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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

First Ebola Case Diagnosed in U.S.; New Security Lapse in Secret Service Mess; When is Secret Service Able to Use Deadly Force?; DNA Link in Missing UVA Student; Parents' Fight for Justice; Biggest Day Of Airstrikes In Fight Against ISIS; Hong Kong Protesters Brace For Showdown

Aired September 30, 2014 - 20:00   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. Thanks for joining us tonight. Yet more breaking news tonight in the Secret Service scandal. ISIS grabs more territory. Police say DNA could link the suspect in Hannah Graham's disappearance to another young woman's murder and possibly other crimes as well.

There was a lot going on in the hour ahead. We begin, though, with the first Ebola diagnoses here on U.S. soil. It happened in Texas. A CDC team is on their way there. The CDC director briefing President Obama. The public health now on high alert.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now with the latest.

So what do we know about this person who's infected with Ebola in Texas?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, all we know is that they were in Liberia, they travel to the United States on the 20th of September. What we hear is that at the time the person got on the plane to the time they got off the plane, they're not sick. The person was not ill. Did not have any symptoms. But it was four days later on the 24th when this person first became ill.

Two days after that on the 26th they went to the hospital because they were sick, and at that time were told to go home. The person was not tested. Two days later then, now, the 28th, eight days after arriving back into the United States, went back into the hospital by ambulance this time, got tested, was put into isolation and that test subsequently came back as positive.

So as you mentioned, Anderson, while we have had patients in the United States with Ebola, those patients were diagnosed in another country, in Africa, and then sent here. Yet this person, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.

There's also those four days. Again, 24th was when the person got sick, the 28th when the person went into isolation.

The big question, right now, Anderson, is who did the person come in contact with after he was -- he or she was sick before they were actually in isolation.

COOPER: We should talk about what kind of contact is at risk here. I mean, in terms of what people should and should not be concerned about, you make the point that it's not very contagious. It doesn't travel through the air but it is very infectious. Explain -- explain that difference.

GUPTA: Yes, you know, we think of things that are contagious like the flu virus, for example, will travel through the air, can -- you know, airborne things are going to be more easily caught. This does not behave that way. The Ebola virus does not spread through the air like that. But what I mean by it being infectious is that even a small amount of the virus can cause an infection and it can be transmitted through any kind of bodily fluids, in their sweat, in their blood, just about any bodily fluid that you can imagine.

So at that point even a small amount of body fluid going from a sick person to someone who is not sick could cause an infection. That is what it means to be infectious. And that's why these four days are of concern. He got sick on the 24th, wasn't put into isolation until the 28th. How sick was he, how infectious was during that time, how many people did he come in contact with?

These are major questions, Anderson, because in order to stop the public health problem, the likes of which we're seeing in West Africa now, you've got to find all of those contacts, you've got to go ahead and monitor them, put them into some sort of isolation or quarantine for 21 days and take their temperature twice a day. It's a laborious process but it absolutely is what needs to be done.

COOPER: So just -- I mean, specifically say the person was sweating a lot and somebody touched their arm and touched their sweat, or the person who was infected sneezed on somebody, those are possible ways of transmitting?

GUPTA: They are. Those are possible ways of transmitting. Now to be clear it's still unlikely to get -- you know, for someone to get sick that way because, you know, you still have to have some sort of break in your skin. The viral particles have got to get in there. But as you and I have talked about like even if you don't have open cuts on your hands, you know, we all have little breaks in our skin.

So if some bodily fluid got under your skin in some way, from a person who is sick with Ebola, you're at risk. You would be considered a contact. You would be somebody who would be monitored and kept in quarantine and have your fever checked. So they take that very, very seriously. This is the type of thing that even a small amount of an infected bodily fluid could cause an infection.

Now I will say that Dr. Frieden, who's the head of the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, said he is, quote, "a hundred percent confident" they can stop this outbreak in the United States. They could stop this from spreading, I should say, in the United States. But I just described the process for you.

COOPER: Right. GUPTA: Now they've got to go back and find all the people he may have

come in contact with and monitor those people as well. If any of them get sick over the next 21 days, then you've got to find all the people that that person came in contact with and you can just imagine the concentric circles.

