'The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell' for Thursday, April 18th, 2913

THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O`DONNELL
April 18, 2013

Guests: Kevin Andrews

LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, HOST: People are already calling the FBI tonight,
hoping to help identify the two men suspected of planting bombs here in
Boston -- bombs that killed three people, including the 8-year-old boy who
will never return to the third grade classroom that I visited today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD DESLAURIERS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: At this time, these
are the people of interest. Somebody out there knows these individuals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities have the face.

DESLAURIERS: We consider them to be armed and extremely dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s not going to take long for somebody to
recognize these people.

DESLAURIERS: No bit of information, no matter how small or seemingly
I inconsequential is too small.

O`DONNELL: That investigation could be moving faster, were it not for
the successful lobbying efforts of the National Rifle Association.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The NRA has acted shamefully.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This bill only managed to win 54 votes.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: If the NRA didn`t score this, we
would have had 15 more votes.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Is there any difference between
Sandy Hook and Boston other than the choice of weapon?

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC ANCHOR: The president and first lady are already on
their way to attend an interfaith service.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every one of us has
been touched by this attack on your beloved city.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can a good God allow bad things to happen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are shaken, but are not forsaken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God`s love will yet have the last word.

GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We will have accountability
without vengeance. Vigilance without fear.

OBAMA: They picked the wrong city to do it. Not here in Boston.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O`DONNELL: Tonight, the FBI has a new most wanted list. These guys.

The FBI is asking for your help in finding two suspects described as
armed and extremely dangerous. During a press conference earlier this
evening, investigators put out this video of the two men, both wearing caps
and dark jackets, walking through the marathon crowd on Monday.

Special agent in charge Richard Deslauriers said, that the nation is
counting on information provided to us. He said anyone with any
information should call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

We`re going to be showing you this video over and over again tonight,
in the hope that some of you might see something, anything helpful to the
FBI. And although the nation is rightfully fixated on the details of this
investigation, here in Boston, many are only able to glance at the
investigation headlines through their grief and mourning.

For Boston, the loss suffered on Monday feels personal, even to people
who don`t personally know any of the victims. President Obama came to the
Cathedral of the Holy Cross today, just a short walk from the finish line
of the marathon to talk to Boston and the nation about that personal loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Our prayers are with the Richard family of Dorchester. To
Denise and the young daughter, Jane, as they fight to recover. And our
hearts are broken for 8-year-old Martin with his big smile and bright eyes.

His last hours were as perfect as an 8-year-old boy could hope for,
with his family, eating ice cream at a sporting event. And we`re left with
two enduring images of this little boy, forever smiling for his beloved
Bruins, and forever expressing a wish he made on a blue poster board. "No
more hurting people. Peace."

No more hurting people. Peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Today, I visited the school where those words were written.
"No more hurting people. Peace."

The Neighborhood House Charter School is in the neighborhood where I
grew up, Dorchester. And it is the Richard family school.

I saw Martin Richard`s desk in the third grade classroom that he`ll
never return to.

I saw his little sister Jane`s desk in her first grade classroom that
she will surely return to when she recovers from the loss of a leg.

And I saw the school library that would have closed down, were it not
for the personal efforts of Martin and Jane`s mother, Denise, who is the
school librarian. She is in a Boston hospital tonight, recovering from
serious head injuries.

No family suffered more on Monday than the Richard family. And no
Boston institution has suffered more from the bombing than the Neighborhood
House Charter School.

I used to be a teacher in the Boston public schools, and I`ve never
seen a better elementary school here than the Neighborhood House Charter
School, which was co founded by the headmaster, Kevin Andrews, 18 years
ago.

Mr. Andrews invited me into his house today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O`DONNELL: Kevin, on Monday, everyone in Boston and everyone from
Boston spent some period of time, hours, for some of us, tracking down
everyone we know, making sure they were safe. What was that afternoon like
for you?

KEVIN ANDREWS, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: Frankly, it was -- prior to the
bombing, was a great at a day in Boston. My wife and our godchild had gone
to the marathon at Heartbreak Hill. And we said, what a great day it is.

And, you know, we went back home and, you know, had lunch, late lunch,
and everything was great. And then on TV, we hear about these bombings.

