Katy perrys answer to whether shell pay big money to perform at the super bowl. I am a champion i pick ole miss. And youre going to hear me roar plus, her amazingly accurate predictions on espns gameday. Hey, good morning, everybody. And the images are really striking. A clear sign of the anxiety across this country in the age of ebola. And here you see it. Officials in blue gloves escorting a sick passenger off a plane at newark airport. He was showing possible symptoms of ebola. Well tell you what happened next in just a moment. But we want to start with the news about Thomas Eric Duncan. Hes the first person to be diagnosed with ebola here in america. He is getting worse. He is now in Critical Condition, this as Health Officials closely monitor dozens of people duncan had contact with. Abcs ryan owens is covering the story in dallas for us this morning. Ryan, good morning to you. Reporter dan, good morning to you. As you mentioned, officially, the hospital will only say duncan is here in Critical Condition, but his family is telling us much more, and the news is not good. Thomas eric duncan has been in a dallas hospital for a week, and this morning his condition is worse than ever. His family tells abc news the liberian man is not conscious, hes so heavily sedated. Hes gone into kidney failure and is on dialysis. The ebola victim also cannot breathe on his own and is on a ventilator. Meanwhile, those most at risk, duncans girlfriend and her family, we blurred their faces to protect their privacy, are spending a second day inside an isolated gated fourbedroom home donated so the family could leave this cramped, contaminated apartment where duncan slept for several nights while he was contagious. The cdc is carefully watching them for any sign of infection. So far the news is good. We are confident that none of those with definite contact had any symptoms related to ebola. None of them had fever. Reporter the cdc says nine people in dallas are considered at high risk for infection. Those four family members, plus medical personnel like those who rode in the ambulance with duncan. Another 40 people who may have had contact with him are considered low risk. Also this morning, more questions about why duncan was initially sent home from this texas hospital even though he had a fever and told the admitting nurse he had been in africa. Officials at Texas Health Presbyterian first blamed a Software Error for not flagging duncans travel history. They now admit it wasnt the computers fault. Duncans records were right there for anyone to see. Right now, were in the most critical window of anyone else in dallas who may have been exposed to ebola. Symptoms show up eight to ten days after exposure. Duncan has been here for seven days, paula. Not safe quite yet. Ryan owens, thank you for that report from dallas. Now drama at Newark Liberty international airport. An emergency scene when a plane landed and a sick passenger with ebolalike symptoms was rushed to the hospital. He does not have it, but air travelers are on edge, and abcs tom llamas is at that airport now with the very latest. Good morning, tom. Reporter paula, good morning. Getting through the tsa or worrying about legroom can be stressful enough. Now imagine taking an International Flight and thinking the passenger next to you has ebola. It happened to some travelers here at newark, and experts say that scare comes from people here truly worried, a nation on edge, and that this fear is the new normal. This morning, fears on flights running high after this scare in the air at newark airport. An Airline Passenger showing signs of ebola midflight. We knew something was really wrong, when they said the cdc was there. Reporter a plane left brussels headed for newark when a man on board suddenly became violently ill. Officials telling abc news that the passenger was displaying flulike symptoms and began vomiting during the flight setting off alarm bells. We were told that someone was sick on the flight, basically said there was a medical emergency. Reporter moments after the plane landed in newark, the cdc jumping into action escorting the man and his daughter off the plane and rushing them to an area hospital. But the other 253 passengers on board told to sit tight. It was just extremely disorganized. There was nobody in charge. Reporter one passenger snapping this photo as Homeland Security entered the cabin. Another saying he spoke to the sick man just hours before. That was the first time i had come very close to someone who is a possible suspect of ebola. The flight crew has to be incredibly concerned when somebody gets ill, but a flight crew has a professional responsibility, and thats part of it. Reporter in this case the man and his daughter given the all clear. Test results showing neither have the ebola virus, but experts say this incident, an indicator that airlines will continue to be on high alert. This may be the new norm when somebody shows signs of an illness that could be consummate with ebola. Reporter now, the rest of the passengers on that plane were essentially quarantined on the jet for almost two hours and they also had to fill out special paperwork even though the two passengers in question didnt have ebola. The cdc saying theyre taking no chances. Paula, dan. Of course not, a nightmare for those passengers. Tom, thank you. Abc news chief health and medical editor dr. Rich besser has just come back from the hot zone in africa. Rich, good morning to you. Good morning. Lots to discuss here but let me start with the question that is undoubtedly going to be on the mind of many of our viewers. Is it safe for you to be boarding airplanes as youve just done and interacting with your family members at home and then coming into the studio here . Yeah, it is. The thing about ebola is you cannot transmit the disease unless youre sick. And so abc news talked with cdc and went through the guidelines. I know the guidelines. If i were to develop a fever, then i shouldnt be here. I shouldnt be around people, and so im monitoring my temperature