axa. direct hit, one hurricane slams into bermuda and another one is heading for the hawaiian coast. a live report ahead. on the ebola front, new details on the condition of dallas nurse nina pham. why no word on how the second victim is doing? and answering quirky questions that have come up since the ebola crisis, like hand sanitizer? some of the biggest senate races going down to the wire. can we expect a dead heat in the kentucky derby. we'll run you through the latest polls. hey, to everyone. high noon in the east. 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." new developments in the ebola crisis today. the condition of the first nurse to test positive for ebola at a

dallas hospital has been downgraded from good to fair after being transferred to the national institutes of health clinical center in maryland. an e-mail from the ceo of frontier airlines says this woman, amber vinson, may have been at a more advantaged stage of the illness than first thought when she traveled on frontier airlines flights between dallas and cleveland. the e-mail to employees says crew members on the flights are at a very low risk of exposure. and the doctor who treated all three ebola patients in dallas is speaking publicly for the first time talking about how those two nurses caught the virus from thomas eric duncan. dr. gary weinstein says, quote, i think these two nurses took care of a critically ill patient at a time when he was not in control of his body fluids. and at a time when the recommendations from the cdc that we were following did not include the full respiratory mask. i don't know that. but that's what one person thinks. that's me. joining me now, msnbc's sara

dolloff is outside that hospital in dallas. can you give us an update on how both of those nurses are doing? >> reporter: good morning, alex. as you know, neither of those nurses is being treated here. amber vinson at emory university in atlanta and nina pham at the national institutes of health in maryland. nina pham is interacting with the staff. they say these ups and downs are going to be very common as her body battles ebola but they fully intend to see her walk out of that hospital. >> that is certainly good news. we hope that is the case. can i ask you about this cruise ship situation? one of the texas hospital workers who worked in the lab is self-quarantined. she's on this carnival cruise line ship. she is not sick, not showing any signs of anything -- symptoms at

all. but i understand workers are trying to disinfect this ship. they didn't get to stop at a port. what do you know about that? >> reporter: that's correct. they weren't allowed to stop in mexico. they had to turn around and come back. mexico wouldn't accept them out of fears for this lab worker and her partner. the cdc has said repeatedly you can't infect someone if you're not actively symptomatic. the cdc also -- not the cdc but rather the hospital and government here in texas also now asking employees, those 75 people who had contact with ebola patients, they're asking them to now sign a document that says they won't go to public places like restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls. but also that they're not going to do travel with these cruise ships or on airplanes or trains for the 21-day period while they're on quarantine.

meanwhile, this lab supervisor and her partner, the ship is expected back here in the u.s. on sunday morning. so they will be back here. she's almost at the end of her 21-day monitoring period. and as i said, she's shown no signs or symptoms of ebola. >> can i ask you, there's been so much interest on nina pham's dog, bentley, who's apparently still in quarantine. but there's an update on that? >> reporter: there is. bentley's really become this small bright spot in what is otherwise a very difficult and often scary situation. bentley adapting to his new life under quarantine and officials actually releasing photos of him doing so, very cute photos of workers in full protective suits giving him a new toy and his reaction, excited to that. we're also expecting some more photos today. but they say they wanted nina pham to be the first to see them, they say. the dog right now is her number one cheerleader in the area. he's under his 21-day quarantine period. he'll be up on november 4th. the cdc says they want to

caution people. there's no known cases of a dog or cat getting ebola or transmitting ebola to humans. they want to couch that concern with that. but bentley under quarantine for 21 days. >> hope he's doing well. thank you so much, sarah. a new report in today's "new york times" says president obama is, quote, seething just a day after pointing a so-called ebola czar. nbc's kristen welker is at the white house for us. why is the president reportedly seething? >> reporter: well, based on my conversations here, president obama was incredibly upset by the way the government has responded to the ebola situation. as you know, he canceled planned campaign trips, two of them earlier this week, highly unusual for this president. he held high-level meetings on wednesday and on thursday and expressed his frustration and his anger to some of his top officials, including to his cabinet secretaries. and he called for a stepped-up response from the federal government. take a listen to what he had to

say in this week's weekly address. >> this week at my direction, we're stepping up all our efforts. additional cdc personnel are on the scene in dallas and cleveland. we're working quickly to track and monitor anyone who may have been in close contact with someone showing symptoms. we're sharing lessons learned. so other hospitals don't repeat the mistakes that happened in dallas. >> reporter: and as a part of that increased federal response, president obama has named what we in the media are calling an ebola czar, ron klain. he is someone who is a washington insider. he served as chief of staff to vice president biden, former vice president al gore. he has a background in law and business. he is someone who knows how washington works. republicans have been somewhat critical saying he doesn't have a medical background. the pushback on that from the white house is that this is someone who knows how to get government moving and that he is an expert in implementation. so that's why he's the president's pick. the president hoping to turn

this around next week with fewer negative headlines coming out about ebola. >> considering the topic, forget about politics here. what is job number one for him? >> reporter: well, job number one is really to think of him as a bridge. his goal really is to make sure that the white house is communicating with congress, communicating with health officials from the cdc and communicating with state and local officials to make sure that the mistakes that happened in dallas don't get repeated. and a part of that is making sure that hospitals all across the country have the proper training and the proper information and to make sure that the public has the proper information. the goal here in as much as it is politically aimed is also just to quell the public fear. there was so much this past week. and the white house really wants to make sure that they're doing a good job at preventing any further spread of this disease but also quelling that public fear. >> kristen welker at the white house, thank you so much. other news now, in a new report by "the new york times,"

darren wilson, the police officer who shot and killed unarmed michael brown in ferguson, missouri, this summer, said he feared for his life during that minutes-long scuffle. the newspaper says wilson told investigators that brown pinned him inside his police cruiser and was reaching for his gun before wilson shot him. the officer's account of the events did not explain why wilson continues to fire at brown after the two emerged from that vehicle. nbc has not independently confirmed this report. arizona's now the newest state to legalize same-sex marriage. on friday, a federal judge declared the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. the judge ruled his decision should take effect immediately, encouraging couples to start tying the knot right away. this brings the number of same-sex marriage states to 31. one of the music industry's biggest stars is sharing a secret. bono said his sunglasses aren't just his rock star look but to

protect his eyes from sunlight as he coped with his battle with glaucoma. bermuda is trying to recover from the pounding of hurricane gonzalo which wiped out power to most of the island. it is the biggest hurricane to hit bermuda in about a decade. nbc meteorologist jannette is joining us now. >> this is in the wake of hurricane fay. bermuda cleaning up not only after tropical storm fay but now after hurricane gonzalo. in fact, that system that you were talking about, alex, was category 3 hurricane fabian. that was the last system of this magnitude that hit bermuda. and that was back in 2003. that system caused up to $300 million in damages. so, again, bermuda is beginning to clean up. in fact, we're starting to see some sunshine appear across the island gonzalo continues to head to the north. gonzalo made landfall at 8:30

p.m. eastern time, 9:30 p.m. bermuda time. conditions are beginning to improve. gonzalo is racing off to the north-northeast at around 25 miles per hour. the system is continuing to weaken. and we are expecting to see hurricane gonzalo off the coast of newfoundland. you can see the forecast path here, the track is expected to stay off of the coast of newfoundland. but there may be tropical storm force winds along the coast of newfoundland. another system we're closely watching is hurricane ana in the central pacific ocean. it's bringing rainfall across the big island of hawaii. some of the smaller islands looking at periodically heavy rain through the next 24 hours. could also see tropical storm force winds in the island of oahu and kauai. but it will stay south of the hawaiian islanding. but could see tropical storm force winds and locally heavy rain over the next 24 hours in some of the smaller islands. >> thank you so much for that

