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ISIS Closing In On Baghdad; Dallas Nurse with Ebola Identified as Nina Pham; New Document Regarding Catholic Church Policies

Aired October 14, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We had talked to our correspondents on the ground yesterday who said inside Baghdad, there's not much fear that ISIS will take Baghdad because the Iraqi army is still in force there and there are eight million people there.

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, the bulk of the army there, the best units are there and there are hundreds of thousands of Shia militia, the home defense units that are there as well.

So, if ISIS tried to take Baghdad, it would be very, very difficult. I think it would be impossible, given the numbers they have. But that doesn't mean they can't start to surround it. We've seen them to the north of the city, west of the city, west of the airport and even south of the airport.

So, they can fire artillery into the city. We've seen mortar rounds impacting into the Green Zone. Car bombs in the Shia area of the city.

So, what they're doing is undermining the credibility of this new government that was supposed to be all inclusive.

CAMEROTA: Colonel Francona, thanks so much. Great to have you with us this morning.

Let's go over to Michaela for what's coming up.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Here are your headlines, Alisyn. Thanks so much.

A possible new Ebola case surfacing now in Kansas City. It is a medic who was working aboard a ship off the coast of West Africa. The patient is in isolation this morning at the University of Kansas Hospital suffering from a high fever and other symptoms. Now, again, at this point only a possible case. That patient is being monitored.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, a nurse who contracted Ebola from a dying Liberian man is in stable condition. That patient is being treated with a plasma of Dr. Kent Brantly, who as you recall, survived the virus.

Breaking overnight, at least one person is dead after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the coast of El Salvador, up the southern coast. Officials say the quake caused damage, it was felt by millions in the nation, power to the city was knocked out, but at this point it has largely been restored.

The British parliament has voted to recognize Palestinian statehood. The House of Commons backing the nonbinding resolution, by an overwhelming 274-12 vote. Although less than half the ministers actually participated in the vote, officially, the country's policy reserves the right to recognize a Palestinian state bilaterally. At the moment of our choosing and when it can best help bring about peace.

Boy, that is saying that politics is ugly is living up to its name in New Hampshire -- this guy, check out this guy. Republican Lawmaker Steve Vaillancourt, wrote in weighing in on the congressional race in his state saying that this woman, Democrat Ann McLane Kuster, will lose reelection because she is, quote, these were his words, not mine, "ugly as sin." And then he says, I hope I haven't offended sin. Not nice.

On the other hand, he called her Republican challenger, Marilinda Garcia, one of the most attractive women in politics. Garcia has called the comments sexist.

Interesting how action words can be ugly and true nature of the person.

CAMEROTA: 1954 called, they want their comments back.

PEREIRA: Thank you. Thank you. I mean, really, there's no place for any of that.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I don't even think it's just, you know, an anachronism. He just -- he's a dope.

PEREIRA: He's a jerk.

CUOMO: Jerk, dope. He's a whole genre of words. Think about them in the break, shall we?

Before we get there, severe storms slamming the south overnight and into this morning. The devastation stretching from Texas to Alabama. A man also killed in Arkansas, when a tornado ripped through the state. In Alabama, an elderly woman was killed when her home was crushed bay tree.

Let's get you more on this with meteorologist Alexandra Steele. She has the latest.

What do we know?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, Chris, actually this is the first deadly October tornado outbreak since 2009, but those two deaths thus far.

Here's the line, now it's certainly weakening a bit, but it is moving quickly and moving eastward. So, again, still tornadoes potentially today. We do have a tornado watch, of course. These serve thunderstorms could have rotation and produce tornadoes. This in Atlanta south toward Macon, including Tallahassee until noon

all pushing eastward. Tornadoes, but also again hail and strong winds, that's really been part and parcel to the storm, and certainly the calling card of it. Yesterday, over 200 severe reports with tornadoes and winds, tornadoes, 13. You can see kind of where they've been.

Again, it is all moving eastward and why, of course this jet stream taking it eastward. The access of where the potential rotation is eastward. Flood threats, Dothan to Knoxville, Chattanooga, two to four inches. Again, today, eastward, Charlotte, Atlanta, Atlanta, big delta hub, U.S. Airways and Charlotte. Across the country, wherever you may be flying, you may be impacted by the storms at the big hubs in the Southeast.

CUOMO: Boy, bringing bad things with them.

Thank you very much, Alexandra, for the latest. Appreciate it.

Now, we can tell you who the Dallas nurse is who is fighting for her life against Ebola and also her new best chance for recovery. However, this is the big problem: officials are still trying to figure out how Nina Pham became infected in the first place. We have the details about her condition. And we're going to have one of her closest friends speak out to CNN about her.

