transferring assad's chemical weapons to international control. and ultimately destroying them. this is significant. russia is assad's patron and protector. and the world will note whether russia can follow through on the commitments that it's made. as for the editorial, you know, we're not surprised by president putin's words. but the fact is that russia offers a stark contrast that demonstrates why america is exceptional. unlike russia, the united states stands up for democratic values and human rights in our own country and around the world and we believe that our global security is advanced when children cannot be gassed to death by a dictator. it is also weather noting that russia is isolated and alone in blaming the opposition for the chemical weapons attack on august 21st. there is no credible reporting, and we have seen no credible reporting, that the opposition has used chemical weapons in syria. and we have been joined by now

34 countries in declaring that the assad regime is responsible for the use of chemical weapons on that night. even iran, which is fighting on ass assad's behalf in syria has blamed the assad regime for the august 21st attack. in the preparations for the attack and in our post-attack observations, it's common sense that they don't have the capabilities to coordinate an artility attack from a regime held neighborhood targeting opposition neighborhoods. i think it's also worth pointing out there's a great irony that in the placement of an op-ed like this, because it reflects the truly exceptional tradition in this country of freedom of expression. and that is not a tradition shared in russia, by russia, and it is fact freedom of expression has been on the decrease over

the past dozen or so years in russia. having said that, the point i made at the top is the most important. russia, as we saw just now in geneva, has put its prestige and credibility on the line in backing this proposal to have syria, the assad regime, give up the chemical weapons that until two days ago it claimed it did not have. turn them over to international supervision, with the purpose of eventually destroying them. and we are going to work with the russians. to see if this diplomatic avenue to resolving this problem can bare fru bear fruit, and that is worthwhile and the right thing do. >> as you mentioned, secretary kerry just spoke. these talks that he's conducting in geneva are occurring on the same day that there are reports of increased military assistance to the opposition forces.

do those two tracks kind of cancel each other out? is there a chance that that additional military support actually undermines the diplomatic track that secretary kerry -- >> without confirming specific reports, we have said for quite some time, the president on down has said, that we have been stepping up our assistance to the syrian military opposition. no question. and in june, the administration announced that following credible evidence that the assad regime had used chemical weapons against the syrian people, this is prior to the massive attack on august 21st, the president had authorized the expansion of our assistance to the supreme military council in syria, the opposition's military arm. the expansion of assistance has been aimed at strengthening the cohesion of the opposition on the ground as well as assisting their efforts to defend themselves against a regime that has shown no boundaries in its willingness to kill civilians.

so i think it's an important distinction to make, as we have all along, in the wake of the august 21 attacks and in our response to them, that the issue of assad's chemical weapons is distinctly problematic and is separate from, although it's part of the civil war, it is separate from our policy response to the civil war in syria. and that response is built around humanitarian support for the syrian people, assistance to the opposition, including assistance to the supreme military council. as well as an effort with a broad range of allies and partners including russia to bring about a resolution of that civil war through a political settlement because that's the only way to end that war. so these are distinct tracks. the problem that confronts us by

the use of -- the indiscriminate use of chemical weapons needs to be addressed. we are addressing that. the president has spoken clearly about his views on it. we're exploring this diplomatic avenue, this opportunity that exists, potentially to resolve this by removing from assad's possession chemical weapons. but we will continue our policy of supporting the opposition in an effort to bring about a political settlement in the syrian conflict. >> on the budget, you addressed it a little bit yesterday, but the house leadership is still trying to find a way to get a continuing resolution for the government beyond october 1st. >> now they're talking domestic issues. i'm brooke baldwin. you have been listening to white house spokesman jay carney taking questions. an important q & a when it comes to syria, the "new york times" op-edfrom the president of russia today, vladimir putin. all of the above we'll be

exploring over the course of the next two hours. happening right now, the u.s. is going from the president's red line on chemical weapons to john kerry and his russian counterpart working on this blue print of how syria will get rid of them. the secretary of state is meeting as i speak with his russian counterpart, foreign minister sergei lavrov. this video just in. to come up with this plan, as far as how syria will hand over this massive chemical weapons stockpile. the biggest in the entire middle east. hand it over to international control. and moments ago, these two men spoke in front of the media. >> expectations are high. they are high for the united states. perhaps even more so for russia to deliver on the promise of this moment. this is not a game. and i said that to my friend sergei when we talked about it initially. it has to be real. it has to be comprehensive.

it has to be verifiable. it has to be credible. it has to be timely and implemented in a timely fashion. and finally, there ought to be consequences. if it doesn't take place. >> late this morning, president obama there said he hoped for a concrete result from this kerry/lavrov meeting happening again in geneva right now. the president did not comment on this opinion piece from russia's president, vladimir putin, in the "new york times" this morning. but some u.s. political leaders are all over it. and they're very angry. we're going to get to that op-ed piece here in just a moment, but first to his ally, syria's president, bashar al assad, who revealed several jaw-droppers in this russian television interview, and our foreign affaired correspondent is in moscow with some of the nuggets of this interview you helped translate this. let's jump to it because in reading some of the translated pieces, so i see that assad is

saying that syria is committing to starting the process, committed to signing the chemical weapons convention, this treaty in the next couple days. but jill, there is a big but, a big caveat here. what does he want from the u.s.? >> yeah, there are a couple of them. i think look at the one that secretary kerry pointed out. president assad says this will go into effect after they hand things over. this will go into effect within one month of signing. and syria will begin to give international organizations data about the stores of chemical weapons. and he says, that's the way it works. that's standard operating procedure. secretary kerry just about 15 minutes ago said there's nothing standard about this. it has to be done quickly. so that's one problem. the other one would be president assad was saying, this will all work. we'll follow through, if the united states stops giving arms to what he called the

terrorists. that would be the opposition. and also, if the u.s. stops threatening syria. that's another potential problem because after all, president obama said that he believes keeping that threat on the table as a possibility is what has to happen. in fact, it brought all of this about. so those are, as you can see, some of the knobby problems that are already arising. we'll have to seize as those two men, kerry and lavrov going in, talking with their aspects, et cetera, whether they can work this out. and also, brooke, you know, the united states is making it very clear, it's up to putin right now and his team to carry this out because they say the world will note whether they can follow through. they have really kicked the football back to putin. >> assad saying, u.s., we don't trust you. this is all on russia, aren't they? jill in moscow for us. thank you. from bashar al assad's words to the words of the leader of

russia, entitled "a plea for caution from russia." this is the title of the opinion piece printed this morning in the "new york times." so president putin said the u.s. should not strike in syria, saying, quote, syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. there's few champions of democracy in syria. but if you read through this whole thing, it's that last paragraph that is really drawing the most fire today. putin commented on the president's address tuesday night, in part, he said, america is exceptional. these are putin's words here. quote, it is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional. whatever the motivation. there are big countries and small countries, rich and poor. those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. their policies differ, too. we are all different, but when we ask for the lord's blessings, we must not forget that god

