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U.S. Bombings in Iraq; Preparing For Ebola Patients In The U.S.; Fighting An Invisible Enemy: Ebola; Are White House and Pentagon on the Same Page?

Aired October 12, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here today to communicate about a health care worker who has contracted the Ebola virus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a breach in protocol and that breach in protocol resulted in this infection.

The care of Ebola can be done safely but it's hard to do it safely. It is possible in the coming days that we will see additional cases of Ebola.

Breaking the links in the chain of transmission is the key to preventing further spread. That's how we will stop it in Dallas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We are following a lot of breaking news right now. We begin in Dallas where the unthinkable has happened. A nurse at Presbyterian Hospital is now in stable condition after testing positive for Ebola. This is the second Ebola case in the U.S. and the first known transmission of the deadly disease inside of the U.S..

Hospital officials say the nurse's substantial contact with the Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, who died Wednesday. Most disturbing, the nurse was wearing full protective gear whenever she was in contact with Duncan. The CDC is now investigating exactly what went wrong. The White House has been watching all of this extremely closely.

The secretary of Human Health Services is the one who is briefing President Obama, keeping him informed of the very latest.

The head of the CDC has emphasized the enormous challenge of keeping this disease from spreading.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: I said and I repeat that we know how to stop Ebola from spreading in hospitals but that doesn't mean it's easy. It's hard. You need meticulous attention to detail. You need a team working together. You need to make sure that every aspect of the protocol is rigorously and meticulously followed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And another person close to the nurse is not showing any symptoms. That person has been placed in protective isolation.

Our Ed Lavandera is covering this unsettling situation at Presbyterian Hospital and Ed, dozens of people are now being monitored for infection because of their contact either with Thomas Duncan, the original patient, the patient they called the index patient, or this particular nurse, do health officials believe that they may have other cases of people who came in contact with these two individuals?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the various groups of people we need to keep track of here. There was nearly 50 people that had or believed to have contact with Thomas Eric Duncan. Those were nearly 50 people who came into contact before he was fully admitted to the hospital here in Dallas and health officials have said and continue to say that none of those people are showing any signs of symptoms.

This health care, this female health care worker that has now tested positive for Ebola and is now quarantined here at the hospital is someone who came into contact with Thomas Duncan after he had been admitted. She was part of the medical team and the medical staff that took care of Mr. Duncan until he died here last Wednesday.

Health officials say on Friday of last week, just two days ago, she discovered a low grade fever. This is someone on their own kind of keeping track of their temperature discovered that low grade fever and then drove herself here to the hospital. So there are still a number of medical professionals, health care workers who were part of the team that treated Thomas Duncan who will continue to be monitored. But that is separate from the nearly 50 contacts that CDC officials and health officials were monitoring over the course of the last few weeks. And now, of course, the work begins, now that you have this other second case is monitoring and tracking down and making a contact list for this particular healthcare worker and who she might have been in contact with.

As you mentioned, there is that one person that she had close contact with, that we already know of, is in isolation. But there are still investigating any other possible contacts of people who might have come close to this particular second Ebola patient here in Dallas.

FEYERICK: And health officials have said nothing about Mr. Duncan's fiance or the people who are at that apartment. Are they still sort of being kept away? And are they still sort of self isolation?

LAVANDERA: They are. They're still inside that three week window. Remember the Ebola virus can be incubated for up to three weeks. So, you know, we're still inside that window. About this time last week health officials here in Dallas were saying that last week was a really crucial week. So a lot of those people who had been in contact - there are still some people who had very close contact with Thomas Duncan, they thought that last week would have been the week that they would at least start to see any kind of symptoms.

So the silver lining in all of this is at least, for now, all of those other people, the group of nearly 50, from what we're being told right now, none of those people are showing any signs of symptoms. So that is, you know, one bit of good news in all of this. So just to be clear, there's nearly 50 contacts that CDC officials have been keeping track of, taking their temperatures twice a day. No symptoms in that group of people. This is someone who came into contact with Thomas Duncan after he was admitted here in the hospital, after - three days after he made that initial visit to the emergency room, almost turned away. So this is after that second visit.

