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Severe Weather Expected to Hit Chicago Area; Ebola Outbreak Hits Uganda; Lollapalooza Shut Down Due to Weather; Drones Come to America; Not Just Police Have Access to Drones
Aired August 04, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll going to start with some developing news. We have some severe weather coming out of the Chicago area.
Apparently, there is a lollapalooza festival going on in Chicago. This is grant park which is downtown Chicago and all of these people I would imagine they are entering the venue. Maybe leaving. I'm not sure. Get updated on that. But again, apparently there is some bad weather, severe thunderstorms rolling through the area right now and this is courtesy of our affiliate WLS.
Our meteorologist Rob Marciano on top of this for me. Rob, help me out here.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
LEMON: What's going on?
MARCIANO: Yes, those -- they're filing out, Don. They've just suspended festivities at lollapalooza because of these line of storms that's moving in the last couple of years that we've had a rash of accidents and unfortunate events with concerts and outdoor venues during summer time severe weather events like we're having right now. So, that's what's happening out at lollapalooza.
We have another tower cam showing Michigan Avenue outside of our CNN Bureau there in Chicago. Traffic at a standstill there as skies are darkening and things are getting a little bit more ominous. All right. Let's show you this radar and show you this nasty line of storms which has been producing damaging winds from Davenport, Iowa and now east into Northern Illinois. And it's about to slam into Chicago.
Already some of the western suburbs reporting 60 and 70-mile-an-hour winds. That yellow box you see there is a severe thunderstorm watch box. It's been posted. That's in effect for the next couple of hours and will likely be extended off to the east. There you see that cluster moving through Downers Grove about to head through Bloomingdale and then eventually into Chicago and lakeshore drive and over Lake Michigan.
These storms have had a history of producing 60 and 70-mile-an-hour winds. We've had reports of trees and power lines down across parts of northern Illinois. So, a serious situation that is about to take place here in Chicago. The good news, Don, it should be in and out in a matter of 30 minutes, it will dump some beneficial rain to some spots but some dangerous wind and certainly some lightning about to head through Chicago land.
LEMON: We shall see. We'll stay on top of it. Stick with me just a little bit here, Rob. Put these pictures back up because I remember the last time you and I were covering this. And it was at, unfortunately, where the stage collapsed. Remember that when that just rogue wind came through that concert?
MARCIANO: And they don't mess around anymore, Don.
LEMON: Yes.
MARCIANO: They take this stuff very seriously and in some cases, venues and concert promoters have hired independent meteorological firms to warn them of these kinds of events and there is just too much at stake. Especially as you know lollapalooza is such a huge event that's going over the years. It's a bellwether and a huge event for Chicago and there are tens of thousands of people out there right now that need to seek shelter and they're doing that, it's good to say.
LEMON: Yes. If you're just joining us, Don Lemon here with Rob Marciano. And we have some -- this is just in to CNN. You can call it breaking news. It hasn't happened yet but we're looking at this because these people are filing out of the lollapalooza concert in Chicago because this weather is going to roll through there. And as Rob just said, it's going to be pretty severe and it has been rolling from west to east getting closer to the Chicago area, which is obviously, you know, a highly populated area.
Chicago behemoth of a city, so people there are starting to take cover. There were pictures earlier from Michigan Avenue. You could see the traffic there earlier at a standstill because obviously some of it caused by this concert going on and you know people going to the concert, now they're having to leave. So, I would imagine that putting people there in a bit of a predicament.
But Rob, how long do you think before this comes in and then leaves Chicago?
MARCIANO: Yes. You see the radar. We just froze the animation there, so you see the latest shot there taken at two minutes after the hour. These storms are moving at a very good clip. So, in the next five minutes, you'll start to feel the rain drops and the down draft there in Chicago. And you'll be in the thick of it I would think by quarter after the hour for sure. And like I said earlier, should be out of it by 45 minutes after the hour. But it will be a harrowing 20 to 30 minutes for sure as these storms make their way towards lake Michigan.
LEMON: And we'll going to watch it here on CNN. Rob, don't go far. We'll going to need you. Thank you very much. Our meteorologist Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. We'll going to move on now. Now this. So, we are looking at now, this is Aleppo, it is the biggest city in Syria. It is a battle field now. But it soon might be the scene of all out warfare. Rebels fighting there think Syrian forces are getting ready to launch a major military offensive against them. Now, it could happen at any day now. Tens of thousands of civilians have already fled the city.
