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New Day Saturday
Man Jumps White House Fence; Hunt for Suspected Cop Killer; Arming Syrian Rebels against ISIS; Bill Clinton Weighs on ISIS Strategy; Obama: No Combat Troops in Syria or Iraq; Ravens Knew about Rice Video; Enterovirus Outbreak
Aired September 20, 2014 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Promise. Are those enough to save his job?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And helicopters just, police presence everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's quite disturbing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Closing in on a suspected cop killer. This morning police in Pennsylvania say time is running out for one of America's most wanted men.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now. Right now. Go back. Everybody into the park. Right now. Everyone in the park.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: And another day, another fence jumper at the White House. There have been several over the years. But this guy, he made it inside the White House. How did this intruder get past Secret Service?
PAUL: Good morning to you on this Saturday morning. We're so grateful for your company as always. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. 8:00 here now on the East Coast. And we're starting with that breaking news in Washington.
The Secret Service just last hour preparing to conduct a canine sweep of the north grounds of the White House.
Our correspondent Erin McPike was just yards away when she snapped this photo, actually saw them gathering in the background of her live shot last hour.
PAUL: We did.
BLACKWELL: Didn't know why but now we know they're going through this sweep of the North Lawn.
PAUL: Yes. This sweep, of course, coming after an unarmed man, and you saw him there briefly with the cell phone -- from this cell phone video. He jumped the White House fence last night, raced across the North Lawn and was able to get inside the building before he was caught.
Now we should let you know the first family was not there at the time. And official tells CNN the Secret Service had been aware of 42-year- old Omar Gonzalez. They had never arrested him and they haven't said a whole lot about what made them aware of him.
BLACKWELL: Let's try to get some answers now. We've got Daniel Bongino with us, a former Secret Service agent whose brother is currently serving as a Secret Service agent. Bongino, my apologies.
Daniel, is last night's security breach a failure on the part of the Secret Service?
DANIEL BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: I think it is. And I think they'll acknowledge that. You know, during my time in the Secret Service one thing I always found really rewarding about working there is they never tried to gloss over their mistakes.
Whether it was the Reagan shooting or the George W. Bush incident in Tbilisi or in Georgia, the country of Georgia, they always acknowledge right away this was a huge failure and here's what we're going to do to remedy it. And I can almost guarantee there's going to be operational changes pursuant to this.
PAUL: All right. Well, we saw that picture from this morning, from just a short while ago, we know that the Secret Service is conducting this canine sweep of the grounds. What is -- what is the purpose of that at this point?
BONGINO: Well, they want to be sure that this man that jumped the fence didn't drop anything, whether it be a small weapon or -- although it may sound -- although out there to the general public, any kind of chemical, biological element or anything like that or anything that could be perceived as such. You know, these are real problems for the Secret Service. They can't evacuate the White House when the president is there every time someone scales the fence so they want to be sure that the area is what they would call sterile.
BLACKWELL: You know about the positioning of agents who would be in that area. What's different about this is that the man made it inside the White House.
Is that attributed to possibly his speed or do you think because you know where these agents are maybe someone wasn't in the right space at the right time?
BONGINO: Well, not trying to be humorous about it. But watching the video he wasn't exactly Carl Lewis sprinting into the White House there. I'm actually shocked by that. When I was talking to one of your producers last night. Found out he made it inside the White House. I was stunned. I've never heard of such a thing.
You know, I've been there for hundreds of fence jumpers. And they never make it even close. You know, we have dogs, there's multiple layers of security. There was a failure here and it could be as simple as, Victor, an agent or a uniformed division officer that just didn't see it and other people who weren't in positions to get in the way, maybe on the roof or whatever couldn't mitigate that threat before it got to the door. But either way it's a failure. I don't think you're going to hear any different from the Secret Service.
