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Gas Ordor In NYC; Georgia Storms

Aired January 08, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Georgia tornado. More than a dozen homes wrecked near Atlanta in a night of terror.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Detroit Auto Show. Futuristic cars go green. Electric and hydrogen, buzz words in Motown this Monday, the 8th of January. You are in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Straight to this developing story just into us. Now some new information. Our Mary Snow is standing by in New York with this pervasive gas odor that we have been reporting to you being smelled all over the city, probably the best way to describe it.

Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, we do have some more information about the possible cause of this smell. Now according to the mayor's office of Jersey City, which is right across the Hudson River from Manhattan, the Jersey City mayor's office is reporting that there is a gas leak in downtown Manhattan. The location from the mayor's office of Jersey City is that it is happening at Fourth Street and Bleecker, which is in Greenwich Village, downtown Manhattan. Now we have been reporting that this smell could be a smell from Battery Park City, which is the lower tip of Manhattan, to midtown.

Now we are trying to confirm the very specifics from authorities here in New York. The Office of Emergency Management in New York says that so far there are no injuries and that several agencies are out throughout the city taking air samples. Now according to the Jersey City mayors office also, and we've gotten word that path train along Sixth Avenue, which is in this area where this reported gas leak is, these are trains that run from New Jersey to New York City. They have been suspended, but only as a precaution. The New York City subway system is continuing to run normally.

And we also are hearing from one of our producers up on 186th Street, which is quite a large area of Manhattan, this producer is reporting smelling this gas. So this is a very wide area of Manhattan. But, again, so far, what we know is that this is apparently a gas leak in lower Manhattan and, again, no injuries reported.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Wow, that's amazing, Mary, you can smell is all the way up 186?

SNOW: It really is. And one thing that we are hearing, though, from emergency officials is, you know, it is raining here in New York and that is seen as a good thing to dampen this gas leak. But, of course, we have many calls out and as soon as we get more information, we'll pass it on to you.

COLLINS: OK. So a possibility of a gas leak. That's what the Office of Emergency Management is telling you.

Quicky, Mary, you had reported before that you were hearing of at least one office building that had been evacuated. Any more info on that?

SNOW: We just heard that it was closed as a precaution. OK. And we are just getting word from the New York City Police Department that there is no gas main leak. So some conflicting information here. Again, we're hearing from Jersey City, because we had reported earlier that this smell could be smelled across the river in Jersey City, New Jersey. So we're getting some conflicting information about exactly the source of this smell.

COLLINS: OK. So just to recap quickly, Mary, here. The Office of Emergency Management is saying they are investigating the possibility of a gas leak. However, New York Police Department now saying that they have not found a gas leak. So, of course, as these stories happen, we get new information in and we have to stay on top of it, as I know you will.

Also, I want to remind everybody Mayor Bloomberg usually holds his weekly press conference. He may have more information.

Mary, are you hearing anything about that? Whether or not Mayor Bloomberg will address the situation?

SNOW: I am not. All we're hearing is that this is a scheduled press conference. But I'd have to imagine that it would be the first question that would be asked because so many people are reporting in on this and, obviously, you know, so many people are smelling it and wondering what's going on.

You know, you can smell it down in the subway even. We're hearing reports of that. So it's a very strong odor and, obviously, something that everybody is asking questions about. And again, the OEM, the Office of Emergency Management, is saying that several agencies are taking samples throughout the city and they do say that so far no injuries have been reported.

COLLINS: OK. No injuries. New York City subways are running, but the path trains have been suspended just as a precaution. So that's the transit situation there now.

And I believe we're going to go talk with Chad?

HARRIS: Chad, let's sort of dissect this, if we can. So we've got the Jersey City mayor's office suggesting that the source of the leak is at Fourth and Bleecker. But last hour you were telling us that the wind direction was coming from the south.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, exactly.

HARRIS: So help me sort this out.

MYERS: You know, all I'm going to do is try to give facts and not try to make any speculation here.

If the leak was actually in Chelsea, there's no way, with the direction that the wind is going, that you would smell it in Battery Park City. So, you know, it's just -- we're going to have to filter through all of these reports of where the smell is coming from and then back up from where the wind is blowing. And the wind is blowing across almost from basically the Statute of Liberty, right across Battery Park, through Battery Park City and then down into midtown from there, on up toward the north.

And if they're smelling it -- I mean you were talking about this Heidi, 186th Street?

COLLINS: 186th, yes.

MYERS: I mean, that's way up there. So this gas odor is permeating all the way through the city. They just are going to have to go back and back to figure out where from the south it isn't going anywhere. Where can they not smell it anymore because then they'll know that that is to the north of there. The leak, or whatever it is, is to the north of there with the wind direction being completely out of the south and southwest at 10 miles per hour. You don't smell it in Battery Park if it's coming from Chelsea. Just can't happen that way. So we'll have to keep watching.

COLLINS: Weird.

HARRIS: OK.

MYERS: You know, we don't even know where that report of the smell in Battery Park or Battery Park City was from.

COLLINS: Right.

MYERS: So, you know, we're going to have to back up a few reports and see where the biggest odor, obviously, is.

COLLINS: Yes, but the 186th is coming from one of our producers. So that is interesting.

MYERS: Correct. Correct. You know, and it also would be . . .

HARRIS: But I think the point you make is very interesting, Chad. I mean it's simply and act of deducing it. It's sort of closing the circle, right? I mean it's, where is the odor the strongest? Where is it most intense? And that's how we begin to figure out where it, in fact, is emanating from.