created us equal. and here is just some of the reaction that this op-ed has gotten today. >> i almost wanted to vomit. the reality is, i worry when someone who came up to the kgb tells us what is in our national interests and what is not. >> lecturing to the united states, you know, i could hear reagan turning over in his grave as this is going on. >> i was insulted. >> joining me now is the editor of "time" international, bobby. bobby, welcome back to the show here. i want to hone in, you heard senator menendez, he wanted to puke. you heard from jay carney quoting him, saying they weren't surprised, the white house not surprised by the op-ed, unlike russia, the u.s. stands up for human rights. i want to hone in on the hypocrisy. i would have two words for vladimir putin, gay rights. >> not just gay rights. i mean, if one of the

american -- never mind president obama, but if one of the american senators wanted to publish a hard-hitting letter against russian policy in one of russia's newspapers, it's extremely unlikely than anybody would pick them up because they would be afraid of reprisals from the kremlin. it is ironic that putin can use the freedoms, the free press, in this country when he's not willing to give his own media the same privileges. >> and in talking, bobby, big picture, i talked to a number of experts this week who point out, my question is, what's in it for russia, what's in it for vladimir putin to play this integral role in helping to ultimately destroy the chemical weapons in syria. they say, listen, this is putin's perfect opportunity to reassert himself on the world stage, but why do it in an opinion piece in the "new york times"? >> well, this is putin who knows that -- it's worth pointing out

that his audience is quite wide. he's not simply talking to the americans. when he tweaks the american nose, if you like, he's also -- there's also a dog whistle there to many countries and many people around the world who silently or overtly will be cheering him on, because they will view -- they will view this as in their own opinion, as just what america deserves. so he's playing to a rather large gallery. both in his country and in many other countries around the world where the united states is currently unpopular. but yes, this is his idea of returning to the international stage for several years now, russia's main role in the international stage has been to say no. nyet, nyet to everything. here, he's trying to seize an initiative and project this plan for syrian chemical weapons as a russian plan. and this is his way of saying we're not just simply saying no.

we have come up with a plan. this is a yes. now, if the united states can agree with us, then we are the peace makers. we are the people who are trying to resolve this situation in a pragmatic way. >> we've heard from the president. basically saying, listen, let's just give diplomacy a chance here. there's been this possibility, a lot of pontificating about whether in fact russia is bluffing, but what about the possibility that assad is actually playing putin? here is a guest i talked to yesterday, ed hussein, council of foreign affairs. >> my fear isn't the dynamic between putin and president obama. my fear is that bashar al assad, the war lord in syria, plays both off one another and ends up buying more time for himself, killing more people on the ground, securing his dictatorship in the country and having greater influence in the region. >> just wanted a reaction to that possibility, bobby. >> i think assad and putin are reading from the same hymn sheet. i don't think assad is playing

putin against the united states because putin is pretty much his main international supporter of any credibility. he also has the iranians, but they're not credible on this issue. it would be extremely foolish of assad, and assad is many things but not foolish, to bite the hand that feeds him and that arms him. that is putin's hand. >> bobby, "time" magazine. thank you for coming on. we always appreciate your perspecti perspective. >> coming up next, we're staying on syria. this involves chemical weapons. where you're about to hear from the author of the world's most dangerous places. he's been to syria six, seven times. how does one even destroy the chemical weapons? what are the dangers in doing this? how does that work? that's next. ♪ tracks! they connect the factories built along the lines. and that means jobs, lots of people, making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪

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so let's talk about how exactly this would work. joining me is the author of the book entitled "the world's most dangerous places." he's war correspondent robert pelton. so robert, welcome. i have a lot of questions for you. beginning with, from everything i have read about this, in terms of the task at hand, i understand there are only several hundred people in the world with this kind of expertise to go in a country, to find these things and presumably destroy them. who are they? >> first of all, the u.s. army has an entire group set up just for chemical weapons handling and destruction. but realistically, once you find these caches, you have to destroy them in place, which means you have to physically build a destruction factory that either incinerates these at high heat or uses some of the newer methods. that takes year, not something that's going to happen overnight. secondly, these kax caches are

guarded by hezbollah, so we're not just going to walk in there and start destroying munitions. this may be handed off to the russians as a task, but right now, we're actually really focused on a red herring because assad has done fine killing people with traditional munitions. he's not getting rid of -- >> i lost him. guys, let's work on getting him back because i have a lot of questions. he brings up the fact that hezbollah may be guarding these caches of chemical weapons. what about the fact this is in the middle of a bloody civil war and by destroying the chemical weapons that may or may not mean the civil war will go away. we're going to work on getting robert pelton back. coming up next, we'll take you to colorado. deadly floodwaters there. we'll talk to a rescuer working to save a driver. did you see this? live on cnn today? we'll tell you how it ended and what exactly was going through his mind, next. dad. how did you get here?

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my goodness. heart pounding as i watched this this morning. this dramatic rescue today after raging floodwaters submerged

parts of colorado. in this one example, this man got trapped in his suv about 20 miles north of denver. watch.

>> whew, so, let's bring in chad myers who i know saw it happening on our air. we also have chief jerry morrell of the lafayette, colorado, fire department, who was there at the scene watching this whole thing taking part in this whole thing, unfolding. so chief, first to you. i mean, watching it, i stopped breathing because i had no idea what was going to happen to this guy, especially when you see the car go over. incredible job, really, to your whole crew. can you tell me how this guy, it driver, is doing now? >> to my knowledge, he's doing

fine right now. he was trapped in the water for -- or in his vehicle for quite a while. while you're showing video of one person, just prior to that video being shot, we rescued another person out of another vehicle. there were actually three vehicles in the creek right there. >> tell me where you were, as we're looking at some of the guys crawling on the underbelly of the car. are you on the bank? >> i'm on the bank, so i would be directly behind or what i would call south side of that vehicle. >> what were you thinking when this car, you see it suddenly going down river? >> well, you know, when we first saw the vehicle there, we didn't know if anybody could possibly be alive in the vehicle. we were hoping for the best, but unfortunately, you kind of mentally prepare yourself for the worst. once the rescuers got on top of the car, they shouted up to us that they hear banging. so that gave us just great hope.

