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CNN Newsroom
Times Square Evacuation
Aired May 07, 2010 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Julian Cummings is a producer for CNN. And he is there, he says, at 47th and 7th. And I apologize. He's on his cell phone. And it was just a little bit scratchy there, hard to hear. But what he is saying is that he's standing there.
Police raised the tape, let this vehicle in. On the side of the vehicle he saw "Hostage Negotiation Team." He said he heard someone say something about "Get the bomb squad," or what have you, but he's not exactly sure.
Again, this is what he is seeing and hearing on the streets of New York.
The person who would normally be sitting here is Mr. Ali Velshi. He happens to be doing other things in New York City right now, and just happens to be in the middle of Times Square.
Hey, Ali, listen, what's going on? What are you seeing where you are?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm at 47th and Broadway, which is as far as pedestrians can get on the north side of Times Square. It's then closed.
I can see all the way, three blocks down, to 44th, where I can see another throng of people looking this way. I just walked all around to sort of get a sense of it.
Times Square is entirely empty in between that area, so 7th Avenue and Broadway is empty for three blocks. There appears to be -- this is what we're hearing, the reports of this suspicious package, which is outside the Marriott Marquis, which is right on Broadway.
But at this point there doesn't seem to be a lot of excitement. There's just a whole lot of absence of movement.
They are letting cars cross on 47th Street, and then below where the closure is. But the police seem to have this well in hand.
Mostly curious onlookers. I have heard a few people who need to get to either their hotels -- in fact, that's why I'm here. I was going to my hotel to pick up my bag to leave town. And I can't get to it.
But mostly, it's just people who are looking. A lot of people with videos and cameras taking a look. There doesn't seem to be a sense of great panic in the area, but as you said, it's, you know, less than a week after the -- or just over a week from the incident in Times Square, so there's a great deal of vigilance around here.
LEMON: Hey, Ali, stand by just for a second here, Ali, because I want to update our viewers. It's the top of the hour, Ali. We're going to get back to you in must moments, so make sure you please stand by.
Our Ali Velshi is down in Times Square now. He says he's at 47th and Broadway.
Julian Cummings is a producer who's down there as well.
Viewers, if you're just tuning in, I want to tell you, we got word just about 30 minutes ago of a suspicious package in Times Square. Part of Times Square evacuated, have been cordoned off by police. And police have confirmed to CNN that it was a suspicious package.
Initially, it was thought it was a suitcase. That was an earlier incident. That incident turned out to be an earlier incident. And now police are investigating a white cooler that was left on the street. And according to one of the people who are in the area, that cooler was found right in front of 1535 Broadway.
So, they have blocked the streets off. They are, according to our Susan Candiotti, who is reporting from New York City -- they are bringing in the bomb squad and that robot that you have seen so much over the last couple of days after that failed car bombing attempt in New York City, in Times Square, over the weekend.
Our Allan Chernoff is on the scene as well. He is telling us that Times Square, that parts of the streets are at least cleared between 44th and 47th Street.
And as you can see from these live pictures that are coming in from Times Square, this overhead camera, that the street there appears to be clear. And then you see a section cordoned off there where the police lines are. And there was some traffic moving far behind that scene just a little bit earlier.
Now, here's what we are hearing here at CNN. The very latest information is saying that this all started about 1:15 Eastern Time here in the United States, and that all of this was out of caution, of course, because this was left there.
Now, there was a woman who said that she witnessed someone -- and this is according to her, this is what she said -- a man in a hazmat suit working with something on a table, and then he put it down on the floor and then walked away, and then came back and then walked away again. And, of course, you have this.
So, Ali Velshi's standing by. Julian Cummings standing by. Our Susan Candiotti is standing by, and our Jeanne Meserve standing by.
Ali Velshi standing by, now in Times Square. Ali, at last check, you were in 47th and Broadway. Where are you now? What's going on?
VELSHI: That's right. I'm right in the middle of Broadway. This is 47th Street right behind me. You can still see that there are cars going behind me, but beyond that you can see that Times Square is entirely empty.
Now, over to the right, hard to see, but that will be the Marriott Marquis Hotel. That's where they're investigating where the package is.
So, we're at 47th. The Marriott Marquis is between 45th and 46th, so one block away.
Then you can see over to 44th Street. You may not be able to see it on this camera, but there are people lined up on that side. So this is as far as pedestrians are.
You can see there are mounted police, there are police on the ground over here. Ambulances, firefighters ready with gurneys. Clearly very ready for an emergency.
The bomb squad you can just see. I'm not sure that you can see it from here, but we've just been told that the bomb squad is on site right now. So, there's a truck in front of us. Brian (ph) is operating this handheld camera that he's got, but it does appear that the bomb squad has just arrived.
LEMON: Hey, Ali, can I jump in here for a second and tell you -- I'm going to let you continue, but as close as you can keep your mouth to that phone would help. We are getting a lot of ambient noise, and I want the viewers to really be able to hear what you're saying. I think it's important.
You're down on the scene and these are live pictures from Times Square.
Ali Velshi, continue please.
