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Nurse Returned from West Africa Forced to Quarantine in New Jersey; Illinois to Also Implement Mandatory 21-day Ebola Quarantine; U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Samantha Power has Visited West Africa; Nearly Eight Million Vehicles are Affected by Defective Takata Airbags

Aired October 26, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: She is quarantined in a hospital because of New Jersey's new rules, but this nurse is furious, and for the first time she's talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KACI HICKOX, NURSE UNDER MANDATORY EBOLA QUARANTINE IN NEW JERSEY: I am in a tent within a building with just a basic tent structure. There's a hospital bed, obviously they bring me food. I have kind of a porta potties type of rest room, no showers facilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That's CNN exclusive interview is next.

Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Let's get right to our top story.

Backlash from health workers on the frontlines of the Ebola fight, as three U.S. states now rush to impose new quarantines. Illinois joins New York and New Jersey, announcing 21-day mandatory quarantines for high-risk people returning from Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea.

Florida announced mandatory monitoring. Well now, there's concern that response could stop health workers from going to West Africa to help fight Ebola at the source. The director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases spoke out on CNN's "State Of The Union" today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You have got to make your decision and your policy based on the scientific data. And the scientific data and the evidence tells us that people who are not ill, who do not have symptoms, with whom you don't come into contact with body fluids, they are not a threat, they are not going to spread it. So we have to be careful when we make policy that we don't have unintended consequences where you group everyone in the same category, that just because you came back from there, that therefore you're in this category.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Today U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power arrived in Guinea in a trip focused on Ebola. She told NBC the last thing we need is to discourage health workers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA POWER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: We need to encourage more, we need many more than are going right now, and we need to find a way when they come home, that they are treated like conquering heroes and not stigmatized for the tremendous work that they have done.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Now, scathing words from the American nurse under a forced quarantine right now in New Jersey. She wrote in a letter to "the Dallas Morning News" quote "I sat alone in the isolation tent and thought of many colleagues who will return home to America and face the same ordeal. Will they be made for feel like criminals and prisoners?" end quote.

Well, CNN's Candy Crowley spoke exclusively to Kaci Hickox from her quarantine room in that New Jersey hospital, the condition Hickox described are really pretty rough. Take e a listen to the interview that you always see right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Joining us on the phone that nurse, Kaci Hickox, the nurse in quarantine now in New Jersey.

Kaci, thank you so much for joining us. I just want you to -- I know a couple days to get from Sierra Leone, you had been there with doctors without borders helping to treat and fight Ebola. Tell us what happened once you landed at Newark.

HICKOX (via phone): That's correct, Candy. I spent a month in Sierra Leone. And when I arrived at the airport in Newark, I of course presented my paperwork to the immigration official and told him that I had been in Sierra Leone. So I verbally declared it myself as well as writing it in the documentation. And he was very and said they'll have a couple questions. First, there were many people that asked me questions. No one seems to be leading or coordinating the effort. A lot of the questions were repetitive. And as an epidemiologist, I was surprised that, you know, I saw people writing in the margins of their paperwork which is just showed that obviously they weren't prepared to really capture all the information they thought they needed. Obviously, I was there for many hours, my plane was -- and I only left for the isolation center around --

CROWLEY: Kaci, let me ask you something -- let me interrupt you for a second because I want to know, did this -- the questioning, by my tally, were there are five or six hours at the airport? Is that correct? And were you surprised by this? Did you know there had been a quarantine put in place for all health care workers from the three affected countries, including Sierra Leone?

HICKOX: As far as I know, you're right, I was at the airport for five or six hours. And before I arrived I had heard the news that a doctor from doctors without borders living in New York City had tested positive. So I assumed that there would be maybe further questioning than before.

But as far as I knew when I landed, there had been no official quarantine order for either the state of New Jersey and New York. And we are looking into that detail ourselves, but of course I don't have that information at this time.

CROWLEY: So once you got to the hospital, what happened?

HICKOX: Once I got to the hospital, they of course tested my blood, they asked me a few more questions. I do want to say everyone here, all of the doctors and nurses that have been caring for me and workers have been fantastic, so supportive. You know, they have offered to give me books and to bring my pizza hut. And they are fantastic. They definitely have gotten caught up in a political mess. So I don't envy them. But yes, they tested my blood, and it's negative.