PAUL: All right. So, Daniel, how are things going to be different? And are you surprised? I mean, we have been talking this morning, we're shocked the guy made it in the house.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
BONGINO: Yes, I'm stunned. I think what they have to look at is remember, we're always -- we can't stick the president in a big iron box. He is the president of the United States. He has to be out there amongst the people. But I've always seen especially on the north portion of the White House, the distance to the front door is really short and contrast to the south portion. It's quite a run. You're not going to make it to the south doors.
They're going to have to do something with the fence. Even if it's something as simple as curving the bars over towards the street side, the Pennsylvania Avenue side, which would make it harder to scale.
Remember, time buys you options. And right now they don't have time. You scale the fence you're almost right at the door.
PAUL: Wow.
BLACKWELL: Yes. We're going to need some answers and hopefully we get those from the Secret Service.
Former Secret Service agent Daniel Bongino, thank you so much for joining us.
PAUL: Thank you, sir.
BONGINO: You're very welcome.
PAUL: All right. Let's talk about this developing news in the hunt for a suspected cop killer now as well. Police in Pennsylvania do appear this morning to be closing in on the man that they believe killed a state trooper and wounded another one in an ambush a week ago outside a state police barracks.
BLACKWELL: Now this was the scene. Look here. Just a few hours ago in Barrett Township. Law enforcement swarmed this rural area. It's in the Poconos. They're of course hunting for 31-year-old Eric Matthew Frein.
PAUL: National correspondent Jason Carroll is in Monroe County this morning. Jason, what is the latest there? And good morning.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you. As you know, last night that alert went out warning residents to stay in their homes, to stay off -- stay off the roads. That alert still in effect this morning and that's because officials believe that Frein is still somewhere here in the area. But again, they believe that they are trying to corner him off, restrict his movement.
All of this starting last night. That's when we started seeing the flurry of police activity at about 7:00. That's when we started hearing the reports of shots being fired.
Shortly thereafter, Christi, the alert went out, then the roadblocks went up. We saw the roadblocks out here restricting movement of people coming in and out. Very tense out here in Monroe County during those moments last night. And at one point last night, certainly at around 8:00, thereabout, it appeared as if the suspect may have been cornered.
But once again, you know, we keep pointing this out that Frein is a survivalist, he knows these woods very well, knows how to move in and out and so what investigators have to do is keep doing what they have been doing all week which is working this grid pattern if you will to eliminate spots where he may have been, try to restrict spots where he can go to try to corner him in.
Again, they do believe that he is still here in the area. They believe they are closing in on him. But once again, very tense moments out here last night. And again here this morning because Eric Frein continues to elude investigators -- Christi.
PAUL: All right. Jason, thank you so much.
We're obviously going to continue to follow this throughout the morning if that is an active scene there.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
PAUL: I want to get you caught up, though, on some of the other stories that are making news right now in the "Morning Read." And it looks as though we're seeing some shades of the a Cold War.
BLACKWELL: Yes. But U.S. jets intercepted a half dozen Russian military planes that are flying too close to Alaskan air space. It was on Thursday.
PAUL: They didn't enter a sovereign territory here but they did come within 55 miles. A U.S. official tells our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr it looks as though the incident involving planes that you're going to see that are much like these, coming up, with plans to coincide with the Ukrainian president's visit to the U.S. and Canada.
BLACKWELL: All right. Didn't have those planes. We'll get those for you later on the show. Thousands of tourists visited Cabo San Lucas at the wrong time. And
now they are stranded. Look at all of this. The hurricane that slammed into the Mexican resort a week ago paralyzed air travel. And for Americans stuck there the State Department is working with Mexican and U.S. airlines to arrange flights out. Thousands have already been evacuated and thousands more are still waiting.
PAUL: And listen. This is some dramatic video you've got to see here. And a real testament to when people get together they can do some real good. Take a look at what happened in Salt Lake City.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god, yes. Oh, my god. Yes. They can't get it open. Go through the window. Go through that window.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Three teenage boys were in that jeep. They allegedly were driving too fast on a bridge when the car crashed into the Jordan River there. And you see it landed upside down and trapped them. All of those folks jumped into the river and helped turn it right side up. They saved those kids' lives.
