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15 Horses At Godolphin Stables Banned Six Months; Death Count Continues To Rise After Building Collapse In Bangladesh; U.S. Calls For Full-Scale Investigation On Sarin Gas Use In Syria; Fire At Russian Hospital Kills 38; Rangers At Kruger National Park Struggle To Control Rhino Poachers
Aired April 26, 2013 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.
A desperate search for anyone left alive in the rubble three days after a building collapse in Bangladesh kills hundreds of people.
The surviving suspect in the Boston bombings has been moved from a hospital to a prison medical facility.
And they have been roaming the Earth for over 50 million years, but how much longer will the rhino exist in South Africa?
Now rescuers in Bangladesh are racing against time. They are searching a mountain of rubble for survivors three days after a commercial building collapsed near Dhaka. And in 15 hours, they say their mission will change from finding the living to recovering the dead.
The national news agency reports some 60 people were pulled out alive earlier on Friday, but it is feared that hundreds more are still trapped underneath the debris. A military official says more than 2,000 people have been rescued since Wednesday. Many are badly injured and 285 are confirmed dead.
As the death toll rises. So, too, does anger on the streets. The building has several garment factories. And thousands of people are protesting safety problems they say plague that industry.
Now workers say that they were told to go to work on Wednesday even though cracks had appeared in the building the day before. Sumnima Udas is monitoring developments from New Delhi. She joins us now live. And Sumnima, we know that these angry protesters have taken to the streets. They're angry about the disaster and the lack of safety standards. Just how big is this protest movement?
SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, we're hearing tens of thousands of garment workers have taken to the streets, especially in this area called Ghazipur District which is a garment manufacturing district. They're holding six. They're vandalizing some of the factories there, some of the cars there. And they are just very angry about the deplorable conditions that they often have to work in. And the fact that nothing has really changed.
Remember, there was a massive fire in a factory, garment factory just five months ago. And there was a huge outcry then as well, an international outcry with the likes of Wal-Mart even saying that they will take steps to increase, or to improve the working conditions for these workers. But these protesters today saying not much has changed at all. And the police are having to push back by using tear gas and rubber bullets -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: And Sumnima, the rescue effort, we know that that will end tomorrow morning. Can you tell us how many people have been saved and how many could still be trapped inside the rubble?
UDAS: Kristie, according to the state media, 300 bodies have been recovered so far and some 2,100 people have been rescued alive. Now, the authorities still don't know how many more could still be trapped inside, but according to the Garment Manufacturing Association there, normally there would be 2,500 garment workers working inside that building.
Now there have been some positive moments, though. Yesterday and today, rescue workers were able to pull out several -- about 20 to 40 workers alive. But still for the most part desperate scenes. The rescue workers are still working around the clock trying to pull out as many survivors as they can. And still the people who have surrounding the building are saying that they can still hear screams from underneath the rubble, people asking for help -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: You know, this is such a terrible disaster, but could it also be a catalyst for much needed change. I mean, will this prompt a rethink in the global garment industry to push for better working conditions in Bangladesh? And will that happen?
UDAS: Well, that's what a lot of people are asking. And who ultimately bears the responsibility for something like this? Is it the owners of the factories, is it the government or is it the global brands like your Primark or your Wal-Mart? And I was asking an analyst in Bangladesh exactly that. And he said that this industry is just so large and so influential in Bangladesh that the government really doesn't get involved and the factory owners practically have free reign of how they want to operate their -- run their operations there.
And then he was saying that these global brands, though, that they squeeze these factories so much in terms of prices that the factories say that they have to compromise somewhere, they have to cut their costs somewhere, and often times the safety standards are the first thing that they compromise -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Here's hoping for change after this latest tragedy. Sumnima Udas reporting for us live. Thank you.
Now you heard Sumnima mention another deadly incident, a fire at a garment factory in another suburb of Dhaka killed at least 112 people in November. And here you see a soldier walking past rows of scorched sewing machines.
Now Bangladesh is home to thousands of garment factories. It is set to become the world's largest apparel manufacturer within seven years. Right now it's second only to China.
Now in Bangladesh garment exports account for almost 12 percent of GDP. They're worth more than $20 billion. And nearly one-quarter of those goods are sold to the United States. More than 4 million people work in Bangladesh in the garment industry and most are women. They sew clothes for labels around the world. And some analysts say that those international brands could do more to pressure the country's garment association to improve safety standards.
Now turning now to Syria where the stakes may be getting higher for the Assad regime in the country's two-year-old civil war.
