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Flooding Death Toll In Colorado Climbs To Six; Obama: We're In "Better Position"; Costa Concordia Salvage Attempt; Paula Deen Back On Stage; Powerball Jackpot Rises To $400 Million; Hundreds Trapped In Flood Zone; Obama Responds To Syria Deal; What's At Stake In Syria; Mayweather Improves To 45-0; Legrand's Number Retired By Rutgers; Giants Face Broncos In "Manning Bowl 3"; Voyager 1 Leaves Solar System

Aired September 15, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: But some desperate people can't be reached just yet, and the rain shows no sign of letting up anytime soon. Live coverage of this unfolding disaster just seconds away.

And President Obama responds to critics who accuse him of bungling the Syrian crisis. Plus, we'll have his reaction to that controversial op-ed piece by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

First up, the massive search-and-rescue mission going on right now in northern Colorado. As you've just heard, a National Guard official says the number of flood victims being rescued by helicopter may be the largest since Hurricane Katrina. The military is now helping to airlift people who are completely surrounded by water, and FEMA rescue crews joined the effort today as well. A National Guard Chinook helicopter helped evacuate people stranded in a field in the town of Jamestown. The group included a baby and children who were on an overnight school trip.

And we've just learned an 80-year-old woman is believed to be the sixth person presumed killed due to the floods. 482 others are unaccounted for, but authorities point out many of the people may be safe but just unable to call in. Crews air dropped food and water supplies to people who are trapped in some areas where rescuers just simply haven't been able to reach. The disaster is being described as a once in a thousand year event. And it is taking an emotional toll even on officials who are used to seeing a lot of tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN SMITH, LARIMER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I felt a lot of hope, a lot of real energy yesterday because the question I had is how can we ever recover from this? And I know exactly inch by inch, mile by mile, community by community they are taking this stuff back. They're doing it. People are getting those things done out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Entire towns are completely cut off by flood waters so destructive, wiping out mountain sides, homes and hundreds of miles of roads. Colorado's governor appeared on CNN's STATE OF THE UNION and said the focus right now is getting people to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), COLORADO: We are still bracing. There are many, many homes that have been destroyed. A number of them collapsed, and we haven't been in them yet. So, we are still dealing with that, how do we save lives first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: George Howell live for us right now in Boulder, Colorado. So George, I understand National Guard rescues are on hold. Why is that?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, so yes, because we are getting a lot of rain. With that rain, the creeks, the rivers around here are rising again. You see the Four Mile Creek that typically does not go over this road now in danger of cutting off this community. And you see people doing their best to build these levees, the mud levees to keep the water out of this neighborhood as best as they can. But again, we are seeing this play out all over these areas that had been hard hit. Again, it means communities can be cut off again.

So as far as the National Guard, their helicopters are grounded at least until the weather gets better. But again, keep in mind, this is a rescue effort that we have not seen, according to the National Guard, since Hurricane Katrina. At least 1,200 people rescued. A lot of people have been plucked to safety, pulled to safety from very dangerous areas. I spoke to the National Guard about this effort, what they are doing, just a few minutes ago. I want you to listen to what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

1ST LIEUTENANT SKYE ROBINSON, COLORADO NATIONAL GUARD: As far as the operation side, the reason that we are able to do it is that we have prepared for this through different training scenarios and also through different exercises that we have had over the last couple of years. So this isn't something that we can just show up and be ready to do. This is years and years of training and doing the exercises so that we're ready when something like this does happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Back to a live picture here in Boulder, Colorado. I want you to see what people are doing. You do what you can. You are up against Mother Nature. But all over you see in many different neighborhoods people picking up shovels, picking up branches, building these levees, trying to keep the water out of their neighborhoods. That is going to continue happening as the rain event continues here over this area.

Also I want to talk about the 482 unaccounted for. Basically that means that there are people who may have dead cell phones or phone lines may be down. There is a effort underway, continuous effort underway, to try to get in touch with people. But again, that is a very high number at this point. 482 unaccounted for at this particular point. The hope is that that number will go down. That operation continues. For now, the helicopter operations pulling people to safety, that has been halted for the moment.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, George, hold on for a moment because I also have with us now Liz Donaghey with the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, and you too, George, may have a question or two for her since you are there on the ground.

So, Liz, give me an idea, what is the biggest obstacle right now? You heard our reporter, George, talk about the National Guard rescues that are on hold because of the weather. What are the challenges for you and your crews?

