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Fires Extinguished on Fuel Barges; Possible End for FAA Furloughs; Suspects' Mosque Faces Anger; Survivor Chose to Having Leg Amputated; Veterans Bring Hope to Amputees
Aired April 26, 2013 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the marathon bombings and really Boston moving forward. I'm Brooke Baldwin here in Boston.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jake Tapper. And we should tell you, this is -- this kind of makeshift memorial that has appeared here in Copley Square in the heart of the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. People dropping off flowers, Boston Red Sox baseball hats, photographs, messages, running shoes. It is a very moving tribute to walk through.
BALDWIN: Yes, Boylston Street, we have been here for two weeks, you know, and it was really eerie as this was all shut down. Police calling this the most complex crime scene they have ever seen. And then here we go, Wednesday morning, sort of in the middle of the night, you know, police removed the barricades and here we have Boylston Street back up and running, finally seeing traffic, seeing the buses heading down the streets with, you know, "Boston Strong" signs and the explosion site just a -- just a block away.
TAPPER: A block away, yes.
BALDWIN: Here on Boylston so --
TAPPER: This originally, this scene originally spontaneously kind of appeared at a police gate on -- at the crime scene, and then when they opened up the street, it was moved here and then it just grew.
BALDWIN: Grew.
TAPPER: Exponentially just in the last day or so.
BALDWIN: Dr. Jill Biden came by a couple of days ago, she dropped off flowers, she dropped off a pair of tennis shoes. And it's just incredible. I'll tell you, I really liked Boston.
TAPPER: Yes.
BALDWIN: Now I love this city. This is an amazing town. These people are --
TAPPER: Fields of flowers and baseball hats. It's very moving. The little messages, little baseballs, sort of Little League baseballs the kids have signed over to Martin Richard. BALDWIN: Martin Richard played Little League.
TAPPER: Who played Little League. Message from Krystle Campbell's coworkers, Chinese icons to Lingzu Lu, all sorts of messages from police officers and people saluting Officer Sean Collier killed at MIT a few days later.
BALDWIN: Yes.
TAPPER: You come to Boston, this is a must-see.
BALDWIN: You got to see it.
TAPPER: You have to come here. It's amazing but we have a busy morning of developments, so let's get started. Our live coverage from Boston includes this.
This week, a 38-year-old survivor of the bombings had to make a very, very difficult choice. She had to keep -- the choice was this, keep her foot, that was mangled by the blast, or have it amputated. It's a heart-wrenching decision for anyone. Heather Abbott was standing outside a bar when the second bomb went off just a few feet away from her.
Abbott decided to have her left leg amputated below the knee. And she explained her decision to reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER ABBOTT, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVING: As I was standing there, a loud noise went off and I remember turning around and looking and seeing smoke and seeing people screaming and I immediately -- it immediately reminded me of 9/11. Something I had seen on TV. And it just all happened so quickly that when I turned around just the second blast already happened and it blew a bunch of us into the bar.
And I -- suppose it hit me because I was the last one. I was on the ground, everybody was running to the back of the bar. To the exit. And I -- I felt like my foot was on fire. I knew I couldn't stand up, and I -- I didn't know what to do. I was just screaming, somebody please help me. And I was thinking who is going to help me? I mean, everybody else is running for their lives. And to my surprise, from what I'm learning now, I'm king of just learning how I was sort of rescued out of there.
There were two women and two men involved in helping me get out of the bar, and into an ambulance. I haven't thought much about them at all, I -- I don't even know how to pronounce their names. I haven't watched TV since the incident. And I think that one of the things that kind of helped me get through this, to just focus on my recovery and, you know, how to proceed with my life.
You can't sit there and say what if? What if I arrived five minutes later or five minutes earlier, what if I decided not to go to the game this year? And you know, I did that for a little while, but you know, this is the situation I'm faced with. It's not going to change. So for me, just kind of dwell on the negative is sort of a waste of time to me.
You know, some of these things are very trivial. I mean, certainly my job (INAUDIBLE). But the things that were so important to me that I would have been so concerned about missing, I'm missing them, and I have to. And I'm still -- I'm still happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Abbott also told reporters that she knew right away it was a terrorist attack and she says may feel uncomfortable the next time she's in a crowded area.
As Heather and others rebuild their lives after the bombing, they are getting support and hope from people like our next guest. His name is Gabe Martinez, he's a marine corporal -- I thought it was a marine sergeant. Marine sergeant.
BALDWIN: Marine sergeant.
