Suspicious Packages Found at Greek Embassy in Rome; Monster Blizzard Blasts Northeast: Blizzard, Flood Warnings in Connecticut
ACOSTA: And we are following developing news from Europe this morning. Reuters reporting Italian bomb experts have defused an explosive package found at the Greek embassy in Rome. Suspicious packages at other embassies have proven to be false alarms. Just last week, bombs exploded at the Chilean and the Swiss embassies in Rome. An anarchist group claimed responsibility for last week's attacks. Police say the package they found today at the Greek embassy was similar to the ones used last week.</s>CHETRY: Well, back to our top story now. This monster blizzard hammering the northeast and grounding air travel across the country. This storm when all is said and done could dump 30 inches of snow in some areas. Right now, it's still hammering New England, Connecticut right in the thick of it. Joining us now on the phone is Peter Boynton. He is the commissioner of the Department of Emergency Management in the state. Thanks for being with us, Peter. I know you're busy. Hopefully, we can get some good information out to people though that are in the area. First of all, the highways, I-95 in some parts shut down. What's the latest?</s>PETER BOYNTON, CONNECTICUT DEPT. OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (via telephone): Good morning. Governor Rell in Connecticut held a meeting this morning at 5:30 to review the situation with her state commissioners. Connecticut Department of Transportation has 843 trucks out on the road. The Connecticut National Guard has pre-staged equipment at armories if needed. And our electric utilities are reporting just under 14,000 outages with an additional 16,000 that have already been restored through the night.</s>CHETRY: And thank you for that update. What about the interstate right now? Do you know anything about 95 being shut down? We just got a notice saying that because of a bunch of spinouts, they have shut down portions of it.</s>BOYNTON: We did have a report of down to one lane in the portion of I-95 going from Connecticut into New York. Over the last 12 hours, the Connecticut state police has had over 975 calls for service. About 153 accidents, no fatalities, about 12 minor injuries through the night.</s>CHETRY: And we are heading into the morning commute. Some people may already be trying to make their way in. What are the recommendations right now -- if you can't stay home, if you have to come into work and you're coming from Connecticut to New York, what's the best bet right now?</s>BOYNTON: Well, we're fortunate that the state has a furlough day today which will reduce traffic. Many schools are out, as well, which will also help. And again, the DOT has over 800 trucks out right now. If you have to be on the road, of course, the rule of the day is take it slow. The roads have been plowed, but are still snow-covered. So keep the speed down. And if you don't have to go out, Governor Rell has asked people to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.</s>CHETRY: Also, not only the snow on the roads, but, I mean, it's very hard to see. People need to remember the -- the winds are blowing snow. And it's difficult -- places that may look familiar to you, suddenly it's very difficult to make your way around. The other question is public transportation. How are you guys doing in terms of your bus service? In terms of your train service? Your rails?</s>BOYNTON: Connecticut DOT reported at the 5:30 meeting this morning that bus lines are running. Metro North had reported a stoppage on the New Haven line due to mechanical problems. And you make a great point about visibility. Even though the roads have been plowed and those trucks are still out there, we are still in the middle of a blizzard. Blizzard warnings remain up in the state until noon today. So in addition to the snow, strong winds remain, and so visibility is an issue, as well as you've pointed out. And that's another reason to keep the speeds slow.</s>CHETRY: I was surprised, as well, that your airport, Bradley International Airport is open.</s>BOYNTON: That's correct.</s>CHETRY: And that flights are leaving. How is that able to happen? As we know here in New York, all of our major airports have shut down.</s>BOYNTON: Well, Bradley stayed open through the night, able to receive flights. Now many flights had already been canceled, so they weren't coming in. But they were open to receive flights and DOT reports that they're still open this morning. They're doing a great job clearing snow despite the conditions.</s>CHETRY: Right. People can check out bradleyairport.com if they want to get information on that. And as we said, we're dealing with some tough road conditions out there. So if you are traveling in the state, be careful. On top of that, I know you guys have a coastal flood advisory in some of the areas, some other weather advisories. What should people know?</s>BOYNTON: Well, conditions along the shoreline can be hazardous with this type of storm activity. The high winds -- we recorded gusts of up to 60 miles an hour in several communities along the coast last night and also in the capital city of Hartford. So be aware of those conditions along the shoreline. The governor held a call with over 200 officials from local towns, including shoreline communities yesterday in preparation for the storm and those shoreline conditions can be especially hazardous given that high water warning.</s>CHETRY: Absolutely. Well, thanks for the update this morning. I know as you said also, some areas that are experiencing outages, they're working to get that back up and running today. Peter Boynton, commissioner with the Department of Emergency Management in Connecticut, thanks so much.</s>BOYNTON: Thank you.</s>ACOSTA: Good information there. And it's important to point out that, you know, some of the pressure readings from this storm are similar to what you would find in a category two hurricane. So, I mean, when you're talking about 80-mile-per-hour wind gusts out on Long Island, people in this area need to realize that, you know, even though it looks spectacular outside and you want to get in it, you could be, you know, taking a huge risk if you try to get out there and do something.</s>CHETRY: Yes. You know what? I also noticed I would never dream of taking my minivan out or sedan.</s>ACOSTA: Yes.</s>CHETRY: But a lot of people who have a 4 by 4, or have, you know, a four-wheel drive think that they're invincible on the roads.</s>ACOSTA: Yes.</s>CHETRY: I mean, it's tough out there. So --</s>ACOSTA: And you would know because your four-wheel drive vehicle was having trouble getting in this morning.</s>CHETRY: Oh, yes, I don't own one but yes, we have --</s>ACOSTA: The service that brought you in --</s>CHETRY: Yes, we had to get somebody who had a four-wheel drive. And it's still -- I mean, we were sliding all over the place.</s>ACOSTA: Yes. All right. So take care out there. Now, we are following some other stories this morning because, you know, every once in a while you have to keep it on the lighter side. Keep in mind here that this has happened before. Hugh Hefner, the twice divorced founder of "Playboy" magazine, he is taking the marriage plunge once again. His bride-to-be a 24-year-old playmate. The happy couple up next in our "Morning Talkers."</s>CHETRY: Of course, we're going to continue our live coverage of the developments of the northeast storm. The fury of this blizzard. Right now, you're looking at a live picture. That's 5th Avenue in New York City.</s>ACOSTA: Wow.</s>CHETRY: By this time of day, it's packed normally filled with yellow cabs and so on and so on. And there you see it. More snow, intense winds in store across the northeast today. We're also learning that Amtrak is resuming limited service between Boston and New York. So call ahead. Try to figure out the situation there. Maybe that will be your way home today. A live report coming up.