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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Screening Out Ebola; ISIS Fighters Continue to Attack Kobani; NFL Owners Meet with Goodell

Aired October 09, 2014 - 05:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Fearing an Ebola epidemic in the U.S. This morning airports planning new security procedures to stop infected travelers from bringing the virus into the country, as Texas reels from the death of one Ebola patient and the hospitalization of another potential case.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: ISIS gaining ground in Syria. On the brink now of taking over a key Syrian city. U.S. airstrikes unable to stop the terrorists. We're live right next to the battlefield.

ROMANS: And breaking news overnight. Angry crowds creating chaos in the streets of St. Louis protesting another deadly police shooting. What we're learning this morning. Got that ahead.

Good morning, welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman. Great to see you this Thursday, It is October 9th. 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And this morning tighter screening being planned for U.S. airports. Officials say they want to prevent another person infected with Ebola from getting into the United States. President Obama is calling it an added layer of protection on top of the measures already in place at major airports. The new screening expected to apply to only about 150 travelers a day. They come from three West Africa countries where Ebola is spreading quickly. You see it right there, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

CNN's Rene Marsh has more now from Washington Dulles Airport.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The White House announcing today enhanced screening at specific U.S. airports. It will begin this weekend at JFK in New York, and will eventually expand to Newark, Chicago, Washington Dulles, and Atlanta airports.

We know that Customs and Border Protection officers, they will be on the front lines using laser thermometers similar to this one. It does not require these officers to touch the passengers. They simply hold up the thermometer to the passenger's forehead and they will get a reading as far as what their temperature is.

The other layer to this is a CDC questionnaire with very detailed health information. That will be handed out to passengers the moment they get off the plane landing here in the United States. We also are hearing there will be a surge in personnel at these major international airports. That will include the CDC as well as the U.S. Coast Guard to coordinate all of this and make sure that the targeted passengers from these Ebola-impacted countries are getting screened, getting that aggressive screening involving temperature taking and making sure they get those questionnaires.

Reporting outside Washington at Washington Dulles Airport, I'm Rene Marsh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Thanks for that, Rene. Now the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States has now died. Officials at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas say Thomas Eric Duncan had been on a ventilator and he's been on dialysis for failing kidneys. Duncan received an experimental drug to treat Ebola, but not until nearly a week after being admitted to the hospital. Much later than four other Ebola patients treated in the U.S.

His fiancee released -- Troh released a statement, saying, quote, "I trust a thorough examination will take place regarding all aspects of his care. I am now dealing with the sorrow and anger that his son was not able to see him before he died. This will take time, but in the end, I believe in a merciful God."

At the urging of public health officials Duncan's family has agreed to cremate his body,

One of the Dallas deputies who was in the apartment where Duncan was staying, he was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday. Sergeant Michael Monnig's family said that officials have assured them it is unlikely he has Ebola. He had no direct contact with Duncan but they say they're still a little scared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LONDON MONNIG, SON OF MICHAEL MONNIG: He woke and just felt a little sore, just kind of fatigued, and had a little bit stomachache. No fever, no, you know, vomiting, diarrhea or anything like that. Just, you know, experiencing somewhat flu-like symptoms.

Again, my dad being the cautious person that he is just decided to be rather safe than sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Meanwhile, a fear seems to be spreading much faster than the virus is. Parents removed two children from a Dallas school because it is the same school attended by the daughter of a politician who visited Thomas Eric Duncan's family. Health officials say there is no chance the politician or his child could have spread the Ebola virus.

BERMAN: New airstrikes against ISIS. In just the last 24 hours, coalition aircraft hitting Islamic militant targets in Ramadi, Kirkuk and Mosul, the ISIS self-declared capital of Raqqah in Syria and also in Kobani in Syria. That is where Islamic militant fighters are gaining ground despite the pounding from the air. Underlining a point Pentagon officials have made repeatedly. They insist that air power alone will not be enough to save Kobani without what spokesman John Kirby calls a, quote, "willing, capable, effective partner on the ground."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: Air strikes along are not going to do this, not going to fix this, not going to save the town of Kobani. We know that. And we've been saying that over and over again. And yet, we continue to get questions of well, why aren't you doing more, and how come they are not effective? Well, what we've been very honest about the limits of air power here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. CNN's Phil Black has been live on the border between Syria and Turkey. Can see Kobani from where he is standing.

Phil, give us an update on what's happening inside that besieged city.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, today, in the skies above us, the noise of fast-moving aircraft once again as well as significant explosions around the city suggesting we think that there have been more airstrikes over Kobani today despite the U.S. declaration that airstrikes alone will not be enough to save the city.

