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STUDENT NEWS

Investigation Into Boston Bombing Continues; Authorities Locate Landing Gear of 9/11 Plane

Aired April 29, 2013 - 04:00:00   ET

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


CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz. Thank you for starting off your week with CNN STUDENT NEWS, especially all of our viewers in Michigan`s Upper Peninsula - thanks for watching, guys. It`s been two weeks since a pair of explosions went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The investigation into that terror attack is moving forward. These are some of the latest developments. Authorities say they`ve gotten some good leads from questioning the surviving suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. One of those leads led them to a Massachusetts landfill where one official said they were looking for the suspect`s laptop. The search of the landfill is finished, no word yet on whether the investigators turned anything up.

Something else the suspect indicated to authorities is that he and his brother, the other suspect, were planning to go to New York to set off the rest of their explosives. The suspects got in a gun fight with police before that could happen and his brother was killed. The suspect`s mother has also gotten some focus on this: Russian authorities say in 2011, they intercepted a communication between the mother and possibly one of her sons. In that communication, there was a vague discussion of jihad, an Arabic word often translated as "holy war". It also has a spiritual meaning in Islam. The terror attack in Boston wounded more than 260 people, three people were killed, including eight-year old Martin Richard. When his local Little League took the field for its first day, Martin was on their minds.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to welcome you all here today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a sad day, but it`s also a good day. We`re all part of this, we`re all part of the grieving, but we`re also - all part of the healing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, listen up. Mike Mangum (ph), you`re up first. Cecilia, you`re up second.

SHAWN MCDONOUGH, MARTIN RICHARD`S COACH: I coached the Rangers and Martin was one of my players. Just a great kid, you know, the type of kid you are - you want on your team, you know, he was like a little Mr. Baseball. Baseball isn`t something that you just pick up easily and he just had it, and he was a young kid, he was only eight years old.

There will always be that void when you lose someone like, you know, in these circumstances.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The terrorists are not going to stop that kids from playing baseball. We`re going to continue playing baseball from the Minor League right up until the Boston Red Sox.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

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AZUZ: In New York City authorities say they found something connected to a different terror attack - a part that could be from one of the planes that flew into the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. This is all happening just a few blocks from Ground Zero, the site of part of the September 11th attacks. Alina Cho explains some of the questions this is raising.

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ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The discovery of what authorities believe is the landing gear of one of the two planes that crashed into the Twin Towers on 9-11 is remarkable. For one, the sheer size of the piece: five feet by four feet by 17 inches.

Then, there`s a location of it, in a narrow space just 18 inches wide, wedged between two buildings. One of them, the site of that controversial Islamic Community Center. The part was first discovered on Wednesday, by surveyors who saw something suspicious and alerted authorities.

RAY KELLY, COMMISSIONER, NYPD: They looked at it, and they`re not certain what it is, our emergency service unit responds, as it gets closer, on the part you can see a serial number and you see the word Boeing before that serial number.

CHO: It is then that investigators realized what they have. But how did it get there?

KELLY: It certainly is possible that was wedged down there and went directly into that - into the alley, depends on the angle that - at which it hit. We`re also looking into the possibility that was lowered by a rope.

CHO: Look closely at this photo: there is clearly rope tangled in the wreckage, but why would anyone deliberately put it here, if that is indeed what happened? Nobody knows. What is clear, is that investigators will be back on Monday for about a week to look for toxic material and human remains.

One of the questions want answered is, if this piece is indeed from 9/11, which plane did it come from? Did it come from American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the North Tower, or United Airlines Flight 175, which slammed into the South Tower? Another question is this: how will that massive piece of landing gear be removed from such a narrow space? Will part of the buildings have to be demolished? For now, those questions remain unanswered. Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s "Shoutout" goes out to Mrs. Pinkard`s class at Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, Virginia.

Which of these words means forced time off work without pay? Here we go: is it furlough, furbish, forebear, forlorn. You`ve got three seconds, go!

That temporary unpaid time off is called a furlough. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."

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AZUZ: Furloughs are ending for thousands of air traffic controllers. This means they`re back at work directing planes, flight pads, takeoffs and landings at airports nationwide. Thousands of them were furloughed. Forced to take time off without pay, because automatic government spending cuts kicked in last month. The result - fewer workers at control towers and more flight delays at airports. The Federal Aviation Administration said there was no impact on safety. Many Americans haven`t noticed the government spending cuts, but they have been felt at airports. So, last Friday, Congress passed legislation that ended the furloughs and things got back to normal last night.

Another story we reported on recently involved suspicious letters sent to the White House and the U.S. Capitol. These letters tested positive for ricin, a deadly poison.

Officers arrested one man, but then they dropped the charges against him. While he was walking out of jail, FBI agents were searching someone else`s house, and on Saturday they arrested him. James Everett Dutschke.

He`s expected to appear in court today, charged with posession and use of a biological agent as a weapon. While his house was being searched last week, Dutschke told reporters he didn`t have anything to do with the suspicious leters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, if you can I.D. me. I am a giant ball of gas, mostly hydreogen and helium gas. I`m named after the Roman god of agriculutre. I have more than 50 moons. I`m the second largest planet in the solar system.

I`m Saturn, and althought I`m not the only planet with rings, mine are the most well known.

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AZUZ: Astronomers have spent centuries trying to learn more about those rings. Galileo was the first one to see them through his telescope in 1610. Scientists say, right now we`re getting the best view of Saturn in the past six years. And you don`t need a high powered telescope to see it. These footage is from a news helicopter. When it`s closer up, you can Saturn`s rings are visible with the video camera that`s on the chopper. The reason for the impressive view is that Saturn is in opposition. What that means is that Saturn is on the exact opposite side of the earth from the sun. So it appears brighter than normal. Plus, expersts say its rings are tilted at a perfect angle for viewing

Mars is a little closer to home. And last week we talked about a company that wants volunteers for a possible mission in 2022. The catch? You don`t come back. There is no way I would do this, but Sam would. At Facebook.com/cnnstudentnews, Sam wrote, "It`s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I would not want to miss out." Jerri would go if he could come back. The idea of saying bye-bye to Earth once and for all, it just sends creeps down my spine."

Ikko has many relatives and friends here on Earth. If I live, I`d be alone and I don`t think a one way trip is worth it.

Jonathan wrote, "I would take the journey to serve our kind so we could be safer in later journeys."

From Savannah, "I think people should stay on Earth, because Mars is meant to stay a desert wasteland. Next time Maria`s friend say they don`t want to be here, she`s going to say, wait till 2022 and go to Mars! And from Jackson, "We don`t even know enough about Earth to be taking this step. I`d rather live n this beautiful planet than on a dirt pile."

Teacher appreciation week, it`s next week. Start sending in your I- reports. Remember, we`re looking for superlatives in this. Most likely to land a helping hand, our most energetic educational explainer. Get the details on our home page. Teachers, that`s also where you can talk to us. Tell us what you think about today`s show. It`s all at CNN STUDENT NEWS.COM

I want to wrap things up today with a creature that knows how to stand out in a crowd. Elk don`t have too many fashion options, but this one knows how to accessorize. She`s showing off her formal attire, which is a tire. You`d expect a male elk to put on a neck tire. Maybe this female is just fashioforward. It doesn`t seem to be causing her any problems, so wildlife officials don`t plan to tread on her sense of style. Besides, if they ever get rid of that necklace, there`s a chance she`ll just find a spare. You know we never tire of doing puns even if a few of them do fall flat. Anyway, we`ll be back tomorrow with more CNN STUDENT NEWS. See you then.

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