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ISIS Hostage Reporting from Kobani; Containing Ebola in U.S.; Volcano Threatening town of Pahoa in Hawaii; School Shooting Victim Forgives the Shooter

Aired October 28, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, an ISIS hostage forced to play the role of a reporter. The new propaganda video from inside Kobani where a power struggle has been playing out for weeks now. So, who has the upper hand?

Plus, lured to lunch with a text message. New details on how the Washington school shooter got all of his victims in the same place at the same time. And the surprising tweet of forgiveness from one of his victims.

Plus ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) NEW JERSEY: And we're not moving an inch. Our policy hasn't changed and our policy will not change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Overreacting to the Ebola threat or not doing enough? We're looking at who is quarantined as an Ebola survivor in Atlanta prepares to go home.

And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me. British hostage John Cantlie kidnapped almost two years ago in Syria has been given a starring role in a new ISIS propaganda video. Here's just a snippet of the five-minute video in which Cantlie plays the role of war correspondent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN CANTLIE: Hello, I'm John Cantlie and today we're in the city of Kobani on the Syrian/Turkish border.

Unlike an earlier video in which Cantlie is wearing an orange jumpsuit, here he appears relaxed in the all-black costume typical of ISIS. Whatever Cantlie's actual state of mind is in this new video, it's clearly intended to create the impression that he is now working with the terrorists. CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins us from near the Syrian border where the U.S. has launched four airstrikes today against ISIS targets. Nick, tell us more.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Cantlie video, I think, Carol, is chilling to watch, really, simply because of the sheer degree of (INAUDIBLE) and sophistication these (INAUDIBLE) critics turn except they put in to producing it. You can tell that John Cantlie is in Kobani, you can see recognizable landmarks around there, and he is there to refute what ISIS considers to be the Western propaganda reported by Western media about how the Kurds are holding on to much of the city. Cantlie is expressing ISIS' point that they are simply mopping up the remnants of the Kurds inside that city. It was probably filmed about a week ago. Given some of the references Cantlie makes, but as you say, he does look relaxed. It seems like he's almost warming to his role.

We have no idea, really, the state of mind he was in. He's under duress. He has mentioned in previous videos how he is under duress. There is no such comment that we hear in this particular video but this, I think, Carol, is perhaps ISIS way of responding in the public opinion battle to the heavy airstrikes they've received from laser guided munitions from the coalition airstrikes. These are their way of showing their adept with another kind of power technology, social media, high-definition video here, the graphics used with the drone flight at the top of the video which shows us an aerial view of Kobani, comparatively sophisticated for online social media, although a lot of this you can buy, frankly, in a store online. But I think their way of trying to show that they are on the front foot when it comes to talking and information more about Kobani, Carol.

COSTELLO: As for Kobani itself, we understand that Peshmerga troops are headed there now. Who is in control of Kobani?

PATON WALSH: Well, it's pretty hard to say that either side has a decisive grip. It's obvious that ISIS is still trying to push in from the east and the south. It doesn't seem like they have much sway in the city's center at this stage. The Kurds are still quite comfortable to the city's west. A lot of airstrikes backing them up. The Peshmerga, we understand, according to a tweet from one Kurdish official and some images shown on a Kurdish TV network the Peshmerga and launched numbers are in a convoy on route now from Erbil, the city in northern Iraq heading to the Turkish border, we understand, and then a combination of perhaps land convoy and air. They will move over 100 Peshmerga fighters and a lot of heavy equipment into Kobani where they'll then fight alongside the Syrian Kurds. It's bizarre, Carol, actually, watching how this is beginning to unfold in a very public fashion. We had expected the Peshmerga try and move discreetly. There were security at great risk, frankly, from ISIS perhaps in southern Turkey, but certainly, as they cross into Kobani. Strange now that we're seeing this happen in a very open way. Carol?

COSTELLO: Nick Paton Walsh reporting live for us this morning, thanks so much.