COOPER: Right. We'll obviously be monitoring this very closely.

Sanjay, thanks very much.

We also have now more breaking news. The mess at the Secret Service, and yet another revelation. On the day the fence jumper was charged and the agency's director got grilled by lawmakers, word of another apparent security lapse. This time during President Obama's recent visit to the CDC.

Justice correspondent Pamela Brown joins us now with more on that and the rest of today's late developments.

So, let's talk about the security breach at the CDC just a couple of weeks ago. What happened?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We're learning according to Congressman Jason Chaffetz a whistleblower told his office that a security contractor who was standing right next to President Obama on an elevator at the CDC building in Atlanta started acting strangely. And it was later discovered he had a gun on him to the surprise of the Secret Service. This just hours after the director of the Secret Service apologized to Congress for her agency's handling of another security breach earlier this month.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): 42-year-old Omar Gonzales seen here bolting across the White House lawn was stopped by just one on-duty Secret Service officer in the White House and a source briefed on the breach says two off-duty agents who just happened to be on the lower level of the building heard the commotion and assisted.

The "Washington Post" reports one of those agents had been guarding the Obama daughters just four minutes earlier, before they left with the president on Marine One.

JULIA PIERSON, DIRECTOR, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: I have asked for a full review. It is obvious, it is obvious that mistakes were made.

BALDWIN: For nearly four hours today the director of the Secret Service, Julia Pierson, was grilled by Congress on how Omar Gonzales, an Iraq war veteran, was able to make it inside.

REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: Don't let somebody get close to the president. Don't let somebody get close to his family.

REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D), MASSACHUSETTS: And I wish to God you protected the White House like you're protecting your reputation here today. REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: I don't want anyone to imagine,

imagine, imagining, that they can pierce the protective veil of the Secret Service.

BROWN: Pierson admitted at least two Secret Service agents recognized Gonzalez from previous incidents even before he jumped the fence.

PIERSON: He observed him for some time, he wasn't acting inappropriately, he didn't violate any laws.

CHAFFETZ: But they did not -- did not report that and they did not approach him, correct?

PIERSON: I think they noted that but they did not approach him.

BROWN: Pierson admitted today that after jumping the fence, Gonzalez made it past five rings of security, dashing 70 yards across the iconic front lawn and into the building's unlocked front door. Inside Pierson said he overpowered an agent at the north entrance and made a left turn through the red carpeted across hall before briefly running into the East Room and finally being arrested.

Committee members pressed the director on why the Secret Service didn't disclose just how far Gonzalez made it into the White House, the struggle and told the public Gonzalez was unarmed.

PIERSON: I know when Mr. Gonzalez was placed into custody he was found to have a folded knife in his right front pants pocket.

CHAFFETZ: Do you consider that a weapon?

PIERSON: That is a weapon.

CHAFFETZ: Why would the Secret Service put out an official press release saying that -- put out a statement to the Associated Press? Did you ever correct -- did you correct the Associated Press? Did you call them back and say you got that wrong?

PIERSON: I have no knowledge of that.

BROWN: Through the contentious hearing, members of Congress laid out a laundry list of Secret Service failures, including the lack of training, failure to lock the front door and the decision not to use more force to stop Gonzalez. An argument former Secret Service officials dispute.

RALPH BASHAM, FORMER DIRECTOR, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: We could easily be sitting here today discussing why an Iraq veteran, possibly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, armed with only a pocket knife, was shot dead on the North Lawn.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: So, Pam, what do White House officials have to say about all this? I mean, has anything changed since this breach? BROWN: There have been a few changes, Anderson. The White House came

out today standing up for Pierson, really standing by her side, saying that she took responsibility for the incident and has implemented new security measures. One of the main changes she talked about today was new automated locks for the front door at the White House. Of course something that was missing before -- Anderson.

COOPER: I don't get this other security breach at the CDC. I mean, how is the Secret Service responding? What are they saying? How does a guy with a gun get into an elevator with the president of the United States?

BROWN: Yes, that has a lot of people scratching their heads, Anderson. The Secret Service not saying much at this point only an official telling us today that a -- the Secret Service is investigating that the details in "The Examiner" article which initially reported this were generally accurate.

