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CNN Live At Daybreak

"Talk of CNN": Code Orange in Washington, D.C.

Aired September 16, 2002 - 06:41   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is time now for our "Talk of CNN" segment. Today Mitchell Miller from WTOP Radio News in Washington, D.C. joins us by phone.
Good morning -- Mitchell.

MITCHELL MILLER, WTOP RADIO NEWS, WASHINGTON, D.C.: Good morning.

COSTELLO: I was wondering about this Code Orange, because here in Atlanta we're really not seeing many differences. Is it different in the nation's capital since we are now still under a Code Orange Alert?

MILLER: It really is different. I mean I can speak from personal experience. I took a flight out of Reagan National Airport over the weekend; and sure enough, when I drove up to the airport, there were security officers pulling over vehicles, lots of truck inspections still taking place around Reagan National as you head right into the airport. So it's really all over the place. You walk into the airport, of course, and that has changed because the airport is virtually empty a lot of the time. But even though the alert is kind of in the vague background for a lot of people, it's really right here up front in the nation's capital.

COSTELLO: Those armed missile launchers, are they still armed?

MILLER: Apparently they are. They are spread out around the city. Of course we don't know exactly where they are, but when you drive by the Pentagon, for example, you see people in camouflaged uniforms with their Humvees. And when you go by the Pentagon at any time, you might see a truck pulled over or another traffic restriction because so many traffic restrictions have been implemented in the wake of everything that happened on September 11. Of course you've got traffic restrictions now all around the White House. And that's one of the things that kind of affects people from a firsthand basis, they actually feel and see everything just when they're driving to work every day.

COSTELLO: Oh, I bet. And the IMF World Bank protests are coming up at the end of the month, so it's really going to be crazy there, isn't it?

MILLER: It really is. I mean you have so many demonstrations, of course, in the nation's capital virtually every week; but this is going to be another big one. They're coming up on September 28 and 29 with the World Bank and IMF, and they're already talking about what they're going to do. The police chief is -- Charles Ramsey is trying to downplay it a little bit saying they'll do what they always do. But when you have five days of marches and demonstrations that's certainly a lot to tackle for the local police department. And right now they're trying to get federal funds to help them out.

COSTELLO: Yes, you would think that the World Bank would hold their meetings elsewhere for at least a period of time so that we have time to settle down, you know, in light of September 11.

MILLER: Well the police chief is trying to put up a good front. He's saying that we're going to have enough people out on the streets. But I know when we talk to him in the morning, we joke with him about whether he's gotten sleep lately because virtually every time we speak with him, it seems like he's only gotten about one or two hours of sleep the night before. So they have certainly been very, very busy.

COSTELLO: Yes, they have.

Mitchell Miller, thank you very much. We appreciate it as always. And WTOP of Washington, D.C. will check back with us next week.

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