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Ebola Survivor Ashoka Mukpo Speaks Out; Interview with Congressman Steve Israel of New York

Aired October 30, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you back here with us on NEW DAY.

Here's headlines now: security officials are on high alert following the shooting of right-wing rabbi, Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem. The Temple Mount remains closed this morning to worshippers and visitors after a gunman hit Glick multiple times following a speech he was giving at a conference. He is in serious but stable condition, we're told. Israel's prime minister called for increased police presence in Jerusalem while officials hunt for that gunman.

Back here at home, nurse Kaci Hickox vowing to fight state officials in Maine who are seeking a court order to keep her quarantined at home. Hickox says she is not a risk to the public, having tested negative for Ebola twice since she returned home from treating infected patients in West Africa. She is already on record saying that she will not follow the isolation order.

Attorney General Eric Holder adding fuel to the fire in Ferguson. He said the need for wholesale change in the city's police department is pretty clear. But he did not say what those changes would be. These comments come after reports surfaced of a possible shake-up at the Ferguson police department, including the possible resignation of Chief Thomas Jackson who has been under fire since the shooting of the unarmed teenager, Michael Brown.

It is molten hot, it can destroy anything in its path and it is now just yards away from homes this morning. The Hawaiian National Guard asking residents on the big island to get out as lava from the Kilauea volcano inches closer to a major road, hundreds of frantic residents in Pahoa.

This is quite a discovery, really, an amazing breakthrough, a small piece of metal found or discovered back in 1991 may very well be part of Amelia Earhart's missing airplane. Think about this -- it's a 19 x 23-inch fragment found back in 1991 in the southwest Pacific republic of Kiribati. Researchers now say from the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, they believe it came from the window of Earhart's Lockheed Electra.

This is the first time any wreckage has been directly linked to Earhart's final expedition. Of course, that failed attempt to circumnavigate the earth 77 years ago. It took them a long time to match the logo on that piece of the plane

to photographs they had. But it's really amazing. Then instead of crashing into the ocean like many believe happened, it points to the fact that maybe they crashed on that island and survived as castaways.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I know it changes.

PERIERA: It's fascinating. I'm kind of obsessed.

CAMEROTA: OK, good. OK, I'll look forward to hearing more about that from you.

But meanwhile, let's get over to meteorologist Indra Petersons, who is keeping track of all the latest for us.

Hi.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Giving me a lot of questions. We know Halloween, right? So close, yes we had showers on the East Coast but that's not going to be the big story. We can easily see the system currently making its way offshore.

What we're looking at a little bit of swirl, it doesn't look like much. But this is the big story. If you're in the know, you know by the way these clouds look -- very spotty, very cold air that is going to be making its way in. Now, if you're in the East Coast, they say, yes, there's a ten-degree drop, that's not that bad. That's not the story.

We're talking about even colder filling in, so much so by the time we get to Thursday, Friday, Saturday, even Sunday, some flurries are going to be spreading from the Midwest all the way in through the Northeast. And some places we talk about West Virginia, Kentucky, could be talking about several inches of the white stuff so there you go, here comes the chill.

Look what we're talking about by Saturday, think about Friday night in through Saturday. Here comes the heaviest amounts of snow that will be affecting a lot of us.

So, let's talk about the temperature change. Today, not so bad, right? Let's drop you into tomorrow, about 20 degrees, you talk about St. Louis seeing highs into the 40s and this is Halloween. This is your high, this is not your low, when those trick-or-treaters have to go outside.

By Saturday, there goes the cold air swirling into the Northeast. So, yes, who's going to have the roughest time? Places in Michigan, the little kids are going to be going out with wind chills below freezing. Even in L.A., yes, we'll be having sprinkles. And then that's beyond horrible and then in the Northeast, also a couple of sprinkles out here.

But below freezing going out trick-or-treating.

CAMEROTA: And snow. CAMEROTA: You could go as Andy Scholes in the locker room of the Giants game for Halloween, then you'd be prepared for the rain.

(CROSSTALK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Two words that will make those kids not care at all.

CAMEROTA: Candy.

CUOMO: Can-dy.

PETERSONS: I got you. I'm a little slow, you know?

CUOMO: Sugar keeps you warm, warms the heart. Everybody knows it, that's science.