And never could really -- explosions, they called them. So, at first
you kind of think, gas company. Oh, here we go again. Another mistake.

But it wasn`t the gas company. And then emotions kicked in pretty
heavy. And I started praying right away, with my wife. And just said, you
know, we hope everybody is wrong.

But at that time, we had heard that Martin had lost his life. And
that was hard. No sleep that night. And we heard about Jane. And, you
know, we prayed some more, for them.

And then Denise, you know, who is -- the library is going to be closed
down at the end of last year. We ran out of kind of funds. And Denise
said she would even volunteer for a small salary, whatever it is. I would
like to keep the library open.

And for a small salary, she kept the library open part time. You
know, she is a pretty remarkable woman, very wonderful with the kids.
Firm. She is a firm person.

She is a real mother of three kids, you know? Everybody is going to
toe the line, do what you`re told. Don`t ask more than once. Really kind
of a model mother you want to have raising your children.

Every time I would come through the library to go to my office, I
would say, good morning, Denise. Good morning, Mr. Andrews. I remember
one time I told her, you can call me Kevin. And she said, I know, Mr.
Andrews.

O`DONNELL: So this library is really Denise`s monument. It literally
wouldn`t be here without her.

ANDREWS: Yes. I mean, we were going to close it down. I mean,
there`s no question. We weren`t -- maybe the books would still be here.
But there wasn`t going to be a librarian.

And I wasn`t about to have kids check out the books and come back and
everything -- the dewy decimal system is all kind of screwed up. And, you
know, Dr. Seuss is over near the geography area, you know. So you`ve got
to have someone here. And she stepped up.

O`DONNELL: Have you been able to speak to Denise?

ANDREWS: No. The family really wants privacy. So I think it`s just
family that`s involved. Maybe some close friends. And we really here in
Dorchester respect privacy. Someone tells you they want the privacy in
Dorchester, you give them privacy.

O`DONNELL: We know what they mean.

ANDREWS: We know what they mean. So we give it to them.

O`DONNELL: So this is Martin`s classroom up here.

ANDREWS: Yes. This is Martin`s classroom. Third grade. His locker
is here. That`s his locker. And his time line, there is a picture of him
on the beach.

This is the classroom. And there`s Martin`s -- here he is. Math
scores. Up to his tens. I don`t know if he`ll catch Jack.

But he`s pretty up there. Martin is doing pretty well.

O`DONNELL: Yes.

ANDREWS: Pulling a strong second right now. There he is. Great
classroom. Great teachers. You know, good student.

Quiet kid. You know. Quiet kid, strong Boston accent. Loves sports,
loves sports, the Bruins. Loves the Celtics. Loves the Red Sox. Really
loves Dustin Pedroia. That`s his favorite athlete.

O`DONNELL: What is your plan for Monday? Especially in this
classroom? When everyone knows Martin is not going to return?

ANDREWS: Well, we`re going to acknowledge, Martin is missing. Martin
will no longer be with us.

We`ll have professionals here, along with the teachers, to work with
the young people. Monday is going to be hard. We`ll do what we have to do
to allow the children to express themselves, no matter what happens during
the day, for the week, if it takes a month, whatever it takes.

We`re going to bring back normalcy to the school. So our kids are
ready. And they will be. We`ll give them a hug. And we`ll move on. And
they`re going to learn. We`re going to tell them, you`ve got to still
learn. You`ve still got to be smart.

How can we be as smart as Martin? How can we do our math facts as
well as Martin?

O`DONNELL: Now, the president is a great writer, and he`s a great
speech writer. He`s got a lot of great speech writers working for him.

But today, the most poignant line in the cathedral was written by one
of your third graders. It was written by Martin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We`re left with two enduring images of this little boy.
Forever smiling for his beloved bruins and forever expressing a wish he
made on a blue poster board. "No more hurting people. Peace."

No more hurting people. Peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: What was it like for you as an educator, sitting in it
that cathedral today to hear the president quoting the work done by one of
your students in this room?

ANDREWS: He needs more consultants like Martin. Sometimes kids just
get it right.

You know, it was -- it`s hard. You know? So it`s hard hearing those
words. It`s hard hearing his name. It`s easy for me to talk about it.
But to listen is when the emotion comes in.

