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CNN NEWSROOM

Obama Delays on Immigration; Search for Unresponsive Plane's Wreckage; Feds Hunting American Tied to ISIS; ISIS Oil Empire; Interview with Senator Bob Casey; The Strategy For Fighting ISIS; Clinic Investigated In Joan Rivers' Death; Rivers Joked About Her Own Death; Desperately Dry California

Aired September 6, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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


MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: And we've got Fredricka joining us.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Good to see you, guys. I know you've made lots of memories this morning. You've kept us completely informed. Now we're going to, you know, pick up from where you leave off. So you all have a great day.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: You, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. It is the 11:00 Eastern hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, which begins right now.

President Obama making a decision on immigration and it could stir outrage among immigration reform activists. We'll tell you why, straight ahead.

And spreading terror online. The FBI suspects a Massachusetts man is a social media guru for ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESWOMAN: We take very seriously this threat of American citizens who join terrorist organizations. We take additional care when thinking about options for taking them off the battlefield.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hear how the U.S. tried to turn the tables on a fugitive to get him behind bars.

And we're getting new video this morning of Joan Rivers' daughter Melissa. She reacts to the outpouring of support from the late comedienne's friends and fans.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin with major news out of Washington.

CNN has confirmed President Barack Obama will delay executive action on immigration until after the midterm elections.

Let's go straight to the White House with CNN correspondent Erin McPike.

So, Erin, what's behind the president's decision and how did it come about?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, President Obama was asked about this yesterday and he said he would be reviewing recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security on the plane back to the United States last night and would make a decision very soon. Obviously, came sooner than we expected.

Now I want to play for you a little bit of what he said yesterday. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to be very clear. My intention is in the absence of -- in the absence of action by Congress, I'm going to do what I can do within the legal constraints of my office because it's the right thing to do for the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: Now, in other words, he still is planning to take some sort of executive action, just not until after the midterm elections. So we got a little bit more background from a White House official this morning. I'm going to read part of what that official told us, saying it's too big of an issue to allow it to be used as a tool for people trying to get votes. It isn't about votes for any particular candidate. It's about dealing with this issue in an environment that avoids the grandstanding we've seen in the past.

Now I want to remind you, though, that President Obama said in the Rose Garden June 30th that he would take action without delay. Now of course he's delaying it.

Now this has already seen reactions swift and strong from both sides of the aisle. I saw a Republican strategist who's working on the top Senate races in the country take to Twitter and say the threat of executive amnesty now hangs over the top Senate races, the Democratic incumbents in those races for the next 60 days and the threat of executive amnesty is essentially political poison.

On the other side of the spectrum, seeing groups that are representing undocumented immigrants essentially and they're saying that the president is cementing his legacy as the deporter-in-chief because he's delaying relief for these people and the deportations could speed up over the next couple of months. And so essentially this is going to still be a big issue in the midterm elections now -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McPike, thanks so much. Keep us posted. We're going to talk more about this. This story still in its infancy. As we get more information from the White House and more reaction.

All right. Now to the intense search today for a couple on board a plane that flew for hours unresponsive and then it crashed near Jamaica. There's no official word on what happened to Larry and Jane Glazer, but their children said last night they are devastated by the sudden loss of their parents.

Jamaican and U.S. crews were out at 5:00 a.m. local time today trying to find the wreckage. Last night they found an oil slick in the area.

CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien is live for us now out of Boston.

So, good to see you, Miles. We're going to talk to you in a moment. But first, you know, aviation correspondent Rene Marsh has some details on exactly what happened to this plane.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under way now for this small plane after it crashed 14 miles off the coast of Jamaica. It took off from Rochester, New York, bound for Naples, Florida. Onboard, Larry Glazer and his wife Jane. Over North Carolina the pilot told air traffic control there was a problem, but did not declare an emergency. He was cleared to descend to 25,000 feet, but asked to go lower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to descend down to about 180. We have an indication that is not correct in the plane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 900KN descend and maintain level 250.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 250, we need to get lower. 900KN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Working on that.

MARSH: About an hour and 15 minutes after takeoff, the pilot stopped responding to radio calls. U.S. Military F-15s tracked it along the East Coast of Florida. One fighter pilot looked through the window.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see his chest rising and falling. Right before I left was the first time we could see that he was actually breathing.

