with jets flying at much higher speeds than drones and there is another problem that you have a bunch of countries up in the air with different abilities to target and you have to kind of get them all at the same standard is a difficult thing to do. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. i now turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room". breaking news, the secret service director resigns after breaches involving an armed intruder and a man with a gun right next to the president. border battle, cnn's cameras capture the desperate struggle as kurdish forces try to break an isis siege. rear admiral john kirby is here with me live right here in "the situation room" and the suspect in the disappearance of a virginia student is being looked at for possible connection to several other unsolved missing person and murder cases. i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this is cnn breaking news. a series of embarrassing incidents has now resigned after shocking security breaches that occurred on her own watch. julia pierson is out just days after an armed intruder made it deep inside the white house and after word that a man with a gun recently stood in an elevator right next to the president of the united states. we're also following the latest breaking news on ebola. the name of the patient diagnosed here in the united states has just been revealed. our correspondents, our analysts and newsmakers are all standing by with the very latest information. let's begin, though, with our senior white house correspondent jim acosta. >> julia pierson submitted her resignation to department of homeland security jay johnson earlier this afternoon and president obama called pierson to thank her for her many years of service and now the white house begins the process of finding a successor to leave

this bruised agency. >> after a string of astounding failures at the secret service, president obama and homeland security secretary jay johnson accepted the resignation of julia pierson. they both agree with that assessment because of the recent and accumulating reports that raise legitimate questions about the performance of the agency. >> reporter: it was a stunning turn of events for pierson who had the backing of the white house just this morning. >> the president and everyone at the white house stands solidly behind the men and women of the secret service including the director of the secret service. >> during a presidential visit to the cdc in noin december, a the white house didn't know about until 24 hours ago. >> did director pierson brief the president on that incident? >> jim, i can tell you that the white house first learned of that incident yesterday afternoon shortly before it was reported by -- before it was

publicly reported by news organizations. >> thank you very much, mr. president. >> thank you so much. >> when the president tapped pierson to become the first female director of the secret service 18 months ago, her mission was to fix the agency's culture. >> she's breaking the mold in terms of directors of the agencies, and i think that people are all extraordinarily proud of her. i couldn't be placing our lives in better hands than julia. >> now, retired secret service agent joseph clancy has been named the agency's temporary replacement until a permanent one can be found. in the meantime, julia pierson has given a quick interview to bloomberg news, wolf. she said leaving right now is painful for her at this time because she said she had a vision for the agency's future, a vision she will not be seeing through, wolf. >> so she resigned, but for all practical purposes she was pushed to resign, is that right? >> i think she was pushed to resign and her testimony in front of the house oversight committee was uninspiring, not

reassuring and you saw a steady stream of lawmakers coming to the cameras all day long today, like elija cummings and nancy pelosi and chuck schumer was about to have a news conference to call on pierson to resign and that was too much weight on this white house in addition toddle vart incident, wolf. the fact that the white house only found out about this before press reports came out with details that the president was in the elevator with an armed man that the secret service did not know about. >> one of president obama's appointees has lost nancy pelosi and elijah cummings, you know they're in deep trouble. thanks for that. as the secret service chief steps down, the white house intruder who may have cost her that job made a court appearance in washington. let's get more from our justice correspondent pamela brown. >> omar gonzalez appeared in a d.c. courtroom for the third time since the latest security breach at the white house and tonight cnn is learning new details that led to the downfall. a secret service force tells cnn

the entire incident from the time gonzalez went over the fence to the time he was tackled inside the white house was captured on tape by an elaborate video system and cnn has learned that as gonzalez ran into the white house he bowled over a female officer who was trying to close one of the mansion's double doors and that officer was able to get up, and chase the 42-year-old and tackle him just outside the east room. also the source that we spoke to says it's not surprising that the crash button, the button that was supposed to set off the alarm to indicate an intruder it's not surprise that crash button was muted and the former iraq war veteran omar gonzalez appeared in a federal courtroom pleading not guilt tote the three charges he faces including entering a restricted building while carrying a deadly weapon. today, wolf, a federal judge ordered gonzalez to go through a screening to see if he is competent to stand trial. his defense attorney pushed back and said he is competent to stand trial and he asked for the judge's order to be delayed.

>> he's not being released on bail or anything and he is suffering by all accounts from post traumatic stress. >> there are accounts that he suffered from post traumatic stress after serving in the i wach war, but today his defense attorney said he is fine and competent to stand trial. he said that before and he said he believes more strongly that he is competent to stand trial and the judge believes he needs to any through a competency test. >> thank you very much for that. >> let's go in depth with someone who has been all over the secret service lapses and jason chaffetz of utah and chairman of the house oversight subcommittee national security. is it good enough that she resigned, congressman? >> she had to go. i think it was the right move, and unfortunately, it had to happen. she had lost the confidence of the men and women in the secret service, but i'm afraid there are more systemic challenges there at the secret service. until we address the overall leadership, we talk about the

protocol, the training and the culture we won't truly root out the problems and challenges of the secret service. >> should there be more resignations from the secret service? >> there needs to be restructuring and few management and i think the best way to move forward. i appreciate mr. clancy coming in and he's a true professional and i hear nothing, but good things about him, but long-term it would probably be best to not only bring somebody in from the outside to support the secret service and the house speaker boehner's supportive of it and i am very supportive of it and it calls in blue ribbon commission and let's bring in people from the military and the fbi and private security to take a top-down, thorough approach to this for the long-term fix to truly be in place. >> so the new acting director, you don't think necessarily this person should be elevated to become the director. you want somebody to come in

from the outside? as best i can tell he has a good reputation and i worry about the overall culture and the protocol. this is a deep-seeded problem that will not be fixed in a day, but this is an agency that can never, ever make a mistake so they have to get their act together and do it and do it fast. >> you can't simply blame her for all of the problems and all these various problems the secret service has had. >> well, the buck needs to stop at her desk. what i'm truly concerned about is i don't think she was candid with the president of the united states. i asked her point-blank yesterday if she 100% of the time reported incidents to the president, if there was a breach in security, if the president's life or ring of security was ever breached and she said that she had only done that one time in the year 2014 which means she didn't tell the president about the elevator situation and that is just -- if you hold things

back from the president of the united states, the deal with the safety safety we the security and he's commander in cheeft united states of america. he's our president and i know republicans and democrats, he's the president of the united states and you can't have a secret service director who is holding back that type of information and then telling congress that she tells him 100% of the time. that was deception and when it got to that point where it was clear to me that she was deceiving people, that's when i -- yesterday came to the conclusion that she had to resign and i'm glad the white house did, as well. >> she spent, what? three hours answering questions before your committee yesterday. how much did that play. how much of a role did that play in her resignation and the three hours she spent there yesterday and by all accounts she didn't do a very good job. >> look, i wanted to hear from her that when we talk about an intruder in the white house, when you talk about somebody getting close to the president, i wanted her to be fired up and say they're never, ever going to get to the president and they're

