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CNN Saturday Morning News

Second Suspect in Boston Marathon Bombing Captured Alive; Possible Motives for Boston Marathon Bombing Explored; Fertilizer Plant Explodes in Texas; London Scheduled to Stage Own Marathon Despite Boston Bombing

Aired April 20, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm John Berman.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans. We are here this Saturday morning in Boston. It is 10:00 in the East.

BERMAN: 7:00 out on the West. This is a special edition of CNN SATURDAY MORNING live from Boston and this morning the "Boston Globe" headline really sums it up. For a city that was really virtually paralyzed by the manhunt for an accused terrorist, screaming across the front page in huge bold type that reads, "Nightmare's End."

ROMANS: Yes. Traditional banner headline. So maybe it's no surprise this is reaction to the news last night that the 19-year-old suspect was finally in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Relieved Bostonians poured into the streets, chanting the name of their beloved city, waving American flags. A harrowing ordeal that began with Monday's deadly bombing attack at the marathon ending with this shootout last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Police are not saying whether Dzhokhar was shot in last night's gunfight, but he was wounded in the first shootout with police that killed his brother.

ROMANS: This image shows the bloody teen in a boat in a Watertown backyard where he'd likely been hiding for hours. The boat's owner said he saw smeared blood and pulled back a tarp to find Dzhokhar lying there. He was apparently weak from blood loss but he still refused to surrender until the very last volley of gunfire. BERMAN: The dramatic end to the manhunt really exploded across social media, this photo going everywhere. An intelligence source confirms that this was taken immediately after Tsarnaev was arrested.

ROMANS: What an image. This image from a CNN affiliate shows him in the back of an ambulance being taken to the hospital. He remains in the hospital this morning in the serious condition.

BERMAN: The FBI was quick to announce the dramatic conclusion. Shortly after the arrest it updated its website posting on the wanted website, no longer said "wanted." It says "captured."

ROMANS: This image posted on the White House's Flickr page shows the arrest. Shortly after, the president addressed the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation is in debt to the people of Boston and to the people of Massachusetts. After a vicious attack on their city, Bostonians responded with resolve and determination. They did their part as citizens and partners in this investigation. Boston police and state police and local police across the commonwealth of Massachusetts responded with professionalism and bravery over five long days and tonight because of their determined efforts, we've closed an important chapter in this tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

We are covering all angles of this developing story this morning. Nick Paton Walsh is with us. CNN's Poppy Harlow is in Watertown to walk us through the 24 hours leading up to the arrest, and Pamela Brown is outside the hospital where the teen suspect is under heavy guard this morning.

ROMANS: Let's beginning now. CNN is the first to speak with the suspect's father after his arrest. He lives in the Russia republic of Dagestan. Nick Paton Walsh is there right and can tell us a little bit more about his access to him. Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Behind me is the apartment where the father lives. We saw him approach here. The third time he went passed us. He got out of his car and went into the apartment. We approached his car to ask a couple of questions. This here is what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: CNN, I'm with CNN. I'm so sorry, sir. We just wanted to hear your story is all. This is a difficult time for you. I just wanted to give you the chance --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: During this exchange it makes it clear he does not believe his sons were never ever involved in any of the attacks in Boston. I asked him are you going to the United States, and he said yes, absolutely. He wouldn't answer the question as to when. He struggled and was uncomfortable as I asked if Russian security services were here and if they had been in contact with him.

I also asked him when is the last time you spoke to your son? I couldn't really hear his response and that was when he began to put the automatic weapon up on an outstretched arm holding a microphone. So a man uncomfortable in the spotlight. Difficult questions for him to answer -- any father to answer about that child, now being asked that question. Angry at much of the attention he's getting today.

BERMAN: You said clearly angry, obviously emotional right now. In a sense of denial some might say. What do you think he makes of what's going on here in the United States?

WALSH: I'm sure in his mind he believes the images that he's been shown may not be entirely the whole truth. He seems entirely convinced of his sons' innocence. Many people express disbelief and disregard of evidence that somehow the Tsarnaev brothers are somehow to blame. Clearly as you saw there, a man deeply uncomfortable and deeply trouble and bear in mind a parent who has lost one son and televisions of another badly wounded under arrest.

ROMANS: Nick, we heard he has plans to come back to the United States. He's been here before. Do you expect he'll return?