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this week members of congress made a brief return to washington to grill public health officials in a hearing on the ebola scare. with two weeks to go before the midterms, it took on a sharply partisan tone. tim murphy had some of the strongest words. >> the trust and credibility of the administration and government are waning as the american public loses confidence each day with demonstrated failures of the current strategy. but that trust must be restored. but what will only be restored with honest and thorough action. >> joining me now, democratic congressman john yarmuth.

welcome. >> good to be with you. >> do you agree with your subcommittee chairman? >> well, i actually do. i think many of our democratic members expressed their concern and their dissatisfaction with the initial responses in this latest situation. i actually thought the hearing was very productive. and i thought for the most part, with the exception of maybe those opening comments, the members on both sides were most interested in finding out -- making sure that one is that our government agencies' responses were the right response, that they had the resources and authority necessary to do what they had to do. so i think the only people that were honestly interested in making sure we were doing everything we could to provide the kind of oversight to make sure the public was as safe as possible. i thought it was a very constructive hearing. >> on the heels of that point you're making, earlier this week, there were so many calls for an ebola czar to be named. but once the president did tap

ron klain yesterday, a lot of republicans came out in opposition because he lacks any health care-specific experience. where do you stand on his appointment? >> well, i kind of agree with e.j. who said on msnbc yesterday that he could have resuscitated einstein and the republicans wouldn't have been happy. but i think actually we have an incredible amount of medical expertise, epidemiologists, public health experts, throughout many agencies. what we need is someone who can organize the effort, make sure all the agencies talk to each other, make sure that there's no gap in communication or in effort. so i think what we did need was an administrator and not another medical expert. we have lots of those, including dr. frieden who's trained in contagious diseases, is renowned in the field, has impeccable academic credentials. i think we needed an

administrator. >> can you point to areas, though, sir, where things have fallen through the administrative cracks and i guess offer an explanation as to why? is it because this is a new situation, lack of experience, lack of focus on this? why do you think these things happened? >> well, i think more than anything, it's the nature of our health care system that is very fragmented. you have a variety of public agencies at the federal level involved -- fda, cdc, department of health and human services. and then you go to border patrol and other kind of ancillary agencies. but then at the state level, local level, department of public health. and then the actual delivery system, the actually hospitals and physicians. that's the real issue. it's not a question of expertise or even of commitment. i think it's just that the fragmented nature of the delivery system requires a great deal of coordination. >> as you mentioned in

thursday's hearing, the kentucky national guard is in senegal, part of the ebola deployment. eventually there could be up to 3,000 troops in the region. are you confident enough precautions are being done to make sure that the ebola virus doesn't come home with a single person? >> that question was asked during the hearing and we got reassurances that the people who are there from our military would not be in the positions where they would have direct contact with people suffering from the ebola virus. so if that's true -- and i have to take their word for it, then i have a strong level of confidence that those men and women are safe. the kentucky air national guard isn't going to be anywhere near them. they're in senegal providing the infrastructure so the 101st airborne and others can do the work of building the facilities, getting the beds in place we need to contain the disease in those three countries in west africa. so, yeah, i'm very confident that as long as what they're telling us is right and that

those people aren't going to be in contact with sick patients, then we should be fine. >> from a political perspective, is ebola an october surprise for the midterms? >> it's kind of hard to tell how it will play. i can't imagine that eat going to have an impact on the elections. we have the most -- one of the most highly visible senate races here as i've campaigned around the community and talked to my constituents. that's not the thing that is at the top of their agenda. so i'm not sure how big a factor it will be. but it does certainly have the effect of taking things like isis and some of the other situations that may be more relevant campaign issues are not getting the play they are the last few weeks. so it may have that kind of effect where people focus more

on things like the economy and jobs and the things that the president and democrats would like us to focus on. maybe they'll get more attention. >> you mentioned that senate race. talk about a horse race there. senator mitch mcconnell, a couple of points ahead of alison lundergan grimes. those numbers were virtually flipped last weekend. now we have both clintons coming to town to stump for grimes. is the party calling in all the big guns because they're nervous? >> the party is calling in all the big guns because we know the race is going to hinge on voter turnout. we want to make sure the people who can excite democrats and other alison supporters and generate votes among the independents are doing everything they can. so the president -- president clinton is coming in. there are four members of the congressional black caucus coming to louisville next weekend. elizabeth warren is coming in to visit some college campuses to talk about student debt. so, yeah, i guess all the big guns are coming in. but it's not because of concern.

it's because we know whoever turns the vote out will win. there's a lot of energy behind alison lundergan grimes' campaign, far more than is behind mcconnell. >> good to see you, thanks. the supreme court's new order today that will make it harder for some americans to vote in texas. and guess what? early voting starts monday. what are some people going to do about it? and trouble in paradise? you'll see what a hurricane did to bermuda. hey, i heard you guys can help me with frog protection? yeah, we help with fraud protection. we monitor every purchase every day and alert you if anything looks unusual. wow! you're really looking out for us. we are. and if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, you're never held responsible. just to be clear, you are saying "frog protection" right? yeah, fraud protection. frog protection. fraud protection. frog. fraud. fro-g. frau-d. i think we're on the same page. we're totally on the same page. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you.

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clashed. dozens injured, including 18 police officers. these protests have been going on for three weeks. they pose one of the biggest political challenges for china since the crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations in beijing back in 1989. we'll continue to monitor these protests and bring you the latest news as it warrants. the number of deaths is now 39 in the worst hiking disaster in nepal. survivors are battling frostbite and hypothermia as rescuers work to get them to safety after snowstorms and avalanches pummelled a popular area for hikers. nbc's kelly cobiella joins me from london with all the latest. what a dramatic story. >> reporter: it's so sad, alex, particularly because this was a place for beginning hikers. a lot of these people simply weren't prepared for extreme conditions. rescuers actually found three more people today, brought them to safety. but they also spotted nine bodies in this remote part of the himalayas. families and some of the hikers

themselves are now asking why they were led straight into a deadly storm. these are the lucky ones, hikers with hypothermia and frostbite, rescuers used pick axes and shovels to reach some of them, digging through several feet of snow and ice. >> i had snow in here. and one guide who knows the way saw me and asked me to stay with him and just drug me. he dragged me. >> reporter: some hikers say they walked past bodies covered in snow, leaving friends behind. at least 30 are dead with dozens more missing. they were on a circuit known as the world's most beautiful walk, no need for bags full of equipment. this expert mountaineer knows the area well. >> this time of the year, the weather's usually the best. it's sunny days with crystal clear air, cool, often chilly nights. but unfortunately every few years, you do get these big storms, these humongous storms

coming in and dumping lots of snow. >> reporter: this time, the cyclone that lashed india with rain reached the edge of the himalayas. when the snow started to fall wednesday, guides told the hikers to press on into a blinding storm. >> the wind was so hard and heavy and the snow came down so hard [ inaudible ] -- >> reporter: the tragedy comes six months after an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on mt. everest. once again, local guides are among the dead. and their families are demanding answers. some of those questions today, did they have the right equipment going in and why were they not aware of this impending storm? the prime minister of nepal is promising to put a weather warning system in place, alex, to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again. >> yeah. you wonder why people do it. but i have to tell you, doing that, taking that trek is on my bucket list. my parents are probably watching thinking, please don't go there.