And I know that there had been reports, me having a fever in the airport, but I truly believe that it's an instrument error. They were using the forehead scanner. And I was obviously distressed and a bit upset, and so my cheeks were flushed. And I think there has been some evidence that that machine is not very accurate in these kinds of situations.

So when I arrived at the isolation unit, they took my temperature orally, and it was completely normal. And since then it's always been.

CROWLEY: Has it remained completely normal?

HICKOX: Yes, it's always been completely normal. I heard from my mother last night, who called me concerned and said Governor Christie just said in an interview that you were, quote/unquote "obviously ill." And this is so frustrating to me.

First of all, I don't think he's a doctor. And secondly, he's never laid eyes on me. And thirdly, I have been asymptomatic since I've been here. I feel physically completely strong and emotionally completely exhausted. But for him to say I'm obvious, you know, which is even a strange statement, what does that mean? Someone define that for me. Because I think I don't quite under what "obviously ill" means. But I am here to tell you that I am completely fine physically, and being held here is just -- I just am --

CROWLEY: And what is your understanding about how long you will -- what have they told you about tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that?

HICKOX: This is the other concern I have. I have not been communicated a clear plan. My quarantine order written by the New Jersey health commissioner, and even though this day no one has told me what it means or what's the plan. No one has told me how long it would last. I don't know if I'm going to be retested and if so why I would be retested? I'm completely asymptomatic. And the test is not even accurate if you don't have symptoms.

And yesterday, I spoke with the assistant health commissioner, Christopher I believe is his name. And I told him one thing. I said the only thing I have to say to you is I want an answer for what is my clear plan? No one has communicated with me. You have, you know, put me in an isolation unit without communicating medically or public health, you know, scientifically logical chain of events that need to happen next. And this to me is just completely unacceptable.

I spoke to him at 6:00 p.m. and now it's 11:00 a.m. And I still have not heard from anyone what the plan is next for me.

CROWLEY: As far as we know, and this certainly does not relate to your specific case, but it's a 21-day quarantine. Can you describe to me like where you are right now? What does it look like? Are you in the hospital in a room?

HICKOX: Sure. I am outside of the university hospital itself, in a different building, I believe, although, I can only say what I can see from my tent. I'm a tent within a building, and, you know, it's just a basic tent structure. There's a hospital bed. Obviously, they bring me food. I have kind of a port apathy type of rest room, no shower facility, and no connection with the outside world except my iphone, which I insisted that I brought with me when I arrived late Friday night.

CROWLEY: So let me ask you this, from a different point of view. You have been over in Sierra Leone, I think everyone would salute someone who really does put their life on the line to go over and help others. And we have heard over and over again, while you have been away how vital it is for all countries to send workers, doctors, nurses, other health care workers to fight this disease where it is in order to, you know, save those countries as well as protect the rest of the world.

But understanding that the doctor who is now in quarantine in New York City, was home seven or eight days before he spiked a bit of a fever, and then was put into isolation, do you understand the need of governor, be they from New Jersey or New York or Illinois, to say we can't take this risk? That somebody is out there with a fever, or will spike a fever eight or nine days after they arrived? We need to make sure that they're in isolation until we know they are past the danger zone. Do you understand that psyche?

HICKOX: I completely don't understand it. I really is completely not understandable to me. It is not based on any clear public health evidence. And it's not the recommendation of public health and medical experts at this point.

You know, I think we have to be very careful about letting politicians make medical and public health decisions, and all of the evidence about Ebola shows that if you are not symptomatic, you are not infectious. So, for instance, when I arrived, I was not symptomatic, and that Friday they tested my blood, and I am negative. So if I don't have symptom and I tested negative with Ebola, there's no way I can be -- for anyone to tell me that I need to -- and under a quarantine -- it's just completely unacceptable. And I believe -- impose -- you know --

CROWLEY: Perhaps because you have been gone, I know again for so long, in the United States there have been what appear to be missteps by the CDC, certainly by a hospital in Dallas which got an Ebola patient, someone who was ill from it, and clearly had a -- you know was communicable at that point.

HICKOX: I'd like to remind you he wasn't an aid worker.

CROWLEY: Sure. No, no, absolutely. All I was going to say was that there was this feeling that the federal government and the doctors who advised the federal government don't actually know how to contain this. And I think it is out of that concern from the public thinking, wait a second, they told us it couldn't come here, they told us we could deal with it, and it hasn't always come to be so. They've to change, as you know, some of their protocols in dealing with it for health care workers, et cetera.

