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Tornado Outbreak Kills At Least 8; Kentucky Tornado Warnings; Tornadoes Slam Into Midwest; Tornado Blows Out Hospital Wall; Monkees Singer Davy Jones Dead At 66; Kentucky Town Has No Power; Missing Florida Firefighter; Syrians Now Fear Full Ground Invasion; Are Apps Stealing Your Photos?

Aired February 29, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go. Welcome back to CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Breaking news this afternoon. The big story, these deadly storms. Tornadoes just ripping apart the midsection of our country. Look at this. The pictures tell the story. We are working on getting pictures in to explain to you what is happening as far as on the ground right now, and also looking ahead to tonight. Hit by tornadoes thus far, you have Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky.

And this is one of the twisters. This was spotted by a storm chaser in Reno County, Kansas. Look at that. Ominous sky, twister moving about. So far -- and, again, these numbers could obviously change -- at least eight people are confirmed dead, including two children. Hundreds, though, hundreds of people have been injured.

And this could get much worse before it gets any better. The storms are not over yet. They're heading now into the southeast. We have our weather team working on this. We're going to go to them in a minute.

But I want to just continue to show you these pictures. This strip mall entirely obliterated by winds, tornado. This is what was left in the path of these storms. This is Harrisburg, Illinois. Very, very hard hit early, early this morning. A lot of people still asleep. A tornado slammed into southern Illinois early this morning. And there was little time for a warning. Little time for people to heed those alarms and to seek asylum, seek shelter.

At least six people are confirmed dead in Harrisburg specifically. As we mentioned, more than 100 injured. Those numbers could change. Rescuers now digging through what you're looking at, the aftermath, the rubble, the pieces, bits and pieces of buildings and structures, including what used to be a shopping center, and hundreds of homes here.

I want to get straight to our reporter, Tyler Profilet, of CNN affiliate KFVS. He was standing in front of this strip mall that was just ripped to shreds in Harrisburg. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER PROFILET, KFVS REPORTER: it just hit so fast. People didn't really have a lot of time to get to shelter. And even if they were able to get to shelter, the storm was so powerful, it ripped right through a lot of this town.

Now, as you take a look behind me, you can see a bank has been torn and you can see this starts the path of the destruction here on the southeastern part of town. You can see here, this is a strip mall close to a Wal-Mart here that has been destroyed. There was an Alltel Wireless center, A Hibit (ph) Sport, Payday Loan place all in this strip mall here.

I spoke to the manager of this Alltel Wireless store. He grew up in Oklahoma. So he grew up in tornado alley. He says he's very used to experiencing tornadoes and being able to survive them. He says he's never heard anything like this tornado. He's never seen anything like the damage that this tornado left behind.

This was a strip mall here that had several businesses inside. A sporting goods store, including a wireless center, a Payday Loan operation in here as well. There was no one inside these buildings whenever the storm passed through. Granted it did pass through shortly before 5:00 this morning. So, luckily, people were not there. But that's what the manager of one of these stores told me. He said, just imagine if someone had been here working. Imagine if a lot of people had been at work and not been able to get maybe to a basement or underground or been with their families. This really could have been a lot worse.

Now, granted, we do talk about a lot of times how when these tornadoes or severe storms hit, if they come during the night, that's usually the worst time. But in this case, especially for the folks that worked here at this strip mall, they're lucky that it came in at that time, otherwise they may have been inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Tyler Profilet, thank you so much.

Meantime, we do have on the phone Patti Thompson. She's the communications director for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

And, Patti, obviously we're thinking about all of you right now. And just looking at these pictures, it's absolutely devastating. I'm hearing as far as Harrisburg goes, six fatalities? Can you confirm that those numbers hold, a? And, b, what can you tell me about injuries there?

PATTI THOMPSON, ILLINOIS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (via telephone): Well, actually, I can confirm that that number of six, unfortunately, is true. At this point, I don't have any firm numbers on the injuries. Things are very busy there right now and so I haven't been able to get any kind of number on the injuries. But we know that there have been many injuries.

BALDWIN: Describe, as we're looking at pictures here, describe the damage and describe what kind of calls you're getting right now. THOMPSON: I'm actually in Springfield. We have other staff that was deployed to Harrisburg soon after we got word of the tornadoes. They are on the ground working with the local officials there to determine what type of assistance that they might need from the state as they finish this response and work on any kind of recovery.

BALDWIN: What kind of help is your state getting right now, these areas hardest hit?

THOMPSON: Well, actually, they had already worked through the mutual aid organizations for the fire, police and emergency management and had brought in some assets for both to help with law enforcement issues and with the search and rescue issues. And then also we have emergency management personnel from other counties that were called in to support the emergency managers there in the county.

