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Flooding Kills over 600 and Leaves 3,000 Missing Along China- Nepal Border; Search and Rescue Missions Launched in Nepal in Wake of Flooding along Chinese Border; Jurors in Lindsay Clancy Triple Murder Trial Continue Deliberations; President Trump Announces Oil Deal with Venezuela; At Least 37 People Killed in Residential Area After Russian Drone Strikes Ammunitions Warehouse in Kyiv; NBA Star LeBron James's Rise to Prominence Chronicled in CNN Documentary; Roger Federer to be Inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame; Man Indicted for Fraud after Convincing Women Online He was a Wealthy NFL Player. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 29, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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


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[14:00:33]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with this breaking news on the Chinese-Nepali border, where frantic search and rescue operations are intensifying today, four days after catastrophic floods devastated the region. The rush to find survivors is growing more desperate by the hour. The death toll and the number of missing continues to rise. Officials now say more than 670 people have been killed, and around 3,000 are missing in Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet. Ninety Americans are among those still unaccounted for, including Anil Goel, a Virginia man who was with a group of U.S. and Canadian citizens on a hiking trip at the Chinese-Nepali border crossing. And that's where a torrent of mud and flood water swept through Wednesday morning. His family continues to wait on word of his fate.

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ANURAG GOEL, FATHER ANIL GOEL MISSING IN NEPAL WITH TOUR GROUP: Each day has been very difficult. There's been a large lag in communication between what's happening in the region, specifically near the Gyirong crossing area between Tibet and Nepal where my father and his group was. And, you know, that area also appears to be the area that got hit the hardest. So it's been really challenging just dealing with, uh, the uncertainty and dealing with lack of communication and the sheer vastness of, of the disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Horribly agonizing for that family and so many more. New drone video over Nepal shows the destruction left behind when a mountain of water, mud, and debris unexpectedly crashed through that region. And a warning, the video you're about to see is also very distressing. Wednesday's landslides and powerful floods wiped out entire towns, as you see right there, including this Nepali-Chinese border crossing. Chinese officials say there are no signs of any survivors there.

My colleague Anderson Cooper just arrived in Nepal. Anderson, I mean, what is the latest on the ground where you are? Obviously, it's, you know, nightfall, but what have you been able to ascertain?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it is a grim situation, obviously, here. There's more than 9,300 Nepalese army forces out conducting these search and rescue, search and recovery operations as they are increasingly becoming, as you say, that death toll has continued to rise. And no doubt in the hours and days ahead, it is going to rise significantly more. But more than some 670 people known now to be to be dead, more than 3,000 are currently missing.

A lot of that, those fatality numbers are on the Nepalese, on the Nepali side. We have not really heard a lot of numbers coming out of China or the full range of numbers that may be there, waiting to hear more on that. But it is just almost midnight here in Kathmandu. It is raining. Obviously, these search and rescue operations are paused for the night. Helicopters aren't flying during the night. The conditions can be very, very dangerous. They are going to resume first thing, obviously, in the morning weather permitting. But there are a lot of folks on the ground searching.

We have come across at the government here, the army of Nepal, released a video earlier, which is just shows you some of the remarkable rescues that have been taking place. I want to show you this video. This is a six- year-old girl. We're told her name is Manisha, and she was found on Friday deep in rubble. I want to play this. It's about a minute long, and then we'll show you afterward how she, how she is on Saturday. Let's take a look.

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[14:05:42]

COOPER: It is incredible that she was found alive. This is on Friday. This is video of her that was taken on Saturday, Earlier today. Also, there's video of some of the soldiers feeding her, as you see right here. She said her name Manisha, six years old. No information at this point about her family or what has happened to them, but it is a bright spot in what has been a very, very grim several days here and a lot of difficult days ahead, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Gosh, I mean, just looking at this video, it is so moving. And, you know, and also seeing how the rescuers, I mean, they've got to be inventive, right? Because, I mean, it's difficult to get big equipment into some of these areas. I mean, they're using their bare hands in many cases. Are you hearing anything more about how they're able to get equipment in there to try to save and look for other potential survivors?

COOPER: Yes. As you know, one of the difficult things is a lot of the roads have been washed out or destroyed by the flooding. And just keep in mind, you know, when you think about flooding, you think about a lot of water. This is like people have described this as liquid concrete pouring down through that valley with rocks, boulders inside it, a lot of sand. It was sort of a -- there's a lot of water in it, but it was a, it was like being hit by liquid concrete is how some people have described this.

