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Nursery Massacre in Thailand; Uganda Travelers Screened for Ebola; GOP Asking for Infrastructure Money; NFL Kicks off Week Five Without New Protocols; Genera's Retirement Paused Amid Probe. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 07, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Responders who were on the scene. They said that they found the bodies of the children and teachers spread across these three rooms. And we can still see the bloodstains spattered across the floor. They said all the bodies had knife wounds to the head.

COREN (voice over): One of the children had tried to protect his face when the attacker wielded the knife, one responder says. He also found two children still alive.

The first image I saw was children covered with blood, he remembers. I was trying to transport them to the hospital. Some of the kids still had a pulse, but I don't know if they made it.

While children's pictures and animal masks decorate the walls. The innocence of this day care center has been lost forever. Bloodstains smeared throughout the classrooms, the furniture and abandoned school bags. A ghastly reminder of the horrors and evils unleashed in this refuge for the community's youngest and most treasured.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Brianna and John, we were given access to photos of the massacre shortly after that stabbing frenzy, and it was absolutely horrific to see these bodies of children and their teachers. One of those teachers was eight months pregnant, slumped on the floor, pools of blood.

Now, we chose not to put those images to air. We don't want to distress the families any more. They are going through so much. They now have to prepare their children's body for cremation. This is a Buddhist country, and that is how they farewell their dead.

Brianna and John.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, unimaginable.

Anna, thank you for that report.

So, the U.S., at this point, rerouting passengers amid an Ebola outbreak from Uganda. Where travelers from the country will now be screened for the virus.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The NFL facing intense scrutiny as another player suffers a gruesome concussion. What changes will the league make?

And a new report finding systemic abuse and misconduct, sending shockwaves through the world of women's professional soccer. The U.S. Soccer president will join us ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:14]

BERMAN: Starting today, passengers arriving to the U.S. from Uganda, including U.S. citizens, will be routed to five specific airports across the country where they will be screened for Ebola. As of now, there are no reported cases here in the United States. The decision comes as concerns grow over Uganda's Ebola outbreak.

With us now, CNN medical correspondent Dr. Tara Narula.

I think because of Covid we all forgot the last Ebola outbreak that caught everyone's attention a few years before this. So, talk to us about these concerns and these new measures.

DR. TARA NARULA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think for anyone who hears the world Ebola, the initial reaction is fear. And it's so important, as we learned with Covid, to really keep things in perspective.

So, at this point in time, let's go based on the fact, which is that, I think, this is really low risk at this point to Americans. The U.S. embassy in Uganda said the domestic threat of getting Ebola here again is low. There are no confirmed cases here. There are 44 confirmed cases in Uganda, 10 confirmed deaths, 20 probable deaths.

It's also important to point out, this is not a disease that spreads when someone is asymptomatic. So, someone is basically going to have symptoms when they are contagious. So, what are those symptoms. So, fever, headache, muscle aches, gastrointestinal symptoms, and also unexplained hemorrhage or bleeding. It's also not a disease that's spread by airborne transmission or particles. So, it's spread by bodily fluids that you come in contact with.

There is no, at this point, FDA licensed vaccine for this strain of Ebola virus, and there's no FDA approved treatment.

But, again, you know, important to keep this in perspective and just point out, at this point in time, risk is low. I think these alerts that went out yesterday, the screening, is basically just out of an abundance of caution, which is important.

BERMAN: Yes. Perspective very important in this case.

I want to talk about Covid again now, and new data about long Covid, which is, something if you know people who have gone through Covid - NARULA: Yes.

BERMAN: You know someone who is still suffering some kind of symptoms or aftereffects. What's the data say?

NARULA: Yes, so this was an online CDC survey. And they, in fact, found that about one in seven reported that they had symptoms of Covid that lasted more than three months. That number jumped to one in three if people had a diagnosis that was confirmed of Covid. And 1 in 14 said they're actually still experiencing symptoms that have lasted longer than three months.