but it's compelling. >> reporter: you better take the right safety gear. >> i will. thank you, kelly cobiella. he is known as the virus hunter. just ahead, i talk with one of the doctors who investigated the first ebola outbreak in 1976. how that virus has evolved and what he learned then that could help medical professionals right now. to be more powerful... and, miraculously, unleash 46 mpg highway. an extravagance reserved for the privileged few. until now. hey josh! new jetta? yeah. introducing lots of new. the new volkswagen jetta tdi clean diesel. isn't it time for german engineering? (receptionist) gunderman group is growing. getting in a groove. growth is gratifying. goal is to grow. gotta get greater growth. i just talked to ups. they got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies. like smart pick ups. they'll only show up when you print a label

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so ally bank really has no hidden fethat's right. accounts? it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." politics at the half hour. in 17 days if you're counting until the midterm election. and it's an election that could change the balance of power in the senate. just a few months ago, it seemed that the elections would be a referendum on obamacare. but suddenly we have new health care stories and the others have surged into the spotlight. joining me now is mark murray. with a welcome to you, mark, 17 days left, that's it. i know you have your running shoes on. how close is it at this point in the senate battlegrounds? >> i'm looking at four senate battlegrounds that are going to decide the balance of power in the senate. right now, they're all margin of

error races. states like north carolina, iowa, colorado and also kansas. but here's why republicans had the advantage in their favor to take over the united states senate right now. democrats to win all or most of those races to be able to keep u.s. senate control. if you're talking about all these different margin of error races, democrats almost have to run the table on them where republicans have a little bit more leeway right now. so i think -- i'm under the expectation that anything can happen election night. but right now, democrats have to walk a very narrow path, a fine line to be able to hold onto that senate. >> so, mark, if republicans gain both houses, is the expectation that even less will get done or would we then see a pipeline of conservative bills being sent to the white house? some of which the president might even sign? >> alex, the expectation is pretty much going to be the same old, same old. the difference is instead of the bottlenecks occurring either in the u.s. house or the united states senate with the

filibuster, you need 60 votes, a lot of times if republicans are able to get the 60 votes in the senate to be able to pass something with john boehner and the republican house of representatives, all president obama can do is veto the legislation. he's only vetoed two bills up till now. but you could end up seeing him veto a lot more. there is always the opportunity for compromise, some things on free trade, for example, where he and republicans could be able to strike a deal. but i think everyone's under the mindset right now that you're still not going to have a whole lot done with a democrat in the white house and republicans either controlling -- either the house or also the senate. >> as you know, the supreme court issued an order this morning that allows texas now to use its strict voter id law in the midterms as a result of a former supreme court case in which they don't want to change things up this close to the election. by the way, doesn't early voting start monday? >> uh-huh. >> the impact at the polls because of this will be what, do

you expect? >> it's going to impact things if there's a close race. right now when you look at texas, there aren't a lot of close races. republican greg abbott has the comfortable advantage in that gubernatorial contest against wendy davis. but when you have a close race and you have voter id laws in effect, it's disproportionately going to end up affecting poorer groups. and those groups tend to vote democrat. >> what about ebola turning into an october surprise? what are your thoughts? >> it's been a surprise in this respect. it's been a story that's created a tremendous amount of attention, put some candidates on the defensive. we're now seeing that come up in debate after debate. and on the campaign trail right now. as far as whether it's an october surprise or not, it's been the latest development with 17 days before the election.

but we've seen media frenzies on so many different stories over the past few months whether it was isis or the secret service missteps. now it's ebola. with 17 days left, i wouldn't be surprised if we have one more october surprise in store for us because 17 days is almost a lifeline of media cycles. >> buckle up. thank you so much, mark murray. new today, the cdc says it will release a strict new ebola guideline set to protect medical workers after two nurses became infected with the virus while caring for an ebola patient in dallas. let's go to atlanta. nbc's chris pollone is there working for us. what have you learn about these new guidelines? >> reporter: these new cdc guidelines come in direct response to those two texas presbyterian hospital nurses who contracted ebola after caring for a patient who had ebola and from criticism from that hospital's directors and workers who said that the cdc shifted those guidelines while they were working with ebola patients.

take a look at some of the suggestions the cdc is going to make for hospital workers. they're going to tell them to cover all their skin. you might remember a nurse complained earlier this week that when working with an ebola patient, her neck was exposed to the air. they tell them to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers on their gloves. one of the focuses is on how they took off their gloves and whether that exposed them to bodily fluids from thomas eric duncan. they're going to tell them to create a dressing room outside of medicare care areas so that the protective equipment that they wear is able to be taken away, to be disposed of properly and doesn't infect anyone else. and then also they will tell them to implement a buddy system, all workers going in and out of ebola patients' rooms will do it in pairs now. the pairs will watch each other put on their personal protective equipment and take it off and follow a checklist to make sure that they're doing it properly,

alex. >> chris, we've heard so much about nina pham and her condition but not much about amber vinson, who's in that hospital right behind you there. what's going on? >> reporter: yeah, that's by design. her family has specifically asked that no information about her care be released. and of course with medical privacy laws and hipaa, the hospital here is honoring that request. her family issued a statement the other day when she was moved here to emory hospital. they said, thank you for your care and concern. we ask for privacy at that time. so we don't expect to hear very much about amber vinson's care in the next several days. >> nbc's chris pollone, thanks so much. one texas doctor knows all too well what an ebola scare feels like. dr. joseph mccormick investigated the first ebola outbreak back in 1976. dr. mccormick joins me via skype.

he's the co-author of "level 4, virus hunters of the cdc." appropriate we're speaking with you, sir. thank you for joining me. >> my pleasure. >> let's talk about the news of the day. nina pham downgraded from good to fair. in your mine, what does this mean? is it because she's just evolving through the illness? is this a natural suspected progression? >> i suspect that it's a different medical system, slightly, a different care system. they may have evaluated her differently from the way they were evaluating here at presbyterian. i don't think there's a huge difference and i don't think it necessarily represents any deterioration in her condition. >> okay. let's get right to your experience in africa. i know you've sent us a few pictures, one of which shows a medical worker wearing protective gear in the congo from 1976. another one, typical patient in isolation from sierra leone. talk to me about what's changed since then in terms of protecting workers and

preventing the spread of the virus. >> i think the major change has been related to the equipment being used. at the time we were working the equipment available is very different from today. and we've learned more about the spread of ebola. remember, that was the first outbreak. and we didn't even know what we were dealing with. we thought maybe we were dealing with some other hemorrhagic fever that we knew about. so i think the equipment's changed. our understanding really -- the understanding that we're using today about spread of disease, spread of the virus, was seen in the very first outbreak where we saw that only people with very close contact with someone who was ill or someone who went to the hospital and got an injection at that little clinic in africa also was at risk. that's where we learned, one, transmission occurs primarily almost exclusively with close contact with bodily fluids.

