Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Boston Bombing Victim Meets the Woman Who Saved Her Life; Samsung Stealing Spotlight from Apple in Tech Gadgets; Gov. Christie Names Lautenberg Replacement; Verizon Compelled to Hand Over Phone Records of Millions of Customers; Nancy Grace Goes to the Prison Where Jodi Arias is Being Held

Aired June 06, 2013 - 15:30   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Getting some news just into us here from Boston, specifically from the Boston Police Department. Here's what they're telling us, that security is being tightened right now after a dozen schools received suspicious letters. We're told that these letters contained threatening language, but did not target any specific individuals. They were postmarked from Texas, but do not believe there is any credible threat. So, that's the latest from Boston public schools.

Speaking of Boston, from tragedy to tears of joy -- a bombing victim finally meets the stranger who helped save her life after the explosions happened on that marathon Monday.

Erika Brannock was in agony, crumpled near the finish line. Then there was a woman knelt down to help her. She used her own belt as a tourniquet to help stop the bleeding. And Erika had no clue who this woman was, didn't know her name. But CNN tracked down this woman who saved her life.

And this is the emotional reunion, thanks to Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what someone looks like waiting to meet the person, a stranger, who saved their life.

ERIKA BRANNOCK, BOMBING SURVIVOR: Yes. I told my cousin last night that it's kind of like the night before Christmas, where you're so excited, but nervous at the same time and you can't sleep.

KAYE: Her name is Erika Brannock.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

KAYE: Her name is Erika Brannock. Two days ago she left a hospital in Boston, the last victim of the Boston bombings to be discharged.

They were two strangers who met in a moment of terror. Erica was gravely wounded losing one leg and breaking another.

As she lay on the sidewalk in agony, she remembers this woman in the yellow sweater with the brown hair coming out of nowhere to help her. Her name is Amanda North, but Erika didn't know that at the time.

AMANDA NORTH, HELPED BOSTON BOMBING VICTIM: I do remember moving over and crawling over and reaching out to her because she was conscious.

KAYE: Amanda was the first to hear Erika's screams. She saw Erika's lower left leg had been blown off and yelled for help.

Amanda took off her belt, which was used as a turn any cut. A photographer for the "Boston Globe" captured the moment.

When we visited with Erika on Monday, the day she was released from the hospital in Boston, we showed her the photo of the woman she so desperately wanted to find.

Erica thought she had said her name was Joan and she was from California.

BRANNOCK: That's Joan right there. And then she's holding my hand right there. And then this is my right leg.

KAYE: Monday night after our story aired on "AC 360," we found Erika's "Joan," who we now know is Amanda North.

We arranged for her to fly from California to meet Erika in Baltimore where she's in rehab.

What did Erika think when her mom told her the good news?

BRANNOCK: she had said, do you want to meet Joan tomorrow? And I just -- I started crying.

KAYE: Within 24 hours, the two were set to meet.

BRANNOCK: I really just want to thank her for helping me and, you know, being there for me and holding my hand the whole time.

KAYE: Are you a little nervous as we head inside?

NORTH: You know, I really am. It's a strange thing. In a way, she's a stranger to me, but when you share things like this, you feel like you've known someone your entire life.

So it's -- I'm looking forward to meeting her but I'm a little nervous.

KAYE: Moments later, raw emotion.

NORTH: Oh, my God. Look at you. Look at you.

BRANNOCK: So glad we found you.

NORTH: I have thought about you every moment ...

BRANNOCK: Me, too.

NORTH: ... since the marathon. I didn't know how to get a hold of you, what had happened to you.

KAYE: Like old friends, the two exchanged gifts. Erika gave Amanda a necklace with a dragonfly on it to match hers.

BRANNOCK: I wanted you to have one, too.

KAYE: Amanda brought Erika her favorite scarf.

NORTH: And I want you to just think of me whenever you wear this and know that I'm always there for you. It never goes away. We're friends for life.

BRANNOCK: We are. We're always going to be connected.

NORTH: Yes, we will. Never going to stop holding your hand, no matter what happens.

KAYE: Both suffered serious injuries ...

BRANNOCK: They started wrapping my leg, so they have it wrapped up really tight.

