star on the walk of fame. and that is about to be over, he will have his very own star. if judge judy can get a star, so should the guy who voiced the iron giant. that is all for "the lead." i'm john berman filling in for jake tapper. now for a guy who deserves many stars, i turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." >> happ >> happening now, a million people a year die from malaria, 200 million people become sick. there's been no vaccine until now. researchers announce a promising break through. 15 square miles of southern california go up in flames. firefighters battle a huge wildfire. we're going to the front lines. and cnn's sanjay gupta has been

working on a special report on marijuana and he's had a change of heart about what we call weed. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." let's begin with fast-moving wildfire raging out of control in southern california. it's already scorched more than 10,000 acres. it's forced at least 1,500 people to evacuate from their homes. hundreds of firefighters are on the scene. they are now back by airborne units. let's go live to the scene. dan simon is in riverside county. dan, what's going on? >> wolf, you can see some of that smoke behind me. the concern is the wind, that's what's causing the fire to spread. as you said, it's impacted now about 10,000 acres and 15 structures have been lost. we don't know how many are homes. as you said, hundreds of firefighters on the scene. we've seen a number of aircraft dropping water.

you have planes dropping retardant, fire crews taking this fire very seriously. that's why they have so many crews on hand. we can tell you there have been some injuries, wolf. four firefighters have been injured along with one civilian. we don't know the extent of those injuries. hopefully they're going to be doing just fine, though. as we said, this is impacting several communities. there are a lot of mandatory evacuation orders in place and fire crews just trying to get this fire contained as quickly as possible. at this point, wolf, it's 10% contained. >> so they still have a lot of work to do. do they have any estimate? when do they think they can get the job done, get this fire under control? >> reporter: at this point, it really depends on the wind, wolf. if the wind dies down, firefighters hopefully can get the upper hand. they do have a lot of resources in place. hopefully mother nature will cooperate. >> let's dig a little bit deeper right now.

a thousand firefighters are battling this ferocious blaze. close to 20 aircraft have already been deployed. chief, thanks very much for coming in. what's the latest you can tell us? >> he had that information correct. it is 10,000 acres. it's a bit hotter today, those winds are really pushing and it's moving east into the desert area and we're getting a a lot more areas threatened. >> how much progress have you made today? >> the firefighters are working hard on the ground to get the containment number. it's just been a challenging day out here with the winds and the hot, dry temperatures. >> are residents safe? how have the evacuations gone? >> the evacuations have gone very well. the communities that were

impacted yesterday were hit very quickly, very early on in the fire. they barely had time to get out thereof. many of them had to shelter in place with the deputies that were there to help evacuate them because the highway was cut off and they were not able to exit either direction. today we have got some orders and warnings for evacuation for some new communities closer to palm springs and, again, that pushes to the east and to the north into the -- or the south into the wilderness with the international forest. >> so have homes already been burnt to the ground? >> there have been some homes and out buildings. we're estimating about 15 total structures at this point. we are not able to tell which ones are homes and which ones are out buildings yet. we've got assessment teams in there trying to determine that while the firefight is still going. >> based on your experience, chief, how long before this fire is contained? >> it depends on the weather conditions. we have one more day when we're

going to have this very strong on shore flow to the west that's going to push the fire to the east. if that transition comes on saturday and we don't get too much high humidity and we've got that all important containment, probably a couple more days but we have to remember on this fire we have about an eight-or-nine-mile front that it's burning to on the east. >> do you have enough firefighters and equipment ready to do the job? >> we do. we've had resources come in as far as sacramento to assist. the one thing in california, our ability to move federal, state and local aid resources is unmatched anywhere else in the country. we implement that early and move around to assist communities in need when wildfires are out of control. >> julie hutchinson, fire

battalion chief. thanks for joining us and good luck to all the men and women trying to contain this fire. >> thank you. >> the white house defending president obama's decision to cancel the summit with russia's vladimir putin but other high-level talks are about to go ahead as planned. jim acosta is at the white house. what's going on, jim? >> reporter: that's right. these meetings will go on between john kerry and chuck hagel and their russian counterparts. those meetings are going to go forward, despite the president's decision to cancel his meeting with vladimir putin. the president will likely still meet with him at the upcoming g-20 summit. the two are expected to have some sort of pull-aside meeting during that summit.

carney went on to say that relations between the u.s. and russia have gotten worse because of vladimir putin. as for nsa leaker edward snowden, carney said the u.s. does want snowden back but it's not the highest priority of this administration. here's what karn he had to say. >> we had a lot of fish to fry, if you will, with the russians. we have a lot of issues to engage with the russians over. there and is two plus two ministerial meeting tomorrow here in washington and, you know, there will be a host of topics. so this is not the focus of our engage pent with russia but it is not something that we're dropping by any means. >> as to some of those programs that snowden apparently leaked, the "new york times" had a story out this morning that says that the united states might be sweeping up and sifting through

more e-mails from people in the united states than what was previously acknowledged. carney said during the briefing that the nsa tries to keep that to a minute month. >> if joe schmo from cocoamoe wants to know if his e-mail is being read, what would you say? >> it's not being read. there are procedures in place, as i just described. i'm sure the nsa can explain to you in greater detail that ensure that inadvertently collected information is minimized and dealt with directly. >> reporters tried to shout

questions to the president. he said you can save those questions for tomorrow. the president is holding a news conference and is heading to martha's vineyard this weekend. jay carney during the news conference joked that president obama might just name his next federal chairman, chairman of the from. we should point out that president obama almost did just that in 2009. he renominated bernanke to that position back then. you can't rule out any news when the president is on vacation. >> we'll have live coverage of the president's news conference tomorrow here on cnn. thanks, jim acosta, for that report. coming up, it's been almost a week since the global terror alert. it is the threat over. do those warnings do more harm than good? i'm going to speak about it live. the former director of national intelligence, retired navy general dennis blair is here in the situation room. >> research verse scored a major

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for all of us. it's one of the world's biggest killers. about a million people a year die from malaria and about a million others are sickened. now researchers say they have successfully tested a vaccine. barbara, what do we know? >> reporter: wolf, it's a small-scale test but so important. the u.s. navy along with a pharmaceutical california announced today 100% coverage in protection from malaria from a test they did on a small number of subjects. they believe they have a malaria vaccine that provides for the first time 100% protection. why is this so important, wolf? just the statistics alone will make your jaw drop. 3.3 billion people live at risk in malaria areas of the world.

