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New Day Saturday

What's the Government Doing to Fight Ebola?; Search for Motive in Deadly School Shooting; New York, New Jersey Start Mandatory Travel Quarantines; Air Bag Recall Affects Millions of Americans; Student Describes School Shooting Chaos; Week One for New U.S. Ebola Czar; Remains Identified as Hannah Graham's

Aired October 25, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: It was popular, friendly, the homecoming prince. So how did this high school freshman become a killer? Listen, this morning, we're learning more about the chaos in the high school cafeteria and more about the victims fighting for their lives.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: After a New York doctor tests positive for Ebola, the city tries to reassure a nervous public. Now strict new rules in the Big Apple and New Jersey for those coming back into the country.

BLACKWELL: And a tragic end to a mystery in Virginia. The remains of sophomore Hannah Graham finally identified. Now, focus is shifting to the man police suspect may be responsible.

KOSIK: Good morning. I'm Alison Kosik, in for Christine Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Eight o'clock here on the East Coast, 5:00 out West.

And there are fast moving developments this morning in the Ebola crisis.

PAUL: A health worker who has been quarantined overnight at a New Jersey hospital has now tested negative in a preliminary test. She arrived in Newark Liberty International Airport yesterday.

BLACKWELL: Under new rules just imposed by New York and New Jersey, anyone who arrives there at JFK Airport after having direct contact with an Ebola patient in West Africa will face mandatory quarantine for 21 days. And of course, this is happening as the worldwide toll for Ebola continues to climb.

Listen, more than 4,900 people have now died from that disease, the vast majority of them in West Africa and there are more than 10,000 cases of Ebola now worldwide, one of the latest victims, a 2-year-old girl in Mali.

Let's go to CNN's Alexandra Field. She is outside Bellevue Hospital in New York. Alexandra, the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in New York City, Dr. Craig spencer, he is still in the hospital there. How is he doing? ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is in the hospital. He is in the isolation unit. He's been closely watched obviously by a big medical team, but we are hearing pretty encouraging signs, first of all that he's well enough to be carrying on conversations.

We know that he's even been able to use his cell phone. So at last update his condition was described as stable, but we do understand he's able to talk and to communicate, which is obviously, certainly a very good sign at this point -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Help us understand the retracing that's happening now of Dr. Spencer's movements before he went into the hospital.

FIELD: Yes. OK. The big concern with this really is just the idea simply of having an Ebola patient here in New York City. And again he is in isolation at Bellevue, but there are obviously concerns among the public about this virus. So health officials and state and local government officials have been proactive and try to educate people.

First of all, they've been out there retracing this man's steps. They want to see who he came into contact with, who he may have come into, very direct contact with, which we know that this virus is spread through contact with bodily fluid.

Three people who were in close contact with him were put into quarantine. But we know that he was out and about in the city and officials are trying to tell people that the risk is basically nil. That's the way that they are saying it.

Still precautions are being taken. Naturally his apartment had to be isolated and cleaned by hazmat groups. There was a bowling alley that he went to, which also voluntarily closed, but they are working with local officials, and they are going to do the cleaning procedures there.

A lot of steps being taken really just to quell fears, calm any public anxiety about this virus, and health officials just continuing to underscore the point, this is not easily contracted.

BLACKWELL: A big change overnight in New York and New Jersey escalating measures to stop Ebola from spreading. New York's governor says it's not a time to take any chances. Explain what's changing?

FIELD: Yes, look, the city had expected that they were going to at some point have an Ebola case. So they prepared with eight hospitals ready to accept these patients. Now they're going a step further. They are actually stepping up guidelines and restrictions beyond what the federal recommendation is.

So what's happening now is that in New Jersey and in New York, any passengers, who are arriving from the hot zone who have had direct contact with Ebola patients, they will be put into quarantine and then it's up to officials to decide whether or not those individuals should then be hospitalized.

New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo explained the thinking behind these extra measures. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK: We believe it's appropriate to increase the current screening procedures for people coming from infected countries, from the current CDC screening procedures. We believe it is in the state of New York and state of New Jersey's legal rights to control access to their borders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: One woman has already been affected by the policy. A health care worker who is working in West Africa arrived at Newark last night. She was checked out. State health officials say she developed a fever. They took her to a hospital and put her in isolation, but preliminary tests show that she is negative for the Ebola virus -- Victor and Alison.

