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Parade Celebrates Boston Red Sox World Series Victory; Shooting Rampages Shuts Down LAX Airport; White House Vows to Fix Obamacare Exchange Website

Aired November 02, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: This is a live look at Fenway Park in Boston. It is time to celebrate the Boston Red Sox parade, starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. So it's starting right now.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Right now. As you know, the Red Sox would be the World Series against St. Louis Wednesday night. You're seeing everybody gather for the big celebratory parade.

BLACKWELL: We know it's going to go down Boylston Street and then Tremont, Cambridge, and then Blossom, Charles River. And speaking of the Charles River, we'll see the duck boats. And here we go. We've seen a couple of the duck boats. Kids waving. This is the third World Series win for the Boston Red Sox in just the last nine years.

KOSIK: Millions are expected to show up.

BLACKWELL: Yes, 3 million showed up in 2004, the end of the curse as it's called. We're going to stay with this all morning. Of course, this means more than just a win for a baseball team. It's also a big win for the city.

KOSIK: Yes, this parade is going to actually pass by the finish line of where the marathon was, the bombing earlier this year in April.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Let's start it off officially. Good morning, everybody, I'm Victor Blackwell.

KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik.

BLACKWELL: It's 10:00 eastern now, 10:00 in Boston. You're in the CNN Newsroom as well. And let's talk about the celebration, because as we speak, another live look, the Bostonians packing the streets to honor their beloved Red Sox.

KOSIK: Who just days ago won a remarkable, a historic, an unexpected championship.

BLACKWELL: Yes, unexpected because they went from worst to first. But the city of Boston has been celebrating this beloved team, well, since -- for years. But, also, especially this season, because of the marathon attack in April. And then the team came to represent much more than baseball. And now the Red Sox are the epitome of what it means to be Boston strong.

KOSIK: Oh, yes. CNN's Alexandra Field is live along the parade route with more. Good morning, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alison. A beautiful morning here in Boston, a perfect setting for a well- deserved celebration in this city, and look at how many people are ready to celebrate this morning. This crowd has easily doubled in size over the last hour. They are lined up 20 deep. The parade route is four miles long. It is expected to draw about a million fans.

This is really a magnificent sight when you consider that so many of these people are lined up in the same spot where they were on that terrible day back in April. But they have decided to come out this morning to cheer on a world championship team. Safety is top of mind this morning. You can see uniformed police officers all over this city. Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency says it is fully activated right now, coordinating with authorities on the ground and authorities on the water. This parade will end when the duck boats head out to the Charles River. And of course, the most important part of this morning is that all these people, these 1 million fan, stay safe and can enjoy a celebration six months and or in the making. Alison, Victor?

KOSIK: Alexandra, what about the marathon bombing survivors? Do we know that there's anything special planned specifically for them?

FIELD: It should be the most moving moment of this entire day, Alison. We are told that at some point along the route the Red Sox will stop just about when they make it to the marathon finish line, which is just down Boylston Street that way. We're told they have plans, some sort of tribute. But the details have not been released, so that's a moment we'll wait to see together. Alison, Victor?

KOSIK: OK, Alexandra Field, thank you.

And the Boston Marathon finish line has been a strong symbol for the Red Sox and their fans this entire season. You may remember Wednesday night after the Red Sox won the World Series, fans kissed the finish line in celebration. That finish line is part of the parade route today, as Alexandra said.

BLACKWELL: Yes, a bittersweet image for a lot of people in Boston. The sight of so much pain as those bombs went off in April, but now a symbol of hope as the city moves forward, stronger than ever. Joining us now Aaron Hern and his mother Katherine Hern. Aaron was hospitalized after he was hit by shrapnel after watching his mom run that marathon. It's good to have you both with us. I know it's very early out where you are. Aaron, how are you feeling now? How is your leg?

AARON HERN, INJURED IN BOSTON BOMBING: Nothing really bugs me anymore. I feel pretty good. So, yes.

BLACKWELL: Well, that's good. Tell us what this win means for you.

