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White Family Survived Boston; U.S. Says Syria Used Chemical Weapons; 50 Survivors Found in Bangladesh Building Collapse; $26 Million Donation to Marathon Bombing Victims; House Voting to End FAA Furloughs.

Aired April 26, 2013 - 11:30   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was in your --

MARY JO WHITE, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: In my purse.

BERMAN: In your purse? And what happened here?

MARY JO WHITE: Yes. I won't be making any checks out.

(LAUGHTER)

KEVIN WHITE: Bounced a check.

BERMAN: Just a piece of shrapnel right through it?

MARY JO WHITE: Yes.

BERMAN: And you have broken wrist?

MARY JO WHITE: I have shrapnel in my left leg and arm. And it was in my face and just a small break in one of my hands.

BERMAN: Tell me about your husband.

MARY JO WHITE: He's doing remarkably well.

KEVIN WHITE, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: He's in good spirits given his condition. Health wise, the doctors are astounded at the progress he's made.

BERMAN: After everything that's happened, are you bitter at all, angry?

KEVIN WHITE: Not really. You know, it's one of those things that -- it was so unpredictable that it happened. You know, one minute earlier, one minute later, it might not have happened. It is hard to -- I'm speaking for myself. Obviously my father, his condition is much more serious. I don't sense that he's bitter or angry.

BERMAN: Do you?

MARY JO WHITE: No. That's not the way we live. I think it is just a new day and we have new choices to make.

BERMAN: When you see the pictures of these two young men, these brothers, is it hard for you?

MARY JO WHITE: I just think how did that happen to them, you know, how did they get so indoctrinated in something they would think nothing of destroying so many lives.

BERMAN: If you could say one thing to this kid, what would you say?

KEVIN WHITE: I would say for our family we're going to continue on.

BERMAN: Will you ever go back and watch the marathon again?

MARY JO WHITE: I would say so over time.

KEVIN WHITE: Maybe, at a distance.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Probably not from the same spot?

MARY JO WHITE: Right.

KEVIN WHITE: We will definitely go back. It's not going to stop us from enjoying our life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our best thoughts go out to the White family and the recovery of their father as well as they navigate their futures in this very new Boston area.

President Obama says he now believes Syria has used chemical weapons against his own people there and now we're wondering since that red line that's been mentioned has been crossed. So, is the next step U.S. military intervention? Boots on the ground in Syria eventually? We'll get some answers in a live report from the Pentagon, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: When it comes to Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons, our president has minced no words. If the leader uses them against his own people, he would be crossing a red line, meaning it could trigger U.S. intervention in that civil war. Yesterday, the White House said believes, quote, "with varying degrees of confidence," unquote, that Mr. Assad has used the chemical agent sarin.

What is Mr. Obama's next move? Our Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon now with possibly some of the options.

This is a very tricky area. I can only imagine that every single word counts in how we treat this now. Where do we stand?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You're right. Two big words, red line. What does that mean? The president was never really clear about it. The U.S. has no intention at this point of a go-it- alone option in Syria. Nobody is stepping up to the plate as this tragedy for so many continues.

Where are we right now, now that the U.S. has said chemical weapons have been used? They want more evidence. The secretary of defense, the White House has said they need better intelligence. Who exactly did it? Think of it as a legal standard of proof that may be very difficult to achieve. But certainly in the 10-plus years since the intelligence debacle in Iraq over their weapons of mass destruction, this time, the White House taking it very slowly and carefully saying, they think it's happened, they have some confidence it's happened, but nobody is looking to take action soon. They're looking to get what they call "more information" -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: If it's a legal standard of reasonable doubt, there's precedence next door in Iraq. Did not turn out well for Iraq. Who knows if that is going to be the same scenario.

Good work, Barbara Starr, and thank you for that.