The force of the impact was just devastating, as we've seen from so many of these videos. And getting those roads back cleared, that's going to be an essential thing just to try to get more heavy earth moving equipment in.

Right now, there's -- a lot of these rescuers are being done by helicopter. There's a lot of helicopters going back and forth, bringing supplies up to people. They have forward operating bases that they've established to bring people out and put them there, get them food, get them cleaned up, get them warm, get them seen by medical staff. The hospitals here also are a point. I was out at the hospital and the morgue earlier this evening. You know, even at night there are people there coming to try to look for pictures of their loved ones outside the morgue. The photographs are extremely gruesome that morgue officials have put up. And relatives are they're looking at the light through their cell phones at these incredibly gruesome images of men, women, and children, looking at, for any signs of, maybe a tattoo, anything that might help them identify their loved ones.

So that is continuing as we speak right now, not only the morgue here, but no doubt elsewhere as well.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all so extraordinary. All right, we're going to check back with you, Anderson. Thank you so much.

So first responders and rescuers are working through an ongoing threat of rain and potentially more flooding in the region. CNNs Allison Chinchar has more on what to expect in the coming days.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The last thing this area needs is the potential for additional flooding. Unfortunately, there are rain showers expected in the forecast over the next several days. You can see through Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening, wWe get another round of showers that makes its way through. Same thing for Monday and even into Tuesday. Both of those days are likely going to have breaks in the morning before we start to see activity pick back up in the afternoon and evening hours, which is really kind of the main timeline for this general area because we are right in the middle of monsoon season. August is the second wettest month of the year. And for many of these areas, they'll likely pick up 50 to 100 millimeters a day over the next few days. That's roughly two to four inches. So again, you're talking about a lot of rain, and a lot of that starts

to build back up, bringing more rain to a lot of those river valleys that you've seen in many of the images and videos.

The big concern, too, is also where a lot of the mudflows have occurred, that area, when it hardens, turns to an almost concrete like material. But once you add water back into the mix from rain showers, it liquefies, making it very unstable and very dangerous for a lot of the rescue and recovery crews to come in, not to mention it just continues to cause more messes and potentially increase the likelihood of additional flooding.

WHITFIELD: Still very perilous. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

And remember, for more information about how you can help Nepal flood victims, go to CNN.com/Impact or scan this QR code right there on the screen.

[14:10:08]

All right, coming up in the CNN Newsroom, still no verdict in the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial. The jury has wrapped up for the weekend, but we'll show you the crucial evidence that they asked to see as they weigh her fate.

Plus 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil that President Trump says is coming under U.S. control. New details on the massive deal that he claims he just locked down.

And a tennis legend gets immortalized. Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer sits down with CNN before receiving the sport's ultimate honor.

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WHITFIELD: All right, jurors in the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial are preparing to resume deliberations on Monday. The mother of three is accused of murdering her three young children before trying to take her own life. Clancy does not deny strangling her children to death, but her defense argues that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and is not criminally responsible.

CNN's Jean Casarez brings us up to speed.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judge William Sullivan Friday afternoon told the jury you are excused for the weekend, but asked them to come back to this courthouse in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. Our producer in the courtroom noted that several of the jurors were speaking to each other as they walked into the courtroom, as they walked out of the courtroom, but that is to be expected because they've gotten to know each other. They have sat listening to the testimony for several weeks now. And as far as the evidence, the juror asked for two pieces of evidence on Friday, one, prescription pill bottles from Lindsay Clancy, the other being the knife. Prescription pill bottles were entered into evidence by the prosecution. Patrick Clancy was the first witness on the stand. He had a paper bag of pill bottles and he wanted to take them after the event to law enforcement and officials. The jury saw those pill bottles, and it was learned that only a few pills out of every prescription were actually out of the bottle. The defense showed the jury during closing arguments a drawer from the nightstand next to the bed with a plastic Ziploc bag filled with prescription bottles, and law enforcement had never collected that.

Secondly, the knife. The knife is truly not an issue in regard to the suicide attempt because both sides believe this was a very serious suicide attempt. But there was blood on the knife, blood in the bedroom. As we know, the jury did a jury view where they went into that bedroom now. And so -- but they wanted to see the knife up close. We do not know why, but it is something that they wanted to see.

In other news, Dr. Avram Mack, who was a prosecution rebuttal witness, CNN has confirmed that he has resigned from a children's hospital in Delaware. We do not know why he has resigned. CNN has reached out to Dr. Mack, but he was a board-certified forensic psychiatrist that testified that he did not believe Lindsay Clancy had bipolar shortly before she killed her children. He thought it was an episode of depression and also anxiety. The reasons why he is no longer with that children's hospital remain unknown.