MARSH: The pilot was slumped over and the plane's frosted. Both are signs the pressure may have escaped, leaving the pilot without enough oxygen to stay conscious.

The aircraft flew over the Bahamas and south to Cuba, where a Cuban fighter jet took over the pursuit. Four-and-a-half-hours after takeoff, the plane crashed near Port Antonio, Jamaica.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much to Rene Marsh for that report.

Aviation analyst Miles O'Brien back with us live now from Boston.

So, Miles, what was said and what wasn't said equally glaring in that audiotape while we understand the pilot was saying, I need to descend, we need to go at a lower altitude, it was unclear as to why. You know, what was missing in that dialogue between those two voices?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: It was a very unfortunate dialogue, Fredricka. On the part of the pilot, it was clearly a muddled message. I have an indication of something that is incorrect. It was not a -- he didn't light his hair on fire, put it that way. He didn't say, mayday. He didn't say emergency. And he asked oddly to go down to 18,000 feet, which, if you have a problem with your pressurization, it's not going to do you much good. You want to get down to around 10,000 feet, where you have enough air to breathe.

So I'm going to -- my guess would be that this is a person who had been dealing with the insidious effects of hypoxia, lack of oxygen. There had been a slow leak of some kind in the pressurization system and he was already kind of confused when he called in. On the other side of this transaction is the air traffic controller who is busy and didn't take the time to really probe the pilot on what was going on. What sort of problem do you have, would have been a reasonable response.

I remember once I was flying my airplane, I have a little hiccup in the engine and I called in. I said I'm having a problem with the engine, I'd like to land soon to get it checked out. And the controller -- first thing the control said was, do you wish to declare an emergency?

Now psychologically, if you're a pilot and you're trying to deny you have a big problem and somebody uses the "E" word it gives you permission to say, wait a minute. I'm in trouble here. And so it probably would have been a good idea if the controller had said something to that effect.

What sort of problem do you have? Is this an emergency? It didn't happen.

WHITFIELD: And the controller might have even been able -- to be able to discern even if the answer wasn't clear, that, oh, gosh, this pilot might be suffering from hypoxia. So give us an idea exactly what it is. What it does and how a pilot can get disoriented or maybe lack an ability to reason or think or deliver a message clearly?

O'BRIEN: This is one of the most insidious killers you can run into. I've been in an altitude chamber, Fredricka, where they've, you know, given me -- this is actually at NASA. They made it seem as if it was 35,000 feet. I was wearing an oxygen mask. They took the oxygen mask off and they had me start doing mathematics problems. I couldn't add two plus two.

WHITFIELD: Really?

O'BRIEN: And worse, worse, I felt great. I was laughing.

WHITFIELD: So there was a euphoria.

O'BRIEN: A euphoric feeling. It was pure euphoria. So for a pilot who's not aware of what's going on and really isn't attuned to this, you can get trapped in a situation where you do not realize how much trouble you are in, and that's the real tricky part here and that's why air traffic controllers when somebody at 28,000 feet says, you know, I really need to get lower, a little -- response question, a challenge question, do you wish to declare an emergency?

What sort of problem do you have is a reasonable response. And really that marching forward should be what -- they should play that tape for future controllers and say you know what? When this call comes in, this is what you need to do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Miles O'Brien, thanks so much for the expertise. And of course, it's difficult to know exactly what took place just by hearing that audiotape. They've got to find that wreckage and that is what's under way right now in the Jamaican waters.

Thanks so much.

All right, now to an unnerving journey for 100 Americans on a charter flight from Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates. The plane was carrying U.S. military contractors from Bagram Airfield to Dubai when it was forced to stop in Iran. Iranian officials ordered the pilot to land or to be intercepted claiming its flight plan was not current.

U.S. officials say the problem began when the jet left Afghanistan three hours late and that put it in Iranian airspace after the flight plan had expired. So the plan -- the plane, rather, landed in southern Iran, and after an inspection it was cleared for takeoff back to Dubai.

All right. Now to the fight against ISIS. The FBI is on the hunt for a man from Boston who the feds believe may be involved with the terror group's aggressive social media strategy.

Our Deborah Feyerick tells us who he is and why the U.S. is so desperate to capture him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Intelligence sources say it makes sense that ISIS would want to recruit a guy like American Ahmad Abousamra. He grew up near Boston, holds both a Syrian and U.S. passport and graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a degree in the field of computer technology.

