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Colorado Flood Worsens; U.S.-Russia Deal on Syria; Looming Budget Crisis

Aired September 15, 2013 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A look at our top stories this hour in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Surrounded by deadly floodwaters with no way out, that's the nightmare hundreds of people in Colorado are facing right now.

President Obama gives his take on his groundbreaking deal with Russia on the Syrian crisis and reveals his goal in confronting Syria on its suspected chemical weapons attack.

Plus police opened fire near New York's Times Square. The suspect doesn't get hit but two bystanders do.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

First up, the U.S. military, federal and local rescue crews are on the ground in Colorado. Not in the air where they want to be. Stormy weather is putting their flights on hold. And that's extremely upsetting to the hundreds of people trapped by raging flood waters.

Earlier crews airdropped food and water supplies to some of them and here's a look at some of the rescues that were carried out before the bad weather moved in. A National Guard Chinook helicopter helped evacuate people stranded in the field in the town of Jamestown. The group included a baby and children who were on an overnight school trip. And here some rescues in Boulder, victims were hoisted by rope into Chinook helicopters.

Sadly, not everyone escaped in time. An 80-year-old is believe today be the sixth person killed due to flooding. 482 others are still unaccounted for but authorities point out many of those people may be saved but just unable to call in. The disaster is being described as a once in a thousand year event. And it's taking an emotional toll even on officials who are used to seeing tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN SMITH, LARIMER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I felt a lot of hope, a lot real energy yesterday because the question I had is how can I ever recover from this. I know exactly inch by inch, mile by mile, community by community. They're taking this stuff bad. They're doing it. The people are getting those things done out there. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Entire towns are completely cut off by flood water. So destructive that they have wiped out mountainsides, homes and hundreds of miles of roads. President Obama called Colorado's governor today to get an update on the destruction and the rescues and he also signed a major disaster declaration for the state freeing up federal recovery aid.

George Howell is live for us now in Boulder, Colorado. So George, bad weather was keeping a lot of those rescue flights grounded. What's the situation now?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, and the same situation right now. We're still getting rainfall. We're in an area that has been hard hit so, you know, you see this water - the water, the streams, the rivers are starting to over flow again. Lets talk about what we see here.

You can look closely over there. You see the debris in that water? That's the problem about this type of flood water. You can call it flooding mountain style, but you got rocks in there, you got tree branches, all of the things that would make it very challenging to cross. Look at the flow of that water, three hours go, there was no water over this road.

During the last live shot we did in the 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour, we saw this turn into a pretty ripping stream. And now, there's no crossing this. In fact, we know of some people who are on the other side there. I'm told that they do have a way to get over here, upstream. But their time is limited to do so. And really as long as we continue to get this type of rainfall, this will cut off communities again. So you have people waiting to be rescued.

We spoke to the National Guard just earlier. Keep in mind they're comparing this to what we saw with Hurricane Katrina. 1,200 people rescued by helicopter, some by ground. You know, it's a big operation. Right now, it's temporarily halted until the weather passes. But I spoke to them about what it takes to get an operation like that underway. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: How do you do it?

1ST LIEUTENANT SKYE ROBINSON, COLORADO NATIONAL GUARD: As part 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've 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 VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Looking at this water here, it's called Four Mile Creek. You know, it's not a creek right now. It is a river. There's no crossing it. When you consider the debris that's in there, it's dangerous for any car that will consider driving over this standing water. That's another reminder to people. Officials want us to get that word out. If you see standing water in one of these areas, don't try to cross it. It could be really risky. It could be really dangerous. But, again, Fredricka, the challenge right now in these hours is we're seeing these communities cut off again.

WHITFIELD: All right. George Howell, thanks so much for bringing that to us. Serious situation there only made potentially worse by more rain for the forecast. So officials now say that flooding has destroyed 30 bridges and damaged 20 others.

Joining us now on the phone, Andrew Barth. He is with the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management. So all those bridges down, hundreds of miles of roads out. This is going to be a very huge recovery effort. But, first, you've got to get to a lot of people yet to be rescued. How do you do that now?

ANDREW BARTH, BOULDER COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Right now, we're doing that basically, strictly through roadways. We have opened up and continue to try to open up.

WHITFIELD: In what way? How?

BARTH: So we've got heavy equipment that continue to move up through the mountainous areas of Colorado and even through the plains, on roadways that have collapsed. Just trying to, you know, open up any piles of debris that have been along and just trying to get through to people. We've actually had more success coming down from the mountains themselves, up in the higher side, coming down in because as you know, all of that debris washed it downhill towards the city of Boulder itself. So getting in from the high side isn't better.

