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Tensions, Death Toll Rise in Jerusalem; October Jobs Report Brings Criticism; Texas Now Ebola-Free; Fall of the Berlin Wall Anniversary

Aired November 07, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Poppy Harlow, in today for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

We turn now to the Middle East. New clashes have broken out in a Palestinian neighborhood of east Jerusalem as security is increased throughout the city amid fears of more violence. There have been days of unrest after a series of attacks, including this one on Wednesday, a Palestinian motorist plowed his van into a group of Israeli pedestrians. And then earlier this morning we learned that a second Israeli citizen has died.

Our Erin McLaughlin has been in Jerusalem throughout following this. It's a little after 5:00 in the evening there. Are there signs, Erin, that tensions are at least easing a bit?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, hospital officials confirm to CNN this morning that an Israeli citizen, 17-year-old student, had died; the second victim of -- to die from the tram attack that took place in Jerusalem earlier in the week. As for the situation here in Jerusalem in and around the old city, things seemed relatively quiet today but on Wednesday a very different scene unfolded at the holy site.

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MCLAUGHLIN: At one of Jerusalem's most holy sites, early morning clashes. Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to clear an area outside one of the gates. Hours later, there's an attack on a Jerusalem tram station, killing a member of the Israeli border police. The police shoots and kills the suspect, 38-year-old Ibrahim al-Akari.

Israeli security forces say he was a low-ranking Hamas activist. His widow denies that. She says al-Akari saw the clashes at the al-Aqsa mosque and decided to act.

"This is our land and country and they entered it by force" she says. "If I had to chance to do what he did, I would have."

Now violence surrounds this holy site known to Muslims as the noble sanctuary and to Jews as the temple mount.

MCLAUGHLIN: There are deep suspicions in the Muslim community that something could happen to the status quo this which says the Jews can visit the site but they're not allowed to pray there. Members of Israel's far right want the prime minister to change that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all accept them -- expect them to change the rules that Jews are not allowed to pray on the mountain and I think that it's starting now a revolution going towards that direction.

MCLAUGHLIN: The government has released a statement saying "There will be no change in the status quo on the Temple Mount. Whoever expresses a different opinion is presenting a personal view." In an institute inside the old city, artists have spent years creating garments and vestables in the belief that one day a new Jewish temple will be built right on top of the site.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Deep under the temple mount that was actually designed by King Solomon himself.

MCLAUGLIN: It's a belief that has many Muslims worried.

RABBI CHAIM RICHMAN, DIRECTOR, TEMPLE INSTITUTE: We're not talking at this point about building a temple. Is that the dream of the Jewish them? Yes. There's no question about that. But what we're talking about right now is to be able to fulfill our religious obligations to be seen by God in that place and to be able to utter a prayer.

MCLAUGHLIN: some Muslims are wary those Jewish prayers have political motivations.

YOUSEF NATSHEH, DIRECTOR, TOURISM AND ARCHAELOGY: Unfortunately, the mosque is a playing card with the hands of the Israeli political agenda.

MCLAUGHLIN: And now scenes like this one right inside the al-Aqsa mosque are relatively common. The meaning of the word "Jerusalem" is city of peace -- these days it's anything but.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: Today there were clashes in the West Bank and in eastern parts of the city. In the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat, Palestinians were throwing stones and lighting objects on fire. Israeli forces were returning with rubber bullets and stun grenades.

Medical sources saying that some 13 Palestinians were injured in those clashes. Shuafat is the site of the home of the driver in that attack in Jerusalem earlier in the week. Meanwhile, security remains in a heightened state here in Jerusalem -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Erin, what is being done on a diplomatic level to try to quell tensions and try to get some long-term resolve, at least in this situation?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a phone conversation with Jordan's King Abdullah. Jordan had recalled its ambassador to Israel over what it characterized as Israeli escalations at the site. Jordan, according to the status quo agreement, is the custodian of the site.

Now, in that telephone conversation, Netanyahu reiterated the government's position that the status quo of the site will persist and that the Israeli government will do everything it can to calm the situation -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Erin McLaughlin reporting for us live from Jerusalem. Thank you, Erin.

Still to come here in the newsroom, sparks fly. An air Canada Express flight makes an emergency landing. We'll tell you what happened, next.

