First Ebola Diagnosis In The U.S.; Protests Marring National Holiday Of Unity; Biggest Day of Airstrikes Against ISIS
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An individual has been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Ebola is here. A man in Texas diagnosed with the deadly virus after travelling from Liberia. Health officials are confident they'll stop it, but how long was he undiagnosed? Should we be worried?</s>MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking details, another black eye for the Secret Service, this time a security guard in an elevator with President Obama. He was armed with a gun, violating protocol. The revelation coming just hours after the agency's director was grilled by Congress. Will she survive this firestorm?</s>CUOMO: War on ISIS. The biggest day of U.S.-led coalition air strikes in Syria and Iraq since the campaign began. So, why are terrorists actually gaining ground, getting dangerously close to main cities? Your NEW DAY starts right now.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.</s>CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to NEW DAY. Its Wednesday, October 1st, 6:00 in the East. Ebola no longer just about West Africa. Its about Texas. The first diagnosis on American soil. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the patient travelled from Liberia to Dallas last month. Don't write it off because of that. He was here for days before showing symptoms. Now the race is on to find everyone he came in contact with after showing symptoms.</s>PEREIRA: A CDC team is now in Texas to help try to locate anybody, anybody that may be impacted. The ambulance crew, they've been isolated. How concerned should we be about an outbreak in America? We begin our coverage with chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta live from the CDC in Atlanta. How concerned should we be?</s>DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there is obviously some level of concern here. This is a historic moment medically, what has happened has never happened before in the United States, frankly has never happened anywhere outside of Africa. The first patient being diagnosed here. Obviously other patients have been here with Ebola, but they have been diagnosed elsewhere and then came here for treatment. There's also this idea that there's two sort of big objectives now, this is going to be a test of our public health system. How well are they going to be able to take care of this patient, who we hear is in critical condition, but in isolation in Dallas? And also what about all those people over the four days after this person was sick? The contacts? That's the most important thing. They've got to find those contacts because that is how you stop an outbreak.</s>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.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The patient admitted to this hospital has tested positive for Ebola virus. The cause of Ebola virus disease.</s>GUPTA: According to the CDC, the unidentified patient travelled 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.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The patient was visiting family members and staying with family members who live in this country.</s>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.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.</s>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 -- it's OK. The city spokeswoman telling CNN the Dallas County Health Department has confirmed that paramedics did follow proper guidelines to avoid contaminating additional patients. So far, none of the crew members are exhibiting signs of the disease, this as the CDC says fellow passengers on that same flight from Liberia are likely not at risk. Still, doctors warn to remain vigilant.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no doubt that we'll stop this in its tracks in the U.S. But I also have no doubt that as long as the outbreak continues in Africa, we need to be on our guard.</s>GUPTA: So let me just accentuate again, on the 20th this person arrived in the United States without any symptoms, was not feeling sick. In 24th, is when they started to get sick, but it wasn't until the 28th when the person went into the hospital and was put in isolation. The person did go to the hospital once in between, Chris. Two days earlier went to the hospital, seeking care. But for some reason, was not tested at that point, despite the fact the person had symptoms and had this recent travel history to Liberia and there was this concern. That's going to be an open question still, Chris, we got to get answered, four days where this person was sick before they went into the hospital -- Chris.</s>CUOMO: Certainly, that this is the best reason so far for concern on the part of American citizens. Thank you very much, Doc. It's good to have you there for us. Let us know if anything changes. Let's bring in another doctor now, Alexander Van Tulleken, he is a senior fellow at Fordham University, an expert in public health. Doc, it's good to have you here. I am a representative of America's panic, OK? When we hear days went by before this man was put into quarantine and being treated, we want him to be OK. But there's fear about the rest of us, is this worthy of great concern?</s>DR. ALEXANDER VAN TULLEKEN, SENIOR FELLOW, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: So there are people in the Dallas region who have been exposed to Ebola and it may well be that transmission has occurred on American soil, there's no question about that. The reason not to panic if you're new in New York City is very different if you're in the Dallas region, Dallas region, they'll be tracking down every single person he's been in touch with, getting in touch with them, monitoring and supervising them. Big job to do this, but we're doing this in America so we do not have to worry about an epidemic.