Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Strong Words In The Fight Against ISIS; New iPhone To Be Released September 9th; North Korea Draws World's Attention With Nuclear Threats; Senegal Has First Confirmed Case Of Ebola; New Process To Choose Which Teams Play In College Football Championship

Aired August 30, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM.

Here are the top stories we are following. Strong words in the fight against the radical militant group, ISIS. A cancer that must be stamped out. U.S. secretary of state John Kerry is demanding a bigger response from the world as the UK raises its threat level. Where the U.S. stands, coming up.

Plus, we could be about a week away from seeing a brand-new iPhone. Why the leaked designs are already creating a buzz, and not in a good way.

And college football is back this weekend. We take a look at the biggest games and also the brand-new playoff structure that starts this year.

We'll get to those stories in a moment.

But first, the increasingly tense standoff over Ukraine. European leaders describe the crisis as dramatic, serious, and possibly headed to a point of no return. Here's what's happening on the ground right now.

A British government source tells CNN, between 4,000 and 5,000 Russian troops are now fighting in eastern Ukraine. The source says 20,000 additional troops are on the border. European Union leaders are meeting in Belgium to discuss the situation. Their response could include new sanctions on Moscow. The European commission president says he has spoken directly to Russian president Vladimir Putin and urged him to, quote, "change course." But Putin's rhetoric is getting even more defiant. During an appearance at a youth forum, Putin called Russia a powerful nuclear nation that should not be messed with.

Our Reza Sayah is live for us in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. So Reza, the Ukrainian military says it's concerned about Russia advancing to yet another town. What are you learning?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. The big concern for the Kiev is the political port city of Mariupol. They don't want that city to fall, that's a huge boost to the pro-Russian separatist. Concern over Mariupol started back on Thursday. That's when the pro-Russian rebels and separatists made a very surprise and sudden push. They opened another front from southeastern Ukraine, right across the Russian border. They started heading west. They took over a town just 20 miles east of Mariupol. If, indeed, they continue pushing west, taking territory in that direction and take Mariupol, the next stop will be Crimea. Of course, that's the peninsula that Russia has already annexed. And if they do that, that means they will have established a land link from the Russian border, all the way to Crimea.

We should point out, at this hour, there's no indication that the rebels are pushing west, but we do know that they're stationed just about 10 to 15 miles east of Mariupol. And then you have Ukrainian soldiers fortifying their positions right in front of them. And in the city itself, the residents very concerned, Fred, because some of them packing their bags, leaving, others hunkering down. It looks like this could be the next flashpoint in this conflict, if the rebels move west.

WHITFIELD: And then, Reza, meantime, President Barack Obama heading to a NATO meeting this week in Wales. He's also visiting Estonia. Ukraine will top the agenda, likely, in both elections. So what does the Ukrainian government want to hear from this American president?

SAYAH: Kiev wants President Obama to tell them that I'm here and I'm here to help you. I'm here to provide you whatever support you need. Today, President Petro Poroshenko in Brussels made it clear what kind of help he would like. He doesn't want boots on the ground. He doesn't want foreign military intervention. He does suggest that sanctions are a possible path. That's something that the EU and Washington are considering.

He also asked for military technical assistance. That's usually a very vague term, but President Poroshenko. He clarified what he wants. He says he wants intelligence gathering and non-military equipment, another indication that Kiev is reaching out to Western Europe, reaching out to Washington. Now we wait to see how Washington and Mr. Obama, how they react.

WHITFIELD: All right. Reza Sayah, thank you so much, in Kiev.

All right. Now to questions about why Britain raised its terror alert to the second highest level but this country did not. In a "New York Times" opinion piece, U.S. secretary of state John Kerry issued a stern warning, saying Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq must be eliminated. He said; quote "with a united response lead by the United States and the broadest possible coalition of nations, the cancer of ISIS will not be allowed to spread to other countries. The world can confront this scourge and ultimately defeat it. ISIS is odious, but not omnipotent."

But the response from President Obama has been more cautious. CNN's Barbara Starr reports on these drastically different reactions to the threat known as ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two leaders with very different public messages on ISIS. British Prime Minister David Cameron announcing the threat level is raised to severe in the UK.

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is not some foreign conflict, thousands of miles from home, that we can hope to ignore.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to put the cart before the horse. We don't have a strategy yet.