Fears of Ebola spread across the globe as borders tightened and monitoring reaches a fever pitch. 31 more Army personnel will now be monitored for Ebola. They should arrive in Italy tomorrow after leaving West Africa where they were helping in the fight against the deadly disease.

More than just monitoring for Australia, though. Visas to that nation are now on hold for anyone in the West African hot zone, and an overwhelming number of Americans think this Ebola crisis won't go away any time soon. A new CNN poll finds eight out of ten Americans believe someone new will be diagnosed with Ebola in the coming weeks.

And just hours from now, a nurse who caught Ebola from a patient will leave the hospital in Atlanta. Amber Vinson, you remember her, she's one of two nurses who contracted the virus from Thomas Eric Duncan before he died while being treated in Dallas. CNN's Nick Valencia is live outside of Emory Hospital in Atlanta to tell us more. Good morning.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Amber Vinson is expected to make her first public statement after being declared Ebola-free by health officials. She arrived here at Emory University Hospital's serious communicable disease unit on October 15 after being transferred from her home hospital in Dallas. That's Texas Presbyterian Hospital. They say they evidently had a staffing issue which led to Vinson arriving here. Now Emory University, a strong track record, a proven track record of treating Ebola patients. This Vinson makes the fourth patient who has had Ebola who will be treated here and later discharged.

Now, Vinson, as you mentioned along with Nina Pham, one of two Dallas nurses who contracted the virus while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, he is the Liberian who subsequently died from his illness. Now health officials, though, Carol, they are saying both Nina Pham and Amber Vinson clear of the Ebola virus. Carol?

COSTELLO: Do we know anything more about how Vinson contracted Ebola?

VALENCIA: We're hoping to get more details at this press conference at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, but according to local media reports as well as local CNN affiliates, Vinson was wearing her personal protective equipment while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, but at one point when he was highly infectious, when his bodily fluids were very infectious and contagious for those who were treating him, it's reported that Vinson inserted a catheter into Duncan and may have contracted the virus that way. We'll wait to hear what her next steps are after being released from the hospital later at this press conference at 1:00 p.m. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Nick Valencia, we'll get back to you. Thanks so much.

Kaci Hickox, the nurse who spent the weekend in isolation at a New Jersey hospital, is now back home in Maine. She arrived overnight and is now staying at an undisclosed location where she will be monitored. This morning, though, her attorney told CNN Hickox feels fine and she should not be under any sort of quarantine.

(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)

COSTELLO: Hickox and her attorney had threatened legal action if she was not released from quarantine and now, despite saving lives in West Africa, Hickox is not returning home to a hero's welcome. The state representative in her small hometown of Kent near the Canadian border told me he's taken several calls from residents who wished Hickox would have stayed in New Jersey in that 21-day quarantine.

And there's growing fear about Ebola and the potential spread of it could - potential spread it could have through health care workers as the nation's top doctors issuing new guidelines about dealing with the risks. Already seven states have plans in place to monitor or quarantine people who may have symptoms of Ebola. Poppy Harlow joins us now with more. Good morning.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol, I'm at Bellevue Hospital where that 33-year-old Dr. Craig Spencer continues to be treated for Ebola. We know that he is in serious but stable condition. Also here, a five-year-old boy who tested negative for Ebola last night but they are doing more tests on him to make sure that he is clear of the disease. I can also tell you this all comes at a time when late last night the CDC came out with revised tougher guidelines that they say are absolutely needed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: The CDC has come out with new guidelines it says will help protect America from the spread of Ebola. The changes coming as nurse Kaci Hickox, who tested negative for Ebola, is released from her controversial 21-day quarantine, a mandate that allowed New Jersey health officials to isolate her in this tent for three days after treating patients in West Africa with the group Doctors without Borders.

SOPHIE DELUANAY, EXEC., DIR., DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Quarantine of a healthy aid worker who presents no symptom is not - does not present a danger to the society.