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HARLOW: Checking your top stories this hour, sparks flew behind an Air Canada Express flight as it made an emergency landing in Edmonton. Three people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The plane had been rerouted to Edmonton after a tire blew on takeoff from Calgary but the winds in Calgary were too high for the flight to land there.

Pilots certainly earned their pay in Chicago yesterday. Heavy winds across the Windy City at O'Hare Airport caused several planes to land -- just look at that, look at that. At a very sharp angle, almost sideways on the runway. Dozens of flights into O'Hare and out were canceled. Others were delayed and you have to have some intestinal fortitude to make it through that one. I would not have wanted to be on that landing.

And this -- according to local media a patient who attacked eight nurses inside a Minnesota hospital using a bar from his hospital bed may have been suffering from paranoia. This is the chilling surveillance video from the attack -- the rampage that happened on Sunday. You can see workers scrambling for cover as they realize what is happening. The 68-year-old attacker actually died just moments after he was taken into custody.

Well, Honda has expanded a recall of its vehicles made from 2001 to 2005 because the air bags can explode. Air bags made by a different company, a Japanese company named Takata. The move comes amid disturbing allegations that Takata knew a decade ago that its air bags were flawed but covered it up. Takata air bags are found in almost all brands of cars. Look at all of them on your screen. This has resulted in nearly eight million vehicles by these ten car companies.

And the nation's unemployment rate has hit its lowest level in six years. This is good news. The government announced the October jobless rate slid one-tenths of one percent to 5.8 percent. 214,000 jobs were created last month.

The opening bell rang on Wall Street over an hour ago, the market kind of shrugging it off. Let's bring in Alison Kosik. Why is it? Why does the market not care about this one?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The bulls are kind slowing down because you look at this report, no doubt it's solid, it's good. But the way many analysts and investors are seeing it is it's just not great. The expectations are ratcheting up a bit.

HARLOW: Good for months now.

KOSIK: Yes. As time goes on the expectations are growing, so it's good it just wasn't a stunner. You know as we watch the (inaudible) I want to remind you of what just a few weeks ago, all that volatility. We saw actually the Dow and S&P dip into the negative for the year. Guess what? Now they're in the positive for the year -- the Dow up almost six percent for the year as you see. The S&P 500 up almost 10 percent for the year. Just this week, two record highs for the Dow.

HARLOW: I know. The S&P also hit a record.

KOSIK: Right. So putting it in perspective, today it's lower -- basically you're seeing some criticism about the report, some saying wage growth is embarrassing and that the variety of jobs out there is a joke. That's a quote from one analyst.

HARLOW: That's a tough thing about the wage growth because that's why as we saw in the exit polls from the elections so many Americans are saying I see these numbers but I don't feel it at home and it's like just in line with inflation so it's not making a big difference for them.

Many people, me among them, look at this market and think I should have got in before. I should have got in before. I don't know I mean what do you think? Is this market overbought right now?

KOSIK: You talk with traders and many are saying, yes, these levels that you're seeing are really not justified. I mean can you say Dow 18,000? We're looking at the Dow at 17,520 on a down day. It's not so far out of the realm of possibility of getting to Dow 18,000. Some are saying look, yes, we're seeing improvement in the jobs picture, GDP is definitely showing lots of improvement but is the economic picture really there where we should see level this is high?

HARLOW: But it's forward looking. All these companies still have trillions of dollars on the sidelines and I guess people are thinking, they're going to put them to work. So we'll see.

KOSIK: We're waiting on that.

HARLOW: We're waiting on that, thank you, Alison. Appreciate it. Good to be with you.

Still to come here in the NEWSROOM, two sides, one city told through two cars.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Germany's economy became strong and people could afford cars like this Mercedes. Meanwhile, the east stagnated. People were lucky to even get their hands on the unreliable Trabant car. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A drive by history lesson to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. That's next.

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HARLOW: Officials in Texas say the state is now Ebola-free after the last person being monitored passed a 21-day incubation period. Some 177 people have been under scrutiny but no additional cases have been diagnosed since patient Thomas Eric Duncan and nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson contracted the disease.

As you know, Thomas Eric Duncan died and Nina Pham and Amber Vinson have both recovered. In an interview, a fascinating interview with our Don Lemon, Vinson talks about the reaction that she now receives in Dallas.

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DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do people treat you differently now?