BLACKWELL: Amazing. Amazing they all jumped in and helped.
Let's talk about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. He is talking now. It's been a week. People were asking what is the plan, sir? Well, he faces the media amid the league's domestic abuse scandal. You know about that.
You're going to hear Goodell explain why he's still the right person to run the world's richest sports league and what he's going to change.
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BILL CLINTON, 42ND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The reason I think that the president's strategy to combat ISIS has a chance to succeed is that the Iraqi government finally includes Sunnis who were representing those tribal leaders who were moderate and without whom ISIS cannot be defeated.
We can't win a land war in Iraq. We proved that. But they can. And we can help them win it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: That was former President Bill Clinton, of course, weighing in on the strategy against ISIS during an appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" this week. And during that interview the president -- former president emphasized the importance of providing intelligence support to local ground forces. We've got with us now retired U.S. Army Officer Douglas Olivant. He's
a former director for the Iraq and -- excuse me, the former director for Iraq at the National Security Council during the Obama and Bush administrations, now senior national security fellow at the New America Foundation.
Right off the top, do you agree with former President Bill Clinton's assessment?
DOUGLAS OLIVANT, SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY FELLOW, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION: Certainly the last piece of it. He's absolutely right that there is no appetite for American ground forces. Certainly there's no appetite for that in the United States but we've seen in the last week there is no appetite for that in Iraq.
We've seen statements from Muqtada al-Sadr, whom we all remember from about a decade ago, stating that under no circumstances should American ground forces come, but we've also seen a statement from the much more moderate Ayatollah -- Grand Ayatollah Sistani, also cautioning against Americans and other westerners coming into Iraq in a military form. So there is no appetite for U.S. ground forces on either side of the Atlantic.
That said, as President Clinton alluded to, we've seen the proof of principle for how this is going to move forward. We saw it at Mosul dam, we saw it at Amerli, we saw it at Sinjar Mountain. Local forces backed by U.S. intelligence probably executing a U.S. authored plan synchronized by the United States. U.S. air power and support but the local forces providing all the ground forces.
BLACKWELL: OK. So that may be the plan in Iraq. Let's talk about Syria.
As we move in -- and I heard, I heard the groan there, as I said Syria. As we move into Syria that becomes more difficult when there is no group that's been identified that is not so malleable. That they don't have their own interest here.
I want you to listen to what congressman said this week. I think it's Ted Poe. Do we have the Ted Poe sound? All right. So let's play the Mattis sound. We'll talk about that first.
OLIVANT: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JAMES MATTIS (RET.), FORMER COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We didn't look for this fight but once you go into it, you don't tell your adversary in advance what you're not going to do. We have the most skillful, the most -- the fiercest and certainly the most ethical ground forces in the world, and I don't think we should reassure the enemy in advance that they will never face them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So, those three adjectives -- skillful, fiercest, the most ethical -- cannot be said about the Free -- Free Syrian Army. We don't know much about them. What do you think about the plan to arm those rebels that was -- it's now law signed by the president.
OLIVANT: It is law, it's now over to the president. In Syria, you know, I've been doing Iraq for 10 years. I never thought Iraq would be the easy problem. But here we are with Syria which is more exponentially harder. We don't have a lot of good options in Syria. And in many ways we're just looking for the least bad one.
And while arming the Free Syrian Army is fraught, and there's all types of danger involved, we don't appear to have any other good option for a way to move forward on the Syrian side. And even then we need to be very realistic and eyes wide open about what's going to happen here. You know, in Iraq we probably have about, you know, in the neighborhood of 300,000 fighters between the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and the Kurdish Peshmerga that we can count on to help us execute a strategy in Iraq. And that's why I'm relatively sanguine about the Iraqi side.