LIZ DONAGHEY, BOULDER OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (on the phone): At this point, it is a big concern with the weather. We don't have much visibility so the National Guard helicopters have been grounded for now.

WHITFIELD: So then how do you reach those who are in need, who need rescuing, need assistance right away? What are you able to do?

DONAGHEY: Well the good news is is at this point, we had been unable to reach Jamestown by land at all. And now they have now been able to break through from the western side into Jamestown and get (INAUDIBLE) vehicles in there to help rescue people.

WHITFIELD: And what are you concerned about, especially as it pertains to being unable to communicate with people? There are no phone lines that are going to be working. People can't reach folks via cell. How do you try to communicate?

DONAGHEY: You know, we are doing our best to get communications out there to people. We have people on the ground with radios. We have people -- we are doing -- if they don't have cell service, if they don't have electricity, then it is difficult for us to get to them. But we are trying to spread the word as best as possible.

WHITFIELD: All right. And George Howell there in Boulder, what is your question to Liz Donaghey with the emergency management?

HOWELL: Well, Liz, we are looking here at the a live picture in Boulder. You see these families doing the best they can to keep water out of the neighborhood. What do you tell people, though, if they are in a neighborhood where they feel water is rising? Are there places, are there shelters that they can go to be safe and wait this out until the water subsides?

DONAGHEY: Absolutely. We are trying to get people to stay off the road as best as possible. But if they feel like the waters are rising and they don't feel safe staying, there are shelters available. We have a list of those on our Web site which is Boulderoem.com. We also are listing as much information as we can on the Boulder County Facebook page and the Boulder OEM Facebook page.

WHITFIELD: All right, George Howell, thanks so much --

HOWELL: One other question if possible.

WHITFIELD: Oh OK, go ahead.

HOWELL: If it's possible. One question that a lot of families have out here comes to sand bags. You see this effort, but they always ask for the sand bags. Is there a process in place that they can get those sand bags?

DONAGHEY: You know, at this point, the last I heard we are saving sand bags, trying to get them to places such as hospitals, nursing homes, anything like that that people are not able to be moved.

HOWELL: Got it. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, George Howell, thanks so much. I know you have to run because of the area in which you are located right now.

Liz, I have one more question for you before you go, however. What about resources? Are you hoping to get assistance from out of state in other capacities that you haven't already?

DONAGHEY: At this point, FEMA has come in and is assisting us. We also have a Web site. It's www.HelpColoradoNow.org. And people can go to that and donate money and also they get information about volunteering.

WHITFIELD: All right, very good. Liz Donaghey, thanks so much. The Office of Emergency Management there at Colorado. All the best to you. I know this is a colossal effort, especially as we look at these pictures that continue to come in to see how widespread this devastation is.

All right. So a bad situation in Colorado. Really an understatement, made even worse now by the continued rain as you heard George talking about. Let's turn to Alexandra Steele in the CNN Weather Center. So Alexandra, still more rain in the forecast. To what degree?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, we are. It is really illustrative for what Liz was saying that the helicopters have been grounded because she couldn't see, they can't see. The low clouds and visibility. The fog and the rain. Again, ensconced in the fog and these low clouds, which essentially is what fog is.

So, let me show you more video. Boulder, of course, that's where the big university, CU is. 100,000 people live there. It is right at the base of the foothills. So, we've seen incredible video. But in addition to the rain we have seen, also we have hail coming down. That really tells a lot of the story, as well, because what happened are these big, powerful thunderstorms that had such uplift, thus bringing down the hail, training over one another. And look at the ferocity of this.

So, places like Boulder, nine inches of rain in one day. The old record was 4.8, set back in 1919! So really this is really quite historic.

So, what is it happening, why is it happening, and when is it going to end? Right? That's what you want to go. Here's the pattern: in essence, we have a traffic jam in the atmosphere. We have this area of low pressure that is cut off. We have this jet stream to the north. Usually the jet stream kind of kicks this area of low pressure. So all of this can be progressive. But that hasn't happened. So, we had the scenario of this area's training (ph) over and over.

So, the forecast for today as you saw, raining now, still maybe one to two inches of rain today. Tomorrow, a little less moisture in the air tomorrow. So, that's the good news. Isolated storms, but still a half an inch possible. Then Tuesday to Friday, that's when the system finally gets out, and we begin a return to drier skies.

