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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Silence Over Gaza; Ebola Outbreak Widening; Investigators Reach Flight 17 Crash Site; Transporting Ebola Patients to the U.S.

Aired August 01, 2014 - 04:30   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.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Our breaking news this morning, silence over Gaza. A three-day humanitarian truce between Hamas and Israel has now begun. But will both sides hold up their end of the deal and what happens when the weekend is over?

We are live in Jerusalem with the latest.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ebola patients coming to the United States for the first time. Two Americans infected with the virus set to board a plane from Africa to head home. What are the risks here?

We are live with the story.

ROMANS: Happening now, investigators returning to the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, set to reclaim dozens of victims' bodies. But it's a dangerous journey ahead of them.

We are live in Ukraine with the latest this morning.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Great to see you this Friday, 30 minutes past the hour. We want to welcome all of our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

And up first, the sound of airstrikes and rocket fire replaced by silence in Gaza. We're now three and half hours into a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire brokered by the United Nations and the United States. And so far it appears to be holding. This is a much needed pause after the bloody 24-day conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Our Saima Mohsin live from Jerusalem this morning with the latest on the ceasefire. Three and a half hours so far -- Saima.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, and the very fact that we are counting the ceasefire hour-by-hour just shows you quite how delicate in nature it is. You know, we've had ceasefires before in the past three weeks. They've been broken. The longest 12 hours. And so people are starting to come out in Gaza but with huge trepidation. You know, they're worried that there still might be fighting. The ceasefire might be broken. They are coming out slowly, but surely. And while we talk of humanitarian ceasefire, we talk of silence in

Gaza, it's a tough time for people there. They have been trapped there. Many of them in shelters. Many of them unable to get to their homes. They are going to be trying to pick through the wreckage to see what's left of their belongings, find their loved ones, locate many that they haven't been able to get in touch with. And then of course as Secretary of State John Kerry puts it, get back to trying to get to vital functions like food, water, electricity as well. There's going to be a lot of repairs going on as well then -- John.

BERMAN: And what's interesting about this pause, Saima, is that it's also a chance to talk in Cairo, not Israel speaking to Hamas directly, but each speaking through intermediaries. And perhaps these discussions might lead to something more permanent.

MOHSIN: Yes. Absolutely. Not just a huge relief and deep sighs as far as the humanitarian is quite concern, but all the politics, back channel negotiations that have been going on over the last few weeks now coming to the fore, some kind of fruition spearheaded by the United States, the United Nations and of course intermediaries in Cairo. We understand that a delegation from Gaza is now on its way to Cairo already. That constitutes Hamas, Islamic jihad. They PLO and Fatah as well. So that's such a big conglomerate of people that all represents the Palestinian side of things.

We're not quite sure who is going to represent the Israeli delegation, but there is a delegation that is planning to head to Cairo. Not just yet there, though, as far as we understand. They are still waiting and watching and seeing how this ceasefire goes. But, as you say, a major breakthrough that they are willing to talk. Of course Hamas was refusing to stop the ceasefire, John, because they've said that it would not stop firing rockets until Israel ended its blockade of Gaza. Of course they seem to now have shifted as far as that caveat is concerned.

On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying look, we are willing for a cease in fighting, but we will not stop -- ceasefire or no ceasefire, we will not stop bringing an end to these tunnels that we believe pose a threat to Israel -- John.

BERMAN: Our Saima Mohsin in Jerusalem. We will continue to count these hours and hope it remains quiet.

ROMANS: All right. Two Americans infected by the Ebola virus are being brought home to the United States. You're looking at exclusive CNN video of a federal jet equipped with an isolation pod. It's leaving Cartersville, Georgia. Last night, it left for Liberia. It will be transporting Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. Both patients said to be gravely ill this morning.

I want to bring in David McKenzie live from Johannesburg.

This is quite an operation. A federal jet on its way to Liberia with this isolation pod to bring these two Americans home. What can you tell us? DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine,

it's certainly unprecedented for this level of operation with this kind of medical risk and the medical care that needs to be taken. There might have been other people who wanted to get out but certainly evacuation companies assume that they would not get the clearance to do it. So this would have required very high-level involvement for that federal jet which is especially equipped to contain the two Americans who are suffering from the dreaded Ebola virus.

