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President Obama Admits His Team "Underestimated" ISIS in Syria; More Canceled Flights in Chiago; Violent Weather at a Phoenix Airport; Manhunt in Missouri for Shooters of Two Police Officers; Preview of "This is Life"

Aired September 28, 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: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Here are the top story right this hour. President Obama admits his team quote "underestimated the control ISIS had on Syria." You'll hear part of an interview that could have a lot of people talking tomorrow.

Plus, canceled for a third day. More than 600 flights in and out of Chicago are grounded. Passengers are frustrated. The ripple effect is impacting travel across the U.S.

And violent weather tears a section of roof right off the Phoenix airport. We'll give you a closer look at the damage.

We begin with a manhunt underway in Missouri who for the persons who shot at two officers overnight. One in Ferguson, and the other in St. Louis. The Ferguson police officer was shot in the arm while on patrol, and in a separate incident just three hours later someone shot an off duty St. Louis police officer in a drive-by. He was hit.

The incidents have both communities on edge. Tensions, as you know, are still high in Ferguson after an unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by a white police officer last month.

Let's go to CNN's Sara Sidner now who is in Ferguson. So Sara, what are the conditions of both of the officers?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We can tell you that they were both injured. One of them shot in the arm. They are both nonlife-threatening injuries. The other officer was not hit by bullets, but by glass and had some minor injuries from the glass there. And the two incidents do not appear to be related in any way, according to authorities.

And also, the incidents don't appear to be related in any way to the August 9th shooting of the unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. But this community is, as you mentioned, very, very tense, and very worried about any time there is now any kind of confrontation between police and the community, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Sara, police say these incidents are not related? SIDNER: That's correct. At this point they don't believe they're

related. In this incident, I can tell you I'm standing outside of the community center where the police officer here in Ferguson was shot. He was on a routine patrol, according to the police. He went around back. He saw someone. That person he tried to get out and tried to figure out what was going on with that person. It was at night, 9:00 at night. And authorities believe the suspect turned around and fired at the officer and then there was a chase that ensued, and they went just back into those woods there. They are still searching for that suspect.

In the other situation that was actually in St. Louis close to the airport on i-70, there was what appeared to be a drive-by shooting that was an unidentified -- the officer was not in his police car. He was not wearing his uniform. Only had the pants on, and his car was shot up by several suspects according to police, and they have not found either. Not in that incident or this incident, and there is no known motive yet, but the investigation continues, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Sidner, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

All right, meantime, hundreds of flights in and out of Chicago are grounded for a third day today, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across the country. The airlines have been scrambling since Friday when investigators say an air traffic control center employee set a fire that accused O'Hare and midway airports to halt operations. The FAA says it could take weeks before all the necessary repairs are made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MURPHY, TRAVEL EXPERT: You are going to see the slow roll-out of flights because they are getting flights out. They just can't get as many in to that hugely busy airport, as it would normally do. So that's going to slow that down. If I'm a business traveler, I'm figuring out other options. I'm driving to different airports. I'm thinking, God, how to get out of the way and do my job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, meteorologist Jennifer Gray has more on the impact of the cancellation across the U.S.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Fred, because of that fire in the facility that controls all the planes in the Chicago region, you saw how many delays you had on Friday. More than 1,000. A lot on Saturday.

Still seeing 800 flight cancellations today. Chicago O'Hare, Midway, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Reagan and Detroit, even more airports than this, all affected this. This create that ripple effect from planes can't get in, can't get out.

Do plan on cancellations and delays to continue Monday and even into Tuesday. So it is going to be a nightmare for some folks as they are traveling for business or even pleasure early part of the week.

We have had incredible amounts of moisture pulling into the southwest. We had severe weather across Phoenix yesterday and then today. We're still seeing rain anywhere from two to four inches in western Wyoming. We're seeing one to three inches in portions of Idaho. Boise, two to four. So a lot of rain still reported in the southwest, and also the southeast. Florida has gotten so much rain over the past couple of days, the past week or two. Four to six inches around Tampa. This is through Monday. Four to six in Charleston. South of Atlanta, south of Macon could see four to six inches as well.

