What may have saved lives. And piers morgan live since his cable show was canceled he is back on tv. He has a lot to say today, monday, october 6. 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Welcome to today on monday morning. Im matt lauer along with tamron hall in while savannah continues on maternity leave. We have Natalie Morales and al roker back. How was the trip . Humbling and we cannot give a great enough thank you to the men and women there protecting our freedom. A thank you to the folk that took part. Well see the video on tuesday. Start on a monday morning with our top story, concerns over ebola in america. A plane carrying ashoka mukpo working for nbc news in liberia made a refueling stop in maine. He will be treated for ebola at a hospital in nebraska. Were told that dr. Nanscy snyderman and her team feel fine. We have the latest and well talk to the director of the cdc live in a moment. Lets begin with nbcs correspondent kate snow in omaha. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning, matt. Ashoka mukpo is back on u. S. Soil. We watched him land in nebraska about dawn. And then an ambulance with the crew specially geared up in protective gear, came up to the plane and we watched as mukpo walked off of the plane with assistance wearing a white hazmat suit himself. Only his eyes visible to us. The ambulance made the short drive over to the university or to the Nebraska Medical Center where his family is waiting. Ashoka mukpos journey began on a tarmac in liberia. He boarded a specially equipped plane. Inside layers of protection to make sure no one would come in contact with the virus. On the ground in omaha another team from Nebraska Medical Center. He will be fully suited from head to toe. And then hell have a Face Mask Covering his entire face so literally not one inch of his body will be exposed. And then our Health Care Workers will be have protective equipment on, they will be covered head to toe. He cross the red line no turning back. The medical director of the unit took us across what they call the red line in the area no one will be able to go without full protective gear. Everything is carefully monitored. We hold this open more than a few seconds the alarm goes off. That mean there is is a break in the barrier system. Reporter ashokas family cant get near this room but he has a link. This camera will give him the ability to video chat with his family down the hall. We spoke with his parents sunday before they flew to omaha. The fact that hes feeling well right now or relatively well that his symptoms are not severe and he is about to get fantastic medical care is enormous relief after stressful few days. I would ask him how hes doing or feeling he clearly would respond with im just getting myself through this day until i get on the plane. Kate snow in omaha, thank you very much. There is growing concern for Thomas Duncan the first ebola patient diagnosed in the United States. Mark potter is in dallas with that part of the story. Mark, good morning. Reporter good morning to you, tamron. With news that the texas ebola patient is doing poorly officials are keeping a close eye on 48 people who may have had contact with him. Their goal through testing and monitoring is make sure the disease does not spread. There is renewed urgency in the battle to save Thomas Eric Duncan from the deadly ebola virus. He took a turn for the worse over the weekend, downgraded to rit cal. Family members in North Carolina say doctors told them duncan is now on a respirator and dialysis machine. Sunday night a week after duncan was admitted to the hospital hazmat crews were back decontaminating the apartment where he stayed with his family. Medical experts say the next three days are the most critical for 48 people they believe came in direct or indirect contact with duncan since he started showing signs of the illness on september 24th. Eight to ten days after is when most people would start feeling the effects according to doctors so today, tomorrow and wednesday are crucial. But according to one expert t delay in diagnosing duncans illness was a serious mistake that jeopardized the people he was around. When he was out of the hospital for those two days obviously sick and had ebola he came into contact with a lot of people. Reporter one of them is a homeless man who rode in the same ambulance used to take duncan to the hospital. Police found him on sunday, and he is being monitored. So far Authorities Say no one except duncan has shown signs infection including thinks girlfriend who talked to me by phone. Everybodys okay . Yes. And nobody has any fever or other symptoms . No. Reporter but the fear of ebola spreading means more people around the country are being screened. Among them a patient in miami tested on sunday even though Officials Say he does not meet the cdc definition for the virus. Just to be cautious. And there is good news this morning involving dr. Rick sacra, the former patient hospitalized over the weekend after developing a cough and fever but doctors say tests show he does not have ebola and he is being treated for a routine infection. Mark, thank you very much. Dr. Tom frieden is the director for the centers for Disease Control and prevention, he will brief the president on ebola today. Dr. Frieden, good morning to you. Good morning, matt. Do you have any update on mr. Duncans condition in texas . Nothing beyond what youve said but our hopes and prayers are with him. And we recognize that this is a critical time for him and for his family and as you said earlier, this is the time were particularly looking at the conta contacts. Ten who had contact with him and 38 others who might have had contact, everyone of those 48 was monitored, their temperatures were taken, none of