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Obama to Address Nation Wednesday on ISIS; Bruce Levenson to Sell Stakes in Atlanta Hawks; Joan Rivers' Funeral Service Today; Deadly Fighting Threatens Ukraine Ceasefire; Serena Williams Battling for Title; Japan Raves for Tennis

Aired September 07, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 God, Jimmy, I love your hair. You have to tell me where you bought it. That's for you, Joan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIENNE: 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?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Joan Rivers died Thursday, she was 81.

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

Hello again, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

These stories are topping our news this hour. President Obama announces he'll address the nation on the ISIS threat. And lay out his game plan to destroy the terror network. He revealed several key aspects of his strategy today. We'll have details this hour.

And U.S. military is already taking action, striking ISIS targets in Iraq. The goal to keep the militants away from a critical dam. The latest on that effort, straight ahead.

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

All right. Now to that major announcement from President Obama. He's preparing to deliver a speech on Wednesday where he'll outline his plan to defeat ISIS. Ahead of that, he's also expected to speak to Congress on Tuesday. The president said he wants a buy-in from Congress on the plan. Earlier today on "Meet the Press," the president gave some idea of what we might hear from him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not looking at sending in 100,000 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 be helping 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, over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of ISIL, we are going to systemically 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: So how might this play out for the president this week? Erin McPike joining me now from the White House. You know, the president did face a lot of criticism when he said, there was no strategy yet in dealing with ISIS and Syria. And now this announcement. What are the expectations?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, one thing that we do expect to hear over the next week or so, and perhaps in that speech, is will he seek congressional authorization for whatever the strategy becomes with respect to ISIS in Syria?

Now, many of these members may not want to take a vote before the midterm elections, but President Obama may need congressional authorization at least for funding, either way this will be very controversial over the next week. And listen to how he couched that in that interview.

(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 have the capacity to deal with. 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: Now, we also expect to hear a little bit more about the fine print of the strategy that he will undertake. And we have heard that he wants to put no boots on the ground, no U.S. troops inside Syria, but will it require air strikes? Also, it's trickier to undertake a mission in Syria than Iraq now.

We have heard from the White House that there have been 143 air strikes in Iraq but they have been successful. But a little bit different in Syria, and how will he couch that? We expect to hear that in a speech this week, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Erin McPike, look forward to that. Thanks so much.

As President Obama said, the U.S. will continue to use air strikes against ISIS. And today it is doing just that. 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, U.S. 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 would risk our interests as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Jomana Karadsheh has more now from Baghdad.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, backed by U.S. air cover and air strikes, Iraqi ground forces launched an offensive on Sunday morning to regain control of areas around the Haditha Dam. Officials say this is an ongoing operation but they have made some advances, they say, clearing some ISIS positions in the region.

Now, Haditha Dam is in Anbar province, considered to be the Sunni heart land, bordering Syria. That is where we saw ISIS make its first advances earlier in the year in January. It took control of large parts of Anbar province, including key cities like Fallujah. But the city of Haditha and the Haditha Dam have remained under the control of the Iraqi security forces and the Sunni tribes in the area.

But officials tell us, over recent weeks and months, there have been continuous attempts by ISIS to try and capture the key dam. Trying to do that, they have been targeting the dam, according to officials, using an area called Barwana District (ph). This is about 10 kilometers or six miles west of Haditha. And officials have been really concerned about these attacks which have included more terror attacks, saying that they were worried it could damage the dam and cause flooding in Anbar province and other part of the country and that's why they requested the air support from the U.S. military to try and regain control of that area.

It is - this is really an expansion of the U.S. military operations here as we saw, they've been really focused in the northern part of the country and they have now moved to the western part of Iraq. Yet again, really shifting that balance on the ground in favor of Iraqi ground troops. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Jomana, thank you so much.

Back in this country, another NBA owner making controversial comments and now losing his team. What the owner of the Atlanta Hawks said, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Another NBA owner will lose his franchise because of comments involving race. Atlanta Hawks' owner Bruce Levenson announced he is voluntarily selling his controlling stake in the team. Levenson's self-reported an e-mail he sent to co-owners back in 2012. He said he was grappling with low attendance at Hawks' games and he needed to attract more season ticket holders and corporate sponsors.

Well we have that e-mail. Here's part of what he said. Saying, "I start looking around our arena during games and noticed 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 that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply 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."