MYERS: Well, and it would also be very interesting to know, to be with first hand accounts, is it a natural gas odor? Because the natural gas odor is actually artificially introduced into the natural gas. Natural gas coming out of the ground doesn't smell like what you get out of your house. They put that odor in so that you can smell the gas leak. And so if that's what it smells like -- or is it just some other type of odor? Obviously we're going to have to figure out more from someone who's actually breathing that, unfortunately, and that's probably not such a good idea.

HARRIS: Right.

MYERS: But some of the buildings are being evacuated downtown because of the gas smell. Obviously the path right now from Hoboken over to Manhattan shut down because of the smell there.

COLLINS: Right.

MYERS: So, you know.

COLLINS: OK, Chad, we will continue to look at this. And I believe we have Mary Snow once again. Oh, no, pardon me. We will have Mary when she comes back. She is getting some new information now because the latest thing that we had heard is that OEM had been reporting that they are investigating this possibility of a gas leak, but then the New York City Police Department, NYPD, saying no gas leak. So we want to go ahead and check with Mary now and see if there's a little bit more confirmation on either one of those possibilities.

Mary.

SNOW: Hi, Heidi. No confirmation on exactly where the source of this gas leak or gas odor is coming from, I should say. But the NYPD did report that it has taken air quality test and saying that the air is not hazardous at this point. It has been taking these tests.

We are also getting word from the Department of Homeland Security, from our producer, Mike Aller (ph), saying that the DHS is closely monitoring the situation in New York City and talking with local officials.

So again, some question about the exact source of this odor. But the police department of New York City at this point saying that the air quality tests that it has taken to date have shown that the air is not hazardous.

COLLINS: Yes. And that's, of course, the first question without even mentioning it, is we haven't here, that's the first concern, whether or not these are noxious fumes of some kind. So very good news there coming to us from Mary Snow at the Time Warner Center there, Columbus Circle. We will continue to watch this story and see what more we can learn.

A reminder, once again, Mayor Bloomberg coming out soon to give his press conference. We will monitor that and give you any information should we learn it directly from him.

HARRIS: No deaths, no serious injuries, but lots of damage from Georgia. A suspected tornado slamming a neighborhood south of Atlanta. Homes were damaged or destroyed. Trees blown down. CNN Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is surveying the damage in Noonan, Georgia.

Reynolds, talk us through this storm system as it rolled through yesterday. I mean, boy, the meteorologists locally, and you as well on the air here for us at CNN, you saw this developing and did a great job of informing people that it was coming and to move to a safe location.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, that really made the difference with a lot of people's lives, no question about it. I want to just kind of set the scene for you here.

First, look behind me. You see the wreckage of one of a half dozen homes here in Noonan, Georgia. And then notice the skies above. My gosh, that's quite a contrast. You've got cobalt blue above and below we've got the wreckage.

This is the home of the Crumpton (ph) family here in Noonan, Georgia. And I'll tell you, last night around 7:30 is when all hell broke loose.

Take a look at this. Follow me along here a little bit. Right off their in the distance you can see that line of trees. Some of the tops just sheered off by the strong winds and last night's possible tornado, which we now do believe is a tornado.

Mr. Crumpton was actually watching his local television station, saw that there was a tornado that would be forming in the vicinity. Actually stepped out on his front porch and as he did so he could see it just off in the distance, just over those trees. And he said it almost had like a bouncing or hopping effect. It was partly illuminated by some lightning and then he said it kept getting bigger, moving closer to his home.

So he acted very quickly. And what he did is he got his family together, they went into the very center of the house, which we always tell you to do, got right into the bathroom. They all just hunkered down, so to speak. And he said that when he first saw the tornado, he felt fear. But when he was together with his family, he felt fine.

He said initially the sound was just deafening. It sounded like a train coming closer. We always hear that. Then as the storm came overhead and came closer, it was almost like a -- he described it as a loud, piercing whistle and then a boom and the roof lifted off.

Now take a look at this. All of the four main walls surrounding the house are gone. We've looked all through the interior of the house. I mean, it is just -- it's pandemonium. It is unreal. However, where you have the bathroom, it's still -- all the walls are still standing. Obviously no roof, but it was the great place to be and they were safe.

What is amazing about this, from what he told us, was the speed. How quickly it came from the point of when he saw it, when it came to his house and then went it went away. He said it just went from, again, that roar, to the piercing whistle, to almost virtual silence.

One thing is just fantastic about this story, is that there were no injuries, no deaths anywhere in this area. So that is certainly some great news. So again, as you always know, with these kind of storms, many times the story ends up entirely different, but they were very fortunate in this regard, no question.

HARRIS: And, Reynolds, the people behind you, are they just sort of try to gather whatever they can of their belongings?

MARCIANO: Absolutely. Absolutely. Right now what you have is you've got neighbors helping neighbors, Tony. I mean, people doing what they can to sift through the damage. And it's heartbreaking. You know, you see the Christmas tree, you see a lot of family pictures, a lot of things that mean so much to them in the heart, you know, and it's going to be a long time for them to clean up, no question about it. But you have to weigh these things. It could have been far worse.

HARRIS: And just one more quick one. When will we know how strong a tornado actually blew through that area? A day or so?

MARCIANO: Well, basically what happens is -- well, it's going to take a couple days. What they do is they're going to fly aloft in a helicopter, take a look at the damage, see how long the path was. By the type of damage they see, they then kind of estimate as to what it could have been in terms of wind speed and the power of the tornado, an F-1, F- 2, F-3. The Fujita scale.