VELSHI: I don't know if you've got Allan -- Allan Chernoff and I are standing next to each other here and he might have a better speaker. But we are just seeing the bomb squad arrive on site in front of the Marriott.
They are, as you know, looking into a suspicious package which we believe to be a cooler, a white cooler, outside of the Marriott. Allan is looking in to see what else we can find out.
At the moment, though, everything seems very calm around here, Don. Police have cordoned off a large area. Very unusual, as you know, to see Times Square completely empty of people.
LEMON: Oh, man. Hey, Ali, I'm glad you're there and I'm glad Allan is there as well. Ali, let me jump in here a little bit and give the viewers the latest information, and then we're going to go back to our folks in Times Square.
Our Ali Velshi standing by live there, reporting on the scene.
These are reports. This is coming from the wire, from The Associated Press, that they cleared streets around Times Square after finding a cooler left on the sidewalk just a block away from that failed car bombing. We have been reporting that.
Police wanted to create some distance between the cooler and people, and they are in an "abundance of caution" -- that is a quote -- "an abundance of caution," looking into whether the white cooler was abandoned by someone. That is according to NYPD spokesperson Paul Brown (ph), who spoke to The Associated Press.
The bomb squad, according to this report, was x-raying the soft- sided cooler found on the pedestrian mall and planned to determine whether it posed a threat. Again, that's according to Paul Brown (ph), an NYPD spokesperson.
Now, here's the interesting thing. No evacuations have been ordered from the buildings, as you heard one of the people there -- I believe it was Kathy (ph) at the Marriott Marquis saying the buildings haven't been evacuated, but some of the streets have in some of the areas there. So, no evacuations have been ordered from the buildings, but workers were told to stay indoors as the police responded.
Police cordoned off the square with yellow tape, and while yelling, "Get back! Get back!" Again, according to this Associated Press report.
Onlookers were guiding bomb-sniffing dogs, looked at them, looked at police as they were guiding bomb-sniffing dogs through that area. Also, cars that were approaching the area were told to turn back as an eerie silence. You heard Ali say that.
It's very quiet. And you also heard Marie say that, who was another witness. She was looking down on it from a high-rise saying it was eerily quiet there in Times Square.
Again, an eerie silence descended on the area. The package, again, found 46th Street and Broadway, 1:15, in front of the Marriott Marquis hotel. But the hotel had not been evacuated. That's according to -- that jibes with what Kathy (ph) said from the Marriott Marquis.
So, three blocks around Times Square closed off as a precaution because a cooler was found about a block from the smoking SUV that -- this weekend. So, we know that.
People are in Times Square vacationing. They're there for conventions. Of course, they live there. This is the situation that's happening. These overhead pictures now tell the story. If you look, look at the number of NYPD police units on that scene right now. And, of course, the bomb squad on the way.
Here's what's very telling about that. If you see that little thing -- see that little thing on the pole right there on the left of your screen? That is a police camera.
I don't know if you can make it out, a little white box there on the light pole, or whatever, or that street pole. That is a police camera, which I'm sure they will be checking that.
So, as we look at those pictures, all that equipment on the scene, let's go back now live back to the scene. CNN's Allan Chernoff joins us.
Allan, what do you know?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Don, an officer wearing a green protective uniform, including a helmet, walked over to the tables and chairs right in the middle of Broadway, in front of the Marriott Marquis. He bent down over there, spent about a minute and a half inspecting what, perhaps, was that abandoned cooler. And he now just walked away, and he is conferring with other officers who are at 46th Street and 7th Avenue, just a half-block away.
So, it seems they're conferring in terms of how to proceed here, but it appears that he was examining the suspicious package which several officers have told us is a cooler that was left on the ground right in front of the Marriott Marquis hotel on Broadway between and 45th and 46th Streets.
LEMON: So, listen, if you see this -- if you're looking right in the middle of the screen there, is that the robot that they are delivering to this? Is that what we believe here in the center of the screen?
I can see there, but I can't really make it out. It looks like that they are -- that is a bomb squad photographer. OK.
One of our photographers on the scene -- again, I'm getting information in my ear, and we're going to highlight it. So there we go.
That is a bomb squad photographer, we are told, in that little -- that unit that you see there, sort of to the left of your screen. The bus is going by there now.
As we talk more about this, let me tell you, Allan and I have been talking about it, Ali Velshi and have been talking about it. Just so you know, we don't know what's going on here, we hope it's nothing. We really do, because who would want a situation like this? But if it is, we want to be able to report it to you.
On average, on an average day -- on an average day, police get 90 to 100 reports of suspicious packages in New York City. Since that failed car bomb attack on Saturday, they say that figure has gone up 30 percent.
Susan Candiotti standing by as well in New York City, and she has some reporting to do -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
We're just constantly making phone calls here to see what we can do. And, in fact, that's what I'm doing right now.
But I've confirmed with the New York Police Department that the bomb squad has deployed its robot that is doing an x-ray of that cooler that's been discovered in front, abandoned, in front of the Marriott Marquis Hotel right now that we've been talking about, on Broadway between 45th and 46th. So, the x-ray that the robot can do is just one of the many, many things and many tools that the bomb squad has in its arsenal that it can do.
