Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Four Killed, 172 Unaccounted for in Colorado Flooding; U.S.- Russia Reach a Deal on Syria; Minor Rekindling of New Jersey Fire Overnight; Learning More About Putin; Colorado Flooding Worsens; Saving the Rainforest in Sumatra; Manning Brothers Set for Rare Meeting; Fashion Talk From New York

Aired September 14, 2013 - 13:00   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, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to the third hour of the CNN NEWSROOM this afternoon. Here are the top stories we're following for you. Raging waters and rising fears in Colorado. More than 170 people are unaccounted for. The emergency crews are scrambling to reach people stranded by flood waters.

And a diplomatic deal to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. The U.S. and Russia agree on a plan, but what happens if the Assad government doesn't follow through?

And investigating the inferno that swept across the iconic boardwalk, officials sift through the ashes for clues, and Jersey Shore businesses face the challenges of rebuilding again.

Historic flood waters are starting to recede in Northern Colorado, but the nightmare is far from over. Right now hundreds of people in mountain communities around Boulder are stranded and awaiting rescue. Days of record-breaking rain have torn through lower-lying towns leaving people isolated with no way out. At least four people have died as a result of flooding. A hundred and seventy others are still missing.

This video gives you an idea of just how challenging the situation is. Firefighters in their own vehicle, being hit by walls of water there, as they try to drive through a street in Longmont. And 10 miles to the Northeast and to a town called Lyons, more than 100 people, including children, have been rescued by air, by the National Guard.

And with the rescues, some are revealing some very amazing stories of survival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE PELLE, BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO: There's been some incredible stories. We rescued a young couple yesterday from Lyons. The young lady's pregnant, her due date is tomorrow. We got her out of Lyons, we got her to a home in Longmont and her water broke last night.

And so there's some personal stories coming out of this that make all of this very, very rewarding. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Incredible close call there. So 7,000 people have been rescued from Longmont, Colorado, alone.

CNN's George Howell is there.

So, George, paint a picture for us, what's happening there?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, let's look at this because this really kind of tells the story. This path, this tunnel that you see a low clearance of eight feet? Look at how high the water is there. This could be possibly, you know, maybe six feet.

Let's listen to see if we can tell, let's listen close. Sounds pretty deep. You know, so you get a sense that there's a lot of water rushing through here.

Dave, if we can pan over all. So look right there under that sidewalk, all of the mud that's been scalloped out and sent down into this creek. And that's the problem. When you have the flood waters out here, you have rocks, big rocks at times, you have tree branches and it could cause a real problem for any cars that get caught in these currents.

That's the issue, too.

Dave, this is a good shot, too. Because when you see how powerful this water is, rushing downhill, that's what is cutting off so many of these different communities. In Jamestown, we know that at least 200 people are still waiting to be rescued. We know that, you know, this is something that could take time because you can't drive into these communities, you just can't through this type of -- this type of a flow, so, you know, this could take some days.

And we do expect more rain in the forecast. So now is the time, you know, for officials to do everything they can to get to those people to get them to safety.

WHITFIELD: And then, George, what do you know about the rescue operations, how they're able to get to people who are simply stranded.

HOWELL: Right, you know, we were talking to the National Guard yesterday about their use of helicopters. Right now they say it's a matter of mission critical. It's getting to these different communities using the resources that they have. You know, they're limited, but they're using those resources to get into those towns to get people out, to make sure that people have, you know, the necessary food, water, things that they need until, you know, either the water recedes or they can get them out to safety.

WHITFIELD: All right.

HOWELL: Those rescue missions are still on-going. So, you know, we still have the sunlight, no rain, but yes, it's still a matter of getting people out to safety. WHITFIELD: Yes. And it's all a very dangerous situation even for the rescuers, too.

So George Howell, thanks so much. Appreciate that. We'll check back with you later on.

HOWELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Let's go straight to the CNN Severe Weather Center. Alexandra Steele.

So more rain expected in the region, but you're saying it's not going to present too much of a big problem?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, two more days of rain, a few more inches. But, Fred, George makes so many salient points, and one being the power of water. You saw it kind ferociously moving. Six inches alone of water can wipe a person off their feet and even make you lose control of your car.

Also when he threw that bolder in the water, you heard a go, that was at least six feet of water. The take a look at some of these images again from Longmont, Colorado. I mean, the power of the water here. Now this is a fire truck driving through the water. Well, you're watching this car here.