Speaking of science, we talk about the chances of catching Ebola for fear of what it might do to you, right? We don't talk much about the actual experience of being sick with the virus until now. We have a cameraman who contracted Ebola in West Africa. He's opening up to CNN about what it was like living with the virus. He describes something that is like nothing you've probably experienced before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: So many of us are thinking about it, what would it be like if you actually caught Ebola?

Well, Ashoka Mukpo, he knows. He's the freelance NBC cameraman who contracted the deadly disease in Liberia. And he sat down with our Don Lemon to talk about the intolerable pain he endured before he recovered and why the nurse in Maine fighting a home quarantine, despite everything he's going to tell you, is in the right.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Is there any way to describe what the illness feels like?

ASHOKA MUKPO, EBOLA SURVIVOR: I want to find ways to help people understand it. But it's nothing -- it's like nothing that I had ever experienced.

LEMON: Pain?

MUKPO: Yes. There was pain, certainly muscle pain, muscle aches, very high fever. I think at one point, my fever was at 104. But I think the thing that was most pronounced for me almost that everything was the weakness, the physical weakness.

And I used to see people who would be laying in front of treatment centers trying to get admitted. And, you know, they're just laying out in the grounds, in the gravel, in the sun.

And I used to look at them and say, my God, you can't you sit up? At least? .And then once I was sick, I completely understood. You just have absolutely no energy. To walk three feet feels like you just ran a marathon.

LEMON: How did you get it?

MUKPO: My feeling, and I'll never know this for 100 percent certainty, is that I touched an infected surface in one of the high- risk areas that I was, and then either I didn't chlorinate fast enough before I touched my face. You know, maybe I rubbed my face or something like that.

LEMON: But Kaci Hickox who is the -- who's a nurse says, you know, she's back in Maine now. She says, you know what? I don't feel like I should be in quarantine. I'm not -- you know, I'm asymptomatic. And this is, you know, in violation of my rights. And she said she is going to do what she wants to do.

MUKPO: Good for her.

LEMON: Do you agree?

MUKPO: She's earned the right to, you know, have a sense of her own safety and her own risk factor to others. And I don't think that Doctor Spencer endangered anyone.

My feeling is, and, you know, again, I'm not an expert, this is just my own view on the exposure that I've had to Ebola is I think that Governor Christie is playing politics right now. It seems to me it's an effort to, you know, work with public opinion rather than listen to the advice of the experts. I just think that it's counterproductive.

These are people who have gone and endangered their lives to work with people with very limited resources and are dying in, you know, relatively large numbers. So, to make it more difficult and to treat them as if they are a potential problem as opposed to a public asset, I just think it's a shame.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Well, his success story. He survived, thank goodness to all the great medical care he got here at home.

CUOMO: I had two questions I raised. One, he really doesn't know how he got it. If it did come from him just touching a surface that had infectious stuff on it, kind of feeds the fear perception of how it may be easier to get.

And also, there's a growing dimension of this. Why having Ebola now makes you somebody who is able to speak about the issue and the quarantine and the politics -- you know, I don't know exactly how far the relevance extends.

CAMEROTA: Lots of people are talking about the policy, people who haven't had Ebola. I mean, people are talking about it --

CUOMO: But are you an expert on quarantines because you had an Ebola? CAMEROTA: No, but he has an opinion. As do so many people about this

subject. I mean, I hear people around the dinner table talking about whether or not somebody should be quarantined. So, he's weighing in.

CUOMO: My kids accuse the others of having Ebola.

CAMEROTA: Right.

CUOM: It doesn't get you out of homework, though.

CAMEROTA: Right. I would say that's a low likelihood. But you may want to wear a hazmat suit at home.

All right. Meanwhile, in just five days, voters head to the polls. Many key races are too close to call this morning. Polls say Democrats could be in trouble. Plus, why do Americans have such disdain for congress? We'll have ask Congressman Steve Israel, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

Five days until midterm elections and so many key races going down to the wire. For Democrats, it could be a considerable challenge to hold ground in the House while keeping control of the Senate.

New York Congressman Steve Israel is the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and he joins us now.

Good morning.

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: Thanks for having me on.

CAMEROTA: Thanks for coming in.

We know you're busy. We know it's been a busy week for you. You have been working around the clock to raise money for Democrats in some very tight races and we hear it's been a heavy lift this year. How is it going?