TAPPER: The teleprompter is wrong. Who lost both legs after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan. Gabe is a -- and a fellow Marine, they paid a visit recently to one of the survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CORP. GABE MARTINEZ, USMC: This is your decision. If I'm going to be -- you know, dependent instead of independent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I can't do anything right now.
MARTINEZ: Right now, yes, but I'm telling you, you know, with all my heart, you are you going to be more independent, you know, than you ever were.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so glad you are here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Gabe Martinez joins us now. And so nice to meet you, first and foremost.
TAPPER: Thank you for your service.
BALDWIN: Thank you for your service.
TAPPER: That's number one.
BALDWIN: Number one. Number two, so just to back up, if people don't know the story, that was Sydney and Celeste Corcoran, right? And so they were along the finish line. They were visiting, I think it was a sister who was running.
TAPPER: Mother and daughter.
BALDWIN: Mother and daughter. It's a unique story. They're battling it out there in their own room. And you saw them, how were they? MARTINEZ: They were -- first off, they were out of their hospital beds, which for me, being a patient at one time, that's step one right there. Just getting out of the hospital bed, and they were -- they were in great spirits. They had a huge support system, all the family there and that's the first thing I noticed as soon as I walked in.
TAPPER: So, Gabe, you lost both your legs in an IED incident in March, Afghanistan, Thanksgiving 2010.
MARTINEZ: Yes, sir.
TAPPER: What are they feeling right now that you felt at that time?
MARTINEZ: Their minds are filled with questions, and it's starting -- anywhere ranging from what am I going to do now? Is my life over? Am I ever going to be dependent again or am I just going to be dependent on somebody taking care of me the rest of my life?
And I went through that plethora of questions when I was in the hospital. I had my ups and downs, happy one day, sad the next, and it's just right now they're just kind of discovering who they are now, and it's going to be an ongoing process that it's going to take some time, but every one of them is going to pull through.
BALDWIN: I was talking to a couple of veteran amputees who were at Boston Medical earlier this week, and they were saying to me, you know, Brooke, it's one thing to sort of overcome the initial couple of hurdles, but you just never know, out of the blue one day, it's depression that was really tough for them to work through.
What could you tell mom and daughter?
MARTINEZ: Just tell them that those are the days you dig deep. Those are the days that you accept who you are, you look in that mirror, and you see that, I have no legs and I just got to accept that, and, you know, I told them all that these legs are a badge of honor for me and it should be for them.
BALDWIN: Wow.
MARTINEZ: They really did lose their legs in this country, and everybody is here to support them, not only in Boston, but the whole -- the whole world. And so it's just the days you've got to dig deep and just accept who you are and do good things.
TAPPER: The advances in prosthetics are so amazing. And probably a lot of people don't know this, but I wrote a book about Afghanistan and I came to know a lot of soldiers, Army, sorry, not Marines, and they -- a lot of them lost legs and are still in the service, still abroad, still serving in Afghanistan. It is amazing what this generation of prosthetics allows someone like you to do, if you set your mind to it.
MARTINEZ: Absolutely and that's one thing that I told all the patients I saw, is that whatever your passion was, you're going to be able to get back to it. You're going to get new passions, I promise you. And I told them that there is a whole spectrum of components for different prosthesis that will get you back in action, whether it's doing hair or whether it's running a marathon, you're going to be able to do it.
BALDWIN: Speaking of technology, even as -- you're just being here in Boston, somebody was telling, I think they're working in a lab across the river in Cambridge on a bionic ankle. So the technology is incredible.
Before we let you go, though, talk about, you know, hurdles and overcoming them. We're just talking before you came on, you're hoping to be in Rio for the Olympics.
MARTINEZ: I am. Yes, I'm paralympic hopeful for track and field.
BALDWIN: Paralympics.
MARTINEZ: And that's just -- you know, with the support that I've had through the organizations like Semper Fi Fund and just Americans in general, I've just been digging deep like I said and pushing forward. So hopefully in 2016, I'll be in Rio.
TAPPER: And what's the farthest you've run on these new legs?
MARTINEZ: I've done just on my own day-to-day running, between five to 10 miles.
(LAUGHTER)
But that's -- that's work.
BALDWIN: Is that better than you, Tapper?
TAPPER: More than -- definitely more than me and probably most of our viewers.
MARTINEZ: But right now my body is conditioned for short distance, fast paced so --
TAPPER: That's what -- that's what you want to do?
MARTINEZ: Right.
TAPPER: Short distances in the Paralympics.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTINEZ: Yes. I'll be sucking wind at two miles now.
(LAUGHTER)
TAPPER: We'll be rooting for you.