But you can see how high that water is. I mean, it is at least six feet high. The pictures are staggering. You know, the National Weather Service in their discussion on the weather a few days ago called this biblical. So really it is historic.

So let me talk about why it's actually happening. Now this is the water vapor imagery. Now meteorologists use this to kind of analyze the atmosphere. But what you can see is where it is brown here, it is very dry. Conversely, where we've got all of this moisture streaming up from El Paso to Albuquerque to Denver, so right up from New Mexico to Colorado and in to Texas.

What's happening is this moisture is getting trapped right here, and there's no movement in this area of high pressure or low pressure because this area of low pressure is what we call cut off from the main circulation. So it's like a car stranded. There's nothing to push it forward.

So that's what's happened for days, allowed for this foot of rain to fall. But finally we're going to see some progression with this. You know, finally kind of get moving. But still, all that being said, a few more inches, maybe two to three inches of rain is expected.

Look at what we have seen so far. To give you perspective, Boulder in the month of September on the average gets 1.6 inches. Almost 15 inches. So really it's just been an inordinate amount of rain, and unfortunately today and tomorrow again more rain in the forecast. And then finally by Monday we see things begin to clear up. Fred?

WHITFIELD: OK. Good to see that off on the horizon. All right. Thanks so much.

President Barack Obama says the agreement on a plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons is a significant step. In a statement a short time ago he said, quote, "While we have made important progress, much more work remains to be done. The United States will continue working with Russia, the United Kingdom, France, United Nations and others to ensure that this process is verifiable and that there are consequences should the Assad regime not comply with the framework agreed to today."

And if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to act. That statement coming from the White House. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov say they have reached an agreement during the third day of talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Kerry says a key point was agreeing on the size of Syria's chemical arsenal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have reached a shared assessment of the amount and type of chemical weapons possessed by the Assad regime, and we are committed to the rapid assumption of control by the international community of those weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Senior international correspondent Matthew Chance joining us now from Geneva.

So, Matthew, this agreement sets an ambitious timetable for Syria to act. I mean, in as early as a week there are demands being placed.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. It's incredibly ambitious, in fact, even in a country that wasn't ravaged by the kind of civil war that Syria is witnessing. In a week from now, Syria has to compile and submit a list of all its chemical weapons sites and all its stockpiles of chemical weapons as well. That's going to be a task in itself. It's one of the biggest sort of uses and producers of chemical weapons in the world.

U.N. inspectors are under this agreement anticipated to be on the ground as early as November to verify that list, that it's accurate, that nothing has been mistagged. Also sort of production facilities and mixing facilities with chemical weapons. They're supposed to be destroyed by November as well, with a view to totally eliminating chemical weapons in Syria by the middle of next year.

So still some months away, but again, it's a very complex and technical operation, destroying chemical weapons. Usually the U.N. chemical weapons treaty gives countries a decade to complete that process. What's being anticipated in this agreement is as early as 2014, the first half of 2014.

WHITFIELD: And Matthew, help us understand the U.S. threat of military action, whether that remains, how that would remain, given what the agreement framework spells out. CHANCE: Yes, I think this issue was slightly fudged by the various parties there, and the reason is this, is that the United States said outright that they believed the threat of -- the credible threat of force against Syria was one of the only reasons that the parties are at the negotiating table now, and the U.S. still believes it's the threat of force, the credible threat of force that will push Syria into doing what it said it is going to do.

Russia, on the other hand, saw this as a red line, said you can't expect a country like Syria to disarm, when another country, the U.S., is preparing potential military strikes against it, and so it wouldn't go along with any agreement if the U.S. continued with this threat. And so in terms of this agreement, there will be no threat of the U.S. to carry out military strikes, but Washington retains the right to unilaterally strike if Syria doesn't comply.

WHITFIELD: And the president's statement today underscoring that.

Matthew Chance, thank you so much for that from Geneva.

All right. Straight ahead, it took months to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy, and only night to destroy the New Jersey boardwalk. And Margaret Conley is live for us now in Seaside Heights.

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. The residents here say they're resilient, they're going to rebuild. We'll share one business person's story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Thirty-four people are in the hospital right now after a terrible bus accident in Ohio. A Greyhound bus flipped over about 4:00 a.m. this morning. It crashed into a tree on the northbound side of I-75 in Butler County. The bus was on its way to Detroit from Cincinnati.

