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Two American Aid Workers with Ebola Being Sent Back to U.S. from Africa; Violence Between Hamas and Israel Continues; Israel Possibly Pulling Back from Areas in Gaza; Interview with Congressman Eliot Engel; NFL Defends Length of Suspension for Ray Rice; CNN Hero Teaches Children in Guatemala

Aired August 02, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: So glad to you have with us, I'm Christi Paul.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miguel Marquez in for Victor Blackwell. It is 10:00 on the east coast, 7:00 out west. You are in the CNN Newsroom.

PAUL: And we do have some breaking news regarding that deadly Ebola virus. According to a Samaritan's Purse spokesman Dr. Kent Brantley one of two Americans infected with the virus will be the first patient to arrive in the U.S. in a matter of hours. The president of the Christian organization SIM USA confirms to CNN now that the plane is in the air en route to the U.S. right now with Dr. Kent Brantley onboard.

MARQUEZ: You're looking at live pictures of Dobbins Reserve Air Base in Georgia where that plane is expected to touch down in a few hours time. It will be the first time ever a patient with Ebola will be treated in the States. Aid worker Nancy Wright and Brantley contracted Ebola while working in Liberia. The World Health Organization says Ebola is spreading faster than efforts to contain it.

In hard-hit West Africa more than 700 people have died from Ebola in recent weeks.

PAUL: Treating both victims is not going to be an easy task. Ebola is so infectious that it typically kills up to 60 percent to 90 percent of patients who catch it.

MARQUEZ: And symptoms of the virus which is contracted through transmission of bodily fluids include fever, muscle aches, and general weakness.

PAUL: If you've been following Twitter or Facebook you know that there is a huge concern about bringing these two people back to the U.S. who are infected, and that's the question we're asking today. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta with us now.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is a lot of questions about this, and I'll tell you, I asked the head offed CDC specifically that same question. And he made a very interesting and I guess fundamental point. And that is that they are U.S. citizens. There's not an exclusionary policy in America, even if someone who an infectious disease they can't come back in. The State Department had to oversee it. The CDC ultimately gave approval, but they are U.S. citizens.

The health care workers themselves are sort of the ones most at risk for this sort of thing, and that risk is a very interesting thing. I had a chance to talk to the doctors leading the team and asked them about that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: We know that the risk is small, but it's even smaller if these patients did not come here. If you don't have anything magical to provide, why take the risk at all?

DR. BRUCE RIBNER, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: I think you've been in that part of the world and you know the level of care that can be delivered. These are Americans who went over there to supply humanitarian mission of medical care for these individuals. And our feeling is that they deserve the best medical care to try and resolve this infection that they can get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: Part of it, they say, they can do the same things that they've done in Africa bet they can do it better. And so when you quote this 60 to 90 percent mortality numbers, they say they have a better chance of saving someone's life here.

MARQUEZ: But a very high level had to sign off on this. State Department, CDC, and health authorities getting together to realize that to bring these people back, more benefit to them being here, not only for them, but possibly for doing something for the disease and figuring out the disease?

GUPTA: Everything's a risk-benefit analysis. I think despite the warranted fears. This has never happened before, but when you look at the actual risk, the chance of an outbreak, for example, occurring in the city of Atlanta or elsewhere in the United States is so remote that that wouldn't happen here, that the comparison has always been to these more remote villages in Africa. It's a very difficult medical sort of atmosphere there.

PAUL: What's interesting is they are being taken to Emory, and you still among all of the things the man does, perform surgery at Emory. So if you were working with this team, would you have any concerns?

GUPTA: I wouldn't be coming in contact with the patients directly. I wouldn't have any concerns for me. I don't think this is how this sort of thing spreads. I think the big concern would be, is it going to affect people being, you know, wanting to take care of the patients, doing their jobs? Health care people who are just fearful about it. That hasn't seemed to happen. One of the things Dr. Ribner told me, two of the nurses who typically are on the containment unit, they were supposed to go on vacation this next week and they both cancelled their vacations because they wanted to take care of these patients. So there is a sense of this is what we do, this is what we prepare for, we're one of the best in the world at this. So let's do our jobs.