STARR: President Obama, not ready to commit to fighting is with air strikes in Syria, but Britain clearly feeling the pressure that ISIS could strike it at home. The new warning means an attack is highly likely.

CAMERON: The ambition to create an extremist caliphate in the heart of Iraq and Syria is a threat to our own security here in the UK.

STARR: Particularly worried, because it was a British voice on the tape showing the murder of American journalist, James Foley. An estimated 500 people have traveled from Britain to fight in Syria and Iraq, along with hundreds of other Europeans.

U.S. and European security services believe ISIS fighters are back at several locations in Europe, but those cells may not be under direct ISIS orders. Officials won't say where the cells are. U.S. officials say they don't believe there's a cell in this country, but are tracking about a dozen Americans fighting for is overseas. Just this week, two American is fighters were believed killed in Syria.

MIKE BAKER, FORMER CIA COVERT CORPORATIONS OFFICER: I think our European allies feel a greater sense of urgency. I think they feel as if the threat is closer to home right now. And for us, it's more of a distant issue.

STARR: For now, the U.S. plans no changes. The department of homeland security says it's unaware of any specific credible threat from ISIS. Some analysts say, however, this is not the time to sit around and wait for what may be an inevitable attack.

BAKER: We need to understand that this is a threat now to our homeland. And we have to start designing a game plan to defeat them, as quickly as possible.

STARR: U.S. law enforcement and intelligence experts will tell you, one of the biggest worries they have is the so-called lone wolf attack. It is one of the most difficult threats to detect.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, with so much going on in the world, lately, getting away and relaxing for this long holiday weekend is all the more important. But there are some severe storms out there that you need to know about.

CNN's Jennifer Gray has your Labor Day weekend forecast.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Fred, south Louisiana, since last night, has received more than seven inches of rain, right outside of Lake Charles and the rain is still coming down. A lot of rain for all of southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. Rainfall totals expected through Monday, could see three to five in central Louisiana, six inches or more in southwest Louisiana. And then, of course, about an inch as you head to the east. So a lot of rain for this holiday weekend.

We are looking at the possibility of severe weather today, the Dakotas and portions of Montana. Slight risk of large hail, damaging winds, even the slight possibility of an isolated tornado. That threat rolls to the east by the time we get to tomorrow, Minneapolis, Des Moines, and Lincoln included in that. Some of our pick cities for the weekend, Chicago, could be dealing with some rain today, and Monday, highs will be in the 80s, New York city, today looks good, but you will be running into some rain Sunday and Monday. Orlando, you'll be dodging afternoon showers. 92 disagrees. And a couple of those beaches out there, the farther up to the northeast you go, the better your weather will be. We'll be dealing with showers around Daytona Beach and all of the gulf coast will be dealing with showers this weekend as well -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK! All right, thank you so much, Jennifer.

All right. Apple is known for making products that are sleek and sharp, perhaps even pretty. Well, rumors about the next iPhone are not so favorable. We'll show you the leaked designs. And you can decide for yourself, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A new iPhone is about to be released and some people are beyond excited. In fact, these are some of the leaked photos of the iPhone 6 now. They are all over the internet. CNN, of course, can't verify the authenticity of these images, but the pictures have so many people on the internet buzzing, and actually complaining already about what the new phone looks like.

Earlier today, I asked CNN's technology analyst, Brett Larson, about what he knows about this latest iPhone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRETT LARSON, CNN TECHNOLOGY ANALYST: This iPhone 6 is the longest- awaited. I mean, we thought that the iPhone 5s was going to be the 6. So people are really anticipating this. And what's so crazy about it, as you can see, so many leaks. We've seen specs, we've seen the patent applications for different things that are inside. We've seen all this stuff that's building up to the hype. And we have even yesterday, as you mentioned, I saw a review of it that said, But you know, the iPhone 6 is here and it's ugly. And it's not even here. It's not even going to be announced, officially, until the 9th of the September, 9/9, that's next month.

But, you know, what's interesting, look, it follows along with the pattern of what Apple does, in that, you know, the iPhone and the ipad sort of have this symbiotic relationship where the ipad has a little curve to it, so now the iPhone will have a little bit of a curve to it. I mean, that makes perfect sense.

WHITFIELD: Rounded edges. What's the big deal about that? Why does that ruffle feathers?

LARSON: I have no idea! Rounded edges, it fits better in your hand and it has a nicer look to it.