Levenson said, he sent an unintentional and hurtful message that the Hawks' white fans are more valuable than black fans. During the Donald Sterling scandal in May, Levenson actually told our Wolf Blitzer that he cannot be partners with someone who shares views like Sterling. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE LEVENSON, ATLANTA HAWKS CONTROLLING OWNER: Donald Sterling, what he said, I'm his partner, I can't be partners with somebody who shares those views. I was voted into this league by my partners. I can be voted out of this league by my partners. I think I speak for all of my partners when I say, we were all deeply offended, we all quickly spoke out against these words that we heard on that tape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Rachel Nichols, host of "Unguarded" has more.

RACHEL NICHOLS, HOST "UNGUARDED": Well, Fred, there's a lot of shock, first of all. I mean, Bruce Levenson has never publicly been accused of any racist behavior the way Donald Sterling repeatedly has been throughout his tenure. And when the Donald Sterling tape did emerge, you heard him there on Wolf's show, he was one of most vocal owners in advocating his zero tolerance policy and really just the need to get Sterling out of the league.

So the idea that he would be the one is a big surprise, regardless, there is no question that zero tolerance policy is where the NBA is right now in this post-Donald Sterling world and this e-mail and the way of thinking it represents are just completely unacceptable. We don't know at this point the events that led up to Levenson's self- reporting the e-mail, but I am told that after he did that, once the NBA launched an independent investigation, Levenson decided he didn't want to put himself or his family through the public scandal that he feared was eventually coming.

That's why he called Adam Silver last night, before that investigation had even wrapped and said, he just thought it would be better for everyone if he sold the team. And there's a lot of relief around the league right now that he decided to go that route. You remember with the Clippers, the team's players have threatened to boycott their own games if Donald Sterling remained the owner. No one knows whether the Atlanta Hawks' players would consider boycotting, whether the league would have lost sponsors or fans now over this, but now we're never going to find out.

In fact, Fred, it's the opposite. The NBA is telling its fans now, once again, any kind of racism is just completely unacceptable and the league will hold its owners to the highest standard of anyone.

WHITFIELD: Rachel Nichols, thank you so much. Joining me now on the phone, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. So Stephen, how did this news strike you?

STEPHEN A. SMITH, ESPN (OVER THE PHONE): Fredricka, I think what you first look at it, this is Steve Smith from the Hawks, it's unacceptable, reading the e-mail and hearing these comments and obviously being a former Hawk fan living here in the community, to me the word that sums it up, you know, capital underline on the word is just unacceptable.

WHITFIELD: So, is this a sign of the post-Sterling era that you would have an owner, of this caliber, who would say you know what, let me review and reflect and let me go ahead and remove myself because my behavior is unacceptable?

SMITH: Well, I think you know, Bruce - I can't speak for him, but I thought it was the right thing to do. Obviously what we just experienced with Donald Sterling, the ramifications of this and it was the right thing to do because it's all in writing, he owned up to it. I know there's been reports out there that he'd do this to sell the team, and maybe try to get a higher bid, obviously I don't know that.

But I would say no because this e-mail was, you know, posted in 2012. It's just unacceptable when you have a community like Atlanta and as an owner, when you sign your name on the dotted line, what your main job is your only job to put a product out there, a winning product and that people will come out there and show support. WHITFIELD: So this example of kind of a self-reflection, you know, do you think that there is more to come, that especially given this post- Sterling era may have encouraged, you know, some owners or some people who are involved in the NBA to rethink their philosophy or what they've been saying or review kind of their past behavior?

SMITH: Well, I think this - this is way bigger than just the NBA. But I commend Adam Silver, his approach to the zero tolerance, to this issue. But I think this is more - this is, you know, this is our nation of problem - a problem for our nation. I think if you start to look at what transpired with Donald Sterling, what transpired now here with Bruce Levenson, this is something that has to be taken very serious and I think also has to understand, you know, when you play a sport it has to come down of winning and losing games.

But obviously you can see right now it's more than that. And Bruce Levenson is stepping down, you have to get owner or owners that come in with the mind-set of you're all one, you have to understand, you know, it's about winning games and putting out a great product.

WHITFIELD: And how do you suppose this, Steve, strikes the players? Of the Hawks?

SMITH: Well, I would think it strikes not just the players of the Hawks, all NBA players, you know, all races and citizens. You know it's unacceptable when you have, obviously if you read through the e- mail of going all the way through it basically, you know, having a perception of, you know, of race of people that has, you know, someone's opinion definitely not true. I think it strikes more than current players. It strikes former players, the community, it strikes everybody.

WHITFIELD: Steve Smith, NBA TV. Thanks so much for your thoughts, views, really appreciate it.

