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New Info on Boston Investigation; California Wildfires

Aired May 03, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

BALDWIN: Here we go, hour two, live in Boston. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me on this Friday. Disturbing new developments this hour in this bombing investigation here in Boston, the apartment that Tamerlan Tsarnaev shared with his wife and young child in Cambridge just across the river from us here was also the scene of a deadly bomb making operation.

A law enforcement source telling CNN that explosive residue has been found and here are the specifics. They say it was found on the kitchen table, on the kitchen sink and in the bathtub of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's apartment.

The same source tells CNN that investigators are now looking into tips about loud explosions heard in the area around UMass Dartmouth over the course of the last several months. So feds are right now searching that area today to see if they were from tests conducted by those suspects perhaps as trial runs.

CNN's Brian Todd is with me now because you're on this whole other development today that people are just in an uproar over here in Boston, the idea that now we know that the family has claimed after weeks Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body from the medical examiner's office, and they want to bury him not too far from where we're standing.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. That's right, Brooke. According to a family spokesperson, they want to bury him somewhere in the Boston area generally. That's generating a huge controversy here.

The body, as you mentioned, picked up yesterday afternoon by the uncle and by the sisters. It's now in a funeral home in Worcester, Massachusetts, about an hour west of here. But the funeral director there has told a local newspaper that he's having a hard time finding a cemetery that will take this body for burial.

As well, we have talked to people here and in Cambridge, just citizens who have gathered here at the memorial and also in Cambridge where he lived, about the idea of him being buried in the Boston area. They have some pretty strong emotions. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't really care where he's buried. To me, he's dead already. How much more can you punish him? I just -- to me, it's too petty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's too sad for words. It's too sad. He shouldn't be here. He should never have come. If he had never come, it would have been -- none of this would have happened. He had every advantage he could have here. He shouldn't be buried here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Emotions running very high here in Boston, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Understandably so.

TODD: Really understandably.

BALDWIN: So you have -- now we know that the body's been claimed. You have the funeral home who is willing to handle the body, the issue then with finding the cemetery, as you point out, but then also in terms of officiating a potential ceremony. You have been talking to a bunch of different imams, most of whom say, I don't want to do it.

TODD: That's right. It's amazing to hear them.

And these are people who are willing to -- they're very -- you know, they're just very open-minded people. They're accepting of almost everyone. With this case, they want to push away from it. The mosque where the two brothers attended, the Islamic Society of Boston, top officials there telling us, no way. We don't want anything to do with this.

I just talked to a top imam in Brighton who said that, while we're OK with him given some basic Islamic rights in a funeral, no top imam will do this. It's got to be a layperson, maybe a family member who can maybe say a basic prayer, clean the body, put it in a shroud, put it in the ground, be done with it.

BALDWIN: But -- and, again, people think, well -- and I have talked to people here in Boston. They say, well, what about cremation? But that goes entirely against the Muslim faith.

TODD: No. And from everything we know, that's not done in Islam and that presents yet another conundrum for these people.

BALDWIN: Brian Todd, thank you very much.

TODD: Thank you.

BALDWIN: People are very angry about that and, as I said, understandably so.

Now, no amount of money, of course, could bring back a loved one and repair a life shattered by terrorism here on Boylston Street now three weeks ago. A man, though, who grew up just outside of the city I'm standing in, Kenneth Feinberg, has the grim task of putting now a price tag on this tragedy here in Boston. And he is set to reveal his proposal on Monday.

So here's what we're hearing. Some of the victims here from the bombings could get more than $1 million each. Feinberg told "The Boston Globe" families of the three people killed and victims who lost more than one limb, they may get -- quote -- "well over a million dollars each."

As for victims who lost a single limb like this woman here -- this is Heather Abbott -- she may get just under a million. Victims with other physical injuries, there were so many, they may get smaller amounts. It all depends on exactly how long they were here in the hospital recovering.

Feinberg is well-versed in trauma and loss, we should point out. He oversaw funds for victims of the 9/11 attacks, also from several years ago the Virginia Tech shootings, that theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado, and also the BP oil spill.

Right now, I can tell you this. The Boston One Fund, thanks to the generosity of so many people now, has raised more than $28 million and counting.

As we check the clock, less than an hour until the closing bell, record-setting day on Wall Street, folks, the Dow Jones industrial average topping 15000. That is a new high. It is just below at the moment. We're getting a live look here, up 136 points, just below, again, that 15000 mark.

What's happening today, you ask? Well, the big boost comes after the monthly jobs report that came out this morning for the month of April showing that the economy added 165,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent. That is the lowest we have seen since December of 2008.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: You know, thousands of homes are in danger from wildfires, as we have been showing you here.

