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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Boston Bombing Suspect Moved; Times Square Plot Revealed

Aired April 26, 2013 - 06:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Two breaking developments this hour in the Boston bombings case. First, CNN learning just minutes ago the surviving suspect no longer at a Boston hospital. He has been moved.

Also, this from our CNN team in Russia: the suspect's mother and father also on the move, heading to another part of that country. Not coming here.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: And putting an end to the long wait at the airport. Congress finally taking action on control tower furloughs.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Zoraida Sambolin in New York.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman live in Boston. It is Friday, April 26th, about half past the hour right now.

And we begin with two new breaking developments this morning in the Boston bombing case here. The U.S. Marshal Service confirms to us that suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been moved from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is now being held at a prison facility at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. That's about 30 miles west of Boston.

This is a facility which houses male offenders who require specialized or long-term medical or mental health care.

We've also learned that the Tsarnaev brothers' parents -- the parents have left their home town in Dagestan. And the mother tells us that the father's trip to the U.S. has been delayed indefinitely. This comes on the heels of new information that the brothers were planning another attack, this one New York City's Times Square. They also reportedly had plans to drive their on April 19th, the night they wound up in a shoot-out with police.

We have complete coverage of all these new developments. We're going to go first to the issues now with the surviving suspect just moved out of the hospital. Miguel Marquez live at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is no longer -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it sounded like it happened between 1:00 and 3:00 this morning that Mr. Tsarnaev was moved from here at Beth Israel. The last we knew, his condition was fair.

It's clear that he has improved enough that he could be moved. That was one concern that doctors here had. Despite community concerns about him being cared for at the same facility where victims of the bombing he helped carry out were also being cared for.

The facility he went to is a decommissioned military base. It can take high security prisoners, but more importantly, it has a hospital facility where they can continue to care for him until he's completely well enough to be put into another prison presumably to wait trial here in the Boston area.

But at the moment, we can say he has left Boston. He is 40 miles northwest of here, and presumably being cared for there until he's well enough to stand trial -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Miguel Marquez here at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Again that news just breaking. We just confirmed that from the marshal service that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been moved.

Miguel, our thanks to you.

Now to the new developments about the Tsarnaev brothers' plans. They may have been planning another attack. At least in the last minutes there, the site of that next attack could have been New York City's Times Square.

CNN's Richard Roth is in Times Square for us with these new, chilling details -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You mention last minute, we don't know how much planning might have gone into an attack here in Times Square, John. New York City authorities seemed to think it was a spontaneous process, where the brothers would have headed down to New York in that hijacked vehicle.

Now, the 19-year-old was photographed here in Times Square not long ago, which officials here consider a bit of an ominous sign.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly would like to know more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPT.: The NYPD intelligence division is actually investigating to determine Dzhokhar's movement in New York City, as well as who he might have been with here.

New York City detectives and supervisors assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force with the FBI are assisting in the ongoing investigations of both Boston and New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: In the car, another pressure cooker device, several pipe bombs. Times Square here in New York, the crossroads of the world, escaped considerable damage in 2010 when a man tried to potentially detonate a major car bomb. And then was arrested a short time later at the airport. Birds are chirping. Late spring still here in the air, John, and that is always the normal concern here in Times Square. Major tourist attraction in the city. BERMAN: That's right. It was interesting to hear from the mayor and the New York City police chief yesterday saying New York is always at the ready and they were looking into this. They didn't sound overly alarmed, Richard, but it was a development worth watching nonetheless.

Richard Roth in Times Square, thanks so much Meanwhile we have a heartwarming image to share with you that's in some ways really defines the spirit and the meaning of Boston strong.

I want to take a look at Boston magazine's new cover. I want to show you this picture right now. Those are running shoes forming a heart with the message, we will finish the race. Those words, of course, spoken by President Obama at the memorial service here last week. Every pair of shoes in that image was worn by someone who ran in the Boston marathon more than week ago the day of that awful attack.

And, Zoraida, where I'm standing right now is the memorial site in Boston. Boston's Copley Square, just a half a block away or so from the finish line of the Boston marathon. It is a beautiful sight. As you can see, there are lots of people coming here in these early hours. There are specific memorials to each of the four victims who died over the last week and a half.