FEYERICK: All right. Well, small silver lining, at least for now.

Ed Lavandera, thank you.

And we just heard CDC director Tom Frieden say that hospitals can stop the spread of Ebola but it's not going to be easy maintaining public confidence. That is also a huge challenge.

I'm joined by the Dr. Ali Khan, the dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Khan, this is the center, by the way, where that American journalist is being treated. How is the hospital handling that situation right now?

DR. ALI KHAN, DEAN COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: Thank you very much for the opportunity. And I think this is a great example of that guidelines are not sufficient. We need to really make sure that in addition to sending guidelines to hospitals across the United States, we are taking training issues, exercising issues, make sure they have the right tools that if a patient with Ebola shows up in any emergency room in the United States, the hospital is prepared.

FEYERICK: It's interesting. Because one of the things that's being done is Texas now is there's a reporting, alerting people to the fact that somebody in their neighborhood has been diagnosed. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please be advised that a health care worker who lives in your area has tested positive for the Ebola virus. This individual is in the hospital and is isolated. Precautions are already in place to clean all known potential areas of contact. While this may be concerning, there is no ongoing danger to your health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: So does that dwell fear or does it actually instill panic?

KHAN: I think we need to think of two separate things. But one is it's nice to see the transparency here. The less people know exactly what's going on in their community, this is important. The second thing is to recognize that people are rightfully concerned about what's going on. This is a disease. While 50 percent of individuals are going to die and even though we've been told that it's hard to get, it's only via person to person transmission, you'll be safe in the hospital. Now we have two cases that have occurred, one in Spain and one here in the United States.

It's a reminder that people are legitimately concerned and we need to address those concerns and at the same time we need to be bolstering our public health systems so that when the next patient of Ebola arrives in the United States, that hospital does not just have a bunch of guidelines, but has been trained to exercise and ready to take care of patients.

FEYERICK: Well, at some point, do you think - look, we have spoken to some people who said the guidelines are really full proof. Other people say that it's possible to break the chain of transmission, that was Dr. Frieden. Do you believe that perhaps only a certain handful of hospitals in the United States should be treating these patients?

KHAN: So I have taken care of patients and responded to Ebola outbreaks over the years and there is no doubt with a robust public health response we can break transmission of this disease and think about where the major concern is in West Africa where we had 4,000 deaths at this point which is 4,000 deaths too many from a disease that you know how to prevent.

Here in the United States, yes, if you have an option then you would be better served going to a hospital such as the University of Nebraska Medical Center where they spent 10 years training, exercising for an event such as this to prevent admission to the healthcare workers and the community, also for the case management issues. You can't just, it's important to prevent transmission but you have to make sure you take good care of this individual and then the third thing is in leading academic centers, how do you take all of this knowledge and share it back with the global community so they can take care of patients better and prevent transmission.

FEYERICK: Yes, there's no question. When you look at the 4,000 deaths in West Africa, it's interesting, you have to wonder how many of those could potentially have been prevented had the attention now in the U.S. been focused over there.

Dr. Ali Khan, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

KHAN: Thank you for the opportunity.

FEYERICK: Of course.

And a series of bombings in and around Baghdad today. We're going to go live to our Ben Wedeman and find out if Baghdad is on edge right now.

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FEYERICK: The U.S.-led coalition has unleashed nine new air strikes in ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. It does not seem to be stopping the ISIS terrorists from advancing. There have been deadly explosions from parts of Iraq. One of the blasts killed the Anbar police chief. Several other blasts rocked Baghdad itself.

It's not clear whether ISIS is responsible but the terror group is tightening its grip on Anbar province. The provinces' leaders are pleading for U.S. ground troops to defend it against ISIS. The White House insists Iraqi forces can defend the Iraqi capital.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in Baghdad. Ben, look there have been a number of bombings within Baghdad. Anbar province, which seems to be in control of ISIS is less than eight miles from the international airport. How can the administration say that there is no imminent threat?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand that that ISIS forces in the area, around Baghdad, in Anbar province, there are not a lot of them. They are really more focused on towns like Ramadi and Falujah, which they currently control. They are trying to take towns like Hadifa. They took (INAUDIBLE) a few days ago. So that really seems to be their focus. Not a frontal assault on Baghdad itself.

