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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Ceasefire in Gaza Broken?; Ebola Outbreak Widening; Investigators Reach Flight 17 Crash Site; Transporting Ebola Patients to the U.S.

Aired August 01, 2014 - 05:30   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.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news just now. A three-day humanitarian truce between Hamas and Israel., it did begin. But new reports coming in just moments ago say that it may already have been broken.

We are live with the very latest.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour this morning. Up first, we are four and a half hours into what supposed to be a 72-hour ceasefire brokered by the U.N. and the United States. It's a much needed pause after this bloody 24-day Israeli offensive against Hamas.

But has it been broken? That is the concern.

Saima Mohsin live from Jerusalem this morning with the very latest on the ceasefire.

We knew it was tenuous from the very begin. These two sides have been really dug in with really very little off-ramp. What are you seeing right now?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, let me tell you what is coming in to us right now here. We are trying to independently verify this for ourselves. But so far, WAFA news agency, it's a Palestinian news agency, is reporting that at least four people have been killed, 15 injured in what it's claiming is Israeli artillery shelling into Rafah. Now that's in the lower part of the Gaza Strip.

We haven't seen any fighting or major fighting there, really. But we are told that -- by the Palestinian news agency, certainly, that that ceasefire has been broken.

On the other side, Israeli media is reporting sirens going off, warning Israelis of potential incoming rockets. We have been unable to confirm whether rockets were fired or if they landed here in Israel. But we've been trying to contact the Israeli Defense Force and the Israeli spokesman for the government. We've had no comment so far from them. But certainly the Palestinian news agency WAFA reporting that the

ceasefire has been violated -- Christine.

ROMANS: One of the things that's so troubling about this is that they really need that 72 hours to try to get some help -- to try to get some help to people who have been wounded, people who have not been able to get food, who have not been able to get out of, you know, shelled buildings. This is a humanitarian 72-hour period of time.

We know -- we knew also, Saima, it was tenuous at best because both sides have a deep, deep level of distress for the other.

MOHSIN: Yes. Deep seated. Absolutely, Christine. And that is why people are being so reluctant to come out of their homes even though they've been told they have a ceasefire. You can imagine over the last few weeks they've been desperate to get out, get food, water, essential items for themselves, their children, entire families holed up in U.N. shelters. 200,000 Gazans at least in shelters. 200,000 others staying with family members in areas that are believed to be relatively safe.

And yet they were reluctant to come out. We only saw people, really, slowly coming and emerging from their homes and buildings, coming out to get those vital essentials that they needed. But now we're hearing of a ceasefire violation. A crucial ceasefire perhaps now at an end. We're not sure. We're going to try and independently confirm this. But those are the reports we're getting from the Palestinian and Israeli news agencies -- Christine.

ROMANS: That's right. WAFA saying eight Palestinians were killed, 15 others injured from Israeli artillery fire in Rafah on Friday. They are calling this a violation of the ceasefire. The IDF not commenting to us. Would not comment to us on that report. And again CNN trying to independently confirm whether the ceasefire has been broken.

Let me ask you a quick question about just the two parties that we're dealing with. We're dealing with the Israelis and we're dealing with Hamas here in this ceasefire. But inside Gaza, there are lots of other factions. You know, how much control does Hamas have over all the parties there in those tunnels and along the border?

MOHSIN: Well, the essential truth is, there's a lot of splinter groups. There's a lot of militants that have broken away. They might not be centrally controlled by Hamas. The extent Hamas has control. We're really not sure of. But that is essentially why the delegation that was heading to Cairo for these crucial talks that were supposed to be carried out during this humanitarian ceasefire included Hamas, Islamic jihad, Fatah, and the PLO. And of course, the Israelis sending a delegation to try to communicate some kind of compromise and negotiate with them.

How much Hamas has control over them, simply we don't know. Could this be a violation by groups that don't belong to Hamas, we are not sure. And of course, as far as the Palestinian news agency reporting, it is the Israeli Defense Force that would have the capabilities to fire those artillery shells into Gaza. So the level of control Hamas has is anyone's guess, really -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. And right up to the wire we know there were five more IDF deaths before the ceasefire started bringing that total to 61. We know civilian deaths have been just unbelievable. And really weighted toward children -- women and children civilians on the Palestinian side.

Saima Mohsin, thank you so much.

This shows you the need for a ceasefire just to -- just to hit the pause.

BERMAN: And obviously this information is coming in just now. We're going to keep our eye on it, we're going to try to confirm where these rockets were headed if there was an Israeli shelling in Gaza. We'll bring you the latest information as soon as we get it.

