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Colorado Hit by Flooding; U.S. and Russia Reach Deal on Syrian Chemical Weapons Disposal Timeline; Floyd Mayweather to Receive Biggest Payday in Sports History; President's Syrian Strategy Debated; Hundreds of Dogs Rescued for Dog Fighting Operation; Fashion Week Ends with Style Awards

Aired September 14, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never seen anything like this. This is just mind- boggling.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Whole roads washed away. A town evacuated. We're taking you live to Colorado where debris-filled floodwaters are being called liquid cement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't deserve whatever end she gave him.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: An eight-day marriage that prosecutors say ended in murder. So, why is the bride accused of pushing her groom off a cliff back home?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm wearing Emilio.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And the style awards air tonight on CNN. Nischelle Turner has a preview of the glitz, gowns, and gossip on New York's red carpet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: It's 10:00 in the east, as we know you're getting your Saturday morning in gear. We're glad to have you with us. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's certainly good to have you with us. Its 10:00, as you said, here on the east coast, 7:00 out west, you're in the CNN Newsroom.

This morning, we're starting in Colorado, a difficult time for people there. We've watched the waters rush through the communities. More rain could add to their misery. Thousands are already devastated by the massive flooding there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water stopped flowing out of our house, still flowing out of the creek some. You can see the slabs of concrete that floated on top of the old road.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Well, it's damaged more than just the roads. The raging water already blamed for at least four deaths, and more than 200 people unaccounted for.

PAUL: Now, we know that in two towns, they've been cut off by swollen waterways and debris, so the National Guard troops used helicopters and high-water trucks to evacuate a lot of the folks there. But many people had gone days already without power or running water. We do know thousands more have heeded calls to get out of their areas. But some are being told that they're not going to be able to return for a month.

BLACKWELL: So President Obama has declared an emergency for three counties around Boulder. This allows FEMA to launch what is now becoming the largest rescue deployment in Colorado history. Our Nick Valencia is there in Colorado outside of Boulder, in a town called Longmont. Nick, this has been a really difficult couple of days for the folks there in Longmont. Have things gotten worse, or is there any improvement in the conditions?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you judge it by their anxiety, it has not faded. We have heard some good news this morning, but this river that I'm standing next to, it doesn't show that really. This is a creek on a normal day you could walk across this, Victor and Christi. That's not the case right now because of the flood waters.

The good news though is that this water was a lot higher before. It had flooded out and washed out this road right to the side of me here. But Longmont was extremely hard hit. And we have some incredible video to show you that was posted just a little while ago of the Longmont fire department on a search and rescue mission yesterday through downtown. And it really gives you a sense of the scope of the damage and the force of the floodwaters as they made their way through this community.

More than 7,000 people -- I should say, at least 7,000 people evacuated from this area, 2,000 still without power. And so many other communities have been affected, including those mountainous -- mountainside hamlets extremely tough to get to for the first responders that had to use heavy equipment to barrel their way through there. Ongoing evacuations in Jamestown, 162 evacuated there overnight. Ongoing evacuations in Lyons where more than 2,000 people were without power and water for a couple of days there and they were just completely caught off from the rest of the world.

I just got off the phone with Larimer County -- excuse me, Larimer County, the sheriff's department there. And they said for them it was a quiet night. They do have a helicopter that they have access to. This morning, they say. They're going to go to try to get to the stranded and affected area. Although they say they've not identified any missing people or fatalities, they do expect that to change as they get into these areas that have been hard to reach over the last couple of days. Victor, Christi?

BLACKWELL: Yes, with the roads and bridges washed out, it's really tough for the authorities and resources to get to the people. Nick Valencia in Longmont for us, thank you.

In just about an hour, we're expecting Boulder sheriff Joe Pelley to update us on the conditions on the ground there. The news conference set for 11:00 eastern. Of course, we'll bring that to you live.

PAUL: You just heard Nick talk about the fact that, thankfully, the rain did kind of let up a little bit overnight. It allowed first responders to catch their breath at this point a bit. But there's another deluge expected today.