The United States intelligence community has concluded that there is evidence of small-scale use of the chemical weapon sarin. President Barack Obama has previously said that the use of chemical weapons would cross a red line, but was vague about what might follow.
Now for its part, the Syrian Free Army claims that the Assad government forces have used chemical weapons multiple times in several locations. Chief (inaudible) General Salim Idris spoke on Wednesday to Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I want to know whether you can confirm whether the Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons, sarin particularly, as Israel says.
SALIM IDRIS, FREE SYRIAN ARMY COMMANDER: Yes. I can confirm that tubes of (inaudible) used the chemical weapons many, many times. They used the chemical weapons against the old city in Homs, and they used it repeatedly in Aleppo, again in Aleppo. In many places. They used it in Khan al-Assal and in Sheikh Maqsoud. And another time they used chemical weapons in al-Otaiba near Damascus.
And the kind -- and the kind of chemical weapons that were used is some gases, some poisonous gases.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now Washington is now calling for a full-scale UN investigation into what may have happened in Syria. And Barbara Starr has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: March 19, Aleppo, Syria, there is talk civilians here have been attacked with chemical weapons, but no confirmation. Nwo, suddenly, defense secretary Chuck Hagel traveling in the Middle East.
CHUCK HAGEL, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: The U.S. intelligence community assesses with some degree of varying confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin.
STARR: The White House sent letters to congress responding to questions about chemical weapons use and calling for UN investigation. After the debacle over Iraqi weapons, Hagel says the U.S. needs to confirm exactly what happened.
HAGEL: We need all the facts. We need all the information.
STARR: Senator John McCain told CNN's Jake Tapper it's not the response he wants.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Disappointment, but not surprise. The president has not wanted to engage in Syria in any way, any meaningful way, for a couple of years.
STARR: McCain wants a no-fly zone, weapons provided to the Syrian opposition, and chemical weapons secured. President Obama had promised action, but was never specific.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized, that would change my calculus.
STARR: A senior U.S. official says the Syrians continue moving chemical stockpiles, causing even more worry.
Hagel is sending the first armored divisions headquarters from Fort Bliss, Texas to Jordan. The official tells CNN it will spearhead securing Syria's weapons if ordered.
ANDREW TABLER, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: We could use air strikes, drone strikes. There could be teams of special forces who go into the country.
STARR: But the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is reviewing military options, says troops aren't the answer.
MCCAIN: You have confidence that we could secure it?
GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS: Now as I sit here today simply because they've been moving it and the number of sites is quite numerous.
STARR: The U.S. is adamant there will be no go it alone military action for American troops, but many allies are still reluctant to get involved. And it's raising questions about where all of this is headed.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now authorities in Russia are trying to figure out what started a deadly fire at a psychiatric hospital. Next on News Stream, we'll go live to Moscow for the latest.
Plus, the U.S. and South Korea continue joint military drills despite North Korea's threats.
And later, piecing together the Tsarnaev brother's pasts. Investigators trying to find a motive behind the Boston Marathon attacks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now in Russia, a criminal investigation is underway into a deadly fire at a psychiatric hospital near Moscow on Friday morning. Officials say the fire started on the roof and then quickly engulfed the building. 41 people were inside at the time and only three were able to escape. Now this fire raises new questions about safety standards at Russian medical facilities.
Now Phil Black has more from our bureau in Moscow -- Phil.
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, this fire started in hospital number 14, which is a few hours drive north of Moscow in the middle of the night in a single story psychiatric facility there. It was the middle of the night. Everyone inside, all 41 people, patients and staff, were believed to be sleeping at that time.
Fire crews responded, but it took them a long time to get there. They admit it took about an hour and that's because a river crossing nearby had not yet reopened for the spring/summer period. So that's why it took them so long to get there.
By the time they did get there, the building was already engulfed. They brought it under control, extinguished the fire, and have then spent the better part of this day searching for remains within the wreckage of that building
They have now found the bodies or the remains of some 38 people who were inside. 38 out of 41 one. We know that three people managed to escape the blaze. They are one member of staff and two of the patients.
As you mentioned, there is now an investigation underway, a criminal investigation to determine whether or not some breach of fire safety practices was in any way responsible for this. But the investigators themselves are not speculating just yet on what the possible cause could be. They won't rule anything out. They say they are considering the possibility of an electrical fault. Equally so, they are considering the possibility of human carelessness, the possibility that one of the patients or staff members was smoking, against the rules, and left that lit cigarette unattended.
The Russian president has taken something of an interest in this case. And he has asked all the authorities to investigate this very thoroughly and determine precisely what happened.