But right now -- and they use this quite often when they can't approach something. Obviously, as the old saying goes, if you can see it, it can see you, so you want to stand back as far away as you can from this object until you can figure out what it is. And as you said, these things happen, unfortunately, very often in New York City --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: But they don't usually rise to this level, Susan. We have to tell our viewers, Susan, they don't usually rise to this level. And when they do rise to this level, we have to get on the record with it.
CANDIOTTI: That's right. And as I was saying, everyone is in a more heightened state of alert, naturally, because of what happened within the past week. And this is the second time this week that we know of that created quite of a bit of a traffic backup where the bomb squad came in and utilized its robot.
In fact, it is, in fact, the largest bomb squad in the United States, so they have a number of tools at their disposal that they can come -- that they can use. And that's what they're doing now.
We don't know how long it will take for them to get a reading on this, but, of course, I'm making constant phone calls to get the latest information to see what they can tell from the x-ray.
LEMON: Hey, Susan, and I'm glad you said that it happens all the time. Listen -- and this is -- someone sent me this, one of my producers, from "The Wall Street Journal," that reported that between Sunday and Wednesday, police have checked out 493 suspicious packages, compared to 381 in the same period last year.
Fran Townsend, formerly with the Homeland Security Department of the United States, joins us now on the phone.
Ms. Townsend, so good to have you in these situations.
What are you hearing?
FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, as we reported, you know, this is the second one today. The first one was cleared. This one, clearly, the NYPD and my sources are telling me, they're taking much more seriously.
Obviously, as you've said, the bomb squad has been deployed. They go through two phases when they look at a suspicious package, the cooler near the Marriott Hotel, on Broadway.
They will do a technical review of it -- that is like an x-ray -- to see if there's any reason to believe it's an actual detonation device. The second thing they do is, if it clears that one, the second thing they do is go to a visual inspection. It usually involves cutting a hole in the device itself from the outside so they can look in.
That's what they did before they cleared the device on the Triborough Bridge. You know, you remember a couple nights ago, there was a car abandoned on the Triborough, also known as the RFK Bridge in New York, and that's the process they went to before clearing it, but that bridge was closed for several hours. I think we're on the path where, they're going to go through their usual protocol, but you're going to see it take a while.
LEMON: Yes. And, Fran, you know, it's very disturbing to see all of this. And I'm sure you've been listening, I'm sure you feel the same way.
We hope it's nothing, but because of what has transpired over the past couple of days with this Pakistani national person, the person who is accused of trying to blow up Times Square with a car bomb, this is -- unfortunately, we may continue to see situations like this.
TOWNSEND: That's exactly right. In fact, I was talking -- you know, former mayor Rudy Giuliani's office is right in that area, and I was talking to folks on his staff, who said, you know, frankly, they routinely see in the Times Square area these sort of suspicious packages, but everyone has been warned to expect --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Hey, Ms. Townsend, sorry to cut you off there. Pardon me. Be we have some new information we want to get to. Stand by.
Fran Townsend, former with Homeland Security.
Want to get now to Susan Candiotti, who has some new reporting -- Susan.
CANDIOTTI: Hi, Don.
I just spoke to a New York City police official who tells me that, in fact, that x-ray has been completed. However, it is inconclusive. So they sent the robot in, and they took an x-ray of it. But they're telling me just now that it was inconclusive as to what is inside that white cooler.
So, what they are doing now is they are suiting up some members of the bomb squad to get closer to it, to take a closer look. So, if we start now to see some activity -- and I don't know how well our cameras can get a vantage point of this -- but the next thing that will happen now -- and we've seen this done before. This is part of what they do whenever something like this is inconclusive, that they can't get a hard look, a true picture of what is inside that cooler or any package, of course, that they -- the next step is to put some of these experts in their -- you've seen this in the movies, you've seen this before, and this is what these experts do every day. But they put on their protective gear and they get up closer to it, to get a better look at what might be inside, to check this thing out.
LEMON: Susan, thank you. That's great that -- we're glad that you're making calls. This is the newest information that we've had.
And Susan, stand by. If you get more information, join us again, please. Get back with us.
Do we still have Fran Townsend standing by?
Fran, are you there?
TOWNSEND: Yes, I am.
LEMON: Fran, that jives with what you were saying. You said there is a technical review, two phases, and then a visual, you said, assessment, or visual inspection. You heard Susan saying this was inconclusive. The x-ray has now been taken, it's inconclusive.
Now they are suiting up members of the bomb squad to take a closer look, Fran.
TOWNSEND: That's right. And what they'll do is they'll get near it. There's all sorts of metrics that they're looking for, whether it's emanating heat, whether they can tell if there's electricity, any sort of charge coming from it.
They will do that now physically, from the outside. And ultimately, if they believe it's safe for them to do it, as I said, they'll cut -- you'll see the guys in the suits, in the bomb explosive ordnance suits, then proceed to cut a hole in it so they can actually look inside it before they clear the scene.
