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At This Hour

Veterans Day Ceremony at Tomb of Unknowns; ISIS Releases Video; Coalition Works to Determine if Strike Hit ISIS Leader; Dr. Craig Spencer Declared Ebola-Free in NYC; More Cold and Snow on Its Way

Aired November 11, 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 CO-ANCHOR: You're looking at live pictures of Arlington National Cemetery. This is the Tomb of the Unknowns, Vice President Joe Biden about to deliver a Veterans Day address and lay a wreath to honor our nation's veterans on this Veterans Day.

GUNNERY SERGEANT SARA DELL'OMO, MARINE BAND MEZZO-SOPRANO (singing): To those who came before the dream of a nation where freedom would endure, the work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day, what will be our legacy? What will our children say?

Let them say of me I was one who believed in sharing the blessings I've received. Let me know in my heart when my days are through, America, America, I gave my best to you.

Each generation from the plains to distant shore with the gifts that were given were determined to leave more. Valiant battles fought together, acts of conscious fought alone, these are the seeds from which America has grown.

Let them say of me I was one who believed in sharing the blessings I've received/ Let me know in my heart when my days are through, America, America, I gave my best to you.

For those who think that they have nothing to share, who fear in their heart there is no hero there, know that quiet acts of dignity are that which fortifies the soul of a nation that's never died.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CO-ANCHOR: You're hearing have from vocalist Gunnery Sergeant Sara Dell'Omo, a musical interlude following the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

As you noticed, that was Vice President Joe Biden there. The president is overseas, so the vice president instead laying the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Some 20 million -- over 20 million vets in our nation deserve our honor and praise and commemoration today.

BERMAN: And the vice president will be speaking at n a little bit at this event. We'll take that live when it happens.

You know there's a reason they lay the wreath at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. That marks the end of World War I in 1918. Veterans Day used to be Armistice Day in the United States.

PEREIRA: Still is in Britain.

BERMAN: Remembrance Day --

PEREIRA: In Canada, that's right.

BERMAN: -- in other places, so that's why this happened just now and, again, with the president traveling, we will hear from the vice president in just a short while.

What a beautiful, moving ceremony.

PEREIRA: Couldn't be a more beautiful day in November to think there's blue skies and still leaves on the trees on this Veterans Day.

BERMAN: If you see a veteran, if you know a veteran, thank them, more than 20 million strong.

PEREIRA: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Welcome back to our Veterans Day coverage, CNN here @THISHOUR, John Berman and Michaela Pereira.

We're showing you live pictures from Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknowns.

We're watching the amphitheater there because we know Vice President Joe Biden will deliver a Veterans Day address any moment. We'll bring you that speech live when it happens on this Veterans Day.

BERMAN: And of course while the nation honors its veterans, a reminder there are still wars at hand and a graphic reminder of what's at stake. Look at this.

Just the latest propaganda video released by ISIS. It includes another warning for the West. We're not going to show you a lot of the images here of some victims slaughtered by ISIS. They're all over this video

But it comes as the U.S. tries to confirm whether air strikes over the weekend hit the ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

PEREIRA: The release of the video also comes at the time that 50 more Americans arrive in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq, Anbar Province.

I want to turn to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Good morning to you, Barbara.

We're seeing it again, another ISIS video, another video taunting the West, advancing their cause with these horrific images.

You've had a chance to look at it. We're not going to show it to our viewers because of the sensitive nature of those images. Is the message different here or is it the same propaganda we've seen before?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, Michaela, John, what U.S. officials have been saying is they've looked at these videos over the month. They are dreadful, they are horrible, they cannot be shown on TV, but they do see a continuous message from ISIS, ISIS trying to put out the message that it believes it has inevitable victory, that it is winning.

This is what the -- the message they want to put out. This is what they believe helps them get these recruits coming to Syria and Iraq to fight on their behalf. You know, "Join us. You will be victorious." Of course, the coalition begs to differ/

And they do see some vulnerability in ISIS at various points. They do think that the air strikes are beginning to work. They are trying to get the Iraqis back out there on the offense. A long way to go on all of this, make no mistake about that.

You asked about Baghdadi. If, in fact, they think it's possible. The Iraqis had intelligence, struck some targets over the weekend where the Iraqis thought Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, might be. No information yet to confirm it either way, but the U.S. watching that very carefully.