BALDWIN: I know we have made the phone call to Governor Quinn to try to bring him on. It's from what I understand and also from his Twitter page, we've seen that he's actually en route to some of the areas hardest hit, so we won't be able to talk to him. But if you can, Patti, I mean this is your -- this is your time here on national TV, what message do you want to get out to the people of Illinois?

THOMPSON: Well, I just want to let those in the affected areas know that we're ready to do everything possible to help them. We're working very closely with their local officials. We want to commend their local officials for what they've done so far and how quickly they've responded to help the people that were in need after this very sudden storm. And that we're going to keep working to help people through this very difficult time.

BALDWIN: Patti Thompson, thank you so much for calling in. We appreciate it.

And also just want to clarify, again, CNN has confirmed eight deaths, six in Harrisburg, Illinois, two in Missouri. The six in Harrisburg involved two children, is from what our understanding. I know the affiliate was reporting 10 deaths specifically in Illinois. Again, we are reporting six in Illinois, two in Missouri. That brings it to the total of eight. Again, those numbers can change. We have Chad Myers and Jacqui Jeras standing by talking about the damage right now on the ground and also looking ahead.

And, Jacqui, I just want to begin with you. What are you seeing? Where is this storm right now?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're focusing in on Kentucky at this hour, Brooke, and this has really been the big area of concern the last couple of hours. We have this strong line of thunderstorms that has rotating thunderstorms within it. And there are two that are under warning right now, neither of which we have proof that they've been on the ground.

But see this little yellow arrow that's rotating here just north of Columbia, that means our computer algorithms are seeing that strong rotation under there and it's very likely that a tornado could drop out at any time. We're also seeing this little hook signature or this little inlet right there where there's less reflectivity. And that is also one of the signs that meteorologists look for, for possible signs of a tornado.

This is the other storm that we're talking about in eastern Kentucky. This is Magoffin and Morgan County. Strong rotation on this storm. The warning has just been extended. So two very dangerous situations that we're talking about across central Kentucky.

Now the other thing that concerns me, I'm watching at this hour, are what's happening to the south and west of this line of storms. We're getting new development just outside -- look, there we go, just outside of the Nashville area. And in Nashville as well. And, look at that, we're even starting to get some signs of rotation here, even though there's not a warning. So, Nashville, you need to be on high alert, especially if you live north of there as this line of thunderstorms is now expanding and it's going to be intensifying here over the next couple of hours.

And as we take a look at the big picture for the watches, the two watches that are in place at this hour, which means -- watch, by the way, conditions are right for tornadoes. A warning means it's happening now, seek shelter. So the watch for Nashville across southern Kentucky and then a new one here across eastern parts of Ohio and into West Virginia.

BALDWIN: Before we move to Chad with more on where this could go, what kind of damage we could be seeing, Jacqui, if you can, just help us understand the scope of the damage so far. We're talking four states so far hit. Tornadoes. Winds. How large is the path of destruction? How many miles have these tornadoes traveled?

JERAS: Right. You know, if Sean (ph) or Sarah (ph) are listening in, they can switch this computer over to an additional map that we've made that shows you the whole track and the whole history of these thunderstorms. But we're actually talking about six states, Brooke, from Nebraska into Kansas into Missouri, into Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana.

BALDWIN: Six.

JERAS: We all have reports of tornadoes that have caused damage in those states. Now, the National Weather Service hasn't confirmed any of them except for the one in Harveyville in Kansas. We've seen the video and the damage that occurred there. They're saying that one was an EF-2 tornado with winds between about 111 to 130 miles per hour. Now, based on some of the damage that I have been seeing in some of these other places, particularly in Illinois, we're likely going to see stronger tornado damage assessments in those ones.

So it's very widespread. We're going to add more states to the toll here. Probably going to see some stuff here into parts of Tennessee and maybe some into here in parts of Illinois. So we'll continue to track this situation.

These storms aren't going anywhere, Brooke. They are pushing to the east. They're going to be holding on even after nightfall. And that's what makes this so dangerous for so many people.

BALDWIN: And as they push toward the east -- Jacqui, thank you very much -- Chad, I want to go to you. East. Southeast. We were talking before the show, you said -- and again, we're reporting thus far confirmed eight deaths. And you are saying that this is going to get worse.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the storms could be bigger tonight than they were last night. And that's the issue. It just doesn't mean that anything's going to get hit. Whoever heard of Harrisburg, Illinois, if you're not from Illinois, until this morning. And all of a sudden Harrisburg, Illinois, was thrown into the spotlight of what was an ugly, ugly day.

