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New Day

Nurse Quarantined for Ebola in Maine Goes Biking; Fugitive Accused of Killing a Police Officer Captured; Close Midterm Races 4 Days Before Election

Aired October 31, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Most wanted, captured, after seven weeks on the run, federal marshals nabbed the man accused of killing a state trooper and injuring another. Eric Frein is due in court this morning. The DA says he wants the death penalty. Where was he hiding and how did they get him?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And Nurse Casey Hickox refusing to stay home, defying a state-ordered quarantine over concerns that she might have Ebola. Two of Kaci's best friends tell us exclusively how the defiant nurse is doing and what she's planning next. Is she selfish or a brave hero?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Pushing for power, with crucial midterm elections now just days away, Democrats and Republicans battling down to the wire. Can President Obama get anything done if the GOP takes control of the Senate? We're going to talk to the president's top spokesman about the issues.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome back to NEW DAY. It is Friday, October 31st. Happy Halloween. Now just past 8:00 in the east. This is Alisyn Camerota. I am not. We have news to report to you. After nearly seven weeks on the run we're about to get our first close-up look at suspected cop killer Eric Frein. In the next hour he will be in court for his arraignment, a little dinged up in that picture. Police say he was like that when they found him. Frein's capture ends a long nightmare for the people in northeast Pennsylvania where the fugitive was evading authorities in the woods for 48 days.

CAMEROTA: It's interesting. They say he was arrested without incident though he doesn't look like that. He is of course accused of fatally shooting a state trooper last month and injuring another. And prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Frein.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is live at the courthouse in Pennsylvania. So how did this all go down, Miguel?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With amazingly little drama there, Alisyn. He is about to show up to court here in Pike County in order to face his initial hearing. When authorities caught up with him yesterday they caught him out cold. He was walking across an empty airbase when they came upon him. He went to his knees and gave up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: The manhunt finally over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have stated that early on we would not rest until his capture was made. Tonight we have made that major step down the path to justice.

MARQUEZ: After nearly seven weeks on the run, suspected cop-killer Eric Matthew Frein now in custody, facing a murder charge.

RAYMOND TOMKIN, PIKE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It is my intention to file notice to seek the death penalty for Eric Frein.

MARQUEZ: The 31-year-old self-taught survivalist was caught hiding in an abandoned airport in the Pocono Mountains. U.S. marshal special operations team was clearing the area near a hanger, spotted Frein walking across the airstrip, and surrounded him. According to law enforcement Frein, caught by surprise, surrendered hands up, identifying himself. He was apprehended unarmed but had two guns and knives in a hideout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he got out of those woods, we were very concerned that he would then kill other law enforcement, and if not them, civilians.

MARQUEZ: The search for the now captured fugitive began 48 days ago on September 12th, when Frein ambushes the Pennsylvania state police barracks in Blooming Grove, shooting and killing corporal Bryon Dickson and injuring trooper Alex Douglas.

Police investigate numerous possible sightings, discovering personal effects in various hideouts from pipe bombs to cigarettes to supplies, clues to Frein's whereabouts, but under the cover of dense woods, he evades capture. An enormous sense of relief for the community with Frein now behind bars, arrested in the very handcuffs that belonged to the officer he gunned down, and driven back to Blooming Grove in his police cruiser.

COMMISSIONER FRANK NOONAN, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: All of us in the state police and Governor Corbett just thought if we had that opportunity, that would be a very fitting tribute to Corporal Dickson and a message to all law enforcement we would never rest until this fugitive was apprehended.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now one of the weapons that they found in his stash in that hangar was a sniper rifle. And authorities tell us that rifle is consistent with the casings and the bullets they found at other scenes where Frein operated, so they also say they have a very, very strong case against this guy. Back to you. CAMEROTA: Thank goodness no one else was hurt in this capture.

Miguel, thank you.

To another top story now, Kaci Hickox backing up her vow that she will not be kept inside by the state of Maine. The defiant nurse breaking her quarantine and taking a bike ride with her boyfriend while police and the media followed close behind. Still, the governor says he will do whatever it takes to keep her in isolation. Let's go live to Jean Casarez in Fort Kent, Maine. This is still a standoff, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is. And the latest word from the governor along with saying that was that his people have tirelessly and relentlessly tried to find a solution here, a compromise, but all negotiations have broken down.