WHITFIELD: A little bit less.

LARSON: You'll hopefully drop it less. And if you do, Fred, it has the new sapphire glass, allegedly, which is very strong.

WHITFIELD: So a little less shatter, I don't know, less shattering.

LARSON: You'll see less of those people that, you know, they go to use their phone and pull their finger up to find it bloody from all the shards of glass.

WHITFIELD: So what's it going to do that my iPhone 5 doesn't do?

LARSON: And again, this is what we're seeing right now in the smartphone market place is just saturation. So that is a very valid question. Is it going to do?

WHITFIELD: That's the mystery.

LARSON: Exactly. And what's its magic? We've heard a lot of things. Obviously, it's going to have a faster processor and more memory inside to hold your pictures and it will be connected better to the internet and it's going to run IOS8, which has, I don't know, some new whiz bang features.

We're hearing rumors, and everything is a rumor, that it may have near field communication, which is a form of wireless payment. It may finally do the wireless charging where you can set it down and it will charge without having to plug it in. Those will be good things, but we shall see if people will line up for them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Brett Larson, thanks so much! We can't wait to see what's unveiled on 9/9.

All right, if you're looking for some deals this labor day weekend, don't head to the grocery store. CNN's Christine Romans takes a look at what's pricey and what's not this holiday weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This weekend, maybe one of your most expensive and least expensive Labor Day weekends in years. If you're firing up the barbecue, beware, prices for steak and hamburger have climbed about 10 percent since last year, thanks to low cattle supply and growing demand overseas. Pork chops are also up 10 percent because of a virus killing pigs. And cheese prices have climbed seven percent because of higher milk prices.

But there's some great news about what's cheap. Beer! Prices have barely budged since last year, and soda prices have actually fallen. So drink up, I guess. Another expense going down, gas. According to Gas Buddy, gas prices will be the lowest since Labor Day of 2010. Gas started falling in July. The national average for a gallon of regular is now around $3.40. Oil prices have been falling, despite turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine.

And more good news, prices are expected to keep falling in the next few months. Gas buddy predicts prices below $3.25 a gallon by veterans day .

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much.

How about this? A colorful water cart, full of chirp and families playing. Almost looks like something out of Florida or California, right? Well, could you believe this is the middle of North Korea? CNN gets rare access to the secretive country, coming up.

But, first, Connecticut is one of our wealthiest states, but the income gap is widening fast there. That's where our CNN hero steps in, using horses as a hook to help inner city kids ride and help them rise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough. It's tough growing up here.

It was just so easy to take the wrong path. I was walking around with a lot on my shoulders, at a young age. I didn't really care about life anymore. When I met Miss Kelly, everything changed.

PATRICIA KELLY, CNN HERO: Brett was hurting. He needed a place where he could just be himself. Our program provides a year-round urban oasis. Seven days a week, 12 months a year for children five to 19 years old. We use horses to create pride, esteem, and healing.

The children take care of animals, take care of the farm. When they get to a certain riding level, young men become mounted park rangers. When they put their cowboy hat on and they go out on patrol, the myth of the urban male is changed instantly. When kids see other kids ride, they want to know how it's done. That's the hook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell you where I would be without this program. It changed my life. It's helped me set goals for myself. I'm a part of something.

KELLY: When you teach a child how to ride a horse, they learn that they are the center of their environment. Once they make that connection, they can change what happens in a school, at home, and in the community. It's through their minds and through their hearts. They have ability. They just have to unlock it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's a country that is very visible, yet so much of what goes on inside its borders remains secret. North Korea has drawn the world's attention with its nuclear program threats. It's known for images like these. Intense loyalty to its leaders, even boasting 100 percent of voters electing Kim Jong-un earlier this year, but it's hard to know what's real with the government iron grip on everything.

CNN has a chance to go inside North Korea for a real look. Will Ripley takes us to the capital city of Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment we land in North Korea, it feels like we're walking into a time warp. A nation decades behind the developed world, trying to catch up, and trying even harder to control the flow of information. From the route we take to the pictures we take, government minders are watching our every move. They control what we see and what we don't see.

Our first stop, the birthplace of the nation's founder, a man they call their eternal president, Kim Ill Song. Every North Korean who comes to Pyongyang will visit (INAUDIBLE) at least once. This is considered a sacred place and coming here is a pilgrimage.

