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CNN NEWSROOM

Four Killed, 218 Unaccounted for in Colorado; Flooding Socks West & South; U.S. & Russia Reach Deal on Syria; Roy Ortiz' Heart- Stopping Rescue; Minor Rekindling of New Jersey Fire Overnight; Greyhound Bus Flips Over; Arrest Made in Quadruple Murder; United Honors Free Fare Tickets; Four Killed, 218 Unaccounted for in Colorado; "Parts Unknown:" Jerusalem; College Football Game of the Year

Aired September 14, 2013 - 11:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We've got a whole lot -- we're talking about extreme weather and we've got acts of diplomacy overseas.

Let's begin underwater, an overwhelmed, record-setting floods force thousands to flee in Colorado.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What to grab, where to go, total chaos and confusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hundreds of people still missing and the storm is now growing, threatening towns beyond Colorado's borders. We'll have the forecast straight ahead.

Plus -- it is a breakthrough agreement, or is it a ploy for more time? After three days of talks, the U.S. and Russia have decided on an aggressive plan to rid Syria of chemical weapons, but will it translate into action on the ground?

And a horrifying story to report from Ohio this morning. A Greyhound bus with more than 50 people on board careens off an interstate and overturns in the middle of the night. Dozens are now in the hospital.

The CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

First, to Colorado where the disaster from historic flooding is turning dire and more dangerous -- we're getting some unbelievable new images right now into the NEWSROOM. This is new video just in from above the Boulder area. At least four people have been killed, as far as we know, and now 218 people are reported missing from days of unprecedented rainfall in northern Colorado.

The Boulder area has been hit the hardest. They got a year's worth of rain in just a matter of days. Ten miles away, in Longmont, the challenge is getting through the floodwaters. Take a look at these images right now. Firefighters in their vehicle -- this is what they encountered, the water splashing right up against the truck's windshield.

Amazingly, usually any other kind of motor vehicle getting through that kind of high water, the engine would simply be inundated, but these firefighters were able to get through.

Let's go now 10 miles to the northeast and to a town called Lyons. More than 800 people including children have been evacuated there, many by air and by the National Guard as you see there. President Barack Obama declaring an emergency for three counties allowing FEMA to launch its largest deployment in Colorado history.

And this is the view from the air above Lyons. These pictures were taken late yesterday afternoon -- a simply amazing view of the devastation below. Neighborhoods isolated and simply cut off all because of the high water. Streets are literally becoming rivers and it really looks like a lot of lakeside property now.

And the storm, guess what, isn't over yet -- this massive system now threatening neighboring states. We'll have that forecast in just a few moments.

But first, let's go to Longmont, Colorado, just south of Boulder where 7,000 people have been forced to evacuate. CNN's Nick Valencia is there and Nick, what are you seeing from your vantage point?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some incredible, dramatic pictures here that we've seen over the course of the last couple of days, Fred. And this is one of them.

This is the St. Vrane River and on a normal day, this is more of a creek, residents say. You could walk across this thing. But if you just take a look at how fast the water is moving here and all of the debris that it's brought as the floodwaters have moved through this area, at its peak, it's probably about up to here, around my thigh here. It washed out this road and brought a lot of debris with it, completely collapsing a section of this road right behind me. If you could take a look right back there, it's a section that just collapsed from the force of the floodwater.

And the scene is not that much different. Miles and miles down the road, these fields right next to me here also flooded out. And you see that tree right there in the distance, Fred? Uprooted, completely uprooted.

But the debris let's get back to the debris it's brings through things like this, big chunks of trees, mud, rocks, all of that is clogging the drainage systems here and really all of the counties that have been affected. And that's exaggerated the problems for the first responders. These first responders are also really dealing with a lot in the mountainside villas, those hamlets there in those areas, where we saw 162 people airlifted out of there overnight.