never going to come into the white house again, no matter what. instead we heard about the study and we're going invest get. it just didn't inspire confidence. i've had good working relationship with elijah cummings, the ranking democrat on the oversight committee and he's a good man and he and i were lockstep in a lot of this, and i think you saw steve lynch out of massachusetts, a democrat get pretty fired up about it, as well. those of us that were sitting in that room in a bipartisan way, i think left with less confidence in her rather than more, and it was not a good showing. >> i want you to stand by, congressman. i have a lot more questions for you because this is a true, true scandal and we'll continue with the breaking news right after this. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we know in the cyber world, threats are always evolving. at first, we were protecting networks.

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let's get back to the breaking news. the director of the secret service has now resigned following truly shocking security breaches including a knife-wielding intruder and an armed contractor allowed to stand next to the president in an elevator. we are back with jason chaffetz of utah and he chairs the subcommittee national security. that incident on september 16th, the president is down at the centers for disease control in atlanta. he's in an elevator with an armed contractor and a guy with a gun and that's against the protocol, but what's truly shocking. fortunately nothing happened, but the president didn't learn about all of this until all of us learned about it yesterday. that is amazing, isn't it it? >> as a member of congress, i

shouldn't hear about it before the president of the united states and that's what's fundamentally wrong. i appreciate the men and women who serve in the secret service. they're amazing people, patriotic and do a very difficult job under stressful circumstances to say the least, but it's just totally unacceptable to allow a person with a gun and an arrest record to stand next to the president of the united states and if it does happen then you need to get the internal affairs immediately involved. the president needs to know about it, and that needs to be rooted out, but as best i can tell there was an attempt to cover it up and make sure that the president never did hear about it, that the media and the congress never heard about it. that's the point where it kind of goes over the edge and you just think this person is not up to the job. >> who was part of the alleged cover-up? >> well, i worry that the director herself was involved and that she did know about it it. now, that's a strong allegation,

but the only way to root it out is to shed light on it it and to hear that the president hadn't heard about it and never heard the secret service deny that this had happened and when contacted by "the washington post" to deny it, it leads us further to believe that there was a lot of truth to it and it was one of the things cited by the white house spokesperson today. we'll learn more and more intimate details to this. i think the white house and secret service themselves if they'll gain credibility back, wolf, they need to start sharing this information. the the night of the attack of the fence jumper, they said there was no weapon involved. there was a weapon. they did have a gun. they said he got just inside the door. that isn't the full truth. you fleed to look at ed donovan and the secret service director herself and you need to look into the the organization and change the culture because you can't mislead the american people and the united states

congress. you can't do that. >> you have an incident in an elevator with an armed guard that shouldn't be near the president with the gun and you have a fence jumper who gets into the east room of the white house and you have someone seven bullets that hit the residence of the white house and nobody discovers it for four days and a housekeeper discovers it. here's the question, congressman because you spent a lot of time investigating as the chairman of your subcommittee. are there more incidents like this that the public doesn't know about yet? >> yes. absolutely. unfortunately, that's very true. in december

release praising their tremendous restraint and discipline. i've got to tell you, that is not sending the right message to the men and women of the secret service. i want them to know we've got their back. nobody gets to the president and nobody gets in the white house and no matter what. if they need to take more dramatic steps to make sure that has to happen then that's what they have to do. i want to have their back and improvised explosive devices and if somebody is coming at the president and someone is coming at the president's daughter take them down. >> first time the fence jumper had a problem with his foot. what's that all about? >> my understanding is that he was on some degree of disability because he had some problems

with his foot. maybe i'm wrong there, but that's the way i remember it it. he wasn't exactly carl lewis sprinting to the front door. >> we'll check into that, congressman. i'm sure you will, as well. jason chaffetz of utah, thanks very much for joining us. upon. >> thank you. we'll have more on the story coming up later, but there is other important news we're following including a desperate battle near a key border town as new air strikes target isis positions there. is there a major regional power about to join the fight? and a drone with a high-powered camera is in the skies over virginia as police step up the search for a missing student. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." narrator: this is the storm sea captain: there's a storm comin narrator: that whipped through the turbine which poured... surplus energy into the plant which generously lowered its price and tipped off the house which used all that energy to stay warm through the storm. chipmunk: there's a bad storm comin!

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a desperate battle is playing out within sight of a cnn crew right now. it's happening right inside syria's border with turkey where kurdish forces are trying to break an isis siege of a key town. the united states has launched fresh air strikes in the area and turkey, a nato ally has deployed troops as it weighs whether to join the fight against isis. let's go to pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> you can debate how effective the coalition air strikes really are, but what is not open to debate is in many places isis is still very much on the move. kurdish fighters battling against isis as it tries to advance on the syrian town of kobani right at the turkish border. cnn cameras captured the battle. turkish tanks have taken up

positions on the border. turkey, a member of nato is considering sending troop rs against isis. the new secretary-general making clear in his first press conference the alliance would come to turkey's aid. >> our responsibility is the basic responsibility to sand up and we are very clear we are to protect turkey. >> the pentagon again warning air strikes alone will never get rid of isis and that air strikes have limitations. >> this is a complicated, difficult, cultural, religious, geographic struggle that we're facing here in iraq and syria and it's not going to be solved overnight and it's not going to be solved through bombs. >> one senior military official tells cnn, quote, to expect isis to turn and run with its tail between its legs after a few air strikes was never part of our prediction. it was never part of the assumption. >> when we say we're going to any after them, we mean it, but

i also think it's important to note that while we continue to hit them where they are it doesn't mean that we can and should hit them everywhere they are at every moment. we must choose. we must diss discriminate. we care about preserving life, we tear about being patient, and precise. the air campaign is changing. the pentagon calls it dynamic targeting. warplanes loaded with missiles and bombs patrol a designated grade in the sky looking for isis fighters, vehicles and weapons. they call in a target to a command center, get permission and launch their weapons. but still, the question on the turkish border, why not more? >> truthfully, it's just a matter of you can't be everywhere all of the time. if things shifted to cobain in terms of support you can go to another town and say we're not getting the support here, either. >> they are seeing some impact

