase our own internal world because that becomes a teaching tool. That's what kids use.

If parents are just busy running around, being on tech, it's all about schedules, meet for a quick dinner, move on and everybody is being superficial then they're not seeing a healthy person express their feelings. It's really for us to become more self-aware first.

WHITFIELD: You know, and I think all of us are just so worried. You know, we can't help, but just really worry about our young people today because they are just too many examples now this being the latest one of just not -- you know, I guess, kids feeling so inundated and just not knowing how to cope, how to deal.

WALSH: Fredricka, the simple fact that more Americans die today by their own hand than the hand of an enemy in war or murder on the street says something. Our suicide rates have been skyrocketing whether they take someone else out on their way out.

So we need to teach coping strategies and it starts with us. And it actually does start with turning off the tech and having a quiet family dinner and making it a safe place for people to express their feelings.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Wendy Walsh. Appreciate it. WALSH: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, we're also following every development as it pertains to Ebola. We're waiting for the New York City mayor to speak from that place right there, Bellevue Hospital, where Dr. Craig Spencer is now receiving treatment as an Ebola patient. We're live from New York City next. But first this month's "Ones to Watch Series."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He came on foot rather than carriage, but otherwise, Richard Tuse's arrival at this English stately home resembles a scene from Downtown Abbey, the celebrated artist arriving at Gorombre (ph) house to paint it by compass.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the great hall gallery. Here we've got (inaudible) and Stewart King is behind us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By Countess Grimstone (ph), the former Lady Rosana Alexander (inaudible) once bridesmaid to Prince and Sarah Ferguson. Now she is happy to simply be called Rosie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the top floor above us, we have some family portraits. This is where the collection very interesting. It will be the 21st generation to be painted here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rosie is continuing a family tradition spanning more than 500 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing, all I want to do is get some quick statues (inaudible). It's nice to get a sense of how you move, how the face changes, the expressions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richard Starks like all his predecessors with a few preliminary sketches. The same scene will be repeated many times over the next few months, each sketch taking Richard a little closer to his sitter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, just in to CNN, we are learning that quarantined nurse, Kaci Hickox, in New Jersey will meet with her attorney this hour. She spoke to CNN about how she is being treated since returning to the U.S. from West Africa.

Elizabeth Cohen is live for us outside Bellevue Hospital in New York where momentarily the mayor will be speaking inside too about Ebola and how the city is handling it. So Elizabeth, what do we know about Kaci Hickox's meeting with her attorney?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I spoke with her attorney, Norman Siegel, on the phone, Fred, and here's what he had to say. He says that she is going to bring this to court. He is going to file papers in court demanding a hearing.

He said, you know, in this country, we don't detain people without giving them a hearing. For example, if someone is mentally ill and is taken to Bellevue, they get a hearing within five days, he says.

So he is going to demand a hearing and he said the burden is on the government to prove why they are taking away her civil liberties. They need to explain why she -- why and if she is truly a threat to the public.

WHITFIELD: And so, this hearing that, you know, her attorney is demanding, I mean, who would that be with? I mean, to determine what court would entertain this hearing? What kind of compensation potentially? She would be demanding and who would be responding to that?

COHEN: You know, I don't think she is demanding any compensation. I don't know where the quarantine order came from. It's whatever would be connected with such an order. What she is asking for is for the court to explain -- for the government, for the state government to explain why they detained her.

In what way does she pose a public health threat? The way her attorney looks at it she does not have Ebola, tested negative twice and doesn't have any symptoms. People who don't have Ebola and don't have symptoms cannot possibly spread Ebola.

You know, I think another question, is she being treated unfairly? You know, inside this hospital, a team of doctors and nurses are treating someone with Ebola. They could be at risk for getting Ebola, too, just as Kaci Hickox was when she treated patients in Sierra Leone, should they be quarantined also?

Should Anthony Fauci be quarantined? He participated in the care of Nina Pham, the nurse from Dallas. So I think what her lawyers are thinking is that this has not been evenly applied and that they feel the burden of proof is on the government.

WHITFIELD: We will see if the New York City mayor will address possibly these inconsistencies that are being brought to the floor by way of her attorney and her situation. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right, still to come, more than 1,000 people filled a church in Marysville, Washington after Friday's deadly school shooting. Next, we will talk to the pastor about how the community there is dealing with this tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're shining a spotlight on the top ten CNN Heroes of 2014. Meet Dr. Wendy Ross.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. WENDY ROSS: Going to new experiences with my son is a gamble. You are on edge all the time.

When he's having a meltdown on the floor and the whole entire store is looking at you like you're a bad mom, you just want to go and crawl under a rock. It's challenging.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I stay in sometimes because it's easier for him to be around all of his toys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm afraid.

ROSS: A developmental pediatrician, I do a lot of diagnosing of autism. When I heard my families were afraid to go out, I felt I need to find a way to help them. Every day experiences like going to a baseball game can be a challenge for kids with autism, music, lights, and the noise. There are a lot of unexpected sensory things happening.