WHITFIELD: What are the greatest challenges for you right now?

BARTH: Well, the greatest challenge is really - it's getting to the people that that need help and not having the equipment because there are - this disaster is so widespread that, you know, wee can only dedicate equipment to certain areas and then we have to move on as fast as we can. Big challenges are the rain keeps coming. We're still seeing a lot of rain and as you saw earlier in your footage there. So it just exacerbates the problem. Areas that we've opened are now closed again. It just continued to be a big, big problem.

WHITFIELD: What are the areas that you want to get to but you simply can't right now?

BARTH: Well, we'd really love to get cleared paths up to the western side of the county. Right now, there's no way to get from the plains up to the western side of the county.

WHITFIELD: Andrew Barth, all the best. Keep us posted on your continuing efforts to reach those in greatest need. Appreciate it. All the best to you. So here's a look at what is heading to the Colorado area tonight and tomorrow in terms of more precipitation. More rain expected until Monday night. And then it starts to let up. And, by Tuesday, the storm is expected to move its way out. Thankfully, the rest of the week just might be clear. But folks there still have to make through the rain tomorrow, according to the forecast.

Meantime, let's talk about New York where police fired shots at a man near the crowded New York Times Square just last night. But the bullets ended up hitting two women instead, bystanders. Here's a video of the chaotic scene shot by a bystander.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god. Go, go, go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down, get down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Last night, happening right near a very crowded, typically very crowded Times Square. Margaret Conley is joining us right now from New York.

So Margaret, how did all of this happen in the first place?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it was an intense scene Saturday night right here near the heart of Times Square. All the action took place on the corner right behind me. Police fired three shots. They missed their target and they hit two women, instead. Witnesses and police, they say a man that was walking around, he looked confused.

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COMM. RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: ... but it appeared that he wanted to be struck by a bunch of cars. So the officers that went into the intersection attempting to take him into custody. He continued to allude the officers and then at some time, he reached into his pocket, took out his hand and simulated as if he was shooting at them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONLEY: Now, that is the key here. Police were saying that the man pretended to shoot at them. They actually say he simulated shooting at them.

WHITFIELD: And so, now we're looking at some other images that came in. We can see that police officers there kind of at the center piece holding up their weapons. Have eyewitnesses have a different account of what police were saying happened?

CONLEY: Fredricka, it's really, really hard to hear here. I think you were asking about what the witnesses were saying or what the police were saying. We do know that the police are saying that he's facing a string of charges. This man, he was 35 years old, he was admitted to a hospital. He was admitted as being emotionally disturbed. The charges that the police have against him right now, drug possession and, also, disorderly conduct.

WHITFIELD: All right, a very strange situation there taking place in Times Square. Margaret Conley there, from New York.

Also, in New York, United Nations weapons inspectors tell us what they know about that happened in Syria last month. They'll give their report to the U.N. tomorrow.

And then up next, I'll ask the chief U.N. inspector in Iraq what he thinks those inspectors out of Syria will say.

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WHITFIELD: President Obama said today that the U.S. is moving closer to its goal of getting chemical weapons out of Syria. On ABC this week, he praised the deal reached with Russia that lays out steps to eliminate those weapons.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, definitely, this is a better position. Keep in mind that my entire goal, throughout this exercise, is to make sure that what happened on August 21st does not happen again. That we do not see over a thousand people, over 400 children, subjected to poison gas. Something that is a violation of international law and is a violation of human decency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why won't it happen again?

OBAMA: Well, I think we have the possibility of making sure it doesn't happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I'm joined now by CNN analyst and former chief weapons inspector in Iraq, David Kay. David, good to see you again. So what's your take on this agreement between the U.S. and Russia to get rid of Syria's chemical weapons. Can Syria, number one, produce an inventory in a week's time?

DAVID KAY, CNN ANALYST: Well, certainly. It can produce an inventory. Whether it will is really one of the first tests of this agreement. Look, this agreement provides a path ahead. It's an extraordinarily difficult path and, in some ways, a dangerous path for the inspectors to be on site. It provides multiple opportunities, four of which were this week to trust whether the Russians and the Syrians are really serious about this.

WHITFIELD: And you say a dangerous path because we're talking about inspectors who have to be on the ground while this civil war with the use of conventional weapons is on going.

