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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Pressure Cooker Debris Found at Scene; Remembering the Victims; Many Bombing Victims Released from Hospital; Potentially Lethal Letter Intercepted; Farewell to Margaret Thatcher

Aired April 17, 2013 - 04:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are getting our first look right now at the mangled remains of a device that literally blew up the Boston Marathon. These images could help investigators determine who is behind this deadly terror attack.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And gone too soon. A mother heartbroken over the loss of her daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY CAMPBELL, VICTIM'S MOTHER: She was a wonderful person. Everybody that knew her loved her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Patty Campbell was originally told by the hospital that her daughter Krystle had survived the marathon bombing.

BERMAN: And a night of healing. A candlelight vigil for one of the youngest victims of the marathon bombing, while in New York the Yankee Stadium crowd put aside their feelings for Boston and channeled the signature sweet sound of Fenway Park. Oh, my. That puts a smile on my face.

BALDWIN: What a moment. Gives so many people of Boston goosebumps.

BERMAN: That matters. I have to say. That matters.

Good morning, everyone, welcome to this special edition of EARLY START. I'm John Berman in Boston this morning.

BALDWIN: Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. We begin with this.

New developments in the Boston Marathon bombings. Chilling photos just released. They show the remains of one of the explosive devices. Wires, we're also seeing a battery, and bits and pieces here of what looks to have been some sort of circuit board. The news agency Reuters saying a government official who did not want to be identified shared these photos along with these images of a mangled pressure cooker.

So as we look at the different photos, and of them here, you can see what appears to be a cluster, you see some tinny-tiny BBs, likely fused together and shot out after the heat of this blast. The FBI now saying the second bomb was also in some sort of metal container.

BERMAN: And all those doctors telling us saying they were finding the BBs and nails in the patients that they were treating.

Also new this morning, word that Boston area hospitals have released at least 100 of the 183 people injured in Monday's attack.

We're also learning more about the third person killed, identified right now as a Chinese grad student student who is studying at Boston University, one of the wonderful colleges in this town. We are respecting her family's wishes. We are not releasing her name at this time.

We're following every new development in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation and there were many developments over night.

Pamela Brown with the city's response to the terror attacks, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with an update on the injured, but we're going to begin with Susan Candiotti who is tracking the latest on this investigation. And we learned overnight from the FBI that one of the two -- one of the two bombs was packed into a pressure cooker. The second was located in some kind of metal container. We don't know exactly if it was a pressure cooker yet or not.

Susan, what else do we know new this morning?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these, as you said, John, good morning, are gripping the photos that were taken by all those FBI crime scene technicians. And let's go over some of them one by one. In particular, we're talking about a huge blast field that these things were found in. So just amazing work done by these analysts.

As they found, for example, twisted debris, pieces of that metal container that the alleged bomber or bombers used to put this stuff together. So this is like a pressure cooker like you would use at home, that's what the thinking is.

And also in another photograph you see the remainder of what they're talking about, they describe as a black nylon backpack or some kind of a bag into which this metal container was placed. And inside the metal container, all kinds of would-be shrapnel, for example, pieces of nail.

Also you see -- what's important on one of the other photos is you see markings on the pieces of the metal container as well. Now this is crucial information for these analysts and FBI agents because they are going to take each and every bit of information that you see on those pieces of metal and they will be able to try to find down to the store possibly, if they can do it, where these items were purchased and therefore that could lead them to who did it.

Now, you know, a pressure cooker was also part of a bomb that the would-be Times Square bomber used in 2010 when he tried to pack something into an SUV. Of course it didn't work out. Someone saw what was going on. But it just goes to show you how common some of these items are for bombmakers as they try to put these kinds of explosive devices together.

Now the FBI in the meantime, John and Brooke, have been pleading with the public for help. They've received hundreds of photos so far, still photos looking through surveillance videos and they're asking people for more help, because right now they said they don't have a clue as to who was behind this. And they're asking for help. They said someone knows who did this. A friend or a neighbor, someone knows -- John.

BERMAN: Susan, it was such a striking phrase from the FBI leader here in Boston, someone knows who did this.

Thanks so much, Susan Candiotti, here in Boston this morning.