Now here at the house, Kaci Hickox and her boyfriend remain in the house. But it was just moments ago her boyfriend came out to the car and asked "So, what are you going to do today?" His response, "Nothing."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: A bike ride making headlines around the country.

KACI HICKOX, QUARANTINE NURSE: I'm not afraid.

CASAREZ: Fearless nurse Kaci Hickox defying authorities Ebola quarantine, putting some in a rural Maine community on edge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just fear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It scares me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to bring it home.

JIM MAJKA, NEIGHBOR OF KACI HICKOX: Until 21 days go by she's not absolutely positive so that mean no one else is.

CASAREZ: Hickox doesn't complete the 21-day isolation until November 10th. In fact is has only been a week since the nurse returned from treating Ebola-stricken patients in Sierra Leone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The state police have their marching orders.

CASAREZ: The governor of Maine, Paul LePage says he is going to use the fullest extent of the law if she gets too close to the public.

GOV. PAUL LEPAGE, (R) MAINE: I don't want her within three feet of anybody.

CASAREZ: But LePage also wants to keep Hickox herself safe, ordering a police escort to keep guard 24-7.

LEPAGE: Tempers get flaring or people get scared. The last thing I want is for her to get hurt. CASAREZ: Hickox says she has done nothing wrong, and her boyfriend

says they rode in the opposite direction from the town and she hasn't even stepped foot inside a store. In fact, the pair ate in. Pizza was delivered to them.

TED WILBUR, BOYFRIEND OF KACI HICKOX: We are not trying to put anyone at risk. We're not trying to push any limits here.

CASAREZ: Maine is now one of nine states with quarantine measures beyond CDC guidelines. Whether or not stricter quarantine laws are the right move may impact midterm elections only a week away as several of the state's governors are running for reelection.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And late yesterday there was a visitor to this house complete with the Maine state police escort. It was the Maine CDC officer that I understand comes once a day. It was a female. She was in the house for probably about five minutes or so, came back out, and that is to monitor Kaci.

And Chris, the governor of this state, he is in a hotly contested re- election effort for next week, but now will he continue to deal with this effort or negotiations over and he just goes on with his reelection.

CUOMO: Well, he said something there that's very telling -- when people get scared, tempers get flared. That seems to be what he's acting on. Jean, what a bizarre situation. Let's try to make some sense of what's going on here.

We have an exclusive for you here at CNN. Joining us this morning to shed some light on what Kaci Hickox is thinking and why she's doing this, we have two of our closest friends, Neer Patel and Brandon Krausse. Gentlemen, thank you for joining us. It is safe to say that Kaci Hickox knows that you're doing this, wants you to do this, yes?

BRANDON KRAUSSE, FRIEND OF KACI HICKOX: Yes, that's correct.

CUOMO: All right, before we get into what she's become as a symbol, let's just deal with who she is. Let me start with you, Neer. What is she about?

NEER PATEL, FRIEND OF KACI HICKOX: She's compassionate. She's just an amazing, compassionate person that, you know, truly believes that what she's doing is for the better of, you know, everyone. She is truly selfless. Her work all abroad and locally, you know, domestically, she proves that she has a goal in life that she wants to deliver, you know, health care and humanitarian aid to wherever it's need.

CUOMO: Right. People are, you can clearly distinguish the work she did in Africa from the situation right now though, Brandon. Neer used the word "selfless," but many see this as selfish, that she could just suck it up and do the 21 days. What is she motivated by to create such a situation? BRANDON KRAUSSE: That's a good question. Kaci is selfless, and she's

always operated under the idea that she wants to be the change that she wants to see. She is the change she wants to see. And so she goes all over the world and creates this change and provides care for those in need.

And what she wants to do here I believe is she wants to have the health care dictate the process that people need to follow, especially for these aid workers who are returning. She wants them to follow proven guidelines, scientific guidelines, rather than fear, and provide a steppingstone for them to not have to fall in the same situation.

