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New Day

DNA Links Matthew to 2009 Murder; Biggest Day of Air Strikes Against ISIS; Chris Christie Possibly Running for President; First Diagnosis of Ebola in U.S.

Aired October 01, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: How many crimes may be solved by a single arrest?

Police say the prime suspect in the disappearance of Virginia co-ed Hannah Graham could be connected to several other horrifying crimes. We're talking about the arrest of Jesse Matthew. Now, it's already led to a break in a 5-year-old cold case. Now, police are out in Virginia, scrambling to find out how many other cases they can link to Matthew using the suspect's DNA.

Athena Jones live from Charlottesville, Virginia, this morning.

This could be a very significant discovery. How much do we know now?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Chris.

Well, authorities are looking into this forensic discovery. It's a discovery that's making headlines and, of course, raising a lot more questions about Jesse Matthew's past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voice-over): Investigators across Virginia now have their eyes on Jesse Matthew.

CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE: We're certainly poised to be cooperative and helpful in any way that we can with regard to cases in which other departments might have an interest.

JONES: In addition to the disappearance of 18-year-old Hannah Graham, law enforcement sources say DNA evidence also links Matthew to the death of Morgan Harrington. She vanished in October 2009. Her remains found months later on a farm outside Charlottesville.

Authorities are now re-examining other cold cases in the state, to see if Matthew is connected. Like the case of Cassandra Morton found dead near Lynchburg in 2009. She was reported missing the same day as Harrington.

Police also investigating a potential link to the 2009 unsolved murder case of two Virginia tech students. Heidi Childs and David Metzler, who were found shot to death near campus. And police in Orange, Virginia, looking into any possibility

connection to Matthew in the disappearance of Samantha Ann Clark, who vanished after leaving her home in 2010.

No links have been found in those cases yet. But the DNA linking Matthew to Morgan Harrington could also connect him yet another victim. In 2012, the FBI said the suspect in the Harrington case matched the DNA profile from a 2005 sexual assault case in Fairfax, Virginia.

Ever since Hannah Graham went missing more than two weeks ago, Jill and Dan Harrington, have thought about their daughter's disappearance.

GIL HARRINGTON, MOTHER OF MORGAN HARRINGTON: We're not joyful, there's no celebration here, we're kind of stunned. But we also are, you know, devastated that it has come through Hannah Graham being missing. You know, we need to find Hannah Graham. That is front and center on our minds right now.

JONES: As they fight for justice, they tell CNN's Anderson Cooper, they find some comfort Matthew is behind bars.

GIL HARRINGTON: I will be very relieved to know that he will be prevented from ever hurting another girl again. I don't have any desire or need to tear him limb from limb or hurt him or, I just want to prevent him from hurting anybody else, and that, I am vehement to do.

JONES: And voiced strong words to the man they believe killed their daughter.

DAN HARRINGTON, FATHER OF MORGAN HARRINGTON: How could you possibly be so awful to abduct someone and kill them? It's beyond me that that is just beyond a human understanding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: While authorities continue their search for Hannah Graham, Jesse Matthew is due to appear before a district court judge tomorrow morning for a bond hearing, he'll do it via video link from the regional jail. And I spoke with Jesse Matthew's lawyer, he told me he met with his client for more than two and a half hours on Monday and that because court papers are under seal, he hasn't been provided with any evidence linking his client, Jesse Matthew, to either the Hannah Graham case or the Morgan Harrington case -- Chris.

CUOMO: Athena, the lawyer is going to work their case, that's their job in representing them. But to imagine that Matthew started off in this situation as someone who is coming forward, supposedly to help. And now, all of these discoveries, we'll see where they lead.

Thank you for being down there for us, Athena.

So, it's now been more than a week of allied pounding. So, why is ISIS gaining ground? Is this air campaign going to be enough? And if not, what's plan B? Answers ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone.

We're coming off the biggest day of air strikes against ISIS, with more than two dozen launched and Britain now joining the fight. But the thing is, ISIS will not quit. They're still making surges on key cities in both Iraq and Syria.

But this could be a big turning point. Why? Because Turkey is now mobilizing along its border with Syria and Iraq. Considering further action to battle ISIS.

So, the question is -- are the air strikes working? What is next?

I want to bring in our military analyst, retired Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. Thanks so much for being with us, Colonel.

LT. COL RICK FRANCONA (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning.

