Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Arrest Made In Ricin Case; Search Under Way For Suspect's Laptop; Investigators Look At Al Qaeda Magazine; Official: Tsarnaev Sitting Up And Writing; Celtics Pay Tribute To Victims And Responders; Tsarnaev Not Giving As Many Clues; Intriguing Find Near Ground Zero; Exploring The Brotherly Bond; The Case Against Suspect Number Two; Crowds Gather At Bombing Site; Misspelling Holds Up Furlough Bill; Searching For Tsarnaev's Roots

Aired April 27, 2013 - 12:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news now at the top of the hour, I am Carol Costello in Boston. Thank you for joining us. Breaking news as you just heard. CNN has just learned federal agents have now made an arrest in the ricin poison investigation. James Everett Dutschke now in custody in the case.

Letters containing the deadly powder was sent to President Obama, a Mississippi senator and a Mississippi judge. One other man was briefly under suspicion earlier in the investigation but was soon cleared. Alina Machado is in Router, Tupelo, Mississippi and she joins us on the phone right now. Alina, what can you tell us about this suspect?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): James Everett Dutschke was taken into custody this morning. The arrest happened at Dutschke's home in Tupelo around 1:00 in the morning. He has been turned over to the U.S. Marshals Office. Now Dutschke's name surfaced on Monday for a hearing for former suspect Paul Kevin Curtis.

Now Curtis had said at that hearing that he had been framed and mentioned Dutschke as a potential suspect. Curtis was the initial suspect in this case, but he has since been cleared. The charges against him were dropped on Tuesday.

When that happened the attention seemed to focus on Dutschke. Authorities were at Dutschke's home. FBI agents have searched his former martial arts studio as well as his home. Those searches have been throughout the week this week.

Now Dutschke's attorney has maintained that her client has nothing to do with the letters. However, when we reached her today, we have not been able to make contact with her. Now we are still working to get additional details. As soon as we have those, we'll bring them to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you so much. For more information on the ricin investigation, we turn now to CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes. Hi, Tom.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Hi, Carol. COSTELLO: Tom, what do you make of this? I mean, this guy was not a suspect along the way, at least as far as we knew. But apparently he had a grudge against the original person who was arrested in this ricin case.

FUENTES: Apparently so, Carol. Originally when they made the first arrest in this case, all the indications were very strong to justify that arrest. It was especially based on the fact that ricin is so dangerous. They hadn't immediately confirmed how dangerous or how much the quantity had been deemed to be fatal at that point.

But they were working on the lab tests and didn't want to take any chances. So the original arrest was made. Then later information was developed that maybe a second person in this case, Dutschke, had possibly mimicked what the first suspect had done in the past including taking excerpts from his social media page and putting that in the typed letters that were sent to the Senate and to the White House.

So the FBI continued the investigation looking at it and the more they investigated, then the more the finger pointed that Dutschke had framed the other person that he disliked so intensely and was responsible allegedly for sending the letters.

COSTELLO: So the initial reaction from people around me who are listening to this story right now is you have a grudge against someone and this is what you do?

FUENTES: Well, sure looks like it. That's the basis of this. That he wanted the other guy to be accused of it and you know, be prosecuted for it. Indications were there that it could have been the other guy based on earlier mailings that he had done and you know, other issues from the past. So in this case, though, the investigation continued and additional search warrants were executed. Last night, you had the complaint being filed and the arrest being made.

COSTELLO: Unbelievable. I'm sure more information will come in the hours to come on CNN. Tom Fuentes, thanks so much. Stick around because you're going to help us out with the Boston investigation as well.

We want to turn back now to the investigation into the Boston bombings. New details on the search for a piece of evidence that could provide a treasure trove of information in the Boston bombing investigation, the surviving suspect's laptop.

Authorities are looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's computer in a dump in New Bedford, Massachusetts. A law enforcement official says investigators went there after getting leads from Tsarnaev and others who may have played a part in throwing that computer away.

The U.S. official tells CNN one of the explosives found at last week's gunfight between police and the Tsarnaev brothers is similar to the one described in the al Qaeda online magazine "Inspire." Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is now being treated at a prison medical center in Devens, Massachusetts. That federal facility is about 40 miles west of Boston. A law enforcement official says Tsarnaev's condition is improving. He's able to sit up, he's able to write, but he's become a lot less talkative since authorities read him his Miranda Rights.