There we understand having been out there - there is occasional sniper fire, mortar fire. Some hit and run attacks. But keep in mind that Anbar is Iraq's largest province. It's in fact the same size as North Dakota. So even if they have a fair number of people in the province itself, they are more likely to be focused in areas where they are trying to gain a strategic advantage.

We understand that they would like to take or at least disable Baghdad International Airport, which is really just a few miles from the edge of Anbar province. If they could they would like to do that. That's where the American Apache helicopters are located. That's were some of the U.S. advisors are located. They're also advising the Iraqi troops along the western defensive perimeter. So it's a bit of a tall order for them at this point to try to approach for instance the airport. But that doesn't mean they certainly wouldn't like to do it. They definitely do.

FEYERICK: So when we think about Baghdad, just quickly, in terms of - they don't want to launch an frontal assault but these hit and runs, how effective are those tactically or even propaganda wise, really?

WEDEMAN: Well, in terms of hit and run attacks on the perimeter, there are enough to keep everybody on edge, just to remind them that the threat is very real but more importantly, it's the car bombs within Baghdad, suicide bombers, car bomber's truck bombs in some instances that really underscore one of the challenges to the United States and the coalition is that yes, in certain areas of Anbar, for instance, it's easy to knock out a truck, a Humvee that belongs to ISIS.

But in places like Baghdad and other areas, they are operating as a guerilla army, as a terrorist group with sleeper cells. They don't have identifiable targets that could be hit by an aircraft or a drone from above. It's really a two pronged fight against ISIS. And in a city like Baghdad, it's a real challenge to really put it to an end. The Americans never really succeeded when they were here and there is no indication that it will be an easy task now.

FEYERICK: All right, Ben Wedeman, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. You're right there on the front lines. We appreciate your vantage.

Well, should the U.S. send in ground forces to take out ISIS? Is there the will to put boots on the ground? We'll ask a man who has fought in Iraq and knows the lay of the land.

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FEYERICK: Fighters are making huge advances on two fronts. A key Syrian town along Turkish border and (INAUDIBLE) that's on Baghdad's doorstep. They face poorly equipped local forces that may not be able to stop the advance. Retired U.S. Army Col. John Nagl, co-author of the "Army and Marine Corps Counter-Insurgency Guide" and served in Iraq. He's also the author of the new book, "Nice Life, the Memoir of Modern War."

OK. So Colonel, at what point given what we see going on does the administration re-evaluate its strategy?

COL. JOHN NAGL, (RET.), CO-AUTHOR, "ARMY AND MARINE CORPS COUNTER- INSURGENCY GUIDE": Well, Deborah, I'm confident it's re-evaluating the strategy right now. From the very beginning, me and many others, military students of warfare says it was going to take American boots on the ground at least as advisors embedded inside Iraqi and Kurdish units, to provide effective close air support with good American eyes and also to stiffen the spine of these units. It's long past time to get those American advisors on the ground.

FEYERICK: Let's look at the balance of the two sides. You have sort of Iraqi forces that are trained by Americans, it's more of a traditional kind of war. But then you got ISIS which is fighting something less of a traditional war, it's asymmetrical as the word that's used. So how do you counter that effectively to stop ISIS?

NAGL: Well, we actually have learned how to fight counter-insurgency pretty effectively. The Iraqi and Kurdish forces opposing ISIS far outnumber them. The problem has been with the leadership of the Iraqi forces.

They have been political generals appointed by former Prime Minister Al Maliki largely Shia commanders of largely Sunni units. Those commanders have proven completely ineffective in combat. So we need to replace those commanders with real war fighters. We need to embed American advisors inside those Iraqi units. We need

to do it right away. Because ISIS is very close to being able to put pressure on the Baghdad International Airport, just outside Al Anbar province. That would make things extraordinarily more difficult for us in months to come.

