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Joan Rivers' Funeral Service Held In Jewish Temple; Air Strikes Launched Near Haditha Dam In Iraq; Atlanta Hawks' Controlling Owner Announces Voluntary Sell Of The Team; U.S. Coast Guard Calls Off Recovery Efforts For Crashed Plane Off Jamaica; American Detained In North Korea Will Soon Learn Fate In North Korean Court; California Faces One Of Worst Droughts In History

Aired September 07, 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: Hello, again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. These stories are topping the news this hour.

The owner of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks says he's selling the team. The reason? An email he sent that he calls inappropriate and offensive. We'll tell you what it said coming up.

And President Barack Obama prepares to give a speech to the nation on the ISIS threat and what he plans to do about it. He gave a hint of his game plan today. We'll have details this hour.

And later, remembering a comic legend. A-list celebrities pack the funeral of the late Joan Rivers. Hear why friends and family say the service is exactly what the comedian would have wanted.

We begin with a huge shock for the NBA. Another one of its owners will lose his franchise because of comments involving race. Atlanta Hawks controlling owner Bruce Levenson announced he's voluntarily selling his team after grappling with low attendance at Hawks games. He says he sent an email in 2012 that sent unintentional and hurtful message that the Hawks white fans are more valuable than black fans. And we have that email.

Here's a transcription of part of what he said. Saying quote "I start looking around our arena during games and notice the following. It's 70 percent black, the cheerleaders are black, the music is hip-hop, at the bars it's 90 percent black. There are few fathers and sons at the games. My theory is the black crowd scared away the whites and there's not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base. Please don't get me wrong. There was nothing threatening going on in the arena back then. I never felt uncomfortable. But I think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority," end quote.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver commended Levenson for self-reporting this email to the league. Silver said in a statement quote "I commend Mr. Levenson for self-reporting to the league office for being fully cooperative with the league and its independent investigator and for putting the best interest of the Hawks, the Atlanta community and NBA first." CNN's sports Don Ridell joining me now to break all this down. so all

of this was volunteered from the emails, sending it to the NBA, asking the NBA to further investigate. But then, you know, he didn't wait for the final decision from the NBA. He said I go ahead and remove myself from the equation.

DON RIDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That seems to be what has played out. This email was sent in 2012 to two of his co-owners. There's actually a group of partners that own the Atlanta Hawks and he's one of seven. We believe he has controlling interest. We don't actually know what percentage his share is.

But this email was sent to two of his co-owners. Two other partners like him were also based outside of Atlanta working in Washington D.C. This summer in July in the wake of the Donald Sterling scandal, he then reports himself to it the NBA. They decide to set up an independent investigation into this issue. And as you say before they even concluded, he said, well, I'm selling my stake in the team.

WHITFIELD: And why do people believe that is the case?

RIDELL: Well, that seems to be what's happened. I mean, quite what his motive would be for --

WHITFIELD: Why would he want to sell?

RIDELL: Why would he want to report himself in this way? I mean, remember, he was one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Sterling in the wake of the scandal towards the end of the last NBA season. He even appeared on this network to say that he basically, you know, couldn't work with someone like Donald Sterling and he said, by the way, the other owners could vote me out if I was to behave in a similar way.

So it's very, very interesting that it played out in this way. I think the league is probably relieved that it's not been dragged through the mud because it was an awful summer for the NBA and its reputation and Donald Sterling did not go quietly. This one seems to be playing out very differently.

WHITFIELD: Is there a way of knowing how long this kind of transaction would take? You know, he voluntarily says I'm giving up my stake. How quickly would it go on sale? Do we know kind of time line?

RIDELL: I would imagine if he wants to put it up for sale that process would begin immediately. I mean, with the Lakers it dragged out over a couple of months but for a business deal involving $2 billion, that probably wasn't that long a period of time. But that might have been done quicker had Sterling not fought the NBA on the issue. Of course, it remains to be seen what the hawks are actually worth and what his stakes are worth.

"Forbes" magazine estimates that the Hawks are one of the least valuable franchises in the NBA. But they are still worth around $425 million. It depends on what his stake is. But to give you an idea, they estimated that the clippers were worth less than 600 million and they ended up going for $2 billion.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, pretty remarkable.