HARLOW: Under the new guidelines, the CDC outlines four main risk levels. High risk, for those with direct exposure to infected fluids of an Ebola patient, some risk, for those living with or within three feet of a patient without wearing protective gear. The third is a low but non-zero risk, meaning anyone traveling from a country with widespread Ebola. The fourth category includes people with no identified risk, but could have had exposure to a person with Ebola before the person was showing symptoms or who traveled to West Africa more than 21 days ago.

The CDC believes the changes will better determine when individuals should be routed to care. Health officials are holding a five-year- old boy for additional testing after an initial test for Ebola came back negative. He is being monitored at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital in New York City where New York Doctor Craig Spencer, who contracted the virus in Guinea, is being treated. UM: We did the cautious thing and brought the child in under the full

protocol.

HARLOW: Meanwhile, ICU patients at Bellevue have been transferred to NYU Langone Medical Center. According to Bellevue, there were not enough nurses on staff to handle both ICU patients and treat Ebola.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: And, Carol, a few interesting numbers may give us a better sense of how Americans are feeling right now about Ebola in this country. A new CNN/ORC poll is showing that 54 percent of those surveyed think the government has done a good job in treating Ebola patients and in preventing the spread of it. Seven in ten Americans saying that they think the federal government will be able to prevent an epidemic in this country. As for that five-year-old boy, we are standing by to find out what happens to him. Because as I said, he tested negative for Ebola, but the health department hasn't given us any timeline on when they may release him. They want to do more test just to be absolutely sure. But you can imagine, Carol, a five-year- old boy in isolation, it's, you know, it's a pretty scary thing, luckily his mom is here in the hospital we're told with him.

HARLOW: A good thing. Poppy Harlow reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

This deadly outbreak of Ebola can be traced back to a two-year-old boy from Guinea. According to the "New England Journal of Medicine," it was this toddler who was the first to die of Ebola almost one year ago. He lived in a rainforest village in southern Guinea. We don't know how he got the deadly virus which also killed his sister, mother, and grandmother. It's believed to have spread when several people attended the grandmother's funeral. Ebola has killed nearly 5,000 people worldwide.

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM", a 2,000 degree river of molten rock is just yards away from a town in Hawaii and there is no way to stop it. CNN's Martin Savidge is on the Big Island.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the main road in the town of Pahoa, and as the roadblock behind me suggests, the lava is headed this way. We'll have a full report coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A village in Hawaii preparing for a potential disaster. Red-hot lava from the still-erupting Kilauea volcano is closing in on homes and businesses on the Big Island and all residents can do is sit and wait or run. The 2,000 degree river of molten rock is swallowing everything in its pass, consuming fields, flowing through fences and turning roads into fiery rivers of dark ooze. Mother Nature isn't the only threat to the community, either. Believe it or not, there are reports of looters targeting the homes of residents who have been forced to flee. CNN's Martin Savidge is on the Big Island. MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. It's been a

very nervous night here in the town of Pahoa. Point of reference here, see that white roof? Well, I can see it, maybe the camera can't. There's an orange glow in the sky and a pall of smoke, that is the lava and it's about 70 yards away from the nearest home. The danger literally on the doorstep. This is the main road through town. And the lava's going to cut right across it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Lava on Main Street. In Pahoa, on the Big Island, a 2,000 degree river of molten rock is just a few hundred feet away from the town and there is no way to stop it. Residents are on a moment's notice to evacuate as this superheated stone threatens the town of 950.

UM: Everybody, including myself, is quite nervous. We can't see the future. The flow does what the flow does.

SAVIDGE: Hawaii's famous Kilauea Volcano has continuously erupted since 1983. Usually the spectacular lava flows pour south, eventually reaching the sea. But in June a new flow started heading the opposite way, to the northeast, the dark oozing mass consuming everything in its path. And experts say the lava has picked up speed as it heads directly for Pahoa. Hawaii's governor signing a request asking for a presidential disaster declaration and for federal aid.