And also, "The Washington Post" is reporting, Anderson, that this contractor had a criminal history. The Secret Service official isn't commenting on that citing privacy concerns.

COOPER: I mean, it gets even worse.

Pamela, thanks very much. We'll follow that.

More now on the question of how force to use against White House intruders, or simply put, why not just shoot the guy? That's what an awful lot of people have been asking. People wonder why when so many people important lives on the line, the Secret Service seemed reluctant in this case certainly about using more forceful tactics to protect them. The answer may surprise you as much as it surprised us.

Randi Kaye tonight explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you're wondering how a knife- wielding intruder could jump the fence, cross the White House lawn, and make his way inside the White House before being taken down by Secret Service, so were we.

DAN BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: There is a myth out there that the Secret Service has some kind of special powers on the White House grounds, and it's just not true. The Secret Service are GS-1811 federal agents, like any other federal agent. The FBI, the DEA. Their escalation of force guidelines are strictly governed.

KAYE: So strictly governed that they can't even shoot a man charging the White House unless it's clear he intends to injure or kill someone.

Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino says agents have a number of lethal and non-lethal options to stop an intruder both long and short range. So what's the protocol, we wonder. Under what circumstances does a

Secret Service agent shoot especially if someone is heading straight for the president's residence?

BONGINO: Lethal options are your last option. I don't think this was a shoot scenario. There wasn't any weapons in the hands, there was no -- from what I saw in the video there was no printing on the clothes, there was no vocalized threat.

KAYE: Printing is a technique agents train years for. They quickly look for the outline of a weapon or a suicide vest hidden beneath a suspect's clothes. No obvious threat, no shots fired.

BONGINO: We can't shoot trespassers. We just can't. That's not the kind of country we live in.

KAYE: It may surprise you to learn Secret Service agents don't have any more power to use lethal force than your average police officer. Instead, the Secret Service often uses their dogs to stop an intruder.

Not in this case, though, out of concern the dog may not have known who to go after with so many people trailing the suspect.

(On camera): So when can they shoot? Remember back in November 2011 when a man used a semiautomatic rifle to fire from his car at the White House residence? Agents figured the gunshots were a shootout between gang members on Constitution Avenue and didn't shoot at the suspect, a decision now highly criticized.

BONGINO: If they are firing and they can articulate that the person may have been firing at the president or god forbid his family members or his wife, anyone, yes, they can absolutely engage some options there and lethal force would be perfectly appropriate in that case.

KAYE (voice-over): Following this latest White House trespassing case, the Secret Service first praised agents for showing tremendous restraint and discipline, leaving critics to call for an update to protocols that might deter future intruders and attacks, clearing the way perhaps for more lethal force.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Something new and exciting to tell you about, you can now watch AC 360 online, full programs whenever and wherever you like. Just head over to CNN.com/go, and check it out.

Coming up next tonight, the link that authorities now believe tied the suspect to Hannah Graham's disappearance to the murder of another young woman, Morgan Harrington. Late details tonight.

Also my conversation with Morgan's parents about what they thought the moment they saw suspect Jesse Matthew's picture.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: As we mentioned at the top of the program, there is new word tonight about evidence in Hannah Graham's disappearance that may tie it to the murder of another young woman, Morgan Harrington, five years ago.

In a moment we're going to get reaction from Morgan's father and father. But first, the evidence from CNN's Jean Casarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It has been 17 days since Hannah Graham vanished and there is still no sign of the missing 18-year-old University of Virginia student. She was last seen on September 13th.

CHIEF TIMOTHY J. LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE: Nothing. Nothing. It is easy to say that's frustrating. We'll find results, somewhere, somehow, we'll find results.

CASAREZ: Jesse Matthew is now behind bars and held in connection to Graham's disappearance. He may also be the answer to a question investigators have been asking since 2009. Who killed 18-year-old Morgan Harrington?

A law enforcement source tells CNN that DNA evidence links Matthew to the Virginia Tech student.

It was October 2009 when Morgan Harrington traveled almost 150 miles to attend a Metallica with friends at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. While at the concert, Harrington headed to the restroom but walked outside of the arena. She was not allowed to reenter the show. She told friends that she would find a ride home.