there were 219 cases of malaria in 2010, and as you point out, about 660,000 people a year die of this disease. so any help is most needed. a lot of people are working on this, the bill and melinda gates foundation working on it. but this latest works by the navy and nih, again, small sample, they have a lot less to do but they achieved 100% protection against malaria in this test they did. >> and explain why the navy was involved in this test. >> it's so interesting. because of course the navy and the rest of the military moves around the world all the time. they encounter places around the world where malaria is rampant. even in afghanistan, the troops have to take malaria pills when they go there. it can devastate a unit, a military unit, if they are not protected against malaria. so for the navy, for other

military services and for militaries in other country, it's just really a vital step forward. >> important step indeed. barbara, thanks very much. let's get a little more on this breakthrough effort to deal with this medical need. dr. sanjay gupta is joining us. explain in a little more detail why this potentially could be so significant, though i'm told by experts we're not there yet. >> no, it's still very much in the early stages. it was a small study, too, that barbara was talking about. to give you a little bit of context, i think there were a little bit more than three dozen people who were part of the study and the six people who got five doses of this vaccine, five shots of the vaccine, none of them got malaria, even after being exposed. and in 12 people who did not get any of the vaccine, 11 of them did get malaria. so it works pretty well but these are early studies. the numbers are staggering in terms of the number of deaths it

can cause. you start the pills ahead of time, you take them afterward. they can have pretty significant side effects. there was a study that came out that it can cause permanent neurological damage. there's some concern about that. >> i've been to parts of africa where i had to take the pills 30 days before you leave the united states, take them there and continue taking them when you come back. it's a lot better than getting malaria, which can kill you. it's going to be a while before this particular test proves to be useful. how long could it take before they really create a sacvaccine? >> i would say at least five years, maybe up to ten years. there's a big hurdle here compared to other vaccine. when you think about vaccines, you think about them to

vaccinate against the virus or bacteria. as you know, wolf, malaria is caused by a parasite. that's never been done before. it's all going to take a little bit of time. >> explain this to me because i'm not fully up to speed on what it means that in this particular test, the people, those who were given the vaccine were given it intravenously as opposed to a shot, shall we say. that makes it a little bit more complicated on a massive scale, right? >> it's quite a process to get this vaccine. instead of having a shot under the skin or into the muscle, there's not just one but five intravenous shots essentially given and i think it's once a week for five weeks. again, a very small study but that was the protocol that they use. this is a difficult vaccine to get. once you have it, you presumably are protected for a long time, but it is quite a process to get that protection in the first place. >> you say five years potentially.

let's say they injected a whole lot more money into this process. could it be done more quickly? >> that's a great question. i think part of the issue is that you really need to follow these patients out over time. you really need to find out, a, is there any side effects months down the line, years down the line but also does it continue to be protected against the parasites? so money probably always helps in these types of studies, but you really need the longer term data before you're going to start to make this thing more widely available and that just takes time. >> let's hope they could up with this. that would be great. a million people a year die from malaria. thanks, sanjay. sanjay will be back with us here in the situation room a little bit later. he's going to explain why he's completely changed his mind about medical marijuana. my interview with sanjay on this important subject coming up as well. also, an insider's view to the scary threats of national security. retired u.s. navy admiral dennis

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more indictments today related to the boston marathon bombing. mary snow is monitoring that. what's going on, mary? >> reporter: two friends of bombing suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev face charges of obstructs justice and

conspiracy. if convicted the two 19-year-olds two be sent to prison for 20 years. >> rescuers in illinois are look foorg priest who they say appeared out of nowhere while they were trying to pry an accident victim out of a car wreck. they asked him to pray with her even after the road was blocked. after he prayed with them, the equipment worked and the priest was nowhere to be found. >> and there were three powerball winners. the first from minnesota came forward right away because he said he wants to be, quote, yesterday's news as soon as possible. he's quite a character. we'll hear from him next hour. >> almost a week after the worldwide terror alert was

posted, how big is the threat? i'll ask dennis blair live here in the situation room. and also dr. sanjay gupta, why he's changed his mind about medical marijuana. but first, a preview of this weekend's "next list." >> this week on the "next list." >> a space age archaeologist has been called a real life indiana jones. >> i'd take him on for archaeological searches and i'd win. >> she's shedding new light on egypt. >> a completely new world comes to light when you're processing the satellite data. >> and in guatemala fashion designer susanah is transformer

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also, dr. sanjay gupta is here. he'll explain why he has changed his mind about medical marijuana. he says it has very legitimate medical applications. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." so the world wide alert went up a week ago for americans in south africa, asia. u.s. embassies in those areas have been closed for several days. here's the question, how real is the threat? joining me is dennis blair, the former director of national intelligence. >> so it's been almost a week. what's your sense? is there still a real credible threat out there from al qaeda or al qaeda associates? >> the way this usually works is al qaeda or would you know of its group plans an attack. if we have specific information,

we'd try to take out the people doing it. if it's more general, we'll take action like the evacuations that you've talked about. my guess would be whatever threat there was has decided to go back and fight another day. the terrorists always have the option of postponing their attack, and i imagine they're taking it at this time. >> so maybe all the publicity that the u.s. put out there about an imminent terrorist attack convinced them to say never mind. >> i would say that's true. >> do you think that was maybe one of the objectives as well? >> i'd say it's a two-part announcement. one is to deter and let people know we are watching and the other is actually to be able to be in a better position to deal with if if they decide to go ahead with it anyway. >> you say we've learned about a potential terrorist attack. we wonder how did they learn and couldn't this potentially compromise sources and methods

from al zawahiri, now he knows how he was communicating with whatever types in yemen, that communication has been compromised. >> you need to use some ambiguity. maybe there's a traitor inside al qaeda feeding us information. >> isn't he now in danger, that traitor or spy who might be helping the u.s.? >> i'm sure the peninsula is going through their own intelligence to look at how they found out about it. we want them to be worried that their security is not good. that slows them down. >> what does it say that ayman al zawahiri is still capable of giving orders to al qaeda

operatives in yemen to take action? >> remember how osama bin laden was operating, it could take three weeks. he's issuing general guidance, more higher level guidance and leaving the tactics up to genuine it's. >> you tried to get him when you were head of national intelligence. i assume the u.s. is still trying to get him. why is it so hard to get ayman al zawahiri? >> who is that guy in our country, richard jewell, he disappeared in our country. >> the outgoing cia, the deputy director, he gave an interviews

to the wall street journal in which he said syria is probably the most important issue in the world today because of where it is currently heading. he's deeply concerned about chemical weapon stockpiles, other weapons in syria getting into the hands of al qaeda and others. is this the biggest national security threat the u.s. faces right now? >> i would say as far as the geopolitical situation, i would agree with mike morel. it's not just the chemical weapon. if you look at the place that syria occupies, the funnel for iranian aid going to hezbollah, so it's a life line for hezbollah, it's iran's beach head, it has a border with israel which is still unsettled, so it has an ally of russia, which is a spoke with a stick in the eye for the united states and the final thing is the spill over into iraq, which we spent a great deal of blood and treasure