BLACKWELL: All right, positive news there. Alexandra Field, thank you so much.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: In the meantime, the 26-year-old Texas nurse infected with Ebola is cured and back home. But on the way home, Nina Pham made a quick stop at the White House, of course, to give the president a hug and show the country that, yes, she is indeed free of the deadly virus.

Erin McPike joins us now live from the White House. Erin, tell us about how that meeting at the White House went.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alison, it was actually a bit of a surprise. I was at the NIH when Nina Pham came out for this press conference and they had to move the press conference earlier because then, of course, she was going to meet with the president and this was really to send a message.

Certainly by hugging the president inside the oval office, they're trying to send the message that she is just fine and that the public is fine and there shouldn't be this mass hysteria and fear that they can really get these cases under control -- Alison.

KOSIK: Now I know that there was a hearing on Ebola yesterday on Capitol Hill. Are lawmakers upset with how the government is responding to Ebola?

MCPIKE: Alison, there's no question that they are. A couple of things came out of that hearing. The first is this idea of the quarantining. Now specifically, there are about 3,000 troops who are going or have gone already to some of the countries in West Africa that are affected and lawmakers were asking should they be quarantined for longer.

Right now, it's a ten-day period. There is some talk should they make that 21 days. There was also the co-president of the National Nurses United, Deborah Burger, and she made the case that nurses need better equipment, more protective equipment and better training. And that many of them feel that they have been inadequately trained to deal with Ebola. The last is that they said there should be more preparation from the CDC.

And then on politics, there were lots of questions about why the White House choose Ron Klain to coordinate its Ebola response, why a lawyer rather than a health professional -- Alison.

KOSIK: OK, Erin McPike, live from the White House, thanks.

And we are getting -- OK. We're getting new details about a brave teacher, who apparently tried to stop a school shooter as his deadly spree was unfolding. We also have new information about the students who may have been targeted when a popular freshman began spraying bullets in a crowded high school cafeteria.

BLACKWELL: One girl at Maryville-Pilchuck High School in Washington that was killed yesterday in what witnesses described as a chaotic and bloody scene. Now four others are fighting for their lives. Police say the shooter, Jalen Fryberg, ultimately turned the gun on himself.

KOSIK: Dan Simon joins us live now from Everett, Washington. Dan, tell us what you've learned about this teacher.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alison and Victor, we're still trying to learn what happened in those final moments. But according to our affiliate, KIRO, this teacher who just started this year at the school, she thought social studies that when this was all unfolding, she actually ran towards the shooter and tried to grab his arm.

And in the process of doing so the shooter shot himself. Now the question comes to what degree that actually altered the outcome. Obviously, we don't know that, but certainly sounds like a very brave woman -- Alison and Victor.

BLACKWELL: You know, Dan, what really stands out this morning is the relationship between the shooter and these victims, not just classmates, but they were much closer than even friends in a couple of cases.

SIMON: No question about it and it really tells you that this was not a random shooting, that the shooter targeted specific people. We are hearing that two of the people who are wounded were actually his cousins. That's according to the grandfather of one of those who was shot.

So what we're hearing is that the shooter approached a table of students, he obviously knew who they were. This was not a random shooting. He approached them from the back and started firing so it's possible that some of these victims did not even see it coming -- Victor.

KOSIK: Dan, do you know how Fryberg got this weapon to carry this out?

SIMON: We're told by sources that the weapon is registered to his father. This was a 40-berretta handgun. This was a person, a shooter who seemed to be comfortable with weapons. If you look at some of the pictures on social media, you often see him holding a rifle. He apparently was an avid hunter and fisherman. But this appeared to be a handgun and a high capacity one at that -- Alison.

BLACKWELL: All right, Dan Simon in Everett, Washington for us. Dan, thank you so much.

KOSIK: And officials now confirm that human remains found in Virginia are that of missing teen, Hannah Graham, and we're going to have the latest on the ongoing investigation into her death.

BLACKWELL: And that attack by a man with a hatchet on four New York Police Department officers is being called a terror attack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Welcome back to NEW DAY. So much going on this morning, let's get to your "Morning Read."

KOSIK: We begin with a tragic end to the search for missing University of Virginia student, Hannah Graham. Officials had confirmed that human remains they've discovered along an abandoned creek bed are those of the 18-year-old who was last seen in September. Police are now trying to build a case against their prime suspect, Jesse Matthews.