Interestingly, the prevalence was about double in those under 60 compared to those over 70. In terms of states, West Virginia had the highest reported number of long Covid, compared to Vermont, with had the lowest. And about 80 percent of people said it really affected their life, 20 percent or more on a daily basis they really were severely limited.

BERMAN: This is something that we will be dealing with for some time.

Dr. Tara Narula, great to see you.

NARULA: Great to see you.

BERMAN: So, the U.S. cranking out the goods. How companies are trying to fill jobs as U.S. manufacturing booms.

KEILAR: And some Republicans rip the president's infrastructure program, calling it socialism, but then they asked for money from it. We have new CNN reporting ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:14]

KEILAR: When President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law last November, he faced major backlash from some Republican lawmakers. Well, now, many of those same Republicans are asking for money from the exact plan that they criticized as socialism.

Joining us now with his new reporting on this is CNN's senior reporter Isaac Dovere.

We're talking about dozens of Republicans who voted no, labeled it socialism in some cases and now still want the money.

ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Right, dozens who wrote in letters that -- they wrote privately, obviously in their official capacity, to the Department of Transportation, to Pete Buttigieg, the secretary there, saying, hey, as long as that money's there, that wouldn't be there if not for this bill, there are some grants in there that would benefit things in our districts and we think you should consider those grants. We'd like for some of that money to be given to our districts for these projects that are, in their minds, critical. But, of course, that's an argument that the administration was making about all of the things that were in there, saying we need, as a country, the infrastructure bill, and it was critical, and that's why that money needed to be voted for.

Again, this money that Tom Emmer, for example, a congressman from Minnesota, the head of the House Republicans Campaign Committee, called it a socialist wish list is full of things that members of Congress who voted against it then put in their wishes for.

KEILAR: It is intellectually inconsistent what we're seeing here. How are they explaining it?

DOVERE: Well, look, they say as long as the money is there they might as well ask for it. They say -- some of them say, well, we supported 20 percent of the bill but you can't ask us to vote for a bill that we disagreed with 80 percent of the things that were in there.

But it still comes back to the fact that none of that money would be there if their way had been what had happened.

[06:45:01]

That money is only there because the bill passed with some bipartisan support in the Senate and some in the House. Very limited, though. Very few Republican votes for this, even among these Republicans who then decided that there was enough there worth asking for.

KEILAR: Really interesting reporting.

Isaac, thank you.

DOVERE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Made in America is making a comeback. A post-pandemic manufacturing boom has increased profits and created scores of new - I would say probably more than scores of new jobs. Many more scores of new jobs. But more workers are still needed.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans is here.

I assume it's more than like multiples of 20, right, because that would be scores.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's - it's a lot. It's thousands, actually. John, these days it's less Rosie the Riveter and more Rosie the robotics technician. These are highly skilled, highly paid factory jobs in big demand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They gave me an official offer today.

ROMANS (voice over): One open position filled.

NEIL ASHBAUGH, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEW CENTURY CAREERS: This is our open requisition job book. ROMANS: Countless more still open.

ASHBAUGH: The number of jobs are just - it's just incredible.

ROMANS: At this training facility in Pittsburgh, job seekers are learning new skills to seize on a post-pandemic spike in manufacturing.

ASHBAUGH: What's really heightened the issue of the big need and the big demand for these types of individuals is with the coupling of Covid and the individuals that were already looking to retire in the next three to four years.

ROMANS: Neil Ashbaugh is president and CEO of New Centuries Career. It's a non-profit for adults looking to enter the industry in the most competitive environment in years.

ASHBAUGH: We have individuals that are completing these skilled training programs and yet are going out on five, six, seven interviews. And those companies are all competing for that single sourced skilled individual.

ROMANS: Since 2020, U.S. manufacturing has increased its profits by more than $200 billion, offering hundreds of thousands of jobs each month.

So, what's behind the latest boost? At the Jennison Corporation (ph), workers are busy making everything from firefighters' equipment to construction machinery.

Hayden Jennison (ph) says recent supply chain issues overseas mean more new customers.