MARQUEZ: And the fact it's the first time they've ever had to deal with it is interesting. That plane is interesting because it has three water-tight barriers between the patient, the victim, and the people caring for them on the way over here.

GUPTA: Right.

MARQUEZ: Is it that same process once off that plane on a helicopter into Emory? Is it that same double, three, four barriers?

GUPTA: That's a great question, Miguel. And I've tried to get a better answer. When they land at Dobbins Air Force Base, which you just showed there, are they going to be in a helicopter? Are they going to go by ground? We don't know the answer that that. Part of it, they aren't telling us because they don't want a lot of media following the craft, whatever it may be. But there will be an isolation procedure, wherever it is, helicopter or an ambulance, we just don't know what it is exactly.

We have a better idea of what it's going to look like when they get to the hospital. In that you just imagine a glass box. Not a bubble. A bubble is what we typically think of, but it's a glass box where people go through anterooms, a series of rooms before they would actually walk into the patient's room and their gowning up before they go in, and the patient has an intercom, phone, and people can see into the box. But that's how you isolate somebody.

PAUL: When you're talking about this experimental treatment they're going to possibly perform on both of these patients, is there any gauge as to when they might start seeing a significant increase in and some benefit to these patients?

MARQUEZ: It's really hard to tell. I was sort of amazed, Christi, how little the doctors here at Emory know about the patients that are coming. They know then have Ebola.

PAUL: And that's it?

MARQUEZ: They don't know their basic blood chemistries because those have never even been drawn. I asked if the patients are on a ventilator, and the answer was, we don't think so. The point is that typically when a patient comes to a hospital like this you have an entire medical record of everything that's going on. That's just not the case because of where they're coming from. It's a very different atmosphere.

PAUL: It's unprecedented what's happening today. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much for walking us through it. And be sure to watch Sanjay Gupta M.D. live at 4:30 eastern today right here on CNN as he goes even more in-depth on the Ebola epidemic. And by then, who knows, the plane may have landed and we may have more answers for you. So we'll keep you posted, but thank you. GUPTA: You got it. Thank you.

PAUL: Let's talk about the crisis in the Middle East now. An official Palestinian delegation is headed to Cairo right now, we understand, for talks aimed at curbing the bloodshed there in Gaza. Israeli media reports Israel will not send a delegation.

MARQUEZ: Asia's president this morning laid out a ceasefire initiative he called, quote, "A real chance to stop the fighting." It's a plan agreed to last month but Hamas rejected.

PAUL: The Cairo talks come as an Israeli soldier is still missing after a firefight that shattered that truce intended to last through the weekend. It only lasted about 90 minutes. Israel's assumes Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was captured. President Obama is blaming Hamas saying Goldin must be, quote, "unconditionally released as soon as possible." Hamas is denying that it has the 23-year-old soldier.

MARQUEZ: Meantime, Israel has been pounding Gaza. Israel says it has hit 200 targets in the past 24 hours alone. But military operations may be winding down.

PAUL: Today Israel sent text messages telling residents they can return to their homes near Gaza's northern border specifically with Israel, also advising them, though, to, quote, "be aware of explosive devices that Hamas has spread across the area," unquote.

MARQUEZ: Our Martin Savidge is in Jerusalem anchoring coverage of crises in the Middle East for us.

PAUL: Martin, what is the latest on the ceasefire talks and missing soldier from where you are right now?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we seem to have activity on a number of different fronts, both military and also perhaps on the political side regarding whether in are going to be further talks in Egypt regarding a possible ceasefire, rekindling the ceasefire talk.