BLACKWELL: Officials are calling a hatchet attack on a group of New York police officers an act of terror. They say the attacker, Zale Thompson, was a self-radicalized convert to Islam, but was not tied to any terror group. He charged the police officers with a hatchet, that was Thursday striking one of them on the back of the head. That officer is still in critical condition.

KOSIK: Totally switching gears, here is the TV show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," are you kidding, has been canceled. TLC pulled the reality hit after word came that Mama Shannon is dating a registered sex offender. Michael McDaniel served a decade in prison after being convicted of child molestation in 2004.

Shannon has denied she's seeing McDaniel. "Honey Boo Boo" is one of the network's most popular shows, bringing almost 2 million viewers in its fourth and final season.

BLACKWELL: In sports, the Kansas City Royals are now in control of the World Series two games to one after slipping past the Giants last night in San Francisco with a score of 3-2. Now the Royals do not have much time to celebrate the big win, though, as game four kicks off tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

KOSIK: All right, look at this, the storm system that you're looking at in the northwest, it's going to bring strong winds, soaking rainfall to the northwest, up to 3 inches in Seattle and 2 inches in Northern California. But if you live on the east coast, it's summer- like in the south. The northeast will see mild fall-like temperatures. And as we reported at the top of the hour, the number of Ebola deaths is rapidly climbing. According to the World Health Organization, there are now more than 4,900 and the total number of cases has surpassed 10,000.

The worst affected countries are still Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Joining me now from New York is CNN medical analyst, Dr. Alex Van Tulleken. New York and New Jersey issued mandatory quarantine for high risk travelers coming from affected countries in West Africa. In your opinion, how effective can this policy be?

DR. ALEXANDER VAN TULLEKEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think it won't be effective at all except it will make us less safe from Ebola. That isn't just me saying it. There is quite wide consensus among the experts.

So first of all, we're quarantining people now who have no symptoms who we know pose no public health risk and the problem with that is it stops volunteers wanting to go to Africa. It is much were much harder to go if you know your movements will be this restricted.

They've rushed it in. So yesterday we saw a nurse being quarantined after a very long journey, after a very difficult mission given (inaudible) no information about what was going on in the airport.

Really not a kind set of practices and an absolutely unnecessary set and the only thing I'd say is Governor Christie and Governor Cuomo saying they're airing on the side of caution. This is a really important thing to do.

I mean, this is something -- if they believe it is the right thing to do, why on earth wasn't it done months ago? You know, can we not have anticipated that a doctor might have wanted to go bowling and eat some meatballs.

It make us believed that they are only thinking of this now if they think it works and I would very strongly say this isn't going to help.

KOSIK: Well, but isn't it better to be cautious at this point? I mean, think about it, these health care workers, yes, I mean, believe me they're herald as heroes and going over there trying to help the problem.

But when they get back here, we see what can happen in the case of Dr. Spencer, where, you know, ten days went by or so when he felt good, went bowling, and he understand that he was responsible in calling the hospital when needed, when he felt the symptoms.

But the thing is these health care workers are in the line of fair. They're in direct contact with these Ebola victims. What kind of sort of control can there be to make sure that they indeed quarantine themselves when they get here?

TULLEKEN: Very interesting question. So we hear from Governor Cuomo yesterday saying in a city like New York he could have spread it to hundreds of people and we absolutely know that that isn't true. He wasn't symptomatic and therefore it would be virtually impossible for him to spread it to anyone.

The only people who the city is actually center a significant risk are his girlfriend and his very close contacts and even then I would say they are very low risks.

That the risk of him going on a subway and going out are really as close to zero as any doctor is ever going say. And the organization he was working for, Doctors Without Borders, they're not some rinky dink medical charity.

They are the best medical -- international medical organization in the world. They are more expert than any other organization in the world at dealing with Ebola. So their protocol isn't some idle protocol. It's been rigorously gone through to the CDC.

They've been using it for months and the issue is if we quarantine the 700 volunteers they've got in the field as they come back, you lose 40 years, something like 40 years of productive manpower and you gain no benefit whatsoever.

That's the really important thing to say here is we don't reduce the risk of catching Ebola by quarantining people who can't spread Ebola.