Another big story, temperatures in the north. Look at Marquette, 78 degrees on Sunday, 48 degrees on Monday. Temperatures are dropping some 30 degrees. We're seeing temperatures in Minneapolis, 83 on Sunday, 61 on Monday. So quite the tumble. Chicago, your high temperature will drop from 79 to 64 Monday into Tuesday. Incredible -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, incredible indeed. Whoa. Big drop.

All right, thanks so much, Jennifer.

All right. In Syria, there's new fighting today along the board with Turkey. And that's where Kurdish forces have been battling with ISIS militants for control of several towns. U.S.-led coalition forces have been conducting airstrikes on ISIS targets in that area over the weekend, including an ISIS compound near the town of Kobani.

CNN's Phil Black has spent the day on the border right near the heaviest fighting taking place there. He is with me now.

So Phil, it sounds quiet. Looks relatively at ease right now. But you paint the picture for me.

PHIL BLACK, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, today, Fred, we saw some pretty heavy fighting indeed. It's all about that town of Kobani that you mentioned. This is what ISIS is trying to get to. There has been advancing through the territory surrounding it from every direction through the course of the week. And now, they are very close indeed.

What we saw was fighting from that town just a few miles to the east, and it was ISIS fighters really pounding the local ethnic Kurdish fighters who were trying to resist them. Very close. Like I say, a few miles to the south. They're said to be even closer.

Officials in Kobani say that as many as ten mortar rounds fell on the city itself today. So what all of this means is that ISIS is getting very, very close. This advance on this town has already triggered a humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people have left the area fleeing into and across the border into Turkey. And so, there are real fears on the ground now that ISIS may claim this city in the coming days, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, Phil, does the airstrike did take out that one ISIS structure. What kind of impact does it mean for that group as it continues to fight the Kurds?

BLACK: Well, what the fighters on the ground are saying is it did not make enough of a difference at all. And given what we saw today as well, it was clear that ISIS had advanced further beyond that point, so it hadn't stopped them. If it slowed them down, it wasn't by much.

So what those Kurdish fighters on the ground are saying they want are more airstrikes. Really, substantive airstrikes that can really make a difference to the course of this battle because so far they say they haven't received it. And without it, they don't hold out much hope of being able to defeat ISIS in the long-term?

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Black, thank you so much. Stay safe.

All right, back in this country. Murder and assault charges are expected to be filed tomorrow against Alton Alexander Nolen. The suspect in a gruesome killing near Oklahoma City. Police say Nolen beheaded a co-worker and wounded another before being shot by a company executive. The attack happened just after Nolen had been fired. The FBI is now investigating after co-workers told authorities Nolen tried to convert them to Islam. The suspect remains hospitalized. Police interviewed him yesterday after he regained consciousness.

And President Barack Obama admits his team quote "underestimated the control ISIS had in Syria." We're live from the White House next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we have been telling about additional coalition airstrikes this weekend in Syria and Iraq. And some of the most recent strikes hitting its oil fields and ISIS compound and areas of fighting between ISIS and Syrian Kurdish forces.

Well, as the coalition works to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIS, questions remain, how did ISIS grow so fast? In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," President barrack Obama admits the U.S. intelligence community underestimated the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think our head of the intelligence community Jim Clapper has acknowledged that I think they underestimated what had been taking place in Syria. Essentially, what happened with ISIL was that you have Al-Qaeda in Iraq which was a vicious group. But our marines were able to quash with the help of Sunni tribes. They went back underground. But over the past couple of years during the chaos of the Syrian civil war where essentially have huge (INAUDIBLE) of the country that are completely ungoverned. They were able to reconstitute themselves and take advantage of that chaos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining me right now is CNN's Erin McPike at the White House. So Erin, what is the White House saying about, you know, this early