Now a moving moment at last night's Boston Celtics game to show you, it was the first home game since the bombings, and the end of the first quarter, the team paid tribute to the victims, police and first responders including the bystanders who helped save so many lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A wonderful, warm reception for those people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: As the city struggles to recover from these horrifying terror attacks, investigators are, of course, working furiously to find out as much information as they can on that surviving suspect.

CNN's Pamela Brown is live at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is now being held. Pamela, before we talk about his conditions, I'd like to talk about that search that's going on in a dump in New Bedford. I mean, talking about finding a needle in a haystack, have police been able to find anything?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not yet, Carol. This is the third day that investigators are combing through that landfill in New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is right next to the college where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to school, UMass Dartmouth.

So they have been there for three days. There are dozens of investigators combing through that landfill looking for what they believe will be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's laptop and other clues that could provide some evidence in the investigation.

We are told by sources that Tsarnaev himself led authorities to that landfill including others who have been questioned in the investigation who may have actually played a role in disposing that laptop after the April 15th bombing at the Boston marathon.

So far, as I mentioned, nothing has been found. But investigators don't want to give up on it this because that laptop could provide critical clues in this investigation, which we are hearing from sources that it is far from over. This is ongoing. They are still following a lot of leads here -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I know including maybe on that laptop is why the Tsarnaev's allegedly did this. Speaking of the younger suspect, he's in this medical facility now. He's sitting up. He's writing. Do we know what he's writing? Do we know who he's writing to?

BROWN: Well, Carol, I just got off the phone with the U.S. Marshal Service. Right now, they are saying they can't update us on his condition. They can't give us any of those details. Of course, we all want to know what it is he is writing, but they are telling me that right now they can't update me.

That this is a very unusual case for them and as you can imagine, it is, he was brought here yesterday morning. He's in an area that's cordoned off for high-risk offenders. There are about 30 patient offenders that are allowed to be in that area where he is.

He's in a cell all by himself with very limited accommodations, with a steel door, a slot for food, a sink and toilet and that's about it. So this is as the U.S. Marshal Service looks for some very unusual case here.

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. So when might he next appear in court or can he appear in court?

BROWN: Well, it actually could happen soon, Carol. Here's what we know. I spoke to a Justice Department official. We know that an indictment with the grand jury must be presented within 30 days of the charges being filed.

We know the charges were officially filed last Sunday so only a few weeks from now we're expected to see that indictment. From there, the court will decide when the arraignment will be and that's when the suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would be expected to appear in court and enter a plea. So it may not be long from now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Pamela Brown reporting live in Devens, Massachusetts.

Apparently, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev gave investigators some good clues. You heard Pamela talking about that, but of course, he's clammed up since he was read his Miranda Rights to remain silent and not incriminate himself.

CNN's Athena Jones is covering that angle of the story. She is at the White House this morning. Good morning, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, this has been controversial. In fact, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers wants to know more about why the suspect was read his Miranda Rights, when he was read them.

He is in fact sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding a full accounting of how that decision was reached. The letter contained multiple questions including who decided that the initial appearance on Monday should be held at that specific time and in the hospital while this questioning was still ongoing.

He also wants to know whether the Department of Justice or the FBI raised any concerns about the timing of the reading to the suspect of his right to remain silent and his right to a lawyer.

So those are some questions that he's asking. The Department of Justice hasn't responded directly to that long list of questions in the congressman's letter, but they have said that prosecutors and FBI agents knew that this initial appearance had been scheduled ahead of time.

I can also tell you that CNN's Susan Candiotti talked to a law enforcement official who said that they didn't feel hindered by the fact that this suspect was read his Miranda Rights and that those bedside interviews, those early bedside interviews with Tsarnaev were very thorough.

But as you can probably bet, Carol, that's not going to put an end to the questions here in Washington.

COSTELLO: That's probably absolutely true. Any word from the White House on this?

JONES: Well, it's interesting. You know, we haven't heard much from the president himself in the last several days, but we did hear Vice President Biden talk about this case last night. He was speaking at a forum with Senator John McCain in Sedona, Arizona and he talked about why earlier this week he called these suspects cowardly, knockoff jihadists.