LEMON: Hey, Fran, I want to ask you this, because we've been reporting about the number of suspicious packages. It's not just in New York City. It's in other major cities as well.
And when you see the number of that happen every day, police go through this, is there something -- would this lead you to believe that there's something about this one, besides the fact that, you know, the alleged car bomber, accused car bomber, tried to do it there, is there something about this one that makes this -- raises the level here?
TOWNSEND: You know, it's hard to say yet. I mean, after all, we thought it looked very, very dire the other night when it was on the -- the abandoned U-Haul was on the Triborough Bridge, and that turned out to be nothing. You know, the explosive ordnance detection people are really quite good at handling these. And the fact is, whether it is an explosive device or not, they handle them all the same for just that reasonable.
LEMON: OK. Hey, Fran, thank you. Stand by a little bit, because we want to update our viewers on this and we want to get some new information on it.
We have a number of reporters. I was talking to Fran Townsend, formerly with Homeland Security, now here with CNN, helping us out through this.
We want to get Allan Chernoff now, joining us on the phone with new information.
We can see cars now, Allan, starting to move.
Do we still have Allan?
We'll get Allan back. We'll get Allan back. No worries.
So, listen, talking to Fran Townsend, she's saying there are two different phases here. One is a technical review, the other one is a visual inspection.
Susan Candiotti said that she spoke with a New York City police officer a while ago. They did an x-ray. The x-ray is inconclusive about this suspicious device. They were suiting up members of the bomb squad to go take a closer look at it.
This traffic, we have not seen traffic moving here, and this is the first time we're seeing -- I don't know exactly what it means. It could mean that this is all over. Not sure. I don't want to say that until we get some confirmation.
Also, what you're looking at here, I believe -- was this during the time -- there we go. We're looking at -- see that bag? That is that cooler.
That's live pictures right there. And you saw the officer carrying that cooler in his hand, apparently what was left on Broadway, 1535 Broadway, that suspicious package that caused all this ruckus.
Again, we don't know what was in it. We don't know if it still has the potential to be harmful to anyone. But New York police are -- according to our Allan Chernoff, New York City police tell him that an all-clear is about to happen. An all-clear is about to happen within just a few minutes.
But what's interesting in all of this, live here on CNN, you saw what caused all of this ruckus down in Times Square. You saw it there.
There was -- it looked -- a white cooler. It looked to be -- and to me, from my vantage point here, yes, it looks to be like it was in a -- he was carrying it in some sort of green bag or green holding device there.
And there you go. You see the people there on the balconies, or what have you, on the high-rises there in New York City, and they are taking pictures of whatever that was.
Look at the cars, though, too, in Times Square starting to move. That is what traffic looks like in Times Square. That's what it's supposed to look like. You see all those yellow taxicabs, people milling about, and that is what it's supposed to look like.
Again, our Allan Chernoff says about to get the all-clear.
Susan Candiotti standing by live.
Susan, you gave us some new information a while ago. What do you have now?
CANDIOTTI: Right. It matches what Allan has and goes a bit further.
This New York City police official tells us not only is it all clear, but now we now know what was inside the cooler. And the answer is water bottles.
Water bottles inside that cooler. And so now they are removing it from the scene. The tape has come down.
The official says that pedestrian traffic is free to go on, as well as vehicular traffic. So the tape's come down, as Allan noted, and we have the official word now from this police commissioner, deputy commissioner, that, in fact, pedestrians are free to go. The pedestrian mall is open, cars can go through, all-clear sign.
LEMON: Susan, do you know what? We were all hoping it was all for naught, right? And we're glad that it turned out to be that.
But what have we come to when some water bottles cause this much chaos in the middle of the day, on a Friday evening, when people are just getting ready to prepare to enjoy their weekends?
Hold that thought, Susan, because I want to get to Allan Chernoff, because Allan is on the scene.
And Allan, this just really shows how jittery not only New York, but just people around the country are now following 9/11 and then what happened on Saturday.
CHERNOFF: Yes, (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON: Having a bit of an issue there with Allan.
Allan, are you there? Can you hear me?
CHERNOFF: Yes, Don. I can hear you, and I'm talking right now to Paul Brown (ph). He's the chief spokesperson for the New York City Police Department.
He just told me that, indeed, what I observed a moment ago. It was a small green fabric cooler. Very small, the type that you would put two sandwiches and a soda can in. And also, a little shopping bag, one of those where it looks to be one of those recyclable shopping bags containing some papers.
They were very lightweight, again, but they took precautions. They brought in the bomb squad. They x-rayed the material.
It had been abandoned right in front of the Marriott Marquis Hotel. And as I said, while we were on the air, during the entire event, it easily could have been somebody simply leaving their lunch right by one of the tables and chairs that are now situated along Broadway. And this was in front of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, between 45th and 46th, forcing the closure of Times Square -- Don.
LEMON: Allan, man. As I was saying to you, it's just amazing that it has come to this, that people are so jittery. And imagine the manpower, Allan, that this has taken, the amount of money that this has cost not only New York City, but if there's any federal involvement, taxpayers across the country as well. But just think about that, considering what is going on now, Allan.
