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At This Hour

Amber Vinson to Be Released; CDC Issues New Guidelines; Christie Says Quarantine Rules Will Remain; Canadian Funeral for Slain Corporal; SC Candidate Slip of the Tongue?; John Boehner Gets History Wrong

Aired October 28, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A new Ebola success story, @THISHOUR, a nurse who got Ebola is set to leave the hospital. Is this a sign that the U.S. now has the upper hand?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A river of lava flowing just yards from people's homes in Hawaii, threatening to destroy their entire town.

BERMAN: Charles Barkley in the middle of a new controversy, a discussion about whether an NFL quarterback is black enough.

Hello there, everyone, I'm John Berman.

PEREIRA: And I'm Michaela Pereira. Those stories and much more, ahead @ THIS HOUR.

We begin with the day of today being the first day the rest of Nurse Amber Vinson's Ebola-free life, you could say. The second Texas nurse to get the virus after treating the first patient in the U.S. to die from the disease is about to leave Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

She and her colleague, Nina Pham, who is also now out of the hospital, have been the only people to get the disease within the United States. This just leaves one confirmed Ebola patient currently being treated in the U.S., Dr. Craig Spencer here in New York City.

BERMAN: Then there is Kaci Hickox. She does not have Ebola, but she is the nurse who spent a weekend inside an isolation tent at a New Jersey hospital. She is free for from her tent, and she is now back home in Maine where she will be monitored.

Hickox had treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone and, as I said, so far she's tested negative for the disease and she's had no fever except from one reading, the preliminary forehead reading at the airport.

She has been a poster child for the fine line that government officials have to draw between public safety and the civil rights of health care workers. We spoke to her lawyer earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NORMAN SIEGEL, KACI HICKOX'S ATTORNEY: If it turns out that her temperature is normal, she has no symptoms of the disease, there's no reason for her to be restricted.

If there are symptoms, then you deal with it differently. I'm not opposed to the fact that the government has the power to use quarantine. They just have to do it correctly and so far we've bungled it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That lawyer also said that they would decide whether, after he spoke with his client, they're going to continue to pursue legal avenues.

But let's turn now to the plight of another of her peers, not necessarily her colleague but works in the same field. Nick Valencia is at Emory University in Atlanta at the hospital there, pardon me.

And we know that Amber Vinson, very exciting morning for her, she is set to be discharged from that hospital.

Nick, do we have an idea about what time she'll be released from the hospital?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

Amber Vinson is expected to make her first public comments since being diagnosed free of the Ebola virus by health officials at about 1:00 p.m. Eastern. She got here to Emory University from her home hospital, Texas Presbyterian, after some staffing issues there, also a very strong track record at the Serious Communicable Disease Unit where she was being treated by Emory doctors.

They've already had four patients. Four of them have been treated successfully and discharge, and as you mentioned, Amber Vinson one of two Dallas nurses to have contracted the virus while treating Thomas Eric Duncan who subsequently died from his illness. Now, health officials are saying both Pham and Vinson are free from the Ebola virus.

Michaela?

BERMAN: It's remarkable at Emory, Nick, a 100 percent success rate at Emory dealing with Ebola patients. Amber Vinson just the latest one to leave there successfully, healed from the virus.

Do we expect to hear from her today?

VALENCIA: She will make some comments. We don't know if she'll take questions.

Also expected to talk is Dr. Bruce Ribnor. And he's been preparing for this, John, for the last 12 years. It was back in 2002 that the CDC approached Emory Hospital about creating this isolation unit. It was intended to be a place where CDC workers who may have been exposed to infectious diseases abroad where they can come back and be in a secure zone.

Now this health unit, this Serious Communicable Disease Unit, being treated -- being used to treat these Ebola patients, so Dr. Bruce Ribnor will talk about that, how there were over 120 medical personnel, from doctors, nurses, maintenance personnel, lab technicians, that all played a part in treating these four Ebola patients.

Very good news and a great start to the morning for Amber Vinson, now being clear of the Ebola virus, guys.

PEREIRA: A scene that's becoming somewhat familiar to us. We've seen Dr. Brantly and Nancy Writebol there at Emory University Hospital. Dr. Ribnor has become a familiar face to us in the course of this Ebola story.

Certainly, Vinson is anxious to get home to her family and loved ones and they're anxious to see her. She probably wants her first home- cooked meal as well.

Nick Valencia, thank you so much. I'm sure --

VALENCIA: You bet.

PEREIRA: -- that it's going to be great to hear from that young woman and the trial that she's faced. My goodness, life and death.

Now, meanwhile, the CDC has new Ebola guidelines that it hopes will bring some fairness and perhaps even some common sense into the equation.