According to the FBI she was last seen hitchhiking, never heard from again. A massive search ensued as Harrington's parents tearfully pleaded for her safe return.

GIL HARRINGTON, MORGAN'S MOTHER: Be strong. We are trying to find you. We will never stop.

DAN HARRINGTON, MORGAN'S FATHER: Morgan is out there and here is us, please come home.

CASAREZ: Morgan Harrington would never come home. On January 26th, 2010, Morgan Harrington's skeletal remains were found on farmland outside of Charlottesville along Route 29. Police say she was raped and beaten so badly her bones were splintered.

GIL HARRINGTON: Our sorrow is etched in our faces, our pain has been carved into our hearts.

CASAREZ: Investigators also found foreign DNA allegedly from Harrington's murderer. Two years later, that DNA matches a 2005 rape case in nearby Fairfax City. The 26-year-old victim gave authorities a composite sketch which investigators released in the Harrington case. But is this Jesse Matthew? Police in the Hannah Graham case won't

say, saying only that a search of Matthew's car and apartment provided a link between the Graham and Harrington cases.

LONGO: I wouldn't speak to what other departments may or may not investigate as it relates to this case or any other case. We're certainly poised to be cooperative and helpful in any way that we can with regard to cases in which other departments might have an interest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Jean Casarez joins us now from Charlottesville, Virginia.

So why are police more clear about the connection between the cases?

CASAREZ: You know, quite simply, DNA analysis is difficult. I spoke today with the director of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science and that's where they're doing all the testing. He would not comment on this case at all or any other. But he said that DNA testing is so sophisticated because, first of all, they have to look at the quality of what they have.

Many times there's mixtures. They have to try to separate and they'll have a speck of something or they'll have a large stain of something, but what is the quality of it? And once they get that DNA profile, they then simply send it to law enforcement. Law enforcement can say we want it retested, which is usually the case and it just doesn't happen in a day.

COOPER: All right, Jean. Appreciate that.

We're going to hear from Dan and Gil Harrington shortly. But first, I want to bring in Ed Smart, who consulted with them shortly after Morgan vanished, whose daughter, of course, Elizabeth, who was abducted 12 years ago and rescued nine months later.

Also forensic scientist, Lawrence Kobilinsky, from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Dr. Kobilinsky, let's start with you. The idea of a forensic link, which is term authorities have been using between these two cases with Hannah Graham and Morgan. What exactly does that mean? Do we know?

LAWRENCE KOBILINSKY, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: It's a good question. Well, first of all, I think the investigation of Hannah Graham's disappearance had everything to do with it. The search warrant, the search of the home, I am sure they collected tooth brush, which gives them DNA. They collected hairbrush which gives them hair.

COOPER: So that search is what allowed them to get that DNA.

KOBILINSKY: Precisely. And law enforcement will sometimes get surreptitious samples. They'll pick up a glass that he drank out of or something of that sort. Here you have hair samples, you have DNA samples. You can then compare it to evidence collected off the body. Now from the body we don't know what they got. It is possible they

have DNA under the fingernails. It is possible that there is semen possibly on clothing. Certainly not on the body but on clothing. It's possible that there's hair evidence they collected from the victim. So all of this comes together.

DNA is a science. We know what we're doing. We can look at mixtures, we can interpret them. I'm sure that we know exactly where we're headed scientifically.

COOPER: Interesting.

Ed, I mean, you were very supportive of the Harringtons when their daughter was missing back in 2009. I spoke to them earlier, we're going to play that shortly. One of the things that Dan Harrington said to me was that the missing phase, that's really the worst part. That's something you -- does that ring true for you?

ED SMART, FATHER KIDNAPPING SURVIVOR ELIZABETH SMART: Absolutely. You know, during the nine months that Elizabeth was gone the not knowing was worse than anything else. And there is a group that I belong to called the Surviving Parents Coalition. Many of them still have children that are missing. And that not knowing is so incredibly difficult.

Even if it turns out that they're deceased, it is better to find that out than to go through your life, you know, feeling like a part of your life is missing and that question remains in your mind all the time of issues still out there. What can I do? What am I not doing to try to help bring her home?