Now we don't know exactly where that plane is. We don't know when it will arrive and it's not guaranteed, of course, that it will leave Liberia and head back to Emory University Hospital. But one can assume that several layers of discussions and clearance have happened already.

The situation on the ground, though, is dire. It has been described as out of control. Three countries affected by this virus. It is spread from Guinea into Sierra Leone and into Liberia, and at least one confirmed case in Nigeria, which has Africa's biggest population for a country. So very worrying times, indeed. And the people who are trying to come back say they're very much underfunded and underequipped -- Christine.

ROMANS: Underfunded, underequipped to something that is the worst outbreak of Ebola we have ever seen.

David McKenzie, thank you.

BERMAN: There could be as many as 80 bodies still lying in the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. A team of investigators finally reaching the crash site in eastern Ukraine Thursday. They report seeing human remains and personal belongings still scattered across the debris field. This is two weeks after this plane was shot down. And they are returning to the site today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, OSCE MONITOR: As we were leaving the site, you know, we had pretty much bombs raining down upon us. So it's very, very tricky. We are hoping that our kind of -- again, our custom made ceasefire that gives us the type of protective cocoon, if you will, will endear and allow us to do that movement in and out for as many hours and days as is required.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We want to get the latest now from Kellie Morgan who's live in Kiev this morning.

And Kellie, there are reports from coming in just minutes ago that there is fresh violence not far from the crash site.

KELLIE MORGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have heard in the last 24 hours that there hasn't been a cessation in military activity around the site of the MH-17 crash site. One of the most disturbing instance was a Ukrainian convoy was ambushed. That's according to the anti- terrorism group here in Ukraine. It's unclear how many bodies were actually killed in that attack. It was overnight or late yesterday.

But this particular battle unfolded just 23 kilometers from the crash scene. So that's three kilometers outside this agreed ceasefire. So it is a deeply unstable situation. Still the Ukraine military has been regaining rebel controlled territory over recent days and weeks and they wanted to capitalize off that momentum. So there are still battles happening in the region of that crash site.

Now we have just heard that the OSCE and the team of international investigators have arrived at the crash site for a second time. They have arrived two and half hours earlier than they did yesterday and they will be looking to do just limited searches again today. This still is not a full blown operation that they're able to carry out there yet. It is day by day, they are assessing the security there on the ground.

They could really need to be out there for weeks to carry out the investigations that they need. But the priority will be to bring home any remains that are still have not been recovered from that site.

BERMAN: And of course stay safe in the process. And that may be a complicating factor.

Kellie, thanks for being there for us. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: Republican leaders in the House in a standoff with some Tea Party supporters on immigration reform. The leadership postponed the House's August recess in an effort to salvage a bill to address the border crisis. A Thursday vote was canceled after opposition from Tea Party supporters prevented the vote count needed for passage. The measure called for $659 million, a far cry from the president's nearly $4 billion request.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SPENCER BACHUS (R), ALABAMA: If we don't pass a bill, the president will do what he needs to do. The president would like to see us lead.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What changes tomorrow, though, that was there -- that wasn't there today?

BACHUS: I hope some people grow up.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Like?

BACHUS: Oh, I'm not going to name names, they are my colleagues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The Senate ran into its own trouble, a procedural vote killing its $2.7 billion bill. Meantime, towns along the Texas border, they're waiting now for National Guard troops to arrive. Up to 1,000 troops are being deployed by Governor Rick Perry.

BERMAN: The legislation to overhaul the scandal-ridden Department of Veterans Affairs is now ready for the president's signature. The Senate on Thursday gave final congressional approval to the $16 billion measure. It will address long wait times for veterans seeking treatment at VA health care facilities. It will also allow access -- greater access to private care.