The Free Syrian Army, most of it, constitutes about 5,000 fighters. That's just not a sizable enough ground force to move forward in Syria. And unfortunately really the only other way to grow it is for it to attract fighters from other groups in Syria. From the Islamic front which describes itself as a Syrian Taliban, from al-Nusra, the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
Now some groups have affiliated with Nusra and Islamic Front not because of ideology affinity but because they have resources, they have money, they have weapons.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
OLIVANT: So pulling some of these out is a -- is a good move. But as we start to move forward -- now are we really comfortable with having someone in our sponsored Free Syrian Army that was fighting with an al Qaeda affiliate, 30 or 60 days ago?
BLACKWELL: Very difficult questions. You know, there's always that adage, is my enemy's enemy my friend?
OLIVANT: Right.
BLACKWELL: And that's a difficult question for the U.S. to answer right now.
OLIVANT: These are hard questions.
BLACKWELL: Absolutely. Douglas Olivant, thank you so much for speaking with us.
OLIVANT: Thanks, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Christi.
PAUL: All righty. We're talking about torrential rain, flooding in Texas. What's the weather going to be like today? Just going to continue. We'll let you know.
Also, a virus that's creeping across the U.S. now. It does have the symptoms of a common cold. But it can turn dangerous really fast. We're going to tell you about that. Give you a heads up. Stay close.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's sickening. It's horrifying and it's sickening. And it's just awful. I don't know what else to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then on top of that to find out that this was likely intentionally set.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I want to kill that guy. I want to kill him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: My goodness. That's the guy she's talking about there. Angry words from that woman. Her home was destroyed by a raging wild fire in California. And the man you just saw there, accused of deliberately starting the King Fire as it's being called, is pleading not guilty. Wayne Huntsman is his name. He's being held on a $10 million bond facing one felony count of arson. That fire, though, has now grown as of this morning to more than 76,000 acres and only 10 percent of it has been contained.
BLACKWELL: Meanwhile, Texas and New Mexico, they are looking at some stormy weather this weekend.
CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray joins us now.
How bad is it expected to be?
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's still bad. We've had flooding for several days. Central Texas, South Texas looking a little bit better except for extreme South Texas around Brownsville we'll pick up 2 to 4 inches. But majority of the rain today is going to be in southern portions of New Mexico and then extreme West Texas, 2 to 4 inches, 3 to 6 on the outskirts of El Paso. So one more day, guys, this should be clearing up a little bit, getting better after today. So looking at the worst of it being over in West Texas, flood watch in effect. We also have a flash flood warning in effect right now, so things should gradually be improving.
I want to touch on the Pacific because we're still watching tropical storm Polo. And we've seen those pictures out of Cabo. And still very, very bad. We have some video we can show you. Cleanup going on. And it took several days to even get pictures out of Cabo. It was so bad so they'll be cleaning up for quite some time and then already having this next storm right offshore.
So this is going to continue to venture out to the north and west. It is going to stay away from Cabo but we are going to still get windy conditions. We're going to have high surf in that area and also some rain over the next couple of days, guys. But luckily they are avoiding a direct hit from this second storm.
PAUL: At least that, I guess, is some good news.
Jennifer Gray, thank you very much.
GRAY: All right.
BLACKWELL: Today thousands of volunteers are expected to help search for missing UVA student Hannah Graham. It's coming more than a week after her disappearance. Police are now zeroing in on a man they say may know what happened the night she vanished.
PAUL: Also the Obama administration doubles down on its message. No ground combat troops in Iraq or in Syria. Is the U.S. compromising efforts here?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: It is the bottom of the hour right now. Hope Saturday's been good to you so far. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Here are five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.
Number one, France's president confirms that his warplanes had conducted their first air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. Officials say fighter -- jets, rather, successfully targeted and destroyed a logistics warehouse used by the terror group yesterday. Meanwhile, U.S. air strikes have successfully hit another ISIS stronghold, a training camp south of Mosul.