from the air strikes. in some places isis fighters are staying off their cell phones and staying off the roads and trying to do what they can to avoid u.s. and coalition air strikes, but by all accounts, wolf, still a very long way to go. >> very long, indeed. thanks very much, the u.s. and its allies are stepping up the air war against isis, but is it enough? situation admiral general kirby. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> i want to start with baghdad, cnn has heard at least four mortar rounds that hit the so-called green zone and that's where the u.s. embassy is and civilian, military personnel, what can you tell us about that? >> i don't know. we've seen reports of that, but i can't confirm that right now. it doesn't come as a surprise that they'll try to pressure baghdad. they have and they've been doing for many, many weeks and some of the air strikes have taken place to the south of the city and to

the southwest of it, so we know they're trying to put pressure on it. we also know that the iraqi security forces around the the city have been stiffening their defenses. we're seeing these reports same as you and we'll look into these and it's no surprise that isil will be putting pressure on the capital. >> we know the second largest city in iraq, mosul is under the control of isis right now. how vulnerable is the largest city in iraq, the capital, baghdad? >> it is better defended than places like mosul were and what we've seen around fallujah. believe me, the iraqi security forces, they know what that city means to them and to their people and to their country. we see them stiffening their defenses and so far they've been able to protect the capital. >> do you think it would be necessary to increase the number of u.s. troops and advisers in baghdad to protect american diplomats and contractors who are right there with 1600 u.s. active duty personnel are serving in iraq. >> not all 1600 are there.

most of them are and of the 475 that the president announced a couple of wednesdays ago, but they're all flowing in that direction. it's important to remember two things. one, the advisers are going to be just that, they're going to be advisers. they're not in combat and engaging the enemy. >> they are protecting the american embassy. that's different from the than the advisers and that's a completely different mission set. we see no need right now to increase their numbers. i think we think we have an adequate level of protection there around the embasset and facilities that we have in baghdad, but the advisers are going to be increased and the president announced that and we'll be sending more teams to work with various units. >> about 50 miles outside of baghdad, isis has taken another iraqi military base, killing a whole bunch of iraqi troops and many others ran away, left their u.s. weapons behind. >> one of the reasons why an advising mission is so important to get into the higher headquarters and help the iraqis

improve the competence on the battlefield. i also want to say and this gets to barbara's report, this remains a very potent, real threat. these guys are serious and they're trying to continue to grab ground. so i think we all need to be mind frl of the fact that this is not going to be an easy or short struggle. >> is turkey, nato ally, about to get involved and help the united states? >> they certainly have indicated that they want to participate. it's going to be up to them to say what that participation looks like. >> militarily speaking. >> they gave us every indication that they were going to contribute and they needed to work it out for themselves and we'll respect that. just by intent ofi geography, they are involved and they have a refugee problem and they've been battling terrorists of their own and a foreign fighter problem so we have every expectation that they'll participate and it's up to them to figure it out. >> we heard the president announced new plans to make sure

that drones flying over civilian areas have new precautions to avoid what the pentagon calls collateral damage or civilian deaths or injuries, unlucky people who happen to be in an area, that those rules of engagements for drone strikes, hellfire missiles or whatever that they are not being applied and those new, strict conditions as far as u.s. airstrikes in iraq and syria are right now. they don't have the restrictions that the drones have. is that right? >> what i will tell you is rather than to parcel out manned and unmanned systems. we go to extraordinary lengths. the last couple of days and we go through extraordinary lengths, absolutely. we try to be as precise as we can and we believe that we have been. >> the restrictions on the aircraft are not as tight as they ort drones. >> speaking for general austin, the restrictions on all his

aircraft flying missions in iraq and syria are very, very tight. >> a let of civilian casualties as far as you know. >> we don't have confirmed operational reporting and we know there is reporting out there of civilian casualties and central command analysts are looking through those very, very carefully and very actively right now to determine the veracity. >> will you share that and be transparent? >> just like we've been in iraq and afghanistan. if we believe we've caused civilian kshcasual e we'll do something about it. >> we're following other breaking news including troubling developments in the texas ebola case. while the patient fights for his life in a dallas hospital authorities are now monitoring some school-age children who may have been in contact with this patient. there you see him there. we're also following breaking news in virginia. for the first time they're using a drone, yes, a drone to try to find any trace of hannah graham. turn the trips you have to take,

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this is cnn breaking news. >> the breaking news out of dallas, texas. authorities now are monitoring schoolchildren who were with that man infected with ebola shortly after he arrived here in the united states. let's get right to our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay is at the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta. sanjay, how worried should we be about those school-age kids who were in contact with this individual? >> reporter: well, you know, obviously it's concerning. i think just the fact that they're children, obviously, raises another level of concern.

their bodies of young people, old people and their immune systems oftentimes aren't as robust and aren't as strong and they'll be predisposed to these infections, as well. i do want to say, wolf, the odds are on their side and it's unlikely even with this sort of contact that they'll actually become infected with ebola and most people who have this sort of contact won't be, but they'll be monitored. wolf, we have more details about this parth, as you know he's a liberian national, 42 years old and this is his first trip to the united states. he apparently was in critical condition yesterday and is now in serious, but stable condition, but they describe a story of being frustrated at the hospital the first time they went in really making it clear that he was from liberia. he had nausea. he had vomiting and he had fever and it's curious still, but nothing more was done for him at that time and he was told that

he had a mild, viral illness and antibiotics which would not work for a mild illness and you mentioned these school-age concern and governor rick perry talked about that today during his press conference. take a listen. >> some school age children have been identified as having had contact with the patient and are now being monitored at home for any signs of the disease. >> reporter: they're not obviously admitting them to the hospital, but they're going to have to have them take their temperature twice a day for three weeks. that's sort of the standard protocol. but, wolf, we talked about this earlier in the day, if he'd been admitted at that time and he had contact with these children after he was sent home from the hospital the first time those children wouldn't have beenec posed at all. so there was obviously some failures in terms of getting this patient into the hospital and tested as quickly as could have happened. >> arc parentally, he did tell

the the nurse there he had just arrived from liberia. he's vomiting. he's got a fever and the nurse knew about this, but apparently, according to officials in dallas, texas, didn't tell any of the other nurses or doctors who were dealing with him and they sent him home just with some antibiotics and some pain relievers? that's pretty shocking when you think about it. >> reporter: it is, wolf, and i will tell you that's what we heard obviously during the press conference today. it seems like there may be more to the story than that, and even this friend of the patient, mr. duncan's friend saying we went there. he made it clear he was from liberia and when they were sent home they were very frustrated. they actually called here, the centers for disease control who referred them to the texas department of health. just think about the odyssey that this guy is on now and unable to get the care that he thinks he needs given that he's from liberia and having these symptoms. so clearly this guy was worried and this patient was worried and