So, Fred, I want to bring you in and talk about how dramatic this is. Almost a year's worth of rain for these people in just five days. Here is Boulder, 17 inches. Their yearly average is 20. So, roughly three-quarters of the yearly rain in just five days. And look at this, that is like Atlanta, Georgia getting 35 inches of rain.

WHITFIELD: Unbelievable. So clearly, the ground has been so saturated in this short amount of time, this water really doesn't have any place to go.

STEELE: Right. That's exactly it. And also, Chicago seeing 26 inches. So, it is pretty dramatic. The problem is the areas of elevation -- let me show you this Google map to kind of give you a perspective. Here is Boulder, Colorado, right at the foothills of the Rockies where the big, beautiful university is. And you know, what we are seeing here from Boulder, Boulder is an elevation farther west we get into the Rockies. And then we talked about the teeny town that just is trapped and has nowhere to go. That's at 7,000 feet.

So let me show you --

WHITFIELD: We're talking Jamestown.

STEELE: Jamestown, of course. And also the mountain near it called Bald Mountain is at 13,000 feet. So here's Jamestown. 200 people live there, this teeny little town. And you can see, this is 13,000 feet around it. So, what's happening, everyone say is getting 10 to 12 inches of rain. The rain comes down, but then this elevation -- it goes from 13,000 feet, runs down and exacerbates the rain even still.

So, here is Boulder at about 5,000 feet. And then as we move eastward, the topography is a lot flatter in places like Greeley where 90,000 people live. You can see how flat it is. So still there, it is all rolling down and draining here in a different way. And this ground is so saturated, now more rain.

WHITFIELD: And when you talk about the topography, I think people who spend any time in Colorado are used to seeing it. They drive through the mountains. You see the signs about falling rock expect that particularly when you have heavy snowfall. But something like this, mountain sides being washed away by a whole lot of rain, nothing that anyone can really prepare for.

STEELE: No. Because it weakens them so. We call this aurographic lifting because air when it rises it cools it is kind of like taking a sponge. You can take a sponge and squeeze it a little bit, and a little water will come out. Or you can go, and it all dumps out. That is what happens when the air gets lifted. That sponge essentially just gets squeeze to the max. So every available amount of moisture in that comes out. And that's 14 inches of rain.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's incredible. So more rain in the forecast.

STEELE: Yes, today, tomorrow. But by Tuesday, that will be the end of it.

WHITFIELD: Start to taper off. Thanks so much. Alexandra Steele, appreciate that.

Of course, I'm sure you at home want to do something to help out the victims of this week's floods in Colorado. Visit our Impact Your World page at CNN.com/impact for a lot of guidance there.

And this: a surprising comment now from President Barack Obama. He says he welcomes Russia's involvement in the Syrian crisis. I'll tell you why next.

And later, tourists near New York City's Times Square find themselves in the middle of a police shootout. We go live to the scene for the latest.

And this programming note. Anthony Bourdain is back with in an all- new season. Tonight, "ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN" explores Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. Watch tonight, 9:00 Eastern time and Pacific, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: National Guard rescues in Colorado are on hold right now because of bad weather. That's the latest on this desperate flooding situation in Colorado. Hundreds of people have been trapped as this massive flood sweeps through mountain towns, and rescue helicopters cannot get to them because of all of the rain. Authorities said today a sixth person is presumed dead in the floods. We are keeping a close eye on this story. We'll continue to bring you updates from Colorado throughout the day as we get them.

President Obama said today the U.S. is moving closer to its goal of getting chemical weapons out of Syria. He praised a deal reached with Russia to get Syria to hand those weapons over to international control. And he told ABC's This Week threats of U.S. military action made a big difference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As a consequence of the pressure that we have applied over the last couple of weeks, we have Syria for the first time acknowledging that it has chemical weapons, agreeing to join the convention that prohibits the use of chemical weapons. And the Russians, their primary sponsor, saying that they will push Syria to get all of their chemical weapons out. The distance that we have traveled over these couple of weeks is remarkable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: At the United Nations, chemical weapons inspectors are one day away from giving their critical report on Syria. They are expected to present their findings to the Security Council tomorrow morning. Nick Paton Walsh is live for us now in New York. So, Nick, is it expected that there will be any blame placed in these reports?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is not part of the U.N. inspector's job. They just were sent there to work out if chemical weapons were in fact used, identify them. But that's of course where you start getting more and more detail. And most people I've talked to say, look, there is going to be enough detail in this report. It is going to be a pretty chunky document. There will be enough detail that if you want to read into it properly and do a little bit math in your own head, you can kind of work out who was behind it, although the U.N. won't specifically say that.

