Car Slams into Pedestrians at Boston Logan Airport; Suspect in Chinese Scholar's Kidnapping Goes to Court
BALDWIN: We have a significant update out of Boston Logan Airport, where a taxi staging area, you know, ended up hitting a number of people who were in the way. Ten people have gone to the hospital. Jason Carroll has been working the phones. Jason Carroll has a very important piece of information on whether or not this is deliberate. What have you learned?</s>JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are getting some information. This, according to two law enforcement sources, who tells CNN, Brooke, this was an accident. Apparently, the driver of that taxicab in question there confused the brake with the gas, and then plowed into the pedestrians there at that taxi pool. This whole incident, just to recap, starting about 1:44, that's when the call initially came in that there was all of this activity going on there in east Boston. Apparently, the taxicab driver, once again, according to two law enforcement sources, confusing the gas with the brake, and then plows in waiting at that taxi pool. We're getting word that 10 people were injured during the incident. We're still trying to get confirmation of the extent. Four people taken to Tufts, the remaining two taken to Mass General Hospital. That was a crowded section there at the time. I was looking for a tweet that ran it about 1:20 p.m. And they had some 320 taxis waiting there at that particular time. So you can imagine how crowded it was at 1:44 when the call initially came in. Once again, we're now hearing from not one, but two law enforcement sources that tell us this was now an accident, that the driver of the taxicab, cooperating with the authorities, apparently, got confused between the brake and the gas -- Brooke?</s>BALDWIN: Jason, thank you so much for the update out of Boston. Let's move on, though. Federal authorities say a man's abduction fantasy may have led to the death of a University of Illinois graduate student. Yingying Zhang, who came to America to continue her education, disappeared last month. The FBI has reason to believe she is dead, because her abductor, Brendt Christensen, was talking about the kidnapping on tape. He appeared in court today on kidnapping charges. The FBI said he frequented an online forum known as Abduction 101. Look at this. There are threads like Perfect Abduction Fancy. And the University of Illinois confirms the suspect in this abduction showed up to the student's vigil last week. CNN correspondent, Kaylee Hartung, captured this photo. The University says he is the man in the top right corner of the photo. Kaylee is with us live. Did they have any idea why he showed up? What more are they telling you?</s>KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, Brendt Christensen was arrested on Friday. It was the day before that, the Zhang family, still so full of hope when I spoke with them that day, that the university had organized this walk through campus for members of the community to show their support for Yingying and her family. We have now confirmed that with the University of Illinois that is, in fact, Brendt Christensen, the suspect in this kidnapping, in the top right-hand corner. I had taken that photo as folks were congregating here on the steps just before that walk began. Really startling to see him and have his identity confirmed at that walk in her honor.</s>BALDWIN: We know that police believe she is dead, based on this audio, what he said in this recording, but they won't elaborate. Kaylee, do you know -- what more do you know about that?</s>HARTUNG: Well, let's start at the beginning of the evidence here, Brooke. The last sighting of Yingying Zhang, on June 9th, she was seen getting into a car that police say Christensen was driving that day and he owns. When they search his phone, they found the records, as you mentioned, of the Abduction 101 site and the Kidnapping Fantasy site. Then, on that same day that we attended the walk in her honor, he was already under surveillance. He had been for about two weeks. That's when authorities captured him in audio recording telling someone -- we don't know who -- how he kidnapped her. That's all the evidence authorities are currently willing to share. But authorities say they have additional evidence that lead them to believe that Yingying Zhang is no longer alive.</s>BALDWIN: I still can't believe you caught him in that photo. Kaylee, thank you so much. Kaylee Hartung. Steve Rogers is still with us here. I'm going to bring Steve into the conversation. Just, first, going back to the photo, which you can see Kaylee caught. Police say that was the abductor who went to the vigil. Is this something, you know, that in a sick, twist the way, that they want to see what's going on?</s>STEVE ROGERS, RETIRED POLICE DETECTIVE LIEUTENANT: Brooke, yes. A couple things. One is he carried out his fantasy from beginning to end. That could have been part of his fantasy, ending this. In another sick, twisted way, some of these criminals will go to the scene of funerals, wakes.</s>BALDWIN: Why?</s>ROGERS: Well, sometimes, believe it or not, they're remorseful, looking for forgiveness in their own way. They're having a hard time coping with what they did, or just confirming, like, what I did, and I got all these people gathered in one area to mourn my victim. It's a sick crime. And this, Brooke, believe me, this was, at least, appears to be, a crime of opportunity. This poor girl at that bus stop became his victim.</s>BALDWIN: Apparently, this Web site is for -- or at least marketed for consenting adults, sexual fantasy, you know, into acting out kidnappings. But they have had to, I think, privatize the site or close it, because it's been cited in multiple criminal complaints for people such as this individual, with nefarious intent, not just do it for -- how does it exist?</s>ROGERS: It shouldn't. We'll always hear the First Amendment, no one is committing a crime. This is inciting a criminal act. This individual actually carried this act out. And in his mind, you know what? He probably figures he's performed a fantasy in his mind. Maybe he feels he didn't do anything wrong. But here's what's key. The key is the police got him right away. Now the motive, what was his motive? We'll probably find out it was simple and tragic as, well, I went on a Web site, decided to carry out a fantasy, and it went too far. What troubles me is the fact that he changed his story. And when he cleaned the passenger side of the car more meticulously than the driver's side and said to the police, in another story, well, I let her go. That may be the signal that led police to believe she's no longer with us. Sad for the parents, and we need to keep them in mind.</s>BALDWIN: Yes, absolutely Steve Rogers, thank you so much.</s>ROGERS: You're welcome.</s>BALDWIN: Awful. Thank you. Next here, we're talking taxes. Rising taxes on the rich sounds like a plan from the Democrats. One of the president's closes advisers is pushing the idea. We'll talk to two economists about Steve Bannon's latest plan. Also just in, the White House is weighing in on that video the president tweeted, the whole wrestling/CNN video. More on that.