So let's get on the phone with Boulder Colorado's Sarah Huntley, a spokeswoman for Boulder's Office of Emergency Management. Sarah, thank you so much for being with us. First of all, let me ask you. What is your most urgent concern right now?

SARAH HUNTLEY, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, BOULDER, COLORADO: So we still have active rescue operations occurring in parts of Boulder County today. You mentioned previously both Lyons and Jamestown have people still in need of aid, and those areas are still cut off to road crews. So we'll be doing air evacuations to get those folks the help they need and get them to safer locations.

We also have about 180 schoolchildren who were on a camping excursion who are not able to be accessed at this point. They are all safe. We have contact with them. They have food and water and no injuries reported. But it's going to be a priority today to try to fix the road that we need to fix to get to them so that we can get them home to their families.

PAUL: How -- are they in any danger of flooding where they are today?

HUNTLEY: We are hopeful that we'll be able to get them out before late afternoon and early evening, which is when we expect the next wave of storms. We did get a nice respite overnight in terms of active rain, and that's helping us be able to get better assessment of what we need to do to try to prepare us for the next round.

PAUL: OK, so, Sarah, you said 180 kids that are trapped right now in an area --

HUNTLEY: I should clarify. It's about 150 kids and they have 38 adult counselors with them.

PAUL: All righty, OK, OK, adult counselors. So we'll be watching it, hopefully you'll get to them today. And last but not least, boy, how long do you think people will have to stay out of their homes at this point?

HUNTLEY: You know, it's really too early to tell in those areas that are hardest hit. Fortunately, in the city of Boulder, we do have some evacuation orders still in place right along the creek and where the mouth of Boulder creek is, but a lot of people are in their homes. We've got a lot of people who are bailing water out of their homes still, and that's likely to continue.

PAUL: All right, Sarah Huntley with Boulder Colorado emergency management, we so appreciate your update. Thank you.

HUNTLEY: OK, thank you, bye-bye.

PAUL: Sure. And to find out how you can help the victims of the Colorado floods, visit our impact world page at CNN.com/impact. We'll be watching for those kids, 150 of them.

BLACKWELL: Yes, hopefully, they're all right, they're safe.

Let's dip south to New Mexico, bus they're dealing with floods, as well. Flooding in three counties has forced the governor to declare a state of emergency. Evacuations have been ordered in Eddie, Sierra, San Miguel Counties. Hundreds have been evacuated both by air and ground, and the governor's order now provides desperately needed state funds to the local officials trying to rescue the people who want to get out.

PAUL: OK. The other -- the other big story we've been watching this morning, as I started to say, after three days of talks in Geneva, the U.S. and Russia agreed a few hours ago on a deal that if fully carried out would get rid of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal.

BLACKWELL: OK, so let's talk about the plan. It gives Syria just one week to turn over a complete inventory of its chemical weapons. What do you have, where is it? Expert would begin destroying the chemical weapons, a process that could take until mid-2014, at least. But if Syria fails to comply, the deal leaves up the possibility the U.N. Security Council could consider a use of force resolution. Would it be approved? Would it be passed by that committee? That is still undetermined.

CNN's chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto joins us from Geneva. Jim, you were in the room this morning when Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov made these comments. A lot of people were skeptical. They didn't think this could happen, and now it's on paper. What else is in this deal?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, the specifics are amazing, particularly considering where we were on Monday when a diplomatic solution wasn't even on the table. As you remember, we were talking about building support for military action. You mentioned some of the details, that they have to give a full accounting by next week. This is the Syrians. And then allow that access.

Here's how the timeline there follow. A complete inspection of the declared sites by November, the destruction of production and mixing and filling facilities by November, as well. And then, as you mentioned, the complete elimination of all chemical weapons in Syria, one of the largest chemical weapons stockpiles in the world, by the middle of next year.

So a very specific plan, and also one with a fairly ambitious deadline in light of the fact that there's a civil war going on in Syria right now. We asked Secretary Kerry about that today. How do you manage all this in light of the fact that this is not a peaceful place? And he said that these -- because the Syrians have been so good about protecting these weapons and keeping them in regime controlled areas, the administration is confident they are in places where inspector can get to and get to safely.

PAUL: Interesting. Jim, I know that Secretary Kerry is -- his next stop is Israel. Do we know what that's about?