coalition effort thus far against ISIS?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Fred, certainly they're pleased with how it's going in Iraq, and they're stressing patience with respect to Syria because of what President Obama just said in that interview. And that idea of taking advantage of a Middle Eastern country that is in chaos for a terrorist organization to set up its operations is the context for his resolve in handling terrorism in the future. I want to listen to -- I want you to listen to more of that interview. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: This is one of the challenges that we're going to have generally is where you've got states that are failing or in the midst of civil war. These kinds of organizations thrive. That's why it's so important for us to recognize part of our solution here that's going to be military. We just have to push them back and shrink their space. And go after their command and control and their capacity and their weapons and fueling and cut off their financing and work to eliminate the flow of foreign fighters. But what we also have to do is we have to come up with political solutions in Iraq and Syria in particular, but in the Middle East.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: Now, Fred, the big question there, though, is that he continues to say that the U.S. with help of Sunni tribes was able to quash Al-Qaeda. But then taking advantage of Syria, Al-Qaeda was able to reconstitute itself as ISIS. Well, what is to say after airstrikes and potentially ground troops from some nations going in that Syria wouldn't descend into chaos again and another terrorist group wouldn't be able to come in and reconstitute itself again and pose another threat. And I think that's what we're seeing President Obama sort of reflect on right now in this interview, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So meaning, is this a prelude to another plan or strategy change if those things seem possible or probable?

MCPIKE: Well, essentially Fred, we are looking to hear more from the administration on what these political solutions are. Obviously, we have heard that as far as Iraq is concerned, they are interested in this inclusive government. But as far as Syria, there's a lot left to be uncovered there. And what we do know is that national security advisor, Susan Rice, met with a delegation from the Syrian opposition coalition on Friday here at the White House. But obviously, there will have to be more coming forth about what is going forward in Syria.

WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McPike at the White House. Thank you so much.

All right, violent weather. Here's a section of roofs off the Phoenix airport. What's the impact on air travel there? But first, let's take a look at the future. Our tomorrow transform

series shows how technology is helping to make cars safer. Here's Richard Quest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): No sooner had we taken to the roads in cars that we became all too familiar with the car crash. Before long it became clear making road travel safer was essential if the motor car wasn't to become a menace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you go back into the mid 1960s you will find that the fatality rate per hundred million vehicles miles travelled was about 5.5. If you compare that to today, you would see that the fatality rate has dropped to only 1.04.

QUEST: Getting that number down in the U.S. required a rethink on vehicle safety to understand what happens when cars crash. Today, testing is being taken even further at the Texas A&M transportation institute they're able to scan vehicles part by - part to simulate crash tests.

Now, we know more about what happens during car crashes than ever before. Tomorrow's goal is to avoid a crash in the first place.

Picture cars that talk to each other. It's called vehicle to vehicle technology, and it's already being tested in some cities.

Technology is making our cars smarter. It means human and machine can work in harmony. This insures tomorrow's roads are safer for everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Today in Vatican city Pope Benedict XVI made a rare appearance since his resignation in 2013. He joined Pope Francis at a public event announcing the neglect and abandonment of the elderly. The event was held in St. Peter's square where Francis address the over 40,000 elderly people. Before the speech the two Popes embraced warmly. The 87-year-old Benedict had made only two other public appearances since he resigned a year and a half ago.

And violent storms hit Phoenix the sky harbor international airport. Shutting it down for about an hour. A parts of the roof were blown right off of some passenger had to wait out the wind and the thunder and the lightning in the plains while on the tarmac.

Here's Rebecca Thomas of CNN affiliate KTHO.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This storm is pinned off. (INAUDIBLE), literally look at it. REBECCA THOMAS, KTHO REPORTER (voice-over): Operations at sky harbor

airport are returning to normal. Earlier Saturday flights were canceled from about 2:30 to 3:30 in the afternoon because of wind, because of rain, and because of intense lightning. At least 40 incoming flights were diverted. Now, the FAA tells us that the control tower was briefly evacuated in the afternoon because of high winds. In fact, a gust of nearly 70 miles per hour was recorded here. As for damage sky harbor officials confirm significant damage to terminal two at some of the gates and in baggage claim areas.

Passengers and ground crew sent us some pretty incredible video from beyond the checkpoints, security checkpoints, whipping wind tore off pieces of the roof and water has been, again, pouring into that terminal.

Now, I did speak with a passenger who was stuck on the tarmac in a plane. He said the wind was so intense, the plane was shaking violently. He saw that roofer being torn off of terminal four and a rolling staircase whizzed by. Again, obviously his plane did not take off. He was stuck in Phoenix. The weather has since called down. That is the good news. But passengers are being advised to check with their airlines about the status of incoming and departing flights.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. That was Rebecca Thomas reporting.