AMBER VINSON, NURSE: Well, since I've been back everyone that has noticed me around town has been just great. They come to me, they want hugs and they tell me that they've prayed for me and they're happy to see I'm doing good. But my bridesmaids that I met with when I was in Ohio, I've heard stories that, you know, just because they know me or they saw me that day that they -- people tend to stand away.

LEMON: Because when Nina Pham got it people were worried. Then you were on the airplane, they contacted the people on the airplane, they cleaned the plane, the kids in the school -- I mean, you know the whole thing, right? The bridal shop closed and on and on and on.

And I have to be honest, even when we were looking for places to do this interview, many places said --

VINSON: No?

It is so much fear. The public really needs to be educated about transmission and, you know, I now am Ebola-free. I don't have it and I have anti-bodies against it. There's an ignorance about it.

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HARLOW: Wow. That was a really fascinating interview. You can see much more of it online at CNN.com. And you know, Vinson says she still does not know how she contracted Ebola noting that she followed all of the CDC protocol.

Berliners are marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. And while the wall's destruction did mark a symbolic end to the Cold War, a barrier remained up in 1989 between reunited East and West Germany -- a split seen in two car models. Jim Clancy and Fred Pleitgen take us for a drive. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: the Berlin Wall didn't just divide the city on the front lines of the Cold War, it also divided its people.

The church of remembrance -- this area became the new center of West Berlin.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: While the communists tried to show their superiority by building this gigantic broadcast tower on the Alexandra Flats (ph).

CLANCY: But the two sides drifted apart. West Germany's economy became strong and people could afford cars like this Mercedes.

PLEITGEN: Meanwhile, the East stagnated. People were lucky to even get their hands on the unreliable Trabant. The border between East and West Berlin was sealed overnight on August 13, 1961. Some of the most dramatic scenes happened right here

As the wall was increasingly fortified, thousands tried to flee to the west. Very soon guards were given orders to shoot to kill anyone who tried to get out. West Berliners could do little but look on as families were torn apart. But America took a stand. President John F. Kennedy came to Berlin in 1963 and delivered an unforgettable speech right here at Schoneberg City Hall. Hundreds of thousands gathered as the U.S. President vowed America would not let Berlin fall to communism.

But the communists tightened their grip on East Germany. The wall's strip was upgraded and living conditions got worse. Most people were forced to live a dull life in communist high-rise blocks with virtually no chance of realizing their personal dreams.

CLANCY: Meantime, the West kept the pressure up. On June 12, 1987, West Berliners gathered at the Victory Column while down the street, President Ronald Reagan demanded that Moscow end the divide.

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that this wall.

CLANCY: That happened on November 9, 1989 when the bankrupt east German regime opened the border and finally gave its citizens freedom.

PLEITGEN: Today, Germany is united, its economy stronger than ever thanks to the people of both East and West Germany and the allies who never backed down in their fight against communism.

Fred Pleitgen --

CLANCY: Jim Clancy --

PLEITGEN: CNN --

CLANCY: Berlin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That was great. Fred Pleitgen joins us now live from Berlin. First of all, you have to tell me about that car, that's pretty awesome. And also I mean what a day that's coming up on Sunday.

PLEITGEN: Absolutely, Poppy. There's one thing that you can say and that is that I don't travel in style. We have the car right here. It's called the Trabant which was the main car in communist East Germany. It's called the Trabant 601 and I managed to get my hand on the s model which means sport, which mean this vehicle has 26 horsepower. I've been driving it around as part of our Fall of the Wall anniversary coverage -- Poppy. And I can tell you, it doesn't have power steering, certainly doesn't power brakes. In fact, this one barely has any brakes at all. It certainly catches people's eyes. It's been great to drive the car around but I won't be sad to not have to drive it around when this week is over.

And you're absolutely right. There will be big celebrations here in Berlin for the Fall of the Wall anniversary. I don't know if you can see behind me, there's these lights that you see there. That's a recreation of where the Berlin Wall used to be. It's about eight miles long. Of course, the actual Berlin Wall was a lot longer, 8,000 of these things that are all going to out to the moment the Berlin Wall was opened on November 9 so it's going to be a big celebration and certainly this city is very much gearing up -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely. We will be watching Fred Pleitgen special coverage of that all weekend. We'll be back in just a moment.

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HARLOW: All right. That will do it for me this Friday. Thanks so much for spending part of your morning with me.

Let me hand it over to my colleagues John Berman and Michaela Pereira "@THIS HOUR".

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