HARRIS: Right. Wow, Reynolds Wolf for us.

Reynolds, appreciated it. Thank you.

COLLINS: Some new information just in to us here at CNN regarding a nomination for U.N. ambassador, as expected. We began reporting this about last week or so. We are learning that the White House says the president will nominate U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad to be the new U.N. ambassador to the United Nations. You may remember the U.N. ambassador, John Bolton, resigning. I believe that was the first week of December.

So this is the choice that we had expected to hear from President Bush nominating, once again, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, to become the new U.S. ambassador to the, as we say, the United Nations. This is happening just as we wait to hear more about the prime time address the president will be making a little bit later in this week and the new strategy in Iraq. This all part of that.

HARRIS: And, Heidi, we're waiting to hear from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the situation on the ground there and in the air in New York City. The smell of gas. Mary Snow is following it for us in New York City from the Time Warner bureau, in our New York bureau.

And, Mary, let's sort of try to clear up some of the information that we're getting here. First, the Office of Emergency Management suggesting that they have received a number of calls from people describing this smell in the air. And then the information that we subsequently learned from the Jersey City mayor's office.

SNOW: Yes, Tony, and we're trying to sort it all out. But the Office of Emergency Management reporting that this pervasive odor of gas, stretching from midtown Manhattan to lower Manhattan, Battery Park, saying that several agencies are out investigating air quality and taking air samples and that it was investigating the possibility of a gas main leak. I just got off the phone with a spokesperson for the OEM, who at this point cannot give us any confirmation of the source of this odor. So the OEM, at this point, still not confirming the source of this odor.

Now just a short while ago, we did make contact with the mayor's office for Jersey City, New Jersey, right across the Hudson River. There had been reports that this smell could be smelled over there. According to the Jersey City mayor's office, there had been a report of a gas main leak in Greenwich Village in New York, which is in lower Manhattan. Again, that is not confirmed by New York City.

Agencies were trying to coordinate that information. What we can tell you is that the New York City Police Department did say that it took air quality samples and it found the air not to be hazardous. We are expecting to hear from the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, in just a short time and then we will be able to get some of the information, get it clarified.

According to the OEM, another thing is that there has been no injuries reported. And again, the New York City Police Department saying that the air quality tests that it's conducted to this point has shown that the air was not hazardous. New York City subways are running as normal. We did report earlier that the path train along 6th Avenue in Manhattan, those trains go back and forth from New York to Jersey, had been suspended as a precaution. And that is the latest word we're getting from the path system.

Now also we've heard a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, saying that it is closely monitoring the situation in New York City and talking with local officials. That is the latest we've got from the DHS.

Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Mary, let me just sort of put a fine point on the bone of contention here. The Jersey City mayor's office is suggesting that the leak is in New York City there at 4th and Bleecker Street there in Greenwich Village, as you mentioned.

SNOW: Right.

HARRIS: But the New York City police department is suggesting that there is a leak or that there is not a leak in New York City?

SNOW: The latest from the New York City Police Department was that there had not been a leak. But if we could just keep in mind, there are several agencies working on this. There's some conflicting information. We do anticipate hearing from the mayor in just a few minutes and perhaps then we can clarify what exactly is going on.

HARRIS: All right. Mary Snow for us in New York.

Mary, thank you.

SNOW: Sure.

COLLINS: Take a moment to bring in Chad Myers now to talk a little bit more about the weather situation there and what bearing it may have on this possible gas leak or possibly not. We are hearing, anyway, Chad, that according to NYPD, the air quality test they did, these fumes that they have tested are not hazardous.

MYERS: Well, and now we're chasing the leak or the smell back from where the wind is coming from. Seven miles an hour. Clearly enough to blow the source of the smell on up into midtown, for that matter all the way up into Harlem, 186th Street, one of our producers was smelling it.

But it could also be coming from south of Manhattan, if they are, in fact, smelling it in Battery Park or in Battery Park City and that would kind of be a telltale sign that, well, it probably didn't come from north of there if the winds are coming from the south. One of the bigger areas I'm seeing, one of the higher concentrations around 34th and Broadway, some of the areas seeing some significant odors with it as well.

Here's Battery Park. Here's Wall Street. And then you head on up, off to the west side. They are smelling it on the west side. But the winds are actually coming from the south and southwest. So blowing it actually probably toward the East River, then on up toward the village of probably even east Greenwich Village here, off to the east, Chelsea over here to the west, and then on up, for that matter, all the way up into midtown.

So we're looking, trying to chase the source back and try to see as far -- as soon as you get to the south and you don't smell it anymore, you know that the smell and the odor is coming from north of there. So they'll try to do that.

Something also, and I'm not saying that this is relate, just a little interesting story. Police shut down 10 square blocks of downtown Austin early this morning because dozens of birds were found dead. Now this is downtown Austin. Here's Texas. Downtown Austin. Way down here north of San Antonio. So far, no reports of anybody being injured with this, except, of course, for the birds in downtown. So we'll keep up to date on that too. And this says the bird's carcasses were found overnight along Congress Ave., between 6th and 8th Streets. But just kind of an interesting sidebar there to where that is and why they shut that city down, basically, in downtown.

COLLINS: Yes, 10 blocks there in Austin, as you say. Wow, that's really weird.

MYERS: Yes.

COLLINS: All right, Chad, we know you'll watch that one for us as well.

MYERS: You're welcome.