We also understand there's ongoing evacuation in Lyons. And it's only accessible by air, because first responders, they can't get through there. Those roads are impassable. And that's just some of the problems and some of the issues that the community and those that are trying to help the community are dealing with here locally -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Extraordinary we're again looking at those images of these firefighters going through with their vehicle, through that high water, as you see, just the kind of wakes that they're going through with that high water. So give me an idea.

VALENCIA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Now we're talking about the number of reported people missing as very high, but in large part, is that because people have been displaced and also because it's difficult to contact folks, you know, not all cell phones and land lines are working and is that part of the problem? And these live images that we're just now seeing too of the vantage point from the area of just how much water we're talking about.

But Nick, why don't you address the issue of hundreds of people who are unaccounted for. Why?

VALENCIA: Yes that's exactly right. As you mentioned, the communication has been a huge problem here in this community. Cell phone towers are out. Electricity is out. Here in this community where I am, 2,000 people are still without power. So that number, that 218 number that we got earlier from the Boulder County Emergency Management office, it is significant.

But when I spoke to that press information officer, he did say that they estimate that number to go down. He mentioned one scenario with a mother that wasn't able to get in touch with her son, but that's because her son just wasn't simply returning her phone calls. It wasn't because he was in trouble or unsafe.

So, as these rescue crews continue to get into these stranded areas and we understand that they're going to be using helicopters in Larimer County today to get into the more hard-to-reach areas, they say that number is expected to go down, though it is still a significant number. More than 200 people still unaccounted for and still missing as a result of these floods -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, significant numbers. All right, thanks so much, Nick Valencia. I know you're going to be keeping us posted throughout the day. Thanks so much.

All right, let's check in on the weather forecast. It is bad now and apparently, it might get even worse. Alexandra Steele in the Severe Weather Center for us now. Alexandra, why might it get worse?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It won't get worse. It won't certainly get worse. Now, what we've seen is the worst is certainly behind us. We do have two days with more rain, maybe one to two inches of rain. But even with that, with the ground is so saturated, flooding will continue.

So here's the water vapor satellite. I want to show you the synoptic setup and why and how this all happened. Here's what the water vapor shows you, you can see where it's brown, and that's where the air are dry. But where the white is and the oranges, and there's purples, that's where it's moist and that's where we're seeing such high cloud tops and what we've got, because of the counterclockwise flow around the low, the clockwise flow around the high, all of the air is coming from both directions, kind of funneling right through New Mexico and Colorado.

So it's the position and the movement of this air, but also because this low pressure is cut off from the main circulation, the jet stream's well above it. And usually, the jet stream can move everything forward and make this aggressive and continue to move eastward. That's not the case. So it's just been stagnant.

Again, we still will see Fred, another shower, maybe an inch or two of more rain coming. But again, you know, inland flooding is the number one weather killer here in the U.S. So with all of this rain, 15 inches in Boulder, Fred, and they usually get 1.6 for the entire month.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Extreme difference.

STEELE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right thanks so much, Alexandra Steele, keep us posted.

STEELE: Sure.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, we want to take you now to Boulder and Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle updating reporters. Let's listen in.

SHERIFF JOE PELLE, BOULDER COUNTY SHERIFF: -- and so there are some personal stories coming out of this that make all of this very, very rewarding. I'm going to introduce you to Dan Dallas, he's our type 2 incident commander from the Rocky Mountain Incident Management team. Dan has some more information about what assets are here on the ground and what are coming, and then once he's done, the two of us will take questions about what's occurring in our county operationally. Once he's done, then the county commissioner will speak. So -- Dan?

DAN DALLAS, ROCKY MOUNTAIN INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Thank you Sheriff. Good morning, everybody. Again, my name is Dan Dallas. I'm the incident commander for Rocky Mountain Instant Command team, Team B. And unfortunately -- or fortunately -- but we've been here before. Normally, we're -- we work quite a bit on fire but we -- on fire incidents, but we also are an all-hazard team. And so, we're here to help with the flood. To kind of quickly summarize what we do, I just summarize it all down.