KOSIK: you say they can't spread Ebola, of course they can. Anything is possible. What do you do about these health care workers who have spent a lot of time in these three hot zones and then come back to the U.S.? What's the answer here? You can't let them go out into the public right when they get back, right?

TULLEKEN: So that's very interesting. So I would say Dr. Spencer was about as -- it would be as possible for him to spread Ebola on a subway in this condition he was in as it would be to spread HIV, if you have HIV on the subway.

It's possible you could cut an artery open. You could cut yourself, get blood on somebody else. Maybe you could spread it that way. But the risks are that low. He's got probably immeasurably low levels of virus in his blood.

When we see the health care workers getting Ebola even though they're wearing protective gear, they are dealing with people who have massively high levels of virus in their blood. And they are shedding in very different ways.

So although you say anything is possible, of course, you're right, anything is possible. We know that he wasn't sick on the subway. We know he wasn't sick in the Highland. We know he didn't have diarrhea. He didn't cut himself open.

At which point, deals of anyone catching it (inaudible) and we know that because the city have said we don't need to sterilize the subway.

KOSIK: Is feeling sluggish, because he was talking about feeling sluggish before he even showed the fever. Is feeling sluggish symptomatic of having Ebola? Is that a symptom? TULLEKEN: The science that we have says the virus pre-fever, the virus is very, very hard to detect and therefore, very, very hard to pass on to the point where it would not be possible to pass it on a subway without doing something like bleeding all other someone.

So no, I'd say the sluggishness, who knows why he was feeling sluggish. Possibly it was a precursor of the Ebola fever, but he reported his fever.

I mean, he was doing everything he was told to do. He hasn't been irresponsible. That's what all the public health officials have said. That's what the science says.

KOSIK: All right, Dr. Alexander Van Tulleken, thanks so much for you time this morning.

TULLEKEN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: A massive auto recall could get even bigger now. More cars could soon join the list of vehicles needing new air bags because they could explode with potentially deadly consequences.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: The pressure is mounting for the government to issue a nationwide safety recall for millions of cars with potentially faulty air bags.

KOSIK: I want you to look at this. Look at your screen. Some of the most popular automakers are affected. This list includes Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM and Chrysler. What we are talking about here is the potential for these air bags made by the company, Takata, to explode pummeling people with metal shrapnel.

Police say one woman was killed in Florida last week. At first they actually thought she had been stabbed to death. I want to bring in Clarence Ditlow, the executive director for the Center for Auto Safety.

Good morning to you, Mr. Ditlow, this recall is putting millions of people at risk and it could take years to fix. Tell me this. Why hasn't the government issued a recall that goes nationwide? Right now this call is only regional. Why is that?

CLARENCE DITLOW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR AUTO SAFETY: The auto companies are resisted it, the government has caved in. The first known failure was in 2004. The first recalls, in 2008 and '09 and Americans are continued to die on the road due to this defect and many more have been injured.

KOSIK: When you say that about the government, do you say the government has known about this and just kind of dropped the ball?

DITLOW: Absolutely. This is a GM ignition switch all over again. The government actually looked at this in 2010, said to Takata and Honda, are you sure this initial recall, about a half million vehicles, is big enough? They said yes it is.

The government closed its investigation and then we had all of the more vehicles on the road with this. And it wasn't until this year that they finally did a recall of about eight million vehicles. But we need to get over 20 million vehicles recalled, not just the hot states.

KOSIK: Well, I'm sure supply and demand is a huge issue here for Takata. You know, not only do they have to replace the air bags for the affected cars. They have to keep up with the demand for the new models. How can this company withstand that?

DITLOW: They can do it. This is not business as usual. You put on additional lines at the factory. The government can order Honda and the other manufacturers to go out and purchase air bags are other companies other than Takata.

The main thing is to get the air bags in these cars as soon as possible. That certainly can be done this year and the government isn't doing the job?

KOSIK: Why is it that NHTSA seems to be dropping the ball? You know, NHTSA seemed to drop the ball with the GM recall and now this one. I know the recall web site gave a lot of inaccurate information about the web site search engine -- the search engine rather went down so people couldn't check to see if their car was on the list. What's it going to take for NHTSA to do its job, to actually take responsibility and accountability for this?

DITLOW: They need two things. They need a leader at that agency that says safety is job number one and no matter how it look to the auto companies, we're going to be tough on you. And second, they need to be given more investigators. GM has twice as many defect investigators as does the federal government, which has to look at every single car company in this country.

