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McQueary Says He Did Stop It; Bullet Found That Struck White House Window; Occupy Wall Street Protesters; Karzai Can't Wait For 2014; Millionaires Seek Higher Taxes; The Citadel's Sexual Abuse Scandal ; Tex Watson Wants Out Of Prison; Tornado Warning North of Atlanta; Breaking News: Tornados Spotted in Alabama, Georgia; Perry's Radical Pledge; America Strengthening Military Presence in Australia
Aired November 16, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Beginning with this, it lasted less than that minute nine years ago, but haunts Mike McQueary today. The Penn State assistant football coach who says he walked in on the rape of a child in a locker room back in 2002 now says he didn't just turn and walk away. In e-mails to a former classmate, McQueary reportedly sheds new light on a horrifying allegation lodged against Jerry Sandusky, another former assistant to Penn State football legend, Joe Paterno.
Court papers indicate McQueary told Paterno that he witnessed and Paterno told his boss, but the Allentown Pennsylvania Newspaper says McQueary also insists he told police. He writes, "I did stop it, not physically, but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room." End quote. And he goes on to say, quote, "No one can imagine my thoughts or wants to be in my shoes for those 30 to 45 seconds." End quote. Sandusky is charged with serial child molestation and two Penn State officials are charged with failing to report those crimes. Paterno has been fired and McQueary is on administrative leave.
The U.S. Secret Service says it found a bullet that struck a White House window. Officials say the bullet was stopped by bulletproof glass. Another round was found in the exterior of the White House. Investigators are trying to determine if the two bullets are connected to a nearby shooting on Friday night. President Obama and the first lady were not at the White House when shots were heard Friday. The U.S. park police have issued an arrest warrant for Oscar Ortega Hernandez who is believed to be connected to the Friday incident.
Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan is again hosting Occupy Wall Streeters, but the rules are a whole lot tighter. A day after police moved in and cleared protesters out, they're strictly enforcing a court order that bars tents and camp sites. Protesters planned marches and other activities on what would have been the two-month anniversary of their Zuccotti Park occupation.
And on to London now. An on again off again crackdown is on again. The city is giving protesters there 24 hours to leave the plaza near St. Paul's Cathedral or face eviction.
Occupy Seattle is condemning what it calls the outrageous behavior of Seattle police in breaking up a march and sit-in. Police say they used pepper spray only when protesters tried to block an arrest and to block city streets at rush hour. Protesters say a pregnant woman, an elderly woman, and a priest were among those hurt.
The president of Afghanistan says his war-ravaged country wants sovereignty and wants it now. At a national assembly of tribal elders, Hamid Karzai today likened Afghans to lions who don't like strangers in their house. At issue are military ties with the U.S. and NATO beyond the scheduled pullout of 2014. Karzai says the exit of coalition troops will be good for Afghans.
They are millionaires, and they're on Capitol Hill right now asking for higher taxes on themselves. They're members of a group called patriotic millionaires for fiscal strength. Their trip comes as a deadline nears for the Congressional Super Committee to come up with a plan for slashing $1.2 trillion from the deficit. And their message is to the point, any plan that does not include higher taxes for millionaires should be killed.
And new details on the sex scandal involving the Citadel. A general counsel for the military college in South Carolina says a boy's claim that he watched pornography and masturbated with a camp counselor are believable. A Citadel graduate identified as Louis Neal ReVille is under arrest and accused of sexually abusing at least five boys in recent years. Citadel officials have acknowledged that they did not do enough to stop the alleged abuse when it was first brought to their attention.
Charles Manson follower Tex Watson wants out of prison. The 65-year- old goes to the parole board today in California. At one point, Watson called himself the right-hand man of cult leader Charles Manson. He has served more than 40 years in prison for orchestrating the brutal death of several people back in 1969. He has been denied parole 13 times.
And this breaking news, two major tornado warnings right now. One headed toward Auburn, Alabama, another for the suburbs of Atlanta. Let's head straight over to Chad Myers -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Fred, a storm that's been on the ground with damage all the way from Montgomery is now on its way to Auburn University. Not the Montgomery Auburn University campus that's east of Montgomery, but the true campus of Auburn. And if you're anywhere near there, you should be hearing the sirens. There's the University, and here, the red and green next to each other indicating circulations probably have been on the ground for a very long time. Moving into the city of Auburn. You need to be taking cover right now. Inside the buildings, inside your classroom, inside the dorm rooms away from the windows. Glass could be the biggest killer here. This could be a fairly strong tornado here moving into Auburn, Alabama.