HERN: Just really happy when I saw the final pitch. So, really happy. KOSIK: Are you going to be watching the parade on TV? You're in California, so how excited are you to really watch this, and then that moment when the parade's supposed to -- or expected to pass by the finish line?

HERN: It will be emotional, but it'll be really cool.

BLACKWELL: Now, you got to throw out a pitch for the Boston Red Sox game when they came to San Francisco to play with the Giants. What was that like?

HERN: That was really cool. It's a pretty cool experience, to go out on the field and see the whole park, and throw out the first pitch. It's really cool.

BLACKWELL: Katherine, what does it mean to you that the Boston Red Sox have really embraced the victims of that bombing in April? Going to visit them in hospital, sometimes without cameras, and the only way we found out is because the people in the hospital actually told the media. What has that meant to you?

HERN: It was really special. It's pretty cool being around Major League players, and especially from the area, and it's really nice. It was a good experience.

BLACKWELL: How about you, Katherine?

KATHERINE HERN, SON INJURED IN BOSTON BOMBING: It was -- it was huge from the very first visit at Children's in Boston to getting to see them again when they came out here to play the giant, definitely a big part of his recovery and something that could put a smile on his face, and all of our faces at a time that was obviously, you know, very trying.

KOSIK: Katherine, do you think you'd run in the Boston Marathon again?

KATHERINE HERN: I need to. I think need to. I'd like to. I guess I have an official finish time, but it actually all happened right as I was coming up to it. I crossed only because it was the only place to go, and I was trying to get to my phone to find my family. And I feel like I need to. But I'd like to -- I'd like to do it as a fundraiser next time, and possibly for Boston Children's since they took such good care of Aaron and so many other kids there.

BLACKWELL: You know, we're following this parade in Boston not just because it's a sporting event, but it's a news event. For people who aren't huge sports fan, tell us what this team means to you, especially this season, Katherine.

KATHERINE HERN: It became our -- it became another team. You know, we were Giants fans, and obviously, the Giants didn't have as good a year, had a hangover from a year ago, I suppose. And we've been eagerly watching the Red Sox as our second team, really, another home- away-from-home. And we were extremely happy for them. We've been rooting for them the whole way. And it meant a lot to -- it was very special win for so many reasons that you guys are going to be talking about this morning and have been since the World Series started. But you really couldn't script this any better, and it's just really special to this team, in this city, to enjoy this win. And it's nice to really be -- to feel like we're a part of it still, 3,000 miles away.

BLACKWELL: Katherine and Aaron Hern, of course enjoy the parade. Thank you for speaking with us. It's about 7:08 out where you are in the morning. Thank you for getting up early to speak with us.

KATHERINE HERN: Sure.

HERN: Thank you.

KATHERINE HERN: Thank you.

KOSIK: We turn our attention now to Los Angeles where LAX is open again, but terminal three remains closed after yesterday's shooting rampage that left one TSA officer dead and two more injured. It all threw off the travel plans of 167,000 travelers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the floor! On the floor now! On the floor!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And some of them had to run for cover when the shooting started. Police are now trying to learn what they can about the 23- year-old suspect. Police identified him as Paul Ciancia. Overnight we learned about a series of texts he sent to his family that concerned them so much, they contacted police. CNN's Dan Simon joins me from Los Angeles. Dan, good morning. What's the latest on the bags left behind by those passengers who fled terminal three?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Alison. First of all, you have a lot of luggage that was left behind. When the shooting happened, people just bolted for the exits and just dropped their bags and left their personal belongings, and as you can imagine, people are eager to retrieve their stuff. At one point, they were going to be allowed back into terminal three to retrieve their belongings, but that's been on hold. The FBI is still investigating this crime scene. It's a very large crime scene. And so it is closed indefinitely. Perhaps it will reopen later this afternoon, but we've not been told of the plans.

KOSIK: You think about how all of this -- all played out yesterday, this gunman shooting up -- shooting up the terminal, basically. It sounds as though it could have been much worse. Clearly, it was a tragedy. You have one TSA officer dead, two more injured. This terminal was packed with people, right?

