Surviving Suspect Now in Fair Condition; "Doing Everything She Can" To Help; Unsolved Slaying of Bomb Suspect's Friend
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Thanks very much. Happening now, the condition of the surviving Boston bombing suspect has been upgraded and a source says he's telling investigators who masterminded the attack. The brutal killing of one of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's best friends, unsolved since 2011, is now being reviewed with a, quote, "wider group of eyes." And we'll show you a controlled explosion of a pressure cooker bomb, as experts work to learn all they can about these cheap and deadly devices. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Boston. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Here in Boston, investigators are learning more about the suspects in last week's bloody massacres. Here are the latest developments. A government official tells CNN the surviving suspect told investigators the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were motivating factors in the attacks. A New Hampshire fireworks store confirms that Tamerlan Tsarnaev bought two reloadable mortar kits with 48 shells. But law enforcement officials say it wasn't enough for explosions of the size that occurred in Boston. An 8-year-old bombing victim, Martin Richard, was buried today after a private funeral mass. His parents issued a statement saying -- and I'll read it to you -- "We laid our son Martin to rest and he is now at peace." Just minutes ago, the sisters of the bombing suspects, Ailina and Bella Tsarnaev, issued a statement through their attorneys. And it reads as follows. I'll read it to you. "Our heart goes out to the victims of last week's bombing. It saddened us to see so many innocent people hurt after such a callous act. As a family," the statement adds, "we are absolutely devastated by the sense of loss and sorrow that has caused. We don't have any answers, but we look forward to a thorough investigation and hope to learn more." And then they finally ask, "We ask the media to respect our privacy during this difficult time." The surviving Boston bombing suspect, Dzokhar Tsarnaev, is improving in a local hospital. That comes a day after a federal judge found him to be alert, mentally competent and lucid at a bedside hearing. CNN's Brooke Baldwin is joining us now from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here in Boston -- Brooke, what do we know about the suspect's health?</s>BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we now know from the FBI and folks here at Beth Israel Hospital here in Boston that 19- year-old Dzokhar Tsarnaev has been upgraded from serious condition now to fair condition. What does that mean? Well, if you listen to our chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, he basically explains that that means that Tsarnaev's vital signs have stabilized, things like heart pressure -- blood pressure and your heart rate, for example. We know that he had an operation on Saturday, so a couple days out, his condition has been improving, which obviously is good news. That, of course, is predicated upon whether or not he decides to continue cooperating with investigators, but also, that his medical condition clearly helps in them gleaning some information out of him with regard to what happened last Monday. But to quote Sanjay Gupta, he is now officially out of the woods -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Brooke, you also had a chance today to speak to some veterans who are trying to help some of these survivors. What did they tell you?</s>BALDWIN: Yes, I tell you, Wolf, these are amazing stories. You know, you first hear the stories of the first responders who were running in to help some of these victims and now the stories of some wounded warriors. I talked to these two guys today. I spent my morning at Boston Medical, another great hospital here in the city of Boston. And one suffered in -- through an IED blast in Afghanistan in the Argan Valley a couple of years ago. He lost part of his leg. And another gentleman, Steve Chamberlain, from Florida, came up here because this mother/daughter duo that's recovering here in one room, they wanted to come help him, come talk them through what life will be like without limbs. Here he was.</s>BALDWIN: You lost your leg in an IED accident. How do you try to explain to these people who are still reeling that it's going to be OK?</s>STAFF SGT.  TANNER KUTH (RET.), U.S.  ARMY: Well, you know, you can only -- you can only tell them what you've been through. And, you know, I remember when I was in there, in Walter Reid. You know, there were amputees there and they were giving me words of encouragement and stuff like that. And it did help. But at the same time, you know, she's going to go through her own healing process and there's going to be times when no matter what we can tell her or see what we do, until she experiences it for herself, you know, she's going to have some self-doubt at some point. But, you know, seeing what other people can do and seeing what we do with our lives as amputees, you know, it will give her that hope. And when she gets down, she'll be able to lean on that and go but if they can do it, eventually I'll do it. And she will.</s>BALDWIN: So some optimism from these veteran amputees today. I should mention, Wolf, that they were at Boston Medical visiting, as I mentioned, the mother/daughter duo. This was Celeste and Sydney Corcoran (ph). And today is Sydney's 18th birthday. She initially suffered what they thought would be a fatal wounding from last Monday's marathon attack. But the two of them, it sounds like, will be OK -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right, Brooke. Thanks very much. Brooke Baldwin reporting from the hospital. Meantime, the FBI is very interested in speaking with the widow of Dzokhar Tsarnaev's brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, to see if there is any way she might help. Her attorney says, she is, in his words, doing everything she can to assist with the investigation. CNN's Chris Lawrence is joining us from Rhode Island, her hometown there, with this part of the story. What's going on over there -- Chris?