Coming up, we'll talk about the fight against ISIS with military historian Kimberly Kagan.
PAUL: Number two, police in Pennsylvania this morning appear to be closing in on the man they suspect killed a state trooper and wounded another one. Officers are scouring a section of the Poconos where they believe 31-year-old Eric Matthew Frein is hiding. Earlier we know police exchanged gunfire with a man they believed was Frein.
Residents are being warned, though. Can you imagine? Stay inside, keep your windows closed. This all as the manhunt continues.
BLACKWELL: Number three, CNN has confirmed that within hours of the Ray Rice domestic abuse incident the Ravens organization knew of the elevator video showing their star running back knocking out his then fiancee. That's according to a source within the organization. Well, ESPN reports details were shared with team executives including the team's president who pushed for leniency from both the judicial system in New Jersey and the NFL commissioner. The Ravens dispute the ESPN report and they promise to address the accusations next week.
We will have more on this story coming up. So stay with us. PAUL: And number four, the White House is speaking out on the issue
of violence against women as well. It's launched a new public awareness campaign to fight sexual assault on college campuses. President Obama says parents were the ones that need to step up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And it's not just on the parents of young women to caution them, it is on the parents of young men to teach them respect for women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: And from sports to popular culture, the president says society does not, quote, "sufficiently value women."
BLACKWELL: Number five, one week after University of Virginia student Hannah Graham disappeared more than 1,500 people have volunteered to help search for her later today. Police have called on the community for help, of course, after announcing a major break in this case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE: If that young lady's touched your life in any way you have the responsibility to help us find her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Investigators have searched the apartment and car of the man they believe was with Graham the night she disappeared. No arrests have been made. Of course we'll continue to follow this story throughout the day as well.
PAUL: Well the Obama administration also insisting American combat troops are not going to go into Iraq or Syria. He has made that clear, time and time again.
BLACKWELL: And President Obama doubled down on that message when he visited U.S. CentCom in Tampa -- that was on Wednesday. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I want to be clear, the American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right. So let's bring in military historian Kimberly Kagan she's the president of the Institute for the Study of War. The math here -- and I'm no math expert, I'm no military strategist -- doesn't work. Ok. So CIA estimates 21,000 to 31,000 fighters, most of them in Syria -- ISIS fighters in Syria. General Dempsey said that it will take up to a year to train the first 5,400 Pentagon says maybe 5,000 every year after that. You wrote this in the "New York Times." Allies can provide basic support but the U.S., a unique power must be ready to commit even some ground forces if needed to face this threat. Because those -- there is a huge disparity.
The question is how is it not possible or probable that some other troops other than these Syrian rebels will have to go in?
KIMBERLY KAGAN, PRESIDENT, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR: The Islamic state is a large enemy with a capable fighting force. As you said, up to 31,000 fighters and those fighters are actually embedded in urban areas such as the great city of Mosul. Or the city of Raqqa inside of Syria and although the Iraqi security forces and some of the moderate opposition have some capabilities to fight the Islamic state, fighting inside of the cities and removing ISIS from the cities which is a real requirement for our strategy, is not something that all troops can undertake.
And particularly not the Iraqi security forces which are sectarian, and which can cause political damage. And frankly, which are not ethically trained in the same way as some other forces.
PAUL: Ok Kimberly, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the Obama administration pulled troops out of Iraq too soon and then got involved in Syria too late. First, we're going to hear real quickly here what he told CBS's "60 Minutes."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think the President's concern and I understand it, was that he had a fear that if we started providing weapons we wouldn't know where those weapons would wind up. My view was you have to begin somewhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: So let's tackle that first part of this, did the U.S. get out of Iraq too soon and into Syria too late?
