Return to Transcripts main page

New Day Sunday

Four Americans Under Ebola Quarantine; W.H. to GOP Senator: Iran Bill Could Harm Talks; Netanyahu Faces Tough Re-Election Battle

Aired March 15, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, new concerns about Ebola here in the United States. Nearly a dozen Americans now heading home from Sierra Leone, some going straight into quarantine.

So, how concerned should we be?

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, fragile nuclear negotiations with Iran. The secretary of state kicking off a new round of talks and the White House hitting back at one senator who wants to make sure he has a voice in the deal.

BLACKWELL: And massive devastation, homes demolished, trees snap. Now, aid from the around the world starts arriving in the tiny South Pacific island of Vanuatu.

Your NEW DAY continues now.

PAUL: I hope Sunday has been good to you so far. Though I know it's early.

BLACKWELL: It is.

PAUL: I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.

We're starting this morning with the latest on 10 Americans possibly exposed to Ebola and their return to the U.S.

PAUL: Four of those Americans we know are already back in the United States this morning. They have been taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. They're there for observation. But six more patients are expected to arrive either today or tomorrow and they'll immediately be transferred to either Emory in Atlanta or the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.

BLACKWELL: Though none of these individuals has been diagnosed with Ebola, that's important to say. But health officials are concerned they may have been exposed while in Sierra Leone after an American health care contracted it there. That patient is now being treated in Maryland and is listed in serious condition.

Let's bring in CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. She joins us by phone.

Elizabeth, let's start with the four who are in Omaha. What do we know about them?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): What we know about them, Victor, is that these four had the highest level of exposure compared to the others in this group. So, they have the highest level of exposure. They are being quarantined in-house and on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus and they are being monitored for fever, monitored for any other symptoms of Ebola, and they're also being watched to make sure that they don't leave their quarantine.

Now, having said, that as you and Christi said before, it's important to remember, these folks have not shown any signs of Ebola, so, therefore, they are not a threat to the public. You can't get someone sick with Ebola unless you, yourself, are showing signs of the disease.

PAUL: Yes, it's interesting that they are all being sent to three of four facilities in the U.S. that can handle Ebola as we know it. Is the purpose so one hospital will not be overwhelmed?

COHEN: That's right. You wouldn't want to send all 10 of them to one place. That could potentially overwhelm that one hospital. It's really best to spread them out. What they are doing is they're saying, look, these folks don't have Ebola. They may never have Ebola, but if they do, we want them there, we want them right close to one much these three hospitals. We don't want to worry about more transportation. We want them to be close so the minute they show signs of Ebola, we can hospitalize them.

PAUL: Yes, very good point. What do we know about the status of the American health worker who has returned? We know he's in serious condition. But beyond that, any information?

COHEN: You know, Christi, beyond that, we don't know much. But if we look at history, this person, hopefully, God willing, will be fine, and the reason for that is that of the 11 people, or the 10 others who have been treated for Ebola in this country who actually had the disease, eight out of those 10 lived. They were caught early, they were given terrific care. They were given experimental drugs and they all lived. The two who died were two whose cases were caught very late in the game.

And so, if, you know, history is any precedent, this person also, too, will have a good outcome.

PAUL: The numbers are still pretty alarming in terms of the overall picture of Ebola. Has the crisis been showing any signs of slowing down in West Africa?

COHEN: The crisis in West Africa has, indeed, slowed down. We are not seeing the kinds of numbers that we saw back in September, back in October. But, still, it is a huge issue there. And they don't have the kinds of resources that we have here. So that great success rate that I've talked about here in this country, they don't have that there. Instead, their mortality rate has very been very high.

PAUL: Yes, good point. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for all the great information. We appreciate it this morning.

COHEN: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the other big story this morning the fight over talks with Iran. Today, Secretary of State John Kerry will head back to Switzerland as the U.S. prepares for a new round of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Those talks are set against a backdrop of bickering between the White House and congressional Republicans who say President Obama does not have the authority to reach an agreement without lawmakers' approval.

