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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

U.S. General Killed in Kabul; Temporary Truce in Gaza; Second American Infected with Ebola Back in U.S.

Aired August 06, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A temporary truce holding in Gaza now in the second day of the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. Can some kind of longer lasting peace deal be worked out? Both sides gathering in Cairo this morning. We have new information from there. We'll take you live ahead.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Also, a U.S. general gunned down in Afghanistan. Ambushed in a military academy in Kabul, the attack raising concerns about the safety of our troops overseas this morning. We're live with the very latest on that.

BERMAN: Ebola outbreak. This virus raging across Africa this morning. Communities quarantined, airlines banning travel. This as the second infected American gets treated here in the United States. We'll have an update on their conditions just ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. Great to see you this morning. I'm John Berman.

HARLOW: I'm Poppy Harlow in for Christine Romans today. Thirty-one minutes past 5:00 a.m. here on the East Coast. And we begin with this.

U.S. military officials reeling from the assassination of a two-star general this morning. General Harold Greene is the highest ranking U.S. officer to die in a war zone since the conflict in Vietnam. He was killed in a military academy in Kabul -- by a man believed to be an Afghan soldier. More than a dozen other coalition soldiers were wounded, many of them Americans.

BERMAN: U.S. military officials insist that Afghan forces are ready to take over security for themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: The Afghan National Security Forces continue to perform at a very strong level of competence and confidence and warfare capability. They have had a good year, securing not one but two national elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Anna Coren is tracking the latest developments for us live from Hong Kong this morning.

Anna, this is quite a blow for the U.S. military.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, John. And the reason it is such a blow is that the U.S. is just months away from withdrawing the majority of their troops from Afghanistan.

This is America's longest war. Thirteen years is how long America has been in Afghanistan. So the death of Major General Greene, you know, just such a devastating blow to those who are still in Afghanistan and such a real dent to morale for the troops who have to stay on. Of course, there will be that residual force of 2,000 who stay on past the end of this year.

But Major General Greene, he was there at this military academy with a group of senior American officers when this Afghan soldier opened fire with a machine gun spraying the group with bullets, killing the major general. And as you say, injuring more than a dozen. Some of them quite serious.

Obviously, the forces returned fire. That Afghan soldier was killed immediately but he was a soldier. He wasn't a member of the Taliban. He wasn't an insurgent. And I think this is also really concerning because obviously the Americans and the Afghans have been working very closely together to get the Afghan Security Forces to where they need to be so they can take on the enormous job that lies ahead.

So he was vetted from what we understand, you know. This is a man who has been through those stringent procedures. There was obviously a spate of attacks back in 2012 in which dozens of coalition forces were killed in these green-on-blue attacks, insider attacks, and that's why they cracked down with the vetting process.

This soldier was vetted. So, obviously, a real blow, a real concern, too, for the remaining forces on the ground.

The ISAF commander General Dunford ordered all U.S. troops back to their bases to ensure there weren't any further attacks given other soldiers, other people who have disgruntled ideas.

The Taliban, while they have said he is not one of theirs, they have described this Afghan soldier as a hero. For the family of Major Greene, as you can imagine, they are heartbroken and devastated. Let's take a listen to what the family spokesperson had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. JUANITA CHANG, GREENE FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: He really believed in what he was doing over there and was really proud to serve. And the family has asked that I pass along that they believe that the Army as well as Afghanistan and America has lost a true hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Now, as we heard from Rear Admiral Kirby a little bit earlier saying that the Afghan forces are ready to stand on their own two feet, giving you the example of the elections, I was there back in April for that first round of elections. And yes, they did a great job on that particular day but it's not just one day. We're talking about months and years ahead. And that is the concern, can they stand on their own two feet and ensure that Afghanistan never becomes a safe haven for terrorists once again -- John.

BERMAN: And by the way, there are no results right now for those elections either.

HARLOW: Yes.