One of the big questions in this is why the death toll was so high, why did so few people escape? Within the Russian media, the speculation focuses on the fact that this was a psychiatric hospital. The likelihood that those patients would have been on some sort of medication, perhaps sedated, sleeping very heavily, and the possibility that most of them died in their sleep because of the smoke and fumes -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Now only three people managed to escape. Frightening and heartbreaking. Phil Black on the story for us live from Moscow, thank you.
Now tensions are rising again on the Korean Peninsula, now this time over the jointly operating Kaesong Industrial complex. Now South Korea has announced it will withdraw its remaining citizens, about 175 of them, from the complex on the North's side of the border. This comes after the North rejected the South's offer for talks on the complex.
Now North Korea's national defense commission called Seoul's offer, quote, "deceptive."
Production at Kaesong has been halted for more than two weeks after North Korea pulled out its 53,000 workers. More than 120 South Korean owned companies have factories in Kaesong.
Now this all happened after weeks of rhetoric from North Korea threatening to launch a nuclear war on South Korea and the U.S. Now those countries have continued joint military exercises despite Pyongyang's objections. And Jim Clancy attended one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This joint amphibous assault on Jasari Beach (ph) really caps two months of military exercise by South Korean and U.S. forces. At one point in time, it was wondered whether this operation would go ahead.
The angry rhetoric from Kim Jong un in North Korea comes at an annual basis at this time of year when these maneuvers are held. This year it has been much more intense.
But it was wondered after Beijing suggested that the U.S. cancel some of its events, particularly this one, because it's sensitive to the North Koreans who see it not as a defensive exercise, they see it as a rehearsal for any kind of an invasion of North Korea.
But the U.S. and South Korea have gone ahead with this event, apparently not willing to even show the slightly yielding to Kim Jong un's rhetoric. He angrily demanded that these exercises be canceled as a show of good faith in order to engage in any kind of negotiation.
Instead, we've got 2,000 South Korean marines as well as 1,500 U.S. marines jointly working here in an operation on the beach.
In the absence of any solid progress on the diplomatic front, these kinds of defensive moves, or deterrents, are likely to become more common with the U.S. and its allies in northeast Asia.
Jim Clancy, CNN, at Jasari Beach (ph) in South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now, a human rights group is accusing both Israel and Palestinian militants of violating the rules of war during their conflict last year. Now we're going to show you some pictures that had never been seen before along with an exclusive interview. Sara Sidner is on the ground in the region with questions for both sides.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The view from an incoming missile and then the drones above show just how accurate the Israeli military can be as several missiles hit the same target with devastating affect.
Israel says the target here is a militant standing outside a house during the 2012 Gaza War.
How precise is the equipment that you use?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a video camera on the nose of the missile and wherever me or another gunner decides to take the missile, that's where that missile will fly. If we need to hit the top right corner of a window, or the bottom left corner of the window, that is where the missile will hit.
SIDNER: Here is an example in Gaza City, one of the most densely populated places on Earth. The military says the missile flies slowly so it can be diverted. A direct hit with no collateral damage, despite the tight spot.
LT. COL. PETER LERNER, IDF SPOKESMAN: We targeted approximately 100 terrorists. And we were quite successful in taking them out of the equation.
SIDNER: And Israel points to leaflet drops warning Palestinians to stay away from certain areas when major bombing is imminent, which is why many Israelis reacted with surprise and irritation to a recent Human Rights Watch report asserting evidence Israel was guilty of war crimes related to its air strikes in Gaza.
BILL VAN ESVELD, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Sometimes it was a direct missile targeting someone who should have been clearly a civilian. And another case it was a very large aerial bomb that would hit a house.
LERNER: Any loss of human life is tragedy. As we proved in Operation: Pillar Defense we are putting great effort into reduce the amount of civilian casualties.
SIDNER: That is certainly not how residents who live here in Gaza see it.
JAMAL AL-DALOU, FATHER (through translator): Look at their actions. All of my family has been killed, all my children.
SIDNER: This hole used to be where Jamal al-Dalou's three story home stood. Israel bombed the site, killing 10 members of his family, including five women, four small children, and two neighbors. In tears, he shows us the pictures of the dead.
Israel's military advocate general investigated the case and month's later determined what happened was regrettable, but not criminal and that the military took significant precautions not to kill civilians in that case and 64 others.
During the operation, Israel gave CNN the name of the militant it said it was targeting, but it turned out he was not among the dead. The military changed its story, later naming one of the al-Dalou family men as a Hamas militant.
ESVELD: So under the law of war, that person would be a legitimate target, but the question is the Israeli strike blew up an entire house, severely damaged neighboring houses and killed 12 people. To us that looks very disproportionate.