One more place that we're going to see a tornado warning, too, you may be hearing the sirens, would be west Cobb County in Georgia along Dallas highway. And we have some circulation there moving on up toward Kennesaw. So, if you're in the west Dallas Highway, north of Hiram, on the way to Kennesaw, tornado possible there, not probable yet, but possible. No damage reported, but these are two big cells headed to pretty populated areas, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Really potentially dangerous. We'll keep watching and we know you will, too. You'll keep us informed. Thanks so much, Chad.
If a state school doesn't report child abuse, federal funding could be suspended. That's according to new legislation proposed by a Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. She joins us live with details from Capitol Hill in just two minutes.
And gun licenses could soon be treated the same as driver's licenses. How the house is taking action to make it easier to carry concealed weapons across state lines.
But first, he's a legend in college round ball. Last night, Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski became the all-time winningest coach in college basketball when his Blue Devils defeated Michigan State. His career includes some of the most memorable moments of basketball, and he likely has a few more up his sleeve. Coach K., you are today's "Rock Star."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coach K wins number 903.
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WHITFIELD: All right. A new revelations today in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. The former graduate assistant who claimed he saw football coach Jerry Sandusky rape a boy in the locker room says he helped stop the attack. According to e-mails obtained by the "Morning Call" newspaper, Mike McQueary tells a former classmate, quote, "I did stop it, not physically, but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room." And he claims he reported it. He says he had, quote, "discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police." End quote. But Penn State is facing blistering criticism for allegedly keeping silent about the case and not doing more.
Now, a U.S. Congresswoman is calling for legislation that would stop federal funding to any agency or institution that fails to immediately report child sex abuse allegations. She is Texas Democrat, Sheila Jackson Lee, and joining us live from Washington, good to see you.
SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Thank you, Fredericka. Thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: So Congresswoman, when will you be introducing this legislation? And exactly what will it entail?
LEE: The legislation is being drafted as we are speaking today. And the focus of the legislation is to say to America that this is an urgent crisis, and the federal government must speak. And one of the strengths the federal government has besides the criminal prosecution laws, and right now this is a defined state case, although it may be found that the coach took some of these boys intrastate, and then it becomes clearly a federal crime, as we are still reviewing this. But this is to -- in essence to give a hammer, a slamdown on what is a tragedy in America. Three out of 10 girls may be sexually abused, seven out of 10 boys in their lifetime may be sexually abused.
But the fact that we are seeing these he said, she said facts unfold now hearing that the assistant coach may have stopped it, not physically, but may have stopped it and actually discussed it with police. And I think it's tragic when we put the person who may have been a civilian who tried to do something and now want to refute the fact that police didn't know about it.
I want to say that the federal government is going to take away your federal funding, research dollars, dollars that are used for various needs of institutions, be it hospitals, be it academic institutions, be it state and local government. If you do not have the -- in place a protective measure to protect children against sexual abuse, we know about child abuse, that is an equally heinous circumstance. Many times you see the bruises, but it is well known that children do not report sexual abuse, Fredricka, for at least two years.
WHITFIELD: OK. So, you're talking about then, not just institutions, colleges, like for instance, Penn State, you're talking about nonprofit organizations, you're talking about other federal agencies, or maybe even local or state agencies that receive federal funding. But just like you said, if cases are not reported, perhaps, two years, three years down the line, then at what point are you able to institute this repealing or ending of any funding as a result of someone not making the report right away?
LEE: It is triggered by the discovery and the facts. So in this instance, we know that this started in the late 1990s. We now see a trail of mishaps and cover-up, it seems. And I don't want to make Penn State the poster child except for the fact these are such heinous facts that we are seeing. But now it would be in action on 2011. We now know what happened, this act would go into place and their funds would seize as we speak. I exclude in academic institution, student scholarship, Pell Grants, et cetera, because I believe the students of a major university, unless one individual student is involved, should not be penalized. But it would be all aspects of these entities that receive federal funds.
And I used, as an example, a young lady in my district -- not in my district, in my state, Ashley. Ashley just killed herself in the last couple of days. She's 18 years old and she indicated she'd been sexually abused for all of her life. She sent 144 Twitters prior to her death. She was involved with a local prosecutor's office. And frankly, Fredericka, I would be questioning any federal funding that that office had. You've got to move quickly. You don't need to accuse people wrongly, but you need to move quickly. The federal government needs to clamp down and say we will not tolerate it and our money is our weapon.
WHITFIELD: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. And we're going to follow the path of this proposal. Thanks so much for your time.
LEE: Thanks for having me.