As well as running shoes that people who ran in the marathon are leaving behind and there are message boards where people can leave special notes to all the victims who have suffered here. It's a beautiful, beautiful sight, Zoraida.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's really great that they have that, because, even if you didn't know anybody, if you weren't personally affected it's so nice to be able to go and share your thoughts, right? And honor the victims, also.

Thank you, John. I appreciate that.

BERMAN: So many people are.

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

All right. So new this morning, the Senate voting to put furloughed air traffic controllers back in the towers, and hopefully end the long airport delays that you have been experiencing this week. The House could vote on the bill today, and controllers likely would be at work tomorrow, they're saying that would be at the earliest.

So that means today, which is a very busy travel day of Friday, could be a long one if you're playing. FAA employees were furloughed because of the forced spending cuts. Let's see if this works out quickly.

And a developing story out of Russia where officials say 38 people were killed in a hospital fire today in the town of Ramensky. That's just outside of Moscow. Forty-one people were inside the psychiatric facility at the time, only three managed to escape.

The fire may have been sparked by an electrical short, and tomorrow will be an official day of mourning in Russia for those many lives that were lost in that fire.

A lot of them were found still in their beds.

And the people of West, Texas, trying to move on with their lives by saluting the heroes who gave theirs.

CNN's Ed Lavandera attended a memorial service for those killed in last week's fertilizer plant explosion. Very moving and a very powerful tribute, Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was striking, Zoraida, to say the least. It was an incredible show of force. Firefighters and first responders from across the state showed up in force to pay their respects.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Amid the solemn melodies of bagpipes, tears flowed and flowed. Thousands of firefighters and first responders honored the victims killed in the earth-rattling explosion at a fertilizer plant in the small town of West, Texas. The flag-draped coffins were a poignant sight, but it was the videotaped eulogies from family members that offered the most gripping emotion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a true hero, always one of the first to answer every call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a strong, caring man, good family man. He did everything for us. He never missed a sporting event of ours in his life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was the friend that showed up to help you even before you asked.

(CHANTING) We will love you forever, we will like you for always. As long as we're living, our son you will be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rest in peace and take care, sweet son. I love you.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I cannot match the power of the voices you just heard on that video.

LAVANDERA: President Obama and first lady, Michelle Obama, attended the memorial service. The president honored the small town strength of a town like West.

OBAMA: America needs towns like West.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: That's what makes this country great is towns like West. You have been tested, West. You have been tried. You have gone through fire. But you are and always will be surrounded by an abundance of love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just looks like a bomb went off.

LAVANDERA: In the coming days, residents will begin moving back into evacuated neighborhoods, but homecoming for some, like Susan Knapek, won't be happening any time soon. She's lived in this house 19 years.

(on camera): This is just unbelievable.

SUSAN KNAPEK, WEST, TEXAS: It's just -- I'm just thankful I wasn't here in the kitchen.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Susan Knapek's house is just 300 yards away from the blast site. Her son escaped with only scratches on his leg, but when you talk to Susan, you can sense how losing friends in the explosion and watching neighbors lose their homes is taking a toll.

(on camera): What does it mean to you to have so many friends out here helping you?

KNAPEK: There's no words. People have come up to this door, and we've been here, we don't even know, offered help. People have brought food, offered money. People have come from I don't know where, and it's awesome. It just warms my heart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And, Zoraida, yesterday and today, city employees here in the town of West have been given the days off to attend funerals and the memorial service, as you saw yesterday. And yesterday after the memorial service, President Obama and Michelle Obama spent more than an hour meeting with the victims' families privately before taking off from the Waco area in Marine One -- Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: I'm sure that helped some of those folks quite a bit.

Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.

And, you know, as we watch this, we keep on saying, what can we do? What can we do? So, I want to remind you that we have CNN.com/impact where you can get a lot of information on how you can help for all of these tragedies across our country.

And coming up a police chief apologizing for video that's 27 years old. The controversy over this training video that makes fun of the homeless.

EARLY START back right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Forty-three minutes past the hour.

Christine Romans joins us with a look at what's ahead on "STARTING POINT."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dropped my microphone. Ahead on "STARTING POINT" breaking news in the Boston investigation. The suspect has been moved from the hospital to a prison facility. As we learn, they had another bombing target in mind, New York City's very crowded Times Square. This as we learn about communication failure between Massachusetts and federal intelligence agencies, Zoraida, about one of those suspects. Is the nation's security system broken?

Then, the White House confirming that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. President Obama called this a red line. So, does that mean it's been crossed? And will the U.S. have to take action?