SMITH: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. The star-studded good-bye to Joan Rivers today. Her funeral was just the way she wanted it, Hollywood all the way. We share some memories of Rivers from her longtime friend, Carol Burnett, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A funeral for legendary comic Joan Rivers was held today in New York. It was a private service attended by dozens of celebrities. Our Alexandra Field has all the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): A star-studded ceremony to remember, Joan Rivers, a comedy legend, her friends say 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. They saluted Joan Rivers by playing "New York, New York," and "Give my Regards to Broadway."

Rivers was a native New Yorker. She plenty of friends from Hollywood, though, filling this New York City temple. Everyone from Howard Stern, who was cracking jokes inside during the ceremony to dear old friends like Deborah Norville who spoke about her friend Rivers inside. Also speaking columnist Cindy Adams, a longtime 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've 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, she's loving every minute of it.

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

In New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Alexandra.

And as we just saw, the comedian had many close friends in Hollywood including fellow comic and actress, Carol Burnett. I got a chance to talk to Burnett today about their friendship and Rivers' remarkable sense of humor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL BURNETT, ACTRESS: She was on my show back in the day three times but killed every time. I mean, the audience just loved her and we loved having her on. But we did also on my show when we would have a standup comedian or a singer or a dancer, we would incorporate them into some of our sketches so it wasn't just like, OK, they're going to go do their thing.

We put them to work and Joan was terrific in the sketches and very funny because she was a good actress. You could say she was a poster child for the energizer bunny.

WHITFIELD: She keeps going and going.

BURNETT: She never stopped. Because she loved what she was doing. And that's the key. You know. We weren't setting out to set examples or anything like that. Luckily, you know, we - we got work.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. I know you don't want to consider yourself a trail blazer, but you know you are, you know, as is Joan Rivers. Even with this variety show, you know, you being the first woman to have this variety show, so then when you fast forward, you hear that Joan Rivers is going to have her own late night, you know, show, she would be the first woman to do it.

At the time, what were your thoughts? What did you think she was feeling about that opportunity? We know it caused a rift between she and her mentor, Johnny Carson but what were your thoughts and feelings watching that.

BURNETT: Well, my feelings were, you know, I'm not privy to what went on between Joan and Johnny, only what I've heard, you know, heard what Joan said and so forth. So I'm not involved with that. But when she got that job, I thought, well, terrific because she was so great on Carson's show when she guest hosted. And so why not? That would have been the next obvious step for her.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BURNETT: I - I thought it was terrific. I thought it was great that she was going to have that opportunity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The legendary Carol Burnett talking about the legendary Joan Rivers.

All right. Coming up, examining President Obama's latest moves. He's getting tougher on ISIS terrorists and delaying action on immigration reform. Strategic moves or a political gamble?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama will address the nation Wednesday to explain the game plan on fighting the terrorist group ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it and TO have confidence THAT we'll be able to deal with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in CNN's chief political correspondent and anchor of "State of the Union," Candy Crowley. So Candy, the president's speech will come one day after he is scheduled to meet with congressional leaders and then a day of before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. How much is this president likely to detail?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't think we're going to hear, hey, we're going to -- you know, U.S. jets will bomb here while Iraqi troops do this and over here in Syria we're going to use these guys and they're going to be our people on the ground. It's -- but it's not about the detail. This is about the overall feel of this story.

This is the president saying, in effect, I got this, I think it started today in his appearance on NBC. I think it then moves on to his meeting with Congress. And then to his speech to the American people. Why? Because he has been behind this story the whole time.

We're watching his numbers tumble, when you ask people, is the president being too weak or too strong, most of them say too weak. He's being beaten about the head by both Republicans and Democrats on the threat. He needs to take a hold of this story and say, I do have a plan, you know, forget that whole, you know, maybe we can make this workable or forget the whole strategy thing. I -- and he wants to take a hold of it.

I can tell you, from the folks that I talked to today, the president, by saying that what we need to do is destroy ISIS has gone a long, long way to ease some of these concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CHAIRMAN, SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Begin to use special operations, more ISR, crackdown on where they're getting their money, and taking aggressive action against this terrorist group. It is overdue, but the president is now there and I think it's the right thing for America and hopefully our partners will be aggressive with us.

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: This is the toughest talk that we've heard from the president. And I agree with Senator Feinstein. That's a good thing because they are a threat. The senator and I see all this intelligence and that's been very, very concerning for us. And so this is important that he lays out the case to the United States why it is a threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And another big issue, the reaction from the president's stalling executive action on immigration reform. What's behind this delay until after November?