FEYERICK: You talked about the real war fighter, essentially goes with the Sunnis who were trained by Americans who then left because there was so much partisanship within the government. So now you got these Shia leaders but what about the forces themselves? I mean it was the troops that crumbled. It's the troops that ultimately run, what's to say that they can actually now defend Baghdad?

NAGL: Even the best troops will fall apart without weapons, without ammunition, without water and food. And will be demoralized if their leaders abandoned them in the face of battle and that's what we have seen happen repeatedly over the past several months. So the Iraqi government I think is realizing its mistakes. There are indications that the Iraqi government is asking the United States for ground troops.

It is clearly time for the United States to re-evaluate its strategy to help out in this fight before Baghdad itself falls under more pressure.

FEYERICK: And then quickly, look the U.S. has invested so much money but more importantly so many American lives in this fight. Will - is it inevitable that they will have to invest more Americans in this battle?

NAGL: I'm afraid it is. It's sickening to me that country ground, the migrants die for or fought for, bled for is going to have to be fought for and bled for again against the scourge of radical Islamists. It's heartbreaking.

FEYERICK: All right. Col. Nagl, thank you so much. We appreciate your insights and clearly a lot of questions that are circulating about all of this.

Well, here in the U.S., people are worried about something else and they are anxious because of a second diagnosed case of the Ebola virus has now been diagnosed on American soil. If you went to your local hospital with Ebola symptoms, have you asked yourself, would they be prepared?

We will go inside a New York City hospital and check the protocol there.

More than 50 of the world's best young portrait artists have been showing their wares in London where a $50,000 price is up for grabs in the BP Fortune Exhibition. CNN's new show on CNN.com wants to watch considers what's behind a powerful portrait.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Faces, fascinated by faces. From the cradle we learned to recognized them. We seek to read them. We try to understand the person beneath them. That's been the challenge facing the portrait artist throughout the ages.

History has been documented through a series of famous faces, the sculpture, painting and photography. From self-portraits to selfies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very simple thing. Can I meet somebody new through this painting? Am I introduced to them? Do I get the feeling that they're here with me in the gallery?

JONATHAN YEO, PORTRAIT ARTIST: It does feel like magic where the thing turns from a flat bit of canvas and a few blobs of paint into that person's lap.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The greatest portrait artists can penetrate the flesh and bones before them with every brush or pencil stroke capturing something of the soul and offering a further dimension to the face within the frame.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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FEYERICK: Here are some other stories making news today. Doctors confirm a Michigan toddler died of Enterovirus 68 Friday. A post on her Facebook page called "Team Maddy" says that she passed away in her parents arms.

The Centers for Disease Control says enterovirus is very common, but this strain happens to be particularly strong. This CDC has already documented nearly 700 cases in 46 states.

Tomorrow, Oscar Pistorious will go to court to find out if he will have to spend a chunk of his life behind bars. The South African track star was found guilty of culpable homicide last month.

He shot and killed his Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year. The sentence could range from up to 15 years in prison to a suspended sentence or even community service.

Protesters in Ferguson, Missouri want charges brought against the white officer who shot an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, in August. And in St. Louis protesters also marched for Vonderrit Myers. He was shot at least seven times by police. He was killed.

Officers say he was armed at the time and he is the one who fired first. This morning police St. Louis police tweeted the protesters threw rocks at officers and tried to storm a gas station. They also made some arrests.

Tempers were hotter than the pavement at the Charlotte Motor Speedway last night. Matt Kenzip and Deny Hamlin didn't like Brad's moves on the tracks. He was hit during a cool down lap. The drivers got into it after the races.

It led to this crazy scuffle between the two crews, a throw down. NASCAR is reviewing the matter and that any possible penalties will be announced on Tuesday.

The CDC now officially confirming that a Texas health care worker who was in charge of an Ebola patient does indeed have the virus. They just announced the test results that are confirmed as being Ebola.

Initially the Texas Health Department had done a test and found in fact it did look as if that the patient had come into contact with the virus. Now they are confirming that in fact the health care worker developed a low grade fever on Friday. Self-isolated and now does indeed have Ebola.