KAYE: ... including perforated eardrums, but today they laughed about getting each other's names wrong.

NORTH: You thought my name was Joan and I thought your name was Irene.

BRANNOCK: I know. I don't know how we could have gotten them so wrong, but it was so loud.

KAYE: Finally together, they relived that terrible day.

BRANNOCK: I had this horrible feeling that I was going to die, like I could sense that something was really wrong.

Right away, you came right up to me, and you grabbed my hand and you told me that you weren't going to let go. And you didn't.

NORTH: I felt like there was a reason I was there. I just felt this compulsion to go over to you.

KAYE: Erika's extended family all thanked Amanda for helping save Erika that day, but it was this moment between Amanda and Erika's mother who had been given Erika's belongings at the hospital that said so much.

CAROL DOWNING, ERIKA BRANNOCK'S MOTHER: I was just thinking I could be holding these and she wouldn't be here, and I'm so thankful for you that she's here.

KAYE: To Erika and her family, Amanda is a hero, but Amanda just wants to be known as a friend, a new friend for life.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Baltimore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Samsung takes a few more bites out of Apple.

I'm Alison Kosik. And this is "Your Money."

It's Apple that gets all the headlines, but Samsung, little by little, is grabbing more of the spotlight.

The new Samsung Galaxy S-4 was the top-selling phone at Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile stores in May, beating out the Apple iPhone 5. So it's a victory for Samsung which put a huge marketing effort behind the S-4, including a big launch event at Radio City Music Hall here in New York City.

But Apple shouldn't be too worried for a few reasons. First, monthly numbers tend to be volatile. And we'll need to see what happens in the coming months to call it a trend.

Also, the report only counted sales at Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T- Mobile stores, so it doesn't factor in sales at other locations, including the Apple stores.

Finally, Apple still holds the biggest portion of the smartphone market in the U.S. As of the end of April, 39 percent of smartphone subscribers had an iPhone in their pocket. Twenty-two percent had a Samsung. And Apple actually increased that share from January to April.

So why is it that investors won't give Apple a break. Wall Street's been sour on Apple all year long. Shares are down about one-and-a- half percent right now today, and down more than 16 percent for the year as it fights battles on multiple front, including pressure from investors and consumers to come up with the next big thing, scrutiny from Congress on corporate talks and an ongoing patent war with Samsung.

Samsung scored a small victory in that war earlier this week when the International Trade Commission blocked all imports and sales for AT&T models of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS and the 3G AT&T versions of the iPad and iPad 2.

But don't expect the devices to come off the shelves anytime soon. Apple has vowed to fight the ruling in federal court.

President Obama has also the power to veto the ruling before Apple appeals and Apple may find the president on its side for this one.

On Tuesday, the White House proposed changes to ITC standards for obtaining injunctions like the one against Apple, an effort to reduce the role of the trade commission in settling patent disputes.

And Apple would surely welcome a win.

That's it for me. Brooke is coming back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Within just the past couple of hours, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has named his state's attorney general to hold a seat in the Senate for a finite amount of time here.

Christie's announcement came as the body of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg arrived there on Capitol Hill today. Lautenberg served nearly 30 years in the U.S. Senate until his death this week at the age of 89.

And with us now from Washington, chief Washington correspondent and host of "THE LEAD," Jake Tapper.

Tapper, I heard you talking earlier, and I know you said you were shocked that the news wasn't leaked earlier.

I'm sure you were trying to get the goods, but let me ask you this. Was the pick a surprise?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: No. I mean, looking in retrospect, it makes perfect sense.

Here is a career prosecutor who has pretty much stayed out of politics. It's somebody who does not want to run for the seat. It's pretty much in the Christie mold.

I was surprised because the new Senator-to-be Jeff Chiesa, the current state attorney general, appointed to that position by Governor Christie, had not really appeared on any of the short lists in the New Jersey and New York media when people discussed who Governor Christie might appoint, so that was why I was surprised.

People talked about a lot of other individuals who might have wanted to run for the seat for the special election in October. Attorney General, soon-to-be Senator Chiesa is someone who does not want to run for the seat, so it's very interesting.