WHITFIELD: And certainly you've heard about this. Dangerous ex- convicts are finding it easy to legally buy guns. The details coming up in about two minutes, stay with us.
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WHITFIELD: All right. I want to update you on a breaking story we continue to follow. We're talking about tornado warnings in two regions of the southeast and the Atlanta suburbs and then again in Auburn, Alabama. Both highly populated areas. That are staring down potential tornado activity. There's been severe weather that has swept across a good part of the southeast, including high winds and lots of rain. You're looking at the radar picture there as it moves its way toward the east. Let's check in with Chad Myers for more on this potential activity.
Chad.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right now we have warnings going off in Cobb County, Georgia, and also parts of North Fulton County, Georgia. That's like the metro north metro area, the northern suburbs. It is a small area of rotation, but people get freaked out about it because it's such a populated area. A lot of damage can be done with the tree coming down or any kind of building, especially into schools. You have to be ready now. This is for Cobb County; this rotation has been to the north and east of Dallas, just near Kensal right now. Kind of eventually moving up across I-75 to the northeast.
So then eventually into northern Roswell, that's the storm right there that we've been watching. And it came across from Dallas, right along Dallas highway and now going over the I-75 corridor, this would be right there through and along to the north toward Roswell. Especially northern Roswell. Not a major tornado on the ground. Just slight issues here with some rotation. We'll keep watching it for you as we continue.
The next story is that Auburn University and the city of Auburn now reporting damage from the possible tornado that we told you about ten minutes ago. And there are trees down, power lines are down, and some structures have been compromised. That's all we know at this point. Things are just coming into us here at CNN, we'll keep you advised, but that tornado is probably still on the ground now northeast of Auburn, Alabama, moving up eventually into the western parts of Georgia.
Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Keep us posted, thanks so much, Chad, on that.
All right. Should the states that grant permits to carry concealed weapons and almost all of them recognize permits from other states? The house will vote on that very question today and it's expected to answer yes. Opponents say the measure undercuts states with tough permit requirements. Supporters say if the Second Amendment crosses state lines carry permits should, as well. Only Illinois and the District of Columbia don't allow concealed weapons at all.
Convicted felons give up their right to bear arms but they can and do get it back depending on the crime and depending on the state. The process can be very difficult or remarkably easy. In almost every case, it's under covered. The "New York Times" said to change just that with a lengthy investigation that found among other things 11 states allow nonviolent felons to get their gun rights back automatically when they've finished their sentences. Ohio, Minnesota, and Virginia allow violent felons to get their guns right away if they ask. California, Georgia, and Nebraska restore gun rights through pardons. Though, California does it very rarely, the other two states are more lenient. I'm joined now by "Times" investigator reporter Michael Luo. So Michael why is this so easy and at the same time very complicated?
MICHAEL LUO: Yes, it's complicated because there's an interaction between state and federal law. But the reason why we have this patchwork situation is the -- in 1986, the Congress passed a bill at the request of the NRA essentially that left the matter up to the states. And so basically what the law said was felons aren't allowed to have guns unless your civil rights have been restored by your state. And there's no other prohibition against you having a firearm.
And so actually the restoration of these civil rights which includes the right to vote, the right to sit on a jury, the right to hold public office. In some states is actually pretty routine. And so a lot of states actually it's pretty easy to get your gun rights back if you have a felony on your record.
WHITFIELD: But did you find in a lot of your reporting that even in some states that perhaps would require hearings or their restrictions if you're a convicted felon in getting the return of your second, you know, amendment rights to bear arms that they were able to do that without all of those things?
LUO: Right, I mean, there are some states where right when you finish your sentence, your rights are restored. There's no review at all. There are other states where you actually have to go to court to get this done. And even violent felons can do that. And you know, I got -- in Ohio I found a first-degree murder who got his gun rights restored, someone who had killed somebody with a shotgun.
In Minnesota, I had a guy who six months after he got out of prison for shooting up an ex-girlfriend's house; he got his gun rights restored. And in Minnesota, actually, I talked to somebody who got his gun rights back who didn't even have to go to court. The law in Minnesota is very, very spare. Basically says that the judge has to find that you can show good cause in whatever that means.
WHITFIELD: Well, I'm sure that the article might be the impetus of some of these changes soon to come. All right. Thanks so much, Michael Luo of the "New York Times."
Four men convicted of murder and rape may soon get out of prison. It has to do with new DNA evidence that could set them free. The details coming up after this quick break.