CNN's Rosa Flores visited a hospital in New York to see what the protocols are there.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hospitals around the country are preparing for Ebola patients so what are hospitals ready to do and what can patients expect? Let me show you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: At Mount Sinai, all the patient would have to do is walk in and say I have a fever and Dr. Shearer from Mt. Sinai tells us that begins the entire process.

DR. PETER SHEARER, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, DEPT. OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE: At that point, the staff member would go through a series of questions in algorithm.

FLORES (voice-over): Some of the questions are basic and on signs that just went up on the wall like did you travel internationally and do you have symptoms like cough, vomiting or diarrhea?

SHEARER: Security, we keep the hallway secure from any other patients and staff so that we can move the patient safely down the hallway to where we've identified a secure space.

FLORES (on camera): So no touching anything?

SHEARER: No touching anything.

FLORES: No talking to anyone?

SHEARER: Right. And given a different clinical scenario you could be in a wheelchair and a stretcher and if need be --

FLORES: Depending on the conditions of the patient.

SHEARER: Right. If that was the case, we have done a bit more suiting up with personal protective equipment.

FLORES (voice-over): Here are some of that protective gear, gloves, plastic gowns, face shields.

SHEARER: And a surgical mask you need to wear under that as well.

FLORES (on camera): And that's protecting your face, eyes, mouth and nose.

(voice-over): All the gear is impermeable meaning fluids can't pass through.

(on camera): Once the patient is inside the isolation room, that's it. There is no contact with anyone while doctors huddle outside and figure out the next steps. SHEARER: What kind of care you needed, blood to be drawn and also escalating it to hospital leadership and for the Infectious Disease Department to notify the Department of Health.

Most of the care that is involved in treating these patients is supportive care. There is no real proven therapy specifically for Ebola at this time, good hydration, prevention of other infections that maybe going on. All that can be done here.

FLORES: Hospitals around the country have isolation rooms like these ready for possible Ebola patients, but they are hoping they don't have to use them. Rosa Flores, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And we're told by the CDC that it was what appears to be a breach of hospital protocol that resulted in the first ever transmission of Ebola in the United States.

Alison Kosik joins us from New York. Alison, what are you learning about the level of Ebola readiness among hospitals? We are already seeing Rosa walk us through it, but are hospitals confident?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, we've been focusing on New York City's hospitals because New York City, Deb, is really a focal point because you think about it, this is a global city. It's really a gateway city for many especially since almost half of the passengers who arrived from those Ebola-affected countries, they land right here in New York City.

So I talked with New York City's health commissioner who told me that at the 11 public hospitals and they hope, of course, there are no Ebola cases, but if there is, the hospitals are ready she says.

Dr. Mary Bassett told me that each of Manhattan's public hospitals, each hospital here has isolation areas and that staff at all these hospitals, that they've been trained not just in the classroom, but they've also got hands on training as well with drills.

That they continue getting training and they specifically are getting training about how to put on those bulky protective gears, the protective gear that they put on. They are also taught very carefully how to take it off because sometimes that's where the mistakes can happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARY BASSETT, NYC HEALTH COMMISSIONER: Anything that people do is rarely foolproof. People do make mistakes, but that doesn't mean that people have to make mistakes. We can put in place the safeguards that we need for people. Innovative ideas like the buddy system.

I can't think of a better person to lead the Ebola response than Dr. Frieden and he is absolutely correct that we know how to stop this epidemic. Here in New York City, we have confidence in our systems to identify people who have Ebola, to isolate them, evaluate them. Look after them in ways that best protect their health and I hope sees them through to recovery and insures that the people looking after them are safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Now you may have heard Dr. Bassett mention that buddy system that has been instituted at New York City hospitals especially in the event of a patient who could have Ebola, especially in the event of a patient coming to one of these hospitals and this buddy system works like this.

It sounds pretty simple, but once again this is where some of the mistakes could happen when you you're putting up on that bulky protective gear. So they've got one hospital worker, one nurse or doctor putting on the protective gear and they got another watching them put it on to make sure they are covering what they need to cover.

And then when it's time to take off the protective gear, that person is watching as well to make sure that they are taking it off correctly. If something is done incorrectly especially when they are taking it off. That hospital worker would actually, Deb, go into isolation because the thinking is that that person could have been exposed.