BALDWIN: Something like 2,000 tips, I think, also coming in worldwide, but to her point there on the pressure cooker, I was reading this morning not only of course with the BB-like projectiles and the nails puncturing skin and muscle, they were found embedded in some of these buildings right here in Boston.

BERMAN: It is amazing. Those building, by the way, are right behind us right now. We're just a block away from the site where this all went down. And those pictures we just showed you, brand new overnight showing you the detail that investigators are looking at right now this morning.

Coming up in the next half hour, we're going to speak with Robert McFadden. He is a security analyst, former senior official of NCIS, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

BALDWIN: This morning the city of Boston here is united in grief for the three people killed in Monday's marathon bombing. Look at these pictures. Thousands of people turning out for a vigil last night, paying tribute to one of the youngest victims.

And CNN's Pamela Brown is here with that part of the story.

Good morning.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brooke and John. What an amazing turnout there. As you could see, really an outpouring of support for the family of Martin Richard, one of many ways the community here in Boston coming together to pay their respects to the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): An outpouring of raw emotion from a community struck by grief. Friends and family of 8-year-old Martin Richard gathered in a park near his home to remember him and pray for his family. His 6-year-old sister lost a leg and his mother has a serious brain injury. On Tuesday, friends and relatives dropped off flowers at the family's house in the Dorchester section of Boston. Martin's unforgettable smile smile has become the face of Monday's senseless attack. His picture, celebrating his first communion and another with a sign that reads, "No more hurting people," now emblazoned in the minds of millions.

One of the first responders, Dr. Kim Mills, tried to revive him. Her husband Matt describes the horror his wife ran toward after the blast.

MATT MILLS, HUSBAND OF FIRST RESPONDER: She did. And then she told me that as she handed it off to the EMTs, she had pronounced him -- said hey, this -- you know, he's dead and somebody had said, we need to start CPR, and she said I -- she's like I don't think it's going to help.

BROWN: Now he says his wife is grappling with the reality of seeing these pictures of Martin.

MILLS: And you can see she just got quiet and you could see the tears welling up and -- the emotion coming back from yesterday.

BROWN: The second fatality is Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old from Medford, Massachusetts, a suburb to the north of Boston. Krystle was standing along Boylston Street when the explosions went off. Her mother heartbroken.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What type of daughter was she, ma'am?

CAMPBELL: She was the best. I couldn't ask for a better daughter.

BROWN: Krystle would have turned 30 on May 3rd.

The third victim is a Chinese national and graduate student at Boston University, studying statistics.

The injured continue to recover and tell their stories. CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke exclusively to Ron Brassard in his hospital room.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S AC 360: Were you knocked to the grown?

RON BRASSARD, BOMBING VICTIM: I wasn't knocked to the ground. I absolutely knew that I was hit with something because the pain that shot through my leg was incredible.

BROWN: Meanwhile, across the country, tributes to remember those lost, with the Red Sox playing away in Cleveland, the Indians held a moment of silence for the bombing victims. And the New York Yankees put their rivalry aside Tuesday night, to pay their respects. Posting this message on the Yankee Stadium marquee, "United We Stand," and playing the Fenway Park favorite "Sweet Caroline" in the Bronx.

Back on the streets of Boston, an eerie quiet on normally busy streets. For Megan Kieler returning to the scene after witnessing the explosion brought back overwhelming emotion.

MEGAN KIELER, WITNESS: I think it's just kind of hitting me now, to be honest. I'm sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What does it feel like?

KIELER: I feel so badly for everybody. I'm really proud of this city. But it's -- you know, people are waking up today and their lives are very different.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: You know, obviously an outpouring of emotion from Megan, coming back the day after the explosion. But she told me, she said, I just can't stay away. I want to be here, I want to be around here to pay my respects to these victims. I want to be a part of that.

BERMAN: Pamela Brown, thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much.

And later this morning Campbell's grandmother talks to our own Chris Cuomo about a girl she says was simply special.

BERMAN: She sure was.

So at least 100 of the 183 people injured in Monday's attacks have been released from Boston area hospitals. So we want to bring in senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. She joins us now live from Brigham and Women's Hospital where many of the victims are still being treated this morning.

Elizabeth, what are you finding?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, what we're finding is that these stories are now starting to come out of what these patients have had to endure.

