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Four Boy Scouts Killed in Iowa Tornado; Midwest Towns Under Water; Crane Collapses at Cowboys Stadium; Tornado on the Ground in Milwaukee
Aired June 12, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN KARSCHNER, BOY SCOUT: Eight seconds, the tornado passed. That was like the longest eight seconds I have ever had.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It struck fast and it struck hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like a pounding sensation on your back. It wasn't like blowing around. It was just going straight on, and not stopping.
LEMON: The terror of a twister. Four boys killed at a scout camp in western Iowa. Dozens more are hurt. But many lives were saved.
BRADLEY SUNDSBOE, TROOP LEADER: I grabbed a kid by the neck, threw him in the shelter, closed the door, told everybody to get on their hands and knees and protect their heads.
LEMON: The winds pass, but the water stays. Midwestern rivers are still overflowing. And the rain keeps coming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon over at the Severe Weather Center. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All right, so this is why we take tornadoes seriously. Check out this pile of bricks and wood. That's what is left after an EF-2 or an EF-3 twister whirled out of a thunderstorm and pounded a Boy Scout camp -- 118 campers and staffers hunkered down and rode it out yesterday evening.
Now, by the time the tornado passed, four teenage scouts were dead. And a couple of hours later, in Kansas, check this out. Tornadoes ripped up trees, demolished homes, and killed at least two people in the Topeka area.
This is Chapman, Kansas, where crews are still going from rubble pile to rubble pile. And you're looking at it all right there. Imagine if that was where you're supposed to live. All your belongings are out. And hopefully, hopefully -- see those Xs? That means they have checked and they are looking for survivors. Let's hope everyone survived there.
And what is this? It is a raging river? Well, no, it is a street, a neighborhood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Not many people are still around, but the Cedar River out of its banks. The upper Mississippi out of its banks today. And today, more downpours across the eastern part of Iowa.
Four families in Iowa and Nebraska, as we have been telling you, sadly, dealing with a tragedy here, mourning the loss of four teenage boys.
Our affiliates in the Midwest have been covering this story. And they bring it to us, a bird's-eye view, really, because they are on the ground. This is the area they covered.
Our Fredricka Whitfield joining us now to tell us their stories.
Fred, sad stuff.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Don.
Top-notch Boy Scouts on a path to leadership within the Boy Scouts of America. Then suddenly, a tornado sweeps through the exact campsite where they were in the western part of the state. But thanks to some quick thinking, many of them survived. Sadly, four did not, ages 13 to 14, and all of this happening in a frightening eight seconds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED BOY SCOUT: Actually, I was inside it. Well, I was getting knocked around. I had dirt flying everywhere. I had rain soaking me and it was just pure white. And it was just massive swirling thing. Until the tornado passed, it was just basically howling wind. You couldn't hear -- nothing. You were getting pelted with dirt, rain, rocks, flying debris, pieces of the shelter that were swirling around. It was pretty bad.
KARSCHNER: It was like just like a pounding sensation on your back. It wasn't like blowing around, it was just going straight on and not stopping.
CODY VANZUIDEN, BOY SCOUT: Someone came in and told us there was a tornado, told us to get underneath the tables. The walls were starting to cave in and blowing around. The chimney collapsed. I didn't really know what to do, except hunker down and hope for the best.
SUNDSBOE: I remember, I grabbed a kid by the neck, threw him in the shelter, closed the door, told everybody to get on their hands and knees and protect their heads. That could have easily been me, because I was up for the last to years in that valley. It's just weird how stuff like this works out. KARSCHNER: They were going to play movies for us, but the scout master opened the door. And he told us to all be quiet. And then he told us just to get under the tables. And so, we all got under the tables. Eight seconds, the tornado passed. That was like the longest eight seconds I have ever had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And we're learning a little bit more about these four young boys, all of them killed.
Fourteen-year-old Sam Thomsen, actually, he was just days away of becoming age 14. He was from Omaha. He left for scout camp in Iowa, and he was excited to do what he loved most, by being a part of the Boy Scouts.
Josh Fennen, 13, he had just finished eighth grade at Andersen Middle School in Omaha.
And Ben Petrzilka, 14, had just finished seventh grade at Mary Our Queen Catholic School in Omaha.
And then Aaron Eilerts, 14, attended Blue Middle School in Eagle Grove, Iowa.
Of course, Don, our hearts go out to all of the families.
LEMON: Oh, Fredricka, absolutely.
And if we can get those pictures back -- Fredricka, we appreciate your reporting.
