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Fire in West London; Possible Prison Escape in Maryland; Election '08

Aired January 02, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Gerri Willis has plastic deals for Wednesday, January 2nd. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And let's begin with that big blaze taking place in West London. Take a look at the pictures right now. You're seeing the smoldering fire there. It's a massive blaze. At the internationally renowned hospital in west London known as the Royal Marsden Hospital. It is one that is well-known for treating cancer patients. It is the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and the treatment of cancer, treating some 40,000 patients from the U.K. and abroad every year.

We don't know exactly why this blaze took place, but you can see it smoldering right there. There are about 40 firefighters on the scene. They got several fire engines there as well dispatched to deal with this blaze. And we understand a number of the patients are being evacuated right now. It's involving quite a few people, and you can see the proximity to the other buildings surrounding the Royal Marsden Hospital. So, we're going to continue to check our sources to see if those neighboring buildings are also being forced to evacuate as a result of the fire. We will continue to watch the developments there out of West London and bring them to you -- Rob.

MARCIANO: We are also watching breaking news this morning out of Laurel, Maryland, outside Washington. Right now a possible prison escape has forced a lockdown at the Laurel Regional Hospital. Two inmates had apparently been taken to the E.R. there for some sort of treatment. One of the inmates has reportedly escaped. Shots were fired, and police are on the scene presumably searching for the gunmen. It's unknown if there are any injuries at this point. We are following the story closely and we'll bring you the latest developments as we get them here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And it's fair to call it the final frenzy before the Iowa caucuses. The first contest of the 2008 presidential race is just about a day away now, and first the fight for the GOP nomination.

Dana Bash is in Ft. Dodge, Iowa, where Mike Huckabee is campaigning this morning, campaigning pretty hard, right Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. He just wrapped up his event here. He made his speech. Kind of his typical stump speech to the voters here who came to hear him to get one last taste of whether or not many of them undecided whether or not they are really going to go for Mike Huckabee in tomorrow night's caucus. What we're seeing with Mike Huckabee and really what we're seeing with a lot of these candidates is an attempt to really play to his strength, as you can imagine, and for Mike Huckabee, he thinks his strength is his authenticity. That he thinks is what propels him from nowhere to somebody who is a serious contender for the top slot here.

He talked about the fact that he's never changed his positions on issues key to Iowa voters like social issues, like gun issues, but there's something else he did here, Fredricka. Yesterday, Mike Huckabee got in a little bit of trouble with what seems like a joke that went awry. He told a local newspaper that he was sort of defending himself about not knowing about the national intelligence estimate, remember that, a few weeks ago. And he said, well, the president didn't even read his for five years. That certainly is sort of maybe a joke, but it doesn't necessarily play well with the core republican base who so very much adore President Bush, especially on national security. So he tried to clean it up a little bit here. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As we put our heads on the pillow every night and we wonder, is tomorrow the morning we get up and see another horrible scene of terrorist attack in this nation? I'm grateful for our president. I know he's taken a lot of criticism for a lot of things, and sometimes I have disagreed with him on some things, but I appreciate the fact that in the six years since 9/11 happened we haven't had another terrorist attack on our soil, and I give him credit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, Mitt Romney did tweak Mike Huckabee a bit for that yesterday, but for the most part Mitt Romney is also going across the state here in Iowa trying to change his campaign to end it on a positive note and talked much more about his own biography and what he would do as president and why he thinks he's best for the job. Listen to his closing argument.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As someone who has lived in the private sector, I know how to create jobs. I know why jobs come and why they go. I know how to keep us strong. I have led things. I have run things, and I got great friends like you helping me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, for all of their rhetoric, for all of their initiatives on policy, their positions on all of the issues that matter a lot to Iowa republicans, right now the name of the game is the ground game, Fredricka, and, you know, we saw at this particular event here with Mike Huckabee, there were still signing up supporters, signing up commitments from voters they would actually go to the caucus and caucus for Mike Huckabee.