Meanwhile, some other news we're covering. Two Americans infected by the Ebola virus are being brought home from West Africa to the United States.

This is live, exclusive CNN video of a federal jet equipped with an isolation pod leaving Georgia last night headed for Liberia. Now the plan to transport Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, both patients said to be gravely ill this morning.

I want to bring in David McKenzie live in Johannesburg.

David, do we have any sense if they have been picked up yet, when exactly they might be headed back?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, we don't, John. And it's not clear where that plane is at this point. It's certainly an extraordinary evacuation attempt of these two volunteers with Samaritan's Purse, who are trying to help patients with Ebola who have themselves become stricken by this deadly disease. Of course, their medical condition will have to be at least in some -- on some level stable for them to even evacuate them. Because, you know, moving someone who is gravely ill bears its own risks outside of the risks that might be taken to bring someone to the United States who has contracted Ebola.

And this would be the first time that it's ever happened. But officials at Emory University Hospital say they're well-equipped for this and that there's no risk posed to the public. In the meantime, the situation on the ground in these three countries which are battling this epidemic is certainly serious. They say they are overwhelmed by the amount of infected people.

And also just the complexity of its epidemic spanning three countries in some very remote areas. There's even been cases of health workers attacked by people who don't understand, necessarily, what they are trying to do. This is a very serious outbreak. The worst that we have ever seen. And it could take months in the best case scenario to step it up -- John.

BERMAN: An overwhelming operation right now in Africa. Complicated operation bringing these Americans back home.

David McKenzie, tracking it for us. Thanks very much. ROMANS: All right. There could be as many as 80 bodies left behind

in the wreckage of Malaysia Airline Flight 17. Eighty bodies. A team of investigators finally reaching the crash site in eastern Ukraine Thursday. They report -- they report they saw human remains and personal belongings scattered across the debris field. They're hoping to return to that site today possibly with cadaver dogs, if they are able to steer clear of the fighting.

(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)

ROMANS: Let's get the latest this morning from Kellie Morgan live in Kiev.

And we know that that -- you said that sort of that ceasefire, that tailor-made ceasefire just outside of that zone, we saw fatalities yesterday.

KELLIE MORGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, we did. In the past 24 hours despite that ceasefire around the MH-17 crash site, just beyond the perimeter of that 14-mile perimeter, there was clashes yesterday. Ukrainian soldiers reportedly killed. We don't have exact numbers yet. But it's only 1.5 miles outside the perimeter, the ceasefire perimeter that is being agreed by both the separatists and the Ukraine military.

The situation -- the security situation for these international team of investigators is still very unstable and it is a day by day monitoring that they have to be doing to make sure that it's safe to access the site.

Now the good news is that they have in the past hour or so arrived at the crash site again today for the second day. The immediate priority for them is to recover any remains that are still at the site. It will be, still, a limited operation today. There's a team of 60 or more Dutch and Australian investigators and experts at the scene as we speak.

They are hoping to bring more people in over the coming days and be fully operational so they can do the investigation they need and do the recovery mission they need as soon as possible. Because as you say, the battle continues to rage on the perimeters of this crash site. And the only reason they've been able to get there over the past two days is because they have broken an agreement between the Ukraine military and the separatists to -- call a truce within that area but also along a corridor between Donetsk and the crash site. So the safety is guaranteed according to these agreements. But this,

we do have to remember, is a battle zone and the separatists themselves are a splintered group so it is a day-by-day assessment on how safe it is to access the site.

ROMANS: Day by day. And we just think these victims' families are just terrified of the thought that their loved ones are still out there on that field.

Kellie Morgan -- thank you so much for that, Kellie, in Ukraine.

All right. A three-day ceasefire in Gaza began just hours ago. But there are worries, there are reports that it has already been broken.

New reports coming into CNN this morning of violence on the ground despite a ceasefire. The breaking developments. Everything you need to know, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. A 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza may already be broken. Hamas claiming an Israeli airstrike has killed eight Palestinians and wounded 15 others in just the last hour. The Israelis insisting Hamas violated the truce.

CNN working to independently confirm these claims and find out the status of the ceasefire. We are going to bring you those updates throughout the morning.

BERMAN: We'll tell you some other news while we're looking into that.

Republican leaders in the House clashing with the Tea Party, some Tea Party supporters, on immigration. The leadership postponed the House 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 needed vote. The measure called for $659 million which was a far cry to begin with 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) BERMAN: The Senate ran into its own trouble. A procedural vote killed its $2.7 billion bill. While this is happening, towns along the Texas border are waiting for National Guards troops to arrive. Up to 1,000 being deployed right now by Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Let's take a look now at the Friday forecast. Indra Petersons is here with a look at that.