</s>CUOMO: Two head-shakers, when I say don't worry. One, part of it is coming from the government. Not the greatest source of comfort these days. Two head shakes, one, we're going to find everybody he was in contact with. That's not going to be easy. It's not going to be easy. And well, how do you get it? Because we kept hearing it was body fluids. Now it could be a cough. Where's the confidence coming from that you can find everyone he was in contact with and what it takes to transmit?</s>TULLEKEN: So I think the fear, so the line from the government, the line from all the expert doctors, this is quite a difficult virus to catch. And the arguments I have on Twitter with people especially late at night is the doctors are getting it are wearing their hazmat suits. First of all, the hazmat, no one wearing a hazmat suit has caught Ebola. The people who have caught Ebola working with it in the field have been wearing personal protective gears. They have been wearing gloves and masks, but they are working 20-hour shifts in West Africa and they are drenched in bodily fluids.</s>CUOMO: If you cough on me and you have Ebola, do I get it?</s>TULLEKEN: That is not a significant mode of transmission. Neither is hand-shaking, neither is touching something and then you touching it. The main mode of transmission is exposure to bodily fluids, like blood or diarrhea, OK, and getting that on a cut, on open wounds or getting it in your mouth or eyes.</s>CUOMO: Then why all of this panic to find the people he was in contact with unless he was bleeding or something else on him?</s>TULLEKEN: Because this is American. This is how you stop a virus. So if you don't panic, you know, you shouldn't panic, if you don't go to massive lengths to stop it, you end up with what's happening in Liberia. So this is what the CDC is good at. You're right. Maybe they weren't be able to track down every single person, but this is America, most people have a TV, most people listen to the radio. Everyone can read, everyone knows this is going on. In the Dallas region now, everyone is looking out for those announcements. So actually it's not -- you may not be able to phone or email them directly, but you can get make everyone aware that if they develop symptoms, they can seek treatment early. That improves their survival and it massively reduces the chances of spread.</s>CUOMO: Still though when I hear about how it's transmitted versus the concern about finding people he was in contact with, even though he wasn't exhibiting symptoms, it gives me a source of confusion which is going to fuel my concern. If you need to be exposed to bodily fluids and there doesn't seem to be any indication he was, why are you people so nervous about it on the government and treatment side that fuels my insecurity. Also, where was he when he went to the hospital and not diagnosed with that? Was it here or was that in Africa?</s>TULLEKEN: No. That was here. He's had at least four days of being contagious and symptomatic here.</s>CUOMO: So why didn't the hospital, when we keep hearing that the U.S. is so ready for this and we can control, how did he miss it when this guy came into the hospital in Dallas, which is a real medical center?</s>TULLEKEN: I just -- at the moment, we don't know, we don't know very much about the patient and we don't know exactly his reasons for being here and we don't know what he was doing at that time or why the hospital didn't admit him. And I think what we'll find is they probably dropped the ball on this, which is bad. To say that all the tracking down of people, there's a big difference between panicking and employing precautionary principles. If I had been on that plane with him and I had no doubt he was not contagious on the plane, I would really want to know and you'd want to know as well. I want someone looking out for me. I want to be informed that I wasn't at risk. So you need to reach out to all the people on all of those planes and say you're not at risk, but we're here for you if you develop anything concerning at all.</s>CUOMO: He wasn't bleeding and he wasn't nauseated on that ambulance, but they hosed it down with bleach basically and they put it behind walls.</s>TULLEKEN: They have to do this. The guy who discovered Ebola said he would confidently sit next to someone on the subway with Ebola, it's that hard to catch.</s>CUOMO: The concern is real. Thank you for helping leaven that with what we know about the realities of the virus. The only other thing I can add is Twitter, at night, that's a virus that cannot be treated in any way, Doc. You're a smart guy. You got to be a smart and stay off Twitter. Thank you for being here and helping balance out the concern because it's real this morning. Thank you. Mich, over to you.</s>PEREIRA: You're going to take your own advice, fella?</s>CUOMO: No, I'm a horrible patient.</s>PEREIRA: Let's turn it to the ongoing drama with the Secret Service. It would appear the hits keep on coming. Director Julia Pierson skewered yesterday by lawmakers over a series of embarrassing security breaches and gaffes. She told a furious House committee that incidents like the one at the White House where a disturbed Iraq war vet made it deep into the executive mansion will, quote, "never happen again." Yet, just hours after Pierson finished her testimony, a new and quite disturbing security lapse surfaced. A contractor with a gun just steps from the president. Let's turn to our White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski. Interesting that this is not something Director Pierson disclose during that testimony. We're not sure if she was aware of it to be fair though.