We work, number one, we work -- number one, to bring order to a chaotic situation --

WHITFIELD: You're listening to Dan Dallas, Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team commander there, updating reporters on the apparatus and all of the -- all of the apparatus that they're using to try and help out in the flooding situation. Also hearing from Joe Pelle from the Boulder County sheriff. We'll update you as we get more information on how they continue to try to look for people and conduct any other kind of rescues taking place as a result of massive flooding -- some 15 inches of rain, extraordinary, over a period of days.

So how can you help the victims of this week's floods? Visit our "Impact Your World" page. That's at CNN.com/impact -- more information there.

All right. Overseas now. Syria has just one week now to prove it is serious about a deal reached by the U.S. and Russia to rid the country of its chemical weapons stockpiles. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov reached the agreement after three days of intense talks.

Senior international correspondent Matthew Chance joins us now by phone from Geneva. Matthew, what more can you tell us about this -- oh, there you are live -- what more can you tell us about this agreement?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it does seem to be a very, a very significant agreement. It's astonishing really, isn't it, that it took that appalling chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus last month for Russia, a big supporter, of course, of Bashar al-Assad and his regime in Damascus and the United States to come together on this issue.

But after three days of intensive negotiations, at this hotel here in Geneva, it does now appear to be full agreement on how best to rid Syria of chemical weapons and put them into international control.

Take a listen to what the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, had to say.

(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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: But it is an incredibly ambitious plan that's been agreed between the U.S. and Russia, as well. First of all, Syria has to compile a list and submit that list of all its chemical stockpiles and facilities within one week. It then will give U.N. inspectors up until November to complete their inspections, to verify what the Syrians have declared.

By the same month, November, chemical weapons facilities -- production and filling facilities should be destroyed with a view to the complete elimination of Syria's chemical weapons by the middle of 2014. So as I say, an extremely ambitious plan, particularly when you take into account the fact that there is a civil war raging on the ground in Syria and it's going to be very difficult for inspectors, the other international staff, to go about their work -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Right. So while this agreement really is addressing chemical weapons, it says nothing about stopping the launching of conventional weapons that's being used in this civil war.

Thanks so much, Matthew Chance there in Geneva.

So as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Jerusalem, we have a special programming note. CNN's Anthony Bourdain is already there revealing the complexities of Jerusalem in the season premiere of Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" that's Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

All right. Coming up later today in the NEWSROOM, Boardwalk blaze investigation -- words like suspicious and arson being used this morning. Now officials are looking into new reports of exactly where the fire may have started.

But next, the rescue that captured America's attention -- Roy Ortiz, his amazing survival in the Colorado floods, hear from him right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right.

Continuing our coverage of this morning's big story coming out of Colorado: at least four people are dead, 218 people missing from record-breaking flooding in that state. This is new video from around the Boulder area, which appears to be hardest hit. The floodwaters have simply cut off towns and forced more than 800 people to evacuate. The worst may not be over, however. More rain is expected throughout the weekend.

And it was a heart-stopping rescue that captured America's attention and played out on live television from coast-to-coast. Roy Ortiz was on his way to work Thursday morning when the road beneath him simply gave out because of those floodwaters. And it sent Roy's car into the raging river below, as you see right there, as the rescue emergency crews raced in. And as you can see from the video, they did save Roy but there was more to the story than what you see right here.

Nelson Garcia from CNN affiliate KUSA picks up the story from here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELSON GARCIA, REPORTER, KUSA: After firefighters made this dramatic rescue, they had no idea that there was still one more person clinging to life. One person trapped in this gray Grand Prix which had been submerged under the floodwaters.

ROY ORTIZ, RECUED FROM COLORADO FLOODING: The car's going forward, so when I stay right there, the water coming up.