You're going to see the same thing for Mitt Romney because they're only about 100,000 people here in Iowa who actually caucus for republicans, maybe even less. So, you know, it's cliche to say every vote counts, but it really does in this particular caucus. There are a lot of undecided voters, and that's what you're going to see over the next 24 hours, trying to get the undecided voters to come any particular candidate's way-- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Dana, in recent weeks we've been talking about the significance of number two. You don't come out on top, but you come in number two, that's OK. Now, apparently, number three is hip, why?

BASH: You know, it's interesting because of this, because of the fact that the two people vying really for number three here are Fred Thompson and now John McCain, and the reason why it matters is because Fred Thompson really has, at least over the past several weeks, put all of his eggs in the Iowa basket, and he really needs to do well here in Iowa. He really is absolutely nowhere in the next state of New Hampshire. South Carolina as a southern should be a natural base, but people there - many people don't think he has the fire in the belly. So, if he doesn't do well here, there's going to be a big question mark about whether his money dries up and whether or not he's really done for.

On the other hand, John McCain has been a huge surprise here. He is somebody who really is not a natural candidate for Iowa republicans because he is somebody who pushed immigration legislation that would have allowed at least a pass at citizenship. That doesn't go very well at all here. He is opposed to subsidies for ethanol. That also doesn't go over well here. But he's somebody who the polls show he is actually sneaking back up. If he does well here, that could help him in the state he really,, that really matters most to him, and that is the next stop and that's New Hampshire. And our new poll this morning shows he's neck and neck with Mitt Romney there. If he does well here, it could really help him in New Hampshire.

BASH: Yes, and just think McCain was nearly written off just a few months ago. Folks were saying he doesn't have a chance, and now he's back in the race again in a big way. Dana Bash, thank you so much.

MARCIANO: Meanwhile, the duel among democrats going down to the wire in Iowa. Hillary Clinton is battling it out with Barack Obama and John Edwards running a strong third. The latest cnn/opinion research corporation poll gives Clinton the edge, but a "Des Moines Register" poll with Obama in the lead. Earlier on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, our Jessica Yellin talked about the role of independents in the poll.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: One of Barack Obama's central messages has been he will unite republicans and democrats and he can bridge the partisan divide that's led to so much bickering in Washington, and he's made a special outreach in his message to both independents and republicans, and I'll tell you I have gone to a number of Obama events here in Iowa and at many of them one of the questioners. He takes Q&A from the audience will stand up and say I have been a life long republican and I'm going to vote for you this time or caucus for you this time, and this poll, this "Des Moines Register" is showing a large number of independents plan to go with Obama.

This message clearly connecting. Now, I should point out that the other leading campaigns, Clinton's and Edwards' raise their eyebrows at the poll, say it has far too many independents going that way. They just don't expect them, it would be unprecedented if that many showed up and caucused tomorrow night.

MARCIANO: The Iowa caucus is just a day away. The New Hampshire primary five days after that, and we have some new poll numbers from New Hampshire this morning. They show Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney tied at 29 percent. Rudy Giuliani is at 12 percent with Mike Huckabee at 10 percent. The CNN WMUR poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire.

On the Democratic side, it's Hillary Clinton at 34 percent, Barack Obama at 30 percent and John Edwards at 17 percent. Keeping in mind about a quarter of the voters in both parties say they haven't made up their minds just yet.

Well, you want the most up to date political news anywhere, anytime? Cnnpolitics.com is your one-stop shop. It's the internet's premiere destination for political news -- cnnpolitics.com.

WHITFIELD: All right, January is behaving well, like January is supposed to behave. A snowstorm has dumped heavy snow from Michigan to Maine, and in Indiana it was deadly. Two women were killed when their van lost control north of Ft. Wayne. They were among a group of international students from Bowling Green State University. More than a foot of snow has covered parts of Maine as well. Several cities have closed schools for the day, and in northeastern Ohio, New Year's day did not offer much reason to celebrate. Blustery there.

The storm blew across Lake Erie knocking down trees and power lines. At one point 10,000 homes and businesses were without power, and at the opposite corner of the state, commuters faced big challenges on this first work day of the New Year. Several inches of snow fell along with the temperatures, and road salt doesn't work too good with single digit temperatures. And even the south has not been spared, some parts of the North Carolina mountains could see 10 inches of snow. Gusty winds will push the wind-chill below zero. Can you believe we're talking about North Carolina here?