he was concerned he may have had ebola and still for whatever reason, wolf, that did not get transmitted to the medical team there in texas and they just sent him home. how many contacts he had after he got sent home, that's going to be a critical thing here. they're obviously going to fine these contacts and none of them had to happen had he been admitted and isolated. very quickly, ñ!eját+y he flew from liberia to brussels and then from brussels on a united flight to washington, d.c., washington dulles international airport and from washington dulles he flew to dallas, texas. people will be worried now. was he contagious during that long flight? >> well, one of the things we've heard over and over again and there is science behind this to back it up is that until you are sick. until you are visibly showing symptoms you are not contagious and spreading this virus around. so we hear that he had no symptoms and illness when he got on the plane in liberia and none

when he got off the plane in dallas. look, i understand the concerns here and we've been talking to a lot of people about this, but i don't think that the people in the flights and the people in the airportses have cause for worry. >> i'm sure a lot of them are worried rid now just by the nature of this horrible disease. >> sanjay will be joining us right at the top of the next hour. he's got a lot more information about the breaking news involving this horrible case and the situation of ebola right here in the united states, but up next, there's breaking news in the search for the missing university of virginia student, hannah graham. today for the first time investigators are using a drone to look for her. she's still the one for you.

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we're also following the breaking news in the search for the missing university of virginia student hannah graham. today for the first time a drone is being used if the search. let's get more from cnn's athena jones and she's on the scene in charlottesville. athena? >> reporter: wolf, one of the drone's operators is calling the search for hannah graham an incredibly important mission and they're hoping this device will help find her. tonight, search team continue to scour the charlottesville area for hannah graham. authorities using a drone with a high-resolution camera to help find the missing student. >> we need to find hannah graham. that is front and center on our minds right now. >> jesse math su being heldvñ i isolation in this jailhouse. his lawyer tellses cnn he won't ask for the 32-year-old to be released on bail.

including this criminal complaint from 2009 libe then later appearing remorseful, and driving him to the e.r. for treatment. those charges were later dropped. as the hannah graham investigation continues, law enforcement sources say dna evidence links matthew to the 2009 murder of another student, morgan harrington. >>ly be relieved to know that he will be prevented from ever hurting another girl again. >> reporter: others aren't convinced. michael moore says he's known jesse matthew, who he calls by his nickname l.j., for 25 years. >> l.j. is not the type to hurt a fly. l.j., he's a helper. i mean, he wants to help people. so for him to hurt someone,

that's odd. . >> reporter: a staffer says he was popular, well liked, friendly, even docile, despite his height. jesse matthew won't have his first day in court on those abduction charges until december, but he is due to appear at the county courthouse before a judge on the reckless driving charges connected to this case tomorrow morning. he'll do that via video link from the regional jail. >> athena, thank you very much. let's get more on what's going on. joining us here, tom fuentes, former assistant director of the fbi. and the investigative journalist coy barefoot is joining us from charlottesville. coy, what do you make of this use of drones to find hannah graham? >> we will do whatever we have to do to find her. i thought it was a terrific idea. charlottesville made international news. it was the first city in the world to issue a proclamation, a resolution expressing concern

about the use of drones. and the city council here said we're okay with the use of drones. we just want to make sure civil liberties are protected in the process. so it's very interesting and perhaps ironic that here we see a drone from virginia tech being used here to help us find hannah and bring her home. >> tom, this drone technology, what can it done that people on the ground can't do? >> it can see down through trees, and also when you're looking at bodies of water, and apparently matthew liked to go fishing, it can see down and often to the bottom of small pounds and lakes if the body was in one of those locations. so it offers a more penetrating look down, and also if it's infrared, although with this much time elapsed, that might not be that helpful. >> the bond hearing for jesse matthew is not going to come up

until december. he's going to be held until then. what are folks there saying? >> the attorney has said he won't even ask for bail. in virginia, if you are charged with abduction with the intent to defile, you are not entitled to bond. you must stay in jail. and why ask for something you know you're not going to get? i would like to say i believe hannah's abduction has touched so many people around the world. i know they continue to keep her in their thoughts and prayers. but we're not naive. we know what the problemabilipr say about a woman that's been missing three weeks. but i have names for you, amanda berry, michelle knight, jaycee lee dugard as elizabeth smart. we believe we will bring her home.

>> hopefully that will happen. tom, this new charge that's been filed, explain in engine accomplish what that means? >> basically to abduct somebody with the intent of having some type of a sexual relationship with the person. >> that's considered a class two felony. what does that mean? >> well, it's not quite prem premeditated murder or the intent to kill the person. but i think they're basing it on some of the crime scene evidence that they have early on in the case, coupled with that she was seen with him leaving in the car. >> tom, coy, we'll check back with you guys tomorrow. thank you very much. coming up, the breaking news we're following. the director of the secret service steps down after shocking security breaches, including an armed intruder inside the white house. can anyone turn around the troubled agency in and now

can retired u.s. general john allen rally u.s. allies against is isis? that's coming up.

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won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. call liberty mutual insurance. come from all walks of life. if you have high blood sugar, ask your doctor about farxiga. it's a different kind of medicine that works by removing some sugar from your body. along with diet and exercise, farxiga helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. with one pill a day, farxiga helps lower your a1c. and, although it's not a weight-loss or blood-pressure drug, farxiga may help you lose weight and may even lower blood pressure when used with certain diabetes medicines. do not take if allergic to farxiga or its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction include rash, swelling or difficulty breathing or swallowing. if you have any of these symptoms, stop taking farxiga and seek medical help right away. do not take farxiga if you

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new information about the liberian man with the first case diagnosed in the united states. so why was a friend of his forced to call the cdc, the centers for disease control in atlanta directly to get him help? isis war envoy. the retired u.s. general in charge of the u.s. coalition talks exclusively to cnn about the battle against the terrorist forces. what does he believe will ultimately be their downfall? we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> this is cnn breaking news. we're following multiple breaking news stories this hour. the sudden resignation of the secret service director after the white house expressed support following shocking security breaches. also, disturbing new details about the patient with the first case of ebola diagnosed here in the united states, including a multiple flights he took to get to texas, and how a friend had to call the cdc directly after

he was sent home from the hospital. plus, disturbing isis advances in the face of escalating air strikes by the u.s.-led coalition. we have an exclusive interview with a special envoy in charge of building that anti-isis coalition. he tells us he believes that the terrorists greate esest weaknes. we're covering all the breaking stories with our correspondents. first, our senior correspondent jim acosta is at the white house. what's the latest you're hearing about the resignation of the secret service director? >> reporter: she submitted her resignation earlier this afternoon. the president called pierson to thank for her her many years of service. but now the white house begins the process of finding a successor. even as the white house was backing her publicly, it was a speedy departure for julia pierson. president obama and his homeland

security secretary quickly accepted her offer to step down. >> they both agreed with that assessment because of the recent and accumulating reports that raise legitimate questions about the performance of the agency. >> reporter: and the questions were snowballing. during a presidential visit to the cdc in september, a security contractor, armed with a gun, rode in an elevator with mr. obama, a blatant violation of protocol, a lapse the white house didn't know about until 24 years ago. >> did the director brief the president on that incident? >> i can tell you that the white house first learned of that incident yesterday afternoon before it was reported by news organizations. >> thank you very much, mr. president. >> reporter: when the president tasked pierson to become the director 18 months ago, her mission was the fix the culture.