HARRIS: And on the line with us right now is Maria Pignataro. She is the press secretary for Mayor Healy of Jersey City.

Maria, thanks for you time this morning.

Maria, help clear this up for us. Has the mayor's office received any information as to the location of this leak?

MARIA PIGNATARO, JERSEY CITY MAYOR'S OFFICE: Yes, Tony, we have.

This morning, the Jersey City Office of Emergency Management confirmed -- got confirmation from the New York Police Department and the Port Authority that the smell of a gas smell has come from an area around 4th Street and Bleecker in the village in New York City. And that smell has, I guess, due to the winds and the weather, has made its way over to Jersey City. But I've been told that it did not originate in Jersey City.

HARRIS: OK. Maria, once again, now help me clarify this. We have the New York City Police Department suggesting that there is no leak. And you have information suggesting that there is and that the leak is in New York City.

PIGNATARO: If it's a leak -- they haven't confirmed if it's a leak, if it's from a construction site. That part has not been confirmed to me. But I have what I have been told by our Office of Emergency Management, that the smell did, in fact, originate from that area of the city. And in what capacity it began, I don't know.

HARRIS: Tell me how you two -- the agencies work together so that you would have gotten this information and that the information is not being reported. The information that you're reporting to us is not being reported so far by the Office of Emergency Management.

PIGNATARO: The Office of Emergency Management in New Jersey, because of our proximity with New York, where Jersey City is located directly across from lower Manhattan, within sort of where the World Trade Center was. And our office works closely with New York all the time, between OEM, Port Authority, because we have a major infrastructure here that connects to New York. The Holland Tunnel, the Lincoln Tunnel, the, you know, the ferry service, the path train. So they interconnect quite frequently. So I've been -- I just got confirmation from our Office of Emergency Management about say a half hour or 45 minutes ago that they've . . .

HARRIS: OK. And I'm not challenging it, I just want to be clear about it, that your Office of Emergency Management is reporting that, to this point, New York City's Office of Emergency Management is not . . .

PIGNATARO: Has confirmed with them, yes.

HARRIS: You did. OK. PIGNATARO: Yes.

HARRIS: OK. Great. Now In terms of the practical effect on the ground for you, what does this mean in terms of path trains? Are the trains operating between Hoboken, Jersey City and New York City?

PIGNATARO: As of right now, I have not heard of any disruption in service. I have been told that our Office of Emergency Management gave me a few tips or precautionary measures that people can take, you know . . .

HARRIS: Why don't you share those with us?

PIGNATARO: Sure. I will. They suggest that people, obviously, close all their windows, turn off their H-vac (ph) systems, or their heating systems. And I've been told that the smell will eventually dissipate.

I can tell you, I live in lower downtown Jersey City, and when I left my apartment this morning, it was pretty, it was, you know, pretty . . .

HARRIS: Great.

PIGNATARO: Yes.

HARRIS: Maria, here's what I'm trying to understand. We are talking about this smell. But give us, in your own words, how intense an odor we're talking about here?

PIGNATARO: It's -- I live next to a construction site, so I thought because there was another building going up, maybe there was fumes or something that came from a truck, maybe they were doing something. But when I immediately walked out of my lobby, I thought, for sure, that -- the smell would be equivalent to standing in a gas station and really the fumes were just pretty, pretty strong. It's hard to explain. It's just like smelling gas, but like magnified.

HARRIS: All right, as I introduce you again, I'm going to ask you to explain that sensation once again. If you're just joining us, Maria Pignataro is the press secretary for Jersey City's mayor's office. And, once again, maria, describe the smell as you experienced it this morning.

PIGNATARO: This morning, when I left my apartment, I walked out and I immediately was hit with fumes, gas fumes, that if you were in a gas station, it would be magnified a thousand times. And I thought for some reason, because of a construction project going on, that maybe that's what it was. But as I walked to my car, the smell still lingered. And it was quite strong.

HARRIS: So where do you live? I'm sorry. You may have mentioned it, but I just didn't hear it.

PIGNATARO: I live in downtown Jersey City, in the Hamilton Park area. HARRIS: So here's what we're trying to figure out. You live in Jersey City, the wind direction seems to be moving from -- coming out of the south. We're just trying to understand how pervasive a situation we're talking about, where wind directions would seem to indicate that the smell should be moving north, and yet you were able to smell it in Jersey City.

PIGNATARO: Well, I'm just assuming because of the proximity and it's raining here today, too. So I'm not a weather . . .

HARRIS: OK.

PIGNATARO: But just because of our proximity and where we're located, I just -- I don't think that it's unusual.

HARRIS: OK. And once again, share with us that advice that you're offering to people who may be experiencing this smell, not only in Jersey City, but in Manhattan, as far north as, what, 186th Street, Heidi. So what's the advice again?

PIGNATARO: Obviously, close all the windows and turn off any h- vac systems or heating systems that may be on and I'm just told that the smell will eventually dissipate.

HARRIS: OK. And, once again, is your Office of Emergency Management reporting that the air is or is not hazardous?

PIGNATARO: I haven't gotten that confirmation from my office, so I don't know the answer to that.

HARRIS: All right. Maria, hang on just a second. Our chief meteorologist, Chad Myers, has a question for you.

Chad.

MYERS: Trying to get a handle on this, Maria. What time did you smell the odor first and are you still smelling it now?

PIGNATARO: I would say it was probably about 9:15 when I left my apartment. And when I came into my office, all the women in my office -- I live fairly close, so probably by 9:30, all the women in my office said that when they got into the office here, it was really strong. But when I did get into the parking lot, it wasn't as strong as it was when I left my apartment.