CUOMO: Did you guys, out of good conscience as loving friends say to her at any point, you need to back up. Do you know what you're getting yourself into right now? Did she have any expectation she would become this, you know, this controversial figure?

PATEL: No, we support her fight, you know. And the passion she's bringing to this is what she puts into her work. You know, if I had a deadly disease and in a rural area or even here as she was a nurse in the DFW area, I would want her by my side helping me fight this. You know, that passion is there. She will stand by you and fight for you to, you know, make sure that whatever you're dealing is taken care of and is gone.

And the same passion that's she fighting here not only for herself but all the aid workers that are returning home or even going or thinking about going abroad to help the millions of people that really direly need that help.

CUOMO: Is it worth it? That's the question. I totally get why it's worth it for her to go and risk literally her life in treating Ebola. I get why that would matter to her. This is just 21 days. She can do it at home. She's supposed to get paid. She knows that the community is scared. Why is this worth it, Brandon?

KRAUSSE: She has agreed to be monitored by health officials. This is not about, you know, her wanting to follow scientific guidelines. This is about her wanting to follow guidelines based on science rather than fear. And she's a purely passionate person and this is about doing the right thing for those considering doing something like this and providing aid around the world, or those returning. And she brings this passion and this fervor to everything that she does.

CUOMO: Has she been asked by the governor to take another blood test?

KRAUSSE: I don't know the answer to that.

CUOMO: Neer, you heard anything about that?

PATEL: No, only what you reported last hour.

CUOMO: It's not coming from me, that's why I'm asking you.

KRAUSSE: Oh, no. Whatever I heard -- CUOMO: So you haven't heard anything about that.

KRAUSSE: Yes.

CUOMO: Her hutting you guys to be honest about who she is in her estimation or your own, any message for President Obama. He was in Maine yesterday. He sidestepped the situation. Frankly, I don't know what he could do. It's a state call. It's so bizarre what's going on. But does she want the president to know about her situation? Does she have a message?

PATEL: I don't know.

KRAUSSE: I don't know. She hasn't given that to us. I think that he's probably aware of her situation. And we're not here to speak on policy or science. We're here to talk about Kaci and what she brings to this world and what she brings to her friendships with others, and the work that she's done for years. And she is extremely educated. She knows Ebola. She knows public health, and she has been operating in these types of conditions that are kind of foreign to many of our care-workers here in the United States, and she's the right person for this.

CUOMO: She puts out a very strong face and confident. This has to be hard. She has to be over her head in terms of what her expectations were in this situation. How hard has had been for her on a personal level, what we're not seeing?

PATEL: It's a difficult situation. I mean, she is a, you know, medical practitioner. She's not, you know, in this public face. We -- I try to keep it lighthearted, I try to keep her motivated to keep going, to, you know, support her in what she wants to do, because, ultimately, without her, you know, being able to do some of this stuff and even going back and return back and forth, this crisis is going to be hard to handle and it will show up more so at our doorstep and even spread all over the world.

CUOMO: She's got to know what's being said to her, Brandon. I'm sure it's hitting her feelings hard and that's why she needs her friends around her right now. The good news is the period is coming to an end, the 21 days. The question is, what will happen after that, and hopefully nothing too dramatic happens before. Gentlemen, thank you for joining us and giving us some perspective on your friend who has become very well-known.

KRAUSSE: Thank you.

PATEL: Thank you.

CUOMO: Michaela, over to you.

PEREIRA: All right, a quick look at your headlines right now. Chris, thank you.

President Obama is getting criticized for his policy on Syria by his own defense secretary. A secret memo from Chuck Hagel has been leaked. So what is the disagreement, and does it speak to a larger issue within the White House? Let's got to Michelle Kosinski at the White House.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Defense Secretary Hagel acknowledged writing this private, two-page memo to National Security Adviser Susan Rice, a letter described by a senior official as very blunt and critical of the U.S. strategy in Syria overall, stressing the need for more clarity in what to do about the Assad regime since the U.S. is fighting ISIS and ISIS is fighting Assad. Hagel was asked about this letter. He said Syria is complicated, that the team is constantly assessing, reassessing, and adapting the strategy, and that it's part of his job to speak directly and honestly about it.