And authorities have made an arrest in that quadruple murder in Tennessee. Twenty-six-year-old Jacob Bennett is being held in connection to the shootings deaths of three teens and a young mother. Their bloody bodies were found in their car on a rural road near the town of Crossville about two hours east of Nashville.

Police identified the victims as 16-year-old John (INAUDIBLE), 17- year-old (INAUDIBLE) Davis, the driver, 22-year-old Ricky Jacobsen, and 17-year-old Stephen Presley. Presley's friend and principal say it is a horrible loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET GRAHAM, CUMBERLAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: You know, life has not always been easy for him. And, you know, this was a great place for him to be and he made it a better place by being here.

ASHLEN STARR ROYSTON, FRIEND OF STEVE PRESLEY: We were like his family. The school is nothing but a big family. And everybody knew him. Bright smile. Always cheer you up. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Cumberland County sheriff says the suspect was on parole from a conviction back in 2009.

A police group is collecting best of photos from the dramatic manhunt for the Boston Marathon suspects. They plan to use the pictures in a 2014 calendar to raise money for police work. People who live in the city where one of the suspects was captured can go to the Watertown Police Foundation Web site to submit photos of the confrontation and arrest. The calendar will sell for $13 each. The deadline for photo submissions is September 30th.

And there has been a rekindling overnight in the fire that destroyed dozens of shops along New Jersey's iconic boardwalk, but the flames have not been extinguished and it certainly has not extinguished the heart of the people. They say they will come back.

This is the front page of this morning's "New Jersey Star-Ledger." An amazing shot of the board walk with the headline we will -- "We'll Make New Memories."

Margaret Conley is live for now us at Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

So, Margaret, you've been talking to business owners who say that they are determined to make a comeback.

CONLEY: Yes. Residents are very determined here. You can see the remains of the fire here. They're actually still smoldering, Fred. Investigators are going through that rubble, they're trying to figure out what the cause of that fire is. We understand from the police officials that are here on the scene that it could take days before they're able to get to that cause. But meanwhile, residents are resilient. They're a little bit still in shock.

We talked to one business owner. And he is planning to rebuild.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONLEY (voice-over): Seaside Heights was rebuilt with the optimism that the boardwalk was stronger than the storm. Less than a year later, livelihoods have been destroyed again. Residents are in shock after they watched their businesses burn to ash.

CHRIS DENNIS, LOST BUSINESS IN FIRE: There was nothing I could do.

CONLEY: Chris Dennis, owner of Shoot the Geek amusement stall that opened on the boardwalk in 1992, lost at least $40,000 in merchandise from Hurricane Sandy. He'll have to start from scratch to rebuild and estimates damages from the fire are at least another $30,000.

Seeing the damage up close for the first time since the fire, he says this time the damage will take longer to repair.

DENNIS: Sandy wasn't bad. We were able to get back in business as soon as we had a boardwalk in front of us. The cleanup wasn't nearly as bad. This -- well, you look at my building right now, clearly it's going to have to be cleaned up a lot. There is nothing left except for a shell. And it's not even a whole shell in its entirety.

CONLEY: Chris' stall was just a few feet away from where the firefighters built the trench that stopped the fire from spreading.

(On camera): The fire was traveling underneath the boardwalk?

DENNIS: Yes. Well, the fire -- the fire traveled under the boardwalk. They got it contained to a certain point. But once it was in my building, they couldn't get down to the basement to put the fire out in the building because it would have just been unsafe for them.

CONLEY: And what was in the basement?

DENNIS: My plush merchandise and everything else. A lot of valuable stuff that, you know, was conducive for me to run my business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CONLEY: And Governor Christie is going to meet with business owners and local authorities like Chris that we just met in that package. And they're going to meet in about 20 minutes -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Margaret Conley. Keep us posted on that. Appreciate it.

All right. Overseas, Russia takes the lead on solving the crisis in Syria. All eyes are now on Vladimir Putin. And now a group of American journalists and academic experts are on their way to Russia to meet with him. We'll talk with one of the professors next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: First, Russian President Vladimir Putin had his say. He wrote an op-ed piece in "The New York Times" earlier this week, slamming President Obama for what he referred to as American exceptionalism. Well, now it seems John McCain is poised to strike back, according to foreign policies blog "The Cable." The Arizona senator has tentatively agreed to write a column in the Russian newspaper "Pragda" in response to Mr. Putin's column.