In Plymouth, Massachusetts, I'm Jean Casarez for CNN.

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WHITFIELD: All right, Jean, thank you so much.

More ahead with our breaking news. There's a staggering scale of destruction in Nepal and the need for basic aid is growing by the minute as survivors grapple with the widespread devastation. I'll speak to an aid worker about the greatest needs on the ground right now.

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[14:22:59]

WHITFIELD: All right, more now on the devastating flooding along the Chinese-Nepali border that has killed more than 600 people so far. Rescue crews are searching for about 3,000 people who are still missing in both countries. Ninety Americans are among those still unaccounted for. The destruction left behind a massive, horrible area there. Chinese officials say there are no signs of survivors at the border crossing that was engulfed by the fast-moving flood waters.

CNN's Anderson Cooper is back with me now from Nepal. And so, Anderson, I know you said you just arrived there a few hours ago. It is, obviously, nightfall. You said the air assets are no longer, you know, and it's also raining in the air. But are there other kind of nighttime rescue missions underway?

COOPER: Well, there's certainly a lot of planning going on. And obviously there's a lot of forward operating bases that that rescue workers and military, the thousands of, of Nepali army soldiers are based at. And they are caring for the thousands of people who they have already rescued. Some 2,600 people have been rescued just by helicopter alone over the last several days.

You know, one area that -- one question some people had today is when this, the number of missing suddenly jumped to more than 3,000. And one of the reasons behind it is just a lot of people had not necessarily reported their loved ones missing, hopeful that they might show up. And a number of several hundred, at least 900 workers at a hydropower plant had not been tallied in that earlier toll, the number of people missing. So that those 900 workers at hydropower plants, they are still now missing.

We did see this incredible rescue that we're looking at the video right now of some workers from some of these tunnels inside these, these very, very remote hydropower plants.

[14:25:05]

But this is a real area of concern for Nepal. And, you know, to get, to rescue people from tunnels like this that may have been flooded, it's a very specialized kind of search and rescue operation. They have now, Nepal had not been inviting or asking for search and rescue teams from other countries, but now they have been. And teams from China, India, and South Korea, particularly ones who specialize in tunnel excavations and tunnel rescues, they are now here. I actually flew in on a plane that the team from South Korea was flying in on.

So those operations hopefully will be ramping up. But the situation for some of these workers in these tunnels, obviously, if they are still alive, would be incredibly dire. And these are very, very remote areas where these plants are. There were some 14 hydropower plants which were, which were wiped out by this, by this rushing flood.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. And what kind of continued threats are they also preparing for or anticipating?

COOPER: Right now, I mean, the weather is just the big inconvenience and making it obviously much more difficult for rescuers, just getting equipment up and clearing these roads to try to get more vehicles and heavy earth moving equipment into some of these, these areas. There have been concern about those two other lakes, bodies of water which had been formed when that glacier fell. According to Chinese officials, one of those has essentially been drained and the other one has lowered. So it seems like while they may still pose some risk, the concern from earlier days that there might be another flood, those concerns seem to have been lessened, particularly from Chinese officials. So, that's a little bit of good news if that remains the case.

WHITFIELD: And amazingly, some hospitals, you know, are able to, you know, meet the needs of, of people. And I understand some of the hospitals are also serving as, you know, not just trauma centers, but also places of respite, you know, because there's no shelter for people. For how long can they do this? And what about food and water supplies?

COOPER: Yes, and a lot of that is in areas outside of Kathmandu. There are staging grounds where there are hundreds of people who have been brought there to get rest, to try to get clothing, to get medical attention. The military has really been responding to try to get as many people medical attention as soon as they are brought out, to feed them, to clothe them. And a lot of supplies we've seen have being ferried up there by helicopter as well.

It is a very dynamic operation, and obviously the hospitals here in Kathmandu are responding. People who have been wounded are brought to hospitals here. The morgues are full. That's becoming a real problem, particularly outside the city. In some of these smaller villages, the morgues have just been overwhelmed. And obviously the conditions are very difficult. And in some places, they may have to start burying bodies of those who have been found immediately or very quickly because of decomposition. They're going to try to take DNA swabs from people so families might be able to later identify them.

We saw this in Sri Lanka after the tsunami when there were so many fatalities, they would post photographs of peoples bodies. But it's very hard to identify loved ones from photographs in conditions like this. And so oftentimes the burials occur very, very quickly.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Really horrible situation. All right, Anderson Cooper, thank you so much. We'll check back with you momentarily.