So I think that's somewhat pushing this drive. So, you know, having said that, you landed without knowing about a quarantine, and it seems to me, and one of the things that you wrote was I am scared, talking about other workers coming back, that they will arrive and see a frenzy of disorganization, et cetera, et cetera, and most frightening a quarantine.

Can you tell me why the quarantine of the fear you certainly must have felt thinking, what are these people up to, getting, you know, a police ride with sirens and everything to the hospital, to understand that fear, not knowing what's going on, but tell me what's frightening about a quarantine?

HICKOX: You know, for me, it's two things, and I've experienced it, so unfortunately I think I can say these two things pretty confidently. And the first has been this is not a case. You know, for instance, are all of the workers that are taking care of me being -- no, they are seeing me, in their PPE, and they're going home to their families. So the quarantine does -- in its -- in how it's being carried out doesn't make scientific sense. It is not evidence stage.

And the second thing is it's really inhumane. I just came back from one of the most different months of my life. And I am completely (INAUDIBLE) and no one knows -- no one can -- if I will develop Ebola or not in the next 21 days. And most aid workers that come back will not infected with Ebola. So to quarantine everyone in case, you know, when you cannot predict who may develop Ebola or not, and to make me stay for 21 days, to not be with my family, to put me through this emotional and physical stress, is completely unacceptable.

CROWLEY: You know, Kaci, one of the things we have learned from talking to experts for at least many weeks is that there's no such thing as no risk, but you can get pretty close. And you -- I think would you concede as a health care worker that, sure, there's a low risk perhaps you might at some point be carrying the Ebola virus that has not yet manifested in your body. Is it worth it to keep New Jerseyans (ph) out of any kind of risk to keep you 21 days in quarantine?

HICKOX: You know, I think one of the frustrating things about this policy is it is obviously poorly planned out. The policy state that healthcare workers will be quarantined, but what about other people traveling from these regions as well?

And you're right, there's no such thing as no risk. But I think when consideration this issue, we also have to balance what you're putting the health care workers through, and how evidence-based your approach is. So you know, for instance, are then, you going to quarantine all the health care workers looking after health care workers who have been to an Ebola-affected areas because could it be said that they also have some level of risk since they're taking care of possible Ebola contacts?

So I think it's just a slippery slope. And my frustration is that it truly is has not been thought out. And it's not a sound public health decision. I think many experts in the field have come out and agreed with me.

So I think we need to stress the fact that we don't need politicians to make these kinds of decisions. We need public health experts to make these decisions. And there always needs to be a balance because I also want to be treated with compassion and humanity. And I don't feel like I've been treated that way the past three days.

CROWLEY: Sure. One of the things that Governor Christie said is recently as this morning is that he is sorry this has been an inconvenience to you, but that he's trying to protect a public that he feels particularly in densely populated areas has not been properly protected by the CDC and this administration. I wanted to give you this chance to talk to Governor Christie, what would you say to him?

HICKOX: You know, the first thing I would say to Governor Christie is that I wish that he would be more careful about his statements related to my medical condition. I am not, as he said, quote-unquote "obviously ill." I am completely healthy and with no symptoms. And if he knew anything about Ebola, he would know that asymptomatic people are not infectious.

I understand that people feel like they have a risk, and I think we can have a conversation about what further measures might look like. But I think this is an extreme that is really unacceptable, and I feel like my basic human rights have been violated.

And I hope he will also consider me -- and I -- obviously, you know, all I want is to go home to my partner, who is completely happy to have me home, and is not scared at all, because he knows that I know more about Ebola than most people in the U.S.. And if I were the unlucky person, like Dr. Spencer to develop symptoms after returning home, I would be smart and do the right thing and contact the local health department, and be safe in going to a facility and being isolated and tested. But this is just an extreme that we have to fight against. CROWLEY: Kaci Hickox, first, I want to thank you so much for your

time. Our wish for you is that you remain symptom free. And our second wish is that somehow you can work this out to a point where you no longer feel that you are being threatened, you know, by just having to stay in quarantine, and that you get back to your life as soon as you can.

Thank you so much for your time this morning.

HICKOX: Thank you, Candy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And the director of the office of communications of the New Jersey health department responded to Hickox's claim releasing this statement to CNN saying quote "the patient was giving a copy of the quarantine order Friday and is receiving regularly updated information," end quote.