Well, McCain is known for criticism of the Russian president and will likely reflect his negative views.

Next week we'll get a better view of the Russian-U.S. relationship and Russia's role in the Syrian crisis. A group of academic experts, American ones, and journalists are heading to the northwestern portion of Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin and other top officials.

Georgetown professor Angela Stent is making the trip, and says the crisis in Syria makes this year's sit-down all the more important.

All right, so, Professor, you're not going as a representative of U.S. government, instead, you know, as a professor of the United States university, but do you feel like there's going to be this kind of open conversation between Russian officials and you and other representatives of U.S. colleges and universities?

ANGELA STENT, PROFESSOR, GOV. AND FOREIGN SERVICES, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Yes, well, I hope so. As far as I know, there aren't any U.S. government officials attending this meeting, at least from Washington. There could be people from our embassy in Moscow. So, yes, it's going to have to be a discussion between the different American experts who are there and the Russians themselves.

But since this is an international gathering, and we're going to have people from the region there, too, I'm sure that we're going to hear quite a lot of critical comments about U.S. policy. We'll certainly hear them from the Russians. Mr. Putin wrote this article that was published in "The New York Times," the op-ed piece that was critical of the United States. So I assume we're going to have a pretty, let's say, lively dialogue and there will be quite a lot of controversy.

WHITFIELD: And of course trust is a big issue here in these diplomatic dialogues. And now even President Assad apparently is throwing in yet one more condition that the U.S. would need to abide by, meaning not supplying any more weapons to rebels, et cetera.

Do you think that these diplomatic talks are trustworthy? Do you -- do you feel like the U.S. should have high expectations that diplomacy could prevail here?

STENT: I think that the U.S. is in a very difficult position at the moment because we have a country that's deeply divided, a Congress that's deeply divided, and it's hard for the president to go ahead and order a military strike under these circumstances, so we really don't have any other choice but to try diplomacy once again.

And Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lavrov had agreed a couple of months ago that there should be a conference in Geneva where all the different sides should come together to try and talk about how you end the civil war.

I think we have to continue with all these diplomatic negotiations, but I think we also probably have to set ourselves some internal timelines. How long are we prepared to wait until we have real proof that Assad is giving up the chemical weapons before we say well, let's get to the next stage of this.

So I think we should, you know, I -- that President Obama himself quoted President Reagan, trust but verify. So I think we need to go ahead and enter into these discussions, but at some point we need to make sure that there's a real goodwill on all sides to move forward and that this isn't just a stalling tactic.

WHITFIELD: And what is your view on the motivation of Putin? I mean, we know his history, you know, formerly as a KGB investigator, and even leading the KGB at one time. Do you feel like he is trying to bring peace to the region, save the world, so to speak, or is there some other ulterior motive in your view?

STENT: Well, I think Putin's major motive, and it has been since he became president in the year 2000, is to restore Russia's role as a great power, as a power that's respected, and that's -- and whose views are listened to on all major crises, and that wasn't so in the '90s, and I think from Russia's point of view it hasn't been so very much in the 2000s, particularly if you look at Iraq and then Libya. So I think that's part of his motivation is to -- is to make Russia relevant to ensure that it has a leading role.

Now he is also concerned about instability in the region. I mean, the Russians would not like President Assad to step aside unless they know that whatever follows him is going to again ensure stability and prevent radical jihadists from coming to power.

So I think the other goal is to ensure that that doesn't happen, because if you did have extremist elements come to power after Assad, then that could have a major impact on the region, also on Russia itself, which has a fairly restive Islamic population.

So I think there are several motives here. And I think the other things is, frankly, this has been a great opportunity for Putin because the U.S. itself is so divided over this issue, that he has managed to step in and present Russia as the potential peacemaker and as taking the initiative on this very difficult issue.

WHITFIELD: Georgetown professor, Angela Stent, thanks so much and safe travel.

STENT: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, in parts of Colorado, roads are simply destroyed. Washed out. So the only way in or out certain places is by chopper. The story of those rescues next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are five things crossing the CNN news desk right now.

Catastrophic flooding in Colorado has left at least four people dead and 172 people missing. Right now, emergency crews are trying to reach hundreds of people stranded by raging waters near Boulder. The situation is precarious. Flood waters have washed out roads and taken out homes. And even more rain is forecast throughout the weekend.