BALDWIN: I know it shakes up the balance of power just a smidge for a bit of time before that special election in October. So you're talking about that.

You also today, Tapper, on your show were talking to someone whose name you were practicing in the commercial break. Care to share?

TAPPER: Stroumboulopoulos.

BALDWIN: Stroumboulopoulos.

TAPPER: Are you referring to our new colleague, George Stroumboulopoulos?

BALDWIN: Very nice.

TAPPER: I want you to know -- well, first of all, I had a decade working with George Stephanopoulos.

BALDWIN: So are you are going to get confused or is it helping you?

TAPPER: No, no, no. My point is that rolls off the tongue.

When I was little I used to read these Belgian comic books, "Tintin," and the bad guy's name was Rastapopoulos, and of course, as a child, I watched Snuffleupagus.

So my only point is it's easy for me, Stroumboulopoulos, Stroumboulopoulos, Stroumboulopoulos.

BALDWIN: So what our viewers didn't hear in the commercial break while you were doing your mike check, so these are all words that were flowing so easily off your tongue, like no problem?

TAPPER: Right. The rain in Spain ...

BALDWIN: OK.

TAPPER: ... falls mainly in the Stroumboulopoulos.

BALDWIN: "Tapperopoulos," we'll look for you in a couple of minutes here on "The Lead." Look forward to that interview. He seems like a great guy. Welcome to him.

Now to this, Vladimir Putin is a single man. Russia's president says his marriage is over.

Just a short time ago, he and his ex-wife, Lyudmilla, appeared together to announce their divorce. They were married for nearly 30 years.

The former Mrs. Putin said, quote, "We have different lives." They have two grown children. The Putins say the split is amicable.

Tonight, Nancy Grace goes behind bars, and she is talking to these inmates here about everything from life in prison to the food they eat.

Hear what they told her and the one thing she actually liked about her time behind bars. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Star of Hollywood's Golden Age has died. Esther Williams appeared in more than 20 films during the 1940s and '50s, usually cast in the role of a bathing beauty.

She played opposite such leading men as Mickey Rooney and Van Johnson. Williams was a competitive swimmer with Olympic aspirations before heading to Hollywood.

Her movies are credited with helping popularize swimming as a recreational activity. Esther Williams was 91-years-old.

Nancy Grace, tough former prosecutor, made a career out of sending criminals to prisons, but now she has gone behind bars.

Nancy visited this prison here where convicted murderer Jodi Arias is locked up while awaiting sentencing for a special show that'll air on our sister network HLN.

And so I sat down with Nancy and talked to her about her experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST, HLN'S "NANCY GRACE": Well, I spent the better part of two days with them, doing this shoot behind bars, as we called it, the Jodi Arias jailhouse, but it ended up being so much more that than that once I got to know these women, or what they would present to me.

You know what's interesting? In all the years that I prosecuted, I would never engage, ever, in conversation with a defendant because I did not want to get to know them. I did not want to become attached to them. I didn't want to be their friend.

I didn't want to know anything about them because we often see Lady Justice depicted as a female holding the scales of justice with a blindfold over her eyes. And I did not want it to matter to me what their circumstances were.

I wanted to simply seek the truth in ever prosecution, every case, all of them violent felonies, of course, that I took to trial.

This was really, other than going to a jailhouse to look for rats, let me say, informants, I would never engage in conversation with defendants.

BALDWIN: So this was eye opening for you?

GRACE: Well, it was in the sense that I let myself be open to them. I've never done that before.

Simply, not that I don't care. It's not that at all. It's that my job was to secure a verdict that spoke the truth, regardless of the defendant's position in life, whether they were rich or poor, had a good childhood, got an education. It didn't matter. All that mattered was the truth of that crime.

So, yes, this was the first time that I really spoke to defendants behind bars, openly, and allowed my defenses to go down to find out their story.

BALDWIN: I want to hear the stories, but first let me just ask, what did they say to you about Jodi Arias?

GRACE: Oh, Jodi Arias, believe it or not, she had spread her story, far and wide, different stories, I might add.

BALDWIN: To different people?