BERMAN: So a lot of concern there in the big picture and on a smaller scale, our heart goes out to that family.

Thanks so much, Anna.

HARLOW: Well, there is silence, relative silence in war-ravaged Gaza. During this 72-hour cease-fire. Now in its second day and all is pretty quiet between Hamas and Israel, the people of Gaza, as you can see, slowly emerging from the ruins, trying to go back to their homes, go to the market. Israeli troops now out of the ground there. No more ground forces in Gaza.

Now comes the real challenge, though. Talks to build a lasting peace. Those talks are starting very soon in Egypt.

Our Reza Sayah is live from Cairo this morning.

And I know, Reza, within the last half hour or so we did get an update in terms of, you know, where Israeli forces and Palestinian representatives are in terms of starting these discussions.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Poppy, we spoke to a Palestinian delegate who is in Cairo, and according to this delegate full-scale talks have yet to get under way. This delegate tells CNN that he expects to hear back from the Egyptians sometime this afternoon.

We do know that both sides are here right now. The Israelis arrived last night. The Palestinian delegation has been here in Cairo since over the weekend. So the stage is set for these talks to move forward.

We do have some details about the format, the arrangement of these talks. According to a senior government official these are not going to be direct talks. In other words, this is not going to be a scenario where you're going to have Israelis and Palestinians sitting across from the table from one another. This is going to be indirect talks where in one location of Cairo you're going to have Israelis talking to Egyptians. And in a separate location you're going to have Palestinians talking to Egyptian officials.

Now Egypt is going to be the go-between, the messenger, if you will. On the table, obviously, an end to the current conflict. But much of the world wants more. They want a permanent truce. One of the people calling for that is Pierre Krahenbuhl. He's the head of U.N.'s Relief and Works agency. He was very much impacted by what he saw in Gaza. Here's some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERRE KRAHENBUHL, COMMISSIONER-GENERAL OF THE UNWRA: A cease-fire in itself is not enough. It is essential because it's life-saving and it was needed now. But we cannot have the situation in Gaza simply returned to the pre-existing conditions of the blockade. This is -- was already unsustainable before this conflict, and it will be worse because of the destruction of property, infrastructure and the loss of life that has occurred during this conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: That was Pierre Krahenbuhl of U.N.'s Relief and Works Agency. He wants a lasting truce, much of the world wants a lasting truce.

For that to happen, Poppy, both sides have to meet one another's conditions and demand. Both sides must compromise at some point. History of this conflict shows that has yet to happen. We'll see if it's any different this time.

HARLOW: Yes. And the people of Gaza and Hamas want the borders opened among many other things. And Israel has been calling for a total demilitarization of Hamas. Really strong demands on both sides. We hope it can happen. The question is, can it and is the time. We shall see those talks getting under way shortly, it sounds like.

Reza, thank you.

Meantime, the second American stricken with the ebola virus is now back in the United States this morning and getting much-needed treatment. Missionary Nancy Writebol airlifted out of Liberia and admitted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. She is in the isolation ward, the same one as her colleague Dr. Kent Brantly.

We get more now from our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the family of the second patient infected with Ebola feels that she now has a fighting chance. She was medevaced out of Monrovia, Liberia, arrived here in Atlanta yesterday, and she was quite sick just a couple of days prior.

In fact, I want you to listen to how her husband described the situation to SIM USA president Bruce Johnson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. BRUCE JOHNSON, SIM USA PRESIDENT: A week ago, he said, we were thinking about a possible funeral arrangements. Yet we kept our faith. Now we have a real reason to be hopeful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: Now part of that hope may come in the form of this experimental therapy that she received. It is something known as ZMapp. It's a monoclonal antibody. And she received two doses while she was in Liberia. The first dose didn't have as dramatic an impact on her as it had on her colleague, Dr. Kent Brantly, but the second dose seemed to have a dramatic improvement for her, making her stable enough to actually fly here.

