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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Cease-fire in Gaza; Israel Winding Down Gaza Operation; Picking up the Ebola Tab; Gaza Peace Talks to Begin in Cairo

Aired August 05, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news this morning: silence over Gaza. A three-day truce between Hamas and Israel, it has begun. This moment of peace, this moment of calm did follow a last minute burst of violence. But this morning, it is holding. The question now, how long will it last?

We have a team of reporters covering every angle this morning.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: And Ebola outbreak, two infected Americans receiving an experimental drug. One is recovering here in the U.S., the second is set to arrive and join him in just hours. This as Africa reels from an outbreak moving across the continent. And a new Ebola scare possibly emerging in New York City.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. Thanks for joining us this morning. I'm Deborah Feyerick in for Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Great to see you today, 30 minutes past the hour and right now all is quiet in Gaza.

Those are welcome words for so many people. The cease-fire there now in its fifth hour. Israel and Hamas pressed pause on the bloodshed, halting this month long conflict that has killed nearly 2,000 people. Both sides do concede keeping this peace will be difficult.

Gaza, this morning, we're getting a good look at it really for the first times in ruins. One-fourth of its population displaced. And according to the United Nations the infrastructure damage from this battle now tops some $4 billion.

Our Karl Penhaul is live on the streets amid the destruction in Gaza.

Karl, we look at everyone around you, there is good news, though, here this morning. The good news is, as of now, the fighting has stopped.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're right, John. There is good news, and of course, bad news. The good news is that even from here, which is only about 3/4 of a mile to the border with Israel, there is no sound of fighting. We haven't heard any sound of incoming artillery or outgoing. The bad news, of course, though, is that a lot of residents are coming back for the first time to look for their homes. And what they're finding, well, that's it, John, rubble.

Where I'm standing now this was a two-story home. The owner said he was a wedding photographer. He said, why was I a military target? Another man, as we walked down this street in front of me, Hill Street it's called, he said, I don't know what I'm looking at. He said I can't understand. He said I feel like I'm in a dream.

And the recurring theme here, people are trying to scrap through some of the cement blocks, trying to find anything of their former lives. One person couldn't manage to get out four items of clothing so simply started to tear out rags from the blocks and put those in plastic bags just so they had something to take back to relatives who have been displaced and are still sleeping out in United Nations schools.

Another man said, he said, what the world has to understand is that here in Gaza, there are no insurance companies. We spend years putting together our homes. And now we have nothing. All our savings were put into our home. We don't know what we're going to do now.

And of course the question, was it all worth it? And I said to one man, I said, was it worth it? He said look, if we'd actually come out of this with some gains, maybe I would have been willing to sacrifice, he said. But we've gained nothing and I'm left with nothing.

Another man looked at me and he said, winners? He said, this is war. There are no winners in war -- John.

BERMAN: Karl, rebuilding structures, also rebuilding the lives there in Gaza will take time.

To be clear here, we are now some four hours in. No more rockets flying from Gaza. Any Israeli troops that had been there inside the borders now gone, correct?

PENHAUL: That's absolutely correct. Like I say, we were here yesterday and at this time of day yesterday, we were in full jackets and helmets. Israeli tanks we could see from the top of this building. I've been up on top of that building this morning. No sign of the Israeli tanks. They appeared to have pulled back beyond the border. The Israeli military says all its troops are out of the Gaza Strip now.

And that is one of the reasons why this cease-fire could hold because previously -- in the previous cease-fires, the militant factions here said there had been lopsided truces because Israel was allowed to retain troops in Gaza and continue to destroy military infrastructure. In fact today the only sign of the Israeli military right now, overhead, a constant sound of the drones. They sound like giant lawnmowers in the air and they are whirring around, whirring around to see what they can see but no sign of fighting -- John.

BERMAN: Just looking, for the time being, which I suppose is progress.

Karl Penhaul for us, on the destroyed streets of Gaza. Thanks, Karl. FEYERICK: And this morning, Israel claims that it has achieved most

of its objectives in Gaza and is now winding down its military operation and pulling its ground forces back. Israeli Defense officials insisting that most of Hamas' tunnels, some 32 of them, have been destroyed, while its military capabilities, all those rockets, have been crushed.