WALSH: Absolutely that's likely. I'm sure he wants to be there for support. He does appear to have adequate means to get back there. Whether he takes his wife with him or not, nobody knows. That's still to be decided. Clearly he's a man who wants to provide whatever support he can for his son, Dzhokhar, surviving, who he believes had nothing to do with Boston.

BERMAN: All right, Nick Paton Walsh for us this morning in Dagestan. We have further information about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, here in Boston in the hospital after he suffered massive blood loss likely from that shootout Friday morning with police. Beth Israel is where we find Pamela Brown this morning. Pamela, what have we learned?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are learning new information this morning, John. We learned from a department of justice official that federal prosecutors have been here at the hospital since last night figuring out possible charges to bring forward. And we're learning from that official that those charges will be coming soon even possibly while the suspect is still here at the hospital.

Now, we don't know the extent of the charges that will be brought forward, but according to the DOJ official, the suspect will face terrorism charges. He is in federal custody. He will be charged with federal charges, and he could face murder charges on the state level.

Now, interesting to note here, there is no death penalty here in the state of Massachusetts, but the death penalty could be sought on the federal level since that supersedes state charges. No charges have been brought forward yet but we're hearing from a Department of Justice official that the charges will be brought soon. Also any minute now we're waiting for an update from the hospital about the suspect's condition. We'll bring you the very latest.

ROMANS: We know he's in serious condition. That was the latest official report. Do we know, Pam, when he could be discharged?

BROWN: We don't know. I asked the official I spoke to earlier this morning and basically was told that we have to wait for the update from the hospital which again is supposed to be coming any minute now. Of course, we're all very curious about whether he's conscious or not, and if he is, whether investigators have interviewed him. We have a lot of questions, hoping to get those answered soon.

BERMAN: Pamela Brown for us, thank you for that update.

ROMANS: People in Watertown are breathing a sigh of relief. The intense 24-hour manhunt turned that community into a war zone. CNN's Poppy Harlow is there for us this morning. Poppy, you're with a neighbor who heard the gunfire before Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. The eyewitness accounts here this morning are unbelievable when you hear how people describe what it was like for them as they were holed up in their houses. We're hearing more of those accounts as people get out to walk their dogs and talk to their neighbors. I want to bring in our guest Stacy. Guns were drawn on her when she opened the door. This is stunning when you told me this. Authorities come in. They have guns pointed at you because they don't know who is opening the door and came to your thousand three times. What happened?

STACY ROLFE, LIVES NEAR SHOOTOUT: The first time was just a standard sweep. They came through with three to five officers with either automatic weapons or their weapons drawn. I opened the back door just to kind of let them in to open the door so they didn't have to kick it down, at which point they saw the door open and instinctually drew their weapons on us. I knew why they were doing it, but it was just a little terrifying.

They swept our basement and backyard. The second time they swept they had the canine units. They swept our backyard and redid our basement again. The issue with the basement is we never lock the basement doors so we weren't sure what was down there. At that point they left us alone for a while. And then we got a doorbell ring which is unique for them to do and they said are you expecting anybody? Instantly going no and especially at 3:00 in the morning.

HARLOW: What's interesting is you took photographs of this. I think we have some that we can show to the door of the SWAT team surrounding your house. I know our viewers are looking at them now, but tell them what it was like in terms of gunshots. Drew Griffin reported live on air when he heard gunshots coming through a little bit before 7:00. You said that it sounded different than gunshots you heard in the shootout the night before. Automatic rifles?

ROLFE: It was automatic. The night before it was more pop, pop, pop, pop, more displaced. This one was they were louder and more direct and they were very fast. HARLOW: When you came outside when that shelter in place ordinance was lifted around 6:00 p.m. eastern time. You came out and were talking to neighbors and you have to cover your head and run back to your house. Why?

ROLFE: We weren't sure where the shots were coming from. We heard the shots coming from this direction. So we knew the direction, but we didn't know where and how close. It sounded like it was on the next street.

HARLOW: Just to give the viewers an idea of how close. You're five houses away from 67 Franklin Street where suspect number two was in the boat in their backyard and your backyard butts up.

ROLFE: It's five backyards back.

HARLOW: One last thing that's important. We were talking about the victims and you said our city will not get less strong from this, but the victims, you're going to take care of them.

