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CDC Issues Travel Warning; Airstrikes in Libya; Military Mother Addresses Pence; Distracted Driving. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired August 02, 2016 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[09:31:42] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And, good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.
The CDC issues an historic warning. If you are pregnant, do not travel to a Miami community because of Zika. At least 14 people have now been infected with the virus, forcing officials to release a new set of precautions over the outbreak. This marks the first time in U.S. history the CDC has warned people not to travel to a U.S. neighborhood.
So let's bring in Dr. William Schaffner. He's a professor of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt, University.
Welcome, doctor.
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR OF PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: Hi, Carol. Good to be with you.
COSTELLO: Nice to have you here.
This sounds scary, pregnant women don't go to Miami. Like how scared should we be?
SCHAFFNER: Well, I don't think you should be scared, but we ought to be prudent. And now, if you're pregnant, let's not go to that area just north of Miami where Zika is being transmitted. Let's go someplace else, or if you have a business conference, let's do it by phone. Pregnancies are precious. We want to be careful.
COSTELLO: So is there a real danger of a woman who's already pregnant, of her fetus getting Zika if she's bitten by a mosquito carrying the Zika virus?
SCHAFFNER: Well, fortunately, the risk is very small. But all the women who live and work in that area are being asked to go to their obstetricians and get counselling, get testing and get ultrasounds on their -- as their pregnancy progresses just to be sure.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's just -- that's just such a scary thought. I'm trying -- I know -- I know what you said and I heard you and we shouldn't be that worried, only cautious. So, yes.
Let's talk about containment now. I want you to listen to something the CDC director said earlier today. Here it is.
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DR. TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: We anticipate there will be more cases. In fact, most of those cases were found because Florida was very proactive and went out and tested people. Anywhere in the U.S. where this mosquito is present, there is a risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Your thoughts on what he just said?
SCHAFFNER: Well, I think Dr. Frieden is exactly correct. We've all been anticipating this. Recognize, once the cases were discovered, Florida's health department in association with the CDC have literally gone door to door knocking on doors, educating people and getting specimens, urine specimens, sent to the laboratory. So if you look very hard, you'll find more cases. And actually we anticipate, as this control measure continues, we'll find even more cases because, if you look hard, you'll find more cases.
COSTELLO: So if you're a woman living in Miami, should you risk getting pregnant right now?
SCHAFFNER: Actually the recommendation is, if you're not pregnant now, let's give it a pause and put it off for a little bit until this circumstance calms down and we have a better idea of what's going on. That seems very prudent and wise to me.
COSTELLO: OK. So more on the subject of containment. You know they're spraying for mosquitos here in New York state. They do it all the time, but they've stepped up their efforts just in case. So how possible is it for those mosquitos in Florida to make their way up to New York state or other states in the country?
SCHAFFNER: Well, the mosquitos in Florida will stay in Florida. They have a very, very limited flight range and a short life span. So they don't fly beyond, well, let's say a one and a half football fields in radius. And so that's very limited.
[09:35:13] But part of the difficulty is that killing these mosquitos is difficult. They may be resistant to the usual insecticides that are being used and they have a great capacity to multiply in very small amounts of water. So what people -- all of us should be doing, wherever we live in the U.S., is as we used to stay in Boy Scout camp, police the area. Go around your home and look for any standing water and up end it. Make sure that water doesn't pool even in very small containers, because that's where these aedes mosquitoes like to breed.
COSTELLO: All right, great advice. Dr. William Schaffner, thank you so much for being with me this morning.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM --
SCHAFFNER: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're welcome.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the U.S. opens another front in the air war on ISIS. This time it's Libya.
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[09:40:12] COSTELLO: The Pentagon is launching a new series of air strikes targeting ISIS, this time in Libya. Military officials say it's the beginning of an ongoing air campaign. They plan to hit ISIS strongholds there starting with the coastal city of Sirte. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us live with more on this.
Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
I think you're making the key point right there, this will be a series of air strikes that the U.S. is engaging in, in Libya, in conjunction, in cooperation with the new emerging government there. That's the real change here. There is the beginning of a fledging Libyan government on the ground. They asked for help. The U.S. responding, going in and now we'll hit a number of ISIS targets. Already tank vehicles, some other targets hit.
This is along Libya's northern coastline, mainly in a city -- near a city called Sirte. The is the ISIS stronghold in Libya. And the government there has been trying to push ISIS out, having some trouble really being able to bring that all to a conclusion. So U.S. fire power called in.