So, take a look. These are live pictures. Look at this fire line. Look at the smoke. And that's a home, incredibly, incredibly close here to this one home, and this is one of so many in Southern California. We are going to take you live from one of the danger zones next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, I want to show you some pictures here. Want to take you to California, Southern California, and you will see this Springs fire.

We have Kyung Lah and crew in the thick of things, in the danger zone. We're going to go to her here momentarily.

Here are these pictures. You see the flames. You see the smoke, Chad Myers. And look at this, a huge, beautiful home precariously close to that fire line. I mean, just wow.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just coming up over this ridge right now on top of these two homes.

And we're still seeing these firefighters standing right on this road kind of waiting to use the hoses. As it comes right into the bushes right by the trees, they're turning on the water and trying to water these trees down. But by that point in time, you have got to think about this, Brooke. Southern California in the past two years, past 24 months, should have picked up 24 inches of rain.

They picked up 14. That's about half. So everything there is dry. Typically, fire season doesn't even start until September or October. But it's so dry right now, we're talking October kind of dry, August kind of dry. So, you know, this is a day with only winds at about 20 miles per hour. Yesterday, winds were 48 miles per hour.

So, it was a firestorm yesterday. The firefighters are able to get to things today, able to keep them down a little bit, and then tonight the winds are going to go back down to really about calm, down to zero. I am very concerned that this could be the most dangerous fire season that we have seen in years, maybe decades, when you talk about what's happening already in May.

And we're not expecting a lot of rain obviously from now to fire season. And you get wins with Santa Ana that could be 60 to 80 miles per hour in different segments, in different storms, when the Santas really fire up, this could be something that people really need to pay attention to. And if you live in a fire land, a wild area, you need to make all those precautions, cut those trees down, get the eucalyptus away from your houses, get all those things ready in case you need to leave at a moment's notice.

This is a tinderbox out there. It's so dry, it's just ready to burn any time. And when you get winds like we had yesterday and even today at 20, you see what's happening right now.

BALDWIN: Chad Myers, stand by.

I want to go to Kyung Lah, who is inside the danger zone.

And, Kyung, last time we talked here, you were showing us -- Chad talking about the tinderbox, how exactly dry it is there. Tell me what you're seeing.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The winds have shifted dramatically just in this last hour, Brooke.

Just an hour ago, I was covered in white smoke. Well, now you can see what's happening is we're getting a different wind pattern. You can actually see the smoke pushing back on itself. This is the air quality that everyone's living with now on the north end of this fire.

And I want to point out over there, and it's a little difficult to see, but what you're seeing just over my left shoulder, that is active fire. And you can see the orange flames licking up every once in a while, the winds very erratic out here. It's almost like a twisting cyclone effect.

It will be offshore, then onshore winds. Something that was a concern earlier in the day was the Point Mugu Naval Station. You can see it now. About an hour ago, you couldn't see it at all. That actually, firefighters say, is now protected by a swamp area, marshland. So what they're really concerned with is trying to contain the fire.

And just as you get the sense that the winds and the smoke are shifting, this is a difficult job that firefighters have, trying to deal with the erratic wind patterns, the drought-like conditions, try and keep their firefighters hydrated, because look up at the sky. What we see now, temperatures are beginning to rise here. Even though that sun is obscured somewhat by the smoke that we see in the area, firefighters wear that heavy gear. They are going to have a very tough, very long, and very hot day out here, Brooke.

BALDWIN: I'm glad to see you wearing protective glasses as well. I know with all that smoke, that smoke really, really can burn.

Kyung, thank you.

Chad, I want to jump back to you. And let's pull here -- here are the pictures full of these homes, and the fire line.

MYERS: Right.

BALDWIN: How long -- if you're saying this could be the most dangerous fire seasons we have seen in quite a while, how long looking, just at this picture, do you think it's going to take these flames to catch onto that home?

MYERS: Yes.

Well, I think the firefighters have it. I think that there's enough of a break around that home.

BALDWIN: Good.

MYERS: There's grass around the home, but there's not cedars. You don't have the chaparral around those homes. They have cleared that out. Those firefighters will stop that fire. What we saw yesterday, fires very close, at least this close to the homes. But the homes were built 10 years ago or less. There's a complete different set of rules to build a house now, no wood shake shingles, really not much of a wood on the outside.

These homes we saw yesterday, they were all stucco, hard coat concrete stucco with composite or even those almost tile roofs. So those houses didn't catch on fire. When you talk about houses built in the '70s up here in the Malibu Hills, the beautiful homes owned by movie stars for years and decades, those are the homes that are most susceptible.

They do still have the wood shingles. They even have the wood siding. They're beautiful, but they are a fire hazard, and there are things you can do to protect those homes, to almost retrofit those homes to be more fire-resistant. And that's what firefighters and the local officials are asking people to do.