>> he's breaking the mold, and i think people are extraordinarily proud of her. i couldn't be placing our lives in better hands than julia's. >> reporter: she took over in the wake of an embarrassing scandal, a slew of agents fired for convorting with prostitutes in 2012. >> i am deeply disappointed. >> reporter: but pierson's sometimes shaky testimony appears to have backfired. >> this is unacceptable and i will make sure it does not happen again. >> i want her to go if she cannot restore trust in the agency, and if she cannot get the culture back in order. >> reporter: but pierson is now gone and she spoke to bloomberg

news after her resignation. she said, "congress has lost confidence, i think it's in the best interest of the service service and the american public if i step down. congress has lost confidence in my ability to run the agency." >> and the president, and i'm sure the first lady, they're pretty upset about all this, because after all, this is their home. it has been for six years. another two years. somebody fires shots into the white house and they don't discover that for four days? a housekeeper discovers that. somebody gets into the east room of the white house and now the security breach of a guy with gun in an elevator. i'm sure the first family must be upset. >> reporter: that's right. and the press secretary said as much. he said that the president and the first lady are both

concerned about the security breaches and lapses over here at the white house. you mentioned the incident back in 2011. one of the president's daughters was home at that time during the fence jumping incident, the family just left four minutes before that intruder made his way into the white house. so the family has had, wolf, what i would call some close calls, not to mention this elevator operator down at the cdc who had a gun on him in the presence of the president with the secret service not knowing about that until later on when they interviewed this gentleman. so it seems like close call after close call with the secret service. with the white house and members of congress want to avoid something that gets much more serious. >> jim acosta, thank you very much. let's bring in our justice correspondent pamela brown with new information about the incident that triggered this unfolding scandal. pamela, what are you hearing from your sources? >> reporter: several new developments today.

42-year-old omar gonzalez, an iraq war veteran, pleaded not guilty today. tonight, cnn is learning new details about the breach, including the fact that gonzalez was limping across the white house lawn through a foot injury. tonight, a secret service source tells cnn the entire incident, from the time gonzalez went over the fence to the time he was tackled inside the white house was captured on tape by a surveillance system. video now in the hands of investigators. cnn has learned that as gonzalez ran into the white house, he bolled over a female officer. that officer, a source tells cnn, was able to get up, chase the 42-year-old and tackle him. >> this is a person with disabilities because he has a problem with his foot. >> reporter: today he pled not guilty to the three charges,

including entering a restricted building while carrying a dangerous or deadly weapon. a judge ordered gonzalez, who had previous run-ins with the secret service, be screened to see if he's competent to stand trial. today, gonzalez's attorney pushed back saying he is fit to stand trial. >> pamela, thank you very much. the scandal raising new questions about the culture inside the secret service. cnn's brian todd is working this part of the story. what are you finding out? >> reporter: a source tells cnn julia pierson did not have the confidence of the rank and file, that "management is a huge problem." pierson's resignation may well not solve what we've been told is a larger cultural problem inside the secret service, what's being called a culture of cover-up. critics say many agents and officers don't want to report security lapses for fear of retribution. one example, "the washington

post" reports the secret service officer who heard gunshots, actually heard debris falling in the shooting incident in november of 2011 at the white house, where seven shots smashed into the building, the post reports that agent did not want to challenge her superiors for fear of being criticized. her bosses concluded there had been no shooting. here's what ron kesler said today about the atmosphere inside the agency. >> what connects them all is a management culture which punishes agents for pointing out deficiencies or pointing out potential threats, and rewards agents with promotions if they just keep quiet and go on. >> reporter: the secret service is pushing back hard on all of this, telling cnn it is not true that there's a cultural problem. the official says agents and officers are not punished for

speaking out, that they have established processes for bringing issues forward. i pressed ralph bassham on that. take a listen. has there ever been a problem with agents being punished for reporting these things? >> in my time in the secret service, i don't know that i know of a case where someone has been punished for coming forward with relevant information that has to do with the protection of the president of the united states. i do not remember that. i don't recall that. >> reporter: julia pierson was grilled about all of this yesterday during her hearing with the house oversight and government reform committee. ranking member elijah cummings hammered on that issue of the young secret service officer who did not want to report of what she knew of that 2011 issue. he said, that has to concern you. she said yes, it does, and promised to make changes. but now it's going to be someone else possibly making those changes.

>> there's a survey that spoke to how bad the situation inside the secret service has been. >> reporter: an independent group did a survey last year. the survey is called best places to work in the federal government. the report said attitudes in the secret service are worse than most agencies. out of 300 agencies in that survey, the secret service, look at that number, ranked 226th. clearly a problem, culture and otherwise, inside the agency. >> they've got to fix that and quickly. thank you very much. let's dig deeper right now. joining us, jeffrey toobin, cnn law enforcement analyst tom fuentes and daniel vongino. is there a cultural problem right now in the secret service? >> yes, but it's not the broad based culture problem that the media are reporting. it's a small group of managers within the secret service who have been there for a long time who, in my opinion, have

decimated the agency. they've almost used it as a job search for their second career. >> how many people are involved in this decimation? >> between 20 and 40. most of the agents, if you got them off the record, they know who they are. >> they have to get rid of these people. >> they do. some of the sources are saying this may not necessarily cure the problem right now. >> do they need to bring in a new director from the outside or move someone up? >> i thought an outside director would have been a better choice. if there was an insider you were going to bring into the director position, you are not going to find a finer person than joe clancy. >> he's going to be the acting director, but i'm sure there will be a lot of pressure to bring somebody from the outside who has a lot of clout and credibility and experience in dealing with these kinds of agencies. tom, you used to work at the fbi. what's really shocking is that yesterday the white house was