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WHITFIELD: In less than two hours a Chicago judge is expected to decide if four men all convicted in a vicious 1994 murder and rape case will be cleared. All four were teenagers at the time, all four confessed. But new DNA evidence links someone else to the crime. Legal analyst Sunny Hostin is here to break down this case. So, Sunny, where did this discovery come from that it was someone else's DNA that apparently may have been at the scene of the crime?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's interesting, I mean you have the Northwestern University Center on wrongful convictions of youth working on this case much like the innocence project. They did find that the DNA of Johnny Douglas, another person was linked to this crime. What's interesting, though, is that Johnny Douglas was shot to death in 2008. But he was a convicted sex offender. Someone whose pattern and practice seems to match the crime that occurred here.
And so they did all four of these men who were convicted while they were teenagers at the time. They have moved to vacate their conviction. And that's what this judge is considering. But I think what the sticking point is for this judge is that all four of them confessed. And so the judge wants them to convince him that their confessions were not -- were, in fact, coerced. Now, I think that it's a tough thing because they were teenagers, Fredricka, when they confessed. So sometimes youth plays a part of --
WHITFIELD: But what's important is their DNA -- none of -- the DNA of none of them was at the scene. We're talking about Michael Saunders, Harold Richardson, and Terrell Swift, and Vincent Tanes, right?
HOSTIN: That's right. The only thing that appears to link them to the crime is the confession. Now, the confession, to my understanding, is that they differ in some key details, but they also are striking in that the murder weapon, allegedly, was led to buy one of the confessed teens. It's a tough case, but we need to keep in mind that often time's people do confess when they're innocent. And so that's something that the judge will address at 2:00 p.m. today.
WHITFIELD: All right. Sunny Hostin on the case, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
Rick Perry wants to cut Congress off at the knees. He wants to cut their salaries in half, cut their budgets in half, and cut the time they spend in Washington in half. Will his plan just dismantle his campaign? That's fair game next.
But first, political junkies, let's test your knowledge, shall we? What percentage of members of Congress are millionaires? Is it 47 percent, 32 percent, or c, 20 percent? The answer after this.
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WHITFIELD: So before the break, we asked you to name the percentage of members of Congress who are millionaires. We gave you three choices, which one did you pick? A, b, or c? The answer, a, 47 percent.
Rick Perry has unveiled his plan to overhaul Washington, which includes a part-time Congress.
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RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To create a part-time Congress where their pay is cut in half, their office budgets are cut in half, and their time in Washington is cut in half.
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WHITFIELD: Perry's plans for Washington and all of the things political are fair game for my guest today, Democratic political consultant Ed Espinoza. Republican strategist Doug High. Good to see you, gentlemen.
DOUG HIGH, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Ed, you first, will Perry's pledge help him with voters? Is this his recovery plan after that debate moment?
ED ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Well, you know, he's getting back to his populist roots, but there's a problem here.
WHITFIELD: Right.
ESPINOZA: Rick Perry wants to go for term limits, fine, but he is the longest-serving governor in the history of Texas. Probably not the right messenger for this kind of an issue. But I think it's one that might play to his base. But we'll see.
You know, he still has $15 million in the bank, but money can't buy you love. And I think that Rick Perry's moment has passed him by.
WHITFIELD: Doug, do you see him as hypocritical here. Will people interpret it as just that?
DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No, I don't think people will interpret it as hypocritical. I think these are some important reforms. Some of them, House Republicans have already put in place. House Speaker John Boehner helped move to lower the budgets for the legislative branch of appropriations, changing the actual culture of Washington. And for Rick Perry, you have to stop making jokes about oops and other things and get back to talking about messaging and issues and that's what he's doing.
WHITFIELD: And part of his message, he says among those who would not be immune to these kinds of cuts, term-limit cuts in particular, the Supreme Court. Usually, you're appointed for life.
And so, Ed, is he making a statement here that will find some traction?
ESPINOZA: You know, this is a really interesting idea. The courts -- you see in the courts -- become more of a political football in recent years than we have in the past. This isn't one I've fully explored. But I would like to see this play out. It'd be interesting to see how many terms we have justices up for the court. It's done in certain states now. As a matter of fact, I think California and Texas are two of them. But I think it could be an issue of Rick Perry's worth exploring.
WHITFIELD: All right.
So, Doug?
HEYE: Well, this would require an amendment to the constitution. So it's something very difficult to be done. It's an idea certainly worth exploring, but I'll tell you, I worked in the United States Senate in 2005, 2006, when we confirmed Chief justice John Roberts and Justice Alito. I want them to have very, very long tenures. Maybe we can lessen the terms for some that we don't like --
(LAUGHTER)
HEYE: -- and lengthen those for the ones we do like. This will require a constitutional amendment, and that's a very difficult thing to do.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Doug Heye, Ed Espinoza. Good to see both of you. It's "Fair Game."