MYERS: Thank you. There was an east wind for a while, Tony, that actually could have blown something from the Bleecker area on over toward Jersey City. But now, since then, really since about 7:30, the winds have been directly out of the south. So it would be interesting to really figure out where this is coming from and where the smell is coming from and what it actually is. And, obviously, Maria, you've been a great help us to, trying to figure out the location of that.

Thank you.

HARRIS: Maria, thanks for your time.

PIGNATARO: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: OK. Maria Pignataro, press secretary for Jersey City's mayor's office.

COLLINS: And just in case you are just now joining us, we certainly don't want you to think, and forgive me if this is just too simplistic, that you are looking at some sort of wafting cloud of toxic smell going across Manhattan. That is not the case as we talk about this possible gas leak, possibly not. Our stories are still coming in. Investigation is still being done as to what this smell that is happening and being reported in New York, a pretty expansive area, too, trying to get to the bottom of it for you.

But those are clouds and it's a rainy, dreary day in New York, which Chad has told us a little bit earlier, that is a good thing, if there's some fumes going across the city, good to be able to knock them down with that precipitation there. So Mary Snow is standing by, our CNN correspondent, at the Time Warner Center, just on the edge of Central Par, there at Columbus Circle.

Mary, what can you tell us now about the very latest that you are hearing from your sources?

SNOW: Well, we just got off the phone with the New York City Police Department, which says that it is still looking to see what the source of this odor is. We also just spoke with Con Edison, that's the utility company for New York City. It says it's working with the fire department and the Office of Emergency Management and that, as yet, it has not detected a gas leak.

As we mentioned, we are waiting for Mayor Michael Bloomberg to speak. This was a press briefing that had been scheduled. But perhaps he will clarify or bring everybody up to date on exactly what is known at this point.

The Office of Emergency Management is saying it has not reported any injuries so far. The police department says that the air quality tests that it's conducted so far have not shown any signs of any hazardous air to this point, which is good news. But it's a very broad area of Manhattan for these callers who are calling into these agencies reporting this smell. And earlier this morning, we had one of our producers calling in from 186th Street, saying that she could smell this gas odor. So certainly the wind carrying this odor along way across Manhattan.

COLLINS: Yes, no kidding about that.

And quickly just to remind everybody, Mary, what we're talking about as far as the area there. Midtown to Battery Park City and then from the Hudson River to the East River is where this smell is being reported from.

We're also hearing, Mary, a little bit more here from the fire department, FDNY, the press office there saying that they are receiving plenty of 911 calls about this smell and so they're not sure of building evacuations at this point, but they, of course, as you know, are still trying to pinpoint the source of that odor. They are required, in just a note here, to go ahead and investigate every 911 call that comes in, so that will be an, obviously, very busy job. Not sure how many people are out responding to those types of calls. But that is the situation as we know it right now. A developing story in New York, all across Manhattan there, as you see that live picture.

HARRIS: I just want to bring you some news that we're just learning here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We now know when the president will make his address. His long awaited address on the way forward in Iraq. The president has requested air time from all of the major broadcast networks for this Wednesday evening, 9:00 p.m. At that time, the president will unveil his plan for Iraq, the much anticipated plan. Once again, 9:00 p.m. a prime time address this Wednesday. We will, of course, bring that to you live right here. Once again, this Wednesday, 9 p.m., the president will unveil his plan for Iraq.

And still to come, driving snow and driving motorists into risky situations. Stranded in Colorado. Live from the front range later in the NEWSROOM.

Adrift at sea for days, now safe. A rescued sailor talks of the storm that stranded him.

You are in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We are still at a bit of a loss to tell you the actual source, the location of this gas smell, reportedly a gas smell, that so many people are reporting to the Office of Emergency Management in New York City, to the fire department there in New York City. It has also been reported to authorities with the Office of Emergency and Management in New Jersey.

Mary snow is with us now.

And, Mary, I have to tell you, it's a little disconcerting, we're at least an hour into the reporting of this story, we still haven't been able to pin down, Con Ed hasn't been able to do it, New York City police haven't been able to do it, the source or location of whatever it is people are smelling.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and, Tony, it's very confusing, as you said, more than an hour after reporting about this, not knowing the source of that leak. And also, we're hearing now, we heard from the mayor's office in Jersey City, saying that they had been told by authorities that the source was coming from New York.

Now, a spokesperson for the New Jersey State Police saying that they had also been told by New York authorities that the smell was emanating from New York. Again, officials in New York are not confirming this. They are saying they're trying to find out what the source is. And I just got off the phone with the Office of Emergency Management, which says it does not have any further information about the source of this smell.

So some conflicting information, and obviously some confusion at this point. We are waiting to hear from the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, perhaps to address the questions about this.

But what we can report, is that the Office of Emergency Management saying that, as yet, there are no injuries. Also, the New York City Police Department saying the air quality tests as conducted as yet have not detected hazardous air -- Tony.

HARRIS: And let's continue put a really fine point on this. We just heard a couple moments ago from the press secretary for Jersey City's mayor's office, Maria Pignataro, who said to us that the Office of Emergency Management in New Jersey received its information confirming this leak from the Office of Emergency Management in New York City.

So here again, and I asked the question, so your office is reporting information the Office of Emergency Management in New York City isn't confirming, and you're telling us your office is getting it from the office in New York City. So this is where this starts to get a little unnerving actually, because, again, we're an hour into the reporting, and we can't seem to get the officials in New York City to tell us what their best reporting is at this time, while the authorities in New Jersey seem to be clear about where the source of the leak. Does that pretty much wrap it up, Mary?