KOSIK: And what about Takata, they could be on hook for a lot of lawsuits here or no?

DITLOW: Yes, they can, but they are the ones who made the defective airbags. If you're the manufacturer, you make a defective air bag and it kills or injured someone, you're on the hook for the liability.

But more than anything they need to make sure that the air bags they're making now are right and they need to put people working 24/7 to make safe air bags and get them in the cars as soon as possible.

KOSIK: All right, Clarence Ditlow, we will see if the National Highway Traffic Administration listens. Thanks for joining us.

DITLOW: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Imagine if you have kids that your kids are sitting in their school cafeteria and they hear a pop. They realize it's a gunshot. Then they hear a second and a third and a fourth, then a fifth. Everybody starts to run. Can you imagine that fear? We're going to hear from a student who was inside that cafeteria in Marysville in Washington. She's going to explain to us the chaos that went on yesterday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Alison Kosik.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Five things you need to know for your NEW DAY now.

KOSIK: Let's get caught up on one of our top stories this morning.

The grandfather of a freshman who went on a shooting spree at his high school says two students wounded in the attack are cousins of the gunman.

BLACKWELL: One girl was killed at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Washington and two more students were injured.

KOSIK: Police say the shooter then killed himself. Classmates say he was popular but recently got suspended for fighting.

BLACKWELL: Now some of the witnesses to yesterday's deadly shooting rampage in Marysville, Washington they described chaos and panic there.

Joining me now by phone is Alex Peach, a 15-year-old a Marysville- Pilchuck student who was in the cafeteria and saw the actual gun that was used in this attack. Alex, I know so short after this, so soon after what happened yesterday it's probably difficult to speak with me, but I appreciate it. Tell me what you saw, what you heard and what happened there in that cafeteria.

ALEX PEACH, STUDENT, MARYSVILLE-PILCHUCK HIGH SCHOOL: All right. So -- well I was in the cafeteria. It was just like any normal day. Nothing seemed out of order. But I heard four shots then I looked behind me and I see a gun pointed at somebody. I don't know if the person was on the ground because it looked like they were shooting at their feet. But I look and as soon as I saw the gun, though, I ran towards the wall and I was hearing more shots, but not exactly sure because everything was happening so fast. After that I just ran out of the exit. And I called my mom.

BLACKWELL: Those four shots you heard -- were they back to back in quick succession or were they spaced out over a period?

PEACH: They were quick.

BLACKWELL: Ok. And you say that you ran out. I imagine we see video of the students running out of the school now. Describe for me this escape for these hundreds of students. We know there are 2,000 at the school but hundreds of students who were in that area.

PEACH: Well not a lot of the kids got out. I only had about 20 kids with me that got out of the same area. I know a lot of people stayed in the cafeteria and I don't know why. But I don't know how the other kids got out. I think there were a lot of kids outside too, so they just left because they heard the shots.

BLACKWELL: Alex, do you know the victims here?

PEACH: I know some of them.

BLACKWELL: What can you tell us about them?

PEACH: Well, they were very great people. They're so nice to me. All they wanted to tell me was, you know, how, you know -- it's really sad for me to talk about it. But they're just great people in general inside and out.

BLACKWELL: I know it's difficult to talk about when this happens with people you're so close to. Were you close to Jaylen as well? Was he a friend?

PEACH: Not really. I mean I knew of him. And everyone kind of says he's a good person. But I don't know.

BLACKWELL: Did you go to the -- we know there was a vigil there last night. Did you go to that vigil?

PEACH: I couldn't make it. But I saw a lot of tweets about it and pictures. And everyone is so supportive. I talked to people that went. There's people from the harbor that went and all this stuff from other schools. It was so great hearing of all of the support.

BLACKWELL: You said just briefly there that it's difficult to talk about. Explain what you're feeling this morning.

PEACH: Well, I don't know. It's just like I'm kind of in shock still. And like its sad hearing about people that go to my school, like, have gone through this. I didn't think that freshmen that are 14 years old would have to go through this. And not a lot of people do. And it's just -- they didn't get much to live more and they had so much to live for.