SCIUTTO: Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, wanted to talk about his Middle East peace plans, but also to certainly update him on this deal. Syria right next door to Israel, Israel very interested in the resolution of this, as well. They could be under threat from Syria's chemical weapons.

Then, from there, we're going to go on to Paris, and that's where Secretary Kerry will beat both the French foreign minister and the British foreign minister to update them, and also build international support for something they haven't been a party to. This has been the U.S. and Russia in these rooms, in this hotel behind me, working very hard at this on their own. And now they've got to get the international community, their allies, on board, and confident that this will work.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jim Sciutto in Geneva for us this morning, thank you.

Let's keep moving with this story. Secretary of State John Kerry said this morning the world expects Syria to, quote, "live up to their public comments." But how does the world guarantee that Syria won't live up to its reputation, as critics have warned? This could all be a delay tactic.

PAUL: Let's bring in CNN analyst David Kay for that. He was a former chief weapons inspector in Iraq. So, David, the head of the Free Syrian army says Bashar al-Assad's government is moving some of the weapons out of the country. How do inspectors verify that all -- all of those chemical weapons have been found?

DAVID KAY, FORMER CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR IN IRAQ: Look, being realistic, you'll never guarantee that 100 percent have been found. Realize if you get 95 percent of them, that's a huge accomplishment. I think moving them is more difficult than the Free Syrian army is describing, but I do worry about movement. That's why you want the inspectors on the ground as quickly as possible. You want the Syrians to declare in great detail exactly what you have so you can compare what you find with what they said they have.

BLACKWELL: So there's a timeline that's been laid out, Jim Sciutto just went over it for us. And it calls for, quote, "complete elimination of all chemical weapons in the first half of 2014." We've got a few months until that deadline. Is that even realistic?

KAY: Look, that's really a Hail Mary based on destruction of chemical weapons in other places, and most of those have not involved civil wars going on at the same time. You can't reach that. Aggressive goals are fine, and I think it's good to hold to those, but I don't really expect that timeline to be met. And the actual language in the agreement is more an expression of expectation and hope rather than a firm deadline.

BLACKWELL: All right, David Kay, thanks for speaking with us, as we continue to unpack the terms of this deal that was announced this morning in Geneva. Coming up at the half hour, I'll continue discussing this agreement and the relationship between President Obama and President Putin when Amy Holmes and Maria Cardona join me.

PAUL: Moving on here, they were married for just eight days. Now the groom's dead, the bride is charged with his death. This morning she's at home, though, free on bond. That story is next.

BLACKWELL: Then, later, hundreds of dogs rescued from what's believed to have been the second largest dog-fighting ring in the country. We'll take you inside the secret warehouse to show you how these animals are being rehabilitated.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: The newlywed accused of murdering her husband by pushing him face first off a cliff, and she's waking up at home this morning.

PAUL: Jordan Graham is out on bond, but she's on house arrest. And prosecutors have quite a contention here.

BLACKWELL: Yes. They say she pushed her husband to his death in Glacier National Park in Montana just eight days after their wedding.

PAUL: You can imagine friends and family now want to know how young love turned into this. CNN's Paul Vercammen visited the very park where this couple spent their last moments together.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm walking right along the loop trail here in Glacier National Park. We're right on the continental divide, and many people wondering allow, how could such an immense tragedy take place in this cathedral to Mother Nature's wonder?

It was here along this trail that Jordan Graham said she was hiking with her new husband, Cody Johnson. They stopped, reportedly, near a stump and some rocks. At one point she said in the court affidavit that she pushed him in the back with both hands, but she backed away from that with her lawyer who said in court that this was all just a terrible accident.

And supporters of her will tell you that she was a church goer and a nanny and worked in a day care center, that this was a tremendous accident. But his friends and family, Cody Johnson's, saying how in the world could she not call the authorities when he fell around here? How could she not call paramedics or the park rangers? That is the mystery in all of this.

And one quote that is somewhat haunting, in an affidavit, she reportedly told a park ranger, "This is a place he would want to go before he died." Christi, Victor, back to you.