Don Ridell, thanks so much. It's really is just kind of the tip of the iceberg because it does seem very -- it is very strange. There's still lots of questions and we don't have them all -- all of the answers just yet. Thanks so much. Don, appreciate it.

All right, now to our other big story. A major development in the fight against ISIS. President Barack Obama says he's prepared to outline his plans for defeating the terror group. In a speech on Wednesday he'll explain what he is calling his game plan on ISIS. This morning on "Meet the Press," the president gave a preview of what to expect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not looking at sending in hundred thousand American troops. We are going to be as part of an international coalition carrying out air strikes in support of work on the ground by Iraqi troops, Kurdish troops. We are going to help to put together a plan for them so that they can start retaking territory that ISIL had taken over.

What I want people to understand though is that over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of ISIL. We are going to systematically degrade their capabilities. We're going to shrink the territory that they control and ultimately we're going to defeat them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Erin McPike joining me now from the White House. So Erin, tell us more about what should be expected this week. How much detail will the president likely reveal?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, look, there are a couple of big questions that still loom very large over this speech. And the first one is will President Obama seek congressional authorization on whatever it is that he plans to do?

And at this point he's said that he wants lawmakers involved. He wants their input. He wants their support but that could simply mean that he wants lawmakers to be basically ambassadors of his message and not necessarily put it to a vote and of course some members of Congress may not want to be On the Record for a vote on this. Just a couple months before the midterm elections. But I want you to listen here to that part of the interview where he talks about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: What I'm going to be asking the American people to understand is number one, this is a serious threat. Number two, we had the capacity to deal with it. Here's how we're going to deal with it. I am going to be asking Congress to make sure that they understand and support what our plan is. And it's going to require some resources I suspect above what we are currently doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And whether or not he puts it to a vote that will be a big controversial issue either way going forward throughout the week. Now, the thing he said at the top of that clip was he wants Americans to understand why this is a serious threat. But Fred, I would point out that we don't really know what the American public thinks about this because there's been virtually no polling. So he has to make his case and we don't know what the fine print of this strategy is going to look like. Will there be air strikes inside Syria? We already know there will be no boots on the ground but what will that strategy look like? We hope that this speech will answer those questions, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, we do indeed. Thank you so much. Erin McPike. Of course, that speech on Wednesday.

And now, the funeral for legendary comic Joan Rivers. Family and friends bid a final farewell to the 81-year-old comedian today in New York. Our Alexandra Field is at the Jewish temple where the private service was held.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A star studded ceremony to remember Joan Rivers, a comedy legend. Her friends say it was exactly the kind of service that she would have wanted and in many respects it was the kind of service that she had really planned. It was filled with famous faces. The New York city police department's bagpipes and drums came out saluting Joan Rivers by playing "New York, New York" and "give my regards to Broadway."

Rivers was a native New Yorker. She had plenty of friends from Hollywood though filling this New York City temple. Everyone from Howard Stern who was cracking jokes inside during the ceremony and dear friends like Deborah Norville who spoke about her friend Rivers inside.

Also speaking, columnist Cindy Adams, a long time friend of Joan Rivers. People who are inside by invitation only say that the ceremony was upbeat. That it was uplifting. That there were plenty of opportunities to laugh and that that is really the way to honor Joan Rivers.

DEBORAH NORVILLE, JOURNALIST: Joan went through life believing that people who laugh are happy. Her mission in life was to make people happy. I got to tell you, I don't know how many blocks it goes down here but she would be so thrilled to see how many blocks are filled with people who wish her well. She's up there and she is loving every minute of it.

FIELD: Another request of hers, according to her friends had always been that Hugh Jackman would perform at her funeral and that people who were in the temple tell us that did in fact perform "Smile," something that really put a smile on everyone's face during what would have been a sad occasion but a time to remember a great comedy legend.

In New York, Alexandria Field. CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And a lot of admiration and affection being expressed today for Joan Rivers in so many different way. We saw the comedian had many close friends in Hollywood including fellow comic and actress, Carol Burnett. I got the chance to talk to Carol Burnett about her friend Joan Rivers. And I asked her about the last time that she was in touch with Rivers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL BURNETT, ACTRESS/COMEDIAN (via phone): The last time I spoke with her -- and this will tell you that Joan off stage, she was the opposite of the persona that she presented. I had to put my little pet cat down. She was 15 years old and it was awful when you have to lose a pet. It's like losing part of your family.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That's your child.