KAY: Well, that's part of it. But realize, they're there to inspect chemical weapons. Now some of these weapons have been around for 30 years. They're obviously going to be linkers. It's a very hazardous environment even if they were not a civil war. And it is a civil war. You have to remember, it's a different kind of civil war. It's not two sides against each other. The opposition is multiple, some of whom would like to get their hands on chemical weapons.

So a number of different (INAUDIBLE) but basically I think it's an agreement that will allow us to test and move ahead towards eliminating those weapons.

WHITFIELD: U.N. inspectors hand over their report tomorrow. What do you expect. How detailed will it be?

KAY: I think it will be detailed as to how they carried out the inspection, what they collected and what it shows. I do not expect that they will point fingers and say it came from the Syrian government. But I think any fair reading which will show a large number of chemical warheads were fired, fired in multiple areas, containing high grade sarin, not something you go prepare in your basement, and that all points to the government.

WHITFIELD: And so, David, who does make that determination ultimately? The origin of these weapons, who would have made the orders to use them?

KAY: Well, the weapons, the determination of who used them is not something the inspector is going to be involved in. I think in fact, the U.S. and the Russians agreed, priority task is to get control of the weapons and get rid of them. That remains a task. This is a crime against humanity as to how you judge and who you hold responsible for this. That's not going to happen in this first round.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll have to leave it there. David Kay, thanks so much. Always good to see you. Appreciate it.

KAY: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. By the way, the U.S. government about to run out of money. And, as the clock ticks, will congressional Republicans and the president broker a deal in time. If not, the government might just shut down, again. We got a live report from Washington next.

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WHITFIELD: While the president has Syria on his mind, the focus of the White House is about to quickly shift back to domestic issues. The government is about to run out of money. The big question is will there be a government shutdown?

Republicans want to defund the president's healthcare plan and say that if they don't get their way, they may not pass the budget to keep the federal government open. Joe Johns is in Washington. So Joe, how serious a threat is the government shutdown?

JOE JOHNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the optimists say the most likely solution is for the Congress and the president to agree on some type of short term solution, temporary fixes, temporary spending bills or other extensions that kind of kick the can down the road. If that happens, it was just set up another day for another impasse with a deadline, which is just about where we are today.

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JOHNS (voice-over): In ground hog day, weatherman Bill Murray lives the same day over and over. Capitol Hill is starting to look like that now as Congress heads towards what could be another train wreck. It's all about looming deadlines. Check out the calendar.

September 30th, the end of the fiscal year. Congress has to pass a money bill to keep the government operating or it will shut down. Democrats promise to fight Republican budget hawks.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: This is nasty. It has tentacles that affect in the negative way many aspects of American life.

JOHNS: On top of that, on October 1st, a key part of the president's health plan is scheduled to start going into effect. Republicans who despise Obamacare see that as a chance to cut off money needed to make it happen.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: We'll continue to do everything we can to repeal, dismantle and defund Obamacare.

JOHNS: And as soon as October 18th, Treasury Secretary Jack Lu says the government will run out of money to pay its bills, unless Congress raises the debt ceiling. Tea Party Republicans threaten another fight. But the president says he won't negotiate.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's really remarkable, the confluence of events that we're seeing here is almost unimaginable.

JOHNS: We asked CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein about this triple political witching hour.

(on camera): How bad is this in your view?

BROWNSTEIN: I think we're facing an extraordinary few weeks with potential turmoil, at the least, in crisis, at the worst where no one really has a clear idea of how to navigate through the mine field of a potential government shutdown and then a potential default on the debt. We're really saying the same issues that have divided President Obama and the Republican House since January of 2011 coming back, yet, again, almost in this kind of circular loop.

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JOHNS: Now, what makes this a little unusual is the fact that Democrats control both the Senate and the White House, making it extremely unlikely that they would give much ground on the president's signature domestic accomplishments. Some Republicans say it's actually more of a symbolic fight to show supporters back home they aren't giving up. What's really become a rallying cry on the right to reduce government spending and defund Obamacare, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joe Johns, thanks so much from Washington.

The National Guard grounds all rescue helicopters in Colorado. But hundreds of people are still trapped in their homes. Victims of the devastating flood. I'll get the latest on rescue efforts from one local sheriff's office right after the break.

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WHITFIELD: The death toll from that record-breaking flooding in Colorado is climbing. An 80-year-old woman is now missing and presumed dead. She is the sixth person believed killed. Hundreds of people are trapped after flood waters cut off their town.

FEMA search and rescue teams and the military are on the ground helping to get people to safety. But right now, all National Guard air rescue helicopters are on hold because of the stormy weather.