I think that's why it's so incredibly important for the Grahams to have the public support, to help find her and bring this -- bring her home to them.

COOPER: And Dr. Kobilinsky, the idea that there is a link between Morgan's case and a prior kidnapping and sexual assault that thankfully did not end in a murder. That victim survived. She is a survivor of that attack. Is it -- does that automatically mean all three are linked?

KOBILINSKY: Not necessarily, but it sounds like there is a clustering here. First of all, geographically, secondly, although not ethnically, the victims of different ethnicities but they're about the same age, they're college students or high school. In other words, there are too many similarities here. Looks like there is one person on the loose trapping these poor girls and there is an evolution of violence here starting off with kidnapping and rape. And now it is murder.

COOPER: And Ed, you've been working with a group called DNA Saves. They're trying to get legislation passed, to mandate the DNA is taken when somebody is arrested in a felony. Is that right?

SMART: Absolutely, Jan Savige, her daughter was abducted and found in a garbage dump the next day. And there was DNA underneath her fingernails. And that lead finally brought about finding out who had taken her. And this is the same scenario.

So what does DNA is going to provide is answers and, you know, I hate to use the word closure but it leads to answers to what has happened to their children.

And the Harringtons are absolutely wonderful people. And they did everything that they could to help, you know, bring their daughter home. And in this same case with the Grahams, unfortunately, it seems like there is potential linkage here. But you know, it goes back to the importance of trying to find her and -- but DNA is this link.

And we have about 28 states that have passed a form of legislation taking -- DNA on felony arrests. And this really speaks to the issue of why we need to do it and why the other states need to come on board so that we can get answers in these criminal cases.

COOPER: Ed, appreciate you being on. Ed Smart. Dr. Kobilinsky, as well.

When we come back, my conversation with Dan and Gil Harrington, Morgan Harrington's parents, about their feelings on the news today and their hope that justice will finally come for their daughter's killer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It's hard to even imagine being where Dan and Gil Harrington have found themselves in the past five years or where they find themselves tonight. Ever since their daughter Morgan disappeared and her remains were found, the Harringtons have waited for answers, waiting for justice while they travel the road that no parent should.

That even on that long and excruciating journey, they still found the space in their lives and in their hearts for another family's missing daughter, for Hannah Graham, because they say ever since they lost Morgan there have been too many others, as they put it, too many next girls.

Tonight the Harringtons found themselves one step closer to getting the answers they've been seeking on their daughter's murder and possibly, possibly in Hannah Graham's disappearance.

I spoke to them earlier tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Dan and Gil, first of all, let me just start off by saying I'm just -- I'm so sorry for your loss. This has got to be an extraordinarily difficult time for you, I mean a rollercoaster. How are you holding on?

GIL HARRINGTON: I think we're doing pretty well. I think, you know, we have been pushing this down uphill for five years and though it has been exhausting it has forced us to develop some muscles but we are strong and we're resolute in trying to find justice for our daughter so we're doing fine. Thank you. COOPER: Dan, I understand when you saw the photo of Jesse Matthews,

you instantly thought that this could be the same person responsible for your daughter's death.

DAN HARRINGTON: That is correct. I received on Facebook a picture of Mr. Matthews taken before probably five years ago. And when it was compared with the FBI shot that we did of the mug shot and now the mug shot with the picture from Fairfax, it looked remarkably similar. And I told Gil, I said I think this is the person who may have been involved in Morgan's murder.

COOPER: Gil, even before authorities confirmed the connection between your daughter's case and Hannah Graham's, I know you were telling reporters how similar you thought the cases were. Can you explain those similarities?

GIL HARRINGTON: You know, both Hannah's going missing and Morgan's abduction happened around the same time of year, in the same town. Hannah was first seen that evening on 14th Street. Morgan's shirt was found a couple of weeks after her abduction on 15th Street and Grady.

So there are a lot of similarities and it concerned us. As we have had more and more of a dawning feeling that this could be the person responsible for Morgan's abduction and murder.

But, you know, we are not joyful. There is no celebration here. We are kind of stunned, but we also are, you know, devastated that it has come through Hannah Graham being missing.

COOPER: Sure.

GIL HARRINGTON: You know, we need to find Hannah Graham. That is front and center on our minds right now.