BURNETT: She said I had to put one of my dogs down and what saved my life is I got another little critter to love. And that's what you need. You need another little critter to love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They shared a lot of laughs together. We'll have more on Rivers' amazing ground breaking career later on this hour.

All right, could the U.S. and Iran work together as allies? The battle against ISIS could actually make that happen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: ALL RIGHT, as we heard, President Barack Obama saying earlier today that the U.S. will continue to use air strikes against ISIS. The latest round was launched near the Haditha dam, Iraq's second largest. Defense secretary Chuck Hagel talked about why the dam is so critical.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: If that dam would fall into ISIL's hands or if that dam would be destroyed, the damage that that would cause would be very significant and it would put a significant additional and big risk into the mix in Iraq, which would also risk our interests as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This is not the first attempt by ISIS to take control of the dam but Iraqi forces have been in control the whole time.

The fight to put down the is insurgents created strange allies on the battlefield. The U.S. and Iran have been enemies over many issues but now they are coming together over a common enemy. Brian Todd explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the northern Iraqi town Amirli, residents were under siege from ISIS. They feared a massacre. But in recent days, the siege was broken. Iraq's president acknowledges a combination of U.S. air strikes and Iranian-backed Shiites militias on the ground drove ISIS away. Is there any cooperation or coordination between the U.S. and Iran against ISIS?

MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: We do not coordinate military action or share intelligence with Iran and had no plans to do so.

TODD: An Iranian official deny at BBC report saying Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei approved cooperation between his forces and the Americans against ISIS. Specifically the report says Khamenei sanctioned a general (INAUDIBLE), the shadowy head of the revolutionary guard to work with U.S. forces. Sulamani (ph) may look like George Clooney. But analysts say a better Hollywood comparison would be Don Corllion (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a mild mannered man but he has done a very effective job at organizing the most brutal thugs that Islamic republic has.

TODD: This photo posted on twitter by a group called digital resistance in described to be Sulimani (ph) on the ground in Amirli around the time of the siege. CNN cannot independently verify that. Sulimani (ph) would be among the strangest bedfellows America has ever had.

PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: As soon as you sit down with him, you're sitting down with someone who has the blood of Americans on his hands.

TODD: U.S. officials believe during the Iraq war, Sulamani's (ph) units provided Iraqi insurgents with a lethal weapon against American troops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His Kurds force which provided these very advanced explosive devices (INAUDIBLE), that penetrated the armor on American vehicles and as a result killed an awful lot of Americans.

TODD: Despite their mutual hatred of ISIS, other reasons why a U.S. Iranian alliance may not work?

MUDD: Let's remember we want Bashar al-Assad out. Iran is a long standing support of Assad. We want a more inclusive government in Baghdad. Iran would prefer a Shia government.

TODD: There's also the matter of the Suluimani (ph) dangerous reach beyond the Middle East. Sulimani (ph) was involved in a notorious plot on American soil. Overseeing Kurds officers who in 2011 tried and failed to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States right here at Washington's upscale cafe Malano (ph).

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.

Next week you probably have heard about the CNN fit nation led by our Dr. Sanjay Gupta. A big triathlon in Malibu. I'm going to be along the ride on this big challenge. Swimming, biking. I'll tell you more about this nautical Malibu triathlon coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta and six CNN viewers and the CNN Fit Nation including me are gearing up for the Nautica Malibu triathlon. With just a week before the big race, we want to take a quick minute to reintroduce you to our teammates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In January, these six CNN viewers were selected to join me on a journey to become triathletes. They all had one common goal, to make a change. And over the last eight months, I've seen them transform, swimming dozens of hours, biking hundreds of miles and running farther than they ever thought possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today we're going to do a 400-yard swim in the ocean.

GUPTA: With hard work comes rewards. They're healthier physically and mentally. Connie's breakthrough, it's not all about the scale.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If weight loss would have been my only goal this year, I may have quit within the first few weeks. This experience has given me so much more than weight loss. It's given me strength. Confidence, endurance, new friends, new sports, lots of spandex and a great tan.