And so I was, you know, taken away by that. You know. As that --
here`s Martin again.

O`DONNELL: Let`s go take a look at the classroom that Jane is going
to be coming back to.

ANDREWS: Sure. They`re honoring her. The kids made some cards and
honor her, Jane. And we`re very happy that they`re doing this for them.

So it`s going to be hard. Going to be hard. It`s a good school. I
guess I would say it 100 times. It`s a good school, good staff. That`s
how come when Jane comes back, kids come back, we`re going to be able to
really embrace this as something to learn from, to help us make our student
body even stronger.

And so we`re not -- this makes us stronger. You know, we`re --
there`s a lot of heart in this school. A lot of family in this school. A
lot of determination, resilience.

But, you know, she still will be Jane, and I`ll still joke with Jane.
And I`ll -- you know, the joke I have with her, my own personal joke, my
wife`s name is Jane.

And so I always say to Jane, "Why do I love you, Jane?" "Because your
wife`s name is Jane." And she smiles and will come over and give me a hug
or show me something.

She is probably going to be more resilient than most adults. And
we`ll take her home because we love her.

O`DONNELL: Well, I think Jane is pretty lucky to be coming back to a
school run by Kevin Andrews. That`s what I think.

ANDREWS: Jane is pretty lucky to have her teachers. Jane is lucky.

O`DONNELL: Thanks.

ANDREWS: Thanks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O`DONNELL: I also learned today that for Halloween, Jane dressed up
as Michelle Obama.

Coming up next, the FBI tells NBC News they are already getting phone
calls and information from people who think they know the bombing suspects.
That`s next.

And the NRA makes this country less safe in more ways than you
realize. We will show you how the NRA has weakened the investigative tools
in bombing investigations.

And later, we`ll have more of what the president had to say in the
cathedral in Boston today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: Once again, these are the men the FBI is asking you to
help find. The FBI says they are armed and dangerous, and says they are
suspects in the Boston bombing investigation. If you think you see
anything here, any way that you can help, call the FBI tip line, 1-800-
CALL-FBI. The latest is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESLAURIERS: They appear to be associated. Suspect one is wearing a
dark hat. Suspect two is wearing a white hat. Suspect two set down a
backpack at the site of the second explosion. As you can see from one of
the images, suspects one and two appear to be walking together through the
marathon crowd on Boylston Street in the direction of the finish line.
Somebody out there knows these individuals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: That was the FBI agent in charge of the Boston marathon
bombing investigation. Today, the FBI released this surveillance footage,
which shows the suspects on Boylston Street, near the site of the blasts.
According to the time stamp, the cameras captured the suspects
approximately 12 minutes before the explosions. The official elaborated on
the behavior of suspect two.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESLAURIERS: The only one who was observed planting what we believe
to be the device is suspect number two with a white cap shortly before the
bomb blast went off. Within minutes. Suspect number two with the white
cap on proceed west on Boylston Street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that
authorities are confident these men committed the crime, due in part to a
revealing reaction suspect two had to the first explosion, which was
captured on a surveillance camera. The FBI has not released that portion
of the video that shows that reaction.

Joining me now is MSNBC analyst and former ATF special agent James
Cavanaugh.

James, what are you studying in these advice released today?

JAMES CAVANAUGH, MSNBC ANALYST: Well, Lawrence, we looked at them
carefully this afternoon, trying to see how these guys interacted with each
other. Boy, the task force has done a great job.

Look at number two. I call him white hat. He`s got that light-
colored top on his backpack, and the parcel fits with video we have seen in
the week that Pete Williams has reported on. And we looked at that
carefully, and that`s the scene of the blast of the second bomb.

So this guy has planted the second bomb. We looked at the dark hat
guy as they walk. It`s just interesting that the dark hat guy looks a
little older, walks in the front. And his bomb detonates first.

They don`t have a video of him planting the bomb. But the -- special
agent in charge said they pieced it together. And what they pieced
together was the backpack. I`m sure they pieced together the backpack.
It`s possible he could have laid his hat on the backpack. So they could
have found the hat and the backpack.