ISIS has been pretty strong in Libya. They've been growing. And the big concern is, of course, from that northern coastline they can move readily into southern Europe, they can move across northern Africa, plan and stage additional attacks. There is a sense that many ISIS fighters in Libya may have already disappeared, mixing in with civilian populations. So some urgency to all of this to really get after it and see if once and for all they can really push ISIS out of Libya. It may be a very tall order. But with U.S. firepower, this new government hopes they can make some progress.
Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Barbara Starr reporting live from the Pentagon. Thank you.
What Barbara was talking about was reality, men and women putting their lives on the line. What's playing out in the political arena, gold star families are demanding Republicans repudiate Donald Trump's attacks on the Khan family, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004.
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KAREN MEREDITH, ORGANIZED LETTER FROM GOLD STAR FAMILIES TO TRUMP: If you don't say something, then it means you're OK with it. And apparently the Republican leadership is OK with his behavior and his denigration of the troops. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Paul Rieckhoff founded the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He also served his country in Iraq.
Paul, welcome.
PAUL RIECKHOFF, AUTHOR, "CHASING GHOSTS": Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: First of all, I want you to take a look at what happened when a military mom stood up at a Mike Pence rally and, you know, kind of criticized Donald Trump for his attacks on the Khan family. Watch.
RIECKHOFF: Sure.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question for you, Mr. Pence, is, time and time again Trump has disrespected our nation's armed forces and veterans and his disrespect for Mr. Khan and his family is just an example of that. Will there ever be -- will there ever be a point in time when you're able to look at Trump in the eye and tell him enough is enough?
GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: (INAUDIBLE). It's OK. It's all right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have a son in the military.
PENCE: It's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you tolerate his disrespect?
PENCE: Well, I think you for the question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
PENCE: Let me just say, first, I want to honor your son's service to the country and your family's service to the country. I truly do, ma'am.
Let me say I know this has been much in the news of late in the last few days, but as I said last night, as Donald Trump said Saturday night, Captain Khan is an American hero and we honor him and honor his family, as we do all gold star families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So as you watch what transpired there, what goes through your mind?
RIECKHOFF: Our organization is bipartisan. We don't endorse any candidate. We want to hold everybody accountable. And our membership has been universally outraged by this entire thing. And I think what we know coming out of the military is, leaders set what we call a command climate. You create the environment that your followers operate in. And this is the environment that has been created. If a military mother can stand up and be booed, it is outrageous. Mike
Pence has to shut that down. Donald Trump has to shut that down. Hillary Clinton should do the same. This is not about partisanship. This is about honor. This is about integrity. And this about respecting families that are enduring something that's unimaginable for most of the American public. And Mike Pence especially knows. His son is in the Marine Corps. Tim Kaine's son is in the Marine Corps. So we're going to look to them to be leaders, to set the right environment, set the right tone and bring more light and less heat. That's what -- that's what this country needs right now.
COSTELLO: There are many who are calling for Donald Trump to apologize to -- to apologize for his attacks on the Khan family. Donald Trump's son Eric appeared on CBS' morning show this morning. He says his father has apologized, not by saying I'm sorry, but let's listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They want an apology. Would your father be willing to apologize and move on?
ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: I think that's a great question for him and I think he has by calling them a hero. You know, in terms of the one question of whether you've made a sacrifice, I think my father has. Now that's certainly not the ultimate sacrifice. The ultimate sacrifice is a soldier dying for this nation and dying to protect the three of us. There's no question about it. But --
[09:45:07] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it difficult for him to apologize, Eric, on anything? You know him -- you know him probably better than anybody.
TRUMP: My father's a fighter. You know, my father's a fighter. And I think this country needs a fighter. And I think he was attacked the other day, and he was attacked viciously. And, by the way, that's politics. You're going to get attacked.
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COSTELLO: Was Donald Trump attacked viciously by the Khan family? Does it matter?
RIECKHOFF: I don't think there's any apologizing for this, right? There's no apologizing for his comments. There's no excusing his comments. And that's why the outrage has been universal. Republicans, like John Kasich, organizations like the Gold Star Moms, like TAPS, like the Travis Manion Foundation, the outrage is universal. And for anybody to defend this, they're going to lose that political argument. I mean you can argue that maybe Mr. Khan was entering the political arena, but there are still rules. And to attack their integrity, attack their character, attack their patriotism and to compare anything with the ultimate sacrifice is completely out of bounds.