GUPTA: Mike learned how to balance his new healthy lifestyle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The structure I have in my life now is amazing. I plan my meals a week ahead of time.

GUPTA: Karen now makes herself a priority.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have learned to listen and take care of my body with proper sleep and nutrition.

GUPTA: For Ron, he learned that age really is just a number.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Age does not define who I am or what I can do. It's simply a mile post along the journey of my life.

GUPTA: Jamille (ph) started this journey recovering from cancer. He beat that cancer and got his confidence back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm capable of the same things but those things may take me longer. The sooner I made peace with the new normal, the easier I was on myself which in turn help me grow in to my new body and achieved better results.

GUPTA: Last but certainly not least, (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's important to have your family and friends onboard. Their involvement is critical to your success.

GUPTA: She's right. Getting the support of those around you is an absolute must.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. And they are indeed all inspirations and so are you, Sanjay. That's why I took him up on the (INAUDIBLE) challenge to join the group, the CNN fit nation team. I'll be in Malibu next weekend alongside all of them hoping that my swimming, biking and running training allows me to at least keep up. My only expectation is that I finish. I can't promise you what kind of shape I'll be in when I cross that finish line. But Sanjay and team, I will see you at the beach. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are some of the top stories we're following.

Atlanta Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson has announced he's voluntarily selling his controlling interest in the NBA team. Levenson says his decision is based in part on what he calls inappropriate and offensive comments in an email he wrote back in 2012. Levenson said he made assumptions about fans and NBA should have no tolerance for racism. Levenson says he is embarrassed and have apologized to the team and its fans.

The U.S. coast guard has called off recovery efforts for a private plane which crashed off Jamaica. Search crews found a debris field but were unable to find any survivors. The aircraft plunged into the Caribbean on Friday hours after air traffic controllers could not make contact with the pilot. The plane was flying from New York to Florida.

Intense flooding in South Asia left more than 250 people dead and dozens more injured or missing. One of the hardest hit countries is India where at least 2,000 villages have been affected. Officials say homes are destroyed. Bridges and roads have been washed away and power and water systems are crippled.

An American detained in North Korea soon will learn his fate in a North Korean court. Matthew Miller says he is going on trial next Sunday. He's asking the U.S. government to help free him. He's accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry.

CNN Will Ripley asked him what he wanted to tell U.S. officials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MILLER, AMERICAN HELD IN NORTH KOREA: That my situation is very urgent. Very soon I'm going to trial and I would directly be sent to prison. I think this interview is my final chance to push the American government into helping me.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT So, if it's your final chance, what do you want to tell them that you haven't already said?

MILLER: That I need help and they need to quickly make movement because there's not much time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And this morning shelling hit areas near two key cities in eastern Ukraine intensifying fears that a ceasefire that took effect less than two days ago may be falling apart. Let's get more now from CNN's Reza Sayah who was in Ukraine's capital city of Kiev.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, when you have a fragile ceasefire, obviously, the first thing you want to see is peace and calm. But that hasn't been the case in parts of the conflict zone in southeast Ukraine. We've seen several instances of weapons being fired and shellings and that obviously raises a lot of questions about the durability of this ceasefire.

The first significant flare-up came last night about 10:30 p.m. right outside the critical port city of Mariupol. This is where over the past week there's been a tense standoff where on one side you have pro-Russian rebels, on the other side you've had Ukrainian forces in volunteers protecting this city. There was shelling at this location that destroyed a gas station and injured several people.

A CNN crew was at this very same scene this morning where they witnessed more mortar fire and more gun fire and several more people were injured and a 33-year-old woman was killed. The first fatality during this ceasefire. The CNN crew managed to escape. Troops and bystanders who were there managed to flee as well.

In other locations of the conflict zone, more instances of shelling and firing. It's not clear who is doing the shooting. Both sides are blaming one another, which makes it very difficult to figure out what's happening.

We should point out that on both sides of this conflict, there are radical elements who may not abide by the chain of command and may want to sabotage the ceasefire. It's not clear if that's what's happening. It certainly could be a possibility.

These are all troubling developments. We've also seen some positive developments. Neither side declared the ceasefire is dead. And on Sunday Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko who say they are going to get to more discussions to address core issues and core demands that have yet to be resolved --Fred.