they attached the hooks to the back of the car. we used -- or to the bottom of the car. and used a tow truck to lift the car up to gain access. and then, of course, as you can see in that video, as the rescuer leaned forward or tried to go to the window while he was putting on his life jacket, the car slipped and went back -- not flipped but went back on its top again. and i was just aghast. just thinking, oh, my god. we found him, is he going to die because of the car flipping again? but luckily, things worked out very well. it really is to the expertise of the crews who were performing the water rescue. and it was a very, very good ending to what could have been a horrible, horrible situation. >> chief, it's chad myers. i have a question on how this happened because on the wide shot, you can see a piece of the roadway literally missing. did the people just drive off

not realizing it or did it collapse later? >> great question. >> no, that is a very not traveled very common road. it's really more of a frontage road. and at that time of the morning, it was pitch black. it was raining heavily. three cars went into the road at that point in time. and all three ended up in the creek, but the road had washed away. they probably never even saw that the road was washed away based on the weather conditions, and they went in one after the other after the other. >> chief, it's going to continue to rain all night. you're going to have your hands full tomorrow as well. always dangerous in the dark, but the rain not stopping there in boulder, in larimer, all these counties around denver about to get more rain tonight. >> we're absolutely saturated. >> chief, thank you so much. hats off to you and your crew. and wishing this driver, of course, all the best. >> i have seen this video now no

less than ten times and i can tell you, the hair on the back of my neck is standing up right now. >> i was holding my breath. >> just an incredible sight. this could go on tonight with inches of rainfall. boulder picks up 5.5 inches of rainfall in 24 hours. the most rain they have ever said in any day in any year since anybody has lived there, and now it's still raining and there's still water coming down boulder canyon, still coming down four-mile canyon, still comes down big thompson canyon. more flooding to go on tonight. if you're driving around, you're putting yourself in danger. stay home. >> you heard him say, the road gave way. poof, gone. chad, thank you very much. chief, thank you very much as well. up next, we'll talk live to one of the democrats booted from office over her gun control stance. huge story out of colorado we've been following this week. we'll talk to this wolf about a plumber who began the push to get her out. la's known definitely for its traffic,

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here we are just past the bottom of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin, and we ought to know by now, but when politics, guns, and the second amendment all meet, to paraphrase hunter s. thompson, things get strange. maybe none stranger than what happened in democrat-leaning colorado where voters have ousted the democratic head of the state senate. that's him on the right. and a second senate democrat from a heavily democratic district because they helped pass some fairly modest firearms restrictions. but that in and of itself isn't even as big a deal when you consider that one of the two races was a war by proxy between gun control advocate michael bloomberg, the billionaire mayor from new york, and a pueblo plumber by the name of victor head. he is a political novice and a gun rights supporter with no real money to speak of here. and you know the end of the story here. the plumber won.

how? by organizing this recall election that toppled state senator angela heron, despite the fact that bloomberg's group spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on her behalf. so angela herone joins me now from colorado springs. and you know, two days after this surprise defeat, we have you here. you were considered this heavy favorite. yesterday, you were quoted as saying that you weren't sure quite what had happened. have you figured that out yet? >> well, yeah. and i think that was really a misquote in that we know what really happened here. yes, we had a strong nra and you have a person like mr. head. but really, what this story really is about, it's about voter suppression. when colorado has voted by mail, 70% of coloradans vote by mail, and we didn't have access to that mail ballot.

>> i'm going to cut you off right there because if we talk voter suppression, i read reports of lack of popularity on your behalf. let's not go there, lets brr get to the meat of the story. >> that is the meat of the story. >> let's talk, though, about the stance you and your colleague, the head of the senate, a former police officer, have taken. and here you have mega, mega cash from mayors against illegal guns, mayor bloomberg, versus this grassroots effort. what happened? >> i'm telling you what happened is that you had only 30,000 of the voters who in the last election, off-year election, was 45,000. so the people that are in support of very common sense gun legislation weren't able to get to the polls. they vote by ballot, and they had been doing that for 25 years. i mean, we have to call it for what it is. when i was talking to people at the doors, and in their homes, it was that, oh, this is what

this is about? because you want universal background checks and you voted for that and you're limiting magazines to 15. i don't see anything wrong with that. i don't see that that's any infringement on the second amendment. so people didn't know what it was about. there was voter confusion. we didn't even know what the rules of the game were. this is the united states of america. we didn't know what the rules of the game were a week out from the election, where to vote, how to vote, how to get a ballot in the mail. so it was just that confusion led to the voices of people in pueblo county and el paso county not having their voices heard, yet they're going to have to pay for the election, the most expensive in the history of the two counties. >> i understand that's one side of this. the other side is the republican who you lost to. let's hear from him and some of his supporters. >> politicians can and should be held accountable when they vote to infringe on our rights as citizens. >> the people will not go

against the constitution or our second amendment rights. >> i still want to give my girlfriend my shotgun that sits in my closet. that's been it from the start. >> the last guy there, that's victor head, the political novice who organized the recall against you. i know you want to talk about, and i hear you on voter suppression, but do you believe, ms. giron, that gun control supporters in other states could fall prey to these grassroots resurge aenrurgencies like the guy victor head mounted in your state? i i don't think certainly in colorado -- >> but in other states? >> in other states, that depends on what their voter turnout is. because that's what happened here. >> you believe this is all voter turnout. forgive me for interrupting. >> it's about having the voices of the people being represented heard. so this would be a different story, and i will tell you, it would be a very different story, the results would have been different, if people would have been able to vote like they have

voted for the last 25 years. so for other legislators across the country, i don't believe they're going to have any fear about doing the right thing, whether it's on gun legislation, gun safety legislation, or anything else that's important to their constituency because hopefully in their states, they have -- they'll have voter access. in colorado, we did some major changes. >> let me jump in. two sides of the conversation here, and in retrospect, do you think your association with mayor michael bloomberg and his money, his out of state money, might have tainted you among your constituents, among those who voted against you? >> oh, those people would have voted against me no matter what. they didn't vote for me in 2010 when i ran my first election and they wouldn't vote for me if i would have had my regular election in 2014. so that's just a group of people that don't have the same values as myself and the rest of -- the majority, i would say, of people

in pueblo county, which is the district i represent. >> quickly, since you were up in 2014, this guy won't be in the ring for long. are you throwing your hat back in down the road? >> we're looking at, you know, just a lot of options. and so i haven't made any decisions on that. again, this is really new. we worked really hard. we certainly found a tremendous amount of supporters and identified those, so there are some people have to look at some of the things that we looked at ourselves and say, what happened here? but i tell you, in the analysis we looked at now, it's about the high percentage of people who vote by mail -- >> i hear you loud and clear. >> who didn't have the option. i talked to people just coming out of the hospital, going into the hospital, people who had -- were in wheelchairs that none of them had the opportunity to get to the polling centers. >> angela giron -- >> and that's a sad day. >> thank you.

tune in to cnn tonight. the debate over gun control continues. here's what's on tap. at 7:00, aaron burnett out front, raising questions about iowa gun permits for the legally blind, and an 9:00, on piers morgan live, he talks to john mccain about where america stands with syria. plus, sheryl crow tells piers morgan about her life with lance armstrong. it's all on cnn tonight, starting with erin burnett outfront at 7:00, anderson cooper 360 at 8:00, and piers morgan live at 9:00. >> meantime, coming up, breaking news in the syrian crisis. the u.n. said they have not received papers from syria. syria wants to join the global ban on weapons, but there is a deadline. we'll take you live to the u.n. next. and when we're sitting in traffic, i worry i'll have an accident. be right back.