COSTELLO: Well, I was just going to ask you that, that this notion that Donald Trump sacrificed by building businesses and creating jobs -- RIECKHOFF: It's not even close. I mean he has to consider that his son is of age. His son is probably about the same age Captain Khan was. To imagine losing your son in combat is not comparable to anything on earth. It's called the ultimate sacrifice for a reason. And to question that or compare anything with that is exactly why you're seeing this kind of outrage. And Donald Trump's got a real mess on his hands and he's got to find a way to dig himself out of it and he can't just deflect and he can't make excuses. This is crossing all partisan lines and all of America is outraged. He's got to respond.
COSTELLO: And it's becoming so politicized now because you have -- you have those family members who lose loved ones in the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi --
RIECKHOFF: Right.
COSTELLO: Now coming out and saying that Hillary Clinton should apologize.
RIECKHOFF: Right.
COSTELLO: I want you to listen to what one of the mothers of those lost in Benghazi told Brooke Baldwin yesterday.
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PATRICIA SMITH, MOTHER OF AMERICAN KILLED IN BENGHAZI: I was treated like dirt. I don't think that the Khan family was treated that way. But I was treated like dirt. I was called a liar. Hillary promised she would get back to me and tell me what happened. I don't know why my son is dead. I don't know why he was there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So this whole thing has become so political charged and politicized. And I know that your organization fights against that.
RIECKHOFF: Yes. I mean Mrs. Smith deserved respect too. She's lost her son and her sacrifice is unimaginable. What's happening here is both parties have always used veterans and military families as political attack dogs or as props. But the candidates need to hold themselves to a higher standard.
This is a political battle and in some levels there's a political proxy war happening from Republicans and Democrats. But just like in war, there are still rules. And to attack the integrity of a family is going to be out of bounds, whether it's Trump, Clinton or anybody else. And you're going to see the military community push back.
Again, this is not a partisan move to push back on Trump. It's every veteran's group. It's every type of political background. And it's a real -- it's uncharted territory. We've never had a command climate from a presidential candidate that has treated the military community in this way. And our gold star families are sacred.
COSTELLO: Paul Rieckhoff, thanks for stopping by. RIECKHOFF: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: I'll be right back.
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[09:52:44] COSTELLO: As a parent, how many times do you make sure to tell your teenager not to text and drive? Now how many times are you caught doing it right in front of them? According to a study by the University of Alabama, nearly half of all parents confess to driving distracted. Kelly Wallace has more about one parent who looked at her phone while driving with deadly results.
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KELLY WALLACE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura Maurer visits site near Brooklyn, Iowa, where her life changed forever two years ago. The mother of two and hair salon owner was driving along old Highway 6. She pulled over, texted a client whose house she was headed to, and started driving again.
LAURA MAURER, DISTRACTED DRIVER: I think I probably had gotten three miles down the road when she texted me back and it dinged three times. And I don't think I even read the whole thing, I kind of skimmed it, and set it down. And when I looked back up, there he was. And I slammed on my brakes and I went to swerve and, unfortunately I clipped the tiller he was pulling, and that was it.
WALLACE: A cross marks the place where 75-year-old Marvin Beck (ph) of nearby Malcolm, Iowa, was ejected from his tractor.
MAURER: I held him in my arms, you know, and called 911. And his sons ended up coming and took him out of my arms, and I think I called 911 again at that point. And I was in the police car when we find out -- found out that he didn't make it. And --
WALLACE (on camera): What was that like? I mean it's going to be impossibly difficult no matter what.
MAURER: I don't think there's an hour that goes by that I don't think about him in some way.
Even if I could just save one kid from not doing it or one person, I think at least that is a little bit of comfort. You know, open people's eyes and make them realize we need to change the way we're driving.
WALLACE (voice-over): Especially when you think about how many people, including parents, text or post on social media while driving.
[09:55:01] DESPINA STAVRINOS PHD, (ph): We're finding estimates of about half of all parents say that they drive distracted. So that's not really helping for where we're trying to get in terms of shifting the societal norms. If mom and dad are doing it, then, hey, it must be OK.
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WALLACE: Laura Maurer spent 14 days in jail, and she is now in the process of completing 200 hours of community service. Carol, she's going around talking to kids and parents hoping they learn from what she calls the biggest regret of her life.
COSTELLO: Kelly Wallace, thank you so much.
WALLACE: Sure thing.
COSTELLO: Kelly's special, by the way, "Driving While Distracted," airs this Saturday afternoon, 2:30 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.
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[10:00:12] COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
