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Colorado to Get More Rain; U.S.-Russia Agrees on Syria Handling; Seaside Heights Razed by Fire

Aired September 14, 2013 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Don Lemon here. Lot of big news to get to this hour. We'll keep an eye on Syria for you. Russia and the U.S. reached an agreement on how to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons. Handshakes and smiles now. But there are serious challenges ahead, some very serious challenges ahead.

But first this: I've got two words for the people of northern Colorado. Two words, that they do not want to hear, more rain. It is coming. I'm talking about the Boulder area, Larimer County, Greeley and the city of Denver. People who are really relieved today to see the water back off a bit will probably see rivers and creeks burst out of their banks again. Sorry about that. Roads are out. Bridges are out. And the National Guard evacuating the entire population of some towns.

Just look at that. Look at what this water is doing. At least four people are confirmed dead. More than 170 others are unaccounted for. The Boulder County sheriff trying to remain positive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE PELLE, BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO: The list we're assuming that there may be further loss of life or injuries. We have to assume that. I hope and pray that's not the case, but given the devastation in some of those closed canyons, it's certainly a high probability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I guess inundated is a good word. Probably used a lot in this situation. Want to get right in the middle of it now is George Howell, he's in Longmont, Colorado. George, how are things where you are? Is the water level heading up or is it heading down?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, all headed downstream. And one additional piece of information that we've learned here within the last hour, we know that four are dead, confirmed dead, but we also heard from the Larimer County sheriff's office that a 60-year-old woman who was presumed missing is now presumed dead. This is within the last hour that we've learned that.

So, we're still getting new information, and as you mentioned, the possibility of more rain not good news out here. We want to talk about what we've seen from the air. We sent photojournalist Ken Tillis up in the sky to take a look at the damage, this is between Estes Creek and the Loveland area, and from these aerials, Don, you can really see how bad many of these different places have been hit.

You see the flatlands are flooded, many farmlands are flooded. And you go to the mountains and you go near the Jamestown area, you can see that the roads are just no longer there. That's the problem getting into these communities where the roads have just been washed away. I want to come back here. When you look at where we're standing here right now, you can see what happens, Don, when these waters come through, this particular road, 119th Street where we are, a good part of it has caved in. It's gone and, you know, there are engineers here to, you know, examine, you know, whether this road is even safe. What it will take to replace, you know, this section of road. But we know that more water's coming through. And with more rain in the forecast, it's just not good news as people try to recover from this, Don.

LEMON: So, are people still stranded still now, George, in their homes?

HOWELL: There are people, especially there in Jamestown, Don. That's where we know hundreds of people are still waiting because they just can't get out. And the best that officials can do, they can get there through helicopters to drop off water, to drop off food to help people, you know, deal with the situation until these waters recede.

Again, that's the challenge, you know, we don't know exactly how much rain we'll get, you know, the last two days have been impressive. You get so much rain in such a short amount of time, if we see more of that, Don, it's just not good news.

LEMON: Well, unfortunately I think that many areas are going to see some more rain, it's not over yet, according to the forecast, more rain is coming and the area already saturated. Listen, are people there as prepared as you can get, are bracing for more, I guess, in any way that they can, at least, do they realize that more is coming?

HOWELL: Well, you know, here's the thing. We're not in Florida, so this is definitely new for people here. This doesn't happen here. But you do see Colorado folks know what to do, you see neighbors coming together to help neighbors, to help them clean up their yards, to get the trees, the rocks, the tree branches out of the way. You see that happening in neighborhood after neighborhood here so, you know, people are, you know, doing their best to deal with it. They fight the good fight.

But, again, with more rain coming, we'll just have to wait and see what it does to the situation that has already happened here.

LEMON: George Howell, thank you. This is just really unbelievable to see. I haven't seen pictures like this I really can't recall in quite a long time, if ever. George, thank you. If you are at home and you are watching all of these amazing pictures, devastating flooding going on, you can help. Help the victims of Colorado. Visit our impact your world page at cnn.com/impact.

Let's talk about more high water now. Also making life miserable across much of New Mexico today. You're looking at Albuquerque, New Mexico, today but parts of the state got six months' worth of rain in three days. Six months' worth in three days. Emergency officials are hoping the worst is over and they're getting down to the hard work of recovery right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's talk about Putin. What did you think of his op-ed? What did you think of him saying that the Syrian rebels are the ones who did the chemical weapons attack and saying that there is no such thing as American exceptionalism?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I'd have to have a chance to have a commentary in Pravda.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not going to happen, probably, right?

MCCAIN: If that would happen --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: As you can guess from the music and from the interview there with John McCain we're going to talk right now about Syria. Guess what, it looks like it's going to happen, Pravda said it will welcome a op-ed from Senator John McCain and McCain's office said he will submit a piece. Pravda, of course, is the official newspaper of Russia's Communist Party. Now the op-ed would give McCain the chance to respond to Russian Prescient Vladimir Putin's own article in the "New York Times" that caused so much controversy where he slammed the U.S. foreign policy and criticized the push for a military strike on Syria.

