right now, thomas eric duncan, the first person diagnosed with ebola in the united states, sadly just became the first person to die of ebola in the united states. also, kobani now on the verge of falling. a lot happening right now on the border between syria and turkey. one kurdish official warning, quote, a terrible slaughter is coming. one u.s. congressman now claiming isis members have been caught trying to cross the southern border of the united states. the department of homeland security has just issued a formal statement categorically denying that. we'll try to get to the bottom of this bombshell claim. hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. in washington. 6:00 p.m. in london. 8:00 p.m. in jerusalem. 9:00 p.m. in moscow. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks for

joining us. we begin with breaking news. the sad news out of dallas, texas, today that thomas eric duncan has lost his battle with ebola. the 42-year-old liberian man died this morning ten days after being diagnosed with the disease. we're also learning about new significant changes to u.s. policy on flights coming out of the so-called ebola hot zones in africa. our correspondents are covering all angles of this very important story. elizabeth cohen is in dallas outside the hospital where duncan was being treated. rene marsh is at washington's dulles international airport. elizabeth, what are doctors saying about duncan's death? what are the details -- what are they telling us? >> reporter: wolf, all they've told us is what's contained in a press release. they have not told us anything else. i want to read that press release. it is very heartfelt. "it is with sadness that we must inform you of the death of thomas eric duncan at 7:51 a.m.

he fought courageously in this battle. our professionals, the doctors and nurses in the unit, as well as the entire hospital are also grieving his passing. we have offered the family our support and condolences at this difficult time." so we really don't know what his final hours were like. we do know that just yesterday, the reverend jesse jackson and a family member were here and said they saw small reasons to be hopeful. his temperature was normal, his blood pressure was going up, which in this case was a good thing. but i know they had a lot of questions, why was he sent home when he said he traveled to liberia and had signs of the disease? why did it take almost a week to get an experimental medication when other patients in the u.s., it happened much faster? why didn't he get blood donated from an ebola survivor as many other ebola patients have in this country? >> duncan's family, i know they're all pretty upset about what they thought was not

necessarily the best treatment he was receiving. what are you learning about this? >> reporter: they had all those questions. when i spoke with the family members, they wanted to know, what happened? we showed up september 25th. he said he'd been traveling to liberia. he had a fever. he had abdominal pain, both signs of ebola. why wasn't he then admitted? he was admitted september 28th. for ebola, that's quite a bit of time because it moves so quickly. they also want to know -- they said they had to pressure the hospital into giving him an experimental medication. they didn't give it to him until he had been in the hospital for almost a week. that's much slower than other hospitals have done when they've had ebola patients. and finally i was talking with his nephew just today. and he said, i don't know why he's not getting a blood transfusion. the patient in nebraska, as we speak, is getting blood donated from kent brantly. when we asked for the same thing, we were told that wasn't proven and effective so they weren't doing it. but certainly with ebola, hospitals are doing everything

they can even if it's not proven and effective. the family wants to know why he didn't get that treatment. >> elizabeth, stand by. i want to go to rene marsh outside washington, d.c. at dulles international airport. a big announcement about new screenings at major u.s. airports. tell us what you've learned, rene. >> reporter: we now know from the white house, wolf, that these enhanced screenings will begin this weekend at jfk airport in new york. now, a source -- two sources telling me, in addition to looking for temperatures or screening passengers coming from west africa, screening them for what their temperature is, they will also be receiving a cdc questionnaire once they deplane, very detailed health questionnaires. going back to temperature-taking, sources are telling me they will be using -- they meaning c.b.p., customs and border protection, they will be using something like this. this is a laser thermometer. no need to touch the passenger. you simply put it up to the