GARCIA: Roy Ortiz was trapped with no place to go but a little space in the back of his car. ORTIZ: It's only my head can fit right there in that space.

GARCIA: He waited there, he says, for two hours, with the two other cars falling on top of him. He was just thinking of his family and praying that he will survive.

ORTIZ: Hopefully, it started (inaudible). So I have to wait, I had to pray, I had to sing to God, because I want to survive.

JOHN COOK, FIREFIGHTER: We didn't know that he was in the car still.

GARCIA: North Metro firefighter John Cook felt compelled to come and meet Ortiz today at the Good Samaritan Medical Center, because it's still hard to believe he survived in his car underwater for hours.

ORTIZ: I just singing to God. I just said, thanks, God, I just sing to glory to God, my God.

COOK: For him to be able to find that one air pocket inside the car is amazing, and to be able -- the air to last that long is nothing short of a miracle.

GARCIA: A miracle; Ortiz is back with family and friends, a miracle this man of faith had prayed for.

ORTIZ: I love everybody.

GARCIA: He loves that he survived this. In Boulder County, Nelson Garcia, 9 news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, incredible -- a close-call story there. Of course, we're following the very latest on the flooding and the devastation out west. We'll bring you the developments as they happen throughout the afternoon.

All right, next, the latest on the Boardwalk blaze investigation from Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Texas giant roller coaster ride reopened today at Six Flags over Texas. It was shut down for nearly two months after a deadly accident. 52-year-old Rosa Esparza fell out of the coaster and plunged to her death in July. According to a million-dollar wrongful death lawsuit filed by Esparza's family, she says she heard screams behind her and turned around to see her mother being thrown out of the car.

The lawsuit says, quote, "As Rosa Esparza's tragic death starkly illustrates, errors on the part of the Six Flags, defendants turned a thrilling illusion into a nightmarish reality," end quote. Park officials say an investigation reveals that there had been no mechanical failure on the ride. The giant coaster is now open with new safety measures in place, according to a statement. 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 extinguished the town's heart. They say they will come back.

This is the front page of this morning's "New Jersey Star Ledger" an amazing shot of the burnt Boardwalk with the headline, "We will make new memories".

Margaret Conley is live for us from Seaside Height, New Jersey. So Margaret, have officials been able to investigate the area properly, even this, while this overnight flare-up reportedly happened?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, you know, the area is still under investigation now. We talked to representatives from the prosecutor's office. They're saying that these kind of recurrences, of flare-ups, that is normal.

You can look at the damage behind me. This was a fire raging for about nine hours. Firefighters were spraying it down with water as early as this morning. Remember, the fire started on Thursday. You can still see some of the debris smoldering there in the background.

Investigators are back there, also. They're going through all of the debris. They are looking for evidence. They're trying to figure out what caused this fire. But we also are hearing from them that we may not know what the exact cause was for days to come -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And you had a chance to talk to a number of people there who lost their businesses now. What are they telling you?

CONLEY: Yes, a lot of the business owners here, they are just in disbelief. They're in shock. They've lost their livelihoods. We talked to one of them that owned a business just right behind us, and here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS DENNIS, OWNER, "SHOOT THE GEEK": 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, if you look at my building right now, clearly, it's going to have be cleaned up a lot. There is nothing left except for a shell, and it's not even a whole shell in its entirety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONLEY: Yes, that business owner was saying that the debris and the damage from the fire, it's going to cost more and it's going to take longer for him to repair than the damage from Sandy. Now, Governor Christie was a little bit more optimistic. He says that this town is going to rebuild. He's actually going to meet with business owners and local authorities this afternoon at 1:30.

WHITFIELD: All right, Margaret Conley, thanks so much. Keep us posted throughout the afternoon. All right. Overseas, is it a groundbreaking agreement or a stalling tactic? the U.S. and Russia deciding on a framework to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons. We'll get reaction from Washington in a live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are five things crossing the CNN Newsdesk right now.