We want to tell you, all of these boys, all of these boys here that you see are heroes, according to all accounts, everyone around them. They actually helped to save a family, a family that ended up going to the emergency room. And they all belong to the Boy Scouts Mid-America Council.
Today, America is praying for them. And the thoughts are with their family and their friends.
Let's take you over here now to the CNN Severe Weather Center.
Mr. Chad Myers, just moments ago, we heard about the situation that's happening in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Chad is going to take us through right here that is everything going on.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Go for us, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we showed you the water coming up, 22.5 feet going to 25. That's five feet higher than any record flood stage we ever had before.
We will take you right on down into Cedar Rapids itself now. And we will kind of fly down and see where this is going. We talked about the levee breach. Well, I just worked on the levee breach a little bit. It is actually down well south of Cedar Rapids. But there's water in Cedar Rapids itself.
But there's a levee through here where the train is. And water is coming over the levee and into this south and southeastern part now of Cedar Rapids. This is -- you can take a right and this is just an amazing thing. This is the traffic maps, too, and this is what they call this area, Rompot (ph). Its the Rompot area.
And all of this water now coming over a small breach. We showed you what happened to a small breach in Lake Delton. Remember that? That's really what that was. Lake Delton, the water when over. It just kind of goes, and it started eroding and eroding a bigger and bigger breach.
LEMON: Right.
MYERS: And that's what these people down here are facing.
Kind of go back up toward northern sections here, into downtown Cedar Rapids. There are many areas where water is coming into downtown. They're saying in parts of downtown, the water is up to the top of the stop signs.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh.
MYERS: So, they are really -- we don't know exactly what's flooded, because some of this is actually being held back by the water, by the nice levees that put in place years ago, but, at 25 feet, some of those levees aren't going to watch.
LEMON: Right.
Now, these bridges, we see the Second Avenue Bridge and all of this. These are the ones that barges usually go under, and they can't get there right now?
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Correct.
And at 24-and-a-half feet, that water will be right underneath the bottom of the bridge.
LEMON: Wow.
MYERS: So, it's just going to be touching the bottom of the bridge. And then the water is going to even go higher and the water will be on top of these bridges. Remember the bridges we were looking at yesterday. Those where the Des Moines River bridges. And this is a completely different river.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Same sort of thing. MYERS: But still navigable.
LEMON: OK. So, listen, just real quickly, a moment ago, we were talking about I-80.
Can Dave take us over to I-80? We understand there was at least a 30-mile section of I-80 in this area had to be closed off because of all the rain and the flooding?
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: We got now that it's going to be closed tomorrow.
LEMON: OK.
MYERS: Because the bubble of water that's still coming downstream will be high enough that they think that the bridges may be in some danger to go over with truck traffic and car traffic. They don't want people on there if the bridges are starting to erode.
Now, here's the problem with this. We haven't really addressed this. This bubble of water is now getting into all the other bigger rivers.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh.
MYERS: And what's the biggest river that goes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico? The Mississippi.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: The mighty Mississippi.
MYERS: And the Mississippi may very, very well be over the top of its banks around Saint Louis in a couple of days, as all of this water heads on down.
We don't know, because it's still raining.
LEMON: All right.
MYERS: These levels are still going up.
LEMON: Chad Myers.
Ireport.com, of course, we will always appreciate that.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: We want you to stay out of harm's way, but CNN is your weather station today. And we want you to stay with us throughout the day and throughout the evening here on CNN, because we're going to cover it all. Our coverage continues tonight at 8:00 p.m., as people are bracing for more storms and they are cleaning up from these deadly tornadoes right here on CNN -- Brianna. KEILAR: Don, a major decision today on terror detainees. The Supreme Court says suspects held by the military at Guantanamo Bay have the right to be heard in civilian courts on the mainland.
Justice Anthony Kennedy cast the swing vote in this 5-4 ruling. He says the laws and Constitution were designed to remain in force even in extraordinary times, his words in the opinion there.
President Bush and Senator John McCain both side with the court's dissenters. We will have more in a live report coming up from CNN's Jamie McIntyre.
And the Pentagon has released video of an attack that's driven a wedge between the U.S. and a key ally in the war on terror. Pakistan says a U.S. airstrike killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops along its border with Afghanistan. It calls the incident a completely unprovoked and cowardly act.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad has issued a statement expressing regret. Now, the Pentagon says the action appears to be a -- quote -- "legitimate strike" against militants who attacked coalition forces.
