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Boston Bombing Investigation; Syrian Crisis Escalates

Aired May 06, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: As Syria massacres its own people, Israel strikes, and now the Syrian regime is vowing revenge.

CNN will take you like no other network can inside the danger zone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): What to do with the body of a terror suspect? Because, in Boston, no one wants it.

Verdict watch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why should we believe you now?

BALDWIN: Any minute, Jodi Arias could learn her fate. We're live when it all goes down.

Plus, you heard about the gun made with a 3-D printer. Well, now first shot has been fired, and I have got video to prove it.

And a story you will never forget. An NBA superstar joins me live on what happened when a friend with cancer asked him for a favor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Here we go, hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me.

Want to begin with the brand-new information in the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings. A law enforcement official briefed on the case tells CNN that investigators believe that Tamerlan Tsarnaev accessed bomb-making materials on the computer that was taken from the computer that he shared with his wife in Cambridge.

That source tells CNN that investigators believe it was Tamerlan and not his wife, Katherine Russell, who was the one accessing the information. Meantime, one of the three young men accused of helping Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is going to be released from custody.

Robel Phillipos, who is 19, is accused of lying to investigators. That's this federal charge he is facing.

Joe Johns attended a hearing that just wrapped up in Boston. He reports that the prosecution and defense have agreed to allow this young man to be released on bail with conditions. You're staring at him right now. So, the conditions include home confinement at the residence of a third party, 24-hour monitoring with an electronic bracelet, and his release would be secured by a $100,000 bond.

Meantime, there is now this group, citizens group, just outside of Boston, raising money to send Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body back to Russia. The body right now is at this funeral home in Worcester, Massachusetts, not too terribly far from Boston. And we now know it has been prepared for burial in the Muslim tradition. It has been washed, as they say.

But the thing is, no cemetery wants to accept that body, and cremation not an option in the Islamic faith. So, this group's leader says Tsarnaev does not deserve to be buried in Massachusetts.

Bill Breault is his name. He's chairman of the citizens group called Main South Alliance for Public Safety.

So, Bill, welcome. Thanks for joining me here.

And let me just begin. Let me tell you, I was in Boston for the last three weeks and I talked to a lot of people who said a lot of things I can't say on television as far as how they feel, you know, about having this body anywhere near the city of Boston. Tell me why you say it is not OK to have him buried in Massachusetts.

BILL BREAULT, MAIN SOUTH ALLIANCE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY: Well, let me back up a couple of steps.

He -- I live a couple of blocks from where this funeral home is. I also know Peter Stefan, the gentleman who owns the funeral home. I think he made a big mistake when this was going to another place intervening. It was going to South Attleboro. The funeral director there backed out of it. Peter Stefan, the director at near my home, the funeral home, stepped in to it, and now we're in a situation where nobody wants to take him.

Having said that, he came from Cambridge. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, alleged bomber, came from Cambridge. I believe the city manager there released a statement saying, well, they don't want him in Cambridge.

So I don't know. If you don't want him -- he's not a citizen. He shouldn't be given them rights. Where -- our focus is going to be on raising money to send him back to his homeland. Whatever happens there happens. We're in the process. We opened an account today. I donated $500. In Worcester today, we had a press conference.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Bill, let me stop just you right there.

Let me back up because I just want you to tell me, though, at your core, the idea of having this man buried in Boston, buried in Massachusetts, maybe even buried in the United States, what words do you have for that idea?

BREAULT: Well, I think it is a bad idea. And what also was rumored, because this funeral director, Peter Stefan, is stuck right now. We have worked with him over the last (AUDIO GAP) There is a cemetery (AUDIO GAP) near where I live. And they were working to try to get him buried in there.

He has no other options. I not only don't want to see him buried in Worcester, Massachusetts, very close to where I live. I don't think he should be buried in the state, therefore, the reason we're raising $3,000 to $5,000 to have his body shipped overseas.

BALDWIN: Bill, let me throw this at you, because -- and I know a lot of people agree with you and a lot of people don't want him in the states, period. They say, get him out of here, and it is against the tradition to cremate him.

But there is an idea that has been thrown out there that it is ridiculous, the idea of raising money. If you're raising thousands of dollars to send his body to Russia, instead, that several thousand dollars should be spent on good, should be spent on survivors, should be spent on victims' families. What do you say to those people?

Well, here's how -- my heart goes to the (AUDIO GAP) those (AUDIO GAP) life and limb. I'm a Bruins fan. I watched one (AUDIO GAP) victims who lost two legs wave a banner in the Boston garden before the game.