The statement also going on to say, quote "the patient did receiving reading materials. She also got computer access," end quote.

All right, New Jersey governor Chris Christie also talking about the Kaci Hickox situation earlier today. He defended the quarantine policy that has left Hickox trapped inside a tent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I believe that folks who want to take that step and are willing to volunteer also understand that it's in their interests and in the public health interests to have a 21-day period thereafter if they've been directly exposed to people with the virus.

And as we saw with what happened with some of the health care workers in Texas, with the CDC shifting protocols, we had people who were infected from that type of contact. And we just can't have that in the New York/New Jersey area. And that's why Governor Cuomo and I agree on this, and now you see they agree in Chicago as well. I think this a policy that will become a national policy sooner rather than later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining me now to talk more about this quarantine is senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen live outside Bellevue hospital where Dr. Craig Spencer is being treated for Ebola and Dr. Alexander Garza, the former chief medical officer for the department of homeland security.

So to you, Dr. Garza, first, is Kaci Hickox making valid points this treatment is inhumane, you supported scientifically appeared medically and unnecessary?

DR. ALEXANDER GARZA, FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I absolutely agree with her. This policy seems to have gone from step zero to step 100 without any intervening segments, to really discuss what the policy should be.

Clearly, most people are quarantined when they have an infectious disease that is at risk to the public. And so, typically, these are people like tuberculosis patients that refuse to take their medicine, and therefore they are at risk to the public. And so, it is valid to quarantine them, to take care of their disease.

Right now though, what we are talking about is people with no active disease, whatsoever, that are at no risk to the public whatsoever. And so, the policy seems a little bit odd.

And I also think that it also doesn't comport with what they should be trying to do, which is de-escalate the anxiety and the fear of the public. So on the one hand we're saying, you know, there's nothing to worry about, everything is fine, these people are at no risk to the general public, but we're going to quarantine them for 21 days just to be sure.

The second point, though, is I think a much more personal one. And that is these people have given their time and have essentially put themselves in the line of fire to try and take care of a problem that is a problem for the world. And for them to be treated in this fashion I just -- I can't contemplate it.

We would never treat our military warriors this way. Why who we treat the people who are essential war yore against Ebola this way? She should be treated with compassion, and dignity and respect.

WHITFIELD: And then Elizabeth, Kaci Hickox now has an attorney, you spoke to the attorney about a hearing that they are hoping for positive results for her?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, that there are, you know, the New Yorkers who I've been talking to, they're not scared so much that they're going to get Ebola. I think what they feel is anger. They want to know why if Dr. Spencer was feeling sluggish, why didn't he stay home? Why did he go out and, you know, to a bowling alley and to a restaurant?

And it is interesting Fred, there are new rules in the CDC that will start tomorrow for people returning from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, they will have to be in daily contact with a local health official.

And I sort of wonder, if he had been in daily contact with a health official and he had said I'm feeling sluggish, might they have told him stay home, let us get you some care. Might the outcome have been different if these weren't the new rules rather than the old rules?

WHITFIELD: OK. And Elizabeth and Dr. Garza stick around. Elizabeth, I want to get a little bit more detail on the legal strategy now that Kaci Hickox and her attorney are plotting to try to reverse this decision. We'll have much more about this topic right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, more now on our top story. Three U.S. states imposing Ebola quarantine mandatory.

Joining me right now again, Elizabeth Cohen and Dr. Alexander Garza, the former chief medical officer for the department of homeland security.

All right. So Dr. Garza, someone who has had to put homeland security first, there is that argument particularly from the governors of these three states, New Jersey, New York and Illinois, who will say they are trying to prevent and protect the masses by imposing these mandatory quarantines. So from the homeland security point of view, do you see their argument?

GARZA: I can see their argument. And I think that is one side of the fence. And the other side of the fence is that we should really be making very logical and well-prescribed actions based on fact and on the science. And so, it's usually a coming together of those two worlds where you come up with best policies.

But as I mentioned previously, it seemed that we were on that path of coming up with very well-prescribed policy, you know, checking temperatures doing questionnaires, and then doing following on people coming out in the airplane. But then we took it to the tenth degree or the 100th degree and said well, we're just going to flat-out quarantine all these medical workers now and without any intervening thought.

And so, I can completely understand the argument of protecting the public. But good policy has to be well-reasoned, well-thought out and has to be based on fact. And it seems like that this was a little bit too much in that direction of faulting security rather than thinking about it from a public health and from a personal civil liberties point of view.