CHERNOFF: Right. Well, let's also keep in mind, Times Square always has a significant police presence. The bomb squad, yes, you know, they're here to serve, and they came immediately, checked it out. But, again, this was a very small cooler.
LEMON: Yes.
CHERNOFF: The type that you would just put your lunch in, and a little bag that would you put a newspaper in. And that's all it was, but it had been left in the middle of Times Square.
I think more than anything else, this shows us just how cautious the New York City Police Department is being right now, in the aftermath of that attempted bombing last Saturday night.
LEMON: And do you know what, Allan? Better safe than sorry. Hey, stand by real quickly. I'm going to talk to my producer.
Kelly, do we have that? Did we record with the cooler coming out? Can we turn that around, or no? Because I would like our viewers to see what Allan is reporting on now.
He described what it was, and as it was happening live here on CNN. I'm not sure whose camera it was, Allan's or Ali's, or whoever was out there. They were able to capture the police officers bringing that cooler out at the time. And people really just sort of clamoring around to figure out exactly what it was. And first, initially, it was thought to be a white cooler. I should say at first, it was report the as a suitcase. That turned out to be another incident.
Then initial reports of a white cooler, a soft-sided white cooler, a man leaving it and walking away. And then as it turns out, in the final analysis, it is a green cooler in a sort of carry-bag that you see, one of those felt-type fabric carry bags. And it turns out to be water bottles.
And it's just really -- there we go. Let's look at this. And you'll see it as it goes through here.
There we go. And, again -- go ahead. Put it on the air. We know it's unedited videotape. I think it's OK. Let's just be transparent about it.
This is the best video we have of this. This is of the package, and there it is right there, being carried by a New York City police officer.
There's a small green cooler, and then there's that green felt bag that Allan was talking about. That cooler had water bottles in it, and officers taking it away. Everyone clamoring around to see exactly what it was.
So, as it turns out, all is safe. Can't really say all is well with the world when you have situations like this, but all is clear and safe in New York City right now, where police officers just gave the all-clear of that suspicious package that was -- really held people captive not only in New York City, but also throughout this country, for quite some time now.
This all startled at about 1:15 Eastern Time here on the East Coast. Someone spotted a suspicious package, a cooler just sitting there. And because of the chaos and this failed bomb plot in New York City, in Times Square this weekend, of course everyone is in abundance of caution.
And police, the mayor, investigators have been saying citizens have to be vigilant just like that T-shirt vendor in New York City who really saved Times Square from an explosion and saved people from being injured and possibly killed. So, in an abundance of caution, someone spotted it, they did what they were supposed to do. They called authorities, the authorities came out and investigated.
And as it turns out, an hour later after reporting on this, it is all over. An hour and, what, 15 minutes now? It's all over, all clear in New York City.
That's the breaking news that we have been following here on CNN. There's lots more to report on.
We're also checking the markets. The Dow plunged yesterday. People are jittery -- talking about New York City -- down in the financial district, on Wall Street. They're jittery as well, watching things for a different reason.
We're following breaking news here on CNN. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Our Chad Myers is standing by.
Chad, you've been watching all this. You're watching the weather, but you've been watching the situation.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
LEMON: And we've talked here for a minute, not chaotic. As we said, someone did what they were supposed to do there.
MYERS: Yes. I don't think that that was chaos. I think we saw it, we saw it from afar. They closed a couple of streets. You know, they did what they were supposed to do. They X-rayed it. It wasn't any big deal, they opened the street and it's all over.
LEMON: What, 90 or so a day, but unfortunately, because of what happened and rightly so, people are cautious. We've been seeing a little bit more and people reporting a little bit more.
MYERS: Sure.
LEMON: What do you have? People -- Nashville is still having problems and also down south as well where we are?
MYERS: Yes. Nashville is going to have some problems coming up over the weekend, but not really like we're going to see here across northern Ohio and back up into Cleveland, into Columbus and also, even into probably Toledo. That's where the severe weather will be with this event.
So, what do we have here for the rest of the day today and into the weekend? Remember we talked about the windy conditions yesterday, Don?
LEMON: Yes.
MYERS: Windy, that is good, very good. That's not a bad forecast. We want wind to dry things out in Nashville. No clouds, just a couple of -- just a couple of random passing clouds tomorrow. No showers. No showers on Sunday.
And then the showers come in -- pretty graphics here, by the way. Pretty showers on Monday and Tuesday, but not an inch of rain, not two inches of rain, no real flooding threats, no anticipated prolonging of the flooding because of the rain that's anticipated in the forecast.
LEMON: All right.
MYERS: There you go.
LEMON: Thank you very much.
MYERS: OK.
LEMON: Carrying this information, this is out the door the entire newscast here, had this here. So, it doesn't even -- that has nothing to do with anything. Thank you very much, Chad. Thank you for that.
And how apropos, we just went to Chad, because we're going to go now to the ground. Six days after record-breaking flooding in Tennessee, the water receding now. But that just means the extent of the damage is coming into view, into closer view now. In Nashville alone, the mayor now estimates damage at $1.5 billion and that is only -- only -- the beginning.