At least six wild fires are scorching huge chunks of Oklahoma. Just look at that. Right now, Oklahoma County sheriff's deputies are looking for a possible arson suspect. A red flag warning is in effect for much of the state. Oklahoma's governor says, dangerous conditions are fueling those fires.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. MARY FALLIN (R), OKLAHOMA: It is still very, very hot outside. Yesterday it was up to 115 in some areas of the state. We of course are in the middle of a big drought in our state. We need rain and cool temperatures desperately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Let me tell you, at least 65 homes or buildings have been destroyed. The U.S. is seeing the biggest spike in West Nile virus infections in eight years. Four people have died from the virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. At least 80 percent of the infections are in Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. A man who experienced West Nile virus firsthand says, it is no joke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It was pretty bad. You know, there for three or four days, it was miserable. Just like the worst flu you've had. Times three or four.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Now another disease. Health workers in Uganda say, they're still trying to confirm more suspected cases of the deadly Ebola virus. They say they want to make sure they're not overlooking any cases in the effort to contain an outbreak in the western part of the country. At least 16 people have died.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touched down in Nairobi, Kenya today. The latest stop on her Africa tour. Kenya is the fourth of six countries she is visiting. Clinton plans meetings with Kenya's president and prime minister during her stay there.
We're getting results in from this evening's Olympic events. The United States has won the men's 100 meter medley relay race giving U.S. swimming legend Michael Phelps his 18th gold medal. This marked the last race of his storied Olympic career because he says he is retiring. That's what he says.
And meanwhile, Missy Franklin and the U.S. women took gold and a world record time in the 100 meter medley relay. And Serena Williams, did you see this? She completed a career golden slam in London today adding the women's singles tennis gold medal to her four tennis major titles. And I don't know if you saw it on television but there she is right there picture. Serena did a victory dance after her win that is going viral on social media. I was bombarded by twitter followers informing me politely and some not so politely that this wasn't just any dance. It is a move made popular by Snoop Dog called the crip walk. She is crip walking.
All right. Seven minutes of terror, that is what NASA has nicknamed the upcoming Mars landing. A 2,000-pound rover called "Curiosity" is set to land very early Monday morning. If the landing is successful, the scientific payoff could be huge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT ZUBRIN, PRESIDENT OF THE MARS SOCIETY: It's very scary. NASA has really bet the farm on this one. This is, if it succeeds, is going to be by far the best Mars exploration mission ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The rover is the largest robot scientists have ever tried to land on another planet.
In Syria, it is another day with horrific casualties. More than 100 people are reported killed today in shelling and street fighting between Syrian forces and rebel fighters. Witnesses describe a large scale movement of Syrian troops this weekend heading toward the country's biggest city, Aleppo.
And CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Syria, he spoke to a rebel commander who sees a major battle happening soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This commander of the free Syrian army is telling us that they are reinforcing their fighters in and around Aleppo trying to bring in as much ammunition and weaponry as possible in anticipation of the arrival in Aleppo of two large columns, one headed from Latakia on the Mediterranean Coast and another coming from the direction of Damascus.
Clearly, the Syrian army far outguns the rebels and the concern is that we are really on the verge of a major government counteroffensive to win back control of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city and its commercial hub. Of course, the concern among Syrian officials in Damascus is that if Aleppo falls, that's really the end of the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Both the rebels and Syrian forces say they're causing large numbers of casualties from street fighting and sniper fire and shelling. We've also seen Syrian military helicopters and fighter jets patrolling the skies over Aleppo this weekend.
Next, CNN's David McKenzie gives us the back story of his reporting on the deadly Ebola virus in Uganda. It is a CNN exclusive.
Plus, he put his Olympic dreams on hold during the Arab Spring. See how he's making a difference at the Olympics after taking part in the Egypt uprising.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We have some news developing here on CCN to tell you about. This is in the Chicago area. You're looking at Grant Park which is downtown and this is lollapalooza which is a big concert, a big festival there. A hundred thousand people are expected to be at this concert but now folks are filing out because there is a severe line of thunderstorms moving through that area, Northern Illinois and the Chicago area. Of course Chicago very populace so they're trying to get these folks to safety.