All right, meantime, aid groups and relief teams are on the ground distributing essential emergency supplies, including hygiene kits, food and safe drinking water.

Joining us now to discuss the ongoing humanitarian aid efforts is Kate Phillips-Barrasso, the vice president of global policy and advocacy at the nonprofit Mercy Corps. Great to see you. I mean, Mercy Corps, you know, you have been at the ready and you've been, you know, had a presence there in Nepal since 2005. And you've responded to earthquakes, floods, other disasters in the region before, but I wonder, you know, how you can compare to what you're having to deal with today and what you're hearing from your partners on the ground?

KATE PHILLIPS-BARRASSO, VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL POLICY AND ADVOCACY, MERCY CORPS: Well, first of all, thank you for reporting on this and for having us on the show.

Yes, we have been in Nepal since 2005, and it is a disaster-prone country. It's obviously subject, as we've seen this week, to climate shocks. And there have been seismic disasters there in the past. But our team on the ground has stressed to us that they've never seen anything like this before.

[14:30:00]

Just the ferocity, you know, of the, the river that wiped out entire communities and buried them in sediment, the lack of warning, not knowing this was coming, having rivers rise, you know, scores of meters within a matter of a half-an-hour really took everybody by surprise. And people on the ground are simply still in shock and disbelief that this event occurred and barely grappling with how they will move forward after such a traumatic event.

WHITFIELD: I mean, this kind of catastrophic flash flooding, it destroyed, and destroyed entire communities. We're now seeing images capturing the scale of the devastation in the region. I wonder, even for many of your folks on the ground who have the expertise of, you know, having to deal with a lot of emergencies, do they feel like they're equipped to meet some of the needs right now?

PHILLIPS-BARRASSO: Well, as, as was just noted in your segment with Anderson Cooper, the topography of the situation and just the devastation of critical infrastructure to reach some of these communities is hampering the search for survivors and also the ability to get aid to people where they are.

This was such a strong event. It wiped out tens of bridges, washed out the main highway leading to these areas, really, in essence, cutting off communities. And also a lot of the telecoms infrastructure was wiped out, so it's been quite hard for people to locate each other to signal that they're safe. And that's why you do see some of these numbers of missing people jumping around, because it's just not clear.

So for groups like Mercy Corps responding on the ground, it is challenging in the sense that it's hard to get to communities that, that are cut off, and the military is obviously trying to extract people, survey the damage, and certainly provide aid via helicopters.

But where they are getting people out or communities are reachable as they're repairing some of these infrastructure, organizations like ours are trying to rush people the most critical items, because again, we have about 10,000 people who have been displaced by this addition to those injured and killed. And they need everything ranging from clean water to shelter to hygiene kits and food. And, you know, we want to make sure that there is not a secondary disaster from this with people not getting what they need. So we're moving as quickly as we can using the resources and infrastructure that's available to us to help them in the immediate aftermath of this disaster.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, well, the need is great. You all are helping in all the areas that you can. Folks who are watching, if you want to try to assist further, there's a QR code there on the screen, ways in which you can extend your generosity as well. Kate Phillips- Barrasso, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS-BARRASSO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, horror in Ukraine's capital after a Russian attack triggered explosions next to family homes, killing dozens. Why Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now launching a criminal investigation.

And detained by ICE, what we're learning about the controversial far right commentator and early Trump supporter who is now suddenly facing deportation.

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[14:37:53]

WHITFIELD: All right, new today, the U.S. has struck an oil deal with Venezuela that will lower gas prices. That's what President Trump posted on social media. He says the U.S., through a partnership with a private company in Venezuela, has secured control of more than 65 billion barrels of the country's oil reserves. Trump added this will more than double U.S. oil reserves and will, quote, "substantially lower gas prices for Americans." The announcement comes ahead of the midterm elections, with high gas prices weighing heavily on voters' minds.

All right. In Ukraine, horrific scenes today near the capital of Kyiv. At least 37 people were killed in a residential area after a Russian drone struck an ammunitions warehouse, resulting in a large fire and explosions that lasted for hours. Dozens more were wounded. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the Kyiv region since the war began.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that munitions, including shells and mines, should not have been stored so close to a residential neighborhood. He said a criminal investigation is underway.