That is why it is so contentious. That's why at 11:00 tomorrow, we will have a closed door meeting of the U.N. Security Council. They receive this piece of paper, number of piece of paper, go through it and then digest it and then we see the next steps here.

The report, as I understand it, has been complete for over 24 hours. We got a bit of the sneak preview perhaps accidentally from the U.N. secretary-general who on Friday, thinking he wasn't on camera, did say that they will overwhelmingly confirm that chemical weapons were used. I don't think he knew he was being filmed there. People still want to know the details, what precisely was usedm and a bit more of the story as to how they came to launch such a massive attack, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so Nick, you said they will receive the report; they have to go through it. Is there any estimation how long it will take to thoroughly go through it?

WALSH: It could be simply a matter of minutes before it's released publicly. We are trying to work out right now whether the report becomes public or the (INAUDIBLE) gets handed over to the Security Council.

But the real question too is do we see a resolution on the same day? We have been talking, of course, about the need for somebody to back up that agreement between America and Russia for how weapons can be handed over by Syria. They want to see a Security Council resolution. The question is does that get moved forward tomorrow? Do the Russians and the American have enough of a common ground about the wording of that, what it will say to be able to push it through quicker? Or are we going to see more deadlock or more horse trading here at the United Nations again, Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much. Keep us posted there from the United Nations.

All right. U.S. secretary of state John Kerry is in Jerusalem today meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They talked about the deal Kerry reached with Russia yesterday. Kerry stressed it is not a final agreement, but it could push things in the right direction, he says.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a framework that must be put into effect by the United Nations now. But it is a framework that with the Russian and U.S. agreement, it has the full ability to be able to, as the prime minister said, strip all of the chemical weapons from Syria.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The world needs to ensure that radical regimes don't have weapons of mass destruction. Because as we've learned once again in Syria, if rogue regimes have weapons of mass destruction, they will use them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And just to give you an idea of how much this impacts Israel potentially, Jerusalem is just 135 miles from Damascus. That's actually closer than the distance between New York and Washington.

A chaotic scene near Times Square in New York. Police shoot at a man they thought was about to pull out a gun. Two women end up in the hospital with gunshot wounds. We take you live to the scene when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Police fired shots at a man near New York's Times Square last night, but the bullets ended up hitting two women instead. And then police Tased the man. Here is video of the chaotic scene shot by a bystander.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SOUNDS OF GUNSHOTS AND SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gun! Go, go, go, go, go, go! Get down, get down, get down!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You can see and hear the panic in the scene.

Margaret Conley live for us now in New York. So, Margaret, what happened?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, crowds panicked in this area near Times Square. All the action took place on the corner right there behind me. Police fired three shots. They missed their target, and they hit two women instead. You can see what is happening there in the video. And the witnesses, they say that police were chasing a man that was wandering through the streets. Here is how they described the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two officers were running down. That's when the shots came. It was two shots first, and then a pause and then there was a third shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONLEY: Now, police say it looked like the man was trying to get hit. He was wandering through traffic. They also say that he pretended to pull out a weapon. Fred?

WHITFIELD: OK, so Margaret -- so this man allegedly was trying to get hit by a vehicle, and the next thing you know, police were shooting at him? What was he suspected of doing beyond potentially trying to hurt himself?

CONLEY: Yes, he was. He was trying to -- he was wandering through traffic. They think that he wanted to get hit. But I think it was -- and we don't have the confirmation on this -- but when he actually put his hand in his pocket and was he pretending to draw a weapon, the police were at that point already chasing him, and that is when the shots were fired.

WHITFIELD: Got it. All right. Margaret Conley, thanks so much. Lots of chaos and too much excitement there in Times Square. Appreciate that.

All right. Families stranded for days as floodwaters trap them in their Colorado homes. Others look out their windows and doors to see a river rushing by. Next, I'll talk to a local sheriff who has just visited areas that are simply cut off from the rest of the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are five things crossing the CNN news desk right now.