President Barack Obama called a plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons, quote, "an important concrete step." The U.S. and Russia have agreed to a framework deal that calls for Syria to come clean about its stockpiles of chemical weapons within a week and international inspectors must be on the ground in Syria no later than November.

And number three, a destructive fire has turned part of New Jersey's boardwalk into a pile of ashes and smoke. But business owners there say they will bounce back, just like they did when Hurricane Sandy destroyed their shops and restaurants less than a year ago. An investigation is now under way to find out exactly how this fire started. And number four. United Airlines' mistake turned into a lucky break for travelers. The airline says it will honor its free fare tickets. A company representative says human error led to United selling tickets as low as $5, charging just airport and security fees. The mistake was on United's Web site for about two hours Thursday and applies only to domestic flights.

And number five. College football's game of the year. Today the Alabama Crimson Tide hopes to do what no college has done before. And that's win three consecutive national championships. But they face Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. They're the only team that beat them last year.

All right. Back to the historic flooding in Colorado. Right now, emergency crews are trying to reach hundreds of people around the Boulder area who were stranded by raging flood waters. Boulder received a year's worth of rain in just days. Roads are washed out and entire communities isolated.

Ten miles away in Longmont, the challenge is getting through the flood waters. You see it right there. Watch what firefighters encountered in their truck with the water splashing right up against the truck's windshield.

And as we said, at least four people had been killed, 172 people still unaccounted for, after this unprecedented rainfall. More than 800 people have been rescued by the National Guard.

So with many roads now passable as we understand, a lot of those rescues are being done by air. Hundreds of evacuations have been taking place in Jamestown and in Lyons. And we have two incredible rescue stories from those communities.

First, here is Eric Egan from CNN affiliate KUSA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC EGAN, KUSA REPORTER: Pulled from home, survivors, just a few at a time were flown out of Jamestown Friday by helicopter. It's the only way in or out of that community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't get to it at all because the river -- the creek is now like four different rivers going through town.

EGAN: Boulder County is relying on air support to fly humanitarian aid into Jamestown and to give these people a break since the floods hit.

PELLE: We are going to be heavily dependent on air operations for quite awhile. The roadways aren't simply blocked by mudslides or rockslides or debris, the roadways are in fact in many, many places completely gone.

EGAN: At Boulder Municipal Airport, those evacuated clung to friends and the few prized possessions they could grab before being airlifted out. The damage they left behind described in a word. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Devastating.

CORY ROSE, KUSA REPORTER: The rain made a monster out of Longmont's Little Left Hand Creek.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday it was terrifying because they said you've got to get out now.

ROSE: The Johnson family is one of 7,000 families here in Longmont ordered to flee the rising waters from the Saint Rain River or the usually mild mannered Little Left Hand Creek. City officials overhauled the creek side last year hoping to improve flood mitigation, reducing risk to life and property.

Longmont may be reeling from the rainstorm, but the community is also reaching out to neighboring Lyons which fared so much worse. Lyons residents tend to be prepared for emergencies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had water and kerosene lamp.

ROSE: But when the National Guard comes to your doorstep, you know it's time to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was KUSA reporter Cory Rose.

All right. Straight ahead, Phillippe Cousteau and his team are exploring the dwindling rainforest of Sumatra. Up next, his visit to an orangutan sanctuary that works to reintroduce the endangered animal to the wild.

But first, Anthony Bourdain returns for season two on CNN. He visits Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, in the premier of "PARTS UNKNOWN," and takes a drive with a member of the all girls street racing team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, PARTS UNKNOWN: Elsewhere in the West Bank, just outside of Ramallah, meet Betty Saadeh and Mona Ennab. Two members of a group of women who call themselves the Speed Sisters. The first all-female Palestinian racing team.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

BOURDAIN: Hi. I'm Tony.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Nice to meet you.

BOURDAIN: Hi, good to meet you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I am riding a car, I am the happiest girl ever. Racing is in my blood. Here in Palestine, it is very small, there's no roads. So when I drive, I speed. I feel free.

BOURDAIN: Do you find people that underestimated you at first? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the beginning they could maybe make fun of us. But when we got good scores we win --

BOURDAIN: Now they know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Well, of course doesn't matter if you're a woman or man.

BOURDAIN: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Talk about "PARTS UNKNOWN." Who knew. Watch more of this Speed Sisters in the season two premier of "ANTHONY BOURDAIN, PARTS UNKNOWN." That's tomorrow night 9:00 p.m. Eastern. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "EXPEDITION SUMATRA" is a half-hour feature program unlike any other on CNN. For the next eight weeks, viewers will follow Phillippe Cousteau and his team as they explore the dwindling rainforest of Sumatra to find out why this land is worth saving.