The new measures are based on risk. Someone who has come in direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluids is considered high risk and needs daily monitoring and obviously must stay out of public places.

Now, a person who is at some risk, had contact with an infected person but wore protective gear, that person must be monitored and use common sense when it comes to their movement.

Now, low risk is someone who's only had minimal contact with an Ebola patient. They'll need to be monitored, however not restricted.

And then there leaves no risk, needs no monitoring. I think that pretty obvious. That's for people who had no contact with an infected person before they were --

BERMAN: Interesting, though, at no risk they're including people who did have contact with someone with Ebola, but it was before they were symptomatic.

PEREIRA: Right. Right.

BERMAN: Do not forget, at least half a dozen states now have their own rules that go beyond the CDC recommendations. New Jersey has the 21- day quarantine, which we heard Kaci Hickox's lawyer complain about. This has been called an extreme measure by some, but Governor Chris Christie says get used to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: When there are direct contact with people actively with the Ebola virus, asking them to quarantine at home for 21 days unless they're symptomatic I don't think is draconian.

And I think Dr. Fauci is responding, unfortunately, as are many people from the CDC, in a really hyperbolic way because they've been wrong before. And now they're incrementally taking steps towards the policy that we put in effect in New Jersey and now six other states have put in effect. And where the joint chiefs of staff have put in effect.

We're all wrong and they're right, Matt? We're trying to be careful here. This is common sense, and the American public believes it is common sense, and we're not moving an inch. Our policy hasn't changed, and our policy will not change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You know what's interesting? For all the talk of Ebola fears and panic in the United States, according to our new poll, looks like most Americans think the government can prevent an Ebola crisis in the United States, more than 70 percent according to the new CNN/ORC poll.

We will speak to our experts about this among other things including the remarkable success rate in treating Ebola patients here in the United States.

PEREIRA: Again, CNN will be watching that, Amber Vinson speaking from Emory University Hospital along with the team of physicians and nurses that cared for her.

And with these two Americans cured from Ebola, a number of potential cases turning up negative. Does this mean that we actually have a good handle on this deadly disease, at least here stateside?

BERMAN: Plus, political controversy. You will not believe the word uttered by this Democratic politician -- a mean, mean word.

Did he mean to say it? And could a Republican ever get away with saying this? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: We want to turn a very somber and beautiful scene in Ottawa, Canada. Right there, you see the casket carrying the body of the 24- year-old soldier gunned down in the terror attack last week, Corporal Nathan Carrillo.

We are looking at Ontario, Canada, which is right at the base of lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. Thousands of people, as you can see, just a handful of them -- not even a handful, there's many hundreds lining the street, but we're told thousands of people are lining the streets of Hamilton to pay their respects to this fallen hero in his hometown of Hamilton.

We know a regimental funeral service -- a private service will be held at noon for only family and invited guests.

BERMAN: Yeah, Corporal Cirillo really has become a rallying point for the entire nation in Canada and this beautiful service that we're looking at a minute ago as it rolls through his hometown of Hamilton, people there are remembering him.

He was a man who had a son who just entered kindergarten, known as a great father. He was also a guy who liked to rescue animals, including a dog he just picked up a few months ago. He saved them.

Known as a very, very, very kind person. Shot dead while serving as an honor guard at the national war memorial. Of course the man who shot him was later killed himself inside the parliament building. But today is the day to remember Nathan Cirillo for the man he was.

PEREIRA: So many people lining up to pay their respects. We mentioned this is a private ceremony for members of his regiment and family and invited guests but Canadians are lining the streets to pay their respects to this man.

It's a situation that shocked the entire nation, an act of terror that has shaken the very fabric of that community. We understand that the prime minister of Canada will be in attendance as well as several governmental leaders from Canada for the premier of the province but also we understand secretary of state John Kerry will be on hand to represent the U.S.

BERMAN: We'll check back in with this in a little bit as it continues, but a big moment up there in Canada.

We want to talk a little bit more now about Ebola and some of the stuff going on today. The CDC has the new guidelines out, the advisory, and also the remarkable news about yet another Ebola patient in the United States being released.

But first the CDC guidelines.

PEREIRA: Here's what Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health said about those new guidelines. He has been front and center of the U.S.'s response to the disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It's a good matching based on science of the level of risk with the kind of monitoring and the kind of monitoring with the kind of restriction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: All right, let's bring in Dr. Seema Yasmin, public health professor in Dallas and a former disease detective at the CDC, and Dr. Frank Esper, an infectious disease specialist. First of all, I think we have to talk -- we want to talk about the guidelines, but I think we also have to just talk about this moment of success. We see another health care worker stricken by this disease.

