LEMON: Let's go to Italy now where the selection of a new pope will soon begin in just a few hours. The Vatican will announce a date for the conclave beginning the secretive process of electing a new pope. Senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is live in Rome. So, Ben, when is the announcement?</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it should be within three hours. We're expecting to hear from Federico Lombardi who is the spokesman for the Vatican, who said that shortly after 7:00 p.m. local time, that's 1:00 p.m. your time, they will send out an announcement in this modern age via e-mail we're told -- Don.</s>LEMON: How long -- why did it take so long is the question?</s>WEDEMAN: Well, we understand from various sources Vatican watchers and others that there was a lot to discuss, that the feeling was that Pope Benedict Emeritus was a very good intellectual, but when it came to managing the Vatican, there were a lot of things that were left unattended. So they've been discussing Vatican finances, governance of the Vatican, and there were apparently a lot of matters that they needed to really clarify before they got around to actually setting a date for the conclave. Now, as far as the date for the conclave, Don, we're expecting sometime next week. What's interesting is that Italians consider Tuesday and Friday to be bad luck days, so it probably won't be either of those -- Don.</s>LEMON: Ben Wedeman in Rome. Ben, thank you very much. Just ahead here on CNN, dozens of airport control towers across the country facing a daunting possibility they could be one of nearly 200 towers closing because of forced spending cuts.
Vatican To Announce Conclave Date