but that those kinds of exposures can happen in hospitals. and the hospitals have often been the epicenter of the spread of this disease. and indeed what are we seeing here? we're seeing no cases in people who were in the family or had contact of that nature. what we're seeing is transmission within the hospital. that's because of the lack of adequate protocols and the lack of implementation of those protocols. >> and, sir, you're speaking from experience because i know you've talked about the fact that you did make a mistake while treating an ebola patient. you had the new and the unknown you were dealing with. is it relative to what you were describing there, what happened there? >> the circumstances were slightly different, alex. i was in a little thatch roof clinic with 12 suspected ebola patients on mats on the floor. it was a dirt floor. it was in this outbreak that you're seeing there.

in sudan. i was trying to examine these folks. i had on my protective equipment, not what you see today. and i was doing it by lantern. so unfortunately there was an older woman who was rather delirious with high fever and i was trying to take blood specimens as well because i wanted to send material back to cdc to confirm the diagnosis of ebola. and i stuck my finger while i was -- after i'd had a needle in her. fortunately i dodged a bullet because it turns out she had something else. she didn't have ebola, whereas often 10 out of 12 people had ebola. >> you have my respect and admiration for what you and other public health officials have gone through to try to contain these medical scourges from around the world. let me also ask you about the cdc which is issuing new guidelines for the health workers. what grade would you overall

give the government's response so far? >> i have to say overall, including the presbyterian hospital, the state government and cdc, i would at best give them a "c," maybe a "c" minus. >> that's not good. >> no, it's not. and it's unnecessary. it's absolutely unnecessary. i would point out that the doctors without borders has done a whole lot better job in the kind of conditions that you see in africa, frankly, than presbyterian hospital did. >> the implementation of the ebola czar, do you expect to be able to give a grade in a matter of time -- a higher grade than a "c," "c" minus? >> a lot of what we've seen, the missteps have been lack of communication. i think there was an assumption that everything was in place when in fact not a single specific kind of rehearsal had been done at presbyterian hospital. they finally admitted that. and the idea that, okay, we have

a really good hospital infection program. it functions well and that's going to be adequate for this, unfortunately if that was what people thought, that is absolutely wrong. and so i'm hoping that the new czar, as you folks have labeled it, will help with the communication and also to make sure that all of the hospitals get it and that they have this. and interestingly yesterday i had an interview about ucla hospital having a massive rehearsal yesterday, dress rehearsal. and when i got back to texas, i found out two of the hospitals here were doing the same thing. but i suspect lessons learned are being disseminated. >> let's hope so. thank you for your time. a brand-new report details the moments leading up to michael brown's death as told by the police officer who shot him. . yeah. it's in the shop. it's going to cost me an arm and a leg. that's hilarious. i'm sorry. you shoulda taken it to midas. get some of that midas touch.

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events that led to the fatal shooting of michael brown. "the new york times" reports that wilson says brown pinned him in his car. wilson said he was in fear for his life and fired twice in the car during the scuffle. the officer's accounts of events that day did not explain why wilson continued to fire at brown after they emerged from the vehicle. nbc news hasn't independently confirmed this report. joining me in the studio, lisa bloom. thank you so much for being here. i know you've read this article. what's your takeaway? >> first of all, why is there such a lack of transparency that more than two months after the shooting of an american kid in the streets of america, we still don't know the story? it takes an investigative reporter to dig out some of the facts. and we only still know some of the facts because no incident report was done. darren wilson hasn't spoken publicly. even an attorney for darren wilson hasn't spoken publicly. so there's this leak, which i think is strategic to help

darren wilson. it talks about the first part of the incident, at the car where there was a scuffle. that's something we already know. what is not explained is why after mike brown ran he shot an unarmed, wounded and surrendering young man -- a young man who according to his six witnesses had his hands up in the universal sign of surrender when he was shot. >> do you get a sense of brown's possible violation of civil rights from this? >> are you talking about in connection with a potential federal investigation? >> exactly. >> yeah, i think that's something that should definitely be on the table if there are no charges filed against him. i hope the charges will be filed. when you have six witnesses saying a kid is shot with his hands up, that's enough for probable cause. that's all the grand jury has to find. >> the fact that we're not getting clear information from there, is that because it is a grand jury that's investigating right now and typically you don't get information? >> these are decisions that have been made by the county in st. louis and by the state of missouri. what i mean by that is, the prosecutor had a choice.

he had a choice to be forthcoming and transparent. he could have reviewed all of the information and filed charges himself. he could have said, six people saw the kid get shot with his hands up. that's sufficient for probable cause, i'm filing and i'm going by way of a preliminary hearing, typically a one-day affair. and it's open to the public. the media goes to preliminary hearings. but he didn't choose that. he chose to go by way of a grand jury and a glacially slow grand jury. there's so much secrecy surrounding that grand jury because it's all confidential. we don't even know darren wilson's full story 2 1/2 months later. >> the information coming out, there are those speculating it's almost a precursor, let's get this information out in case this grand jury decides not to indict him and press these charges granted, there could still be the federal case. but is there logic to that? does that get done? >> well, if you're doing p.r. for darren wilson, i guess this is a good idea. but if we want to get to the

truth about what happened to an american kid shot in the street, this is not completely helpful. let me explain why it only gets us part of the way. darren wilson has to explain legally every shot he fired at mike brown. >> the first two shots, one missed him and one shot him in the arm, i believe. >> right. and mike brown has four shots in his arm total when you look at the autopsy reports. and one is in the palm which could have been when his hands were up or when his arm was down and he was fleeing and he's shot from behind. another one is an his forearm. that's what the autopsy examiners had to say. but what has to be explained are the fatal shots, not just the shots in the car. darren wilson has only two options legally. either he was in reasonable fear of imminent bodily injury or death for himself. i don't know how you can get that when someone's running away from you unarmed, or someone else. in missouri, you can shoot a fleeing felon only if they're dangerous to the life or the physical injury of another person.

again, at that point, mike brown was unarmed, wounded and with his arms up. so i don't see how he gets there legally. that's the big question mark in the case that remains to be answered by darren wilson. >> i have to ask you, mike brown's dead. he's the only one who knows that version of the story. >> he's not here to tell his story. darren wilson obviously has a vested interest in telling a story favorable to him. and i want to tell you, as somebody who litigates excessive forces at my law firm every day, such a huge advantage to darren wilson, he didn't give a statement at the scene. he got to review all of the evidence in the case before he gave a statement to the grand jury. >> lisa bloom, thank you very much for your analysis. ahead, ebola has been around for decades. why hasn't the medical community discovered a cure yet? i'll ask a health reporter right after the break. purchases for my business. and i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 70,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months

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questions being raised, some of them which are quirky and expected and some which you figure might have had asked and answered already. joining me now is a reporter from bloomberg news. is it too late to isolate ebola? >> in the u.s., it is not too late to isolate at all. in west africa, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult to isolate this virus. the response is not keeping up with the pace of infections. and there we could have 10,000 people infected a week by december. the worst case scenario is looking like 1 million people could be infected by january. and for each person who's infected, they're infecting two, three other people. so if the global response does not increase soon in west africa, we could be facing a situation where ebola is just endemic in west africa and the threat of it spreading to the u.s. again and other countries continues to grow there. >> ebola's been around for decades.