But they were able from the video to say a backpack looking just like
that was there. They probably have video of these guys communicating and
talking.

That`s an interesting report about his reaction. These craven cowards
are probably exhibiting some glee and joy at this, you know, vulgar thing
they did. But that`s going to be they`re undoing as well.

Here`s the last point, Lawrence.

O`DONNELL: Yes, go ahead, James.

CAVANAUGH: They underestimated -- they underestimated law
enforcement. And they underestimated the resilience of Boston. And
William Pollard would describe it as the arrogance of ignorance. They`re
going to be caught soon.

O`DONNELL: James, underestimating law enforcement and the resources
they can bring to this, is the most useful mistake that criminals like this
make in these situations, isn`t it?

CAVANAUGH: Well, it`s true. They underestimate the capability.

Look, you`ve got the A-team here. If you look at every great Celtics
team, every great Red Sox team, every great Bruins team, every great
previous team, rolled them together, all the players, that`s the
investigative team.

They`re going to win. They`re going to -- they`re going to solve the
case. You can see it develop in 72 hours.

That was a heartbreaking piece you just did at the elementary school.
And I`ve seen all too many bombing victims over the years. And it`s a
vulgar crime. A mass murder by bombings and firearms are vulgar, vulgar
crimes.

O`DONNELL: James, before you go tonight, we`re going to talk about
this later in the show. But we discussed last night what the NRA did, and
its lobbying campaign years ago to make these investigations more
difficult.

And I`d like to you just describe that one more time. Because I`ve
got to tell you, people were absolutely shocked about what you had to say
about this last night.

CAVANAUGH: Well, Lawrence, in the `70s, I was an agent, just left the
police, came to work for ATF, we were deep into bomb investigation. The
1968 Gun Control Act came in as a result of the three assassinations, John
Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Dr. King in `68. In `70, the Explosive Control
Act on the heels of the clan murdering, those four little girls in
Birmingham with bombs, anarchist bombs, Weather Underground. There`s a lot
of bombings. Congress passed the Explosive Control Act.

ATF went to work trying to develop these indestructible ways we could
track the bomb after it detonated and it was killed on the Hill. I could
never -- not tell you how we reacted in ATF headquarters.

Special agents were like, really? The bombers have a lobby on the
hill? We can`t get this through? To catch bombers? Really? I mean, we
just couldn`t believe it.

And it was killed. It was also killed again later in the late `80s or
early `90s. We tried to do it again.

I`ll tell you what, Lawrence. I bet there is a congressman or senator
that watches your show and they could go back to ATF and dust that plan
off, it`s on the shelf, and reintroduce a bill to tag commercial explosives
so we can track them. Consider tracking smokeless gun powders that we
could track. And they won`t solve every case but some cases and they`ll
keep a city from this kind of carnage.

O`DONNELL: It would be awful helpful to have that evidence tonight.

James Cavanaugh, thank you very much for joining me again tonight.

CAVANAUGH: Thanks, Lawrence.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, more with investigative reporter Frank Smyth on
exactly how the NRA has its hand in this investigation, in a very unhelpful
way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: As reported last night on this program, the National Rifle
Association has a hand in the bombing investigation in Boston, and it is
not a helping hand. The NRA does not limit itself to making sure that the
most lethal possible weapons and ammunition remain available to America`s
mass murderers. The NRA did have a big victory on that front yesterday in
the United States Senate. Here was former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords`
husband`s reaction to that Senate vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK KELLY, GABBY GIFFORDS` HUSBAND: If that vote had been a secret
ballot, I bet you it would have passed with 80 votes. A lot of the
senators that we met with over the past days and weeks, you know, we
discussed this legislation with them. We talked to them about how it would
work, what it would do. And most of them -- actually, almost all of them
said they were in favor of the policy on the merits. They thought it was
the right policy.

But a lot of them, those folks that voted no yesterday, many of them
were looking to get to a no. And it was out of one thing. It was out of
fear. Again, if yesterday`s vote was a secret vote, it would have passed,
no doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: As you just heard in the last segment from James
Cavanaugh, decades ago, the NRA quietly and successfully lobbied to make
bombing investigations much more difficult for the investigators. Joining
me now with that story is Frank Smyth, an investigative journalist and
contributor with MSNBC.com. Frank, it was your article that I read last
night that broke this story. I had a vague memory of it, as I was reading
your piece, that the NRA had succeeded that way.