Are you ready to go? I work with the Phillies to train all 3,000 people that worked at the ball park. Autism is a social disability so it needs to be addressed in the community.

We prepare the families with story book of experiences that may happen at the park and then we provide supportive game experiences sort of like a safety net. If you start taking steps outside of your door, your world gets bigger and bigger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One success means more success.

ROSS: It's about more than a game. It's about opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hopefully there will be zoos in our future and aquariums. The world is our oyster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. New information now on the school shooting in Washington State, a law enforcement source says shooter, Jaylen Fryberg, had trouble reloading his gun in the high school cafeteria because his hands were shaking.

It was also learned that he was confronted by a young teacher before he shot himself. In just over an hour, Marysville community members will begin gathering at the high school gym to talk about the shooting and hopefully begin the healing process so an overwhelming sense of grief and despair in Marysville.

Joining me is Nik Baumgart, a pastor of the Groove Church in Marysville. So Pastor, tell me about the vigil that your church held after that shooting on Friday.

NIK BAUMGART, PASTOR, GROOVE CHURCH: It basically came down to finding out about what happened and we got word right about 11 a.m. Pacific Time and really just gathered our team together at the church and they said, what are we going to do and this is sad. We needed to be available.

We wanted to open our doors as soon as possible and that evening we just put together a vigil not knowing if we'd have much response or if it will be overwhelming. And it was overwhelming. It was incredible to see the amount of people that we have there.

WHITFIELD: Yes, because this is unusual. It's an anomaly. You know, the quiet and calm of Marysville has been shattered. In general, how do you suppose people are handling it? What kind of questions are they asking? What answers do they need?

BAUMGART: You know, that's where we feel, we all the effects of it. It's not a gigantic community. It is a pretty tight knit community and you know, a lot of us have a lot of history here in this community. It was really just about trying to provide comfort as we're all reeling.

For us as the team of the church to hold up the arms of the members of our community and the church as well as for them to hold arms up because we feel it as well. It was really just figuring out how do we make ourselves available that we can come together and grieve together? Because grief shared, it's cheesy but it's true. It's lighter.

WHITFIELD: And even though there will be a moment at the gym where people can come together and you know, get some kind of comfort, school will not be in session all week long. You know, what kind of concerns do you have about trying to reach people, reach young people even faculty members, who really need a hand to hold, who really need someone to talk to when school will be closed or sessions will be out?

BAUMGART: I think the beauty of that, honestly, is we have really come together with cities, schools, our churches, and tried to make ourselves available. We met as a team and said we're opening our doors all week. We have grief counselors.

There are other great churches offering the same support and of course, the school has decided that they want to open the gymnasium at Pilchuck to see if kids want to come and gather there. So there is multiple opportunities throughout the week for the doors to be open.

WHITFIELD: I understand. You're a dad of four. What are you telling your kids, quickly?

BAUMGART: Yes, you know, they saw it at the same time I did because I was there with them at home. And my daughter who is 12 is reeling and feeling the pain of it. My son who is 9 is feeling guilty that he doesn't want to cry and we just said, you know what, it's OK.

Grief is experienced in all kinds of different ways and neither one of those is wrong and other expressions aren't wrong necessarily either. My other two were a lot younger and they don't really understand, but that's what we've tried to do with our two older kids.

WHITFIELD: We're hoping the best for you and the entire community there, as you all try to heal. Pastor Nik Baumgart, thanks so much. BAUMGART: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And again from New York, we continue to monitor there at Bellevue Hospital where the New York City Mayor Bill Deblasio will have an update on how that city is fighting Ebola at any moment now.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. We continue to watch Bellevue Hospital. Any moment the city's mayor will have a press conference. We'll take you there live. Meantime, Nick Valencia is here with other news.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have got a lot of stories making headlines today. We're learning more about one of the suspects accused of fatally shooting two sheriff's deputies in California on Friday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says, Marcelo Marquez has been deported to Mexico twice.

Marquez and another woman are in custody after allegedly going on a 6- hour went on a shooting rampage in a Sacramento area. Authorities say the suspects also wounded the third deputy, attempted three carjackings and shot a driver in the head.

Fierce battles are raging right now in the besieged Syrian city of Khobani. Despite U.S. airstrikes aimed at ISIS targets there. We're getting new images of Kurdish forces fighting ISIS militants in the strategic border town. A Syrian monitoring group says, at least 800 people have been killed in Khobani over the past 40 days.

And after 13 years, Britain has formally ended its combat operations in Afghanistan. Union Jack flag was lowered for the last time at a ceremony at Camp Bastian in Helmand Province. Security forces will take over the base, but the U.K. will continue to support them and their development.

Those are some of the stories this hour, Fred. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Nick and we will be right back with the NEWSROOM after this.

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