WHITFIELD: And these policies where these mandatory quarantines took place apparently involving these states without any kind of consultation of the White House or from a federal level, is there any leverage that the White House or anyone from the CDC or public health can really have to ask or request or demands these states reverse the policies?

GARZA: Sure. Well, they can ask all they want, but the division of power in the United States, of course, is through the constitution. And the states absolutely have the police powers to issue quarantine orders for their states, to protect what they think is important for their public.

So although, the CDC and the White House can, of course, argue against it and apparently they are very strenuously, at the end of the day, it is the responsibility and the legal authority of the state to issue quarantine orders.

WHITFIELD: And then Elizabeth, let's talk about this potential -- we just lost or signal with Dr. Garza. We'll try to reestablish that.

In the meantime, Elizabeth, let's talk about this potential legal road now, this nurse Hickox, has an attorney, and the attorney is saying we want a hearing to try to either reverse this situation or, what, demand, I guess, better protections for her? Explain.

COHEN: What they are demanding, Hickox's lawyer wants to demand that the government explain why they did what they did. They said the burden of proof is on the government to explain when they take someone's civil liberties away.

If you are going to basically lock someone up, you need to explain why. In this country, we don't just do that. We have hearings. So he said, for example, when a mentally ill person is put into a Bellevue against their will, they get a hearing within a certain number of days and he said five days. And he said look, she deserves the same thing, why shouldn't he get a hearing?

You know, and another point I wanted to talk about, Fred, in relationship to where you were talking to Dr. Garza about is, you know, quarantines are there to protect the public. And so by Governor Christie's reasoning, why not quarantine people who have signs of the flu? The flu kills tens of thousands of Americans each year. If you start to feel the flu coming on during flu season, why not quarantine those people? If you walk around and you are starting to get the flu, it's very easy to transmit the flu. It's airborne, unlike Ebola.

So I think that, you know, the experts I'm saying are saying this needs to be thought through a bit. If we're going to quarantine these health workers, these doctors and nurses, really, we ought to think about quarantining anyone who looks like they might have the flu.

WHITFIELD: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much. Dr. Alexander Garza, thanks to him. We lost out our signal, but the input is very important nonetheless. Thanks so much.

So, they are in the center of this outbreak. We're talking about Liberia, but the firestone plant there has managed to stop Ebola from spreading. How did they do it? We'll talk to the plant manager next.

But first, our look into the future. Today, digital music and how it will change. Here's Richard Quest with "Tomorrow Transformed."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Half a century ago, you played a record, the family and friends. Fast forward a few decades to the era of cartridges and cassettes, and then the digit at decade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a whole history of recorded music that you can instantly access on any device.

QUEST: Today MP3s and online file sharing changed the face of music. Apple iTunes is the number one music retailer in the world. And Spotify subscribers can stream and share without buying a thing. Pledge music offense an online direct-to-fan platform, where the artists retain full music rights for a small fee.

Fans of the singer Ben Montague helped him fund his latest album, pushing him to their friends on social media. Looking ahead to the future, and the industry's skipping ahead with technology.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you can speak to your car and say I want to hear Coldplay and you can play them instantly, I think that is something that a lot of people will really value. And I also think that it's going to be about improving the quality of the experience. It's fantastic have been 30 million songs available for you to play, but you also want to be able to discover them, (INAUDIBLE) understand the connections between them and the music.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ebola is ravaging the West African nation of Liberia. But in one part of that country, there's a surprising sanctuary from the spread of the deadly disease. And it could be a model for how to contain Ebola and protect thousands elsewhere.

It's the Firestone rubber plantation, about an hour's drive away from the capital city of Monrovia. Eighty thousand people, workers and their families, live on that massive sight. Firestone has its first case of Ebola on March 30th. But it was that happened since then that is truly remarkable.

Firestone has managed to contain the virus and keep it from spreading. Ed Garcia is the managing director of Firestone, Liberia and he has lead an unprecedented effort as to stop Ebola.

So Ed, you say you and your team went into crisis mode when that first Ebola case was diagnosed. A Firestone manager sat at a rubber tree table, did a Google search and plotted a plan to include two isolation clinics on the firestone property. Take me from there.

ED GARCIA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, FIRESTONE LIBERIA (via phone): OK. First of all, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to share our story.