COOPER: If it turns out that Jesse Matthew is responsible, would that bring any sort of comfort to finally know who is responsible for your daughter's death, or -- comfort is probably the wrong word.

GIL HARRINGTON: I will be very relieved to know that he will be prevented from ever hurting another girl again. I don't have any desire or need to tear him limb from limb or hurt him or -- I just want to prevent him from hurting anybody else.

And that I'm vehement to do. I don't even really feel angry because my mind just -- I can't comprehend how somebody could hurt and you know, kill our beautiful Morgan, it's just unfathomable to me.

DAN HARRINGTON: I have had several people ask me why aren't you just furious about this. Again, maybe we're just sort of in shock. Anger is not a word that currently comes up. I think we are relieved. And I think we are concerned about what the future holds.

You know, this is just the next chapter in a four or five-year journey that has been pretty ugly. And as you mentioned, from the standpoint of the Grahams, the missing phase is really the worst.

COOPER: Dan, I understood there was something you actually wanted to say to Jesse Matthew.

DAN HARRINGTON: Well, I would like to say that how could you take another person's life? How can you possibly, possibly be so awful to abduct someone and kill them? It is beyond me, that that is just beyond human understanding.

COOPER: Gil, and you mentioned this a little bit I know in the wake of your daughter's death, you two both have worked tirelessly to prevent what happened to her from happening to anybody else. That's part of your daughter's legacy I would imagine.

GIL HARRINGTON: It is part of Morgan's legacy and we've said, you know, this kind of tragedy and loss, it is an abyss for us. You know, we're medical people. The rope out of the abyss is through service and through trying to help other people and making a terrible situation less difficult for other people. You don't get over it, but I believe you do get past it. And you can accommodate and part of our accommodation is through service.

COOPER: Gil, what do you want people to know about Morgan, about what she was like?

GIL HARRINGTON: Morgan was great. I mean, Morgan was beautiful inside and out. She was funny. She was very talented. For someone who was killed when she was 20 years old, it is really astounding to see the amount of skills, talents and potential that she had.

And it is sad for us and for our families that she was in full flower, that that flowering was taken from us. But not only was it taken from us, she was going to do some kind of darn good amazing things in this world. And it is tragic that that will not happen.

COOPER: Dan and Gil, thank you for your strength. And thank you for talking to us. And I wish you peace and strength in the days ahead.

GIL HARRINGTON: This is 2, 4, 1, the sign we would always say to Morgan, the sign she was walking out of the door to go to the concert, 2, 4, 1, I love you once and forever. We're still trying for you, honey.

COOPER: Thank you very much.

Incredibly strong parents. There is a lot of news to catch up on overseas. We'll get to that ahead. ISIS fighters taking control of Iraqi military base, 50 miles from Baghdad while British planes launch their first airstrikes in Iraq, a heavy day of U.S. airstrikes as well. Question is will it make a difference? Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Britain added its firepower to the fight against ISIS, carrying out its airstrikes in the country. British planes help Kurdish troops fighting ISIS in the country's north western corner.

Farther south about 50 miles North West of Baghdad, ISIS militants have taken over a base. The extremist group released these images showing the takeover the base where roughly 180 Iraqi troops were stationed.

Now over the past 48 hours, the U.S. military has launched 22 airstrikes at ISIS targets both in Iraq and in Syria. Chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, joins me with the latest.

So this latest Iraqi base to fall to ISIS, how big a deal is that? How significant? Because it's happening as administration officials try to reassure people the Iraqi military under this new prime minister can and eventually will be up to the task of defeating ISIS.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, it is alarming. It shows the complete collapse of the command structure of at least certain units in the Iraqi army. You have soldiers abandoning their post commanders, abandoning their soldiers.

And what military officials say is that this is the result of what the former Prime Minister Al Maliki, did to the military. He removed a lot of the commanders that the U.S. trained at great cost and great risk, replaced them with commanders who were either Shiites or cronies of him or ones that he could rely on.

And destroy the structure of the military and by the judgment of U.S. military advisers there, about half of the fighting brigades. But it also gets to a bigger question is what are these soldiers fighting for?