Believed to be in his early 30s, Abousamra is fluent in both English and Arabic. The FBI released this audio recording they say is Abousamra. It's unclear who he's speaking to.

AHMAD ABOUSAMRA, AMERICAN JIHADIST: If they don't have a warrant, they don't have the right to do that. Make sure you tell your mother that the next time because they might scare her.

FEYERICK: Although authorities will not confirm Abousamra's role in ISIS if any, a law enforcement official tells CNN that they're looking into whether he might be involved in the murder group's media wing, specifically its English social media including Facebook, an online magazine and Twitter, which recently suspended the group's account.

Abousamra's friend American Tarek Mehanna was accused by the U.S. of heading the media wing of al Qaeda in Iraq which morphed into ISIS. He's currently serving 17 years in the U.S. for providing material support to terrorists. Both men were indicted together in 2009, accused of attending terror training camps in Yemen for the purpose of traveling to Iraq to kill U.S. troops.

Abousamra was last seen in Syria with a woman and child believed to be his wife and daughter. Ironically, two years ago, the FBI tried using social media specifically Facebook and Twitter to find Abousamra.

HARF: Obviously we take very seriously this threat of American citizens who join terrorist organizations. We take additional care when thinking about options for taking them off the battlefield. But that your citizenship cannot serve as a shield if you take up arms against the United States.

FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: ISIS has raised millions of dollars to fund its terror organization. I'll tell you what they have been selling on the black market to make all of that cash.

Plus, an investigation into Joan Rivers' death is underway. How did a routine surgery end this legendary comedienne's life?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: ISIS may be as well -- may, rather, not be as well organized as some other militant groups like al Qaeda but it does have one crucial advantage. It has created a steady stream of revenue for its terror activities. Since it's pushed out of Syria and into Iraq the group has been selling oil it seized along the way and that opens up a huge revenue potential since Iraq is one of the world's top 10 oil-producing countries.

John Defterios looks at how ISIS uses the black market to sell black gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ISIS popped up on the global radar in June with its attack on Mosul. And in the span of just two months has created its own black market for Iraqi crude.

THEODORE KARASIK, INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST AND GULF MILITARY ANALYSIS: The scale is actually sizeable in the sense that they were able to export up to $3 million a day of oil.

DEFTERIOS (on camera): Now this is may be a small sum by global oil standards but if left unchecked ISIS could earn more than $1 billion a year from its oil operations in Iraq. It made that charge June 10th into Mosul. It now has four oil facilities in Mosul. And if you go down to Kirkuk, which has big deposits, but they have three smaller operations, it has a total of 80,000 barrels of capacity per day.

(Voice-over): What ISIS lacks is refining capacity. Unable to wrestle control of the strategic Baiji refinery south of Mosul. Energy strategists say ISIS is selling the Iraqi crude at $25 to $60 a barrel, a deep discount on the global benchmark of $100 a barrel.

ROBIN MILLS, MIDDLE EAST ENERGY ANALYST: In northern Iraq of course people have been stealing and smuggling oil and tapping off from pipelines for years in small volumes. So there's already that kind of infrastructure and those middlemen who know how to trade the stuff.

DEFTERIOS: Islamic militants plied their energy trade in eastern Syria, seizing oil and gas assets for the past few years. In early June under the banner of ISIS, they took control of Syria's biggest field in the Deir ez-Zor Province.

Opposition Turkish parliamentarian Mehmet Ali Ediboglu based in the country's south border in Syria claims, "$800 million worth of oil that ISIS obtained is being sold in Turkey."

With U.S. military intervention, strategists say the Kurds have kept ISIS out of Kirkuk's super oil field, capping for now the group's new- found wealth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: John Defterios, thanks so much.

So how crucial is it to cut off sources of revenue for ISIS in order to defeat them? Well, this week two senators, Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Marco Rubio wrote an open letter to Secretary of State John Kerry saying exactly that. They said, quote, "Any strategy to roll back the group's gains must includes efforts to cut off their resources. Although ISIS is already under both U.S. and international sanctions, we should employ all available tools to curtail these activities and disrupt its financial networks," end quote.

Senator Bob Casey joining me right now. In fact good to see you. He is a Democrat from Pennsylvania and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

So, Senator Casey, what is unique about your plan that the White House and the president's security team have not already proposed or are entertaining?