individual's forehead and you will be able to tell what their temperature is once they arrive here on u.s. soil. again, we know these ramped-up measures starting this weekend at jfk. it will then eventually expand to other major international airports. talking about five major international airports. also from sources, they're telling me that the coast guard corpsmen will be deployed to help over the next couple of weeks. they want to ensure and coordinate with transit countries that those questionnaires are being given out on both ends. that's the big announcement here. we will begin as soon as this weekend to see those ramped-up measures at u.s. airports. >> i assume at washington dulles airport where you are as well. we're staying on top of this story. i want to quickly get to the war on isis. sitting on the brink of falling,

the border town of kobe noi, right next to turkey. if it were to fall, isis would control a huge swath of land from raqqa in syria all the way to the turkish border, more than 100 kilometers, about 62 miles. as this battle for kobani rages, president obama is getting ready to head over to the pentagon later on this afternoon to meet with top u.s. military leaders. he'll be briefed on efforts to try to defeat isis. the u.s. wants turkey to do more to take on isis as well. turkey has deployed tanks along the syrian border. but its forces have yet to join the fight. our elise labott asked secretary of state john kerry about that just a little while ago. the secretary says that's a priority for the coalition coordinator, general john allen. >> general allen is literally only on his first trip right now in the region. he will be going to turkey tomorrow. he is going to have long meetings through tomorrow and friday, which we hope to determine exactly how turkey

will now enter this having resolved their hostage crisis. clearly on their border, this is of enormous concern to turkey and they recognize that. >> reporter: but where are they? >> these things have to be done in a thoughtful and careful way so everybody understands who is doing what. >> senior administration officials concede kobani is likely to fall soon. but they say it's not necessarily a major concern for the united states. they say the strategy is to defeat isis in iraq. the u.s. coalition stepped up air strikes against isis targets in and around kobani. the u.s. military's central command says at least six strikes overnight took out vehicles, artillery pieces and an armored personnel carrier. an isis truck bomb targeting turkish fighters in kobani exploded today.

but they say the truck detonated before it could reach its target. in the meantime, the latest coalition air strikes have allowed fighters in kobani to push back against isis. our senior international correspondent arwa damon has been tracking the latest developments along the turkey/syria border. >> reporter: right before the sun went down, there were two fighter jets clearly visible flying above kobani. we've been hearing fighter jets pretty much throughout the day and we saw at least three coalition air strikes. we believe they were air strikes because of the sheer size, intensity and sound of the explosions, distinctively different than the usual artillery exchange we have been observing taking place between isis and the y.p.g. fighters. the fighters with the kurds are telling us that the air strikes conducted over the last 48 hours or so around kobani have allowed the kurdish fighting force to push isis back to a certain degree. they say the air strikes forcing isis to move forward on foot

giving the kurds an advantage because of the familiarity they have with the streets. isis at this stage, believed to be still on the perimeter of kobani. but the kurds gaining a certain degree of momentum. but we're still hearing those calls for additional strikes, those calls for turkey to allow a weapons corridor to be established. there's a lot of anger and frustration, though, because on the one hand, the kurds believe the coalition should have carried out these air strikes well before isis was even able to gain a foothold into kobani. and a lot of frustration with turkey, too, for not coming to their assistance. >> arwa damon on the border between turkey and syria. arwa, we'll get back to you. still ahead, a bombshell claim by a california republican congressman. we're going to tell you what he's saying about isis fighters and his allegation that they're actually trying to come into the united states through mexico. and what happened to the thousands of civilians still in kobani? we're going to discuss fears of

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goldberg, correspondent for "the atlantic" here in washington. let me start first with a statement that the pentagon just made as the pentagon spokesman, the admiral john kirby -- listen to this. >> air strikes alone are not going to do this, not going to fix this, not going to save the town of kobani. we know that and we've been saying that over and over again. and yet we continue to get questions of, why aren't you doing more and how come they aren't more effective? we've been honest about the limits of airpower here. the ground forces that matter the most are indigenous ground forces. we don't have a willing, capable, effective partner on the ground inside syria right now. it's just a fact. >> let's talk about that. general barbaro, what do you think? there's nothing the united states can do to save these people in kobe noe? >> i was in erbil last week -- >> that's in northern iraq. >> northern iraq.