Number one, the death toll from the record-breaking flooding in Colorado is climbing. An 80-year-old woman is missing and now presumed dead. She is the sixth person believe killed from the storm. Hundreds of people are trapped after flood waters cut off their towns. FEMA, search and rescue teams, and the U.S. military are on the ground helping to get people to safety. All right now, all National Guard air rescues are on hold because of more stormy weather in the area.

Number two, President Obama told ABC today he believes the deal reached with Russia is a step towards the goal of getting chemical weapons out of Syria. Yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia's foreign minister announced a framework to eliminate those weapons. Obama said that means the U.S. is in a better position than it was several weeks ago.

Number three, tomorrow, engineers will try to pull the shipwrecked Costa Concordia upright. Italian officials say the sea and weather conditions are finally ripe for this mission. Thirty two people died when the cruise ship crashed into rocks off the Italian coast in 2012.

And number four, celebrity chef, Paula Deen is back on stage. She made her first public appearance in three months at Houston's Metropolitan cooking show. The crowd of 1,500 fans giving her a standing ovation for 15 minutes. Deen lost her Food Network show and several big endorsements after a lawsuit accused her of using racial slurs. A judge later tossed out the suit.

Number five, good news for those of you who play the Powerball lotto. The jackpot is at a whopping $400 million right now. No one matched all six numbers in last night's drawing. Just five weeks ago, seven New Jersey workers split a part of a $448 million jackpot so best of luck, got to play to win.

All right, back to our top story in Colorado, floods have left hundreds of people unaccounted for in Larimer County just north of Boulder. There is still so much rain. Rescue helicopters in the county are grounded.

For the very latest, I am joined on the phone now by Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith. So Sheriff, this is a very difficult situation. We heard from you earlier at a press conference where this really is taking an emotional toll on you and other rescuers just as it is those who were being rescued.

SHERIFF JUSTIN SMITH, LARIMER COUNTY, COLORADO (via telephone): Yes, Fredricka. It is personal with us. These are friends and family. We are a large county, but this is our home and these are our friends. It does wear on you, but everybody is up to the task.

WHITFIELD: So tell me what is the strategy here, weather is against standing in the way of a lot of the aerial rescues. But how do you go about trying to get to those in need right now?

SMITH: You know, Fredricka, one of the things is obviously air assets are hugely important. But we want everybody to know that even when they are grounded, we do still have people that have gotten in areas on foot or by vehicle. So this is not totally stopped operation. It's certainly a major hindrance.

But we still have people going back doing rope line rescues over rives, et cetera. They are watching minute by minute for the chance for things to clear up. We did not anticipate having clear skies yesterday. So we've made a lot of ground yesterday. As soon as they clear up, we have assets just waiting to fly in and continue pulling people out or dropping food and water in.

WHITFIELD: So tell me about the drops of food and water, those efforts, how those have been going before the weather stood in the way and then also tell me about these rope line rescues. It seems very dangerous not, of course, just for those being rescued, but really for those who are doing the rescuing.

SMITH: Absolutely. Starting with the air operations, you know, we know the area has been reflected. We'd had flyovers. We had recognisance flights. So we generally knew where people were trapped. And those can take up food and water and can land drop them into area where if you had a few hundred people you can leave that. It's MREs in water. It gives them something to last for a few days. Most people have homes there and may have lost power and water. We have those things going on. They did a tremendous job.

The other part, I was down in a small unincorporated area, a few hundred people, called Glen Haven, just outside of Estos Park yesterday. I can tell you inspiring stories from the volunteer firefighters I spend a few hours with. You're right. They are taking whatever they have between what is in the firehouse, what citizens have. They are stringing up lines where there is a river between them and the people.

They are working together. They are figuring it out. These are hearty people. These are determined people. They go through tough times and they are working together. Even the people that lost their homes they said I am fine. My house is gone. I'm fine. We are getting out of here.

WHITFIELD: Wow, so Sheriff, as we are talking we are looking at some of the video of some of the rescues by chopper when the choppers were able to land. You have seen folks taking babies and infant seats in the choppers. We have seen extraordinary images of rope line rescues with people holding on to their dogs, their pets while they are trying to carefully navigate these rope lines. Tell me what you tell people, what can they take? What decisions do they have to make at the very last minute?