Going back to what you just mentioned, we realized that we had to handle the situation ourselves, and that there was no help around. So we had to quickly find an isolation unit and prepare it. We had to search for PPE and found hazmat suits that we had in our factory stockroom. We had to learn how to disinfect contaminated areas. And more importantly, we got our medical personnel and health care workers trained so they could handle the situation safely.

You know, during the course of two days, we were able to isolate the patient and quarantine the family. The patient died the next day, but no one in our family or in our community, and none of our health care workers contracted the disease. I would say our swift response really worked, and we were Ebola free for four months after that episode.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. And so in this six months period, are the numbers correct that you had 71 either suspected or diagnosed cases of Ebola? There on the property, and your 80,000 people on, you know, more than -- almost 200 acres of land, but you've managed to keep the numbers from getting even bigger. And I understand right now maybe you have about five Ebola patients right now who are getting treatment at those two isolation clinic on your property? Is all of that right?

GARCIA: Yes. Actually the numbers went up to 78. At the end of September it up to 73, in October we had an additional five cases. Four of the five cases came from communities outside our property, and one came from within. And I'm happy to say that four of the five survived. And since then, you know, since mid-September we have significantly limited the spread of Ebola. And our situation is now under control and has been stable for the past six weeks.

WHITFIELD: So, and it's difficult to try to simplify the answer here, but is the difference between what the Firestone plant, what you have managed to do to contain the spread of Ebola, in comparison to the rest of Liberia, which every county has been impacted by Ebola patients, or even to compare it to Sierra Leone or guinea, is the difference your company has the money and the manpower and the organization to try to tackle this epidemic?

GARCIA: I think the big difference is we had the right people and the right time. It's really the people and unwavering support of the company that's made all the difference. We also attacked the problem comprehensively. We did everything we could with whatever we had. We had to be creative, we had to be innovative, and just dealt with the situation without wasting time.

WHITFIELD: Ed Garcia of Firestone, thanks so much for your time. Hopefully what you are doing is something that can be imposed in the other impacted nations on a much bigger scale and perhaps even other cunning are learning from your example.

Thanks so much, Ed Garcia, appreciate it.

All right, in Washington, we're following the White House's response to Ebola. Erin McPike is there live -- Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power has traveled to the West African nations to send a message that it's OK for health care workers to go there to volunteer. More on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, a top Obama administration official is in an Ebola hot zone today. U.S. ambassador to the United States Samantha Power flew to Guinea, one of the three countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic. Erin McPike is live for us at the White House with more on that.

So Erin, what is the goal of this trip?

MCPIKE: Well, Fredricka, first, she is going to be traveling to all three of those countries. She will be meeting with health care workers, government officials and visiting the Ebola coordination centers, and really, this is to de-stigmatize Ebola and send the message that it is OK for health care workers to travel there. And that they can and should go to help out. Now, there are also, the administration is upset, obviously, with New

York, New Jersey, Illinois and Florida for these quarantining rules that they have recently imposed. Samantha Power earlier spoke to NBC news criticizing those rules. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POWER: We cannot take measures here that are going to impact our ability to flood the zone, and I think we saw -- we have to find the right balance between addressing the legitimate fears that people have and encouraging and incentivizing these hero. Health workers going to the hot zone? They are heroes, they are American heroes, and we have to valorize that and incentivize that, and find the ways to do that while ensuring that the American people feel safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And we have heard much the same thing from Dr. Anthony Fauci today on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Erin McPike. Appreciate that from the White House.

And coming up later on, 4:15 eastern time, just about 30 minutes or so from now, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio gives a press conference about Ebola right outside Bellevue hospital. We'll bring that to you live.

And we'll be right back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, airbags are supposed to save lives, not injure people, but a recall of defective airbags made by a company, Takata, is massive. Nearly eight million vehicles are affected.

Democratic U.S. Senators Ed Murky and Richard Blumenthal penned a letter to the U.S. secretary of transportation saying this. Quote "the government should immediately issue a nationwide safety recall on all of the effected cars," end quote.

And further it goes on to say that car quote "manufacturers provide rental cars at no cost to consumers if their cars cannot be fixed immediately because of insufficient replacement parts," end quote.

All right, let's bring in automotive industry analyst and experts in car care, repair and safety issues, Lauren Fix. Good to see you.

LAUREN FIX, AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ANALYST: Good to see you, too, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, this is a very big list. It's not one like car manufacturer, one type, one model. So Lauren, how do you find out whether it's your car that needs to be taken in because of the recall?