them had symptoms, none had fever. The key is to keep doing that every day as texas is doing excellently and to have to stop it you say isolate. I want to make sure were clear. Are they called and being told are you taking your temperature . Or is there someone watching these people to make sure they dont inadvertently slip out of their homes and expose other people . Their temperatures are being taken directly by outreach staff from Health Departments in texas. In addition, their locations are known, if any of them might slip out as you put it thats being addressed by authorities in texas. You know there is an American Photo journalist ashoka mukpo arriving in nebraska for treatment. How closely will the cdc work with that center . Very closely. We consult about the care of the patient. Weve been doing that on the way over. And well also make sure that the doctors and nurses and whole team taking care of him does that in the way that doesnt put them at risk by providing them with support. And quickly now if we can. Officials in this country have had a chance to get their hands on and observe closely several people infected with this ebola virus right now. Has that work led us any closer to a vaccine and Something Else we havent heard about in several weeks, doctor, zmapp, that serum given to two patients, is there any more on that, is it any more promising . We dont know if zmapp works but there is no more of it. The company is working hard to make a few more doses but its hard. It take as long time. We have learned how very important fluid and electrolyte management is. Rehydration of patients can be life saving. Thats something were taking back to africa to try to improve the care there, to improve the rehydration of patients because that will make a difference. We are seeing signs of progress. Cdc trained more than 4,000 Health Workers in africa, training workers in this country, wing people from all over the world come to help out in africa. Weve seen the exit screening, identify 75 people, get them off of the planes in africa. So i think we are definitely seeing signs of progress. Tom frieden, the director of the cdc, doctor, thanks very much. Thank you. Matt, now to the other Major Health Concern across the country. The enterovirus has sickened hundreds of children in 43 states and we learn add 4yearold boy who died in his sleep nearly two weeks ago, tested positive for the virus. Tom costello has more for us. Good morning. Reporter this is the only death the cdc has connected to the virus. There had been other deaths but those patients may have add other issues as well. Enterovirus has been around since the 1960s. The vast majority who contract it should not be serious but for some vulnerable kids it can be serious. What i was wondering reporter in new jersey sunday night parents gather to hear from the School District after confirmation that 4yearold eli died two weeks ago. He went to bed on wednesday, september 24, never woke up. In describing him, his father said imagine a shy pup he wants only to make people proud and happy, maybe tripping a bit over his own paws but truly full of unconditional love. The cdc now says 538 people in 43 states and d. C. Have contracted enterovirus d68 since august. Including several clusters of children in denver and kansas city, hospitalized with difficulty breathing. And medical investigators still dont know if there is a connection to another worrisome development. A dozen or so children have shown symptoms of the virus also developed limb weakness or partial paralysis. Its not clear if its temporary or permanent. The link to paralysis is still uncertain and under investigation. Enterovirus d 68 is actually relatively common this time of year. Typical symptoms include a runny nose, fever, maybe a cough. This year there are more cases that seem more severe. Patients with asthma or difficulty breathing are most at risk. We do want to make sure that parents know that most children who contract enterovirus d 68 will be fine. And they should worry more if the child has asthma or trouble breathing in which case they should seek medical attention. Reporter speaking jom Johns Hopkins there the best advice, washing your hands, donts touch your eyes or nose and stay away from others if you are sick. The outbreak is expected to die down as we get further into the fall and winter. Back to you. Tom, thank you. A lot of health concerns. Learning more about the former u. S. Soldier threatened by isis. Right. The american aid worker held by isis militants told his parents in a letter back in june that hes afraid to die. Nbcs Richard Engel is in turkey with more on that. And the latest on the fight against isis. Richard, good morning. Reporter good morning, natalie. The hostages family made a video message stressing his humanitarian work, his desire to help syrians, and calling on isis to release him. Isis is threatening to kill an american hostage next. Peter kassig, a former army ranger who travelled to syria. He converted to islam and changed his name to abdul rahman kassig. He told his family he was pretty scared to die. Isis is fighting a propaganda war but also making advances. Turkey this morning sent more tanks to its Syrian Border taking up what appeared to be firing positions. This is why. Isis militants are advancing quickly on the city of kobani right on the turkish border, attacking it with tanks and artillery. Isis appears to have taken part of the city, and this morning raised its flag. Isis appears to want to provoke a war with turkey. This weekend it even fired mortars into turkey, hitting homes. In response, turkey has deployed tens of thousands of troops to reinforce the border. So far turkish troops have no order to enter syria, that perceived in, is causing problems