Returning to our top story, a frantic search is underway for survivors four days after catastrophic floods devastated the Nepal-China border region. Officials now say more than 670 people have been killed and nearly 3,000 are missing.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery is there. Hanako, what is the latest from your vantage point?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, right now were in this area called Trishuli, which is really close to the Nepali army barracks. And today we've really gone around to different areas that have been really affected by the floods. We went to this one area where we saw homes completely leveled by the floodwater, homes half submerged in mud. It was actually really difficult even for us to get to because the roads were just that covered in thick layer of debris and mud.

And we were also following the Nepali police as they were using sniffer dogs to find any bodies that might have been trapped underneath the rubble.

[14:40:6]

And of course, as you mentioned, Fredricka, the race is really on to find any survivors, any people now. And the army has told us that, of course, for some of these really badly affected areas close to the river, where we've seen a lot of damage, some of those search and rescue missions are becoming search and recovery as they are trying to extract some bodies.

And Fredricka, you know, we're also seeing in other parts of the Trishuli area diggers trying to clear out roads so that they can actually create a clear path for people to get home to, also create a clear path, of course, for more aid, more support to get to. And that is really because again, a lot of these roads that lead to the worst affected areas higher up in the mountains, they've been completely blocked. It's very, very difficult to get to. And right now, helicopters are really the only viable way to reach those areas. So they are hoping to use more machinery, use more of those diggers to clear out paths to get better access.

But of course, the inclement weather has really dampened some of those rescue efforts. It's currently monsoon season in Nepal, and even earlier on Saturday, we were experiencing some heavy downpour. And of course, when you do get that heavy downpour, a lot of the mud that sort of caked over the road, they become they become softer, making it difficult to, to walk over. And of course, you can imagine just how much more difficult search and rescue operations do become because of that.

And Fredricka, again, I mean, the situation here in Nepal, I can't describe to you how devastating it is for locals. I mean, thousands of families are still awaiting news about their loved ones. And because communication lines have been cut out, it's really, really difficult for them to get any kind of information. They are desperately relying on the Nepali authorities for that information.

But of course, again, as communication lines are down, rescue operations slightly hampered by the weather, it's just been that much more difficult, Fredricka, to get help to those who need it.

WHITFIELD: And Hanako, isn't it the case that among many of those rescuers or first responders, they've lost their homes too, and perhaps even looking for their own family members?

MONTGOMERY: Yes. Fredricka. I mean, this disaster, something that I've felt covering this now for the past three or so days is that, I mean, so many people in this country are badly affected. If they haven't lost loved ones, they might know their neighbors, other people in their towns and villages who might have also lost their loved ones. I mean, this disaster is affecting nearly every aspect of life here. That is just how far reaching the devastation is.

And of course, for some of the authorities who might have been personally affected, they're of course, getting on with the job. They're trying to get aid to those survivors, get aid to the people who need it most. And when we were at the military barracks on Friday, Fredricka, I mean, I was noticing so many helicopters landing in just a matter of, of minutes, and, you know, survivor after survivor coming off those helicopters with their luggage, with their other family members. We were seeing kids, we were seeing parents, grandparents, I mean, pretty much everyone coming off those choppers. As you can imagine just how much work is going into these rescue off rescue efforts, especially high up in, in those mountains again, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: We're looking at pictures where they're also getting some assistance from search and rescue dogs as well. All right, Hanako Montgomery, we'll check back with you momentarily. Thank you so much. All right, and more on this breaking news straight ahead. More than

3,000 people still missing after catastrophic floods in Nepal and dozens of Americans are among them. What we're learning about who some of them are.

Plus, a fake NFL player, dozens of victims, and over $1 million stolen. New details on an elaborate alleged romance scam and the federal charges the impostor is now facing.

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[14:48:46]

WHITFIELD: All right, the 2010s produce some of sports' biggest stars, Simone Biles, LeBron James, they led the way while social media changed fan engagement forever.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The amount of excitement and attention that LeBron James garnered since he was 15 years old is and was singular.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LeBron James is on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" as a junior in high school. He played on ESPN in high school, and then he was drafted as a senior.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cleveland drafted him number one in 2003. Cleveland loved him because he was from Akron.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you get a once in a generation player who is staying home and he's going to bring glory to the place that they grew up in. So for the Cleveland fans, there is no expectation that is too high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The city had not won anything since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964. There was just nothing but bad endings and heartbreak. And here was this transcendent basketball player. And he dragged a very, very mediocre Cleveland team to the 2007 championships.