FEYERICK: And clearly, our thoughts are with this hospital worker in Dallas right now. The health workers really are on the forefront of containing and combatting this disease.

The fact that this woman was there with Mr. Duncan trying to give him comfort and treat him in his final hours. We can't forget that heroic effort, of course. Alison Kosik, thank you. We appreciate that.

ISIS is advancing in the province around Baghdad. The White House insists that the city is safe.

Up next, Candy Crowley and Barbara Starr on whether the Pentagon is on the same page.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Baghdad is Shia. These are not people who support ISIS. It will be really tough going, but ISIS may be having a different strategy emerged, lightning strikes, moving closer and closer.

Making forays against the airport, against the embassy area, against the city, it can cause a lot of havoc without having to go to all the trouble of, you know, quote "taking the city."

And the question on the table is, what is the U.S. going to do about it? Even if the president wants to send ground troops at this point, ISIS is controlling such a large vast number of territories in Iraq. It's hard to see how ground troops could quickly roll them back -- Deb.

FEYERICK: So Candy, look, you are there in Washington, when you look at what the administration says, what the Pentagon says, it's not just the words they use, but the words they don't use. How do you parse the language when they say, you know, that we are in full control of Baghdad? What are they not telling us?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Well, they are not in full control of much else. I mean, I think that the question is also, does ISIS really want to try to control Baghdad? Presumably the U.S. and that's where we are led to believe, those U.S. advisers are, is with Iraqi troops in the defense around Baghdad.

They are advising so presumably the U.S. doesn't want to, quote, "lose Baghdad." As Barbara says they can go in and cause havoc without having to, quote, "take the city."

I talked to a military strategist yesterday in the administration who said, you know, ISIS doesn't take on the difficult targets and in fact, Baghdad is a difficult target for the reasons Barbara outlined.

They've taken over mostly Sunni semi-friendly territory. They haven't gone to the south in Iraq. They haven't gone to Shia territory. They don't believe they really at this point in their strategy want Baghdad.

So that's part of what the administration is figuring and the other part is, you know, this is an administration that has, you know, said one thing up until the time it changes.

Nothing changes for this administration until it really reaches the danger zone and they just don't feel Baghdad is there yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: That's Barbara Starr, Candy Crowley. Also joining us had been Ben Wedeman and Kimberly Dozier. Well, with many people in the U.S. still unemployed, one man is trying to make a difference. It is CNN's Mike Rowe, host of "SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY" (voice-over): During this eight seasons as hot of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" Mike Rowe learned all about the hard working men and women who are keeping America running. But he found there was a disconnect between unemployment and available jobs.

MIKE ROWE, CNN HOST, "SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT": Everyone I was going I saw help wanted signs and everyone I talked to said how hard it was to find people who were willing to retool, retrain and learn a truly useful skill and apply it.

Micro works evolved to shine a light on a lot of jobs that for whatever reason were going unloved. We set up a foundation to award work ethic scholarships. CUOMO: Rowe travels to country to get his message out.

ROWE: People love acronyms, science technology, engineering and math are in fact the careers they are going to keep the country competitive. It ought to be stems. If you take the skill out of any of those disciplines then what do you have? You can't promote careers in stem at the expense of skill and you shouldn't promote higher education at the expense of trade schools.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: CNN's Nima Elbagir got an exclusive interview with U.S. Major General Daryl Willams. He is leading the fight against Ebola by helping set up clinics in Liberia. He shows us the difficult mission he is fighting against an invisible army.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After weeks of preparations, the sound of aircraft overhead signals a new face in Major General Darryl William's mission.

MAJ. GENERAL DARRYL WILLIAMS, COMMANDER, U.S. ARMY AFRICA: The weather is tough. The terrain is tough. The infrastructure is challenging and so these tools that you see coming in will give us the ability to operate with confidence and strength.

ELBAGIR: Williams has the unenviable job of leading the fight against an invisible enemy. Tasked by President Obama to help stop the spread of Ebola and the clock is ticking.