The Phoenix fire department reported that during the storm emergency crews received more than 70 weather-related emergency calls about traffic accidents and downed power lines and trees.

All right, it seems fitting given the long bitter rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox that Derek Jeter ends his legendary 20-year major league career today at Fenway park. Before the game there was no animosity from the Fenway faithful or Red Sox players. Nothing but love for the Yankees' captain who has the sixth most hits in baseball history and five world series championship rings. One for each finger on one hand.

Still ahead, the White House says no U.S. ground forces in Syria, but the speaker of the House says we may have no choice. CNN's Ron Brownstein breaks down the politics of ISIS next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitefield.

Here are five things crossing the CNN news desk right now.

The community of Charlottesville, Virginia, is ramping up efforts to find UVA student Hannah Graham. She vanished more than two weeks ago. Emergency dispatch operators are working extra hours to help field incoming tips. Meanwhile, Jesse Matthews, the prime suspect in the case, is being held in isolation in a Virginia jail. He has been charged with abduction with the intent to defile. And it has been more than three days since anyone has seen 49-year-old

Beverly Carter, a real estate agent in Arkansas. She was reported missing by her husband Thursday night after she didn't come home from an appointment. Yesterday, more than 200 volunteers searched the area where she disappeared.

And Denzel Washington is king of the box office this weekend. His new film "the Equalizer" was far and away the number one film this weekend. It took in more than $35 million. Washington plays a former special forces soldier who comes out of retirement to battle Russian gangsters.

The number two movie this weekend was the "Maze Runner." In third place the animated film "the Box Trolls."

And in Venice, Italy, George Clooney and his new bride have made their first public appearance as a married couple. The mega star and British human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, exchanged vows. Looking ever so beautiful there. Guests included Matt Damon, Phil Murray and Vogue editor Anna Wintour. The couple boarded a boat, and Mr. And Mrs. Clooney could be seen glancing at their wedding rings.

All right. And now to the battle against the terror group ISIS. Today, House speaker John Boehner said the United States may have no choice but to send in ground troops to destroy ISIS. Democratic Connecticut senator Chris Murphy said on today's "STATE OF THE UNION," bombs won't be enough to win, and Congress shouldn't delay debating or taking a vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: You ultimately can't defeat ISIS with a military strategy alone. You need a realistic political strategy. And I just don't think we have that today in Syria right now. If we are betting on the so-called Syrian moderates to be able to defeat both ISIS and Bashar al-Assad at the same time. I ultimately don't think that that is going to be how this ends up.

But, I'm also concern about the fact that we're not able to debate this in Congress right now because there are some serious questions that we have to ask. You previewed one of them, which is what is our end game? How long are we going to be in Syria?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: On CBS's "Face The Nation," deputy national security advisor Tony Blinken says the White House does have a plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLINKEN, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: But we have a comprehensive strategy to deal with it. You've seen the president put together a broad international coalition. We had five of our countries flying with us the other day. We had more than 50 countries now part of this effort. Not only dealing with the situation on the ground, but also trying to stop the flow of foreign fighters, stop the financing, delegitimize ISIL. It's a comprehensive campaign, and it has a broad coalition. It's going to take time, but we now have the pieces in place to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in senior political analyst Ron Brownstein who is editorial director of the "National Journal."

Good to see you, Ron. So how can the White House continue to assure people that no U.S. ground troops will get engaged?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Because the decision belongs to the president, and the president has been as unequivocal on that as the president can be.

Now, you are seeing rhetorical shifts. I think today is an important day in several respects. What John Boehner said to ABC on two fronts. Both, that he would, in fact, call back Congress to vote, specifically, on authorizing military intervention in Syria if the president asked him. That's a big if.

And even more importantly, cracking open the door saying that ultimately ground troops will be needed and if other nations will not, Arab nations will not provide them, we may have no choice but to use U.S. troops.

I think that's something that Democrats are more likely to seize on than other Republicans, and it's an indication of how complex and narrow a tight rope the politics of this very complex challenge represents.