MARCIANO: Yes, you mentioned it's January, but it's January everywhere.

WHITFIELD: I know, but in North Carolina? Not below zero. That's not something you usually experience.

MARCIANO: Jacqui Jeras, is it me or is it downright cold everywhere?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is downright cold everywhere. Fred, I got to ask too much screaming on New Year's Eve?

MARCIANO: I was on trying to decide to whether partying or just catching a bit of a bug.

WHITFIELD: You know, I wish I can say it was bad. You know, here was holiday with the family and I just was down for the count for a few days and I still got a little bit of the bug.

MARCIANO: Itchy.

JERAS: It's going around.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Rob, for taking care of me.

JERAS: In Atlanta, you know, if you haven't got a cold yet. Well, this weather not great to go out in unless you cover up and keep yourself safe and warm. You know, it looks great on our tower cam here from WSV TV, but it feels bitterly cold. 23 on the thermometer, but it feels like seven. Yes, seven above. We're not even going to get out of the 30s today in Atlanta. Looking for a high maybe around 34, 35 degrees, and the winds on top of that gusting between 30 and 40 miles per hour makes it a little bit on the unbearable side for those here on the south.

The wind advisory is in effect all across the southeast too including the Florida Peninsula. You see those shaded in they yellow. We do expect the winds to be calming down by tomorrow a little bit better. But look at the wind-chill factor because of it, seven in Nashville, eight in Birmingham. We have 33 down here in Orlando. It feels like 19 in Dallas, and Houston on the Gulf Coast there, 26 degrees.

That arctic blast has hard freeze warnings in effect along much of the Gulf Coast and the Florida peninsula. For tomorrow morning, look at these temperatures in the teens and 20s. Once you hit around 28 degrees for four hours or more, that's it. That's the end of the growing season. So, the people, the citrus farmers, a little bit worried about that.

Now, all these cold air in the wake of the winter storm that blew on through. All the warnings have died down now into the Northeast. Still some lingering advisories. We saw the snow video in Nashville. Yes, we just got that cold air coming in. You put a little elevation in with it, it's going to squeeze out any moisture available. There are a lot of people probably maybe heading out to try to get to some of the ski slopes in the Carolinas because you don't always get snow this time of the year.

WHITFIELD: I know and it's nice when you get a little powder because nobody likes that icy pack that you usually ski on in North Carolina.

MARCIANO: They have been struggling UP until this week. It was slush and a lot of brown spots.

WHITFIELD: Things are looking up.

MARCIANO: All right. Jacqui, thanks very much.

Well, you have been shown pictures of this hospital on fire in London.

WHITFIELD: How extraordinary? It's a big fire.

MARCIANO: I know. A world acclaimed hospital burning this morning. A developing story that we have been covering here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay tuned for that and much more still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live breaking news, unfolding developments see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

MARCIANO: A massive fire right now at an internationally renowned hospital in London. You're looking at live pictures as firefighters try to battle the smoke and flames billowing from the roof of the Royal Marsden Hospital. Patients have been evacuated. This is the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of cancer. Pretty old building, as you can see there as well. More than 40,000 patients from around the world are treated there every year. No word yet on the cause of that blaze, and clearly they're having a tough go of it with a number of firefighters on the scene trying to knock down those flames.

WHITFIELD: Yes, extraordinary. And it seems as though the fire seems to be contained to the upper levels there. It's difficult to see whether this is like a four or five-story building. A lot of the buildings in London are generally around the four or five kind of height.

MARCIANO: And close together.

WHITFIELD: Height.

MARCIANO: So it looks like they're at a building right next to it trying to battle it from that rooftop. And you know, one goes up...

WHITFIELD: So, I supposed there is some advantage here. It seems like the fire is concentrated in the upper levels. At least it seems like they can attack it from above as well as they're doing.

MARCIANO: Big time hospital. And we certainly hope they get it under control quickly.

