News Wrap: Kurds protest Turkish government for protection against Islamic State

GWEN IFILL:

Alarms sounded in Ankara today over the peril facing a Kurdish town in Syria, just across the border from Turkey. Islamic State forces advanced from two directions, as Turkey's leaders pressed the U.S. for new action and the U.S. pressed Turkey to do more itself.

After a night of heavy fighting, the black Islamic State flag still flew over part of Kobani this morning. Outgunned Kurdish defenders claimed they had blocked the militants from pushing into the town's center.

But in neighboring Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Syrian refugees he fears the worst.

PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkey (through interpreter):

Months have gone, but nothing is achieved. Right now, Kobani is about to fall.

GWEN IFILL:

The town lies a few hundred yards from Syria's border with Turkey. Its capture would help cement Islamic State control of Northern Syria and pose a new threat to the Turks.

The Islamic State advance has also triggered a mass exodus, with 200,000 people fleeing the Kobani area into Turkey. Airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition are trying to break the militants' momentum in the region, but Erdogan said today it's not enough.

PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN (through interpreter):

You cannot resolve this conflict with air bombardments. Now we are dealing with a new problem, Islamic State, a terrorist organization. This problem cannot be solved via airstrikes without cooperating with those fighting on the ground.

GWEN IFILL:

Later, a senior Turkish official said Ankara is asking Washington to step up its airstrikes. The response in Washington was noncommittal.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki:

JEN PSAKI, State Department Spokeswoman:

It's obviously horrific to watch what's going on, on the ground. But it's important for the United States, for us, to also step back and remember our strategic objectives as it relates to our efforts and our engagement in Syria.

GWEN IFILL:

Instead, Psaki said U.S. officials are talking to the Turks about increasing their role in fighting the Islamic State group. Turkey does have tanks and ground troops stationed near the Syrian border.

Last week, Turkish lawmakers authorized military action inside Syria. So far, nothing has happened. What's more, Turkish border forces have used armor and tear gas to block Kurdish militia fighters from crossing back into Syria to join the fight, all of which sparked protests today and clashes with police by Kurds in Turkish cities.

And across Europe, Kurds in Paris and Brussels also appealed for action.

WOMAN (through interpreter):

Nobody's doing anything. We are calling on humanity to stop this massacre against our people who are martyred, terrorized, killed.

GWEN IFILL:

Protesters in Brussels even forced their way into the European Parliament, waving flags and chanting in support of the Kurdish people.

We will return to the Islamic State group, and the horrors being inflicted on women under its control, after the news summary.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

U.S. health officials are considering stepping up airport screening for Ebola. New protocols could include checking for fever in all passengers arriving from abroad.

In Atlanta, the head of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Thomas Frieden, said today he's not yet ready to recommend anything so drastic.

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Screening at airports, of course, wouldn't have found fever in the patient in Dallas, because he didn't have fever for four or five days after he arrived. But we will look at all of the options. We're not today providing the steps that we plan to take, but I can assure you that we will be taking additional steps, and we will be making those public in the coming days, once we can work out the details.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

That patient in Dallas, Thomas Duncan of Liberia, remained in critical condition. But hospital officials reported his liver function is improving.

GWEN IFILL:

Fear of Ebola spread in Spain today after a nursing assistant became the first person infected outside West Africa.

We have a report from Neil Connery of Independent Television News, who's in Madrid tonight.

NEIL CONNERY:

This is the hospital in Madrid where a patient with Ebola was being treated, but one of the nurses somehow became infected here. And now that nurse, Teresa Romero, is being held in isolation in the very same hospital. Her husband is also in quarantine. And one other person is undergoing tests.

Outside, some of the hospital's own staff have been demonstrating today, calling for more information about what went wrong.

WOMAN (through interpreter):

It has been really surprising that this happened here with all of the security measures.

WOMAN (through interpreter):

They have not provided convincing information for us. I think they should provide more about what happened and what was the failure.

NEIL CONNERY:

Hospital staff have told the newspaper El Pais that their protective suits were not up to the standards set by the World Health Organization. They wore latex gloves sealed with duct tape and simple surgical masks, when staff say they should have worn full breathing apparatus.

The director of public health in Spain said the nurse who contracted the virus entered the room of an Ebola victim twice, once while he was alive and a second time to collect materials after he died. Teresa Romero is 40 years old and was transported between hospitals last night, although she's not thought to have left Madrid recently.

Officials are so far monitoring more than 20 people who came into contact with her. The World Health Organization has said, while governments are well-prepared, the spread of Ebola in Europe is, in their words, quite unavoidable.

GWEN IFILL:

The case in Spain also claimed another victim. A Madrid court ordered that the infected nurse's dog must be euthanized and the remains incinerated. Some research indicates dogs can be infected with Ebola without showing symptoms, but it's unclear if they can transmit it to humans.

On Wall Street, worries about global economic growth sent stocks into a deep dive. The sell-off started after Germany reported weaker industrial output, and the International Monetary Fund shaved its growth forecast. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 272 points to close at 16,719. The Nasdaq fell 60 points to close at 4,385. And the S&P 500 dropped 29 to finish at 1,935.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

A federal appeals court threw out gay marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada today. It came a day after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized same-sex unions in 11 other states. All told, the practice will now be legal in 32 states.

GWEN IFILL:

Another federal appeals court has struck down part of the congressional map in Virginia. A panel of three judges agreed that Republicans created a black majority district for purposes of racial gerrymandering. The ruling doesn't affect next month's election, but state lawmakers will have to redraw the lines next year.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

And former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appeared in federal court in Washington to defend the bailout of AIG. The government gave the insurance giant an $85 billion loan in 2008. Geithner testified today it was necessary to save the financial system. A lawsuit by AIG's former top executive charges the deal cheated shareholders.