SIMON: No question about it. You had a terminal filled with people. You had a gunman who was intent on shooting, show that he was not afraid to fire his weapon. And more telling, he had several clips of unused ammunition. This is how the mayor put it yesterday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI, LOS ANGELES: -- that there was additional runs that this gunman had, and the fact that these officers were able to neutralize the threat as they did, there were 100 more rounds that could have literally killed everybody in that terminal today, and were it not for the actions, there could have been a lot more damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: As for the suspect himself, Paul Ciancia, we know that he took several rounds to the chest. We don't know his condition. We know that he's in the hospital. We would like to know how he's doing, want to know his condition, and whether or not he has been able to speak to investiGators or whether or not they've been able to ask him any questions. Alison?

KOSIK: OK, Dan Simon from LAX, thanks. And we are learning more and more about these TSA officers, that the fact they don't carry guns at the airport.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And would it have made a difference in the shooting at LAX if they had guns? We'll talk live with a security expert. Stay with us in the Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the beginning it was a complete panic. People were screaming. I saw children crying. You know, I mean, people here are still very shaky, especially people who are close by and had -- you know, we ran top speed carrying our luggage. I guess it might have been more prudent to leave the luggage where it was I suppose. But you had what was in your hands and you just ran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Welcome back. You are looking live at LAX, where most of the airport has reopened with the exception of terminal three, which is closed to arrivals and departures because of the shooting. And more than 1,500 flights actually were delayed or cancelled on Friday, affecting more than 167,000 passengers. You know, that's amazing.

BLACKWELL: Yes, a huge impact. And it rippled across the country.

KOSIK: It really did. Earlier this year, armed airport police officers, they actually stood guard at the TSA checkpoints at Los Angeles International. But then, it suddenly changed.

BLACKWELL: Now, police roam the terminal. TSA officers are left behind unprotected. Should they carry guns? It made for a really lively debate in CNN primetime. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should TSA officers have guns? LOU PALUMBO, RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Absolutely. You know, they're at a very vital point of airport security. They should be properly trained and be armed at that point, so that they're not somewhat sitting ducks there. I mean, the whole notion or concept that you're screening for weapons and you could encounter one by someone of ill intent and not able to respond to him is somewhat ludicrous.

RAY LAHOOD, FORMER TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: What happened today was the law enforcement people at LAX, the LAX police, the people that are trained at the airport to intervene, did that. And they saved a lot of lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Let's bring in security expert Jeffrey Beatty. He's a former CIA counterterrorism officer and helps set up security for LAX. Jeff, you're joining us from Boston. Good morning to you.

JEFF BEATTY, FORMER CIA COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: Good morning, Alison, good morning Victor.

(INAUDIBLE)

KOSIK: OK, what about Friday? Thinking about what happened, should TSA officers have guns?

BEATTY: It's not necessarily important that they have guns, but what is important is that at each of the screening points we recognize that that is where things could go bad. What they need is they need hard cover. They're standing behind particle board, plywood, little podiums there, and there needs to be an armed presence at each of those locations. It could be law enforcement officers where they're over-watching, directly over-watching and ready to respond at a moment's notice at the appearance of a weapon.

So what's important is that there is the ability to protect against the weapon, because that's where you're going to discover it. Whether the TSA people carry the weapon or not, you know, that's a decision folks can make. What's critical, and you mentioned it, I think Victor did, on the lead-in to this, is the LAPD over-watch, or the LAX police officers that were over-watching, kind of changed their modus operandi in the last few days, and found themselves now patrolling in front of the screening points, no constant over-watch, no armed presence there that would be the deterrent or the immediate response. If someone gets through the screening point and 100 feet down on the concourse, that's certainly not a situation you want to have. We were very lucky this was an individual and not multiple people, because it could have been much, much worse.

BLACKWELL: So this, Jeff, covers the sterile area once you get past TSA into the gate, into the plane, but what about the area before that? Major airports, like Hartsfield-Jackson, LAX, LaGuardia, there's shopping, restaurants there, and you've got hundreds, maybe thousands of people. Should there be a check when you drive up to the terminal? Should there be a check before you go in? What about that area?