trying to sabtabilize and eject dictator there and syria is right on its border. there's lots of tenticals -- >> you meant eric ruel, before, not richard jewell. >> thank you for correcting that. >> for about two hours in a destination the israelis shut down the airport today. i was told they were concerned about al qaeda potential, al qaeda elements in sinai right now. maybe they got their hands on weapons that would endanger the airport. for the israelis to shut down like that, what is that telling

you? >> it tells me that there are units out there that are capable of causing trouble. and, as you say, it's right across the narrow strait. you can hit airplanes with weapons coming from -- off the egyptian side and i'm sure that the israelis were concerned about that. >> shoulder-fired missile. >> but i am also told, by the way, that the egyptian military's past month, since the removal of morsi, they've done a much better job trying to clean up elements from al qaeda than was going on before. i assume you've heard the same thing. >> if you were it was the losses in sinai that caused the replacement of the entire upper tier of the egyptian leadership back a couple months, several months back. >> the nsa surveillance program, you saw the story in the "new york times." this is the president of the united states on tuesday. then i want to discuss. >> we don't have a domestic

spying program. what we do have are some mechanisms where we can track a phone number or an e-mail address that we know is connected to some sort of terrorist threat. and that information is useful. >> so the "new york times" is saying the nsa is still searching through vast amounts of americans' e-mails. you hear that, you think that's a real violation of americans' privacy. >> right. and i -- i back up what the president says. of course with my experience when i was the -- >> so what was your experience? >> my experience is that when there is an american person, company or address that is involved in communications, whether they be e-mail or phone or anything, for the nsa to read that intelligence or even to access the meta data, the number

and the timing requires specific permission from the court. so it's rare, it's given carefully and the rules are followed well. >> from your perspective, americans should not be concerned that their privacy is being violated. >> that's right. that's right. and i would add to that, wolf, that despite everything you've read about this, i have yet to see an instance in which harm has come to an american. you know, we're not talking about the mccarthy era of people knocking on doors and losing jobs. this is following a terrorist threat, being extremely respectful of american involvement and sticking to the threat on the united states with court orders. it's complicated. numbers are vast because vast communications out there. but it's been very careful in my observation. >> thank you for coming in. dennis blair is the former director of national

intelligence. just ahead, an update in the massive manhunt.

we have some breaking news on that abduction of two san diego children. amber alert suspect jim dimaggio may have explosives with him. let's go straight to san diego. what is the latest? >> reporter: well, wolf, just a short time ago san diego county authorities telling me that they

believe that dimaggio may be in the possession of improvised explosive devices, and they are warning both civilians and law enforcement officers to stay away from the suspect's vehicle because they believe there's a point where he may abandon it and that vehicle could be rigged with explosive devices. when i pressed on to ask what type of devices, they would not be specific. but as we well know, it was dimaggio's house that burned to the ground on sunday night and that is what touched off this massive manhunt. >> they think he used perhaps an explosive device to torch that house? >> all of this being considered right now. as i said before they believe right now that he might be in possession of those devices. we should also note that there were two possible dimaggio sightings yesterday in extreme northeastern california and just over the border in oregon. that was modock county and lake

county. a maid saw a car that looked very much like the suspect's vehicle. she wrote down the license plate numbers but there are some other problems with her story they are now trying to check out. also we should know he said there's just plenty of room for someone to hide in that county. and as we know, dimaggio is a camper, a survivalist type, wolf. >> thanks very much. in the next hour of "the situation room," we'll have new details on the case of a teen-ager who died after being tasered by police. also coming up, a new warning for anyone looking for an app to help toddlers and young children get ready for school.

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so are the sharp divisions among republicans putting their parties' fortunes at risk? let's discuss with our panel. joining us, hillary rosens are along with "time" magazine senior correspondent michael crowley. we're going to get that right. listen to ted cruz. i'm going to read to you what he said in the new issue of "time" magazine, our sister publication. he said a conservative is either stupid, too dumb to know the right answer and even worse, if they know the right answer, then they're evil. they want people to suffer. i suppose i feel mildly complimented in that they have recently invented a third

category, which is crazy. ryan, what do you think about this rival that is emerging, ted cruz on one hand and chris christie on the other? >> i think it's very healthy. there was a recent pew study that found base republicans are not sufficiently conservative. on the other hand you have swing vote who are increasingly find it less attractive. you it tea party candidates doing very well because you have very different electorates. it's important to have this debate. i think it's a constructive thing. >> you know republicans in seeking the presidential nomination, they run to the right. but if they get that nomination, they immediately run to the center. >> right. and ted cruz is trying to argue that in fact the more conservative the nominee that the republicans nominate, the better off republicans are going

to do. the numbers i think just don't bare that out. but ryan raises a good point. does this help republicans in the mid-term elections? does it help them keep control of the house? i think the answer is probably yes. but all it does is cement the people who are there. it doesn't grow the party. it doesn't help them for presidential. and frankly it just doesn't i think represent the broader views of where america is right now. let them as a democrat just keep arguing, just keep going right, more right, more right. >> if republicans are going to win a presidential contest, they've got to get more women, they got to get more young people, got to get more his pan ex, more minorities, african-americans. they got to broaden that base. >> yes, although there is a school of thought that says you could get more white voters, you know, the white male vote isn't coming out in the numbers it could for the republican party. so there are some conservatives who say more conservatism, don't try to be more like the democrats, differentiate and increase our turnout pup noc.

you know, there's a really good argument that's not the winning strategy but there is still that energy on the right. for the moderates to do want to steer to the center and what the direction you described, they slap their heads when romney tried to go back to the left, it was so hard for him to do it because he spend spent so much time trying to impress the far right. so, if they do have a conservative candidate, fine. we'll see how that turns out. but if they have a moderate candidate, he will have headaches for the primary. >> take a look at the poll of likely republican voters in new hampshire, and new hampshire, obviously, an important state. chris christie 21%, rand paul 16%, jeb bush 10%, paul ryan 8%, marco rubio 6%. are you surprised chris christie does best? >> i'm not surprised at all. he has a very high national profile. new hampshire is a northeastern state, you know, that has gone for john mccain in the past.