Now, we'll have big tornadoes again. We'll have F-3, F-4, 200-mile- per-hour tornadoes tonight possibly across parts of Tennessee. You just hope that they hit farmland and you hope that they don't hit towns like they did last night. When you get a tornado on the ground like last night, 2:00, 3:00,4:00 in the morning, everybody's asleep. You need a NOAA weather radio to wake you up. You hope that that sirens outside can wake you up, but that's not what those sirens are made for. Those sirens out there, those tornado sirens, are made to tell you to go inside when you're outside. When you have your windows closed, most of the time you can't even hear those tornado sirens.

Look at the scope of this storm, though, Brooke. It is snowing in Fargo, in Detroit lakes. It's snowing in Minneapolis. And then the tail, or the warm side, where the tornadoes are, are down all the way from almost Memphis, now through Nashville and into the Carolinas later tonight.

So, where is it going to go? If you see the storms to your west, they are headed your way. And they're headed fast. Fifty, 60 miles per hour. You can't get out of the way of those. These tornadoes today are not to be chased. They're too -- it's too hilly here.

People -- even some of the producers were asking me today, do we have tornado chasers out there? No, because they know better. They know not to go out when it's a hilly area. You don't chase with a chainsaw, because all of a sudden you lose a tree, a tree goes down in front of your car, your chase vehicle, and you can't go anywhere. You are stuck behind that tornado. Don't chase them. Don't look for them. Don't even take pictures if you don't have to. I just want you to be safe inside there.

There will be tornadoes on the ground tonight and there will be tornadoes on the ground after dark. A NOAA weather radio is available at many stores, including, obviously, a Radio Shack or a Wal-Mart, things like that. They're about $20 to $30 and they can save your life.

BALDWIN: OK, Chad Myers, thank you. Again, just glancing down at our weather note from you guys. So, long live (ph) strong, violent tornadoes and storms -- northern Alabama, northern Georgia, southern and eastern Kentucky, northern Mississippi, western North Carolina and much of Tennessee. We're all over this story. And I know you are as well. We want to see some of your pictures. Please be safe. But if you are anywhere near any of this aftermath, if it's headed toward you, don't risk your life and take a picture. But if you are part of this aftermath, you're living in places like Harrisburg, Illinois, Branson, Missouri, we want to hear from you. Go to ireport.com. Upload your photos. Upload your videos. Really simple, ireport.com.

And continuing this breaking story, these horrible pictures, this horrible story out of the midsection of the country. We now know a hospital -- a hospital has been hit in Harrisburg, Illinois. We are getting pictures of the damage. I'm talking about entire walls at this medical center, gone. We've got a nurse practitioner standing by. She saw it all. She took pictures. She's going to join me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, breaking news here. Tornadoes slamming the Midwest today, taking a very deadly toll. You have twisters hitting six states, including Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky. So far -- and, again, these numbers can change -- eight people are confirmed dead, two in Missouri, six in Illinois.

And what you're looking at, bits and pieces of signs, what used to be some sort of strip mall shopping center. This is Harrisburg, Illinois. One of the cities hardest hit by this. A tornado just absolutely obliterated the shopping center. Sliced through hundreds of homes, structures. Slammed into southern Illinois while people were sleeping. This hit right around 5:00 this morning. And there was very little time for a warning as people were, many of them, in their beds.

As we mentioned, six people confirmed dead in Harrisburg, Illinois, alone. More than 100 are injured. And those numbers, sadly, could go up as we're getting more information here into CNN. And right now, as you see them, rescuers out and about combing through the rubble in case someone could be trapped.

And just an example of how bad things are in Harrisburg. Folks, you're looking at what should be a wall. This is the inside of a hospital. And this is actually the south wall of this Harrisburg med center. Totally blown out. Totally blown out because of this storm and the tornado that blew through early, early this morning.

And I have Jane Harper. She's on the phone. She is a nurse practitioner at this Harrisburg medical center.

And, Jane, I know you were working a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift. And, what, right after 5:00 this morning, tell me what happened.

JANE HARPER, ILLINOIS MEDICAL CTR. (via telephone): Well, it was somewhere between -- around 4:30 when we got the warning. And the announcement was made over the loudspeakers to go into tornado disaster mode. So the patients started getting moved out of the rooms that had facing windows and into the middle of the building, into the radiology suite, which, you know, radiology equipment is big and heavy and so that part of the hospital is very well reinforced. And I think it was right about quarter to 5:00 when I really couldn't hear the tornado so much as I heard the explosion when the windows blew out and the wall came out.

BALDWIN: We're looking --

HARPER: And I was about 10 feet -- I'm sorry?