And we're getting the latest from Colorado right now. We're joined, on the phone, by the public information officer for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, John Schultz. So John, give us the latest on what you're able to do to help reach the people in need, especially since you can't have any kind of air assets in the air.

JOHN SCHULTZ, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, LARIMER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Well, that's right, Fredricka. The good news is that we've been allocated 16 helicopters today which would have just been absolutely great. But the bad news is the weather continues to prevent them from flying. So there is work that they can do on the ground; however, to prepare for that for their flights and stuff which is what's going on. And the National Guard is evaluating the conditions on an hour-by-hour basis hopefully to get some of those up.

We are trying to put some people in by ground, in areas where the roads have been washed out. For the most part, people who could be reached by a road or other access have been taken out already.

WHITFIELD: But it sounds like a giant problem as we look at some video right now. Bridges and roads that are out. We understand that something like 30 bridges have been damaged or washed out completely. It certainly sounds like getting around even by road is going to be a giant challenge for you all to get to people. Are you using boats or air boats?

SCHULTZ: We have virtually hundreds of miles of roads that are flooding. It's a tremendously challenging problem. Because we have hundreds of people that are stranded in different pockets around the county, from north to south in different areas that the only way we're going to be able to get them evacuated is via air.

WHITFIELD: Has working on any other natural disaster in any way in that state prepared you for this?

SCHULTZ: No, absolutely not. This is - I know many people have been calling this of epic proportions here. It's certainly unlike anything anybody has seen here. I think we've had our share with the High Park fire. It was a major event for us but, you know, that's kind of isolated into one area. This is literally the entire county, from the very northern part all the way to the southern part. So it's just an overwhelming need that's there that has to be addressed.

WHITFIELD: John Schultz, thanks so much for your time. We know that you got your hands full. All the best. Best of luck as you try to come to the aid of so many there.

Hundreds of people are trapped by flood waters in that state. Coming up, I'm talking to the couple who lives in this house. This video that they shot, see that water just whipping by their property. They're going to tell us how they got to safety and what's next for them.

And in the 12 years since 9/11, more than two million service members have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hollywood director JJ Abrams is on a mission to help those veterans. It's today's "Impact Your World."

JJ ABRAMS, DIRECTOR: Hi, I'm J.J. Abrams and we can make an impact helping veterans acclimated back into society. It is incredibly important that we welcome them when they are done with their service. Looking to them not as charity cases. This is about people who can teach us.

The Michigan Team is a non-profit that helps veteran returning from service find their purpose whether you're a vet or not. I think it's one of the dreams in life is to find a thing that you know you can do and that you love and what you learn when you're in the service, there's the organizational skills, the skills of leadership to come back. Communities are desperately in need of that kind of voice. It seems like communities need it, the vets need it, it is important that we take advantage of that. Find them the training and find them the jobs and the opportunity to continue to serve even though they're not in the service.

Join the movement, "Impact Your World," CNN.com/impact.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Many of the flooding victims of Colorado didn't live near creeks or rivers. But that didn't spare them from an incredible amount of destruction. This is what Tim Ferenc and Kerry Cerelli woke up to at 3:00 in the morning on Thursday. A river of flood water flowing right outside their door in Boulder. The engaged couple says they were shocked because they don't live near any major water ways. They are joining me now on the phones.

Tim, let me begin with you. What did you and Kerry do when you saw this scene outside the house? First of all, did it wake you up at 3:00 in the morning and that's why you saw it at that hour? KERRY CERELLI, COLORADO FLOOD VICTIMS, (Via telephone): Yes, actually, we heard what sounded like strong winter rivers outside our door about 3 a.m. Tim jumped up out of bed and ran outside to take a peek.

TIM FERENC, COLORADO FLOOD VICTIMS, (via telephone): Actually, I just ran to the window and I could see there was a river running right outside the window which is definitely not what I would normally imagine to be there. Thank goodness our neighbor yelled don't open the door, don't open your door because we had water up about 18 inches up the door. And if I opened it it would of all rushed into the house.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. So than what did you do?

FERENC: Well, we just barricaded the door to try and keep any of the water from coming in around the cracks and just waited it out. Then once it was light I climbed through the window and went outside and kind of surveyed the scene. Then we started working on some damming of the water to try to divert some of the flow all the way from the house. We thought we could wait it out and it was looking better until about 10:00 in the morning it started to get worse in a hurry and we decided to evacuate very quickly.

WHITFIELD: So you were getting very worried. What were your greatest concerns? What were you picturing in your mind at the potential of what could happen?