Just so you know the people who are running this event, the event organizers tweeted out saying serious weather is about to hit Grant Park. All festival goers must evacuate immediately. Head to our three evacuation locations now. Our meteorologist Rob Marciano on top of it. He said, they should start seeing the effects of this severe weather in just moments. We'll have it for you here on CNN. An update from Rob in just moments.
LEMON: Now we want to get to that virus that has killed 16 people and straining health workers in Uganda. Ebola is so lethal, it kills up to 90 percent of the people who get it.
For now at least, it appears to be under control. Here is CNN's David McKenzie with an exclusive look now at the precautions under way to keep it contained.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These several layers of protection and isolation at this hospital. Now, the first layer is just right here at the gate. One of key things is, you have to wear boots like this because plastic boots can add a layer of protection.
One thing I want to show you here is that everyone here is working as they may have written on their boots because each person is responsible for protecting their own protective gear. So, they clean it when they're done with the day or so, while they're going through the day because, you know, this is one of the biggest risks to touching the floor at all times if you go inside.
So, one of the things that is quite extraordinary is the level of safety that health professionals have and also just the general bravery that, you know, both the patients honestly and health workers both international and Ugandan are showing here. The level of commitment to contain this outbreak. Also to the people who are sick as well as the wider community. You can really see how this kind of health chain of events has unfolded here and how it's all kind of being set up as we speak. But that fear factor is such a crucial thing to try and ease because so much of this is so far into the people here and also to me as well.
LEMON: They call him the Egyptian Usain, Bolt a reference to the super fast sprinter from Jamaica. And Amr Seoud is proving there is life after the revolution. Just last year, he put his training aside to protest in the streets of Egypt. (INAUDIBLE) tells us how he fought to compete.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (voice-over): Few Egyptians were unaffected by the uprising of 2011. The Arab Spring overthrew former leaders and changed the lives of millions.
AMR SEOUD, OLYMPIC SPRINTER: I actually got the letter on Facebook January 21st, there was another strike against the police department and we just went for this reason. But when they started shooting people and killing people on the street, then it becomes a revolution. So people were not only against the police, they became against the whole system.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: While athletes in different parts of the world prepared for the 2012 Olympics, Amr Seoud, Egypt's 100 and 200 meter champion had his plans derailed.
SEOUD: I completely forgot about athletics at this time because all of the country's going crazy and you know, there's no way to think about training, do athletics, or stuff. If there was like a war championship at this time, I was -- I wasn't going to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But the Cairo-based runner stock to pursuing his dreams despite also experiencing an end to his government funding.
KARIM ABDEL WAHAB, COACH: Fund is the biggest challenge. He needs to be in the U.S. training with me all the way from now to the Olympics. But the question is, do we have enough money? Do Egypt track-and- field got enough funding to do that or not? That's the biggest challenge.
Before the last war championship, there was not enough funding for him to do all of his physiotherapy rehab and having him stay in a hotel. So I decided to host him at home. So we stayed together at my place for seven weeks before the world championship. We saved the money and we had a decent performance there.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But despite the setbacks, Coach Karim Abdel Wahab remains upbeat about his student's chances.
WAHAB: If he makes it to the final of the 100 and 200 or any of them, it will be a first in the Egyptian history. That's never happened before. He wants to get a medal. I would love for him to make it to the finals.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (on camera): And for Amr, his Olympic cause is greater than just winning a medal.
SEOUD: Actually, I used to love competing for Egypt even before the revolution. After the revolution, I feel like more representing my country because they really need it. You know? They need somebody to show-up what is Egypt and what is this country and tell everybody, tell the rest of the world, "Hey, come on. We're here." You know? We're not - we're not away yet.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LEMON: That was CNN (INAUDIBLE) reporting on Amr Seoud. He is considered one of Egypt's best hopes for a medal in track and field.
What would make you truly happy? Is it money? Is it material things? Well, you may be surprised at what a new study says should be the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: If money doesn't buy you happiness, then I don't know what does. New research supports what one of the great philosophers said 2400 years ago -- it's about your friends.
Human behavior expert Wendy Walsh is here again. So, we were talking about Aristotle. He said friendship was a virtue and necessary to achieve happiness. It sounds like he nailed it.
WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: We are social creatures. And the interesting thing about this study, Don, it's out of the University in Deakin in Australia, is they looked at child and adolescent relationships and social habits and then they compared it with adult well being. And being more socially accepted, having friends, not having isolation, participating in extracurricular activities like sports. All that was more important than great grades.
Sorry, kids. Close your ears. Don't listen to that. But more important than how much money you made and job promotion, more important than grades were your social connections. And you could predict them beginning in high school.
LEMON: But I think they should hear it though. I think that is really important. What about some kids? Some kids may be a bit, they may be loners, they may avoid people. It's just a phase that some kids go through. And then some kids will have more friends than others.
WALSH: It's not about the number of friends, Don, it's about the quality. If you have only one good friend, it's better than a bunch of superficial friends. We know that. But, you know, this reminds me of the famous Coca-Cola study that looked at happiness in 16 countries and they found that the number one worldwide cross culturally the number one thing that people said contributed to happiness were family and friendships. And by the way, the happiest people in the world, the happiest countries are Mexico and the Philippines.
LEMON: Oh, cool. You know, what?
WALSH: Big families.
LEMON: Yes, why is that? Big families. Big families.
WALSH: Big families. Lots of kids at the dinner table. That's a good thing.
LEMON: Something I didn't pick up on. You said, they can detect it early or it starts early. So, childhood social interactions affect us as adults. How young are we talking here?
WALSH: Well, of course, me, thinking about attachment and psychology it goes right back to that first year of life. Because what happens is our attachments with our early life caregivers become a blueprint for love. And that we start to transfer to different relationships along the way. Now, this particular study looked at elementary school age kids into adolescent say middle school. But I would go back to how that baby was loved and accepted and attended to in early life as well.
LEMON: Starts that early. Even in the womb.
WALSH: It's mommy love. Daddy love.
LEMON: Yes, mommy and daddy love. And just loved one's love. You also talked about academic achievement. You said, you know, grades, friendships mattered more than grades. But academic achievement and other achievement, that makes us happy, gives us some degree of happiness and fulfillment, right? So, why not?
WALSH: But not -- but it doesn't in adult life. If you compare it to adult life, in other words, those kids that kicked butt and got high, high grades didn't necessarily report as a group as a statistical probability the amount of adult well being as those who had good, secure attachments. That's the main thing.
LEMON: What did you think about that happiness? A while back when I was working at another network I did a thing on what makes you happy and, you know, sort of this similar thing. But what about that happiness index? There was a story earlier in the week. What do you think of that?
WALSH: You know, I think that a lot of, you know, in our modern capitalism not to put down our system because it's good in many ways. But it doesn't really support family and relationships like it supports, you know, traditionally when we looked at the happiness index in America, believe it or not, they only looked at number of flat screens and new cars and job promotions and big houses. The number of bathrooms. But now we're starting to understand that happiness is related to a few other things, too. Right, Don?
LEMON: Yes. Yes. Do you remember when it was the cover of "Time" magazine, it was a big happy face and I interviewed Dr. Happy I forget at some University in Illinois. Interesting.
WALSH: Yes.
LEMON: So, we'll talk more, Wendy. Don't go anywhere. When we come right back, we'll going to talk about how social media is causing people to hurt themselves even sending some of them to emergency rooms.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We just talked about how some of your earliest relationships are the key to finding happiness later in life. So, what does that say about our young people and their addiction to social media? I know some older people are addicted as well. My mom, Facebook.
Human behavior expert Wendy Walsh joins us again. Wendy, more and more of us are finding it hard to let go of technology, myself included, primarily our phones, you know, and our tablets.
WALSH: And --
LEMON: Yes, go ahead.
WALSH: And are you going to tell me that now it's dangerous for our health?
LEMON: Well, yes. Yes, but I want to know first -- yes. But how is it going to impact young people when they get older because there is a different form of socializing now because of that?
WALSH: OK. Here is how I want you to imagine it. We have evolved to have let's say a craving for salt, sugar, and fat that's highly unnatural because these were trace nutrients in our early environment. So, now we get addicted to junk food because the craving is so huge. We have also evolved to have a craving for connection to others. Because, you know, when a new hunter wandered into the encampment that was a big deal.