So while the politicians are fighting, they continue to fight, the diplomats appear to have found common ground on Syria. The secretary of state, John Kerry, and Russia's foreign minister have agreed and they've reached an agreement for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons, that will help Bashar Al-Assad regime avoid a U.S. strike, but won't do much to end the civil war.

I want to go to our senior international correspondent now, Matthew Chance. He is covering the talks in Geneva, Switzerland. So Matthew, what have they decided on now?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Russians and the Americans don't often see eye to eye but on the issue of Syria's chemical weapons, they do now appear to be speaking with one voice. It was just less than a week ago, of course, that President Obama was lobbying Congress about the possibility of striking, military strikes against Syria. Now the emphasis is very much on diplomacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice-over): It was this appalling chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus last month, killing over 1,000 people that has finally brought Moscow and Washington together. After three days of intensive negotiations in Geneva, there is now full agreement it seems on how to rid Syria of its chemical weapons.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have reached a shared assessment of the amount and type of chemical weapons possessed by the Assad regime, and we are committed to the rapid assumption of control by the international community of those weapons.

CHANCE: It is an incredibly ambitious timetable. Syria must hand over a list of its chemical sites and stockpiles within a week. U.N. inspections will be completed by November. By the same month chemical production and filling facilities should be destroyed. With a view to a complete elimination of chemical weapons in Syria by the middle of next year.

(on camera): One of the key sticking points here in Geneva has been the threat of U.S. strikes on Syria if it fails to do what it's told. Washington says it still retains the right to take unilateral military action. But under the agreement with Russia, noncompliance would have to be referred to the U.N. security council where any punishment would have to be agreed.

(voice-over): Russia is casting this as a diplomatic coup averting a strike against its ally in Damascus and possibly opening the way for a broad political settlement to the conflict.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER(through translator): And the successful realization of this agreement will have meaning not only from the point of view of the common goal of liquidating and destructing all arsenals of chemical weapons but also to avoid the military scenario that would be catastrophic for this region and for the international relations as a whole.

CHANCE: But in Syria, an already catastrophic war continues to rage. Making the complex work of ridding this country of its chemical arms even with an international agreement even more difficult.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Secretary of state Kerry has gone on to start the process of consulting U.S. allies. He's going on to Israel tomorrow to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's prime minister, and then he'll be going to Paris, the French capital to meet with the French and British, French and British counterparts both key allies on the U.N. security council, Don.

LEMON: In Geneva, Switzerland is Matthew Chance covering the story for us. Thank you, Matthew.

You know, it took months to rebuild after superstorm Sandy, months. They're still recovering. And only one night to destroy the New Jersey boardwalk again. We're going to go live to Seaside Heights, next.

And this weekend marks 50 years since the bombing of a black church in Birmingham, and Bill Cosby said some would rather forget about those tragedies. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL COSBY, ACTOR: They weren't there. They didn't do it. Yes, I'm white, please, do we have to talk about - it's painful but we have to really get to this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Bill Cosby talks about that and much, much more. My candid talk with the legendary comedian just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In Seaside Heights, New Jersey, they're celebrating the town's 100th anniversary this weekend. Yes, despite this week's massive boardwalk blaze, the events are still on. The celebration especially in neighboring Seaside Park tempered with the realization that it's time to rebuild once again.

Margaret Conley is in New Jersey for us and she has the very latest. Margaret, I was just there yesterday. Oh, my gosh, the scene behind you is unbelievable. What is going on there today?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, residents and Governor Christie, they vow to rebuild, Don. Governor Christie was down here today. He was meeting with local authorities and business owners and here's more about what he had to say -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, NEW JERSEY: You know, the bad thing in the last few years as I mentioned the other night is all the different natural disaster crisis we've had in the last four years. The only good thing about it is that it's really trained me and the administration to be ready and know how to respond to these things. It's not our first time at this rodeo, unfortunately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONLEY: Now, the part of the boardwalk is burned in its entirety behind me, but in front of me there's part of the boardwalk that's open and Chris Christie also tweeted out today, great to see so many families enjoying their Saturday afternoon here.

LEMON: Yes. Absolutely. I agree. I want to ask you where you're standing. I'm trying to figure it out exactly where you're standing and you mentioned what's in front of you. Tell us about where you're standing and the governor said yesterday, Margaret, that there would be once, you know, some of the structures and the walls collapsed again or they started picking things up that hot spots would ignite, right? Would reignite. Is that true? Is that happening today?

CONLEY: That's right. Yes, I don't know if you can see behind me, but there's actually some smoldering that's still going on. The flames have actually continued. Remember, this fire was raging for nine hours. We spoke with representatives from the prosecutor's office and they say that the smoldering could continue for days.

Now, investigators, they've also been going through all of that rubble that you're seeing and it could be days before they figure out what the cause is.

LEMON: Margaret Conley reporting from Seaside Heights, great report. Thank you. We'll check back in with you, Margaret. Appreciate that.

In the meantime in Ohio a Greyhound bus, 52 people flipped over on its roof on Interstate 75 early this morning. The bus was heading to Detroit from Cincinnati when it overturned near Hamilton, Ohio. At least 34 people were transported to the hospital, six by medical helicopter. All, though, are expected to survive. So far it's unclear what caused that crash. We'll continue to check on that one for you.