And I want to tell you about one couple, one very special couple that reached out to help each other and to help others. So their names are Nicholas and Lee Ann Yanni. And what happens was they were at the marathon, at the finish line just 10 feet away when the explosion went off. And so they managed to make their way to a clothing store and Nicholas saw that his wife was bleeding profusely from her calf.

And his wife had the presence of mind to be calm and say, honey, get those shirts off those racks and make me a tourniquet. So he made a tourniquet for her and the whole time that he's making the tourniquet, his wife is saying to him, I'm worried about you, I'm worried about you, how are you? Are you OK?

And Nicholas assured his wife, I am doing fine. It turned out he wasn't, but he said, I am doing fine. So he made -- took these shirts off the rack, made a tourniquet for his wife. Once he had sort of settled her, he said, OK, I'm going to go back out because I saw a woman who was suffering, who was lying on the ground, appeared to be maybe unconscious or in shock.

And he went back out to help her, and when he was helping this woman, the police came in and said everyone out of the area if you're not injured. Sir, get out of the area if you're not injured. And he said, but my wife is back in the store. I've got to help her. And then what ended happening up was he looked up and his wife -- actually the EMS had found her, they were putting her in the ambulance.

And he said hey, that's my wife, let me go in the ambulance with her. So of course they did. They got to Tufts Medical Center. She had surgery for the injury to her calf. And this is what he said after the surgery was done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLAS YANNI, BOMBING VICTIM: You know, It was like -- like, you know, like home. Like, safe, you felt safe, you know, because, you know, the people you love are there with you. And you know they're OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now it turned out that the explosion had blasted a bone in his wife's calf. And it turned out Nicholas, his eardrum had been pierced by the explosion. Husband and wife are recovering in the same room at Tufts Medical Center. Now Tufts is one of 11 hospitals in the greater Boston area that handled these injuries -- John.

BERMAN: So nice that they can be together. What a story that is.

BALDWIN: So many, so many stories of just people thanking strangers because they couldn't find their loved ones -- or Monday. You know, thanking people for just their kindness, eventually finding their loved ones at the hospital. Amazing.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for sharing that one story with us this morning.

We should mention President Obama is cancelling his Thursday morning meetings at the White House to travel here to Boston to honor the victims of Monday's marathon bombings. We have been told he's going to be speaking at an interfaith service here, speaking late yesterday morning at the White House calling this a cowardly terrorist act.

BERMAN: And act of terror for the first time.

If you would like to help those affected by Monday's devastating terror attack there is a way. Visit CNN.com/impactyourworld. I encourage you to do that.

BALDWIN: So many people needing blood here in Boston specifically. And we want you to stay with us here on CNN for continuing coverage live, continuing coverage of the Boston Marathon attack, including chilling new photos here of the explosive device that inflicted all this pain and suffering. Who did it? Why did they do it? Many, many questions this early Wednesday morning.

BERMAN: You know plus there is another very big developing story overnight. A letter addressed to a U.S. senator testing positive for the deadly poison ricin. Where that investigation stands right now this morning. You're watching a special edition of EARLY START.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back to this special edition of EARLY START. We are learning much, much more about the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings this morning. Among the new developments, newly released chilling photos of the remains of the one -- one of the explosive devices.

You can look at them right now. Wires, a battery, a piece of what looks like could be a circuit board there. Reuters reports that a government official who did not want to be identified shared these photos. And again these are brand new overnight and fascinating.

BALDWIN: And you know, there are these images we have here of the pressure cooker investigators believe held this bomb. You can see clearly very mangled when the bomb detonated, but in another photo here you will see what appears to be these tinny tiny BBs, these projectiles, this cluster, you see it here, that was blasted out once the pressure was too much for this pressure cooker.

The second bomb, we're told, was also in some type of metal container there as well. And we're going to have much more obviously from Boston on that, this investigation. But for a check of other developing stories, let's go to New York to Zoraida Sambolin.

Zoraida, good morning.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. And more tests will be done today to confirm whether a letter sent to a U.S. senator was laced with poison. Early tests show that it contains ricin. And a tiny drop of ricin is enough to kill a human. That letter was intercepted before it reached Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

We also know where the letter might have come from. We don't know, Shannon, correct me if I'm wrong, we don't know who sent that letter.