BEATTY: You know, that's a great question. And I'm one of the people advocating for a long time that if you want to make the airport secure, what are you trying to protect? Are you trying to protect airplanes or are you trying to protect the people? I mean, as you say, Victor, there's a lot of people before the screening point, the same people that go through the screening point and are on the other side.

It seems what we have right now is a system in place that isn't interested in protecting the people 100 percent of the time. It's protecting the airplanes. If we want to protect the people in the airport, then you need to move the screening points out to the curb. It's easy to then have a long, linear place where individual can line up, none of the serpentine stuff in front of the screening point. That represents a congested target for an improvised explosive device. So if you want to protect the people, you need to move the screening forward.

And you mentioned another good point, Victor, about some sort of spot checks that we did do right after 9/11, a little further out from the actual curb even at the major airports. So I think -- I'm encouraged that the pistol, the TSA is heading to LAX as I understand, and I know that these things will be in discussion. Sadly sometimes it takes an incident like this, which, again, we were very lucky that there weren't other people associated with this individual that exploited the opportunity to breach the screening point.

But I know they'll be looking at this and other things and bringing in folks to talk about it. And there is a way to improve upon the security, it's sad we lost a life yesterday, but hopefully it will not be in vain and it will get the items into discussion.

BLACKWELL: All right, security expert Jeff Beatty in Boston. And if you're headed to the parade, enjoy that as well.

BEATTY: Thank you. I think I'll be watching it on CNN.

BLACKWELL: All right, we appreciate that. Thank you, Jeff.

BEATTY: OK, Victor, take care.

KOSIK: All right, still to come in the newsroom, an interview with Red Sox ace Jon Lester.

BLACKWELL: He remembers the Boston Marathon bombing and how those survivors inspired his team on its journey to the World Series.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: And the city of Boston covered with Boston Red Sox everything today. Fans are lining the streets right now to celebrate the Red Sox's latest championship. The parade is slowly making its way from Fenway Park across the Boston Marathon finish line, ending in the Charles River. BLACKWELL: Look at that crowd. A million people expected there to celebrate the Boston Red Sox World Series win. Now, some of the biggest names from the Red Sox are speaking out about how the bombings affected them and how survivors inspired them.

KOSIK: Like star pitcher Jon Lester who spoke with CNN's Rachel Nichols.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every year, someone wins the World Series. But this year, it felt like a whole city won it, and that's not just because this is Boston, a place where everyone's thrilled that a baby's first word is "Sox," but because in the wake of the horrific Boston Marathon bombings that literally ripped this city apart, it was the Red Sox who gave people something to rally around, gave them a place to gather and cheer and hug.

This season, Fenway wasn't just a ballpark. It was a grassy green runway for the wounded to strut, some on their prosthetic legs and show the world that they might have been knocked down, but they weren't knocked out. I spoke to Red Sox's ace Jon Lester the day after the team won the World Series, and he explained how the survivors had become the team's inspiration.

JON LESTER, PITCHER, BOSTON RED SOX: I think it kind -- it motivates you a little bit, as far as the days you're kind of struggling. I know the -- you have days where, you know, you go out and pitch, and you just feel lethargic, or whatever. It's just grind of the season. And I think when you're walking in from the bull pen, and those guys are coming by, it's, like, OK, it doesn't matter. I've got to find a way. You know, these guys are in wheelchairs right now. I mean, they've lived half their life walking and all of a sudden in one day, in one second, they're in a wheelchair. It's, like, hey, it does put -- it goes back to the "woe is me." It doesn't matter how I feel. I need to go out and compete for these guys.

NICHOLS: The words "Boston Strong" were etched into center field at Fenway for a reason. It's not just the slogan. It's the heart -- the center of how this community chose to define itself in the wake of the bombings. They're not victims. They're survivors. The fans, the players, the city, they all felt like they won the World Series together. And they're celebrating now, big time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Big time, indeed. You can see "Unguarded with Rachel Nichols" each Friday night at 10:30 eastern right here on CNN.

Another big story we're following, and still to come in the Newsroom, one of the biggest questions in the deadly shooting at LAX, of course, is why.