BLACKWELL: We know that in addition to the shooter taking his own life there was one other girl who was killed and four students who are in the hospitals there in Washington State. We know that they are in the ICU there so likely not a television in front of them. But I'm sure possibly their families and their friends may be watching. What would you like to say to them? Your friends who are now fighting for their lives?

PEACH: Well I would just like to say that I hope they keep fighting and that they are resting in peace in a very good place. And everyone is here for them. Everyone is supporting them and everyone loves them.

BLACKWELL: And we share that sentiment as well. Alex Peach from Marysville there in Washington. I know it was difficult but we appreciate you sharing your perspective, your story of what happened there yesterday. Thank you so much. PEACH: You're welcome.

BLACKWELL: Alison.

KOSIK: So heartbreaking.

Ebola czar. It's been week one despite bipartisan calls for someone to head up the U.S. fight against the deadly disease, Ron Klain quickly became a controversial pick. But just how is he doing on the job? More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Some positive signs in the Ebola crisis this morning. Authorities say a health worker who was quarantined overnight at a New Jersey hospital after arriving from West Africa is negative for Ebola in a preliminary test. She's still going to remain quarantined for 21 days though and that's under those new Ebola restrictions in New Jersey and New York.

The first patient diagnosed with Ebola in New York City, Dr. Craig Spencer remains in the hospital but is said to be doing well. He's talking on his phone and even doing yoga.

In New York officials say the man who attacked a group of police officers was a self-radicalized terrorist. Zale Thompson charged at NYPD officers with a hatchet, striking one of them officers on the back of the head. That officer is still in critical condition.

BLACKWELL: Busy controversial week for the people fighting Ebola but how about for the new U.S. Ebola czar. Well, we don't really know. Ron Klain officially kicked off his new job Wednesday but we've not heard or seen him much or you know, nothing really from the new czar despite all the recent Ebola news.

On Thursday news broke that Doctors without Borders physician Craig Spencer was diagnosed with the deadly disease in New York. Yesterday Texas nurse Nina Pham was declared Ebola free and yes she even made a visit to the White House -- you see the pictures here -- sharing a hug with President Obama.

Joining me now for more: Lisa Boothe, a Republican strategist and the senior director of Black Rock Group; also Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator. Good to have both of you with us this morning.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor.

LISA BOOTHE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Thanks for having us.

BLACKWELL: Lisa, I want to start with you. Good week or bad week for Ron Klain, or is it too soon to decide?

BOOTHE: I think it's been a tough week for him, you know. We now have another case of Ebola in the United States. And it really feeds this perception that President Obama and our health officials do not have Ebola under control. Further, Ron Klain has already reportedly missed two White House Ebola related meetings, and he skipped a congressional hearing. In reality, Ron Klain should have never been chosen to be the Ebola czar in the first place. He's a partisan hack, not a medical official.

BLACKWELL: Maria, how about that? He didn't go to Friday's congressional hearing. Part of the show of force and control is the show.

CARDONA: Well, but also I think the most important part is to make sure that the response to what's going on with Ebola in this country is more coordinated, is smooth, and that all of the federal agencies that are tasked with anything having to do with responding to Ebola are talking to each other. And that's exactly what you have been seeing this week.

As soon as Dr. Spencer started showing signs of symptoms of Ebola, Ron Klain sent the rapid response CDC team to New York. Let's really put this in perspective here. There has not been one person who has contracted Ebola in the United States that has died. The two people that have contracted it in the United States are now Ebola free.

There's only one person that has Ebola symptoms in the United States right now, and he contracted it in West Africa. And he is now in isolation. They are tracking everybody that he's come into contact with. All of the airports that are now receiving people from West Africa have heightened systems in place where they can track everybody who has come in and everybody who they come into contact with.

So let's really keep this in perspective. Ron Klain hit the ground running, making sure that everybody was talking to each other.

BOOTHE: Missing two meetings?

CARDONA: Making sure that everyone was talking to each other. His position and his responsibility was not to be the spokesperson for Ebola.

BOOTHE: Skipping out on two important meeting --

BLACKWELL: Hold on.

CARDONA: His responsibility was to coordinate all of the agencies that have any type of responsibility for responding to Ebola and that's exactly what's happening here.