These students traveled 23 hours to drink from the Kim family's well.

I want to come back again, says this 12-year-old, (INAUDIBLE). He comes from a rural area in the far north, a far cry from the capital, the show piece of the nation.

This is the most modern children's hospital in the entire country. Took about a year to build, opened up six months ago, and it's not just the medical equipment that's state of the art. We are told that kids pretend to be sick just so they can use the playground.

There are 300 beds in this hospital, in a city of more than 2.5 million people. It's one of several pet projects of the nation's young leader, Kim Jong-un, who inherited power from his father and grandfather before him.

Another prize project, the massive water park, finished in just nine months. We're told Kim Jong-un meticulously scrutinized every detail of this water park. He examined the plans personally, we're told, 113 times. And even at his high-ranking government officials test out those water slides to make sure they were safe.

As these people play, the United Nations worries others are suffering. The world food program says many North Koreans face regular food shortages. You wouldn't know it with all the money spent on projects like this. Here, no expense is spared to put a modern, happy face on Pyongyang. The rest of North Korea is kept hidden from our cameras and the eyes of the outside world.

Will Ripley, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And a step in the fight against the deadly Ebola outbreak. Trials to test a new vaccine are on the fast track now. How soon they'll start and the impact the vaccine could have. All that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

A short time ago, a national unity rally kicked off in Ferguson, Missouri, to mark three weeks since the death of Michael Brown. Meanwhile, we've learned a St. Louis police officer has retired after being placed on administrative leave. You might remember Officer Dan Paige from a video that surfaced, showing him ranting about president Obama, the Supreme Court, and Muslims. And then Paige was caught on tape, pushing back our Don Lemon, who was reporting on the protest there earlier this month.

All right, some good news out of that mine collapse in Nicaragua. At least 20 of the 26 trapped miners have been rescued alive. The race is on now to find the other miners. They've been trapped since Thursday when a cave-in buried them in a mine tunnel.

And NASCAR driver Tony Stewart returns to racing in Atlanta tomorrow. It's his first time behind the wheel since he hit and killed a fellow case car driver on August 9th. NASCAR released him to race, giving him the OK. Tony Stewart, that is. Investigations into the accident, however, continues, but detectives say there is no evidence of a crime. Regardless, the tragedy hit Stewart hard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY STEWART, NASCAR CHAMP: This is something that will definitely affect my life forever. This is a sadness and a pain that I hope no one ever has to experience in their life. That being said, I know that the pain and the mourning that Kevin Ward's family and friends are experiencing is something that I can't possibly imagine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And we're closely monitoring Joan Rivers' condition. The most recent update we got from her daughter, Melissa, is that Rivers is resting comfortably in a New York hospital. Her condition remains serious. Rivers, who is 81, stopped breathing during a medical procedure at a clinic on Thursday.

And the West African country of Senegal has confirmed its first case of Ebola. According to the world health organization, the outbreak across West Africa is still accelerating. More than 1,500 people have died. This latest case is a university student now in quarantine. He somehow crossed the closed border from Guinea into Senegal. The crisis is causing researchers to fastrack an Ebola vaccine.

Here now is CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I want to give you some insight into how this whole scientific trial process works with regard to this vaccine. Let me preface by saying that there is no question that this has all been expedited. There's been a fire lit underneath the FDA to really hopefully try to fastrack something. It's obviously in response what hays happening in West Africa now.

What they're going to do is they've zeroed in on this one vaccine, something that's made in conjunction with GlaxoSmithKline and the NIH. And three healthy volunteers are going to get this dose and then seven more healthy volunteers are going to get a slightly increased dose and THEN ten more people after that. So 20 people in total. And the goal is to try to figure out, is this safe, and what is the safest dose to give?

That's the first part of the trial. And then they want to expand the trial even more to figure out, how effective is this? And that would involve more people in more countries to try to answer that question. The reality is that it will be several months before we get any of that data back, before we know if this thing actually works. While there is a lot of hope and a lot of promise around this, there are so many times, Fred, when things work well on animals, but don't translate as well to humans. And given how many months it will take, it probably won't be in time for this particular outbreak.