SIDNER: The Human Rights Watch report cited more than 40 deaths caused by Israel, it said, were unlawful and unjustified.
With all the new technology, why are civilians still being killed?
LERNER: I think that's a question you should actually relay to Hamas, because they intentionally plot the rockets and their terrorist capabilities, whether it's command and control, they place them within the civilian population.
SIDNER: And that goes to the heart of why Israel was launching attacks on Gaza. Hundreds of Hamas rockets fired indiscriminately into Israel from inside Gaza, sometimes from residential neighborhoods.
Here is what happens when Palestinian fired rockets hit Israeli houses. These two nearly destroyed. In all, six Israelis were killed, four of them civilians.
Israel says the majority of rockets are headed for cities filled with civilians before being shot down.
Gaza's leadership insists its military aims only at Israeli military targets, but admits the rockets are unreliable.
AHMAD YOUSEF, HAMAS POLITICAL WING: Most of it handmade, actually they don't have the precise system that -- to make sure when you direct these rockets to certain military bases, it will hit that military bases.
SIDNER: The more hardline Islamic Jihad makes no apologies about who was targeted.
ABU AHMAD, ISLAMIC JIHAD MILITARY SPOKESMAN (through translator): They claim they are civilians, but there are no civilians in Israel. They all carry weapons and they all kill the Palestinian people.
SIDNER: A separate Human Rights Watch report said there were plenty of examples of war crimes committed by Palestinian militants, firing rockets into Israel.
ESVELD: Those are either indiscriminate, or they're deliberately targeting civilians. And either way that's basically a war crime.
SIDNER: And what about Gaza militants routinely firing rockets from residential neighborhoods?
We saw ourselves in neighborhoods rockets leaving from populated areas. Isn't the military part of Hamas concerned about the civilians there knowing they will be targets?
YOUSEF: Israel actually they don't want to see from where these rockets being fired. They all the time hitting here and there. And that's why we have these huge number of casualties. Gaza is very tiny place. And you have to see what is the best place where you can fire a rocket.
SIDNER: Hamas has also been shown to have killed some of its own people with rockets that misfired, including this four-year-old child that Hamas portrayed at the time as a symbol of Israeli brutality.
Human Rights Watch says that whether it was rockets or high precision missiles, all sides in the Gaza war have plenty to answer for.
Sara Sidner, CNN, Gaza City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, South Africa's rhinos are supposed to be safe in this national park, but they're coming under fire from poachers in ever increasing numbers. We'll show you what's being done about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Oh, it's a sparkling night here in Hong Kong. Coming to you live this Friday, you are back watching News Stream.
Now let's take another look at this, our visual rundown. We've already told you about the large protests in Bangladesh. And a little bit later in the program, we'll update you on the Boston bombing case and explore the concept of self-radicalization.
But now, let's turn to South Africa. The slaughter of rhinos there has escalated at a startling pace.
Now a warning, this piece contains some scenes that will be difficult to watch, but they are central to the story.
Nkepile Mabuse reports from Kruger National Park.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They've been roaming the earth for more than 50 million years. Today, the African rhino has more value dead than alive.
KEN MAGGS, ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATOR: Poaching activity coming across our boundaries is relentless, it's daily.
MABUSE: Home to the world's largest rhino population, South Africa's Kruger National Park is infiltrated daily by poachers prepared to kill for rhino horn.
MAGGS: At the moment, what we're up against is a war, it is a counterinsurgency type war.
MABUSE: Officials here say 90 percent of the poachers come from neighboring Mozambique. The rhino horn is sold for tens of thousands of dollars in the east where it's believed to cure all kinds of conditions from hangovers to cancers.
ANDREW DESMET, RANGER: We've arrested, we've had poachers killed who have been in contact with our field rangers, but it doesn't seem to deter them.
MABUSE: A record 668 rhinos were killed in South Africa last year. Compare that to just 14 in 2005. This year, another record slaughter is predicted.
Investigators like Frik Roussow are trying to stop the killing through securing successful convictions.
FRIK ROUSSOW, INVESTIGATOR: We don't get here quickly enough, the animals do get destroyed, carried away.
MABUSE: On this occasion, four days after an attack on a one-year-old calf, some clues remain. Further probing reveals a bullet, but Roussow will need much more.
ROUSSOW: Ballistics doesn't necessarily put the suspect on the scene. It might put the firearm on the scene. So one would like to retrieve something like tracks left by the suspects, fingerprints, DNA.