</s>MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Michaela. This bothers Congress too and now that's why they're launching this outside review from top to bottom of what's been going on inside the Secret Service. So clearly their own internal review and this lengthy testimony from its director wasn't enough. It was remarkable, as she was there, testifying before the House Oversight Committee, more details kept coming out from whistle- blowers, details she never mentioned.</s>KOSINSKI (voice-over): The latest known incident to plague the U.S. Secret Service, again coming from whistle-blowers, happened three days before Omar Gonzales jumped the White House fence. This one in Atlanta at the CDC. A security guard was inappropriately taking photos of the president inside an elevator, who it turned out he had a gun in violation of Secret Service protocols. They're supposed to know who is armed on location and limit their access to the president. Before Congress even knew about this one, the disbelief over the fence jumper.</s>REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: Omar Gonzales reached at least five rings of security --</s>KOSINSKI: The verbal takedown.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is absolutely disgraceful that this has happened.</s>KOSINSKI: Went on for three hours.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't let them get in the White House, ever.</s>KOSINSKI: But from the Secret Service Director Julia Pierson. One year on the job -- many non-answers.</s>JULIA PIERSON, DIRECTOR, SECRET SERVICE: It is obvious that mistakes were made.</s>KOSINSKI: She called it unacceptable saying a thorough internal investigation would uncover the facts and make sure it never happens again. She said that evening after Gonzales made it on to White House grounds, the officers stationed inside the front doors began locking them. When Gonzales burst through knocking the officer backwards. That officer tried to stop him but couldn't. Both of them struggling their way down the hallway, into the east room, back out into the hall.</s>PIERSON: Another officer rendered aid and he was placed on the ground just outside of the green room.</s>KOSINSKI: Which she never mentioned, but emerged while she was on the stand. Was that it was two off-duty Secret Service agents downstairs who heard the scuffle, ran up and finally helped stop Gonzales. The firestorm of security gaps providing endless punchlines on late night.</s>JIMMY FALLON, "THE TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: An intruder got to the east room when the Secret Service said whoa, there's an east room?</s>DAVID LETTERMAN, "LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW" HOST: The wedding of George Clooney had better security than the White House, are you aware of that?</s>KOSINSKI: But the implication of these issues -- deadly serious.</s>REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I wish to God you protected the White House like you protecting your reputation here today. I wish you spent that time and that effort to protect the American president and his family.</s>KOSINSKI: So several members of Congress said there were parts of Pierson's testimony that didn't really seem to mesh with reality. Now the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is announcing this Blue Ribbon Commission to do an investigation. He said he's deeply concerned about the lack of transparency that seems to be surrounding the Secret Service right now. And said that the fence-jumper is just one more in a long string of failures -- Michaela.</s>PEREIRA: Yes, and the big question is will Director Pierson survive this scandal. We'll examine that a little further on in our broadcast. Michelle, our thanks to you.</s>CUOMO: Today is a holiday in China. It's called National Day, but for many the mood is anything but happy. Let us take you there. These are live pictures from Hong Kong. Thousands of protesters back on the streets. Why? They are angry at the government. The pro-democracy demonstrations have ground that city to a halt and there is no sign government leaders or the protesters will budge. Andrew Stevens is there for us. He has more from Hong Kong -- Andrew.</s>ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, day four now on this protest and easily the biggest turnout. Because it's a public holiday today, a lot of regular Hong Kongers have come out to join the students. What's unusual about this scene here is not the size of the population who are involved, but the fact that they are so united on one issue. It's rare that you see Hong Kongers like this coming together on such a fundamental point. All they want, they say, is to see the system change, which allows Hong Kongers to choose who can run for the next leader of Hong Kong. So far, Beijing has said, no, we will have the final say. Hong Kong totally backs that point up. An enormously embarrassing moment from the leadership in Beijing. That on their national day, they can have tens of thousands of what are fundamentally Chinese citizens, their own citizens, absolutely protesting against a very fundamental rule that they have made. This is a very, very peaceful day here, Chris. It's actually as I look around me, I cannot see a single police uniform. It's well behaved, it's self-policed here. Don't underestimate the mood here for lack of commitment, though, they say they're going to stay until they see some sort of movement from Hong Kong. But you cannot imagine Beijing is actually going to give up into a street protest that their policies have enabled.</s>CUOMO: Chris, what's making them applaud?</s>STEVENS: Say again, Chris?</s>CUOMO: What's making them applaud?