and they're convinced there will be a massacre in kobani and they're frustrated with the united states because of the diminishing effects of the air strikes, too few, too late. the minister of peshmerga, the kurdish forces, has written to secretary hagel with a list of requirements and what they need. heavy weapons to fight isis. they'll fight isis but they're outgunned. >> and they're largely kurdish. >> yes. and they talk openly about their fears of a massacre there. >> you wrote about this, an article that was powerful. legitimate fear that these kurds, they're syrians but they're kurds, that they could be massacred if isis took control of the town? >> it's not just kurds. it's christians, airmen. what makes this so horrible for

the people who are worried about kobani is that this is a town that sits right on the turkish border, which means it sits on the border of nato. the turkish military is watching this happen and that's something that admiral kirby did not allude to. there is another force right there that could stop an isis massacre. that's called the turkish army. they're not interested. >> they have the largest military force in the -- hundreds of thousands of troops. they have tanks along that border with syria. if they made a decision to send in forces to rescue these people in kobani, they could do it relatively quickly. >> they could. two points, wolf. first, the kurds went to turkey first when they were first attacked by isis and asked for assistance and the turks said no. >> why? >> different agenda, different interests that erdogan has -- >> erdogan is the president. >> this united kurdish effort.

the second point, the turks conducted military operations in iraq in 2008 to go after the kurdish faction that was fighting them. so it is bewildering and very angering to the kurds that the turks have ignored their requests. >> and turkey's a nato ally but they're staying out of it for now because there's no great love between the turks, the turkish government of president erdogan, and the kurds, the kurds in turkey, in syria or in iraq. >> and not only that, erdogan wants assad gone. this is a 3-d chess problem you have. he's focused on getting rid of bashar al assad, the enemy of isis. and so from a certain perspective, the turks are looking at isis as maybe not the worst thing in the world because they're opposed to assad. meanwhile, this town is in danger of a massacre. and we've seen what happens when isis goes into towns. this is predictable. >> you're a military guy. you understand the role of airpower. there are air strikes and there

are air strikes. if there are five or six air strikeses and they destroy a few vehicles and armored personnel carrier and a tank, that's a limited air strike. but if there are hundreds of air strikes in a day, that could make a big difference. but the u.s. is reluctant to do so out of fear there could be civilian casualties. >> that and there are air strikes and there's an air campaign. and we're half in, half out. the admiral at the pentagon said it. there are limits to air strikes especially when you broadcast what you're not going to do, what you're going to do and if you have a smart adversary like isis that's going to change that you go into this death spiral of diminishing returns. >> and you know there's no appetite in the united states for the u.s. to get involved militarily, even if a humanitarian massacre is about to take place. >> i'd like to speak to that a little bit. if the pictures that come out of a place like kobani are truly awful, people's heartstrings get tugged. by the way, we're already involved. we've already ramped up.

we are bombing them. and we do have troops on the ground, obviously in iraq, working this problem already. the problem with air strikes, without having ground spotting going on, without having special operation, people in there to tell the planes where to drop the bombs, where the missiles should go is it's very ineffective. it's an intelligence problem. >> we're going to speak later with the deputy minister of kurdistan later on. thank you both for coming in. we'll take a closer look into a claim by a united states congressman that isis fighters have been caught trying to sneak across the u.s. border from mexico. also, how u.s. troops are helping in the fight against ebola. one country hit hardest by the deadly virus, we'll go live to liberia. people with type 2 diabetes come from all walks of life. if you have high blood sugar, ask your doctor about farxiga.

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a united states congressman is making a claim saying isis fighters have been caught attempting to sneak into the united states from mexico. he says they were trying to cross the border into texas. tom foreman is joining us. tell us what he's saying. the department of homeland security issued a statement categorically denying the statement. >> let's listen to what he had to say. it was a bombshell and it was said on fox news and it is explosive. listen to this. >> i know that at least ten isis fighters have been caught coming across the mexican border in texas. >> how do you know that?