Plus, one of the world's most popular UFC fighters -- there he is -- telling us his story about how he made it to the top. It's a really interesting story of leadership, quaint frankly, leader for anyone even if you're not in mixed martial arts. Georges St-Pierre joins me live with his new book, "The Way of the Fight."

SAMBOLIN: That's why you were asking about me --

ROMANS: I know.

SAMBOLIN: I took a class. That is a serious class that I took in. I could not keep up. They're in really good shape.

ROMANS: Yes, yes.

SAMBOLIN: We're looking forward to that. Thank you, Christine.

Forty-four minutes past the hour.

What can I say? This Twinkie lovers rejoice. The new owners of Hostess brands revealing your favorite guilty food pleasure is coming back. The creamy velvety cake that you crave will be in store shelves sometime in July. Really wonderful story (ph), and I used to eat these a lot when I was a little girl.

The rest of the beloved Hostess snack brands will return after that, most likely in August or September. Hip hip hooray.

All right. And the big surprise for people who showed up at a subway stop in New York City to find Michael Buble singing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: OK. This is right around the corner from our building. Next time, folks, if you happen to be there, could you please tweet me and let me know? I would have stopped in (ph). Buble was supposed to sing yesterday at an event promoting expanded Wi-Fi in New York's subway system. But the show was canceled when Mayor Bloomberg was called away to give a press conference about the plot to bomb Times Square.

So, you know, what he does? He took the vocal group -- this is Buble. He headed to a nearby subway stop and that is what you are seeing there. He performed acapella. That is beautiful, isn't it? Yes.

What a surprise under the streets of New York. Love that. Can you imagine? Like I said, next time, tweet me. So, sure quarterbacks are cool. But at last night's NFL draft, most of the love was for the linemen. The "Bleacher Report" on deck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: I'm John Berman live in Boston this morning. We have breaking news in the marathon bombing investigation. The U.S. marshals service confirms to CNN that marathon bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has been moved from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here in Boston. He is now being held at a prison facility at Fort Devens in Massachusetts. That's about 30 miles west or so of Boston.

While we bring you the latest developments in this case, we also want to remember the victims here. Of course, I'm standing right in front of the memorial in Copley Square. I also want to introduce you to the White family. I got to spend some time with them yesterday as they recover, three of them, from the Boston marathon attack.

Kevin White and his mother, Mary Jo, were both injured in the blast. They were just a few feet away from the first explosion. Bill White, a husband and father, Vietnam veteran, he lost a leg. He remains hospitalized this morning. And his son, Kevin, describes what happened when the bomb went off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN WHITE, INJURED IN BOSTON TERROR ATTACK: From what I recall, we were close to the finish line and kind of meandering, stopping, starting, stopping, starting. And suddenly, there was this loud explosion, which to me, sounded very metallic and almost like had an echo to it. And, I saw a huge flash of light, blinding, and then just dark.

I am right here. I kind of got blown away from the blast by about five feet. My father's in the red right here laying down and my mother is right next to him over him, and you can see that the blast happened right around there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It was hours before the son, Kevin, knew that his mother and father were both OK. Harrowing, harrowing moments for all of them. And my full interview with the White Family, including their recovery and how they plan to move forward, that comes up at 8:30 this morning on "Starting Point." They are a very, nice, resilient family, Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: Really looking forward to that. Thank you very much, John.

It is 50 minutes past the hour. New this morning, Seattle police dusting off a skeleton in their closet. A 27-year-old music video parody that shows officers making fun of homeless people. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING) Under the viaduct, where dirt is our floor. Under the viaduct, who could ask for more? Under the viaduct, we'll be drinking our booze.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: The 1986 video was part of a training film shown to Seattle cops. The departments current interim police chief is in it. He says he wants to be transparent and get ahead of this and apologize.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INTERIM CHIEF JIM PUGEL, SEATTLE POLICE: The attempt at humor clearly was wrong. And again, I am deeply sorry for it, but I own it. Frankly, now that I'm in a much higher profile position, at some point, eventually, it could have come out, and I promised the media, I promised my officers, I promised the command staff that I would be open and honest and approach things head on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: The department has come under federal scrutiny in recent years for its treatment of minorities, as well.

And as predicted, the first round of the NFL draft was heavy on the really big guys. For the first time, two offensive tackles went as the number one and number two overall picks. It was quite a night. Joe Carter is here with the "Bleacher Report." Good morning.