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a lot of fast developments here on the crisis in syria. brand new information coming in from the u.n. secretary-general's office. syria says it wants to join this chemical weapons ban, this global ban on chemical weapons. nick peyton walsh is live at the u.n. nick, this isn't a big step in the plan here to avoid military action. isn't that really what this is all about? they don't want the pressure coming from the u.s.? >> in many ways. let me talk you through what this actually means. this means syria has written to the u.n. secretary-general,

according to the secretary-general's spokesman and delivered a letter saying it wants to be part of this chemical weapons convention established in 1993. that basically means it has to destroy all its chemical weapons, anything that can be used to make a chemical weapon or any facility that can be used to make chemical weapons, too. big step for them. we have heard from bashar al ass assad. his caveat, we haven't seen the fill text of the letter, but we understand from the u.n. spokesman they have received the letter. how does that work? once you have sent the letter, you're part of the convention, you accepted its terms. on 30 days it's legally binding on syria and they could be subject to inspections or verification from the organization that carries out this particular convention. and then 60 days from now, they have to make a declaration of all the chemical weapons they have. by sending this letter, syria has agreed to a whole series of time tables and deadlines.

>> and destroying, and incinerating of said chemical weapons could take years, according to experts. have a long way to go. nick, appreciate it. coming up, tom hanks performing his civic duty. he served on a los angeles jury this week. and a lawyer says he actually affected the outcome of the trial. what happened? that's next.

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stars and astronauts as super cool, but whatever, i digress. when you're a lawyer, you have to check your emotions, especially during a trial. now insert two-time oscar winner tom hanks into the picture here. he was serving as a juror in this domestic violence trial in los angeles. that was until a lawyer got so blinded by his stardom that she broke the golden rule. causing a dramatic end to this trial. lynn berry, tell me what happened. >> the golden rule being you are not allowed to have any contact with jurors in any capacity. >> total no-no. >> a total no-no, and she broke it. she was associated with the trial, not a main attorney. but she at a lunch break went up to tom hanks and was like, thank you for doing your civic duty, so nice to meet you. they admit, she was star truck. who wouldn't be, it's tom hanks? we get it. but the defense jumped on this in a hot second. they said, we demand a mistrial.

eventually, the two parties, the defense and prosecution, came to a plea deal. he was facing a year in jail. he now has a $150 fine and a ticket. >> and he has tom hanks to thank for that. >> and he took a picture with him after the trial. he was a good sport. >> did tom hanks even try to get out -- not that we would ever try to get out of jury duty. >> i wouldn't ever. but a lot of people, we don't know who, but a lot of people say certain things to get out of jury duty. tom hanks would have kind of a good out. >> did you see me in "big"? >> he was the opposite, really into it. very attentive. the defense and prosecution commented on what a nice guy he was. they did have a few concerns. this is the defense. take a listen. >> i was concerned he would take over the jury deliberation. in other words, there was no doubt in my mind he would be the jury foreman. even if someone was close,

50/50, they weren't sure, i think because of his celebrity status and his personality, i think they would have followed him. >> of course, they never had to do that because they never got to deliberations, but it was quite a seen outside the courthouse. there were people everywhere trying to get a picture of tom cruise. >> tom cruise, who's on your mind? >> i appreciate it. coming up, a contestant in the ms. america beauty pageant. makes waves, you see what's on her right side, for doing something that's never been done before on the stage. can we say ink? that's next. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin dedicated to your eyes, from bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite is uniquely formulated to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health.

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tattoos. let's be real. do you have one? they're not very unusual these days, but this is a first. a ms. america contestant showing off this huge tattoo on her right side. this is theresa veil, ms. kansas. her tattoo up close is actually the serenity prayer. she's believed to be the first contestant in a national pageant to have a visible tattoo. the pageant has no problems. the spokeswoman said they're happy with contestants showing off their individualuality. >> and back up and running this weekend, a texas giant. six flags texas is reopening a roller coaster the same week a lawsuit has been filed over a deadly fall. 52-year-old rosa esparza was

visiting the park in july. she slipped out of her lap bar going down the texas giant's first huge hill. the lawsuit says ezparsa was upside down, holding on for dear life, and then fell 75 feet to her death. the lawsuit says passengers held in only by lap bars face a bigger risk of being thrown off these kinds of roller coasters and that six flags knew it. ezparsa's family wants a jury to reward them more than $1 million. coming up, speaker of the house john boehner said he's insulted. a democrat said he almost threw up in his mouth. backlash is growing today over vladimir putin's op-ed to americans. does the letter threaten a possible deal on syria? plus, she lost 190 pounds, and now she's competing in a triathlon. find out how in the human factor, next. ♪ turn around

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for most of her life, annette miller has been burdened by her weight. after losing 190 pounds, she just completed the malibu triathlon as a member of cnn's fit nation team, and dr. sanjay gupta has her story in today's human factor. >> growing up in tennessee, annette miller always dreamed of playing basketball. so as soon as she was old enough, she decided to sign up for the team. >> i got a permission slip from our coach at school and came running home that day. i was so excited to get to play basketball. instead of getting a signature from my parents, i was told you're too fat to play. >> at 10 years old and more than 200 pounds, she says, that

mantra instantly changed her life. >> you're too fat followed me into adulthood. and i didn't realize how much it held me back. >> but years later, when her twin sister bab etneeded a kidney transplant -- >> >> was not even tested or considered to be a donor because of my weight. that was the kick in the pants i needed. >> so she changed her diet. she started walking. she hit the gym. she was determined to get the weight off. by november of 2012, she was well on her way. >> proud to say at this point i've lost over 100 pounds. >> and she wasn't finished. >> there's a little 10-year-old kid in here that still wants to play, wants to be a part of something, be a part of a team. >> miller applied for the cnn fit nation challenge and was accepted in january. >> congratulations. we've already picked you -- >> oh, my! >> for eight months, she trained, swimming, biking, running. to compete in the nautica malibu

triathlon. and she got below 200 pounds for the first time in decades. >> i didn't stop. 198, and then i have never had a breakdown on a scale, but i started crying. >> and on sunday, september 8th, miller got her chance to play, crossing the finish line in malibu, squarely in the middle of the pack. >> amazing. i made the turn around on the bank. i knew i had it. >> if i can do it, you can do it. >> next up for miller, surgery to remove the excess skin left over from her years of being overweight to complete her transformation. and as far as the basketball game, that dream came true as well. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, rorling. the u.s. and russia meet behind closed doors, the backlash grows over vladimir putin's harsh message to americans. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now.