Let's bring in Sara Sidner live from Ashkelon in Israel.

And Sara, you know, when you think of this, Hamas was lobbing rockets into Israel, which is what caused Israel to go in, do this ground war. Hamas now goes to the negotiating table in really a very weakened position because it's just lost so much. They can't even get food in and out through these tunnels that have been completely destroyed. So where do they stand?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, they are talking about trying to make a longer lasting cease-fire. Israel said if this cease-fire holds, this 72-hour cease-fire that both sides agreed upon, then they will go to those talks in Egypt. Hamas and Islamic jihad. Because as you know, there are other militant groups inside and operating inside Gaza, all have to agree or else it means very little if rockets continue to come over the border into Israel.

So Israel saying that it will go -- send a delegation to Cairo, if indeed the cease-fire holds. The cease-fire has been going now for three and a half, four hours here. It's the longest time the cease- fire has lasted. The last few have lasted literally minutes, the longest one an hour and a half. So there is hope that the cease-fire will hold. And there is hope on this side of the border that the sirens will stop, that the rockets will stop and that calm will prevail for some time.

FEYERICK: Is it just -- is it just that people are exhausted, that people are worn down, that they realized, you know, as Karl said, you know, we've gained nothing and we are left with nothing? Do you think there's a feeling, either in Israel or in Gaza that, in fact, too much was lost and too little gained?

SIDNER: On this side of the border, it's a different feeling because there's almost no damage in comparison to what happened in Gaza. However, people here wanting to hear from the Israeli military. The vast majority of those Israel Jews polled, even now after four weeks of war, have said that they want to see Hamas crushed. They do not want to be going through this a couple of years from now.

They don't want to be seen themselves in another all-pitch war in three or four years. And that has happened every three or four years since 2008. The worry is that if Hamas has the ability to have and make weaponry, to have and make those rockets, that they'll see this again. So there is a different feeling on this side of the border. Sixty-four soldiers killed, three civilians throughout. A far less body count here than in Gaza. But still a feeling of worry and fear of the rockets continuing to come over in the future. And there was hope that that would be completely crushed this time. Although when you're speaking with military analysts who look at the

situation there, we talked to the former head of Massad, for example, who said that sort of ability, that sort of objective could take years and he's not sure that the Israeli public has the stomach to have army reoccupy. This is how he put it, reoccupy Gaza in order to do that, in order to completely demilitarize Hamas.

Back to your guys.

FEYERICK: All right. Sara Sidner for us there in Ashkelon, in Israel, thanks so much.

And as Sara mentioned peace talks in Egypt are expected to begin soon. Reza in Cairo monitoring every development and he's going to join us live in just a few minutes.

BERMAN: Other major story this morning. Health officials here in New York waiting for test results on a patient that did exhibit some Ebola-like symptoms. The man was quarantined after telling doctors that he got sick after returning from West Africa. But officials in Mount Sinai Hospital say it is not likely a case of Ebola. They are trying to play down this drama.

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DAVID L. BECK, PRESIDENT OF MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL: I think the most important thing is people should understand, if this were a case of Ebola, which we do not know, that it is not transmitted by casual contact. And everything that happened in Mt. Sinai it happened in a very rapid fashion, such that we were certain that the patient did not pose any risk to other patients, or to our staff or to visitors to Mount Sinai.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Doctors expect lab results in the next few days. They say there's no threat to anyone else in the hospital because of the quick response.

FEYERICK: And the second American infected with Ebola is on her way back to the U.S. this morning. Nancy Writebol who had been working there has now been evacuated from Liberia. She's going to receive that treatment at the same Atlanta hospital as her colleague, Dr. Kent Brantly.

Brantly arrived at Emory University. There was that dramatic photo of him walking out of the ambulance. He arrived on Saturday. He is said to already been improved. Both Brantley and Writebol were treated in Liberia with an experimental drug, a serum they're calling it, that is not yet approved for use. The drug is developed by a U.S. company. But doctors say that a clinical trial includes more patients would be needed to demonstrate the safety.