He explained that he just -- from what he'd seen they didn't look like professionals. Let's listen to a little bit more that he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The most difficult person to deal with is the self-radicalized or the one that is marginally assisted who is not directed specifically to anybody. Because all of the intelligence apparatus and all of the means by which we have to infiltrate or pickup the kind of signals we're able to pick up with our significant technological capability is rendered almost useless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: It's interesting he talks about technological capabilities because one of the other criticisms in this case is that there were signals. There weren't technological signals. There were warnings from Russia about the older Tsarnaev, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspect who has now been killed.

So the issue is a little more complicated. We expect there to be more questions about whether information was shared during this process as well -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Athena Jones live from the White House today. Really stunning, surprising discovery in New York City, part of the landing gear of an airliner wedged into an 18-inch spice between two buildings near ground zero.

Does it belong to one of the planes that flew into the twin towers on 9/11? Alina Cho is in New York to explore that mystery for us. If this is indeed from 9/11, this would be strange, incredible. I can't even find the right adjective.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty incredible, Carol. It's an amazing discovery on so many different levels. Let me tell you. This all started on Wednesday morning when surveyors were here at the building behind me and they were in the backyard. They were looking to do some construction work and they stumbled upon and saw what they were calling at the time a mechanical part.

They really didn't know what it was. Then upon closer inspection, they were able to see a Boeing serial I.D. number. It was at that point that the light bulb went off and they realized that it's likely the landing gear from one of the hijacked planes that crashed into the twin towers on 9/11.

As I mentioned, an amazing discovery really for two big reasons, number one, the sheer size of the piece, it's enormous. It is 5 feet by 4 feet, 17 inches in depth. It's said to weigh up to 700 pounds. It was wedged between these two build buildings, as you said, in a space where the width is just 18 inches.

One of the buildings incredibly is the site of the controversial ground zero mosque and so when you look at the small space in which this piece was wedged, the question becomes how did it get there? And NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has his theories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: The space between the two buildings is only 18 inches. Now the part has been measured to be 5 feet by 4 feet by 17 inches. So it's a big part, and obviously, a very narrow, confined area. Somehow the part gets down there. Could it have been lowered at some time? It's possible. There's a rope that's on it. It looks intertwined with that part. It would have had to fall down -- hit at a certain angle to make it go right down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Investigators were back here at this site, which is technically a crime scene. On Monday, they will be searching for toxins and possibly human remains. Of course, Carol, this brings back so many terrible memories for the 9/11 families. Some of whom have said to us that they are outraged and frankly disgusted at this discovery and say it's just further evidence the latest proof that a proper search of this area after 9/11 was never conducted -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Wow, Alina Cho, we'll check back with you. Alina Cho reporting live from New York City today.

We traveled to the hometown of the Tsarnaev family in Chechnya and found their old home in ruins and a great uncle who remembers the brothers as children. Actually most who knew the two suspects say they can hardly imagine they would be involved in something like this.

Was it their brotherly bond that changed things? An expert joins us live in Boston with some answers. That's coming your way, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello live in Boston. Welcome back. One thing we have heard a lot of people talk about is the bond, the strong bond between these two brothers. It seems like there was a really strong connection between 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his 19- year-old brother Zzhokhar.

I'm joined now by James Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University. It's just hard to believe that a younger brother, if indeed he was brainwashed by the older brother, could agree to commit such crimes.

JAMES FOX, CRIMINOLOGIST, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: I don't think he was brainwashed. He just looked up to his older brother, wanted his older brother's --

COSTELLO: There's looking up to your older brother. I look up to my older brother, but I don't think he could convince me allegedly to plan bombs.

FOX: Well, that's good, but often times people will do things with someone else that they would never do on their own. They have someone else to help justify it, support it, and in this case to understand why the bombings occurred you need to look not just at what anti-American ideology they had and how they re-enforced each other, but their relationship.

How the older brother enjoyed being the leader, the boss and having someone follow his lead. How the younger brother wanted the acceptance and approval of his older brother. Individually they may not have done these crimes even though they had their thoughts about America, but together they brought out the very worst of each other.

COSTELLO: So when this case comes to trial and this young man is being, you know, cross-examined about his brother, will he spill his brother's secret? Will that bond be broken now that his brother is dead or does it carry on?