This has got to feel like a victory -- and I don't mean to put in the such sort of blank terms -- but this is a victory to know that we are sending another healthy person home. She has a road ahead of her, Dr. Seema, but we're getting to see her go home.

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Isn't this fantastic news? It's so reassuring to see that with good medical care, with quick diagnosis, we can actually treat people really well and have Ebola survivors.

What's interesting, though, is that Amber Vinson, for example, has become better very quickly compared to other Ebola survivors. Dr. Kent Brantly fell sick in Liberia. It was about three weeks, Michaela, before he actually made that full recovery.

So Amber Vinson fought the virus a lot quicker. We think, again, that's because of this quick diagnosis and really careful monitoring of electrolytes in the blood. That's things like sodium, potassium, making sure those levels stay good.

BERMAN: And Nina Pham, of course, even sooner. So both of these nurses who, by the way, are the only two people to catch Ebola in the United States, both of them have been released.

So Dr. Esper, what does this mean? Or how should this influence our public policy here, if we are showing that, with early detection and the monitoring and the measures that we take, since the obvious, really just horrendous way, Thomas Eric Duncan was handled at first in Dallas, since that things seem to be fairly well in order here.

DR. FRANK ESPER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: Well, it's true. We need to remain vigilant for -- to ensure that we identify, very quickly, those people who are coming down with this infection. It's true of any infection, not just Ebola. But the sooner you're able to establish a diagnosis, the sooner you're able to start the patient on therapy. In this case, it's just supportive therapy. The better people do in the long term, the better they survive and they get better much quicker. So I think it's not too surprising that, for the individuals that we found very quickly, that we were able to get them well very quickly.

PEREIRA: Dr. Yasmin, as a Professor of Public Health and, of course, a disease detective, I'm curious your take on these new guidelines. We've talked a lot about the fact that this is, sort of, an organic response, if you will, that we're learning somewhat as we're going. How do you feel about these guidelines? Are they going far enough? Or do you expect to see further tweaks, if you will?

YASMIN: Well I'm hearing from other public health experts and infectious disease doctors from across the U.S., is that these new CDC guidelines are a good thing, because they align a lot more with the science. And instead of lumping everybody into the same boat and saying hey, you've just come back from West Africa, this is what we're going to do with you, it kind of divides people into those different categories, high risk, some risk, low risk but not zero risk, and then no risk, and then treats them accordingly, based on what kind of exposure they've had. So we're hearing from medical experts that they're happy this aligns a lot more with the science, and a lot more with what we know about Ebola.

BERMAN: Dr. Esper, do you think, though, these distinctions are crystal clear? Because between the high risk and some risk and low risk and no risk, there can be a lot of shades of gray there.

ESPER: Yeah, there's going to be a lot of overlap between individuals and who was exposed and who has a high exposure versus a low exposure. Certainly, we always have a tendency to err on the side of caution. That's just how we are. We want to ensure the safety of the patient, as well as everyone else around them, for most and so we may end up, you know, if there's a question, we move them into a more severe category. But it is very true that the CDC guidelines are definitely spot on with the science, as we know it right now. But it is true that we are learning on the job.

PEREIRA: We are learning on the job, there is some success here and we should celebrate that. Let's hope some of that success can be replicated in West Africa, where they certainly need to save more lives. To both of you, our thanks, as always. Dr. Yasmin and Dr. Esper, we appreciate it.

BERMAN: Ahead for us @THISHOUR, what was the dirty word uttered by this candidate for governor, that we are about to show you, hopefully.

PEREIRA: Right there.

BERMAN: What did he say? Did he mean to say it? And could a Republican have ever gotten away with saying it? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Did the Democratic challenger to South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley really call her -- I don't even like this word. I'll let you listen to it. Or was this just an unfortunate slip of the tongue?

BERMAN: Well, whether it was a slip of the tongue or intentional, Ann Romney is blasting the Democratic candidate, Vincent Sheheen, after he said this at a campaign event last week. Listen to it now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINCENT SHEHEEN (D), SOUTH CAROLINA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: That is the worst kind of politics, and we are going to escort whore out the door. We're going to escort her out the door.

(CHEERING)

Think about it, y'all. Alright, calm down out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PEREIRA: I kind of half expect to see both girls appalled in either side of my -- they are, I know they are, because that word sends me. We're joined by CNN's Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist, Maria Cardona, Lisa Boothe is also here, she is Senior Director with the Black Rock Group and Republican Strategist. Maria, that word kills me. Let's start with you. Ann Romney says that if a Republican had said that, quote, "it would be blowing up in their face like nobody's business." Does she have a point there?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely. I actually agree with her. Look, this was clearly a cringe-worthy moment. When I heard it, I did a double take. I was like, did he really say that? But then afterward you see that it was clearly a gaffe, that he tripped over his words.