BLACKWELL: Paul Vercammen, thank you for that. Still to come, it's the spaceship that could -- 36 years, more than 11 billion mile, the voyager reaches a place that no manmade machine ever has.

PAUL: And the Alabama Crimson Tide hopes to do what no college has done, win three consecutive national championships. You know what? The face of Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M today, the only team to beat them last year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the 16th street church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, the one that left four little girls dead. Events are taking place all weekend to commemorate that somber anniversary, and TV icon Bill Cosby is taking part in it. He actually spoke to CNN's Don Lemon about the importance of remembering what took place back in 1963.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN: There are people who don't want to see these scenes talked about again. They weren't there. "I didn't do it." "Yes, I'm white, but please, do we have to" -- it's painful, but we have to really get to this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now, you can catch that full interview with Cosby later today here on CNN at 5:00 p.m. eastern.

BLACKWELL: It is finally here. I know you're excited.

PAUL: I'm so excited.

BLACKWELL: You're so excited, jumping out of her skin. The most anticipated, most hyped college football game of the year.

PAUL: Yes, last-minute ticket, people, to see Alabama and Texas A&M, they're going like Super Bowl prices.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Thousands of dollars here.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Joe Carter, "Bleacher Report," really?

JOE CARTER, CNN "BLEACHER REPORT": If you decided to wait to the last minute, which so many people do these situation, you'll pay so much money to see this game. End zone seats, end zone seats, two of them going for $5,000. Of course, that's to see college football's game of the year.

All eyes today will be on Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel. When the two teams played last season, you remember Johnny Manziel became "Johnny football" when the Aggies hit that 20-point lead and eventually handed Alabama its first loss in 2012 and its only loss that season. The Aggies, their big challenge today, though, is prove that last year's win was absolutely no fluke, and Alabama, on the other hand, trying to do what no team has ever done in the modern era, and that's win three national championships in a row.

Now, win or lose tonight, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going to make at least $41 million for his 12-round fight, and with big pay per view numbers, in the end he could make over $100 million. Both Alvarez, his opponent from Mexico, and Mayweather, both undefeated. And 12,000 people showed up yesterday to watch the weigh-in alone. Floor seats going this morning for $9,000, nosebleed seats going for $1,600, and those at home, they'll have to pay $75 to watch it in HD, which is more expensive than usual.

And turning this morning on bleacherreport.com, the swagger section, one of the craziest sports you'll ever see. This is extreme downhill skateboarding on a long board. And 50 of the world's fastest board racers go down Colorado's Pikes Peak here for you, 60 miles per hour, all down an 11,000-foot mountain. The sport is organized and it is international. Guys, they do this all over the world. Crazy, huh?

BLACKWELL: I'm still stuck on $41 million.

PAUL: I know, I know, maybe $100 million.

BLACKWELL: Maybe 100 million.

CARTER: Yes, 41 is the largest payday ever in the history of all sports. It's crazy.

BLACKWELL: They don't call him Floyd "Money" Mayweather for nothing. Joe Carter, thank you.

CARTER: You bet.

BLACKWELL: New developments out of Geneva this morning. The U.S. and Russia have an agreement on Syria. We're going to talk about the amount of chemical weapons and the timeline to destroy them. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I hope Saturdays been good to you so far. We're half past the hour. And I just want to say a hardy hello, and thanks for being with us, I'm Christi Paul. That was a "Seinfeld," hello!

BLACKWELL: I'm Mr. Blackwell. Five stories we're watching this morning.

PAUL: First of all, number one, 34 people taken to the hospital after Greyhound bus flipped. This happened in southwestern Ohio near the town of Hamilton, 52 people we know were on board when it overturned, but the bus was en route from Cincinnati to Detroit at the time.

Number two, official warnings of more flooding in Colorado, as though they can take any more. Raging waters already are blamed for at least four deaths. More than 218 people are unaccounted for right now, but National Guard troops and helicopters and high-water trucks are evacuating more than 800 people from two towns. They've done that, actually. The FEMA -- and FEMA has launched its largest rescue deployment in Colorado's history with this one.

