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New Footage of Tsarnaev Brothers; Elvis' Death Linked to Michael Jackson's?; Woman with Peanut Allergy Suing Airline

Aired May 31, 2013 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning, everybody. I'm Ashleigh Banfield in New York City.

We've got a busy show ahead, the day's main news stories and then as always our take on American justice, daytime justice.

First up, though, some very incredible video, astonishing really, of the two perhaps most despised young men in this country, perhaps the most hated young men in the country, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the brothers suspected of carrying out that deadly Boston marathon bombing, an atrocious attack that killed three people and wounded more than 270 and cruelly shattered the country's oldest and most iconic marathon.

Brand-new security video today of the brothers together, just going to the gym in Boston, mere hours before perpetrating potentially allegedly these bombings. And by all appearance, they sure are relaxed and calm, aren't they, just working out?

CNN's Deborah Feyerick spoke to the gym's manager.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Seventy-two hours before the bombs detonated, almost to the minute, suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar worked out together at a gym in Boston.

Security cameras at the Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts Center show the brothers arriving with a friend just before 2:45 Friday afternoon.

We spoke to the manager who asked we only use his first name, Michael. He says Tamerlan, who you see in the hat, looked different, noticeably missing Tamerlan's full bushy religious beard which he had for about two years.

The manager describes Tamerlan as extremely opinionated and outspoken about his Muslim religion and says he didn't ask him why he had shaved because he didn't want to engage in what was likely to be a long, heated debate.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Shaving the beard may be a way to blend in, not to attract scrutiny from security services in carrying out the Boston attacks. FEYERICK: Tamerlan trained at Wai Kru several times a month for free, a professional courtesy to the nationally-ranked Golden Gloves boxer. Dzhokhar rarely came, showing up just two or three times in roughly two years.

CRUICKSHANK: We've seen with Western militants, want-to-be jihadists, a real emphasis on physical training, physical fitness, wanting to be prepared for jihad.

FEYERICK: Almost immediately, the manager, who is off-screen to the right, asks the men to follow posted gym rules and take off their shoes.

Younger brother Dzhokhar complies right away. Tamerlan does not, arguing instead, not giving any ground.

The manager later e-mails the owner, asking him to ban Tamerlan, calling him arrogant, selfish, never helping anyone else.

The argument doesn't seem to phase Tamerlan who's the first one in the ring. His years of training are evident. Watch how skillfully he handles the jump rope. Dzhokhar has more difficulty, less stamina as he struggles to hold up the oversized shorts.

The manager says the man in the middle was introduced as a friend. We've blurred his face. He was later questioned and released by the FBI.

Tamerlan remains focused, barely missing or breaking stride. It's right here the brothers interact. They seem relaxed, Dzhokhar resting at times, Tamerlan moving, moving, working out, 72 hours before two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston marathon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: And Deb Feyerick joins us live now, here in New York.

Deb, it's just fascinating to see this, mere hours before that attack was carried out.

Did this manager have any more observations about the relationship or the dynamics between these two brothers, how they behaved?

FEYERICK: He said that really they -- what struck him was that they seemed calm, relaxed, but it was clearly Tamerlan the manager had a big problem with because all he was asking to him do was to remove his shoes. And Tamerlan was just arguing with him, just arguing with him, wouldn't do what everybody else in the gym was doing

His younger brother takes the shoes off. He's very easygoing, sort of listens to authority. The older brother does not so much.

But there was nothing else that really struck the manager about the dynamic, except he said that the younger one really didn't come to the gym very often. He was the one who told us that he only came really a couple times in a two-year period. BANFIELD: So he wasn't able to shed any light in terms of how Tamerlan treated his younger brother or whether he ordered his younger brother around, or whether the younger brother was sycophantic or anything like that?

FEYERICK: No, not really. Not really. He just -- the manager's primary interaction was with Tamerlan who led the boys down the stairs, and then who was telling them in that ring what to do.

It's clear that the two younger boys are -- and they're not young. They're still teenagers, you know, 19-years-old. They're looking at the older one to get their cues from him.

Dzhokhar is what his older brother is doing. He takes the rope at one point. He's stretching the way his brother is stretching.

While Tamerlan is so focused on doing it and really quite intense, you know, the younger one over there on the right, who himself was a wrestler, he is doing it, but he has a different level of engagement than his brother, it appears from watching that.

BANFIELD: It's just you feel a bit transfixed watching them just perpetrate their normal daily lives, hours before so many people's lives were to be completely shattered.

Deb Feyerick, live for us, excellent work in finding that material.