HAYDEN JENNISON, JENNISON CORPORATION: It was taking months for parts to not only get manufactured but to come across. And they decided that they were willing to pay U.S. manufacturing pricing to be able to get that much faster.

ROMANS: Pricing and product demands have changed drastically in recent years. When service industries became scarce over the pandemic, demand for consumer products and, of course, PPE and medical equipment kept factory workers essential.

ERIC ESOTA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NORTHEASTERN PA INDUSTRIAL RESOURCE CENTER: Among the average consumer, we did see that, hey, there's a real value for American made products.

ROMANS: Industry expert Eric Esota says new technologies are also paving the way forward.

ESOTA: We often take a look at the images of manufacturing and we see the sparks flying in a welding environment or perhaps it's a little bit dingy, dark, but by and large our manufacturing jobs today are high-tech.

ROMANS: But today's techs are also requiring higher salaries and more flexibility.

JENNISON: We've had to significantly raise our wages to stay competitive in the industry.

ROMANS: Jennison says there's enough work to staff another full shift at this facility, but even at $20 do $30 an hour, finding the right team has been difficult.

JENNISON: Hiring has been a problem since 2020. Hiring experienced candidates that understand the industry and understand what they're doing has been very difficult.

ROMANS: Newly trained candidates, like Ishmael (ph), are glad to be coming in now. Laid off during the pandemic, he's now in high demand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After that happened, it was a little rough and tumble, but I landed here and I'm actually pretty happy with how things turned out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: So, 461,000 new manufacturing jobs have been created this year, John. We're going to find out how many more were added in September when the government releases its jobs report in just a couple of hours.

You know, the pandemic brought all of this into focus, the perils of far-flung manufacturing supply chains. It makes sense to make it here, John.

BERMAN: It's just really hard to wrap your head around how much things has changed.

ROMANS: That's right.

BERMAN: The economy, turned upside down. And there is some positive effects.

Christine Romans, that was fantastic. Thank you very much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

BERMAN: So, he defended women in the military from the attacks of talk show hosts. Now a decorated general's retirement could be up ended because of it.

KEILAR: Plus, President Biden using the kind of doomsday language we haven't heard since the Cold War, warning of Armageddon if Vladimir Putin makes good on his nuclear threat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:53:44]

BERMAN: Week five of the NFL season kicked off last night without new concussion protocols in place. Andy Scholes with this morning's "Bleacher Report."

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BERMAN: And we saw it right in that game last night.

SCHOLES: Yes, right away, John. And, you know, we were expecting to hear from the NFL and the players association on new protocol rules when it comes to concussions before this week's games started, but we didn't end up hearing anything. And (INAUDIBLE), Broncos/Colts last night, we saw a player exhibit gross motor instability. Nyheim Hines taking a blow to the head after catching a pass, stumbled trying to get up, had to be helped by his teammates. Now Hines did not return to the game after that, after being diagnosed with a concussion.

The NFL is working on new rules that will forbid any player who exhibits gross motor instability from returning to the game no matter what.

Now, as for the rest of the game, it was a rough one, especially for Russell Wilson. The Broncos were trying to put the game away late in the fourth, but Wilson throws an interception in the end zone. Broncos' fans couldn't believe it. The game would end up going to overtime. In the extra period, down three, instead of going for the game-tying field goal on fourth and one, Broncos go for it. Wilson's pass, though, broken up. Bronco's receiver was wide open. This was the first game of the season with no touchdowns. Colts win 12-9. Wilson saying afterwards, John, he just let the team down. You know, the Broncos traded two firsts, two seconds and gave Russell Wilson a $245 million contact.

[06:55:04]

Not sure this is what they were expecting.

BERMAN: No. There's a lot of bad football actually being played in the NFL.

SCHOLES: Yes. Tom Brady said that yesterday.

BERMAN: Not surprisingly, I agree with Tom Brady.

Andy Scholes, thank you very much.

SCHOLES: All right.

KEILAR: A decorated general's retirement now hangs in the balance after an Army investigation found that his tweets defending female service members brought, quote, negative publicity to the Army from conservative media outlets.