KOSIK: Chris Lawrence is looking into the background of the suspected shooter. He's in New Jersey this morning. Good morning, Chris. CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alison. Yes, what was in those text messages that Paul Ciancia sent to his family here in New Jersey, text messages that got the police so worried they called the LAPD? We'll have that answer just after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Alison Kosik.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It is a pleasure to be with you.

Come on with us. We're going to Boston, a live look now at the Red Sox and their fans celebrating the third World Series title for the team in nine years.

KOSIK: The parade actually started not so long ago, around 10:00 at Fenway Park. It will cross the marathon finish line as it winds its way through Boston.

BLACKWELL: Of course, we'll have more from the parade route in just a bit.

KOSIK: First, let's back to Los Angeles where a law enforcement official says LAX, the shooting suspect, Paul Ciancia, was carrying materials that appeared to reference the New World Order. The New World Order is generally considered to be a conspiracy theory, and followers believe a group of elites are conspiring to form an authoritarian, one-world government. Before you moved to L.A., Ciancia lived in Pennsville, New Jersey, and that's exactly where we find CNN's Chris Lawrence this morning. Chris, have you learned anything about Ciancia's possible link to this New World Order?

LAWRENCE: We talked to several people who knew the family and asked them if there was any sort of indication that he was ever involved in any sort of radical groups or had those kinds of thoughts or had expressed those feelings to anyone. We couldn't find anyone who said anything like that here.

In fact, that's the key part. I asked someone who knew the family last night, who were the people he kept in touch with? He had just moved to L.A. a year and a half ago, spent his whole life in this community. And the young man told me, I can't think of anyone that he was really close to. I can't think of any close friends that he had.

The family, for their part, says there were no end occasions, say they didn't know he had a rifle. They're telling police there is no history of mental health issues or anything like that. And the first indication they had that something was wrong were these angry, rambling text messages to his brother that indicated to them that Paul Ciancia might harm himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF ALLEN CUMMINGS, PENNSVILLE, NEW JERSEY POLICE: To be honest with you, I don't think any -- we were able to connect any of this together. Small town like Pennsville, you know, we followed up, and our procedure is if someone is concerned about a family member, we call that local police department and do a well-being check, and that's basically what we did. And it came back he wasn't home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: So when the family got the text messages, they called their local police here. The police officers got on the phone with the LAPD, who said, please, go check this out, see if he's OK. The LAPD went to his apartment. They found his roommate, who said we saw him last night. He seemed fine. But at that point, Paul Ciancia had already left and gone to LAX. Alison?

KOSIK: OK, CNN's Chris Lawrence reporting from Pennsville, New Jersey.

BLACKWELL: If you're heading to the airport today, maybe give yourself extra time. Check with the airlines, because more than 1,500 flights were impacted by yesterday's deadly shooting at LAX.

KOSIK: CNN's Nick Valencia is at the world's busiest airport, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson. Nick, what is the effect, if any, of yesterday's shooting? Is it affecting travel this morning?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The incident yesterday at LAX certainly had an impact here at Hartsfield airport in Atlanta. And even if we can't see it, Alison, airport officials do tell us they beefed up security, more plainclothes officers. And passengers that we've spoken to, we've gotten some mixed reaction, some are more nervous than others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: The stoppage at LAX rippled through flight boards across the nation with a major impact on people's travel plans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My flight was massively delayed coming out of Phoenix, so they're rerouting me onto another flight. I'll get home, but definitely much later than expected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunate, but what can you do? Crazy person goes shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's quite stressful to come here and look on the board and see not only is a flight delayed, but really things are quite hectic in L.A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes you back to previous events that have happened over the years. And you just hope everybody's OK when you land.

VALENCIA: For others at airport, some anxious moments as they waited to hear from family members traveling through Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got a message from my father-in-law, who was on the plane at the time, saying we're on the plane, but we can't go, and they didn't really know what was going on.

VALENCIA: And while cancelled or rebooked flights caused headaches for a lot of people, some late travelers in San Francisco say they're lucky to have missed their scheduled flight, including this mother who dropped off her kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they had made the flight to L.A. today, they would have been in the midst of what was going on down there in terminal three.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Back here, live pictures at Atlanta's airport. It's slower than average weekend travel day. We want to get to these new numbers released by Los Angeles International Airport. About 826 departures affected, also 724 arrivals. That's about 150,000 passengers affected because of what happened yesterday, and that's at LAX, inbound and outbound flights alone. Victor, Alison?