CROWLEY: Well, that date November with the midterms. The White House says, oh, gee, if we came out now and said that these following classes of people will not be subject to deportation, folks without papers, and we can't do that now, it would be too political, and, yes, it would. But the question here is, why not do what the president originally said he would do, which was by the end of the summer, I'm going to take some executive action? Why not?

Honestly he had Democrats who are in tough races in the south who said, please do not do this now. You know, these races are like this. And let's remember that what's at stake for this president -- no, he's not on the ballot, but if he gets a Republican Senate, he's got a Republican Senate and a Republican House for the last two year of his administration. So he doesn't want that.

So the fact is that the upcoming midterms, it just didn't seem like a good time. The president wanted to not harm Democratic candidates and he didn't want to arouse Tea Party Republicans to go to the polls. So it was about -- it was about the November midterm elections because he already said, I'll do it after the elections, so it's not about the issue.

WHITFIELD: All right. A lot to watch this week. Candy Crowley in Washington, thank you.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And here are some of the top stories we're following today.

The U.S. Coast Guard has called off its search for a private plane which crashed off Jamaica. Search crews found the debris field but did not find survivors. The aircraft plunged into the Caribbean on Friday, hours after air traffic controllers could not make contact with the pilot.

And doctors in Colorado suspect a rare respiratory virus is making hundreds of children sick. Many of them are now in intensive care. Health officials in at least nine other states from North Carolina to Oklahoma have also reported suspected outbreaks. Young people with asthma and children under the age of 3 are at the greatest risk.

And intense flooding in South Asia has 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.

Deadly fighting in southeastern Ukraine is threatening a fragile cease-fire between the government and pro-Russian rebels.

CNN's Diana Magnay has the latest from the port city of Mariupol.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It should have been quiet. It wasn't. Around midnight on Saturday, a massive artillery bombardment targets Mariupol's eastern outskirts shattering any notion of a truce.

As we drive east against the flow of traffic fleeing the shelling, we hear machine gunfire. At the side of the road, a (INAUDIBLE) is shot to pieces through the back and sides. The family inside, terribly injured. Too many somehow for this tiny car. Children in shock. This man also bandaged already but covered in fresh blood. The women inside, barely conscious. One of them died later. The first known civilian casualty of the cease-fire.

It's hard to make sense of it. Why a civilian car fleeing the shelling should have been sprayed with bullets on its way into town behind Ukrainian lines. Police say they're investigating.

The rebels have clearly targeted the Ukrainian checkpoint on the road east out of Mariupol. It's still there, but the surroundings are trashed, helpers gingerly lift damaged fuel pumps. The smell of propane gas, thick in the air. The shelling, closer to the city than it's come before. "I live one kilometer from here," this man says, "and I heard a lot of

shelling and bombing. First it was artillery, and then mortars because there was much less time between launch and when it landed, and then lots of shooting."

Ukrainian forces very much on edge, scared of a fresh onslaught which comes soon enough.

(On camera): The cease-fire clearly not even worth the paper it was written on. There were a lot of journalists at checkpoints like this now. We heard the boom of mortar fire, sounded like it was incoming, everyone ran, even the soldiers looked panicked.

(Voice-over): Shells and mortars are merciless. But if and when the artillery guns fall silent, there are armed groups of men on both sides who don't care much for the law. They may make peace an altogether more dangerous prospect.

Diana Magnay, CNN, Mariupol, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And back in this country, we'll go live to the U.S. Open in a moment. That's where Serena Williams is battling for another title and there's a history making final on the men's side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At the U.S. Open Serene Williams is going for her third consecutive women's title. CNN Sports' Andy Scholes is at the Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.

You've got the best ticket in town, Andy. How do things look for Serena and her good friend, you know, Caroline Wozniacki, too?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Fredricka, this should be a pretty good match. You know, Serena and Caroline Wozniacki, they might be enemies on the court here when they're about to get started, but in real life they're actually really good friends. When golf superstar Rory McIlroy broke off his engagement to Wozniacki, Serena was actually in the middle of planning her bachelorette party. Of course she had scrapped those plans but she really did help Wozniacki through what was a really tough time. Now is she going to take it easy on Wozniacki tonight in the match? Of course not.

WHITFIELD: No.