ROMANS: A stunning admission from the CIA which says officers spied on Senate investigators who were preparing a report on the agency's controversial post-9/11 detention and their interrogation program. An internal report found they inappropriately accessed computers used by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The CIA director, John Brennan, apologized to committee leaders for the agency's improper conduct. Brennan's admission comes after months of public denials and Senators (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: Not the last we're going to hear of this at all.

A chilling audio tape of former President Bill Clinton surfacing on Australian TV. It is said to be the former president on the day before September 11, 2001 talking about having passed on a chance to kill Osama bin Laden.

Speaking to a group of business leaders in Melbourne on September 10th, 2001, the former president says he didn't strike bin Laden in Afghanistan because of concerns about civilian deaths in Kandahar.

Time now for an EARLY START on your money. And when it comes to your money, people are still talking about the stock market's huge drop yesterday.

ROMANS: Yesterday, huge drop. You know, the Dow erased all of the gains for the year. You're not flat on the year. All those gains gone. 317 points yesterday, the Dow fell. That's about 2 percent. A 2 percent move is a big move.

The S&P 500, the Nasdaq, also 2 percent lower, also giving back all the gains they made in July.

Right now, at this moment, European and Asian stocks, they are down. They are following the lead from the U.S. And futures here pointing a little bit lower right now, too. You know, all of this is ahead of an 8:30 a.m. release of the July jobs report. That's the most important economic indicator we get. That comes out in a little less than four hours. That could change the direction of everything this morning. Super important there.

A stock that's climbing, LinkedIn. Those shares are up 7 percent right now in the premarket. The professional networking site, its revenue rose 47 percent compared to a year ago. Social media sites have had a strong quarter, Facebook, Twitter both wowed investors. And like Twitter, LinkedIn stock is up, but it doesn't make money.

It doesn't make any money.

BERMAN: It doesn't make any money.

ROMANS: Put that in the back of your mind for now because investors were happy with that revenue, though.

BERMAN: At some point these companies have to make money.

ROMANS: At some point you do. That's right. But also investors are very, very forgiving when they think something is going to be a real darling.

BERMAN: Forty-two minutes after the hour right now.

Dozens dead, hundreds injured when gas lines explode underground. We have a terrifying new video just ahead.

ROMANS: Plus is Obamacare in trouble? The new case the Supreme Court could be taking on, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: A grisly scene in southern Taiwan. At least 24 people, four of them firefighters, killed by a series of explosions triggered by underground gas leaks. More than 230 others were injured. And officials say there are an unknown number of people missing this morning. The blast so powerful, victims were found on the roof of a four-story building.

ROMANS: Oh, my.

The FAA is restricting U.S. carriers from flying lower than 30,000 feet in Iraqi airspace because of heavy fighting below. Several European carriers have already developed alternate flight plans for Iraq following the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17. Officials fear Iraqi militants have sophisticated enough weapons to shoot down a commercial airplane. The FAA is also prohibiting landings at two Iraqi airports.

BERMAN: The Supreme Court may take up another challenge to Obamacare. This really inevitable after two courts had different rulings about whether the federal government should help pay for health insurance for people enrolled in the program's exchanges.

A non-profit called the Competitive Enterprise Instituted has petitioned the court to step in and decide the issue. Analysts believe up to five million people could be affected by this without the subsidies.

ROMANS: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg speaking out about same-sex marriage saying the justices won't duck the issue the next time a case reaches the court. The 81-year-old Ginsberg expects a same-sex marriage case to be heard by the Supreme Court as early as next summer.

BERMAN: Colorado is setting up new rules for edible marijuana. The state does allow recreational edibles to contain up to 100 milligrams of THC. The active ingredient in pot. But regulators are concerned about overdoses and are also asking for more child resistant packaging on THC-laced products. Colorado expected to pass these new rules next week. ROMANS: It's interesting, Colorado employers really struggling to

figure out how to keep pot-free workplaces even as there are more of it -- just more availability of legal pot.

BERMAN: Interesting, right?

ROMANS: It really is.

BERMAN: Considering the testing, given it's legal.

ROMANS: Yes. Yes

BERMAN: All right. Forty-seven minutes after the hour.