(CROSSTALK)

BREAULT: My heart lays with the MIT police officer. If we can raise the money to get him out of here (AUDIO GAP) left over, no direct cash. I have money, $50, $20 in cash offered me today. I offended the people. I said, send a check. We want him (AUDIO GAP)

BALDWIN: Oh, did we lose him? Sounds like we lost him.

Anyway, it sounds like Bill Breault there, as he mentioned, he has given the first $500, and he and this group who -- in this community of Worcester, not too far again from Boston, they have raised money for firefighters. They have done good for citizens of the community and he wants that body back to Russia and he is going to help to make sure it goes there.

So, we will follow up and see if that is even a possibility with this family.

New information just in to CNN about last fall's deadly attack at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. In an interview with congressional investigators, the former top diplomat in Libya expressed concern that more could have been done.

CNN's chief Washington correspondent and the anchor of "THE LEAD," Jake Tapper, joining me from Washington.

Jake Tapper --

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke. BALDWIN: -- hey. What are you hearing about the testimony of Greg Hicks?

TAPPER: Well, we have obtained some of the excerpts of the testimony that Greg Hicks -- Greg Hicks, the former deputy chief of mission in Benghazi -- I'm sorry, in Libya -- what he has told investigators in interviews last month.

And there are a few interesting aspects. Now, first of all, we know that this controversy has to do with three different parts of the attack. There is before the attack, whether or not there was enough security in Libya, and why the State Department declined to give more security to Libya as requested.

There is during the attack. And then there is after the attack. During the attack, the criticisms and the questions are about whether or not more could have been to help save, protect the individuals under siege in Benghazi. And then after the attack, there are questions about the White House, what they were saying publicly, what they knew, blaming it on a demonstration because of a YouTube video, an anti-Muslim video, vs. a terrorist attack.

So, those are the three different permutations. What Hicks is saying basically has to do with the second and the third, the question, first of all, could the military have done anything more that night,and then, also, just questions about why the White House did not reach out to him, saying, he says, that he told investigators last month that, "I thought it was a terrorist attack from the get- go," and then he describes watching Susan Rice, the United Nations ambassador, go on the Sunday talk shows the Sunday afterwards.

And he said: "My jaw hit the floor. I have never been as embarrassed in my life, in my career, on that day," because according to him, Rice was undercutting the prime minister of Libya, who was blaming it on a terrorist attack.

So, a lot of very heated criticisms from this deputy chief of missions, former deputy chief of missions.

BALDWIN: Jake Tapper, I know, with all your reporting, you will be all over it on "The Lead." We will look for you at the top of the hour. Thank you very much, my friend. I appreciate it.

Want to turn now to the Jodi Arias trial, on jury verdict watch here. Eight men, four women hold her fate in their hands. Arias could get the death penalty if convicted of first degree murder. Last night in Phoenix, friends of the victim, Travis Alexander, held a candlelight vigil. Several said they are praying for these jurors in hopes of a just verdict.

Travis Alexander, Jodi's on-again/off-again lover, was stabbed close to 30 times, had his throat slit from ear to ear, took a bullet to the face. Jodi Arias has changed her story many, many times. At the trial, which has lasted four months, she went with self-defense.

Ryan Smith is with me from HLN, "Evening Express." You have been all over this.

OK, so here we are, deliberation time.

RYAN SMITH, HLN ANCHOR: Yes.

BALDWIN: Any indication we could get something from them anytime soon?

SMITH: We have no idea.

BALDWIN: We have no idea.

SMITH: We have no idea.

You never know what a jury is thinking. You like to read something into some of the things they ask for, if they have any questions. They haven't had any so far. They just took lunch. It's about four hours and counting.

BALDWIN: No reading the tea leaves.

SMITH: No tea leaves yet.

And the general rule of thumb used to be, for every week of the trial, it's a day of deliberations.

(CROSSTALK)

SMITH: That would make it about a 16-day deliberation period.

I don't think that is going to happen here, but you never know.

BALDWIN: What are the options here?

SMITH: Well, they have got first degree murder and then they have got lesser included offenses, second degree murder, manslaughter. Of course, they can acquit her.

First degree is intent with premeditation, so killing with premeditation. And second degree is basically intentional killing without premeditation. Manslaughter is a little bit different. Manslaughter, there has to be -- she has to have killed him with a conscious disregard for life and that there was some sort of argument that precipitated it, some sudden quarrel or heated passion and he had to provoke it.