saying they had full confidence in this secret service director. today she's gone. that's pretty unusual, isn't it? >> i think when members of congress from both parties start to say that's a problem with the culture, that's the kiss of death. that's the buzz word for bye-bye. >> how much of a distraction is this for the president right now? obviously the most important issue is his safety and security. the first lady, the entire family and all those at the white house. hundreds of people that work at the white house who need to be safe. >> i don't think it's a political problem, as much as a substantive problem. the secret service is not doing the job it's supposed to do. i think the secret service has to decide what it's really doing at all. most people don't realize the secret service is responsible for protecting the president, but it's also responsible for counterfeiting investigations. why? it makes no sense, it's a relic of when the secret service was part of the treasury department,

which it no longer is. the secret service should do one thing and one thing well. but instead it's got this bureaucratic spread to these other kinds of criminal investigations, and it's just a distraction. >> do you agree, daniel? >> i do, and it mains me to say that, but it's an accurate analysis. when you have things like the united nations general assembly and a full presidential detail going on, how do you expect an agent to go and chase count counterfitters. >> what concerns me is that some terrorist is going to get ideas. >> if i had to triage my problems, it's the now youtube video tutorial on how to leap the fence. i can only hope this leads to a better plan. >> why not build a bigger fence? >> i think they're going to now. but the problem had to do with

the pennsylvania avenue beautify case committee and getting permission to build a higher fence. i remember when that commission ordered the fbi to cut down the trees in front of fbi headquarters. so you have other factors. >> i'm sorry to interrupt, but i would like to put in a word. no one wants to live in a police state. it's always possible to justify more security. every tourist in the united states and outside the united states takes a photograph in front of that beautiful fence at the white house. that's a great rite of passage. and so put up some sort of horrible looking fence would be a terrible thing. >> but there's technology, you could put something on the grass over the fence, somebody jumps over and there's going to be some invisible material that's going to stop that person right away. >> they do it in office buildings. you think they could do it in the most secure building in the united states. that's why we're all so surprised. it's not just the unlocked front

door, which i think most of us in our homes and apartments have locked front doors. the idea that the white house is so insecure is just what is so shocking. >> what bothered me is that there's a button, if somebody gets into the white house, you push the button and sirens go off or whatever. but it wasn't working. >> that's what is so shocking. there's about 50 to 60 eyeballs, if not more, on that front lawn, from all kinds of different locations, without giving anything up here. there's so many different ways to do it. the fact that it wasn't done is stunning to most of the agents i spoke to. >> you know the new acting director. tell us about him. >> a man of unbelievable character. i think he was considering being a priest. they used to call him father joe jokingly. he has the respect of just about every agent with any credibility in the secret service. >> give me your recommendation of what they need to do, should

the secret service stay as the principle protector of the united states or should the military, elite units, commando units, be brought in? >> the military -- it needs to be a civilian agency, not the u.s. military, and it needs to be the secret service. they're trained for it, they're the best in the world at doing that. i agree with dan that they might have too many other missions with the criminal investigations going. but the protection that they do, it's not just the president, past president, the vice president, the families, all candidates that run for president. we'll have that season coming up. the heads of state from all over the world who were just here at the u.n., that they have that responsibility, and they do it better than anybody in the world. i think that part of it should stay with them. >> jeh johnson, the secretary of homeland security, came from the pentagon. i think it might be time to bring someone in from the military who could be the new director, bring a new set of

eyes with a different set of experiences rather than promoting from within. >> daniel, you're running for congress, right? >> yes, sir. >> as a republican. which district? >> sixth in western maryland. >> how does that look for you? >> running against john delaney. >> he's from bethesda, outside of washington, d.c. >> that's right. >> he thinks he's going to win, you think you're going to win. >> that's how this works. >> thank you very much for joining us. more breaking news. shocking new details about the ebola victim in a texas hospital, including the planes he took to the united states from africa and how a friend had to call the cdc to get him help. and we're also getting the latest from our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. he's got new information for you. when a pro at any 2014 pga tour event sinks a hole-in-one, quicken loans will pay your mortgage for an entire year.

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breaking news about the first ebola patient diagnosed in the united states, identified as 42-year-old thomas eric from liberia. now we're learning he took a united night to get to texas. dr. sanjay gupta is at the cdc in atlanta. what is the latest, dr. gupta? >> reporter: i imagine for the first patient ever diagnosed in the united states with ebola, this is not how they wanted it to go. we're hearing some of these same details, he's 42, a liberian national. he was in critical condition yesterday but upgraded to serious but stable today. he's talking and asking for food.

but a frustrating few days. they went to the hospital. he said i'm from liberia, thought he had ebola, and he was sent home. it's quite remarkable. the cdc was called. the friends were told to call the texas department of health. as a result of what's happened there, very frustrating for many people he may have come in contact with, as well. they're working to identify every person who's been in contact with the infected man, identified as thomas er acratie duncan. >> every step, every contact where he might have had direct physical contact with somebody and for each one of those contacts we'll monitor them for

21 days. >> reporter: the patient flew from liberia on september 19 and landed in dallas the following day. it was four days later when he developed symptoms. he walked into a dallas emergency room on the 26th. he told the nurse he had traveled to africa. but he was sent home with antibiotics and did not undergo an ebola screening. on sunday the 28th, his condition worsens. he returns to the hospital by ambulance and is placed in isolation. on tuesday, the 30th, lab results confirm the patient has ebola. a failure to communicate we are told among hospital staff led to the patient's release after his initial visit. >> he volunteered he had traveled from africa in response to the nurse operating the checklist in asking that question. regretfully that information was not fully communicated throughout the full team. >> reporter: today, the patient is in serious but stable condition. >> he remains critically ill,

but what we'll do is make sure we get him any support and treatment that might help. >> reporter: to curb infections, the texas doctors insist every precaution is now being taken. >> the people caring for the patient have a buddy watching them to ensure that they're doing all the things proper for their own protection. it happens to be a segregated area away from any other patience -- patients. it's an ideal location, in fact. >> this is all hands on deck. >> reporter: with a mortality rate of approximately 50%, officials are in full force to prevent more ebola victims. >> i have no doubt we'll stop this in its tracks in the u.s. but i also have no doubt as long as the outbreak continues in africa, we need to be on our guard. >> reporter: he also said he has no doubt that none of the passengers on any of those three flights are at risk.