LEMON: Water, water, everywhere flooding the Midwest, farms soaked. Rivers are blocked. We will take you there.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's talk now about being waterlogged in Wisconsin. The more it rains, the more the rivers rise, and fields already saturated from a winter of snow are starting to look more like small lakes.
Our Susan Roesgen takes us to one farm right outside Madison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It looks as if a farmer's pain right now could be our pain at the grocery store this fall.
(voice-over): A gentle breeze blows across Jerry Bradley's farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. But what looks like a pond in the distance is really acres and acres of his crop under water.
JERRY BRADLEY, FARMER: This is the worst. Dad and I were driving around the other day. This is the worst ever.
ROESGEN: The Bradley family has farmed this land for 150 years, soybeans and corn, but this year they can't even get into the fields to spray the weeds. The ground is so soft from all the rain, that the tractors would sink. And what's the point when a quarter of his crop has already drowned?
BRADLEY: The ones that are in water, they're dead. They're gone. Anything that's under water that you see, if it's over 24 hours, is dead. It will not survive. ROESGEN: Across the Midwest, it's much the same. Flooded fields means a smaller harvest, which will mean even higher food prices for the rest of us. Who knows how much higher?
BRADLEY: Until you roll that harvester across the field, you don't have a clue. It is what it is. You can't control the weather. You can try and control the other elements, but you can't control the weather.
ROESGEN: There is only one solution.
BRADLEY: Hot weather, you know, wind, sunshine, stop raining.
ROESGEN: And unless it does stop raining, and soon, the farmers' troubles this summer may be yours before the year is out.
(on camera): And something else farmers have to consider is the price of their diesel fuel. That's what runs the tractors, if they ever are able to get them back out in the fields again. And the price of diesel fuel has tripled.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: A constitutional clash in the war on terror and a big legal defeat for the Bush administration.
And how would you like snuggling up to this? A snake turns up right where you would least expect it, a baby's crib. But there's a bigger mystery here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're getting new videos, new photos, new I-reports of last night's deadly tornadoes.
Our Josh Levs is checking it all online. He joins us now from the tornado desk with the very latest.
What do you have for us, Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, there, Don.
We have been getting I-reports throughout the day, some video, some photos. And there's one place that had a lot damage yesterday, really took a lot of damage. That's Kansas State University. We have an I-Reporter who sent out a lot of photos.
And he's joining us right now, Chad McKown.
Chad, are you with me?
CHAD MCKOWN, STUDENT, KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: Yes.
LEVS: OK. Great. So, we're going to show some of these photos you sent us today, powerful pictures.
How bad is the damage on your campus at Kansas State University?
MCKOWN: There's a lot of property damage. A lot of buildings have been hit, a lot of trees, downed trees. And several cars have been overturned and some flipped completely over.
LEVS: Look at these pictures. I was reading from your school $20 million in damage, fortunately, no casualties, no loss of life there. But you must have stepped outside today and been pretty amazed by what you saw, huh?
MCKOWN: Right. That was correct.
Yes, I got up to go to work today. And classes -- and I work at the library -- work was canceled, but on my way there, this is what I passed through, just walking half-a-mile to campus. This is everywhere...
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: So, you didn't have to seek out this stuff. All these destroyed cars, they were just everywhere around you?
MCKOWN: Yes, that's correct.
LEVS: Look at that. That tree -- these things have toppled on top of cars. You have some cars that are underneath parts of buildings, it looks like. And you have some cars that are completely upside down.
Have you ever seen anything like this yourself?
MCKOWN: I was 6 and I was in the tornado that came through Wichita, Kansas, in '91, but I barely remember that.
LEVS: So, since '91, you haven't seen anything like that?
MCKOWN: Yes.
LEVS: Why don't you situate people where Kansas State University is.
Let's go to the Google map, because most people aren't familiar with Manhattan, Kansas. We're going to fly in from outer space, basically, and we're take it there. There you go. So, it's in the northeast section of the state. That's your campus we're looking at right there. And so it's not unheard of for you all to be hit by some kinds of tornadoes.
Clearly, this is damage is powerful. Talk to me about what happened last night as the tornado was coming through your area. Were you warned? What did you do?
MCKOWN: Yes, they sounded the sirens, I believe, twice. And we took shelter, which is usual. Like you said, this happens a lot. Kind of sat down in the basement for about an hour until everything passed over, and then just went on as normal.
LEVS: Wow.
OK, so clearly you were able to get down there. Now, you told me that right now is freshman orientation, right?