Do they have a country to fight for that they're willing to put their lives on the line for. It doesn't appear that you see that with a great deal of the Iraqi army units.

COOPER: And without any leadership, I mean, why would they fight? The U.S. government has made clear that defeating ISIS would take a long time. Again, when you have these Iraqi bases falling, the Peshmerga leaders saying they need closer air support. Huge concern about ISIS advancing along the border of Syria and Turkey, are these coalition airstrikes, are they working?

SCIUTTO: Well, not yet, and what military officials will say that they said from the beginning that you can't win this by air power alone. I mean, as it is, we are 53 days into the air campaign in Iraq and eight days to the air campaign in Syria and really not a square mile of ground gained back from ISIS except some victories here and there, and holding back their advances.

So the military is saying if we pushed them today, this is just the beginning. We know that we need a ground component to this. But as you say, Anderson, and you highlighted there. The ground component, the one country where you have it, which is Iraq.

Because you're miles away from having it in Syria before we train these rebel groups, the Iraqi military -- and even there, that ground component is not performing. It is just a reminder to us, to our viewers that this is going to be a long gain here and will be a real challenge to win this.

COOPER: And I mean, the end is not in sight and certainly in question. Jim Sciutto, appreciate it.

Now that we go to Hong Kong where it is already Wednesday, Wednesday morning. You're looking at live pictures outside the government complex where the pro-democracy protesters have gathered all week. It is a public holiday there. Many people have the day off for China's National Day.

It looked like -- going to show you pictures of what it looked like overnight. You can now see the crowds are there, protesters waving their cell phones to create patterns of light.

Today is the deadline they have set for the Chinese government to meet their demands for more freedom and the right to elect their own leader. Ivan Watson joins me now with the latest. What are the crowds like there this morning?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we spoke at this time yesterday, Anderson, and there were far fewer people. In fact, more people and kids spent the night out here under torrential rains overnight.

They -- the rain, the thunder, the lightning did not dampen their enthusiasm and neither did statements coming from the Hong Kong government, which repeated the fact that it believes that these protests are illegal, stating that China will not compromise with these illegal demands and that the protesters must disband immediately.

And despite that and despite the inclement weather there are more people out here in part possibly because it is a national holiday today. A holiday that is supposed to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China under communist party rule.

But instead of those official celebrations, what you have here is an ongoing mass civil disobedience movement calling for more democracy from the Communist Party in Mainland China and from the authorities here in this home of British colony.

COOPER: And today is the deadline that protesters set for the Mainland to meet their demands. Now, if the government in China doesn't bend, which seems highly unlikely, what happens next?

WATSON: Well, some of the opposition groups have threatened to expand their occupy movement to some government buildings. They have also expanded some of their demands. They demand that the top man here in Hong Kong, the chief executive, that he step down.

He has been digging in his heels, again as I mentioned saying he is not going to compromise and that these people need to leave immediately. So both camps digging in their heels as this sit-in continues now. A third night that people have been camped out here. So it is hard to see where there is a way out right now.

COOPER: All right, Ivan, thanks very much.

Coming up, police say pipe bombs they found in Pennsylvania are proof that they're looking in the right place for Eric Frein, who is wanted in the shooting death of a state trooper and has been alluding them now for weeks. The latest on that search next.

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COOPER: In the past 24 hours, searchers may have gotten a glimpse of suspected cop killer Erin Frein, but they have not yet caught him. Frein is wanted in the shooting death of a state trooper earlier this month.

Since then, police think he's been hiding out in the woods and over the past few days that they have found several items they say confirmed that he is in the area including two fully functional pipe bombs. Authorities say the search is taking a toll on Frein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: I am calling on you, Eric, to surrender. You are clearly stressed and making significant mistakes. We continue to take your supplies and weapons stock piles, while you are no doubt weakening, our troopers resolve is very strong. We are not going anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And Deborah Feyerick joins us now with the latest. What are police saying about Frein being spotted recently? Where did that happen?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they spotted him about 300 yards from where the person was standing. He was in the woods, a heavily wooded area, he was wearing dark clothing. These pipe bombs are pretty significant. These are improvised explosive devices.