ROLFE: Absolutely. I believe we'll rally around the victims and the families of those who have actually passed. It's not going to change who we are if anything it will make us stronger. Already we rallied around our town and our city and we have become a stronger unit from it, and that's all that's going to change.

HARLOW: Many victims still suffering in the hospital. Thank you. We appreciate your time. Guys, back to you.

BERMAN: Hope people get out today and get to soccer games and baseball games and go to Fenway today. The people of Watertown deserve a normal day.

ROMANS: The SWAT team moves in and the noose tightens. We'll take you inside the final moments before last night's capture of a terror suspect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course the happenings in Boston this week at the marathon, together we're Boston. So everybody is thinking and praying for the victims and the families affected, the whole of Boston really by what happened, and they're honoring them tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That tribute coming from far, far away, the San Francisco Giants paying tribute to the victims of the Boston marathon tragedy. The message, "Together We're Boston" appeared on the Jumbo-tron scoreboard, really keeping Boston in their thoughts.

ROMANS: It was 22 hours of terror across Boston before the dramatic conclusion to the manhunt. BERMAN: It began with the killing of a campus police officer and ended in a volley of gunshots and stun grenades in a suburban backyard. CNN's Brian Todd walks us through the final moments before the capture.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the end after the gunfire and the flash bangs, authorities showed their determination to capture Dzhokhar Tsarnaev alive. Listen to officers negotiating with the suspect as he's holed up inside a boat in a backyard in Watertown. We snaked through alleys and back lots to get to within a couple hundred yards of the boat. As we shot this exclusive video, police rushed us saying we were in the cross fire zone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clear out.

TODD: It was just minutes later that police captured Tsarnaev. He had lost blood and was weakened. But authorities say he engaged them with gunfire. The entire neighborhood was on lockdown, residents terrified as law enforcement went door to door.

Here on Cypress Street, this is one of the houses where police were combing through the neighborhood looking for the suspect. This is Eddie Beck's house. He took us through what it was like when SWAT teams came through here.

EDDIE BECK, WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT: They came in and searched the living room area, ding room, went through all of the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen area.

TODD: The searched cabinets and things like that?

BECK: They didn't go through cabinets or anything like that but went through bedrooms and closet doors and made their way through the back here.

TODD: Beck shared his footage of the SWAT teams combing through his house. During these moments, they didn't know where Tsarnaev was or whether he was carrying explosives on his body. Beck got a chill just knowing about it.

BECK: Knowing they had him surrounded and so close to our neighborhood it made us think that he might have been here at nighttime and they flushed him out into that area.

TODD: Vivian Stevens lives by herself also very close to the house where Tsarnaev was cornered.

VIVYAN STEVENS, WATERTOWN MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT: It happened right behind my house.

TODD: How do you feel now that it's over?

STEVENS: It's surreal. I think I'm numb. I don't think -- I guess I can't believe all of this has happened. I know it's happening but I'm very happy that it's over and they got him.

TODD: A sentiment echoed by thousands of her neighbors in Watertown, cheering police as they pulled out after the arrest.

Brian Todd, CNN, Watertown, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Authorities have a very long road ahead of them, still trying to figure out a motive for the Boston bombings. We'll have a live update from Washington on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: We're learning more about the victims whose lives were cut short by the Boston Marathon bombings. The youngest victim, eight- year-old Martin Richard was watching the marathon when he was killed. His sister and mother were badly injured. In a family statement his family thanked police for capturing the suspect and continue to pray for healing and comfort.

Also killed in Monday's attack, Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old woman with a big smith went to the marathon every year to cheer on the runners. Lingzi Lu was the third victim, a 23-year-old graduate student at Boston University. She was fulfilling her dream of coming to the U.S. to further her education.

Two bombs exploded within second of each other near the finish line on Monday during the race, triggering a five-day nightmare in Boston. At least 58 people are still hospitalized. MIT University police officer Sean Collier was the fourth person to die, allegedly killed by the Tsarnaev brothers. He was fatally shot while sitting in his car late Thursday night.

BERMAN: The manhunt has ended in two very different ways for the bombing suspects. One brother is dead and of course the other brother right now captured. And now it's time for investigators to focus on the full puzzle and figure out what may have motivated the two brothers described by many people, in the past at least, as normal.