BLACKWELL: Number three, 2013 is on track to be the worst year for measles in nearly two decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, 159 cases have been reported in the U.S. this year, and health officials say nearly two-thirds of the cases are being reported in communities where a lot of people don't vaccinate. Symptoms of this contagious disease -- fever, coughing, and full-body rash.

At number four, Biden, 2016? Maybe. The vice president is heading to Iowa this weekend. You know all of the wannabes are going to Iowa. Once again, it's sparking speculation he'll make another bid for the White House. Biden, who has run twice before in '88 and 2008, has not said whether he plans on trying again.

PAUL: And number five, a 39-year-old American giving up his intent to cross the Atlantic Ocean while suspended from 370 helium balloons. Jonathan Trapp was just 12 hours into his trip when he landed in Newfoundland, Canada. Trapp spent two years preparing for this flight. Five people have died in similar attempts, so glad to say he's OK.

BLACKWELL: Well, if there's something called quickie diplomacy, if it exists, this is it. After only three days of talks in Geneva, Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart agreed today on a deal that would get rid of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal. Now, remember, this was not on anybody's radar this time last weekend.

The plan gives Syria just one week to turn over a complete inventory of its chemical weapons. Then experts would begin destroying the chemical weapons. They hope they can get this done by mid-2014. If Syria fails to comply, the deal leaves open the possibility the U.N. Security Council could consider a use of force resolution.

So let's look at the political implications of this deal for President Obama, for Russian president Vladimir Putin. Amy Holmes is a conservative commentator and anchor for TheBlaze.com. She joins us from New York, in Washington, Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Good to have you both with us. I want to start with you, Maria. What does this mean for the president?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think what it means, Victor, is that he's going to continue to push a diplomatic solution. It's what he's wanted from the very beginning. There's no doubting that this president does not want to go to war. He, frankly, campaigned and won on staying out of Iraq or wanting to end that war, and has done so. And clearly, he has been very pained to make sure that Syria does what they need to do and president Assad does what he needs to do by threatening a military strike.

So I think this really leads him to try to use this diplomatic solution as a way out. But what has been very interesting is that it has also been his steely resolve to never take military force off of the table that actually created this opening and made sure that Syria and Russia were put to the test essentially in saying we are going to strike you if you don't do the right then here.

BLACKWELL: Steely resolve, Maria? Steely resolve? I want to get to Amy, but steely resolve? It's been, from two years ago, Assad must go to I'm going to order a strike, and then we're going to Congress, and then, wait, Congress, how about this process? Amy, what does this mean for the president? I'm sure you disagree with steely resolve, but, also, president Putin.

AMY HOLMES, ANCHOR, THEBLAZE.COM: You know, I like my theater on Broadway, not in foreign policy. I laughed, I cried, it was better than "Cats." What we've been watching unfolding here has been a debacle from start to finish. What this means for President Obama is, as Maria said, is a way out, a way out of a mess of his own creation. Vladimir Putin has outmaneuvered him very expertly. He even took a Victory lap in "The New York Times" this week to lecture us about democracy and not threatening force and military strikes around the world, which is something actually Vladimir Putin has engaged in himself.

You know, basically, this is a reprieve for the president. What this means is it kicks the ball -- it kicks the can down the road. Six months from now, we won't be talking about Syria anymore. If anything, it just gets this sort of all of the president's plate.

BLACKWELL: Let's watch a clip of the president from Tuesday night, his address to the nation, and then we'll talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run. I believe we should act. That's what makes America different. That's what makes us exceptional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And, Amy, you referenced that op-ed in "The New York Times" from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He wrote this, "It's extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation." What do you think about that comment? I remember distinctly Senator Menendez saying it made him want to vomit.

HOLMES: He did say that. And, of course, it's very ironic coming from Russian leader who's frequently shirtless while he's hunting and using rifles and on horses and fishing. Clearly, Vladimir Putin thinks of himself as exceptional, and I think he's been exceptionally I think savvy in exploiting the president's weakness, lack of resolve, and spinelessness. Lets' remember, President Obama told Medvedev before the election, that he would have more flexibility. Little did we know that meant removal of the spine.

BLACKWELL: Maria --

CARDONA: Obviously -- yes, go ahead.