FIX: Right. There's been a lot of changes. So earlier this week, we were told there were just six manufacturers and now we're at eight, possibly nine manufacturers. So when they tell people to go to safercar.gov. Your vehicles there, there has a vehicle identification number which is you VIN number. That is the number that is on your dash board right as it meets the windshield in the front driver side of the car. Write that number down, put that number in. If you say you know what? I don't have time for that? Call your dealer. The will get the information you're your registration.

The key thing is and I do agree with Senator Murky and Blumenthal, this is very serious. This isn't just something that's Florida and Puerto Rico exclusive. There are other state that have heavy humidity such as Texas and Oklahoma. I mean, most of the country does, at some point. And this moistures are causing these airbags to deploy. And with four deaths and hundreds of injuries, this is a very serious recall.

WHITFIELD: And then more than that, Lauren, so your care is in the recall list. You take it to, you know, the dealer. But then aren't these air bags usually installed by the manufacturer and so now customers are supposed to feel comfortable that the dealer or the repair shop, you know, at the dealer is going to make these repairs or fix this?

FIX: Well, initially, they are produced and installed in the cars on production lines. However, for cars that are in an accident, the collision shops are very well-trained on how to properly install a new airbags.

Now, we are waiting for new airbags. And remember, these cars go all the way back to 2000 and as early as 2012. So if your car is on the list, they may or may not have that airbag in stock because each model is different, each year is different.

So my big concern is when you go to the dealer and they say we don't have it, Fred. We're just going to have to order it. That means they're sending you off on the road with a vehicle that has a defect. Or in some cases, they are telling you will take out the airbag which is extremely dangerous or they will just disable it. Now, that's a federal offense to disable or remove an airbag without putting another in place. So these dealers are following what they are being told.

But in addition, anyone that sits on the passenger's side are potentially the driver's side, depending on the vehicle, is at risk of having the airbag deploy without there being an accident. And that is a very serious issue. And that is where the senators make sense. Get these cars to the dealer. Let them park it. Get them loaner vehicles and pay your building brand loyalty. You know, any dealer that actually does that for me, I definitely would buy another vehicle from them.

WHITFIELD: But then, how long is it likely to take before there is an official response from the U.S. senators who are saying a loaner should be made available. Meantime, as you say, the clock is ticking. People are driving their cars. They are not feeling comfortable knowing that their car is on the recall list, but they have got to still be able to get to work or school? FIX: Right, absolutely. And that's why we run into this dilemma

where NHTSA was not very confident in their initial suggestions. It was just a field action and now it's a recall. This has been known for month. And we have discussed this many, many times over the years. And this is where I tell people it's important that you be proactive. Tell your dealer that you don't feel safe driving this vehicle and you would like to get a loaner car. They should be getting you one.

In addition, it could take just a couple of days to get an airbag or it could take a couple of weeks. So it is important that no matter what you drive, that you give yourself 12 inches from the center of your chest to the air bag, no matter what you're driving, whether it is on the recall list or not, that is the proper distance from airbag.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lauren Fix, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

FIX: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We will have more of the NEWSROOM right after this.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.

Nick Valencia is here with the look of the other news making the headlines.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The headlines. Yes, lot of these stories make to headlines. Let's get right to them, Fred.

We're learning more about one of the suspects accused of fatally shooting two sheriff's deputies in California on Friday. U.S. immigration and constant enforcement says Marcelo Marquez had been deported to Mexico twice. Marquez and another woman are in custody after allegedly going on a six-hour shooting rampage in the Sacramento area. Authorities the suspects also wounded a third deputy attempted to acre-jacking and shot the driver in the head.

Friday's shootings in Washington State could have been even more deadly. CNN has learned teacher Megan (INAUDIBLE) ran towards the shooter and confronted him. She is now being hailed for her courage. Later this afternoon, members of the Marysville community will gather at the high school for a meeting on the shooting to begin the healing process.

A British troops lower the Union Jack flag for the final time in Afghanistan. Handover ceremony at (INAUDIBLE) formally ends 13 years of British combat operations. More than 4560 British troops have died while serving in Afghanistan. Afghan national security forces will take over the base and operations but the UK will continue to support them in their effort.

Those are the headlines this hour. It's all you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much Nick. Appreciate it.

All right, the next hour of the NEWSROOM starts right now.