CAMEROTA: And the Vatican striking a tone of tolerance for gays, is this just talk or is the Catholic Church willing to change?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: We're learning more about the identity and condition of the first patient to contract Ebola in the United States. This young woman's name is Nina Pham, just 26 years old. We're told she's in stable condition at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. It's the very same hospital where she was part of the medical team who treated Thomas Duncan, who succumbed to the disease last week.

We've also learned that Nina received a blood transfusion from this man, Ebola survivor, Dr. Kent Brantly.

Let's bring in Thomas Ha. He is a family friend of Nina Pham. He joins us now.

Good morning to you, Mr. Ha. I appreciate you joining us from Texas.

How is Nina doing this morning?

TOM HA, FAMILY FRIEND OF NURSE WHO CONTRACTED EBOLA: As far as the last moment we heard from her family through the pastor of the church, she is doing fine. She's in good spirit and she calls into the family and asking everybody to say the prayer for her. (INAUDIBLE)

PEREIRA: We understand that she's been able to keep in touch with her family and some of her loved ones from phone calls and from Skype. Talk to me about the family. Obviously, they're concerned. But I know this is a family of great faith.

Are they getting comfort from the church and from their faith?

HA: Yes, ma'am, they are actually getting a lot of support from the church and especially she, her mother belongs to a group called the Legion of Mary, this a group of folks who get together and help other people weekly and also we have a very long session of prayer.

And that's the reason why she found out about her daughter's situation. She contacted the Legion of Mary first, and everybody is on the prayer for her.

Last night, at our church we also have a mass. And along the mass, the father also have everybody pray for her and her family.

PEREIRA: I think there's a lot of people around the nation joining in those prayers as well.

I understand Nina called the church members, and told them that she had tested positive for Ebola. A very emotional moment. Walk us through that.

HA: At that moment, actually the mother called, I like I just mentioned, we belong to a group of very small people, small group of people, Legion of Mary. And she called and informed one of the members about the situation of her daughter. At that moment, she was bursting into tears, so she couldn't really tell us which daughter was having the problem. And everybody was in shock. Yes.

PEREIRA: Was there any fear? Because I imagine that Nina and her family were quite chose to the church family. Were they afraid that they had come in contact with Nina?

HA: I don't think that's the case. Simply we know that Nina is living in Dallas and attending the church up there and her family is here in Fort Worth attending the church, Our Lady of Fatima Church in Fort Worth.

PEREIRA: What about the family, did they talk at all about the fact that Nina, had been dealing with this patient, part of the critical care team that was caring for Thomas Duncan, the man who ultimately died from Ebola? Did the family have concerns about that, did they talk about that or was that not something that came up?

HA: No, as of this most, the family is totally occupied with the situation of her daughter.

PEREIRA: Sure.

HA: And she constantly getting would like to have the most updated information. Like most of us, she doesn't really even know what is going on, how to cure the disease, how bad it will be. The family and everyone here, keep praying to God that she will have a quick recovery.

PEREIRA: So, help me understand that, her mother doesn't feel like she's getting enough information about her daughter's care or about her prognosis? What does she know?

HA: I think that like, she does not get a clear picture of whether or not, how the situation will be. Will her daughter have a complete recovery or not? I think the disease is still very mythical type of deal. So not only her, but everyone having this, sharing the same feeling that we really don't know what is going to happen.

PEREIRA: But it is a good sign that she got this, this plasma transfusion, you feel very encouraged about that.

HA: Oh, yes, definitely. The whole community is very happy when we heard about that at least someone took the step to get the solution and in this case, everybody was, excited about the news.

PEREIRA: This is such a young woman, just 26 years old. We know she had been a nurse a very short time. In fact, she only received her critical care nursing certificate in August.

Do you have a sense of about whether she felt prepared to deal with something as intense and as frightening as Ebola? Did they -- did you ever get a sense from the family that she felt that they were adequately prepared and trained for the potential situation they found themselves in?

HA: I think this is a very new disease. So not only her, but a lot of other medical facilities, medical people in the medical field, they don't know real well about this disease. But Nina is like other nurses and she always think about the patient first.

And especially for the family, it's a very strong faith. And I talk personally with her mom, many times before, where Nina graduated, she said that Nina's wanted to get a job in a career that she can go down to the level of the people, listening to them, understand them, comfort them. And especially she wants something that she can play a really important part in recovery and healing of the patient. So in this case, I think she might know the danger of Ebola, but she still continues with it, anyway.

PEREIRA: We've heard so many wonderful things about this compassionate young woman, dedicated to her work. She loved being a nurse. Even Dr. Frieden from the CDC called her a brave person who put herself at risk to do something good for society.

Mr. Ha, thank you so much for sharing a little bit about Nina Pham, and we hope that you'll pass along our best wishes, and comfort, and encouragement to the family and to Nina, that she will have a solid and speedy recovery.

HA: Thank you so much.

PEREIRA: Alright, Chris, over to you.