So, there's a couple different theories here. Manslaughter, I think she could end up getting time served, walking free. Second degree, anywhere from 25 to life, maybe as low as 10 years. First degree, totally different story.

BALDWIN: Back to first degree. And I was trying to read through what all of this means, right, right?

SMITH: OK. BALDWIN: If she -- if it triggers -- if she is convicted of first degree murder, that triggers the -- what is it, the aggravation phase.

SMITH: The death phase, right.

And this is a very interesting thing with Arizona. In a lot of different states, it is a death penalty state and they get first degree and the jury convicts them, it might go to a judge or a jury. Here, there is two additional phases. So, the first phase would be, she's convicted of first degree murder.

Then the prosecutor has to present evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that she was so cruel to him such as to necessitate the death penalty. So, the cruelty becomes key. If the jury finds for that, then the defense presents a third phase, which they basically try to list the mitigating factors, why she shouldn't be put to death, her family life.

She's never had any priors. A lot of different evidence like that. And if they don't believe that, then she proceeds to the death phase and that's it. She's given the death penalty.

But if they do agree that there are mitigating factors, she does not get the death penalty, and then the judge makes a decision.

BALDWIN: OK. So, if it is first degree, then you have the back- and-forth prosecution, then defense...

SMITH: Yes.

BALDWIN: -- whether or not death is on the table, and if not, they move on past that.

SMITH: Exactly.

BALDWIN: OK.

SMITH: A lot to consider. Right?

BALDWIN: Please come back when this comes out.

SMITH: Absolutely. And this jury sits through all three phases, so they're not going anywhere anytime soon if she gets first degree.

BALDWIN: They are not.

Ryan Smith, thank you so much, as always.

SMITH: Anytime.

BALDWIN: You know all this stuff backwards and forward.

Please stay with CNN for continuing coverage of the Jodi Arias trial. Of course, we have reporters at the courthouse and we will bring you that verdict live when it is announced. Coming up, as promised, it's an interview you do not want to miss. I will speak live with the man who was driving that limousine that burst into flames over the weekend, killed a bride, several of her friends who just were out to have a good time over the weekend. You will hear what he saw, what he heard, and what he thinks may have happened that night.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to some of the hottest videos of the day, "Hit Play."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): Glow-in-the-dark sheep. Yes. This is the creation of scientists in Uruguay. Turn out the lights and these guys turn an eerie lime green. How do they get the glow? Genes from a jellyfish.

A Florida teenager in need of a heart transplant forced to stay in the hospital on her prom night, but a group of students get together and bring the prom to her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very excited. I can't wait. It is going to be a good night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is. It's going to be the best night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best night.

BALDWIN: Blowout on the ice -- a brawl erupts between the Canadiens and Senators, punches, cheap shots, even referee bashing. The Senators go on to win the game. As for the fight, no winner declared.

To a track in Talladega, incredible video of this huge NASCAR crash. Kurt Busch gets hit, barrel rolls and then flips on top of Ryan Newman's car. Good thing everyone is OK.

Finally, Pearl Cantrell is 105. Her secret to such a long life?

PEARL CANTRELL, 105 YEARS OLD: Eat bacon. I tell them just -- my kids all have eaten...

BALDWIN: So Oscar Mayer got wind of Pearl's passion and sent the Wienermobile to pay her a visit. Pearl got to ride shotgun and of course she got a cooler full of bacon for the road.

And that is today's "Hit Play."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Technology, sports, business, health, science, and showbiz news, we hit it all right now, what we call the power block. You probably have tons of e-mail in your spam folder. Maybe some have offers to buy Viagra online. Well, now the maker of the drug, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is launching a Web site to make buying the little blue pill easier and legal, in an effort the company says to battle counterfeit versions of the drug.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now.

OK, so how does this work?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is actually really very straightforward.

So, you go to this Web site that has been set up by Pfizer and you put in your information. And here's the important part, Brooke. You still have to have a prescription.

BALDWIN: You to have to have the prescription. It's not easier to get.

COHEN: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: No, it's not. Well, it may be a little bit more convenient.

BALDWIN: OK.

COHEN: So, instead of like hauling off to the drugstore and bringing it in and sitting and waiting, and all that kind of stuff, you put in your information and they will contact your doctor for you, or you can mail in a prescription. There's a couple of different ways to do it. But you still have to have a prescription.

BALDWIN: And in a whole other layer to this, apparently there is a bit of a problem with counterfeit Viagra?

COHEN: Right. There's a problem with counterfeit a lot of drugs.

BALDWIN: OK.