so, chris christie is a very good fit for that state. one thing i will point out, however, is the fact that rand paul does as well as he does in new hampshire is also very telling, and i think it's important to note that this is not really a right versus left battle within the republican party. you have many people, you have many tea party conservatives, a guy like mike lee, for example, who is saying that we actually need a party that is more responsive to the interests of working and middle class voters. so, it's really not right versus left. there are folks like rand paul, for example, sure on some issues he seems to be very "far right." other issues, however, he's trying to broaden the republican party, talking about civil liberties, talking about a new direction for foreign policy. however you feel about that, that is broadening the tent, potentially, in a different direction. so, i think it's very important not to oversimplify the conflicts within the republican party. >> here's the other thing that's obvious, is that people overestimate how much voters actually really parse politic n politicia politicians' positions on issues. what they're really doing is sort of looking on the big picture when they're voting for

a president. they're looking for leadership, they're looking for those things. democrats, i think, would make a mistake in ignoring rand paul, marco rubio, ted cruz, because those guys actually seem authentic. they seem to believe what they're saying. that's what barack obama was successful at. >> that jumps out in his interview with "time" where he speaks candidly of how the media treats conservatives very blunt, very outspoken. >> the political conversation only just beginning. new issue of "time" magazine, they've got a good cover -- "a world without bees." there it is right there. coming up next hour here in "the situation room," frantic rescues. floodwaters catching people by surprise. also, dr. sanjay gupta, he's next. he'll join us once again to explain why he's now changed his mind about medical marijuana. this day calls you.

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our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta's been working on a very important cnn documentary about medical marijuana, and it's called "weed." it debuts this weekend, but the headline is so big, it can't wait. in a commentary you can read right now on cnn.com, sanjay explains in an article he entitles "why i changed my mind on weed." in it, he writes -- and i'm quoting -- "i apologize because i didn't look hard enough, until now. i didn't look far enough. i was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannab cannabis. sanjay's back in "the situation room" to tell us why. you're referring to an article in 2009 for "time" magazine, entitled "why i would vote no on pot." so, tell us briefly, why did you change your mind? >> well, you know, i think a lot of it was in that quote. when you look at the literature

surrounding marijuana, if you do a search through the medical journals, you know, some 20,000 papers will pop up. and i was keeping up steadily on the scientific literature, but what i was realizing was that the vast majority of these studies talked about the harm, the perils, the problems with marijuana. a very small percentage, less than 10%, close to 6% actually evaluated benefit. so, when you looked at all these studies in aggregate, wolf, you would think that there was a distorted picture, you would think there was a lot more harm with marijuana than potential benefit, but it wasn't until i started looking at laboratories outside the united states, smaller laboratories that were doing amazing work, listening to the chorus of legitimate patients for whom not only did marijuana work, it was the only thing that worked. and that was quite stunning to me. i also looked closely at the dea's scheduling policy. they classify marijuana as a schedule 1 substance, saying it's in the category of the most dangerous substances out there. and when i looked carefully at that, i found there was really no scientific evidence to say it was that dangerous, that it had high abuse potential and that it

had no medical applications. i believe it does have medical applications, and that's just i thought was an important message to get out there. >> rou also conclude, sanjay -- and i read your excellent article -- you conclude that in certain cases, medical marijuana is even more effective than various pharmaceutical drugs, right? >> absolutely. and this is, again, i think very important for people to hear the medical community is starting to understand this better, but this idea that, for example, neuropathic pain -- that's this terrible sort of burning pain patients have described to me. oftentimes, these patients are miserable. they get narcotics, morphine, oxycontin. these types of medications don't work, maybe at all, but certainly after a few months. people can develop tolerance to them. and you come to find that marijuana in a percentage of patients, not only does it work better than these narcotics, it's much safer, because with those narcotics, wolf, you and i have talked about this, there is a death, an accidental overdose

death from prescription medications every 19 minutes in this country. those are dangerous medications. you know, they have a role, but they can be dangerous. whereas with marijuana, i couldn't find single confirmed overdose death. so, you have something that works better, may work when other things don't and probably much safer. and again, i think that's important for both patients and the medical community to hear. >> all right, so, medical marijuana serves a useful purpose, you conclude. what about recreational marijuana? what are the pros and cons? >> well, you know, i do make a distinction between these things, and i think it's important. i mean, i really am approaching the medical marijuana angle of this in many ways because i've seen so many legitimate patients with legitimate problems not be able to get the treatment they needed. but, so, i do make a distinction. but look, if you want to talk about, if you want to raise the issue of moral equivalence with recreational marijuana and other substances that are out there, again, marijuana is considered a drug of high abuse, the highest abuse. dependence rates are around 9%, as compared to alcohol, which is

closer to 15%, heroin, 23%, 25%, cocaine 20%. so, it's probably not as problematic as those other types of drugs. i'm concerned about it as far as its use for young people, people with a developing brain still, up to age mid-20s. but you know, again from a moral equivalent standpoint, you'd be hard pressed to find additional harm from this in adults as compared to some of the other things. >> sanjay gupta, our chief medical correspondent, thank you very much. and this important note to our viewers, don't miss sanjay's groundbreaking, new documentary entitled "weed." you can see it this sunday, 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. happening now, deadly flooding and dangerous rescues. we're going to show you dramatic escapes with just seconds to spare. plus, a teenager accused of spray-painting graffiti gets chased by police and winds up dead. did a taser do that? it's only supposed to stun him, but did it actually kill him. and the u.s. navy damaged by

fire, now sunk by forced budget cuts. it's a $400 million mess. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com one minute they were sitting in their cars, their boats, their homes, the next minute they were trapped by rising floodwaters. heavy rains have drenched parts of the central plains and the south, and some big cities in the northeast may be next. at least two people have been killed, dozens have been evacuated or rescued. cnn's brian todd is here with a wrap on what has been going on from this flood damage. it's pretty extreme. >> very extreme, wolf. you know, over the past couple of days, the south has been absolutely pummeled by very sudden, very heavy, sometimes even violent rain. we are zigzagging through the region with some of the most dramatic images. the really telling part of this story in so many places, swiftwater rescues had to take

place, responders grabbing people sometimes with just seconds to spare. in nashville, first responders in waist-deep water carry an infant to safety in a car seat. scenes like this played out all over the southern u.s. as torrential rains slammed the region, causing flash floods and dozens of swift water rescues. these residents in nashville waited to be picked up on their roofs. in another area of the city, one survivor's chest deep in the water while another swims past him to get to a car. this girl got a piggyback ride. this was a widely traveling set of storm bands, northwest of nashville. in hollister, missouri, a local fire chief says more than a dozen people had to be rescued from a mobile home park, and at least two mobile homes were washed away. north of there, in waynesville, missouri, a 4-year-old boy was killed inside a vehicle. this video shows some of the worst damage from two days of flooding there. houses, vehicles were submerged

