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Wall Street Plunges in Early Trading; Calls for Congress to End FAA Shutdown; Obama to Congress: Come Back, Fix FAA; Public Outraged by FAA Shutdown; David Cassidy Says Sony Cheated Him; Live Updates on Lockdown on Virginia Tech Campus; Tour Bus Flips on Highway; Bear "Manhandles" Young Campers; Town Almost Bone Dry; 33 Days of 100 Plus Degrees in Dallas; Heat Wave Holds Tight Across South; Rescuers Rush to Save Buried Teen

Aired August 04, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It is 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out West. Thanks for staying with us everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.

Outrage growing against Congress as the summer recess shuts down much of the FAA. 4,000 employees furloughed plus thousands of others working on airport construction projects.

And no relief today from the deadly heat wave baking the south and Midwest. Now, dozens of death in Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona.

After a salacious sex scandal and a two year losing streak, Tiger Woods returns to the PGA Tour. In less than four hours, he tees off in the Bridgestone Invitational

Well, we want to begin this hour with another breathtaking plunge on Wall Street. We're just about 30 minutes into the new trading day and it looks like your investments and retirement plans may be in for another wild ride.

Alison Kosik in the New York Stock Exchange, so what's the latest and what do you think is the cause for the big drop this morning?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, what set stocks off today it entails been more worries about the health of European economies and the debt crisis over there, some comments from the head of the European Central Bank.

There's one factor that's really rattling the markets, Jean- Claude Trichet says risks to economic growth in Europe. They may be growing more intense.

As for here in the U.S. we're watching stocks plunge. The Dow right now is actually at an almost 8 percent drop from its recent highs, that's equivalent to almost 1,000 points. That's a loss of almost 1,000 points.

It's part of the reason why we're seeing a bit spike. That's the fear index here on Wall Street that sort of measures fear in the market place. The VIX is spiking almost 8 percent. You know, this is after we got a weekly jobless claims report showing it with actually slightly better than expected.

First-time filings for unemployment claims fell by 1,000, but they're still trending at that 400,000 level so we're really seeing people continuing to be laid off, that these jobless claims are really just treading water at this point.

You know what this means that investors, Kyra, they're bracing themselves for tomorrow when the big government jobs report comes out. You have to remember June's job editions of the economy were pathetic. We only added 18,000 jobs so Wall Street is really bracing for the numbers that come out tomorrow. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Alison Kosik, thanks.

Congress celebrated it's long overdue deal on the debt crisis by racing out of town for summer recess and lost in that cloud of dust, funding for the FAA and 4,000 workers who now can't be paid.

And tens of thousands of private workers are also being cut off because the airport construction projects had to be shutdown. More than a billion dollars in taxes also may go uncollected and for all the workers, the next month will be agonizing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK DEPLASCO, FURLOUGHED FAA WORKER: Personally, this is devastating. I have spent -- I spend most of my day trying to figure out what can I not pay, what can I pay, where can I get extra cash? We're pretty much going to burn through all of our savings within a month.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Covering all the angles on this story, Brianna Keilar is at the White House and Athena Jones is on Capitol Hill. Brianna, let's go ahead and start with you. What's the president calling for?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Come back, Congress, that's what the president is calling for, Kyra, he said this yesterday, calling this a self-inflicted wound and the face of the pressure that the White House is putting on Congress is the Transportation Secretary, Ray Lahood who is a Republican.

He was at the top of the White House briefing yesterday and last hour, I was standing out here for about 20 minutes and I watched him do the cable rounds, he was on MSNBC, he was on CNN earlier in the morning, he went over to Fox, then he went over to Bloomberg TV.

This is the message the White House is really trying to hammer. You know, one of the interesting things about this, Kyra, is this number that we're hearing Democrats as well as the White House use. And we've done a fact check on it.

It's the 70,000 people who are without work because of this, or 74,000 as we heard White House Press Secretary Jay Carney yesterday say. This is very interesting because actually the George Mason University professor, Stephen Fuller whose study was used to come up with that figure, Kyra, has said that the number is actually more like a third of that 70,000 number.