BALDWIN: Well, I just wanted to interject and just say, you know, this is one of the pictures you took and we're looking at a hospital bed. Do you know if anyone was in that bed when this twister hit?

HARPER: No. No.

BALDWIN: No. Thank goodness.

HARPER: That whole wing had been evacuated and the patients moved to radiology before the tornado hit.

BALDWIN: OK. Continue. Please, continue your description.

HARPER: And the electronic door on the south side was taken out. Ceiling tiles started falling. I started falling. There was this white-gray kind of mist that came -- rained down from the ceiling. We started getting water. All the fire alarms went off. The power went out. And all the electric doors closed. And it was total chaos for a little while.

But the staff was just incredible. They were very efficient getting all the patients moved to safety. And the one room that you can see in that photograph that has no outside wall, I found that when I was checking the -- those rooms to make sure everybody was out of them.

BALDWIN: Jane, what did it sound like when it hit?

HARPER: Well, you know, they say a tornado sounds like a freight train. And I sort of heard something that wasn't really as loud as I would have expected. What I really heard was the explosion when the walls came out and the windows came out.

BALDWIN: So what has happened to the patients? You mentioned there was a tornado -- you went into tornado disaster mode. So, obviously, as you mentioned, you know, staff at this med center very much so prepared for events like this. Where are the patients who were evacuated? Is this hospital still up and running, just in different wings? What's the status?

HARPER: Well, I can't really officially comment on that because I don't -- I'm not the public relations person for the hospital. But the plan, as I understood it when I left this morning, was to transfer -- send everybody home that could be discharged, transfer everybody that couldn't because they have an engineer coming in to look at the building and see what repairs need to be done before they can go back and service our patients.

BALDWIN: OK. And just finally a question to you. You doing OK? HARPER: Oh, yes. It was kind of rough for a while. But, you know, everything sort of kicks in automatically. And I've worked on -- I worked on a trauma service for many years and they drilled us over and over and over again on disaster management. And so things just kind of automatically jump in.

BALDWIN: As a nurse practitioner, you are good people and I am sure it was just absolutely natural for you. Jane Harper, thank you so much.

HARPER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And thanks for sharing your photos with CNN. We really appreciate it.

You know, and as we mentioned, you know, hundreds of homes, businesses -- you saw the med center -- have been damaged, destroyed because of these storms. Relief crews from the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, they are, right now, mobilizing just to try to help victims. And if you're sitting there and if you're looking at these images with us and thinking, how can I help? You can. We have a website. Let me just tell you where to go. Go to cnn.com/impact. That's cnn.com/impact. And you can help some of the victims here in these cities hardest hit by these tornadoes.

Also, entirely switching gears, breaking just a short time ago, former teen heartthrob and Monkees star Davy Jones has died. We are getting brand new information just into us in Los Angeles. We'll talk about this story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Davy Jones, a member of the '60s band, the Monkees, died today in Martin County, Florida. He was 66 years of age. Still no official word as to what caused his death, but a law enforcement source says it was an apparent heart attack. And Jones was the voice behind the hit "Daydream Believer." He also starred with three other band members on a TV show named after the band, which aired from 1966 to 1968. And joining me more to talk about this, LA Showbiz Tonight correspondent Nischelle Turner.

Nischelle, I just heard sort of a collective sigh from half of my editorial team, you know --

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I know.

BALDWIN: Just, you know, talking about the Monkees and Davy Jones. Do you know any more, first and foremost, just about the circumstances of his death?

TURNER: Not a lot of information right now, Brooke, because this is all happening so quickly. But we did confirm that singer/songwriter and actor Davy Jones has died. He is best known as the lead singer, like you said, the British group the Monkees. You know, the Monkees formed expressly for the purpose of creating the television show of the same name. and the series ran for six years, '65 to '71. Their hit songs, you were talking about a couple of them, "I Want To Be Free," you mentioned "Daydream Believer."

The original group did disband when the show went off the air. But, you know, Davy Jones toured with various incarnations of the Monkees over the years. And there actually was talk recently of a reunion tour. But back in August, the dates got canceled and we don't really know what happened with that.

There is no word right now as to the cause of death, but the Martin County, Florida, coroner's office does confirm that he was hospitalized early this morning near his home. And, you know, we're still working to confirm reports that he may have suffered a heart attack.

Also, Brooke, this was a man that loved entertaining. He started working in the theatre at the age of 11. He performed on Broadway in the hit musical "Oliver" before landing his role with the Monkees. But, you know, as much as he loved performing, his first love was horses. He actually trained to be a jockey at one point. He wanted to get back to that. And he also had horses near his Florida home and he did continue -- he was an avid rider. He just always said, at some point he wanted to be a horseman. He loved horses so much.