Now she's on the hospital over here right behind me. She's going to be in the same isolation ward as Dr. Brantly. And the doctors are going to assess just how much damage, how much of an impact this viral illness has had on her body. Assess her heart, her lungs, her kidney, her liver. And she is going to get the third of those three doses of that ZMapp on Wednesday.

That's according to Emory University doctors who've been in consultation with the NIH and the FDA.

It is too early to tell how things are going to go for her in the long run. Although, again, doctors here are pretty optimistic about her recovery overall. She's also expected to see her family. Many of her family almost haven't seen her in some time. When they do get a chance to see her, it's going to be through this glass wall because she's in isolation. They'll be able to see her and they'll be able to talk to her because she'll have an intercom and a phone in her room.

We're going to get more details on her recovery over the next couple of days, and as we get them, we'll certainly bring them to you.

Back to you for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Sanjay. We look forward to getting those details because the Ebola outbreak is quickly spiraling into a global crisis.

HARLOW: Yes.

BERMAN: British Airways becoming the second major airline to cancel flights out of West Africa country that had been affected by the deadly virus.

Here in the United States, Delta says it is monitoring the situation. In the United King, health officials confirmed that several people now quarantined. They're looking at their symptoms right now. Could they be cases of Ebola? These patients returned from West Africa. They're being watched very, very closely right now.

This disease is spreading so fast the U.N. health agency has called an emergency two-day meeting starting today in Geneva. They could declare the outbreak an international public health emergency. Government officials in Liberia and Sierra Leone and Guinea now enforcing widespread quarantine in their countries. They're closing schools, even tracking the movements of citizens who may be infected. As of this morning there 1,603 suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola, 887 of those patients have died.

Very high mortality rate.

HARLOW: Yes.

BERMAN: We have some dramatic new video to show you this morning. A woman stranded in a raging flood as the car comes just barreling towards her. What happens next? And when will this rain stop?

Indra Petersons tracking what you need to know for the weather today right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: A huge cleanup under way in Las Vegas in the valley there. Torrential downpours over the last three days triggering massive floods. Rescue crews as well as airmen from the Creech Air Force Base called in to save stranded drivers. Dramatic scenes like this one playing out all over that city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god. The car is rising.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out. Get out. Hurry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Wow. Well, the cleanup from all of those mudslides and the flooding could last for days. Incredibly, luckily, no one was injured.

BERMAN: Wow.

HARLOW: Indra Petersons has a look at your forecast.

We've been wowing at this video all morning. It came fast and furious. People were driving in their cars and couldn't get out.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's really the perfect video to show you. It only takes six inches of water.

HARLOW: Yes.

PETERSONS: We were talking about. (INAUDIBLE) water, two feet of water, I say it all the time. That's all it takes. Even a large SUV really sweeps just down river. And that is the case after all this monsoonal moisture has been continuing to flow into the desert southwest. Big difference in the picture today. You see all this brown, that is dry air filling in. So they continue to get that relief that they need to try and get these cleanup efforts underway with everything that's been going on really over the last several days.

Now really the case, though, if you head to the Midwest or even to the northwest. Notice you're seeing that big cold front kind of hanging around. A couple lows also kind of cruising around the frontal boundaries. So with that enhanced rainfall today, especially around St. Louis, and of course in Ohio Valley, into the northeast, you're going to getting more of those scattered showers.

If you want to see how it plays out over the next several days you'll actually see that frontal boundary sag farther down to the southeast. So conditions will improve into the northeast. Meanwhile, they will deteriorate if you're heading down to the southeast. We'll get some heavier rain as we get closer towards Friday there.

As far as totals about two to four inches where you see the heavier amounts, also just some scattered showers today into the northeast. So that is just the summer here. And the northeast, here and there, a pop-up shower. I never know what to tell you, umbrella. You decide.

HARLOW: Yes. We've been pretty lucky spared here compared to what a lot of this country has faced all summer.

PETERSONS: Very true.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, Indra.