ROMANS: Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BERMAN: All right. We're going to (INAUDIBLE) on that. Thanks, Indra.

ROMANS: Hopefully dodge a bullet in the islands, too.

All right. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY. Chris Cuomo joins us this Friday morning.

Hi, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: How are you, my good friends? We are going to try to bring the latest on what you have been excellently covering this morning. The latest on the ceasefire underway between Israel and Hamas. Of course we still have Wolf Blitzer on the ground for us in Jerusalem.

Now there are some reports coming in that this new ceasefire has already been violated. It was kind of announced in the middle of the night by the U.N. and the U.S. What was that about? We'll get the Israeli and Palestinian take and we are also going to talk with the White House press secretary about the situation.

Then, coming back here at home, the latest on the deadly Ebola virus. It will be in the western hemisphere for the first time because two Americans infected with the virus are being brought back here. Is it safe? How are they doing it? How do we stop it from spreading if God forbid something goes wrong?

We'll get into all of that. Hopefully, we will advance the ball from the beautiful position which you will leave it at.

BERMAN: A lot of news, we're covering all morning. Thanks so much, Chris.

ROMANS: All right. Dozens dead, hundreds injured when a gas line explodes underground. A terrifying new video to show you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Welcome back. We are monitoring a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. A ceasefire that may already be broken. Hamas claiming an Israeli airstrike has killed 40 Palestinians and wounded 200 others just in the last hour. The Israelis reporting two rockets fired by Hamas have been intercepted after the ceasefire began. CNN working -- excuse me -- to independently confirm all of these

claims. We're going to bring you updates throughout the morning.

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 other people were injured. And officials say there are an unknown number of people missing this morning. Those blast so powerful, victims were found on the roof of a four-story building.

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 plane. The FAA also prohibiting landings at two Iraqi airports.

The Supreme Court could take up another challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Two lower courts had different rulings about whether the federal government should help pay for health insurance for people enrolled in Obamacare exchanges. A non-profit called the Competitive Enterprise Institute has petitioned the court to step in and decide the issue. Analysts believe up to five million people could be affected without those subsidies.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg speaking out about same-sex marriage saying the justices will not duck that 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.

Coming up, the July jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Expectations are high. How will the markets react? Because guess what, the bull markets are tumbling right now. We're going to get an EARLY START on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. Global stock markets selling off. A big selloff underway. It started here when the Dow lost all gains for the year. Dow plunged 317 points yesterday. That's 2 percent. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq also 2 percent. And now it is spreading. Stocks around the globe down this morning. European stocks getting hammered. Russian bank stocks sliding, thanks to new sanctions from Europe.

U.S. stock futures picking up where they left off yesterday. Look at that. Dow futures down 107 this morning.

Now the jobs reports, the July jobs report comes out in just a few hours. That of course could change everything. CNN Money predicts the economy added 230,000 jobs, net new jobs in the month, compared to June's 288,000. The unemployment rate, economists say they expect it to stay steady at 6.1 percent. There have been months now solid jobs growth adding 1.4 million jobs

in the first half of this year. That's the best six-month performance since 2006. And the unemployment rate has been sliding down. Not quite back to pre-recession levels, but making steady, steady progress.

Again, a global stock market selloff under way. We'll watch to see how that plays out when the Opening Bell rings here in the U.S.

Now with student loan bills soaring, families are finding ways to borrow less for college. According to a new study, families borrowed 22 percent of college costs last year. That's the lowest level in five years and it's down from 27 percent just a year earlier. People are paying more out of pocket and they are cutting costs. More students are now attending two-year colleges first. They are opting for instate schools and they're living at home to save money.

Getting smart, trying to keep the student loan debt down as much as they can.

That's it for us. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to NEW DAY. It is Friday, August 1st, 6:00 in the East. And we're going to begin with the breaking news right now because just hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire the situation already said to be on the ground anything but quiet. So what does that mean?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that of course means it's now -- this is not officially over but the new violence could put the truce in clear jeopardy.

Let's get straight over to Wolf Blitzer who's been on the ground for us in Jerusalem.

Wolf, what are you hearing there?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: It certainly does not look like a ceasefire. The IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, has just said that eight rockets and mortars were fired at Israel. One of those rockets was intercepted. Seven of those rockets they say hit open areas, but Israeli officials tell me, Kate and Chris, that they are now accusing Hamas of a grave violation of these ceasefire terms.