KAGAN: Yes to both. The United States left Iraq too soon and the United States has missed opportunities over the past several years actually to help moderate Syrian rebels before they had fully radicalized and before, frankly, they were disappointed by the United States and its lack of support in the wake of the chemical weapons attacks in Damascus last year.
BLACKWELL: Let's listen to Congressman Ted Poe and then talk about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TED POE (R), TEXAS: What's a Free Syrian Army rebel today is an ISIS member tomorrow. It's not a good strategic plan to arm Syrian rebels. If ISIS is a national security threat then relying on rebels in a Syrian civil war will not protect American security interest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: How do you keep track of the weapons, Kimberly? How do you keep them from getting in the wrong hands?
KAGAN: Weapons are already in the wrong hands. The Islamic state captured high end U.S. weapons while taking the air field at Mosul, for example. And while also expanding their control inside of Iraq.
The al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra fighting in Syria also has high end weapons and capabilities, in fact, the only force right now that does not have those high end weapons is the one force that can provide a more moderate outcome to the Syrian civil war if it is successful over time.
We need to get the moderate opposition the resources it needs while being very cautious in estimating how quickly and how much that diminished moderate opposition can do in taking on the formidable enemy of ISIS.
PAUL: All right. Kimberly Kagan with the Institute for the Study of War, we so appreciate your insight in this. Thank you.
KAGAN: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: All right so NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, he's talking. It took him about a week. People were asking, where is the Commissioner? Well he breaks his silence, faces the media amid of course the league's domestic abuse scandal.
PAUL: A lot of people asking were the answers enough though to protect that embattled league not only that but even to save his own job?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I made a mistake. I'm not satisfied with the process that we went through. I'm not satisfied with the conclusions. And that's why we came out last month on August 28th and said we're going to make changes to our policies. We made changes to our discipline. We acknowledge the mistake, my mistake. And we said we're going to do better going forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: That's NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. He is in front of reporters there admitting he made mistakes in the handling of the league's domestic abuse scandal.
He's now promising to usher in sweeping changes to counter domestic abuse in the NFL. Goodell also said he's not going to resign despite calls for him to leave the post.
Sports business analyst Rick Horrow joins us now from Orlando. First what's your take on the news conference? RICK HORROW, SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Well listen. In a space of
five minutes Roger Goodell completely admitted contrition, he confirmed Robert Mueller as an investigator. He appointed a former prosecutor existing prosecutor to define social policy, and he's giving money to help organizations. He's also expanding his mandate to deal with crime of all kinds, sex crimes, child crimes, firearms issues, drug issues, but not enough. Why? Toxic environment, social media, prolific, $25 billion business and millionaires, billionaires.
This is a perfect storm we haven't seen since 1905 when President Teddy Roosevelt threatened to abolish football because of violence. They got through that then. Let's see what happens now.
Goodell is good for business. The team owners love the guy. Do you think that there is anything that gets this man to leave the post?
HORROW: Well, I'm not sure about getting the man to leave the post is the issue. I was working with the NFL and him for a number of years, his father remember was a former senator from New York who believed in his positions, he is a law and order commissioner, and he understands that this issue needs to be part of a long term advocacy process where you get some consensus in.
The process now is important. Let's see what happens, victor action between now and the super bowl because that's the time table he set and remember, 41 percent of the avid fans in the NFL are women and according to media 67 percent of the women say they would rather miss a play than miss a commercial during the Super Bowl. So Procter & Gamble, Anheuser-Busch, Campbell Soup, Visa, they've all put the NFL on notice that's where the rubber hits the road so to speak.
BLACKWELL: They put the NFL on notice but no one has pulled that advertising as of yet. Let's listen to hall of famer Fran Tarkenton. He is calling now for a boycott. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
FRAN TARKENTON, FORMER NFL PLAYER: I think they should start writing letters, e-mails, and stop going to games. Again, roger Goodell getting fired is not going to solve the problem. The problem is going to be solved by 32 owners who control the national football league.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Ratings have been sky high since this all started. Do you expect that a boycott is even possible? Will that ever happen?