WHITFIELD: And you said, if the president were to ask, would this president want Congress to reconsider some new authorization plans in which to vote on?

BROWNSTEIN: We're in a little bit of an Alfonz and Gaston moment of you go first, no, you go first. Speaker said today that he would call back Congress if the president asked. That after saying only a few days ago that it is not really Congress should vote on this until next year.

Tony Blinken, continuing with the administration has said all along that we would be happy to have a resolution or support from the Congress. But he conspicuously did not ask for Congress to come back and vote.

Look, a vote is not a slam dunk for either side here. For the president, he still remembers last year when he went to Congress and indicated he wanted support for bombing Syria over its chemical weapons use. Did not get that support. I think is he reluctant to come back again. And whatever the speaker says, there are a lot of members of both parties who don't want to be On the Record about this. So this is a very broad situation and complex situation at this point in which the politics kind of reflect the difficulty of the diplomatic and military choices as well. WHITFIELD: And as long as there is this coalition of support, we're

hearing from the president who really is leaning on these other nations. Particularly the five Arab nations who are lending their support. Why would he not want to kind of leverage their use as it pertains to U.S. ground troops -- or as it pertains to ground troops so that U.S. ground troops would not be used?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, that is obviously his goal, and really everyone's goal. You know, many ways I think across the political spectrum, there is a sense that the coalition has been put together as if the administration has put together the coalition effectively. But this is the big blank spot here. Who will do the fighting on the ground? Do you -- is there confidence that, in fact, there is a moderate Syrian opposition or an Iraqi army on the other side that can take this fight to ISIS. I think a lot of people are skeptical of that.

On the other hand, as you know, while the public has moved towards support of airstrikes, there is still a hard line of resistance in the American public post-Afghanistan, post-Iraq and committing U.S. troops to another Middle East ground war.

So I think we're kind of stuck at that point where many people feel that the coalition will not be sufficient to ultimately dislodge ISIS, but there is no willingness not only in the U.S., but as we've seen across the western democracies to commit their own ground forces at this point. So that's where we are.

WHITFIELD: So Speaker Boehner sounding relatively supportive and we're hearing a lot of support coming from senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham as well, but for how long?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Look. I mean, we saw it 156 House members vote against a much less ambitious resolution that simply argues for authorized training of Syrian rebels. It's not clear at all that there would be sustained support for any kind of military. Even the military intervention we're in that is air-based if there are reversals on the ground.

I mean, this is a very fought, as I said, political situation where you have many on the left of the Democratic Party and many on the right of the Republican party that are reluctant to see us move back in in a big way. And what John Boehner said today was kind of interesting because he said, look, there may be no choice in the end but to commit U.S. ground troops if you really want to get this done.

I'm not sure there are going to be many Republicans who want to go into the 2014 election making that case. On the other hand, I'm not sure the president wants to call back Congress in October to have a debate about whether, in fact, the administration did underestimate the risk in Syria as he acknowledged tonight on CBS.

So there's a lot of vulnerability here on both sides. And unfortunately, that kind of leads to a situation with the kind of path of least resistance to push it down the road.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much, from Los Angeles.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. It is one of the world's most dangerous and deadly threats, the Ebola virus. Coming up, the struggles to contain this terrifying disease.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, turning our attention to what President Obama calls a global threat, the Ebola epidemic. It's already killed nearly 3,000 people in west Africa, and if nothing is done to stop the spread. Health officials fear more than one million people could be infected by the end of this we're.

CNN's Candy Crowley talks with two health experts who were looking for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOCTOR ADAM LEVINE, NEUROLOGIST: Everybody is taking to tray all the precautions they possibly can impacting the disease. And there's a lot of fear around them. A lot of them is generated by the fact that there are not enough treatment beds available for people with the disease. And they know that if they get sick, there may not be a place for them to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. I would say that you're facing on the ground sort of a biblical end of days scenario, and people understandably are incredibly frightened. And so, there doesn't appear to be many options available to them right now. And there's a lot of fear. There is a lot of panic, understandably.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, what -- is it a cultural -- it's real clearly because there is a huge threat, and there's very, very high mortality rate. Are there societal functions in Liberia, in Sierra Leone threaten the outbreak, that are threatened by this outbreak?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say that you are facing a mentality that developed largely as resulted two years of civil conflict. We are rather in fleeing was the only way to stay alive. And so, this is arguably the closest thing that has been experienced psychosocially on that level of trauma since that time. So I think we are seeing that come to bare during this outbreak which we have never seen before.

