This is the view from West Street in New York City. It should be noted that this is taken when the sky was completely blue -- the smoke and dust continues rising.

...and this is me standing in the midst of the media and rescue scene. To the left you can see some emergency vehicles; between me and the road is a partially complete sidewalk. Often we would meet rescuers moments after they had left the rubble.
As you might imagine, the global media are canvasing New York right now, and this is just a partial glimpse of the incredible media presence in this city.
The significance of this picture is subtle... it is a dumptruck leaving the rescue scene, but notice that debris is visible on the top edge of the truck -- it was piled pretty high and you can see a chunk of steel peeking just over the top.
This may be one of the hardest scenes in New York. This is just outside the Armory where victims' families are coming with DNA samples and dental records hoping for some sort of closure. They are also being allowed to make, free of charge, "missing" posters -- and the entire block surrounding the block is wallpapered with these image and candles.
When I was walking these streets, I had family members come up and ask if I would interview them. They hoped I could air the images of their missing relatives, and that someone... anyone might know their fate. It should also be noted with disgust that some of the families I talked to had been pranked. Someone had called the numbers on the missing poster and told them that they knew that their family member was alive and which hospital they were at. They would rush there only to find that there was no record of their relative, and that they had fallen victim to a hoax. These stories were not uncommon... and goes to show that this tragedy has definitely not brought out the best in all Americans. There are some pretty disgusting human beings without a conscience... making life harder for those who are already on their knees in anguish.
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Even the news vans parked outside of the Armory were used to post missing posters. The desperation -- and hence the length people are going to to trace their loved ones down (and incredibly strong hope) -- demonstrated by these family members is inspiring. When was the last time you actually let your friends and family know how much you appreciated them? You might want to think about that for a minute.
New Photos added 9-21-01 ... pictures taken on 9-19-01
This is part of the pile of rubble... this is taken from two blocks away and is only a fraction of the actual destruction.
A shot from the rooftop of an apartment complex that Newswatch gained access to. You can see the rubble that is on the edges of some of the buildings.
So this is me reporting on the rooftop of one of that apartment building. Quite a lot can be seen from this vantage point.
This is the same spot you can see me reporting from. In other words, we are in the same location that CNN was. The thing is, CNN, CBS, WCBS and ABC are not there anymore. Most media got kicked off this prime rooftop real estate when a Japanese TV crew brought a diesel generator onto the roof... and spilled fuel all over it. Good work. So the building owner kicked all the media off except for NBC and FOX. We are assuming they paid an enormous price for the continuing privilege. But Newswatch was able to obtain unrestricted access to this location for our reports.
Another shot of the scene... you can see the smoke continues billowing... in the bottom right you can see the pedestrian bridge that is shown in other pictures at the top of this page. This is a wider, less-detailed shot to help put the scene into context.
The photo speaks for itself.
This is Canal Street.. near where it intersects with West St and near the Holland Tunnel. Each ribbon has a message attached to it.
What is left of this side of the Pentagon... the picture speaks for itself. Over the past month, they've done a good job of gutting and cleaning up the damaged part.
Unbelievable.