Return to Transcripts main page

New Day Sunday

U.S. Strikes ISIS Near Iraq's Haditha Dam; As 9/11 Nears, U.S. Braces for ISIS Threat; Joan Rivers' Funeral Today in New York; Upsets, History at the U.S. Open

Aired September 07, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: The failure of Haditha is what we're talking about. It provides water to millions of Iraqis and it would be disastrous if it were to happen. Officials fear ISIS could use that water to flood villages and take over Iraq's electricity industry.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: And our Jomana Karadsheh is in Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

And, Jomana, what -- what is the significance about these strikes and what more do we know?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Martin, this is a major expansion of the U.S. airstrikes that we saw start on August the 8th. They've really been focused on the northern part of the country.

Now, we see these airstrikes moving into the west of the country, into Anbar province. If you recall back in January, this is where ISIS made its initial advances. It took over much of that key province, that Sunni heartland, the province that borders Syria and they took over cities like Fallujah there and many other parts of the province.

Now, the Haditha dam and the city of Haditha have been under the control of the Iraqi security forces, and tribal Sunni tribes in the region. But there have been many attempts over the last several weeks and months to try and take this by ISIS.

Now, we are told by a top official in Anbar province at 5:00 this morning, a ground offensive by Iraqi forces began around the area of Haditha. They had the air cover provided by the U.S., and airstrikes also.

They say the focus of these operations has been on around a district that is about six miles west of Haditha. They say that is where ISIS has been using positions around there to target the Haditha dam. They have been really concerned that attacks happening like mortar strikes, could damage the Haditha dam. And they say it could have been catastrophic when the flooding that could impact the entire area of Anbar, the entire province.

So, these U.S. air strikes so far we are hearing have facilitated yet again for Iraqi ground troops, their advances, they say they are making gains in that area, retaking around Barawana (ph), that have been used by ISIS. Really always a game changer as we have seen, shifting the balance on the ground in favor of Iraqi ground forces.

PAUL: You know, Jomana, we were talking yesterday about some of the villages that the Iraqi forces were able to retake from ISIS. I wonder when that happens, is there any gauge as to where those ISIS militants are fleeing?

KARADSHEH: Well, we've seen this in the past, Christi, with al Qaeda in Iraq and now with ISIS. It is very easy for a lot of these fighters to blend in into the local communities, and to basically just disappear when this happens. What we have been seeing is these air strikes as you mention and these advances by Iraqi ground forces these have been minimal gain compared to what ISIS still controls in this country.

If you look at you were mentioning, in the Mosul area in that province, ISIS still controls and openly does, the second largest city of Iraq, the city of Mosul. And, really, these air strikes, these operations have not weakened and they not really degraded the capabilities of ISIS. Yes, these are small villages, these are small towns that have been retaken by Iraqi security forces. But the bigger picture is that ISIS is still in control of large parts of this country, including major cities like Mosul and Fallujah.

SAVIDGE: Jomana Karadsheh in Baghdad for us this morning -- thank you very much for joining us.

PAUL: Thank you, Jomana. Stay safe there.

And as U.S. airstrikes in Iraq continue obviously, officials are keenly aware that the militant group or another terrorist could be training and looking at setting sights on the homeland here, obviously.

SAVIDGE: Our Jean Casarez has been looking into all of this and how the U.S. is bolstering its defenses ahead of the anniversary of the worst terror attack on U.S. soil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This ISIS group, they are smarter, probably the most evolved terrorist group you've ever seen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm concerned but I don't think we can gauge where it will be, or when it will be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact we are in an active time of war, I think you have to be careful.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With less than one week before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York City, is the U.S. in a position to prevent another attack?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: The FBI has 80 offices outside the United States. They are in constant contact with our counterparts and trying to see if anybody, anywhere, is picking up anything about a possible attack.

CASAREZ: One potential threat: the seemingly increasing number of terrorists with Western passports. But according to experts, there's an even greater imminent concern -- wannabe terrorists could already be here in the U.S., people who don't even have to get on a plane but can just read an online terror magazine in English, which includes how to guides on building bombs, and makes outright threats against cities such as Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and big events happening now like the U.S. Open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I'm saying --

CASAREZ: When MIT graduate and al Qaeda suspect Aafia Siddiqui was arrested in 2008, investigators found handwritten notes in her purse referring to mass casualty attacks at locations in New York, including the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge, where security was recently breached when its U.S. flags were replaced by bleached white flags.

