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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Racing to Find the Breach in Hospital Protocol; Treating Ebola While Staying Safe; Vatican Shift Tone Toward Gays; Pistorius Sentencing Hearing Continues

Aired October 14, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New fears and a growing number of risks. Questions swirl about the protocols at the hospital that is now ground zero for Ebola in America. The nurse in Spain with Ebola is fighting for her life. How difficult is it to care for a patient with Ebola? We will speak with a medical professional on the front lines.

And Kim Jong-Un is back, North Korea's dear leader suspiciously absent for weeks, but now appearing with a cane fueling speculation about his health.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman. Christine Romans is off today. CDC officials are deeply concerned this morning. They are worried that there could be more cases of Ebola transmission such as the one of the Dallas nurse who became infected caring for the first man to be diagnosed with the virus in the United States.

Federal health officials say others who care for Thomas Eric Duncan could be become infected the same way.

That nurse has now been identified as Nina Pham. CDC director Thomas Frieden says Pham is clinically stable. She has received a blood transfusion from an Ebola survivor, Dr. Kent Brantly. And now investigators are racing to determine exactly how Pham -- became infected. They want to prevent it from happening again.

CNN's Victor Blackwell is in Dallas with more on that effort.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. We've learned that Nina Pham received a certification in Critical Care Nursing just two months before she began treating Thomas Eric Duncan here at this hospital.

A person who knows the family very well through their church says that Pham likely was doing more than she was supposed to have done in treating this patient. That's what that person told the local newspaper.

And CDC detectives are here in Dallas trying to determine if all the protocols were followed. And we heard from the hospital on Monday, they were quick to point out a statement made by Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the CDC, when he on Monday walked back something that he said the day before.

Now you remember on Sunday, he said that there was obviously a breach of protocol here that led to the infection. Well, on Monday, he said that some people likely took that as blaming the nurse or blaming the hospital. And that was not his intention.

Immediately after that, the hospital sent out an extended quote also highlighting that Frieden says that Ebola is the enemy here, not a hospital, not a person, not a country, the virus is the enemy. Essentially saying that no one should blame us, at least not yet.

Again, the investigation is continuing here in Dallas -- John.

BERMAN: Our thanks to Victor Blackwell in Dallas.

Meanwhile, the head of the National Nurses Union says health care workers are not getting the kind of training or the protective equipment that they need.

Zenei Cortez tells CNN's Jake Tapper that without better preparation, Ebola is a disaster waiting to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZENEI CORTEZ, REGISTERED NURSE AND V.P., NATIONAL NURSES UNITED: We do not have the proper protective equipment and also the information or the knowledge or the education or the training, then it's really a disaster waiting to happen. And when do we want to do the training? We want to do it now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: In Louisiana, a judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the disposal of incinerated waste from the Texas apartment where Thomas Eric Duncan had been staying. The company that incinerated the waste tells CNN it had no plans to move the waste to Louisiana anyway.

The condition of the NBC cameraman with Ebola is improving. Ashoka Mukpo tweeted Monday, quote, "Feeling like I'm on the road to good health." Now the NBC crew that had been with Mukpo admitted in a statement that it had broken its word to self-isolate. That crew including NBC medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman is now under a mandatory, a mandatory 21-day quarantine.

A patient in Boston who had been to Liberia has now been cleared of having Ebola, while a medic who had been working on a ship off the coast of West Africa has been hospitalized in Kansas pending the results of an Ebola tests expected later today. Officials do believe he is at low risk.

We have some breaking news. A United Nations staff member working in Liberia has died of Ebola. The Sudanese national was being treated at St. George Clinic in Germany. A statement from the clinic says the U.N. staffer was admitted on October 9th which was last Thursday.

As Spanish nurse Teresa Romero Ramos fights for her life after treating an Ebola infected patient, many are asking this question -- can you treat Ebola and stay safe? Both Romero and American nurse Nina Pham were using protective

equipment while caring for their charges yet still managed to catch the deadly disease.

Dr. Marta Arsuaga is a tropical disease specialist who's currently treating Teresa Romero battling the Ebola virus in Madrid.

Good morning, Dr. Arsuaga. Thank you so much for joining us. Can you tell us generally speaking how Romero is doing this morning?

DR. MARTA ARSUAGA, TROPICAL DISEASE SPECIALIST: Hello. Good morning. Nice to meet with you. We are calm. I have trust that they will keep their case of Ebola that we have here. We are moving steadily.

BERMAN: Talk to me about the difficulties in treating someone with Ebola. Just how careful are you and can you take all of the precautions that you need?

ARSUAGA: OK. Well, you take a lot of precautions, but we believe that the protective equipment is safe. It's the equipment that we are using everywhere. So we feel safe. And we think that it was an accident. Accidents happen. And now we are working with calm, being sure that everything is OK, and be sure that it is going to happen again.

BERMAN: I do understand that accidents happen, but now it does seem that this accident happened in Spain with this Nurse Romero and now an accident has happened in Texas as well with Nina Pham.

Why is it that this doesn't seem to be foolproof right now?