a pianist said bashar al assad's forces brutally attacked his parents after he performed a song at the white house. >> hear his chilling story. >> plus, the race to save a driver in colorado's flooding takes a horrific turn. and machine guns are illegal in america. but what company found a way around that? see how this rifle works. here we go, i'm brooke baldwin, hour two. a lot happening this hour. talks in geneva under way. talks to try to get syria to relinquish its chemical weapons

stockpile. secretary of state john kerry kicked things off with a message to dumamascus and sergei lavrov who is looking after syria's interests. >> this is not a game, and i said that to my friend sergei when we talked about it initially. it has to be real. it has to be comprehensive. it has to be verifiable. it has to be credible. it has to be timely and implemented in a timely fashion. and finally, there ought to be consequences if it doesn't take place. >> more than once you heard it right there, kerry reminded the syrians, reminded the russians that the obama administration reserves the right to strike syria militarily should the talks not bear fruit rather quickly. russia and syria are saying drop the threat now, as a condition of these talks. fareed zakaria joining me from host, host of fareed zakaria gps.

and journalist robert pelton, author of "the world's most dangerous places." robert, welcome back to you. and fareed, we have john kerry and he's saying, hey, listen, the threat we made. it's actually the thing that forced syria to agree to these talks to begin with. and then you have the russians saying, get the threat off the table right now. my question to you is, are these negotiating tactics or is this a disagreement that could end the talks really before they even get started? >> it's unlikely to end the talks before they get started. but i think that it reflects the very different way in which both sides are viewing this. i think the united states is viewing this as an opportunity to actually achieve what even missile strikes or air strikes would not have achieved, which is the destruction of some part of assad's chemical weapons arsenal. remember, air strikes would not actually destroy the chemical

weapons because you don't strike the chemical weapons. you strike at various military targets as punishment for having used chemical weapons. so this is an opportunity as the obama administration sees it, to actually do something about those chemical weapons. from the russian point of view, what they're trying to do is more than anything else prevent the united states from being able to use military force unilaterally. this has been a russian obsession, particularly since libya. but it dates way back to the kosovo operation. the russians believe they live in an international system in which the united states gets to decide when and where a human rights violation has taken place, an international law violation has taken place, and we use force, the united states that is, uses force whenever they want. they want in some way to curtail that or end that sort of set of precedents that have allowed that to happen. that's the big struggle on the two sides. >> that's the struggle, since we're talking chemical weapons.

robert, let me bring you back in. where we ended, we were talking about this exclusive group of people with this ability and knowledge and expertise to go into a country in the middle of a civil war, and begin the process of incinerating, destroying, et cetera. can you just be really specific and help all of us understand exactly how complicated and how long this process would take once they then get through this war and finding these locations, how do you begin to incinerate? >> well, first of all, you have to have access on the ground. assad does not control his country. he's lost large swaths of it to rebel groups. so first of all, you would have to secure the physical storage and preparation area in which these chemicals were formulated and then encapsulated in the delivery systems. you would then have to construct an incineration building or it could be a mobile lab. we have some mobile labs. and then you would have to begin the very slow and deliberate process of incinerating every

single weapon shell, container, and then you have to like demining any other careful thing, you would have to then confirm there were no other chemicals. the problem is, saad doesn't control his borders. he doesn't even control some of the weapons dumps. there's no absolute in this discussion. secondly, while this is going on, and you said after the war, the war is not going to stop. >> great point. >> if this is one agreement -- >> this does not end the war. the war is a continual battle of shelling and aerial strikes between assad's troops and civilians and rebels in the country. there's going to be a war going on. >> great point, and perhaps a subconscious well wishing on my behalf. that is not at all ending. in talking to experts, you think of the gulf war, you think of saddam hussein saying to scientists, hey, you can't tell everyone where all of our, you know, weapons are, or else you're out. how can -- i shouldn't say we, how can the world, how can these

neutral inspectors really ultimately know that bashar al assad is telling the truth? do satellites show these things? >> no. okay, i was in syria in 2003. and i was looking for wmds along the border inside iraq. there is no guarantee of anything, and the u.n. is probably the worst organization to be put in charge of finding and mongering weapons. we spent ten years in iraq between the two wars, between 2000 and 2003 war, looking for weapons, counting them, and we still believe there are wmds there. historically, look back at 2003 when we were threatening to bomb syria for having wmds and accusing saddam hussein. the u.n. had been there for a decade. >> fareed, i heard you want to jump in. go ahead. >> i think the key to the question you're asking is the inspector s have to have the ability to in some way verify the kind of lists the syrian government will give. the syrian government will be expected to provide a list of

where these chemical weapons are, the facilities, and they would have to go in. inspectors would have to go in and verify. in the iraq case, actually, i think what did happen over that decade was that the iraqi officials did provide those lists. inspectors did verify them. in some cases, there were mistakes. remember, in the course of that period, a huge number of iraq's chemical and biological weapons were destroyed. in fact, you know, richard butler, the man who headed up the last u.n. inspection team, in his final report said he thought all but a small handful of chemical weapons had been destroyed, and in point of fact, he argues that that is why we found no wmd, no weapons of mass destruction in iraq when we went in and invaded, that in fact the u.n. inspectors in a very long, complicated cat and mouse game, had managed to do it. but the key was they had to get, you know, the initial inventory is very important. what you say you have, and then the ability to check whether or not that is the key.