[14:50:06]

And then they get destroyed by a very good San Antonio team. But they were just outmanned. After seven seasons, you could see it wearing on LeBron.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LeBron's from Akron and he goes to the Cavs. You think that's it. LeBron is going to play there for 20 years, wear a Cavs jersey for the rest of his career. Little did you know he had other plans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. From a baby to King James, but a few twists and turns along the way. Watch the final episode of "Decades in Sports" tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN and Monday on the CNN app. All right, from one legend to the next, he won 20 Grand Slams. And at

one point was at the top of the world tennis rankings for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Who does that? Well, we're talking about the one and only Roger Federer. And this evening he is completing another milestone and being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. CNN World Sports reporter, anchor Don Riddell is here. You recently caught up with him. That's a treasure, a treasure of a moment.

DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: Yes. Roger Federer is just amazing.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

RIDDELL: I can't think of anybody that would have a bad word to say about him. An amazing tennis player, just a wonderful human being off the court as well. And this induction to the hall of fame in Newport, Rhode Island, has been a long time coming. I think we all knew as far back as 2004 that that was where he was heading.

And I asked him during our interview if he could just compare how he thought it would be to winning all those Grand Slams with kind of an honor and a triumph of a different nature. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER FEDERER, TENNIS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: It's definitely going to be a moment in time and, potentially for a lot of people, a long time coming. But it's an incredible moment, I think, for my team and my family, also maybe all my fans, you know, to see me getting enshrined and inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. So it's nice to stop time for a second, be able to be really grateful and thank everybody who has helped me along the way. So it's going to be definitely a very special day.

RIDDELL: Roger, I suspect your second act is only just getting started. So when all is said and done, how would you like Roger Federer to be remembered?

FEDERER: I know I get that question a lot, and I don't know exactly how to answer it, but it'd be nice, of course, if I would be remembered as someone who has pushed the game in the right direction, somebody who has maybe been also a role model to a lot of the children and has represented the sport well, and the values of the sport, and maybe my country, Switzerland, as well. Ive obviously always tried my very, very best in the in the pressure cooker moments on the court to keep going, keep believing in myself, and also show my fighting spirit, which not always has been talked about a whole lot because a lot of people always talked about my elegance, about my effortless playing style. But if people remember me as driving the game in the right direction down, down the road, that would be that'd be enough for me. Plenty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That's so nice. He heard me. Ive been calling him elegant. RIDDELL: Absolutely, yes. So something else that we talked about that

didn't make that cut was whether or not he'd cry tonight. I think he will. So of course he had this extraordinary career, but he became known as arguably sports most famous crier. So many times when he won, like he just wore his heart on his sleeve. And he admits that there's probably going to be some moments tonight where he's going to wobble, or he's going to have a few hiccups, as he put it.

WHITFIELD: Allowed.

RIDDELL: But actually, actually, he said if he does cry, it will make it more memorable for him, and I think more memorable for us too. I think it's going to be emotional.

WHITFIELD: I mean, what a moment. This is very special. And it's OK. And I think it's still underscores just as he said, he's going to be -- he hopes to be remembered as a fighter. And yes, then you will see emotionally just what he poured into it.

RIDDELL: His happy tears are the best tears.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I think well-deserved. Congratulations, Roger Federer. All right, Don Riddell, thank you so much, and thanks for bringing that conversation. Very nice.

All right, we'll be right back.

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[10:58:29]

WHITFIELD: A man accused of posing as a San Francisco 49ers player is charged with swindling dozens of women out of more than $1 million in an alleged romance investment scheme. Federal prosecutors say Daejon Love used this Instagram profile to lure in and convince women of wealth and fame that didn't even exist. One image on Love's profile shows him donning a 49ers headband while sitting in a seat with a Lamborghini logo. Prosecutors say many of Love's victims believed they were in a relationship with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINIQUE DUBOSE, TARGETED BY ACCUSED 49ERS SCAMMER: I believe that he played a good role, he played a good part, and he knew how to play each woman and each woman's weakness to the best of his ability.

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WHITFIELD: Another man who posed as an investment adviser is also charged in that case.

All right, fire crews in California are in a fight to contain a second blaze that broke out along California's scenic Big Sur coast. The Plaskett fire ignited Tuesday and already burned nearly 6,000 acres across Monterey County. Evacuation orders are in effect for the area, as CalFire reports a zero percent containment. Plus, take a look at what firefighters in Idaho are up against. Crews

battling the cave fire encountered this massive fire whirl. Fire-nados are a natural phenomenon that can form during intense blazes, and officials said the flames were fully contained Thursday after burning more than 2,000 acres.