ROMANS: Our crime and justice correspondent Joe Johns joins us now from Washington. Joe, what is the FBI telling us about their priority questioning of the older now dead suspect?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: They did question the older now dead suspect two years ago and this was an individual who actually had a foreign government request that they question this individual. They went to see him. They talked to him, and then they let it go, pretty much. There's going to be a lot of questions about that as to why they actually got this guy red flagged and then ended up pretty much letting him walk given all that's transpired over the last week.

BERMAN: He was not read his Miranda rights, Joe, which a lot of people are talking about today. Explain the reason why. JOHNS: Well, in the law there's what they have called a public safety exception to Miranda. Everybody knows what Miranda is. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. The police don't have to say that to you if they are in hot pursuit of something relating to public safety. Maybe they're worried about bombs in this case. They're worried about another plot, or something else happening. So under those circumstances authorities do not have to give the Miranda warning at least immediately to a suspect.

A lot of people out there saying on the right that they ought not give Miranda rights or any other kinds of rights to people who are deemed terrorists. People on the left saying you ought to use the regular order of the regular courts to try to try these individuals. This is an ongoing debate about the law in this country.

ROMANS: Let's talk about the penalty that the younger suspect may face. We're still waiting for charges to be filed. Is the death penalty a viable option for the younger suspect? Any chance he would be sent before a military tribunal? What's next on that front?

JOHNS: Federal law provides for a death penalty for individuals charged in terrorism cases even though in the state of Massachusetts they haven't executed anyone since 1982. So that option is available to federal authorities and will likely be used as an inducement for the suspect to have full and open conversations with them and to cooperate.

However, there's a lot of people who speculate that at the end of the day it won't be about the death penalty. The guy will get a life sentence because it's more likely in situations like this where there's a lot of evidence, defendants end up pleading out opposed to going to trial.

BERMAN: All right, Joe Johns with the latest on the investigation, our thanks to you this morning.

ROMANS: The two men suspected of Boston Marathon bombings are of Chechen heritage. Now questions if the attack is a strain of mounting ethnic extremism, or is their ethnicity irrelevant here, a coincidence. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everybody. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. We're live here in Boston this Saturday morning.

BERMAN: This morning you can say there's been elation and relief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Boston! Boston! Boston! Boston! Boston! Boston!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is in a Boston hospital this morning under heavy guard. This image from CBS news showed him bloody on a boat in a backyard in Watertown. He was captured last night after a gunfight with police.

ROMANS: This tweet confirmed what residents were hoping for since Monday's bombings, "Suspect in custody." The FBI announced the dramatic conclusion adding the word "captured" to its wanted poster. And now this morning's "Boston Globe" wraps up the feeling of an entire city, "Nightmare's End."

BERMAN: The brothers suspected of the bombings are of Chechen heritage. The home in southern Russia is a place known as the north caucus region and the majority of Chechens are Muslim.

ROMANS: Twice since the fall of the Soviet Union Chechens have waged war for their independence. The second one started in 1999 and over the years it morphed into a radical movement that included the 2004 attack on a Russian school that left 350 people dead and shocked the world. Joining me now from Washington is Christopher Swift from Georgetown University. He's a constitutional lawyer and expert on Chechnya.

Christopher, we know there's been animosity between Chechnya and Russia. "Animosity" might put it mildly. Is this political strife between the two countries, does it have any kind of influence on the U.S. and could it be a factor in the Boston attack?

CHRISTOPHER SWIFT, CHECHNYA EXPERT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Let's do a little bit of historical background for your viewers this morning. Chechnya and Russia have been in an on again, off again conflict for the last 250 years. Russians feel this is part of Russia and should be part of their country going forward. The Chechens feel they should be independent and that drive for independence has taken various forms. Initially it was a separatist movement in the early 1990s and then into the early 200s. And then, as you mentioned, this is something that looks much more like jihadist groups we see operating in other theaters around the world.

In terms of this particular case, however, it's not clear if there was any kind of organizational or operational connection between the Tsarnaev brothers in Boston and the Caucasus emirate, the major militant group operating in Chechnya and the surrounding region.