BALDWIN: We will be.
TAPPER: And we know -- and we know you're going to make it, too. We know you're going to be there.
MARTINEZ: I think so.
TAPPER: All right, well, thank you so much.
BALDWIN: Indeed we are. OK. Thank you .
TAPPER: It's really, really an honor to meet you.
MARTINEZ: Appreciate it.
BALDWIN: Nice to meet you.
MARTINEZ: Thanks for having me.
BALDWIN: Wow.
TAPPER: Marine Sergeant Gabe Martinez. Thanks.
BALDWIN: And still ahead, the man who was carjacked by the Boston bombing suspects describes what happened. A horrifying night.
Our special coverage continues from Boston after the quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We will have much more of our coverage from here in Boston, here in the Back Bay in just a moment. But first a check of the other stories making headlines on this Friday.
This morning, we are getting an aerial view of those burned-out fuel barges docked in Mobile, Alabama. All fires have been put out and the chipping channel has been reopened to traffic.
This was the scene yesterday. Massive explosions, flames, there were even (INAUDIBLE) to take on fuel when a spark apparently ignited vapors. Three workers were severely burned.
And police officers are searching Steubenville High School for any new evidence on a rape case. Authorities also searched the Steubenville Board of Education offices. They're trying to see if any laws were broken in relation to that case in Ohio. You know the story, those two former high school star football players, they were convicted in March of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl.
The FAA and the Japanese Transport Ministry will allow Boeing Dreamliner 787s to carry passengers yet again. This news follows the decision to approve modifications to the plane's battery compartments, all 787 jets have been grounded since the series of overheating issues earlier this year.
TAPPER: Next hour, Congress is expected to vote on a solution to the flight delays caused by the forced spending cuts known as the sequester, those cuts affect some 15,000 air traffic controllers who are now being furloughed, forced to take unpaid days off and causing a huge headache for passengers which include members of Congress. Stephanie Elam joins us from Los Angeles International Airport also known as LAX. Stephanie, are people there getting impatient?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It depends, Jake, on who you talk to. For some people who spend an extra 30 minutes on the tarmac they may not be so upset but if you land at a different airport than where you're scheduled to arrive that may make things a little frustrating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM (voice over): Nicole Feeley has the unusual perspective of seeing air travel as quote, "a passenger".
NICOLE FEELEY, ALASKAN AIRLINES EMPLOYEE: I thought it was great. I get to land where my car is.
ELAM: And as an Alaska Airlines employee. She was at work the first night those mandatory budget cuts forced the Federal Aviation Administration to furlough some of its air traffic controllers.
FEELEY: There is a couple of flights that went into the Ontario airports that would have to landed in LAX.
ELAM: That airport is about 55 miles away. She expects more delays and diversions because of furloughs that are impacting the nation's 15,000 air traffic controllers unless Congress averts the crisis.
FEELEY: I think it's ridiculous to do budget cutbacks for the guys that run the air traffic control towers.
ELAM: Some in Washington like Senator Susan Collins agree.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Some furloughs undoubtedly would have been necessary. Whether it was necessary for FAA to concentrate so many of the cuts in the area of air traffic controllers is an entirely different question.
ELAM: And with the busy summer months ahead, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association had warned that furloughs could cause delays to double those of the worst travel days last summer.
MICHAEL FOOTE, UNION PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: For all traffic controllers I mean, we're all upset that we're being furloughed one, but number two that we're watching an air traffic control system that I myself have worked in for 30 years, it's hard to watch it grind to a halt.
ELAM: Which for many air travelers may mean spending more time on the tarmac.
MONA SCOTT-YOUNG, FREQUENT FLYER: I actually dozed off on the runway and woke up and we were still there.
ELAM: Mona Scott-Young says her flight to Los Angeles was delayed by about 40 minutes. But being on time isn't her biggest concern. SCOTT-YOUNG: I jump on and off these planes like they are cabs. I just want to make sure that it's safe and that there is somebody there making sure we take off and land and that we're not running into each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: And that's a message I heard a few times as I've talked to people here at LAX that they want the safety to be there.
Now the Senate did come together last night and unanimously passed this measure that would give the Transportation Department more flexibility in how they implement the cuts so they could keep more essential people on duty like those air traffic controllers. The House is set to take up the measure this hour in about half an hour or so.
Obviously, as you look at these changes, one other thing that people want is that there are all of the control towers staying open, so they are also hoping to keep 149 control towers that were slated for closure up and running.
Live at LAX, Stephanie Elam. Back to you -- Brooke and Jake.