SEN. BOB CASEY (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, Fredricka, I think what you're seeing now with the president's good work and that of Secretary Kerry to build a coalition is very important to this effort to cut off the financing. The purpose of cutting off the financing is really twofold. One is to undermine the operations that ISIS is able to undertake and secondly to dampen or diminish their recruiting potential as well. I've spoken to the White House about this directly. I haven't had a

specific response from the State Department yet, but that will be forthcoming. This will be a central element in a broader strategy because if you can degrade their ability to finance their operations, obviously that will have an adverse impact over time, but it will take some time to implement strategy.

WHITFIELD: But it sounds like the president is in agreement. He said degrade, dismantle, destroy. So wouldn't you all be speaking the same language? Degrade meaning trying to cut it off at the knees by interrupting the financial flow?

CASEY: That's right. And I think that's going to be part of that, that degrading process, but this is going to take a while. It won't happen easily. You have to use this coalition to say to countries, look, if you do business with these guys, with regard to oil or anything else, you're going pay a price. You're going to be sanctioned. You're going to be somehow punished economically, and I think the other thing which is interesting is even though the country's -- I'm sorry?

WHITFIELD: Well, I'm wondering how the U.S. realistically does intervene in the way ISIS is making money reportedly earning $1 billion from the black market oil in Iraq? Who exactly is purchasing this black market oil? And in what way does the U.S. intervene without also potentially damaging structurally the oil fields in Iraq? So clearly that kind of military strike would not be advisable, but how does the U.S. realistically go about interrupting, intervening?

CASEY: Yes. A lot of it is by way of building a coalition. Just like we're able to create enormous international pressure on the Iranians with regard to the use of sanctions, you have to develop a similar set of pressures.

One of the problems here, Fredricka is a lot of --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Well, like what? What would be an example of that because it sounds like there are nine nations --

CASEY: -- oil trade is within Syria.

WHITFIELD: I'm sorry to interrupt you, Senator, but I'm wondering specifically in what way? Because right now we know that nine allied nations part of NATO all agreed and say, yes, we are, you know, speaking in a united way, a united front. We all want to do something about dismantling, destroying ISIS, but then, you know, paint a picture for me how would any of these countries go about punishing, perhaps, those who are benefitting from the black market oil so as to make an impact financially on ISIS? How do you do that?

CASEY: Well, by use of sanctions, by use of international pressure, by use of diplomacy. All the tools that we use on a regular basis. I would say this, though. That what's not clearly evident yet in addition to having the Turks involved. They're very important in this, is we have to make sure that the Jordanians and the -- and the United Arab Emirates and the Saudis as well are helping on all aspects of this strategy, including the strategy to cut off the financing.

WHITFIELD: OK. Because allegedly Turkey has actually purchased some of this black market oil and to the tune of $800 million? Is that your understanding?

CASEY: Right. Well, I don't know the amount, but if that is true, and I don't -- can't confirm that, but if that's true, that's -- you're identifying part of the problem. But this -- look, diplomacy is difficult. It doesn't happen with one meeting, it doesn't happen with one agreement. This is going to take many, many months to have the full force of this coalition have an impact. Not only in the financing, but as well as the military and other aspects of the strategy.

WHITFIELD: Sure. OK. Senator Bob Casey, thanks so much for joining us this Saturday. Appreciate it.

CASEY: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And after the break, we'll ask the former U.S. general in Iraq if he thinks the U.S. has the right approach in the fight against ISIS.

Also ahead, stormy weather. Well, it's hitting the Midwest right now. We'll have the latest on effort to restore power across that region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: You can't contain an organization that is running roughshod through that much territory, causing that much havoc, displacing that many people, killing that many innocents, enslaving that many women. The goal has to be to dismantle them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That was President Barack Obama speaking at the NATO Summit yesterday.

Before the break we talked to Senator Bob Casey. He argues that one of the most effective ways to dismantle ISIS is to cut the group off from the oil fields that it has been capturing across northern Iraq and that would drain a huge amount of their funding.

Retired Colonel Peter Mansoor is a CNN military analyst. He's also commandeered an armored division in Baghdad during the time while at the U.S. Army.

Good to see you.

COL. PETER MANSOOR, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Colonel, were you able to hear, you know, Senator Casey, which, you know, he is suggesting to the president that there has to be a building of a coalition and through this coalition there has to be a concerted effort to try to dismantle ISIS by way of funding, interrupt how they're able to sell oil in the black market? Does that sound reasonable to you?