Even though ISIS has never carried out an attack in the West, some experts believe it would not tread on al Qaeda's 9/11 date because its leader Baghdadi wouldn't want to.

FUENTES: He is very narcissistic and many believe that he may not want to do an attack on 9/11 anniversary because of being in competition with the legacy of Osama bin Laden. He wants his own legacy. He wants to be regarded as the biggest, baddest terrorist that ever lived.

CASAREZ: But experts say that doesn't mean locations aren't vulnerable now, especially those that draw large crowds because the ideology, experts say, is like a germ. You can't control it.

FUENTES: You can't quarantine an idea spread over thousands of Web sites, YouTube and others, on the Internet. There is no real ability to prevent that message from being spread.

CASAREZ: That kind of ideology won't stop Americans either.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are we safe anywhere? I don't know but I can't live my life like that. I can't -- I don't want my children to grow up with fear. I want them to feel safe before the U.S. Open. I want them to feel safe in the park.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is risk every day you walk out your door. You got to have some degree have faith in those that your taxpayer dollars kind of go to, to protect you and you got to live your life.

CASAREZ: Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: President Obama hitting the pause button on immigration reform.

PAUL: The White House announced the president will delay action until after the midterm elections. This will not make a lot of people happy.

SAVIDGE: No, it did not. Critics on both sides accuse the president of playing politics. In fact, some pro-immigration groups call the decision "bitterly disappointing" and "breathtakingly harsh."

PAUL: But in an interview set to air today on NBC's "Meet the Press", by the way, the president defends this decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I'm saying is that I'm going to act because it's the right thing for the country. But it's going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration, what we've done on unaccompanied children, and why it's necessary. And, you know, the truth of the matter is that the politics did shift midsummer because of that problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: A White House official tells CNN the president will, quote, "do something before the end of the year", unquote.

SAVIDGE: Hurricane Norbert losing steam this morning after pounding the coast of Mexico. I'm glad to hear that because I would never like to think of Norbert being remembered as a particularly strong storm. Strong winds and drenching rains have triggered mudslides, damaging homes, and cutting off some communities and forcing hundreds to flee to higher ground.

PAUL: So, it did do its damage certainly, but the hurricane is expected to bring high surf and showers to southern California and gradually weaken as it moves over the colder waters there over the next few days.

SAVIDGE: But Norbert is no Katrina by any means. Thank goodness for that.

In Michigan, more than 200,000 people are still without power.

PAUL: And we feel for you because that is not fun after two or three days. We know there were high winds and powerful storms that knocked down power lines in the last couple of days, but meteorologist Jennifer Gray has more on that.

That one pushed offshore now, right?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that one has pushed offshore and people are feeling much better temperatures this morning. It's cooler.

Good morning to you in New York City. There's a live shot over Central Park. Folks are starting their day feeling much nicer. Temperatures will only improve as we go forward in time. The focus, though, is the Southwest.

Now, I've got some incredible video to show you from Arizona through Phoenix. There was a dust storm that rolled through there yesterday. Look at this wall of dust that plowed through Phoenix. Winds got up to 40 miles per hour and visibility went down to zero.

It was followed by some major thunderstorms, and then, of course, we could expect flooding in the southwest as we go through today.

The weather term for that is a haboob. Actually, comes along it's caused by the cold downdraft from those thunderstorms. It actually kicks up the dust in the desert and then it creates the wall of dust. Visibility gets down to zero. It can be scary especially for drivers and folks out on the road.

So, what's going to happen over the southwest? We have remnants from Norbert that's pushing up to the northwest now. It's actually going to bend back to the north and east. It's going to pump in a lot of moisture to the Southwest, so we could see flooding rains across portions of the southwest, Arizona, New Mexico, even bringing much needed rainfall to extreme portions of southern California and central Texas even, guys, we are going to see a much cooler temperatures coming to the Midwest in the next few days. We'll see temperatures in the 50s and 40s in Marquette.