But now, there is a new hunter on every street corner and there are 4,000 of them in your Facebook friends and they're all on twitter so these are junk food relationships, Don. But we all get addicted to them because we have this craving for attachment even though it's pretend attachment.
LEMON: All right. You mentioned the dangers. You remember the woman who fell into the fountain while texting and the man in California who was texting and walking. That is the woman in the fountain. We all remember that, right into the fountain. Then the man who was walking in California came face to face with a 400-pound black bear and so now the number of people who are distracted and going into the emergency room, the injuries, they are up quadrupled. Fifteen hundred people. I think so far last year. What does this say about our society?
WALSH: I see people crossing streets and moving traffic looking at their iPhone. What it says is first of all, if you compare our brains to now to 1975 the average person takes in an extra four and a half hours of information a day. We're all afraid to disconnect and turn off our phone because we know that everyone else is taking in that four and a half hours of information. And isn't it the worst feeling when they say, hey, did you hear about what happened today? And you weren't on twitter and you missed it?
So, this is making us again besides our craving for connection, we are also getting addicted to the information. So we need to stop, take a breath, look both ways before we cross the street, and learn when to hit that of button. When we're having maybe real life relationships, real dinners. Right, Don?
LEMON: Yes. And there you heard it from an expert. Now go do it, audience.
Thank you, Dr. Wendy. Good to see you.
WALSH: Thanks, Don. Good to see you.
LEMON: Half past the hour now. I'm Don Lemon at CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
We'll get to our news that's happening in Chicago. Live pictures of that Lollapalooza concert that was going on. It's been going on since this morning. There it is.
Man, it has gotten dark. Our meteorologist, Rob Marciano, is here.
Rob, you called it. Now it's happening. Look at that. How did it get dark that fast?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Pretty dense clouds overhead and with -- filled with a lot of rainfall and unfortunately some gusty winds as well. They're just getting it right now.
LEMON: And lightning.
MARCIANO: Lightening, frequent strikes there in downtown Chicago, Michigan Avenue, outside Grant Park where Lollapalooza is. Thousands being evacuated right now. The park shut down for the next couple hours until the storms make their way through.
Here is a look at it on the radar scope. Obviously, the bright red, never a good thing, and that's where we're seeing the most intention action. As far as where we anticipate the worst of it, it looks like it's south of Chicago. Back through this area, obviously a heavy rainfall there, but the way this is swinging through, we can get some more intense winds that make their way down to the surface from the mid and upper levels.
This is a look at what the Doppler can read as wind. So instead of rainfall, which is what we normally show, this is wind. And the brighter the colors here, including the white, that's where your most intense winds are. And it goes all the way down to Gary, Indiana. The south side of Chicago is where I think the most intense winds will be. That's where we've seen the most damaging reports, in through this area of Illinois, including winds gusting to over 70 miles an hour. Numerous reports of substantial trees down. Seven, eight, nine-inch diameter trees uprooted with this system and a cluster that's moving fairly rapidly about 30, 40 miles an hour through Chicago right now, which will bring some damaging winds to the city itself, especially down across the southern part there, Don. We'll be out of this in about 20 minutes but the next 20 as you see in this live picture pretty ominous and terrifying.
LEMON: You're looking in the camera. I'm not sure if you saw this. Did you see the lightning strikes there?
MARCIANO: Yes. I can see those shots from our affiliate, WLS, looking down at the exit and entrance of Lollapalooza. And, boy, they're flashing there every few seconds. So we're into the intense part of the storm right now.
LEMON: Just to the top of the hour it was complete daylight. It wasn't sun light, but gray. It was daylight. Within a matter of minutes it's gotten dark and you se the lightning and it is severe.
And I was just reminded by my producer, or I was telling you at the top of the hour, Sugarland, about a year ago now, that Indiana State Fair when that stage collapsed, bad storms came through. And now, Rob, you know because of that and other incidents, they are no longer taking precautions, especially the weather service and the office of emergency management in every city, just about every city in the country. Chicago as well, Rob, that sent out a notice, the organizers of this said serious weather about to hit Grant Park. All festival goers must evacuate immediately. Head to our three evacuation locations. They're not taking chances.
MARCIANO: No. And Chicago is well versed in this sort of stuff. They get severe weather not only in the summer time but the winter time as well. They know how to act when they have to.