>> there you have the basic claim that he is making here. and if this is true, everyone would be talking about this. isis fighters caught coming across the border in texas. why aren't they? this idea have been picked up by other politicians as well. there is some legitimate concern that terrorists could come across the border. but why is this idea not getting any real traction? because of what homeland security is saying about it. what they're saying is unequivocal. they're saying it is categorically false and is not supported by any credible intelligence or facts on the ground. they're saying there's simply no evidence of this happening and there's no suggestion that these are actively trying to come across the border, isis fighters into the united states right now and certainly none of them have been caught. >> the other allegation out there some are raising is that ebola could come across the border from mexico as well into the united states, right?

>> yeah, this is a version of the same thing, wolf. basically what people have done is taken a lot of fearsome things and conflated them, pushed them all together. they say, what happens if you have people who come across the border who are bringing ebola with them, who are illegal immigrants and we don't even know they're here and they have this? well, again, could such a thing possibly, maybe, somehow happen? possibly. but there's a lot that says it's impossible to happen. first of all, there's no ebola outbreak in mexico. and people who are sick with ebola, contagious, they're usually too sick to sit up, let alone sneak across a border, hide in a desert, all the nings things necessary to make this happen. so this, too, appears to be patently false. >> congressman duncan hunter, has he reacted to that categorical denial to the statement from the department of homeland? >> nothing yet.

>> we'll find out if he's sticking by that bombshell claim if in fact this -- tom, thanks very much. tom foreman will have more later in "the situation room." coming up, we'll have more on the ebola crisis. we're going live to liberia where the united states military has just established a mobile testing lab and an ebola care unit. stand by for that. also, the u.s. says kobani, syria, now falling to isis and saying it's not necessarily a major u.s. concern. but the kurds have a very different view. we'll discuss it with the deputy prime minister of kurdistan when we come back. and now up to ten gigabytes of 4g lte data. want phones with that? hook up everyone in the family with the samsung galaxy s5 for zero down get four lines for $100 dollars and the samsung galaxy s5 for zero down so make the switch to t-mobile today we'll even buy you out of your service contracts

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starts at $89.95 a month. comcast business. built for business. welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we learned just a little while ago that thomas eric duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with ebola in the united states, has died. doctors at texas health presbyterian hospital in dallas say the 42-year-old liberian man died this morning ten days after being diagnosed with the virus. duncan had been on a ventilator, dialysis for failing kidneys. he'd received experimental drugs four days ago. we're also learning about plans to prevent an ebola outbreak here in the united states. sources telling cnn five u.s. airports, international airports, will begin screening

the body temperatures of passengers entering the united states from several west african countries with ebola outbreaks. the fever screenings will start at new york's jfk international airport and then expand to airports in newark, chicago, washington dulles and atlanta. the screeners are set to begin as early as this weekend. meanwhile at the white house, president obama will hold a conference call with state leaders on ebola readiness. that happens in about 45 minutes. later, the president will head over to the pentagon to discuss u.s. military plans to help contain the ebola outbreak in west africa. those plans include sending as many as 4,000 u.s. military personnel to the so-called hot zones in africa. more now on the fight to stop the deadly ebola virus. hundreds of u.s. troops are on the ground already in liberia. they're battling to contain the outbreak. the pentagon also opening up mobile testing labs in that country. our reporter caught up with the

u.s. navy personnel in liberia. >> this is what we do in our day job, i guess you could say. >> reporter: the u.s. naval personnel delivered to liberia, the day job has become testing for the ebola virus. their lab just minutes from international medical care center. the u.s. has four such labs. >> it's a game changer. patients were afraid at one point of coming to an ebola treatment unit because they are afraid of becoming infected. some patients only have minor symptoms and they're not convinced they have ebola. so they might avoid coming because they're afraid they'll become infected here. now that we have the lab, patients can get the results back within hours. >> reporter: perched on top of a hillside, the treatment facility feels very far away from the crowded beds and dingy hallways of the liberian government's. this 19-year-old waited a week for an ambulance.