But President Obama has faced deep differences of opinion within the top levels of his administration before on Syria.

But when you look at this, this is the second unpleasant leak in the top tier about what they're working on and that's raised questions over, is this strategy working? Might there be changes in staffing?

Secretary of State Kerry though said that is gossip and that the national security team works extremely efficiently -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Michelle, those words were certainly blunt, direct and as you say, honest. Thanks so much for that report. We'll watch that.

In Syria meanwhile a small force of Iraqi Kurdish fighters have entered the battle against ISIS in Kobani. It is the first of a larger group of about 150 troops that are expected to join the fight to work to save that town. This all comes after fierce clashes with ISIS militants unsuccessfully try to capture the border crossing point -- the only gateway in and out of the border town of Kobani.

Jesse Matthew, the man being held in the abduction and killing of Hannah Graham is going to face a judge in a video conference in 15 minutes' time on charges in a separate case. Jessica Matthew is charged with raping a woman in Fairfax City in 2005, one of several cases Matthew has been tied to since he emerged as a suspect in Graham's disappearance.

All right. A bit of a different story here. If you ever dreamed of getting your java fix without the wait, my friends, the time has come.

CUOMO: Don't tease.

PEREIRA: Starbucks -- notice my dramatic pause -- Starbucks has announced plans for coffee and food delivery services. You can get your triple no fat hazel nut latte delivered right to your home. Yes, that's my order, Chris.

CUOMO: Strong.

PEREIRA: The delivery service will be available only -- however, I don't want to break your heart with this, only the loyalty program members as part of their mobile pay app that will launch in Portland, Oregon, next month.

I feel there will be some moving trucks heading to Portland. But don't worry, it will happen for the rest of the nation a little later on.

CAMEROTA: Game changer.

PEREIRA: Game changer.

CUOMO: That long laundry list of who goes into a coffee. Do you have one of those as well?

CAMEROTA: Not really but I'm impressed that that's your order.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Really? I would have taken you for fancy.

PEREIRA: A tall blond.

CAMEROTA: I like it how I like my men, tall blonds.

PEREIRA: Hey, looking forward to meet your husband.

CUOMO: Good to know. He must be quite the figure.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for that.

Meanwhile, midterm elections are just days away. At stake, the balance of power in the Senate. We'll weigh in with our political experts on what a GOP Senate would mean for President Obama.

Plus, the White House facing se several challenging issues here and around the world. And you're well aware of them. So, what do we do about terrorism, the economy? What are the plans ahead?

We're going to speak with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and we're going to spend a lot of time doing it to get you the answers you so well deserve.

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CUOMO: So, Begala, I will not start with you, I'll start with Ana, and here's why, because I like you more.

Ana, why do you think there are so many races that are so close? I haven't seen anything like this in recent history. Why so many?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, Chris, I think some of it is the national mood and I think some of it you can chalk up to the unpopularity of President Obama, the unpopularity of Congress, but when it comes to races, it's the old adage, all politics is local.

And you have to look at the races and these candidates one by one and locally. What kind of candidate have they been? What kind of campaign have they run? Some of them have been, you know, suffering from self-inflicted wounds. Part of what's got Bruce Braley in a bind in Iowa, a Democrat, is that he dissed farmers, which is not a good thing to do in Iowa.

So, some of them have made mistakes. Some of them are just very evenly matched.

CAMEROTA: Paul, "The New York Times" in an op-ed calls this the best general election in a decade because there are a dozen super close Senate races and a dozen super close gubernatorial races. What's going to happen on Tuesday?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, who knows? I don't know if it's the best. I think Ana's right, unforced errors. The governor of Florida refused to debate because he was afraid of a fan and we've seen David Perdue, the Republican candidate in Georgia saying he's proud of his record as a CEO outsourcing jobs overseas. So, not the best.

For us watching, you're right, I don't know what we'll see. I think Ana has got an interesting point.

I understand why the Democrats are troubled, first off the map. We're running in states where they hunt Democrats down with dogs. The president lost Arkansas by 24 points. And we're not only competitive, we have pretty good chance there. Lost Louisiana by 17 points, he lost Alaska by 14, and yet, the Republicans can't close the deal there. That's what I don't get.