Secretary Kerry addressing the controversy yesterday during a stop in Egypt. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I can tell you from common sense that when the United States Senate sends a letter, such as 47 senators chose to send the other day, it is a direct interference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, the White House is singling one Republican, Bob Corker of Tennessee, after he said he is drafting a bill that would allow Congress to vote on any Iran deal. In a three-page letter to Corker, chief of staff Denis McDonough writes in part, we have it here, "We believe that the legislation would likely have a profoundly negative impact on the ongoing negotiations emboldening the Iranian hardliners, inviting a counterproductive response from the Iranian parliament, and once again, calling into question our ability to negotiate this deal."

We've got CNN global affairs analyst and contributing writer for "The Daily Beast", Kimberly Dozier, with us now.

Kimberly, thanks for being with us.

First question is, how much of that is true or is that just bluster from the White House?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, they have about two weeks to finish this deal in Geneva, so anything like an additional sign from Republicans in Congress that they might throw the deal out the window adds pressure to those negotiations, specifically it puts pressure on the Iranian negotiators from their own hardliners.

Hardliners in the religious administration in Iran do not want this deal and seize on any possible objection to say, see? Walk away.

That's why you see the Iranian negotiators pushing harder for a faster lifting of both U.N. and U.S. sanctions and that just ratchets tension up at the negotiating table -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Beyond the Iranians, this, of course, just started. The biggest punch is when the 47 senators sent a letter over to the ayatollah. The foreign minister, Zarif, he said that this was just a propaganda ploy and Europeans have criticized, that's in front of the camera.

But behind the scene, the negotiators in the room, are they concerned, the P5, are they concerned about this fight in Washington?

DOZIER: Well, behind the scenes, what it's done is pushed the Iranian negotiators to push for a vote at the U.N. Security Council on the deal. What that could do just to get into the international complicated law of this, by having the U.N. Security Council sign off on a deal to lift sanctions against Iran, that could lock the U.S. into such a long-term agreement.

Right now, President Obama is negotiating this using executive action. That means, technically, while a future U.S. president probably wouldn't overturn it, legally, they could. However, if you got the U.S. party to an international deal through the U.N., that makes it a lot harder for either Congress to walk away from this or a future American president and that's why you see the Republicans trying to ratchet up pressure and throw this whole thing off.

BLACKWELL: Kimberly, what is their prime concern here? What do Republicans want to see as part of this deal that they are concerned may not be a part of the deal?

DOZIER: They simply don't trust Iran. This deal would put measures in place to have the IAEA, international inspectors look at some of the Iranian plants. It would also have Iran trade away or give away some of its uranium probably to Russia. But -- and it would essentially lengthen the time U.S. negotiators say that we would have between knowing Iran has a bomb, it would lengthen that time to about a year from just a few months right now.

But Republicans in Congress say Iran had a sneaky development of nuclear power before this. What is to stop them from doing it again?

BLACKWELL: All right. Kimberly Dozier in Washington for us this morning -- Kimberly, thank you so much.

DOZIER: Thank you.

PAUL: Well, American troops still on duty in Afghanistan may find themselves serving there a little while longer. Why the White House is considering extending their stay now.

BLACKWELL: And just days before the election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fights for his political survival. Could his speech actually come back to hurt him?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A senior White House official tells CNN President Obama is considering backing away from his plan to draw down U.S. troops in Afghanistan by year's end. The proposal calls for reduction to 5,500 troops, nearly half the current number but the new Afghan president has asked President Obama for, quote, "flexibility" in that timeline, signing a developing security strategy. But an official says no final decisions have been made.

"The New York Times" reports that millions of dollars paid by the CIA to former Afghan President Karzai wound up in the hands of al Qaeda. The money which "The Times" says was to buy loyal officials in the Karzai regime was instead used to free Abdul Farahi, an Afghan diplomat kidnapped by al Qaeda. Afghan officials had difficult raising cash for a ransom dipped into the CIA fund. The CIA declined to comment on the report.

