Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Tornadoes Devastate Parts of Texas; White House Deals with Simultaneous Scandals; Former CIA Analysts Discuss Tracking Bin Laden; Professor and Wife Killed in Nebraska; Consequences of Preventative Breast Removal Analyzed; Officers Who Helped Rescue Three Kidnapped Women Give Interviews

Aired May 18, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden, we hear boom, and then we saw, like, smoke everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Two trains collide along one of the most traveled routes in the northeast, 70 people injured, some critical. Now a major investigation.

What would you do with $600 million? That is the Powerball jackpot right now. But that is nothing compared to what it will be if no one wins tonight.

And they knew was a threat before most Americans knew his name. I'm going to talk to two of the CIA analysts who helped opportunity down Osama bin Laden. Their story, part of a fascinating new documentary, "Manhunt."

Good morning, everybody. It is Saturday, May 18th. I'm Poppy Harlow. So glad you're with us. Thank you for joining us.

We start in Connecticut. That train collision we have been telling you about all morning and what could be a long delay for commuters next week. The accident happened on a main line linking the Bridge Port area to New York City. It handles around 280,000 people every week day. And officials there say the tracks could be closed for weeks. There are a number of victims.

Our Susan Candiotti, our national correspondent, live for us in bridge port this morning. Susan, thank you for joining us. I know you rushed right up there. Any word from investigators on what they'll be looking for and talking to in this?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, hard to say exactly at this point. Certainly one of the things they'll be looking at is was there a problem with the tracks? They'll be talking with the engineers on both trains to find out whether there are any mechanical problems or any human failures. These are some of the key things they always look for in an accident like this.

Poppy, if you look over my shoulder, you may be able to make out some bulldozers there. Looks like some construction work. This is one of the trains that was part of the derailment. But those bulldozers and the like have nothing to do, we're told, with the accident itself. They were already there. There was some construction work going on here.

But it is apparent that when this accident hit at the height of rush hour, a little after 6:00 on Friday night, passengers are unlikely to have known what was coming when a train going each direction, one of them derailed and then smacked into another train. We are getting conflicting information as to which train derailed first, including unclear information from the governor's office as well. Suffice it to say there was terror on the tracks.

HARLOW: People being walked off the train with neck braces and embracing loved ones. Thank goodness at this point we heard of no fatalities. We know three are still critically injured in the hospital, about two dozen in the hospital. What do we know about the victims in this?

CANDIOTTI: Reporter: Well, we know that at least 70 people were sent to the hospital. We're told at least 46 of them have been released by now. Governor's office, spokesman told me a short time ago they know of at least three people now, three people who remain in critical condition.

Now, they're investigating this as an accident at this time. No reason to think that anything else was involved here. National Transportation Safety Board is still making its way here from Washington, D.C. They will be here shortly. And at that time they will be taking a look at the accident area, taking a look at the tracks. And the governor of Connecticut will also be with them as well as the two senators from the state as well. Poppy?

HARLOW: Of course, this is a huge commuter line for people that live outside of New York city and work inside, the line that connects New York and Boston. Any idea how long it is going to be closed? Are we talking weeks, days here?

CANDIOTTI: As you point out, one of the busiest lines in the northeast here in this corridor. And depending how badly these tracks are damaged, it is unclear how long this line will be out of service. As you pointed out in the beginning, we're talking about almost 300,000 people a day are serviced by this particular line. So, for now, it is shut down all Amtrak service, all rail service between New York and Boston.

HARLOW: Yes. Susan, thank you very much. Appreciate your reporting from Bridgeport, Connecticut, for us this morning.

New this morning, a close call for us airways flight out of Philadelphia after a landing gear glitch very early this morning. The plane landed on its belly at Newark's liberty international airport with sparks flying on the runway. Before trying the risky maneuver, the plane circled Newark, dumped some fuel, and worked, efforted that landing gear. Finally the pilot made that decision to land the plane on its belly. All 31 passengers, three crew members on board are safe. Amazingly no one was injured, and US Airways now working with NTSB investigators.

Also new this morning, a flight in Russia faced its own scare as it landed in Moscow. Plane's landing gear caught fire, destroying the brake wheels. Look at that. The flight was nearly full. It was very quickly evacuated when it did land. A firefighter at the scene described the situation as dangerous to the local media. There are no reports of injuries among the more than 140 people on board that aircraft.