On the first episode, Phillippe and the team visit an orangutan sanctuary where a team is preparing to release Bobo, the endangered orangutan, back into the wild.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIPPE COUSTEAU, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: With great anticipation, we enter the area of the sanctuary where the orangutans are kept. Six orangutans live here, three males, two females, and a baby. Then we finally meet Bobo. He has no idea what an incredible day we have in store for him. But there are still several things that need to happen to make sure the day is a success, and first getting an orangutan like Bobo into a small crate is going to be a big challenge.

But the rangers have a plan. Bobo hasn't been fed this morning, so the rangers hope they can lure him in the crate by giving him fruit. We move away from Bobo's area and keep a respectful distance while the rangers attempt to coax him into the crate. It takes several minutes, but the rangers are able to lure Bobo into the crate and one step closer to freedom. Amidst the action, I can't help but notice this adorable baby orangutan.

That is quite possibly one of the most extraordinary, precious, beautiful things I've ever seen in my entire life.

It's easy to see how people might want them as pets, but doing so is a crime against nature and robs this remarkable species of its future. Highly endangered, there are only about 6,000 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild.

By setting Bobo free, I just can't help but feel pride that we're undoing a terrible wrong our fellow humans have committed and giving hope to the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So joining me now is CNN special correspondent Phillippe Cousteau.

So, Phillippe, good to see you. So now I want to know, what happened, how are you tracking Bobo and even the baby?

COUSTEAU: Well, all of those orangutans at the Frankfurt Zoological Societies camp are, you know, part of a process that they rescue orangutans that have been in the illegal trade endangered species and train them sometimes for years. And of course baby orangutans spend years with their mothers before they learn how to be one an orangutan in the wild. And Bobo, unfortunately, we unveil some news about Bobo later on in these series.

WHITFIELD: Oh no.

COUSTEAU: But many of the orangutans are still hanging out around the camp, they've gone on to be successful. I believe that the Frankfurt Zoological Society camp has released somewhere around 140 plus orangutans into that area.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

COUSTEAU: Because there's -- you know, there's only about 6,000 orangutans in Sumatra left. Very, very endangered and this work is important.

In the next episode, you actually see our release of Bobo and then you'll also see us working with some younger orangutans. I actually had a -- suck termites out of some woods to teach them how to do that.

WHITFIELD: My goodness.

COUSTEAU: Termite is an important source of protein for them and we had to teach them how to live in the jungle with different types of foods to eat. So we chronicle all that in the next three episodes. It's just an amazing place. It was really hard to get to, but it was worth it.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COUSTEAU: It was extraordinary.

WHITFIELD: Well, tell me about that journey because it sounds like, you know, you're going to be revealing an awful lot to us about endangered species, at the same time, I think sadly, you're going to have to break our hearts as well. But give us an idea about the journey and all that was invested to capture these images, these moments to help teach us, you know, about returning animals to the wild and why this rainforest is so important.

COUSTEAU: Well, Sumatra is, you know, the frontlines of the global fight against deforestation. The forest is shrinking rapidly, mostly for palm oil plantations, pulp and paper plantations. And it's a critical habitat for the endangered Sumatra tiger, which has only a few hundred left. It's critical habitat for elephants, Sumatran rhinos, and of course orangutans. All of which are critically endangered.

As the forest shrinks of course their habitat shrinks. And the whole idea of this story was to go there and tell it from the perspective of the frontlines, but also in a way that viewers really can be a part of that experience. And it's a -- it's a wonderful journey. It's eight weeks serialized and it combines with a campaign online and social media to help the public have an opportunity to do something.

We have a -- through some nonprofits like World Wildlife Fund that we're working with, we have a whole campaign to sign a petition to have the government protect this region of Sumatra.

WHITFIELD: OK.

COUSTEAU: And make a positive difference.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it is fantastic. What an investment.

Phillippe Cousteau, thanks so much.

Of course we look forward to watching the series. And there are many ways that Phillippe said you can follow it. You can catch the "Expedition: Sumatra" on CNN International, episode one, premiering on Friday at 11:30 a.m., or you can also follow the team's journey on CNN.com/environment. Lots of ways to follow this journey.