The White House is saying it's about 4,000 FAA workers furloughed and 70,000 construction workers who are not able to do airport construction projects, but Fuller saying this is a simplification at best and an exaggeration at worst, but still tens of thousands of people not working this month because of this, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Tens of thousands of jobs. So Athena, let me ask you, how are lawmakers there on Capitol Hill reacting to the latest round of pretty bad P.R.?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this morning I spoke with a Democratic aide who said that there are discussions ongoing. That there was optimism that they might be able to work this out sometime the next couple of days.

But what's at issue here is that the Democrats and Republicans are fighting over how to do this temporary funding for the FAA. This is a measure that has been fairly routine in recent years. They've done this temporary extensions 20 times since 2007.

But the issue right now is that House passed bill that a Republican congressman attached to a provision to that would eliminate some funding for rural airports. We're talking about subsidizing commercial flights to airports in small towns and places like Nevada and Montana and New Mexico.

These are airports that may get say 500 passengers over the course of an entire year and they've got the government helping subsidize to the tune of let's say $3,700 a ticket in one estimate. So the Republicans say that we need to not waste that money.

Democrats say that the Republicans are just using this rural airport issue to try to force the Democrats' hand on another larger issue, which is the issue of unionizing workers. Democrats wanted to make it easier for airline workers to unionize. Republicans don't want that.

And so that's what the battle is over. We're getting some indications that we might be able to see some movement, but we have to stay tuned for what that will look like, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. All right, Athena, thanks. Well, you remember the "Partridge Family" pop star David Cassidy? His face was all over the place in the '70s. You probably had the "Tiger Beat" magazine, right? Remember the game boards to lunch boxes? Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CASSIDY, ACTOR: I was told by my manager that I received a check for $5,000 and I never heard another word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So now almost 40 years later, Cassidy claims he was cheated out of merchandising profits and wants to get paid. But the show's owner says that's not true. The CNN Exclusive coming up.

Plus an incredible rescue effort to save a boy buried alive at the beach. We're talking to the battalion chief straight ahead.

President Obama hits the big 5-0, celebrating his birthday with celebrities, politicians and, yes, a little serenade by Kate Hudson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: OK, we're just getting word. I'm just going to read it to you straight from what our desk is telling us right now.

Virginia Tech, apparently it's gone on lockdown. This is the same university by the way, back in 2007, you'll remember that gunman, the student there unloaded on students and teachers, more than 30 people died in that shooting rampage.

Now we're getting word, once again, from Virginia Tech, the police there telling us that there's a possibility of a person carrying a weapon there on campus. So they are suggesting that everyone stay inside for their safety.

Apparently, regular school is not in session right now, but summer sessions are still going on. Not sure who first reported this, but right now Virginia Tech police saying that the university -- Virginia Tech University is on lockdown, possibly because of a person carrying a weapon there on campus.

We're following this for you getting news by the second now, we'll keep you posted.

All right, let's check other news cross country, at least 30 people are injured, one critically after an accident in New York State. A bus carrying Polish tourists flipped on the interstate. Police say the driver was going too fast for the rainy conditions last night.

And a scary night for some campers in northern New Jersey, a black bear wandered into their campsite actually grabbing one of the sleeping boys by the foot. He went into another tent and swiped at another boy. They're fine just some superficial wounds. The bear, wondered off on its own.

Turned on the faucet this morning in a small town in Oklahoma and you're not going to get anything. Two hundred homes bone dry. Officials say they can't get water to one of the sections of Keatonville. There's only 12 feet of water in that tower. There's supposed to be 115 feet. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK STULL, MANAGER, RURAL WATER DISTRICT 3: This is one of the most serious conditions that this district has ever experienced. By the time I get the water to Keatonville, all the people in this area have used the water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The town's buying 2,800 gallons of water per minute from Tulsa now, but other areas could go dry as well.

It's another blazing hot day across much of the south. If it hits 100 degrees in Dallas today, that would be the 34th day in a row, 34 days, that's led to a record number of power usage for the state of Texas.

Ed Lavandera just outside of Dallas for us. So Ed, you know, what exactly are people doing in the south to protect themselves?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, a lot of people just basically staying indoors as much as they can. One of the interesting sights I saw, huge, long line, a few days ago, of cars trying to get into one of the shopping malls here in Dallas.