in waynesville. clinging to her infant daughter, resident jennifer ellis was overwhelmed. >> i'm going to cry. that's all i can say is i want to cry. i don't know. i've never had to deal with anything like this. i grabbed clothes and diapers, and that was it. >> reporter: in marietta, georgia, rescuers struggled to get into their boat so they could rescue charles wigginton. they got him and his dogs out of his home, but he says he may never come back. >> i don't know. i can't live here no more. i mean, i'm through. >> from northern georgia, we take you to the northwest corner of arkansas, where the towns of bella vista and avoca were blasted with severe, sudden rainfall. as this video shows, the water submerged streets and a golf course in a matter of minutes. avoca resident celina undernere says her father woke her up at 5:00 in the morning, told her to get her belongings on her bed. listen to the description of how violent the flooding was in her home. >> by the time he said we had to

get out, we were in the kitchen, and the glass started falling off the walls and the fridge flipped backwards and busted. >> reporter: in many areas, people were either caught suddenly in their vehicles or tried to drive on roads that were too deeply flooded. experts say that's a common mistake made by people in so many situations like this. in a flash flood, they are driving, they come across a flooded portion of a roadway, sometimes thinking there's not much more than a large puddle in front of them, and then their car is submerged, wolf. i've seen it many, many times in hurricanes and situations like this. >> speaking of hurricanes, we're getting an update now on the current hurricane season, what we can expect. >> we sure are. the government's forecasting agency, noaa, now says there is a 70% chance of an above-normal hurricane season in the atlantic this year. now, a normal season might bring six hurricanes with three of them above category 3 or higher, but noaa now says this season could bring as many as nine hurricanes and five of them could be major in the atlantic corridor here. >> the season still under way.

we've got a few months to go. >> absolutely. >> brian, thank you for that report. other news we're following, including new revelations about government spying on americans. "the new york times" reports the nsa is looking at the content of vast amounts of e-mail and text messages coming in and out of the united states, casting a wider net than previously thought. we already knew that the government could look at the communications of americans sending messages to a foreign target under surveillance oversees, but "the new york times" reports americans who merely make a reference to a foreign target may have their messages monitored even if they're not directly communicating with that target. let's bring in our cnn national security analyst, fran townsend. she's the former bush homeland security adviser. she's also a member of the cia's external advisory board. so, does this so-called wider net mean that the government really is spying on a large number of americans, fran? >> you know, wolf, this is a highly technical program, and so it's difficult. many of us are constrained about

what we can say about it. but i will tell you, in reading "the new york times" story, i think what you've got to remember -- and the president has talked about this, the white house and the director of national intelligence -- the rules that govern the administration, the executive branch and intelligence community's ability to do this program, the rules that sort of set forth kind of what you can look at and when and how are reviewed by this secret court, the foreign intelligence surveillance court, even when there is not a specific warrant that may be required. you know, people go to great pains to make the point that if you're targeting an american citizen, you need a warrant for that, and if you inadvertently collect an american's communications that are not relevant, they've got to be erased. there are what's called minimization procedures to protect american communications. so, wolf, there's a lot of infrastructure and rules and procedures around this. i will tell you, the nsa for

years has been really very disciplined about not wanting to inadvertently or inappropriately collect the communications of americans. >> the argument on the other side, though, fran -- and you've heard it -- is that this fisa court system that has to approve this kind of surveillance is merely a rubber stamp for the nsa, for the federal government, because they almost always -- they rarely reject any request and that it would become for all practical purposes, the critics claim, a rubber stamp. what say you? >> wolf, i'll tell you, i ran that unit in the justice department for several years, and i just think that that statistic, that they rarely deny one, is a red herring. those of us who have worked inside this system can tell you that when a judge reviews an application and he has a question, he or she has a question about it, they'll return it and they'll tell the government what more they want to see in there if it's available, and they won't approve it if they're not satisfied. frequently, then, what happens

is the government will take it back, will add additional information as requested by the court and then return it to the court, and there's no way of capturing that statistic, because ultimately, that appears in the statistics as an appro l approval, but there's an awful lot of give and take. the fbi agent, for example, might be asked to go back and collect or see if there is additional information that can be added to strengthen the application, and that give-and-take is actually more frequent than i think people understand. >> fran townsend, thanks very much. fran townsend's our national security analyst. a teenager's family is demanding answers about his death. >> he was an amazing artist, a very passionate person, very passionate artist, and that it's unfair to end his life for something he loved. >> up next, a young man, a wall of graffiti and a police taser. his family believes that's what killed him. and a police chief gets suspended for shooting off guns and his mouth at an angry video

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i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. there are questions and controversy right now swirling around the death of a teenager who died after being tasered by cops in miami. the officials are saying little about the case, but his family is speaking out to cnn. adriana is joining us right now from miami. what are you finding out? >> hi, wolf. well, israel hernandez was known as an artist. i visited his family this morning, and as you can imagine, they are very, very shaken up. their home was covered in israel's art, and that is exactly what his family says he was doing when he died. israel hernandez's family is devastated. they left colombia about six years ago, hoping to live in a country that they consider safer

than theirs. now one of their loved ones is dead, and the family is asking for justice. >> translator: i find strength in my hope for justice. we are in a country that defends human rights, a country that sets an example and dares to ask other countries that use excessive force, that is my son's case, excessive force. >> he was an amazing artist, a very passionate person, very passionate artist, and that it's unfair to end his life for something he loved. >> reporter: according to a miami-dade police report, 18-year-old israel hernandez was chased by officers around 5:00 a.m. tuesday after he was seen spray-painting graffiti on a private property. police say he disobeyed commands to stop, and the agent used a taser on him. shortly after, the report says the teen's physical condition showed signs of stress. he was taken to a local hospital and was later pronounced dead. police say the use of a taser

gun should not be fatal. israel's sister says that her brother was perfectly healthy, and his case proves that argument wrong. >> it was very unnecessary, and they went beyond the point. i don't know exactly what happened, but if he died, they obviously went off the point. >> reporter: a friend of hernandez says he was watching from a distance on the night of the incident. he describes the scene after his friend had been caught. >> and they were all congratulating each other and all that, they were all clapping over his body, like giving high-fives and laughing and all that. it was almost like they were proud of what they did. >> reporter: we contacted the police for comment about souza's account of what happened but have not heard back yet. but miami beach police chief ray martinez told "the miami herald" that when the officers cornered hernandez, the teen ran at them. he said the officers were forced to use the taser to avoid a physical incident. martinez went on to say "this incident is an open and ongoing investigation. the city of miami beach would

like to extend their condolences to the family of israel hernandez." wolf, so, an autopsy and a toxicology exam are still pending, and hopefully, that will bring some answers to this family who believes israel had a bright future ahead of him. wolf? >> thanks very much, adrianna hauser of our sister network cnn espanol in miami. his daughter has been kidnapped, the son feared dead. the suspect is a close family friend. coming up, this father talks to cnn in a very emotional interview about his living nightmare. and the u.s. nuclear submarine left high and dry. why the navy can't afford to fix it. ♪ [ male announcer ] you wait all year for summer. ♪ this summer was definitely worth the wait. ♪ summer's best event from cadillac. let summer try and pass you by.