at home. Riots have broken without protesters demanding that the country take action against isis instead of just watching the group. Turkey is now weighing its options, if it does decide to send troops into syria, that would mean nato boots on the ground. It could be a turning point. Richard engel, thank you. Three u. S. Service men were swept away by high waves in okinawa, japan as a powerful typhoon hit shore. One has been found dead and two others are missing. Heavy flooding stranded drivers and caused roads to wash away south of tokyo. Emergency teams helped to evacuate people trapped by rising waters. Nearly 200,000 people were advised to evacuate because of the possibility of land slides. Car racing fans are lucky to be alive after escaping a wild crash this weekend in italy. Watch as the rally car comes around that turn, it loses control drives up the embankment and flips and lands back on the track. Amazingly all of the spectators walked away unscathed. That flip probably saved their lives. One young girl was treated for shock. The the driver and the passenger were taken to the hospital for minor injuries. Its unbelievable. Im shocked that they let people sit at that point of the turn. On a high speed turn like that. Crazy. Thank you very much. Welcome back. Thank you so much. Weve got some Severe Weather to talk about. Lets show you what were showing right now stretching from indiana all the way down into texas. This fast moving line of showers and thunderstorms right now getting ready to make their way into nashville. Were going to look at showers and thunderstorms some of them heavy at times. These are quick movers so while they could drop 1 to 2 inches it will be very brief. As far as the heavy rain is concerned, the rest of the country a risk of strong storms from southern ohio, western West Virginia to northern texas. Out west, spectacular. 91 degrees, one more day of hot weather in southern california. High surf advisories as well. Well get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. 7 17, good monday morning. Im meteorologist christina loren. I want to show you this time lapse from San Francisco. It really tells the story of the day. We do have a return of those low clouds, those that marine layer is completely compressed. Heres another shot high atop san bruno. Temperatures will be warm, although i have taken the numbers down by a good five degrees from yesterday. 87 on the peninsula, 81 for today on the east shore, looking pretty good, a little hazy here. Hats your latest weather. Thank you very much. Now to a proposal that gives new meaning to the phrase wedding crashers. Natalie has more. A newly engaged couple had the experience of a lifetime when their hot air balloon ride at sunset ended in the pacific. From over the moon to over the ocean. My goodness. Theyre going to jump. Eric was proposing to his fiancee when their hot air balloon was close to the wave bfrs landing in the surf. My fiancee and i were getting engaged. Next thing you know the balloon was veering off toward the water and couldnt get back to land. The air was so it was going straight down. No matter what the pilot tried couldnt go back this way. The pilot says the water landing was a first. Im a retired marine. Weve been in tough situations before. No one was hurt and in true california fashion the couple was towed back to shore by life guards and surfers. Pretty unique. It could have been a lot worse. Could have been a great deal worse. Once in a lifetime experience on the heels of another. Unforgettable. Thats all i can say. Dont know if well do it again request. Good luck . Start off like that, then you know, it all ends well in the end. I love the marine. Our skills are transferrable. Carson is here with a skit thats getting a lot of attention. I played golf in junior college. Watch those transfer. Saturday night live, the guest host was Sarah Silverman. A lot of people talking about one sketch. Sarah played a lot of great characters as you can see. The one that has social media a buzz was portrayal of joan rivers. The setup was joan was roasting other historical figures. Steve jobs, richard pryor. Lets look at sarah as joan. Ladies and gentlemen of heaven welcome miss joan rivers. So many incredible people here tonight. Even steve jobs right here. Incredible. Steve, i hope you are forced to buy a newer better casket every six months so you can see how we feel. Am i right . There are mixed reviews. A few of them what did i miss . The way you said. Joan rivers skit was too soon. Need more time to honor the legend. Mark is writing no one can get away with the skit this soon other than Sarah Silverman. These two are close friends. Joan tweeting, congratulations on week before she passed. Back to you. Thank you very much. Coming up, hes calling it his television comeback. A live interview with that man there, piers morgan, his first since departure from cnn. And theresa and joe speak out for the First Time Since the message from their young daughter that broke their heart. Insurance companies are spending millions of dollars trying to mislead you about the effects of proposition 46. Well heres the truth 46 will save lives. It will save money too. Im bob pack, and im fighting for prop 46 because i lost my two children to preventable medical errors and i dont want anyone else to lose theirs. The three provisions in 46 will reduce medical errors and protect patients. Save money and save lives. Yes on 46. Coming up, what did you just when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. St but the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. Heres something fun to do with hot dogs. Make easy crescent dogs. Pillsbury crescent rolls. Make dinner pop. 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