BLACKWELL: If the president signs this deal and he goes ahead with Russia, and Syria does not live up to their agreement, to this agreement, but instead they live up to the reputation, what does that mean for the president, especially in moving forward, hoping for some military strike?

CARDONA: Well, and this is what I mean by steely resolve, Victor. He has never taken the threat of military force off of the table. The rollout of this was, yes, absolutely messy, absolutely muddled. But at the end of the day, the president has never deviated from his priority of two things -- making sure to hold Assad accountable for his use of chemical weapons, and, more importantly, the priority is to make sure that he did not have the opportunity to use those chemical weapons again.

Yes, he went to Congress because he said that we would be stronger as a country with that kind of support, and I think everybody agrees with that. But he never said that he would not attack Syria without the approval of Congress or the U.N. He has still not taken that off of the table. Do you think that if he has -- if he had waivered in that military strike desire or at least saying we're going to do this, do you think that Putin and Assad would be here actually doing today, announcing this pretty historic agreement? And yes, we have to be skeptical. But it is a way forward with diplomacy, which is what everybody wanted.

BLACKWELL: Assad has said the threat of force had nothing to do with it, but there will be some --

CARDONA: And we believe him? Right.

BLACKWELL: Amy Holmes, Maria Cardona, the conversation will continue on the Hill and around dinner tables. We thank you for having it with us here with us.

CARDONA: Thank you, Victor.

HOLMES: Thank you very much.

PAUL: Up next, it was the second largest dog-fighting ring ever busted. In August officials rescued more than 350 dogs that had been beaten and brutalized. And up next, we'll take you inside the secret location where they're being nursed back to health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Thanks for staying with us. Take a look at this video. This is a fire truck in Longmont, Colorado. The waters there have been unbelievable. They're driving through town in this video.

PAUL: How can you drive through video that deep? Don't you wonder that? It looks more like a boat than it does a truck. Is there any relief in the forecast for Colorado is the big question today. They're up against so much. Alexandra Steele, please give them some good news if you have it.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, the good news is that the worst is over, although today and tomorrow more rain expected, another inch or two. But then we will see skies drying out.

I mean, when you see video like that, it only takes six inches of moving water to sweep a person off their feet, or for a car to lose control. That was six feet, not six inches. Look at this. And then, when you see the windshield wipers go. When you see this video, you know why the National Weather Service in Colorado, in their discussions, said this is a biblical proportions. That's how historic and unprecedented this is.

So let me show you why this happened synoptically and how this will really improve over the next couple of days. Here's the map. What's happened with the area of low pressure, usually it's part of the big picture and this jet stream pushes everything eastward. Not so. This area of low pressure has been cut off and we've seen a lot more of this in the last few years than we'd ever seen really before.

So what's going to happen finally, there'll be some momentum with this area of low pressure. It moves to the south and east. Still, though, one to two inches of rain. But with the ground so saturated, obviously flooding continues to be a big concern as does flash flooding. Again, look out here, 15 inches, and on average in September, they only say 1.6 inches of rain. Really, it is quite historic.

PAUL: Alexandra Steele, boy, thank you for walking us through it. You'll want to stay with us, too, because in 20 minutes from now, there will be a live news conference with the Boulder County sheriff's office coming up at 11:00 a.m. eastern. We will of course bring that to you.

BLACKWELL: All right, in August, officials shut down the second- largest dog-fighting ring in history. We're talking big time here. More than 350 dogs were rescued.

PAUL: And, you know, for their entire lives they were beaten and they were brutalized. So now, a lot of them are on the road to recovery. We're happy to be able to tell you. As their caretakers try to heal not just the physical wounds but their emotional wounds, as well, yes, they have them. CNN's Gary Tuchman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sign says "I'm fearful, please go slow." And this is who it pertains to, a tan dog with brown eyes who is shaking in the back of her cage, a pit bull mix who has spent her whole life being brutalized, the same with this dog who has scars all over his face, and this dog, who is about to give birth, yet was also expected to fight to the death if necessary. There are 253 dogs here, all used in a criminal dog-fighting enterprise. They are now evidence in the second largest dog-fighting bust ever and are being cared for lovingly by the ASPCA in a warehouse in a secret location in the southern United States.