PEREIRA: But could he have handled it better?

CARDONA: Of course he could have handled it better, Michaela

BERMAN: Yeah, that's the problem.

CARDONA: Absolutely, he should have apologized immediately and said, look, you guys, you know I didn't mean to say that, I apologize to Governor Haley. He did apologize later, but I think to Ann Romney's point, I think she's right. There is a double standard, but the reason there's a double standard is because Republican policies are the ones that have historically not benefited women.

I guarantee you that if Sheheen had supported, in his past, had supported invasive ultrasounds, if a woman dared to get an abortion, if he supported -- if he didn't support equal pay for equal work, if he didn't support raising the minimum wage when two-thirds of the minimum wage jobs are held by women, then yes, I bet you EMILY's List now, and a lot of progressives would be going after him the way that they go after Republican candidates when they put their foot in their mouths and talk about rape, for example.

BERMAN: Lisa, I want to give you a quick chance to respond to this. I will say, that two things are clear. One is, he didn't really mean to say it, it was a slip of the tongue, but the other thing that's clear is that he laughed it off without apologizing, and at the moment after it was clear he did say it. What do you make of Maria's argument there?

LISA BOOTHE, SENIOR DIRECTOR, BLACK ROCK GROUP: Look, I don't care if he apologized or not. The comment was deplorable and it was sexist and Ann Romney is absolutely right. And he's not the only Democrat candidate to make comments like this -- this election cycle. If you look at someone like John Foust in Virginia's 10th congressional district, he attacked his Republican opponent, barbara Comstock, for not having a real job, despite the fact that she's an attorney, despite the fact that she worked for the Justice Department, despite the fact she's a small business owner, further, Democrats own National Chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, has accused Republican governors Rick Scott and Scott Walker of giving women the back of their hand. These comments are deplorable and that is the exact reason why, according to "The Associated Press," women voters are now turning to Republicans. More women would prefer GOP-controlled Congress than Democrats.

CARDONA: Well, I wouldn't go that are that far.

BERMAN: Hang on, cause I want to get something else here, Maria, but let's just leave it at the fact that saying dumb things can be bipartisan here.

But in the subject of saying things that are just flat out wrong, Lisa, I want to listen to the speaker John Boehner here, talking about foreign policy and Russia, in particular, and what the president did and did not do. Let's listen to the comment here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: When you look at this chaos that's going on, does anybody think that Vladimir Putin would have gone into Crimea had George W. Bush been president of the United States? No! Even Putin's smart enough to know that Bush would have punched him in the nose in about ten seconds.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So the problem with this, Lisa, is that when George W. Bush was president, Russia did invade a former Soviet Republic, went into Georgia right there, and I don't recall George W. Bush punching anybody in the nose. And, in fact, the sanctions regime, you know, imposed by President Obama, much harsher than anything that went on then.

BOOTHE: Well look, I think someone should punch Putin in the nose, but what John Boehner is alluding to is this general consensus by the public, and even President Obama's own former military advisors, that he's really lacking leadership on foreign policy and national security issues. That's why you've seen, most recently, President Obama's former CIA and Pentagon Chief Leon Panetta came out criticizing President Obama for his handling of Iraq and Syria, and even former Robert Gates attacked President Obama for his handling of Afghanistan. So he's been widely criticized for his national security issues.

PEREIRA: Quick final thought, Maria?

CARDONA: Sure. But that doesn't give John Boehner the right to, essentially, get history wrong. I mean, he needs to go back and really look at what happened, because he just looks foolish. And sure, he can criticize President Obama, but let's remember, President Obama got Osama bin Laden, and regardless of the criticism on Syria, he got Syria to give up their chemical weapons. So, again, let's look at history, don't be foolish in saying those kinds of comments.

BERMAN: Maria Cardona, Lisa Boothe, thanks for being with us, appreciate it.

CARDONA: Thank you for having us.

BERMAN: Politicians say a lot of silly things that are fun to talk about like this.

PEREIRA: Do you feel they might be back? Thanks, ladies.

BERMAN: Ahead for us @THISHOUR, this is a crazy story. A Denver man vanishes from the stadium during a Broncos game last week. Police are still trying to figure out where he went, how he disappeared, and maybe why.

PEREIRA: The family is scratching their heads. They're so worried. Anxiety building, meanwhile, for residents of a town on the big island of Hawaii. Kilauea's volcano is spilling lava at a very quick rate. In fact, that lava is less than 70 yards from some homes, that leaves a slow-moving disaster,

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