FOX: Well, the bond was broken once his brother was dead. Once his brother died, he was no longer a formidable foe for the police. He hid out. He didn't really fight back. He had no reason to go on in terms of this holy war. And I think that's what we're seeing now too. When he was in the hospital, he started talking about what happened and why it happened. His brother is not around anymore. He doesn't have a reason anymore to be a terrorist.

COSTELLO: It's just so strange. The other thing that I found so incredibly strange is after these brothers allegedly committed these crimes, they talked about normal things. Even after they've allegedly carjacked Danny and I know you've spent a lot time with Danny.

They talked with Danny about girls and music and it just seems impossible to believe they could be talking about such normal, everyday things after they allegedly did these terrible things.

FOX: Well, the crimes they committed allegedly were part of their life. Not the totality of their life. After all, why is it that so many other people around them didn't see this because together they had this plan and who knows how long they were planning it? But the rest of the time they were ordinary guys who led ordinary lives. One had a wife and a kid and the other was in college. So obviously, they are not always talking about bombings.

COSTELLO: So what do you do compartmentalize your life? Like you're the evil person, but now you're the normal guy. Is that what you do? How is that possible?

FOX: Everybody compartmentalizes to some extent. You find situations where a guy who worked as ruthless to co-workers, but at home he's kind and loving. So they have a separate part of their life where they are fighting this holy war allegedly, but the rest of the time they are ordinary people.

That's why they were able to blend in and no one suspected. Also during the ride with Danny, the fact they were talking about girls and CD and music, it's very critical to his survival, Danny's survival because to them he was a human being. He had a face, he had a name. He had ideas.

Whereas the people they bombed, allegedly at the marathon, were anonymous, nameless, faceless targets. It's a lot easier to kill those you don't see, but in Danny's case. He was personalized, humanized in their eyes. That's part of why he survived and eventually was able to escape.

COSTELLO: Going back to the compartmentalizing factor in all this. Do people who do evil things, is it easier for them to live with it, let's say, if they compartmentalize? If they believe that other person is someone else at least if for some of time?

FOX: Now we can see all the way back to the Nazis who during the day they were ruthless experimenters and killers and exterminators, but at night they went home to their families and were loving husbands and fathers. So you block off the terrible thing you're doing either because it's your job or because you believe in some ideology.

And the rest of the time you're an ordinary person. It happens among criminals. It happens among lots of people. We have seen, for example, serial killers like John Wayne Casey who were well respected. But no one knew the darkest side of him where he was killing young men and burying them in the crawl space of the house.

And when it was discovered, people were incredulous, but that's not the John Wayne Casey they knew and in this case, in the bombing case when their names were out there, people still are incredulous. That's not the brothers that they knew because they didn't see that particular side.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much, really fascinating stuff. Dr. Fox, thank you.

We have heard it a million times on "Law and Order," you have the right to remain silent. But how will that played -- giving the Boston bombing suspect his Miranda rights play into the case against him? Our legal guys are on that case. Our special coverage from Boston continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to our live coverage of the Boston bombings. I'm Carol Costello. The younger Tsarnaev apparently gave investigators some pretty good clues about the bombing. He told them to look for his laptop, for example, in a dump about an hour away from Boston.

The computer he tossed could be full of valuable information, but the suspect hasn't been nearly as generous since he was read his Miranda Rights to remain silent and not incriminate himself. Of course, that also involves a right to an attorney. So how are prosecutors developing their case against him?

Let's bring in our legal guys now, Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. He is in Cleveland and Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. He joins us from Miami. Thanks so much to both of you for being with me today.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Carol.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Sure.

COSTELLO: Hi. Richard, I'd like to start with you because we heard Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is sitting up in bed. He's in a medical facility at a prison. He's sitting up in bed and he's writing things. We don't know what he's writing, but in your mind as a defense attorney, what should he be doing?

HERMAN: He should be pleading with his two attorneys, the one who went to Yale and the one who went to Harvard, to try to cut him some sort of deal to spare his life. That's what he should be doing. And whether or not they can do that, Carol, I think he has an excellent chance here of not getting the death penalty.

There are several reasons for that, but just understand that the state of Massachusetts does not have a state death penalty. The victims will have to consent to a death penalty. I'm not sure they are going to go there.