MCKOWN: Yes, that's correct.
LEVS: So, you have got all these kids there who have never been to a college campus before and this is what they're waking up to see.
MCKOWN: Yes, kind of an interesting welcome to Kansas, I guess.
LEVS: Well, listen, Chad, I really appreciate you joining us to show us some of these pictures you have sent in here.
Obviously, we want to encourage all of you to send us pictures as well, I-Report. You can't miss it. Just go to CNN.com or just go to straight to ireport.com. This is where you can see those photos. And throughout the day, we will have photos and videos from all the stricken areas throughout the Midwest and any part of the country that gets severe weather -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Josh, always amazed by our I-Reporters and the reports they bring and pictures they bring to us as well.
LEVS: Yes.
LEMON: Josh Levs from our tornado desk, we appreciate it -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Meeting the voters face-to-face, it is all about town halls this week as John McCain and Barack Obama take their campaigns across America. The presumptive Republican nominee focused on several key issues, including the economy, at a town hall in New Hampshire a short time ago.
In his speech, which you may have seen here live on CNN, McCain took aim at critics who disagree with his call for a temporary suspension of federal gasoline taxes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have run into low-income Americans who have to drive a long way to work and that have high-gas-consumption automobiles. They would like a little relief, so that maybe they could buy some school textbooks for their children this fall.
So, if you want to call it a gimmick, fine. You know, the economists, they're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Halfway across the country, Barack Obama talked economic issues with voters in Wisconsin. In his speech, also seen live here on CNN, the presumptive Democratic nominee took aim at John McCain over his tax cut plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The tax cut that John McCain has proposed, nearly a quarter -- nearly one-fourth of his tax cuts goes to households making more than $2.8 million a year. Now, if anybody -- I don't want to embarrass anybody, but how many people here make more than $2.8 million a year?
I mean, if you're there, I want to know you, because we're still fund-raising.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Obama kicked off a two-week campaign tour focused on economic issues Monday in North Carolina.
And leading our Political Ticker: a new push for Al Gore on the Democratic ticket. Democratic strategist James Carville tells CNN the former vice president would make a great running mate for Barack Obama. Gore, says Carville, could be Obama's energy czar to help the country reduce its dependence on foreign oil. But Carville also says that Hillary Clinton, who he supported for the nomination, is his first choice to be Obama's running mate.
And a new poll suggests that Obama is picking up support from one of Clinton's core groups of voters, older women. The Gallup survey shows Obama holds a six-point lead over John McCain among women over 50, 47 percent to 41 percent. In a similar poll last week, McCain led Obama by three points.
McCain is going to be the star of a new children's book. The senator's 23-year-old daughter, Meghan, is writing the book. It's scheduled to hit stores the first week in September. That is the same time as the Republican National Convention. Meghan McCain already has a reputation as a writer. You may recall that her blog drew quite a bit of attention during primary season.
And you can check out our Political Ticker for all of the latest campaign news. Log on to CNNPolitics.com, your source for all things political.
Catching you up now on the big story out of Washington, the Supreme Court has ruled that terror suspects have the right to challenge their detention in civilian courts. Once again in the spotlight, the controversial military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. We have looked at the legal angles.
Now for what the military thinks, let's go to Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon.
And, Jamie, what happens to all of these detainees and their cases?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, that's a really good question right now that's being considered. There's about 200 cases pending before federal courts in Washington, cases where detainees have been trying to challenge their detention.
Up until now, they have had no standing in federal court. But the Supreme Court today granted those detainees at Guantanamo the same rights that any American has. That is the right of habeas corpus, the right to challenge your detention in court.
Today, President Bush said he wasn't happy about the decision, but that he would essentially hold his nose and comply.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, as to the Supreme Court decision, we will abide by the court's decision. That doesn't mean I have to agree with it.
It was a deeply divided court. And I strongly agree with those who dissented, that -- and their dissent was based upon their serious concerns about U.S. national security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Even as the president said he would abide by the decision, he also indicated he might try to get around it, suggesting that further legislation might cut back on some of the rights that the Supreme Court has granted the detainees.
In addition to giving those detainees the right to challenge their detention in court, the decision has also armed critics of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with more ammunition to call for its closing, a facility that Amnesty International dubbed a few years ago the gulag of our time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I would say that the Supreme Court has upheld the Constitution of the United States. I have long been an advocate for closing Guantanamo, so I'm -- I hope that this is in furtherance of taking that action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: One of those advocates for closing Guantanamo is none other than Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who said, because of the things that have happened in Guantanamo in the past, it -- quote -- "has a taint about it."