SCHOLES: Serena, she looks like she's on a mission right now in the U.S. Open. She hasn't lost a set thus far. She's looking to win her third straight as you said. It would be her 18th grand slam title with would tie her with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Some pretty exclusive company. And she's definitely hard to beat when she looks like she's on a mission like that. Wozniacki looking for her first grand slam title but it's going to be pretty tough for her. WHITFIELD: My goodness. And so give me an idea of what the crowd is,

you know, like this evening, I mean, this is highly anticipated. That was great at the finals. But, you know, when you have a Williams sister in the mix, too, people get particularly excited.

SCHOLES: Yes, definitely a lot of excitement. We saw thousands of people filing and right by us. Most of the people have already gotten in and got to their seats because of course they don't want to miss a second of this match. The fireworks just went off. They should be getting under way pretty shortly.

WHITFIELD: OK. And so let's talk about the men's coming up. It's going to be an unusual final. Not the one that people had been predicting with usually a Nadal in there, usually a -- you know, a Federer, but not this time.

SCHOLES: Yes, that's right. That -- you know, yesterday everyone was saying, it's going to be -- it's going to be Federer versus Djokovic, everyone kind of penciled that in. But the exact opposite ended up happening. Kei Nishikori, K. Nishikori, just shocked the world, beating Novak Djokovic, who is a top seed in the tournament. He's the first Asian-born player to ever make it to a grand slam final. Pretty incredible.

He's playing amazing tennis right now. He beat the fifth seeded, third seeded, and top seeded player in tournament thus far. And he's going to be taking on another surprise in Marin Cilic, who just destroyed Roger Federer yesterday, beat him in straight.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That was a brutal match.

SCHOLES: Not the final anyone saw coming. Yes. Not the final anyone saw coming. Cilic versus Nishikori. First time since 2005, Fredricka, that a guy not named Federer, Nadal or Djokovic is going to be playing in the grand slam final.

WHITFIELD: My gosh. Lots of excitement. That's cool.

Hey, well, I'm just living vicariously through you. Wish I were there but hey, this will work just fine.

SCHOLES: Yes. I've got to go.

WHITFIELD: You're taking me there.

SCHOLES: I'm going to get inside. All right?

WHITFIELD: Yes. I'm sure you do. OK. Good.

(LAUGHTER)

All right. Have fun, Andy. Appreciate it.

SCHOLES: See you. WHITFIELD: All right. So as we just heard, the Japanese player made

the men's final at the U.S. Open and the normally reserved Japanese fans have been going crazy.

Will Ripley has more on this emerging tennis star.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, it really is remarkable to see Japanese fans respond in this way to their 24-year-old homegrown tennis sensation. First of all, it's remarkable because Japanese people tend to be very refined, very relaxed, they never even talk on their phone on the subway, they always stand to the left side of the escalator to let people pass on the right. So when you see a room of people explode like this, with applause, with enthusiasm, you know that it's a huge deal.

It's especially a big deal considering the fact that tennis is not a major sport here in Japan. In fact, none of the major networks were broadcasting this match which ended around 4:00 a.m. local time. So people had to watch on live stream. So they watched, there was one pay network broadcasting this. They found a way. And there were lots of people around the country watching with enthusiasm. Even though it wasn't the type of sport that gets a lot of attention normally, such as soccer or such as baseball.

So that's significant in itself. Not to mention the fact that you have this young man, who moved away from Japan at age 14, but has continued to come back, continued to connect with his fans here, and now he's getting that back in dividends from them as well. Front page news on other local papers.

You can see, Fred, headline after headline, Kei Nishikori, all over the place here. And really, really just remarkable the kind of attention he's getting which is also going to translate, by the way, into some pretty lucrative sponsorships, one might imagine. He's already represented by the major clothing retailer Uniqlo, Tag watches as well. And you can bet after the match coming up this week, likely many more companies will seek to have him as a brand representative for them.

So you can bet a lot of people here in Japan will be watching, Tuesday morning, 6:00 a.m. local time, Kei Nishikori. They're hoping they can go all the way -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. That's a fun story. Thank you so much, Will Ripley. Appreciate that.

All right. Hurricane Norbert is now just a tropical storm but it could cause a lot of flooding in the southwest. Don't miss our forecast, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hurricane Norbert is no more. This morning Norbert was downgraded to a tropical storm. But Norbert could still cause trouble for the southwest. Meteorologist Jennifer Gray explains -- Jennifer.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Fred, even though Norbert is weakening, we are going to see a lot of moisture being pumped into the southwest because of this storm. In fact, could bring flooding rains to portions of the southwest. We're including Flagstaff in that, 2 to 4 inches possibly. This is through Monday. And even extreme portions of southern California, 3 to 5 inches and that includes Las Vegas, as well.