BLACKWELL: Lisa, let me come to you about Rand Paul, Senator Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist, possible presidential candidate -- we don't know yet. He says he doesn't want to create panic but -- and let's put this, he stood by this belief that the virus is more contagious than the government is letting on. "This thing is incredibly contagious," he says. "People are getting it full gown, masked and must be getting a very tiny inoculums and they're getting it still. And then you lose more confidence because they're telling you stuff that may not be exactly valid and they're downplaying it so much that it doesn't appear that they're really being honest about it." Seems like a conspiracy theorists here if we were to listen to this from any other person than a member of the senate -- Lisa.

BOOTHE: Well, look I think it's pretty clear that this administration or health officials have really overestimated America's preparedness and underestimated Ebola --

BLACKWELL: Wait -- I hear that. I want you to respond to what Rand Paul is saying here that the government isn't being honest about how contagious this is. Before we go to an attack on the Obama administration, let's deal with Rand Paul.

BOOTHE: Well, I think that what we've seen is that the administration seems to be --

BLACKWELL: Rand Paul is what the question is about, Lisa. He says it's more contagious. He said you can get it at a cocktail party. Is he a conspiracy theorist?

BOOTHE: Ok. I don't know if I would go that far is what specifically he said. But let's look at the facts. CDC said that 1.5 million people could be infected by Ebola by January. The CDC had Tom Frieden, himself, compared Ebola to AIDS which has claimed 36 million lives since the 1980s. This is a serious disease and I would like see the Obama administration and our health officials taking this seriously.

BLACKWELL: Maria -- Rand Paul says you can get it from a tiny inoculum at a cocktail party.

CARDONA: Shame on Senator Paul. And if he hasn't already disqualified himself for being a serious candidate going into 2016, this certainly helps do that. I mean come on, this is absolutely ridiculous. Our leaders should be working together to make sure that our responses continue to be smooth and continue to be quick the way that they have been this past week. Senator Paul, the only thing that he's doing is focusing on the real epidemic here which is the epidemic of fear and panic that he himself is spreading among voters.

But when you're a Republican party who has absolutely nothing to offer in terms of a proactive agenda for America's voters going into the midterm elections, I guess I don't blame him because there's nothing else that he or the Republican Party has to run on right now.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about Donald Trump, which is a phrase I don't like to say often. But he's criticizing President Obama again. He's called some assistant into his office to hold a cell phone and shoot a video for Instagram and he's criticizing the President because this doctor in New York has Ebola. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MAGNATE: We have a tremendous problem in New York because President Obama would not stop the flights. So now we've got Ebola. He should be ashamed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Lisa, I'll just hand that to you.

BOOTHE: Look, I don't know always agree with Donald Trump, but I do agree with him on this. And it's not just agreeing with Donald Trump, it's agreeing with the more than three-quarters of Americans who want to see some sort of temporary travel ban from Ebola stricken nations. And look, it's not just Republicans that are calling for this.

If you look at someone like a liberal Democrat, Alan Grayson from Florida, he just recently penned an op-ed for the "U.S.A. Today" calling for a travel ban. What he pointed out was that more than 25 nations have already placed a temporary ban on Ebola stricken nations. Further he also stated in the op-ed that look, we won't let people come into the United States who haven't been vaccinated against the whooping cough.

This is a commonsense approach to have some sort of temporary advance. I think it makes a lot of sense.

BLACKWELL: Maria, quickly, even some Democrats are calling for a travel ban.

CARDONA: Well, look, I mean this is certainly something that needs to be looked at but you also have to focus on the science here, and I'm sure that's not something that Donald Trump really understands. So luckily I don't think a lot of voters are listening to him when it comes to issue of medicine or of infectious diseases, thank goodness.

Let's look at the science. A lot of doctors have said that imposing a travel ban will actually make this worse when the United States is a leader in going to West Africa to really try to control this epidemic because that's the only way that everyone in the United States is going to feel safe at the end of the day and we're doing that. A travel ban is not going to help. Let's look at the science here which I understand Republicans don't believe in science which is probably the problem.

BOOTHE: That's categorically untrue.

BLACKWELL: Maria Cardona, Lisa Boothe -- unfortunately Lisa I would let you come back after that dig. But we've got to wrap it up for time. Thank you so much.

CARDONA: Thank you very much.

BOOTHE: Thanks -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Alison.