I figure that kind of made sense. You can save the electrical bill at your own house and use someone else's air conditioning. So you see a lot of that and a lot of people just staying inside as long as possible, but of course that's creating the electrical demand that state regulators are really worried about.

And that will happen again today, emergency warnings going out asking people to conserve as much energy as possible. We have seen some rolling blackouts and temporary outages in various areas of the state due to increased demand and we'll continue to see that today.

But, Kyra, as you mentioned, today will very likely go over 100 degrees making it 34 straight days. The all-time record here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is 42 days. We'll reach that mark next Friday if things continue and forecasters say definitely through the weekend, we'll be seeing temperatures over 100 degrees.

And it's possibly very likely that that will continue into next week, so the reality of probably reaching that record is very real so we'll see how that plays out. But no other city is suffering like Wichita Falls, Texas, which broke of consecutive 100-degree days at 43 yesterday.

Kyra, they dropped down below 100 degrees one time, they're down at 98. Have they not done that, they would have gone now 63 straight days with temperatures over 100 degrees. And of course, it's very dangerous situation.

We have seen more than two dozen heat related deaths in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. And of course, now as we're getting closer to school starting up, some students in Oklahoma City, classes started this week.

They found they didn't have air conditioning in various classrooms so they had to move kids to another place. They've got school buses without airconditioning. They have to load up ice and water under those buses to protect those kids. And of course you've got football players and marching bands out here in this heat as well. Many precautions being taken to protect those kids as well.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it just amazes me that they're still out there practicing and especially the band students. It's kind of hard to comprehend. We'll keep talking to you, Ed, as we follow those temps. More than 30 days now past 100 degrees.

Look at this, a California teen was almost buried alive and it's caught on video. That's about 100 people that you see there rushing to help rescue the boy. He was under seven feet of beach sand.

He was trapped for about half an hour too, so lack of oxygen, definitely an issue. We've actually got Battalion Chief Jeff Boyles from the New Port Beach Fire Department on the phone.

Chief, let's start -- let's start sort of at the beginning here. What did you find when you arrived on scene, once you got the call?

BATTALION CHIEF JEFF BOYLES, NEW PORT BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): Well, when we arrived on scene, lifeguards, New Port Beach lifeguards were already on scene with numerous bystanders and the bystanders were using anything that they could to help dig this young man out.

Anything from their hands to buckets to swim fins to bogey boards. We do know that this 17-year-old man was visiting our beach from the east coast and he and his cousins were digging a hole that was about seven feet deep and they started to go lateral inside that hole creating a tunnel.

And he was down in the tunnel by himself when the sand collapsed basically burying him alive, but fortunately for him, his cousin had the wherewithal to run over to a lifeguard tower who activated the emergency response system.

We had three different urban search and rescue units, from Huntington Beach, the city of Costa Mesa and New Port Beach and about 40 firefighters and all about a dozen New Port Beach lifeguards and ultimately about 30 to 40 bystanders as well.

As you can imagine, time is of the essence in these types of situations because he's buried and he can't breathe beneath the sand -- using proper techniques to keep it from collapsing back on to him.

PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you this. You know, I grew up in southern California and you know, you're always building sand castles and you're digging holes, but you know, they were trying -- do you have any idea why they were trying to build this tunnel? Were they just out having fun? Was there a purpose behind doing this? I mean, these aren't like 10-year-old kids with little shovels and pails, like you said, they're almost -- - you know, they're adults.

BOYLES: You're correct, and any time you dig a hole past about waist height, you do run the risk of that sand coming back in on you and that's something that's very important that we try and get out to the public not to dig too deep and the lifeguards do try and patrol that.

But it was a busy day, he did get beneath the surface and no one noticed it for a while. I don't know to be quite honest with you where he thought he was going with that other than the fact that he was trying to dig an elaborate tunnel.

And he got down there and that sand came in and he was buried alive for a good 30 minutes or so. As you can imagine, when we pulled him out, he was lethargic, he was hypoxic, he was without air, not completely without air the whole time.

He did have some air, but he was rushed to Hope Hospital and he didn't sustain any life-threatening injuries. So it was a good rescue and he was very fortunate. He's a lucky man today to be alive to be quite honest.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he is and it's pretty incredible to see all the people that joined in to help you out and all those firefighters. Chief Jeff Boyles, New Port Beach Fire Department, thanks so much for calling in.

