Lots of Breaking News: Ferry Crash and Crane Collapse

It was a busy day for breaking news in New York.

CBS 2 broke in after a commuter ferry crashed into Pier 11 at South Street Seaport at around 8:45 a.m..  Mary Calvi handled the early coverage and was soon joined by Rob Morrison.  Jim Smith reported from above the scene in Chopper 2 and, because of a chopper sharing agreement with Fox 5, Smith was also heard reporting "in SkyFox."

John Slattery reported from the pier via Mobile 2 signal by 10:22.  At 10:51, Sean Hennessey was live at New York Downtown Hospital, where around 20 of the injured had been taken, and the camera showed very close-up images of patients being loaded off ambulances.  Dr. Max Gomez later joined the coverage from the desk with analysis on what types of injuries might have been suffered.

As if often the case during special report situations lately, WLNY switched to airing CBS network programming, so viewers looking for "Let's Make a Deal" and "The Price is Right" didn't miss their shows if they knew where to look.  CBS 2 ended their special report at 11:30 and included more coverage during the regular noon newscast with reports from Slattery, Hennessey, Gomez as well as Tony Aiello in the newsroom and Steve Langford at the scene.

CBS 2 News interrupted regular programming again just before 3:00 with news of a 380-foot crane collapse in Long Island City, Queens.  Dana Tyler handled the brief special report with Chopper 2 coverage from Joe Biermann.  The station switched to "Dr. Phil" at 3:04.

CBS 2 broke in once again at 4:15 to carry an NTSB press conference with coverage anchored by Maurice DuBois until 4:30.

CBS 2 Presents "Race For The Cure"

On the eve of this weekend's Susan G. Komen New York City Race for the Cure, CBS 2 News will air an hour-long special on breast cancer. "Race For The Cure" is hosted by morning anchors Maurice DuBois and Kate Sullivan and airs Saturday night at 7:00. According to the press release, the "inspirational hour" "highlights the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in New York City and takes a positive and encouraging look at breast cancer survivors and new advances in fighting the disease." Dr. Holly Phillips, Dr. Max Gomez, Dana Tyler, Cindy Hsu, Kristine Johnson, Tamsen Fadal and Katie McGee will also provide reports.

For the third year in a row, CBS 2 is the media sponsor of the 5K race, which takes place Sunday morning at 9:00. Check out two of the spots the station has been running for the cause here.

"Sunburned" Tomorrow Morning

Tomorrow morning at 11:00, CBS 2 will air a half-hour special called "Sunburned: Skin Cancer Exposed." It's hosted by Dr. Holly Phillips and Dr. Max Gomez and will feature a report by Kirstin Cole. For more information, click here for the press release.

Health Watch Team

Dr. Max Gomez debuted on CBS 2 News This Morning last Wednesday. He was with WCBS from 1994 until 1997. He was previously with WNBC from July 1997 until last December.

Gomez joins Dr. Holly Phillips to form CBS 2 News' Health Watch team. A promo for the team is on the air now:



Phillips was live in the studio today at 5:00 with tips on dealing with this week's hot weather. She then tossed to a Gomez package on the heat.

Wragge and Johnson Promoted to 11:00

Richard Huff breaks the news in today's Daily News: "Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson on Monday will become the A-Team at WCBS/Ch. 2." The pair will trade in their noon anchoring duties for the 11:00 p.m. spot. Dana Tyler and Jim Rosenfield will move to noon.

Here are some of General Manager Peter Dunn's comments to the paper:
- "We've been trying to work on every newscast since we've been here. Everything we've done so far has been a benefit to the station."
- On recent ratings increases: "We just want to keep that momentum going. We have tremendous confidence in all our anchor teams, we just want to put them in the right time slot."
- On not wanting to rank his teams: "I would never put an A-C or C label, they're all very experienced. They all do a phenomenal job."

In other news, Dr. Max Gomez returns to Channel 2 as a freelance medical reporter, while Dr. Holly Phillips will remain the station's lead reporter on that front.