twice a day. I took it before i came into the studio, and it means im safe. It doesnt mean that everyone is going to be comfortable around me, but it means that theres no risk of me spreading this disease to anyone here or anyone i meet on the street. And youre being very sensitive. I want to let our viewers know, the first thing he said to us today, are you guys okay with me being here and we are undoubtedly but you have made two trips with your team to liberia in the last month. Can you talk about the extraordinary precautionary measures that you take while youre there to stay safe . I went with my producer adam desiderio, and we were extremely careful. The things that you dont see on the air because they dont make tv. But after every interaction spraying our hands, our feet, our boots down with bleach. The interactions that people saw of me with patients on an ebola ward, i was fully suited up, and there were two people watching every interaction i had to make sure i made no mistake. Being on that ebola ward with that gear was probably the safest place for me to be but on television it looks very frightening. You know, the scene on the street where were shooting a burial, well, theres no way of getting ebola looking at someone who has ebola, and so the people around me who were going to pick up that body, they needed to be suited but taking a picture of that was very safe. Okay. Lets get your analysis on some of the developments on the ground, both here and overseas. Weve just seen tom llamas reporting on this air scare at newark. How worried should we be about contracting ebola on an airplane . Its very remote but its possible. If eric duncan had gotten on the plane four days later, he might have developed his early symptoms of ebola on the plane. It would have been fever and fever by itself is an indication you might have ebola but it doesnt mean that youre spreading ebola. Its when you start to spread body fluids that youre a real risk. You know, i took our viewers behind the scenes at the quarantine station at newark airport, and there there are teams that are ready that know what to do so theyll come on the plane fully suited and be able to get the person off and then theyll assess the risk of everyone on that plane and see who needs monitoring. And you were just at the source of ebola. Is america doing enough to stop ebola at its source in africa . America is doing a lot more, but still not enough. You know, the president has said theyre going to build 17 hospitals. Theres no sign of those going up yet. The 25bed unit, its slow, its not going up yet. We need to do more. The way america stays safe is to knock ebola out of west africa. Not by putting up walls. It just doesnt work that way. This thing is not going to end until we deal with it over there. Thats right. Rich, welcome home. Were very glad to have you back. Great to be here. Thank you, doctor. We move on now to another big medical headline this morning involving the mysterious respiratory disease known as enterovirus virus d68 afflicting children in 43 states right now. It has now claimed the life of a preschooler in new jersey. This is the first confirmed death, and abcs Mara Schiavocampo is on the story. Mara, good morning to you. Dan, good morning. That virus is spreading quickly and Health Officials say it could get worse. This as it has officially now claimed its first victim, an otherwise perfectly healthy 4yearold who died suddenly. This morning, a new jersey family grieving over the loss of their young child, eli waller. They say the 4yearold went to sleep after staying home sick from school and never woke up. I think elis case is the exception to the other cases around the country. He had no signs of any illness that night, and this passing was sudden and shocking. Reporter just a day later, the cdc confirming the child had enterovirus d68, the respiratory illness impacting children across the country. More than 500 cases reported in 43 states since midaugust. On friday the cdc reporting the virus was also the cause of elis death. Health officer Jeffrey Plunkett says the family is devastated. They are strong. Theyre passionate about his memory. Reporter this is the fifth fatality among children who have had enterovirus, but new jersey congressman chris smith says this may be the first case where the virus alone is the true cause of death. Fatalities have been few and that have been confirmed. This elis passing, may, indeed, be the first. Reporter now a preschooler at the same school is also being tested, and amidst fears the illness will continue to spread, although for most children enterovirus 68 is no more than a cold, Hamilton TownshipSchool District is sending out this notice explaining symptoms and emphasizing that parents should keep kids home from school and seek medical care if they show signs of increasing respiratory difficulty or symptoms that appear to be worsening. Now, elis school has put in place a new cleaning schedule to sanitize classrooms. Health officials do remind us, though, that for most children, this wont be any worse than a common cold but still very scary. So devastating for that family. Just unspeakably sad, mara, thank you. Just a reminder to be vigilant. Thank you very much, mara. And now the desperate plea from the parents of an american held hostage by isis for their sons release. After beheading a british aid worker, the terrorists are now threatening that this former army ranger will be the next execution. Abcs jeff zeleny has the very latest from washington. Reporter this morning a solemn appeal from the parents of an american held captive by islamic extremists. And our hearts ache for you to be granted your freedom so we can hug you again. Reporter their son is peter kassig, a 26yearold from indiana who was providing humanitarian relief in syria when he was captured one year ago. Hes shown here in the latest isis video kneeling in the desert. His kidnappers say hes the next in line to be executed in retaliation for u. S. Air strikes on iraq and syria. Weve asked our government to