CUOMO: Alright, Mick, it's great to hear that perspective on her. We really wish her the best in her fight. And when we come back from the break, we're going to talk to you about what's going on in the Catholic church. (BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): It is really getting a shake-up from this new Pope. It seems that Francis, the man on your screen, just keeps surprising. There's a document now out that stems from this meeting that's going on about the family, and it says things that could turn back hundreds of years of church policy. What it means for gays and others, you get to hear it, straight ahead.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO (on camera): Okay, here you go. What organized religion holds the following things: Divorced? Come on in and receive communion. Living together? Could be worse. Gay and married? We still value you. Protestant, Unitarian? No, could be the Catholics. Yes, there is a new document out that suggests hundreds of years of church teaching could change, and that is actually not hype.

Joining us now to take us through it, CNN Vatican correspondent, Delia Gallagher and CNN religion commentator and host of "The Sunday Mass," Father Edward Beck. Delia, do I lie, or is this the real context of this new document? They call it the relatio. It means report in Latin. Tell us about it.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly it, Chris. I mean, this is something which is still a work in progress, so it's not a final document. It's a summary of what the discussions were last week between the Pope and his bishops. However, the controversy has begun because the change in tone, the new language about welcoming those people who were previously excluded, let us say, gays, those people living together, the divorced and remarried. This new language is now opening doors, possibly.

People are asking, is this going to open doors to other things? Because if previously in reference to gay relationships they were called disordered. And now we're saying, no, gay relationships must be valued. Well then, they're not disordered any more. And if they're not disordered any more, then gay unions should be okay, and maybe we should bless gay unions, and maybe there should be gay marriage, and so on and so forth.

So clearly, it's not just a superficial change. Again, I want to reiterate that this is an interim document. There's nothing definitive written in stone here, but it is a very clear indication first of all, where Pope Francis wants the discussion to go, and where it seems to be going within the synod. They're in there right now, Chris. They're still discussing it, we know some bishops have already raised some objections about this relatio, so we will continue to see what they come up with. Saturday another message, and then again next year they'll be discussing the same topic.

CUOMO: Okay, so, thank you very much for that Delia. Stay with us. So, we have the relatio, that's the report. We have the synod, that's the meeting. We have the Pope who's sitting at the front of it, and everybody knows that Francis believes that the heart of the Catholic faith is love, and that all these rules and all this exclusion has been a complete distraction. They know that's what they were getting in Pope, but how real can this be? Of course, they're going to say the right things when the man himself is sitting in the room with them, Father Beck. How real is this?

FATHER EDWARD BECK, HOST "THE SUNDAY MASS": Well, first of all, I don't think Pope Francis thinks that all of the rules don't mean anything. I think he thinks the rules are important as a guideline, but the law has to serve people. People don't serve the law. And so, what he's doing, he's widening the net and saying come into the tent. Listen to what we say. Dialogue with us, we're going to respect you. Divorced and remarried? Yes, come and be at the table with us. Let's have the conversation. You're using birth control? Okay, maybe you're in a situation where you have to use birth control. However, they're talking about a very interesting concept called gradualism.

CUOMO: Gradualism?

BECK: Gradualism. Now, this is a lot play it's getting at this synod. It means that maybe you're on the way to accepting a teaching, but you're not quite there. So you're living together? Okay. Let's talk about how do you get to sacramental marriage. Okay, maybe you're using artificial birth control right now, but do you know why the church teaches what it does about natural family planning? Do you want to take a look at it? Enter the conversation with us. They're not talking about sin and exclusion, they're saying come be part of us, learn more about what we say and teach, and maybe we can both learn from each other. That's the radical part of this.

CUOMO: I'll give you that. That does sound radical. Why am I skeptical? Because we're talking about the Catholic church here, and Delia, the Pope also said something that could be seen as what gives us promise in the first place. At a homily, during this he said the law, meaning church law, if it doesn't get us closer to Jesus Christ, it is dead.

What is the word around Vatican City about what he meant?

GALLAGHER: Oh, well that's clear. I mean, he's been saying that from the beginning of his pontificate that for him, it's not about the rules and regulations, the yes and no. It has to be about a relationship with Jesus, the love of Jesus, and the mercy of God. That is the theme of this pontificate, and that is the reason why he reaches out to those who feel excluded and says, exactly as Father Beck said, come in first of all, be here at the table, and then we'll talk about the issues.

CUOMO: Alright, so it is just talk now.

EDWARDS: Yes.

CUOMO: And your religion, as much any, right?

EDWARDS: And your religion.

CUOMO: But I'm objective on this.

EDWARDS: Okay.

CUOMO: Nobody is going to push you more on this than I will. That's the thing, because to non-Catholics, this is so impressive. I'm watching people report on it. Oh, it's a big change, it's a big change.