I want to take you to North Korea now, news out of North Korea. They have fired three short range missiles. But we are told there is no damage. According to South Korea, the missiles landed in the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula and it is expected this was a test firing of missiles, though there was no warning that any sort of tests or launch like this was coming. Of course, tensions in the Korean peninsula have cooled quite significantly since all of the threats and rhetoric we heard earlier this spring.

Let's go to north Texas now, where residents are wondering what do we do next? That is because they, their neighbors, the neighborhood really flattened. They were leveled by a series of deadly tornadoes, as many as 16 of them.

Our Nick Valencia is there live for us in Granbury, Texas, this morning.

Good morning, Nick. We see the pictures and we see the images. The damage is widespread. You had a chance to tour it extensively. How are people there coping right now?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy this is what's left of the community. They lined up here at a local church to get a permit to re-enter the neighborhood that was leveled by the EF-4 tornado. Some will go back to little if anything at all. I want to talk to the Torres family. They rode out the storm with their dog. Tell me what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't really explain. It just happened so fast. Just wish it didn't happen at all. I'm trying to -- I want to forget what happened because it was that terrible.

VALENCIA: The dog was outside in the front yard? He was almost blown away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He was outside. Luckily he survived. And the two other times, he was with us.

VALENCIA: We're thankful you survived as well. We're just hearing haunting stories of survival. This line is full of stories of survival. This is another family, McFarland family. You also rode out the storm in your house. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we were in the bathroom. And the whole house was shaking. We still -- ten more feet our direction, we wouldn't be standing here.

VALENCIA: Was there a time or a moment when you thought maybe this is it? This is the end?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were in the bathroom, I thought it was it.

VALENCIA: Have you ever been through anything like this before?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

VALENCIA: Hope you never have to go through it again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I hope we don't have to go through it again.

VALENCIA: Poppy, these are residents, hoping to line up -- they're opening the doors and slowly letting the residents back in. It seems this tornado hovered over this community and just devastated it.

HARLOW: You hear those moments, nick, about people fearing they may not make it through, feeling helpless, trapped in their homes, and then all the pain they have to go through in the days, weeks, months ahead, getting back on their feet. Their home gone, their possessions. It's just stuff, but it still makes life very difficult. I bet they're asking. Is federal assistance on the way?

VALENCIA: Well, right now it is local assistance and you see behind me, they just opened up the doors and people are starting to funnel into the church where they will receive permits in order to go back in. We asked the governor yesterday at a press conference when we took that tour of the devastated area, they said they had not yet reached out to the federal government for assistance. They said that may not right now. Local authorities seem to have things pretty much under control.

We talked to dozens of people, even those who didn't suffer physical injuries, the emotional scars from this, people I've spoken to with blank stares, trying to comprehend what happened. Poppy?

HARLOW: Absolutely. Nick, great reporting down there. Thank you.

Well, on to a light, brighter story -- $600 million, that is how much today's Powerball jackpot is worth, $600 million bucks. It is the biggest prize in the game's history. It is no surprise, no surprise people are ling up for tickets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're coming in, $20, $10, I'm going to be the winner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you coming to work next week if you win this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. (LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That's always the question, would you work if you won the lottery? I think I would. I would take a long vacation first. Good luck, guys. The odds, listen to this, one in 175 million. Those are your odds of winning. And if nobody pulls it off tonight, well, next Wednesday's jackpot jumps up to $950 million, almost a billion dollars. That would be incredible.

Well, a robber may have thought that he had the perfect plan -- swipe a woman's cell phone, dash through the doors of a bus station. But find out what got in his way. The stunning video next.

And we're going to take you to Nebraska where officials think the case of a professor and his wife, who were brutally murdered in their home, could actually be tied to a cold case from six years ago and it all has the connection to Creighton University.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: I want you to take a look at this. A bus stop in Columbia, a man tries to make off with a woman's cell phone, dash through the exit. Only problem, he runs head-on into an oncoming bus. And get this -- the woman he tried to rob helped him out from under the bus. Wow. Talk about a Good Samaritan and bad karma. He was taken to the hospital, treated for minor injuries. He is now in custody.