I also want to say, Fred, having been on the ground in these places in the midst of that Ebola outbreak in Guinea, getting a medication or a vaccine is one part of the solution here. But then trying to figure out who should get the vaccine, how do you get to the vaccine to the people who you determine need it? These are all big challenges as well. It's very hard to get something from point "a" to point "b." Someone once told me that if the cure for AIDS came in the form of a clean glass of water, it would still be difficult to rid the world of AIDS, because you can't get these medicines to the people who need them the most.

So these are some of the challenges, Fred that they are going to be facing. But we'll keep an eye on this trial. This would be a first in the United States and everywhere around the world.

WHITFIELD: All right. Keep us posted, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

A 27-year-old man's sudden death shocked his parents and what they learned later about the painkillers he used made it even worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was more disappointed in him, making these bad decisions. But it wasn't him. It was the drugs. It was the medication that changed him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They say the number of pills their son was prescribed is unbelievable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This week, CNN NEWSROOM is taking an in depth look at the growing problem of painkiller addiction. CNN's Stephanie Elam examines just how much some physicians and pharmacies contribute to this troubling epidemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT MONTGOMERY, ADAM'S FATHER: Worst day of my life. It still is.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was the morning after thanksgiving in 2011, when two sheriffs showed up at the home of Robert and Heidi Montgomery.

R. MONTGOMERY: I knew the fight was over.

ELAM: Their 27-year-old son, Adam, had died of an overdose. Described as full of energy by his parents, Adam first sought pain relief in 2008 after he injured his lower back on a construction job.

R. MONTGOMERY: I just think my kid would be alive today if it wasn't for the doctor and those pharmacies.

ELAM: But Adam wasn't giving illicit drugs off the street. He was getting prescriptions for powerful painkillers from a doctor, known as the candy man, for his habit of freely prescribing medicines. His real name, Julio Diaz.

HEIDI MONTGOMERY, ADAM'S MOTHER: This was through a reputable doctor, these were supposed to be reputable drugs.

ELAM: The Montgomerys weren't the only ones focusing in on Diaz. In fact, several of the medical professionals at nearby cottage hospital filed complaints with the medical board of California and the DEA. Dr. Chris Lambert was the chief of emergency medicine at the hospital at the time.

DOCTOR CHRIS LAMBERT, CHIEF EMERGENCY MEDICINE: We did see a majority of his patients.

ELAM: Lambert found that patients of Dr. Diaz visited the hospital's emergency room 410 times between January of 2009 and December 2010.

LAMBERT: By far, Dr. Diaz's prescribing stood out much above any of the other physicians in the community.

ELAM: In Adam's bedroom and car, investigators found bottles, some empty, of oxycodone, hydromorephone (ph), methadone (ph), and (INAUDIBLE), all prescribed to Adam by Dr. Julio Diaz. Did you see a difference as the months were ticking by?

R. MONTGOMERY: I noticed the color change in his face, his attitude, his love towards his family. That all went away.

ELAM: In an affidavit, the DEA alleges in the six weeks before Adam Montgomery's death, Diaz prescribed to him a total of 2,087 pills.

Now vacant, this used to be the office of Dr. Julio Diaz, where he was overprescribing medicine. A practice the DEA alleges led to the death of at least 12 people.

And when did you put it together that Dr. Diaz was part of the problem with Adam's addiction?

R. MONTGOMERY: I was seeing paperwork with hundreds of oxycontin pills. I think at one point, there was a package for 900 and then 600, and it was just unbelievable. And that's why I called Dr. Diaz, because I wanted to know why he was giving him so many. And I never did get to talk to him.

ELAM: The DEA also claims Diaz wrote scripts to 866 different patients, who used 372 different pharmacies, 12 of those patients were under the age of 21.

ROBERT HILL, DEA OFFICE OF DIVERSION (ph) CONTROL: Right now, we have more people that are dying from precipitation opioids than cocaine and heroin combined.

ELAM: Sadly, Adam's story is all too common in America.

HILL: There was over 41,000 unintentional drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2011. Out of that number, over 22,000 died from prescription drugs.

ELAM: Diaz's attorney did not respond to CNN's repeated calls for comment. In November 2013, Diaz pleaded guilty to 11 counts of federal drug dealing charges and is awaiting sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of 200 years in jail and $10 million in fines. That's little solace to the Montgomerys.

R. MONTGOMERY: If I had known then what I know now, I might have been able to save him. But, you know, I was more disappointed in him, in making these bad decisions. But it wasn't him, it was the drugs. It was the medication that changed him.