And authorities are saying they were designed to cause maximum damage. You can see this knots that he essentially has glued to the side that acts like shrapnel. So the question is, shrapnel for who? Is he setting traps out there in the woods?

That is clearly a big concern. These devices can either be lit from the top or you can have a trigger mechanism, almost like a trip wire for these devices to detonate.

But when they found these, they also found various supplies as well. So when you hear that trooper say, you know, we are taking your things, it appears that Frein is on the run. He has slept very little.

They keep finding these make-shift homes that he is resting in. He is running out of things and that's the message the troopers are trying to get him today -- Anderson.

COOPER: Is it known if he discarded the bombs, how did he get them?

FEYERICK: Well, that is what is so interesting about this. It appears that these are devices that he himself made, that he made them in advance before going into the woods. Authorities believed that he went into the woods too quickly.

That he had no sense that people are going to be after him as fast as they were. When they found them, though, they said this is a clear indication that he is simply trying to evade the authorities that are out there looking for him.

And so rather than take them with him, which would be the logical thing to do, remember they found that assault rifle. In fact, he is having to slip away so that they don't find him -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Deborah Feyerick, thanks very much. There is a lot more happening tonight. Randi Kaye is back with a 360 News and Business Bulletin.

RANDI KAYE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, prosecutors will likely seek the death penalty in the Oklahoma beheading case. Alton Nolen is accused of first degree murder and other charges for the attack at a food processing plant last week.

The FBI investigation continues. The district attorney revealed today Nolen, a recent convert to Islam, was saying, quote, "Arabic terms" during the attack. The 54-year-old Colleen Hufford was beheaded, another woman was wounded.

In Arkansas, the body of real estate agent, Beverly Carter, was found in a shallow grave early this morning. Aaron Louis was already accused of kidnapping. Now he is facing a murder charge.

Olympic champion swimmer, Michael Phelps, was arrested for DUI in Maryland, his second such arrest in eight years. Once again Phelps has apologized for his actions. No word on whether USA swimming or any of his sponsors will take action.

And "People" magazine has the exclusive photos of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin's wedding. The bride wore a custom-made Oscar Dela Renta French lace gown -- Anderson.

COOPER: She looked beautiful. Randi, thanks very much.

At the top of the hour, don't miss the CNN's special report, "Downward Spiral Inside the Case Against Aaron Hernandez." That starts about 7 minutes from now.

"The Ridiculist" though is coming up next. Be right back.

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COOPER: Time now for "The Ridiculist." It's that time of the year again, time for corn maze and pumpkin picking. That's all cutesy for your terminal sensibilities and butt clenching terror is more your thing.

It's also time for your trip to a haunted house. One option, of course, is that bush garden in Tampa, Florida, where the hollow scream is open for business. It apparently has eight haunted houses, more than a 100 scary characters and one fearless reporter, Anthony Allred, who dared to attach on the screen cam and check out one of the attractions.

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ANTHONY ALLRED: I got to tour hollow screen's newest haunted house. Now this means the dead branches along the side of the road. Here, it is kind of the same thing only with people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So basically it is a haunted house full of broken people in Florida. I for one, am terrified, but not our intrepid reporter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLRED: I began to walk through the dark maze of terror. Yes, that would be me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It looks like the Blair Witch Project, instead of that lady with the snot running down her face, our hero is a local news reporter who doesn't even break a sweat. No matter what they throw at this guy he doesn't even flinch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Want to hang?

ALLRED: Not really. But the molecules are -- I got things to do. I got stories to write.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Yes, stories to write. The bush garden's hallow scream is simply no match for Anthony Allred on the deadline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLRED: I can't do that, I have stories to write, scripts to do, people to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: See the fact is, once you have been a writer, you are not scared by things like being buried alive. Ellen Degeneres sends one of her writers through the haunted house in Universal Studios. This is the last time the executive producer, Andy, went through, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you making me go through --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not, I'm protecting you! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're good. We're good. Stop!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: All right, those two could use a lesson in putting the chill in thrills and chills. And we know just the guy to teach them.

That does it for us. We'll see you again at 11 p.m. Eastern for another edition of 360. The CNN special report "DOWNWARD SPIRAL: INSIDE THE CASE AGAINST AARON HERNANDEZ" starts now.