So we're going to see a possibility of flooding in the southwest, in fact, look what happened just yesterday across portions of Phoenix. A huge wall of dust also known as a haboob went through the area, reduced visibility to zero. Frightening across Phoenix. And then the rains came.

What causes a haboob? What is it? Well, we have downdrafts in these thunderstorms, these cold downdrafts basically just kick up all the dust. And as that storm moves closer and closer, it just brings all of that dust over the city. So that's what we saw yesterday. Frightening for folks in Phoenix. But today they need to be careful with all of that rain -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jennifer Gray. Appreciate that.

The third American missionary infected with the deadly Ebola viruses is improving. Dr. Rick Sacra is being treated at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. His wife says he is still very sick and weak but has improved slightly, enough to ask for a little chicken soup.

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

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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 from around the world. If we do that, then 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, it becomes more easily transmittable, and then it could be a serious danger to the United States.

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WHITFIELD: According to the World Health Organization, this latest Ebola outbreak has sickened more than 3600 people in five African countries since December. Of those, 1800 have died.

A story of lost and found and coming together. The son of a firefighter killed on 9/11 lost this bracelet honoring his father's memory nearly 10 years ago. How it was found and who found it makes this a story worth telling.

But first, millions of Americans don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. And this week's CNN HERO learned that many people have trouble finding healthy food and he took a small garden to the next level.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a working-class neighborhood. It's difficult for a lot of us to afford fresh produce. We just have corner stores basically, and they don't have a large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a working class neighborhood. It's difficult for a lot of us to afford fresh produce. We just have corner stores basically. And they don't have a large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

CHIP PAILLEX, CNN HERO: These are awesome, aren't they? I started the farm with my daughter. The first year we were able to get 120 pounds of produce. With all the extra produce we brought it down to the local food pantry. I realized that people are hungry for fresh food and vegetables. We grow, we clean and we give.

When we first started the program it was basically my family. Now we're around 4,000 volunteers.

Excellent.

It's not just feeding people. Our goal is really to educate the folks who receive the produce.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Are you guys ready for some corn?

PAILLEX: When kids come out for the first time from the inner city, they immediately are struck by the fact that food grows out of the ground.

There you go.

For them to be able to actually harvest it and then bring it home to their families, that's huge.

When is the first time you ate corn right off the stalk? Look at that, huh?

We also go to inner city areas and we set up a free farm market.

How are we doing? Thank you, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have diabetes and high blood pressure. Some things that I need for my diet a lot of times I can't afford.

PAILLEX: You like this corn? Yes, this is good stuff. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since I've been going to the farmers market, I

have lost some weight. My sugar is better controlled. And the food is delicious.

PAILLEX: I believe that everyone deserves to be able to eat healthy. There's no greater reward.

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WHITFIELD: All right. We are probably all in agreement on this, everyone wants to live healthy and happy lives, and where we live apparently, a big part of that.

CNN.com came up with a list of the 10 healthiest cities based on various factors, like health care, clean air, and access to parks, nutritious food and public transportation. So number one, based on how happy people are there, Copenhagen, Denmark, or my friends would say, Copenhagen, Denmark. Only 2 percent of people work 40 hours a week there. That gives everyone more time for their families, sports or free community programs.

The best city based on longevity is Okinawa, Japan. Life expectancy for women there is 86. For men, 78. The people there exercise a whole lot and they eat very lean diets. One doctor praises Okinawa's low stress, strong family bond and optimism.

And Monte Carlo in the tiny European country of Monaco has the lowest infant mortality rate in the world. Health officials there make sure that pregnant women get quality care before and after their babies are born.

The air quality in Vancouver, Canada, British Columbia, is a better than in most cities around the world. The city managers says Vancouver is the most walkable city. And Melbourne, Australia gets recognized for its excellent quality of life. One group calls it the most livable city in the world.

All right. Sounds like we need to start booking our flights.

All right. This Thursday marks the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and this year also marks the beginning of a very special bond between two Long Island families.

It began last month, when Marlene Quinn found this bracelet in the surf at a state park in New York. She was at the beach, seeking comfort, after the sudden death of her firefighter brother. The bracelet she found belongs to the family of another firefighter, Michael Otten, the only person in Quinn's town to die in the 9/11 attacks. Quinn returned the bracelet to Otten's widow.

All right. Thanks so much for joining me. The next hour of "CNN NEWSROOM" starts now.