TAPPER: Thanks. And a lot of criticism of this in the sense that obviously long lines at airports affects a certain elite clientele, including members of Congress. There are a lot of those forced spending cuts that affect poor people, people who need health care, young people who need head start, et cetera, Congress is not quick to act on that.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: But they don't want long lines. Congress doesn't want long lines for themselves.
BALDWIN: But as we said --
TAPPER: Thank you, Congress. Thank you.
BALDWIN: More on our special coverage from Boston in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We're back with our live special coverage here from Boston. Tapper is just taking a picture for the families here visiting this memorial.
TAPPER: I'm just trying to help out.
BALDWIN: He'll join me in just a moment. Meantime -- no, no, he really is. Meantime a Boston mosque once --
TAPPER: Sorry about that. I'm sorry about it.
BALDWIN: Hi. TAPPER: My apologies. Ok a Boston mosque attended by the Tsarnaev brothers is now defending itself in the wake of the terror attack. CNN's David Mattingly has more on this story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Worshiping under the roof of this neighborhood mosque the Tsarnaev brothers aroused no suspicions they were planning deadly violence and now the mosque leadership has to defend itself against claims it is a haven for radicals.
We find there has been some hate mail, sometimes menacing.
YUSUFI VALI, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF BOSTON: So a lot of the claims made are simply -- simply false. There have been people coming in and out of this place. We have a congregation of 1,300 people.
MATTINGLY: Charles Jacobs is a long-time critic of the Islamic Society of Boston.
CHARLES JACOBS, AMERICAN FOR PEACE AND TOLERANCE: They are aiming to transform the youth, particularly the youth into more and more radical Islamist beliefs.
MATTINGLY: He claims the group has had numerous affiliations with extremist, claims the ISB denies in detail.
JACOBS: There have been several instances of people connected with terror and hate speech at that mosque.
MATTINGLY: One figure Jacobs list prominently is ISB founder Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi a man who's public image was very different from some of his activities. Once consulted by Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, Al-Amoudi was sentenced in 2004 to 23 years in prison for terrorist fundraising and conspiring to murder the Saudi Prince.
The ISB says "During his time at the ISB he followed all rules and regulation," a defense similar when it comes to Tsarnaev brothers. They never expressed any hint of violent sentiments or behavior.
VALI: I think if we could have done more, we absolutely would have.
MATTINGLY: The ISB says people who knew the Tsarnaevs them were immediately instructed to call the FBI.
(on camera): The younger brother rarely attended services here and the older brother attended only occasionally. And it was his own actions that seemed to dispute the idea of a radical mosque.
(voice over) Three months ago Tamerlan Tsarnaev shouted at a preacher during a service calling him a, nonbeliever and a hypocrite when he praised Dr. Martin Luther King. He was told to be quiet or he would not be welcome.
Charles Jacobs stops short of accusing the mosque of having a hand in Tsarnaev's radicalization.
(on camera): Is there any evidence that any of these individuals or any of these teachings you've been talking about were influential in radicalizing the bombers?
JACOBS: We don't know that. They live five blocks away. If you're looking for -- there are many suppositions about what actually radicalized these bombers.
MATTINGLY (voice over): David Mattingly, CNN Boston.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: And we're back with more of our special live coverage from Boston after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Boston terror suspect on the move. This morning U.S. marshals, whisk accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev out of hospital here in Boston and into his new home 40 miles away at a federal prison.
CNN NEWSROOM begins now.
Good morning. And welcome to a special edition of CNN news room live from Boston here in midst of Boylston Street. A pleasure to be here -- I'm Brooke Baldwin.
TAPPER: And I'm Jake Tapper, we're standing -- just so you know -- in front of this makeshift memorial that kind of spontaneously emerged here. It's very moving.
We have a busy morning of developments to tell you about so let's get started.
This morning Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is in a new hospital bed. Overnight, he was moved to a federal prison outside Boston that holds detainees who need medical care. Meanwhile his father is apparently going nowhere. Anzor Tsarnaev has apparently abandoned his plans to come to the U.S. and aid the investigation. His wife called an ambulance for him last night and she also now says his trip is delayed indefinitely.
Piecing together the final minutes of Sean Collier's life -- MIT is asking for any information on last week's killing of the campus police officer believed to be the last victim in the killing spree.
And was Times Square the next target? New York's mayor says Tsarnaev and his brother wanted to detonate the remaining explosives at the iconic tourist attraction.
BALDWIN: Six remaining explosive devices, one pressure cooker device, five other pipe bombs which is what investigators are saying they might have taken to Times Square.