CNN's Martin Savidge joins us now live from Nashville.
Martin, one of the concerns: tourism and getting money back into the city. What is the very latest from your vantage point?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, exactly. That is the real concern. Nashville is a huge destination for many tourists. They generate most of their revenue as a result of tourist dollars.
We are standing on the property of the Opryland Hotel. If you know anything about Nashville, it is a massive resort complex. It was heavily affected as a result of the flooding. Water got into all of the atriums here and into some of the rooms. As a result, it's going to be closed down for several months. They believe that it could be September or November.
OK. What does that mean? Well, that means initially 10 percent of the hotel rooms in the city of Nashville are now no longer available. That means, for major conventions, it could be a problem. They may have to move to another city.
Twenty-five percent of the city's hotel tax revenue comes from this building, this facility right here. A major economic cutback at the time you need the money, of course, to recover in this city.
On top of that, here on the ground, home of the Grand Ole Opry house, that is considered hallowed ground of many country music fans. Water there rose to two feet above the famed stage.
Right now, we're going to listen to Colin Reed. He is with Gaylord Entertainment. He describes what it looks like, what they lost, what they saved. Here's what he said --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN REED, CEO, GAYLORD ENTERTAINMENT CO.: When this thing was going down rapidly, on Sunday afternoon, Steve and I -- Steve Buchanan, who is the president of the Opry, we had a conversation about 5:00, and the conversation was this thing could get out of hand in a heartbeat, and Steve was -- Steve took people into the Opry House at that time and worked until 8:00 at night until we made the decision to evacuate, literally moving the memorabilia up to retain the memorabilia.
We probably have lost some of the historical tapes. We're going to do everything in our power to restore the stuff that's been damaged by water. But fortunately, because of the actions of the Opry Management on Sunday afternoon, a vast majority of this irreplaceable stuff is safe and sound.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Interesting footnote. There were about 1,500 guests that were staying in this hotel that were evacuated when the storm struck. Of that number, 800 were part of a military defense Pentagon Department gathering here. It's part of an annual conference. They were talking about communications. They left.
The sensitive material, including some equipment, had to remain behind. Right now, it's in one of the ballrooms, off-limits. So far, they haven't been through it. They are trying to get to that material. Security here very tight, and that's one of the reasons why. Not quite black helicopter stuff, interesting nonetheless, though.
LEMON: Very interesting. Martin Savidge, thank you very much. Appreciate your reporting in Tennessee.
And to find out how you can make a difference and help the flood victims, visit CNN's "Impact Your World" page. It's at CNN.com/impact.
We've been following breaking news here on CNN, but there are other stories to cover as well, including your top stories.
And this -- let's see if we can get the Dow and the big board behind us. Look at that -- down 136 points. Not quite like yesterday, but, still, it is down. We're checking that.
Our folks are down on Wall Street, down at the stock market, and we're looking at that. We'll be following until it closes.
We're back in a moment here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want to check your top stories right now on CNN. You're looking at that I've overhead picture from Times Square, where, really, it was just people were very concerned there just a short time ago. Traffic moving again after parts of Times Square were evacuated.
An unattended cooler -- that's what prompted the evacuation. But it turned out to contain water bottles. The incident comes less than a week. Of course, after that attempted car bombing in New York City. Everyone is a bit jittery.
But guess what? Someone there did exactly what the investigators and the mayor said to do. They saw something suspicious that looked out of place, left there alone, and they called authorities. And so, they did the right thing there. We'll continue to check on exactly what happened in New York City.
In the meantime, other headlines -- this one from Greece. A little bit of resolve. Fears of Greece's massive debt, the debt crisis spreading to other E.U. states prompted euro leaders to meet today, pushing for 110 billion euro bailout package, that's about $145 billion. That's about what it is.
Now, the three biggest contributors: Germany, France, and Italy -- all approved their share of the cash today.
And in the United Kingdom, yesterday's election resulted in no party getting the majority of the parliamentary seats. Why does it matter? Well, in the U.K, the party that wins the majority selects their leader to be the prime minister. If they win, they select the leader to be the prime minister.
Because no one won the majority, there's a hung parliament. We'll have more about that phrase later on in the show. What does it mean to have a hung parliament?
Both incumbent Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his top rival, David Cameron, are reaching out to the liberal democrats, a third party whose support could be decisive.
And pro-football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor is out of jail on $75,000 bail after being charged with third-degree rape in New York. He's accused of having sex with a 16-year-old who police describe as a runaway prostitute. That's how they describe her. Lawrence Taylor denies the charges.
Let's get you now back to New York City, but for a different reason. Let's look at the big board on Wall Street. The Dow down 126 -- about 125 points, off 119. We're going to check in with our Christine Romans and our folks who everybody watching this very closely since yesterday's plummet of the Dow.
Back in a moment -- live report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's see -- at this time yesterday, I was standing here really sort of just moving around, jumping around, looking at the big board behind me, getting word in my ear from producers, wondering what in the world was going on. They said, "Don, the Dow is plunging get to it."