I understand why my people are troubled. President's unpopular. We haven't moved the needle on the family income, it's the sixth year.

But why can't Republican states even Mitt Romney won and Mitt Romney stuck? I don't get it.

CUOMO: Well, look, what do we know?

NAVARRO: Well, but, Paul -- let's remember that a lot of the states that Paul just mentioned are states where, frankly, there are seasoned veteran incumbent Democrats. Yes, it's the South, but when you've got family legacy names like Pryor in Arkansas, like Landrieu in Louisiana. But you've got a Mary Landrieu who didn't have her own home in her state. That is an unforced error.

How can in 2014, a senator, not an incumbent, seasoned political veteran, not know enough to have her own home? You can't pretend that your little twin bed in your mom's basement is your home.

BEGALA: Good point. The same thing in Kansas, Pat Roberts, a long time senator from Kansas.

NAVARRO: Yes, exactly.

BEGALA: They haven't elected a Republican in my lifetime, I'm even older than Cuomo, and the Republican is probably going to lose because he doesn't live in the state. CUOMO: I'm cutting you off Begala. First of all, I don't like you

guys are playing of agreeing by disagreeing and saying the opposite things.

We're wise to the game you're playing. Yes. I agree with you, and here is something opposite of what you just said.

Ana, my tone has changed on you because I notice you're standing in Miami and it's gorgeous there and it's freezing here.

So, now, I'm angry at you and going to ask you this. Isn't that true that one of the reasons --

NAVARRO: And, by the way, I'm dressed as Charlie Crist for Halloween.

CAMEROTA: Oh, wow!

CUOMO: The fan, Begala, you lose on that.

CAMEROTA: Nice prop.

CUOMO: That is a nice fan, too. I have the same one.

Let me ask you this, Ana, is it that the Republicans are not cleaning up or at least poised to the way they could because of how negative the strategy has been from here, that it's really not putting out the Republican platform and agenda, it's really about just bashing the Democrats and there's only so much space you can make that away?

NAVARRO: But, you know, Chris, you know, I'm sitting in a purple state right now. I'm sitting in a place where there's a very tight congressional race going on for district 26 and a very tight gubernatorial race going on between Charlie Crist and Rick Scott. And it's funny to me that people talk about the negativity of the Republicans, because from where I sit and when I turn on any TV, I can tell you there is negativity going on, on both sides, and it's affected the mood of the voters. People are in a generally bad mood and not feeling too optimistic heading to the polls.

CAMEROTA: So, Paul, if the Senate goes into Republican hands, is that it for the president's agenda? Is he a lame duck?

BEGALA: Well, by the calendar he is certainly.

But it should -- first off, I'm not going to concede that. My folks never say that and they have a better return of operations than the Republicans do. But should it, it puts the president in an interesting position, right? Does he go to them and cut deals? I think he should. I think we can probably move the ball forward on things like immigration reform and tax reform and a whole host of issues.

Or do the Republicans -- we don't know what Republican Party is going to show up, right? Is it going to be the Tea Party folks who shut down the government a couple years ago, or is it going to be the more kind of folks that I worked with when I was in the Clinton White House, we had Bob Dole, we had Trent Lott, but also real Republicans but also real Americans and patriots who were happy to cut a deal.

CUOMO: Well, one of those fancy books that Begala likes it was written that the past is prolog and if that's the case the president cutting leagues we've not seen too much of.

BEGALA: That's a good point.

CAMEROTA: That's a good point.

CUOMO: Ana Navarro, thank you very much, enjoy the weather down there, and your fan.

Begala, always a pleasure.

PAUL: Thanks. Great to see.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, guy. You, too.

CUOMO: One of the things going on with balloting is going to be the status of minimum wage. OK? Next week, in some states they'll have measures that will be specific. Are they going to agree on an increase? Christine Romans is going to be here with a look at your money.

CAMEROTA: Plus, Ebola and the economy just a couple of daunting challenges the nation and the president is facing. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest is here with us to answer tough questions on many topics. Stick around.

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