PAUL: Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a tough re-election on Tuesday, just two weeks after he took that huge political gamble with that controversial Iranian nuke speech in front of the U.S. Congress and against the Obama administration's wishes.

Now, back home, other issues such as the economy and Israeli's security seem to be spelling some trouble for him. Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Tel Aviv's main square and their message, Israel wants change.

Netanyahu does still have some pretty support here, though. In just a few hours, thousands are expected to rally in support of Bibi.

Here is CNN's Oren Liebermann with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Israeli politics is about where you sit in this room. This is the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, the legislative branch of the government. And of the 120 seats here below me, the most important seat is right at the center of that view. That's the prime minister's seat. But it's all of the seats around that one that determine who gets to sit there.

Here it is where voters don't pick a particular politician, instead they vote for a particular party. But no one party will win an outright majority. In fact, the most successful party in the upcoming elections may win as few as 25 seats, less than a quarter. So, what happens after the elections the political parties meet with the president and they tell the president this is who we want for prime minister, this is who we would like to work with in the upcoming government.

That person has a chance to put together a coalition government, to put together a mantle of the seats here through political wheeling and dealing, and trading political favors for support.

Because of the way this works winning the most seats doesn't guarantee that you're the next prime minister if you can't make the right deals. Now, technically 61 seats is enough here in the Knesset. But most prime minister wants more than that, they want 65 to 66 seats just so they have a more secure administration.

Oftentimes in Israeli politics, it can come down to one or two of the smaller parts parties in the upcoming election to decide where it goes. These smaller parts are called the king makers and they determine who gets to sit in the prime minister's seat and who doesn't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott joining us now live from Jerusalem.

So, two days away from this election, Elise. And I'm curious. What is the buzz that you're hearing?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, it's more than just buzz. Prime Minister Netanyahu is really on the ropes right now. The two latest polls that just came out, these are the final polls before the election, Channel 2 and Channel 10, both have Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud Party four seats behind the joint party -- the joint list of Isaac Herzog, of Labor, and former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.

And so, he's really scraping for support. This morning, he got an important endorsement from the economy minister Naftali Bennett, who has a right wing party, who said all of his seats will go to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

So, in Oren's story that he just spoke about how all these parties now are going to coalesce around some of the candidates, that's an important number of potential seats for the prime minister come election night.

PAUL: All righty. So we talked about how the economy and security are part of the issues here, but what about that Obama/Netanyahu spat? Do you think that is playing a role in this election in any way?

LABOTT: I think it's playing a role to the extent that, you know, here in Israeli, everyone has always focused for the last six years because of Prime Minister Netanyahu on security issues. But, meanwhile, the economy is not doing so well as we said. Food prices are rising, housing prices are rising.

So, it's not necessarily the spat itself but it's the fact that they realize that prime minister has focused too much on security issues. Obviously, the United States is the most important ally as soured that relationship. And so, people, I think, there a little bit of what we call here Bibi fatigue. That people are a little bit frustrated with the stagnation that's happened under this prime minister and they have seen the relationship increasingly get intense the last few years. And so, they are looking for change.

But I might add that although Prime Minister Netanyahu's numbers have been slipping, Isaac Herzog, the most important challenger here, and Tzipi Livni, their numbers have not been rising.

So people have not really settled on Isaac Herzog. He is a little bit of unknown quantity here and important parties that are also rising in stature. The Arab parties have united for the first time. They are expected to let a lot of seats. Yair Lapid, who was in the prime minister's administration until recently, he could get a lot of seats. And these could the king makers we are talking about that on could determine whether Prime Minister Netanyahu stays in his job.

PAUL: Interesting.