</s>CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Katherine Russell is back at home now after heading out with her lawyer for several hours earlier today. Her attorneys say that they have been speaking with federal investigators on her behalf, but won't say whether she has spoken to investigators directly.</s>LAWRENCE (voice-over): Tamerlan Tsarnaev's widow hustled out of her parents' Rhode Island home Tuesday. Investigators want her help as they piece together the alleged Boston bomber's plan.</s>MIRIAM WEIZENBAUM, KATIE RUSSELL'S ATTORNEY: The reports of involvement by her husband and brother-in-law came as an absolute shock to them all.</s>LAWRENCE: Her attorney says Katherine Russell lived with Tamerlan in a cramped Cambridge apartment. As authorities try to determine when and where he may have assembled the bombs, investigators want to find out what, if anything, she knows.</s>AMATO DELUCA KATIE RUSSELL'S ATTORNEY: She is doing everything she can to assist in the ongoing investigation.</s>LAWRENCE: Russell's attorneys say she didn't know anything. They say she last saw Tamerlan before she went to work Thursday, before the FBI released this video. They say she worked as a home health aide, while Tamerlan stayed home with the couplet's young daughter.</s>AMOS TROUT PAINE, RUSSELL'S FORMER TEACHER: Very outgoing and friendly, very smart and very talented.</s>LAWRENCE: That's the Katie Russell Amos Trout Paine remembers. Her high school art teacher says she talked a lot about earning her college degree. (on camera): Are you surprised how her life has turned out so far?</s>TROUT PAINE: I was surprised to find out that she had dropped out. And I hadn't seen any indication of a particular interest in a lot of religion.</s>LAWRENCE (voice-over): Russell was raised Christian in suburban Providence. She moved to Boston for college, met Tamerlan and dropped out. Attorneys say she converted to Islam and was an observant Muslim who wore the hijab, or head scarf.</s>LAWRENCE: And sources close to the family say that Katie Russell didn't speak Russian, so she didn't always understand what was being spoken -- what was being said around the house. The attorneys say she was out of that apartment for long stretches of time because she could be working sometimes six to seven days a week, sometimes up to 70 hours -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Chris Lawrence in Rhode Island for us. Thanks, Chris, very much. Authorities, meanwhile, are now taking a fresh look at the slaying of one of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's best friends, unsolved since September, 2011. Three people were killed then in Waltham, Massachusetts. All had their throats slashed. Let's bring in our national correspondent, Deborah Feyerick. She's working the story for us. What are you learning about this -- Deb?</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we can tell you, a source is telling us that a number of agents are now investigating the marathon bombing. They've now turned their attention to a grisly triple homicide that was committed about 18 months ago in Waltham, Massachusetts. That murder initially appeared to be drug-related. And the reason they're looking at it is because one of the victims was a very close friend of bomb suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Now, Brendan Mess and Tsarnaev were sparring partners. They trained together at a mixed martial arts center in Boston. Brendan Mess was brutally murdered in September of 2011, along with two other men. And investigators at the time said the heads of the three victims were pulled back and their throats slit ear to ear with great force. Now, marijuana was spread over the bodies, according to a source, in what's described as a symbolic gesture. Thousands of dollars in cash were left behind at the crime scene. The district attorney originally stated that it was not a random crime. The victims appeared to know their killers. And that's killers plural, suggesting that it would have taken more than one person to overpower the men. Remember, Brendan Mess was a mixed martial arts expert. A source says that Tamerlan Tsarnaev is believed to be one of the last people to have seen his best friend. A source says there's no indication that Tamerlan was ever interviewed by police at all, even to see whether Mess had any enemies. Well, Tamerlan left America three months later, traveling to Russia, where he stayed for six months before returning to Boston. The Middlesex County D.A.'s office says that they will, quote, "review any new information that comes to light," unquote -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Is it just a coincidence, according to investigators, or are they suspicious about the killing that occurred, what, on the tenth anniversary, specifically on 9/11?</s>FEYERICK: Yes, and it occurred just at that time. And that's what's fascinating, also, is that, you know, they can't understand why Tsarnaev would never have been questioned in connection, because that's the first thing you do, you question people who knew the victim. So that's one of the things that they are looking into, but also the connection -- the connection that you would have something, again, we get -- we've been saying this for a while now, you have something that simply doesn't make sense. And so you've got teams of investigators, each of whom are running down parts of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's life, just to see how they fit together. And this is one of those things, the fact that his best friend would be brutally murdered in the way he was killed and then Tamerlan leave the country just a couple of months later. So they are looking at that closely.</s>BLITZER: Yes. I'm sure they're looking at all aspects of that mystery, as well. Deb Feyerick, thank you. The mother of the Boston bombing suspects is now speaking out. You're going to hear what she says about her sons. That's coming up. And you'll also hear from the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator Saxby Chambliss is joining us to talk about the bombing investigation. He's just left the hearing where the FBI, behind closed doors, has briefed the senators.