MABUSE: Rhinos in South Africa are being killed so fast investigators can't keep up. And everyone involved complains about a critical lack of resources. From the 30 soldiers patrolling the Kurger border.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need at least a battalion here.
MABUSE: To environmentalists overwhelmed by the scale of the problem.
FREEK VENTER, HEAD OF CONSERVATION: But it's really an international solution we're looking at. Of course, it's a few criminals that have positioned themselves very comfortably between naive people in the east and poor people in Africa.
MABUSE: And bearing the brunt of all this is an animal that could live up to 50 years if it were ever free to roam again.
Nkepile Mabuse, CNN, Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And coming up next, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg reveals that his city was the next target of the Boston Marathon bombers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.
Now protests have turned violent in Bangladesh where thousands of factory workers came out to demonstrate against dangerous working conditions. Reports say police have used tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowds.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a collapsed industrial building near the capital has risen to at least 285. Authorities say the rescue operation will turn into a recovery effort starting on Saturday.
The U.S. says that there is evidence that the Syrian regime is most likely using chemical weapons in its civil war. Washington says it has received intelligence indicating the regime used the powerful nerve gas sarin on a small-scale.
In Afghanistan, at least 35 people have been killed and 10 injured in a collision between a bus and a fuel truck. Now the bus was traveling between Khandar and Helmund Provinces in the south of the country. Now a local government spokesman says some of the victims were children.
The surviving Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been moved from a Boston hospital to a federal prison facility. The U.S. Marshall Service says it is located in north central Massachusetts and houses inmates who need medical care.
Now we are learning more about what Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators in interviews from his hospital bed shortly after he was captured. Now in the panic following the Boston attack New York City officials say the brothers came up with a plan to target Times Square. Mary Snow has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the chaos of last week's manhunt for Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev officials say New York City's Times Square was on the radar of both suspects. The city's mayor and police commissioner say they were informed by the FBI Wednesday night about information learned during questioning of Dzhokar Tsarnaev.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK MAYOR: He told the FBI apparently that he and his brother had intended to drive to New York and designate additional explosives in Times Square.
SNOW: But the plans, say officials, offered no specifics and was described as spontaneous.
The brothers, according to New York officials, talked about going to New York while they were driving in the Mercedes SUV they carjacked after allegedly killing an MIT police officer. They were said to have a handful of improvised explosive devices including a pressure cooker bomb like the two used at the Boston marathon at the city's famed marathon and a number of pipe bombs, according to New York officials.
When they stopped at a gas station, the carjacking victim escaped and put police on their trail. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed, his younger brother was captured hours later. Police say they believed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made two previous trips to New York on or before April 18 of 2012. A photo from the trip obtained by police, and another trip in November of 2012. But authorities say they don't know if there's any connection between the trips and their alleged plans.
The information about targeted Times Square is a reversal from what police said justa day before, that the brothers were heading to New York to party. Police commissioner Ray Kelly said the New York plan was revealed during a second round of questioning.
COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPT.: The information we received is that he was a lot more lucid and I think gave much more detailed information in the second questioning period.
SNOW: Still, New York Republican congressman Peter King told CNN's Jake Tapper the city should have been informed earlier.
REP. PETER KING, (R) NEW YORK: Even though this may or may not have been spontaneous, for all we know there could be other conspirators out there and the city should have been alerted so it could go into its defensive mode, because no one does it better than the NYPD. But I think they should have been told earlier.
SNOW: The NYPD says it's now investigating Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's past trips to New York City and who he may have been with. The police commissioner says that police have identified some of his acquaintances in the pictures that they've obtained, but again stresses it's not clear whether there's any link.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now investigators in Russia and the U.S. are piecing together the brothers' personal histories to determine a possible motive in the attacks. There are major questions about when and why.
Now Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have turned to radical Islam. George Michael is the author of "Lone Wolf Terror and the Rise of Leaderless Resistance." He joins me now live from Chicopee, Massachusetts. Thank you so much for joining us here in News Stream, George.
Let's first talk about the digital trail for Tamerlan Tsarnaev. When you look at it, especially his YouTube account, does it reveal the mind of a terrorist?
GEORGE MICHAEL, AUTHOR, "LONE WOLF TERROR": In some ways, yes it does. He uploaded some videos of Jihadists from Chechnya and the Caucus region. It showed these jihadists and valorize (ph) these jihadists. And so that should have raised some red flags.
But it's worth mentioning that these videos are not uncommon on platforms such as YouTube. Many different people watch them. There are people who sympathize with radical Islam like watch their mothers.