A beloved medical school professor and his wife found murdered this week in their home in Omaha, Nebraska. The killing of Dr. Roger Brumback and his wife Mary rocked the town and Creighton University where Brumback taught. Now, a new possible link to a six-year-old cold case may help investigators solve not one, but two double murders. Our Stephanie Elam is live for us in Omaha this morning. Good morning, Stephanie. First off, what do we know about the latest crime?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, they're being very protective, the police are, about what information they will share about this current murder that happened on Tuesday. What we do know is that the Brumbacks were found in their home, that they were killed there. What we don't know is the other circumstances around this or why this could have happened.

Dr. Brumback actually just announcing that he was going to retire next month and that they were going to move to West Virginia. So very surprising that this would come out. Now, the reason why police are looking at this and trying to connect it to a cold case is because in that case that happened about six years ago now, March of 2008, there was another professor, still faculty at Creighton University, also in the pathology department, his 11-year-old son and the family housekeeper were found murdered in their house. That case has never been solved. And because you're talking about a department that is only about 12 people large, this pathology department, that is why police are trying to see if there is perhaps any connection between these two double murders, Poppy. HARLOW: Such a small department there. Obviously close knit. Is the university responding, Stephanie, to the news that these two cases may be related?

ELAM: Believe it or not, this should be one of the happiest weeks for the Creighton university community. Today is graduation day. Also we do know the graduation for the medical school should have started just about 15 minutes ago now here in Omaha. So one of the happier days, but this nervousness here feeding into the community. This is what some people had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He definitely embodies what it means to be a physician, somebody that is dedicated to not only the patient in front of them, but to the science behind it and to educating upcoming physicians.

LAURA NEECE-BALTARO, FRIEND OF THE BRUMBACKS: Why would anyone want to harm them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And with that in mind, the university saying they have stepped up security around campus to help people feel more safe, to make sure things are protected. But overall, a sad day here combined with a happy event going on here in Omaha, Poppy.

HARLOW: Certainly. Stephanie Elam reporting live for us. Thank you, Stephanie.

A man has been arrested at the Cannes Film Festival in France after firing a gun. Pictures of the arrest show police wrestling the man to the ground. You see it right there. People ran for cover, including actor Christopher Waltz, after the gunman fired off two shots from a starter pistol. His name has not been released. But investigators say apparently he also had a fake grenade and that the bullets he fired were blanks. Luckily no one was injured.

Angelina Jolie's op-ed earlier this week about her double mastectomy made headlines around the world. Many other women go even further than that to prevent cancer, risking family, risking their lifestyle, risking so much. I'm going to talk to one pretty amazing woman who made that choice next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Angelina Jolie made headlines this week, revealing she underwent a preventative double mastectomy. The reason, she tested positive for a gene mutation that put her at a high risk for breast cancer, an 87 percent risk according to her doctor. That same gene also puts her at a 50 percent risk for ovarian cancer. Jolie said she made the decision with the support of her family, her partner, Brad Pitt, their six children.

Now, I want you to step back and imagine making that same decision as a young woman, not married, wants to have children but doesn't have children yet, and for the rest of your dating life, you have to tell potential boyfriends, other people about surgeries. Talk about pretty uncomfortable things. My next guest, Jacqueline Kravette, tested positive for the BRCA gene. She made the decision to have a double mastectomy and to have her ovaries removed as a young, single woman. She joins me know from Los Angeles. Jaclyn, thank you so much for coming in.

JACQUELINE KRAVETTE, HAS BRCA GENE MUTATION: Thank you for having me, Poppy.

HARLOW: Let's talk about, first, how old you were when you made this choice. I know it took you two years to decide to have that test. And then quickly you decided to go ahead with the surgery.

KRAVETTE: I did. I made the choice when I was 27 after 50 percent of my family, the women being diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer. After a few years of contemplation, I received the test, it was positive, and within three weeks I had my breasts removed.

HARLOW: You were telling me on the phone you think that Angelina's op- ed is a game changer and you cried about what you've gone through first time in 10 years. It touched you that much.

KRAVETTE: It did, for a number of different reasons. First of all, she made the decision before she had cancer. So that's why it is such a game changer. She is showing that accountability and responsibility for your health is the most important thing out there. And she also is the sexiest woman and most beautiful woman alive. You know, I think I was a little bit not ashamed, but I felt less attractive and slightly deformed. And now that she's come out with this, it's made everything, in a way, OK. She's turned the idea of sexy and beautiful on its head.