But tell us what you found about their history with this -- basically,
helping to suppress evidence in this kind of investigation.

FRANK SMYTH, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: The National Rifle Association
and other groups going back to 1980, and then again in 1995 after the
Oklahoma City Bombing, have lobbied very hard to make sure that the
government is not -- cannot mandate explosive manufacturers to put markers,
traceable markers known as tag-ins into gun powder. They can put it into
plastic explosives, but they can not put it into any form of gun powder or
gun powder based explosives. If you had tag-ins in powder -- and there was
a black powder, according to law enforcement sources, in the bombs that
were used in Boston, it might be possible or easier to identify the
manufacturer of that powder and then perhaps trace that to a point of sale
to suspects, perhaps one of the two suspects we have seen recently on
television.

But because of lobbying by the NRA and other members of the gun lobby,
there are no tag-ins. There are no traceable chemicals that are inserted
into gun powder, black or smokeless powder in the United States. And that
is something -- what the NRA is fearing, is that it`s that kind of
government tracking to lead to the government to be able to track the gun
powder inside of ammunition. And it`s the same kind of logic that leads
them to not want background checks, because the possibility of records and
a bigger role for the government.

But from a law enforcement perspective, from the perspective of the
rest of us that want to see these bombers brought to justice, the lack of
tag-ins, the lack of traceable chemicals in gun powder makes it harder for
law enforcement or it closes down an avenue of investigation that should be
open, conceivably, for law enforcement in a case like this to be able to
pursue.

O`DONNELL: Frank, I know you always touch all of the bases in your
pieces. And you reached out to the NRA to hear their defense of why they
did this. What was the NRA`s explanation to you?

SMYTH: Lawrence, I`ve been covering the National Rifle Association
for 20 years. And they have never granted me an interview or given me an
on the record comment. I originally covered them for the "Village Voice"
decades ago. And they`re not interested in speaking to me. But I was able
to speak to an explosive expert who owns a company that has traced
explosives, and investigating explosives in use in the United States and
Saudi Arabia. And he made it clear that tag-ins in these -- in gun powder
would be very effective in these kinds of cases.

O`DONNELL: Frank Smyth, thank you very much for joining me tonight.

SMYTH: You bet, Lawrence.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, more from President Obama`s speech at the
cathedral in Boston today. And a video review of what this city has
endured this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It should blast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you serious?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad, I can`t hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cover your ears.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get out of here. Please, get out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please get out of here. Oh, my God. Dad,
please get out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: That was the terrifying scene in West, Texas last night
after a fertilizer facility exploded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY MALINOVSKY, RESIDENT, WEST, TEXAS: We heard a boom, and then
right after the -- right after we heard the boom, the concussion hit. It
was enough to take your breath away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: The family who shot that video that you just saw at the
beginning of this segment was safe after that. At a press conference
tonight, officials were cautious to confirm the number of fatalities,
because they say they`re still in search and rescue mode. But the mayor of
West, Texas, Tommy Muska, told the "Wall Street Journal" tonight that the
number of fatalities is around 14. More than 160 people were injured and
some 75 homes and a number of other buildings, including two schools and a
nursing home, are completely devastated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG ABBOTT, TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: You can imagine, if you would,
at the time that the explosion took place, people sitting in their homes
around the dinner table, watching TV, and instantaneously their life is
forever altered by an incredible blast that literally blows down the side
of their house. These homes that are close to the blast are literally
blown apart, and blown open.

And so the devastation is immense. But I`ve got to tell you, the
other thing that we clearly saw in touring around West is the clear sign of
hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Both local and federal investigators are looking into what
caused the fire that ignited last night`s explosion. The last time the
Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected that
fertilizer facility was 28 years ago. Think Progress reports OSHA is
chronically understaffed, which means that a given plant like West
Fertilizer can only expect to get a state inspection once every 67 years,
on average.