PAUL: A little bit of heaven.

GRAY: Look at that.

PAUL: I will say --

SAVIDGE: Forties. Let's take it not so severely.

PAUL: We're from Ohio, we can take it, right, Jen?

GRAY: Of course. What the heck, right?

PAUL: Haboob is nothing to laugh at I should say. I mean, it sounds funny but I lived in Phoenix for five years. To see that thing coming, you want to run for the hills, I'll tell you.

Thank you, Jen.

GRAY: All right.

PAUL: Joan Rivers, you know, she once said that she wanted her funeral to be this huge showbiz affair. She wanted the paparazzi, she wanted the lights and the camera and the action.

SAVIDGE: But it is likely that today's memorial is going to a very different affair. Today, the family and friends are gathering to say a final farewell to the woman we all know was a trailblazer for her and so many others that have come after.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Have you had Botox?

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIENNE: Of course I had Botox. Everybody has had Botox in the group that I run in.

QUEST: So, you just a few lines here, maybe?

RIVERS: A little up here on the forehead would not kill you. And a little here is not going to hurt you at all.

QUEST: What else would you think I should have?

RIVERS: Turn sideways. Your chin line is wonderful.

Take off your glasses. Look down. You've got about another four years, then get that done.

You're going to have terrible bags in about four years. Right now, you're still fine, but definitely forehead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: And she even has it down in four years. That's when you're going to need that.

SAVIDGE: She should have opened a practice.

That, of course, was Joan Rivers. She was talking candidly with CNN's Richard Quest about Botox injections.

PAUL: She is such a phenomenal comedienne. She blazed the trail for female comics, that came after her. You know, Johnny Carson told her simply, God, you're funny.

Her funeral is going to be held today in New York City. It's expected to be a star-studded affair. We know that fans left messages and flowers by her star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

SAVIDGE: They've also left flowers outside of Rivers' apartment building. That's in, of course, New York City.

PAUL: CNN's Alexander Field is there, outside the temple.

And we have been hearing these rumblings, Alexandra, that there's going to be a red carpet for this funeral. Do we have any confirmation if that's true? There is a lot of stuff, obviously out there.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Christi, there have been a lot of reports of the things we might see here. At this point, at Temple Emanu-El behind me, we haven't seen them roll out any red carpet yet, but definitely we're expecting that there will be some sort of glitzy touches that Joan Rivers herself would very much want to see. Our photographer here saw them bringing in flowers in the form of a dress.

So, I think we can definitely anticipate that there will be some quirky fashion Hollywood oriented kind of details here. We know that this is going to be a celebrity-packed funeral. Joan Rivers made her career off skewering celebrities that so many of them really considered her to be a friend of theirs. It became really a rite of passage in Hollywood that if Joan Rivers was going after you, you had somehow made it.

And I think we can safely say while this will be a sad occasion and a time to reflect on a loss, that there will be opportunities inside that temple today for people to laugh. You know, a lot of us have laughed this week hearing Joan rivers describe her own very outsize vision of what her funeral should be. We want to play a clip for you from her audio book in which she talks about it. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights and cameras and action. I want craft services. I want paparazzi. I want publicists making a scene. I want it to be Hollywood all the way.

Don't give me some rabbi rambling on. I want Meryl Streep crying in five different accents. I don't want a eulogy. I want Bobby Vinton to pick up my head and look directly in my lifeless eyes and sing Mr. Lonely.

I want to look gorgeous, better dead than I do alive. I want to be buried in a Valentino gown. I want Harry Winston to make me a toe tag. I want a wind machine, so strong that even in the casket, my hair will be blowing more than Beyonce's on stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: All right. That was Joan Rivers in her own words.

You know, while the details of this memorial have been kept private I'm sure there are tributes that are planned that would be very fitting for Joan. And also, Christi, Martin, this memorial service is taking place in New York City, in the middle of fashion week. So, many of Joan's friends and longtime colleagues are already here in New York. We're sure they will come out this morning.

PAUL: No doubt about it. Alexandra, thank you so much.

Again, Rivers' funeral starts at 11:00 eastern, the Temple Emanu- El there on New York City's Upper East Side. It's the largest synagogue in the world.