Well, still ahead, the latest from Virginia Tech. A school official is going to update us on the campus lockdown and those reports about that we just told you about, about a gunman on the loose that's just about two minutes away. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: OK, just about 10 minutes ago, we told you about the possibility a gunman is on the loose on the campus of Virginia Tech. You remember this is the same campus back in 2007 where more than 30 people were killed when a student went on a shooting rampage.

On the phone with us now, Lynn Davis, she works for Virginia Tech in Communications. Lynn, you're actually being told in an area right next to Dietrich Dining Hall where apparently this gunman may be. Can you just bring us up-to-date on what the situation is?

LYNN DAVIS, VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNICATIONS (via telephone): Well, at 9:37, we got alerts from the computer and the phone to a person with a gun reported near Dietrich and my office is next to Dietrich, stay inside, secure doors, emergency personnel responding, call 911 for help.

Now we've just have gotten a new update, which said that at 9:09, three juveniles attending a camp reported a white male outside Dietrich and New Resident Hall east that may have had a handgun. They said it was covered by a cloth of some sort and he was walking fast in the direction of the volleyball courts.

So the officials -- officers responded immediately to the area, but found no one matching the description. In the meantime, all of our doors are locked, outside doors, entrance and all of our inside doors to our offices so we have been told to stay put until we get further information.

They have law enforcement officers from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Montgomery County, all patrolling trying to find the subject.

PHILLIPS: OK, so just to bring everybody up-to-date here, you got this alert that possibly there was somebody with a handgun on campus and you're the first to give us these details now, three kids at camp allegedly saw this man walking around with a gun covered, by you said, some type of cloth.

DAVIS: Some kind of covering, cloth or some kind of covering.

PHILLIPS: OK, now what camp are these kids attending and is it right there near the dining hall?

DAVIS: We have many, many camps in the summer, sports camps, academic camps so I'm really not sure which camp they were attending, but we have maybe up to 100 different camps during the summer. So I'm not real sure. It doesn't say, but we have had a lot of kids from all over who come to these various specialized camps.

PHILLIPS: Got it and the description of this alleged gunman, can you give us anything more --

DAVIS: He was a white male, six feet tall, light brown hair and he had blue and white striped shirt, the stripes were vertical, gray shorts and brown sandals. The subject had no facial hair or glasses.

PHILLIPS: OK, that's pretty detailed and good description.

DAVIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: How close did this man get to these kids?

DAVIS: Well, that's a good question. Our alert doesn't say that.

PHILLIPS: OK. And so have -- obviously there's probably some pretty concerned parents hearing this and seeing this right now. But -- all these various kids that are attending these various camps there on campus, how do we know that they are in a safe place?

DAVIS: Well, I can tell you everything I can see out my window is nothing, even the construction zone has come to a halt because they were building on to a new -- the west end market is one of our special dining halls right across from Dietrich and my office is just about 50 yards from it. The whole construction crew is gone. So I think the whole area's been cleared. To me, if this is cleared, it indicates everything has been secure.

PHILLIPS: Got it.

DAVIS: There's no traffic, no movement, no anything outside. There was also -- we have flashing boards now inside our buildings that gave the alert and also verbal alerts on the sound system outside the building. So I think all of that came into play to help people get secure.

PHILLIPS: All right, Lynn, right now we just brought up your Web site, if we could go back to that, guys, if that's OK. This is the Virginia Tech's Web site where you can actually see the crime alert.

And it says right here person with a gun reported at Dietrich, emergency responders on the scene. Lynn, is this something that somebody could log on to and follow all the updated information?

DAVIS: Are you on www.vatech.edu?

PHILLIPS: Let me find out. Guys, is that what we're on right now? Is that the Web site? Yes, that's the Web site, Lynn.

DAVIS: Sure, anybody can log on to there.

PHILLIPS: And will you be updating this crime alert?

DAVIS: I'm sure that university relations will be. Our Vice President Larry Hanker, I guess, his phone lines are jammed, but I'm sure -- they have a system in place. They have gotten very organized in recent years to make all of this -- very quick and efficient.