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you're looking at a united states nuclear attack submarine going up in smoke. more than a year after that fire, the "uss miami" is being moth balled because the navy cannot pay the $400 million to repair the ship. a top admiral is blaming the federal government's forced budget cuts. our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, is joining us now. barbara, tell us what's going on here. >> well, wolf, this is not the way the u.s. navy would want to lose any ship. that ship went up in -- that submarine went up in flames in may 2012 in port. a disgruntled worker set a fire on the submarine, causing $400 million in damage. several workers were hurt. thankfully, no one was killed. he's gone to federal prison for 17 years, ordered to repay $400 million in damages. the navy's not really going to see that money from this guy. and so, the navy had to make the

decision, we're told, wolf, that this submarine will be scrapped. they don't have the money under the forced federal budget cuts in washington to pay the money to fix this submarine, so this is going to go, basically to scrap 450heap. the end of the "uss miami." the navy is not proud of this. they say it's 1 of 42 submarines they need for national security. wolf? >> what does a submarine like that cost? >> oh, that's in the billions, like an aircraft carrier. we're talking multiple billions, but the navy says that the $400 million in damage is something like four times as much damage as they've ever incurred on a submarine. many members of congress, in fact, are very upset that it's going to be scrapped. nobody's really got a solution to the money problem, of course, but you know, it would have been some shipyard jobs to get it fixed. it was something that the navy

says they need. now they will do without it. >> well, are they going to buy a new one for $1 billion or $2 billion? >> yeah, i don't think any time soon. you know, there's a replacement program for the submarines as submarines age. down the road, submarines are replaced, but looks like right now they're just going to do with one less. >> well, thanks for that information. our barbara starr at the pentagon. let's go over to mary snow right now with a quick look at some of the other top stories in "the situation room." mary? wolf, the major league baseball players association has officially appealed the 211-game suspension handed down against alex rodriguez. it was to take effect today, but rodriguez will be able to continue playing third base for the yankees during the appeals process. he was 1 of 13 players to receive suspensions monday for alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, which rodriguez denies. new york police are investigating vandalism to a statue of jackie robinson and teammate pee wee reese as a possible hate crime. a racial slur was scrawled on it

in black marker along with a sticker and anti-semitic comments. the "new york daily news" is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to what the newspaper calls the lowlife responsible for the vandalism. and check out the two newest additions to washington's national zoo. these two sumatran tiger cubs were born monday, and they and their mom appear to be doing just fine. conservationists are especially excited. there are fewer than 500 sumatran tigers left in the wild. the cubs won't go on exhibit until fall, but get this, you can watch them by tiger cam on the national zoo's website. that's pretty cool. >> very cool. and it's nice that it's right here in washington, d.c. thank you, mary, for that. up next, his wife is dead, his son may be as well. his daughter appears to have been kidnapped. >> i believe the hardest thing emotionally is still to come when i have to go and start

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happening now, a new warning that a suspected killer and k kidnapper on the run may have explosives that could go off at any time.

plus, some people think he's the funniest lottery jackpot winner. you're going to hear him describe what it's like to have his dreams come true. and beyonce has stirred up some controversy before, but this one may beat them all by a hair. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we have some breaking news that we're following this hour. there is new information on that amber alert suspect, james dimaggio, suspected of murder and kidnapping. law enforcement officials now say he may have explosives with him and that his vehicle may be booby trapped. cnn's paul vercammen is in san diego, joining us now with the latest. what are you hearing, paul? >> reporter: well, wolf, just a short time ago, san diego county authorities telling me that they do believe that jim dimaggio may be armed with homemade bombs. i'm going to bring in jan caldwell from the sheriff's office right now. and jan, go ahead and tell us, you know, what your fears are and what your suspicions are

about dimaggio and homemade bombs. >> well, our investigation to date has brought to light the possibility that he has explosives on his person. and when that came to light this morning, we found it important to get it out to the public right away. and so, we want to emphasize, again to the public, and also law enforcement officers, do not approach that car if you see it. there's a possibility that it is rigged with explosives. >> reporter: and when you say that, you also mean that if for some reason he abandons or seeks out another vehicle or flees on foot, you believe he may try to booby trap the car. >> that is absolutely correct. that is a distinct possibility. because we don't know where he is, we have to work under a lot of different theories, and not speculation, but good, working theories, and this is one of them. he could still be in that car. it's not that we don't want people to still look for that versa, but he also could have abandoned it. so, we just want to make sure in an abundance of caution we put the word out about these explosives. >> reporter: and linked to all

this, talk that dimaggio has survival-type skills as a camper-type person. can you tell us what your concerns are about him being out there, especially considering the western united states with so many people who are outdoors in national parks, et cetera? >> i don't want to go to the extreme and say survivalist. what i will say is that the investigation has determined he enjoyed the outdoors, camping and hiking. that being said, there is that possibility, again, that he has hunkered down somewhere, anywhere in the wilderness. he could be in a rural area right now in a tent or a cabin or in the woods somewhere. and so, we want people that are hiking, fishing, enjoying the outdoors to memorize the car, the license plate, the faces. and again, if you see something, don't take any action on your own. use your cell phone and call 911. >> reporter: now, we had two reports that he may have been seen in such rural areas where people would be camping, hiking. that would be modoc county, california, lake county across the border yesterday in oregon.