BLACKWELL: All right, Nick Valencia reporting from the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta. Thank you.

KOSIK: And if you're not on your way to the big Red Sox parade in Boston, you want to stay with CNN, because there are more amazing live pictures of a million-plus Red Sox fans packing the streets in celebration of the World Series win.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A live look at the Red Sox Victory parade in Boston, a lot of people there packing the streets, because, you know, this was a special season, especially for the fans of the team after that bombing in April. And earlier, we spoke to famed Boston Red Sox announcer Joe Castiglione. He's at the parade this morning, and I asked, if the Red Sox players' roles changed in Boston in the aftermath of the bombings?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE CASTIGLIONE, BOSTON RED SOX ANNOUNCER: I think the Red Sox have always been number one, so I don't think the role has changed. But I think the players are more civically aware of what's going on and what their responsibility has been. And they've followed it like no athletic team I've ever seen. They really got -- took this thing to heart. And I think this was part of the thing that drove them, and they really were the instigators of Boston strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: All right, Boston, it's time to celebrate. Look at the live pictures.

BLACKWELL: Yes, a little more than a million people, not just Bostonian, but just fans of the team and the city are lining the streets, celebrating the remarkable championship season.

KOSIK: CNN's Alexandra Field is live along the parade route with more. How's it looking out there, Alexandra?

FIELD: Well, Alison, I want to give you a look for yourself. If we take a look out here, you can just see the sea of red and blue dotted with Red Sox beards and Boston strong signs. The fans are expected to be a million strong lining this parade route, which stretches almost four miles.

The parade has already kicked off at Fenway. That's where the team gathered this morning for a private victim -- private breakfast with family members and friends as well as survivors of the marathon bombings.

We are about to see the duck boats, Boston's iconic duck boats come along Boylston street following the same math that marathon runners took back in April. Those boats will cross over the marathon finish line. We're expecting to see some of the marathon survivors on board the boats with the championship team. We're also told that there will be a tribute to the survivors. That will take place when the boats reach the marathon finish line.

Right now, though, you can see fans far too many to count, are eager to see the moment, eager to celebrate their team, and eager to celebrate this city's comeback. Alison, Victor?

KOSIK: Let's talk about security for a moment. Is it sort of obvious to you the security measures? And, also, backpacks. I'm taking a quick look here, I'M scanning the crowd. I don't see backpacks. Are those banned from this? We saw that happen at least in marathons in New York City after the bombing in April.

FIELD: Right, Alison, there wasn't actually a ban on backpack, but people were warned well in advance, if they brought a backpack, it would be subject to random search. People are carrying bag, women carrying purses. A couple of small backpack, but none of the big packs that obviously would set off some alarm among a crowd like this that is gathered in the same spot where the marathon happened six months ago.

As for security, there is a strategy, obviously, in place here. Part of the strategy is to make the security visible. So as we look around, just to the naked eye, you will see a heavy Boston police presence. They've also coordinated with state and federal authorities to keep this event safe.

I want to opponent out, one more moment we you a here, though, that was poignant and should be noted. There was a moment an hour ago when we saw some two dozen Boston police officers riding bicycles. Rode down the stretch of Boylston Street and the crowd erupted in cheers. It's the kind of image that we have seen a few times in this city over the last six months. Alison, Victor?

BLACKWELL: So we're seeing the parade move down Boylston and we know it will end at the Charles River. We can see people are excited. But you're there. Have you spoken with people? Give us an idea of what they are feeling? FIELD: Well, look, this is a town that loves baseball. They are in love with the Red Sox. This is the day that they were waiting for. It's that moment for people who can't get the tickets to go to Fenway and watch it happen live. This is their moment with the team, and they weren't going to pass it up.