HEYE: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And remember, Tuesday night, CNN hosts the next presidential debate sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. That begins 8:00 p.m. eastern, November 22nd, right here on CNN.
All right. This country's forces have fought alongside the U.S. and other allies since World War I. It covers three million square miles. Indigenous people arrived there more than 40,000 years ago. Where in the world are we talking about? We'll tell you next in "Globe Trekking."
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WHITFIELD: All right. Nasty weather. We want to keep on top of right now.
Chad Myers?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The storm right along I-20 west of Atlanta, Georgia. Right over the Mabelton area, right over Vinings Estate, moving eventually through and up into the perimeter probably over Sandy Springs and out through Dunwoody. This is not a tornado warning on it, but it does have a severe thunderstorm warning on it for damaging winds 60 to 70 miles per hour. It doesn't matter what knocks down your trees. If it knocks down your tree, it's a big story. That warning for Kennesaw has been moved away and now it's just a severe thunderstorm warning for the possibility of wind on up toward Alpharetta. We'll keep watching that for you. Let's go down to Auburn into Alabama, Opaleka (ph), into Alabama. We do know that there's significant -- little farther south, guys, all the way down. Keep going. There we go. Keep going. All the way down.
A couple storms now that have moved from Montgomery on the ground all the way through Auburn with damage through Opaleka (ph) with damage, now moving across the Alabama/Georgia state line and into Georgia proper. Another tornado warning not that far, probably 20 to 30 minutes from Phoenix City. There's Columbus, and that is the southern section. This is south Georgia, south Alabama right now. Many of these storms continue to rotate as we speak. They may put down small tornadoes, but the one that moved through Montgomery, now we are getting pictures. Significant damage from Montgomery all the way through Auburn. We'll keep you advised.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Chad. Appreciate that.
MYERS: OK.
WHITFIELD: Topping today's "Globe Trekking," the U.S. is strengthening its military ties with Australia. While visiting Australia today, President Barack Obama announced plans to deploy up to 2,500 U.S. Marines near Darwin over the next couple of years. The troops will be on hand to respond to natural disasters and to keep an eye on possible military expansion in China.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is here with more details on this -- Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Fred, the Australian defense forces historically have been very close allies of U.S. military troops. They have fought together in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in many conflicts before that. Now, what we're seeing is strengthening of those military ties, indeed. U.S. Marines, up to 2,500 of them will now start rotating into northern Australia. Perth and northern Australia, Darwin and northern Australia conducting exercises, training, working with the Australians.
But also, being that presence, that sort of U.S. military presence that the U.S. would very much like China to take notice of. Nobody's looking at hostilities against China, but China's an expanding military power in the Pacific in that region of the world and the U.S. wants to be there to remind China it's there too.
So this is a very strategic move sending a message and at the same time working with long-time close military allies -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: And, of course, if you think of just particularly natural disasters, all that's happened in that region, this seems to be -- that seems to have been kind of the spring board of this decision.
STARR: Yes. You know, everything, from the tsunami of a few years ago to some of the earthquakes and major fires that have occurred, the Australians very capable of looking after their own affairs. But there's a lot of countries in that region that when these types of disasters strike -- the situation in Japan, for example, the tsunami -- you know, they need a helping hand. And it's a long way from the United States to many of these places to get the aircraft, the troops, the supplies, the relief work going quickly. So this should help in that, as well.
WHITFIELD: Barbara Starr, thanks so much for bringing that to us.
STARR: Sure.
WHITFIELD: The alleged cover-up at Penn State. We have new reaction from the mother of one of the accusers. And why our next guest says it has a lot to do with locker-room culture at big schools with mega athletic programs. Former Major League Baseball Player Doug Glanville explains.
And from "F" to "A," how grades were being upgraded at one university. The FBI investigation next.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Following up on breaking news now. Ominous weather activity in Atlanta.
Our Chad Myers keeping a close watch on what could be tornadic activity right there beyond the Atlanta skyline?
MYERS: Exactly. I think the word is could be, not issued yet. But let me well you, this is so significant I just called my parents who live under this storm and said you need to cover. I want to tell you to take cover.
If this accumulative anywhere from about the Lubbock School to Sandy Springs and into Dunwoody, I need you to be taking this storm, even though it's only a severe thunderstorm warning on it, I need to take a tornado warning on it. There's a tornado vortex signature right there, and that means the storm has rotated significantly enough that the computer models believe there could be a tornado.