The "Dallas Morning News" reports that in 2011, the fertilizer
facility told the Environmental Protection Agency and local officials that
it presented no risk of fire or explosion. The worst possible scenario,
the report said, would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that would
kill or injure no one. President Obama called Texas Governor Rick Perry
from Air Force One on his way to Boston this morning and released this
statement, "today our prayers go out to the people of West, Texas in the
aftermath of last night`s deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant. A tight
knit community has been shaken, and good, hard-working people have lost
their lives."

Governor Perry has declared the area a disaster zone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: West is a -- is a really small community.
And just a few thousand people. Anyone who grew up, like your dad did,
doc, in a small town like West, they know that this tragedy has most likely
hit every family. It`s touched practically everyone in that town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Coming up, more from President Obama and other speakers at
the cathedral in Boston today. And "Boston Globe" columnist Kevin Cullen
will join me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: Boston is a city of heroes this week. But none of them
want to claim that title. Taking credit, even where credit is due, isn`t
the Boston way. As I said earlier, no single Boston institution has been
hit harder, has suffered a greater loss than Neighborhood House Charter
School in Dorchester. Eight-year-old Martin Richard will never return to
his third grade classroom. His mother, Denise, the school librarian, is
trying to recover from a serious head injury. His little sister lost her
leg on Monday.

But everyone at her school is already thinking about how to welcome
Jane back. At the end of my conversation today with the school`s
headmaster, Kevin Andrews, I told him that I thought Jane Richard was lucky
that she would be coming back to a first grade, coming back to a school run
by him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: I think Jane is pretty lucky to be coming back to a school
run by Kevin Andrews. That`s what I think.

KEVIN ANDREWS, HEADMASTER, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE CHARTER SCHOOL: Jane is
pretty lucky to have her teachers. Jane is lucky.

O`DONNELL: "Boston Globe" columnist Kevin Cullen, that`s the Boston
answer, isn`t it?

KEVIN CULLEN, "BOSTON GLOBE": He`s the best. Kevin is the best. By
that, you know, I`m so glad you went. And I thought you captured -- that`s
our town. And Kevin Andrew is the best of the best. And you know, you
mentioned that that school was hit so hard. And we talked about the
firefighters last night. And one of the firefighters who went in there and
actually saw poor Martin dead was a firefighter whose daughter was in that
third grade with Martin. So, again, small big town.

O`DONNELL: I want you to listen to something that the mayor said this
morning at the cathedral. Let`s listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR TOM MENINO (D), BOSTON: I`m telling you, nothing can defeat the
heart of the city. Nothing. Nothing will take us down, because we take
care of one another. Even with the smell of the smoke in the air, and
blood on the streets, tears in our eyes, we triumphed over that hateful act
on Monday afternoon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Longest-running mayor in this town. Has he had a finer
moment than this morning?

CULLEN: He`s the best. That`s Tommy Menino of the Hyde Park Meninos.
And Tommy got out of his wheel chair and got up there and did that. God
love him. God love him. He`s the best.

O`DONNELL: Let`s go to something. There was a very interesting
moment today with President Obama where he talked about his personal
connection to Boston. I think we have that on video. Let`s listen to
that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every fall, you welcome
students from all across America and all across the globe. And every
spring, you graduate them back into the world. I know this because there
is a piece of Boston in me. You welcomed me as a young law student across
the river. Welcomed Michelle, too.

You welcomed me --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: You welcomed me during a convention when I was still a state
senator, and very few people could pronounce my name right.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Like you, Michelle and I have walked these streets. Like you,
we know these neighborhoods. And like you, in this moment of grief, we
join you in saying, "Boston, you`re my home." For millions of us, what
happened on Monday is personal. It`s personal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: I think he spoke for all the kids who have come to college
here. Big university town.

CULLEN: It is.

O`DONNELL: I went to college here, but all the kids I knew from out
of town loved this place.

CULLEN: You know, when I watched the president say that, and combined
with what happened at Yankee Stadium the other night, it made me think
about the guys that put those bombs there wanted to tear us apart. And you
listened to the president, and you saw what everybody did at Yankee Stadium
the night when they sang "Sweet Caroline" for us, and they brought -- the
bombers did just the opposite. I`m sitting here and I`m like -- I like a
guy from a Chicago, and I can never write another bad word about a Yankee
fan. Talk about screwing up the narrative.