As you mentioned, Sugarland and other rock bands have had to deal with this from to time, including Cheap Trick. They were just in Atlanta. They actually hire a private firm to forecast these kinds of things and protect their concert goers. These elaborate stages that are set up, it doesn't take much more than 40-mile-per-hour winds to bring them down. This storm particularly has been clocking winds at 67, in some cases 80-mile-per-hour winds.
LEMON: It's not just concerts. Any outdoor venue, can be NASCAR, can be anything. As you look at this, this is video just in to CNN from our affiliate, WBBM, in Chicago. The live pictures of Lollapalooza. That picture was from WLS. This was just moments ago from WBBM. It's coming down. The traffic is backed up as well.
MARCIANO: Yes, two, three inches per hour is the rainfall rate there. So, you know, this area certainly can use the rain but it's not going to last more than 20 or 30 minutes. Probably not going to get much more than an inch or so. There will be some brief flooding in the streets. Obviously, slowing traffic down as well. But it's one of these things where people are scrambling to get cover until this thing goes away, or ride it out for the next 20, 30 minutes, and then it'll be done. Hopefully, not too much damage behind it. Significant winds with the system especially the south side of Chicago, down toward Gary, Indiana.
LEMON: So weird to see those pictures right where I used to work, Michigan Avenue, right there, downtown Chicago. The Mag Mile, as they call it. Boy, that is a bunch of rain, if you're looking inside of a windshield and you see it coming down that much. But it's not just the rain, as Rob said. Severe weather conditions, severe weather conditions there in Chicago. Look at that, Rob.
MARCIANO: Just hang on tight there, Chicagoland. Another 20 minutes and it'll be done. It does extend north toward Milwaukee, although they're not getting nearly as much heavy rainfall as in the south. The south side of Chicago, traveling down along Lake Michigan toward South Bend, Indiana, they're getting as well. Hopefully, these things will weaken as they head across the lake. But Michigan and northern Indiana, northern Ohio, you want to keep it right here also. We're looking at this cell. Probably not losing a ton of strength in the next couple hours.
LEMON: You wonder why we're lingering on this, because it has the potential to be very dangerous. And we've seen these things turn really ugly in moments.
So stay with us here. We have developing news on CNN. Severe weather moving through one of the most populace cities in the country with the potential to cause some harm. Hopefully, it doesn't, but we will be watching it. We have other news as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Take all your images of drones and launch them out the window. They are no longer just flying through the mountains of war zones like Afghanistan. They're being used right here on American soil. And they're much smaller than you might think.
Here's CNN's Athena Jones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Drones are making their way from the battlefield to the home front. The Coast Guard uses them to conduct surveillance on ice sheets in Alaska.
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: I have a visual on the suspect.
JONES: This five and a half-pound drone, developed by the California- based company AeroVironment, is marketed to law enforcement.
GRETCHEN WEST, AUVSI: The systems are meant to take over the dull, dirty, dangerous jobs and protect citizens' lives. This technology is the wave of the future.
JONES: Drone makers predict they'll eventually be used in agriculture, real estate, disaster assessment, among other fields.
In an important legal test this week, a judge upheld the use of a Border Patrol drone that helped local authorities in North Dakota with surveillance during the arrests of several members of one family in a dispute over cattle.
A new law requires the Federal Aviation Administration to draw up rules by 2015 to fully integrate drones into the national air space.
But the FAA's mission is safety. What about privacy?
Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey is worried the use of drones by government, and eventually private companies could violate Americans' privacy. He is working on federal legislation that would establish rules for how data can be collected and how long it can be kept.
REP. ED MARKET, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: The public should know who controls these drones. They should be able to find out which drone just flew over their house. They should be able to find out what kind of data was collected by that drone.
JONES: Some scholars believe the fears about drones are misplaced.
JOHN VILLASENOR, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTE: I think sometimes there is a misconception that we're going to walk out of the grocery store five years from now and look up in the sky and see dozens of drones circling overhead and have to duck to make sure we don't get hit by one. I think the reality is much more subdued than that.
JONES: The future of drones in America is now. New laws and ultimately the courts will decide just how much privacy the people will be allowed to retain.
Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Pretty cool looking. But here is the question. How much leeway do cops have when using these drones? We're about to find out what they can and can't do over your home and with your privacy. You might be surprised.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We have been talking about the use of drones over U.S. soil. They're being used more and more by police to capture suspects. And these things are getting so cheap that they're not just in the hands of law enforcement anymore.