As Alexandra mentioned, too, the funeral is private so not open to the public or the media but we'll wait for word and see I have to believe that somewhere along the line, there's going to be some public forum for people to honor her. Yes.

SAVIDGE: Tennis history made this weekend. Two huge upsets at the U.S. Open, and what we have now dubbed "upset city".

PAUL: Upset city in New York. Yes. I don't think anybody saw this one coming. We'll show you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: All righty. If you are a Beatles fan, that's a live feed giving continuous views of Abby Road Crossing.

Did you know Ron Howard did his eyes bucket challenge there a while ago. He said I'm going to take advantage of the location. You know what they say, location, location, location.

SAVIDGE: Did he really do that?

PAUL: He did. Yes, he did. And they have seen a lot of strange things there. So, just something to check out. If you happen to be in the area, note the time.

SAVIDGE: It doesn't look the same.

Anyway, moving on. Did you get a chance to watch the U.S. Open? I don't know why I'm asking you because you probably did not. But some are saying it was a huge, huge upset, which, of course, it was. It was history in the making.

PAUL: And the reason is because the top ranked player was knocked out by a relatively unknown 24-year-old player from Japan.

CNN's Andy Scholes is live in New York. Will Ripley in Tokyo for us, where fans have been celebrating.

But, Andy, what was it like when this happened?

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: You know, it was pretty shocking. Everyone just pretty much penciled in Roger Federer versus Novak Djokovic in the final. Hey, it turned out it was upset Saturday in the tennis world. We usually say that for college football but that's what it was for tennis. Federer and Djokovic going down because Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic, they had other plans. They were going to reach the final.

Nishikori, he shocked the world, outlasting the top-seeded Djokovic with four sets. With this win, guys, Nishikori, he became the first Asian-born player ever to reach a major singles championship match now. As I said, everyone assumed he would play Federer. But no, the 6'6" Cilic with his serve that tops 132 miles per hour, he pulled off an upset beating Federer in straight sets. This was shocking because Cilic was 0-5 against Federer coming into the match.

So, now, we're going to have two players who never made a major final squaring off for the U.S. Open men's championship Monday night. It's going to be tenth rank seeded Nishikori versus 14th seeded Cilic. And guys, this may be the beginning of a new era in men's tennis.

For the first time since 2005, you know, a major final is not going to have likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal. So, they may be turning the page.

SAVIDGE: So, they need new blood there.

PAUL: Women's Open, though tonight. How is that shaping up?

SCHOLES: It's going to be an interesting match-up, because Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki, they are enemies on the court but they are really, really good friends. When golf star Rory McIlroy broke off his engagement to Wozniacki in May, Serena was actually planning Wozniacki's bachelorette party. Of course, once the wedding was off, Serena was there to support Wozniacki.

But, of course, that doesn't mean she is going to take it easy on her. Serena, looking to make history this afternoon. She's won 20 straight U.S. Open matches. If she gets the win later today she will be the first woman since Chris Evert in the '70s to win three straight open titles. With the win, she'd also tie Evert and Martin Navratilova with 18 major single titles.

Wozniacki on the other hand, she's looking for her first major title. It would be a good time for her, guys, with Rory McIlroy just dominating the world of golf right now. He's won the last two golf majors. So, I'm sure she's not pleased to see him doing so well and would like to have a title of her own to boast. It's going to be tough to beat Serena.

PAUL: She would like to say I'm doing all right too.

SAVIDGE: I'll be that she still went ahead with that party.

SCHOLES: Maybe so.

PAUL: Why not? Absolutely. Why not? Andy, thank you.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, you know, let's check out the fans in Hollywood reacting to Kei Nishikori's big win.

Listen up.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

SAVIDGE: It's wonderful to see that absolute joyous celebration this weekend. So, let's check in with will --

PAUL: Here they go again. There they are.

SAVIDGE: Will Ripley is in Tokyo. It is actually evening there, so they have to be beat but got to get ready for the next round to watch.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, because this match ended just after 4:00 this morning local time. The next one is Tuesday morning, at 6:00 a.m.

So, some people probably stayed up all night. Hopefully they got in a nap.