It doesn't appear so. The Palestinians are saying they're on their way and that they're representatives, Hamas and other militant groups, are going as well. Israel is not saying anything officially on the record. The Israeli media, meanwhile, is saying, no, there is no Israeli delegation going. So that doesn't necessarily look good.

Meanwhile, you report on these text messages going out from the Israeli military to residents in northern Gaza saying they can go home, but be careful. It should be pointed out as far as any warning or any message getting through in northern Gaza to people might be difficult because electricity isn't functioning. We're not sure of the cell service or whether people's phones are charged. You could see how getting that message will be difficult at best.

And then there are other indications coming from the Israeli government there could be a shift in tactics at least in the north and the center part of Gaza. In the south they're going to keep that sealed off as they look for their missing soldier. But we anticipate there could be some sort of official announcement later tonight. Meanwhile, we want to check in with CNN's John Vause, and he is in Gaza city with a view from there. John, what are you seeing?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Marty, I guess for the first time in a long time it is fairly calm, at least here in Gaza City. I think for more than an hour or so there has not been the sound of artillery or tank fire or air strikes. It's very, very calm, at least here in Gaza City. And you're right, the IDF has advised residents in the northern part of the Gaza Strip they can go back home. We've also seen what looks like tanks on the horizon repositioning. They've put up a lot of sand and dust so you can tell they're on the move. Maybe they're moving back. We don't know. But residents south of here, they are reporting that the Israel forces are moving closer to the Israeli border as well.

Hamas, though, is still firing rockets. In fact, just moments before speaking with you we saw Hamas racket fire from the south heading in the direction of Ashkelon. So while the Israelis may be pulling back, Hamas continues to fire those rockets.

What we must say, too, is that Israel is probably moving its troops back, saying its finished operations to look through the tunnels and destroy them, at least in the northern part of Gaza, maybe even possibly the central part of Gaza as well, that may bring an end to that operation. It doesn't mean that the air strikes have come to an end. We'll have to wait and see what happens with that. Marty?

SAVIDGE: John Vause talking to us from Gaza City. And, again, sources here saying that the movement of Israeli forces, those messages going out, telling people in the north of Gaza to go home, they can go home, would be correct to perceive those are looking for rockets and tunnels, it's apparently wrapping up. Let's go back to Atlanta, Christi and Miguel.

PAUL: All righty. Hey, Martin, talking about how Israel seems to be pulling back a bit. Just to clarify, do we think they're repositioning themselves and moving further to the south? They may be telling some people, yes, you can go home, but really, how safe is it?

SAVIDGE: Right. Again, the warning that came from the IDF is watch out for booby-traps they blame on Hamas, and where the forces are going. Are they withdrawing completely from Gaza? Will they sort of hang outside the border, the northern border there of Gaza and Israel? It's unclear at this particular point, which is why we're waiting for some sort of official message. There's been no real official notice from the Israeli government since all of this broke apart yesterday. So this is Shabbat, holy time, holy day, once the sun goes down, it's possible we may get some official notification.

PAUL: We'll be watching for it. Martin Savidge and John Vause there as well, thank you both so much. We appreciate it.

MARQUEZ: Thanks, guys.

Israel says Hamas has captured one of their soldiers, but Hamas is denying the accusation. Is an escalation of air strikes imminent?

PAUL: And who is Hamas, you might be wondering? A look at what this militant organization stands for and what they really want.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: It's 15 minutes past the hour. The Israeli military is telling Palestinians now, Palestinians who fled the fighting in the northern Gaza town, that they can return home.

MARQUEZ: But the IDF is still looking for one of its missing soldiers. An official Palestinian delegation heads to Cairo to attend negotiations. Let's bring in our CNN military analyst Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. Colonel, Israel can do targeted strikes, they say they do targeted strikes. We know they have very, very good weapons system. But how targeted can one be pumping that much force into such a heavily populated area?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: You can't. That's the bottom line. You can hit the target you want. The problem is, as you hit the target you've got a lot of collateral damage because these weapons put off a huge explosion.