HORROW: Well, the one thing we learned from opinion polls and everybody else is that in the middle of the week you can be significantly concerned with your social issues but everybody loves their football and that's not going to change. An $8 billion allocation from television, if you got a check and you're an owner for $152 million in your mail box just from television alone, annually, you think twice about making changes.
But this is now a watershed time. This is now the press conference was a call for action in a corporate environment where society's got to deal with these issues as well. So, I'm saying let's reserve judgment until the Super Bowl, that's the commissioner's own time table. And see what kind of action is really on the table and if it's not there, then I think there are some significant consequences. By the way, it's not just the NFL. You notice that Florida State decided to suspend Jameis Winston for the entire game against Clemson for his behavior so it transcends all sports.
Let's go back to the incident that started all of this, the Ray Rice incident at the Revel there in Atlantic City. We've learned, CNN has confirmed, that the Ravens organization knew about that video within hours of the incident. And of course, there was some request from the organization for leniency from law enforcement, from the league as well. What's the role of that new nugget in this story line?
HORROW: That new nugget will be compounded by a whole bunch of new nuggets that are advanced by CNN and everybody else. My personal trouble as a lawyer is that TMZ got ahead of the news cycle and everybody was reacting to something with TMZ but a fact is a fact and we have to analyze it. I would say no matter what the new nuggets are, let's see how Robert Mueller and his investigative prowess parses through those nuggets and decide what is the issues are. I'm not going to impugn the credibility of the long standing former FBI director and even the two owners that are overseeing it are family owners from the Steelers and the Giants who have $3 billion collectively tied up in value of their franchises.
I do think that investigation will be very detailed and pinpoint exactly what the NFL, what the Ravens knew, when they knew it and how they acted and I would like to reserve judgment until I get those facts.
BLACKWELL: All right, Rick Horrow, business analyst, joining us from Orlando. Always good to get your perspective. Thank you so much.
HORROW: Let's do it again.
PAUL: All right. Listen, I want to tell you about this virus that's spreading across the U.S. and health officials are really worried about it at this point. You think it's the common cold because those are the symptoms, but this thing turns dangerous pretty quickly. We're going to give you a heads up. Stay close.
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BLACKWELL: The ebola outbreak is having a frightening impact on our world. Sierra Leone has started a three-day nationwide lockdown trying to stop the spread of the disease. People are not allowed to leave their homes during this period. There are nearly 5,000 ebola cases in West Africa, half of the patients have died. The U.S. is sending 3,000 troops to the region to build hospitals.
To learn more about how you can help out visit our Website, CNN.com/impact. PAUL: And then there is the Enterovirus 68. This is a respiratory disease that is popping up across the country. We know that since mid August the CDC has confirmed 153 cases of this illness in 18 different states. California's Department of Health is also reporting four cases.
What starts out looking like a common cold turns severe really fast. Take a listen to this patient.
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MATTHEW YORK, PATIENT: I just couldn't breathe at all. No wheezing or anything. Just couldn't breathe. At first I thought I was going to pass out or die or something.
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PAUL: Poor guy. Let's bring in Dr. William Shaffner, he is with the Department of Preventative Medicine at Vanderbilt University. Doctor, so good to have you back with us today. When we say that it can turn severe, we just saw he said that he couldn't breathe, he was wheezing. What other things can this turn into? How dangerous can it get?
DR. WILLIAM SHAFFNER, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: Well, fortunately, most of the children who are infected with this Enterovirus 68 don't get that sick but there are some that have difficulty breathing and it can also precipitate asthma attacks. The good news is all of those children will be getting better. They will all be back in school next week.
This virus is a bit of a surprise, came early, spreading across the country. But what we should also remember is that influenza is coming. That's the one that's really serious, can make many children very ill. Now's the time to get our influenza vaccination to prevent that very serious illness down the road.