</s>STEVENS: OK, we just had a van running through here. Every time that a security van or actually an ambulance or an emergency services van comes through or a supply truck comes through here, everybody applauds, this is interesting. It's peaceful, it allows or it basically what they're trying to do is not give police any reason to come in here and try to restore order. They are self-policing as I said. So, when an ambulance needs to come through, the crowd parts so quickly and everybody applauds as it goes past. So, this is what they're trying to do is make sure there's no trigger point that the police can act on to try to impose their own will on this crowd.</s>CUOMO: Andrew, that's the big concern. Even if it's peaceful now, there are so many people in such a small space that if anything goes wrong, it's going to be magnified very quickly. Andrew, thank you very much for the reporting this morning. Appreciate it. Mick?</s>PEREIRA: Alright. Now, we turn to the war on ISIS. U.S. Central Command calling Tuesday the biggest day of air strikes against the terror group, since this campaign began. U.S. fighter jets and drones keep pounding targets. ISIS, though, still making advances on major cities in Syria and Iraq. All of this unfolding as Turkish soldiers and tanks take up positions along Syria's border, as Turkey's government considers deploying troops to battle ISIS. Let's turn to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr who has the very latest for us. Good morning, Barbara.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. That move by the Turkish military tanks and personnel along its border with Syria now being closely watched, because everyone is waiting for the Turkish government to make the decision to join the coalition. About 150,000 Syrians alone in the last few days fleeing across the border, trying to get into Turkey, away from that ISIS advance on the town of Kobani in Syria, away from the ISIS advance across northern Syria. This of course as ISIS making advances in Iraq. Taking over another Iraqi military base not far from Baghdad, this as you say, the heaviest day of strikes, 28 in total by the coalition. And the question that many are asking, how is it that ISIS is still advancing so much when these airstrikes are ongoing? Here at the Pentagon, officials are adamant that they never expected air strikes to stop ISIS in its tracks. What they are saying is the air strikes are stopping ISIS when and where they can find them. But it will be a very long time before ISIS can be stopped. The air strikes are changing in how they're being conducted. What we are seeing now, is a number of airstrikes of targets of opportunity, so to speak, aircraft patrolling the skies, looking for those ISIS personnel, ISIS weapons and dropping the bombs when and where they find them -- Michaela.</s>PEREIRA: Those air strikes being conducted by as you mentioned, the Brits getting involved, we know Australia is deploying some of their first jets over is. Thanks for the latest on that, Barbara. We appreciate it. Let's turn to John Berman now. He's got today's other top stories. Good morning, my dear.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Michaela. The mayor of Bell Gardens, a city just outside of Los Angeles, has been shot and killed by his wife during an apparent domestic dispute. Forty-five-year-old Daniel Crespo and his wife Levette were arguing when their son began intervened and begun fighting with the father. That is when detectives say Crespo's wife grabbed the handgun and shot her husband several times. So far, police have not made any arrests. Investigators in Pennsylvania say they have recovered two fully functional pipe bombs in a wooded area, confirming they say that they are on the trail of suspected cop killer, Eric Frein. Police believe the three-week manhunt may be taking a toll on Frein, he is being sought now in the death of state trooper Byron Dickson in a September 12th ambush outside the state police barracks. There's still no clear motive in Tuesday's shooting at a Kentucky high school. The suspect is in custody. He is believed to be in his teens, but police are not saying yet if he is a student at Fern Creek High School in Louisville. One student was injured in the shooting. Fern Creek and a nearby elementary school were in lockdown following the shooting. So, actor Tracy Morgan says he can't believe that Walmart is blaming him for the injuries that he suffered when a Walmart truck-rear ended his limousine on the New Jersey turnpike back in June. Now, you'll remember one person was killed, Tracy Morgan was in rehab for a month for leg and rib injuries. The former "Saturday Night Live" star is suing Walmart. But the retailer's lawyers are claiming in court that Morgan and his companions are responsible for their own injuries because they were not wearing seat belts. Controversial to say the least. Let us know what you think about this. Go to Facebook.com/newday. Is this a case of blaming the victim? Maybe yes. But is this just normal legal proceedings? Maybe also yes.</s>PEREIRA: There's the issue of practicality in those vans. It was one of those limousine vans, correct? It's not very common for people to wear seat belts in the limousine vans.</s>CUOMO: True.</s>PEREIRA: And that's the point -- I wonder if that will come up in court.</s>CUOMO: It probably will. I mean, this is an argument based on that state, the law is comparative negligence, so they're trying to say how much, what percentage of 100 percent are they to blame? It's really about money. That's what's happening. All right. So, after the big break-in and the bullet fiasco, the Secret Service would be on top of their game, right? Wrong, listen to this one, an armed contractor allowed on to an elevator with the president. Are you kidding me? Now, the Secret Service director is under fire as well. Can she survive this? We're going to be joined by one former agent who says -- nope.