We do know these young men were looking for an identity. They wanted know more about who they were and where they were from. And unfortunately a lot of the material that's available on Chechnya on the internet and through other media sources tends to circulate around jihadi videos or stories of the war and stories of human rights atrocities and a lot of conspiracy theories. So it's very easy to see how someone who is self-radicalizing on the internet could get to see some very, very bad and unpleasant material very, very quickly. It's been a nasty war for the last 15 years. So it's a tragedy for Russia and tragedy for Chechens and now a tragedy for Boston. BERMAN: As you did note, there's evidence of Chechen militants involved in the fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have heard from a number of U.S. intelligence officials that there hasn't been evidence of Chechen militants directly attacking the United States.

SWIFT: Let me dial back on the first point you made there, John, if I may. I have done field research on local insurgencies and Al Qaeda in north Caucasus and Afghanistan. I have seen absolutely no evidence to suggest that there were large numbers of Chechens in Afghanistan at any point during the global war on terror notwithstanding reporting to the contrary.

From my understanding and experience on the ground in both places, the Chechens were busy fighting Russians and had absolutely no interest in the United States and the global war on terror until much, much later in the course of the insurgency.

Now, circa 2007 and 2009, the movement goes through a very, very troubling radicalization phase and becomes more vicious and radical than it was before, and that's the point at which you start seeing them talk about global jihad and east versus west and Islam versus Christianity. You see that in terms of ideology and in terms of their propaganda and in terms of their rhetoric. But we have never seen it in terms of their organization or their operations. Up until now everything the Caucasus Emirate has done has been within Russia itself and mostly within the constituent republic down there in southern Russia.

ROMANS: You know, something interesting about the suspect captured last night. He wasn't read his Miranda rights. They are using an exception there and there are calls for him to be treated as an enemy combatant. Is that the right call, do you think?

SWIFT: Let's pick these two pieces apart. On the Miranda question it's not clear how much of an exception it really is. As an investigator or prosecutor you can choose not to Mirandize someone. What that does is it makes things much more difficult for them down the road at trial. But if you are concerned about getting certain kinds of information and it looks like the FBI and the national security apparatus is concerned about getting information, then you would want to get as much as you can out of someone in the near term in order to roll up any other individuals that might have been involved in a potential conspiracy.

Now, turning to the question on whether someone is an enemy combatant or not, if you apply law in 1944 when we were dealing with German saboteurs in the United States, maybe you could classify him as an enemy combatant. In the last 20 or 30 years, every major act of domestic terrorism or terrorism that's happened on U.S. soil has been tried in U.S. federal court rather than the military commission. If you look at the record from those trials, look at the Times Square bombings from just a year and a half or so ago, he got his two minutes to say something in court. The judge shut him off and he's in jail for the rest of his life.

The federal judiciary, the FBI, the Department of Justice know how to do this and they do it extremely well, and there's no need to burden the military commission system with this kind of issue. That's really a political statement.

Now, I want to be clear about this point as a lawyer there are sometimes when the choice of which law to apply is a legal question. But in this case it's really more of a policy question, and when you hear someone saying this person should be tried in a military commission, they are making a policy argument and not necessarily a legal one, and it's important that we draw those distinctions.

ROMANS: All right, Christopher Swift, thank you so much for your insight on that. Thank you.

SWIFT: Pleasure to be with you.

BERMAN: So in the moments after the attacks here last Monday, there was one person who really stood out. That was Bill Iffrig, the 78- year-old marathon runner. He became a symbol after finishing the marathon despite the bombing, and he spoke after returning home yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL IFFRIG, FINISHED MARATHON DESPITE BOMBING: I can't believe it. I called my son and talked to him from back there. He says you can't believe it. You are all over the place here. It's going to be nice to get back to lazy Lake Stevens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: President Obama even mentioned Iffrig in this week's statements, the president saying, quote, "We may be momentarily knocked off our feet, but we'll pick it ourselves up."

ROMANS: All right, 14 people dead, hundreds more hurt, others still missing, the latest on that huge explosion that leveled parts of one small town in Texas.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR TOMMY MUSKA, WEST, TEXAS: Devastating. I've been a member of the fire department for 26 years. These guys were my friends. One of them was my city secretary. He had access to our Facebook page that we can't get into because that was his job, and I talked to him every day. And now he's not here. It's devastating. That's all I can say about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That's West, Texas, Mayor Tommy Muska talking about the five volunteer firefighters killed this weekend, a huge fertilizer plant fire and explosion. The blast to powerful it registered as 2.1 magnitude seismic event, leveling parts of the town and homes and buildings wiped off the map. Just listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't hear. I can't hear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Thankfully the little girl and the family that filmed this video are OK, 14 other people lost their lives in this, 200 others were injured. And CNN's Martin Savidge is on the scene with the latest. Martin?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The shock in this small community of West, Texas, is over, but the grieving is only just beginning. Meanwhile, investigators say they have just about completed the search to find the remaining victims of the horrible blast of Wednesday night. The death toll officially stands at 14. It is possible it could go up some but it's not expected to go up by a huge number.