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

All right, moving on now to California which is facing one of the worst droughts on record. More than 80 percent of the state in desperate need of water trying to save every drop possible. The before and after photos of lakes and Rivers really do tell the story.

Here's CNN's Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A healthy and full lake in northern California. There's only one problem. This picture is three years old.

And now I'm walking on top of that very same bridge. Take a look. It is a virtual desert. This is what drought looks like in the state of California.

Here's another before and after side by side. And just when the drought couldn't seem any worse, new research indicates that the depletion of ground water in the state may actually trigger earthquakes. More on that in a moment.

First, this is lake Orville, a boater's paradise at least when it's full. More importantly, it's a reservoir storing water ultimately piped into homes and for agriculture helping to grow much of the nation's fruits and vegetables.

JOHN PREEDO (ph), LAKE ORVILLE: We have 167 miles of shoreline.

Reporter: John Preedo (ph) took us on a boat to see that shoreline and it's even more astounding up close. The lake seems more like a narrow river. The drought has created a canyon. A hillside of rock that's normally covered by water. The water level is down by more than 200 feet. It's a common sight throughout the state. Most of California's major reservoirs are less than half full. What would we be seeing?

PREEDO (ph): We would see the water halfway up that hillside at this time of the year.

SIMON: More than 80 percent of the state is either in the extreme or exceptional category, the highest levels. It has meant things like no showers or running water for several communities, an increase in wildfires, brown and neglected public parks and farmers losing their crops.

JESSIE RODRIGUEZ, GRAPES FARMER: It's dead. Our product is dead.

SIMON: Jesse Rodriguez grows table grapes and estimate he'll lose 40 percent of his crop due to the drought.

RODRIGUEZ: The water is a main thing here. Without water we cannot survive. SIMON: With low reservoirs, farmers have to pump water out of the

ground. And if all that weren't bad enough, there's new information from researchers who believe that a depletion of groundwater at California central valley could destabilize the infamous San Andrea's fault and trigger earthquakes.

This study published in the journal "Nature," concluded of removing so much weight in the form of ground water causes the earth to spring upward and the change in pressure can cause those quakes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Earthquakes are these mysterious things that happen under our feet so having a way for people to cause these earthquakes to happen is unsettling.

SIMON: Experts say the quakes would be small and unlikely to cause any damage. Still, it's yet another example of why this drought is causing so much stress to both the land and the mental well-being of nearly an entire state.

Dan Simon, CNN, Orville, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And the third American missionary infected with deadly Ebola virus is improving. Dr. Rick Sacra is being treated at the Nebraska Medical center in Omaha. His wife says he's still very sick and weak but has improved slightly. Enough to ask for a little chicken soup. We wish him well.

President Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press" the U.S. must fight Ebola now or face long-term risks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We're going to have to get U.S. military assets just to set up, for example, isolation units and equipment there to provide security for public health workers surging around the world. If we do that, it's still going to be months before this problem is controllable in Africa but it shouldn't reach our shores. If we don't make that effort now and this spreads not just through Africa but other parts of the world, there's the prospect then that the virus mutates and it becomes more easily transmittable and then it could be a serious danger to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And according to the world health organization, this latest Ebola outbreak has sickened more than 3,600 people in five African countries since December. Of those, 1,800 have died.

And another virus is spreading fast across several states and it is hitting kids hard. What you can do to keep your kids from getting sick.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, now to Colorado, where parents in the Denver area are on high alert. Doctors there suspect a rare respiratory virus is making hundreds of children sick landing some in intensive care. Colorado is the latest state where doctors are seeing signs of what resembles virus d-68. Health officials in at least nine other states from North Carolina to Oklahoma have also reported suspected outbreaks.

Mark Stewart with our affiliate KMGH has the latest on the Denver cases.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple days ago I couldn't breathe at all.

MARK STEWART, KMGH REPORTER (voice-over): The oxygen mask is a necessity.

WILL CORNEJO, 13-YEARS-OLD INFECTED BY VIRUS: My head started hurting after my lungs started sort of closing up.

STEWART: 13-year-old Will Cornejo almost didn't make it.