he was carried here bleeding by his father. today he's recovering after telling us he thinks he's going home. for the naval scientist stationed here, it's hard and difficult work. but it's worth it. >> in one aspect, we're all humans. this is a humanitarian crisis. we want to help. but this isn't just a regional threat. this is a continental and a global threat if this were allowed to continue to propagate. >> reporter: but there will always be those they couldn't save. the imc treatment center opened less than a month ago and already a line of graves has snaked through this clearing in the jungle, and more are being dug. president obama has authorized up to 4,000 troops. 200 have arrived in country. 600 are expected before the end of the month. but will it be enough?

>> there's no question in my mind that we are making an impact. there is no better fight worth fighting than the one in liberia right now. soldiers are used to moving towards the sounds of the guns. these are the loudest guns that the world has heard in a long time. >> reporter: how quickly they can translate the gains here across the country will go some way to silencing the guns for good. >> and joining us live from monrovia, an amazing report, tell us about the risks for those people, whether they're american military personnel or others working in those labs. >> reporter: well, president obama has committed that the troops that will come here on the ground will not be directly in contact with ebola patients. but the reality is while you are here in the communities, you might be interacting with someone you don't know has ebola. so there is a risk. but we saw firsthand some of the measures in place. they are basic but effective.

you wash your hands with bleach, people try and look to touch each other in any way, shape or form. and anyone who shows the signs of the disease which would make them contagious, you take that step back. that's what the military are doing. but you heard the colonel at the end of the piece there. there's a sense that in a way the military -- this is no different a fight than the one that the military is waging in iraq and waged in afghanistan. this is as much about protecting american lives, they say, as it is about protecting the lives of those here on the ground. as the thomas eric duncan case has shown us, there is no way to be safe until the situation here is under control. and when you're with those troops out there, that really -- it comes home to you, wolf. >> as you know, nima, we just learned that thomas eric duncan, the liberian, had died, in fact, in dallas, texas, the first person to come down with ebola inside the united states, at least to be diagnosed with ebola in the united states. you went to his home in monrovia, liberia, that's where you are right now.

what are you hearing over there? what's going on? >> reporter: yeah, we've been here a few days. a picture really is starting to come together of how this all happened. thomas eric duncan rushed to the aid of his pregnant neighbor and then got on a plane. he didn't believe she had ebola. nobody did. otherwise, they wouldn't have tried to help her. he left the country on september the 19th, the same day she died and she was buried normally. none of the ebola -- the usual ebola precautions were taken. she had a large funeral. and since then, the authorities here have been trying to piece this puzzle together. it took them a while. it wasn't until october the 1st, a full 11 days that they instated quarantine in his home and told people she had ebola. duncan got on that plane, went through the screening processes and he passed and he did not knowingly bring the disease to the united states. >> what a sad story indeed.

we'll be following it throughout the day here on cnn and the days to come. nima, one of our courageous journalists reporting live from monrovia in liberia, be careful over there. thank you very much. in north korea, meanwhile, more intrigue right now as the world wonders where the leader, kim jong-un is. their speculation that leadership is still in the family. and the fight for kobani in syria, the largely ethnic kurdish city may be on the brink to falling to isis. there could be a massacre there. we'll discuss the impact with a top kurdish official.

activists say at least 45 isis fighters have been killed in u.s.-led coalition air strikes around the syrian city of kobani. despite that, senior u.s. officials now say they expect the city to fall.