This boy is going to claim my older brother brainwashed me contrary to what Professor Fox said. That will be the theme during the trial. He was brainwashed by the 26-year-old and he did everything under his spell and that's why he did.

He had no prior history of any legal or criminal history and he was a good kid. He was a hard working kid. He doesn't deserve to die.

COSTELLO: Come on. Dr. Fox also said that the so-called brainwashing ended once his older brother died and he's giving all this information including -- wouldn't it be a difficult thing to prove that he was completely brainwashed because why he would suddenly not be brainwashed now, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: That's right, that's right. You now, the fact is we heard a very short time ago that the chair of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers wants to have a full investigation on Eric Holder on the question of Miranda Rights. Well, Carol, it's very, very simple.

I can save Congress and Mike Rogers a lot of time and money. Number one, there was public safety exception. They had 16 to 18 hours of asking important questions. A United States magistrate judge came in, talked about Miranda and frankly you protected not only the defendant's rights, but also made sure there wasn't a compromise of U.S. attorney prosecution here.

So at the end of the day, there is death penalty. It's coming up. There's sufficient evidence so far as what we know right now and the defendant's rights have been protected. No need for a congressional hearing. The case is going to move forward. Not even a question about it.

COSTELLO: Richard, I would think the delay in reading the suspect his Miranda Rights would come up at trial, wouldn't it?

HERMAN: Yes, and Carol, let's look hypothetically say that they never questioned him. Say he never made any statements at all. Could they still convict him based on the video surveillance and the admissions made to other people? They have it. It doesn't matter what he said.

Avery is right. The public safety exception stepped in. They took 72 hours with him despite the city of Boston proclaiming early Saturday that there was no further threat and there were no other bombs are going to go off.

But despite that, he's not giving credible information at this point in time and he's not giving devastating information the government needs to convict him. They have the conviction regardless of anything he says and the question is will they give him the death penalty. That's the question.

FRIEDMAN: Sure they will.

HERMAN: No, they won't.

FRIEDMAN: As a matter of fact, what's interesting is the subsequent information that surfaced that they were heading to New York City. Look, there may be charges in Manhattan. But I think the reality is you're going to see the U.S. attorney in Boston move forward with this thing. The idea that there's a need to have further investigation, Carol, doesn't even exist in terms of Congress.

HERMAN: Carol, you remember the D.C. sniper. He made that same claim in court that he was brainwashed by the older co-conspirator. It did work. He didn't get the death penalty.

COSTELLO: He was a teenager too, right. HERMAN: He was 17 years old. This boy is 19.

COSTELLO: That's right. It's different than 19. You're definitely adult by the time you're 19. I want to ask a question about the older brother and how they will try to figure out his case. Will they, for lack of a better term, try him too, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: No, he's dead. It's over.

COSTELLO: I understand that, but you can't say throw it out. They still have to investigate. What will they do?

FRIEDMAN: They will investigate, but there's nobody to indict, Carol. The fact is that part of that evidence is going to be part of the underlying case. Frankly, I genuinely believe these aren't a couple lone wolves. As this investigation evolves, we're going to find out others involved, maybe the mother. We don't know.

There are other people I know these two shared that will surface in this thing. That part of it, the intelligence part will grow. Whether we'll see criminal indictments, Carol, I don't think we'll see anything other than this individual, that's it. If there are others, terrific, but I don't think so.

COSTELLO: All right, Richard Herman, Avery Friedman -- I got to go. Thanks so much. Thanks to both of you, fascinating discussion. Thank you so much.

It is a day, of course, Boston will never forget. We'll show you the growing memorial for those who were killed or injured that terrible day. Stay with us as our special coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello back in Boston. In just a second I'm going to take you to the makeshift memorial that has sprung up on Copley Square. It's so touching. People are writing messages to the victims and those injured. There are teddy bears and running shoes. People from all over the country are coming here to take a look at this memorial.

One of these people I just met. What's your name.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ela Parick.

COSTELLO: Ela, why did you come here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just came to see what happened here. It's so sad. So I wanted to pay my tribute here to the people that were injured.

COSTELLO: Can you believe they have this street open again? It looks normal, doesn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's completely normal. I don't believe what happened a week ago. It's so devastating and it's totally normal now.