But, at the same time, Secretary Gates says that he sees no good options. He calls it a serious "not in my backyard" problem. The 60 or 70 hard-core terrorists that will likely have to be held for some time, according to the United States, he doesn't see any state prison that would want to take them -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Thanks for that report, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon.
And let's head now to the Severe Weather Center and Don.
LEMON: Yes, we have some breaking news to tell you about. What you're looking at right here, this is Oakland Hills, California, Brianna. These pictures courtesy of our affiliate KTVU.
We're talking about a huge brushfire there. You can see that approximately three acres have burned so far. This started about 11:18. That's Pacific time. Several structures were initially endangered, but they have been saved. That is so far, so far. And so far, there are no reports of any injuries. This is a three-alarm fire.
And you see that helicopter there, sort of just getting out of your screen, that you can see that they are fighting this fire, this brushfire from the air. Crews were all placed strategically, but it will probably still be a few hours before that fire is contained.
And, of course, as we have been talking to our Chad Myers about, this is all going to depend on the wind condition. And you see down here right in the canyon, you see the fire trucks and exactly how they're trying to fight this from the ground and also from the air, a huge brushfire, Oakland Hills, California -- more details to come right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Rolston Amos has been a long-haul truck driver for more than 17 years. And with the rise in diesel prices, the shape of his and most trucks on the road are now becoming a big financial drag.
ROLSTON AMOS, TRUCK DRIVER: It was nice to run to Miami a lot, and I would save $500, $400 to go down there and come partway back up. These days, it costs you $900.
WOLF: And as Rolston and other drivers feel the pain at the pump, researchers hope to ease it by designing aerodynamic parts that retrofit to the back of the big-rigs and reduce wind drag by 25 percent.
ROBERT ENGLAR, GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Drag of course is what causes the engine to have higher fuel consumption because it has to overcome the drag to make the vehicle go forward.
WOLF: Robert Englar and his team at the Georgia Tech Research Institute simulate what happens with a three-foot model truck. When wind passes over the truck, it gets trapped at the back of the rig, forming small tornado-like winds that slow the vehicle.
ENGLAR: Like throwing out an anchor that has many, many pounds of suction pulling the tractor backward. WOLF: Their solution, to retrofit trucks with curved flaps, making their back ends less boxy. Englar says it can help improve fuel efficiency by 10 to 12 percent.
ENGLAR: You would save 2.4 billion gallons or $10 billion of fuels. And we think there's a reason to be excited over that. And we are.
WOLF: And savings like that could keep truckers like Amos in business.
AMOS: Every penny count with us, because every mile we turn, we have got to make money. And, right now, we're losing money. So, 10 percent is a lot.
Reynolds Wolf, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following breaking weather news here today.
I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar.
You're live in THE CNN NEWSROOM.
It's 32 after the hour and here are three of the stories we're working on in THE CNN NEWSROOM.
Some Iowa Boy Scouts are being hailed as heroes for providing first aid to their injured comrades in the aftermath of a tornado. Four Scouts were killed yesterday when a fierce storm destroyed their campsite.
A new legal setback for the Bush administration in its handling of the war on terror. The Supreme Court says detainees at Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detentions in federal court.
Still no suspects, still no motive in the brutal murders of two young girls in Eastern Oklahoma. The girls were shot to death taking a walk in the small community of Weleetka.
LEMON: Well, killer tornadoes in the wake of killer floods. We're following breaking news here. Relentless weather in the Upper Midwest. It has just been amazing. Immense back to back thunderstorms we've been telling you about, overflowing lakes, of course, cracking dams, turning riverside towns into flood disaster zones. And tornadoes random and unstoppable.
Today, four families are mourning teenage sons, Boy Scouts caught in a twister that ripped apart their campsite in Iowa.
And, of course, we're following breaking news in the Weather Center.
We want to turn now to our Chad Myers.
Chad, I hear you have a tornado on the ground somewhere?
MYERS: Reported by sports near Platteville, Wisconsin. Now, that's kind of closer to Union, Wisconsin, but moving on up toward Livingston. This is now completely on the ground and confirmed by people watching this storm.
There you go, west of Madison, kind of right there on the corner where Wisconsin and Iowa meet. But there's Platteville and there's Livingston. One hundred and fifty-five lightning strikes with that little cell just in the past one hour.