BERMAN: The Ebola virus rapidly spreading in West Africa. Nearly 1700 people infected with it since it was defected in March with over 800 deaths spanning Liberia, Sierra Leone, New Guinea and Nigeria. According to the World Health Organization, the overall death rate stands at 55 percent.

That is very high. Hundreds of troops now deployed to quarantine infected communities. The World Bank is pledging up to $200 million to help fight the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM YONG KIM, PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK: This is the largest epidemic ever of Ebola. It's in three countries. It's extended to the capital cities. And as predicted, the mortality rate is upwards to 60 percent, 70 percent. This is a very serious epidemic.

The good news is that there are things we can do right now to lessen the impact, to prevent the spread. And moreover, this is a wake-up call. We need to build that public health infrastructure. We're going commit to doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That wake-up call obviously needed. There is no known cure for Ebola.

I want to bring in Alison Kosik right now.

Alison, you've been looking into the scale of this effort to bring these Americans back to the country.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And what we can tell right now is that no U.S. dollars were used to bring these two home. What we did find out, though, is that a charitable organization is actually picking up the bill for all of this. It's called Samaritan's Purse and that's actually the organization Dr. Kent Brantly works for.

Now the company is going to be covering both Brantly and Nancy Writebol's flights from Liberia here to the U.S. And by one estimate, a chartered flight costs about $220,000. And then you go ahead and tack on tens of thousands of dollars more to keep those people isolated on that flight as it's making its way over to the U.S.

Now Samaritan's Purse is also picking up Brantly's medical costs. He does have health insurance through his employer.

Now CNN spoke to one of the doctors that's actually treating him at Emory University hospital and what he told us is that it actually doesn't cost anymore to treat him there in the isolation unit at Emory University Hospital anymore than it would, let's say treating anyone else in a normal hospital room because he's basically just getting fluids and the experimental serum right now.

One interesting tidbit to tell you about, those isolation rooms at Emory were built 12 years ago and that this is only the second time they are being used with the doctor saying, you know what? These isolation units, they were built kind of as an insurance policy that you hope to never use, but are really happy that you have.

BERMAN: It's a good thing that they have them. And you've been talking about the cost. I don't think people are talking -- thinking about cost right now as much as helping these people who are so badly in need.

KOSIK: Of course. Of course.

BERMAN: So now they're getting the help they need.

FEYERICK: Thanks so much, Alison.

BERMAN: Flash floods across the United States. These deadly storms leaving communities under water. We're going talk about who was hardest hit and who will get more rain today.

Indra Petersons has what you need to know right after the break.

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BERMAN: Extreme weather causing chaos from coast-to-coast. Just look at this scene in Las Vegas. Heavy rains flooding the roads there, leading to dozens of accidents. The cars literally washed off the streets into the ditches there.

FEYERICK: And flash flooding also a big problem on Florida's Gulf Coast. Six inches of rain falling in Naples making Monday the wettest August day in the city's history. Nearly four dozen people stranded in their vehicles by flood waters.

Why would you drive in, like, a flood like that? I don't know. Anyway, Indra Petersons has a look at your forecast -- Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

FEYERICK: This is my cover all.

PETERSONS: It's fine. It's true. We are talking about very unique storms. Once in 500 years is what they saw out towards California just on Sunday. But here's the good news.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BERMAN: A wimpy bertha.

PETERSONS: Wimpy, wimpy.

BERMAN: Limps meekly out in the Atlantic.

All right, Indra. Appreciate it.

PETERSONS: Sure.

BERMAN: I want to take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo joins us now.

Good morning, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: How are you, my friends? We are monitoring the cease-fire underway in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. So far holding, but will it last the full 72 hours? Will it extend into allowing for actual negotiations? Those are the big questions. We're going to talk with a spokesman for Israel's military as well as the chief Palestinian negotiator.

We're also going to follow the latest on the Ebola outbreak. People are getting nervous. More people are getting tested. Now there's a man who showed up at a New York hospital with symptoms. But does he actually have the virus? We don't know yet.