WHITFIELD: We're also watching another story in this country involving a hospital as well. Very different circumstances taking place right outside of Washington, D.C. In Prince Georges County there in Laurel, Maryland. You're looking at live pictures right now. We understand a lockdown is underway at the Laurel Regional Hospital because a shooting took place just as at least two inmates from a Jessup correctional facility were to be treated at this hospital when according to sources there, one of the inmates actually took the gun of a correctional officer, fired the weapon, and actually tried to fire the weapon on his shackles as well.

MARCIANO: Wow. WHITFIELD: That prisoner ended up escaping. So a manhunt is under way for that prisoner. We don't know anything about other injuries that may have been involved there. The search is, of course, under way for that inmate, and that hospital also on lockdown. We'll continue to watch the developments there as you see these live pictures there out of PG County in Maryland in Laurel.

MARCIANO: Boy, it seems like in the last couple of weeks, we have had guys escape from jail, now they're in the hospital escaping there.

WHITFIELD: 'tis the season?

MARCIANO: Maybe so. We hope they find those inmates on the loose there. Live pictures from Laurel, Maryland.

All right. Those holiday bills may be piling up in your mailbox along with offers for new credit cards. How do you find the best deals? Gerri Willis offers some tips.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, a beauty queen packing heat and facing criminal charges. Find out what police say she did to her ex.

And then check out the numbers on Wall Street right there. The Dow down 120 points. The NASDAQ unfortunately also down, but just by 14 points. We're watching the markets for you.

MARCIANO: Well, the holiday gifts are open, the January bills are rolling in. That's for sure. You probably are going to get some other things in your mailbox. Helping us sort this out is Gerri Willis, CNN's personal finance editor.

Gerri, you're talking about credit card offers this morning. I get these seemingly every day, and you're telling me we're going it get even more this month?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I'm telling you, a lot come through your mailbox in January. Well, and it's time for all those credit card bills to roll in at the same time. All that spending that you did in December, people are beginning to see just how much money they've spent. So a lot of folks may be looking to transfer that high balance to a low interest rate credit card.

Now, you may be asking yourself what do people need to look out for? Well, if you want to transfer your balance onto a different credit card, you want to scrutinize what they call balance transfer fees. The typical charge is about three percent of the amount of money you transfer. So if you transfer $8,000, your fee is 240 bucks. That's not chump change. It used to be that balance transfer fee was capped at $75 or even $90, but most issuers have done away with the cap. So, you will want to know how much you will be on the hook for. So, look at the terms and conditions page.

MARCIANO: What about, Gerri, you know, you have to read the fine print here. They always give you these low introductory offers. What should you look out for with that?

WILLIS: Well, of course, the zero percent introductory rate sounds great, but there are some thing that you need look out for. As you say, let's say you're interested in a credit card that has an introductory rate of 0 percent for six months. Pretty typical, make sure that once you transfer your balance that you don't use the card for more purchases during that six months. That's because the additional purchases will be charged a much higher rate of interest. And that can wipe out the financial benefits of transferring your balance in the first place. The new interest rate could be as much as 17 percent to 18 percent.

MARCIANO: Wow. So I mean what's your advice to somebody who is getting a seemingly attractive offer in the mail?

WILLIS: Well, don't send in a number of applications. Look, creditors are wary of multiple applications and several of them can really hurt your credit score. So, apply for one or two at the most, if you want. If you're turned down or get a higher interest rate than you're expecting, make sure to get a copy of your credit report.

MARCIANO: And I mean in general, how do you take advantage or how do you make the most bang for your buck, so to speak, with all of these offers coming in?

WILLIS: Well, the good news is the credit card industry is even more competitive this year than in previous years. That's because so many credit card issuers are owned by banks that were involved in the mortgage crisis. There's increased pressure on this industry to snag customers with good credit. If you have a credit card you're unhappy with because of the interest rate, call the card company directly, their 800 numbers request your rate is lowered.

You can mention all the other great credit card offers that you've been receiving in the mail. Remember, it's cheaper for the credit card companies to keep you as a customers by lowering your rate than having you walk away. And, of course, if you have any questions, send them to us at toptips@cnn.com. We love hearing from you.