The actor Matt Damon has returned to his hometown. This place is very near and dear to his heart. He has addressed the students of Harvard about what happened at the marathon bombings. You're going to hear first hand what he said, coming up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Our breaking news right now out of Bangladesh is nothing short of remarkable. A terrible building collapsed there one week ago today that killed over 300 people and has left survivors wondering if they were going to find more people. They have just found 72 people. It is remarkable. They were tunneling and trying to look for anymore bodies in this remarkable pile of debris. There were somewhere near the third floor of this garment factory, they were able to get through a cavity of what would have been around the third floor.

They found these 72 people still alive one week later in the rubble. It is going to take them several hours to get to them. All hands on deck. So many people have responded to that. Just here in Boston I had a taxi driver the other day who was from Bangladesh. They was first and foremost in his mind. 72 survivors. 72 survivors pulled out last Friday. 304 dead. 50 people have been found alive, as I understand. We're working to make sure all these numbers are clear. You're looking at some of the video from previous rescue attempts. These pictures will be revised.

Clearly, this is remarkable news for Bangladesh for people looking for their loved ones. Hope winning out for at least 50 people found alive in the third-floor area, a cavity rescuers could get to. But they can't get them out. It's going to take some time. But a very lucky development in what was otherwise a heartbreaking tragedy.

While there are so many people still grieving here in Boston, perhaps a lighter moment. One of Boston's own, Oscar-winning actor, Matt Damon, decided to come back here. He's a Harvard grad. He returned to home to Cambridge, Massachusetts. He went to the university to pick up an award yesterday. That Boston Marathon bombing was so much on his mind as he spoke to those students. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DAMON, ACTOR: It is just really -- I think we're all still in shock. I certainly am still in shock in trying to figure out what this all means and what happened. It's just incredibly shocking and hard to figure out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I think he speaks for so many of us, still hard to figure out. I think a lot of people who have gathered here behind me probably feel the same way. It is hard to figure out the why. You never get that answer. There is one big answer and that is, how were the people so deeply affected by this, all of those victims, how are they going to live? How are they going to have to pay for new normal? Some are going to have to re-do their houses because they've lost limbs. There is an incredible response, $26 million in response. That's what's come in.

Coming up, how $26 million will be allocated to those worst affected and those who lost their loved ones in that disaster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Compensation for the victims, the funds for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, have amassed more than $26 million. If you were just to split it up evenly it would amount to $100,000 per victim. It is called the One Fund Boston, what the mayor put together for this town. Victims can begin applying for compensation for next month, but they do face a deadline of June 15th. All that money will be dispersed by July.

The administrator of the fund is Kenneth Feinberg, and he spoke to CNN about the difficulty about putting a value on the pain and of suffering of each person affected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN FEINBERG, ONE FUND BOSTON: It is very emotional. Mr. Feinberg, I don't want the money. Bring my son back, bring my wife back, bring my husband back. I can't do that, I explain. I can only do a small symbol of your tragedy, of the crisis you confront, provides some financial help that may help you move forward as best you can. You do not begin to try and place yourself in the shoes of these survivors. It is very, very emotional. Much more emotional than substantive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in our CNN legal analyst, Paul Callan, and criminal defense attorney, Danny Cevallos.

Here are the questions for you two. When Ken says his job is excruciating, that's probably an understatement. These are things that change as well. People are only begins to figure out what they need to do and what is going to cost them. In a nut shell -- perhaps, Paul Callan, I'll start with you -- where do you start?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It is very difficult, but the place you start comparison to civil lawsuits. Let's say you were involved, you're a construction worker and lost your leg in a construction accident, what kind of an award would you get? I recently handled a case just like that here in New York City and I will tell you the case and I've seen other cases settle for between $7 million and $10 million for loss of a single limb. Now, compare that to the Boston situation.

We have a number of people who not only lost a single limb but multiple limbs. There's inadequate money. I mean, this fund as generous as this fund is the last figure I saw there was $10 million available for distribution. So if you gave $7 million to one person, there wouldn't be anything available for everybody else. So he's got a tough job. He's got to compare it to what would happen if a lawsuit was brought. And then use a formula to apply that to smaller amounts of money. Very, very difficult job.