BERMAN: Let me show you where ISIS is right now, sort of the shape of the so-called Islamic State, over Iraq and Syria. A big area, which by the way, hasn't changed very much over the last six weeks or so, in some cases growing even bigger particularly as they surge toward the Turkish border, and the town of Kobani there, that Kurdish border.

Now, what may change, though, Chris Cuomo was asking well, if air strikes aren't working, does there need to be a plan B? The fact of the matter is it may be plan T, which is Turkey.

I'm standing on this Turkish border with Syria, 500-mile border with Syria, 200-mile border with Iraq. The Turkish parliament will be voting whether or not to get involved with the battle against ISIS. That would be huge.

FRANCONA: This is major. The Turks have the sixth largest army the in the world. If you look at NATO, they're the second largest army in NATO, second to the United States. But remember, the United States is deployed worldwide.

So, if you're looking at the region, Turkey has the largest armed forces in the region. They're very good, NATO standards, they fly the F-16, air bases all over this area. So, they're a real player and they can bring a lot of force to bear very quickly.

BERMAN: Yes, right now, planes striking inside Turkey and Iraq, are taking off from down there, over there or there, we see here. Now, if Turkey gets involved, these planes can take off from Turkish air bases.

FRANCONA: We're cutting the time from takeoff to target, from an hour, hour and a half to two hours in some cases, to minutes.

BERMAN: That makes a huge difference. It lets you respond to much more quickly to situations developing in Iraq and Syria. FRANCONA: That's been a problem in the Kobani area. We know things

are happening, but by the time we generate sorties and get them to the area, the action is over.

BERMAN: I wonder if we have pictures in what's been going on in Kobani right now or near Kobani, where the Kurdish forces have been battling with ISIS troops. We've had reporters on the Turk side of the border looking out into Syria where they can see the ISIS fighters, hundreds of meters away.

It's not an issue of air strikes in some area. Turkish troops can almost punch them from where they're standing.

FRANCONA: Yes, the problem is, everybody is saying, well, the air strikes aren't blunting this part of the offense. And that's true, because the air strikes right now are limited to striking fixed targets or areas they can positively identify -- concentration of ISIS fighters, vehicles, logistics.

The problem is once the troops get in contact, they're too close and you can't drop bombs on troops in contact, unless you've got spotters on the ground to positively identify the targets. Otherwise, you end up with a lot of friendly casualties.

BERMAN: And, to be clear, the Turks aren't just talking about air strikes. They're talking about a possible buffer zone, they're talking about the possibility at least of using ground troops when the ISIS forces move close to their border.

FRANCONA: Yes, and Turkish ground forces are very well respected, very well equipped, well led, disciplined. They are the guerillas in the area.

BERMAN: Are these then the boots on the ground that so many analysts say have been missing?

FRANCONA: They could be the boots on the ground. Now, it's very interesting. If you watch what ISIS has done along that border, they have taken great pains not to cross that Turkish border because two things.

They don't want to trigger a Turkish reaction and second, an invasion of Turkey constitutes an invasion of a NATO country, and that triggers the NATO charter.

BERMAN: That's why ISIS hasn't crossed.

FRANCONA: Exactly.

BERMAN: Why Turkey hasn't crossed, well, they haven't had parliamentary approval There were hostages, there were Turkish hostages, in ISIS hands that needed to be released. They have since been released.

FRANCONA: Yes, the Turkish law is right now they have authority to fight the Syrian government, but not this group called ISIS. BERMAN: And that could be changing over the next 24 hours.

FRANCONA: Tomorrow, yes.

BERMAN: So stay tuned. I think, Colonel, you agree. This could be a major development in this story.

FRANCONA: Oh, I think this would be key to what's going on in Syria.

BERMAN: Alright, Colonel, thanks very much.

So coming up, a side of Chris Christie you probably haven't seen before. The New Jersey governor opening up to our Dana Bash. Is there a run for the White House in the future? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you back with us. New Jersey governor Chris Christie certainly does not mince words. Despite a rocky political year, the tough-talking governor has spoken out on a number of issues. Now, as he mulls a possible 2016 presidential run, Christie is calling attention to a hot-button issue: the war on drugs. Dana Bash caught up with him, sat down for a discussion on that and a whole lot more.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A whole lot more. Look, you know, Chris Christie has a very definite persona. Straight-talking, sometimes excitable, Garden State governor. But, as he gets closer to potentially jumping into the presidential ring, he's trying to show us he has a different side of him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Here's something you don't see every day. A Republican governor at an inner city church, trying to destigmatize drug adduction.