Some people, for example, terrorism analysts will watch them for informational purposes. Other people are just curious and so it creates kind of a conundrum for authorities because just because somebody watches these videos it doesn't mean he's an extremist. And even if a person is an extremist, the authorities cannot really do anything unless that person suggests there's something to suggest that he's about to commit some kind of criminal act.
LU STOUT: Yeah, and that's what I'm trying to understand is making that jump, that process of radicalization. I mean, how does a young man in the U.S. go from -- and we know that he read "Inspire," that al Qaeda linked magazine, reading that online or seeing these jihadist videos on YouTube and go from that as a consumer of that type of media and going out to carry out a terror attack. What's the link?
MICHAEL: Well, he seems to have been radicalized in the United States, that's according to the associates that have talked to authorities after the Boston attack. He was actually quite eclectic in his choice of websites. He visited many jihadist websites, as you mentioned before. He was an avid reader "Inspire" magazine, which is produced by an al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen. The magazine frequently has articles that exhort jihadist lone wolves to commit acts of terrorism based on their own initiative.
But Tamerlan was also an avid fan of Alex Jones' site, the infowars site. It's a website that peddles a lot of conspiracy theories, for example 9/11 was an inside job by U.S. intelligence agencies. So he does not seem to have assimilated very well in the United States.
On the one hand, he was a very successful amateur boxer. He married an American woman. But he quit school and he never was able to really hold down a regular job. So not unlike other jihadists in the west, he exhibited quite a bit of alienation. He once remarked that he had no American friends.
LU STOUT: He was displaced. He felt isolated. And perhaps that is what made him more vulnerable to online radicalization.
What should authorities do to prevent online radicalization? Should they be calling up Alex Jones and say, you need to tone it down here? Calling up YouTube and say you need to take this video down? Can they do that?
MICHAEL: Well, there are some restrictions. There are some legal experts who advocate that these platforms should be held accountable for the information that's available. But because of first amendment protections in the United States, freedom of speech, that's a difficult thing to do. And even if they are removed, these videos are removed from one platform, they can be very easily uploaded on other platforms. So it's very difficult to police these kinds of things.
LU STOUT: And, you know, the question out there for investigators this last week where were these brothers radicalized? Were they radicalized in Dagestan, in Chechnya, in America, or in a virtual space, the internet? What's your answer?
MICHAEL: Well, I think several factors contributed to their radicalization. I think first and foremost they were radicalized in America. They came here when they were very young. But as ethnic Chechens, it's not surprising that they would identify with the separatist struggle going on in the Caucus region.
But Tamerlan in particular seems to have been radicalized by these various online sites. And he seems to have really pulled in his brother, his younger brother Dzhokhar. Tamerlan seems to be the more ideological of the two, but the evidence suggests that he was radicalized in America. And when he made -- when Tamerlan made his trip to Russia last year, he spent six months there. According to his associates, he was already radicalized.
LU STOUT: And when you say that Tamerlan was more radicalized than the brother, is that something that you can glean from their digital trails? And do you believe from looking at their digital trails that Dzhokhar is correct in saying that he was influenced mainly by his brother?
MICHAEL: Yes. I would agree with that, that's what the evidence suggests. Tamerlan seems to have been the person who really sought out more information about these radical jihadist ideologies. He came under the influence of very enigmatic figure Misha, a convert to Islam from Armenia. So it seems like Tamerlan was really the person who kind of was more involved in radical Islam and he pulled in his younger brother Dzhokhar.
LU STOUT: All right, fascinating discussion. I appreciate the insight. George Michael, author of "Lone Wolf Terror and the Rise of Leaderless Resistance," thank you so much for joining us here on News Stream.
MICHAEL: Well, thank you, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Now one week ago, authorities were in the middle of a manhunt to capture the Tsarnaev brothers. It started late Thursday in Cambridge, but the killing of an MIT campus policeman. And authorities say the brothers then hijacked a car. And the man inside, a 26 year old Chinese entrepreneur, he spent 90 minutes fearing for his life before he managed to escape.
Now we know him only by his American nickname, Danny. A Boston Globe reporter Eric Moskowitz spent time with Danny going over every detail of what happened. And he spoke to our partner network CNN USA just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC MOSKOWITZ, BOSTON GLOBE: They drive around for 90 minutes constantly threatening him and Danny is trying to think how do I stay alive, don't want to say the wrong thing. You know, at one point he gets a text message from his roommate in Chinese saying, you know, where are you? How come you haven't come home? And Tamerlan takes a Chinese -- sorry, and English to Chinese app, texts back, I'm sick, I'm not coming home tonight. I'm with a friend.