MATT BERSHADKER, ASPCA PRESIDENT AND CEO: For the security of the dogs and for the security of the personnel and for the integrity of the case, we want to keep all of this under wraps.

TUCHMAN: And 12 men were arrested, hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling money seized, and a total of 372 pit bulls rescued. Some of the dogs are being cared for in other locations. The bodies of dead dogs were also found.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There we go. Good boy.

TUCHMAN: Amid the trauma, these animals are getting their first ever checkups by vets who are dealing with serious physical injuries and mental scars.

BERSHADKER: Their lives have been brutal. Their lives have been filled with misery and pain. The only thing they've known from mankind is hatred and the harsh touch and the brutality of the fighting pit and living out on a chain. Their lives have been miserable.

TUCHMAN: There are several pregnant dogs here who were fighting just weeks ago. And there are also puppies.

Let me tell you the story about this particular little guy. This little guy right now is 10 weeks old. He only weighs five-and-a-half pounds. When he was found, he was attached to what's called a log chain. Let me show you what a log chain is. This is the log chain. It weighs about 20 pounds. He was attached to this, he was out in 90- degree weather, and he had absolutely no water.

TUCHMAN: This is a picture taken by authorities of the same puppy when the dog-fighting operation was busted. The primary goal here is to give each of these dogs a chance to someday be adopted.

DR. SARAH KIRK, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, ASPCA FIELD INVESTIGATIONS AND RESPONSE: We've given medication to get rid of fleas. We can put them on pain medication. We don't have all of our diagnostic results yet. Some dogs in these circumstances have heartworm disease.

TUCHMAN: But you feel they can live a good life?

KIRK: I do. I think he could have a good quality of life with the proper care.

TUCHMAN: You can see this dog has scars all over his face. Whoa. And he's emaciated. Here's how we know he's recovering, because he wants to play ball. They don't play fetch the ball in captivity. But now after a couple of weeks here, he's ready to play.

KIRK: Good girl. Good girl. TUCHMAN: And remember that fearful tan dog we showed you? Well, an ASPCA therapist is working with her to slowly try to build up her trust, alleviate her fear, and convince her she's loved.

This may be the second largest dog-fighting bust in U.S. history, but it's a drop in the bucket. This is going on all over the United States. These dogs are getting a second chance. But so many others are not.

Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Wow.

PAUL: That is heartbreaking. I want to know how to adopt them.

BLACKWELL: It's good to see they're getting the love and attention they deserve.

First female member of the New York stock exchange, she's passing on some of her fortune to her best friend. It sounds normal.

PAUL: Right.

BLACKWELL: Until you hear that her best friend is a Chihuahua named Monster Girl.

PAUL: Monster Girl.

BLACKWELL: Monster Girl is getting the money, that's according to the "New York Daily News."

PAUL: Muriel Seibert left a staggering $100,000 to be used to take care of her precious pooch according to documents made public on Friday, by the way.

BLACKWELL: Now, Seibert, nicknamed the "first lady of Wall Street," died in August, and she left most of her $50 million estate to her foundation, which promotes finance education. So you feel a little bit better about it after you hear so much is going to charity.

PAUL: Yes, when you die, you have to figure out what happens to your dog. You want it to go someplace, somebody will take care of it, just making sure nobody feels trapped.

BLACKWELL: Monster Girl will be doing fine.

PAUL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Fashion week is winding down.

PAUL: Just ahead, Nischelle Turner has a look at the glitz, the gowns, and the gossip on New York's red carpet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PAUL: Well, for most of her life, Annette Miller says she's been burdened by her weight. Not anymore, though. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has her story in today's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Growing up in Tennessee, Annette Miller always dreamed of playing basketball. So as soon as she was old enough, she decided to sign up for the team.

ANNETTE MILLER, CNN FIT NATION 2013 TRIATHLETE: I got a permission slip from our coach at school, and I came running home that day I was so excited to play basketball. And instead of getting a signature from me parents, I was told "you're too fat to play."

GUPTA: At 10 years old and more than 200 pound, she says, that mantra instantly changed her life.