SNOW: That does pretty much wrap it up, Tony. And the only thing that I could say is there have been numerous calls across the city about this smell. We had reported earlier, we heard from one office building in Manhattan, that had been evacuated as a precaution. Here in this building, there was an announcement that went over the P.A. system, telling people that they were aware of these complaints, and that they shut off the air intake and circulating the air already inside. So that obviously is going on throughout buildings, as people come to work, get out of the subway smelling this smell, wondering what it is, many questions yet to be answered.

HARRIS: We have to get some stories straight here. Mary Snow for us in New York. Mary, thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Alina Cho is in Manhattan for us.

Alina, where are you? Columbus Circle?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm right in Columbus Circle, Tony, right the center of Manhattan. I know you are familiar with it. Just a headline, I think it bears repeating. I heard, Heidi say it just a moment ago, the Department of Homeland Security saying they are monitoring the situation, but again, quote, no indication of terrorism connection. We are awaiting a news conference from New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg that was supposed to happen at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. It's now a little past 10:30. Perhaps the mayor is getting some more information on that. But again, one of the other headlines is that according to the New York Police Department, they have conducted air-quality tests and they have determined the air is not hazardous. Again, the air not hazardous. That is a big headline.

One other headline, the source of the leak, whatever it is, possibly gas, but whatever this leak is, the source apparently coming from New York's West Village area, more specifically Bleecker and West 4th.

But just to bring you up to date and to recap for people just joining us, a pervasive and mysterious order, odor rather, throughout Manhattan reported this morning, hundreds of calls coming into the city, basically stretching from Manhattan to Battery Park City, from river to river, as far as Newark, New Jersey.

Apparently, there have been buildings evacuated. The PATH trains we understand, have been suspended and an evacuation is under way. The New York Police Department earlier reported that there was no gas main break. And according to the New York Police Department, Con Ed is saying there is no drop in pressure.

But again, the headline, Tony, I think it bears repeating, that air quality tests have been conducted and they have determined here in New York City, despite the odor, that the air is not hazardous.

HARRIS: Hey, Alina, what do you smell? Can you smell it?

CHO: I can't. I can't and I came into work a couple hours ago and I could not smell it. I live right in midtown Manhattan. But I can tell you, my producer here who has been onsite, was asked by a few people, of course we have a news truck here, asked by a few women just a little awhile ago -- what is that smell? I am smelling something.

Perhaps my senses aren't as acute as some of the other people here. But certainly, there is a smell reported throughout Manhattan and hundreds of calls have come in to the city. Again, they are still trying to determine the source and exactly what that odor is. The mayor will be holding a news conference shortly and we will be waiting for that.

HARRIS: And just another quick one -- does your producer smell it?

CHO: Do you still smell it, Adam? I don't -- we don't smell it here in midtown Manhattan. But perhaps as Chad was reporting earlier, the wind and rain certainly is helping the situation. And so, maybe that's the reason why. But perhaps further south you can. I know we're sending crews down south.

HARRIS: I just want to know what it smells like. OK, Alina Cho for us in New York City. Alina, thank you.

COLLINS: We will continue of course to watch this story for you. We have several crews now on the scene trying to find out exactly what we're dealing with here all across Manhattan. In the meantime, we'll stay in the area and we'll head to the New York Stock Exchange. We'll take a look at those numbers now. On Friday, the close was 12,398. Now, we're at 12,370. So it's down about 26 points or so.

And business headlines today, Microsoft corporation chairman Bill Gates as we reported here earlier, kicked off the International Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. That happened yesterday, the world's largest tech convention. We'll be being bringing that to you throughout the week.

HARRIS: And also ahead, American troops, thousands more U.S. dollars, a billion more, but apparently all of it is heading to Iraq and soon. The president's new war strategy -- early details, in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Want to take you straight back to New York now, as possibly more information on the story we've been covering as this smell all across Manhattan, you see here at the microphone, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, this is his weekly press conference. We'll see if there are any questions asked about it and go ahead and listen in here for just a moment.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: Well, good morning. Before we start, I wanted to update everybody on an odor that has been reported in New Jersey and Manhattan, particularly the West Side and Downtown. I have Joe Bruno, our commissioner of emergency management with us today to answer any questions that I can't answer.

As far as we know, the following is true. There was a small gas leak down at Bleecker and 6th. These things are normal and happen all the time. And maybe everybody's sensitivity was a little bit heightened because of that. That could not account for the smell that is so pervasive in a broad area. So, it's obviously, the smell is coming from something else.

Let me point out that one cannot smell natural gas. Natural gas is a colorless -- an odorless gas, but there is a chemical that is added to natural gas deliberately, mercaptan, and it's added so that it does have a smell, so that if there is a leak in your house, you will know it and can take appropriate steps.

And so what you're smelling is mercaptan, which may or may not come from treated natural gas or may be a leak of that particular chemical on its own. At this point, we don't know.

What we do know, is that we're investigating and we don't believe there's been any injuries because of this. We've had many calls to 911, much more than is typical for a Monday morning, but well within our capabilities of handling that.

Our police department and fire department, office of emergency management, department of environmental protection, health department, Coast Guard and Con Ed are all working together to try and pinpoint the nature of the leak. So far, the city's air censors, and we have multiple of these located around the city, do not report any elevated level of natural gas. There are no unusual levels. There have been some precautions that have been taking place. The MTA for a while, closed the 23rd Street station, but they reopened that. Port authority had suspended PATH trains on the northern leg that runs to 34th Street. I've not gotten word that's been resumed again.