these are all hinges really on whether the syrian government is playing a game or whether they believe naturally because of the threat that they now have to do this, they have to actually sign the chemical weapons treaty, and they will live up to it. if that is not their intention, then the inspectors, whether there's a war zone or not a war zone, it's irrelevant. they know where all the stuff is. they produced it. if they lie about it from the start, it becomes essentially impossible to verify. >> okay. let me move on from the chemical weapons. i have many other questions. we'll save them for another day. i want to specifically talk about the "new york times" op-ed this morning penned by the leader of russia, vladimir putin. we just heard this from the house minority leader. >> but what i found interesting was the closing. he says, when we pray to god, he judges us all. i don't know exactly what

hewords are, but he said we're all god's children. i think that's great. i hope that it applies to gays and lesbians in russia as well. >> fareed, this op-ed, at one point, putin chides president obama for what he said the other night about american exceptionalism, saying people who consider themselves exceptional are dangerous. why do you think he wrote it? and why the tone of the piece? >> well, vladimir putin has always wanted to set himself up as a kind of -- in opposition to the idea that the united states is the only super power in the world. he has always resisted that idea. he's always tried to in some way present an alternative to other countries. there was a while that he tried to create a russian-chinese exis. that didn't work out well. he was a kgb operator. regarding the destruction of the soviet union in his words as the

greatest catastrophe of the 20th century. a certain amount of this is a kind of nostalgia for a world where the united states was not as dominant as it is. >> nostalgia? >> it was also very intelligent. a well written piece. i was struck by how cleverly crafted it was, and it ended by saying the united states should not think of itself as exceptional. that's dangerous. we are all god's children and we're all created equally. it was very, you know, whoever wrote it, and i suspect it was not vladimir putin, is actually a very skilled wordsmith. >> fareed zakaria of "fareed zakaria gps" thong. robert pelton, thank you. >> back home, rescue workers in colorado are trying to reach these people cut off by the torrential rains and mudslides. at least three people are dead and that number could rise after heavy rains hit north of denver. these were the tense moments this morning as a man was

trapped in his car, surrounded by the rushing floodwaters.

>> and that was from this morning. chad myers, we talked to that fire chief, he was there on scene. he said his heart stopped beating for a minute. he thought the guy was gone. >> it happened at night. this is going to be the rub again tonight because it's still raining. it's not done raining in boulder, denver, aurora. it's still pouring down there. estes park picked up about 6 inches. boulder, 5.5 inches at midnight. the most ever in any 24-hour period ever on any town, any city in the boulder area, whenever they were taken those records since the 1800s. so anywhere around boulder, the most we have ever seen.

here's what it looks like on the radar map. it's a little scary to think how much water is still up in the mountains because it didn't rain in the plains. it rains up here. the water has to go downhill. five inches in estes park. there are spots west of boulder, 9 inches there. west of broomfield, 11 inches. here's denver and it's still raining now in aurora. here's big-time rain still coming down. and we're going to continue to see the water go up tonight. i know this is a bad idea for all of you, but you need to stay home tonight. get home. if you're anywhere, in boulder, colorado, you're in larimer, you're in weld, the water may come up. you don't want to be out there driving around, especially at night. all these counties around denver. >> one thing to have the crews do this in the day. quite another in the pitch dark. thank you. coming up, question. should blind people be able to own guns? in one state, it's a reality. meantime, in chicago, they got rid of the gun registry there.

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show your car a little love with an oil change starting at $19.95. so the latest chapter in the battle over gun right is now playing out in chicago. a city legendary in its gun violence. almost 300 killings thus far this year. more than 500 last. the chicago city council has voted to stop requiring chicago gun owners to register their firearms and get a city permit. it had been around since 1968. they had no choice. it puts the issue into all gun permits and licenses in the hands of the state. this chicago move comes on the heels of colorado's ousting of two lawmakers who packed strict gun control laws. one we talked to this past hour, and also this -- >> good shot. come down. squeeze real slow.

>> the revelation that blind people can and do legally buy and carry guns in the state of iowa. david serota is a syndicated columnist and radio host and conservative cnn commentator ben ferguson joining us. david, i know you are from -- for gun control. but given all the stories that i just rattled off, isn't the other side winning the debate la lately? >> i think that at the polls, the other side is winning the argument. although i would say when it comes to colorado, there was a low turnout election, so that wasn't really indicative of public will when you look at the polls here in colorado. i think you're right. when you look at the policy victories, certainly, the gun lobby has won the policy victories. and i think with the help of the courts, as you mentioned, what's interesting in this dynamic and i would say troubling is that the courts are helping usurp lo local municipalities power. they're taking an

anti-federalist position. the power of huge government to force municipalities to do what the court wants, that's dictating, as you mentioned, the situation in chicago and in a lot of other cities. >> ben, what do you think? >> or the courts are actually looking at the constitution and the right to bear arms and realizing that when chicago oversteps and does things to the extreme, it doesn't always go well with the constitution, which is the founding document for all of the court systems. so i think the problem is you have these municipalities that have been overreaching. look at chicago. they've had some of the most extensive gun control and one of the best registries in all of the united states of america. yet they have some of the highest crime rates, which goes back to prove the point, a lot of people said was law-abiding citizens are not the issue here. they will register their guns, and they will pay the taxes to have them registered. and it doesn't mean that it's going to make the city safer in chicago is a perfect example of

that. and that's where i think a lot of people say, maybe passing more laws is not doing very much instead of going after the bad guys that buy the guns illegally on the black market in the first place. >> you know, i wanted to know -- >> what i would say. >> go ahead, respond. >> i would say citing chicago's crime statistics presupposes that those crime statistics are driven by its gun laws as opposed to asking the question, how much worse could the situation be if the gun laws weren't on the books, especially considering the study that show the states with the toughest gun laws tend to have the least amount of gun violence. >> let me point out, hang on, because i wanted to know just how americans think. i know how you two feel. we asked about keeping a national list of gun owners. 44% said the federal government should keep background checks to create a list. 55% said no. i want to move on, and david, it's interesting you're in colorado. i talked to angela giron, one of the two state senators ousted in the recall. she made it crystal clear to me

she thought that loss was about voter suppression and the complication of just what was exactly on the ballot. but another point that others have definitely made, you think money would win, but in this case, it didn't. you had this plumbering ultimately, and even the powerful lobbying group, the nra, against mayor bloomberg, the billionaire, and his mega group who outspent the nra, yet still, you see what happened in the outcome of this election. if it's not about money here, what is winning this debate? >> i think it's intensity. when you look at, there was a recent pew survey that showed that people who own guns and consider themselves pro gun are more single-issue voters on that issue than people who are for gun control. and so when you have a low turnout situation where the mail ballot situation, which is used typically is thrown out and there's a different voting situation, the most hard-core minority is win elections in a

situation where the polls showed this state didn't want the recalls in the first place, and overall, the whole state supports the modest gun control measures passed. >> do you agree that's what it was about? >> no, and it makes me laugh. i mean, the poor woman, if she would have had the same excitement of getting the votes out, getting her people out, she would have been fine. the problem was everyone knew this election was happening. look at how much money, unprecedented in history, was spnt in a little state rep type race. this was huge money. everyone in the community knew about this election day. and about this recall. the nation knew it was happening. the problem was she aligned herself with mayor bloomberg, who has no business in colorado politics. has no business even getting involved. and i think what you saw here was the voters rejected an outsider billionaire trying to come in and manipulate the state recall, the state law, and they knew the election was happening.