ISRAEL: Look, I'm not going to sugar-coat it. It's tough out there. Every morning when I wake up, I wake up to the number 29, which is the historic average loss for a president's party in the midterm election. The president's party usually loses 29 seats, historically loses 29 seats in the second midterm. Even Ronald Reagan at the height of his popularity lost seats in his second mid-term.

I don't think we're looking at a 29-seat loss, but the terrain is tough. The good news is as a result of our strategies, every single one of our incumbents around the country is competitive. They're either ahead of the polls, within the margin of error but not one Democratic incumbent is down or out.

CUOMO: OK, let's test the theory.

ISRAEL: OK.

CUOMO: Because I think that -- I grew up in your district, you know? So, you know what you're going to expect from a guy from Queens. That is unprecedented. You have so many races that are so close. OK?

You probably won't lose 29, you're right. But you got like, what are the numbers, 23 in jeopardy, as opposed to four Republicans.

And the comparative argument is easy, and that's one that you guys want to make. Us versus them.

But do you think that in good conscience, the Democrats can look to the American people right now and say, "You should vote us back because of what we've done so far"?

ISRAEL: About a year ago, when the Republicans shut down the federal government for 16 days, all the pundits were saying, do you think in good conscious you could look at the American people and say vote for us?

You know, every election is about priorities and every election is about, who's got your back. And on virtually every issue like pay equity for women, and minimum wage and investing in infrastructure to create jobs, the American people do agree with us. Now, we've got to translate that into victories in six days, and it is tough terrain. There's no question about it.

CAMEROTA: Let me show you the most recent CNN poll about people's feelings about Congress. It asked for the approval rating. And basically, Congress got a 13 percent approval rating from respondents, 85 percent disapprove of the job being done in Congress.

How do you fundraise with those numbers?

ISRAEL: Well, first of all, I don't blame people. I mean, there's just a debate over whether we should quarantine medical professionals. I mean, a lot of people think we should quarantine Congress right now as a public service.

CUOMO: It's incurable what Congress has.

ISRAEL: The reason that Congress' numbers are so low because you had had a Republican majority, that tried to shut down the government over a woman's right to go to Planned Parenthood, that consistently stacks the deck against the middle class. So, nobody should be surprised that the historically low level --

CAMEROTA: So, it's only Republicans' fault -- those numbers are only Republicans' fault?

ISRAEL: The Republican majority in the United States Congress is the one that shut down the Congress for 16 days. Now there is a sense, I think honestly of a pox on both their houses. And that's regrettable.

What I tell my candidates across the country is just be about solutions. Talk about what you're going to do to improve people's lives, don't talk about ideology. Just talk about how you're going to provide for real-life solutions against some very significant challenges to the middle class economic security. If you do that, you have a chance in any competitive district in America.

CUOMO: Yes, unless they start looking at the record.

I think you guys are banged up for good reason. Look at Sandy, part your district. Hurricane Sandy.

You know, sure, we're making hay over Governor Christie shouting down a protester. He's been doing a lot of work in his state to try and fix what's going on.

You drive through your district. There are so many people who are still nowhere two years after Sandy. There's unprecedented effort to get them back on their feet, it's a failure because Congress isn't working, you know?

And you look at your spread, CNN numbers, also, right? You're barely statistically ahead of voters overall saying whether they'll go Democrat or not. And by registration, you should be up eight, 10 points.

ISRAEL: Chris, it's a failure because for the first time in history, under this Republican Congress, the Republican Congress wouldn't even allow us to vote on Sandy relief aid. Remember, Peter King, a Republican from Long Island, went on camera and told people vote for the Democrats, he went on camera and said, my party is not doing the job in Congress.

And when you have conservative Republicans like Peter King criticizing the Republican leadership for not even voting on a Sandy relief bill until we shame them into it, that tells you everything you need to know about the need for solutions and less politics.

CAMEROTA: Are you ignoring the fact that Barack Obama has been rejected by many Democratic candidates this year? They don't want him campaigning for him because he's not popular.

ISRAEL: I'll tell you what I tell my candidates, if you're running in a blue district like Nancy Pelosi's, chances are voters want to make sure you've been with the president every step of the way. If you're running in a red district, chances are, your voters want to make sure you've never took a step with the president.