change its actions, but like our son, we have no more control over the u. S. Government than you have over the breaking of dawn. Reporter in their weekend video, ed and paula kassig hold a picture of their son and plead for his life. At an early age our son was inspired by his grandfather to do humanitarian work. When he saw the suffering of the syrian people, he went to turkey and founded an organization to provide aid and assistance. Reporter hes a former army ranger who served in iraq. His parents say hes not political. He embraced islam and found a calling helping syrians caught in a brutal civil war. We are so very proud of you and the work you have done to bring humanitarian aid to the syrian people. Reporter their appeal comes one day after the beheading of british aid worker alan henning. Hes the fourth westerner to be executed in six weeks. We implore those who are holding you to show mercy and use their power to let you go. Reporter now, peter kassig is one of two americans believed to be held by isis fighters. The white house saw this emotional appeal too, but Officials Say the military campaign in iraq and syria is only beginning. Dan. Jeff zeleny, thank you. You know, as you may remember the parents of two of the american journalists who were murdered by isis in recent weeks have publicly complained about how the white house handled their cases, so is there anything the Obama Administration can do for peter kassig . Lets bring in Abcs George Stephanopoulos who will be hosting this week later this morning. Good morning. Good morning. What kind of options does the white house have here . Not a lot. The white house is adamantly against paying ransom for hostages believing that would incur more hostage taking. That is off the table right now. Now the white house has in the past considered rescue operations. They tried a rescue operation for james foley, unfortunately, he wasnt at the location where the rangers showed up. And if an opportunity arose to rescue kassig, they would try that as well, but any kind of paying ransom off the table. Let me switch gears and ask a political question. We are now 30 days away from the midterm congressional elections, also a lot of governors running, as well. Tv screens across the country are filled right now with political ads. Where do things stand because the big question is will the republicans be able to take back the senate . What are the odds at this point . That is the big question right now. Theyre almost certainly going to gain seats in the house but they already have control of the house. To get the senate, republicans would need to pick up six seats in november and right now, they are ahead in enough seats to do that, to take control. Of course, we have a month to go as you say, and most of these races, these competitive races are very, very close right now so its no guarantee at all that republicans will take control but they are favored to do that right now, and, dan, we should say we may not know on Election Night whether republicans have taken control. If the races in georgia and louisiana are close there could be runoffs, a couple of weeks later. It takes an awful long time to count the votes in alaska and already going to be a late night any way and may not know on Election Night if theyve taken control. Full employment act for George Stephanopoulos and his team. George, thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. And, by the way, we should say that george has a huge show this morning. Lots of coverage of course on ebola and the race to contain the first case diagnosed here in american soil. George will be interviewing the head of the cdc, dr. Tom frieden, and he will be grilling the mayor of dallas on that citys controversial response to this crisis, and its all coming up on this week later this morning right here on abc, george, thanks again. Thank you. Thanks, george. Huge show from george and huge newscast from ron claiborne. I dont know about huge but medium size. Good morning to you, paula and dan. Good morning, everyone. We begin at the vatican where pope francis is heading a meeting of hundreds of highprofile members of the Catholic Church do debate a number of hot Button Family issues. Among the topics to be discussed by members of the senate, the role of women in the church and communion for remarried catholics. On saturday, thousands of people, meanwhile, gathered for a twilight prayer in st. Peters square on the eve of the twoweek meeting. Final proposals will be not made till sometime next year. And some frightening moments for 135 people aboard an aeromexico flight about to take off from los angeles, l. A. X. Two tires of the boeing 737 blew out causing the landing gear to collapse. The pilot was forced to stop the plane during takeoff. Everyone got off the plane safely and boarded other flights for mexico city. And in texas, a patient was being transported by medical helicopter from oklahoma to a hospital in texas was killed when the chopper crashed. The pilot and two medical personnel on board that same helicopter, they were injured but survived. The faas investigating the cause of that mishap. And some powerful moments at the st. Louis symphony saturday night as a peaceful protest over the Fatal Police Shooting of 18yearold Michael Brown halts the music. What youre listening to are several dozen people interrupting saturdays performance by singing. They also unfurled three banners from the balcony. The interruption was applauded by some members of the audience and also the symphony. The protesters who all bought tickets to the show eventually left voluntarily. And finally, this guy gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, the show must go on. Check this out. O canada our home and native land oh, oh. Singer Mark Donnelly singing o canada the Canadian National anthem during a Junior Hockey game in british columbia. He barely missed a beat and continued singing nearly falling a second time before he finally regrouped. Apparently its not the first time he tried to sing and skate. He did last year