how us how credible those reports are and how you're actively chasing those leads. >> law enforcement has been great and we had a cluster of callers yesterday in northern california, southern oregon, and i believe those are still being panned out. it doesn't look like they are going to turn into anything, but they've been great. what i've said is that there is no law enforcement officer in this country that's not going to drop anything and everything they're doing to find these two missing at-risk children and find this man who is believed to have committed this crime. this is the most important thing that law enforcement officers do, and they're determined to find him and them and reunite the children with their father. >> reporter: let's go back to this talk of homemade bombs. can you give us a sense for size, scope, how many, how powerful? >> i really can't give that to you. there are a lot of elements in this investigation that are ongoing i can't speak to. we are putting this out so that people know there is a possibility -- we're not saying it's a definite, but it's a possibility that this man has bombs on him or some sort of incendiary devices. >> reporter: when we talk about incendiary devices, we saw that

his home burned down. do you believe he used an incendiary device or accelerant to expedite the burning down of his house? >> those are great questions and all part of the investigation that's ongoing on the second floor and all over this county right now, but i just can't speak to it. >> reporter: okay, jan caldwell, we appreciate what you did tell us. thank you so much. there you have it, wolf, the big concern here in san diego county that this fugitive, mr. dimaggio, might be armed with homemade bombs. back to you. >> yeah, very worrisome development indeed. paul vercammen, thanks very much. the father of hannah and ethan anderson talked to chris cuomo in a very emotional interview earlier today on cnn's "new day" and told them how he first learned his world was about to turn upside down. >> my cousin called me and said, did you hear about jim's house? and so, i just googled it and found, you know, the pictures, and they said there was one b y body, which at the point i thought was jim.

and so, i was very upset for jim. and then things just downward spiraled from there. >> tell me about your kids, mr. anderson. tell me about hannah. tell me about ethan. >> give me a second. >> i know this is difficult. i cannot imagine talking about my kids in this kind of situation, but we want people to feel connected to what's at stake here and who may be lost, so, please, if you can, tell us about what made these kids so special to you. >> ethan wore his heart on his sleeve. he would give, do anything for anybody, loved everybody. he was just my buddy. we spoke quite often since i've been in nashville, and he would tell me his daily routines. he was just getting back into football for a second year. and hannah was just a beautiful, beautiful girl, very, very good

student, hundreds and hundreds of friends, and there is nothing bad to say about my kids. they never did anything to anybody. they were always wonderful. we were pretty tight, even though i was a couple thousand miles away. i don't know what to say. it's surreal to me right now. >> when you found out that they found your wife in the house and that she's gone, could you believe it? >> no, i could not believe it. i can't fathom what happened in jim's head, what happened. he obviously just lost it. >> tell us about her. tell us about your wife. >> my wife and i, you know, we had been together for many years. we got -- you know, we've been married for about the last, going on 11 years, and i had

taken a job in nashville. my job here in san diego went under. and we still spoke on, you know, at least a couple of of times a week and were working things out. she was a very lovely lady, very friendly to everybody. she has good friends, loved by her family. and she wouldn't hurt a fly. and for this to happen to her was just uncalled for. >> and this guy, dimaggio, was one of the people you thought you could depend on in your absence to make sure that your wife and your kids were okay, is that true? >> absolutely. you know, i spoke to him often, and you know, and he would help get my son to football practice on days that hannah had dance or whatever, and he was constantly there for me. >> they are going through this very difficult forensic analysis of what happened inside the house. they know they found your wife

there. there is another body they're trying to figure out. is not knowing the most difficult part for you right now? >> i know that they're looking for dna and everything, but i, you know, i wish that, you know, i hope that's not my boy, but i have to kind of think that it is. that's kind of my mindset right now. so, right now a lot of focus is on trying to get my daughter back alive. >> 16 years old. she's smart, she's strong, but she is with an adult male. do you have any idea where he would think he could go, what he would think he could do in a situation like this? >> i have no idea. he's into camping. he could be anywhere. that's why people that are going

out to different camp spots, please keep your eyes open. i don't care where it is. i just have no clue. like i said, it's surreal to me. i can't imagine this even happening and just kind of taking it day by day and hoping for the best. >> what is the hardest thing for you emotionally in this, dealing with having your wife, your daughter and your son all in some type of not being with you anymore? what's the hardest thing for you emotionally in dealing with this? >> i believe the hardest thing emotionally is still to come, when i have to go and start cleaning out their apartments and rooms. but i have a lot of support here with me and we'll try to get through it. >> we are here for you as well. we want to get the word out that

everybody is looking for dimaggio, that they're looking for hannah, and yes, that we have ethan's face out there, just in case. what do you want to say to this man, if he's monitoring the news? >> like i said before, you've taken everything. the damage is done. just let my daughter go. let her go home safe. let her be with me and try to mend things from there. >> sad, sad story. let's hope for the very, very best. let's thank, also, chris cuomo for that very important interview. best wishes to this dad. other news we're following when we come back, a police chief's profanity-laced rant about guns goes viral. will it cost him his job? plus, courtroom drama. defense attorneys for the accused ft. hood massacre shooter try to drop out of the case. ♪ don't tell mom.

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many residents of a small pennsylvania town say they're scared of their police chief and they want him to be fired right now. and here's why. [ shots ] chief mark kessler posted youtube videos shooting weapons and spewing profanity in an angry rant about gun rights, and that unleashed a huge controversy that extends far beyond the tiny coal mining community of gilberton. our crime and justice correspondent joe johns went there. >> reporter: wolf, harshly

worded rants against liberal politicians using firearms as visual aids. the police chief in this little town in coal country has an unusual way of attracting attention, and he's taking heat for it. [ bleep ] >> reporter: gilberton, pennsylvania, police chief mark kessler is the only officer in a small town of about 1,000 people, but some are calling on him to go. >> kessler is a detriment to this borough. so, my wife is afraid of him, so i am afraid of him, too. >> come and take it, mother [ bleep ]! >> reporter: the calls for kessler's ouster started after he posted profanity-laced videos of himself shooting fully automatic weapons. >> [ bleep ] yourself again! >> reporter: the borough council met on july 31st to suspend kessler for 30 days. kessler posted about the meeting on his facebook page, saying "i am expecting a large crowd of antiguners and anticonstitutionalists to show up." a couple dozen or more armed men showed up. kessler, who also heads a group

whose stated aim is to uphold the constitution, says the men with guns at the meeting were just supporters of his. >> some of my supporters showed up, and as you well know, for those who don't know, pennsylvania's an open carry state, so some people showed up with firearms. and i encourage that. >> reporter: and kessler offers no apologies for the videos. he broke no laws and says he was expressing his constitutional rights of free speech and to bear arms. >> come and get it! >> reporter: does your firing the weapon and using profanity or whatever, does it reflect badly on the town? >> well, you know, everybody's entitled to their opinion, and i would hope everybody would express their opinion under the constitution, the first amendment, just like i have in my videos. oh, you [ bleep ] out there [ bleep ]. >> reporter: mark kessler is on the county school board here. at a wednesday night meeting, no one uttered a word of criticism about him or his videos. wolf? >> joe johns in gilberton,

pennsylvania, with that report. meanwhile, defense attorneys in the court-martial of accused ft. hood massacre shooter major nidal hasan have been ordered to stay on the case, despite telling the judge it violates professional ethics. hasan is representing himself. the attorneys are on standby, but they say he's trying to get a death sentence, and by staying on the case, they would be helping him try to commit suicide. the judge rejected that and ordered them to stay on the case. up next, millions of americans wish they were in his shoes right now, one of three powerball jackpot winners describes his astounding fortune. >> this is too surreal at this point. i mean, i don't think you guys can understand how it's just, it's just amazing to me, it's just amazing. no worries anymore. it's crazy. if you have high cholesterol, here's some information that may be worth looking into. in a clinical trial versus lipitor, crestor got more high-risk patients' bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100.