PAUL: Yes. Get our flu shots for certain. You say this enterovirus will only last about a week but it's a virus, so is it spread by sneezing, coughing? Is it easy to spread?
SHAFFNER: It's very easy to spread. And exactly as you say, Christi -- sneezing, coughing, close contact, and opening schools bring kids back together again in close confinement. That's the way to spread this virus. It's spreading all over the country right now.
PAUL: And I mean I know you are chuckling so the good thing is even though it turns, as we saw from that patient, who really seemed very distraught about it, you can imagine why if he's got that breathing -- the breathing equipment on, it's frightening certainly for them. But I'm wondering since it's a virus, is there any way to treat it?
SHAFFNER: There is no direct way to treat it but that child is getting treatment with supportive care and is making some of those children and their parents anxious, but the reassuring thing is they are going to get better. We've had no deaths associated with this virus. It's a transient visit to the intensive care unit if you will but they will get better, fortunately.
PAUL: Doctor, what do you know about the flu that we are expecting, the strain of the flu that we're expecting to see coming up in the next few months?
SHAFFNER: So, we expect this year's flu strains to be quite similar to last year's. And that's very important because it affected once again children and young adults. So all of us, you know the recommendation is, everyone in the United States older than six months of age should be vaccinated against influenza. Now is the time to do it. There is abundant vaccine out there in doctor's offices, pharmacies, clinics and the like. Let's all get ourselves protected against this influenza which will be coming very soon.
PAUL: And in that way you will make Dr. Shaffner's job just a little bit easier. Dr. Shaffner, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
SHAFFNER: Thank you, Christi.
BLACKWELL: Always feel better after he's on.
PAUL: I know.
BLACKWELL: No, it is. I just feel better.
Let us know what you think about the show and the stories we've been reporting. Tweet us, we're on Twitter, we're on Facebook, we're on Instagram. Start the conversation. We'll be right back.
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PAUL: Tonight, a CNN exclusive. Meet the al Qaeda terrorist who switched sides to become a spy and help the west in the war against terror. Watch the CNN special report "DOUBLE AGENT: INSIDE AL QAEDA FOR THE CIA." It's tonight at 8:00 eastern here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: So one story is dominating business news. This is the biggest IPO ever to hit Wall Street and the value of its shares zooming higher already. Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, it generated nearly $22 billion in sales in its initial public offering. After just one day, the price is up 38 percent.
Wow.
All this from a company that only started in 1998, and is now a global internet and investment giant.
You have to think starting your own business, that's overwhelming in a big way. Here's another success story that may help you visualize your dream and the take away is "Start Small, Think Big".
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SARAH: I'm Sarah, of Sarah Oliver hand bags. I own a hand bag company here in Sausalito, California. The bags are all hand knit and because I couldn't keep up with demand I hired seniors in a retirement home. I always would hear take your patterns and go overseas. That's not what I was looking to do.
I have about 20, 25 knitters in their 80s and 90s.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're the Pearlettes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plus one.
SARAH: Every week I drive to the red wood senior home. I pass out new wool and collect what they knit.
Here is the cross body you can see.
I'm very close with the knitters. I know exactly who knits what.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're giving you some light gray.
ANDREA: And what colors they prefer. It's just a thoughtful process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I pay the knitters by the piece.
This is what I'll give and then this is what I'll pack up from them. Then we wash it. It will turn out like this.
I really am kind of married to this business model. Being that the CEO of the seniors in their 80s and 90s, knowing you can't really replace.
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PAUL: Kudos to the guy. He's in all of his glory sitting there and knitting with the ladies.
BLACKWELL: I'll stay here and knit.
Hey, that's it for us. We'll see you back here at 10:00 Eastern in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PAUL: We'll be here. We hope you will too. Don't go anywhere though, "SMERCONISH" starts right now.