COSTELLO: I know the stores are open. I guess, Boston police are not writing any parking tickets so if you park you can stay there and you won't have to pay. If you spend $25 in a store, that's what the mayor of Boston is asking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know, but I just paid parking meter and I'm just coming here to visit this place.

COSTELLO: Well, now you know. As you walk through this memorial, what will you be seeking?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just the names and it's just so sad to see how many people got hurt. They were so innocent in what happened. It's unbelievable.

COSTELLO: I see you brought your little one. Hi. What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Rishi.

COSTELLO: Hi, Rishi. Welcome to Boston.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Where are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: New Jersey.

COSTELLO: What do you want your son to see here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to see and kind of remember how sad things have happened. And a little boy his age got killed. It's very sad.

COSTELLO: I'll let you get to it. Thank you so much.

Before we head to a break, I want to take you inside the memorial so you can see a couple of examples of what people are doing. This morning, I was here very early. There were only a few written messages on here. As you can see it's totally full now.

There are magic markers on the ground that people can pick up and write any message you want. We love you, Boston. We'll never forget, but we'll always stay strong no matter what. I love Boston forever. Prayers to Boston. Peace and love. Lots of I love you Boston. You're in our thoughts and prayers.

Just the kindness of people and how touched they are by what happened here and how amazed this city has so quickly gotten back to normal. At least we'll call it normal right now. I'll wrap it up here for now and toss to a break.

When we come back, we'll talk about sequestration, the forced budget cuts. Lawmakers reacted quickly and they passed a bill through the senate and house ending the cuts for air traffic controllers, but there's a problem. The president can't sign the bill into law. I'm not going to tell you why just yet, but let me just say you will not believe it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I hinted at this before the break. Breaking news out of Washington, there's an unexpected delay in the move to end those FAA furloughs that have been causing long delays at airports across the country.

President Obama hoped to sign a bill aimed at ending those furloughs so they could ease our travel troubles, but the president cannot do that right away because of a misspelling in the bill. Yes, someone misspelled a word.

Congress passed the bill to end the furloughs this week, sent it to the president's desk. This all happened really fast and then there was this misspelling. Hopefully, someone will remember to hit the spell check button this time around. And when the bill again hits the president's desk, he can then sign it into law.

More now on travel, after the recent terror attacks, security lines at airports are now longer than ever. In addition to those furloughs, there was a problem there too. It makes some travelers very anxious. Isha Tashar has some tips on how to travel stress free.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISHA TASHAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A terror attack like the bombings in Boston can make traveling even more stressful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's normal for people to feel a certain amount of anxiety. Just the visuals alone from the bomb sniffing dogs, the visibility of security at the airports is enough to get people a little bit more anxious, a little more concerned at airports and really at any crowded event or situation.

TASHAR: Large crowds often can't be avoided when you're traveling, but wherever you are, pay attention.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knowing the exits, knowing where security personnel are stationed. Just sort of knowing the layout of where you're headed and where you are can certainly help ease worries and concerns if you're in the midst of a crowded space.

TASHAR: While you remain aware, a tablet or a good book can also help you escape any anxious thoughts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, you know, packing your patience is priority one. Be prepared for security being a little more of a time- staking experience as well. State of mind is key here. The more flexible we are, the more open minded and the more relaxed we are as we head into travel experience the better the overall trip is going to be.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: OK, so air travelers problems may not go away immediately because of the misspelling in the bill to end air traffic controller furloughs. Joining me now is travel expert Mark Murphy. He is the author of "Travel Unscripted." Welcome, Mark.

MARK MURPHY, AUTHOR, "TRAVEL UNSCRIPTED": Great to be here. Misspelling, you know, spell check.

COSTELLO: My gosh, can you believe it?

MURPHY: Yes, actually I can.

COSTELLO: For once Congress acted quickly and got something done and then this happens. It's sort of like, I don't know. I do know what kind of mess it is. I just can't say it on television.

MURPHY: Exactly.

COSTELLO: How will this continue to affect people at airports across the country in light of this delay in signing the bill?

MURPHY: Absolutely. It's going to affect them. Once it's signed, it's still going to take 72 hours to roll out with the staffing. So you're still going to see a residual effect I believe for about 72 hours. One it's sign, it's still going to be the same as it was 24 hours later.