This video says it all. Firefighters literally driving into a wall of water as they are canvassing streets in Longmont, Colorado; the town near Boulder has been devastated by history-making flooding. 7,000 households there have been evacuated. The death toll from the rainfall in Colorado stands at four now; 218 people are reported missing.

And number two, a Greyhound bus flips over in southern Ohio on the northbound side of interstate 75 around 4:00 a.m. this morning. About 52 people were on board and at least 34 of them were rushed to the hospital with injuries. The bus was on its way to Detroit from Cincinnati.

The U.S. and Russia have agreed on a framework plan to rid Syria of its chemical weapons stockpiles. The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reached the deal after three days of intense talks in Geneva. As part of the agreement, Syria must provide a detailed accounting of its chemical weapons within one week. The U.N. inspectors must be on the ground in Syria by November.

And number four, authorities have arrested 26-year-old Jacob Bennett in connection to the bloody murder of four people in Tennessee. They say three teenagers and a young mother were found shot dead on a rural road near Crossville. That's about two hours east of Nashville. A passerby found the victims in their car. The sheriff says the suspect was on parole from a conviction back in 2009.

All right, number five, United Airlines' mistake turns 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 for as low as $5, charging just airport and security fees. The mistake was on United's web site for about two hours on Thursday, and applied only to domestic flights.

All right, now to the catastrophic flooding in Colorado, right now, emergency crews are trying to reach thousands of people stranded by raging waters near Boulder. The situation is pretty precarious, and the stakes couldn't be higher.

Joining us now on the phone is Nick Grossman. He is the public information officer with the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management. So, Nick, tell us what is happening right now.

NICK GROSSMAN, BOULDER COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (via telephone): Good morning. We are currently experiencing less water. The waters have subsided, but we're not out of the woods yet. There's more rain anticipated for Boulder County, particularly the mountains and the nearby foothills beginning Saturday afternoon and continuing through late Sunday.

WHITFIELD: So you say there's less water, but still an awful lot of water. Some people are stranded in their homes. In other cases, reportedly, more than 200 people are reported missing. In large part, is it right, Nick, because it's difficult to contact people, whether it be by cell phone or even find out if they've been displaced?

GROSSMAN: That's correct. We currently have more than 200 people unaccounted for in Boulder County. This means that neighbors, friends, family have been unable to reach these people at this time.

WHITFIELD: So, Nick, how worried are you --

GROSSMAN: Our top priority for today is evacuating -- continuing to evacuate the mountain communities of Jamestown and Lyons that are stranded and cut off by floodwaters.

WHITFIELD: So, Nick, tell me about the worry or the concern about how you're able to evacuate these many people that you just described. How do you get to them?

GROSSMAN: Jamestown is being evacuated by air. We're getting some assistance with some Black Hawk helicopters and Lyons is being evacuated using high-clearance vehicles with help from the Colorado National Guard.

WHITFIELD: OK, Nick Grossman, all the best in your efforts, public information officer with the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management. Keep us posted. Thanks so much.

A reaction to what's being called now overseas a groundbreaking deal to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria is now trickling in. The U.S. and Russia have agreed to an aggressive plan, one that calls for Syria to account for its entire stockpile of chemical weapons within a week, despite the civil war raging on in that country for more than two years now.

So how is this agreement being received in Washington? Joe Johns joining us live now from the nation's capital. So, Joe, how is this being received? Is this, you know, reason for a lot of people to celebrate, feel optimistic?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think a lot of people are going to say it's an important step, of course, Fredricka. On the other hand, we're already hearing reaction in Washington, D.C., that gets to the heart of the matter, and that is the question of enforcement. There's no enforcement provision in this agreement, which would allow the U.N. to send in forces in the event the Al-Assad regime doesn't comply with the framework.

