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CNN Saturday Morning News
Millions of Americans Head off for Long Memorial Day Weekend
Aired May 24, 2003 - 09:10 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.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: National efforts are under way to guard against terror as millions of Americans head off for the long Memorial Day weekend. Many vacationers make a beeline for the beach. Security along the country's coastlines has obviously been ramped up.
Our Susan Candiotti is at the Cape Florida Park on Key Biscayne with more.
Well, we both know that beach well, don't we, Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do. And it's another hot and humid day here in south Florida, Andrea.
In Florida, there are 1,800 miles of coastline to protect. And in south Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for keeping an eye on almost 2 million square miles of the Atlantic. And then you have an untold number of inlets and beaches.
We're on one of them, Cape Florida State Recreational Park at the tip of Key Biscayne, with an historic lighthouse located right behind me here.
Of course, there are park patrols here and on all of Florida's beaches. But as we've seen, it's impossible to watch every square inch of them 24 hours a day. Migrants, for example, know this. They're often able to make it to shore.
Since September 11, of course, there's been a heightened state of awareness. And with the increased level of security, because of the heightened state of alert, there are even more patrols out. The Coast Guard, as always, uses radar, satellite, and all kind of intelligence, but also looks for help from the public. And, in fact, they have even started investigations because of some of their potential terror tips.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of these cases are under investigation, and certainly we haven't made any arrests of terrorists as a result of any of these leads, but they are all investigated. And we've been very pleased to respond to those calls and to open investigations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, what authorities stress time and again is that they want people to carry on their normal activities and have a good time, which is why people like Anastasio Mangalo (ph) and his son, Mike, have come out this Memorial Day weekend.
Did you think twice about coming out to the beach, what with the heightened state of alert?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not at all.
CANDIOTTI: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, if I stay home and worry about that, then they will be winning the war instead of us. And, you know, and I'm not going to do that.
CANDIOTTI: Not prepared to do that.
Well, that's exactly the kind of thing that authorities are looking for. They do expect a busy Memorial Day weekend, and they want not only people out here to be vigilant, but, as we said, there will be increased patrols out here this weekend as well.
Back to you, Andrea.
KOPPEL: Well, hopefully, you'll get an opportunity to enjoy some of that nice weather on the beach. Susan Candiotti, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Weekend>
Aired May 24, 2003 - 09:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: National efforts are under way to guard against terror as millions of Americans head off for the long Memorial Day weekend. Many vacationers make a beeline for the beach. Security along the country's coastlines has obviously been ramped up.
Our Susan Candiotti is at the Cape Florida Park on Key Biscayne with more.
Well, we both know that beach well, don't we, Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do. And it's another hot and humid day here in south Florida, Andrea.
In Florida, there are 1,800 miles of coastline to protect. And in south Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for keeping an eye on almost 2 million square miles of the Atlantic. And then you have an untold number of inlets and beaches.
We're on one of them, Cape Florida State Recreational Park at the tip of Key Biscayne, with an historic lighthouse located right behind me here.
Of course, there are park patrols here and on all of Florida's beaches. But as we've seen, it's impossible to watch every square inch of them 24 hours a day. Migrants, for example, know this. They're often able to make it to shore.
Since September 11, of course, there's been a heightened state of awareness. And with the increased level of security, because of the heightened state of alert, there are even more patrols out. The Coast Guard, as always, uses radar, satellite, and all kind of intelligence, but also looks for help from the public. And, in fact, they have even started investigations because of some of their potential terror tips.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of these cases are under investigation, and certainly we haven't made any arrests of terrorists as a result of any of these leads, but they are all investigated. And we've been very pleased to respond to those calls and to open investigations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, what authorities stress time and again is that they want people to carry on their normal activities and have a good time, which is why people like Anastasio Mangalo (ph) and his son, Mike, have come out this Memorial Day weekend.
Did you think twice about coming out to the beach, what with the heightened state of alert?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not at all.
CANDIOTTI: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, if I stay home and worry about that, then they will be winning the war instead of us. And, you know, and I'm not going to do that.
CANDIOTTI: Not prepared to do that.
Well, that's exactly the kind of thing that authorities are looking for. They do expect a busy Memorial Day weekend, and they want not only people out here to be vigilant, but, as we said, there will be increased patrols out here this weekend as well.
Back to you, Andrea.
KOPPEL: Well, hopefully, you'll get an opportunity to enjoy some of that nice weather on the beach. Susan Candiotti, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Weekend>