BALDWIN: Guest starred on "The Brady Bunch." A lot of people were talking about that before I came up here.

TURNER: Yes.

BALDWIN: As himself. And you mentioned his touring schedule. I mean, from what I understand, he was touring and singing or performing up until very recently.

TURNER: Yes, he was still playing dates. He definitely was. He wasn't touring as part of the collective Monkees, but he was still playing dates. And I was reading some stuff online just from fans this morning that were saying, you know, he was the nicest man. After every concert, he would stay around, talk to people, take pictures with his fans. He really loved having the people there and performing for them.

So, yes, he was touring just recently. So we're still waiting and trying to figure out what exactly happened this morning. Again, there are those reports out right now that he may have suffered a heart attack. We're still working to confirm those reports.

BALDWIN: OK, Nischelle Turner, thank you so much. I know it's a sad day for Monkees fans. Nischelle, thank you very much.

Meantime, we're got to sneak a quick break in. We have, of course, our weather team working the story here as we're taking a live look at the radar. We're going to talk to a reporter who saw an entire neighborhoods flattened from some of these tornadoes. That is on the other side of the break. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Back to our breaking story here as we continue to cover these tornadoes that slammed six different states in the Midwest beginning early, early this morning. Some people had mere minutes before they were able to seek some kind of shelter. In total, CNN has confirmed eight deaths. That is two in Missouri, six specifically in Harrisburg, Illinois. Some of the areas just absolutely devastated by this. You're looking at what used to be a strip mall. And as we look at these pictures, and as I've said before, really the pictures tell the story here.

I want to bring in Mayor Eric Gregg, mayor of Harrisburg here, and sir, I'm sure you are exhausted. I have covered major events like this in smaller towns, and I'm sure you know people, sir, who were affected, who were injured. If you can, just walk me through where you were this morning when this hit.

MAYOR ERIC GREGG, HARRISBURG, ILLINOIS (via telephone): Well, and I appreciate your comments. We are a community that cares about one another and really just -- a horrific event like this is absolutely devastating to our community.

This morning actually when the sirens were going off a few minutes before 5:00, I got outside with my sons and we knew there was something very wrong. You could smell it, and our worst fears and nightmares transpired here today in Harrisburg, Illinois.

You know, the devastation, when it was dark, you really couldn't even begin to imagine what this looks like, and when the sun came up, it just was even more heartbreaking. You know, the loss of life is significant in our community.

I mean, we've lost young people, and, you know, as a mayor and as a person that lives in the community, you just never want to see something like this happen. Of course, we witnessed what happened in Joplin, Missouri and our hearts went out.

In fact, many of our people went over to assist in that disaster, and today, you know, Harrisburg finds -- we find ourselves in that same boat. Not to that level, but certainly to the level that's very hard on our community and our area.

But I'm telling you the thing that I'm so honored and proud of is the assistance that we've received from other communities nearby us, other states nearby us. The agencies both on the state and federal level, and the governor will be here shortly, our local representatives.

We've just had an outreach of support that's been second to none, and I certainly appreciate that and it just makes me very proud to live in a community, in an area that cares about each other. This is just a horrific incident.

And, you know, you just hope and pray that it never happens to your area. You don't want it to happen anywhere, but today it's at home with us in Harrisburg, Illinois.

BALDWIN: Our hearts absolutely go out to you in Harrisburg, and I want to go back to a point you made about young lives lost. I understand that two children have died because of the tornadoes. Can you confirm that, A, and B, do you know the circumstances surrounding their deaths?

GREGG: Well, I know that the area that was most devastated was certainly just to the southeast corner of our community, and that's where we suffered the most loss of life. It's my understanding that's where the young people lost their lives.

You know, again, it just absolutely -- you know, I was out there, and they were pulling people out of the rubble, and you just sit there -- it's almost a surreal event that you say, please, lord, just put your hand upon us and help us as we deal with this tragedy.

And what we're doing now, of course, is making sure we've got every man, woman and child accounted for in our community. We're taking care of those that have been displaced. We're certainly setting up areas around our community that we'll be able to put people and take care of them.

We're praying for those, the families that lost loved ones, as well as those hurting today that have suffered injuries. We've seen all sorts of injuries, broken bones, lacerations, just everything you can imagine.

When this hit us at about four minutes to 5:00 this morning, people are in bed. They're not watching their televisions. They're not listening to the radio. They're asleep.

Unfortunately, even though the alarms, the sirens were going off and there were a few minutes to take cover, just many folks didn't get the opportunity.

BALDWIN: Mayor, forgive me for having to cut you off, but I do want to thank you and remind everyone that cnn.com/impact is how they can help. I'm only cutting them off because we want to go straight to Missouri. Mayor Gregg, do we still have you on the line?