All right. Elise Labott, so appreciate it this morning. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: When it comes to elections here in the U.S., the states of Iowa and New Hampshire are key, of course. But one Florida town, just a little island off the coast, seems to be stealing the spotlight when it comes to the 2016 presidential race. We shine a light on Palm Beach, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker wants you to know that he is not a flip-flopper. That is what he was pushing in Concord, New Hampshire, yesterday, as he edges toward a possible, some would say probable presidential race. Walker acknowledged that he has changed positions on immigration reform. But he says he is consistent on all other issues.

Now, as the 2016 race heats up, several contenders are expected to visit one town in Florida, Palm Beach. That's where many of them are going to raise cash.

Let's bring in senior correspondent for CNNPolitics.com, Chris Moody, recently traveled to Palm Beach to go inside the political money circuit.

Chris, I lived in Palm Beach County for a few years and Palm Beach, the island, I mean, they redefine house party.

CHRIS MOODY, CNNPOLITICS.COM SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: They absolutely do.

Now, there's so much political coverage right now in Iowa and New Hampshire, North Carolina, but I would argue that Palm Beach, Florida, is just as important, especially in these early days of the pre-campaign when people are trying to get all of the money together. Almost every political cycle every candidate goes to Palm Beach County. In 2012, the county donated more than $50 million to political campaigns.

So, I went down there to check it out to see what is going on before the election. So, let's check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sweetie, have fun at Mr. Trump's house. Love you!

MOODY: Welcome to Palm Beach, the island of the 1 percent. And where there is money, there are politicians not far behind.

There is a reason politicians come to Palm Beach, and it has nothing to do with the weather. It's because they want to bathe in money.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: That is the first time anybody has ever done that to me in my life!

Great to be here in Palm Beach tonight. Thank you for having me. I didn't come to Palm Beach just tonight to enjoy (INAUDIBLE) or meet a lot of old friends and new friends. I came here tonight to ask you something -- I'm asking you now step up to the challenge. I'm asking you now to fight for our protection. I'm asking you to join the fight with me.

MOODY: Chris Christie's PAC is holding a fund-raiser at this gorgeous house right here in Palm Beach. We are not allowed in.

Chris Moody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you guys doing?

MOODY: Doing pretty well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you guys doing here?

MOODY: We did get some nice cars.

You know before an election you get inundated with ads? You know who pays for that? The people right here. This is a gathering of 20 donors who have given $20,000 or more Palm Beach County Republican.

SID DINERSTEIN: So much money here, you don't have to look very far behind you that this is one of the places you go. You go to Manhattan. You go to Hollywood. You come here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MOODY: So, as you can see there, there is a lot of money in that area. Chris Christie came down to Palm Beach last week. What I think is really interesting about this upcoming cycle is you got possibly two very big Florida personalities Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. The great question is, are they going to suck all of the oxygen out of the room?

But so far, we have seen that has not scared anyone away from this area. They know the money is there and the other candidates who don't have close ties to Florida are still making a play for it.

BLACKWELL: Hey, Chris, you know, of course, the economy is going to continue to be a part of the conversation moving in 2016. It's improving but wages aren't moving up much.

Are the people going to these house parties even concerned about the optics of going to these billionaires' parties in their homes asking for money?

MOODY: Well, as you can see, they wouldn't let us into the party at the billionaire's house. We did get to go to the Palm Beach GOP dinner which is Donald Trump's resort there on the water.

But, you know, this is just part of the campaign. They need this money not only to their campaigns but also to political action committees and the super PACs are going to be holding fund-raisers as well so the candidates can pop in and pop out before they ask for money. Even if the economy is down, no matter what, this is part of the campaign and I think you're going to see perhaps record breaking amounts of money spent on the election in 2016.

BLACKWELL: All right. Chris Moody for us this morning -- Chris, thank you so much.

MOODY: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Christi, so, you know, little is left on an island Vanuatu right now. The recovery is beginning, though. We know that help is on the way, after this powerful cyclone devastated the small nation. We have a live report for you straight head.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)