MARCIANO: Just remember that the consumer does have some power, you can always negotiate a little bit.

WILLIS: That's right. You bet.

MARCIANO: Gerri Willis, good to see you. Happy New Year.

WHITFIELD: Rob, we continue to follow the developments out of west London. A huge fire right there at the Royal Marsden Hospital. Our Jim Bolden out of our London bureau is on the way to that fire there in west London.

Jim, are you hearing anything?

JIM BOLDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it has been about two hours since the alarm was raised. And we're still trying to find out whether everyone has been out of the building. They started to evacuate the hospital almost immediately. We have heard from one local doctor on local television here that there were at least two operations going on. Unclear whether those have been moved out as well. Some good news about it was apparently the fire started in a part of the hospital that was not being used at the time because it was over the holiday period.

There had not been as many operations scheduled to take place. So it is possible that part of the building was already not being used anyway. It has been about two hours, some 75 firemen on the scene, according to the fire authorities. Fifteen pieces of apparatus on the scene.

The reports we're hearing, of course, is very thick, black smoke coming out (pf) the top of the roof, some parts of it already, some partial collapse possibly. It's a very serious fire. Many roads in the area have been closed, but we are being told no injuries at the moment. A lot of people removed from the hospital.

Reports that there were blankets and some other parts of beds that have been laid out behind the hospital so people could lay down when they got taken out of the building, and as we say, as soon as we can get there and get a better situation, I can fill you in on exactly what we see.

WHITFIELD: OK, and I understand Jim, you're in transit, but are your sources telling you anything about how many people had to be evacuated? I understand the portion you mention that's on fire, part of the active fire was not really being used because of the holiday season, but about how many patients have had to be moved out of that hospital?

BOLDEN: That's right. As I said, part of it was not being used anyway, and some observers said it's not panic. It's obviously -- they're very seriously, obviously removing people and taking it very seriously. One doctor said the alarm was raised very quickly, about two hours ago and the place started filling with smoke quite quickly. So, they knew that this was serious and this was not a false alarm. And they started removing patients.

As you can imagine, there would have practiced for this numerous times. Hospitals in London are very well equipped with a lot of practice because of terrorism threats as well. So, they've been practicing this kind of evacuation, and that's exactly what happened. So sort of an orderly but quick evacuation of the building, and we should be able to hear soon whether or not everyone is our or indeed if they need to get everyone out.

WHITFIELD: And so Jim, you know, just for the sake of geography, a lot of times when you look at the major hospitals, they kind of have a few block as part of the hospital campus, if you will. So, in this case we're looking at a pretty densely built area. Are most of the surrounding buildings around that hospital part of the hospital campus or are those other business that needs to be concerned or evacuated? BOLDEN: A lot of other businesses. This is a very, crowded part of London. Two very well-known hospitals in the area. Royal Marsdens is well-known for cancer treatments. And so it's a specialist hospital. So, it's in a very old hospital, of course, and what it would be is there would be a lot of other buildings, a lot of other residences in the area, and the police have been closing a lot of the roads in the area, and so obviously when we see, when we get there, we'll see if other buildings are being evacuated as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jim Bolden, thanks so much. We'll check back with you when you arrive there at west London at the Royal Marsden Hospital -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Well, from one hospital to another that's having a different sort of situation. A lockdown in Laurel, Maryland. Pamela Brown from our affiliate WJLA is outside the hospital. She joins us know. Pamela, we know now that there have been two inmates who were treated there for some sort of wounds, and one managed to get away and gunshots were fired. What else can you tell us?

PAMELA BROWN, WJLA, CORRESPONDENT: He was an inmate from a correctional facility in Maryland. He came here complaining of heart pains. And then shortly after 8:00 this morning, he was able to overpower two security guards. He then managed to get a hold of one of the security guard's guns. Shots rang out. He tried to shoot off his handcuffs and shackles.

We're not sure if he was successful with that. Also, not sure about the conditions of those two security guards. That's when the inmate escaped. Police are scouring the grounds here of the hospital looking for him. You can probably hear the helicopters above me. They are looking for this inmate. This is a very dangerous situation.