Let me draw this out for you here. Here's hard to see where we are. Let me get a different graphic here so you can see what I'm talking about. Here and then there and then there. There we go. So now we're drawing the city all the way around. Up here's 575. Here's 75 down through and into Atlanta, Georgia. North Buckhead up into Roswell, up into Sandy Springs. This is where the storm is spinning enough that I'm concerned enough to call my parents on up toward moving toward Duluth in the next couple of minutes. The rotation is significant and expanding in size and getting tighter along the ground, meaning a potential for a very strong storm with a potential tornado does exist. Now, it's not there. It's not warning on it, but it takes 30 seconds for these things to pop up. It takes a couple of minutes for the weather service to put out the warning.
Take cover like you have a tornado going on right now, north Buckhead, part of Vinings, Smyrna, into Sandy Springs and into Roswell and even up -- as far north -- farther into Dunwoody in about the next 15 minutes. Take cover now. Get away from the windows. Keep the kids inside. We'll keep you advised if a warning does pop up. It's significant enough for me to worry about.
WHITFIELD: Absolutely. Particularly unsettling because when we talk about Buckhead and Vinings, Sandy Springs area of Atlanta, densely populated --
MYERS: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: -- no matter what time of day, a lot of people on the road, a lot of people in their taller office buildings, et cetera. So is it likely that this is a matter of minutes in which this kind of storm system could change and pick up speed? Or is it a matter of over the next couple of hours you're going to be watching this?
MYERS: It started just to the south of Austell, and the school over toward Trinity, and it's moving over Oakdale. This would be Vinings Estates right through here and then across the river very close would be Canoe Restaurant, the Lovett School, over towards Trinity. And now moving towards the north here, this would be like the Long Lake (ph) here. This would be Roswell Road, Sandy Springs and across the perimeter on up and maybe toward Norcross and Duluth.
The rotation, I don't believe, in the middle of Oklahoma would warrant a warning. But when you're talking about a million people being affected, I have to go out and tell you about this. I'm getting this handed to me right now, National Weather Service indicating a tornado warning -- there we go -- for northwestern DeKalb, Fulton, and central Gwinnett County. This storm was near Sandy Springs there and there. And there finally is the pink box. This is what I'm talking about, Fred. Warnings can happen. It takes a couple of minutes for them to print this out. Warnings happen. Tornadoes come on the ground very quickly. That's why I wanted to get you advised on this.
If you are anywhere from about Chamblee, Doraville, Norcross, up toward Duluth, Suwannee (ph), Lawrenceville, and right now Sandy Springs, and Dunwoody, you need to be taking cover for the potential of a tornado on the ground -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: Chad, there was a time when people would think a metropolitan area, downtown areas, it wouldn't be hit by tornadic activity until a couple of years ago, in particular, where a tornado came right through near the downtown area. In fact, impacting a portion of the CNN building here and a number of other sky-rise -- tall sky-riser-type buildings and hotels, and even a big loft community, as well. So Atlanta now knows and feels rather conditioned that this could happen. It's not certainly the first time even a couple of years ago. But it hasn't happened that often.
MYERS: Right. And you know, it's always a point when I lived in Oklahoma City years ago, a tornado could never go through the city because there's this heat dome. Well, we know that doesn't happen. That is not the case. Cities are not protected. In general, there's just more land that's not a city that is a city, so it's a lottery where these things go. And that's why you can never count on where you live being in a valley or a hill to stop a tornado from hitting you. It has nothing to do with that. And this will prove it now as that tornado warning, watch where it's going. Looks like now it's moving quite quickly to the east. I would say Vinings, Smyrna, Mableton, you're out of it, into Sandy Springs, Duluth, Lawrenceville, you're in it. That's how quickly these things continue to move and how quickly a tornado can come to the ground.
I'm going to go back to my colors here. This tells me a lot more than that old graphic does. This is much more updated than that. Here would be Doraville. Here's Chamblee, I-85 through here. This is the north-end perimeter and where the signature is right now. Let's move it ahead. The Doppler doesn't update, oh, maybe every three to five minutes here. We'll move it ahead. This is about Norcross. That's Mount Bethel, all this, Smyrna, Oakdale, you are all in the clear. You can come out of your hiding places, safe houses right now, safe places. From Norcross, Duluth, up here, this would be the Peachtree area, up here into Norcross. And this here, that road is I-85. This rotation will move to you within the next 10 to 15 minutes. You need to be taking cover right now.
We also had that tornado last time, the one you talked about. I'll get to a different map so people can understand. This is hard for people to look at home, but I need to use it so I know what's going on.