And 200 people were injured in that same blast. Most of them have now been released from area hospitals, although there are about a dozen or so that remain hospitalized, and those are some of the more serious cases.

There's also hundreds of people that continue to be evacuated from their homes. And they are growing frustrated, because, like anyone else, they want to get back and see what damage has been done and see what they can salvage of their lives. And 50 homes were destroyed completely, others in varying forms of damage.

And then there is the process of trying to determine exactly what caused this blast. There had been of course worries about toxic fumes being in the air from the anhydrous ammonia. Investigators and officials say that is the one concert is the air is OK to breathe down there and that's not a danger but to determine what exploded. They don't think it was the anhydrous ammonia but something else exploding with such force it could be felt 50 miles away.

But for now in this community, it is trying to begin the process of remembering the lives of people they are never going to see again and most of them were the first responders who quickly gathered their things and raced to the fire. They bought time for their friends and neighbors to evacuate, but they paid for it with their own lives. Back to you.

BERMAN: Our thanks to Martin Savidge in the town of West, Texas, this morning.

ROMANS: A moment of silence, black ribbons and lots of police. The London Marathon is going ahead tomorrow just six days after the Boston tragedy. We're going to go live to the British capital to find out what's being done to keep the runners and spectators safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: It really is hard to believe that just days ago the world got its first look at the Tsarnaev brothers in FBI photos.

ROMANS: At first they were only identified as suspect one and suspect two, and now we know their names. But what we don't know yet is why they allegedly carried out an attack that simply stunned the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK DELAURIERS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Today the city of Boston, the city of Cambridge and the city of Watertown and many other communities can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that two perpetrators who caused so much pain and anguish are no longer a threat to our personal safety and to our communities.

BERMAN: And with that the unprecedented statewide manhunt was over. The team the FBI described as suspect number two in custody. And 19- year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was cornered inside a boat in Watertown, Massachusetts.

After his arrest, Watertown residents filled the streets cheering on the hundreds of law enforcement officials who successfully tracked him down. The suspect's brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed earlier after a gunfight with police. He left behind dreams of becoming a world class Boxer. We also found a YouTube page in his name with links to Islamic websites.

In a photo essay so hot by a Boston University student, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was quoted as saying "I don't have a single American friend. I don't understand them." He and his brother are from the Russia Caucasus, an area that includes the war-torn regions of Chechnya and Dagestan. Authorities say the brother came here first, becoming a U.S. citizen on September 11th of last year. Tamerlan followed and got a green card.

Dzhokhar attended high school in Cambridge outside of Boston where he won a scholarship before enrolling at the Dartmouth campus of the University of Massachusetts. Friends and teachers we talked to say they never saw any signs of trouble.

DEANA BEAULIEU, HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND OF DZHOKHAR TSARNAEV: Regular teenager. I didn't suspect anything. He was on the wrestling team. He went to parties with other students. He went to the prom.

LARRY AARONSON, DZHOKHAR TSARNAEV'S HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER: He was a wonderful kid. We were proud of him. He was an outstanding athlete. He was -- there's nothing -- he was never a troublemaker in school.

BERMAN: Their father insisted his sons are innocent.

ANZOR TSARNAEV, SUSPECT'S FATHER, (via translator): Someone framed them. I don't know who exactly did it but someone did. And being cowards, they shot the boy dead. There are cops like this.

BERMAN: But their uncle in Maryland says the brothers were "losers."

RUSLAN TSARNI, SUSPECT'S UNCLE: Being losers, hatred to those who were able to settle themselves. These are the only reasons I can imagine of. Anything else, anything else with religion and Islam is a fraud.

BERMAN: In Boston the city is relieved the nightmare is over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a night where I think we'll all rest easy.

BERMAN: President Obama offered his congratulations echoing the spirit of a relieved community.