There's no comment on this from the White House, on this big news out of Geneva. They're pointing to Secretary Kerry's comments. The president has made it clear that whatever happens on the diplomatic front, he, and the U.S., will keep up the threat of using force if Syria fails to comply. Here's how he put it in his weekly address, which was taped before today's agreement was announced. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We need to see concrete actions to demonstrate that Assad is serious about giving up his chemical weapons. Since this plan emerged only with a credible threat of military action, we will maintain our military posture in the region to keep the pressure on the Assad regime. And if diplomacy fails, the United States and the international community must remain prepared to act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Now, back on that enforcement issue, Senator Bob Corker, a key Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, is reacting saying absent the threat of force, it's unclear to him how Syrian compliance will be possible. He goes on to say, I'm concerned that these negotiations not be used as an opportunity to retreat from our broader national interests, but rather to reinforce them, including support for moderate opposition forces, and most importantly, reassuring our allies of U.S. resolve to counter threats from Iran and other rogue nations.

The administration's handling of this crisis, as you know, has hurt U.S. credibility, so it's vital going forward the president articulate how his actions protect our national interests in Syria and the region. We haven't heard from other skeptics in Congress, including Senator John McCain, who've been pressing the president to do more, especially to help the rebels side in Syria.

But this would seem, Fredricka, to decrease some of the political pressure on the president, which grew to a fever pitch this week, costing him on Capitol Hill and the public opinion polls for how he's handled the crisis.

WHITFIELD: So, Joe, is the White House saying anything about whether this dissension, this continued criticism even from members on Capitol Hill, in any way interferes with or undermines diplomatic efforts overseas?

JOHNS: No. It's a challenge and the White House has a lot on its plate, as you know. There are a variety of issues coming up at the end of the month domestically, and there's a real interplay going on between that and Syria, of course, but no word so far from the White House on any of this. We do suspect they'll probably have to talk about it sometime in the very near future -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joe Johns, thank you so much, in Washington, appreciate it.

All right, the Alabama Crimson Tide hopes to do what no college has done, and that's win three consecutive national championships. But they face Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M today, the only team that beat them last year.

But before we get to that, Anthony Bourdain is back with new episodes of his Emmy-nominated series "PARTS UNKNOWN," and tomorrow night's season premiere, he heads to Jerusalem. I talked to him about the city's rich history and what he learned from those who live there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, CNN'S "ANTHONY BOURDAIN PARTS UNKNOWN": I don't know what kind of expectations I had really. I tried to go with an open mind. I went very wary. There's no more complex or contentious subject in the world that I could think of, and I was very, very painfully aware of that. I mean, I went with a lot of apprehension. How am I going to look? How am I going to see things straight? How am I going to describe them? I didn't know.

But I think there's definitely an advantage to going into very complicated situations and asking very simple questions. You know, how do you live? What do you eat? What would you like -- what would you like to be doing next year or the year after that? People let their guard down, whether Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank, or settlers in the West Bank, or urban Israelis in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. People tell you rather remarkable things about themselves off times when you ask those simple questions.

WHITFIELD: And did you feel they let their guard down because you are breaking bread?

BOURDAIN: Well, I think that's -- that's a phenomena we've benefited from over the years many, many times, often with people who have no particular reason to love me or to love Americans in general. The fact that you're willing to sit down, express an eagerness to sit down, break bread, and ask those simple, personal -- very personal questions. Yes, people let their guard down and reveal themselves to you sometimes in really extraordinary ways.

WHITFIELD: What were some of the questions you asked people, and who were some of the people that you were asking?

BOURDAIN: Some old men in the Gaza strip, you know, whose families were relocated in 1948. I asked them, will you ever be able to go to -- do you think you'll ever be able to go to the place you were born? You know, I asked people -- you know, people whose children grew up looking at what they calmed martyrs, paintings of people who brought down planes on the wall. Do you think that's -- you know, that's a very different situation than the way American children grow up.