Happening now, two Americans infected with Ebola heading from Africa to the United States. Can this virus be contained? We'll tell you about the extreme precautions being taken.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: The CDC has outfitted a special gulfstream jet to bring home two Americans who contracted Ebola. The feds taking extraordinary precautions installing a portable biological containment system designed to keep everyone else on that flight from getting infected.

Tom Foreman takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Transporting a patient with a deadly disease like Ebola is possible, but it brings potential risks and that's where special equipment like this plane with this special gear inside makes all the difference.

Let's explain what we're talking about.

In all likelihood, if you're bringing a patient across like this, this is what you want. You want to have a special room built inside the plane, completely enclosed in plastic so nothing can get in or out. The air pressure is negative meaning it's higher out there than it is inside here. So if there is a rip, the air will flow in, nothing will go out. Now this is not an airborne disease when you're talking about Ebola but this is standard protocol.

Let's get rid of the plastic and talk about the second layer of protection. Inside here, a doctor, a nurse, an anesthesiologist, even a specialist in these types of diseases, all of them as they're here are going to be wearing special protective gear, and the patient, too, will be covered in another layer of protection, a special framework around the bed so that even though they are monitoring his heart rate and they're monitoring his respiration and they're keeping track of his temperature, it's all being done a little bit hands off here.

And, even if he develops some of the violent vomiting or bleeding that can come from Ebola, they would have to treat him by reaching in through special gloves through the sides of this and everything must stay inside, especially all of those fluids would have to be collected and kept in waste containers inside here. Because that's what's so deadly here. And the simple truth is, as much as they may want to save the life of one person, with a disease like this, they have to be so careful to not allow it to come in contact with others.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: What an operation. That's just something.

All right. Is the jobs market back? The July jobs report at 8:30 Eastern. We're going to find out just how strong the job market is and we're going to find out if the stock market likes it after yesterday's horrible selloff. An EARLY START on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Welcome back. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Friday morning.

Big, big stock market selloff. Did you see that? The Dow lost all the gains for the year yesterday. It plunged 317 points. That's 2 percent. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq 2 percent lower. Two percent is a big move in the stock market, folks. There's not been a true correction in stocks since 2011. So many are wondering if this is the beginning of something here because stocks have been resilient.

European and Asian stocks are down this morning, of course following the lead set by the U.S. yesterday and U.S. futures have turned lower. They were a little bit higher earlier, they have now turned lower. The Dow futures down about 52.

You know, the July jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Eastern is really going to determine what happens with the direction here later this morning when the stock market opens at 9:30.

CNN Money predicts the economy added 230,000 jobs. In June, it added 288,000. The unemployment rate, we're expecting it unchanged 6.1 percent. We'll see for sure, though, in a few hours.

We have seen months of solid job growth adding 1.4 million jobs in the first half of the year. That's the most since 2006. The jobless rate, sliding lower. Not quite back to pre-recession levels, but making steady progress.

We'll be looking with all of those numbers to see what it says about the economy.

All right. With student loan bills soaring, families are finding ways to borrow less for college. That's right. Families borrowing less for college. According to a new study, families borrowed 22 percent of college cost last year. That's the lowest level in five years. It's down from 27 percent a year earlier. They're paying more out of pocket.

And, you know what, John, they are cutting costs. More students are attending two-year colleges first, opting for in-state schools and living at home to save money. Those are the three things I tell people all the time. They are the most important decisions they can make about college.

BERMAN: You're basically taking credit for this.

ROMANS: I'm not taking credit for it.

BERMAN: You're saying that your advice has caused this move.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: I'm saying that people are really getting smart. They don't have the money and they don't want their kids to be saddled with all these student loan debt.

BERMAN: Yes. It's smart.

ROMANS: So they're finding ways to change their choices so they don't have to take on so much debt.

BERMAN: Smart. Smart decision. And great advice.

And for more great advice like this and for more money news that matters to you, check out Christine Romans' show, "CNN MONEY" tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Do not miss it. I never do.

All right. EARLY START continues right now.