There's also a cell headed into Milwaukee, but it is not, at this point, rotating. It does have hail with it, some hail, about an inch- and-a-half there. And look at those people affected -- 493,000 people affected by that cell moving from Greenfield into Milwaukee, then eventually into Lake Michigan.
This is going to be another day with tornadoes. If you get the first one at 3:30 in the afternoon, 2:30 Central time, it could be a busy day -- Don.
LEMON: All right.
And Chad Myers is going to be following this. And Chad had warned people last night and you saw exactly what happened. And he's warning people today. So if you're in that area, you need to follow his advice and get to shelter and get to safety.
Let's go now to those four teenage Boy Scouts out for a forest camping trip when tragedy struck. They were killed Wednesday night when a killer tornado struck their campsite. It's one of several natural disasters that we have been following here -- that tornado and, of course, flooding.
And our Fredricka Whitfield has been listening in to all the news conferences and the latest information coming out from the aftermath of both of these.
Fredricka, what are you learning?
WHITFIELD: Well, Don, there are stories of survival and bravery from Kansas to Iowa because of this deadly string of weather. In, of course, Kansas, at least two people were killed. And in Iowa, four killed, all of them Boy Scouts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD HUMAN, EMERGENCY SERVICES, DICKINSON COUNTY, KANSAS: Early indications estimate that approximately 75 to 80 percent of the community was damaged in one way or another. At this point, they're telling me that approximately 100 homes were either destroyed or severely damaged in this storm. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's uprooted trees and downed power lines and buildings that looked like -- 10 buildings that look like they got blown.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This has been remarkable onslaught of weather -- everything from flooding, unbelievable rain, and of course, tornadoes, are all descending at once.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were at the administration building and we saw it coming around a bluff from the south. And it was a funnel cloud that was kind of going toward the ground. We got under the tables and not two seconds later, it was -- it came in and it ripped all the doors wide open and some of the windows broke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I laid in the ditch and the tornado went right over the top of me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are also very proud of those that survived. The more I've learned, the more I've understood the role that they played in potentially saving lives up at the camp.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And when talking about those Boy Scouts, 48 in all were injured, Don. And, as you heard the governor say, so many of the Scouts, because of that quick thinking, were able to spring into action right away and help out and potentially save other lives.
LEMON: Yes.
And, Fred, you know, what's interesting?
I was speaking to one of the doctors and he said he was a Boy Scout for about six months. And he may have been a better doctor had he been a Boy Scout longer.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEMON: So, yes, they are definitely heroes, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes, well, these kids -- these particular Boy Scouts were the best of the best.
LEMON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: I mean they were hand-picked by their troop masters. And so these were the ones that were considered kind of the elite Boy Scouts of the Boy Scouts of America, who were all at this camp, all at this very tragic time.
LEMON: We can see why they were the elite.
Fredricka Whitfield, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much. And the images from these disasters -- these floods, these tornadoes -- may not only show the power of Mother Nature, they also show, really, the power of the human spirit, of the people who survived.
Let's take a look at these pictures. Look at that -- I mean just sheered the side of this off.
Let's see where these pictures are coming from. This photo is from Chapman, Kansas. And this one, also, that you're looking at, too, this one is from Chapman, Kansas, as well. A line of tornadoes trashed the town after dark on Wednesday. At least two people died in Kansas.
Now these folks are comforting one another after a tornado demolished a Boy Scout camp in northwestern Iowa. We've been reporting on that. Four teenage Scouts were killed there.
We want to go over to our Chad Myers now. He has some breaking weather news for us -- Chad?
MYERS: I was just showing you that storm that really wasn't rotating too much near Milwaukee. Well, now the Weather Service thinks it is rotating enough to call it a tornado warning. So if you are on the South Side of Milwaukee, you're probably -- at least I hope you are -- hearing the tornado sirens. If you're not, you need to take cover.
This is probably going to be closer to South Milwaukee and near St. Francis. But right now there's the storm, near Franklin. And it's moving and eventually will get into Lake Michigan. But for a while, if there's a tornado on the ground, this is going to affect many people. Look at that -- 861,000 thousand people affected by this warning. And that storm continues to move to the northeast at 55 miles per hour. Do not try to chase that storm. It's going way faster than your car is going to go, because all these roads don't go in a straight line there around Milwaukee.
LEMON: Any advice? Seek shelter?
MYERS: Get inside. Stay away from windows. It used to be a myth to go in and open up the windows. That doesn't work. It just -- all it does is puts you in danger of getting hit by that flying glass when the window breaks. And the window is going to break anyway.