This, as a second infected American arrives in the U.S. today for treatment. We're going to look more at the experimental serum that was given to these two American patients. The FDA allowed it under this kind of charitable exception. Is it really a cure? Is it safe?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have that for us.

You know what's going on today, John? I got bad mike location in my back. Makes the job challenging. Poorly placed. Poorly placed.

BERMAN: That mike location. It is a treatable, a treatable phenomenon, though.

CUOMO: It is. But, John, you know my pain. I'm amazed I got through that.

BERMAN: The prognosis is good.

Thank you. Chris Cuomo, we are all pulling for you, my friend.

We do continue to follow the three-day truce in Gaza. The question now, can a more permanent deal be worked out? Negotiators are expected to arrive in Cairo soon. We will take you there live, next.

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BERMAN: We are now five hours into what is supposed to be a three-day cease-fire in the Middle East. All eyes on Egypt now. The peace talks there for Gaza set to take place very soon in Cairo.

Our Reza Saya is there live this morning.

Reza, explain to us what happens now.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a wait now for the Israeli delegation to come here. They have made it clear that they are waiting to see if this cease-fire holds. If it holds, they made it clear that they're going to send a team, perhaps the toughest part of a cease-fire is the initial period where these two sides have been fighting. And there's a lot of raw emotion because of the fighting, because the two sides have lost so much and naturally, it's hard to set aside those raw emotions and think about peace talks.

But that's what the plan is designed to do here in Egypt. If, indeed, the cease-fire holds, the Israelis are going to send a team to Cairo, a Palestinian delegation representing the Hamas movement, Fatah, Islamic jihad, they're already here. Once the two sides sit down together, then all the conditions are going to be laid out on the table and hopefully much of the world is hoping that this is going to happen. Both sides are going to talk about ending this current war and then ideally talking about a lasting truce.

BERMAN: A lot of tough work ahead. A lot of contentious work ahead to be sure.

Reza Sayah for us in Cairo. Thanks so much.

FEYERICK: And more legal troubles for General Motors. We are going to tell you why the auto giant was just subpoenaed by the Justice Department. An EARLY START on your money, coming up next.

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BERMAN: An EARLY START on your money. Alison Kosik is with us.

KOSIK: And come along, take a trip with me around the globe. Let's look at stocks.

Asian shares ending the day slower on slow growth in China's services sector. European shares right now are higher on positive manufacturing data. We are seeing U.S. futures flat. Looks like a calm morning after a pretty good day yesterday. The Dow gained 76 points, but that didn't make up for the big hit that stocks took last week. But what it did do is kind of ease concerns that a correction mini, a 10 percent pullback, could be on the way.

In fact, analysts are now saying hey, investors, they're not afraid to dive in, take a little more risk now and with the market hitting new highs, they've been -- everybody has been waiting for any sort of pullback to put more money into the market.

The U.S. is digging into subprime car lending beginning with General Motors. The automaker disclosed it received a subpoena from the Justice Department. It covers documents related to subprime loan contracts since 2007. And according to "The New York Times" the Justice Department is also looking at other companies over rising fears of a subprime auto loan bubble similar to the bad home loans that caused the 2008 financial meltdown.

Gosh, you know, do they ever learn? But the good thing is DOJ is looking into it.

FEYERICK: Yes. Exactly. Let's hope the bubble doesn't burst again.

BERMAN: Alison, thanks so much.

KOSIK: Sure.

BERMAN: Great to have you here with us this morning, Deb.

FEYERICK: Thanks so much, John. It's a pleasure.

BERMAN: That is all for us this morning. "NEW DAY" Starts right now. CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. A three-day cease-fire

between Israel and Hamas begins overnight and seems to be holding. Israel pulling its ground troops out of Gaza, Hamas rockets have quieted, but not before launching one final barrage into Israel.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Talks set to begin in Cairo to make the cease-fire permanent now that Israel says it has destroyed all of the Hamas tunnels they have targeted. Can they reach an agreement to end the fighting? Anderson Cooper is live near the Israel-Gaza border.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the American missionary battling Ebola now on her way back to the United States as we learn more about the secret serum that may save her life. Plus a patient quarantined for possible Ebola exposure in New York City. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us live.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.