H. MONTGOMERY: Unless it happens to you, nobody knows. It's a horrible thing to happen, to lose your child.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, Santa Barbara, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Stephanie, thanks so much. You can find out more about the problems of addiction, just go to CNN.com/deadlyfix. And in just a few hours, CNN's Brianna Keilar will have an hour-long

special on addiction at 6:00 Eastern time tonight. She'll talk to a panel of experts, including veteran broadcaster and recovering addict Pat O'Brien.

All right. Moving on now to other stories this labor day weekend. College football is back in action today. And it's going to be a very different kind of season. We'll break down the new playoff system, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. So maybe you're not at a beach. Well, we're going to take you there, and then suddenly you will feel the ocean breeze. There's seaside heights, New Jersey. A lovely day and a lot of folks deciding to take advantage of that. And then let's head further south along the eastern seaboard, and there's a very picturesque Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

So, you say you didn't go to the beach this weekend. Well, now you have. This labor day weekend. Well, it also means another kind of adventure for the folks in Atlanta. You're looking right now at a moment from dragon-con. The fantasy and sci-fi convention draws thousands of fans from all over the country. They show off their best costumes in a big parade today, as we see right there. A page out of sci-fi thrillers and gory monsters and all that good stuff. But folks are smiling and having a good time, watching it all.

All right, the temperature where you live might still be in the 90s, but there's a definite fall feel in the air. And that's because it's the first weekend of college football. CNN's Brian McFayden is in Atlanta at a huge fan event called Tailgate Town. Brian, can you hear me now?

BRIAN MCFAYDEN, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. I'm hanging out here with some of the greatest fans in the history of fandom. Alabama Crimson Tide, the number two ranked team up against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

We've got a couple more top 25 matchups. You see on the red are national champion Florida State take on Oklahoma State tonight in Dallas. (INAUDIBLE) quarterback James Winton is back with most of their offensive line. That is going to be a good one to watch.

We are also keeping an eye on the 12th ranked Georgia bulldogs who take on the 16th ranked Clemson tigers. Bulldogs are trying to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss in the last year season's opener. Georgia's Heisman trophy candidate (INAUDIBLE) could be a big difference maker.

And the big 10 meets the SCC as badgers of Wisconsin battle it out with the LSU tigers. This game will be a test for two new cornerbacks (INAUDIBLE). Fredricka, I don't even know if I have a voice after today. These guys are keeping it loud.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait. One, two, three, roll tide. CROWD: Roll tide!

MCFAYDEN: One, two, three, go, mountaineers!

Go, mountaineers! Back to you, Fred. I lost it.

WHITFIELD: I know. You've lost your hearing and now your voice out there. Sorry about that. Thanks so much, Brian Mcfayden.

All right, there's also something else that's new this season. A new way to determine which college football team becomes the national champion. CNN sport's Andy Scholes explains that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gone with the old and in with the new this year in college football. Gone is the old controversial BCS system. In its place is a new 14 playoff that the fans have been wanting for decades.

The four playoff teams will be selected by this new 13-member committee. And it consists of athletic directors from five different schools, a hall of famer in Archie Manning, a former secretary of state in Condoleezza Rice, and six other uniquely qualified college football experts. Now, their decisions will be based on strength of schedule, head-to-head results, common opponents, and a few other factors.

BARRY ALVAREZ, SELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBER: We're taking a little from basketball, where the human element will be involved and taking a look at everything and making a wise decision. Making a decision that we think is best.

SCHOLES: The coaches poll and computers will no longer have any bearing on who plays for the national championship. And the poll that really matters will come from the new committee and it won't come out until mid-season. Their final poll on December 7th will determine who makes the playoffs.

JIMBO FISCHER, FLORIDA STATE HEAD COACH: Everybody will have the same chance, everybody will have the same problems in being unchartered waters themselves, but you know that's the goal. If you want to be a champion, you have to get in it. So I think the excitement will override all those things.

SCHOLES: This season, the sugar and rose bowls will be the host for the New Year's Day while AT&T stadium in north Texas will be the site of the championship game.

BILL HANCOCK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF: I think the demand from cities to host this event will be out of sight. It will be like super bowl competition.