why no vaccine or cure? >> because nobody needed one until they really needed one. that's the case with so many deadly pathogens out there. there is a bioterrorism threat and after 2001, dick cheney was very paranoid about a bioterrorism threat. and he put money towards these. but there's a lot of red tape and government bureaucracy that's been in the way and that has prevented accelerating any sort of programs until right now. >> you mentioned money. drugmakers are scrambling to produce a vaccine but it's not cheap. is that the hang-up? >> money is one of it. but in the past, it's been bureaucracy. my colleagues did reporting that one of these drugs was waiting for a year just for the government to cut a check to fund research, the money was there. it was just stuck in government bureaucracy waiting for the paperwork to be signed for the check. now we're getting into the stage of a vaccine. the money is there. the question is who's going to pay for it? the drugmakers, the gates

foundation, philanthropic organizations have stepped up. but it's more of an organizational situation than money. >> travel ban, how can the virus be contained if people are allowed to travel? amber vinson is the nurse who flew from cleveland to dallas with a fever on that frontier flight. >> right. we know people can only spread the virus through bodily fluids. only when someone's vomiting or diarrhea or sharing bodily fluids. if in the u.s. we take the people who have had contact and tell them, don't get on a flight, which should have been the case for amber vinson, though there was miscommunication between the cdc and someone told her it was okay, but with the people now, if we can isolate these people, monitor them, keep them from flying, we should be able to hold this down. as far as people coming in from outside the u.s., that's going to be a struggle because there are no direct flights from africa to the u.s. people are coming in from west africa from tons of different

ports. so that's a struggle. and there's really just no way to completely close off our borders for this. >> a story you contributed to, saying a spike in hand sanitizer sales. does that help? >> if you've been cleaning up a bunch of ebola-laced vomit, you want to do a lot more than watch your hands in purell. hand sanitizer is wonderful. washing your hands is great. maybe all of this is going to help us with flu season which is coming and actually does kill thousands of people a year. maybe that's what hand sanitizer is going to help with. but for hospital workers and people directly in contact with ebola, putting on purell isn't enough. in africa, people use chlorine. >> shannon, thanks so much. up ahead, are you dreaming about ebola? you're not the only one. ♪ i thought it'd be bigger. ♪

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>> ebola, the fear factor and the false alarms. a worrying fallout in the fight against the deadly virus. voter beware. supreme court order could jeopardize the voting rights of some 600,000 people. two hurricanes unleashing their fury on popular vacation destinations. and cool it. how can a certain type of air conditioner possibly put a chill on global warming? good day to all of you. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here's what's happening. new this hour, the canadian government says it will ship 800 vials of its experimental ebola vaccine to the world health organization switzerland so the vaccine can be made available as an international resource. that first shipment scheduled for monday. then here at home, a new message from president obama today on ebola. he says the nation needs to keep the current crisis in perspective and not give into hysteria. >> we know how to fight this

disease. we know the protocols. and we know that when they're followed, they work. >> the first nurse to test positive for ebola at a dallas hospital, nina pham, is now in fair condition at a maryland hospital. she was in good condition before being transferred from dallas to the national institutes of health clinical center. meantime, the other dallas nurse who tested positive for ebola, amber vinson, is being treated in atlanta. before she was diagnosed with the virus, she traveled on flights from dallas to cleveland. now today health officials in ohio say 16 people who had contact with vinson are being actively monitored. none is showing any signs of illness. nbc's sarah dallof is in dallas for us. but we start with nbc's kristen welker who joins us from the white house. there's this revealing report today about the president's reaction to how this ebola crisis has been handled. what are you hearing about that? >> reporter: we know that president obama was incredibly upset at the federal response to the ebola situation. he was upset about the missteps

and the mistakes that were made down in dallas and had a pretty heated meeting with some of his top officials, some of his cabinet secretaries here at the white house. of course, he canceled a campaign trip to stay here on wednesday, as well as thursday, to hold high-level meetings. he essentially called for a stepped-up federal response. said that he would be sending more teams of the cdc down to dallas and also would have s.w.a.t. teams at the ready to be dispatched within 24 hours of a patient getting diagnosed with ebola. he also made the decision to appoint what we are calling an ebola czar, someone to be the point person for handling ebola. that person, ron klain. he is a washington insider. he's served as the chief of staff for vice president biden as well as former vice president al gore. he is someone who knows how washington works, has good relationships with congress. the president was getting a lot of pressure to do this. both because the administration felt as though they needed to do

more to reassure the public. they were also getting political pressure, though. those midterms just a few weeks away now. and democrats really concerned that the criticism that the administration was getting for its handling of the ebola situation would ultimately hurt their chances for holding onto the senate. so pressure is on all sides and president obama ultimately made the calculation for ron klain to be the point person. we anticipate he will begin next week. >> have the details of his job been outlined, like where he starts? >> reporter: well, we're thinking of him as a bridge, really, alex. he is someone who is supposed to be the line of communication between the white house, between congress, between health officials and making sure that the information is getting out to hospitals all across the country and also to the public. he's not going to be the public face of this so much, alex. he's going to be more behind the scenes making sure that, in the

president's words, all of the is are dotted and all of the ts are crossed. republicans have criticized this pick saying he doesn't have a background in medicine. the pushback on that from the white house is that, look, this is someone who knows how to implement things, knows how to work with members of congress, knows how the white house works. this is someone who can get things done and who can be the point person and actually bring about action. >> thank you so much for that. joining me now, nbc's sarah dallof is outside that hospital in dallas. what do we know about the status of both nurses and how they're doing? >> reporter: well, as you mentioned at the beginning the show, neither of these nurses is here in texas anymore. amber vinson now in atlanta at emory university hospital where they are not allowed to give out any information about her condition at her request. nina pham, however, we're hearing a lot more about. she is being treated in maryland. they released an emotional video of her send-off on thursday. her doctors telling her they

love her, handing her a tissue as she tears up and tells them good-bye. and later health care workers lining the road as she was driven out with signs of support and cheers for her. now, she is reportedly in fair condition, downgraded from good condition. she was still sitting up, still eating and engaging with the staff. they say there's going to be a lot of days of ups and downs as her body bottles the ebola virus. but they fully expect to see her walking out of that hospital cured. >> the cruise ship, the texas hospital worker, the lab worker in self-quarantine, she's not sick at all. but the workers on that ship are trying to disinfect it. it's a ship that can hold more than 3,000 passengers. the challenges in that are enormous? >> reporter: enormous. it is a huge ship, alex. and the cdc guidelines, the manual for cleaning a ship, just sanitizing under normal conditions, it's more than 200

pages. we've seen these deep-clean sanitations with the norovirus, for instance. they had to do everything from light fixtures to mantlepieces to the air conditioning. it's important to note this lab worker and her partner, neither are showing symptoms of ebola. and the cdc reiterates that only a person who is symptomatic can infect other people. they are in a voluntary quarantine in their room on the cruise ship. but the concern was enough that the mexican authorities would not grant the ship to make their scheduled stop. they had to turn around and head back for texas earlier than intended without that scheduled stop. they are scheduled to be back in the u.s. at port tomorrow morning. the lab worker is almost at the end of her 21-day monitoring period. in fact, that will be up later this weekend. once again, alex, no signs, no symptoms of ebola thus far. but still taking every precaution on that ship.