MANSOOR: I did hear his discussion with you, and it's part of the strategy. Certainly you have to cut off the financing and the economic wherewithal of the Islamic State. And the way to do this is to force Turkey to patrol its border and to stop accepting oil shipments from ISIS.

WHITFIELD: Because reportedly it is. I mean, allegedly Turkey has benefited something like $800 million in black oil market, but Turkey is, you know, a very important NATO ally. It's the only Muslim, you know, country as part of that NATO coalition, and certainly a good friend of the U.S. so how will the U.S. try to convince Turkey or if Turkey would even admit to this, that it is complicit in this black market of oil involving is?

MANSOOR: Well, it may or may not be complicit. The oil could be going through oil brokers and private hands. In any case, Turkey needs to realize that ISIS is eventually a threat to it as well and it needs to come out with a public statement saying we will not accept oil from the Islamic State and we will close our border, and if they need help, this would about a great place for NATO to step up and say, OK, we'll deploy forces on Turkey's southern border as a part of a NATO force to close off this -- these oil lanes.

But this is just part of a strategy against ISIS. It has to be a combined military, diplomatic, informational, financial, legal strategy to hit ISIS with more forms of contact than it can handle.

WHITFIELD: As it pertains to that military strategy, is there a concern that potentially those very valuable oil fields, while in the hands of ISIS or not, could potentially get damage if part of the military commitment is to target ISIS wherever they are.

But what if they are in the oil fields and in the bull's-eye of whether it be U.S. air strikes or NATO military forces? Would that be a -- a zone, an area where there would not be a good military plan? It would not be recommended?

MANSOOR: Well, fortunately, more than 90 percent of Iraq's oil fields are in Kurdish hands or in the southern portion of the country. So it's very -- it's a very minute portion of the oil capacity of Iraq that's in ISIS control. Significant for that group, because it could sell up to $1 billion worth of oil a year, and finance its operations, but not significant for the global economy as a whole.

WHITFIELD: Colonel Peter Mansoor, thank you so much for your time this Saturday. Appreciate it.

MANSOOR: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, how did a routine surgery and Joan Rivers' life, was age a factor? The clinic where the legendary comedienne suffered complications is now under investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are five things crossing the CNN news desk right now. Steven Sotloff remembered as a loving son, brother, and loyal friend. A memorial for the journalist who was beheaded by ISIS militants was held yesterday in his home state of Florida.

His parents and sister spoke and Sotloff's words were also heard. His father read passages from two letters written by Sotloff during his captivity and smuggled out of Syria. One read in part, everyone has two lives. A second one begins when you realize you only have one.

Huge crowds at a church festival near Detroit, had to run for cover when a massive storm blew in. Several people were hurt when strong winds picked up and tossed a tent. One energy company is reporting more than 300,000 customers in Southeast Michigan are now without power outages are expected to last several days.

And people in 700 homes near Yosemite National Park have been told to evacuate because of an out of control wildfire. The bridge fire started yesterday afternoon. It's already scorched at least 300 acres, and hurt one person.

And a small beach community on the big island of Hawaii could be cut off by lava within days. Lava started flowing from the vent in the Kilauea volcano in June and now the lava is within a mile of the subdivision in the District of Puna. So far no evacuations have been ordered, but the mayor did declare a state of emergency. Non- residents are being told to stay away.

A private funeral for comedienne, Joan Rivers is set for tomorrow in New York. Just a short time ago, CNN caught Rivers' daughter, Melissa, leaving her mother's apartment with her son. So many of her mother's fans have offered their condolences to her during this very difficult time.

Meanwhile, an investigation into Joan Rivers' death is underway. Our Alexandra Field is outside Rivers' home in New York. So Alexandra, you were able to ask Melissa about the tributes to her mother and we're seeing a lot of it right behind you there with those bouquets of flowers and how did he respond?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's clearly touched by it. People have been stopping here for the last couple of days. You can see behind me, leaving these flowers and also leaving notes for Joan Rivers and Melissa Rivers, the entire family.

Melissa, you know, has been stopping to look at the tributes on her way into and out of the building and she did stop for a moment to just say that she's amazed by the outpouring of love and support that's been left here in Joan's honor.