saying there's zero percent chance of transmission. >> he wasn't showing symptoms, though he may have been carrying the virus, is that right? >> reporter: no doubt that he was carrying the virus. he was in what's called the incubation phase. what the science suggests is when you're in that stage, you're not spreading the virus. that's why they're not concerned about the passengers on those planes or the people in those airports. >> let's hope they're right about that. sanjay, thank you very much. we've just learned that the patient flew on flight from liberia to brussels, belgium. and then, get this, he took two flights on united airlines, one flight from brussels to washington's dulles international airport. then from washington-dulles to dallas, texas. our aviation correspondent renee marsh is working this part of the story. >> reporter: we know that this

passenger arrived in the united states on the 20th. as you mentioned, we just received word from united airlines that the infected man, thomas eric duncan was on that flight. the liberian government tells cnn the infected passenger, thomas eric duncan, stopped in brussels on his way back to the u.s. we now know he boarded united airlines flight 951 to washington dulles, connecting to another united flight, 822, to dallas. local governments and ebola hot spots screen passengers with temperature scanners and look for signs of illness. >> we have made sure that every traveler who leaves that country is tested to see if they have a fever before they get on the plane. if they have a fever, they don't get on the plane. >> reporter: cnn medical correspondent elizabeth cohen

and her crew were checked at the airport as they prepared to leave liberia. when passengers arrive on u.s. soil, border patrol officers are questioning their whereabouts and visually scanning for symptoms. >> to bolster that screening effort, the cdc has been involved in training officers who are on the front lines of this to make sure they understand and have been trained on the symptoms of this illness. >> the most important thing to do is ask every patient with a fever, have you travelled? and if so, where? and if they tell you they've just come from west africa, put them in isolation immediately. >> reporter: u.s. customs flags the sick passengers, and it's the cdc who takes over from there. the cdc is on hand at most international airports. in the meantime, the u.s. government is not advising airlines not to fly to countries impacted by ebola. that said, the cdc is putting

out travel notices, warning travelers about the potential dangers. united does have a flight that goes between houston and nigeria. of course, we know nigeria has also been impacted by ebola. at this point, the airline tells me they do not plan on making any travel changes to their flights. however, if the government mandates that, they will follow. >> renee marsh, thank you very much. we just saw in that report our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen in liberia, leaving liberia. she's now joining us from dallas right outside the texas health presbyterian hospital where thomas eric duncan is described as being in serious condition. what are you learning about his condition? i know you're hearing if he's getting that experimental medication that the two americans that came down with ebola from west africa, that came to emery hospital and may have helped them?

>> reporter: wolf, they haven't commented on what medications mr. duncan is getting, but i highly doubt he's getting that medication. we've been told that there's no more of that medication left. you know, there are other kinds of medications and treatments doctors have been trying. it is great news, of course, that he appears to be getting and it's important to know, wolf, that you don't necessarily need a fancy new drug to get better from ebola. really good, sort of basic medical management, keeping someone really hydrated can go a long wait towards survival. >> you were just there in monrovia, in liberia. as a friend of yours, i was really worried about you. i'm sure your family and kids were worried about you, as well. fortunately you came back and safe and sound. but you filed some amazing reports from there. talk about the difference in the health systems you saw firsthand in liberia versus what's going

on here in the united states? >> wolf, it's completely night and day. one of the few words i can use to describe liberia in this situation is miserable. people are in taxis driving around, sometimes walking around the city looking for care. here you see what happens. someone here comes down with ebola and they are isolated, they get immediate medical care. it is a completely different situation. one, because liberia is a very, very poor country and it's hard to give good medical care when you don't have enough doctors and nurses. it is night and day. >> did you walk around with protective gloves and gear and facemasks? what was it like over there? >> reporter: we didn't, and here's the reason why. in order to get ebola from someone, you need to have contact with their bodily fluids. we were careful not to get close to ebola patients.

we were nowhere even three, five, six feet. we were quite far away from them. of course, we didn't touch dead bodies or anything like that. so there was no need to be wearing dead gloves or a mask. the people who -- i heart went out to the family members who just wanted to help their sick relatives and they kind of had to touch them. and that was heartbreaking to see and hear what risks they had to take. >> fortunately you made it back safe and sound. excellent work. a very courageous medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. one of the first american ebola patient tells her story tonight. former missionary nancy will join anderson cooper later tonight 8:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. just ahead, how does the resignation of the secret service director reflect on

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isis forces have said to be adapting in the face of u.s.-led air strikes. australian planes are now patrolling dies over iraq and turkey's parliament is weighing possible military action against isis. jim sciutto is following all of

these developments. what's the latest, jim? >> reporter: this week, the u.s. coming face-to-face with two of the deficiencies of an air campaign. one is that air strikes often cause collateral damage. that is bombs crdropped from th air kill innocent power. and two, air power alone is not altering the balance of power on the ground that's what we're seeing in both iraq and syria so far. [ gun fire ] >> reporter: it is a fight for their lives and their homes. syrian kurds battling isis militants in the town of ckoban. u.s. coalition aircraft unleashed the biggest day of the air campaign so far tuesday, with many skrix targeting here. but today isis is holding ground, and even advancing. >> the fact that isis can still move under this american air power tells me that they're adapting their tactics, so they

move when they think they can. >> reporter: in iraq, mortars rained down on iraq's green zone today, home of the u.s. embassy. on the streets of the capital, a devastating series of bombings. at least nine people killed, 40 wounded, following two car bombs and seven mortar attacks. outside the capital, isis militants are testing the defenses from several directions. the u.s.-led air campaign adding more french airplanes today is coming under increasing scrutiny that the first reports of civilian casualties. the obama administration acknowledges that -- the pentagon says it is, at times, foregoing times to minimize civilian deaths. however, former commanders say a broad air campaign is

fundamentally different from relatively isolated drone strikes. >> a drone strike is going to be a single piece of munition. it's going to be directed against a target that's been there probably for a while. and it's just very different from a fast-moving aircraft. >> reporter: compared to crone strikes, an air campaign has a larger number of targets struck with jets flying at much higher altitudes and speed. and you have multiple militaries taking part that don't have the same capabilities that u.s. pilots and aircraft have. >> even communicating with all the different countries not all that easy. >> it's a challenge. >> thanks very much, jim sciutto. just ahead, can retired u.s. general john allen rally u.s. allies against isisisis? and even after stunning

security lapses, the white house backed the secret service director almost up to the moment she resigned. is there any leadership lapse going on inside the obama administration? ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] with five perfectly sweetened whole grains... you can't help but see the good.