ARSUAGA: Well, I think that a lot of people have treated with missionaries and with the other case of Ebola. And no one has been infected with the disease. Just one person has some accident we already know had happened. But I think that if there was a problem with the protective equipment, maybe will be more infected people, not just one.

BERMAN: Explain to me the difficulty in putting on and taking off this equipment. Because the taking off of this equipment, the protective equipment, does seem to be perhaps where the problem is.

ARSUAGA: Yes. To take the equipment off is the center of everything that we do. But we have a place, a separate place that we can take off the equipment. We have pictures just in front of us how to take off the equipment. And we know we have to do that. We already have one person that is watching to us, and saying, OK, first do this. After that, do that. If you have some doctor, he's telling you what to do. And well, I think I feel safe when I'm taking off my equipment.

BERMAN: Generally speaking, how scared are you? Because you have come in contact with many of these patients or a few of these patients suffering from Ebola. Do you have concerns for your own health?

ARSUAGA: No, I'm not scared. I'm not worried about my family or my relatives. I'm doing my normal activities. I'm going out, giving kisses and hugs. And I'm sure that I'm not going to transmit anything. I'm taking my temperature every 12 hours. And if I don't have symptoms, I can't transmit the disease. So I don't feel scared. I have caution. Caution in everything I do.

BERMAN: Dr. Arsuaga, we thank you for the work that you're doing. It is such important work. And to all the health care professionals around the world dealing with this. We thank them as well.

Appreciate you being with us.

All right, 38 minutes after the hour.

He is back or at least North Korea state media says he is. Newly released but undated photos of Kim Jong-Un are the first public glimpses that we have had of the supreme leader for more than a month. In the pictures he is seen walking with a cane while reportedly making two official state visits.

Kim's disappearance from public view had fueled speculation about his health and a possible coup even in North Korea.

Pretty stunning for the Catholic Church on the highly debated and controversial issue or many controversial issues. How the church says the gay community should be treated by Catholics. We're live in Rome just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

The Vatican is proposing a significant shift in tone for gays and lesbians. A new report out says the church should welcome and appreciate the gay members of its swath. One veteran Vatican journalist calls this move a pastoral earthquake.

CNN's Delia Gallagher has more now on this move live from Rome.

Good morning, Delia.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John. That's right. It is the first time we have heard such a positive tone from the Vatican on the question of gays, on the question of divorced people, on the question of people living together. This is something which is causing controversy already.

The document was only published yesterday. But we've already heard from some bishops this morning who are saying wait a minute, we need to look at this again. This is a working document, it is something which the bishops and the cardinals and Pope Francis have been discussing in the past week. And we'll continue to discuss this week.

A lot of situations which in the past have been called irregular or indeed disordered are now being said by the Vatican to be welcomed. That there are positive aspects to these relationships which need to be encouraged and looked at again. And this is what is causing some of the backbite against those who say yay, this is a good thing, let's applaud it, and those who are saying this is a huge change for the Catholic Church and we need to think it through a little more carefully.

So this is still under discussion. It is something which will be under discussion, John, for the next year. The question on everybody's mind, of course, is this change in tone going to lead to a change in actual church teaching.

And that will be on the table for the next year until another meeting in October which will make some final recommendations to Pope Francis and we'll see what his decisions are then -- John.

BERMAN: This change in tone, though, seems to be a signature of Pope Francis.

GALLAGHER: Absolutely. It's something which from the beginning of his pontificate he has said he wants to reach out to those who have felt excluded. And this is the evidence. Yet another piece of evidence really from this past year and a half. It should also be said that a lot of this about welcoming gays and welcoming people who have felt excluded also existed before under John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

And in fact some of the bishops are complaining about that, that this seems to be a new openness which in reality has always existed. But the difference now is that Pope Francis is making this his top priority. He's leading with this, John. He wants everybody to feel welcome. And then they can discuss the rules and regulations.

BERMAN: Fascinating to see. Delia Gallagher, for us in Rome, thank you so much.

About 45 minutes after the hour right now. Want to take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY."

Who is with us? Chris Cuomo is with us.

Hey, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: John Berman, always a pleasure. Missed you yesterday.

BERMAN: Always missed you.

CUOMO: Missed you yesterday.

This morning, we're going to be following the latest developments in the Ebola crisis. A Kansas City patient is being monitored for the virus as we learn the identity of the nurse infected in Texas.

But what we still don't know is how she got Ebola. They've been saying this breach in protocol but do they really know? I mean, after all, she was wearing protective gear. So what did go -- and get wrong in the first place? And are nurses especially being given the training that they need because they are the frontline in the fight against anything that happens in the hospitals right now.

We're going to talk with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and infectious disease experts, as well as the mayor of Dallas. He has been uniquely dedicated to the situation. We'll get his perspective and that of a family friend of the nurse.

We're also going to have much more on the new pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Will they put rumors of illness or a coup to rest?

That is the question I pose to you, John Berman.

BERMAN: And of course, I think we're also going to learn more about your mysterious and cryptic past today.

CUOMO: We are cousins. You got the brains, I got the pocket square.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: That's right. Very good. Chris Cuomo, we'll see you in a little bit.