You know, while people are reflecting on Joan's memory, getting ready to say their final good-bye at tomorrow's funeral, there are three different investigations going on. We are following all of them. They are all seeking to answer this questions about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): Joan Rivers lived for laughs and joked about death.

RIVERS: I am 81 years old. I could die any second. Like that. I could go like that. Do you understand how lucky it would be? You would have something to talk about for the rest of your life.

FIELD: She lit up the stage for the last time last week in New York City.

STEVE OLSEN, OWNER, LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE: She gave a tremendous performance her last performance. She was particularly on that night. She came in. She was in a great mood. She left in a great mood. She was healthy and vital. She looked great. She always great.

FIELD: The next day, Rivers was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition. The comedy legend was put on life support and never recovered. Rivers went into cardiac and respiratory arrest during a procedure at the Yorkville Endoscopy Center.

The clinic is now the focus of an investigation by the New York State Department of Health. The board that gave the clinic its accreditation is also investigating. Together they will look at the clinic's staffing, life-saving protocols, and which drugs may have been given.

(on camera): What kind of sedative would be used in a case like this?

DR. GEOFFREY KEYES, PRESIDENT, ACCREDITATIN ASSOCIATION: Some facilities use a combination of Versed, which is like Valium, intravenous Valium, and maybe another type of sedation. More commonly today, Propofol is used. Propofol is newer medication with respect to some of the others. It provides a really adequate level of sedation to do this type of a procedure.

FIELD (voice-over): Doctors say medical professionals would have to determine that Rivers was healthy enough to undergo the outpatient procedure. One night earlier, Rivers sold out her final show taking the stage at the Laurie Beechman Theatre where at 81 years old, the legendary comedienne was still testing out new material.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: Yorkville Endoscopy Centre has no history of violations according to the State Health Department. Inspectors were back at the clinic this week to talk to physicians and staff and also to begin to review medical records and documents -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alexandra Field, thank you so much there in New York. Keep us posted.

So everyone agrees, there is no one like her. She was loved by so many, not because she was a trailblazing comedienne, but versatile as a talk show host, fashion critic, jewelry designer, and author.

At a remarkable 81, she was still juggling a demanding schedule filled with performance dates and appearances. I had the privilege of interviewing Joan Rivers twice.

First on the passing of her one-time mentor, Johnny Carson in 2005, and then most recently this summer while promoting her 12th book "Diary of A Mad Diva." How it abruptly ended went viral and unfortunately upstaged moments in the 7-minute interview, which underscored her very much admired stamina and staying power in the entertainment industry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You have been, you know, a trailblazer in so many different ways, and you know, it seems like you've cover it all, but I wonder, are there projects and, involving you, perhaps alongside your daughter, Melissa, is there anything else on your list that you feel like you've got to tackle?

RIVERS: Everything. I mean -- we're in the fourth year of "Fashion Police." We are in the second year of the internet show, "In Bed with Joan." I'm going back to Broadway starting in Washington at the National Theater in November. I want to do another book. I want to do another book.

You just want to keep doing things. It's so much fun to make people laugh, and get a check. Life is very tough, and if you can make a joke to make something easier, and funny, do it. Done. Do it! That's all.

But, darling, I don't know what you're life has been like, but I have a lot of people who have gone through hell, and if you can make Winston Churchill said if you make someone laugh, you give them a little vacation, and maybe you take the worst thing in the world and make it funny, it's a vacation from a, for a minute from horror.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And Joan Rivers made millions of us take that vacation because she made us laugh. Whether it was by being direct, self- deprecating or downright blunt. Her style was unmatched. For that we fondly salute her. Again, her private funeral will be held tomorrow in New York City.

A drought is leaving many lakes and rivers in California very dry. Is it also increasing the risk of earthquakes?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. In today's "American Journey" we take you to a very dry California. The state is facing the worst drought on record. The before and after photos of lakes and rivers really tell the story. Here's CNN's Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A healthy and full lake in Northern California. There is only one problem, this picture is three years old.

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

(voice-over): Here is another before and after side by side and just when this drought couldn't seem any worse, new research indicates that the depletion of ground water in the state may actually trigger earthquakes, more on that in a moment.

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

John Prieto took us on a boat to see the shoreline and it's even more astounding up close. The lake seems more like a narrow river. The drought has created a canyon, a hillside of rock that's normally covered by water. The water level is down by more than 200 feet.