This team won the World Series back in 2004, we'll all remember after that 86-year dry spell, so 3 million people turned out then to cheer on the team. Back in 2007, just three years later, another 1 million people turned out, and an estimated million people will come today. But who knows? We'll have to wait until the end of the day to really see where the number lands.

But right now there's just incredible excitement. This is the moment that this city has looked forward to. It's the moment they've wanted. They needed something to cheer about after what happened here six months ago. Today, they have it, and it's remarkable that it's all happening in the very same spot.

BLACKWELL: Yes, members of the crowd there, I saw someone who had -- there it is again, Babe Ruth's number three Boston Red Sox jersey back when he played for the team in 1918 when they last won the World Series at home, at Fenway Park, so a lot of nostalgia there with the team.

FIELD: This team is so rich with history, the city is to tightly tied to the team. Last year, the team had 93 losses, last-place team in the division. So worst to first, that's the storyline here. And it really has the crowd excited. I'll give you one more look. You can see people, some are up on each others' shoulder, just waiting for a glimpse to see the players. And in front of the players, you can see the police, and these duck boats should be arriving any minute. We'll have those pictures for you.

BLACKWELL: Yes, not just the team, but also those authorities celebrated after their work after the bombings in April. Alexandra Field in Boston for us as we watch live pictures of the victory parade for the Boston Red Sox after their win in the World Series. We'll check back.

And stay in the CNN Newsroom, because we're following this big story, the dismal launch of Obamacare.

KOSIK: And now, Washington is asking Silicon Valley to come to the rescue. But is the website beyond repair? We're going to have the answers coming up next.

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BLACKWELL: Welcome back. Let's catch you up on some other stories that are developing this morning. Toronto police say they now have a video that shows the city's mayor smoking crack cocaine. The existence of the video was reported earlier, but now the city says they actually have it. The video was recorded from a computer -- recovered rather from a computer seized in a drug and gang investigation. But Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine and he says he will not resign.

KOSIK: To politics now, Charlie Crist wants his own job back. On Monday he is expected to announce that he is running for governor Florida again, but this time as a Democrat. Crist was first elected governor as a Republican, but he ran as an independent in his failed 2010 bid for the U.S. Senate. Now Crist has filed campaign paperwork that lists him as a Democrat.

An embarrassing start to Obamacare. We now know that on the day the Obama website launched only six users successfully enrolled in the program.

BLACKWELL: And on day two, the number got better, but 248 signed up. But compare that to the millions of Americans without health insurance.

KOSIK: CNN Money technology correspondent Laurie Segall is following this story. Laurie, a huge part of the problem is this website. What is being done to fix it?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We heard president Obama essentially say we're going to bring in a tech groups, we're going to bring in the best and the brightest folks. And now we know who they've brought in. They're kind of sending Silicon Valley to the rescue. They've brought in engineers from Oracle, Google, Red Hat, and one of the guys whose name is Michael Dickerson, he's been an engineer at Google for seven year, a site reliability engineer nonetheless.

So what these folks are going to do is try to help with three things -- reliability, stability, and scalability. So being able to fix these bugs that we keep seeing more and more of them, and also making it so you can add server capacity so people can actually get on the website, you know, browse plans, and enroll. I mean, as you said, six people on that first day, that's an eye-opening number.

KOSIK: What if this website, Laurie, isn't up and running soon? What kind of impact could this wind up having?

SEGALL: There could be a major impact. Our CNN's Wolf Blitzer actually spoke to a man named Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor, and he helped design both Obamacare and Romneycare, and Wolf asked, what will happen if the site isn't fixed by the end of November? Listen to what he said.

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PROF. JONATHAN GRUBER, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: If the website isn't operating fully for shopping by November, that's a problem. I think these people who have to change policy, many times they're just being asked to change to very similar policies with a different name or slightly different deductible, but they do need to find them.

And I agree, for those people, that minority of people that are seeing these cancellations, I think it would be a problem if the website wasn't up and running by the end of November.

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SEGALL: Guys, we're not talking, you know, Twitter, a company like Twitter trying to scale and having the website down, and seeing that cut little fail whale, and people being upset they can't tweet. People here are really up in arms because they can't really browse and find the right health insurance plans and sign up. So the stakes are just higher. That's why we keep talking about this.