Christine Romans, I could have used your help yesterday. Where were you and what's going on now?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is it your fault? I was at the doctor's office. I had to get called back here. I made it here in three minutes flat.
LEMON: You know, it's good that we can smile about it now, but people are really seriously watching the market right now, yes? ROMANS: Yes. No, they really are. And you're right, there are 296 stocks where some of those crazy trades late yesterday that you're talking about have actually been canceled. So, there are some people who might have thought they really got hurt yesterday. Those trades have been canceled. People are still trying to sort it all out.
But what we're seeing here today is a continuation really of that volatility. You had stocks up and down. Still watching what's happening in Greece -- watching a German vote on ratifying Germany's contribution to a big bailout of Greece, something that's incredibly important for the future of the European Union.
And so, you still have, you know, an eye on domestic stocks here to what's happening abroad and that's still happening.
Also this feeling that -- as we say in the markets, Don -- that volatility is running hot. It is. I mean, the fear factor is still pretty high here. After 14 months of the stock market basically going up, this is your first real chance to test whether it can pull back. And so, that's -- that's what we're seeing here.
So, I predict another, you know, hour and 15 minutes of some choppy -- choppy trading. People are very unnerved by the stock market action -- both yesterday but also we had several days of losses before that, Don.
LEMON: And, Christine, you know, we're saying people don't even like to look at their 401(k)s now or their investments. Here's my question for you -- we thought that, you know, the market would sort of correct itself and get back on track because of how high it had been trading lately. But does that mean anything? Is that -- was that a bad prediction or --
ROMANS: Look, yesterday -- you should look at your 401(k) frequently -- yesterday is not a reason for any of us to run out there and make any changes. But it is a reason for us to remember, I'm not supposed to just put this in a drawer, I'm supposed to be taking a good look at it.
On "YOUR MONEY" this weekend with Ali, we take a really good look with Doug Flynn and Ryan Mack about what specifically you should be doing with gold, with the S&P 500 stocks, with international stocks. You know, don't -- don't just --
LEMON: Everything that's in your portfolio, including your 401(k).
Hey, Christine, I'm sorry to cut you off.
ROMANS: Sure.
LEMON: We have breaking news, so, you know, our time is short. But continue to watch the markets.
ROMANS: No problem.
LEMON: We'll be watching it. Rick will be watching it when he comes up in just a little bit.
ROMANS: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you, Christine Romans.
ROMANS: Yes.
LEMON: We're being told that our Ed Henry has some new information. He's standing by in Washington.
Ed, a scoop on a Supreme Court announcement? Hold that thought.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Maybe. I don't know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: That caught me by surprise. That is -- what is that -- "Law & Order"? Our Ed Henry. Ed Henry is here.
So, Ed, we're doing that "Law & Order" because -- go ahead.
HENRY: Well, I'm going to say that I've got a picture today, because I'm in the bureau so I can see what you're doing. The other day at the White House I didn't have a TV in front of me and I know you're apparently patting me on the head. Well, this time, I'm going to watch you.
LEMON: I freaked the lighting people over because I was walk over and, you know, when you're on the set, you have to be in your (INAUDIBLE). Everybody was saying, oh, in my ear. Yes, relax, I think the viewers enjoy it at home. They know all this stuff that's going.
HENRY: That's all good.
LEMON: I think the reason we're playing that "Law & Order" because, you know, it has something to do with the Supreme Court.
HENRY: Sure.
LEMON: And we didn't want to, you know, tell our viewers that you had something on the announcement, but you do have some information.
HENRY: Well, yes. It's going to -- it's very likely to happen on Monday as what I'm told by senior people close to the president. And what's really fascinating is that they say that behind the scenes, the president has been very much in a mood of, you know, sort of what if we do this, what if we do that, in terms of different directions on different potential nominees -- which tells us he hasn't quite made up his mind yet.
There had been some buzz earlier in the week he'd made up his mind, that it was going to be Elena Kagan, the solicitor general. He also interviewed, though, this week, with Diane Wood, and our Supreme Court producer, Bill Mears, points out, he's got some good intelligence that the last time around when Justice Sotomayor got picked, Diane Wood was somebody who the president was very high on in the one-on-one interview, and very interesting that the final interview he had then was with Justice Sotomayor, and she got it. Final interview this time, Judge Wood.
So, a lot of people are betting on Elena Kagan. She may very well get it on Monday or Tuesday, but don't discount Judge Wood and some of the other nominees.
LEMON: So, you think it's going to be on Monday and Tuesday, it's not going to happen over the weekend, is it?
HENRY: It's highly unlikely over the weekend. There was some buzz in talking to senior people, the president was thinking about getting this done this week. And I think other events intervened, the Times Square bombing from -- attempted bombing from over the past weekend, the oil spill got a little bit worse this week.
This White House has been dealing with a lot of crises --
LEMON: Yes, a lot of stuff.
HENRY: -- and they're going to be happy to see this week over. They're hoping to turn the page next week with the Supreme Court nominee.