Holly Hughes is here. She is a criminal defense attorney.
And pretty soon, your neighbors could have drones. And probably, if you want to check up on the other half --
(LAUGHTER)
-- or something like that, you can have your own drone and do that.
Should we be worried about privacy here?
HUGH HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: Yes and no. It's like any other technology that's developed. People can use it for a bad purpose, just like a gun, you know. A gun is a good thing if a home owner is protecting themselves. Somebody can turn around and use it in a bad manner.
LEMON: Yes.
HUGHES: The drones don't collect as much information as people seem to think. And you have to have a guaranteed right before the law can say somebody violated that right. Currently, we, as U.S. citizens, just ordinary people, you and I, right?
LEMON: Yes.
HUGHES: We don't have a right of privacy in the air space above our home. Now, people can't come around our house --
LEMON: OK, but there --
HUGHES: -- but not in the air.
LEMON: Isn't there an expectation of privacy in your own home, in your own yard?
HUGHES: Yes. It's an old-fashioned term in the law called the curtilege, and that means the space surrounding your yard.
LEMON: OK.
HUGHES: Now, the courts never defined it and said it's 20 feet, it's 30 feet, is to the sidewalk. So you do have a right of privacy inside the walls of your home --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Are you telling me I don't have air rights?
HUGHES: You don't have air space rights. No. The United States Supreme Court -- as a matter of fact, there was a case in '86 and '89 that said, hey, guys, law enforcement can use that public, navigable air space above your house. Think about this, Don. How long have we been using heat-seeking infrared radar to find people lost in the woods, right? That's what this drone did in the case we're talking about now.
LEMON: OK, so I remember when all the cameras were going up in big cities. They went up when I lived in Chicago and when I lived New York. A lot of people were uncomfortable about it.
HUGHES: Right.
LEMON: My gosh, Big Brother is watching.
HUGHES: Yes.
LEMON: But to do this -- so I guess this is no different except this would be a traveling camera.
HUGHES: Right.
LEMON: And if this goes over your home -- I mean, do they need a warrant to look down on your home? HUGHES: No. No.
LEMON: No?
HUGHES: Because, again, you only need a warrant if you're going into private space. And we, as private citizens, the public air space above us is not protected.
LEMON: Is there a way here to get ahead of criminals? Can we get some solid rules in place or do we have to wait for someone to break the law and then figure out how to use it in this situation?
HUGHES: Like we saw in Athena's clip a couple minutes ago, some of the politicians are trying to draft legislation proactively and say, hey, this is how you should and should not use it. Currently, before a law enforcement agency can use the drones, they have to get a permit from the FAA. And there are about 300 temporary licenses that have been issued to different law enforcement agencies across the country.
LEMON: OK. You remember -- I remember this -- radar.
HUGHES: Correct.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: I don't remember when they were invented obviously, but I remember when there were huge issues about whether or not you can use radar. And remember, everyone was buying the radar detectors --
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: Yes.
LEMON: OK. So this is essentially like a radar with a camera using a Wi-Fi, so are we going to be -- are there going to be challenges in court like there were to radar guns?
HUGHES: Absolutely. They're going to challenge it. And do you know what the bottom line question the court is going to ask, Don, when we break it all down? We get squirrely. We're like, y'all are coming in -- you're over our houses, we get really nuts about our privacy. But the bottom line is, they're going to ask, does law enforcement have a right to be where they were when they saw or recorded this information? So if the officer is sitting out on the side of the road, you're on a public road, he shoots a radar gun, the courts have said we're good with that. So when they fly over your house, so far, the courts have said, they are allowed to be in the air over your house.
LEMON: Remember, let me see the gun. I want to show it. You showed it now, OK, you've got me.
HUGHES: Are they where they're supposed to be?
LEMON: I just say put big tent over your house and that way you don't have to worry about it, I don't think. HUGHES: They'll find technology to get through that. You better believe it.
LEMON: Yes. The infrared or whatever, night vision.
HUGHES: Absolutely. Yes.
LEMON: No. Man, there is always something. Big Brother.
HUGHES: It's all the same kind of thing, Don. Heat seeking radar, night vision, yes.
