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Liberians Living in New York's Staten Island in Trouble; Former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino Died at the Age of 71; Lava Flowing Less Than 500 Feet from Main Drag Through Hawaiian Town; Lebron James' New Nike Ad Premiering Tonight

Aired October 30, 2014 - 15:30   ET

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

PATTY ROSEN, DAUGHTER SUFFERED FROM BONE CANCER: And it's just like Brittany. She's saying whoa, wait a minute, I'm doing OK here. I can take this a day at a time. I can hope that the thing that Brittany should get a gold star for and we should all applaud is she has had the courage to come forth and say please, people in the United States take a look at this and will you free up doctors and nurses and mental health workers to offer compassion and death with dignity to the terminally ill.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: If she so chooses, if she's feeling fine to move that death date then she's allowed to do so.

Patty Rosen, thank you so much for being with me. I truly appreciate it. It's an incredibly controversial issue but it is one very personal to you and I really appreciate you taking the time with me. Appreciate it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Bottom of the hour you're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

It is more than 4,000 miles away from countries in West Africa but for Liberians living in New York's Staten Island, Ebola might as well be at their front door. They call their community here little Liberia. It is home to one of the largest populations of Liberian refugees actually outside of their home nation. But since Ebola has dominated the headlines as of late they have been fighting the stigma attached to the deadly virus here in the U.S.

And so I wanted to go to them. And so I spent my evening in little Liberia, eating dinner, sharing stories and helping them fight the stigma. Here's part of what we talked about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I wanted to come meet as many Liberians as I possibly could here in New York and have dinner you. So thank you for inviting us into your home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: it's a blessing having you over.

BALDWIN: We'll have food as we talk. So let me begin with you. You have family over there. You are in Liberia as recent as July. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

BALDWIN: But what has it been like for you living here in New York?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I'm still in Liberia with the Ebola. It is tough on us in the community as Liberians. We fine we're being stigmatized by our neighbors. Our children are bullied in schools. And, you know, we're here worrying about our loved ones in Liberia and to be going through this is devastating, and it's overwhelming, you know. It is hope that people can see us as people, you know, Ebola is a virus that's looking for a host and don't see color, you don't see any boundary or borders, they just want a host.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was just the beginning of a very long conversation I had with the three of them last night and talked about how Ebola is actually worse than the civil war. They fled to come here to America. So stay tune. We will be playing a lot more of that for you tomorrow here on the show.

But let's go deep near to the mania which is what my next guest called it in his "New York Times" piece today and what to do about it in the United States. CNN political commentator Charles Blow wrote about this in the "Times" in his op-ed entitled "the Ebola hysteria."

So, I'm so glad you're here in the wake of specially my evening that I spent, you know, yesterday. And a lot of it, you know, when we talk about the stigma and these people are feeling it, their kids are feeling it, I was talking to a high schooler who said, you know, my teachers are, they know she was from Liberia. And you know, somebody sneezes in the classroom and somebody says Ebola. It's not a joking matter especially when they have loved ones who are dying from this virus. You blame reactionary politicians and irresponsible media.

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right. Because I mean, there are levels here, right? There is the kinds of personal level of people who are from these regions so people assume that they are from these regions and they are stigmatized because people assume that, you know, they are afraid of Ebola and they assume they have some association with it even if they haven't been to those affected zones in years. Maybe they weren't even born there. There is kind of (INAUDIBLE).

But the more -- in a way the more it is dangerous stigmatization is going around health care workers and the way we're treating and we are choosing to quarantine or not when they get back, you know. What experts told us is that we are probably going to need about 5,000 more health care workers to go into that Ebola zone. These people are largely just volunteers. But we kind of think of them as, they are doing their job. No, not actually. They are leaving their jobs. They are volunteering to go in --

BALDWIN: I'm so glad you brought that up -- volunteering.

BLOW: Volunteering. And so, you know, this is not like the military where you sign up and say you can be deployed anywhere. You can't be really for it. No they are not. And so, what we need to do is make sure that more people will volunteer, not fewer people are likely to volunteer because when they return they may find themselves in a bubble in the middle of a hospital somewhere.

And that's what scared me because there's a genuine crisis happening in West Africa and where people -- we really do have to deal with this at the source or we will get to a point where we will need to have this level of kind of anxiety because it will arrive here eventually.