There are also reports that he was involved in a carjacking. A victim was injured. We don't know if the carjacking was successful or not, but police are reporting that. So again they are searching for this inmate. We don't know about any injuries as of now. We're not sure of the identity of this inmate. I also think it's important to report this hospital here is wedged in between two residential areas. So as you can imagine, this is a very scary situation for the residents here, and we don't know where exactly he is.

MARCIANO: From what you're telling me of what's going on with choppers in the area, reportedly someone may have been carjacked, are they pretty confident that this guy is actually out of the hospital and in the surrounding area?

BROWN: That's the thing is that they don't know. I mean, they're searching the property here, but then there are reports of a carjacking, so they're following any leads they can. Just trying to gather information. This all sort of unraveled after 8:00 this morning. So, reports coming in statewide trying to, you know, have a command center, trying to find this man.

MARCIANO: Before your picture fades out if I get one more question in, you mentioned it's kind of wedged in between two residential areas. That's a scary thought with a prisoner on the loose. Any idea what authorities are encouraging residents in those neighborhoods to do?

BROWN: We're not sure. I mean -

MARCIANO: All right. Pamela Brown there, WJRA affiliate, reporting and getting a little bit of technical difficulties. Again, there are two inmates were taken to that hospital, one overpowered some security guards there, shots were fired, and one inmate is on the loose either inside the hospital or in the surrounding area. More information as it comes in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rob. Opening a Texas sized can of worms. The illegal immigrant chosen by one Texas newspaper as the person of the year. We will talk to the editor about this controversial choice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Well, the perfect Patriots score one couple a free engagement ring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He actually wants to take it engraved 16-0 on the inside because he told me it's more of a symbol of our wedding, it's the Patriots making history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Oh, she's happy now.

WHITFIELD: How romantic.

MARCIANO: But is it a football widow in the making. That story coming up in the newsroom.

And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rob Marciano.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Heidi and Tony are off today.

A massive fire right now at an internationally renowned hospital in London. Smoke and flames, as you see right there, billowing from the roof of the Royal Marsden Hospital. This is a hospital that's been known as the premiere cancer treatment facility of the world serving something like 40,000 people a year from the U.K. and other parts of the world.

As you see right here, the fire is still underway. It's unclear exactly what sparked it all. But we've decided to bring in CNN International's Hala Gorani who spent eight years in London. You know this area well. This is in west London, where this fire is taking place. And it's significant, even though we don't know the source of the blaze, it's significant because this is a landmark facility.

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a landmark facility. It is as you mentioned the first ever cancer treatment facility in the world founded in 1851. And what's important to note as well is that hundreds of patients who some of whom are in need of critical care, of course, because they're cancer patients have had to be evacuated and transported in ambulances to other area hospitals.

We understand from the Royal Marsden Hospital that the fire was called in at 1:25 p.m. Local time, and that 15 ambulances, five officers, and also interestingly a hazardous area response team was send to the Royal Marsden check it out, but thankfully it seems as though there are no injuries.

There were, we understand, two operations ongoing when the fire broke out. No word really on how those operations were halted and whether or not they were then resumed at other area hospitals.

WHITFIELD: Scary stuff. But the encouraging thing from Jim's report earlier too, who's on the way to West London, said that the location where they believe the source of the fire took place, maybe this was an area that wasn't being used as readily as other parts of the hospital.

GORANI: Absolutely, and that would be something that definitely would be good news as far as the patients are concerned because this kind of smoke, of course, as you can imagine if you're already in a critical medical situation is not something that would be easy to handle.

So right now what we understand is the hundreds of patients who were in this hospital evacuated, gone owe other area hospitals, and they are still as you can see from these live pictures -- dramatic live pictures, that the fire seems to have taken out portions of the roof of this 1851 building.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it's remarkable. We'll keep checking tabs with you as well as Jim on the ground there. Thanks so much -- Hala Gorani.

MARICIANO: Another hospital story stateside. We are following this developing story. In Laurel, Maryland, outside of Washington, right now shots were fired at that hospital and police are searching for an escaped inmate.