I have to tell you -- living here in Japan I love to see fans reacting that way because this is a country where people don't even talk on their phones on the subway. They always stand to the left side of the escalator, to let other people pass by. They are refined, they're polite. Sports fans bring their own bags to clean up the trash after matches as we saw in the World Cup.

So, to see people respond in that way it goes to show how thrilled people are in Japan for this 24-year-old sensation. He moved away from here about a decade ago when he was 14, he trained in Florida with American tennis star Michael Chang most recently, but he had a great team managing him for years to get him up to this moment.

And his performance this week has been front page news, and you can see on every paper in town talking about it because not only did he beat the number one seed but also beat the number 5 seed and the number 3 seed to get to this moment. You know, this is a guy from the country, a southwestern prefecture, a quiet place along the ocean -- not so quiet, though, as you saw the fan reaction, people are absolutely thrilled looking forward to the match.

PAUL: All right. Will, thank you so much.

You know some sponsorships are coming to him. That's going to be interesting to see pans out.

Thank you, Will.

SAVIDGE: Yes, thanks, Will.

Well, how about this. Imagine seeing your child turn white as a ghost, then pass out. You thought he just had a cold. Now, you're dialing 911.

PAUL: Eleven states have gotten these reports of a really dangerous respiratory virus that's spreading, particularly among children. We're talking with a doctor who specializes in all of this.

We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, I hope Sunday has been good to you so far. Though it's -- I know it's probably early for a lot of you. Thirty-two minutes past the hour right now. I'm Christi Paul.

SAVIDGE: And I'm Martin Savidge.

Here are the five things that you need to know for your NEW DAY.

Number one: U.S. warplanes have carried out a new round of airstrikes against ISIS militants in Iraq. It happened overnight for most of us. The strikes were launched near Iraq's second largest dam. Officials fear that ISIS could use the Haditha dam to flood villages and take over Iraq's electricity or at least its grid. U.S. bombers also hit ISIS again near the Mosul dam. The attacks bring to 138 the number of U.S. airstrikes in the latest campaign.

PAUL: Number two, family and friends of Joan Rivers are getting ready to say a final farewell to the outspoken, irreverent, beloved comedienne. Her funeral is going to be held at scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. This is private invitation-only.

Rivers died last week at 81 years old. She'd been on life support after she stopped breathing during a routine throat procedure.

SAVIDGE: Number three, more than 200,000 homes still without power in Michigan and one man was killed after being electrocuted by falling power lines near Detroit. Fierce thunderstorms slammed the area over the last few days. Strong winds ripping up trees and, of course, pulling down the power lines.

PAUL: And, number four, a Jamaican military search team, we understand, has spotted what could be debris from a single engine plane, one they believe crashed on Friday. The aircraft plunged into the Caribbean several hours after air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilot. It was headed from New York to Florida. The U.S. Coast Guard confirms what is called a, quote, "high impact debris field."

SAVIDGE: If you are a fan of NASCAR it was a scary moment for you. Jimmie Johnson who collapsed last night in Richmond, Virginia, suffering from severe cramping and dizziness as a result of dehydration. The sixth time champion climbed from his car, laid on the ground after Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 400.

According to reports, Johnson is feeling much better but required five liters of intravenous fluid after being rushed to the medical center.

PAUL: OK. To parents in particular, but really all of us need to be alert to what's happening in the Denver area right now. Doctors suspect a rare respiratory virus is to blame for sickening hundreds of children, even landing some of them in intensive care.

SAVIDGE: It seems like this came out of the blue. Colorado is the latest state where doctors are seeing signs of what resembles they say at least Enterovirus D68. Health officials in 10 other states from North Carolina to Oklahoma have also reported suspected outbreaks.

PAUL: And we know the virus is related to the cold. The symptoms include cough and runny nose but this can be particularly dangerous.

SAVIDGE: Yes, it can, especially for children with asthma. And, of course, for all kids that are under the age or younger than 5.

So, joining us now is Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

And, Dr. Schaffner, thanks very much for being with us.

And what makes this virus (AUDIO GAP)

WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, VANDERBILT MEDICAL CENTER (via telephone): Well, what makes it dangerous is that it is spread so readily and it's spread in a widespread fashion, late in the summer. And then although it makes only a mild respiratory illness for many, many children, occasionally as you say, it can set off an asthma attack or cause difficulty breathing that requires the child to be admitted to a hospital and perhaps even intensive care unit.