The air strikes are probably more accurate because those are planned. The pilots take off, know what they're going to hit. They can hit that precisely. If they're flying the targets of opportunity guided in by drones or drones themselves, very precise. The problem comes in when using tank fire and artillery. These are not guided. They're aimed, but not guided. So when they hit a tremendous explosion, and as we've talked before, in this densely populated area there are always going to be civilians present. It's just the nature of the business in Gaza.

PAUL: One of the things possibly complicating this just in the last 90 minutes, the Palestinian delegation we know is on its way to Cairo, we heard this morning. Egypt back under military rulers that are hostile to Islamists like Hamas. Israeli media now saying that Israel will not be going to the talks. In your estimation, what do they do from this point on? Let me ask you this, does it come down to that Israeli soldier that's missing?

FRANCONA: The Israelis not being there is really -- I mean kind of makes the point, why go? But the Palestinians believe and the other parties believe they need to go at least sit down and provide the opportunity for there to be some talks. The Israelis are really going to concentrate on trying to recover this soldier. That's why we are seeing an increase in air strikes. We're also seeing a lot more troops. And as Martin was talking about, a lot of movement of tanks and things. The Israeli were in the middle of a troop rotations. They were bringing in fresh forces and rotating some of the other ones out. I think that's probably on hold now until they resolve the status of this missing lieutenant.

MARQUEZ: And I take it, everything stays in stasis until that soldier is found or they figure out what happened to him and where he is. In other words, the Israelis won't engage in any talks. They won't move units out entirely, that they will keep everything on lockdown?

PAUL: I think that's a fair assessment. The Israelis have this, you know, this tradition of not leaving anyone behind. They would even stay and try and recover human remains, if they could. So they're going to have to resolve this before they go. And I think that Hamas knows this, and that's why they're playing this game of, we don't know what happened. It may have been another group. We're not sure, and all of that, because they know that if they admit it or it comes out Hamas was behind this, they'll incur the wrath of the Israelis much more than right now. So right now it's kind of a waiting game. The Israelis are searching and Hamas is standing back.

PAUL: Let me ask you, is there a severe split, do you think, between the political wing of Hamas and the military wing?

FRANCONA: Yes. There's always tension between the two. The military wing is wanting to take the fight to the Israelis. This is the resistance. They've been planning for this for a long time. The political wing, much more pragmatic. They understand that they are up against the ropes right now, and they're erstwhile allies in past, the Egyptians no longer have their backs. When this is over, they're going to have trouble rearming. So the political wing is looking for some long-term agreement that they can live with. The military wing, the resistance, as they call themselves, is looking for a fight with the Israelis, and the two are not on the same sheet of music right now.

MARQUEZ: Clearly. Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, thank you very much.

PAUL: Thank you, sir.

FRANCONA: Sure.

PAUL: The U.S. labeled them a terrorist group, remember. In Gaza, they're seen as protectors. We're going to get the real story on Hamas in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: With so many fast-moving developments in the fight between Israel and Hamas, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture, the fundamentals of who these players are and what are their goals.

PAUL: So let's take a deeper look at Hamas. CNN's Paula Hancocks clues us into how the group was formed and what they want now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Propaganda video, recruiting tools -- call it what you will, but Hamas wants Israel and the world to see its military might. Created in 1987, its name means Islamic Resistance Movement, formed specifically to fight the Israeli occupation, but within the lawless territory of Gaza, it became so much more. AARON DAVID MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: Hamas

began to expand its social and economic reach to include social welfare programs, subsidies, and a variety of other educational and cultural programs for Palestinians in Gaza. So it played, and still to this day has a political dimension, an administrative and social dimension, and, of course, a military one.

HANCOCKS: April, 1994, Hamas carries out its first suicide bombing in Israel. A car bomb attack in a northern city kills eight. It is just the beginning. Hundreds more Israeli citizens will be killed by Hamas, mostly in suicide bombings, a deadly pattern that leads the U.S. and others to label Hamas a terrorist group.