PHILLIPS: All right and Lynn, I want to read as I'm looking at the Web site and I've got you on the line, I'm going to read the description one more time. You said that these three kids attending a camp there on Virginia Tech campus saw a white male with light brown hair, about six feet tall, possibly holding a handgun covered by some type of --

DAVIS: It says a weapon and a gun, it does not say handgun. It just says they say the weapon and then we had one e-mail said gun. So those were the two words being used. It may have been a handgun.

PHILLIPS: May have been a handgun. All right, but it was covered by a cloth of some sort. OK, and he was walking in the direction of the volleyball courts and this description is obvious really good.

Now we're getting video via the Virginia Tech security cameras. That gives us a good look at the area as well while we have you on the phone.

So once again, he was wearing a blue and white striped shirts, you said the stripes were vertical, gray shorts, brown sandals, no glasses, no facial hair.

DAVIS: Correct, you've got that correct.

PHILLIPS: OK, and tell me once again, the university on lockdown, you don't see anything from your vantage point.

DAVIS: Exactly. I see no one outside. Everything has come to a halt and there is no one outside.

PHILLIPS: So here's my next question, can parents come and pick up their kids from camp? Are you telling everybody stay away from the university at this time?

DAVIS: Well, I'm not in a position to comment on that.

PHILLIPS: OK.

DAVIS: But most parents have a phone number to call for the camp office, it's our office of summer session, something like that. And -- let's see, if I've got that number.

PHILLIPS: That would be great. Go ahead and look for that number.

DAVIS: OK, that number would be 231-3925.

PHILLIPS: Give me the area code.

DAVIS: 540-231-3925.

PHILLIPS: And this is the number -- I can actually hear my director right now.

DAVIS: They coordinate the individual camps. It's the main camp office. The sports offices are involved, academic office is involved, but this is the coordinating office.

PHILLIPS: Were you there in 2007?

DAVIS: Yes, I was. I was involved in the media, I'm the command center.

PHILLIPS: OK, so I can just imagine what you're thinking and feeling right now.

DAVIS: Well, you know, the sad part is, this seems to be a sign of our times and that's the saddest I can be, that our country has gotten -- has so many disturbed people.

PHILLIPS: And it was in 2007 when that shooting spree happened. You lost more than 30 people in that shooting rampage.

DAVIS: One of my interns witnessed everything, she was coming into my office when she saw the people jump out of Norris and she got to my office and she was just crying because she saw all the gunmen, the command forces trying to take charge of the building that had just been shot up.

PHILLIPS: Well, and there were a lot of changes that were made since 2007.

DAVIS: Yes, lots of changes, lots of lessons learned. I mean, we have entered into a new age of -- that America didn't have before. Things seemed -- life seems to be different today and it's sad. That is very sad. That life has come to this.

PHILLIPS: Yes, and if you're just tuning in, Lynne Davis with us on the phone here with Virginia Tech's communications. Lynne, stay with us, we're going to take a quick break.

If you're just tuning in, once again, Virginia Tech on lockdown after reports of a man possibly carrying a gun. Lynne is bringing us more details than we have been able to get since this story first broke, she's there on campus.

She knows firsthand what's taking place, as authorities, a number of authorities from different entities are on this campus, looking for this man. Described as a six foot white male, light brown hair, white blue striped shirt and shorts and sandals, gray shorts and brown sandals, no facial hair, no glasses.

Police need your help finding this man after three kids attending camp from Virginia Tech say they saw him with a handgun on campus. Campus is on lockdown. Lynn Davis, please stay with me. Quick break, more breaking news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, we've got breaking news that we're continuing to follow for you. It's coming from the Virginia Tech campus. As you can imagine, all our hearts starting racing when we heard that Virginia Tech was on lockdown. You'll remember it was back in 2007 that we covered that shooting spree where more than 30 people died. A lot of changes have been made to security since then, but today, unfortunately, we're telling you that Virginia Tech once again is on lockdown because there have been reports that there could be a gunman on the loose.

Here's what I can tell you so far. I was just talking to Lynne Davis, who's in communications there at Virginia Tech. We had her on the line. We lost her; we're going to try and get her back with us because she's there on campus, not far from where that alleged gunman was spotted. And she was giving us a lot of really good information. You can also go to the Virginia Tech's Web site that has an updated crime alert on what exactly has happened.