The southern PATH trains that run to the World Trade Center site, however are still operating and the MTA has also temporarily evacuated a control tower at West 4th Street, but since then, even that's been reoccupied.

If it is natural gas, we'll identify it's source obviously and shut it down. We have been in touch with Con Ed but they're not reporting any drop in pressure, that would be the kind of thing you would expect if there was a large break to their gas system.

Generally, the concentrations of the gas aren't strong enough to be harmful but the smell of mercaptan certainly is unpleasant and our suggestion is that people should do their best to ventilate areas, open their windows, or turn on any fans until this gas passes and this will help them get fresh oxygen.

The EDP is out there with their mobile labs, and they don't find any high concentration of natural gas either. So it may just be an unpleasant smell. But at this point, we don't know any more than that. One thing we are very confident of, it's not dangerous.

But how long and what the sources are, we just don't know. So, that's what we have so far. If anybody has any questions on that, I'll be happy to take the questions on that right now and then we'll get onto the subject of the day. Yes, miss.

QUESTION: If it were a mercaptan kind of leak, where would it be coming from?

BLOOMBERG: We don't know. It's a manufactured gas and there are various places that -- chemical and various places that make it, it could be a container of that leaking or plant. We don't know yet. We're investigating and it's one of these things where the stories change every two minutes.

Everybody's running around, saying it must be this, that or the other thing. The things that we know for sure are that the sensors do not show any high concentration of natural gas that would give us cause to be concerned.

After that, we want to take our time, we don't want to get everybody reporting the wrong thing, but as long as it is not harmful, and the appropriate measures that we put into place before are now being moved back, we'll continue. Yes, miss.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) Do you think it's totally unrelated?

BLOOMBERG: It is just a small leak. There are small leaks all the time when you have a natural gas system the size of this. Pipes break and they get repaired. It doesn't put out anywhere near as much gas to have it, to create a smell over the area. At least, that's what it seems like at the moment.

Con Ed responds to natural gas breaks and they fix them. And we go on. This one, there is a large area of New Jersey and Manhattan that has the smell. I think you have to be careful. We don't know whether it's natural gas. The sensors don't seem to show that there's a lot of natural gas, there clearly is a smell -- sir.

QUESTION: I was just going to ask, Mr. Mayor, if those sensors are not showing natural gas, then is there a deduction that maybe this ...

BLOOMBERG: You can write anything into this you want. I don't speculate. I can just tell you the facts as we know them. And you can try to make something or not out of the facts, but this is what's true.

The smell is there, we don't know the source of it. It does not appear to be dangerous and some of the facilities that were evacuated or shut down are now being reopened or put back online. That's all I know -- sir.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

BLOOMBERG: Then don't ask it.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) If gas appears to be leaking somewhere, how can it not be dangerous in one place or another?

BLOOMBERG: If gas is leaking, it goes into the open air and it gets so diversified, that it is not dangerous. The amount of the chemical that you can smell is so minute, that even if it had came with natural gas, you could not ignite it, it could not be dangerous. That's the answer to your question.

Sir?

And incidentally, all the path stuff is now back running. So each of these things that I talked about having been shut down, I think virtually all of them are now put back on line.

QUESTION: Did you smell it?

BLOOMBERG: I did not smell it, but I came round this morning around 7:15, I think, was when I got off the subway, and I was over on the eastern side of city hall, and I just didn't smell it. And it was raining very heavily at the time.

Sir?

QUESTION: ... (INAUDIBLE) the 911 calls, the volume, the first time calls started coming in, and the wait time, turnaround time to address these things? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been having some calls. We had about 27 jobs related to feeling ill because of the smell. None of those resulted in emissions. And very few -- I don't think any of them required transport. So it's people feeling uncomfortable, really wanted to know more of what's happening, began happening. An hour or more ago we had these calls. It looks to be as entities are opening up that the smell, obviously, is lessening.

The other issue is, we've asked a number of buildings to shutdown HVAC systems for a while so that they don't take in any more smell. A few buildings have let people out for a while and are now reoccupying. So we don't know much more than that.

QUESTION: What is this volume of calls?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there are lots of calls asking about it, 311 and elsewhere. As far as EMS calls, there were 27, and there were no transports.

BLOOMBERG: OK. Now, let me talk about why we're here today. I apologize for having this press conference an hour and a quarter after what we planned.

COLLINS: So we are going to leave this press conference at this time. This is Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the podium there, now holding his weekly address the press, covering any topics that might affect New York.

The first one out of the gate obviously was this smell that sort of enveloped the Manhattan area, a pretty big area, from Midtown to Battery Park, from the Hudson River to the East River. So yes, a very large area.

But you know, there are a lot of jokes made about the smells in New York, and according to the mayor, this is just another bad smell. He said there a small gas leak that they have detected at Bleecker and 4th. And that mercaptan is the actual chemical -- it's a manufactured chemical -- that people are smelling now across the city. He says it's a nasty smell, but they usually use it to add it into natural gas so that it can be detected if there is a leak.

Obviously, as you well know, natural gas does not have an odor and does not have a color. So everybody working on this. Lots of 911 calls, police, fire, Office of Emergency Department, EPA, Health Department, Coast Guard and Con Ed, the power company there. So none of the air sensors are reporting any elevated levels of gas, so that is what mayor Michael Bloomberg is reporting.