>> quick question about the update on bentley, nina pham's dog? >> reporter: the bright spot, bentley, this little dog, in what is a difficult and scary situation here. they just tweeted some new photos of bentley adjusting to life in his quarantine. he's playing with a ball that a worker in a protective suit is giving him. he seems in good spirits. they say he's doing very well there. they wanted first to show those photos to nina pham. they call bentley her number one cheerleader has she battles ebola up in maryland. keeping her spirits up with photos of he beloved dog and the community rallying behind that dog as well sending gifts and presents while he's in quarantine to him. >> a bright spot. that's great. sarah dallof in texas, thank you so much for that. the cdc says it will soon release stricter guidelines for medical workers caring for ebola patients. bloomberg reports the new guidelines will include specific recommendations including workers to cover all of their skin using alcohol-based hand

sanitizer on protective gloves, setting up a dressing room outside medical care areas and the creation of a buddy system with workers watching each other put on and take off all their protective equipment. jo joining me is the president of the american's nurses association, pamela cipriano. do you interpret these guidelines as an admission of fault on the cdc's part in some way? >> no. this is a big step forward. these requirements actually mirror what's done in the four biocontainment facilities. so we've actually been advocating similarly that rather than following the basic precautions, that anyone who would encounter a patient with ebola would actually have the higher level of full protective equipment. so these recommendations are welcomed. they are being discussed with health professionals for the last week. more than 6,000 nurses were on a call with the cdc on thursday. many of these suggestions came forward.

we're anxiously awaiting the official recommendations. >> that's a heck of a conference call with 6,000 members participating. i know you're familiar with the one nurse who works at the dallas hospital where thomas eric duncan was treated who's now speaking publicly. here's what she said on the "today" show earlier this week? >> there were no special precautions other than what we know in the medical industry to be basic contact precautions and droplet precautions. no special gear. we were unprepared in the sense that we did not know what to do with his lab specimens. they were mishandled. that's what the lab technician told me. and it was just a little chaotic scene. >> brianna aguirre says she wasn't one of the nurses who cared for thomas eric duncan but is relating what other nurses who did treat him told her.

the hospital directed us to a statement they released regarding the allegations made by national nurses united. that one says, the assertions do not reflect actual facts learned from the medical record and interactions with clinical caregivers. our hospital followed the centers for disease control guidelines and sought additional guidance and clarity. i want to get your reaction to all that, pamela. >> i think we see that there's probably a lot of information that has been learned over the last couple of weeks. we know that whatever protective procedures and equipment that were used, whether it was the methods that they were used were inadequate to prevent these two extremely unfortunate infections that have occurred in these two nurses. what we're hearing both from texas as well as around the country is hospitals have really stepped up. they're doing drills. they have clarified the information. they've issued opportunities for reeducation. we have adopted the buddy system in many of our organizations, recognizing that that's really key, not only in the education but the observation of technique

to make sure that every worker can be protected. >> and in the weekly address from the president this morning, he says it's important to keep all of this in perspective. let's take a listen to part of that. >> this is a serious disease. but we can't give in to hysteria or fear because that only makes it harder to get people the accurate information they need. we have to be guided by the science. we have to remember the basic facts. first, what we're seeing now is not an outbreak or an epidemic of ebola in america. >> from your perspective, pamela, how concerned should the american public be right now about ebola in this country? >> the public needs to recognize that this, again, is an extremely limited number of individuals and with no direct contact with someone who has ebola, there's virtually no risk at this point. but that's why everyone is focusing significant effort on the prevention, both making sure that if there's someone who we

think could have the disease, they are carefully screened and then put in isolation, as well as other ways of making sure that individuals who are assessed as they're coming into the country would not be allowed to continue their journey if in fact we believe there's a risk. it is very important to not be overreacting to not have a lot of fear and anxiety. that's not how we manage emergencies. we do have a long history in health care of being able to handle emerging infections but also what we call critical incident management, whenever there's an emergency, we must use all our resources. that requires a sense of calm and being able to make sure we've got the experts together as well as provide a lot of information and guidance so that we can carefully take care of the situation as well as the patients and our workers. >> representing those health workers on the front line, pamela cipriano, thank you so much. we're following the impact of two hurricanes on major vacation spots. bermuda is facing the damage and

destruction caused by hurricane gonzalo. after that one whipped through the island with winds exceeding 100 miles an hour. today, thousands of homes are without power. then hawaii is bracing for some pretty heavy rains from hurricane ana. it has winds up to 80 miles an hour. nbc's hallie jackson joins me from oahu. what are you expecting in hawaii? are people prepared? >> reporter: people are definitely getting ready, alex. the sun is just starting to come up over waikiki and diamondhead. you might be able to see the whitecaps over my shoulder. 2450 that's one of the big concerns from ana, tracking well southwest of the hawaiian island chain. we could see storm swells of up to 12 feet, dangerous rip currents, very high waves. that's a concern for folks here along with, as you talked about, the rain, the possibility of

flash flooding, maybe even some mud slides. the wind could be a factor although it sounds like that may be a less impact than we originally expected given that ana was going to veer more westward right into oahu. but it looks like that will not be the case. still, people are taking it seriously and getting ready. i'm looking up and down the shores of waikiki, some of the hotels may start to bring out sandbags in case the storm surge comes well up along the beach as might happen. people are stocking up, getting their plywood and bottled water and making sure they have things ready. but folks are cautiously optimistic that hawaii will escape this hurricane relatively unscathed. but the message from officials is, be ready and take this seriously. >> absolutely. you've got the governor who's declared a state of emergency. you think people are taking good care and anything extraordinary going on there? do you see big lines or is it being done very organized?

>> reporter: it's almost like business as usual but with a little bit of a twist. that's what we heard from the mayor of honolulu here. people can go about their business but use common sense. if it's starting to deluge later on today, don't take your kid out to the football game at the park. keep them home and make sure shea stay safe. and over the next 18 hours, 12 to 18 hours is when we expect to see some of the impacts from this tropical storm or from this hurricane now that's likely weakening a little bit and will probably turn back into a tropical storm later on into the weekend. dramatic effects, tbd. we could see big surf, big waves. but at the moment, looks fairly calm. >> there's a guy swimming behind you. apparently the calm before the storm. hallie jackson on waikiki, thank you. a supreme court order that came today while most of america was sleeping could make countless would-be voters lose some sleep. why voting rights may have suffered a setback, next.

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new today, the supreme court issued an order early this morning mandating that texas can impose its strict voter id laws in next month's midterm elections. this law blocked by a federal judge earlier this month says texas residents cannot vote unless they have a driver's license, gun license, military id or passport for their id. in her dissent of the order, justice ruth bader ginsburg said the rules, quote, may prevent more than 600,000 registered texas voters from voting for lack of compliant identification, a sharply disproportionate percentage of those voters are african-american and minorities.

this is going to be the first time this law will be used in an election of this size. talk about the impact. what is it going to be? >> this is a sad day for texas and for democracy. the supreme court is allowing a law found by a judge that was enacted purposely to discriminate against the voting rights of latinos and african-americans will be allowed to affect our electoral process. we expect that about 600,000 registered voters in texas, people who are eligible, people who have been voting to not possess the kind of identification that this law will require. we also expect a number of voters to be confused about what kind of identification they need to bring. we need to remember that this law has now been struck down twice by courts. it was struck down under section 5 of the voting rights act and it would still have been struck down if the supreme court hadn't issued a decision in shelby county rendering a very important protection of the

voting rights inoperable. >> so can you speculate -- is it texas? what is it about texas that makes it so hard to get the proper id for some people? >> the law that texas imposed is very, very rigid in terms of the kind of identification that is permissible. in fact, there were specific provisions of the law that don't seem to make a lot of sense. for example, it is calling for government-issued photo identification but a student id, say, for example, the university of texas wouldn't be allowed or from texas a&m wouldn't be allowed. but a gun license would. and there are differing rates of possession in the population of those different kinds of ids. because the identification permitted is so limited, we expect that a number of african-american and latinos, the court found about 600,000 in total, are not going to have this kind of identification. and this is a major election coming up. this is going to be a big test for texas. texas was found to have not done

an adequate job publicizing and educating the voters about what the identification was required. the record found that only 279 of the free identification cards had been issued. and early voting starts on monday. >> in terms of the publicizing and educating part, i want to pick up on that. the immediate argument from texas was that changing the law now would create confusion this close to the election. would it have been realistic to change the rules and retrain the polling workers in time? >> it's really important to remember that for decades, texas had a voter id law. it was more expansive than what this rigid, restrictive law is. and had the district court's ruling been allowed to stand, we would have reverted to that old system. there would be much less confusion because anybody that presented identification that would be allowed under the new law would be also be allowed under the new law.