they rejected mayor bloomberg's outside money in a place he did not belong and is not a resident. >> david you get to respond to that. >> i would agree with that, absolutely agree with that. there's something to that. for instance, governor john hick hicken looper who remains fairly popular in the polls, the campaign didn't resolve around him supporting these laws. ben is absolutely right. it resolved around mayor bloomberg using a huge amount of money to try to sway the election. i think even if you separate out the issue of guns, when you have such a big, powerful, money force jump into a race like that, whether it's the nra or mike bloomberg, people can disreact to that regardless of what the issue is at the center of the debate. >> i asked her about this, what about the out of state money coming from bloomberg, did that maybe taint this for you? i think she said -- i think she ultimately said yes, maybe, but a lot of it she said, putting it back to voter suppression. david and ben, thanks, you two, always, very much for coming on.

love herring both your perspectives. coming up, a woman falled to her death after being thrown off this roller coaster. now six flags faces this lawsuit. did this popular amusement park ignore safety precautions on this roller coaster, the texas giant? we're going to talk about that on the case. ♪ [ male announcer ] the distances aren't getting shorter. ♪ the trucks are going farther. the 2013 ram 1500

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it is back up and running this weekend, the texas giant, six flags over texas, reopening that roller coaster just days after a lawsuit was filed over a deadly fall. 52-year-old rosa ezparsa was visiting the park in july when she slipped out of her lap bar going down the roller coaster's first huge hill. the lawsuit says esparsa was upside down, holding on for dear life and then fell 75 feet to her death. sunny hostin is in new york. i know that this lawsuit contains some pretty disturbing -- is that the right word? details about what exactly esparza went through. what happened? >> i think certainly that's the

right word. this was just a disturbing and horrific death. i have the lawsuit in front of me. it's about 16 pages. and it outlines what exactly happened to mrs. esparza. i think what is so terrible about this is her daughter and son-in-law were in the seats in front of her and could not do anything. they heard her screaming, brooke. they turned around, and then they saw her upside down, head down, feet up. holding on for dear life. and they also witnessed her falling 75 feet. and it took them quite some time to get off the roller coaster ride. they had to continue the ride. they weren't left off immediately. let off immediately. and all of that is outlined here. i've got to tell you, i read a lot of lawsuits, of course. i read a lot of facts, and this is extremely, extremely disturbing because it outlines the last moments of someone who was watched by their loved ones. >> awful, awful, awful.

and then you have the lawsuit. so you've read that this suit is accusing six flags of putting thrills over safety, quote, building extreme roller coasters that are bigger, faster, and more dangerous, and six flags is promoting a new ride, it's called the drop of doom. you fall 415 feet. 90 miles per hour. do you think the family has a good case here? >> well, you know, there are always defenses to these kinds of cases. this is not the first death that has happened at an amusement park, brooke. and unfortunately, i don't think it will be the last, but of course, the amusement park may argue, if you get on a roller coaster, you are assuming the risk, so to speak. you're assuming that risk. on the back of the ticket, there's all this -- >> tiny print. >> on the back, and you know what the dangers are involved. i don't think that will hold water in a case like this. i suspect that this is not a

case that will go to trial. this is a case that is ripe for settlement. six flags doesn't need us to talk about it. i'm sure they don't want us to talk about it. they don't need this kind of publicity. so, you know, i do think that the family has a good case here. and i suspect that this is a case that will settle quietly between the family and six flags. >> you mentioned six flags doesn't really want us talking. we should mention we reached out to six flags to comment on a lawsuit, and they're not commenting. sunny hostin, thank you. the u.s. is officially going from the president's red line on chemical weapons to john kerry. u.s. secretary of state and his russian counterpart working on this blueprint of how syria will get rid of them. secretary of state kerry meeting now with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov to come up with this plan on how syria will hand over its chemical

weapons to international control. the two men here spoke just over an hour and a half ago to members of the media. lavrov stressed how the u.s. needs to back down from a strike. kerry stressed how russia and syria need to live up to their word. >> it has to be real. it has to be comprehensive. it has to be verifiable. it has to be credible. it has to be timely and implemented in a timely fashion. and finally, there ought to be consequences if it doesn't take place. >> as they are meeting, as i speak behind closed doors, other developments here out of syria. a u.s. official says weapons funded and organized by the cia have begun to reach syrian rebels. and when we talk about syria, it's hard to remember sometimes that this is not about whose reputation is at stake. it's not about, you know, who said what in some piece in the newspaper. this is about the syrian people. more than 100,000 of whom have

been killed. and cnn's elena machado talked to one expert and herd really an incredible story. >> every time it's a different journey, but syria somehow, somehow it's always there. >> i'm just in a different world where it's so beautiful. it's full of love, peace, and it's harmonious, everybody is happy. at the same time, from the minute i wake up, i realize this is not reality. the reality is so much more painful. >> it's that painful reality that keeps mulick up at night. >> i can hardly sleep these days because the images of those children is so heartbreaking. when you see children gassed to death, how can you sleep? >> he has lived in the united states for years, but grew up in

syria. he's been closely following the developments back home. >> i believe the world community fail failed on a moral basis. to help save the syrian children over the last two and a half years. war doesn't solve humanitarian crisis and catastrophes. we need a political decision. we need a human intervention. >> he wrote this song in 2011 at the start of the syrian civil war. >> it's in my homeland, and my homeland is me. my love for you is fire in my heart. when am i going to see you free? >> he says hours after he played that song during a protest in front of the white house, assad's security forces

retaliated by beating his father and mother at their home in homs, syria. >> you couldn't capture my music. you went to my parents. to my home. you raided it. he hacked off my dad and they start beating my mom. in her bedroom. why? simply because i was performing a song for humanity, for freedom. >> his parents left syria soon after the alleged attack. he returned in october 2012, visiting syrian refugee camps. it's these faces who haunt and inspire him. >> my music is the heartbeat of those children. what fuels my music is the hope in their eyes. and what i long for is the unity, for us to come together

and save those children. that's what i feel a sense of hope for. that's my message. >> a message he'll keep sharing through his music. cnn, atlanta. incredible, the power of music, isn't it? thank you. coming up here, parts of the country hit hard by the measles. how hard? the worst year for measles in nearly two decades. find out why this outbreak could get worse. 92 did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age? [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite.

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this year is on track to be the worst year for measles in 17 years. at least that's what the folks at the cdc are saying. when you look from january to august, there were 159 cases. senior medical skraunt elizabeth cohen joining me. measlesering measles. why so many cases?