HARLOW: That's a -

KRAVETTE: One more thing I would say is that it wasn't mainstream when I did it. And now this BRCA conversation is out there. And it is not considered such a drastic measure anymore. And I was faced with so much judgment when I did it. So I'm excited that it's going to be something that people have the option to do.

HARLOW: Tell me about that. You were faced with a lot of judgment from people?

KRAVETTE: Well, people just didn't understand. They would say things like, well, just diet more or don't eat sugar, and they didn't understand this was a genetic, a mutation on a gene. So there was -- when you have an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer, and close to 50 percent, there is not that much choice there.

HARLOW: You know, you told me some pretty personal things on the phone that I know you want to share, especially when it comes to dating.

KRAVETTE: Yes. Well, dating in Los Angeles isn't fun, I don't think, with or without your ovaries. But in general, I think the idea of a double mastectomy for me was difficult to speak to my partners about. I did early on, 10 years ago, I was met with a couple of criticism, but not the best response. So I pretty much kept myself covered. No man has seen my breasts in the past 10 years. And I'm hoping with this public admission that I would feel more comfortable with it. So that's a difficult conversation to have obviously.

But the pregnancy conversation, I was fortunate enough to have the money to do egg freezing, so I have the option to have children when I choose to do so.

HARLOW: Yes, well, you're a beautiful woman. I think any man would be pretty lucky to date you. You listening, guys?

KRAVETTE: Thank you.

HARLOW: You talk about money and egg freezing and the cost is a big question for people. I know that you want women to know something about making this decision. What is that message to them?

KRAVETTE: There is a few things. First, a support organization, I went to we spark and they were extremely helpful for me to power me through this. And, second, it's not a death sentence. There are options. There is reconstruction out there. And there are amazing, unconventional ways of having children, like I did with freezing of my eggs.

But most importantly I believe is the idea that vanity and public opinion should never, ever trump your health and well-being, and the most loving decision I could make to take care of myself is to take accountability and responsibility for my own life. And this decision is beautiful and it's sexy and it is powerful and all of those things. And the gratitude today I have for my life and for my well-being is so much more valuable than my physical appearance or my ability to bear children naturally.

HARLOW: Amen to that. What a message. Jacqueline, thank you for joining us, for sharing your experience.

KRAVETTE: Thank you.

HARLOW: We appreciate it.

KRAVETTE: Thank you for having me, Poppy.

HARLOW: And make an appointment this afternoon with our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more on the Angelina effect. That is today at 4:30 eastern here on CNN.

Well, damage control at the highest level. It was a rough week all around at the White House. But what goes on behind the scenes when it is time to circle the wagon? We'll talk to an insider from the Clinton years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back, everyone. Bottom of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow. Now to five stories we're watching for you this morning. First off, a go team of federal investigators looking into the rush hour commuter train collision in Connecticut. It happened last night and they're looking for clues as to what caused one of the trains to jump off the tracks and hit one coming just the other way. As many as 70 people were injured, three remaining in critical condition this morning.

Number two, the cleanup in north Texas, residents waiting in line now to get permits that will allow them back into their homes after as many as 16 tornadoes tore through the area, devastating entire neighborhoods. Six people were killed.

Thirdly, we're following a story overseas. According to South Korea's news agency, North Korea launched three short range guided missiles today. South Korea's ministry of defense said all three ended up in the sea off of Korea's peninsula to the east. The ministry also said the country has been beefing up its monitoring, of course, of North Korea and maintains a high level of readiness.

The fourth story we're following, starting today, same sex couples in France can marry and adopt children. That's after French president Francois Hollande signed a controversial bill into law. Conservative opponents of this have filed several last ditch legal attempt to challenge it, but the country's top court ruled the bill unconstitutional. France is now the ninth country in Europe to allow same sex marriage.

Number five, my favorite, 600 million bucks that is today's jackpot in the Powerball drawing that is happening tonight. It is the biggest prize in the game's history, and the second largest lotto jackpot every in the United States. You might not want to be counting all those pennies just yet, because, guess what, the odds of winning, all six numbers, one in 175 million, not great odds. Plus, get this, if no one wins tonight, the jackpot on Wednesday is going to jump to $925 million, almost $1 billion bucks. Wow, imagine that.