COHEN: But Viagra, as you can imagine...

BALDWIN: One of them.

COHEN: -- is, right, one of them.

And so you don't want to get counterfeit Viagra. It could have no active ingredient in it. It could have a third of the active ingredient. You want the real thing. What's interesting here, though, is that this -- is that Viagra is expensive. If you don't have insurance, it is about $400 for 15 pills. Right? So that's a lot. The stuff that you see online where you don't need a prescription is, like, a fraction...

BALDWIN: Too cheap.

COHEN: Way, way, way cheap.

BALDWIN: Yes.

COHEN: So, that should be your first sign, right, if it's really cheap.

So, I think people still are going to go to these -- these sites where you don't need a prescription. But now if you want to do it legitimately and for real, there's an easy...

BALDWIN: You can go to the Web site.

COHEN: Right. You can go to this Web site.

BALDWIN: OK. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Now, "Fortune" magazine's annual list of the top 500 companies is out and there is a new number one, Wal-Mart, the giant retail store reclaiming the top spot after slipping to second place next year. ExxonMobil is at number two. And rounding out the top five, you have Chevron, Phillips 66, the Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Apple cracks the top 10 this year for the very first time, coming in at number six.

Boot up your computer. Download a file. Build a working gun. This isn't a fantasy. This is real. This is a video here that actually shows the all-plastic gun being test-fired. It was made from parts created by this 3-D printer which can turn digital files into solid plastic objects.

And CNN's Emily Schmidt joins me now from Washington.

Emily, this instant gun, if you will, I know it is causing all kinds of concerns where you are in Washington.

EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, it is potentially a game changer, because this idea of 3-D printing could put a gun in your hand in a matter of hours. Cut out the middleman, no gun maker, no gun dealer. You do it all yourself.

Cody Wilson actually posted this video online. He believes it is the very first time that any gun has been printed entirely on a 3-D printer and then fired. He tried first firing it remotely on Friday. When that worked, he upped the ante, firing a second gun by hand on Saturday. He's posted a link to the gun design online, and that is what has some lawmakers very worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The guns are made out of plastic, so they would not be detectable by a metal detector at any airport or sporting event.

Let's think about this for a second. Now anyone, a terrorist, someone who is mentally ill, a spousal abuser, a felon can essentially open a gun factory in their garage, and the only thing they need, a computer and a little over $1,000, no background check. And you don't even have to leave your house to make hundreds of these guns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHMIDT: And I want to show you how this works. This is one of the pieces of a gun. The 3-D printing company that is here in Washington made it for us right from the plans posted online.

This is a gun grip lighter than my BlackBerry. Took about an hour and 20 minutes to make.

BALDWIN: Wow.

SCHMIDT: Brooke, it only takes 14 more pieces, one metal firing pin. And that is just a simple roofing nail that you get at any hardware store to complete the gun.

Now, Wilson's gun has one other thing, some steel in it to keep it solely from violating the Undetectable Firearms Act. That's a law in place that bans any firearm that doesn't set off a metal detector. Wilson says he came up with the idea of printing a gun only a year ago. By last weekend, he was able to prove it -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I was wondering if there was any metal in that thing.

SCHMIDT: Sure.

BALDWIN: Emily Schmidt, thank you very much.

And scary moment for Justin Bieber at a concert in Dubai. A fan managed to get on stage, rushed this pop star from behind. You see the video here on the stage. There they go. And actually you will see they -- the bodyguard tackling him, knocking over the piano in the process. It apparently didn't faze Justin Bieber too much, though. He kept on singing and that fan was arrested.

Kobe Bryant in the middle of a battle with his own mother over old high school and Laker memorabilia. I'm talking about rings and trophies and jerseys that are all up for auction. Bryant is trying to put a stop to this, sending a cease and desist letter out. And he says the stuff is his and that his mother doesn't have the right to sell his stuff. But Pamela Bryant says her son told her that she could have it all.

An already tense situation in Syria is escalating. Israel drops bombs inside the war-torn country. Syria's government calls the attack -- quote -- "a declaration of war." We're taking you inside Syria next. And we will talk to Christiane Amanpour about how this could impact the region and the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It seems like a video game with a first-person perspective of a gunfight, but you're -- what you're about to see, I should say, is very real. And a warning: It's disturbing.

Middlefield police in Ohio released that dash-cam video of a patrol unit. And investigators say James Gilkerson shot at two officers. That was taken back in March. They're recovering from their injuries. Gilkerson was killed.

Our affiliate WKYC reports police still don't know why that man started shooting.