Inside, the fight for the streets of Kobani continues with those Kurdish fighters resisting. And they say even taking back some ground from ISIS with the assistance of that uptick in airstrikes over the last 24 to 48 hours or so. They believe it's a combination that works.

The airstrikes taking out ISIS positions around the city. In open ground the forces that are moving through to reinforce ISIS as it advances into the city, while the Kurdish fighters, they handle the street fighting because they know those streets well.

But there's a flaw in the problem -- in that formula, I should say, because the Kurdish fighters don't have the numbers yet or anymore, I should say, to hold the ground that they take back from ISIS. They can drive ISIS out of a neighborhood, but then they just don't have the numbers, the fighters to hold that ground.

So the situation is certainly dire. They want to see more U.S. airstrikes. They believe they are a capable partner to the U.S. on the ground. They're certainly motivated. They're men and women risking everything to save their homeland.

And of course, the question over the other country that is under pressure to get involved here, and that is Turkey. Turkey's military is here in force. There's no doubt. Look, I want to show you. You can see formation of Turkish tanks in the distance, up there on the hill there. They have been there for some time. And indeed they're only a short distance from the border. Now the Kurdish fighters in there may not necessarily want Turkey to

come back and to cross the border and get involved. There's a lot of distrust between Turkey and Kurdish fighters for various reasons.

But what they do want Turkey to do is to reopen that border and allow resupplies to enter Kobani. Whether it'd be fighters or it'd be supplies, whether it'd be ammunition. They believe that's the one concrete way that Turkey can assist. And it's not happening yet -- John.

BERMAN: Not even willing to do that. That was an astounding picture to see, Phil. Thank you for showing us that. Those Turkish tanks on the border.

Phil Black on the border between Syria and Turkey, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. Seven minutes past the hour.

ISIS militants are celebrating the downing of an Iraqi military helicopter. Photos posted to an ISIS Web site show the flaming charred aircraft. Iraqi military officials say both pilots on board were killed.

Meanwhile, the head of the Kurdish regional government -- in Iraq is calling on the U.S.-led coalition to step up airstrikes. Massoud Barzani also pleading with the international community to help the hundreds of thousands of Kurdish refugees fleeing the ISIS advance.

BERMAN: The mother of the American hostage Abdul Rahman Kassig is reaching to ISIS. Look at this tweet sent by Paula Kassig to the leader of the terror group. She writes, "I am trying to get in touch with the Islamic State about my son's fate. I'm an old woman and Abdul Rahman is my only child. My husband and I are on our own with no help from the government. We would like to talk to you. How can we reach you?"

ISIS has threatened to kill Kassig. He was doing humanitarian work -- humanitarian work in Syria when he was captured last year.

ROMANS: Federal prosecutors are asking for a closed courtroom later this morning when a Chicago area teen appears in court to face terrorism charges. Nineteen-year-old Mohammed Hamza Khan accused of planning to join ISIS. He was arrested at O'Hare on Saturday trying to board a flight to Vienna connecting to Turkey. It's not clear whether the judge will honor the prosecution request to keep the media and the public out of this morning's hearing.

BERMAN: New revelations this morning about the 2012 prostitution scandal in Colombia involving Secret Service agents. Intrigue and complaints really. The White House has repeatedly denied inappropriate behavior by any administration staff. But according to "The Washington Post", new details drawn from government documents and interview suggest that a White House volunteer, an advance man, there are documents and details suggest he may have had a prostitute staying overnight with him at the hotel. The documents also reportedly show that senior officials were made

aware of this. Several people in the White House told of this. And at the time the aide denied to investigators that he hired a prostitute or brought anyone to his room.

ROMANS: All right. Smoother and faster. That's how officials say signing up for Obamacare will go this time around. Federal health officials unveiled what they called a cleaner Healthcare.gov Web site and a more logical signup process for insurance. The next open enrollment period begins, John, November 15th.

BERMAN: President Obama going west for a series of fundraising and other events in California throughout the weekend. He'll hold a town hall with tech company workers in Santa Monica before attending a thousand dollar a plate reception for the DNC at the home of actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

This is the president's second trip to California in recent months to raise cash for Democrats who are in a battle to keep control of the Senate. He is not going to many of the states where they are fighting to keep control of the Senate right now.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning.