And let me give you a little background here. If you don't mind, keep the crime alert up for a second here, Scotty, because I'm going to read this description of the alleged gunman directly from the crime report. About 9:37, Virginia Tech put out an alert. Three kids from one of the camps there on campus had reported that they saw a man, six feet tall, carrying a hand gun, possibly, covering it some type of cloth -- covering it somehow, possibly with a white cloth. All right, so the kids report this gunman and give -- alleged gunman and give a very detailed description. He was wearing a blue- and-white striped suit, stripes were vertical. He had gray shorts on, brown sandals, no facial hair or glasses. White male, six feet tall. He was just outside the new residence hall east when these kids saw him. Saying that he possibly had something in his hand that looked like a gun. He was covering it with some type of cloth.

All right, since that report came in at 9:37, the alert went out, and Virginia Tech has been on lockdown ever since. We're actually streaming through the security cameras there on Virginia Tech's campus. Unfortunately, this news brings back some pretty horrifying memories for all of us. Back in 2007, that shooting spree that took place on the campus.

Brianna Keilar, as you know, is our White House correspondent. And Brianna, if you don't mind, I wanted to bring you in on this because you were actually there in 2000 (sic), the first reporter on the scene when that shooting rampage happened back in 2007, April of 2007.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, we were actually well on our way to Virginia Tech because we had understood that there had been a shooting that might have just been a domestic incident, as we understood it at the time, Kyra. And that was the shooting, you'll recall, there were two. One was at a residence hall where a young man and a young woman were killed. And it was at that time that the authorities and staff at the university thought it might have been a domestic incident.

And so the school was not shut down later in the morning. And that is when the larger shooting that claimed many more lives, dozens of lives at Norris Hall happened. The school took a tremendous amount of criticism for not shutting things down. And so what you're seeing here is really just a very guarded response by the university. We have seen this time and time again when there have been incidents of question at Virginia Tech. Because there was a lot of criticism and questions raised that day that if the school had been on lockdown, perhaps the really tremendous loss of life we saw at Norris Hall, maybe it wouldn't have happened, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And let me ask you this. I had a chance to ask Lynne Davis in communications when we had her on the phone. She's actually there and says she can see Deitrick Hall from where she's is and where there were reports of this gunman walking across campus.

But I asked her about the security policies that were changed, things that were put in place since that horrific day. What do you remember since then, since 2007, of changes that have been made? The criticisms that were being made at that time and what we see now?

KEILAR: You know, off the top of my head, I can't speak to details. But I do know that in the years nothing 2007, we did stories on the additional measures that they had had. I remember at the time -- I think that an e-mail had gone out and even though, you know, a lot of students have Blackberrys, some don't and there's student who is could have already have been going to their classes and they may not have been able to get an alert.

So, I know that in the intervening time, the university had added alerts, Kyra, so that there was this sense that if they were anywhere on campus, they would be able to be notified. I can't speak specifically to the details. But it was just this emphasis more on an immediacy in alerting the students because that didn't really happen in April of 2007. And the university took a lot of criticism for it.

You heard Lynne mention Larry Hinker who was very much the person who was dealing just with an inundation of media that came to Virginia Tech after that. This is someone who certainly has really made it his mission, I think, so oversee and certainly to message about this -- the increase in security and alerts for students. He was there in April of 2007. He's still there managing university relations at Virginia Tech, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And Lynne Davis was there at the time as well and she's the one that had called in to us, Brianna, and gave us all the latest details. Brianna, thanks so much, appreciate it.

Brianna was one of the first reporters on the scene there back in 2007 when that shooting happened on Virginia Tech's campus.

Real quickly, before we go to break, if you're just tuning in, Virginia Tech on lockdown right now. Three kids attending a summer camp -- what was that, Eddie? Okay, good. Brianna's going to stay with us there and work her sources from back in 2007 to see if she can get anymore information of what's taking place.

But I can just bring you up to date right now with the little information that we do know. That Virginia Tech is on lockdown. Apparently three kids attending a summer camp there -- a lot of summer camps that take place on this campus every year -- reported that they saw a man possibly with a handgun, covering it with some type of cloth.