HARLOW: Thanks, Indra.

BERMAN: All right. The sun is always shining over Chris Cuomo.

Sir, what's going on in "NEW DAY" this morning?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: It's sunny, John, and we're all about peace here, that's what we're talking about this morning. Egypt, that's where both parties are. The cease-fire is holding in Gaza. So the question is, will they be able to take a step towards a permanent agreement?

We'll tell you what both sides want. How far apart they are. What are the different variables, and of course, we will be live on the ground in Egypt, Gaza and Jerusalem.

We're also looking at the shooting in Afghanistan that killed a U.S. general. Officials believe he was shot by an Afghan soldier, someone who is supposed to be an ally, obviously. How did he get so close? How did he get through the vetting process? Why did this happen? Does it mean anything for our strategy in Afghanistan?

We'll get very deep with experts who know what they're talking about on this, John and Poppy.

HARLOW: Sounds like a good show.

BERMAN: Look forward to it, Chris.

HARLOW: Look forward to it. Thanks so much.

Coming up here next, though, on EARLY START, government secrets exposed by someone on the inside. We're not talking about Edward Snowden this time. We're talking about someone else. Perhaps it sounds like following in his footsteps. The details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: Intelligence officials in the U.S. trying to find at least one new leaker who is exposing government secrets. As first reported by CNN, government officials want to know who leaked documents about terror suspects.

These documents were dated from last August and appeared in a story on the news Web site Intercept. NSA leaker Edward Snowden had already fled the country by the time that these documents were written.

HARLOW: And a federal Web site that was set up to make government spending more transparent is missing about $620 billion, apparently. In fact, the information posted on usaspending.gov is only 2 percent to 7 percent accurate. This is according to an audit by the Government Accountability Office. The report faults poor oversight by the office in charge of collecting the data and technical malfunctions with that Web site.

Two to 7 percent.

BERMAN: President Obama's approval rating has hit a new low. That's according to a new NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll. Just 40 percent of Americans now say they have a positive view of the president, 47 percent of those surveyed disapprove of his job performance. These declining numbers -- caused in part by sagging support among Democrats and African-Americans.

HARLOW: All right. Well, stocks taking another big hit, not just in the U.S., but around the word. Are the bears taking over? Checking your money next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back to EARLY START. Let's get an early start on your money this morning. Fears over the growing crisis in Ukraine continue to rattle markets around the globe. Asian stocks ending the day lower. In Europe, stocks are also really impacted. Down heavily in midday trading. And U.S. futures here all pointing lower as well this morning.

This follows a pretty ugly day on Wall Street yesterday. The Dow lost 140 points, almost 1 percent. The Nasdaq and S&P also ending the day lower.

We're seeing the lowest levels since May in downed industrials.

Also a potential mega media merger not happening, Rupert Murdoch withdrawing his bid for Time Warner, the parent company of CNN. 21st Century FOX shareholders were not thrilled because they were worried that Murdoch was going to up his bid and they felt maybe bid too much. A dip in FOX's stock price along with Time Warner's refusal to cooperate caused Murdoch to back down.

21st Century FOX shares did bounce higher on that news. Up 7 percent right now. Before the Opening Bell, Time Warner shares down about 10 percent.

That story, John, wasn't paying attention at all.

BERMAN: No. But those shares, that price about to go up right now because "NEW DAY" starts going right about now.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, peace talks under way. Israeli officials now in Egypt, informal talks with Palestinians set to begin today. A temporary cease-fire is holding, but where do they go from here? We'll take you live to Egypt and Jerusalem.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New details on the shooting of an American general by an Afghan soldier. The highest ranking officer killed in a war zone since Vietnam. His murder by a supposed ally raising new questions now about how safe American forces are over there.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Hacked. A new report shows that Russian hackers have stolen more than a billion, yes, billion, Internet usernames and passwords from popular Web sites. What are they going to do with them and how safe is your information?

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.