Fourteen minutes until the hour right now. Pushing for prison time. The sentencing phase for Oscar Pistorius. We are live outside the courtroom. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: At this hour, a South African prosecutor is pushing for prison time in the sentencing hearing for Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius. He was found guilty last month of culpable homicide in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The sentencing phase of this trial began Monday in Pretoria.

CNN's Diana Magnay is there for us this morning.

Good morning, Diana.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. Well, right now, we're hearing testimony from a probation officer, Annette Vergeer, who is talking about what sentence she would recommend for Oscar Pistorius. And we're getting right to the end of that testimony now. And from what we can gather, she is arguing that the cause of his deep sense of remorse, the cause of his disability, she feels that prison would be an excessive punishment for him.

And that she's just announced that, you know, he's on -- he's been charged on two counts. And one is a smaller firearms charge that is unrelated to the culpable homicide. She just said that that should be a suspended sentence or a fine and she is about to say what she believes Oscar Pistorius should have in terms of a sentence. But it would appear as though she is going to recommend as the correction officer did who was one of the other witnesses for the defense, that he not go to jail.

And that will, of course, be extremely controversial, John. And you can expect the prosecutor, nicknamed the pit bull, to have very, very serious issues with that when he stands up to cross examine her -- John. BERMAN: And, Diana, again, you know, in the United States, we have

sentencing guidelines for certain convictions. But are there any official parameters in South Africa for this type of crime?

MAGNAY: Not for the -- for the verdict of culpable homicide. There is no maximum or minimum sentence. And it's completely up to the judge's discretion. And there are various factors that will mitigate against a longer jail term for Oscar Pistorius. And those are things like his disability, the fact that this is a first time offense and his very, very clearly sincere remorse for the killing of Reeva Steenkamp and the fact that, you know, 20 months later, he is still clearly, completely overwhelmed by what he did that night -- John.

BERMAN: It'd be interesting to see.

Thanks so much, Diana Magnay in Pretoria for us.

A series of explosions -- new explosions rocking Kobani as the fight gets more intense for that key city on the border between Syria and Turkey. Three airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition were reported around Kobani this morning along with four oil refineries in southern Syria hit overnight.

ISIS is continuing its push for control of the city while also scoring victory in neighboring Iraq taking a strategically important military base in Anbar Province.

Back in Kobani, Kurdish fighters managed to push back an attempt in advance by ISIS on Monday, but one fighter tells CNN it would be impossible for them to hold their ground if the current conditions continue. Now should the militants take Kobani, they will control three official border crossings between Turkey and Syria in a stretch of border that stretches about 60 miles long.

Protests picking up steam in Ferguson, Missouri. More than four dozen people arrested at a Moral Monday March. Among them noted author, activist, then academic Cornel West. Ferguson Police say he and others disturbed the peace by trying to push through police lines. Demonstrators don't see it that way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no us against them. This is a "we" problem. It is we and we all have to work to dismantle a system that unfairly privileges some people over other people. No matter what the injustice is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It has been two months since a white police officer in Ferguson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.

Now it was one month ago that University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham vanished without a trace. Her parents released a statement urging the public to keep searching for their daughter. It says, in part, "It is heartbreaking for us that the person or persons who know where Hannah is have not come forward with that information. It is within their power both to end this nightmare for all and relieve the searchers of their arduous task."

The 18-year-old was last seen on surveillance video with Jesse Matthew, Jr. He is charged with abduction with intent to defile. Matthew has also reportedly been linked by DNA to the case of a woman killed in 2009.

All right. Some good news for your wallet for the winter. Oil prices drop just in time for the cold, but will the trend last?

And the world's largest chocolate companies pitching in to battle Ebola. The question is why. That is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. If the recent stock market selloff is causing a twinge, consider this silver lining. Oil prices are plummeting as well. In fact they have reached a four-year low. Some parts of the country are already enjoying gas prices below $3 a gallon. Home heating oil and natural gas also conveniently declining as we get closer to winter.

The largest chocolate companies in the world are joining the battle against Ebola. Nestle, Mars, Hershey's, Godiva and others all raising money to fight the outbreak. They plan to announce how much they are donating to the International Red Cross and other charities tomorrow. Much of the world's chocolate production comes from West Africa and the companies are worried about possible production interruptions.

Thanks so much for being with us. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not one more health care worker or one more nurse should be infected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking new details, the Dallas nurse battling Ebola, now receiving the blood of a recent survivor. How it could save her. This as the CDC and hospitals across the country scramble to update their procedures but do they know what to change?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight, he's back. Kim Jong-Un reportedly making his first appearance in months. These new pictures show him walking with a cane. Does this end the speculation? Or just add a new twist?

MICHAEL PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Seismic shift, the Vatican making a huge change in tone in how it deals with gays and divorced Catholics. How big of a step is this for the church?

We're live from the Vatican.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now. ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY, with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and

Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, October 14th. 6:00 in the East. Alisyn Camerota joins me. Thanks for being here again.

CAMEROTA: My pleasure. Great to see you.

CUOMO: Appreciate it.