OBAMA: Whatever they thought they could ultimately achieve, they've already failed. They failed because the people of Boston refuse to be intimidated. They failed because as Americans --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: It was only Monday that it really all began here in Boston. Meanwhile, London is going ahead with its own marathon tomorrow. And in the wake of what happened at the Boston marathon, there will definitely be a beefed up police presence.

ROMANS: No question. Let's go to CNN's Matthew Chance there for us in London. Matthew, tell us about the security preparations there. What's being done to keep runners and spectators safe for this race?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was already a big security operation of course. There are 35,000 people expected to take part in the London marathon here tomorrow on Sunday locally. That security operation has been significantly stepped up according to the metropolitan police who are overseeing that, the police here in London. They for instance have taken away all of the garbage cans from the streets through which runners will pass and will deprive any would-be bombers, if you will, of a place to hide a device of any kind.

So, yes, a big security operation, an increased state of vigilance, and the public will see these compelling images coming out of Boston. Every member of the public will be there watching those runners weave their way through the streets of London will be on the lookout as well even more than they would have been normally, Christine.

BERMAN: I can tell you, Matthew, there's a sense of relief in Boston now that one of the suspects, one is dead and one is in custody. What about London? Has it spread over there the sense of relief?

CHANCE: I think it has. I think it has in the sense that obviously the people that carried this out, people in Britain here, want very much for them to be brought to justice as well. There's also a kind of relief, I think, that this is not something that is likely to be repeated in London. There's a sense in which people really don't think this is going to be repeated in London. These two brothers were suspects, and there's very little belief that this is going to be repeated here tomorrow despite the heightened sense of vigilance.

There are a lot of other things going on as well by the way. There will be black ribbons that will be worn by most of the marathon runners as well as a tribute to the people who died in those Boston bombings.

ROMANS: Wow. You know, I can imagine the fraternity of runners, you can imagine what it will feel like when people are crossing the finish line remembering what just happened here. Some are surprised that London went ahead with the marathon. The city has had its own attacks, the 2005 bombings. Is there a statement by the U.K. that it will be intimidated by terror attacks?

CHANCE: There are. People are stoic when it comes to the threat of terrorism. We've had many terrorists attacks in this country and the fact this one took place overseas from our perspective here in the United States just strengthens the resolve of the public and of the marathon runners themselves. The British media a number of the people who took part in the running of the marathon in Boston are taking part here in London as well. So there is a determination that's increased.

BERMAN: All right, Matthew Chance in London at the site of the London marathon. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: Meantime here in this country floodwaters forced many thousands to evacuate their homes around Illinois.

BERMAN: Let's check in with meteorologist Alexandra Steele in Atlanta to see when that area might dry out.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, good morning. When you look at those pictures they are really incredible from Chicago to St. Louis. Now what we're going to see is the flash flooding so prevalent the last couple days. That water has abated. It's the river flooding now that's the biggest concern.

What you see in green are where we have flood warnings. We are seeing flooding or flooding is imminent. What we'll see during the next couple days are these waters crest from north to south as this river flows we'll see the cascading effect of the cresting nature.

So here's a look at where the flood threat is. The biggest area is Illinois, Indiana and lower Michigan where we've seen homes evacuated and shelters open in Chicago, all of the expressways have been closed and they have reopened because flash flooding has abated. Rivers will remain above flood stage although Chicago has crested.

Illinois River as well, this is a tributary of the Mississippi. Historic crest expected Monday night into Tuesday. Peoria, that's the biggest threat there. The Mississippi River, the threat area here is between the Quad Cities and St. Louis, record flooding potentially the third worst flood on record there. And you know what's so interesting, Mississippi at this time last year we were in a drought so we were incredibly low levels and now the turn of events.

And the problem here for this area already flooded where we're going to see rain once again on Tuesday. It looks like a one-day affair. Illinois, I and all of the way down through the Mississippi, so that is the concern, the rain that you had earlier and storms in the east coast have all pushed eastward with a front. Expect from Boston down to Atlanta entire southeastern seaboard drying skies and clearing conditions.

BERMAN: We are happy to be rid of the rain here. Alexandra Steele in Atlanta, thank you so much.

ROMANS: And thanks for watching today. That will do it for us this morning.

BERMAN: And our colleague, Wolf Blitzer, we see him. He's nearby. He takes over for us next hour. This is CNN Saturday Morning, which begins after a quick break.

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