Also watching the series of air strikes they themselves, the coalition, conducted north in Mosul to see who they may have gotten the

. No confirmation on any of this, but this is just kind of showing you the state of play -- ISIS trying to be the inevitable victor and the coalition stepping in trying to make sure that doesn't happen.

BERMAN: Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon, thanks so much.

Again, we're still waiting to hear what the results were of those air strikes, whether or not Baghdadi was injured. Even if he was though, there are others in the group who could take over. There is quite an infrastructure in place now.

PEREIRA: All right, ahead @THISHOUR, Dr. Craig Spencer, the last patient with Ebola in the U.S., was released from hospital looking hale and hearty. We are now Ebola-free in the U.S. What does that mean?

BERMAN: And of course we'll go back to Arlington National Cemetery. These are some live pictures of the Tomb of the Unknowns. Vice President Biden will deliver a Veterans Day address and we will bring that to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: It, of course, is Veterans Day, the day to honor the 20 million plus Americans who have served this nation so honorably. You're looking at live pictures at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. In JUST a few moments, we are expecting to hear from Vice President Joe Biden, standing in for the president, who will deliver an address. We'll bring that to you live.

PEREIRA: In addition to the 20 million veterans, the families, too. Such a sacrifice for them as well.

BERMAN: Absolutely, absolutely.

PEREIRA: Keeping the home fires burning.

Moments ago, a very exciting moment for the New York City doctor who is now free of the Ebola virus. He is leaving the hospital and he spoke to cameras, talking about getting better and moving on. Dr. Craig Spencer out of Bellevue Hospital now. His medical team says he had rigorous treatment and testing and that he now poses no health risk.

BERMAN: Now, Dr. Spencer had been in an isolation ward since late last month after he came down with Ebola while treating patients in Guinea. He thanked the doctors who cared for him and said his recovery proves that the treatment protocols are working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. CRAIG SPENCER, FORMER EBOLA PATIENT: Today I am healthy and no longer infectious. My early detection, reporting, and now recovery from Ebola speaks to the effectiveness of the protocols that are in place for health staff returning from West Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Got to say, he looks and sounds great.

Our Deborah Feyerick outside Bellevue Hospital. Also joining us, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Deb, this was a hugfest. I mean, Dr. Spencer was hugging everybody he could find. The mayor, Bill De Blasio, hugging everyone he could find. But that was to send a message here, wasn't it?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That -- but also this is really almost a victory lap both for the mayor and New York City health officials to show everyone that, in fact, this disease can be treated if treated properly, if people quarantine quickly enough, isolate, and diagnose and get to the right facility in time. So it really had a sense of jubilation. The doctor got a standing ovation; he looked calm and relaxed. He was smiling, he was hugging people, he was also sipping from a bottle of water.

He asked for everyone to take their attention from here, from here in the United States at Bellevue, and turn it back to West Africa, where it belongs. He said he had received numerous calls from colleagues, the other doctors in Liberia where he worked with Doctors Without Borders, but also from patients who he had successfully treated, asking him if there was anything that they could do.

Now, he did ask for his family's right to complete privacy. He did not take any questions and he says he doesn't plan to give any press conferences whatsoever. But his own doctor said that Spencer was very engaged and very active in his own treatment because of his work on the front lines and the doctor, Dr. Laura Evans actually, said she'd been in very close touch with the CDC, with Emory University in Atlanta, as well the University of Nebraska -- the Nebraska hospital, just so they could coordinate and really figure out the best course of action and the best course of treatment.

Keep in mind, Dr. Spencer's fiancee is still in quarantine. She's got just three days to go. His two friends, they're actively being monitored, but right now it appears he is on his way home in very, very good spirits.

And the one message, John and Michaela, that really seemed to resonate, the undercurrent was, look, do not stigmatize doctors that have gone there, that are coming back. Do not stigmatize nurses in hospitals that are caring for a patient. And do not stigmatize people from those other countries. So there really was a lot of messaging going on there, John and Michaela.

PEREIRA: It's interesting -- that's the message that we've heard from almost every survivor.

Elizabeth, I want to turn to you now, because it is a significant milestone that we've reached. He was the last known Ebola patient in America, so that is a milestone that we should tip our hats to. But the fact is as, as Dr. Spencer even mentioned, we have to turn our focus to West Africa because as long as that -- as long as the illness continues to ravage West Africa, it's going to pose a threat to our country.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean, we're Ebola-free right now at this minute, but someone could land in this country on an airplane from West Africa this afternoon and we wouldn't be Ebola-free.