poll workers, election officials, more voters in texas had participated under the old voter id law, more people had used them. it had been used as recently as november of 2012 elections. so to tell people to go back to a system that they were very, very familiar with is much simpler than going to a new system which hasn't been tested, which hasn't been done the proper education and which people didn't know the ins and outs for. >> so what happens next here? this is temporary, right? you folks at the brennan center and others are going to challenge this and do voter id drives or is it too late for the midterm election? >> everyone is going to do their best to try and make sure that every eligible american is able to participate. in texas. people are going to be gathering the resources they can to provide the resources that they can. there's going to be a special hotline. that's 866-our-vote. if voters have problems, they should call that line. but the burden is upon texas to really get out there, make sure

that everybody that doesn't have the kind of id is able to get a free id. they need to waive a lot of the requirements to get some of the free ids so that it doesn't actually cost money. and they need to make sure all of the election officials and all the election workers understand their rights and obligations. this is a very, very critical test of what texas is going to do in the face of an important event. they need to do a better job than they have been doing beforehand about getting information out and getting free id in the hands of people that don't have them. >> thank you so much for weighing in. very important topic. the president says, charge it, and a waitress says, i'm sorry, sir. no can do. that's next. once there was a girl

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new york city last month. >> my credit card was rejected. turns out i guess i don't use it enough. they thought there was some fraud going on. fortunately michelle had hers. >> can you imagine? so the president also said he tried in vain to explain to the waitress he does pay his bills. no word on just how much that bill was. it's ebola fear from sea to shining sea. and now ebola is in your dreams. the nightmare of the virus is now costing americans sleep. that's coming up. . the setting is perfect. you know what? plenty of guys have this issue, not just getting an erection, but keeping it. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. and you only take it when you need it. good to know, right? if ed is stopping what you started...

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east high school. the individual's description was consistent with frein and he was observed carrying a rifle. the individual's face was covered with mud. so a positive identification could not be made. a search of that area is ongoing as we speak. >> that is from a news conference that wrapped up just a few minutes ago. authorities have been searching for eric frein since they say he opened fire on two state police troopers at the blooming grove barracks in pike county killing one trooper and wounding another. they believe frein has been hiding out in the woods ever since. bermuda certainly reeling from hurricane gonzalo after the storm ripped through the popular vacation island. it knocked out power to more than 30,000 homes. and there's no word yet on when that power is going to be restored. nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer is in bermuda with the latest. >> reporter: conditions have dramatically improved here in bermuda. the winds are still a little strong and the surf is rough.

but for the most part, things have been improving rapidly since last night. hurricane gonzalo made its way onshore and made landfall just before 8:00 last night. but it was the backside of the storm that was the strongest. we had reports in some of the higher elevations of wind gusts up near 144 miles per hour. and, boy, did we feel it in our hotel. the windows started bowing and everything was rattling. we were all concerned. i ended up sleeping in the bathroom to stay safe with the cement walls around us. but we're going to assess the damage today. when you have winds that strong for such an extended period of time, obviously we're going to see a lot of vegetation damaged. that's exactly what we saw even when tropical storm fay hit this past sunday. but we're also noticing that power is trying to get restored. we have about 30,000 people without power. there was concern about the causeway that connects this island to the island where the airport is located. really the only lifeline to the airport.

engineers are out assessing that damage right now. they were concerned because hurricane fabian in 2003, the last category 3 hurricane to hit this island, washed that bridge away. there's a temporary bridge now. engineers are at least going out to assess it. so it didn't wash away. and there's a possibility that that could reopen once they decide that it is safe to do so. alex? >> dylan, thank you for that update from bermuda. now back to the ebola crisis. is news of it starting to affect your daily life? are fears dominating your every thought? have you started even dreaming about microbes and a world where everyone is infected? you're not alone. my next guest says ebola anxiety is clearly more contagious than the virus itself and she has the proof to back up her claim. joining me now is melissa dawes. in this article, you have 20 examples of people across the country who have tweeted very curious things about their ebola nightmares. is everyone dreaming about it?

>> seems so. that was only the best ones. there are many more. people dreaming they're the only one left on earth or strange cures, like some person thought the cure involved an iguana. >> that was bizarre. iguana had to split in three after lying on its chest and you're like, okay. so these are hopeful tweets by some. just plain weird tweets by others. but you assert these nightmares could affect people's psyche in the long run? >> yes. i should say first there are a couple of different theories about how nightmares affect us in our waking lives. but one of them, some people think it may work like exposure therapy, like if this is something you're afraid of, then encountering it in your dreams might make you less anxious about it in your regular life. so dreaming about it might make you less freaked out than you would have been normally. >> but interesting all the medical professionals we talk to

say this virus is extremely difficult to transmit, that americans are a lot more likely to catch the flu or get heart disease. what is it that you think has people so overwhelmingly afraid? >> think about those images. first of all, it's just everywhere because everyone's talking about it. but those images of the hazmat suits. it's just very frightening. it's like something out of a movie. it's not surprising our brains are firing these images back at us when we're trying to sleep. >> i'm going to turn the mirror back on the media. you talk about it being everywhere. some critics have said, it's the media, we're reporting with the news all the time and that stokes the fear. do you see that as being a legitimate concern? >> i think so, but i also kind of think that we're starting to kind of pull back and maybe realizing that some of these fears have been overblown. i'm starting to hear that lately. hopefully these will leave our dreams soon. >> aside from the iguana one,

does anyone stick out to you as just being bizarre? >> a lot of references to the will smith movie "i am legend". >> i saw that. like life imitating the art. melissa dahl, thank you for joining us from "new york" magazine. a liberian man in boston appears to be a victim of the fears of ebola all because he came down with a simple cold. kevin says his employer put him on paid administrative leave, will not let him back until he gets a note from a doctor saying he doesn't have the deadly disease. kevin says that's just not right. >> if i go to any doctor right now and ask them a question like that, they would be concerned. makes you feel isolated. makes you feel like there's some form of discrimination. >> kevin says, look, i have family still in liberia. but i haven't been there of late. americans will determine the new congress in less than three weeks. former governor howard dean joins us next.