CHRIS CHRISTIE, GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: We have to acknowledge this disease and treat their illness, and, you know, we would never stigmatize someone who has cancer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

CHRISTIE: Yet, we feel free to stigmatize someone who may have tried, made one bad decision. And because of their makeup, they've become an addict.

BASH: For Chris Christie, sitting empathetically with former drug addicts could be a political antidote for a possible presidential run. Especially after the bridge scandal.

BASH (on camera): For the most part, the image of you is the tough- talking, finger-wagging New Jersey governor. And this is a different Chris Christie. Is that intentional?

CHRISTIE: It's always been there. The fact is that that's the stuff that gets the most publicity, because it's the most entertaining on television, and I get that. As a leader, you need to be compassionate and you need to listen. I have that ability to do that, too.

BASH: Is that what you think that this is, a showing that you are a compassionate conservative?

CHRISTIE: You know, listen, the term's already been used by a previous president.

BASH: How would you define it?

CHRISTIE: Listen, I think this is just me being myself. I care about people, and I don't think no matter what stage of life they're at, no matter what circumstance they're confronted with. And, by the way, when it's required to get in somebody's face and tell them off, I'll do that, too.

BASH: Let's just not make that right now.

CHRISTIE: No, definitely not.

BASH (voice-over): Christie held this forum on drug addiction at the church where Whitney Houston, an addict who lost her battle, grew up.

CHRISTIE: The reason we're here is because of Whitney Houston in a respect, because I came here for the funeral. And that's where I met Pastor Joe Carter who is my co host today and is the pastor of this church, .

BASH: When Houston died, Christie lowered the state's flags and got blow-back for honoring an addict. Precisely the kind of stigma he's trying to change.

CHRISTIE: We're going to define her life, not by her triumphs, but for her weakness.

BASH: This is personal for Christie. His close friend from law school died earlier this year of an overdose.

CHRISTIE: I can't tell you how many times all of us, friends of his, dear friends, intervened, got him to treatment and dealt with his wife and his children and tried to help him, but we couldn't.

BASH: Christie wants to put nonviolent drug offenders in treatment, not jail, and make help accessible and acceptable. He says the war on drugs failed.

BASH (on camera): That's A Republican war. It was Richard Nixon. Nancy Reagan famously said, just say no to drugs. Do you risk angering the core traditional Republicans in your party, those who you might need to vote for you in 2016?

CHRISTIE: Listen, I'll take whatever risk I need to take if I'm telling the truth as I see it, and the fact is that it was well- intentioned. The war on drugs was well-intentioned, it just has not worked. So, I'm not worried about turning anybody off. I want to tell people the truth.

BASH (voice-over): And what about Christie's own very different, but very personal battle, with his weight?

BASH (on camera): What about the disease of obesity in this country? Is that something that you think about in the back of your mind that you might want to talk about as a public policy platform as well?

CHRISTIE: Sure. I think at some point, when appropriate, I would. Because I know that struggle personally and I know how difficult it is. But I want to be careful, because I don't want to proselytize.

I know how difficult it is to deal with this problem, but I know its made more difficult at times when people feel, who are struggling with it, that they're being lectured to. And I've gone through that.

BASH: Do you think its an addiction?

CHRISTIE: You know, I don't know. I don't know the answer to that question, but what I will tell you is that I know it's a struggle. And I've had that struggle and continue to have that struggle. But, I'm doing well now, and I want to continue to do well.

BASH (voice-over): Getting healthy is about his family, he says, not running for president, though that is on his mind.

CHRISTIE: You know, I'll make a decision after the first of the year. When I'll announce, I don't know.

BASH (on camera): You haven't decided? You really haven't decided?

CHRISTIE: I really haven't decided.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, I asked Christie if his decision to run for president will be impacted by who else gets in, whether it's Jeb Bush or an outside chance his friend Mitt Romney makes a third run for it, and, Michaela, he, and Chris, he told me that no, it will be independent of all of that.

PEREIRA: I have to say it is remarkable to see him looking - - he really has done a good job of getting healthy. He's lost a tremendous amount of weight.

BASH: He's lost a lot. He says that the reports, which we were told about as well, that he lost 85 pounds were wrong, because he doesn't talk about numbers.

PEREIRA: Good for him.

BASH: But, it's pretty clear just- -

PEREIRA: Looking at him, even just seeing the video from previous (inaudible).

BASH: At least, at least, at least 85 pounds.