PAUL: I think that's what's alarming to parents when you hear, oh my gosh, they're going into intensive care. What should be the greatest worry, do you think, with this virus, specifically -- the respiratory aspect of it?

SCHAFFNER: It's respiratory aspect. This is the time of year when these viruses spread around. This is unusual because it causes primarily respiratory infection.

But the good news is those kids will recover and recover very quickly, although it's a scary day or two for a few parents and their children.

PAUL: Oh, absolutely. Well, what's the best advice you got for trying to protect your family?

SCHAFFNER: Because it's spread from the intestinal track to the intestinal track, lots of good hand washing and try to stay away from other people who are coughing and sneezing.

PAUL: You know, I know that the virus is so easy to transmit. It's not commonly fatal though I have heard that it can be deadly in some cases. Are there any lasting effects of it?

SCHAFFNER: There should be no lasting effects. That kids that recover and that's the vast majority, recover completely. They go about their activities in just a few days as if they have never been sick.

PAUL: Wow.

SAVIDGE: Will this just run its course? It's going to eventually fade away or what will happen?

SCHAFFNER: Yes, Martin, that's generally what happens. This is the time of year when these kinds of viruses spread and after a week or two, they just kind of go away.

PAUL: You know, this isn't tantamount to the flu, obviously, but we know that the flu we're getting into that season where we have to get the flu vaccine. Do you still recommend that for all kids especially the elderly? SCHAFFNER: Yes, Christi, thanks for reminding all of us. It's

influenza vaccination season, that started. The recommendations are for all of us age 6 months and older. That's everybody watching.

They should all get vaccinated each and every year against influenza because it's coming, it usually peaks in this country in February, but the time to get vaccinated is right now.

PAUL: Very good point.

SAVIDGE: Dr. William Schaffner, thank you very much for joining us.

PAUL: Thank you, Doctor.

SCHAFFNER: Thank you.

PAUL: Well, the wife of an American doctor infected with Ebola says he's still really sick, weak, but he is improving, even had a little chicken soup which we know is good for the soul.

SAVIDGE: It is. It is curative for all things. Dr. Rick Sacra is we are talking about, is being treated at a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. His doctors are trying to figure out how he got the disease. He was working in a hospital in Liberia delivering babies. Sacra is the third American with Ebola to return to the United States from Africa for treatment.

PAUL: Well, Congress is getting back to Washington this week and immigration is expected to take center stage here. How President Obama's decision to delay executive action on immigration reform could impact the upcoming midterm elections and really fuel some partisan bickering.

SAVIDGE: Some are saying it's an about face.

PAUL: Oh, no.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Forty-two minutes past the hour right now.

And President Obama -- let's say he's under a little heat right now for what some are calling a broken promise.

SAVIDGE: It really came as a surprise in fact during this program yesterday. The White House announced that the president will delay executive action on immigration reform until after the midterm elections.

PAUL: That decision has critics on both sides of the aisle including some pro-immigration groups accusing the president of playing politics.

SAVIDGE: CNN's Erin McPike has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi, Martin, the White House is now thinking that if Democrats can hold the Senate, Republicans could come to the table to help pass comprehensive immigration reform later this year, or early next year but the White House insists they'll have a plan by the end of the year.

(voice-over): President Obama under attack for breaking his promise made in June, that he'd take executive action on immigration reform by the end of the summer.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Congress will not do their job, at least we can do ours.

MCPIKE: Delaying any action until after the November elections, the White House says, would stop, quote, "those who would use it to score points as a kind of grandstanding issue."

The move could help Democrats in tight races in Arkansas, North Carolina and Iowa, keeping their seats from flipping to the GOP and causing Democrats from losing control of the Senate.

But the sigh of relief for endangered Democrats sparked fury from groups pushing for immigration reform like United We Dream, which blasted, quote, "The president's latest broken promise is another slap to the face of the Latino and immigrant community".

And Latino groups CNN were just as angry.