JOE CARTER, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, Zoraida. Yes, what this draft lacks in star power is more than made up for in size and surprise. The first seven selections, seven, were all big boys. Offensive and defensive linemen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the first pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the Kansas City chiefs select Eric Fisher, Tackle, Central Michigan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: Oh! And this is a big boy, 6'7", 306 pounds. He's not only tall and athletic, he's still growing, 22 years old. Now, his job next season is a big one. He has to protect the chiefs new investment, quarterback, Alex Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC FISHER, NO. 1 PICK IN NFL DRAFT: This is so hard to process. The fact that I was the number one pick in the NFL draft. It's a dream come true. Something I've been working for for so long and, I'm standing here right now, and I just can't believe it yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CARTER: All right. So, Jacksonville really set the tone for the rest of the night by picking another big guy, offensive tackle, Luke Joeckel. A record number of offensive linemen were taken in this year's first round. Now, skilled (ph) positions largely ignored. In the first 32 picks, only one quarterback was drafted. No running backs were taken.

Now, with the fifth pick, Detroit, you can say, really rolled the dice. Defensive end, Ziggy Ansah. The guy was born and raised in Ghana. He only knew soccer most of his life. He didn't move to the United States in 2008, picked up football, and only played for three seasons at BYU. But the Lions really liked this guy alongside Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley.

All right. So, making news for not getting picked, Notre Dame linebacker, Manti Te'o. He was passed up by all 32 teams in the first round. Maybe it's because he's got major baggage or maybe it's because he played poorly in the national championship game against top talent, Alabama. He must have had a feeling this was going to happen because he did not make the trip to New York City. Instead, he's in Hawaii with his parents where he's going to watch for his name to be called, perhaps, later today.

And boy, you got to feel bad for this guy. It was a rough night for West Virginia quarterback, Geno Smith. He made the trip to New York City. He was dressed in a suit, waiting in the green room to have his name picked. But instead, he waited, and waited, and waited, and his name was never called. Aaron Rodgers knows that feeling. He's the quarterback many predicted, Geno Smith, would go in the first round, but instead passed up by all 32 teams.

He said, you know, I'm not going to go through this again. He's going to fly home and watch the second round with his family.

Well, the Miami Heat, they won again last night. They beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 13 to go up three game to none in the series. But the big story, Miami's veteran sharp shooter, Ray Allen. He set a new record. He's now made more playoff three pointers than any other player in NBA history. He passed up Reggie Miller with 322 playoff three pointers.

And Zoraida, coming up just after the top of the hour, we're going to talk more about the NFL draft, and perhaps, the most touching story of the night came not from a player who was picked, but from a former NFL player. We'll have that for you in two minutes.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Well, I'm going to stay tuned for that. That's quite a tease. Thank you.

CARTER: You bet.

SAMBOLIN: So, "Starting Point" just minutes away. And with this morning's breaking developments in the Boston bombing, the suspect and his parents on the move this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SAMBOLIN: That is it for EARLY START. Thanks for being with us today. I'm Zoraida Sambolin. John Berman continues our coverage live in Boston with "Starting Point" right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BERMAN: Good morning, everyone. I'm John Berman live in Boston where we begin this morning with breaking news. CNN confirming that the surviving Boston bombing suspect has been moved to a prison medical facility outside Boston. We have the developing details.

And within the last hour, CNN also learning the suspect's parents have left their home in Dagestan, but not to come here to the United States. We're going to go live to Dagestan with more on where the parents moved to and why.

Plus, we have new details on what the alleged bombers were going to do the night that they were caught.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPT.: He and his brothers decided spontaneously on Times Square as a target. And they would drive to Times Square that same night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And this morning, we're hearing from the man whose carjacking led to the brothers' capture. He recounts those heart pounding 90 minutes and his brave decision that almost definitely saved some lives.

Then, was the Red Line crossed? We've learned that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. Will the U.S. now have to get involved in the civil war there?

Plus, will the delays go away? The Senate making a late-night deal to ease air traffic controller furloughs, but some say this doesn't really solve the problem.

And big sports news. Surprise at the NFL draft. The number one pick, not who many people expected. And more trouble for Manti Te'o. They simply continue, no team yet for Manti Te'o.

It is Friday, April 26th. A huge day of news, and this special edition of STARTING POINT begins right now.