SMITH: You know, getting on to those copters is the air guard, the army's decision. You have to take medications. Family members go with them and let's face it most people consider their pets to be family. The guard has done tremendous. I know at times they said they felt like they flew as many pets as they did citizens they rescued.

So it has been a challenge but amazing flying, Fredricka. When I saw them come in, it is places a helicopter can barely fit in, to see it drop into a canyon and do it successfully and back out, these are amazing. They are angels up there.

WHITFIELD: You are all angels helping out so many people in desperate, desperate need. All the best and be safe, Sheriff Justin Smith, to you and your colleagues doing tremendous work.

SMITH: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama revealing more about what he thinks of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. He told ABC that in these diplomatic efforts Mr. Putin is more a partner than an enemy of the U.S. and that Obama welcomes working with Russia to solve the Syrian crisis.

Joe Johns is now joining us from Washington. So Joe, what else did the president say about trying to address the Syrian crisis? JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it is very interesting. Obama's position on Putin is very Reagan-esc. He is taking a trust but verify address, which by the way, has been the theme of some of the congressional Republicans as they talk about Syria and Russia as well. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't think that Mr. Putin has the same values that we do. And I think obviously by protecting Mr. Assad he has a different attitude about the Assad regime. But what I have also said to him directly is that we both have an interest in preventing chaos. We both have an interest in preventing terrorism. The situation in Syria right now is untenable. As long as Mr. Assad is in power there is going to be some sort of conflict there and that we should work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: It's important to say the president was interviewed on Friday before the Geneva framework was actually announced so he wasn't reacting specifically to news of a deal at that time -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then you know, Joe, last week I think few people can forget the interview that Dana Bash, our congressional correspondent conducted with Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee. In his view the president looked like he was uncomfortable being commander-in-chief. The president was actually asked about that. What did he say?

JOHNS: Well, the take away on Senator Corker is that the president sees the criticism as focusing on the way he's been approaching the problem as opposed to the substance of the solution. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Folks here in Washington like to grade on style. And so had we rolled out something that was very smooth and disciplined and linear they would have graded it well with even if it was a disastrous policy. We know that because that's exactly how they graded the Iraq war. I'm less concerned about style points. I'm much more concerned about getting the policy right. What I have said consistently throughout is that the chemical weapons issue is a problem. I want that problem dealt with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Now it will be sometime before we can actually grade the substance of this agreement that was reached over the weekend. It sounds certainly like a good start, but the fact of the matter is a framework isn't a solution unless it works and I think everybody knows that -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right. I think everyone agrees we still have a long way to go. All right, thanks so much. Joe Johns in Washington.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Israel today and he is meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I asked our Fahreed Zakaria about Israel's role in the Syria crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, CNN'S "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": On the Syria side, it is difficult to tell the Israelis naturally have a concern, but look, if you step back and think about it. This is fantastic news for the Israelis. Israel is now the regional superpower. From Israel's security position, one has to think about the fact that over the last ten years, Israel has gone from being surrounded by very powerful enemies to each of those enemies being disowned, in chaos and being contained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Fareed joins us in the 4:00 Eastern hour for more on who is in charge in this road to diplomacy as it pertains to Syria.

All right, it is brother versus brother in the NFL, Eli and Peyton Manning matching up again today. It's the third time these Super Bowl winners have faced off on the field. Details next in the "Bleacher Report."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Come Monday Floyd Mayweather will cash in on one of the largest pay days in sports history. His fight last night earned him a guaranteed $41 million. That's before the pay per view receipts. Joe Carter has more in this "Bleacher Report."

JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Like a fine wine, Fred, Floyd "Money" Mayweather just continues to get better with age. Last night, fight night in Vegas and for the 45th time in a row, Mayweather walked out of the ring as the winner. The consensus pound for pound champ beat Canelo Alvarez in a majority decision.

But you know, it wouldn't be boxing if there wasn't a little controversy. One of the judges actually scored this fight as a draw while the other two easily gave it to Mayweather. Now he's made according to some rough figures more than $73 million in his last two fights.

Great story here, Eric Legrand, the former Rutgers football player who was paralyzed during a game three years ago received a great honor yesterday. He is the first player in the program's 144-year history to have his jersey retired. Legrand was also given a sword with the number 52 and the word, believe, on it.