JENNIFER CORNEJO, SON WITH THE VIRUS: White as a ghost. Blue lips. He just passed out. Had his eyes roll back in his head. I had to call 911.

STEWART: Now at Rocky Mountain hospital for children, will is likely dealing with intro virus 68 that makes breathing challenging and requires around the clock treatment to overcome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our pediatric floor is full of patients with pretty severe respiratory distress.

STEWART: Will was at risk because he already deals with asthma yet doctors say all kids under five are also prone to the virus that first appears as the common cold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To go from a cold to being probably minutes away from death is kind of scary.

STEWART: Despite the tubes, this eighth grader is on the mend.

W. CORNEJO: Yes, I mean, I feel better than I did before.

STEWART: His family sharing their story hoping parents will pay attention physical there's an all clear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was pretty scary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's very scary. And we have with CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to help us understand had virus and how to combat it and where is it? ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we

just heard what's going on in Colorado. And there are nine other states that have asked the centers for disease control for help in combating their clusters.

So let's take a look at this map. So in addition to Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. So sort of Midwest and southeast areas.

And I want to tell you about a hospital, children's hospital in Kansas city. These numbers are really stunning. In less than one month, they've had 475 children test positive for this virus. Most of them ended up in the hospital and 60 of them in intensive care. So 60 children in intensive care in one hospital in less than a month some of those children need to be on ventilators to breathe for them.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. So why is this happening? I mean, what is it about this season and why this virus kind of breeds or does well in this season?

COHEN: So isn't Enterovirus virus season. I know that sounds weird. We usually think of winter as the viral season. But for enterovirus, it's late summer and early fall and usually it's not a big deal. If you ever had a summer cold, that was probably Enterovirus. But there's something about this d-68 type that seems to possibly be more (INAUDIBLE), but they're not sure.

I was speaking with the head of the viral disease French (ph), to the CDC and it is like why now? Why this year has it sort of bloomed like this? They said we don't know. This type has been around for quite a while. We don't know why it's kind of just blossomed this year.

WHITFIELD: So, it's impacting mostly children. So what do parents need to know about how they protect their kids from getting this virus or what do you do? How do you read the symptoms properly?

COHEN: Well, first of all, you should be particularly vigilant if your child has asthma or history of asthma. That child we saw in that story has asthma, makes it particularly difficult. So here are signs you can look for. And it really does start out as looking like a common cold. But they can have a cough and difficulty breathing, sometimes they will have a fever, sometimes they will have wheezing. And if just looks like a cold, that's OK. But sort of stay on it and watch it if it is more difficult -- if the child is having more difficulty, really be vigilant.

And as far as avoiding it, it is all the same things that we say for flu and everything else, wash hands often. Avoid touching your eyes and nose and mouth with your hands if you haven't washed them. Avoid contact with people who are sick and disinfect surfaces. There is no magic bullet here. All of the same stuff you heard before.

WHITFIELD: Do all those common things you would do to try to protect yourself from anything. All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much. Appreciate it. All right, no matter who wins, history will be made at the men's final

at the U.S. open. It's also why these Japanese fans are so excited. That's excitement. We'll go l live to flushing meadows next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, there have been some major upsets at U.S. open and that has set up a historic men's final. CNN's sports Andy Scholes is at the open in flushing meadows, New York.

So Andy, as I mentioned, they'll be making history no matter who wins, right?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: That's right. It will be tomorrow night. Everyone yesterday are pretty much pencil name (ph). We are going to see Roger Federer versus Novak Djokovic in the men's final, number one versus number two.

The exact opposite ended up happening, Fredricka. Instead, Kei Nishikori pulled off a huge upset, knocking out at the top seed, Novak Djokovic from the tournament. He outlasted him in four sets. He gave the first Asian-born player ever to make it to a grand slam final. And you know, he's arguably playing best tennis of anyone right now. He knocked out the fifth seed in the tournament, third seed in the tournament and top seeded Djokovic.

And equally big surprise who is going to be playing, he is going to be Marin Cilic who destroyed Roger Federer yesterday in straight sets. Big surprise there because Federer had been 5-0 against Cilic coming into the match. So as you said, you'll see history tomorrow. Big surprise who is taking on each other in the men's final. Cilic versus Nishikori. First time since 2005, they are not going to have a guy name Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic in the final tour. It should be a pretty exciting match even though we are not going to have big names in the match.