GREGG: Yes, I'm sorry.

BALDWIN: I apologize. We're going to just roll with it and I'm going to keep talking to you. You're expressing your gratitude for people coming in and helping. Let me go back to another point you made.

Governor Pat Quinn, the governor of the state of Illinois, we reached out to him to try to talk, as you mentioned, he is en route to some of the area's hardest hit. Can you tell us a little about that conversation you had with him, if, in fact, you spoke with him today?

GREGG: Well, the governor's staff was actually on the phone with me as soon as the event happened and said, listen, we will do whatever it takes to help in your area and we're going to come there. And I said, well, we certainly appreciate that.

The governor is reaching out to work with us and help us, and we've had, you know, the senator's office -- we've had many of our elected officials say they're there for us, and that's, again, it's comforting as a mayor to know that basically the cavalry is coming for us and helping us.

In many communities, many people stepped up. We've had so many people volunteering to help. I mean, just our citizens trying to take care of each other. Again, that's the kind of people that we are here in southern Illinois.

We do care about one another, we do care what happens, and we definitely try to protect each other, and when disaster like this happens, we step up and try to do what we can to make sure that we, in the future, that something like this doesn't happen again. We hope to learn some lessons from this.

BALDWIN: And the fact that you helped Joplin, perhaps the good folks of Joplin, Missouri will come and help you all in this time of need. Mayor Eric Gregg of Harrisburg, Illinois. Mayor, we're thinking of you and we appreciate you. Thank you so much for calling in.

I want to bring in Jordan Vandenberge from our affiliate, WEHT also there in Harrisburg, Illinois. From what I understand, you were in a neighborhood moments ago that was just absolutely leveled. What can you tell me about that?

JORDAN VANDENBERGE, WEHT REPORTER (via telephone): That's right, Brooke, it's a simple description of the neighborhood that was hit. It's breathtaking. You can see damage on pictures, you can see damage on TV, but as soon as you see it in person, it provides a different perspective of how devastating the damage really was.

The tornado carved right through the southeast side of Harrisburg and hit a strip mall and flattened that strip mall. It was a fast-moving storm, up to 70 miles per hour, and especially when you consider what time it hit and how fast it was moving, it left people with very little time to seek shelter.

And after it hit the strip mall, it hit the Wal-Mart and then moved to a residential area directly behind the Wal-Mart on the southeast side. That residential area was largely filled with duplexes with no basements at all.

And according to the mayor who I spoke to earlier today, he said that's where the majority of the fatalities were, including those young lives that were lost. As far as the damage is concerned, I would estimate it to be a couple football fields wide.

And areas that did get hit got hit extremely hard. It's a very fluid situation. We've confirmed there have been six deaths and hundreds of injuries, but of course, those numbers are subject to change as there's more and more.

BALDWIN: So you're saying hundreds. We have 100. Where are you getting hundreds from?

VANDENBERGE: Just officials on the ground. As I mentioned, it's a very fluid situation which leaves, you know, lots of questions, a lot to chance.

But there is a press conference scheduled for 2:00, in about half an hour or so, at the county sheriff's office directly downtown in Harrisburg, and hopefully they'll have some hard numbers as far as the damage and the possible death toll.

BALDWIN: OK, Jordan Vandenberge, just want to extend the invitation. If you want to join us in the next hour as you're out I'm sure on the ground, you know, in a car from scene to scene, feel free to call us back.

Snap some pictures, send them to us here at CNN. We'd love to take you back, and as you mentioned, it will be 2:00 local, 3:00 Eastern when that press conference will happen at the sheriff's office, and perhaps we'll take a look at that live.

Meantime, just in to CNN, we have been confirmed that 30 National Guard soldiers have been ordered to the areas hardest hit in Kentucky. One county has absolutely no power, no stoplights.

So we're told that these soldiers will simply be assisting and just getting people -- literally getting people around town. Jacqui Jeras, I know you're covering Kentucky specifically. What more can you tell me?

JERAS: Yes, well, Western Kentucky has probably seen the most damage at this time, but we're still looking at several threat areas really in Central Kentucky and then into Eastern Kentucky, and this is the line that has been producing the storms that have been rotating, the tornadoes and damage.

We do have just this one warning, which remains in effect outside of London, Kentucky. This is for Lawrence and for Wayne Counties. There you can see that computer algorithm I was telling you about showing a mesocyclone, so it's a very good likelihood this is a rotating storm.