And bragging rights in the Manning household are at stake this afternoon when the Broncos take on the Giants. We are talking about two of the biggest named quarterbacks in the NFL who also just happen to be brothers. Of course, Peyton had a series of neck surgeries a couple of years ago. There were doubts he would play again. Here he, Fredricka, not only playing, but playing some of the best football he ever has in his career.

That's your "Bleacher Report" update. Back to you. WHITFIELD: Very fun stuff. Thanks so much, Joe. Appreciate that. For the very latest in sports, go to bleacherreport.com.

All right, humanitarian, new father, future king, all of that, CNN royal correspondent Max Foster, sat down with the man who has all of that Prince William for an exclusive interview. The CNN special "Prince Williams Passion, New Father, New Hope" airs tonight 10:00 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN. Don't miss it.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): With 10 titles in the 13 tournaments he's played this season, Rafael Nadal is having one of the best years of his career. Out for seven months with chronic knee problems and a stomach virus, Nadal is back with a vengeance and as he told us the night he won the U.S. Open, Nadal is grateful every time he steps on the court.

RAFAEL NADAL, 2013 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: When you go back after the low moments are more special, more emotional. I always learn that that is not forever so just trying to enjoy every moment as much as I can because in a few years I will not have the chance to play again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With 13 career grand slam trophies, Nadal is third of the all-time list trailing only Pete Sampras 14 titles and Roger Federer's 17.

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WHITFIELD: Anthony Bourdain is back with new episodes of his Emmy- nominated series "PARTS UNKNOWN." In tonight's season premiere, he heads to Jerusalem.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The old city is divided into four quarters. There's Muslim quarter. There's a Jewish quarter, there's a Christian quarter, and there's an Armenian quarter. Each one functions independently, but people that live in a certain area are all from that religion.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, CNN'S "PARTS UNKNOWN": Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we're walking in the steps of Jesus Christ.

BOURDAIN: As I so often do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is Via Dolorosa, which is the last trip Jesus did before he was crucified so people feel very emotional. They come here and they feel like, my God, I am walking in the steps of Mohammad, David or Jesus.

BOURDAIN: It's like Jesus was here. I feel like I should be --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little more biased?

BOURDAIN: That's too late for me.

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WHITFIELD: You can catch the season two premiere of Anthony Bourdain's Emmy nominated "PARTS UNKNOWN" tonight at 9:00 Eastern Time.

Thirty six years after it was launched, the Voyager space craft becomes the first manmade object to go outside the solar system. Wait until you hear how long it will take Voyager to get to the closest star. That's next.

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WHITFIELD: National Guard air rescues in flood ravaged areas of Colorado are on hold right now because of bad weather. Helicopters are on the ground in Boulder as the rain keeps pounding down. Floods have left hundreds of people stranded. The sheriff in Larimer County just told me that they are ready to drop food and water as soon as they can. We are following the story closely and will continue to bring you updates from Colorado.

It's what we call "The Science Behind." Today we look at the achievement of the space craft, Voyager 1. It blasted into space 36 years ago. Now it has left the solar system, the first manmade object to do so. Our John Zarrella has more.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Voyager has in fact entered interstellar space. Basically voyager has left the building. It's outside of the solar system, the first space craft or anything built by humans to enter interstellar space. There has been great debate within NASA as to when actually this took place.

Finally, the scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were able to put all the data together and announced that in fact Voyager actually entered interstellar space one year ago. So right now it is traveling in the area between the stars in the dark, dark cold region of outer space.

And it will reach the next closest object to it, a star in about 40,000 years. The Voyager project was only supposed to last about five years after touring both the planet Saturn and Jupiter, but it kept on going. Now 36 years later it has left the solar system.

One interesting thing about it, it is a very, very simple space craft. In fact, your iPhone has 240,000 times more memory than Voyager, but it is still going and it's a long way out there. John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

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WHITFIELD: There is outrage today in North Carolina after police allegedly shot and killed an unarmed man. Police say Jonathan Farral was running towards them when police opened fire. A wrecked car was found nearby and police now believed Farral may have been looking for help. Farral was 24 years old and a former football player at Florida A&M University.

Officer Randolph Kerric was the only officer on the scene to use his gun. He is charged with voluntary manslaughter and he is on paid leave along with two other officers pending an investigation.

President Obama has been visibly focused on Syria, but what about his domestic agenda?

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OBAMA: Gun reforms and comprehensive immigration reform -- and creating middle class jobs.

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WHITFIELD: I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" with Christine Romans starts right now.