This all stems from a series of tweets that Major General Patrick Donahoe put out last year in response to Fox host Tucker Carlson, saying maternity flight suits made a mockery of the U.S. military and the feminization of the U.S. military was out of control. Donahoe tweeted a video of himself conducting a re-enlistment ceremony for a female soldier and said Tucker Carlson couldn't be more wrong.

General Donahoe was one of a number of senior military officials who publicly spoke out.

A few months later, Donahoe went back and forth with a Trump supporter, who is now banned from Twitter, after he trolled Donahoe for encouraging soldiers to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Of course, the military requires the vaccine for service members and discharges them if they don't get it.

Our next guest, Max Boot, has been a senior adviser to many Republican presidential candidates, including John McCain and Marco Rubio, and has written a column for "The Washington Post" asking why is the Army punishing a general for calling out MAGA lies.

Max, thanks for being with us this morning.

I mean you've seen this report. It's not public, I believe, to this point. But there's a lot of reporting on it out there. The Army IG said that Donahoe exhibited poor judgment and did not reflect an Army culture of dignity and respect. But you disagree. Why?

MAX BOOT, COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, I think what General Donahoe was doing was, in fact, standing up for Army values. He was defending the Army from these unfounded, malicious attacks from Fox News, from MAGA trolls, people who are trying to bring the Army down essentially because the Army would not do Donald Trump's bidding and try to overthrow the democracy. And now they're accusing the Army of being woke, of being feminized. And, in the process, what they're doing is they are really undermining the service of women in the military. They are casting aspersions on all these brave women who are defending us as we speak.

And all General Donahoe was doing was standing up for the women in his command and saying, hey, look, they're serving too. Here's that reenlistment ceremony. Tucker Carlson is wrong. That is not bringing discredit on the Army, that is defending the Army and it's a travesty that the Army is not standing up for a general who is defending Army values.

KEILAR: I found something, I bet you found it too, talking to Democrats and Republicans, folks in the military, that if you're talking about retaining women in the military after they become mother, you know, it's also about preserving a huge investment of taxpayer dollars in their training and service. And in recent years there's been this large, bipartisan effort to make sure that maternity uniforms are available, that includes from Republican Michael Waltz, who is a the first green beret to serve in Congress.

Here's what he said back in 2020 on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL WALTZ (R), FLORIDA: The number one duty of Congress, in our view, is to take care of our military. That's men and women. This was really brought forward to me by an Air Force major I have on my staff. She's a mom of five kids. And to your point, it's a tremendous expense. But also, when we see these experienced - she's an Air Force cyber warrior. We need her to stay in the military and to continue to serve. And, you know, as they're trying to have a family, deal with deployments, and they shouldn't have to deal with these additional expenses.

So, I'm really proud to work with Representative Haaland. Despite what you see on the news all the time, we can come together, we do come together, and particularly when it comes to supporting our military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: President Trump signed a maternity uniform loan program into law. And the message with that, Max, was to women that you belong. I wonder what you think the message to women is with this IG report?

BOOT: Well, it's sending a very negative message. It's basically sending a message, not just to women, but to everybody in the military, don't stand up to these MAGA lies and attacks, don't defend your force, otherwise you're going to be punished for it. And I think that is -- that does send a negative message to women in the military for sure, but it also sends a negative message to everybody else.

I think it is very demoralizing. And, you know, since my column came out, Brianna, I've just seen a deluge of commentary on Twitter and elsewhere from a lot of folks in the military who are saying, what the hell is the Army thinking? They need to get this right. They need to make clear that General Donahoe did not do anything wrong.

KEILAR: The Army IG didn't approve, clearly, of what they felt was General Donahoe's snark in some cases. Do they have a point?

BOOT: Oh, come on, this is just such mild snark by the - by the standards of Twitter. So ridiculous when he's facing these extremist, off the wall, crazy attacks on the Army.

[07:00:06]

A little snark, OK, maybe he shouldn't have done that.