We do have a description of that man that authorities are still looking for. It's right here, it's on the crime alert on the Web site there. Six foot tall white male, light brown hair, gray shorts, brown sandals, blue-and-white striped shirt, no facial hair or glasses. Authorities need your help looking for this man right now.

More breaking news from Virginia Tech right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're still following breaking news out of Virginia Tech's campus right now. Here's what we can tell you: that just about 45 minutes ago, we got reports that there may possibly be a gunman on campus. The university is now in lockdown. You can follow all the updated information on Virginia Tech's edu Web site. They do have a crime alert on there.

We are working this story as we speak. We'll continue to bring you as much information as possibly. We are told authorities are on that campus looking for a possible suspect with a handgun. Virginia Tech on lockdown; we're on it.

Alison Kosik also following the pretty bad news out of New York Stock Exchange right now. Dow Industrials down 213. Not looking good.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's not. You know what this is about? It's just new concerns about the economy that continually just keep piling up, chipping away at investor confidence. Even if you look at the Dow right now, it's at 11,682, down 215 points. It's lost 1,000 points since June 21.

So, what's got stocks down today? Well, worries about the health of European economies and the debt crisis there. There's a big fear that problems could spread to bank sand other businesses here at home. We also got another reminder of our very weak jobs market. We got some lackluster jobless figures, weekly jobless claims, falling by only 1,000 last week. It is better than expected, but we're still treading water here. It's still at a high level.

So you factor that in with just the general sense of pessimism that's been so prevalent lately, it's making for another day of steep losses on the Dow. And the thing is, we haven't seen any economic reports that can really shake this pessimism at this point.

Now, we'll see what happens tomorrow when we get the government's monthly jobs report. Everybody here not really counting on it to raise -- to put any optimism into the mix, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, so Alison, the market has lost ground almost every single day for the last two weeks. So, is the Fed going to step in and do anything to address all this weakness?

KOSIK: Well, you know, the Fed itself, it really isn't known for any kind of spur of the moment action, so it's not likely you're going to hear anything today or tomorrow about this. But we could get possibly a better idea of what their thinking is next week when the Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, and members meet on Tuesday for their regular policy meeting.

Most Fed watchers didn't see we would have another round of stimulus happening when the second round of stimulus ended back in June. But you know what, things have gotten much worse since then. So all that's stirring up talk of maybe the Fed possibly stepping in with another stimulus package to boost the economy. That would send the markets in the other direction. It would definitely create a rally here on Wall Street. But first, the Fed has to decide on that, and they've been very reticent to say that they would be willing to do that anyway, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Now the Dow Industrials down 236 points, Alison. It continues to drop as we're talking here. We'll keep talking with you there from the New York Stock Exchange.

Also, we're continuing to follow the developing story on Virginia Tech's campus. Here's what we know. Reports came in about 9:37 Eastern time that there was a gunman on campus. Three kids attending a summer camp there called it in. Now authorities are apparently looking for this man, this alleged gunman. We're continuing to get in details. We'll bring you up to date right after the break.

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PHILLIPS: We're still following that breaking news on Virginia Tech's campus. Here's what we know is that - OK, no we have - OK, got you.

Here's what we know. About 9:37, an alert came in, three kids attending a summer camp there on campus say that they saw a man, possibly carrying a handgun. They said he was hiding it under some type of cloth. And we did get a description I'll get to in just a moment.

But we had a chance to get the communications, one of the gals in communications there on the phone. She was right next to the dining hall where apparently this man was seen. She's still holed up in her office, not far from that dining hall, that university. Virginia Tech on lockdown at this moment.

She's what?

OK. And we talked to her just about 45 minutes ago. Let me let you hear what she told me, and then I'll bring you up to date with information coming in right now.

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DAVIS (on the phone): We have many, many camps in the summer, sports camps, academic camps so I'm really not sure which camp they were attending, but we have maybe up to 100 different camps during the summer. So I'm not real sure. It doesn't say, but we have had a lot of kids from all over who come to these various specialized camps.