Thanks so much, Phillippe.

All right. Still to come, it is hard to find. Two NFL quarterbacks, more well known than Peyton and Eli Manning. And this weekend, the super bowl winning brothers battle the third time. What does younger manning think of hits brother? Brother versus brother. We'll hear from Eli next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So NFL superstars don't come much bigger than the Manning brothers. Both Eli and Peyton have taken their teams to Super Bowl championships. But after almost 10 years in the league together, the two have rarely faced each other in the field. Well, that changes this weekend.

Rachel Nichols sat down with Eli Manning and asked him about going head-to-head with his big brother tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL NICHOLS, ANCHOR, CNN SPORTS: So you're looking New Orleans, playing football with your big brother Peyton in the front yard. You look up 20 years later, and you're playing against him in the NFL, the biggest stage of all.

What's going to be the most special for you?

ELI MANNING, GIANTS QUARTERBACK: I am proud of Peyton and I think he's proud of me, and we've worked hard to get to this point and play in the NFL. And we support each other. We want each other to play well each year. And I think -- you know, I think you're seeing him before the game and shaking his hand, and just talking for those few minutes are special moments. That's what you'll remember down the -- down the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANNING: I am Eli Manning, and I'm proud ambassador to Little Brothers Program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Now you did this great "Saturday Night Live" sketch where you were, you know, part of a gang for the little brothers of the world getting revenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANNING: Maybe now you'll learn to treat your younger brother with some respect, Peyton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is not Peyton.

MANNING: Whatever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: I know it is a joke. But is there a little revenge maybe you can get out in this game for all those, you know, little beatings and teasings you got as a kid?

MANNING: Well, you know, I'm not playing defense, I don't get to go hit on him. You know, I won't get a free shot at him in any way. So, you know, Peyton has been a great big brother, he has been very supportive, you know, helped me in many ways.

NICHOLS: What's the strategy that your mom and dad are going to use to get through the game?

MANNING: I think it's a pretty easy strategy. I think that just root for the offense, a high-scoring, a high-scoring game and maybe a missed extra point, you know, loses the game, some sort of a moral victory if that really exists.

NICHOLS: Right. Exactly. Now I will say you and Peyton are going to meet on the field on Sunday, but you've already met on a very grand stage already this season, performing a rap video.

(MUSIC)

Who came out on top on that one? Because we're going to have to do comes out on top Sunday. MANNING: I think we both lost on that one. And hopefully years from now our play -- playing football will be more viewed than that rap video.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I love it. That's hilarious. Very fun stuff.

Hey, shifting gears from sports to fashion, Fashion Week winding down. Straight ahead, Nischelle Turner has a look at the glitz, the gowns, the gossip, all on New York's red carpet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New York is flooded with people from the fashion world this week. They're all in town for the 10th Annual Style Awards.

And entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner has more.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, 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.

Now Nicole Richie hosted this year's show and it's fitting. She has her own collection and she's also a mentor on NBC's "Fashion Star."

Now Nicole told me when it comes to her personal style, she really never stops exploring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: We've seen your style evolve right in front of our eyes because you've been on television, and you've 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, FASHION DESIGNER: 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. And I don't know that I'm ever going to stop. I don't -- I can't imagine that I'm going to say, oh, this is how I want to be for the next 30 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, with this embellished cropped top that was paired with the beaded pair of pants which I loved. But you know, she actually went on to make five wardrobe changes throughout the show. It was intense.

I was backstage during the show and spoke with Kate Upton, I talked to Rachel Zoe, Zach Posen. I could go on. All of these were top honorees. And you can catch my special on the 10th Annual Style Awards tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific. That's the time right here on CNN. Don't miss it.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nischelle, we will not miss it. The pressure is on. Who will you be wearing?

All right. In the 12 years since 9/11, more than two million service members have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. And Hollywood director J. J. Abrams is on a mission to help those veterans find purpose once back home.

It's today's "Impact Your World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

The Mission Continues is a nonprofit that helps veterans returning from service find their purpose. Whether you're a vet or not, I think it's one of the dreams in life is to find the thing that you know you can do and that you love. And what you learn when you're in the service, there is the organizational skills. There's skills of leadership. They come back to communities in desperate need of that kind of voice.

It seems like communities need it. The vets need it. It's important that we take advantage of that and find them the training, find them the jobs and the opportunity to continue to serve even though they're not in the service.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much for watching. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.