CNN's Shannon Travis is live in Washington for us.

We also know where the letter might have come. What we don't know, Shannon, and correct me if I'm wrong, is we don't know who actually sent that letter.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: You're exactly right, Zoraida. We have a clue about where it might have come from. It was postmarked Memphis, Tennessee, but as you mentioned there was no return address. That's the information that we're getting from the Senate sergeant-at-arms Terrance Gaynor in an e-mail to senators and aides.

As you mentioned experts performed more tests today to determine if without a doubt the substance on the letter was ricin. We know that a Maryland laboratory confirmed the presence of ricin, but the FBI says feel tests can be unreliable and that only a full analysis at a credited laboratory can truly determine if the poison was present. The FBI says those tests generally take between 24 to 48 hours. Now those tests will happen at an army research lab in Maryland according to U.S. capital police. Of course, Zoraida, coming just a day after the terror attack in Boston, it's reasonable to wonder if is this potentially -- if this potentially poisonous letter addressed to the Senator is linked to Boston. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said at this point no.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), CHAIR, HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: It did test positive for ricin. We have no evidence whatsoever connecting the two between the ricin incident and the Boston bombing incident.

Since 9/11, since the anthrax scare, we have an off-site mail facility. And it actually worked in this case where it was caught in advance, screened, and prevented from getting to Capitol Hill and the offices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS: One source tells CNN that Senator Wicker has been assigned security in light of all of this. Even though we don't yet know if this letter contained ricin. We do know that the poison is highly toxic. Take just a tiny amount, enough to fit on the size of a head of a pin, and it can kill an adult -- Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: Yes, so you worry about the postal workers and everybody who's handling the mail for the senators and the congressmen.

TRAVIS: Absolutely.

SAMBOLIN: Thank you very much. We appreciate it. We'll check back in with you.

And straight ahead, CNN's continuing coverage of the Boston Marathon terror attack, including chilling new photos of the bombs that were used before and after they were detonated.

And a final farewell to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Her funeral is about to begin. And we're going to take you live to London when this special edition of EARLY START continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Welcome back to EARLY START. Funeral services for the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, get underway in just about an hour from now. It begins with the procession through the streets of London. The former prime minister will then be given a ceremonial funeral with full military honors at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Security is extremely tight with more than 4,000 police officers on patrol.

CNN's Dan Rivers is live in London.

And I understand, Dan, that they are expecting some protesters as well.

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are some protesters here. Of course security are tight, especially given what happened in Boston on Monday. It was always going to be tight.

Let's talk to one of the protest organizers, Hillary Jones.

Hillary, some people question the taste of protesting at a funeral. What will be your response to that?

HILLARY JONES, PROTEST ORGANIZER: My response is that this kind of funeral is unprecedented. It's normal for royalty or wartime leaders to have this kind of sendoff. It's never happened for another prime minister under no circumstances. So if you're going to spend our public money at a time of recession on this, then they've opened themselves up to those of us who felt that Margaret Thatcher's policies at the time were so divisive and so offensive to so many of us that if we're paying for this funeral then our opinions can be -- you know, respected as well.

RIVERS: And briefly what are you going to do?

JONES: We're going to turn our backs as the coffin goes by in the same way that she turned her back on so many when she was in power.

RIVERS: Hillary, thank you.

So controversial protest but a peaceful one, they say, with the police's permission. I guess the big unknown is what else may happen along the two-mile route that goes through central London ending up at St Paul's to my right.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Well, I know that you're expecting an extremely large crowd. We'll continue to check back in with you.

Dan Rivers, live for us, thank you.

CNN's special coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing continues now. So let's get you back to John Berman and Brooke Baldwin. They are both in Boston.

Good morning.

BERMAN: Hey, thanks so much, Zoraida.

BALDWIN: Good morning.

BERMAN: We have a lot of new developments going on right here in Boston with the investigation to tell you about. The crime scene, of course, right behind us. We have new chilling pictures of the explosive devices that caused so much misery at the finish line of Monday's race.

BALDWIN: Plus we'll have the latest on the FBI investigation. Remember, they are taking the lead here. That is straight ahead on this special edition of EARLY START. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)