UM: As it gets closer, the key is communication with the community, keeping people informed and everybody continuing to work around the clock.

SAVIDGE: Officials going door to door warning residents as the flow inches dangerously close. Already, some roads have been forced to close as the lava overtakes them. With many residents fearing they'll be cut off, Hawaii County is rebuilding alternate gravel roads around the expected path of the lava. People downwind from the smoke have been advised to stay indoors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have asthma myself and the smoke conditions, if they increase, are going to be hard on some people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: The only hope that the people of this town have is that the lava either stops or goes in another direction. Otherwise, the same force of nature that created the Hawaiian Islands could very well destroy this town. Carol?

COSTELLO: Martin Savidge reporting.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, New details on the Washington high school shooting. A text from the gunman inviting his victims to sit together before he fired.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: New information is coming to us today about the deadly shootings last Friday at the suburban Seattle high school. Police say the victims were lured to the same lunchroom table by a text sent by shooter Jaylen Fryberg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF TY TRENARY, SNOHOMISH COUNTY, WASHINGTON: We know that the shooter had arranged to meet with friends at the lunch hour on Friday. Witnesses confirmed that the five victims were at the table when the shooter opened fire, striking the victims before turning the gun on himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We're also learning that shortly before the attack, Fryberg sent his ex-girlfriend a picture of himself holding a gun. Once his friends were seated in the cafeteria, Fryberg came up behind them and shot them at point blank range. Zoe Galasso died at the scene, Gia Soriano died two days later. Critically wounded in the attack were Shaylee Chuckulnaskit and two of Fryberg's cousins, Andrew Fryberg and Nate Hatch.

Our Dan Simon has more about the text that brought all of these victims together in one place. Good morning, Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, it seems like that the 14-year-old was even more calculating than previously thought. The sheriff saying that Fryberg sent out text messages to those five people telling them to be in the cafeteria for lunch and then once they're all seated at that table he apparently surprises them from behind and opens fire. It seems like, Carol, this was all premeditated. And the sheriff also saying that the handgun used, the 40 Beretta handgun, was in fact, purchased legally and belonged to one of Fryberg's relatives. As for the victims, one of them, a cousin, is said to be improving. Nate Hatch. His grandfather speaking to CNN. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON HATCH, GRANDFATHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM: He remembers, you know, the gun being pointed at him and, you know, him just freezing and just -- the other two getting shot and, you know, he's -- I think things are coming closer to him. But I wouldn't want him talking about it. I'm really scared of what's going to happen after he gets out of the hospital because there's so many things that people are going to be asking him. That the healing is the easy part, the memories of everything and the friendship that he had with his cousin is going to be the toughest part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, authorities are not yet speculating on the motive, but the operating theory, at least here in the community once again is that Fryberg may have been upset over a breakup with a girlfriend or he may have been jealous that one of his cousins was dating one of the other victims. At this point all we have are theories. Carol?

COSTELLO: The extraordinary thing is Nate, the young man that the grandfather was talking about, he was able to send out an extraordinary tweet offering love and forgiveness. Tell us about that.

SIMON: It really is extraordinary and this has gotten the community buzzing and, quite frankly, the nation is talking about this. I want to read you the tweet that people are talking about. It says this, "This is from Nate Hatch." It says "I love you and I forgive you, Jaylen, rest in peace." And I have to tell you, Carol, that sentiment is sort of echoed here at the makeshift memorial when you take a look at what people are writing. I just want to read you briefly what one person wrote. This is a letter here, as you can see. And it says "Jaylen was a good person, he did a horrible thing." I have to tell you, seeing things like this is pretty surprising. What we're seeing with this story, Carol, we've never seen with any of these school shootings in the past. Back to you.

COSTELLO: Touching. Dan Simon reporting live from for us this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, where is the Ebola czar? The head of the federal response to the deadly disease? Well, he's been MIA, where is he?

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