The next -- the storm we had a couple of years ago that moved over the CNN Center came down from Rome and Cartersville and kind of came into Atlanta like this. This storm is coming in from a different direction, coming in from Douglasville, across to the south of Ostell, right over Vinings, right through Sandy Springs and into the Duluth metro area and up into Buford. This pink box shows the tornado could be on the ground there. And the rotation, I think, is still significant enough you should be taking cover anywhere from if you're outside the perimeter now -- this is Doraville, the Doraville metro stop there and up into I-85 and the northeast of there. This rotation here, this spin, a little bit less intense than it was earlier, and we don't have that triangle anymore with that tornado vortex signature. The computer doesn't believe that anymore, at least. And we'll see.
Here's another report from Dave. Thank you, buddy.
"I'm a meteorologist out of Nashville visiting Atlanta." This is from the Twitter feed. "I just witnessed a very weak funnel cloud along the Chattahoochee River near 285 and 75, 10 minutes ago, strong updraft, visible lifting small leaves and small leaves from trees into the air. Took video. Do you still have an e-mail"?
That will be coming into our iReport there from our Twitter feed from Allison Chinchar (ph). She lives close to my parents up there in the same general vicinity. That would be Vinings. That would be all the way from Vinings into Sandy Springs and up to the north and to the northeast now as you're moving up into Duluth, take cover for a tornado. This is not an F-5, not an F-4, this is not the Kansas tornado picking you up and sending you down in Texas, but enough of wind damage, wind, trees, things falling on your car, falling on your house. The kids inside, pets inside, because winds even at 70 to 80 miles per hour could certainly do damage to you, your home, and your property. WHITFIELD: Chad, you were talking about two systems in tandem, the Auburn, Alabama area is one you were closely watching, along side watching what's taking place in Atlanta. How is that Alabama activity?
MYERS: Let's go back to that.
Guys, if you can hear me in the control room, this won't move. My control. I'm in the weather office here. Slide me all the way down I-85, down toward Opaleka (ph) and the storm that came out of Montgomery. Here we go, this is great. Thank you, guys.
To the north of Tuskegee into Auburn, Alabama, we know there has been damage in Auburn, and now moved across to the north of Phoenix City, south of Lynette and then moving up toward the northeast. This would be moving south of Atlanta proper, probably south of Peachtree City. There is Thomaston there, LaGrange, south of LaGrange, this would be Bucks County, Peachtree City, probably south of there.
Back up again, take me back and go to the south, guys. That will tell you the next storm system that will be moving very close to Phoenix City. This one here, rotation is right here and Phoenix City, right there moving across the river or the lake, depending on where you are here in phoenix city and then back into Georgia. All of the storm, also tornadoes on the ground, creating damage throughout much of the early afternoon.
We don't expect them to slow down any time soon, probably not until after dark, Fred.
WHITFIELD: My goodness. This is a long haul then, people need to take cover or come one their emergency plans it wasn't long ago you and I were talking about having those emergency kits ready and hopefully, this is -- this is a case in which people were listening about that warning, getting those emergency kits and they have those at the ready.
Meantime, Chad, you mentioned that one weather person who was from Nashville, visiting Atlanta, took some pictures, likely to be sending that in. We are encouraging anyone who is in the Atlanta suburbia area, perhaps the Alabama, Auburn, area, to send in your iReport images. Don't put your life on the line. Don't take any unnecessary risks which to do so.
MYERS: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: If you have that kind of video or interesting stories to tell about what you're experiencing, what you're seeing, you need to send them to ireports.com.
MYERS: Here is the rub with that today, Fred, is that these are called H.P. storms, high-precip storms. A lot of rain with the rotation. And even when this storm went over Montgomery, Alabama, and rotated all the way into Auburn, Alabama, you couldn't see it unless you were right under it unless you were in it, because there was so much rain going around it, it was shielded, it was curtained by the rain. So, you didn't know you were in trouble until you were already there. So, iReports probably going to be few and far between here unless you were in it. If you are in it I want you to be away from the whip dose. If you can see it, you're in the wrong place. I want you in a closet, away from this.
This would move you ahead, see where we are going here. This would be Norcross. This looks like I would say the rotation tightening up a little bit here from Norcross, now moving into Duluth and that's why the tornado warning continues right there. When we see colors that are different, this is the Doppler Effect. The Doppler effect came about and was called the Doppler effect by the Professor Doppler. If you listen to a train, as you're sitting there at a train track and you're waiting for the train to go by as it goes by, you hear the train coming at you and it is a different sound than when the train is leaving. When the train goes by, the sound of that raining, the whistle, goes down, it gets lower, lower in frequency. That's the difference that the radar can listen for and see whether the rain is moving this way or this way.