PHILLIPS: Got it and the description of this alleged gunman, can you give us anything more --

DAVIS: He was a white male, six feet tall, light brown hair and he had blue and white striped shirt, the stripes were vertical, gray shorts and brown sandals. The subject had no facial hair or glasses.

PHILLIPS: OK, that's pretty detailed and good description.

DAVIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: How close did this man get to these kids?

DAVIS: Well, that's a good question. Our alert doesn't say that.

PHILLIPS: OK. And so have -- obviously there's probably some pretty concerned parents hearing this and seeing this right now. But -- all these various kids that are attending these various camps there on campus, how do we know that they are in a safe place? DAVIS: Well, I can tell you everything I can see out my window is nothing, even the construction zone has come to a halt because they were building on to a new -- the west end market is one of our special dining halls right across from Dietrich and my office is just about 50 yards from it. The whole construction crew is gone. So I think the whole area's been cleared. To me, if this is cleared, it indicates everything has been secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, and as you heard there, I was asking Lynne about these summer camps. And I just wanted to give you a phone number if you're a parent watching this and your child is in one of those summer camps there on campus. You can call this number, 540- 231-3925. Once again, that number is 540-231-3925. If you want to find out the status of your child that may be there on the Virginia Tech campus attending camp.

Meanwhile, I want to get us back to Brianna Keilar. Brianna, you actually were there in 2007. We will never forget that shooting rampage when more than 40 -- 30 were killed when that gunman, that student went on a shooting rampage. So, when we got the news about Virginia Tech being on lockdown, that there were reports of another gunman, possibly on the campus, you could imagine how all of us were feeling.

And then you heard right there from Lynne Davis, she was there at that time. You mentioned Larry Hinker as well. You talked with these people when you were the first reporter on the scene back in 2007. So, let's talk about the security policies that have changed since then. We definitely got word about this a lot quicker this time around.

KEILAR: That's right, and I think the difference that you have really seen -- and it's important, Kyra, because we look at this report and the word "may" have a gun is in there. I mean, I think what's really important to focus on is, this could turn out to maybe be something very small or maybe not what these students thought.

But the fact is this university takes things much more seriously than they did on that day, and they have learned tremendous lessons at a very tremendous cost. Because if you'll recall, there were actually two shootings that day at Virginia Tech. The shootings, I should say, by the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, at two different locations. One was at a dormitory where there was a female student and a male student who were killed. And there was a 911 call that went to police and they actually secured the crime scene, Kyra, but they thought it was some sort of domestic dispute and they didn't shut down the campus. They didn't send out an alert until hours later.

And at about the time that they had a sense that something had really happened, you had students who were going to class. Maybe they were already at their first class. And it was a good two hours or so later before Seung-Hui Cho actually engaged in shooting that took the lives of 30 more students at Norris Hall, which was, 30 of the 32 lives that were lost besides Seung-Hui Cho's. So I think what you're seeing here is just the response of sending out an e-mail. Also, I remember they talked about -- and I can't confirm at this point if Virginia Tech has done it -- there were some students who said no, I didn't get an e-mail. I haven't checked my e-mail. I was on my way to class. And there was discussion about doing something with text messaging instead of just e-mails.

But on that day, Kyra, the first shooting was at 7:15 and I think an e-mail didn't go out until around 10:00 a.m.

PHILLIPS: Yes, and we got word about this just shortly after the alert came in at 9:37 Eastern time. Brianna, thanks so much.

If you're just tuning in, I'm going to get you updated just before the top of the hour. This is what we know. We got word that there were reports of a gunman possibly on the loose at Virginia Tech campus. We did get Lynne Davis on the line from communications there at Virginia Tech.

And here's what we know. There are a number of summer camps going on on campus. Summer school, by the way, also is in session. Apparently, three kids from this camp called in saying they saw a white male, possibly with a handgun, being covered up with some type of a cloth.

And here's the description that the kids gave: white male, light brown hair, six feet tall, no glasses or facial hair, wearing blue -- wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt, gray shorts and brown sandals. Right now Virginia Tech on lockdown. You won't see anybody on that campus if you look through their security cameras, which we have been looking through. And authorities from all different entities looking for this man that's been described by these three kids.

We're following the breaking news story for you. We'll take a quick break. Fredricka Whitfield coming up at the top of the hour.

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