So you need to be prepared for that. One of the tips I give people is I say is always try to catch the first flight out because when you have cancellations and delays they stack up and there are fewer flights today than there were three years ago. So if you miss your flight or your flight is cancelled then you are quite possibly not even getting out later that day because the seats will be full. Get out on the first flight. Make sure you're on a plane.

If you miss that first flight, try to avoid rush hour at the airport. It's the same as rush hour everywhere else. Go out after 9 a.m. if you can. The security lines are less and you have a better chance of getting on a flight. If you fly in the middle of the day, you'll save money as well.

COSTELLO: You make it sound so easy, but really we are at the mercy of the airlines. We could do everything right, follow every one of your tips and still not be a pleasant experience.

MURPHY: You know what, Murphy's law, I know a little about it. So yes, you need to be prepared. I always tell people, I think the previous person you had on was dead on. Bring your patience. Understand the airline part is the beginning of your trip. Focus on where you're going. You will get there. The key is getting there safely. That's what we all want.

COSTELLO: Are some cities more affected than others?

MURPHY: Well, yes. I mean, certain airports, I stay away from Chicago O'Hare as much as possible. If you look at the airports with the biggest complaints as far as cancellations and departures, Chicago O'Hare, Dulles Airport, Houston, Newark and a lot of that is the united hubs. They had those problems with the integration of the merger.

So they saw a spike in complaints as a result of that, but I try to avoid those especially I try to avoid Chicago and Denver in the winter time because of weather issues. I try to avoid DFW and Miami if possible in the summertime because of weather issues.

And you just have to be smart because a lot of times you're booking a connection. If you're taking a connection, avoid those airports and choose different ways to get there.

COSTELLO: I'm going to try to follow each of your tips. Mark Murphy, thank you so much. I'm sure that the people in charge in Washington will correct the misspelling and President Obama will sign the bill ending the furloughs for air traffic controllers.

Coming up, we travel to the hometown of the Tsarnaev family in Chechnya, find their old home in ruins and a great uncle who remembers the brothers as little kids. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is a long way from Boston to Chechnya, but there's a lot of attention on that part of the world because, of course, it is the ethnic homeland of the Boston marathon bombings suspects. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh traveled to Chechnya to seek out the Tsarnaev family roots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Heading into Chechnya, you feel the weight of two brutal wars for an independence Moscow would never allow. Its ruins rebuilt over the only upside of the Kremlin's heavy hand.

The Tsarnaev's family identity was forged here. We found their hometown from what is left of the family home. In its ruins lie the brutalized past the brothers must have grown up with. Tamerlan fled the town when he was about 11 before the second war began and this street was bombed.

(on camera): It's hard to be a Chechen without a tie to your homeland and these ruins bombed out in the first Chechen war are what's left of the family home of the father to the alleged Boston bombers.

(voice-over): Their great uncle remembers a devoutly religious Tamerlan from last year, but also then as children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They were this big, but I didn't see them after that and they weren't involved in that crazy stuff.

WALSH: I showed him Tamerlan's picture from online.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): That's him. That's Tamerlan probably. He didn't live here so I can't say.

WALSH (on camera): The Americans say he is behind the Boston bombings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I saw them on TV. They said he was dead. I saw that. There he looks good, but I saw him on TV like this and that's it.

WALSH (voice-over): Since the war's intense repression inside Chechnya has pushed the violence across the region into Dagestan. Shootouts like this, which killed Abu Dujan a militant whose video Tamerlan posted a link to, are commonplace.

Police call them bandits using Jihad as a cover for criminality. Militants like Abu Dujan claim they wage Jihad against corrupt Russian police. This video police say shows them cutting the throat of a policeman in his home.

The west sometimes in their rhetorical sites as they train and recruit in the words Chechen's wars begat a cycle of violence that doesn't stop, it just spreads. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The White House Correspondents Dinner is tonight. It's usually a fun and festive affair. In light of what's happened here in Boston, will it be the same? Will the president joke about things? What will he say about Boston? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The one and only Conan O'Brien is hosting tonight's annual White House Correspondents Dinner. It's been dubbed the nerd prom, but expect more glitz and glam than anything. Top Hollywood celebrities and other politicians will join Conan and the first family for a night of laughs at least we think so. Don't forget you can catch tonight's correspondents' dinner at 9 p.m. Eastern. We're going to air that live right here on CNN. We're back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)