Asian and European markets are higher due in part to the U.S. market's biggest one-day gain this year. Stocks had a big rally yesterday. They closed 2 percent higher across the board. Look at them. Dow up 274 points. You can thank Fed chair Janet Yellen for that run.

BERMAN: Thank you, Janet Yellen.

ROMANS: The Fed signaled Wednesday it will not raise interest rates anytime soon. It was a nice recovery from the selloff Tuesday which was sparked by worry over sluggish global growth. These things actually are compatible because if the world is not growing very quickly, Janet Yellen can't interest rates very quickly, right? So that's how that works. Futures are slightly higher right now.

The hackers who broke into JPMorgan may have targeted at least 12 other financial institutions. That's according to the "Financial Times" this morning. On the list, Fidelity, Citigroup, e-Trade, HSBC, some of the biggest names, the most trusted names in the world. Last week, JPMorgan confirmed that hackers stole info from more than 80 million accounts. Now investigators reportedly believe they took data from at least one other organization. The paper attributing all of this information to people familiar with the matter.

Breaking news overnight. Another deadly police shooting in Missouri. Chaos in the streets. We've got dramatic new video ahead.

BERMAN: Plus, a family sharing their story exclusively with CNN of how a routine traffic stop ended with police smashing into their car and tasing a passenger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: Outrage this morning in St. Louis after a police officer guns down a man. You can see a large crowd gathered at the site late Wednesday where the victim was shot dead. Tension -- the tension was sparked after an off-duty police officer shot a victim described as a black man in his 20s.

The police department says the officer had attempted a pedestrian check when the victim took off on foot and shot at the officer. They say the officer fearing for his life returned fire, ultimately killing the man.

This whole scene played out just miles away from the city of Ferguson, where police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown.

ROMANS: New details this morning about the Indiana police involved in a violent traffic stop. It turns out this is not the first time they've been accused of using excessive force. Lt. Patrick Vicari had been involved in three prior cases. Sergeant Charles Turner involved in one separate case. Each of these cases settled before trial. This time may have a different outcome.

Last month the officers were caught on tape smashing the windows of a car, tasing Jamal Jones. Both claimed they took action after Jones refused to cooperate. For some 13 minutes the standoff went on.

In an exclusive CNN interview the victims say they did not do anything wrong and that's why they're suing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA MAHONE, ACCUSING POLICE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE: He went from the left to the right. I didn't know which way to pull over. I said, oh, my God, he is pulling me over like I just robbed a bank. And then when he came to the car, I was out of the car, and he asked me for my identification. He was pacing. He was moving around. He was making frowns on his face.

JAMAL JONES, ACCUSING POLICE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE: I wasn't going to leave my family out the car and leave them in the car when they have their weapons drawn. I felt to protect my family I would just stay in the vehicle.

JOSEPH IVY, ACCUSING POLICE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE: He cussed Jamal out. And he was getting aggressive with my mom. And then he called on back-up over a seatbelt violation. So I started videotaping it because I knew that he was doing wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The Hammond Police Department says it is standing by the officers' actions.

BERMAN: The stakes in the Kansas Senate race are high. Could not be higher. The winner could determine who controls the Senate. The incumbent Republican Pat Roberts faced off Wednesday with this challenger, independent Greg Orman. That was their first debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG ORMAN (I), KANSAS SENATE CANDIDATE: The truth is both parties are more interested in playing political games than problem solving.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), KANSAS: A vote for Greg Orman is a vote to hand over the future of Kansas and the country to Harry Reid and Barack Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Both candidates seemed less interested in attacking each other than blasting a Democrat not in the room. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, his name came up in nearly every response with Roberts and Orman criticizing Reid for his stewardship of the Senate.

A new CNN poll has Pat Roberts with a one-point lead which is tied, you know, within the margin of error.

ROMANS: All right. A series of suspicious bonfires merging into four larger fires in California's Sierra Nevadas. Fire crews are reporting progress against the 380-acre fire which is I guess 10 percent contained. People in the area, though, they're being told either evacuate or get ready to leave. Fire officials say about 80 buildings are threatened and several homes have burned.

BERMAN: And how is this looking for today? What will go on with our forecast? Indra Petersons is here with that.

Good morning, Indra.

ROMANS: Hi, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning. Yes, we're definitely watching for tropical moisture still remnants out there into the southwest today. So still concerns for the potential for some flooding. But the bigger story kind of easy to see. We're starting to see a line of storms making its way across the country. So here's what we're going to be looking at. Notice the front. Notice how quickly it's going to make its way all the way even into the northeast by the time we get in through the weekend. So that's going to be the concern here.