Fifty years ago, a bomb tore through a Birmingham church killing four young girls. Bill Cosby, the legendary comedian talked with me about that time. He says we need to remember tragedies like this despite some who may want it to all go away. That's next.

But, first, this -

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This week on "The Next List" putting ideas to work. Jim Newton is a lifelong do it yourselfer who is passionate about making.

JIM NEWTON: Humans were made to make things. That's why we have thumbs. We've gotten away from making so much. There's that instinctive drive for people to create.

GUPTA: It's one of the reasons he started Tech Shop. It's an innovation workshop where members can have access to the tools they need to bring their ideas to life.

NEWTON: They say, wow, I really can do this. This is stunning. They're stunned.

GUPTA: And Graham Hill, who is a designer, an entrepreneur, who believes people would be a lot happier with less.

GRAHAM HILL: I love things and I love having great things, but I don't want too many. I don't want to be overwhelmed.

GUPTA: Hill built his dream microapartment, by crowd sourcing design on the internet and he got some amazing ideas. But the best part of living with less more freedom.

I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, join me this Saturday, 2:30 Eastern on "The Next List."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the 16th street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. Four little girls were killed and 22 people injured by the bomb set off by the Ku Klux Klan. Today Bill Cosby was a part of a remembrance in Birmingham, and earlier he spoke with me about why it's so important to never forget events like that terrible bombing back in 1963.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (on camera): I think that, you know, we've had the march on Washington anniversary recently and so a lot of it is focused on Washington and I think some times Birmingham gets overlooked and especially the anniversary of the four little girls. You made it your mission to go down to Birmingham to do this event this weekend on this anniversary of the four little girls, the 50th anniversary in Birmingham, Alabama. Not for your health but to empower I would imagine young people, correct?

COSBY: And old and white and Native Americans and everyone. What America has to understand is that just - some people get embarrassed by what happened. Same way if I talk about something empowerment and they can do it themselves, you know, there are people who don't want to see these things talked about again. They weren't there. I didn't do it.

Yes, I'm white, but, please, it's not - do we have to talk - it's painful, but we have to really get to this so that if you do it the correct way, which is show your children what happened, tell your children, this is not our fault, but this is what happened then. Look at these faces. There's a sickness in these faces. There's a sickness in someone who decides that he is going to go into a place of god, and it wasn't the African who brought Christianity to this country. This white man and his white friends on a trip, whatever the timing was off, the bomb went off.

People were killed, but there were also 43 people who had to go to the hospital, glass. Let's just think about those things. Let's think about the fear of what happened. When you hear people talk today about terrorists, they will mention that there's a bomb that goes off and it just sends nails and glass and all kinds of things into an area, and it is - to put fear in the place where people may have had some kind of bravery. I don't want to be there anymore. To this day we still have a young lady whose mind cannot chase away that explosion and what it did. And those things we cannot have people walk around thinking, well, that happened then.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That is just the beginning. A lot more of my conversation with one of America's all-time greatest entertainers and now activist, Bill Cosby.

Next hour he talks about his first time on "The Tonight Show," thrust into the national spotlight. Guess which year it was? It was 1963, as a matter of fact, just one month before the bombing of the church in Birmingham. Don't miss that. In Colorado, news that people this did not want to hear, more rain on the way. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I want to get back to our top story right now, the National Weather Service calling the Colorado rain system biblical. That's what the weather service is saying. Many there are grateful just to be alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is just mind-boggling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have less than a half an hour to try to get all of our belongings together. All accessibility to getting out of our homes as the roads have collapsed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At first you think maybe it's a distant thunder and then you realize that this rumbling and banging actually very large rocks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought there was a tornado. Lightning was going crazy. I mean, it was like a movie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is unbelievable. I've never seen that much hail in one place.

STEPHANIE LIDDICK, RESCUED FROM FLOOD: It was the most terrifying moment of my life. The car started taking on water. I was OK for a minute. But then it rose to about seat high and it started filling the cup holders.

MERLE CORDOVA, SAVED FAMILY FROM FLOOD: And she was waving at me and I realized all that water flows down to a lake.

LIDDICK: And we didn't have a choice. It was time to get out of the car.

GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), COLORADO: You go to recognize that this water is filled with debris and sand and it is almost like liquid cement and it can even just a foot and a half of water can knock people over. And you can be swept away.

SHERIFF JOE PELLE, BOULDER COUNTY COLORADO: Boulder County is experiencing a disaster today that is broad in scope and very dangerous in nature.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once the rescuers got on top of the car they shouted out to us that they hear banging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that gave us just great hope.

PELLE: We know that we've lost lives. We've lost roads. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a whole bunch of roads in Jamestown that all look like rivers.

PELLE: We've lost bridges.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's this bridge that goes over the river that's going up to Estes and the water right now is going over the bridge and under at the same time.

PELLE: We've lost homes, cars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a pretty good mud slide but missed the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And there is more rain on the way.

That will do it for me, the CNN NEWSROOM continues. More live coverage at the top of the hour. Much more of my interview with Bill Cosby after Sanjay Gupta.