We lost between 10 million and 12 million acres of land last year in the fire season, Brooke. It's drier this year than it was last year. The drought continues. The fires are going to continue, and it's going to be a devastatingly large fire season with at least record amounts of fire going on, because we don't have any rain at all in the forecast.

The Sierra, the snowpack that we talk act, that snow in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, only about 20 percent. Now, when that melts, that is all gone. That is going to be down into reservoirs. This is going to be dry again all the way up and down California into Utah, Nevada, into -- all of the Western states literally are in some type of drought, 100 percent.

Every single acre in California is in some type of drought right now. And that's the same story almost all the way to Nebraska,from the Dakotas and Montana down to Arizona and New Mexico.

BALDWIN: Yes.

MYERS: And that's the entire western half of the U.S. will be partially at least on fire this year. You will be in danger again this year.

BALDWIN: Yes, we're going to come back to these live pictures, Chad Myers. Thank you.

I just can't imagine for these homeowners to see their homes and to see the flames so close and know that there is absolutely nothing you can do. Chad, we will come back. Thank you.

MYERS: OK. You're welcome.

BALDWIN: But to Texas, we go now. This big cleanup is under way. You see zigzag formation, here they are, of these train cars. This is a cargo train actually jumps the tracks. More on that. We will tell you what about.

Also, politics meets rock 'n' roll. Chris Christie and Jon Bon Jovi, the governor signing a bill that hits close to home for this New Jersey rocker. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to some of the hottest stories in a flash. Roll it.

First up, we are watching the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Houston happening right now. You have former presidential candidate Rick Santorum scheduled to speak very shortly, also, members of the NRA basking in the glow of that recent defeat in the Senate of a bill that would have required more gun sale background checks.

Several high-profile conservative leaders, of course, are there today in Texas. You have Texas Governor Rick Perry. He spoke just a short time ago. And next hour, the governor of Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal, will take to the podium, followed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

A train derailment today in the suburb of San Antonio, Texas, and you can see these pictures, the zig and the zag of the cars, 10 cars in total derailed. The train wasn't hauling anything hazardous and no injuries were reported there.

Also, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The guy on the left, you recognize him? Rocker Jon Bon Jovi, and, of course, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signing a bill into law that provides legal protection for people who overdose on drugs. This is designed to encourage reporting of overdoses so victims don't end up dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON BON JOVI, MUSICIAN: And I hope that Governor Christie's actions here will cause other states to stand up and to pay attention and also to follow in his footsteps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What is so personal about this for Jon Bon Jovi? It's because his family has recently been affected by drugs. His daughter reportedly overdosed on heroin in her dorm room last fall.

And a dad who lost his son to leukemia has found a unique way to help hundreds of other kids win their battle against the disease. His group drives thousands of miles a year to get kids their cancer treatment, and he is this week's CNN Hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD NARES, CNN HERO: It's paralyzing when you hear those words "your child has cancer". I know what those families are going through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sun is coming up.

NARES: It's extremely difficult. My son, he was diagnosed with cancer. It was such a horrifying time. We were fortunate. We had rides to the hospital to bring Emilio. Many families don't have that support.

Good morning.

We find out that many of them were missing appointments.

My name is Richard Nares. No child should miss their cancer treatment due to lack of transportation.

Ready to go? All right. We give over 2,000 rides a year. Our furthest cancer patient is 120 miles. Ride With Emilio plays an important part of their treatment. We get them here in a nice, clean environment and on time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We live here. It's every day, treatment. We want to fight. We are in this together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all I care right now, my daughter's life.

NARES: When you're fighting for your child's life, nothing else matters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They pick us up in the morning and give us a ride back. Their help is every step of the way.

NARES: Seventy percent of our families are Spanish-speaking. Having a bilingual staff is extremely important. I feel like it's my obligation to help them navigate the system.

Take good care of yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

NARES: From someone who has been there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

NARES: Even know he has passed away almost 13 years, he's the -- the main force of this. And I feel that I'm the right person to help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: If you would like to learn more about Richard's work or if you would like to nominate someone who is doing his or her part to make the world a better place, we want you to go to CNNHeroes.com.

It is the video of a Hollywood superstar getting arrested, and it's been everywhere now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REESE WITHERSPOON, ACTRESS: I'm now being arrested and handcuffed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WITHERSPOON: Do you know my name, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't need to know it.

WITHERSPOON: You don't need to know my name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not quite yet.

(CROSSTALK)

WITHERSPOON: Oh, really? OK. You're about to find out who I am. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That is a brunette, Reese Witherspoon, confronting a police officer. We went straight to police for the entire dash-cam video, and we got it. We are going to show you a huge chunk of this and what else she had to say to this police officer.

That is next.

Also, we're keeping a close eye here on this Springs fire, the wildfires, the flames, the smoke all too close for these homeowners in Southern California. We have crews inside the danger zone, Chad Myers standing by as well. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)