FERENC: We started to wonder if it would get so bad that we wouldn't be able to get out in the near future. There was - I was working on damming the water and diverting the flow I looked up the street and saw a huge log jam of big logs that had washed down and they were about 4 feet tall and there was water just pouring over the top. It looked like it was about to break. So I realized that we would have the wall of water going to rush toward us. I wasn't sure if it was going to get worse and if we would have the chance to evacuate later so it just seemed like this was our last chance to evacuate and we got out of there.

WHITFIELD: So Kerry was it an issue of let's grab all of our really important things? Did you get in the car and then, you know, drive off? Or how did you get away?

CERELLI: Our neighbor had called a friend of hers to come get her. She was surprised that we could even drive there. And he showed up and helped her out and carried her on his back out to the car and carried her dog and then came to get me and I was passing things out the window to Tim. It is funny the things that you think are important and at that moment it was our dog, I grabbed our birth certificate and a couple of stuffed animals from our childhood. That was the only thing that seemed important enough in the moment. Just us and a couple of sweet things.

WHITFIELD: And so have you heard anything about how your home is doing? What might be left? What kind of damage was caused?

FERENC: We have been back to our house, we went back on Saturday. There was a clean-up process and a lot of the water had subsided. Our main street Topaz Drive had been completely washed out. Where the street use to be, it was a nice paved street in a quiet neighborhood and that street is completely gone. There's about a 4-5 foot chasm where it has just been washed away. And all of the cars parked along that street have been stranded for who knows how long.

Our house is remarkably in pretty good shape inside we were able to keep most of the water out by barricading doors. Carpets are wet and muddy and still drying. We are remarkably lucky. The exterior though is just a mess. There's a good 8-10 inches of sediment that's washed into the yard and we have been spending most of our time digging out the sidewalks and just trying to clear away all the sediment that has washed in.

WHITFIELD: My goodness, what an incredible adventure you all have had over the course of a few days. I'm glad that you could be with us and that you are OK and you got your dog with you, as well. Tim Ferenc and Kerry Cerelli all the best to you as you try to recover from this nasty storm.

We'll be right back with much more on the flooding in Colorado and other news.

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WHITFIELD: This just in. Former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers has withdrawn his name from consideration to be Federal Reserve Chairman. He had not been officially nominated, but he has been seen as a top candidate to replace Ben Bernanke in January. His prospects however, started to look a little tough after some Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee say they would vote against him.

I think we're going to check in with one of our correspondence Joe Johns in Washington on this. Joe what more can you tell us about why he decided to withdraw his name?

JOE JOHNS, CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, Larry Summers was controversial. He's the former treasury chief whose name was repeatedly mentioned as a potential next chairman of the Federal Reserve. And yes he has notified the president that he is withdrawing his name. Summers was thought to be a favorite of President Obama. He served this president as economic advisor. Summers was also the president of Harvard. Several sources now telling CNN Summers has withdrawn his name.

As you mentioned, Fredricka, three Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee recently said they would not support Summers and he of course has become controversial because among other things because of his statements about women.

Now, the "Wall Street Journal" has published a statement from Summers in a letter, apparently, that he had delivered to the president of the United States. In it, he says I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve, the Administration or, ultimately, the interest of the nation's ongoing economic recovery. So the search continues for a new Fed. Chief and apparently it is not going to be Larry Summers.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joe Johns thanks so much. Let's check with Capitol Hill correspondent Dana Bash on the phone with us now. So Dana, explain a little further why the resistance from some Democrats on the Banking Committee against Lawrence Summers?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, as Joe just laid out, two main reasons. First of all, just when it comes to economics policy there were a number of Democrats against, again just reporting this far, these are people in the president's own party who are really pushing back against Larry Summers. Because they did not think that he, they thought he was too conservative when it comes to economic policy. Or maybe it's too moderate, not liberal enough on economic policy.

And you know that's something I am told Democrats even brought up with the president in private. For example, right when they left for August recess, the president had a meeting with House Democrats and one kind of stood up and said what's up with Larry Summers. Expectedly saying, pushing back a little bit. And I'm told that the president was really tough with his responses. Very defensive of Larry Summers, explaining that he personally did not think that there's that much of a difference between Summers and other people he is considering, like Janet Yellin who is another person who is under consideration.

So the president very much clearly wanted to have Larry Summers, at least in consideration, I'm told, at the idea of the fellow Democrats saying that he's not the right person. The other issue is the idea that he might not have the greatest reputation with women. And as Joe just mentioned, he was president of Harvard University. There was a lot of controversy with regard to his policy toward women at the university.