LEMON: Hey, listen, I didn't say -- you I patted you on the head there or something, is there something in the paper?
HENRY: Well, you know, I think the "Daily News" has something today about the new set, and there was a giant picture of me and you're standing next to it. And you weren't patting me on the head in the case which I'm glad because my parents live, and it might look kind of demeaning to me if you'd be patting me on the head.
LEMON: I was just complimenting. I was complimenting you on your shirt and tie combination. Your parents by the way are great. You know, I e-mailed them online.
HENRY: They are big fans of Don Lemon. They watch you every Saturday and Sunday night. So, they are happy to see you filling in for Ali.
LEMON: They are great.
Hi, mom and dad -- Ed's mom and dad. Hello to you. There we go over here. It's good to see you.
HENRY: They will love that. They love you, Don.
LEMON: Let's talk about -- you got a Twitter war going on?
HENRY: Yes. You know, I just wanted to point out, you know, in the interest of fairness. You know, Ali's been on vacation. So, this week, I'm picking up a lot more followers and Ali is trailing behind. But I have an interesting full disclosure to point out, you've got more followers than Ali and I combined. So, I did a little research as to why maybe -- how we can step it up. I think we've even have a graphic there.
And I'm looking at what you've been tweeting and I'm thinking, you know, maybe I need to step it up. Last weekend, for example, you tweeted -- I think you were in New York -- lobster roll at Mary's fish camp in New York City, yum. Then you had one shortly thereafter. I think it's probably tied to the lobster roll, which basically said, just woke up, not on tonight, on tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., got a nice snooze though.
You know, these are the kinds of things that I think this is why my parents watch you on the weekend, you show a lot of personality. People want to know what Don Lemon is up to every single minute of the day.
LEMON: You know, it's really fun that you said that because I used not to want to tweet about the things and tweet about serious things -- and we have to run -- but people want to know personal things. And I figure, hey, this is the way to talk to the viewers. Some actually say, hey, I just saw you in New York City, down in the village and I was having dinner, and so, I tweeted that. And then someone said, Don, you've been working 24 hours, and then I was responding, nice snooze.
HENRY: Every time I take a nap, I'm going to tweet about it and maybe I'll catch up to you one of these days.
LEMON: Thank you, sir. Have a great weekend.
HENRY: Happy weekend.
LEMON: All right. It's always good to see you.
All right. So, listen, to us, it is a problem that is totally foreign -- to most of us Americans, it's totally foreign, "Wordplay," global edition -- straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
LEMON: You know, all this week, we have been coming to you from our new studio and bringing you some new segments here as well -- and one of them, there it is right there. Most every day at this time, we're going to do something called "Wordplay," right? The idea is to take a term that is popping up in the headlines that might be unfamiliar to a lot of people and explain it.
So, we close out the week with this term, "hung parliament" -- "hung parliament." So, here's what we're going to tell you what a hung parliament is. Stay with me here.
It's all very, very proper. It is a British term referring to a House of Commons in which no single party holds a majority of seats. That's exactly what we have in the aftermath of yesterday's elections. And it's a problem because in the parliamentary system, the majority party forms the government and passes the government's legislation.
Now, the party with the most seats -- that would be the conservatives -- is reaching out to the party with the third-most seats that would be the liberal democrats. The goal: to form a coalition and shut off the party with the second most seats, that would be Labour, L-A-B-O-U-R, not the way we spell it here, who's rule for 13 years.
So, stay tuned for that.
I want to talk about the troubled athletes in my "XYZ" coming up. I know you've heard way too much of them already, but I want to go beyond the salacious headlines and get to the heart of the story. "XYZ" -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Now, it's time for my "XYZ." Here we go.
Athletes in trouble -- it happens so often that it doesn't surprise us when we hear about it. The details are always sordid, for example, the rape accusations against football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor. Innocent until proven guilty, of course, but most of the focus has been on him, not the accuser, a 16-year-old runaway allegedly beaten and sold into prostitution.
The bigger story is here, how do thousands of children end up in this situation every year? Imagine that trauma, that kind of life. And the sad truth is: most of their stories don't get told by the mainstream media, broadcast around the world for all to see. That's because the alleged perpetrators don't possess bold-faced names like Taylor, Bryant, or Roethlisberger.
Imagine if people cared as much about the millions of children who were forced to becoming sex slaves as they do about scandal-filled headlines. Now, that would really make a difference now, wouldn't it?
So, back to where I started? Does the latest case involve so- called "bad-boy athlete's rise to the level of national traditional news coverage" or is it the stuff of tabloids? Well, I'm of two minds here.
If the coverage of the story focuses only on the salacious athletes, then we -- the mainstream media -- should just move on. But if in our reporting we can bring light and a platform to voiceless victims, I say it is the best way to fulfill one aspect of our mission here at CNN, and that is impacting our world, impacting your world. No easy answers here and I want you as an informed viewer to take it case by case.
I'm Don Lemon, and that's my "XYZ."
Now time for Rick Sanchez and "RICK'S LIST." Hello, Rick.