Our oceans cannot protect us from pathogens. Eventually, they will find their way. What we -- these hospital workers, these health care workers have been really good about monitoring themselves as soon as they realize they have symptoms they turn themselves in. You need that kind of trust among that group of people.

BALDWIN: So there are the bubbles and then you have, you know, the optics of the White House yesterday with the president flanked by some of these doctors and volunteers, some of whom were within that 21-day, you know, quarantine. And basically the president is the photos, it is the hugging of Nina Pham to say listen, this is OK.

I was listening to Bran Stelter. He is our senior media correspondent who is "RELIABLE SOURCES." People And I know a lot of people are pointing to, such as yourself, irresponsible media. But at the same time, let me quote what he says. Because he says part of the blame is on the reader or the viewer because, let me quote. If you're watching hour after hour you're probably going to come away with a disproportionate sense how important this story is. Is that fair?

BLOW: Well, I think that there is disproportion all the way around. If you look at how much content on the blogs there about, particularly in the U.S. where we've had nine cases as opposed 5,000 -- nearly 5,000 people dying in West Africa and many more thousand sick. Look how much news we've done in newspapers and television.

And look at where we are focusing the lens. We cannot pretend that we don't also help to shape rather than simply cover. We help to shape public perception every minute that I'm on this air talking about this it's helping to shape public perception. So we have to take kind of responsibility for some of that.

In addition to that, I was really struck today by the images of people running, you know, reporters and cameramen running around the bikes, right and there's no protective gear. They are right up against these people because we know, those reporters know, they have no chance of being infected by this woman.

BALDWIN: She's asymptomatic.

BLOW: So we know this. And we have to figure out ways to continuously say this to the rest of the American people. You are safe. There's no -- you don't have any danger. The same way those reporters are up against her with no protective gear on they know it, we know it. BALDWIN: But they are covering it because the state says one thing,

CDC recommends another, you know, and then she's obviously, and talking to Dr. Sanjay Gupta. She says listen, she is provoking. She's provoking this. But it's mixed messaging, but you have a point about the fact that this correspondent, those reporters, those camera people, they know that they won't get sick and I think every single second that we can be on the air shaping it appropriately, responsibly and educating.

BLOW: You're right.

BALDWIN: Amen. Charles Blow, thank you very much. I appreciate you.

Hey by the way, Election day Tuesday, Midterm elections, it can sometimes be tough, you know, to know all the nuances in these different races that we are covering very closely for you. But there is one very big reason you need to pay attention this year. Find out why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are five days, count them five days away from the midterm elections. And in case it slipped your mind, the last one of these in 2010, it didn't go so well for Democrats, didn't go so well for Barack Obama. Here's the president on the day after.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: What does it feel like?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Feels bad. I think that there's no doubt that as I reflect on the results of the election it underscores for me that I got to do a better job just like everybody else. I'm not recommending for every future president they take a shellacking like I did last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE) all right. His house Democrats lost 63 seats and lost control of the lower chamber. They also lost six seats in the Senate. And if, if they lose big on Tuesday, this time, they could lose control of that upper chamber.

So with me now from Washington, David Chalian, CNN political director.

David, nice to talk to you on TV, sir. Let's get the right it, shall we? Five days away. You say this is a pretty dynamic election. Tell me why.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, it's dynamic and President Obama may have to come up with a new verb on Wednesday, Brooke, but I do think that you're seeing two major themes at play right now in these final days. You got, obviously the president's approval rating is down. His standing with the American public is down. And you have an angry American electorate heading to the polls on Tuesday. Nearly, 68 percent of the country tells us in our most recent poll that they are somewhat or very angry at the way things are going in the country today. That's not a good brew, if you will, for Democrats.

However, on the other side of the equation, Democrats are trying to put the most sophisticated sort of data-driven effort at targeting voters in an attempt to try to bring out the voter that voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012, voters that didn't show up in 2010, voters that they are hoping to get to the polls this time to with stand that dynamic of how unpopular he is.

BALDWIN: Here's the other big difference other than, you know, said there was this shellacking that we mentioned in 2010. But the other big difference, David, the economy. You had an anemic economy in 2010. I want you to take a look at this. Here we go.