SCHOLES: Will the new play-off format completely end the controversy that surrounded the BCS? Probably not. Teams that finish five, six, and seven in the rankings will all have their complaints. But their beef won't be as legitimate as in the past because who plays for the championship will finally be decided on the field and not by computers.

For CNN Sports, I'm Andy Scholes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Exciting stuff.

Hey, one man's life could be made into a movie. But you may not have heard his name with your other baseball heroes that's because William Greason is one of the last surviving players of the Negro baseball league. His incredible story right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CICI BELLIS, 15-YEAR-OLD: I'm feeling amazing. (INAUDIBLE), I'm still in shock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: That was Cici Bellis on Tuesday after becoming the youngest player 18 years, her win first round match at U.S. Open. And with that the 15-year-old from San Francisco with the bubbly personality became the talk of the tournament.

BELLIS: I love when people watch me and support me like that so it really, you know, helped me a lot. This has been unbelievable and mind blowing and crazy. It's been the best couple days of my life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: On Thursday she played before a packed house and although she lost the match didn't prevent her from thinking she could be the future of ums women's tennis.

BELLIS: I mean, that's what I wanted to do it since I was a little kid. So I think that's definitely want to, you know, work really hard and try to become the best. This is what I want to do, so if it's what I'm supposed to do that will be, you know, even better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At 90 years old many people would have enough stories to fill a book but no one's book would be quite like reverend William Greason's, his would include stories from world war II, the civil rights movement and being in a player in the negro baseball league.

And he just added another honor to his growing list. Reverend Greason in the white jacket there received a living legend award last weekend from the Negro League Baseball Association and as Nick Valencia reports he truly lives up to that title.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL GREASON, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: Those were the good old days.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 90-year-old Bill Greason has had a lot of memorable days, historic ones, too. What are these medals here?

GREASON: You have Iwo Jima right here and you have good conduct, you have Korea, you have World War II. And now that was the president unit citation that was given to us.

VALENCIA: Greason is a Marine Corps combat veteran blessed he says if only because there was a time when he didn't expect to live past 25.

GREASON: When I was on Iwo Jima and I prayed and asked God if he saved me and whatever, whatever he wanted me to do I would do it.

VALENCIA: His prayers were answered. Greason eventually got off the island, but it's where he ended up that was unexpected. He's only one of the only Negro League Baseball Players still alive.

GREASON: I never dreamed that I would have been a baseball player. Nobody taught me how to play. It was a gift.

VALENCIA: A gift he shared with friend and teammate, Willie Mays. Together in 1948 the two won the Negro League World Series with the Birmingham Black Barons. He was a pitcher with a sharp curve.

GREASON: I had a good downer. I threw overhand, you know? It would fall off the table, yes.

VALENCIA: He even had a stint as a major leaguer with the St. Louis Cardinals as the team's first black pitcher. Later he moved from the mound to the pulpit. Do you have a favorite spot in this church?

GREASON: No. Right there. Right behind that desk right there, that's my favorite.

VALENCIA: That's your spot?

GREASON: That's my spot.

VALENCIA: The church Greason says is his true calling.

GREASON: It's a joy to stand here to be able to speak to people, you know, and you're looking around the choir behind you, everything's going pretty good.

VALENCIA: But this has always been easy. It was everything else, he says, that hurt.

GREASON: This is the area where the bombing took place.

VALENCIA: In 1963 Greason was a member here the day that the 16th Street Baptist church was bombed. Four little girls were killed that day, dozens were injured.

GREASON: Anger. Anger the main thing. See, we were angry. First of all because they were using fire hoses on people. And then they brought dogs in, you know, like you animals or something. That anger anybody. VALENCIA: The violent attack sparked arrest and the incident stands

today as a flash point in the civil rights movement. Greason remembers.

GREASON: This is the fire hose they used on people here in Birmingham. The dogs that they used.

VALENCIA: You were around for all of that.

GREASON: Oh, yes. Still here. Didn't blow me out.

VALENCIA: These days as a minister it's the divine spirit that keeps him going. Reverend, baseball revolutionary and war hero. Pretty interesting life by any standards.

GREASON: A few more words from the Lord. That's all I want. Just to stand a few more times and say something --

VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Birmingham, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow. What an extraordinary life. Reverend Greason, what and inspiration. Thanks so much.

And thank you for watching. I'm Fredricka Whitefield. Brianna Keilar has more in the CNN NEWSROOM from New York starting right now.