GRACE: Yes. And I wondered -- I toyed with the idea of passing that on to the prosecution. I'm sure they already knew that. She told different people behind bars different stories, which at trial, of course, indicates the perpetrator is not telling the truth, if they can't keep their stories straight or their story changes.

But, you know, true to fashion, we already knew she gave all of these different interviews to various outlets. Every story was different, but she did the same thing behind bars.

They believed her. They thought she was nice. But they also made it very clear that they thought that Arias was presenting to them what she wanted them to know, which, of course, was not the truth.

BALDWIN: So what about the women themselves? I understand you talked to a number of moms. You're a mom. One woman is pregnant. And talk to me about sort of their stories, but also the conditions. And I hear you ate some of the food.

GRACE: Oh, the food. Let me tell you something. That homemade peanut butter is not bad. I could just eat that all day long.

They bake their own -- you don't like peanut butter?

BALDWIN: I love peanut butter.

GRACE: Well then, dig it, girl. Homemade peanut butter, Arpaio, the sheriff, said -- told me it was cheaper to make it than to buy it.

They bake their own bread. Hey, what's wrong with peanut butter and bread? I don't have a problem with that.

Now, you know, some of the other appetizers and entrees did not really appeal to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Nancy Grace, "Nancy Grace Behind Bars," tonight, HLN, 8:00 Eastern.

Two teams, one championship, NBA Finals beginning tonight, and LeBron James is not holding back. He says he's out for revenge.

CNN's Rachel Nichols is in Miami for the big game one. She has more on LeBron's candid comments, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Watch the clock with me. We are hours away from tipoff, game one, NBA Finals.

You have the San Antonio Spurs taking on Miami Heat, and this is bringing back some stinging memories for the world's best player.

LeBron James, anyone? Because the Spurs handily beat him the first time he ever made the Finals. That was 2007. Now James, he says he's out for revenge.

CNN Sports Rachel Nichols is in Miami. Some tough talk, is it going to get dirty tonight?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS: You know, it's fun, certainly, when two teams have more at stake even than just the championship the ring. Although, get the jewelry. It's kind of nice, too, for all these guys. Don't let them tell you otherwise.

But, yeah, I remember 2007. I was there at those Finals. Very experienced Spurs team. In fact, that was Tim Duncan's fourth NBA title, and that team just manhandled LeBron James, who was 22-year-old and his very young Cleveland Cavaliers team.

It was ugly. It was a 4-0 sweep. People joked that San Antonio really won it in three. I mean, it was a bad scene.

And afterward, LeBron James and Tim Duncan actually met in a hallway, and I was standing just a few feet away and they hugged. And Duncan said, hey, thank you for letting us get this one this year because this is going to be your league soon. And they both laughed.

And, of course, turned out to be a bit correct. LeBron, of course, has gone on to have this great career. Tim Duncan hasn't been back in the Finals since them.

But guess what? They're meeting tonight. And Duncan, if he wins this, everybody thinks he probably will shuffle off into retirement afterward.

He'd like to get one more from the young fellow before LeBron just claims it all for his dynasty. It's going to be a good matchup tonight.

BALDWIN: No hallway hugging today or for the next couple of days.

How -- with this series here, how could that impact the legacy, I guess, that LeBron James is trying to create?

NICHOLS: Yeah, and on the other side, you do have LeBron and the Heat who say, hey, whoa, I know the Spurs are trying to do their thing, but we're trying to build our legacy here, and with LeBron, it is about the rings at this point.

We all know he's an immensely talented player, one of the greatest ever, but this is about the hardware in the NBA. People count after you retire. And LeBron wants them to count multiple championships for him.

One is going to be considered that he didn't really fulfill that great talents, so he's got to win multiple rings. Number two could be this year, but he's got a very talented Spurs team in his way.

BALDWIN: The jewelry is nice, I'm sure.

Rachel Nichols, thank you. We'll look for you tonight in Miami, Spurs versus the Heat.

I'm Brook Baldwin. Thanks for being with me. Check out the Brooke Blog, CNN.com/Brooke, for all interviews you missed or you just want to see again, CNN.com/Brooke.

Thanks for being with me. See you back here tomorrow.

In the meantime, let's go to Washington. James Tapper and "The Lead" starts right now.