MILLER: "You're too fat" followed me into adulthood, and I didn't realize how much that held me back.

GUPTA: But years later, when her twin sister Bobbette needed a kidney transplant --

MILLER: I was not even tested or considered to be a donor because of my weight. That was the kick in the pants I needed.

GUPTA: So she changed her diet. She started walking. She hit the gym. She was determined to get the weight off. By November of 2012 she was well on her way.

MILLER: I'm proud to say at this point I've lost over 100 pounds.

GUPTA: And she wasn't finished.

MILLER: A little 10-year-old kid in here that still wants to play, wants to be a part of something, be a part of the team.

GUPTA: Miller applied for the CNN Fit Nation Challenge, and she was accepted in January.

Congratulations. We've already picked.

For eight months, she trained -- swimming, biking, running -- to compete in the Nautical Malibu triathlon, and she got below 200 pounds for the first time in decades.

MILLER: And I didn't stop -- 198. I never had a breakdown on a scale, but I started crying.

GUPTA: And on Sunday, September 8, Miller got her chance to play, crossing the finish line in Malibu squarely in the middle of the pack.

MILLER: Amazing. I made the turnaround on the bike, I knew I had it. If I can do it, you can do it. GUPTA: Next up for Miller, surgery to remove the excess skin left over from her years of being overweight, to complete her transformation.

MILLER: I did it!

GUPTA: And as far as the basketball game, that dream came true, as well.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Congratulations, Annette. Never too late, never too late.

You may not recognize all of the faces, but you probably know the names. The glitz and the glamour at New York's fashion week is highlighted by the Style Awards. CNN's Nischelle Turner went to the star-studded event, and she will be dishing all of the details tonight on a CNN special. Nischelle?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: OK, Victor and Christi, the style awards kick off fashion week each year by bringing together some of the biggest names in fashion and entertainment. They honor the top designers as well as celebrity trendsetters. Nicole Richie hosted this year's show, and it's fitting. She has her own collection. She's also a mentor on NBC's "Fashion Star." Now, Nicole told me that when it comes to her personal style, she really never stops exploring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: We've seen your style evolve in front of our eyes because you've been on television, and you really kind of settled in. Do you feel like, now, I really kind of know who I am as far as fashion goes?

NICOLE RICHIE, HOST, STYLE AWARDS: I mean, I feel like I'm still always playing with different looks, and I just think that that's part of being a girl. I don't know that I'm ever going to stop. I can't imagine that I'm going to say, oh, this is how I want to be for the next three years. That's not even fun, you know? So, you know, like I said, it's fun to just change it up every once in a while and be open to new things. You never know. Your eye can change. Your tastes can change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: Now, for the red carpet, Nicole wore Antonio Berardi. It was an embellished crop top with beaded hair. I loved it. She looked phenomenal. But she actually went on to make five wardrobe changes throughout the entire show. I was backstage during the show.

I spoke with Kate Upton, Rachel Zoe, Zach Posen, I could go on. All of these were top honorees for the night. You can catch my special on the 10th annual style awards tonight, 7:00 p.m. eastern, 4:00 p.m. pacific, right here on CNN. Tune in. Back to you guys. PAUL: Looking forward to it. Thank you, Nischelle.

And just ahead, spaceship travels where no manmade machine has ever gone before.

BLACKWELL: And then in the next hour of CNN Newsroom, Russian president Vladimir Putin says Americans are not exceptional. You might be interested to know it is a U.S. PR firm behind his op-ed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Voyager I has made history again. The NASA spacecraft that blasted off 36 years ago this month is now the first human-made object to leave the helio-sphere. What's a helio-sphere? Here's the answer. It's the magnetic boundary that separates our solar system from the rest of the galaxy.

PAUL: And it's the farthest anything from earth has ever travelled. NASA says Voyager I is 11.7 billion, yes, with a "b," billion miles away and is expected to communicate with earth up until 2025, so lots to learn still.

Thank you so much for sharing some of your time with us this morning. It was good to be with you.

BLACKWELL: Stay with us, because there's much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom. We turn it over to our colleague, Fredricka Whitfield. Good morning.

WHITFIELD: Good morning to you. Thank you.