You know, again, a lot of simple questions that got surprising -- very surprising answers. It's a very, very -- it's easy to have your heart broken over there. There are deep waters. I'm very aware of the fact I went in there pretty ignorant and came out only marginally smarter, but I did the best I could.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: He did great. So you can watch the season two premier of "ANTHONY BOURDAIN, PARTS UNKNOWN," tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. See for yourself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. It is finally here, the most anticipated, most hyped college football game of the year. And to get last-minute tickets to see Alabama and Texas A&M, well, people are paying some Super Bowl- like prices. Yes, we're talking about thousands here for college ball.

Joe Carter is here with this morning's or afternoon's or whichever part of the day it is for you --

JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, wherever you are in the world. Those ticket brokers, I tell you, it's like a stock. You know? They don't quite know how big it will get until you get to that day.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

CARTER: Here we are. Obviously, we've been talking about this match- up all season. You know, injuries could have changed it. Here they are, both teams are ready to go. A couple of more hours, and you're looking at $5,000 just to see this game from the end zone.

WHITFIELD: You're kidding. You don't necessarily have a kid playing in the game. You just want to be there.

CARTER: And you know, this game has got so much intrigue, you have the revenge factor here because the two teams played last year. If you remember, that's when Johnny "Football" sort of game Johnny football across the nation, because they beat Alabama, in Alabama's only loss of 2012. You know, Manziel's biggest challenge today, obviously, is to prove what happened this summer -- all off-the-field distractions doesn't matter, and last year's win wasn't a fluke.

And then you got Alabama, they're really on the road to history, trying to do what no college football team has done in the modern era and that's to win back-to-back-to-back championships. It hasn't been done since the '40s. Alabama, experts say, is a 7 1/2-point favorite on the road, on the road. So Texas A&M still getting no respect there.

Speaking of respect, win or lose, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will make at least $41 million for his fight tonight --

WHITFIELD: My goodness!

CARTER: -- and get this, with pay per view numbers, if they come in big, he could make somewhere north of $100 million, for just this fight.

WHITFIELD: Win or lose?

CARTER: Win or lose! Now his opponent, Canelo Alvarez, he is from Mexico. He's also a good fighter. He is unbeaten. I tell you, there's so much hype around this fight that 12,000 people showed up just to watch the weigh-in yesterday at the MGM Grand.

WHITFIELD: My goodness.

CARTER: Yes, 12,000 people. You got huge ticket prices for this, $9,000 if you want a seat on the floor, $12,000 -- excuse me, $1,600 in the nose bleeds. But those of us that watch it from home, most of us, they order it on pay per view, it used to be 50 bucks, now 75 bucks so all of these prices are going up to pay this one man all this money.

WHITFIELD: Amazing. Just looking at their bodies, they're both cut. They look like they're equal, on par.

CARTER: It's 10-year age difference, both fighters unbeaten. So it should be a good one tonight. This is really cool. I like to bring the good video.

WHITFIELD: I love to see it.

CARTER: This is actually trending this morning on bleacherreport.com, a cool section called "Shwagger," and it's one of the craziest sports you'll ever see. It's extreme downhill skateboarding -- on a long board. This is obviously go-pro camera action on the helmet. This is a race where 50 of the world's fastest boarders go down Pike's Peak in Colorado. Going down a mountain, 60-mile-an-hour speeds. They twist, they turn.

This is -- they're going down 11,000-foot mountain and this is a sanctioned league. This is an international federation that travels around the world, an organized racing federation. They travel all over the world and do these kinds of extreme, long board racing competitions. Think about one pebble, where one rock would trip you up and throw you so great video.

WHITFIELD: That is great video. Two weekends in a row now, you're showing me a sport I didn't know existed. Last time, it was on the unicycle.

CARTER: Validation. Oprah said you have to be validated in life. I just validated I'll be back next Saturday, hopefully.