one kurdish official says isis terrorists were pushed back to the edge of the town on wednesday. the kurds are playing a significant role in this fight against isis. joiping joining us is the deputy prime minister, qubad talibani. what are you hearing about what's going on in kobani right now? a lot of your fellow kurds are in deep trouble. >> thanks, wolf, for having me on. the situation in kobani is grave. fighting is intense between the urd cannish forc isnis isnis in there and isis. we are hearing the coalition strikes have had an impact, have suddenly boosted the morale of the kurdish forces. but as some of your guests were saying earlier as well, they -- there needs to be more strikes for these strikes to be effective enough to drive isis out and to have the kurdish forces that are fighting this

fight on the ground to not only push isis out of the city but out of the danger zone there. >> if isis were to take over this town of kobani, would there be a massacre of kurds, christians, arabs, others in the city? >> of course we're expecting a massacre. but primarily because the kurdish fighters there are not likely to leave their posts. they will fight until the last bullet. they've been in this fight for a long time, even before isis came into iraq, the kurdish fighters in syria have been fighting isis with success. so they know how to fight isis. but right now, the siege is significant. and they are awaiting more coalition air strikes to be able to turn the tide in this battle. >> what does the turkish government tell you when you appeal to them for help? they're only a few miles away. they have a huge military right across the border. what are they saying to you? >> this is the time for turkey

to be on the right side of history. they need to be more involved here. they cannot sit there on their border and watch kobani fall. we're speaking with them. i know others are also in communication with them. so it's a very difficult predicament for everybody here. but i think the coalition that is fighting isis now and those that have signed up to fight isis must come together and fight isis wherever they are, be they in iraq, kurdistan or in syria or in the kurdish parts of syria. >> qubad talibani joining us, we'll stay in close touch with you. good luck to all the folks in kobani and elsewhere right now. it's a horrible situation. still ahead, why many democrats are now distancing themselves from president obama just before the midterm elections less than a month away. our chief political analyst, gloria borger, standing by to weigh in. in north korea, the intrigue building right now. who's leading the country?

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now to a twist in the ongoing mystery of what's going on in north korea. just days ago, three high-level north korean officials made a surprise visit to south korea for talks and said they're willing to meet again. the so-called olive branch diplomacy happening as the world continues to wonder where is the north korean leader, kim jong-un? he hasn't been seen in public in five weeks. brian todd is all over this story, watching it for us. the intrigue seems to be growing by the day. >> growing by the day and now we have word from a group called the north korean intellectual solidarity. this is a group of defectors saying that kim jong-un's younger sister, 26, 27 years old, that she may be running the country in kim jong-un's absence. there you see a photo of her. she's often seen behind him, walking behind him in these

official state photos, sitting behind him at functions. this group didn't reveal the source of its information. we can't confirm it. we're running it by u.s. and south korean officials to see what they say about it. analysts say that she has unfettered access to kim jong-un. but they're also saying she's probably not running the country as the head of government but probably still doing some very important tasks like maybe a white house chief of staff might do. but her emergence is not fascinating component to this story. >> what do we know about her? >> she is the youngest of seven siblings that their father, kim jong-il, had by four different women. for her father, she handled important jobs. she was an advanced logistical person, inspecting sites before she would go there, handled administrative work for him. analysts say she probably does the same thing for her brother but also some policy-related things, she gets intelligence briefings. she takes on more responsibility

and she's only 26, 27 years old. to think that that young lady might be running things or at least handling very important functions in his absence, again, lends a real air of mystery to this and might worry some people. >> he's only 30 or 31 years old. it's not as if there's a huge age difference. until recently she was pretty much under the radar. >> absolutely. she's only emerged in recent years. she went to boarding school with kim jong-un in switzerland. they stayed at the embassy under assumed names. fascinating history there. she went to school with him in switzerland and then came back and she might have studied at the university of north korea and then went to work for her father in later years and did some of those tasks we were talking about. completely under the radar and one of seven children that he had by four different wives. easy to bet lost in the mix there. >> we'll learn more in the coming days. friday there's a big workers party event that kim jong-un

attends every year. if we don't see him there on friday, that's a big deal. >> all eyes are on that anniversary on friday to see if he's there. a big ceremony. very important to the country. tonight on "the situation room" we'll have much more on the sister and her possible role. >> fascinating developments. intrigue and mystery in north korea. for our international viewers, we have headlines from around the world. for our viewers here in north america, is he helping or hindering democrats in political trouble? a closer look at president obama's impact on the upcoming midterm elections when we come back. a latte, medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, two espressos. make one a double. she's full and focused. [ barista ] i have two cappuccinos, one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, and two espressos -- one with a double shot. heh, heh. that's not the coffee talkin'. [ female announcer ] start your day with kellogg's frosted mini wheats cereal. with whole wheat goodness on one side and a hint of sweetness on the other,