Two inmates were taken to the Laurel Regional Hospital for treatment. One inmate overpowered a guard taking his gun. That inmate now on the loose. It's unknown at this point if the escapee is still inside or outside the hospital. It's wedged in between a couple of residential areas.

If you live in that area, you certainly want to stay in your home and lock your doors and just kind of wait until this is all over. We also have not heard any reports of any injuries, even though shots were fired. We are following this story closely, and we'll bring you the latest developments as they come into the CNN NEWSROOM.

Big time weather. It's January as you mentioned, but it's cold. Even across the deep south. We're going to get snow across North Carolina.

WHITFIELD: I pulled out the big stuff as if I was still leaving in the northeast today.

MARCIANO: You should wrap that throat up.

WHITFIELD: Oh, and I did that too.

MARCIANO: I'm worried about you.

WHITFIELD: Me too.

MARCIANO: Jacqui Jeras is covering the weather angle of this. I got Freddie's voice is on the wane, and we've got storms that are winding up. What's up Jacqui?

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, this is a pretty controversial choice for Texan of the Year say some. Portrayed as both a hard worker and a law breaker. The illegal immigrant. Keven Willey is the Vice President and editorial page editor for the Dallas Morning News she's in Dallas this morning and joining us.

All right, Keven, illegal immigrant, Texan of the Year. What's been the reaction?

KEVEN WILLEY, DALLAS MORNING NEWS: We have gotten a great deal of reaction. Hundreds of e-mails. Unfortunately, most of them have been negative, have disagreed with our choice. But I think overall this is a real positive, the fact that so many people are engaged in this conversation. Anything to add urgency to the need for comprehensive immigration reform is a plus.

WHITFIELD: So why the choice? Was it your ambition to kind of stoke the fire? Our ambition was really quite simple. As we were deliberating on this year's Texan of the Year, it occurred to us that no other individual or group of individuals actually had had greater impact or had roiled the waters more in Texas or frankly across the country than the illegal immigrant.

WILLEY: It seemed to us to be a very clear selection that for better or worse, for good or bad, the illegal immigrant has had an impact, an uncommon impact in Texas unlike anything else we could think of.

WHITFIELD: And an impact good or bad, you write in your article that illegal immigrants are an economic burden in some people's view, yet at the same time it's a bonanza with Texas enjoying an $18 billion boost to the economy, while at the same time the flip side to that is federal as well as state monies that are being used for education, for health, for law enforcement as a result of the illegal immigration push.

So people in general in Texas, particularly along the border states, are really taking some pretty extreme measures to combat illegal immigration. Farmers Branch for one. Explain.

WILLEY: Yes. Farmers Branch is a suburb of Dallas which had chosen earlier to require apartment owners to check the status of people leasing their apartments. In addition, Irving, another suburb, more recently has agreed to participate with a federal program that allows them to disclose to the immigration authorities people who are in their jails for other offenses, what their legal status may be, and if they're here illegally, then they get deported.

There was a raid earlier in the year in cactus, which is a city outside of Dallas. So those are just examples as to how this phenomenon has affected Texas so dramatically.

WHITFIELD: So, are you getting a response from those who are a bit bristled by the distinction as saying that you, the newspaper, are rewarding illegal immigrants with this distinction?

WILLEY: That's some of it. The opposition seems to fall on two lines. One being, how could illegal immigrants be Texans? And we, frankly chose to interpret Texan as a simplistic definition, somebody who lives here. I think that this point is worth, to borrow a phrase, is certainly worth debate.

In my own view, I think it's worth defense. I think our interpretation is a reasonable one, but we certainly understand that other people might interpret Texan a little bit differently. The second --

WHITFIELD: How does it compare to previous years of Texans of the Year?

WILLEY: Well, what's interesting this is the fifth year we've done it. If we interpreted it as a legal resident of Texas, I'm not sure any more than one of our previous winners would have qualified. So, again, we're trying to be consistent in interpreting Texan as simply somebody who has had impact or who has resided in Texas.

The second point of opposition really does seem to center around the misunderstanding this is like a popularity contest, that we mean to honor or glorify, and of course, quite the contrary. We're simply trying to draw attention in a very non-pc way to what is a huge social phenomenon.

