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CNN Live At Daybreak

Was There Any Hint of Terrible Tragedy U.S. Would Face a Day Later?

Aired September 10, 2002 - 05:22   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn the calendar back a year ago on this date to September 10, 2001. It was a fairly routine and unremarkable day. Was there any hint of the terrible tragedy the United States would face one day later?
As America remembers September 11, CNN's Beth Nissen looks back at the day before.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): September 10, 2001, the day before part of the city's skyline, an entire nation's assumptions and so many lives were altered, erased. What were Americans thinking about, talking about, worried about on that day a year and forever ago?

In morning newspapers and news programs, lead stories noted fears of a declining economy leading to a recession.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How low will stocks go? With troubling economic news, anemic growth and rising unemployment, all eyes are on Wall Street today, Monday, September the 10th, 2001.

NISSEN: Millions of children had just gone back to school. From a public school in Jacksonville, Florida, President Bush called on Congress to pass his education package.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know reading is not a partisan issue. I mean getting every child to read in America is an American issue and it ought to be an American goal.

NISSEN: Back in Washington, leading Democrats launched their campaign against the Bush administration's missile defense plan, calling missile defense a waste of money that would start a dangerous global arms race.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's stop this nonsense before we end up pulling the trigger.

NISSEN: At the Pentagon, there was talk of war.

TOM BROKAW, NBC ANCHOR: Today, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was declaring war on bureaucracy and waste.

NISSEN: Terrorism was headline news in many of the nation's newspapers. Stories of a new wave of deadly bombings in Israel. American foreign policy was focused south. Secretary of State Colin Powell was on a Latin America tour. Few noticed a report from Afghanistan.

PETER JENNINGS, ABC ANCHOR: Word of a possible assassination in Afghanistan. General Ahmed Massood commanded the last real military opposition to the Taliban regime.

NISSEN: Later reports confirmed the leader of the anti-Taliban forces was assassinated. "USA Today" had a front page story about what was then a public concern about airplanes being sprayed with pesticides. A New York City tabloid warned residents about killer mold.

Around American water coolers that Monday, people were talking about what they'd done over the weekend. It was week one of NFL action. Local newspapers across the country had color commentaries on their hometown teams. Barry Bonds had hit his 63rd home run that weekend and was just seven shy of Mark McGwire's record. Australian Leyton Hewitt had just won the U.S. Open.

The expensive mini-series "Band of Brothers" had premiered the night before on HBO.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got any spare ammo in a pack or a musette (ph) bag, bring it along.

NISSEN: The weekend's top grossing movie was "The Musketeer." The style conscious talked about the best and worst dressed and the start of fashion week in New York, where designers unveiled the new spring lines. In New York City, the financial community followed the day's stories on the plunge in the world stock markets. On the business page of New York City's "Daily News" was a scoop about a new deal to upgrade and expand the number of retail stores under the World Trade Center.

"Newsweek" magazine had a cover story on the Supreme Court's role in the 2000 elections. "Time" magazine featured profiles of Americans who are changing the nation's view of the world. And at the World Trade Center that day, a member of World Views, an artist residency program, got out her camera. Video artist Monica Bravo (ph) took these time lapse images from the 92nd floor of the North Tower. This was the view on September 10, 2001, the day before America's view of the world changed.

Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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