WHITFIELD: I like it. All right, thank you so much. Appreciate it. That's some crazy skateboarding action. OK, we're going to take a short break from here. We have much more straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that left four little girls dead. Events are taking place all weekend to commemorate the sombre anniversary. TV icon Bill Cosby is taking part in it. Cosby spoke to CNN's Don Lemon about the importance of remembering what took place in 1963.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BILL COSBY, ENTERTAINER: There are people who don't want to see these scenes talked again. They weren't there. I didn't do it. Yes, I'm white, but please. Do we have to talk -- it is painful, but we have to really get to this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can catch the full interview with Cosby later today right here on CNN, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

All right, now a programming note, tonight, CNN takes you inside the 10th Annual Style Awards in New York City. Catch all the red carpet glamour at 7:00 Eastern here on CNN.

OK, that op-ed column from Russian President Vladimir Putin raised a whole lot of eyebrows this week. But wait until you find out who helped him get the column in "The New York Times?" We take you behind the media machine next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A lot of Americans were upset when they read Russian President Vladimir Putin's op-ed column in "The New York Times" this week and one of them was Arizona Senator John McCain. He told CNN that he would like to write a commentary for the Russian paper, Pragda. Now it looks like McCain may get his wish.

According to a foreign policy's blog, "The Cable," the editors of Pragda, have tentatively agreed to publish an op-ed by Senator McCain. The opinion piece will likely reflect McCain's strong negative views towards Mr. Putin.

So how exactly did Vladimir Putin wind up getting that op-ed in "The New York Times" anyway? Well, it turns out he has quite a media machine working for him and as Brian Todd shows us, you might be surprised to learn who is behind it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the op-ed column in America's most famous newspaper that Americans are still talking and some gagging about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I almost wanted to vomit --

TODD: Vladimir Putin's opinion piece in the "New York Times" was seen as a slap at the U.S., saying among other things that Americans shouldn't view themselves as exceptional. But what many may not know is that it was an American PR firm that was instrumental in getting Putin's column into the "Times." Ketchum, a company with offices in 70 countries.

BILL ALLISON, THE SUNLIGHT FOUNDATION: What this is, is an organization that hires a lot of people that work in advertising, some come from news media, some from government, couple of former speech writers for senators that work for the firm. TODD: Bill Allison from the Sunlight Foundation, which pushes for disclosure, believes people from Ketchum may have written or at least helped craft Putin's piece.

(on camera): Ketchum's representatives, some of whom work out of this office in Washington deny that saying Putin wrote the piece. They didn't make anyone available on camera, but told us they submitted the column to "The New York Times" on Putin's behalf. They say whenever they correspond with experts or the media on Russia's behalf, they always disclose that.

(voice-over): Allison says Ketchum is relentless pitching the Russian agenda, pushing interviews to American TV networks, putting out talking points.

(on camera): And we can even thank Ketchum for this image, right?

ALLISON: Right. They pushed this publication called "Outdoor Life," and of course, it kind of fits with Putin the image he tries to cultivate in Russia, being a hunter, fisher, outdoorsman.

TODD (voice-over): All of it brings in big money for Ketchum. According to findings with the Justice Department, the Kremlin paid Ketchum $1.9 million for services during the six months ending May 31st. Other American PR firms have also raked in a lot of money from leaders like Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi. As for Putin's "The New York Times" column --

(on camera): Was the news consumer fooled by any of this?

MARK JURKOWITZ, PROJECT FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM: Shouldn't be, he maybe angered. He maybe in sense, but we know who Vladimir Putin is. There's no sort of opaqueness about that. He is the president of Russia, often adversarial position. All the public had to do is read the byline in this and know where the views were coming from.

TODD (voice-over): CNN has also worked with Ketchum on interviews with Russian officials and presidential trips, and we have to say, all of Ketchum's activities in the U.S. are completely legal. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up in the next hour, should blind people be allowed to carry and shoot guns? At noon, a legal debate on an Iowa state law that allows just that. The next hour of the NEWSROOM continues right now.