We'll take it day by day. But the biggest -- flooding threat is going to be really around Missouri and then by tomorrow, you'll notice the heaviest rain will be kind of backing down even in through Oklahoma but notice it spreads into the mid-Atlantic. The bull's eye stays in the same place, but each day the rain kind of spreads further and further. So by the time you hit the weekend, we're talking about the northeast still getting the action but again the bull's eye stays in place. So the concern for flooding will remain high in through that region.

Notice the rollercoaster. The temperatures, the cooler air is going to start retreating all the way down even into the south. So look at that. Almost near 90 degrees down to 70 in Dallas. I mean, just a couple of days away. Taking it day by day, you can actually see everyone starting to go below normal.

It is so nice before you go into the weekend in the northeast. But each day, the temperatures back off. We want to see the opposite effect usually by the weekend. But unfortunately, this time going down. Temperatures going down. It's not too bad. We're still talking 60s and 70s. I think people are OK.

ROMANS: People are OK.

(LAUGHTER)

All right. Thanks, Indra.

BERMAN: Thank you. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning.

BERMAN: A big meeting in New York between NFL owners and their commissioner. Is Roger Goodell about to lose some of his power? Brian McFayden has the "Bleacher Report" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Roger Goodell facing the media yesterday after the NFL owners quarterly meetings here in New York. He said the meeting's main focus was to get the league's personal conduct policies in order.

ROMANS: Brian McFayden has more of this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Hey there.

BRIAN MCFAYDEN, "BLEACHER REPORT": Hey, good morning, guys.

NFL owners are considering a plan to reduce Commissioner Roger Goodell's power when it comes to enforcing the league's personal conduct policies. The NFL has come under fire for its handling of domestic violence and child abuses cases involving stars like Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson.

Listen to Goodell after Wednesday's tenth daylong meeting with team owners in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: This isn't a sports issue. This isn't just a football issue. This is a societal issue. And all of us as a society have to deal with this. We're obviously trying to focus on our policies, our education, and what we can do to prevent it from happening. And when it happens, deal with it so that it's clear the consequences. And this is unacceptable behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCFAYDEN: Adrian Peterson's trial on a felony child abuse charge is tentatively scheduled to begin on December 1st. But the proceeding could be delayed if the Texas judge has to recuse himself for referring to both the prosecutor and defense attorneys as media whores. The spokesman for the Minnesota Vikings' running back says he is not looking for a deal and intends to go to trial.

Opening night of the NHL's hockey season got under way last night with the defending champs L.A. Kings getting the party started by raising their championship banner to the Rafters in front of the home crowd. But there was no celebration for the Kings once the puck dropped.

The San Jose Sharks didn't just spoil the party, they ate all the chips and took the Kings' girlfriends home. Sharks win, 4-0.

Last Saturday after Ole Miss' huge upset over number one Alabama, the home fans went nuts, charged the field, tore down the goal post and threw a crowd funding platform online. Ole Miss Athletic Department asked fans to help pay for all the damages and it worked. In less than three hour, all $75,000 was raised.

And guys, right now, as of this morning, they raised over $100,000.

BERMAN: Yes. They don't care. They are so happy they won. I think every Ole Miss fan would personally shell out $100,000 just to say they won that game.

MCFAYDEN: Absolutely.

BERMAN: I mean, I know some Ole Miss alums. This was -- this was the biggest thing to happen to them in their lives. These are people with kids.

ROMANS: Their lives.

BERMAN: Like families, marriages. No. That game was the number one thing that ever happened to them.

MCFAYDEN: Talking about it for years to come. That's for sure.

ROMANS: Thanks, Brian.

BERMAN: Brian, thanks so much.

MCFAYDEN: Yes.

ROMANS: All right. 25 minutes past the hour. Fears of an Ebola epidemic here at home causing some big changes at airports near you. We'll explain right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Stopping Ebola at an airport near you. How the United States now plans to keep infected travelers from entering the country.

ROMANS: U.S. airstrikes unable to stop ISIS in Syria. Terrorists gaining ground and the mother of an American hostage reaches out to save her son. We are live. BERMAN: And breaking news overnight. Protests on the streets of St.

Louis after a new deadly police shooting there. We have the dramatic video ahead.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. 29 minutes past the hour.

U.S. health officials are preparing to start screening for Ebola at five major airports. The intensified screenings start Saturday at New York's JFK, then they expand next week to Newark, Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare and Hartsfield, Jackson, in Atlanta.