GDP, Gross Domestic Product, report just out, biggest upward jump since 2003. We have been watching, of course, the unemployment so closely to now below that six percent mark. That is the lowest it has been six years. That's huge. You got gas prices. We have all know, is that lowest since 2010. I continue. Consumer confidence, another fresh report the highest since 2007. So, we talk a lot about October surprises here. Could the economy be just that?

CHALIAN: Well, I'm not sure because I'm not sure that most Americans are feeling all those statistics that you just rattled through, Brooke. Our most recent poll this week actually showed a little dip in how Americans perceive the economy. A fewer Americans are seeing it as good or very good or somewhat good than did a month ago. It's dipping at precisely the wrong point for Democrats. But believe me, President Obama and the White House, they are eager to take a lot of credit for that and he'll be talking up that economy while he is out on trail in these final few days. I just don't know that Americans are feeling that uptick as much as the White House hopes they would.

BALDWIN: All right, David Chalian, we'll be talking in a couple of days and see if President Obama has to come with a new verb or not. Thank you so much sir, for me in Washington D.C. I appreciate it.

And now to this bold and big hearted Boston strong, those are the words of President Obama praising Thomas Menino today on news as Menino's death. Thomas Menino served five terms in office as the mayor of Boston. That is longer than anyone in the city's long history. Not too shabby, especially given Menino's low key demeanor which prompted early prediction of single term mayor ship. But no, the old school Menino helped turn Boston into a hub of high tech innovation. And he held the city together after the Boston marathon bombings. Menino died of cancer first diagnosed this year shortly after he finally office. Thomas Menino was 71.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Lava flowing less than 500 feet away from this main drag through this vulnerable Hawaiian town. Thousands of people use that road in Pahoa, Hawaii with the fire dangerous increasing there by the minute. This portion lava comes from the famous Kilauea volcano which has been erupting for decades. According to scientists, the lava flow could continue for 30 years. And Martin Savidge is live for me in Hilo preparing for a helicopter ride over this lava.

But Martin, despite all these pictures, still no mandatory evacuations, correct?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. There is kind of a reason for that is more of a philosophical one. The city is preparing. They've been prepared for months. It is the emotional barrier. Once it started crossing into town, people are like, my God, that day is here. And when it comes to the evacuations, the city is advising people to leave.

But volcano is part of the culture here. They are part of the history. Some people really want to remain and watch their house burn. It's closure, they say, to them. There are two mindsets here. Some would like to see it diverted, all science, technology use to push the lava away. Others say, hey, it is Hawaii. It made this beautiful island. It's still remaking those islands even if it takes our town. Two different philosophies, if you will, all focused on what the volcano is doing.

BALDWIN: Hold on a second. I'm still hung up on what you just said. They want to stay there and watch their house burn?

SAVIDGE: Yes. There's two camps (ph) there on that one. Some are doing it because, well, it's their house, they have lived in it, it is I've got to see it go to really know it's gone. There are others who hey, this is life. This is the islands, this is the culture, it is the same volcano that created the beautiful paradise and which we all enjoy and they live. And it's remaking it now.

So what is lost with their town is just the future that's being developed and they do believe, many people, that the entire town is going to go. They've seen it historically in other places. It won't happen overnight. It could take decades, but they believe their town will be gone.

BALDWIN: Martin Savidge, we'll let you get on that helicopter. We will look for your pictures through the evening here on CNN. Thank you so much for me in Hawaii.

Quick break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Basketball superstar Lebron James, probably heard of him, he's got this new Nike ad premiering tonight. It will give you goose bumps. He will make his highly anticipated home town return as a Cleveland Cavalier tonight in the season opener. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER: Every single night, every single practice, every single day, we've got to give it all we've got (INAUDIBLE). Everything that we are going to this floor, we come to this city. We own it. We're going to grind for this city. They are going to support us and we've got to give it all back to them. We get it done. It is something that we have in the court. So come to the city. Everybody, the whole city of Cleveland, this is what it is all about. It's time to bring something special. Let's bring it on in everybody. Let's go. Let's go.

All right, work on three. Let's get on six. One, two, three! Four, five, six!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Lebron James, once again, a Cleveland Cavalier.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me. I will be back the same time tomorrow, of course, Friday.

In the meantime, let's go to Washington D.C. "The LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.