Now, if all the rain is moving in one direction, there is no issue. If the rain is moving like this, louder here, or lower, higher, lower, higher, that means there's rotation in the storm. That mean there is a potential for tornadoes in the storm and that's when the Doppler effect happens and when tornado warnings are printed out -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: Wow. Fascinating stuff. Potential dangers here, we are talking about this storm didn't just start, particularly in the Atlanta area. It's raining quite heavily overnight, all morning long. We're talking about very saturated grounds. Trees coming down, snapping power lines, all that in addition to this potential tornadic activity, or at least high winds.
MYERS: Yes, and it's -- the threat here is not that we have a large tornado on the ground. The threat is that we have a small tornado in the midst of a very populated area. Even an F-1, with 100-mile-an- hour wind or 80-mile-an-hour wind, even a zero, will do damage and take the roof from your neighbor and throw it into your house, break your windows. and if it would do that in the middle of Clinton, Oklahoma or Watonga (ph) or Edmund, even where I used to live -- it's a bigger place than it used to be -- but you wouldn't get as much damage because the houses are farther apart, the population farther apart. This is a major metro area, I can't count -- maybe four to five million people just in that big red square right there. That is why it is such a significant storm at this point. That's why if because of the difference in color here and here, and it is moving towards this way, right up into Duluth, right along I-85. This would be Satellite Boulevard, the Mall of Georgia. Eventually, you get up toward there. This is the area you need to be taking cover now. If you are in the mall, don't go outside your car. Cars are terrible places to be. If your kids are in school, don't get them. You don't want to be in a carpool line get them. Let the kids in school, the officials, administrators know where to put these kids. They're probably safer in school than your car, for sure and probably safer than your home, because they know where to put the kids. Fire officials tell them exactly the safest place in the schools. Let the kids there -- don't pick them up until after school or this is over -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: Again, Chad, while you're not saying we are talking about confirmed tornado on the ground or anything of that nature, talking about high winds, potential for tornadic activity. Take me back to a couple years ago when there was confirmed tornado activity, F-1 tornado coming through downtown Atlanta. What preceded it? What can we glean from that experience and how do we use that to anticipate potentially what could unfold today?
MYERS: You know, I don't think we even have any idea what could have happened to that tornado in Atlanta, had the game -- there was a basketball game, it was an NCAA tournament going on in the Georgia Dome that went into I believe it went into overtime. Had that -- that game been over on time and people were in the streets, hundreds of people would have been cut by flying glass. Here at CNN, we lost over 400 windows. The Omni Hotel from south to north tower lost hundreds, if not thousands of windows a building downtown. The Westin, that didn't have windows halfway in it for about two years until they could figure out how to put new windows in it. This was a big storm in downtown Atlanta. And if you consider how many people were downtown at that time, but they were in the Georgia Dome. The Georgia Dome had a tear in the roof. They didn't get hit, could much paired to the people walking to the car. All the shingles and glass flying around -- would have been a devastating storm for the people.
WHITFIELD: Live pictures of Atlanta. If we can look at the skyline one more time.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: What we are looking at is a portion downtown and looking to midtown. You look at that, it doesn't look that ominous. It doesn't look that frightening. But north of this scene here is what we are talking about, when we say the Buckhead community, Sandy Springs, Duluth, et cetera. It is kind of in the horizon there, where it is dark.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Just beyond that skyline.
MYERS: That skyline now pointing off toward the northeast and that would be the direction you would see something, maybe even off toward the east. But you can't see anything because it's raining. The rain -- even if we had a tornado on the ground, you would never see it that is why you don't want to go outside and try to look for it. You don't want to go take a picture. I want you away from the windows, in the basement of your home, in the safest place that you know. Duluth, Norcross and on up to the northeast from there follow the I-85 corridor all the way up to Discovery Mills Mall. I want you in the basement, away from windows. The kids where they are if they are in school, bring the pets inside, kids inside if they are at home. You need to stay away from this storm because it is still rotating significantly. I have two different colors right next to each other, just about one mile northeast of Norcross, downtown Norcross right now -- Fred? WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Chad.
We will continue to keep a close watch on this potentially dangerous activity in the Atlanta area, as well as south of Atlanta, in the Auburn, Alabama, area.
And then, as you were hearing Chad explain, that system is moving kind of northeast. We will keep a close watch on it.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for being with me this hour.
Brooke Baldwin will be up right after this.
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