I want to check some of our other top stories this morning. Attorney General Eric holder now saying he will re-assess guidelines on how to investigate leaks to the news media.

In a private and controversial meeting with journalists yesterday, Mr. Holder heard reporter's concerns about Justice Department subpoenas. Representatives for the news media pushed Mr. Holder to consider internal changes in his department, to encourage more discretion and to avoid overly broad subpoenas.

She is free at last, the Arizona mother and grandmother released from a Mexican prison into the waiting arms of her husband, who did not let go. A Mexican judge ordered Yanira Maldonado's release after determining that the prosecution really did not have a case against her.

Maldonado had been arrested and then accused of trying to smuggle more than 12 pounds of pot into the United States. A security camera on the bus she was riding in, though, proved there was no way she had any pot in her possession when she and her husband got on board that bus.

How it got under her seat still remains unanswered.

Elvis Presley's death is suddenly in the spotlight in Michael Jackson's wrongful death trial. The man who promoted both artists, the last tours at least of those artists, is testifying again today.

Jackson's lawyers say his experience with Elvis should have made him more aware of drug abuse by other artists, including Michael Jackson. We are going to explore that angle with our legal panel in just a few moments. Plus, we'll raise the question, did concert bosses care about Michael Jackson's deteriorating health?

Call it cowardly, cruel, a senseless act of terror. While most of us see the Boston marathon bombings as an act of evil, some see it as a big success.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that one group, in particular, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula not only praises the bombing, but appears to be trying to take advantage of it and market it.

Our Barbara Starr reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This is the latest version of "Inspire," the magazine published by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and much of it, including this article, titled "The Inevitable," is cruelly devoted to the Boston marathon bombing.

CRUICKSHANK: What it tells you is this group, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is opportunistically trying to take advantage of this attack.

STARR: The magazine calls the Tsarnaev brother, quote, "brilliant" in carrying out the attacks, which al Qaeda says were, quote, "an absolute success."

The magazine mentions Copley Square, Fenway Park and Boston University. It says, "These heroic bombings have exposed many hidden shortcomings of the American security and intelligence system."

The Tsarnaev brothers are believed to have read a 2010 "Inspire" article entitled "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom," which detailed the type of pressure cooker bombs used to carry out the attack in Boston.

And now Boston may be leading al Qaeda in Yemen to offer new guidance to its followers.

CRUICKSHANK: The message they're putting out to their followers in the West is, don't come and join here in Yemen. Stay home, launch attacks there and we'll give you the how-to advice in magazines like "Inspire," bomb-making recipes so you can do that.

STARR: Because it's published online, "Inspire" magazine is almost impossible to shut down.

Its bomb recipes and directions have been linked to attacks on both side of the Atlantic, causing counterterrorism officials a constant worry.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BANFIELD: We still have a lot to come this hour, daytime justice, case number one, viral video, Boston bombing suspects just working out, enjoying their day, days before disaster rocked the Boston marathon.

Look a little closer, though, much closer. Is there something buried in this video that could actually spare Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's life?

Case number two, Michael's final days, just wait until you hear what Michael Jackson's concert bosses were saying about the King of Pop in the days before he died.

Want a sample? He needs cheeseburgers and beers, they say.

We're going to ask, did AEG really care about Michael's failing health?

And case number three, peanuts on a plane and they almost killed her. She asked the flight crew to warn the passengers ahead of time, but no luck.

And now she is mad as hell and demanding answers, but who is to blame, the passenger or the airline?

Tweet me now @CNNAshleigh, I'll read your responses later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: So more about this astonishing video that shows the suspects of the Boston marathon bombings just working out, working out at a gym, a couple days before all that happened, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 72 hours before the bomb went off, calmly, coolly, going to the gym.

Three people died and 270 people were killed in that bombing. The older brother, Tamerlan, was of course, as you know by now, killed in a shootout with police a few days after the bombing. His younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, however, survived.

He was wounded, captured, and he is recovering in a jail, but he is facing murder charges and they could carry the death penalty, but could this new video end up saving Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's life?

We're going to talk about that right now. In fact, with me is CNN national correspondent Deborah Feyerick, who has been reporting on this all morning, as well as CNN legal analyst Paul Callan.

First to you, Deb the FBI knows about this video. They actually have had it in their possession, but do we know if it's been entered into evidence in this case, or will it make an appearance in this case?

FEYERICK: Likely. Likely.

When the investigators, when the FBI agents went to the gym, initially, it was at the beginning of the investigation. There was so little time to find these two men who were on the run that when they were there, they got screen grabs of this video.