CLAUDIA THRANE, LATINO ACTIVIST: I think it's terrible. They always use our community and believe me I'm a Democrat, but I'm tired of waiting. It's time for him to comply, and actually do something about this, now. Not tomorrow. Now.

MCPIKE: White House officials insist immigration reform is coming before the end of the year. President Obama defended reversing himself in an interview with NBC News.

OBAMA: What I'm saying is that I'm going to act because it's the right thing for the country. But it's going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration, what we've done on unaccompanied children and why it's necessary. And, you know, the truth of the matter is that the politics did shift midsummer because of that problem.

MCPIKE (on camera): Republican leaders like House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are accusing the president of playing politics with the issue. Meanwhile, Republican strategists who are working on midterm elections say they will continue to use this as a campaign issue in the final sprint to Election Day -- Christi, Martin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Thank you, Erin. And as she pointed out, among the president's loudest critics,

Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who quickly went on the attack after the announcement, saying this, "The decision is simply delay this deeply controversial and possibly unconstitutional unilateral action until after the election, instead of abandoning the idea altogether smacks of raw politics."

PAUL: All right. Let's talk about this with CNN chief national correspondent and host of "INSIDE POLITICS" coming up here, John King.

Good morning, John.

SAVIDGE: Good morning, John.

JOHN KING, INSIDE POLITICS: Christi and Martin, good morning to you.

Look, both sides are playing raw politics, and that's the shame on this issue and so many where so many others, where many of the people would like some action or at least like to have an up or down vote and see where the chips fall.

The president on the one hand says, no, no, no, this isn't about protecting the Senate, but then you just heard him there in Erin's piece telling NBC News, well, the politics did shift this summer.

They shifted in a way, Martin and Christi, where you have a number, a half dozen, probably a list of 10 vulnerable Senate Democrats saying, Mr. President, don't do this. If you give de facto amnesty to millions of undocumented workers right now, we'll probably lose our Senate seats. Those races are already pretty tight to begin with.

What Democrats don't want is a fired conservative base because if you look in many of the states where there are tough Senate races this year, you don't have much of a Latino population. They are in places like Arkansas, places like Alaska, places like Louisiana.

And on the other hand, now, Republicans who thought the president was going to act and they thought they would fire up their base by saying, look, what he just did, now their argument has to be well, don't send more Democrats to Congress in November because then he'll do even more after the election.

So, no action, more politics.

SAVIDGE: Well, let's talk about beyond the midterm elections and there is that presidential election that is going to come up. Is there a window that's been opened here for say, the Republicans and their potential candidates?

KING: If they would take it, Martin. Yes. There is a window open. The Latino population is now perhaps the most important swing demographics in the United States of America, when you come to presidential politics. If you want to win the presidency, you probably need to win

Florida. You probably need to win Nevada. It would be nice to win New Mexico. It would be nice to win Colorado.

Look at how President Obama did it in the last two presidential elections. Study census data and see the growth of the Latino population in key presidential battlegrounds.

However, there is a window of opportunity for Republicans. The question is, will any of their leaders try to take it, because they are worried about their own base.

The president is worried about losing some Senate seats, so he is going to wait until after November.

You heard that woman again in Erin McPike's package, the president promised he would do this his first year. He hasn't done it. There is such profound disappointment in the Latino community that somebody could get their attention. Somebody could say, hey, I'm the alternative here. But Republicans are so afraid of the Tea Party base, so afraid that if they gave legal status never mind even citizenship to undocumented workers they would have a revolution in their ranks.

So, everybody's afraid because of the politics and because of that this issue keeps getting kicked and kicked.

PAUL: All right. John King, so appreciate your insight. Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Yes, nice to see you this morning.

PAUL: Good to see you this morning.

And you can catch John King again on "INSIDE POLITICS". That's today at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, in just about 50 minutes.

SAVIDGE: All right. Take a look at this. Watch the grin on this boy's face, as he tries on his new Iron Man hand. We'll tell you how it has changed his life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Good morning to New York.

And take a look at that image. Freedom Tower looking spectacular in this new morning.

PAUL: Yes, it is, martin. You are right and on this morning, I know it's Sunday so a lot of us are looking ahead to what's going to happen during the week.