WILLIAMS: This is how you make a hotel into an operational center.

ELBAGIR: Today, he is conducting what they call a battlefield circulation tour of his joint forces command.

WILLIAMS: This is how we ensure that we stay safe.

ELBAGIR: But this battlefield requires a different kind of vigilance and a conference room in a Liberian hotel, the operations nerve center. They are about to hit the ground running, fitting in where they can. Conscious that delays cost lives.

This will be the site of the Monrovia medical unit, a facility specifically for health workers to be run by U.S. government health teams. Another tent goes up, another hard one victory against the elements.

Outside Liberians have come to watch. They have been coming every day we're told watching and waiting.

WILLIAMS: While we'll do a lot of tangible things. We'll build this hospital. We'll build these Ebola treatment units. We'll provide these labs and a lot of these tangible things, but there is a lot of intangible nature to this fight. And you want to get people the resiliency, the hope that they can continue on and fight this and see this through.

ELBAGIR (on camera): And they are not alone?

WILLIAMS: That they're not alone. What you see over here are the actual building blocks of where our soldiers and airmen and marines will live as they coordinate these efforts.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): President Obama has pledged up to 4,000 troops. Pre-packed and ready to roll out, there is space here for 600. More still will need to be found, another task on a very long list. The general's optimism though is filtering down to his men.

(on camera): What did you think when they asked you to come out here?

JEREMY GOULD, CONSTRUCTION, NCB133: That is how many hours we have been here.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): There is no getting away from the magnitude of the task ahead. Torrential rains ravage infrastructure, a disease that's now a pandemic, a mission like none they've undertaken.

WILLIAMS: We were brought in to provide our unique capabilities and fill the gaps. The United States military, the Department of Defense is here to see this mission through.

ELBAGIR (on camera): However long it takes?

WILLIAMS: For however long it takes.

ELBAGIR: Nima Elbagir, CNN, Monrovia, Liberia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, we are following breaking news today, a second case of Ebola inside the United States. The first time the disease has been contracted here. We have every angle of the story starting at the top of the hour.

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FEYERICK: Well, tonight, on an all-new episode of "PARTS UNKNOWN," Anthony Bourdain travels to Paraguay and this time he is venturing into his family's past. That is at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Is it possible to stack the deck in your child's favor before they are even born? Lisa Ling explores that tonight in "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING." That's at 10:00 Eastern. That's all tonight right here on CNN.

Each week we are shining a spotlight on the top ten CNN Heroes of 2014 as you vote for the one who inspires you the most at cnnheroes.com. When this week's honoree learned about the lack of access to fitness training faced by the disabled in his city, he got to work the best way he knew how. Meet Ned Norton. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NED NORTON, HERO OF THE YEAR FINALIST: When I'm running, I feel limitless. Being in motion makes me feel free. When you're really pushing yourself, that's when you really feel alive. But there are millions of people around the world that are facing severe physical limitations.

They can't be independent. They can't live their lives. I spent years training Olympic athletes, football players, body builders. One day, a young guy, newly spinal cord injured, came to the gym asking for help. At first, I didn't know what to do, but we just worked together and we made tremendous progress.

Take a breath, reach out, reach out. Bring it back. Before you knew it, my phone rang off the hook. People asking for help. Bring it up. So I opened a gym designed to fit their needs. Ready to go to work?

For the past 25 years, I've provided strength and conditioning training for people with disabilities. Push! Stretch up. Nice job.

People come to me when they're at their lowest. Up, up, up, hold it, rack it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel much better now!

NORTON: You come to the gym and all of a sudden you have a natural support network.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 1971, I broke my back and I've been in a wheelchair ever since.

NORTON: That's it, Tom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks to Ned, I keep my upper body strength at a maximum. I've been able to live a full life.

NORTON: I never worry about what they can't do. I worry about what they can do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can do it, Ned.

NORTON: Yes, you can. Good job. I'm building them up, building them stronger so they can go out and live life like they are supposed to.

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FEYERICK: Well, thanks everyone for spending part of your Sunday here with us. I'm Deborah Feyerick.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now with Ana Cabrera in New York.