But it's not clear -- the manager is telling us actually that, no, they did not ask for an official copy of the video.

You see them working out. It creates some sort of a timeline of where they were.

Whether it will go to character or interaction or a relationship between the two brothers, but what was of greatest interest to them was who the friend was, but apparently the friend, who we blurred his face, he's been ruled out.

BANFIELD: Just to repeat, if anyone is tuning in right now off the top of the show, Deb, you said that the manager found Tamerlan to be cantankerous, wanted him kicked out of the gym. But did he go on and say anything about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, what he was like, his personality?

FEYERICK: No, he really didn't. It was really Tamerlan that he was focused on. The manager said he didn't like him. He was incredibly arrogant. He would come to the gym, and because he was training there for free having been a Golden Gloves boxer, they extended a courtesy so that he could train there. It adds cache to the gym. He says Tamerlan never gave anything back. He never interacted with the other boxers, he never helped train any of the other boxers. He was always picking fights.

The manager said even when they began to discuss topics, he called it a verbal sparring. They would talk about religion, they would talk about certain things. Tamerlan always had to be right. He was incredibly opinionated. What is so key about the gym, Ashleigh, a number of us from CNN went to this particular gym to try to speak to the manager. But this was sort of a place where a number of people who were discovered connected to this case all went, including one of the victims that was killed in a triple murder. A triple murder that police are investigating, whether Tamerlan or a friend, a Miami man, was actually involved in.

So this seems to be a place where they were congregating. It's an interesting kind of nexus as law enforcement calls it.

BANFIELD: We will talk about that other story in a little bit, but Paul Callan, first off, if there is a defense attorney who needs to defend Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and somehow, a lot of people surmised that perhaps the defense will be that he followed his overbearing brother's every command. Is there anything you see in this video or anything that Deb is reporting on, the conversations with that manager, that give you any insight that actually could be used at trial, either to defend him or to mitigate death?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Ashleigh, I think this could be an important video at the time of trial. Bear in mind this would only come into play at the end of the trial during the sentencing phase, although, it might be used to try to persuade the Justice Department not seek the death penalty in the case --

BANFIELD: Why?

CALLAN: -- or take a plea at some point.

BANFIELD: -- what can possibly do that?

CALLAN: I think one of the claims here by those who are opposed to the death penalty and think it shouldn't be imposed in this case is that the younger brother was utterly dominated by an older brother and this video kind of sets the theme. It shows the older brother is dominating. It shows, it demonstrates that maybe the younger brother could have been influenced by him. But frankly --

BANFIELD: This would need to coupled -- sorry to interrupt. It would need to be coupled by the testimony of the manager who gives Deb that very full, rich, picture of what his encounters were like, though, right? .

CALLAN: It would, but you have to remember that in the sentencing portion of a death penalty case, there is elaborate testimony like this that's presented because you are trying to develop what kind of a person is before the jury, not that they committed the crime. That's already decided by the sentencing portion.

This I think would show the older brother dominated but one thing I have to say, I'm personally very skeptical about it. If this was a bank stickup and the older brother said to the younger brother, hey, shoot that guy, I don't think people would be arguing on television about, gee, maybe you shouldn't get the death penalty, he listened to his older brother. They are both thugs. That's what a lot of people. At least people who support the death penalty would say. I'm just presenting the other side of it --

BANFIELD: To be very clear, though --

CALLAN: Okay so we can see both sides of it.

BANFIELD: To be very clear, you are not suggesting any defense attorney could use this type of a video or characterize the relationship with the brother to actually beat the rap?

CALLAN: No, not going to happen. I see it at the sentencing phase, that's it.

(CROSSTALK)

FEYERICK: Ashleigh, one quick thing I want to point out is, when they come down the stairs, Tamerlan is being sort of hostile and won't take off his shoes, it is very interesting, immediately, you see Dzhokhar taking his shoes off. He is listening to effectively what is an instruction to take his shoes off, whereas the older brother is I'm not going to do this. It takes the friend a little bit longe to take his shoes off, but almost instantly, Dzhokhar does what he is told.

BANFIELD: It's one of the first things I noticed. When I saw your package this morning showing that video, it's one of the first things I notices and it just -- it got me thinking, might that actually grab one or two jurors? I don't know. Deb Feyerick, excellent, excellent work, as usual in your investigations of this case. Paul Callan, terrific insight. Thank you both.