KOSIK: Hannah Graham's heartbroken parents have now learned that human remains found in Virginia are those of their little girl. The latest on the police investigation of their prime suspect Jesse Matthews coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KOSIK: A tragic end to the search for a missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham; officials have confirmed that human remains discovered along an abandoned creek bed are those of the 18- year-old who was last seen alive on September 13. Her devastated parents said they were hoping for a happier ending but "due to the tenacity and determination of Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo, Hannah is coming home to us and we will be eternally grateful to him for this".

BLACKWELL: CNN's Jean Casarez joins us now. She's on the phone with us with the very latest. Jean where does the investigation go from here?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, you're right. You're right, Victor, it's not over at all. I mean (AUDIO GAP)

She needs to try to find the cause and manner of death. And when you're dealing with skeletal remains, the cause of death can be extremely difficult because many times what caused that death has been deteriorated away so you don't know.

But I think that's the next thing we need to look for. And then, while that is going on, from everything that I've learned from my law enforcement sources, the only article of clothing they've found is the pants. They haven't found anything else (inaudible) but the pants are going to be probably the most critical thing that they have because they've got to try to find foreign DNA on this to try to find out who did this to Hannah Graham.

And of course, if they find the DNA of Jesse Matthew with everything else that they have, the video surveillance, the items collected from his car and apartment, I think the charges for Jesse Matthew could be upgraded to murder.

KOSIK: Jean, we know that Jesse Matthew is the prime suspect here. But here's the thing. He hasn't been convicted of anything. He hasn't been charged with murder. He's been charged with abduction. Now we know his next appearance in court is December 4. What about that end?

CASAREZ: Right. December 4 is the next court appearance. That could be easily be continued meaning they push it back and they don't have it and they go on. You know, I think it's a slow process now because DNA does not show identification overnight. It's a tenuous process that they have to do and the quality of the DNA that they have.

So I guess we're just going to have to wait and watch. Anything could happen at any time. But the first thing is try to determine the cause of death and determine how she died.

KOSIK: Ok. Jean Casarez thanks so much for you time.

BLACKWELL: And thanks everybody for dealing with that bit of a technical issue there. Jean thank you so much Strong winds, rain, already began in northwest part of the country which could mean air travel delays in other parts of the country. We'll get you ready for the weekend next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Good morning. And for our friends in the northwest just waking up, if you look outside I'm thinking it may still feel like it's nighttime.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it's coming up on what, 6:00 there? Here's what's pretty bad about that. A storm system is going to soak you guys all weekend -- sorry. But here in the southeast everything is great.

KOSIK: Let's get more from Jennifer Gray in the weather center. So how bad is it going to get?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That was so mean, Victor.

BLACKWELL: I know. I know. I'm sorry.

GRAY: Our poor friends in the Pacific Northwest -- they have been dealing with this rain all week long. It's going to continue to roll through over the weekend as well. A series of three systems throughout the next couple of days is going to bring a lot more rain to the Pacific Northwest including places like Seattle, Portland, even down into California we're going to see some rain. That's where we really need it. However, it could impact the game tonight, the World Series game in San Francisco.

So we're talking about soaking rain, high wind gusts, snow levels are even dropping about 4,500 feet. So it's going to be rather chilly. Also expect airport delays anywhere from Seattle all the way down through possibly San Francisco due to mainly wind and also that rain. Two to four inches in Seattle outside of Portland -- that's going to be your rain totals for today in the next couple of days.

Shifting gears, though, the East Coast, like you guys mentioned, a very different story. It's going to be very nice. Temperatures running a couple of degrees above normal for today; you do back down closer to normal as we go through tomorrow. But then shifting to the west we're going to see temperatures running five to 15 degrees above normal. Temperatures 83 degrees and Memphis your average is 71. Atlanta will be running about six degrees above normal for today. Temperatures even getting warmer as we go through Sunday and Monday, temperatures in the mid-80s not feeling like fall at all.

There's a lot of tail gates going on today, there's football, a lot of the leaves around the country are changing. So it is going to be a nice weekend if you do want to get outdoors.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: The mid-80s? I just put all of that stuff away. I just put all that stuff away.

KOSIK: Then take it back out.

GRAY: I'm sorry.

BLACKWELL: All right. I'll deal with it. Thank you, Jennifer.

GRAY: All right.

KOSIK: All right. That's it for us.

BLACKWELL: We'll see you back here at 10:00 Eastern in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KOSIK: But don't go anywhere, "SMERCONISH" begins now.