We don't know for sure that it's on the ground, but you need to treat it like it's on the ground at this time. So you need to get to your safe place away from doors and windows. We've also been watching these storms in Eastern Kentucky. They're capable of producing wind damage, wind damage up to 70 miles per hour or so, and that can be as big of a problem as it would be for a tornado, potentially.

So this could be a serious situation. We've got a live picture I want to show you now. This is out of Nashville, Tennessee from our affiliate WXMB TV, and you can see ominous skies and raining, but take a look at this picture right here.

This is our radar showing you conditions in Nashville. We have very strong storms to the north and we have strong storms which have been off to the west as well.

Now Nashville, you're under a tornado watch, not a warning, but this line of storms is developing very quickly and it's intensified, and I'm most concerned right here west of Nashville, so be on high alert for a changing situation.

One last thing I want to just kind of mention, Brooke. You know we were listening to Mayor Gregg talking about the young children, unfortunately, that were killed. We talk about always going to that safe place, but there are some new suggestions that emergency officials are telling you to do.

There is no shame when you go to bed tonight to have a bicycle helmet and to have a car seat next to your bed so that when you go down and seek shelter, you put that bicycle helmet on top of your kids' heads, because most fatalities are due to head injuries.

And a baby, unfortunately, a small little baby, can get picked up by those strong winds and a car seat could protect them much, much more. So if you have a 10 to 20-minute window from when those sirens go off and you know those storms are coming to your house, you want to do it as quick as you can.

Those two things could potentially help you and of course, the norad weather radio, that's the one thing that will wake you in the middle of the night and get you moving.

BALDWIN: That's great information. I remember when we were covering Joplin and people were telling us about the bike helmets and their bath tubs that in fact definitely save lives. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much.

Folks, we're not going too far from this breaking story here. We're watching the storms move now into the southeast. So stay with me on that and again, send your pictures to ireport.com.

But I also want to pass along this piece of information. There is also a huge development in this unsolved mystery we've been following for you about that firefighter who went from Florida to Bangor, Maine, has been missing a couple weeks. Now an arrest in this case. We're on the case next.

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BALDWIN: A huge development in the case of Florida firefighter Jerry Perdomo who disappeared after driving a rental car from Florida to Maine.

Police have now arrested one of the last people believed to have seen Perdomo. He is 24-year-old Daniel Porter and they have charged him with murder.

I want to bring in CNN legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, on the case. And with this murder charge, I know you don't always have to have a body, but does that mean they have found one?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They have not found a body yet, Brooke. I do have the affidavit as well as the complaint filed in this case. It really is very, very detailed.

And the investigators have indicated that Daniel Porter told them that Jerry Perdomo is dead. He also said he has told his father where the body is, where the murder weapon is, but Daniel Porter has not told investigators where Jerry Perdomo's body is.

And his father, likewise, has not told investigators the location of the body, although we suspect that the investigators will be finding, unfortunately, Jerry Perdomo's body shortly.

BALDWIN: Have investigators said anything about a possible location, possibly how he might have been murdered? Also, I was talking to Perdomo's stepfather a couple days ago, asked him how he knew this Porter, and he said he had no idea. Do we know yet how he knew this couple?

HOSTIN: Well, there have been some reports that Daniel Porter and Jerry Perdomo certainly had a relationship. They knew each other. These men may have been -- this may have been a drug-related homicide.

That's what investigators are saying, Brooke, but if you read the affidavit and the complaint, it's extremely detailed. They say that Jerry Perdomo wanted about $3,000 that Daniel Porter owed him perhaps from selling prescription drugs.

And that they did find some evidence in Daniel Porter's home, including blood samples that were taken from certain carpets that are consistent with the DNA of Jerry Perdomo's father, Gary Perdomo.

So by all accounts in reading this, Brooke, I believe they think that they have the person that committed this murder, and indeed, they believe that Jerry Perdomo is dead, perhaps the result of a drug-related homicide, very, very sad story.

BALDWIN: It is sad. We'll follow it and see if and when they do recover a body. Sunny Hostin on the case. Sunny, thank you.

More developing news this minute out of Syria. Women, children, families, they say the government is targeting their neighborhoods, and the regime is about to launch a ground invasion very, very soon. We get a live report on Syria next.

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BALDWIN: For more than two weeks now, we've been talking about how bad, how horrendous, the bombing has been in Syria. Today, we are hearing the situation has worsened. The shelling in civilian neighborhoods are so intense, those who live on the ground, they're fearing a full out ground invasion is next.

YouTube video shows the arrival of even more tanks today. There's one of them and this is all happening at the hands of their own leader, President Bashar Al-Assad. Just to be warned here, the next video is very, very graphic, but we're showing it because it tells the story of what's happening on the ground here.