O`DONNELL: You`re out of material.

CULLEN: I`m done. So -- but it just shows what those guys -- whoever
they are -- whether it`s those two guys in the images we saw tonight,
whoever they are, what they did failed miserably. They didn`t tear us
apart. They brought us together. As Governor Patrick put it so well, we
don`t turn on each other. We turn to each other. And they`re doing it in
Chicago. And they`re doing it in New York. They`re doing it in Philly.
They`re doing it in Atlanta. They`re doing it in Detroit.

I`ve heard from people all over this country. I`m hearing from people
from Britain, people in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Romania. Hey,
guys, guess what? Messed up. You didn`t beat us. You made us stronger.
Congratulations.

O`DONNELL: You have been confident all along about this
investigation. And we have been seeing your confidence paying off in the
mounting revelations -- the accumulation of this evidence.

CULLEN: Absolutely. I mean, I think we talked about it last night.
This was the most photographed terrorist incident in the history of the
world. And I mentioned our pal Chris Matthews, I was talking to Chris, who
you know loves Tip O`Neill, and I did growing up. Tip was my hero. Tip
O`Neill said "all politics is local." In this town, all law enforcement is
local. So it`s not just the FBI. We have state police. Everybody is on
it.

O`DONNELL: We`ve got to wrap it there. Kevin Cullen of "the Boston
Globe," thank you again very much for being here.

Coming up, more of what President Obama said at the cathedral today
and a review of what the people of Boston have been through this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: Once again, these are the men the FBI is asking you to
help them find. The FBI says they are armed and dangerous. The FBI says
they are suspects in the Boston bombing investigation. Keep looking at
these pictures. Look at them online, at the FBI Internet site for this.
The FBI tip line is 1-800-Call-FBI. On the Internet, you can go to
BostonMarathonTips.FBI.gov. Keep looking at those. Pass them around.
Make sure everyone sees them. See if you can help.

We`re going to be back from Boston after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: This week in Boston began with a planned public ritual, a
ritual that began in 1897, the running of the Boston Marathon. It turned
out to be the longest marathon we have ever had, because we didn`t have the
usual finish line experience. The bombs moved the finish line for the
runners and for this city. The real finish line, the real end of this
marathon, occurred this morning at another public ritual in a cathedral
filled with memories for many of us who were there this morning.

Some of us can`t remember every time we have been to services at the
Cathedral of the Holy Cross. But we`ll never forget why we were there
today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

OBAMA: It was a beautiful day to be in Boston, a day that explains
why a poet once wrote that this town is not just a capital, not just a
place. Boston, he said, is the perfect state of grace.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was cloud everywhere. And, yeah, it was
loud. It was really, really loud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said, dad, you are so lucky. Yeah, I was
really lucky that it ended up like it did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police were all running towards the incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ran over to the barriers and started pulling them
down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had a woman who I didn`t know came and held my
hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you to first, who do you get to, who do
you help? It`s one patient at a time.

O`DONNELL: Twenty five hours ago, that clock stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The clock stopped because people from this
neighborhood came down here and stopped this clock.

GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts invented
America.

America is not organized the way countries are usually organized.
We`re not organized around a common language or religion or even culture.
We`re organized around a handful of civic ideals. And we have defined
those ideals, over time and through struggle, as equality, opportunity,
freedom and fair play. An attack on our civic ritual like the marathon,
especially on Patriots Day, is an attack on those values.

And just as we cannot permit darkness and hate to triumph over our
spiritual faith, so we must not permit darkness and hate to triumph over
our civic faith. That cannot happen. And it will not.

(SINGING)

OBAMA: Scripture tells us to run with endurance the race that is set
before us.

PATRICK: In a dark hour, so many of you showed so many of us that
darkness cannot drive out darkness. As Dr. King said, only light can do
that. We will recover and repair. We will grieve our losses and heal.

OBAMA: To push off, to persevere.

PATRICK: We will rise and we will endure.

OBAMA: Tomorrow, the sun will rise over Boston. Tomorrow the sun
will rise over this country that we love, this special place, this state of
grace.

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: President Obama gets tonight`s LAST WORD from this special
place. Chris Hayes is up next.

END

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