CROWLEY: So why is it so historic? Why have we never seen it before? And attorney Blinken, the deputy national security advisor was here, and he said we'll stop this, we'll stop this. Will they?

LEVINE: Well, I hope so. I mean, I think the CDC estimates are pretty clear that if we put enough boots on the ground, if we open up enough people of treatment units in the next six months that we can stop this epidemic. If we don't, then the numbers will continue to rise and spiral out of control. CROWLEY: So on the specifics of it, what's needed? You need more

doctors willing to go in there? As we know, this is the -- you know, the medical profession is almost more threatened than anyone else.

LEVINE: So the answer is simple. We need more Ebola treatment unit. We need more humanitarian organization coming in to run them. And we needed measures in place to stop the spread of virus in communities such as contact tracing and isolation of individuals who are sick.

With those measures we can stop this epidemic, and all is possible. You sigh the U.S. military are some 3,000 troops over there building these Ebola treatment units, in fact, as I understand. They will be building these sorts of things you are talking about. How will we know when this war is over?

CROWLEY: This is one of the things you're talking about. How will we know when this war is over?

LEVINE: When transmission stops. When we aren't seeing any new cases of Ebola.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where we start seeing decline in cases as obviously a good sign. And treatment centers are definitely a step in the right direction. But our number one priority has to also be to stop the transmission of the virus from person to person. And that's how we're going to stop the epidemic from spreading.

CROWLEY: I was interested. I want to show you a business news cover that appeared while you were not in country, which basically, as you can see, it says Ebola is coming and dripping in blood. The fear here by some is, my God, it's going to come here. And, yet, I hear doctors saying, you know what, we can handle it. It's the conditions in the country. Do you generally agree with that, that Ebola is not a fear here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a fear anywhere. Just the word Ebola inflicts panic. However, our public health surveillance systems, our public health infrastructure is infinitely more strong than what we're encountering in that area, and we're seeing what happens when you come into an area with an already fragile health system. What can happen when you introduce a player like Ebola.

LEVINE: Yes. And even the mortality from the disease would not be as high in individuals infected here. With very simple treatments we're saving lives in places like Liberia and those --

CROWLEY: It wasn't a simple treatment. Because we just -- it just sounds like a death sentence, right?

LEVINE: Yes. But it's not, though. I mean, just with intravenous fluids and oral rehydration we're probably reducing mortality by 30 or 40 percent among patients who are infected. Elect light replacement in the U.S., you would have things like intensive monitoring and blood products and so forth that would be able to treat patients with.

So, with you know, just the bread and butter of critical care medicine that we've been practicing for decades, we can reduce mortality from this disease.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Make sure to stay with CNN as our medical team will continue to provide updates on the Ebola epidemic.

All right. In the war against ISIS, Kurdish fighters have had some of the biggest victories so far. Coming up, we meet the Kurds who say this is actually a battle they've been waging for decades.

And don't forget Anthony Bourdain's "PARTS UNKNOWN," his new season premieres tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN. Anthony takes us on an adventure to Shanghai. Tune in tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Right now, ISIS militants are battling to capture towns along the Syria-Turkey border. U.S.-led coalition forces have been conducting airstrikes on ISIS targets in the area over the weekend. And Kurdish fighters on the ground have been pushing back against the ISIS troops.

As Ben Wedeman reports, the Kurds say they've been fighting for this region for decades and ISIS is just the latest threat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Abu Bakr Ahmed (ph) has been selling flutes in Erbil streets for 25 years. In his use as the fighter with the Peshmerga, the Kurdish guerrilla army, he fought the old regime during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Under Saddam Hussein, the entire world defended him, he recalls. Arab countries, western countries gave him weapons and aid and all we had was the mountains.

His old comrade in arms (INAUDIBLE), vividly displays what he'd do with anyone who causes trouble in Erbil.