It's a common site throughout the state, most of California's major reservoirs are less than half full.

(on camera): What would we be seeing?

JOHN PRIETO, GENERAL MANAGER, LAKE OROVILLE MARINA: The water up probably half way up the hillside at this time of the year.

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

JESSE RODRIGUEZ, GRAPE FARMER: It's like mourning. It's dead. Our product is dead. It's just -- we cannot sell it. We have to knock them down.

SIMON: Jesse Rodriguez grows table grapes and estimates he'll lose 40 percent of his crop this year due to the drought. With low reservoirs, farmers are having to pump water out of the ground.

And as if that weren't bad enough, there is new information from researchers who believed the depletion of ground water in California central valley could destabilize the infamous San Andreas Fault and trigger earthquakes.

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

PEGGY HELLWEG, U.C. BERKELEY SEISMOLOGICAL LABORATORY: Earthquakes are these mysterious things that happen under our feet. So having a way for people to cause these earthquakes to happen is unsettling. SIMON: Experts say the quakes would be small and unlikely to cause any damage, still, another example why this drought is causing so much stress to both the land and the mental well-being of nearly an entire state. Dan Simon, CNN, Oroville, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And one of my colleagues from cnn.com experienced California's drought in a very personal way. John Sutter tried to actually kayak the length of the San Joaquin River and it's been labeled one of America's most endangered rivers.

At one point, Sutter actually had to carry his kayak because there was so little water. John will actually join me in the 1:00 Eastern hour to talk about his experiences, including a firsthand scare with quick sand.

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WHITFIELD: Hello, hi. That was kind of fun, wasn't it? Hello, over here, too. All right. We're just having a zany little old time here. An NFL player is set to take the field tomorrow despite facing possible domestic violence charges. No joke about that.

Rashan Ali joining us now with more in today's "Bleacher Report."

RASHAN ALI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle, Ray McDonald will play on Sunday when the team takes on the Dallas Cowboys. This after being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence last week.

No charges have been filed against McDonald yet, but the investigation is still ongoing. Team officials say they will let the legal process play out before any potential discipline.

McDonald's arrest comes less than three days after Roger Goodell announced harsher penalties for domestic violence cases. For the first time, players place a six-game suspension and lifetime ban for second.

A pro football team takes an incredible step to show there's a lot more to life than winning and losing. The Cincinnati Bengals cut Devin Steel from their 53-men roster, but resigned him to the practice squad. They kept him to make sure he keeps his health insurance and continues to get paid so his 4-year-old daughter, who's battling cancer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEVON STILL, CINCINNATI BENGALS DEFENSIVE TACKLE: The opportunity to go to different teams, but those on the west coast, I said the Bengals was to me, so I'm not going to up and leave them. Loyalty is something I really need right now because I never know which direction this is going to go for my daughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ALI: We wish her a speedy recovery, but these NFL teams have compassion.

WHITFIELD: I love that. They are rooting for her, his daughter. She is precious.

ALI: And I'm rooting for you in another sense. Triathlete, you are. So, you have a triathlon coming up soon.

WHITFIELD: Next weekend, Sanjay Gupta is the man, but he has rounded up a beautiful team here at CNN and it encompasses all kinds of stories. People have different reasons why they're inspired to do a triathlon, so next weekend is the Malibu classic and there I am training. I've been training since late this spring and --

ALI: Nice stroke there.

WHITFIELD: Gosh. Swimming, biking, running, you know, half mile swim, 18-mile bike and then four mile run. My biking is horrible. Look how embarrassing. I'm a terrible biker.

ALI: But it's OK because so many people would never even attempt to do a triathlon. I've done two sprint triathlons, so I would consider myself a triathlete as well, so you should be giving me some tips. Next weekend is the big race. It's a two-day event.

There's the international, the Olympic, distance and sprint distance is on Sunday. That's the one I'm doing because you know -- graduated to the big two. I'm looking forward to it.

ALI: Pray.

WHITFIELD: I've been saying that all along. People, pray for me. But the great thing is we're also doing this to raise money for our children's hospital Los Angeles, so I've been saying all along, support the children, pray for me.

ALI: I love it. Good luck.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

Of course, we'll have much more about the journey of the training next weekend just prior to the race and more straight ahead in the news room. It starts right after this.

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