LEMON: Oh, yes.
Thank you, Holly. Appreciate it.
HUGHES: Absolutely.
LEMON: And we're not finished with this. We'll dig deeper because, later on tonight, we'll see the drone story as you have never seen it before. We'll have a drone. It's going to be live right here in the studio. It's going to be buzzing around and is going to show you exactly how things work. A drone, live, buzzing around right here. You'll know. This is what people can see if they're looking down at your house.
Also we'll see how you can get your hands on one if you want. Join me tonight at 10:00 eastern right here on CNN.
Thanks again, Holly Hughes.
Watching a developing story. There it is. Live pictures. Man, it changes from moment to moment. Look at Chicago now. Pitch black just a moment ago. Severe weather. It's not over yet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We brought you numerous stories about the daily struggles women face in male-dominated Afghanistan. Even something as basic as education is rare for Afghan girls. But today's "CNN Hero" is a woman who's made it her life's mission to change that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAZIA JAN, CNN HERO: In Afghanistan, most of the girls have no voice. They are used as property of a family. The picture is very grim.
My name is Razia Jan, and I'm the founder of a girl's school in Afghanistan.
When we opened the school in 2008, 90 percent of them could not write their name. Today, 100 percent of them are educated. They can read. They can write.
I lived in the U.S. for over 38 years. But I was really affected by 9/11 and I really wanted to prove that Muslims are not terrorists. I came back here in 2002.
(on camera): Oh, hey, everybody.
(voice-over): Girls had been the most oppressed. And I thought, I have to do something.
It was a struggle in the beginning. I would sit with these men, and I would tell them, don't marry them when they're 14 years old. They want to learn.
(on camera): How do you write your father's name?
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: A, I, S.
JAN (voice-over): After three years now, the men, they're proud of the girls, when they themselves can write their name.
(on camera): Very good.
(voice-over): Still, we have to take these precautions. Some people are so much against girls getting educated.
We provide free education to over 350 girls.
(SINGING)
JAN: I think it's like a fire. It will grow.
Every year, my hope becomes more. I think I can see the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: I can see why she is a hero. "CNN Heroes" are all chosen from people you tell us about. So to nominate someone who is making a big difference, go to CNNheroes.com.
We told you about that bad weather in Chicago. And it's not over yet -- in the entire area, not just Chicago, but in that area, and it's still moving through. Not over yet. We'll update you. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So we told you there was a line of thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms moving through northern Illinois, producing wind gusts of up to 75 miles per hour. One of our producers was in Chicago to attend this event that you're looking at. It is Lollapalooza. And this is the event now. So people are getting back in, right. Before they were going the other way. They're rushing to get back in. And this is WBBM. These are live pictures of people rushing to get back in. They were doing the opposite just moments ago.
Then -- can we show the pictures of just how it changed?
It was daylight, and then, all of a sudden, it turned to this within a matter of moments. And then the lightning strikes. I am told that they were using underground parking as emergency shelters to -- they told people to go into parking lots in case this thing hit. Look at the lightning strikes there. The event organizer sent out a tweet saying, everybody, get out. Go to the three evacuation points."
Matt Sloan is a producer, a medical producer. He's at a hotel now?
Matt, what happened? What did they tell you?
MATT SLOAN, MEDICAL PRODUCER (voice-over): We were checking into our hotel across the street, the Hilton Chicago, and as soon as we started getting ready to go to the event, everyone started pouring into the hotel, saying, we've been evacuated. They've told us to leave the area for at least two hours. I thought it was just a precaution after the Indiana State Fair incident last year, but I think they made the right decision. We were up in our hotel room in about 15 minutes. And the weather started rolling in, and visibility went from fantastic, to absolutely zero. Very heavy rain, very heavy wind, it started to hail. And I think they got people out just in time, because the majority of them had cleared out by the time this storm started.
LEMON: And, Matt, I have just about 10 seconds left here. Frightening? Was it scary? We're looking at 30,000 feet here?
SLOAN: Yes, it was pretty scary. Again, we were sort of inside the hotel, so it wasn't too bad. But sirens blaring. You can hear some in the background now. People cheering, singing --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Matt, I've got to cut you off or the computer's going to cut me off. We have to go.
We'll update you at 7:00. Thanks for watching.
"THE SITUATION ROOM" right now.