CUOMO: Well, credit to the comfort in the interview and the questions. John commented several times, sounds honest.

BERMAN: Oh, yes.

PEREIRA: Yes, right.

BERMAN: He was saying he hasn't decided yet. I believe him for that for one reason. When he was talking about his weight, when you asked him, was it addiction, and he said, you know, I don't know.

I think it's something he's thought of and he was giving you a very sort of genuine answer.

CUOMO: And he's flying in the face with something that is hugely unpopular. A lot of people don't like to admit they feel this way, but saying that addicts shouldn't be treated as criminals when they make a poor choice, as he said, very unpopular. Its not recognized in our justice system. You get no break for being an addict.

BASH: No, which is what he's trying to change. He's trying to change that in a big way.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: That's very brave. That's a huge cultural stigma.

BASH: Precisely. Instead of sending people to jail, nonviolent drug addicts, he wants to send them to treatment centers. It is a very, very big change.

And what is interesting, is he's tying to being a conservative and being a Christian, saying that if you believe in life like you say you do, then every life should matter. Including those lives of addicts.

PEREIRA: Of addicts. Absolutely.

Maybe its time for some of those stigmas to change. Dana, it is such a delight to have you here.

BASH: Thanks for having me. Nice to see you all.

PEREIRA: Welcome any time. We'll cater next time.

BASH: Okay, good.

CUOMO: Political interview off talking points. Very impressive, Dana Bash and you didn't even have to chase someone.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: She didn't even have her Nikes on. You didn't have your Nikes on.

BASH: No, he was firmly in his seat. CUOMO: Thank you.

BASH: Thank you.

CUOMO: Alright, so that's a big story for us this morning about Chris Christie, but we're following a lot of news for you, let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Centers for Disease Control in search of anyone who may have come in contact with the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no doubt that we'll stop this in its tracks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another shocking breach of security, just a few feet from the president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is obvious that mistakes were made.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish to God you protected the White House like you're protecting your reputation here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Day four of the protests here in central Hong Kong and by far, the biggest turn-out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to do this movement for the government to hear what we are really talking about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning to you, welcome back to NEW DAY.

Health officials are on high alert this morning, because Ebola has been diagnosed here on American soil for the first time. The patient, here's the history, they flew in to the U.S. from Liberia, with the virus more than a week ago. So now the race is on to find people that he came into contact with during that time.

We begin our coverage with chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, live from the CDC in Atlanta. Sanjay, what can you tell us about this case? Obviously, the concern is the amount of time between being in the U.S. and being diagnosed.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and specifically, the amount of time that the person was sick in the United States before they went into the hospital, were isolated.

Look, what we're talking about just to tell you, Chris, obviously you know this is historic. This has never happened before. No one's ever been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States before. No one has been diagnosed with Ebola really outside of Africa ever before, so it's quite historic.

Concerning for obvious reasons, but not entirely unexpected. We've been talking about for some time, that someone could get on a plane in West Africa and really travel anywhere around the world with the virus in their body with them not yet showing any symptoms.

Two big priorities now. Taking care of this patient, we hear this patient is in critical condition, in isolation in Dallas. But then again, as you point out, Chris, finding all those contacts, and that's not an easy task. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): This morning, the door-to-door investigation begins. Health officials, including a crew from the Centers for Disease Control now in Dallas, in search of anyone who may have come in contact with the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.

DR. EDWARD GOODMAN, TEXAS HEALTH PRESBYTERIAN HOSTPITAL: The patient admitted to this hospital has tested positive for Ebola virus, the cause of Ebola virus disease.

GUPTA: According to the CDC, the unidentified patient traveled from Liberia on September 19th, landing in the United States the following day, September 20th. Doctors say he did not feel sick until the 24th.

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR OF THE CDC: The patient was visiting family members and staying with family members who live in this country.

GUPTA: Ebola is a virus that can affect multiple organ systems, and can sometimes cause internal bleeding. Those symptoms don't appear for two to 21 days after infection. Signs do include sudden fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat. The disease is also spread by direct contact via bodily fluids, only after symptoms begin.

GOODMAN: This is not transmitted by the air. There's no risk to a person in this hospital who is walking or is a patient. There's simply no reason to be fearful of that.

GUPTA: Paramedics who transported the patient now quarantined. The ambulance used, decontaminated. It's cordoned off. There's some concern, because ambulance 37 was used for two days after transporting the patient, though health officials saying its okay.