Let's turn to politics now. A rough week for the Obama administration from Benghazi to the IRS scandal to the DOJ seizure of phone records from some journalists at the associated press. It puts the president, his administration in a tight spot, and forced him to do a lot of explaining.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The misconduct that was uncovered is inexcusable. It is inexcusable and Americans have a right to be angry about it and I'm angry about it. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior.

We hold accountable those who have taken these outrageous actions.

People have to be held accountable and it's got to be fixed. I'll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again.

I think we're going to be able to figure out exactly what happened, who was involved, what went wrong, and we're going to be able to implement steps to fix it.

I've got no patience with it. I will not tolerate it, and we'll make sure that we find out exactly what happened on this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Well, for each of those public statements there is a host of activity going on behind the scenes. So let me bring in Jack Quinn, he was White House counsel during the Clinton years, a former chief of staff for Vice President Al Gore. Thank you for joining us this morning. Appreciate it.

JACK QUINN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Sure. Glad to be with you, Poppy.

HARLOW: You know what it is like to be in the bunker. You were in the White House during the Clinton scandal. So take us inside of this strategy. The thinking, when all of these things start piling up, the way they did, what is the strategy like?

QUINN: Well, I don't think you can say there is a single strategy that applies to all of these different things. In fact, one of the problems that this White House faces is the seeming connectivity between the AP issue, the IRS issue, and the Benghazi issue, they're really quite distinct and it is incumbent upon the White House now, I think, to do what it can to separate them, deal with them, individually.

Let me be clear here, a couple of these things are very serious. The AP issue, the IRS issue, these are very, very serious. And there are questions that remain to be answered. Having said that, from what I've seen, I don't think that any of these stories will really have long legs that they'll go on for terribly long if they're handled properly.

I mean, it appears here that senior officials in the administration, in particular in the White House, were not involved in the IRS issue, for example. It appears from the e-mails that have come out on Benghazi that there is a perfectly good explanation for how that thing unfolded. I's sorry?

HARLOW: I was just going to say, on the IRS issue, I think Republicans and some others would take issue with that. Let's go to the -- talk about the hearing, congressional hearing that went on for hours yesterday where we learned, you know, we had outgoing IRS chief Steven Miller testifying and we learned that treasury officials, some appointed by the Obama administration, knew before the 2012 election that the IRS inspector general was investigating this. So that brings a whole new question.

QUINN: Well, it does. So I suppose one might say, gee, why didn't they inform people in the White House? Why didn't they inform people on the Hill? The important thing here, and the thing that has been really kind of brushed aside by some reports on this is that those officials were not told of the conclusions of the investigation. That's really critical. And I can tell you that had they been informed of the conclusions, which, by the way, had not at that point even been reached yet, we would have been having a hearing yesterday on the possibility that senior treasury officials or the White House interfered in the investigation. So it was actually the absolutely correct thing for those senior treasury officials to do to stand down, let the inspector general complete his work, and not get involved.

HARLOW: But you can understand -- there was some outrage last night over why the committee and Congress wasn't told about this, you know, the investigation was going on.

But I want to move on to the narrative. And how much when you're talking about weeks like this, and strategy, and advising the president and his team, how much does the narrative from the other side, the other party play into that strategy?

QUINN: Well, of course it plays in. You're going to be mindful of what is being said about you. And as I said earlier, these are very serious issues with which the administration must come to grips. But, you know, you can't do much about what the other side is saying.

What would have -- there are a couple of things that would have been better. One, I wish the president had made the strong statements that you had on the air a few minutes ago a little bit earlier. But that's sort of water under the bridge.

That having been done, he has said the right thing, he made clear that this -- none of these things reflect his values that he will get to the bottom of it, and that people will be held accountable. That's an important thing for him to have done.

Again, now the question for the White House and managing this is how to do so. And I think now they need to have the president pivot into his overarching agenda, which, frankly, is going to be hard to do since the only thing going on in this town legislatively is immigration and he's not terribly much involved in it.

So he needs to really come up with something else to be talking about now, and that's not something that I think has been on the dance card as yet. But they really need to pivot into something bigger, whether it is jobs or tax reform, can't be, you know, just a visit up to Baltimore to talk about an infrastructure project. They need a big thematic thing that will enable the president to re-establish control over the narrative.