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>>. >> it's been called the obama factor. democrats worrying about midterm elections and how they'll be affected by the president's overall low approval ratings and for good reason. the republicans potentially could take the majority in the united states senate. right now democratic candidates from three key battleground states, that would be iowa, colorado and virginia, do not, repeat not want the president of the united states who is a democrat campaigning for them. our chief political analyst gloria borger is with us right now. these are states that the president carried, i believe, both in 2008 and in 2012. yet these democratic candidates

who have problems getting elected are reluctant to let the president come in and campaign with them. >> don't forget, iowa was the place that first gave birth to the barack obama we now know that was a crucial win for him in the caucuses when he first ran for the presidency. if you look at his approval ratings in all three of these states, the disapproval is over 50%. that's a real problem. i think what we're seeing now is that candidates are saying, you know what? i can no longer run on that obama brand that was so dependable that brought out younger voters, that brought out minorities, that brought out women particularly young single women. i can no longer depend on that as something to hitch my star to. i have to run on my own as an independent candidate with my set of issues. it's not just because it's the

sixth year of a presidency but because you have a president whose overall popularity is in the low 40% range. >> what do they want him to do? stay away from those states? >> they want him to stay away. they don't want the big hug pictures. they want him to raise the money, which he'll be happy to do. when you talk to the white house about this, they say the president will be going out in the future to some states. we don't know where yet. we know that michelle obama is going to be on the campaign trail. we know that hillary clinton is going to be on the campaign trail. we know that bill clinton is going to be on the campaign trail. they believe that those three people would do better for democratic candidates right now than the president. the president himself must be frustrated by this because he feels like with good reason that he has great economic news. that he wants to talk about. that there's a recovery. unemployment is down. it doesn't have traction out there and he's also dragged down

by the foreign policy issues. >> you did a great interview with leon panetta. critical of the president. robert gates was also critical. now jimmy carter, just turned 90, former president of the united states, also a democrat, he told the ft. worth star telegram, we waited too long and let the islamic state build up money, capability and strength and weapons while still in syria. when isis moved into iraq, sunni muslims don't object to them being here and a third of the territory in iraq was abandoned. even jimmy carter is criticizing -- >> he was criticized for his foreign policies during his presidency. he's taking a swipe at the president himself. >> that's large swipe at the president. in effect, he's saying what leon panetta was saying was you let this problem fester for whatever reas

reason. you shouldn't have let this fester as long as you did. in fact, a majority of the american public actually agrees with jimmy carter on this. a recent poll on cbs said that by about two to one people thought that the president did a bad job of assessing the threat that isis poses. you've got the public now saying, wait a minute, you were kind of asleep at the switch here and that's effectively what jimmy carter is saying and he's a democrat and a former president. >> criticism of the president coming in now sort of piling on from a lot of quarters as we're learn a month away from midterm elections. thanks very much. i'll say one nice thing about the former president jimmy carter on foreign policy, he did a remarkable job obtaining the piece treaty between israel and egypt, largest of all of the arab countries, remains in effect to this very day. >> you're right.

>> on that foreign policy issue, it worked. that's it for me. thank you for watching. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. here we go. top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin. now we have the worst fears confirmed inside the dallas, texas, hospital, this morning just after 7:00 a.m., liberian national thomas eric duncan died from ebola. the news about the 42 year old came a little later this morning. he was the first person to be diagnosed in the united states having traveled here from liberia reportedly after contact with an infected pregnant woman. after falling illinois, duncan went to texas health presbyterian where his condition then deteriorated. the texas department of health issued this statement. "the past week has been an enormous test