BANFIELD: Of course, also, as I think through so many dealing with compensatory damages but punitive as well. When you have a fund like this, you're not looking for punitive damages. You're just looking for whatever you can possibly get.

Danny, tell us maybe you could weigh in on the other side of that. Anybody who might have been at the finish line and I hate to suggest and I don't think anyone's even talking about this, but it could certainly surface, might they have some kind of a civil case against the marathon organizers? Is it possible we could see something like actually arise in the weeks and months to come certainly before the statute expires?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. And here's why. In any sort of large events like that you will have layers of coverage. There will be many layers of insurance coverage and at some point there may be allegations of inadequate security. Of course we don't know right now what those would be, but these victims may seek legal council and they may find or conclude file claims against different entities that ran the Boston Marathon. The question will be did they fail to provide a safe environment for people to come watch the Boston Marathon? Was there inadequate security?

There are a number of different potential claims that could be brought on the civil side, but at least in terms of coverage there may be many layers of different insurers or carriers that have responsibility for the Boston Marathon. The organizers may have purchased it. So there are going to be many different places from which to make claims. The problems as council just said is going to be the dollar amount available to pay out. There simply isn't enough. People often think of death as having the highest monetary value, but remember also a lifetime of care, a lifetime of P.T., a lifetime of medical attention can in dollar amounts ultimately strangely enough and as sad as it sounds cost more in economic damages than a death.

CALLAN: You know, Ashleigh --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: I was just going to say, in these former cases at least in the Deepwater Horizon spill and 9/11, many of the amounts ascribed to those who lost loved ones have been higher than those injured notwithstanding the actual cost.

I have to cut it there, gentlemen. Thank you very much for your insight.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: I also want to bring our viewers attention to something here in Boston.

You two, thank you both.

Every city has its own magazine, but "Boston" magazine is a national magazine, this round. The cover is -- I mean, look, I'm not stretching when I say it is incredibly powerful. And the back story behind what you're looking at may be even more so. I'm going to tell it to you in just a moment.

I want to just draw your attention as we've trained our cameras on the Naval Academy crew team, arrived to pay their respects to those who were injured and died in the bombing and subsequent crime. Always something to see when you see them show up unmasked here amongst the rest of us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: So I've got some news for you that's unrelated here to Boston, but the House is voting as we speak on a measure to put furloughed air traffic controllers back to work and end a rash of airport delays. Nearly 1,500 controllers each day have had to take unpaid time off because of forced spending cuts. The Senate approved that plan last night. And this would free up some of the money, of course all of this stemming from that sequestration.

And Athena Jones is live in Washington.

Can you give me an update as to what's happening, Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ashleigh. I can tell you the House is voting right now. They have about seven or eight minutes more to go. So we should learn soon if this bill passes. If it does it's how quickly Congress can get things done really warp speed in Congressional terms when they have the public's interest, pressure from the industry and the flying public. This bill would allow the FAA, the Transportation Department to shift $253 work and stop some of these delays. We've seen thousands of flights delayed just since this kicked in on Sunday. And those flight delays continue today, Ashleigh. So we're watching closely the House to see what happens.

BANFIELD: All right. Athena Jones for us live on Capitol Hill. Thank you for that.

I mentioned this before the break, the may issue of "Boston" magazine is hitting newsstands today. I want you to see what may prove to be one of the more enduring images of the tragedy this city suffered. Barely three days before this issue was supposed to be put to bed, the editors all of a sudden had a big change of plans dumped on them. Their issue had to be torn up and started over from scratch. And the story of how they gathered all of those running shoes -- that heart is made of running shoes. And how they interviewed all of the owners of those running shoes is pretty incredible.

You can hear it from the editor himself, John Wilson. He's Anderson Cooper's guest at 1:00 eastern time.

And let me just say this, they did an amazing job and the people who brought those shoes forward to the magazine all runners in the marathon, thank you to all of you and all of your stories.

Thank you all for watching as well. Our CNN NEWSROOM coverage continues with Anderson Cooper after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)