A moment of legitimacy for Hamas -- 2006, winning democratic Palestinian elections in a landslide Victory. It is one of the first Islamist groups in the world to win political office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: L This is a new beginning for Palestinians.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the decision of the people.

HANCOCKS: But the west refused to deal with a terrorist organization. Experts estimate Hamas has a fighting force of some 10,000 short and medium-ranged rockets handmade within Gaza, longer range projectiles smuggled into the territory, the U.S. says from Iran. Millions of dollars of annual financial aid from Iran have largely dried up since the uprising in Syria. Fatah now financially supports the group according to Israel.

But little filters through to the civilians of Gaza. Throughout this Israel tightened hold on this territory, controlling what goes in, restricting who comes out. It is this blockade Hamas wants completely lifted, a wish shared by 4 million Palestinians and human rights groups, a wish Israel says it cannot grant as long as the group on the other side of the border refuses to recognize its right to exist.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Paula Hancocks, thank you.

Listen, we've learned in the last 46 minutes that it is Dr. Kent Brantley, one of the Americans who contracted the Ebola virus in Africa, who is on that flight back to the U.S. right now.

MARQUEZ: And we'll take a look inside the high-tech transport plane that he will travel home in as well as his colleague in the days ahead. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Bottom of the hour. I hope Saturday morning's been good to you so far. I'm Christi Paul.

MARQUEZ: And I'm Miguel Marquez. Here are the five stories we are watching this morning. Number one, NBA player Paul George's leg injury, could it end his season? I think so. An official announcement about it could come today. George was hurt last night during a Team USA scrimmage when he slid into the base behind the basket. It bent his lower right leg in a way that is just too graphic, that even fans and players there reportedly had to look away. George later tweeted he'd be back and better than ever. Brave guy.

PAUL: And wishing him the best.

Number two, in China, 65 people are dead after an explosion, the one you see here. This is at an automotive factory earlier this morning. China state news agency reported 150 people were also hurt. Investigators say flames may have ignited dust inside a wheel hub facility there. That factory supplies to U.S. automaker General Motors.

And number three, House Republicans have passed a revised bill to crack down on the influx of young immigrants from Central America including making it easier to deport children. The legislation includes money to reimburse the state of Texas for sending guardsmen to the boarder. President Obama calls the bill extreme and says the Senate is unlikely to approve it.

PAUL: Number four, international monitors say substantial recovery efforts have been made after 70 Dutch and Australian experts were allowed to assess the crash site of Malaysian flight 17, but there's a difficult task ahead. As many as 80 victims could be still among that debris waiting to be sent back to the Netherlands and from there back to their families.

MARQUEZ: And number five, an official Palestinian delegation is headed to Cairo right now for negotiations aimed at curbing the bloodshed in Gaza. According to Israeli media reports, Israel will not send a delegation. Israel is still trying to determine the whereabouts of a soldier it blames Hamas for capturing. Hamas denies taking him. So what are U.S. lawmakers doing to stop the bloodshed and attacks on both sides? What can they do?

PAUL: Congressman Eliot Engel is a Democrat from New York and a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Thank you so much, Congressman, for being with us. We appreciate it. So we've seen a ceasefire erupt into this major escalation. In your estimation what does the U.S. do at this point?

REP. ELIOT ENGEL, (D) NEW YORK: Well, I met with the president a day before yesterday, and the president, of course, wants to see if we can get a ceasefire back in hold. But you know, the problem is there was a ceasefire that was agreed to, a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire, and it's clear Hamas broke it and used the ceasefire to ambush an Israeli soldier in those tunnels. It's become clearer and clearer to me that there really can't be any ceasefires until those tunnels are destroyed, because those tunnels are used for one purpose only, and that's to capture Israeli citizens or capture Israeli troops, and I think that Israel now, until that soldier is returned, is not going to agree to a ceasefire until all of those tunnels are destroyed. MARQUEZ: Congressman, the secretary of state, Kerry, has come under

withering attack in the Israeli media for what they say is just his bungling of the negotiations and discussions that he's talking to Qatar and Turkey. They don't trust him obviously. Now this possibility has popped up with Egypt. Where do you think this is going? Is this Egyptian possibility real? Is this something that the Israelis could come to the table on if they've discovered and figure out and perhaps get back their missing soldier?