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he reveals what he says will ultimately be the downfall of the terror group. cnn sat down with retired general john allen. what did he say about this fight against isis? >> this was his first interview since taking the post, and it was candid about the challenges that are ahead, as he leaves tonight for his first trip to the middle east to shore up this coalition. he said it's important moments, so many different countries are partnering together to fight isis. but he was candid about the fact that it will not be easy or quick. he was a key player in iraq's sunni awakening. turning tribal leaders against al qaeda during the iraq war. now he's president obama's hand picked envoy to build a global coalition against isis. in an exclusive interview with cnn, retired general john allen says he's convinced he could repeat his success.

>> there will come the time when isis cannot tolerate the tribal structure within isis territory, because that is in direct opposition to the full exertion of isis influence over the population. and isis will turn on the tribes. as sure as that is, that's going to happen. >> reporter: the u.s. acknowledged coalition air strikes cannot break isis holds on iraq alone. allen says iraqi and kurdish forces will be key to the success in the campaign. as a former general, would you ever advise the general to take u.s. boots on the ground? >> i have extensive experience training indigenous forces. with the right kind of training and the right kind of forces, i think there's a very good chance that the iraqi security forces can be the adequate arm of decision ultimately to decide

the outcome with isis on the ground in iraq. >> reporter: iran is not part of allen's global coalition, but admits tehran has deep interest and relationships in iraq and shares the threat posed by isis. why not just coordinate with the iranians? >> i think that we recognize that they have a role to play, and where that role is helpful, we'll encourage it. >> reporter: with a 40,000 strong army, hundreds of millions in cash, and a sophisticated media campaign, some say president obama's goal of defeating isis is mission impossible. allen laid out his definition of success. >> we dismantle isis in a credible, physical way, in the physical sphere. we compete with them in the information sphere and deny them the credibility of their message and we deny them the oxygen that comes from their elicit finance and revenue interests.

>> reporter: a key, training elements to combat isis. now the u.s. wants to turn the syrian rebels into a credible fighting force against isis. it is going to take a while. >> it could take years actually. so we have to manage our expectations. but the process of getting that unfolded is occurring right now with the idea of locating training camps and beginning to accumulate the syrian elements, assuring we have a combination of trainers who can provide the substance they're going to need to be credible and capable fighters on the ground. >> reporter: until that time comes when the syrian rebel are also a credible fighting force, president assad and his forces are not an option for the coalition, even in the short term. he said it cannot predict the say assad will go, but there will be a political solution in

syria, and that will not include assad. >> that will take a long time. this is a war that's going to go on for years. elise, thank you very much for that report. just ahead, despite shocking breaches of security, the white house backed the secret service director almost until the last minute. does her sudden resignation reveal some leadership problem inside the administration? gloria borger and dana bash are standing by to join me. ♪ who's going to do it? who's going to make it happen? discover a new energy source. turn ocean waves into power. design cars that capture their emissions. build bridges that fix themselves. get more clean water to everyone. who's going to take the leap? who's going to write the code? who's going to do it? engineers. that's who. that's what i want to do. be an engineer. ♪ [ male announcer ] join the scientists and engineers of exxonmobil in inspiring america's future engineers. energy lives here.

let's get to more on the breaking news we've been following. the resignation of the secret service director. the president showed support even after shocking security lapses and after a man with a knife ran deep inside the white house. >> secret service does a great

job. i'm grateful for the sacrifices they made on me bee half and -- on my be half and my family's bee half. >> and listen to what john fitzer said here yesterday. >> does the president still have confidence in julia pierson. >> yes. and i'm sure they are confident to make sure this doesn't happen again. >> and let's speak with gloria bore jer and dana bash. does this reflect poorly on the administration? >> look, i don't think it reflects poorly on the president himself. it preflects poorly on -- reflects poorly on government and the competency of government these days. you can go down the list of everything from the website on healthcare to the irs and everything else and people take a look at this and say, wait a minute, the secret service of

the united states, by the way has had problems going back to when the salahis crashed the dinner and then the fence jumper. can't the secret service even protect the president of the united states? >> well the reason i think this is different. and you covered the white house for many years, i did cover it for a few years, for a while. but this is different. this is unique. the relationship that the president has with the secret service is hard for us that aren't protected are hard to understand, but of course it is first instinct to support them. their job is to say they will take a bullet for him. and there is a reason why these things happen. but what is questionable is why the press secretary at the white house came out this morning and said the white house had full confidence in here and knowing full well and even more known

now from sources, it was clear after her very poor performance yesterday before congress that was kurt app -- curtains for her. >> but the cardinal sin is not to have answers for the white house or to learn things from the newspapers and calls from the media. and that is one of the reasons she's gone, is that clearly -- and that may have been the difference between dan pheifer being here yesterday and today, is that this story was unraveling in realtime and they weren't hearing about it from the secret service. >> and what is so disturbing, even as we speak, at this very moment, i was just speaking to a source that is part of the government, the agency that oversees them, the secret service, they, to this moment, don't know if they have all of the facts right. which is scary. >> and you if you heard jason

chaffetz, from utah who leads the sub-committee investigating the secret service and he said there are other incidents that we don't know about, that we'll probably know about soon. >> and so you have an agency clearly unraveling. a director that clearly didn't have the confidence of the people who worked for her. it was a culture she was brought in after cartagena and the escapades there to change, particularly being a woman. and -- >> that there were secret service agents with prostitutes. >> right. in cartagena. and so you look at this disfunctional agency which has such an important job and you scratch your head and say how can you fix it. >> this is a president who doesn't like to fire people. but eric shinseki, he had problems at the department of veterans affairs, he was forced out and now julia pierson of the secret service. so they need someone new to fill

that slot and that is not going to be easy. >> it won't be easy at all. as gloria said, look at what got them to julia pierson. he had qualifications and chief of staff and also a she and it was coming off of a very big scandal where it looked like it was a boy's club and they wanted to have a woman in there and it didn't work out. ironically for the same reasons that the men had problems because it was a culture of cover-up and not having actual accountability so it was gender neutral. but finding somebody who is going to be appropriate, but not too heavy handed is not easy. >> it will have to come from the outside, i think. they went inside and stuck with the culture, now i think they have to go somewhere else. >> they need somebody with a lot of credibility and experience, someone who can take that secret service and make it what it is supposed to be, the elite organization that protects the president and the first family. all of those who work at the white house.

guys, thanks very much. you can follow us on twitter, tweet me at wolf blitzer or tweet the show at cnn sit room. and join us tomorrow right here at the situation room or dvr the show so you don't miss a moment. thank you very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room," erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >> ebola, how the system failed. why was the patient sent home after he h was feverish and just flown in from west africa. and plus he had direct contact with at least five children. what is their threat to them and their classmates. and the ebola patient co-workers, they talked just before he left for dallas. let's go "outfront."