HARLOW: I think while also tackling or having the correct teams tackle these problems and get to the bottom of it, a lot of questions. What a week. Jack Quinn, appreciate you joining us today.

QUINN: Anytime.

HARLOW: An emotional interview not to be missed. It's pretty amazing. Cleveland first responders in tears, recounting the moments they rescued those three women from a house they had been trapped in for a decade.

Plus, inside the manhunt for the world's most wanted man. I'm going to talk live to two former CIA analysts who helped track down Al Qaeda members, including bin Laden. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: For the officers in Cleveland, Ohio, who responded to Amanda Berry's 911 call, finding the three women who had been missing for a decade, Michelle Knight was gone for longer than that, it was incredibly emotional. Here are three of those officers recalling what they experienced almost two weeks ago on Seymour Avenue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER ANTHONY ESPADA, CLEVELAND POLICE: She called our car for a code one. I responded, go ahead. We pull up. We see a crowd, like, on the porch. We see this girl, she's, like, raising her hand holding a child, looking at my partner, you know, is it her?

OFFICER MICHAEL TRACY, CLEVELAND POLICE: It's got to be her.

OFFICER BARBARA JOHNSON, CLEVELAND POLICE: When I pulled up, I didn't see Amanda. I just saw Officer Espada and Officer Tracy running across the street towards the house and I got out of my car and ran right over there, right behind them. And officer Espada kept yelling out, "Cleveland police!" And kind of seems like an eternity, but it was so quick at the same time.

TRACY: We got out of the car, I'm like, is that you? I'm looking at her face. She's nervous. Her child was screaming. I'm thinking, wow, we got her. We got her right here. She's safe. Her child is safe. And then, you know, we don't know what's going on in the house. We don't know anybody else is in the house, the suspect. I said, is there anybody else in the house? She goes, gentlemen, Gina Dejesus and another girl. I'm like, what?

ESPADA: It was like another bombshell just with overwhelming force, just hitting me. I believe I broadcasted that Gina might still be in the house. You know, something's going on in this room. And I'm looking that way, just waiting to see what's going to happen, and it was Michelle, she kind of popped out into the doorway, and paused there for a second. Within moments she came charging at me, she jumped on to me, and she's, like, you saved us, you saved us.

And I'm holding on to her so tight, and then within a few seconds, I see another girl come out of the bedroom. I just look at her, you can immediately tell who it is, just thinner. And, again, I just needed confirmation. And I asked her, what's your name? She said my name is Georgina Dejesus.

JOHNSON: You didn't hear anything and then all of a sudden, almost like a pitter-patter of feet running towards you. And next thing I know, someone is Anthony Espada's arms. All I remember when he put her down, she jumped into my arms and held on to me and screamed please don't let me go, please don't let me go. I said, honey, don't worry. I'm not letting you go.

ESPADA: Very overwhelming. It took everything to hold myself together, you know. I have Michelle in my arms, and then you got Gina coming out, and it was, like, one bombshell after another. That's when I broadcasted we found them. We found them. We found them.

JOHNSON: I can't tell you how the emotions that we felt, just unbelievable. And everything else was just a blur. I just -- it was just surreal. It was just unbelievable. Just the feeling of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY STORER, FORMER CIA ANALYST: I was counseled once in a performance review that I was spending too much time working on bin Laden. They said we were obsessed, crusaders, overly emotional, using all those women stereotypes. Men throw chairs. Women cry. I ask you, which one is better?

Yes, we were borderline obsessed, but I thought it was for a good reason. And were we crusading? I wouldn't call it a crusade. We were passionate about what we were doing? That's another bureaucratic norm at the time. You weren't supposed to be passionate about anything, which I think is ridiculous. How can you do something like this without passion? You can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That's a clip from "Manhunt," the film that is just out. Imagine spending years and years tracking a terrorist. Imagine being among the first people in the world to know who he was, how dangerous he was, trying to warn the president, warn top brass, long before any attacks happened, that his mission was to kill Americans. Now, imagine that terrorist was Osama bin Laden.