Coming up, our next case: a woman with extreme peanut allergies not just extreme, deadly. She gets on an airplane. Then she ends up in the ER. Is the airline responsible if passengers -- other passengers bring their own peanuts on board. Who is to blame in this near death experience?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Welcome back. So a passenger opens up a bag of peanuts on a plane. I know you've seen that happen before, but this time it nearly killed a woman who was sitting four rows away. It turns out Alisa Gleason (ph) she has a severe peanut allergy, and she says she thought United Airlines had assured their would not be a problem, even telling her there would be an announcement on the plane to alert all the other passengers of her terrible condition.

When it came time, she says they refused to make that announcement. She says they told her she would be fine and they hurried her onto the plane. So then out came the peanuts by another passenger, when they were opened, Alisa (ph) stopped breathing. It was so bad the plane had to make an emergency landing, and Alisa (ph) spent the next two days in an ICU. And now, she is suing. Paul Callan is back with us to debate this one. You know what, Twitter is going a bit crazy on this one, because it's airline vs. allergies, who is to blame in this one, Paul?

CALLAN: Well, you know, this peanut allergy thing has gotten to be a big problem in the United States, you hear about kids in school having peanut allergies and nut allergies. It's sort of a major issue, but --

BANFIELD: We're not talking sneezing and coughing, we're talking about potentially lethal allergies.

CALLAN: I was looking at the stats on this, and apparently only about 150, I say only, but 150 people a year die of food-related allergies in the United States. That's out of a population of over 300 million in the United States so what is the airline supposed to do?

Obviously this affects a very small percentage of people, under one percent of people who have peanut allergies, but United here disrupted the whole flight. Obviously, if they had stopped the woman two seats in front from opening the bag of peanuts the plane wouldn't have had to land unnecessarily so, to me, it's stupidity by United Airlines not to, when you know there is somebody with the problem, not to make an announcement, hey can you not bring any peanuts out so we don't have to land in Cleveland? Is that too hard for them to figure out?

BANFIELD: Well, I was on a flight, and I hate to say I don't remember what airline, because I actually fly on a lot of airlines, but I was on a flight within the last month where I heard that announcement. I did hear an announcement that said please don't open any peanut products. I do want to say that we reached out to United, and they did give us a response, but not to this particular case. They just redirected us to their actual standard warning on their website. Here's what it is, I will read it out straight. "It is not possible to insure that customer will not bring food items on board that contain nuts. We cannot guarantee peanut-free flights, offer peanut-free zones, or remove any onboard products based on individual customer requests. We encourage passengers to review health concerns with their physicians prior to flying."

Here's another question, if you know are you lethally allergic to something, should you not be carrying an Epipen?

CALLAN: You absolutely should, I think Ms. Gleason (ph), correct? I think she has an uphill battle with this lawsuit.

BANFIELD: You do?

CALLAN: Frankly, yeah. I mean that warning I think protects United. They're saying, hey, we called in and somebody on the phone said --

BANFIELD: A website warning protects them?

CALLAN: Yes, I think the website warning would provide adequate warning. And also, she is saying she made a phone call like to an 800 number. They said, don't worry about it, there will be an announcement on the plane. Well, there wasn't one going out. They were on notice that United doesn't make such an announcement. She boards the plane --

BANFIELD: On the return trip this is what happens.

CALLAN: So I don't think United can be held responsible because there are so many people with specialized conditions like that. It's difficult to check.

BANFIELD: Let me make sure people knows that these are the allegations that are being , made by the Gleason (ph) family, and again the airline has not confirmed or denied that they said they would make any announcements. So, at this point these are claims. But it is a fascinating argument, nonetheless, thank you, Paul. Don't go away.

I want you to be the judge on this one, folks. Honestly, who is to blame on this one, the passenger, or the airline? I invite you with kind language. No swear words. Please tweet me @CNNAshleigh. I want to hear from you right now. I'll certainly be reading some of your responses. Again, keep 'em clean, folks.

Coming up later on in this hour. And we are indeed searching for a little daytime justice here this hour. Coming up next, the Jackson family versus AEG, and some e-mails the kind you think aren't going to come out in public later on. They came out, saying Michael Jackson is thin, frail, and needs cheeseburgers. We asked did those concert bosses care about Michael's health? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BANFIELD: A quick look at the headlines, the bottom of the hour right now. Some big trouble, you might say more for the mayor of Toronto. A very big city. There's the man, Rob Ford. His executive assistant and an advisor have now quit. If you are doing the math, that makes five staffers gone in seven days. Why? It might have something to do with that cell phone video that surfaced recently of the mayor purportedly smoking crack with Somali drug dealers? I don't know.