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a new pew poll reveals what people around the world see as the top global threat. the results were compiled during the spring. americans and europeans say the top global threat is inequality. for middle easterners, religious hatred. latin americans say nuclear weapons and africans say aids and other diseases. in a pre-dawn order, the supreme court ruled this morning that texas can impose its strict id law when voters go to the polls in two weeks plus away now. joining me now, former vermont government and dnc chairman, howard dean. good to see you. >> hi, how are you? >> i'm fine, thanks. >> rainy day in vermont. >> it's a great day there? >> it's raining. >> i'm sorry for that. glad you're inside to talk with us. >> me, too. >> the texas law requiring voters to show a driver's license, a gun license, passport

or some sort of military id. why is that an undue burden for voters? >> because it was actually deliberately aimed by alec and many republicans to disenfranchise voters they thought might vote democratic. it's an outrage. it really is. this is why 73% of americans believe the supreme court is influenced by partisan concerns. i'm one of those 73%. there are people who would have to drive four hours to get a picture id. what about old people in nursing homes? this is ridiculous. the only voter fraud in the last ten years has been republicans are trying to steal elections in indiana. there's been almost no cases of people misrepresenting themselves at the polls in the last ten years in this country. this is a manufactured crisis to try to tamp down the vote. and it's a losing strategy for the republicans because they are never going to do what they have to do in order to win, which is to appeal to minorities and women.

that's exactly who these laws are aimed at. >> and what about the youth vote? i'm frankly appalled that a college id can't be used. you have plenty of kids who come from urban areas and they don't drive, they don't have driver's license. but they have a college id. and the tuition bills and the classes and the tests to prove that they are legit. >> yeah. it's a disgrace. it's a national republican effort by this legislative group, this right wing legislative group funded by every special interest group on the right that you can think of. it's an embarrassment for the court. the court's repeatedly made decisions that are anti-democratic, starting with citizens united and mccutcheon. this is democracy sold to the highest bidder. >> let me read to you part of what justice ruth bader ginsburg

said. it's going to prevent some 600,000 people have voting but the rub is primarily african-americans and hispanics. so the impact of that on election day, what do you expect that to be? >> well, it will hurt us. it will hurt the democratic candidates. but it will really -- what's worse is it will hurt the country. how would you feel if you're a member of a minority group which is historically underwent some discrimination and now the people who are in charge are telling you, you can't vote? this rolls back the clock to the '60s, the early '60s when they had jim crow. it's a sophisticated version of jim crow. i think it's a disgrace. but eventually this is going to cost the republicans. rand paul is out there trying to make nice-nice with the african-americans and hispanic community. if you take away people's right to vote, they're not going to forget that. >> i want to talk with you about the ebola scare because you have this very unique perspective on it. you're a doctor, a state executive, a politician. does the government's handling of this so far challenge your

confidence in the government? >> no. obviously texas presbyterian did not do a good job handling it. the cdc knows how to do this. they should be in charge. i think all the cases are now in cdc centers like the one in omaha, like the n.i.h. in bethesda, like emory, which is under the supervision of the cdc, which is where -- in atlanta, that's where the cdc is based. these cases are very complicated. i don't want to beat up too much on presbyterian. they did -- the biggest mistake they made was not admitting a guy, middle-aged guy with 103 fever and very, very bad abdominal pain. that was a huge mistake. and also screwing up the fact that he did tell them he'd been in liberia and that got lost in the electronic medical records. but even hospitals and texas presbyterian has a good reputati reputation, like that, shouldn't be handling these cases. these are difficult cases, very sophisticated isolation is

needed. the cdc has that experience. there's only four centers in the country that do. that's where every one of these patients should be. and they are now. >> yeah. at least two democratic senators and a lot of republicans have called for a travel ban on passengers from west africa. what is your take, governor? >> well, i think we ought to listen to the experts on this. the physicians that know what they're doing, the public health people, don't think that's thes. necessary. clearly if you've had symptomatic -- if you've been in contact with people, you're not supposed to be traveling and there's been some mistakes there, especially the nurse that was infected in texas and then went to cleveland and back with the permission, apparently, of somebody in the federal government. but these are isolated incidents. first of all, there's no direct flights from any of these three countries that have the epidemic to the united states. so they're going to have to go through another area. that's where you may want to do some screening. but to screen people out who are traveling indirectly to the

united states does not seem to make sense. the irony of all this is the republicans refuse to confirm the surgeon general because the n.r.a. doesn't like him. barack obama nominated his choice for surgeon general. they're screaming for an ebola czar. and we could have had one. but the republicans filibustered it and killed it. >> a pro-democrat group has an ad campaign out and blames the ebola scare on gop budget cuts. where is the truth in that and do you think that's proper in light of the massive death toll overseas and all the fears shared by many, many americans? >> well, there's a lot of politics. i don't particularly like seeing democrats play the politics. the republicans have been worse because they're trying to scare the hell out of everybody right before the election. but i would not approve that kind of a statement. i think at a time like this, blaming and hyping up fears and carrying on is not the thing to do. should we put more money in the cdc and the n.i.h.?

yes, we probably should. i can't imagine how you could blame the ebola epidemic on cuts to the cdc, nor do i think that as rick perry tried to claim or somebody, the wing i think as r to claim, one of the wing nuts on the right, putting people in isolation -- these people are just insane, let's have a discussion about what we reasonably should do. reasonably, this country is on the right track. there will be some cases, there may be some more. we finally figured out people needed to be treated in hospitals, one of the four hospitals that can handle this well and i think we're on the right truck. >> dnc chairman, howard dean, always good to see you. how can a machine possibly reverse the effects of global warming? you will find out next. taste better in our savory broth. vegetables!? no...soup! oh! soup! loaded with vegetables. packed with taste.

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against global warming. it is an air capturing machine and sucks carbon out of the air. a u.s. company has raised 25 million bucks to try to turn it into reality. joining us is a correspondent with science magazine. eli, with a welcome to you can you explain how this does work? >> well, this machine works like a catalytic converter in your car. it physically captures the co2 with a chemical. and the idea that such a machine could grab the co2 and then with low cost beams from a power plant could be regenerated so you could continue to recapture co2 in the future. right now the idea is to sell the atmosphere, the co2, to mark markets. but in the future you can imagine an army of these machines actually reducing the

amount of carbon in the atmosphere. >> and what is this world war ii concept -- >> basically, we have scrubbed co2 from the air in subs and spaceships. the nazis used air-scrubbing technologies, this technology goes way back. the innovation is now to think about using such machines on a grand scale, first to obtain co2 to try to sell it. and then later you know, actually help the planet. one of the companies working in this space calls itself global thermostat, which suggests these global aims. >> there was a university scientist who went to talk about this, presenting it had all the facts, presented a great paper and research and was kind of almost laughed out of the room. i mean, people didn't really pay a lot of attention to him. why are people so skeptical?

>> well, there is a couple of reasons, first, if you're trying to remove co2 from the atmosphere the first thing you probably want to do is to stop polluting it. i mean, we're putting billions of tons here in the united states of co2 up in the sky. so the first order of business is to try to clean up our act. one way to do it may be to focus on existing power plants. those put out a stream of very concentrated co2, so if you grab it you would think you would go for the concentrated co2. the atmosphere right now has 0.4 co2, so it is very hard to grab chemically. so the answer that the co2 around us is here. >> but the machine sure is not. what? 24 million bucks? >> that is right, this is the

beginning of a lengthy research. >> but how much would you need, eli? >> i think if you want to reduce the atmosphere's level of co2, you would need tens of thousands of such machines. >> well, thank you very much, an extraordinary article. that wraps up this edition, with alex witt, have yourself a great day. that matter today. ♪ at axa, we offer advice and help you break down your insurance goals into small, manageable steps. because when you plan for tomorrow, it helps you live for today. can we help you take a small step? for advice, retirement, and life insurance, connect with axa. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are24/7branches? it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do...

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