So the Ebola-free term I think doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot. I think, as he said, we really do -- you want to focus on West Africa. If you help get rid of the problem there, you get rid of the problem here. And you can only do that by having more Craig Spencers go take care of Ebola patients and treat them with respect, the respect that they deserve when they come back.

PEREIRA: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, Deb Feyerick, thanks so much, both of you. A great milestone to see him going home -- at least we hope he's going home. His fiancee is still quarantined so we'll have to see --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: He's going somewhere. He's getting out of the hospital. Look, it's an important, important milestone -- for all the fear, for all the panic that it was in some places, it was handled and handled well. Hats off to everyone in the medical system who took care of this.

Ahead for us @THISHOUR: snow, snow, more snow, some cold, and snow. PEREIRA: How about some snow in there?

BERMAN: And it's coming for you. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: We're showing you lye pictures from Arlington National Cemetery. That's the Tomb of the Unknowns, inside the amphitheater. Vice President Joe Biden will address the crowd that has gathered there on this Veterans Day, celebrating all living veterans for their service, acknowledging their contributions and sacrifice -- not just those who are died but also those who are still living, their families, so many people making sacrifices and we honor them today.

We'll bring you the vice president's comments when they happen.

BERMAN: In the meantime, hide the kids. Heavy snow, it is coming for your. A serious storm has caused hundreds of wrecks in Minnesota, freezing temperatures in a huge, huge chunk of the country. Even Texas expecting a hard freeze.

PEREIRA: This is the first winter storm of the non-winter season, because it's not even winter yet. Still a month to go before that officially happens.

Chad Myers joining us today, hopefully you're bundled up. Oh, no, you're in Hotlanta, so you don't have snow there, but apparently it's -- this is a big storm. How bad is it going to get?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We have seen 16 to 18-inch swath from just north of Minneapolis right on up into almost Duluth and to Marquette, Michigan, the U.P. of Michigan. There you see the numbers behind me, a lot of cold air coming in behind you.

The snow is not done. The snow never got to Chicago, it never got to Milwaukee, it didn't even get to Grand Rapids. It is north of that line up there and you can see where the snow is now. The U.P. still going to pick up a lot, and in fact even some lake effect snow because that air is cold, it will pick up the moisture from that unfrozen lake and slam it down as snow.

Then we talk about the cold. Yesterday afternoon, Denver was 62 degrees. I was on the air with Don Lemon last night at 11:00 live, and the windchill there was 3. So the feels-like temperature went down 59 degrees in Denver in less than 12 hours. It was an amazing cold front. It's all the way down to Gulf Coast right now. It gets to you tomorrow afternoon. Still a nice day in New York City tomorrow afternoon. I mean, we're still talking in the 60s, and beautiful in Boston as well. That warm front just gets just north of Boston, you warm up, but then it's all over after that. So get the coats, guys.

BERMAN: And this cold front isn't the only thing coming. There's a whole other one after this, Chad, right?

PEREIRA: It's a one-two punch.

MYERS: We have 12 solid days of below-normal weather on the eastern half of the U.S. coming. No question.

PEREIRA: I'm going to need a turtleneck and long socks. I've got shopping to do.

MYERS: (INAUDIBLE) so it was nice out there.

PEREIRA: Oh, you were, were you in San Diego, were you? Thanks for rubbing that in. All right. All right, Chad, thanks so much. Thanks for letting us understand what is happening around the country.

We want to take you to Hawaii. We've been following this story as we've watched this slow-moving lava. Here is the result. Unfortunately, the slow-moving lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, well, it reached this home and it set it on fire. Remember, lava is about 2,000 degrees. Nothing can stop it. The only way you can avoid it: get out of the way.

Eventually, fire engulfed the whole home, leaving nothing in its wake. Residents on Pahoa, on the Big Island, have been expending this for months. This is the first house destroyed; however, we're told the USGS believes that no other homes are in imminent danger.

Thankfully, the residents had long since evacuated and cleared out their belongs.

BERMAN: ahead for us, Ferguson, Missouri -- so much of the country bracing for the word from the grand jury. Will they indict the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown? A decision could come any day.

PEREIRA: And a reminder we're waiting for the Vice President's comments. He's delivering a Veterans Day address. We'll bring you his speech when he makes it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)