WHITFIELD: Right, very exciting. Meantime, the women, I say always exciting for the finals. This time with Serena Williams playing against her good friend, Wozniak.

SCHOLES: Yes, that's right. Interesting dynamic in this match. It's going to take place here in a few minutes. You know, they'll be enemies tonight but in real life, they're actually really, really good friends. I mean, Rory McIlroy, of course superstar golf, when he broke off his engagement to Caroline Wozniacki, Serena was in the middle of planning Wozniacki's bachelorette party. That's how close the friends of these two have become over the years and the breakup between McIlroy and Wozniacki actually Serene and Wozniacki even closer. They hung out a lot after that, Wozniacki looked at Serena, you know, for support.

But even though they're really close, Serena's not holding anything back when they get on the court later on today. You know, she's on a mission, Fredricka. She hasn't lost a set so far this year at the U.S. open looking to make history. She can be the first person since Chris Evert in the '70s to win three straight U.S. open titles. If she wins today, also her 18th grand slam title tie with Evert and Martina Navratilova in all time led. So that would be pretty impressive. It should be tough for Wozniacki to get a first grand slam probably to get Serena, but it should be a great match. And again, they'll be friends, no matter what the outcome.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It's going to be an exciting match for sure later on today. We'll be watching. And you keep us up to date on the outcome.

Andy Scholes, thanks so much, from Flushing Meadows.

SCHOLES: All right.

WHITFIELD: Joan Rivers got a big send-off today in a funeral complete with a red carpet. Next ,we look back at her incredible career and how those who knew her will remember her.

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WHITFIELD: Joan Rivers' funeral was held today in New York. She's being remembered a trailblazer for women comedians in stand-up clubs and of course on television. Long before there was Ellen, Whoopee or Rosy, there was Joan. Her move to stardom came on late night TV. Here's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the quiet rain of '50s and '60s comics, almost all men, almost always polite, Joan Rivers was a thunder clap.

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: When we first started dating he'd run around, open the car, and then we got engaged and we'd each open our own door. And now that we're married, everyone, you know, makes me run around and open his door.

FOREMAN: In the early days she wasn't allowed to do stand-up with Johnny Carson but forced to sit alongside. Earlier appearances seemed tame but part of the flood of Richard Pryor, Woody Allen, George Carlin, of a new type of comedy that was more personal, more cutting, and she was a woman.

RIVERS: A girl, you're 30, you're not married, you're an old maid. A man, he's 90 years old here not married, he's a catch. It's a whole different --

FOREMAN: This is why in New York, Los Angeles, and everyone where in between the tributes continue to pour in.

AL PACINO, ACTOR: I knew her and I loved her and I don't know what to say. It's shocking. It just happened.

FOREMAN: On the late night circuit where Rivers rose to fame.

DAVID LETTERMAN, COMEDIAN: And talk about guts, she would come out here and sit in this chair and say some things that were unbelievable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LETTERMAN: Just where you have to swallow pretty hard and twice, but it was hilarious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She would come out and say what you were thinking, you wouldn't say it. You would stop but she wouldn't stop, she'd say. She came out and she came over to me and she started crying. Gave me a kiss. It was emotional. Really nice.

FOREMAN: No one's saying more than the women who know she paved the way for generations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know that if she was here, she would want us to be here and be funny and she probably want me to say like nice tie, who made it, Calvin Clown -- I like that shirt says it common men -- my Go, Jimmy, I love your hair. You have to tell me where you bought it. That's for you, Joan.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Online, endless notes. Christian Chenowith - you made us laugh and happy. Bette Middler - one of the bravest and funniest of all. Laverne Cox, you brought me a lifetime of laughter.

Rivers often acted as if her lifetime was no big deal, even in her final performance joking about death.

RIVERS: Like, I could go like that. Do you understand how lucky you would be? Do you understand you'd have something to talk about for the rest of your life?

FOREMAN: But she knew what she had done. As she wrote in 2012 for the "Hollywood Reporter," "Wat pleasure you feel when you've kept people happy? There's nothing like it in the world."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Joan Rivers died Thursday, she was 81.

And we have much more ahead straight in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.

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