That seems weird to Danny's roommate.
There's another text, then a call. They don't answer. There's silence in Danny's car. They call again. Tamerlan says you answer. If you say a word in Chinese, because if he's speaking in Chinese he might rat them out, I'll kill you. And don't be stupid.
So Danny says, answering to someone talking to him in Mandarin in English. I'm sick. I'm with a friend. I'm sorry, I've got to go.
And he's just trying to think, you know, where can I get out, when is my moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: The use of a translation app in the carjacking, incredible.
That was Boston Globe reporter Eric Maskowitz there on his account of Danny's harrowing night carjacked by the Boston bombing suspects.
And while we're in the U.S., I want to give you an update on the state of the U.S. economy. Numbers released just a few minutes ago show that the U.S. economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter of this year. And we'll have much more on that in World Business Today in less than 20 minutes from now.
You're watching News Stream. And we'll be back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now there are storms in southeast Asia and very heavy rain in North Africa. Details now with Mari Ramos. She joins us from the world weather center -- Mari.
MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Krisite, good to see you. You know what, yeah, let's go ahead and start in Africa. We'll make our way toward the east in just a moment.
You know, this rain that we see here across the Mediterranean has been pretty heavy across portions of the northern Mediterranean. But as we head into North Africa, that's a little bit more concerning, because this area is much drier and look at this in around Algeria they had 30 -- 30 millimeters of rain is their monthly average and they had three times as much. So that's pretty significant.
The concern for flooding, of course, remains. I think for the most part the rain is over here, but we are going to see those cooler temperatures remaining with those winds coming out of the north across this area. You've seen a cooldown, also, across Spain and Portugal. And then here the concern for some blowing sand and dust coming off the Saharan Desert. There's still some rain showers expected here across the rest of the area.
Notice how broad this area of low pressure.
So the winds are not as strong, but definitely the concern for rain is there. And notice this one line stretching all the way from North Africa crossing Italy and moving all the way up into France and Switzerland.
And then that's one story, right. So this is bringing us the cooler temperatures already just because in the way of cloud cover and pulling in the moisture out of the north here. But it's also kind of a help opening up the door for our next weather system to come in. So a cooldown in store for you here across the west.
Meanwhile, across much of eastern Europe, what a change. You still remain under those very warm conditions. And I hope you've enjoyed them because even here I think as we head into the weekend you'll start to see a little bit of cooler weather. It looks pretty. Summertime almost, not so much spring, right? I like that.
But anyway, look at this dome right here. You can see the warmer conditions from Berlin to Warsaw, back over toward Munich comparatively. London only at 11 and Paris at 15. And you can definitely tell in those color coded maps right over here the change. And still, you can see that across southeastern Europe, still across portions of the central Med. And then those cooler temperatures that I was telling you stretching all the way down toward Madrid only at 19. And 20 in Algiers, so that just kind of gives you an indication of where the cloud cover and the rain are at this hour.
So as we head into the weekend, that's going to be the story. The cooler temperatures here to the north. Warm conditions here to the south. And the rain showers continue making its way across the continent.
Now this is something we just saw a little while ago. A lot of moisture coming in across the Arabian peninsula, across the Gulf and back over toward parts of southwest Asia. Some of this rain has been heavy at times. We've seen some numbers come through, but they -- you know, almost look high to be real. So if you're in this area and you have some information on the rain that's happening here I'd love to hear from you, because this is kind of interesting when you get this kind of rain this time of year it can cause some flooding. So be extra careful. Notice the moisture remaining in this line right along this old frontal boundary that is still kind of hanging around.
As we head into Southeast Asia here you can clearly see also that cooler temperatures are in the areas where it's raining compared to here in south Asia where it's very, very dry and hot this time of year.
These thunderstorms continue to pop up. You can see them right over here. Some of these are going to be heavy at times. Be extra careful. 30, 40 millimeters of rain not out of the question within these thunderstorms as they happen. They tend to pop up very quickly, and usually kind of fall away very quickly too.
Windy conditions for you in Hong Kong.
And I hate to say it, bad air quality in Beijing. That blue sky day, Kristie, lasted one day. We're back to unhealthy air. I hate that.
Back to you.
LU STOUT: I know. Too ephemeral. They just come and go. Mari Ramos there, thank you. Have a good weekend. Take care.
Now we have a sports update straight ahead. Amanda Davies will tell you why it was a landmark night for one NBA star. Stick around.