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so, you probably know by now you didn't win last night's giant powerball jackpot. there are three winning tickets that will split the $448 million prize. the first winner came forward today in minnesota. his name is paul white, and he had plenty to say about his good fortune. >> and kim called me at like 8:30. she said, are you a millionaire yet? and i said, i don't know. i'm so busy, i don't have time to look. and she said, well, i think the powerball was 32. well, i always pay attention to my powerball, and i had two 32s out of the five numbers, and i thought, oh, was the next number 59? and she said, i think it was. she didn't have it up in front of her at this point. and then she said i think 5 was in there, too. and i said, oh, my god, i have 5, too, but i'm really busy. we have to do this later. i have work to do. i can't deal with this right

now. she's like, no, we already know you have three numbers. we have to go through them now. so, we went through them, and sure enough, they were right, and i said i'll have to call you back later, and i went, whoo! ran around the office and everybody's like, oh, my god, what happened, what happened? so, i think i had ten people verify the ticket before i left the office. they all got to hold it, so. >> take pictures of it. >> yeah, very cool. i would guess there might be a party or some vacation in there. i've spent my whole life trying to figure out what it was i wanted to do when i grew up. now i get the opportunity to do whatever i want. i'm not going to be one of those people that says i'm going to keep working, because i'm not working for anybody else anymore. not going to happen. i don't think i could wake up every day without having to go somewhere, so what that ends up being, i'm not sure. it might be -- i don't know. honestly, at this point i don't know. this is too surreal at this point. i mean, i don't think you guys can understand how it's just, it's just amazing to me. it's just amazing.

no worries anymore. it's crazy. [ inaudible question ] no, i think i can get by. we'll see. but you do think of it, of course. it was $450 million or something? it's a big deal. but you i don't think i would have ended up with much more. i have gotten phone calls, media outlets have kl called me already. i'm not sure how that happens. you think it's secret with the cell phone thing. i have had buddies who have seen it on the internet call me already. piers morgan's show wants many to do an interview. i hope this is the big story of the day and i will tell you anything you want to know. then let's move on to the next thing. there's two more winners out there, too. there's still two more people that have to go through this. i hope i'm yesterday's news as soon as possible so i can go back to my quiet life.

>> are you a private guy? >> i wouldn't say. you just don't want all this attention. do you know what i mean? it's daunting. you think about the safety of your family, your kids. there's crazy people out there. we have all seen the jerk -- remember "the jerk"? >> you are the funniest winner. >> he may be funniest winner. by the way, paul white will be on "piers morgan" monday night 9:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. we'll look forward to the interview. the other two winning tickets were sold in new jersey. let's see who collects the cash. rescuers in illinois are looking for a priest they say appeared out of nowhere while they were trying to pry on accident victim out of the car. the rescue crew had been asked by the woman to pray when a priest walked up though the road was blocked. then new equipment arrived and they were able the to save the woman. the priest was nowhere to be

found. straight ahead, beyonce shocks her fans with a drastic change toer he her look. jeanne moos shows us. how much protein does your dog food have? 18 percent? 20? new purina one true instinct has 30. active dogs crave nutrient-dense food. so we made purina one true instinct. learn more at purinaone.com if you've got it, you know how hard it can be to breathe and man, you know how that feels.

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try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air. long and luxurious no more. beyonce has a new' do. here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: not since michelle obama sprouted bangs has hair style cause sod many to flip out. beyonce before, after. >> what did she do? >> oh, my god. >> she looks horrible. like a boy. >> she's always gorgeous. >> reporter: put out an all points bulletin. issue an amber alert .

>> where has beyonce's long locks gone ? >> rihanna? >> shakira? >> miley cyrus? >> reporter: now beyonce will find out what it's like to walk a mile in miley's hair do. it raised hair questions. did beyonce have hair to cut? she's known for wearing wigs and weaves. a poster declared it's unbeweaveabdominunbeweav unbeweaveable. her long-time stylist said she had great, thick, long hair. everyone wondered if beyonce's hair getting tangled in a fan during a concert last month pushed her over the edge. she managed to sing right through it and managed to sing in short hair when she played e tta james in "cadillac records." men in particular seem blindsided by the short hair. >> it doesn't have the same sexy

appeal. >> whoa! get out of here. >> too short. women should have long hair. >> reporter: a colorist said she colored beyonce's hair after the cut and told usa today the deed was done at a salon in brooklyn after beyonce had a moment. in a tribute to her former hair there were 25 hair raisinging gifts in which she flipped the mane,s toed it, whipped it around and let it blow. beyonce's hair split the nation. 49% said love it. 51% said, leave it. these kids changed their mind. >> long hair. >> reporter: thumbs up or thumbs down on the new hair? >> i like it. >> reporter: no more beyonce on hands and knees flinging her hair. we are a nation parted by beyonce's hair. jeanne moos, cnn. >> you know her. >> her? >> married to jay-z.

>> beyonce? wow. >> reporter: new york. good for her. president obama, by the way, today named 16 recipients of the presidential medal of oh freedom. the president said the nation's highest civilian honor goes to those who dedicated their own lives to enriching ours and to sharing their talent with the world. the latest honorees include former president bill clinton, the late astronaut sally ride, former washington post executive editor ben bradley. broadcaster oprah, gloria steinem and country music legend loretta lynn along with jazz musician and composer arturro sandoval, ernie banks and dean smith, former basketball coach at the university of north carolina. among others. congratulations to all. happening now, "the

situation room" is celebrating eight years on the air. >> you're in "the situation room" where news and information arrive at one place simultaneously. you're in "the situation room." >> that's how it all began exactly eight years ago today, august 8, 2005. we all looked a little bit different when we introduced our urgent hard news format, innovative video wall that's now a staple on tv news as all of you know. it's been a great eight years. i want to thank the staff. all of the viewers in the united states and around the world. we are looking forward to many, many more years bringing the stories that matter most right here in "the situation room." thank you very much for all of the great, great eight years. many more to come. remember, you can always follow what's going on here in "the situation room" on twitter. tweet me @w