We aren't moving from here, he tells me. We will fight to the death and will save the last bullet for ourselves. We will fight for Kurdistan, for our families, for our children. We aren't afraid of anyone. We have been fighting for 60 years.

ISIS is less than an hour's drive to the west of Erbil, but life seems to go on uninterrupted. Here history is not counted in years but in millennial.

Erbil is one of the world's oldest cities according to some historians. People have lived here since 6,000 BC. And in that time they have weathered a few storms. ISIS is just the latest.

Erbil's ancient citadel has fallen to be a Syrian, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Persians, the Romans, the Arabs, the Mongols, the Turks, and the British, just to name a few. The Kurds, a proud and ancient people, have seen them all come and seen them all go. They take the long view.

But even with their long memories that people here say ISIS has set new standards for barbarity. (INAUDIBLE) has worked in the market for 50 years.

I have never seen anything like ISIS, he says. We have seen war but not this kind of killing and slaughter. Entire villages and areas emptied of people.

The carpenters in the suke (ph) are busy banging together cradles for the next generation. Demand they say is up, a sign perhaps that today's clouds like so many before them, shall pass.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Erbil, in northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Next in the NEWSROOM, Lisa Ling takes a look at relationships that start online and involve companionship and cash. The world of sugar daddies and sugar babies next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Online dating, while it's not new, but there just might be a new twist on it. Our Lisa Ling found couples who use a Web site to negotiate a sort of relationship of personal and financial. Take a look at a clip from Lisa's new show, "THIS IS LIFE," which premieres tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA LING, CNN HOST, THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING (voice-over): Taylor grew up in a traditional middle-class family. But in her early 20s, she realized her tastes were anything but ordinary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I started dating guys, they wanted to go to maybe a fast food burger chain or something. I wanted to go out and experience a different lifestyle. So naturally I ventured out.

LING: Taylor embraced the sugar lifestyle when she was just 22. And this is Rich, her sugar daddy of nearly a decade.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing, you sexy thing. Give me a hug. Give me a hug. How you doing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good seeing you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to get in?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to get in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's ride. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Sound good.

LING: Sugar relationships can last a long time. Taylor has been in hers for ten years. She says her sugar daddy is teaching her a lot of really important things like golf.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outstanding.

LING: Good shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outstanding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I met Rich it was effortless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Taylor. Don't you laugh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just hit it off.

LING: Whoa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

LING: That was a good shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

I don't want to use the term love at first sight. That's not a long with lines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm 32.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm 69.

LING: If you forgive me for saying, there are a lot of people who may say what a dirty old man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am a dirty old man. All old men are dirty old men. Have you ever met one that didn't like to flirt?

LING: Actually no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I rest my case.

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WHITFIELD: All right. I talked with Lisa this week about the couple in the piece you saw and I asked whether the family members know about this relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LING: In this particular relationship, the man wasn't married and has never been married. However, there are lots of sugar daddies who are on these websites who are married and are looking for a younger woman to be their companions and whatever goes along with that, you know again, is negotiated. With regard to Taylor and Rich, one of the couples that we profiled,

he is close to 70 and she is in her 30s. Their relationship is a little bit unique. They claim they have never had sex and for Rich, Taylor allows him to feel youthful and vigorous. And she provides for him something that he was really missing in his life. And it's just a different take on the sugar daddy relationship.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That sounds like a friendship.

LING: Well, it's a mentorship, too. And that's another thing a lot of the young women expressed the need for. You know, in this challenged economy, they really are seeking these older men for mentorship and possible opportunities to advance their careers.

WHITFIELD: And how did they hook up?

LING: They also hooked up on a Web site. They have been together for a long time but they initially hooked up on a Web site.

WHITFIELD: OK. Exploring this world in "THIS IS LIFE" with Lisa ling, airing tonight. 10:00 eastern and pacific right here on CNN.

All right. Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. It is the 4:00 eastern hour.

So we begin with a manhunt underway in Missouri. For the persons who shot at two officers overnight, one in Ferguson and one in St. Louis. The Ferguson police officer was shot in the arm while on patrol. And in a separate incident just three hours later, someone shot at an off duty officer, St. Louis police officer in a drive-by, but he was not hit.