Syrians are blaming Assad's regime for this scene. There is a 13-year-old boy, bloody, limp and buried under the rubble. The United Nations now estimates about 100 people a day are dying in this conflict.

And as we always have to say CNN cannot independently verify those numbers since journalists have been restricted from inside the country. But joining me now from neighboring Beirut is CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.

Nic, in terms of a possible full out ground invasion, what signs are you seeing that that perhaps has begun or that it's imminent?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What activists have been telling us today in the city of Homs earlier in the day, they noticed that there were a lot of military pulled back from their normal checkpoints. They've gone to barrack areas.

The citizens believe they thought the army was amassing in advance. Now Baba Amir is that neighborhood of Homs where there has been vicious ongoing attack is where a lot of the video from Homs comes from.

Today into a neighborhood that has been ground forces, Syrian government ground forces gone into the neighborhood on a ground offensive against the Free Syrian Army. And for the first time, not only is ground offensive, but they've been attacked by government helicopters firing on the people below.

This has been new. We've also been told it's the heaviest shelling they've seen today. In the last couple hours, in the last hour, in fact, we've heard from activists on the ground. They say those ground battles and attack helicopters, the attack helicopters have now pulled off, the ground shelling is continuing.

They believe the government is getting ready for a major assault, the ground offensive to go in and clear it out. That's what has some really concerned today -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Are these opposition, members of the opposition, the Free Syrian Army, can they handle both attacks from the air and on the ground? And what about President Assad? I know there's talk of war crime charges against him, are there not?

ROBERTSON: there are. It's certainly something that's being hotly debated. You've had the British foreign secretary today warning Bashar Al-Assad about this very offensive in Homs right now, warning him not to go in on the ground.

So far it seems the Free Syrian Army, the opposition, have been able to hold off the ground troops. They seemed to move cautiously. They don't want to get too many of their own casualties, it appears.

But we've had also Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have said that Bashar Al-Assad would perhaps be accountable for war crimes. But what she's also saying is this isn't the time to push that issue, because if you push that issue, you push Assad into a corner.

And what they're saying is it's better not to have him in a corner, to give him some wiggle room to negotiate, to step down and leave the country rather than just put him in a corner and say, move out of the country, you're going to face war crimes.

That's the dilemma here, being warned not to go ahead with this offensive, but really it would amount to war crimes is what they're saying.

BALDWIN: Nic Robertson for us. As close as he can get there in Beirut, Lebanon. Nic, we appreciate it. Thank you. We got to take a quick break. More on our breaking story, fatal storms, fatal tornadoes hitting Midwest moving to the south east now. We're all over it next.

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BALDWIN: Just try to stop and think, well, the photos you've snapped. I know I have many, many here on my iPhone, right? And you saved them in your iPhone or where you may be keeping them and most have probably (inaudible) maybe some other photo you've taken not so much. But at least they're for your eyes only.

Maybe not anymore, the "New York Times" is reporting a certain apps probably have the ability to copy your entire photo library on your iPhone, on your iPad, on your iPod Touch and anytime you're ask to give an access to your location information, watch out.

I want to bring John Abell, the New York Bureau chief for "Wired" and John, please walk me through how, you know, downloading an application, an app could perhaps let all my photos, your photos for all the world to see. How did this happen?

JOHN ABELL, NEW YORK BUREAU CHIEF, "WIRED": Well, to quote a former presidential candidate, it looks very much like a bit of a gap, a loophole. What happens, what seems to happen is that when you give permission for an app and many apps ask for them for the location information and things like that other information is getting through.

In this case, your entire photo library. I suspect it's not intentional. I suspect Apple will close it as quietly as they can after the "New York Times" has reported it. But it is kind of a messy, messy mess.

BALDWIN: And as part of this messy mess, here was first question when I read the story in the "Times," how do you stop? Can you undo it? Can you unclick the apps that allow access to my location?

ABELL: Well, once you've done it. Whatever has been shared to that point has been shared. What you can do in the first instance is not to allow that location information to be used by the application.

Many applications ask for location info and gratuitously, Apple says it tries to slap down gratuitous requests for location info. But the first thing you can do is simply say no. After the fact, you're kind of stuck but you can stop it from this moment into the future.

BALDWIN: John Abell, we're hoping that "Times" article will do exactly as you said and hopefully no more potentially nefarious action on your apps and your photos and my photos won't go everywhere. John Abell from "Wired," thank you so much, sir. Before we take a quick break, just a quick heads up, we are awaiting a news conference out of Harrisburg, Illinois. We now know eight confirmed deaths. There you can see live pictures in the podium as we're going to be brief from an official. We're going to take it live. Six confirmed deaths in Harrisburg, Illinois alone. Two of them are children.

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