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American Morning

Homeland Security: Security at Nation's Landmarks Tight As It Has Ever Been; U.S. Capitol Building Open

Aired October 22, 2001 - 11:33   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: After the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, security at many of the nation's landmarks is tight as it has ever been.

CNN's Rusty Dornin joins with us more from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

And more from there, Rusty, good morning.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, if I say the word San Francisco, what's the first thing you think of? What most Americans think of is the Golden Gate Bridge, which is exactly why people in this area felt it would be a primary area to target on the West Coast.

Immediately following the September 11th attacks, bridge officials shut down all pedestrian and bicycle traffic that crosses the bridge. That. Was shut down until September 30th. They finally reopened the span to foot traffic, but only during the daylight hours. Of course, they do patrol it very strictly. They have foot patrols, police on bicycles, and also on motorscooters. Also parked at each end of the bridge are California state highway patrolmen observing traffic crossing the bridge.

Most American cities, the bridges into most American cities carry a lot of truck traffic. That is not true about the Golden Gate Bridge. Trucks usually access from different areas, from the Bay Bridge and the peninsula. So they are not as worried about car and truck bomb on bridge as they are about what travels through the bridge, underneath the bridge. After September 11th, the Coast Guard began a program called the sea marshal program.

Coast Guard escorts board tankers and cargo ships 12 miles out to sea, and they guard the local harbor pilots as they steer these giant ships through the Golden Gate. The fear, of course, is that some terrorists might hijack the ship and crash it into one of the foundations of the Golden Gate Bridge or some area into the harbor. The bridge was built in the 1930s. They did build it to withstand a battering by a ship, but they did not build it to withstand the size of ships now at sea and coming through the gate.

So also on each side of the bridge, you see where the foundations of the Golden Gate Bridge are anchored on federal land. On one side you have the Presido National Park, on the other side is the national recreation area. That of course allows federal rangers to patrol. So they put a fencing and a lot of other security measures to guard what many people say is one of the favorite national landmarks in the U.S., and symbolic for many Americans -- Bill.

HEMMER: Rusty, you have an absolutely picture-perfect day there today, too. Enjoy it, OK.

Rusty Dornin, at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the country and Capitol Hill, back to business today, sort of anyway. The U.S. Capitol building is open, but most other government buildings close as the threat of anthrax exposure grows.

CNN's Kate Snow bringing is up to date from there.

Kate, good morning.

KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

The building behind me, as you say, open for business, but environmental sweeps and screening continuing in about 18 other buildings, some of them anyway, here on the U.S. Capitol grounds.

Over the weekend, however, we learned there was a House building, a building on the House side of the campus that has been found to be contaminated with anthrax, presence of anthrax in the Ford House office building. It was found specifically in the forward building, in the mail room of that building on a machine that bundles mail, bound for the building you see on the right of your screen, the Longworth Building.

Just a short time ago, CNN obtained new pictures from outside the Long Worth building. Military personnel, outside the building there. A spokesman for the U.S. Capitol police says the Department of Defense is assisting in the environmental testing and in the cleanup. You saw baby pools there. Those we've seen used by environmental crews in protective gear it rinse off after they emerge from some of the buildings.

The work continues. As you mention, the U.S. Capitol building very much open for business this morning. People coming in for their normal work day. Congressional staffers and employees are all back inside the building this morning.

Over the weekend, CNN obtained exclusive video of teams in protective gear, in white moon suits going in and out of the capitol budding overnight Saturday, into Sunday morning. We are told by one senior Republican aid that what we were doing is a sweep of the actual house chamber, making sure there were no traces of anthrax in the U.S. Capitol building. Preliminary test results telling them there are no traces of anthrax, that's why they were able to reopen the capitol this morning.

And, again, Bill, they hope to have the House and Senate back in session tomorrow -- Bill.

HEMMER: One day at a time, huh, Kate?

Kate Snow, on Capitol Hill, thanks.

I want to go further up the East Coast now and check in on CNN's Jason Carroll, watching the latest in New York City to bring us up to date now on this Monday.

Jason, good morning to you.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.

I can tell that the Department of Defense has sent out a rapid response team to help the testing being done here in New York City. Also tests have been done on several media outlets, including right here in "The New York Post," and so far, all of those tests have come back negative.

In addition to all of that, Governor George Pataki's office has reopened today. It was closed last week after investigators found small traces of anthrax there. They did an environmental sweep of his office. They took more than 140 samples. All of those samples, tests of those samples came back negative.

This morning, Governor Pataki was a guest on CNN, and he talked to Paula Zahn about the status of the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GEORGE PATAKI, NEW YORK: We don't know the source yet, but we do know that whatever the source was, the anthrax in the environment, in the office, was located only in one spot. The other test were negative. So everybody's back, and it's been cleaned up. So everybody is back. The offices are functioning well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: No one at the office was infected, but just as a precaution, the governor and his staff took Cipro, again, just as a precaution. So what we have here in New York City, four cases of cutaneous anthrax. We have the NBC News employee, that 7-month-old baby boy, the son of ABC News producer, the assistant at CBS, and one of the assistants here at "The New York Post." All of them are on antibiotics. All of them expected to make a full recovery -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Jason. And again, at this point, no cases of inhalation anthrax in New York City.

Jason, thanks.

Jason Carroll, there in New York.

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