But the districts we're running in are competitive districts, they're purple. Some people agree with the president, some people disagree. In those competitive districts, I tell candidates, just be those people. Agree with them when you agree and disagree when you disagree, but there's no ideological litmus test in these purple competitive swing districts.

CUOMO: Running away from the presidents, the sixth-year effect of a president and all that. That they always wind up being somewhat unpopular, I get it. But you guys are running away from the president here. Doesn't that -- doesn't that kind of just feel bad on some level? That this is your man, your party, he's our president of the country but -- and you're running away from him. It seems like you're running scared.

ISRAEL: Chris, again, in those competitive districts, those purple districts where moderates live, centrists live. If you disagree with the president, don't run with him on your disagreements. If you agree with him, talk about those agreements.

That's what most people in my district are like. They sit at the table. They say -- there's lots I don't like about the president. There's some things I like about the president, like paying a woman the same as a man for equal work. Be those people, reflect the priorities and the sensibilities of your district and you'll be fine. And that's what America needs right now.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Steve Israel, thanks so much for making time to come into the studio for NEW DAY.

ISRAEL: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: We appreciate it.

CUOMO: And another window into how tight it is, is that we know that Congressman Israel is trying to whip up money for races. Money isn't proving to be enough in politics, that's how close the races are. OK? So, we're going to keep following that story for you.

But there's a lot of news this morning, so let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: State officials are demanding Hickox abide by their 21-day quarantine.

KACI HICKOX, NURSE: It is not my intention to put anyone at risk in this community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The al Qaeda offshoot Khorasan poses an imminent threat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These people have the expertise, they have the manpower. And they have got to find them now.

NATO has monitored an increased number of Russian flights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Russian aggression. I think you have to watch it very carefully.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tense moments in New Jersey as a heckler faced off with Governor Chris Christie.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: You want to have the conversation later, I'm happy to have it, buddy. But until that time, sit down and shut up. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: On that note, good morning and welcome back to NEW DAY. I'm Alisyn Camerota, along with Chris Cuomo.

So, will Kaci Hickox be allowed to leave her home in Maine? Or will the nurse be forced to stay inside for the remainder of her three-week Ebola quarantine? Hickox is challenging the state, saying she has no intention of staying inside because she's not a public health risk. She has twice tested negative for Ebola since her return from treating infected patients in West Africa.

Meanwhile, President Obama has some strong words for states looking to automatically quarantine health care workers on the front lines fighting Ebola.

CUOMO: We are covering all the angles of the Ebola story, beginning with CNN's Jean Casarez in Fort Lent, Maine -- Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

You know, we're right outside the home of Kaci Hickox. She remains voluntarily secluded in the home. She may not be there for long, because she has vowed that she does not agree with this voluntary quarantine, which makes her half to stay in her home. She says, "I'm symptom-free, I don't have Ebola. I want to be out and about in the community."

She believes the public health system here in Maine what they are requiring to do is based on false medicine and hysteria. The local police chief right here in this small town does tell me that at the local hospital, people were canceling their day's surgery, not coming to doctor's appointments, because they believed she would be working there.

But the state of Maine is saying that "CDC has invested in us the right to determine what is in the best welfare for the public safety of the 1.3 million residents of this state. And we believe that if someone is at high risk, that they should remain secluded in a home for a 21-day period."

And today when the sun comes up, she may come out of her house and they may go to court to get that order.

CAMEROTA: Jean, thanks so much for that.

Meanwhile, President Obama was surrounded at the White House on Wednesday, by health care professionals, many of whom just back from West Africa for the less than the 21-day incubation period for Ebola.

The president said they should not be treated as pariahs, but rather as heroes.

We want to bring in CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, great to see you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: So, the president was really sending a message.

GUPTA: There's no doubt, both in term of what people saw there and in terms of what they heard.

He was really, really talking a lot about the fact that he believes that the idea of quarantining people, once they return, would discourage them from going back. That's sort of how a lot of scientists we talk to have seen it as well.

But I also want to talk to some of the doctors that were there, including Dr. Kent Brantly, I remember, and ask them specifically, drill down on this issue of what is it like when you get back? What's the rationale for quarantine? We talked about Dr. Craig Spencer.

Take a listen to Dr. Brantly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KENT BRANTLY, CURED OF EBOLA: I think the important thing to remember is that people, even who have been exposed to Ebola do not transmit the disease. They don't shed the virus until they are febrile and symptomatic.