We want to go back to our correspondent, Alina Cho. She is standing at Columbus Circle, kind of reporting on what you are smelling. Now I see that the wind has really picked up, Alina. Has the smell completely dissipated now?

CHO: Well, as far as I can tell. And my senses may not be as acute as the person standing next to me, but I can tell you that is business as usual here in Manhattan. But I do want to sort of recap what happened, because I do think it bears repeating. The mayor saying the story is changing every two minutes or so, but the headline being that there is no cause for concern. The air has been team deemed safe. They have taken some air-quality tests. There was a small leak in Lower Manhattan, in the Greenwich Village section of Bleecker and 6th Avenue. At mayor said that that would not account for the pervasive smell throughout the island of Manhattan that has been reported.

I do want to get to Greg Conner, our guest here, who works just about 10 blocks from here, 48th and 6th Avenue. Tell me what happened in your building as you were getting to work this morning?

GREG CONNER, MANHATTAN WORKER: Basically shortly after I got in, we could smell gas on the 28th floor.

CHO: Were you concerned at that point?

CONNER: A little bit. And then an announcer came on over the loud speaker and said that there was a gas leak, and that 911 was called. So then pretty much the managers in the office were like, let's all get out of here. So we all went downstairs. And then I left with some of my other coworkers just to get away from the building. But we were still smelling gas as we were going into other buildings.

CHO: Did you notice any other buildings being evacuated in your area?

CONNER: I couldn't tell if other buildings were being evacuated or not.

CHO: But you got out in an orderly manner. Everyone stayed calm, I presume.

CONNER: Yes, everyone was calm, and well all got out.

CHO: OK, and now we know that the air has been deemed safe, not hazardous, and you get the day off, don't you?

CONNER: Yes, I do. I'm going home.

CHO: Good for you. Well enjoy the day Greg Conner.

CONNER: OK, thank you.

CHO: Thank you so much for your perspective.

All right, just to recap gain, Heidi, I think it bears repeating, the city has conducted air quality tests, they have deemed the air not hazardous. The Department of Homeland Security in Washington is monitoring the situation, but in a post 9/11 world, I think we have to report that they said no links to terrorism, and the rain and the wind, though we hate it here in New York, Heidi, we're told, is helping the situation.

Back to you.

COLLINS: Absolutely. And you're right, in a post-9/11 world, we have to watch these stories and report them the best that we can.

Alina Cho, thanks for that.

I also want to put out there, according to the mayor, there has been no drop in pressure to the gas system, according to Con Ed. Of course that would indicate some sort of a break in the gas lines. So according to them, they are not seeing any sort of gas line break at this point.

HARRIS: Randi Kaye is on the line with us right now.

And, Randi, I think you had an opportunity to talk to some commuters making their way into -- certainly into the city this morning. Share with us some of what they shared with you.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, I left my apartment on 50th and 8th. And I can tell you, there was a little bit of -- just a slight smell, but certainly not the normal smell of New York City, even though there are always a lot of interesting smells.

I jumped on the C-train, the subway train, and just headed downtown, just to see, you know what I could find, talk to some people, heading down 8th Avenue. And I found one woman named Kerri (ph), she had just transferred from Penn Station, she had just come into New York City.

Penn Station, just for those of you who may now know, it's on 34th Street on the west side. So certainly right in the midtown area. And she said that as they were pulling into Penn Station, a lot of the people on the train, Tony, were getting phone calls from panicked relatives in New Jersey and elsewhere saying, hey, don't go into the city, please turn around, come home. And a lot of her train mates, if you will, actually chose not come into the city. They were very worried something was terribly wrong and decided to go back home. As she put it, this woman Kerry, she says, hey, it's just another day in the life of New York. She actually works for the federal government. She's been here through 9/11. She decided it was OK. She had someone go online in her office. She called down there. They checked and told her it was OK. But she said if she thought it was a real crisis, the train probably wouldn't have come into Penn Station. So she couldn't smell a thing.

But another woman I talked to was at the Medicaid building. Her name is Mary. That's at 34th and 8th, right near the big Macy's. She said they closed the big Macy's building right next to her, the big Macy's department store, and then told her to go downstairs, get outside. Of course, the said, she said, I thought it was another bomb. That was her exact quote to me. She said, we got scared, I thought it was another 9/11, there were cops everywhere. It smelled like a bad gas leak, but I thought it was another bomb.

So that should just give you an idea of what some of the people here are feeling. But I've got to tell you, riding the subway now for about 45 minutes, it's crowded, it's busy, a lot of people completely unaware even of what's happening, because they've been commuting for a couple hours -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, I think that's interesting reporting, because the mayor seemed a little bit dismissive of the whole episode, the whole event in his press conference just a couple moments ago, but it is clear from what you told us, Randy, this was a source of real concern for people making their way into and around the city.

KAYE: Yes, and just I did talk to a couple people who said, sure, I was concerned, but you know, what am I going to do? I've to go to work. One woman who just moved here a few weeks ago from Illinois, I think she was in a bit of shock, she was very concerned, but you know, she had to go to work, she had earn her paycheck, and that's sort of the attitude. You know, she smelled it on the upper west side, but was still heading down into (INAUDIBLE) to got to work.

But certainly many concerned people, but still, you know, they're tough, and they're getting on the subway and continuing to go to work.

HARRIS: Hey, Randi, appreciate it. Thank you.

KAYE: OK, talk to you soon.

HARRIS: OK.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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