Just get away from it, get downstairs if you have it. A lot of the houses in Milwaukee do have basements, so get into it now.
LEMON: Meteorologist Chad Myers with some good advice for all of us.
Chad Myers, we appreciate that.
Thank you very much -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Don, just in now to the CNN NEWSROOM. We're hearing this from our affiliate in Dallas, CBS 11 News. A crane has reportedly collapsed at the Cowboys stadium, the Dallas Cowboys stadium, which is still under construction. Three people said to be injured after this crane there reportedly collapsed.
Emergency crews are there. They're on the scene. At least three ground ambulances, as well as an air ambulance, have been dispatched to the scene. Again, three people injured there at the still under construction Dallas Cowboys stadium.
This is in Arlington. This is right in between Fort Worth and Dallas. And we're going to continue to follow this. But we should mention this is not the first crane accident in the area, even this week. According to the "Houston Chronicle," yesterday near downtown Dallas, someone else died in another crane accident.
We'll continue to follow this. Three injured at the still under construction Dallas Cowboys stadium near Dallas.
Now, we're going to go to a break now. We'll have much more straight ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: Hi, I'm meteorologist Chad Myers here.
I just want to update you kind of on that Milwaukee storm. It is now near Franklin. There's a tornado warning on that storm. It is not very impressive on the radar, but still, the Weather Service thinking that it has enough rotation to put a warning on it. We're talking about St. Francis and, also, South Milwaukee, not up toward Brookfield and West Allis and all that. We're only talking the south -- south end there of Milwaukee and then eventually getting all the way off into Lake Michigan.
We'll keep you advised. Right now, not on the ground that I know of, only indicated by Doppler radar. But we'll keep you advised -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Chad, for that.
And, also, we want to thank you, we have some news into the CNN NEWSROOM we're telling you about as we watch this.
We're going to watch this one here, this crane collapse happening in Arlington, Texas.
But first of all, before we go to that, we need to go to this breaking weather news, as we check on this developing story. At least two people are dead and one town nearly wiped off the map. This is what tornadoes did overnight as it ripped through Kansas.
Governor Kathleen Sebelius joins us now by phone. She took a bird's eye view.
Governor, the last time we spoke was live on the ground. It was during Greensburg, Kansas, when you were dealing with that tornado that wiped out that entire town. And just -- oh, just over a year later, you're dealing with a very similar situation here. But two people died in your state.
Tell us what you saw as you looked out from the helicopter.
GOV. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS (D), KANSAS: Well, Don, I've actually been on the ground in Chapman, Kansas, the town that took one of the direct hits from last night's tornado. It's where one of the deaths occurred. Unfortunately, a young woman lost her life and we have three other serious injuries who were people who have been taken to the hospital.
I would say the good news is that in spite of fairly extensive damage to the town -- it lost two schools, lost three churches, a number of the homes are entirely destroyed and others clearly have substantial damage. There is a good deal of the town still intact, with trees upright and houses in pretty good shape. So it's slightly different than our experience last year with Greensburg, where the entire community was really wiped out.
LEMON: Yes.
SEBELIUS: That's the up side.
Also, people got good warning. They had about 20 minutes of warning and Kansans take that pretty seriously. And folks did seek shelter or I think we would have had a lot more deaths and injuries.
And, finally, once again, the emergency response has just been extraordinary. There were 350 first responders on the ground within an hour doing search and rescue mission. They are still -- they have the Town of Chapman, which is about 1,200 residents, pretty well secured still, because they want to make sure they have found all the folks in the town. They don't want flyovers, to make sure that if somebody is under the rubble, they can hear them.
But there are some residents in the town that are getting their possessions and lots of volunteers in place to start the debris removal and recovery effort.
LEMON: And, governor, you are in a zone -- or in a state that really is no stranger tornadoes.
How are the people getting along in the area there? How are they doing today?
SEBELIUS: Well, Kansans are pretty resilient. They have a strong faith, believe in family. Community support is really very important. And in times like this, I think it's -- you know, people wrap their arms around one another, whether they live in the same community or come from other communities.
I think, again, the fortunate thing -- and even when people are looking at their entire homes destructed and loss of possessions, they realize that they and their families are OK. Their grandkids are OK.
There were, fortunately, very few injuries and fatalities. So I think there's a sense of devastation on one hand. On the other hand, the notion that, you know, they can replace basically everything they've lost, as long as everybody they love is OK.
LEMON: Yes, and they can...