WHITFIELD: Well, it looks like you've certainly gotten the attention as well. Keven Willey, Vice President and editorial page Editor for the "Dallas Morning News." Thanks for your time.

WILLEY: Thank you.

MARCIANO: We want to bring you up to date on the hospital fire in London. We have been showing these live pictures all morning long. It looks like the fire, at least from this vantage point, may very well be under control. But the damage certainly done there.

A world-renowned cancer treatment hospital, at the very least the upper floors look to be completely burned and demolished, and that roof completely burned off. We will have more information on this fire out of London throughout the newsroom.

Meanwhile, stateside -- we're going to come back and talk more about what's going on in the hospital in Maryland. We're going to do that now or after the break? All right. We'll be right back, we've got more to come in the newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: We want to bring you more information on the breaking news that we've been covering out of Laurel, Maryland. The hospital where two inmates were taken for treatment. One overpowered a security guard, shots were fired, although we don't have reports of injuries, but the big news is that one of those inmates is now on the loose.

On the phone with us is Tanzi West with Prince George's County Public Schools, where we're being told, Tanzi that three of those schools in your district are in lockdown. What else can you tell us?

VOICE OF TANZI WEST, PRINCE GEORGE'S CO. SCHOOLS: Three schools are on lockdown. We have Laurel High School, Deerfield Run Elementary School, and James Harrison Elementary School on lockdown. I think it's important, however, to note that what lockdown means in our school district is all of our kids are safely inside of each of those schools and all of our schools, staff and teachers as well.

And basically all it means is that if there were any outdoor activities that were being planned, those activities are now being brought inside.

MARCIANO: OK, so the kids are free to move about as they normally would between classes, the school and classroom work is being done as it normally would be done, but any outdoor activities are halted at this point.

WEST: Exactly.

MARCIANO: And the kids are cool, the teachers are cool, parents shouldn't be worried at the point.

WEST: Not at all. Teachers are teaching and kids are learning. The day has gone on as normal.

MARCIANO: Give us an indication, if you could geographically speaking, how close these schools are to the hospital?

WEST: I would say each of the schools are probably within a two to three mile radius.

MARCIANO: OK, because we are told that this hospital is wedged between two fairly populated residential areas. That's obviously a concern for the folks who live in those areas. But right now the Prince George County Public Schools have three schools that are on lockdown.

Tanzi West, the Public Information Officer on the phone with us. Thank you for that information. We may very well tap you for more if this story continues.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, it's a new year for everyone, including investors on wall street. Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to tell us if we're off to a good start, and I saw the numbers earlier, Susan. It's not great. Happy new year by the way.

(STOCK REPORT)

MARCIANO: Seven degree wind chill in Atlanta, wouldn't be a bad deal right now.

WHITFIELD: Sign me up.

MARCIANO: A beauty queen packing heat. Where do we get these stories from? They have been happening a lot lately.

WHITFIELD: This one is just for you.

MARCIANO: All right. Well, she may be facing criminal charges. Find out what the police say she did to her ex. That story is coming up in the newsroom, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: All right, I want to get you up to date on this breaking news out of Laurel, Maryland. We now have a mug shot of one of the inmates that was taken there, the one that has escaped. The name of this gentlemen is Kelvin Polk he escaped from Laurel Regional Hospital. He was serving 40 years -- life plus 40, I should say, at the Jessup Correctional Institution for kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery.

He did grab the gun of the security guard, so we're to assume he may be armed and on the loose in Laurel, Maryland. If you see this gentlemen, you certainly don't want to approach him, but the police in Maryland are urging you to call 301-345-3101. Again, that's 301-345-3101 if you see this gentleman who is now on the loose and presumed dangerous.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, another hospital, another type of incident. This one in west London. A fire taking place at a world-acclaimed cancer hospital, burning this morning. It's a developing story that we continue to watch here in the newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. It's day two of '08. Can you believe it?

WHITFIELD: No, I can't. Can't believe it's '08.

MARCIANO: I hope your year is off to a good start. I'm Rob Marciano

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