My next guest, Cindy Store and Nata Bakos were CIA analysts dedicated to tracking down top Al Qaeda leaders, including bin Laden. They knew how dangerous these terrorists were before many Americans even knew their names. They were part of a documentary called "Manhunt, The Search for Bin Laden." It airs on Memorial Day weekend right here on CNN. Thank you both for coming in. I appreciate it.

STORER: Thank you.

HARLOW: I watched the film. I found it fascinating. Cindy, I want to start to you. You say you mentioned Al Qaeda and you say it went there two weeks before the first World Trade Center bombing. And that you say it was basically brushed off. Tell me more about that.

STORER: I should clarify, I didn't say Al Qaeda exactly, but it did talk about the veterans of the Afghan war, we knew were being funded by bin Laden who were -- being trained by Afghanistan, and then around the world, stuff like that. This was a piece, strategic warning piece, really, saying that these guys exist, is a problem. It is going to be an increasing problem in the future.

What so often happens with that kind of strategic warning, if it is something that administration isn't already aware of, you're raising a new issue. Then the reaction -- why do they need to hear this, they didn't ask this question. That's the response we got from this one.

HARLOW: It is interesting, we reached out to the CIA for reaction to the film and they didn't have any comment. But, Nada, you talk in the film about moving from the analyst side of the operations to being a targeter. I'm wondering if you can explain what that means and how your moral compass, having that moral center you discuss plays a significant role in that.

NADA BAKOS, FORMER CIA ANALYST: A targeting officer differs from a traditional analyst. They're looking at tactical information versus trying to define the entire picture for the policymaker. You're looking at going after an individual or uncovering a plot. If you're working in the counterterrorism center, it is very different in that aspect. As far as understanding, you know, your moral center, when you're working in the counterterrorism center and your job is to capture and kill an individual, you need to be able to come to terms with the fact that what you're doing is in the betterment for the United States or the country that you're operating in.

HARLOW: That's very interesting. It is personal for everyone, especially a job like that.

Cindy, at one point in the film you talk about 9/11, the aftermath of 9/11, and how you say a lot of the anger was pointed at the intelligence community being blamed for, quote, "negligence." You sound very angry and talking about the blame that was leveled at the CIA. What upset you most about that and are you still angered by it?

STORER: I don't know if I'll ever stop being angry, honestly, even though I would like to. What was most angering about that was being out in front, giving warnings, working hard, not just me, but all the people I worked with, and not just in the CIA, but in other organizations as well, and then, you know, just having Congress and others just turn on you for their own political reasons that really had nothing to do with the truth.

HARLOW: You know, tell me, I know both of you are formerly with the CIA, when did you leave and why? Cindy?

STORER: Well, that's a hard one. I was in a position where I was -- couldn't publish on the outside and I couldn't really publish what I thought on the inside either. Analysis was out of fashion, and at that point I decided it is time to leave.

HARLOW: And what about for you, Nada?

BAKOS: I just decided it was a good time for me to try to explore something else. It was an unusual ten years that I was there. So I was ready to move on.

HARLOW: Unusual 10 years to say the least. You know, very intense and difficult work that you guys do.

I want to switch gears here and talk about the Boston bombings. You know, you said that the FBI behaved more like a law enforcement agency than an intelligence gathering agency. And I just wanted you to dive in and explain that a little bit if you can, here, looking at what we saw and a lot of talk about how the face of terrorism is really changing.

STORER: You know, the FBI is a law enforcement organization. And they have been charged with looking at terrorism since 9/11, conducting intelligence type of activities and I think it is hard to move an entire organization that has grown up, you know, in the paradigm of law enforcement over to working like an intelligence function, especially within the parameters of what, you know, thankfully we have for civil liberties in the United States. I think it's difficult for them to do that job.

Given that, they do have analysts within the FBI that I think they could probably utilize a bit more that would help augment some of those -- some of the agents. But --

HARLOW: It is a very interesting film. You know, it is interesting, one of the things that stuck with me most is the end of the film, someone says we need to not just focus on how we do these operations but why the enemy is the enemy. And that really definitely stood out for me. so I wish we had more time. I appreciate you coming in and joining us both, both Cindy and Nada, thank you very much. "Manhunt" is currently airing on HBO and you will also be able to see it here on CNN on Memorial Day weekend, Friday, May 24th, at 9:00 eastern. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)