SEBELIUS: I met a young schoolteacher who was telling me that not only were her house entirely wiped out, but we were standing outside the middle school where she taught and her classroom was entirely gone. The back of the school had been shaved off. And it's hoped that that will be probably in addition to people getting their houses back and rebuilding. The first big challenge is to get the school open in August.
LEMON: Well, Governor Kathleen Sebelius, we appreciate you joining us today. And we are so glad that you guys are doing OK. It's sad that two people...
SEBELIUS: Well, keep us in your prayers.
LEMON: Yes. Of course. Of course we will. We're sad that two people died, but we are very thankful, as I'm sure you are, that not more people died in all of this.
Thank you very much for that.
SEBELIUS: You're welcome.
LEMON: Brianna Keilar, take it away.
KEILAR: Yes, Don, we're talking about tornadoes in the Midwest. We're also talking about flooding. And Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- we're getting a live picture there, in the downtown area, from our affiliate KWWL.
Cedar Rapids is actually getting the brunt of this. This is a live picture. I guess we can't show you right now some of the things going on on the ground there. But the Cedar River there has poured over its banks. That happened today. And nearly 4,000 homes have had to be evacuated. This is according to the Associated Press.
We're talking about water up to -- over the stop signs -- almost up to the stop signs in certain parts of Cedar Rapids. You can tell that there are police out here in the downtown area.
We're going to continue to follow this and bring you all of the latest information on the flooding, as well -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Brianna.
We're also following developing news -- breaking news, as a matter of fact, from Arlington, Texas.
See that big piece of crane right there?
A crane collapsed as they were building the Dallas Cowboys stadium -- the new stadium in Arlington, Texas. Several people were injured. We're going to update you on the other side of the break.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We want to get you now to some breaking news. This is happening now. These are live pictures from Arlington, Texas. Look at this, from our affiliate, CBS 11 TV in Arlington, Texas. This is the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. And right in the middle, you see that crane right there. But part of a crane collapsed as they are constructing this. This stadium is supposed to be ready late 2009.
Here's what our affiliate there is telling us. Three people were injured after part of that crane collapsed. It is still under construction, as we've been saying. There are emergency crews on the scene. And at least three ground ambulances and an air ambulance have been dispatched to the scene, as well.
Now, here's what the Dallas Cowboys' spokesperson is telling our affiliate there. They said the accident happened while the workers were in the process of assembling this crane. One of the crane's cables either broke or became disconnected and crashed right onto those workers there. The air ambulance was taking that worker to a hospital -- Baylor Hospital in Dallas. And that Chopper 11 there that you see showing emergency technicians -- you can see them right there working on the man and working on the ground as they loaded these people onto a helicopter.
So, again, this stadium is supposed to be completed in 2009. Part of a crane collapsed there. Three people injured. We don't know the exact conditions of those people. We're working that story for you right here today in THE CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: News across America now.
Fear grips rural Oklahoma after the murder of two girls found shot to death four days ago on a country road. Detectives say they have no motive or suspects in the murders of 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker.
From suburban Orlando, Florida, police are reviewing composite sketches of a rape suspect after discovering the body of a missing woman where at least two previous sexual assaults were reported. Police have yet to say how 26-year-old Nicole Ganguzza was killed or if she had been assaulted.
In California, hot and dry conditions aren't helping the hundreds of firefighters who are battling a series of wildfires. In Bonny Doon, mandatory evacuations are in effect for 500 people who live nearby. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency around that fire site.
And from Suffolk County, New York, a geographically challenged snake found in an unwelcome place -- a baby's crib. That's right. The child's mother says she found the one foot California King snake wrapped around the leg of her sleeping 7-month-old.
Can you even imagine that? Animal control officers say the snake is not indigenous. They don't even know how it turned up there in Long Island.
The closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street -- that is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following breaking news today in THE CNN NEWSROOM.
We have seen the aftermath of a tornado that killed four people in Iowa and two in Kansas, as well. We got an update from the governor just a short time ago.
Also, flooding in the Upper Midwest -- people there are still cleaning up and it's not over yet. Several of the rivers have not crested.
And, also, we're following breaking news coming out of Texas. The new Dallas Cowboys stadium -- there was a partial crane collapse there, injuring three people. Those workers taken to the hospital. We're not exactly sure of their conditions yet.
We're following all of it for you today, right here on CNN.
KEILAR: Meantime, the closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Our Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at this trading day -- Susan, a very busy day and you look awfully serious.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KEILAR: Thanks, Susan.
Let's head now to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.