No, religion means the ties that bind, and that is true in your faith as much as any, if not more. Rules have to change for this to mean anything, especially back here in the States. Do you think Pope Francis can make the church change without doing it himself, which it doesn't seem he wants to do?

EDWARDS: It depends on what rules you're talking about. I would not --

CUOMO: These rules. Gays being accepted as equal, birth control, big issues.

EWDWARDS: Gays can be accepted as equal without saying you're in favor of gay marriage necessarily. You don't have to marry gays in the church. Remember, when Pope Francis was archbishop in Argentina, it was reported that he was trying to get the bishops to support same-sex unions, civil unions as a compromise.

CUOMO: Right, I remember that.

EDWARDS: Legal rights, privileges, fully respecting gay people and their unions, but not saying you have to be married in the church or can be married in our church. So, can you embrace a group of people who are part of your constituency, and still say, but we're not totally on board with everything you believe in, how you approach it. I think you can.

CUOMO: What's your guess? You're a man of the collar, do you think Francis has the heft to make these rules change, or will the church, in quotes, known as the administration, hold him down?

EDWARDS: I am not sure Francis wants the rules to change.

CUOMO: They have to change.

EDWARDS: He wants how we embrace people and approach people with those rules to change, and if there's a dialogue, then perhaps, yes. One rule, divorced and remarried receiving communion. Okay, that's a big issue that's being discussed.

CUOMO: Big issue, big issue.

EDWARDS: There's a lot of controversy with the bishops there. Some say absolutely not. It denigrates what Jesus said about marriage lasting forever, but this could change. He's pushing, saying what about a period of penance in between?

CUOMO: Right. EDWARDS: Let them do penance, the annulment hasn't come through, but

let them come to the table and be fully embraced by that action. That could change. But don't expect the big stuff. We're not going to say gay marriage is okay as a Catholic church.

CUOMO: I thought the penance was the marriage. Just kidding. Hope my wife's not up yet.

EDWARDS: Only in your marriage.

CUOMO: Delia Gallagher, thank you very much for the reporting, appreciate it. Father Beck, always a pleasure. We'll have to see where this goes.

EDWARDS: Yes, we will.

CUOMO: It'll be interesting. It's easy for everybody to say the right thing when the Pope's in the room.

EDWARDS: Be optimistic, Christopher.

CUOMO: I am, I am. I'm very hopeful, and I'm also very hopeful that we're following a lot of news for you this morning. So let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were prepared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really a disaster waiting to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to rethink the way we address Ebola.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not one more health care worker should be infected.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nina Pham, she's the first person to contract Ebola inside the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has received a blood transfusion from an Ebola survivor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Federal officials are scrambling to determine how the transmission happened, and whether it could have been avoided.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kim Jong-Un has reportedly resurfaced.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fuel speculation about his health, even a possible coup in North Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to NEW DAY. I'm Alisyn Camerota along with Chris Cuomo. The 26-year-old nurse who contracted Ebola while treating an infected Liberian patient in Dallas has been identified as Nina Pham. She is received a blood donation, we're told, from a doctor who survived the deadly virus. And we're also told that she is stable this morning.

CUOMO: And, again, with each new case, this idea of a potential outbreak here in the U.S. has health officials scrambling, frankly. I mean, the head of the CDC is warning all hospitals to start rethinking Ebola. We'll get into what that means.

In the mean time, in a matter of hours, we should know whether a man in Kansas City has contracted Ebola. He didn't get it there, but there's a story behind it. Doctors say he's low risk right now, but just last week he was serving as a medic on a ship off the coast of West Africa. So, we're going to go and speak with the man heading up Texas' response to Ebola, as well as Dr. Sanjay Gupta in just a moment. But, let's begin with senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen live in Dallas. Elizabeth, what is the latest?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Well, Chris, I just want to say that in this Ebola outbreak, the true heroes are the doctors and nurses who are risking their lives to take care of others. Now, once someone does have Ebola, the key to beating it is to get help as quick as you can, and we're learning that nurse Nina Pham got an experimental blood transfusion very quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): This morning, doctors in Dallas anxious to see if a blood transfusion may save the life of a critical care nurse, Nina Pham, the first person to contract Ebola within the U.S. She cared for the now-deceased Liberian, Thomas Duncan. Pham received the donation from Ebola survivor, Dr.Kent Brantly on Monday. The hope, that his blood may provide key antibodies to fight the disease.

PHONG TRAN, FAMILY FRIEND: Everybody should ask God to help her to get over this, and I know in the long run she will help a lot of people.

COHEN: The 26-year-old is one of around 70 hospital staffers who cared for Duncan, according to the "Associated Press." The "AP". reports they reached that number after being given Duncan's medical records by his family. The CDC says they're still working to compile a list of health care workers who came into contact with Duncan.