ENGEL: Well, the ceasefire, if it had stayed, would have been broken by Egypt, and there we were -- there was going to be negotiations in Egypt to keep the ceasefire going. So I think if there is, to have a cease -- if a ceasefire is going to be put back and is going to be effective, I think Egypt will have to be the broker of it. I think that the Turks and the Qataris have not played a very constructive role in this whole thing. Really just Turkey is a NATO member, and for them to be buddy buddies with Hamas, which a terrorist organization, is something that makes me very sad.

PAUL: Hamas denies that they had this Israeli soldier. But would you expect them to come forward and say that they did have this man and say that they have him to try to use it as some sort of negotiation strategy?

ENGEL: Well, I assume that's why they took him. You know, Israel not so long ago traded over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for another captured Israeli soldier that they had held for five years.

Look, the bottom line is this -- Hamas is a terrorist organization, and it denies Israel's right to exist. If they agree to -- if they accepted Israel's right to exist and agreed to abide by all commitments that the Palestinians have made, I think then you could have negotiations, but you can't expect Israel to negotiate with a group whose charter is the destruction of the state of Israel, and I think that that's a problem. The fight is not really between Israelis and Palestinians. It's between Israel and a terrorist group called Hamas, and I think that that is a very big problem.

MARQUEZ: Well, that certainly seems like a very big brick wall, more than just a problem. The Israelis with Gilad Shalit, when they traded over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, Hamas prisoners and others, for his safe return, did they up the ante for Hamas? Is this something, I hate to say it, brought on themselves?

ENGEL: That's always a criticism when you make deals with terrorist organization, that you just perhaps encourage them to do the same thing. I know we did a similar thing with Sergeant Bergdahl and there's a lot of criticism for that. It's a decision that has to be made. I know that we've said we don't leave anybody behind. The Israelis have said it as well. And so I think that's a decision that a government has to make.

But yes, when dealing with a terrorist organization like Hamas, they are going to try to spread terror and to use this to further their own ends. So I guess it will play out, but it's clear to the Israelis this soldier was ambushed and that the Hamas used the ceasefire as a pretext to be able to ambush the Israelis, kill some of them, and capture this soldier.

PAUL: OK, real quickly, I want to ask you about immigration and the crisis there, because I understand you were up quite late last night voting on that nearly $700 million bill that deals with the influx of these minor migrants that are at the border. We're told there is no chance of passing it at this point. What was the issue with the bill?

ENGEL: It has no chance are passing at the Senate. We have a crisis at the border. The president asked for money to deal with the crisis. The House Republicans refused. This -- these bills went beyond just the crisis at the border. These bills went to try to deport these young people, the dreamers we call them, who were brought to this country when they were two or two months and have not known any other country but the United States. The series of votes last night by the Republican majority in the House were a series of mean-spirited votes that are dead on arrival. It was just to throw red meat to this base and try to gin up campaign contributions. It was not a serious attempt to try to solve the situation.

The Senate won't pass it. The Senate has passed a comprehensive bill, bipartisan bill that they sent over to the House. It's been languishing in the House for a year. The speaker won't put it on the floor because he knows if he puts it on the floor it will pass. And so we go around and around and around. What happened last night I think was just really shameful. It wasn't a serious attempt at all to solve the problem. It was throwing red meat to their base.

PAUL: All right, Representative Eliot Engel, we thank you so much for your insight today on both subjects.

MARQUEZ: Thanks.