KOSIK: Exactly. All right, Laurie Segall, thanks.

BLACKWELL: Coming up in the CNN Newsroom, listen, I used to live in Jacksonville, Florida, and there are few weekends more important than Florida-Georgia weekend. We are going to take the rivalry express bus Jacksonville for the highlights from today's collision between the Gators and the Bulldogs.

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BLACKWELL: The rivalry express bus is on the road. And, of course, we're following all of the big games this college football season.

KOSIK: And this week stop is Jacksonville, Florida, for the battle between the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators. Carlos Diaz joins us live from Gator country. Hey, Carlos.

CARLOS DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How you doing, Alison? Yes, this is such a contentious rivalry these two schools can't even decide on when it started. Georgia says the rivalry started in 1904, Florida says 1915. That's what we're talking about.

But this year, both schools 4-3. You have to throw the records out the window for this one. It's still a contentious rivalry, but the biggest game in Florida is up I-10 in Tallahassee tonight, Florida State taking on Miami. Both teams are undefeated as they head into this big ACC match-up. It's been a tough season for the Bulldogs and Gators, but not for the Hurricanes and Seminoles. Both are undefeated and ranked in the top 10. The winner tonight stays on track for the top spot in the national title game.

On paper, Florida State has the clear edge, FSU behind freshman Heisman trophy winner hopeful James Winston, has been crushing teams. In their last three games they won by 63, 67, and 32 points, while Miami has barely beaten unranked teams recently. So that's why Florida State is the huge favorite in that one.

On to hockey, the flyers in Philadelphia, they might be in last place, but at least they're putting up a good fight. This one started after the Washington Capitals went up, 7-0 on the Flyers. Apparently, Wayne Simmonds had enough. He went on a rampage. Even the goalie, who had just given up four of the seven goals had enough, as well. The flyers have been embarrassing to some this season. They've lost 9 of the first 12 games. But at least the fans can appreciate that they're not laying down for anybody.

And in the spirit of Halloween, the Phoenix Suns' mascot, the famous gorilla, pulled an awesome prank on Suns players. Check this out.

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DIAZ: As can you see, it's a lot more fun to be the pranker instead of the prankee if you don't mind on that one.

All right, guys, I have to get over to Arby City, because apparently this is called the world's largest outdoor cocktail party, so being the reporter that I am, Alison and Victor, I have to investigate that. You know how it is.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I've been to that party several years. It is a fun, fun weekend. Throwing a barbecue, and I'm missing that, too.

KOSIK: Carlos, you see what's going on in Boston?

DIAZ: Yes, I -- it's going to be a party like that, except no titles will be celebrated down here this weekend, especially in Jacksonville.

BLACKWELL: All right, Carlos Diaz in Jacksonville, thank you very much.

KOSIK: Speaking of Boston, we have live pictures to go to?

BLACKWELL: Let's go to the parade, as Bostonians and -- there's one of the duck boats. They celebrate the World Series win of the Boston Red Sox, their first since 1918 at home. Of course, they won in '04 and '07.

KOSIK: At least a million people are expected to be out there today.

BLACKWELL: Yes, absolutely. You see here Babe Ruth's jersey, Red Sox jersey. That was the -- you heard of the curse of the bambino.

KOSIK: Oh, yes.

BLACKWELL: The reason they hold that up, in 1918, Babe Ruth was on the Red Sox, then a few years ago, a few years after that, he went to the Yankees and that began the curse.

KOSIK: There will be a bittersweet moment in this. It's going to pass by the finish line of the marathon of bombing site. So this is sort of bittersweet.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KOSIK: But a huge celebration. All right, that will do it for us today. Thank you for watching today.

BLACKWELL: Keep it right here, though, because there's much more ahead in the next hour of the CNN Newsroom. We turn it over to our colleague Fredricka Whitfield. Hey, Fred. FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much. And of course we'll pop in on Boston on occasion too, to give folks an idea, take you there as they do approach the finish line. It will be bittersweet. Thank you so much, guys. Have a great afternoon.

BLACKWELL: You, too.