>> largely because people are not vaccinating their children. the anti-vaccine folks think autism can result or whatever they think. they don't vaccinate their kids, and those kids get other people sick. thundershow you're seeing these outbreaks to a large extent in religious communities. there was a church in texas, remember, preaching not to vaccinate. another religious community in new york. there's outbreaks among the religious communities. >> so it's the folks who aren't vaccinating their kids even if you're doing the right thing with your kid, your kid could still get sick. >> here's the problem, you can't get vaccinated until your first birthday. by definition, every baby is vulnerable to measles. if you don't vaccinate your kid and your kid plays with my baby, you're in trouble. >> what do you do? >> nothing, stay away from kids who haven't been vaccinated. measles is so contagious, if i have measles and walk into a room, i'm going to get almost

everyone who is in the room sick. it's a really easy thing. it spreads like that. >> be aware of who has it and keep the kiddies away. >> certainly the babies. >> just in to us at cnn, nothing made by humans has ever entered interstellar space until now. we're about to geek out folks. find out what has happened to the "voyager" just ahead. big news from nasa today.

if you watch the show enough, you know that we try to dedicate time to stories, stories that show us all how we can do better focusing on people who oftentimes have no way of speaking for themselves. these are young victims of abuse. the next story i'm about to share with you, it's so disturbing you need to get the kids out of the room now. get them out. it involves a man whose name is not ariel castro but his crimes are just as stomach-churning. and the sentence he just received, 20 years.

after he cut a deal. again, the details here. they're tough to listen to. but these are the facts. authorities say kidnapping and rape were just a few of the brutalities that 46-year-old edward begley committed against his victim, who was 16 when they met. they say that he also shocked her, waterboarded her, and mutilated her. and court documents show he did it for years. investigators say the victim was under his control for six years. he also made her sign a slave contract as well as allowed others to violate her. and when this man thought this young woman was pregnant, he forced abortions on her. this all happened here in this trailer in lebanon, missouri. the victim was discovered by first responders after she suffered a cardiac arrest during a torture session back in 2009. the victim, who is now an adult, grew up in foster care and was a

run-away when she met edward bagley. and prosecutors will sentence five others, including bagley's wife in this case. the victim is now suing all of them for more than $700,000. if you see something, say something, speak up. we can do better. the wind's cone should have disrupted man. instead, man raised a sail. and made "farther" his battle cry. the new ram 1500 -- motor trend's 2013 truck of the year -- the most fuel-efficient half-ton truck on the road -- achieving best-in-class 25 highway miles per gallon. guts. glory. ram. chantix... it's a non-nicotine pill. i didn't want nicotine to give up nicotine. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. [ mike ] when i was taking the chantix,

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space geeks, major historic announcement by nasa just a short time ago confirming the "voyager" space craft, as in the thing that launched way back in 1977, exploring the moons, exploring the planets, well, it has entered interstellar space, aka it's out of the solar system. i want to go to fellow space geek john zarrella in miami. this thing went out in the '70s, they thought it would be on a mission for five years and here we are more than three decades later. what's it doing? >> 12 billion miles traveled and "voyager" is now literally traveling between the stars. there was this great debate for about a year or so had "voyager" left the solar system. nasa finally got enough data together and it's still sending back signals they finally were able to say today that yes indeed, "voyager" has left the

solar system a year ago last august, it entered interstellar space and is going to reach the nearest star to where it is on its current path in 40,000 years. >> wow. wow. then you have this guy, project scientist ed stone, he talked of this mega press conference from nasa. what is his story? >> he has been the chief project scientist since before "voyager" lifted off, 40 years ago. at the press conference today, you could tell he was really a very proud papa. >> this historic step is even more exciting because it marks the beginning of a new era of exploration for "voyager," the exploration of the space between the stars. >> you know, i think one of the things to point out is just how simplistic this space craft is. you got your iphone with you. there's your iphone.

the iphone has 240,000 times more memory than "voyager." but it's still going. >> it's still going. it's still going. >> fantastic. >> i love this story and i love the new science we'll get from it. thank you so much for sharing the breaking news from nasa. still ahead, a miss america beauty contest making some waves for an apparent first on stage. can you guess what by the looks of this picture?

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want you to take a look for yourself. you can see how the numbers on wall street are doing. stocks pretty flat down just 30 points here. we are five minutes before the end of the trading day. facebook stocks still flirting with an all-time high, currently just below 45 a share, which is what it entered the markets on. coming up, all eyes on this one particular miss america contestant. she is pulling off a pageant first. her ink, anyone? plus the list is out. find out which legendary musicians and actors will be honored at a pretty posh event. the kennedy center honors. i had pain in my abdomen... it just wouldn't go away.thing. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing...

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all right. now for the hottest stories, we call it rapid fire. roll it. royal duty calls for new parents. prince william and kate, the duke and duchess of cambridge taking an evening away from little prince george. they are clearly on the red carpet at this awards ceremony held by an environmental charity that william supports. this is the couple's first red carpet appearance since baby george's birth seven weeks ago, and set the dvr now. catch the new documentary "prince william's passion"

premiering sunday night, 10:00 eastern here on cnn. today is the six-month anniversary of pope francis's election and the pontiff is, shall we say, doing things his own way, as we have seen. in fact, he said today he is going to drive a 29-year-old car around the vatican. this was a gift from an italian priest. the car has nearly 190,000 miles on it. the pope encouraged vatican officials to avoid using expensive limousines. pope francis said he had that exact same car back home in argentina. there you go. the pope doing a lap around the vatican. research shows one in five americans has at least one tattoo. well, one tattoo is getting a heck of a lot of attention today. this miss america contestant showing off her ink there on the right side of her body during a swimsuit competition this week. this is miss kansas. it is the serenity prayer tattooed on her stomach. apparently the first contestant

here in the national pageant to have a visible tattoo and this pageant has no problems with it. a spokeswoman says they're happy their contestants can show her individuality. now get your tickets quickly. this year's kennedy center honors will be a piano lover's nirvana. ♪ sing us the song you're the piano man ♪ ♪ sing us the song tonight >> the legendary billy joel topped an impressive list of honorees announced today by the jfk center for performing arts. joining him at this year's gala, another great piano musician, herbie hancock, carlos santana, shirley mcclain. be sure to catch tonight. here's a look at what's coming up on cnn. >> cnn tonight, at 7:00, "outfront," raising questions about iowa gun permits for the legally blind.

at 9:00 on "piers morgan live" piers talks to senator john mccain about where america stands with syria. plus sheryl crow tells piers about her life with lance armstrong, all on cnn tonight. >> starting tonight on cnn. we'll be watching. thanks for being with me. "the lead" with jake tapper starts now. vladimir putin's open letter to the american people seems to be going down about as well as a borscht smoothie. i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." russia's president lectures the u.s. over syria in an op-ed, telling the american people stop thinking we're special. our guest, senator john mccain calls putin's words an insult. the politics lead. he wanted strikes, then he put the onus on congress. only after that did he give peace a chance through this round of diplomacy. the syrian crisis is challenging. president obama's deliberative nature at every turn. co> and the national lead.