ENGEL: Thank you.

MARQUEZ: On his way home -- a specially equipped plane is flying an American doctor infected with Ebola back to the U.S. right now. We'll take you inside that plane that is transporting him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Take a look here at this live picture we're getting of Dobbins Air Reserve Base right now just north of Atlanta, and the plane carrying an American aid worker infected with the deadly Ebola virus is headed there right now after leaving Liberia.

MARQUEZ: Dr. Kent Brantley will be treated at the Emory hospital. It will be the first time an Ebola patient will be treated in the U.S. A second American aid worker with the virus is expected to arrive in the U.S. early next week. The special plane used to transport them can only carry one patient at a time.

PAUL: And CNN's Tom Foreman takes us on a virtual tour of that plane that's bringing Dr. Brantley home. Good morning, Tom.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christi, hey Miguel. If you're going to transport somebody with a highly infectious disease, there are certainly pieces of equipment and certain protocols which can make it safe by introducing at least three letters of protection.

Let's explain what we mean here. Inside an airplane for this sort of transport what they would typically do is build a room or a tent. It's a framework covered with impermeable plastic so nothing can get and nothing can get out. There is negative air pressure, meaning the pressure is higher inside than outside, so if there's a rip, things flow in, but nothing will flow out.

Ebola is not an airborne disease so it doesn't make much difference, but this is a basic protocol. Let's get rid of the plastic. That's the first later of protection. Second layer of protection is for the people who will work in here. Any doctors or nurses will wear full head-to-toe protection so they're not exposed to the virus. That's the second layer of protection.

And the third layer of protection is on the patient, because the patient will be enclosed in another tent here. This is also impermeable plastic. They will be able to take his temperature, monitor his heart, his respiration, all of that. But any treatment, even if he starts violently vomiting or bleeding, which can happen with Ebola, they have to reach in through special gloves and work on him and keep everything inside the containment area, including all of those bodily fluids, because that's what contains the virus. And as much as they may want to save one life, they must have of primary concern keeping that virus away from so many other people where it could do so much more damage. Christi, Miguel?

PAUL: Tom Foreman, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Boy, so much talk, too, about the latest suspension in the NFL.

MARQUEZ: Causing lots of controversy. Baltimore's Ray Rice sidelined for two games, about a half-million bucks for a domestic violence incident. Why some say that punishment is a slap on the wrist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: Now to a story it seems everyone has a very sharp opinion about. Two days suspension of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice stemming from a domestic violence incident at an Atlantic City hotel and casino.

PAUL: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke out yesterday calling domestic violence unacceptable, but he also defended the length of the suspension against critics who say it's just too lenient. CNN's Alexandra Field joins us live with the very latest. Hi, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christi. Two issues here. First of all you've got the legal case and then you have the NFL's response to it. Legally the NFL confirms that the case has been resolved. Ray Rice agreed to enter a pretrial intervention program after a year of the charges against him will be expunged. But a lot of people in the aftermath are saying that the NFL should have and could have sent a much stronger message about this kind of violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RAY RICE, NFL PLAYER: My actions were totally inexcusable.

FIELD: Ray Rice publicly apologizing to fans and his wife for the first time since his arrest in February stemming from a domestic violence incident at an Atlanta City hotel. At the time, Rice was seen in surveillance video dragging his unconscious then fiance Janay Palmer out of an elevator.

RICE: That night, I just replay over and over in my head.

FIELD: But it's the NFL's response to the matter that has some scratching their heads. Rice faces a two-game suspension, but does the punishment fit the crime?

JANE MCMANUS, ESPN.COM COLUMNIST: And 45 percent of the audience is made up of female viewers. How are they going to take the suspension? Apparently that's a risk the NFL is willing to take.

FIELD: U.S. senators are now sending a letter to the legal pushing a heftier punishment. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended his decision Friday.