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LU STOUT: Now a trainer for one of the most famous horseracing stables in the world is paying the price for what he called a catastrophic error. Amanda Davies joins us now with more -- Amanda.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this really is an incredible story, Kristie. It's the equivalent of, say, Manchester United being found guilty of fairly systematic doping. And the Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford has admitted that it's going to take a very long time for the racing world to regain the trust of their stables after its trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni was banned for eight years for horse doping.
The British Horseracing Authority handed out the punishment on Thursday after 11 of Al Zarooni's horses tested positive for anabolic steroids, 15 horses have now been suspended from competition for six months.
Al Zarooni has apologized to the owner of Godolphin who is, of course, Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai. The stables in Newmarket in the UK has gone into lockdown until all the horses are shown to be clean.
On to fooball. And I can tell you in the last 10 minutes or so it had come out that Liverpool and Luis Suarez have accepted the 10 match ban handed to the striker for fighting his fellow player Branislav Ivanovic. The Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers defended the Uruguayan yesterday.
But the British Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken out against him saying he sets the most appalling example he said as a dad and as a human being. Do I think we should have tough penalties when football players behave like this? Yes, I think we should.
And we'll have some more reaction to that decision coming up right here on CNN.
Now, after the drama of the Champion's League earlier this week, Thursday night saw the Europa League take center stage once again. The the Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez has warned his side against complacency after a 2-1 win over Basel in their semifinal first leg.
The Champion's League holders won 2-1 in Switzerland, but needed an injury time free kick from David Luiz to take the victory. Benitez doesn't want his side to get too carried away ahead of the second leg in London next week.
It's advantage for Fenerbahce in the other semifinal tie Egeman Korkmaz was the hero for the Turkish side against Benfica. He gave his side a 1-0 lead in their 72nd minute.
And the Miami Heat are now just one win away from booking their place in the second round of the NBA playoffs. They took a 3-0 lead in the series with a 104-91 victory on Thursday. Part of what's made LeBron James so special in recent years is his ability to knock down the three. He made two on the night. Here's one giving Miami a four point lead late in the third quarter.
James then showed another key part of his game, the penetration and nice pass back to Chris Anderson who lays it in.
So Miami were up 10 points heading into the final quarter. And history was made by the Heat's Ray Allen. He hit five threes to become the all-time three point leader in playoff history with 322. In the end, Miami rolled 104-91 and can close it out on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY ALLEN, MIAMI HEAT GUARD: I've played with some great shooters so I had an opportunity to see first-hand, you know, what it took to prepare and what it took to be able to be a great shooter in any moment at any time in the game. And so I'm just carrying on their torch. And, you know, I know there's kids looking up to me and then one day there will be -- they will be looking at one of my records hopefully to take down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIES: Great to see, Kristie. Yeah, sports people being aware of their job as role models to children.
LU STOUT: Yeah, playing like champions, speaking like champions and role models as well. Amanda Davies there. Thank you, take care.
And finally we end this show with that TV cliche, "sometimes animals do the strangest things. Jeanne Moos has the pictures to prove it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could be worse. You could be a squirrel with your head stuck in a cup or a skunk jammed into a jar of peanut butter. Get me out of here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say thank you.
MOOS: But an elk wearing a tire like a necklace? At least she can see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just thought it was very funny to see this elk with a tire around neck, a little bit of bling.
MOOS: The female elk has become a celebrity elk in Morrison, Colorado where she hangs out with her herd. Wildlife officials don't want to tranquilizer her to remove the tire, because they're worried she might be pregnant. And it's traumatic to be tranquilized.
She's able to move. She's able to eat. She's even able to lick herself. So for now she's being spared the tire change.
But you know there are sillier things that an elk can get stuck around her neck.
How does an elk get entangled with a bar stool? The resident who took these photos, Bill Johnson, believes the elk encountered the bar stool under a neighbors deck where some stools were stored.
Back when this happened four years ago wildlife officials tried to help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make every attempt we can to get that stool off her head.
MOOS: But they had trouble getting close and a tranquilizer dart bounced off her. Officials said the bar stool didn't seem to be hurting anything, but I can tell you from personal experience it's no picnic galloping around with a stool around your neck.
The local paper held a contest asking folks to speculate about how the elk ended up wearing a bar stool. One eight-year-old illustrated her theory that the elk had a few too many drinks, tripped and the stool fell on her.
Like many bar stories, we'll never know how this one ended, because wildlife officials say they lost track of the bar stool elk.
Forget the cliche about a dear in the headlights, this is a deer tangled in Christmas lights. And another elk has been sighted stuck in a dog dish for six years.
What's next? A campaign to warn elk not to drink and drive?
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Jeanne Moos is legend.
And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.
END