Let's talk about it. On Monday, Congress is getting back to work after August recess. Issues on their plate include spending bills, a possible military strikes against ISIS as well. And Monday, listen, if Monday night football is not enough for

you, check out the men's U.S. Open tennis finals. Marin Cilic will face Kei Nishikori, after they pulled off huge upset spots this weekend.

And then Tuesday, we are finally going to know if Apple is unveiling the long awaited iPhone. The new device may have a larger display screen we've heard, mobile payment options which basically turns your phone into a credit card if you choose.

It's also possible that we're going to see an Apple smart watch as well.

And do you believe Thursday, it's 13 years ago that a total of 2,977 people were killed in the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.

Observances for 9/11 will be held across the country, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Remember it very well, as we all do.

How about this story -- a boy born with no fingers wanted his hands to look like everyone else's. Well, we're going to tell you how a little technology helped that dream come true.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: This is a very nice story.

A little boy in Hawaii has had his wish come true thanks to some Good Samaritans.

Bubba as he is called was born without some fingers. But trying to get Bubba a prosthetic hand would cost thousands of dollars.

PAUL: That when his family turned to the Internet. Get this -- they got a mechanical hand made by 3D printing technology. We've been talking about this stuff but who knew?

Look how happy Bubba is when he's wearing this. It usually costs apparently thousands of dollars but the non-profit group Enabled gave Bubba his customized iron handyman for $50 to get this via the 3D printing technology.

Look at him. We're happy for you, Bubba.

OK. Another cute video alert here, this antsy lion in Botswana -- I want out, I want out, but only for a hug. This video was shot by John Hawkins for modisha.org.

Look at this. Would you be so brave! That modisha.org founded by Mikhail Legar (ph) and Valentine Brynner (ph). The video has more than 2 millions on YouTube.

I love that.

SAVIDGE: It is a great video. Really is.

PAUL: All righty.

SAVIDGE: And now the dear. Drum roll.

PAUL: Martin has been waiting for this video all morning.

SAVIDGE: Right.

PAUL: Could you ever imagine two deer sprinting down, get this, where is that? The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

SAVIDGE: Needless to say, they brought traffic to a complete stop, the highway patrol rushed to the spot but by the time they got there, the deer were gone. They're not dumb. They are not dumb.

An officer said the slow evening traffic prevented the deer from getting hurt and apparently they paid no toll.

PAUL: Very nice.

SAVIDGE: Got away scot-free.

PAUL: You're right. They're smart. They got out of there.

Thank you so much for starting your morning with us.

SAVIDGE: The next hour of your NEW DAY and ours starts right now.

(MUSIC)

PAUL: Oh, stop rushing around, and just sit back and relax for a little bit, while you can take a breather on this Sunday. I'm Christi Paul.

SAVIDGE: And I'm Martin Savidge, in today for Victor Blackwell.

Just about 8:00 and this is NEW DAY SUNDAY.

PAUL: We want to begin with some breaking news overnight.

U.S. warplanes carried new round of airstrikes against ISIS militants in Iraq.

Now, the strikes were launched near Iraq's second largest dam in western Anbar province.

SAVIDGE: ISIS vehicles and a checkpoint were destroyed. It all followed a separate strike Saturday near the Mosul dam. The failure of the Haditha dam, which provides water to millions of Iraqi, could be catastrophic. Officials fear ISIS could use that water to flood villages and then take over Iraq's electricity industry.

PAUL: President Obama gearing up to meet Tuesday with congressional leaders to discuss how to counter this ISIS threat. He's returned from that NATO Summit, remember, where world leaders united in their call to destroy ISIS.

Well, our next guest believes the key to quelling this extremism is achieving a lasting Israeli/Palestinian peace.

SAVIDGE: George Mitchell joins us now. He served as President Obama's special envoy for Middle East peace from January 2009 to May of 2011.

Ambassador Mitchell, thank you very much for being with us.

You've written extensively, a three-part op-ed that started running this morning in "The Boston Globe", and in today's piece you write the U.S., quote, "should continue the active pursuit of an agreement to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It could dramatically improve America's credibility in the region and could make it possible for Israel and the Sunni dominated monarchies to work together to combat their common foe and ours. The extremist forces are now menacing the entire region."