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I think what's important here is that Ray has taken responsibility for this. He's been accountable for his actions and recognizes he made a horrible mistake and it's unacceptable by his standards, by our standards, and he's got to work to reestablish himself.

FIELD: Sports analysts say for the NFL it's not entirely surprising.

MARC EDELMAN, SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: If you compare to the history of the NFL, it is entirely in line with past suspensions for this type of conduct in the NFL. What it's out of line with is past suspensions that have been put in place by Roger Goodell during Goodell's commissionership of the NFL.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's fair, really, but I don't think it's -- NFL, they're all about playing games, not about how to tell a person what to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to say, it's bad, but we don't really care.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're making millions of dollars off of our children that are supposed to grow up looking at our athletes that make all of that money and that's cool? That isn't cool, to touch your woman in any fashion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And along with that two-game suspension, Ray Rice is fined an additional game check, and Christi and Miguel, that means this whole thing will end up costing him about $530,000.

MARQUEZ: Well a good amount of money, but I'm sure others would like to see him pay a lot more. It is pretty shocking. Alexandra Field, thank you very much.

PAUL: Thank you, Alexandra. This week's CNN hero is writing a new peaceful chapter for Guatemala's future.

MARQUEZ: We'll show you how he's fighting violence in Guatemala with love, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: The biggest surge in undocumented children crossing our southern border is fueled not by children from Mexico but from Central America including Guatemala. It's the country with the fifth highest homicide rate in the world and is still reeling from decades of civil war.

PAUL: But this week's CNN hero is a Guatemalan tackling crime and gang violence at the source. He's helping children in his community find hope at home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN PABLO ROMERO FUENTES, CNN HERO: My country's violent history has created very bad precedents. Gangs are everywhere. Kids are exposed to drugs, to violence, and to the lack of opportunity for them to improve their lives.

I was a teacher in the same community where I grew up. My students were dealing with the same problems that I was dealing with 20 years ago. I wanted to change that. The best thing for me to do was open my house doors and bring them here. Eight years later, I'm still running the program in my family house.

We provide classes so they can find their own passions. We give them a decent plate of food. Children are powerful, just they don't know that yet. So I created a safe place for them to realize that they actually contain passions for their lives and their community.

In a violent country the only weapon we can have is love. I still believe that we can change this country. I see potential in the kids' dreams and ideas. They are the ones in charge of writing the new history in Guatemala.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: So do you know someone like Juan Pablo who deserves this recognition, just go to CNNheroes.com. We would love to hear about them.

MARQUEZ: And right now tropical storm Bertha is churning its way across the Atlantic, and it's heading in our direction.

PAUL: All right, meteorologist Jennifer Gray, how at risk are we?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not really much at all. We are going to see maybe an increase in rip currents along the east coast next week. And that's it. It is heading towards Puerto Rico, already causing intense thunderstorms. Dominican Republic next. Of course this is beneficial rain, so a welcome sight actually across Puerto Rico with winds only about 16 to 39 miles per hour now. So really not a bad storm when you are comparing tropical storms and hurricanes, of course, could be must worse.

So giving some rain to Puerto Rico. They need it. They're in a drought right now. When you look at the forecast track, it does stay away from the U.S., which is good news, and the nasty side of these storms typically on the east side, so that is also good news. We are going to see higher than normal surf, most likely on the east coast and also rip current risk, but that's going to be about it.

Over the weekend, though, the southeast, watch out for some rain. We're going to see anywhere from two to four inches from south Florida all the way up to the Carolinas.

MARQUEZ: All right, we'll hold you to that. Jennifer Gray, thank you very much.

PAUL: Thanks, Jen. And that's going to do it for us today. Make some great memories today.

MARQUEZ: And we will turn it over to our colleague Fredricka Whitfield here in Atlanta and Wolf Blitzer who is anchoring from Jerusalem.

PAUL: Good morning.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, more teamwork. Good to see you guys. Have a great day.

MARQUEZ: Take care. Right.