this house will join me in wishing well all of those people who were injured and sending our deepest condolences and sympathies to those people who were hurlt. i have absolutely full faith and confidence that the people that have done this and bring them to justice so that we can all rest a little easier at some point. thank you, mr. speaker. >> the house will now observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of today's attack in boston. >> without objection, vote willing continue. the unfinished business is voted on the motion of the gentleman from california, mr. issa. the clerk will report to the title. >> and the business of the house

continues at this point. >> you know, you're asking about -- you're asking about freedoms. >> yeah. >> it's really an important question. >> we take it for granted, and maybe we're whistling past the graveyard some time when we don't expect it to happen again. >> we lost a lot of freedoms with the tsa. there isn't anybody in the country that particularly likes what is going on in the airport, even though most people believe it's a necessary evil. you know, regarding parks, regarding marathons, regarding outdoor activities, regarding baseball games, football games, anything. how far are we going to have to go to stop -- i'm going to confess to you right now at the top of the hour. about this story, i have a certain anger. i just do. i have a certain anger. >> and i'm sure -- >> i'm frustrated. i don't know how to stop this stuff. i know the authorities are doing the best they can every step of the way. i know they're going to try to catch these guys. but i have a certain anger. >> and if there are those of you who have been out during the day, you're just tuning in to

see what happened to the markets to check in on larry kudlow's program tonight, a reminder, it was around 2:50 p.m. eastern time today that two bombs went off 20 seconds apart near the finish line on boylston street there in boston at the end of the boston marathon. at least two people were killed. 20-plus others, many of them severely injured as a result of all of that. at this hour, the president has called this an act of terrorism, and, you know, we just don't know at this point who is responsible for all this, because nobody has taken responsibility for this, larry. >> all right, thank you, bill griffeth. thank you very much. all right. joining me now, max abrams, johns hopkins fellow and terror expert. tell us about where this might have come from. let's just start right there. >> well, i mean, the big question now is how capable is this enemy. is this enemy an established enemy? does it come from a terrorist

group? where in the terrorist group pecking order does it come from. how many people were involved. i think that the sophistication of the device will provide some insight into these kinds of questions. >> max, can i stop you right there. you just raised one of my main questions tonight. how many people were involved? now i know it's impossible to be specific. but what we know is there may have been four bombs by the grandstand, by the finish line there may have been. there may have been another bomb at jfk library. we don't know whether that was related. there is talk of three other bombs in subways. i don't know if that was related. in these kinds of terrorist acts from your experience, how many people would it take to pull this kind of thing off? >> my inclination, and, again, we are getting ahead of ourselves. so full disclosure. i really don't know with 100% certainty. but i know that there is this talk about the lone wolf terrorist for this event, precisely because it didn't, you know, kill that many people.

my inclination is that we're talking about multiple people. i would lean against saying that it's one person. i think it's a small cell. >> a small cell. i'm sorry, go ahead. >> knowing that you've got cameras all over the city, knowing that we have the devices now to investigate those devices, what would be the timing in your estimation in terms of actually getting some real answers in terms of who is behind this? >> well, some people are describing this attack as if it's anomalous in the sense that it's an anonymous attack, in the sense that nobody has claimed credit for it. so people are waiting sort of impatiently when is this group going to claim credit for the attack. that may never happen. the reality is that most terrorist attacks these days are precisely like this. they are anonymous. >> but when we have somebody on camera, there are cameras all over boston like in every large

city. wouldn't we have something to glean from looking at and investigating the actual devices? you yourself said it doesn't appear to be that sophisticated of a device. >> when i say an attack is anonymous, what i'm saying is we don't know the organization responsible for the attack. we may actually find evidence about who the perpetrators were, but we don't know what their connection is to a group per se. >> but max, we know they're terrorists. everybody is acknowledged the terrorists. the president has acknowledged the terrorist. so we have to assume some things, don't we? we have to assume this was rehearsed. we have to knew whether they were milling around, this is the point that i'm trying to get, right up close and personal. 25 to 50 yards away from the finish line. according to former boston commissioner bill bratton from his information. how did they get there? one person couldn't have put down four bombs if there were four. even if there were three bombs. one person couldn't have put down three bombs.

not possible. >> i tend to agree with you. i think it's multiple people. but, again, you talked about the trade-off between civil liberties and security. and so as much as there was security at this event, it still is essentially open to the public. so you have all sorts of people going in and out from all over the world. it doesn't surprise me that a terrorist group or a small cell would be able to plant bombs in this fashion because even very unsatisfies indicated device e devices can cause a lot of damage. >> what would you expect to be the advertisementing in terms of planting this bomb? they couldn't have put this there a week ago and used a cell phone to turn it on, right? >> i think it was quite close to the detonation. >> so it was today. it was an hour or so, or now it's speculation. i don't want to speculate. so in other words, you think this was planted today? >> yes, i do.

>> in a garbage can. >> there are obviously many more people there today than there were yesterday. you could easily imagine them going through, making sure the streets are clean. but once people start packing it in, that's when the chaos ensues. and that's probably when the terrorists slipped in there. >> you can almost see it. okay. so the first, the winners of the marathon come and pass. nothing happens, right? a lot of people in the grandstand, i don't know if you're in the grandstand, if you have to wear vip yellow cards or whatever. they start milling away. so that end of the race starts to get emptier. so these guys show up. according to cbs news, i can't confirm anything, they put into it a trash can. other guys might have just left it near some place. other guys might have buried it while nobody was watching. that how this kind of thing happens? >> yeah, i think that it does. again, it requires very low capability to cause a lot of damage, particularly in a

democracy. there are an infinity number of ways to create chaos. sure, the bombs could have been left anywhere. a mailbox, a garbage, beside somebody's feet, in a knapsack. this is precisely what makes law enforcement so difficult is that there are an infinity number of ways to inflict pain, particularly in a democratic country. >> all right, max. yeoman's work. thank you, my friend. we appreciate it very much. now, we have a terrorist expert ken timmerman from the foundation for democracy in iran. ken timmerman you have been studying this practically your entire professional life. may i ask you, please, to speculate on who might have done this? >> well, larry, i would like to see information. i'd like to see what the bombs look like, how sophisticated they were, how many of them there were. the more bombs, the more people involved. the more people involved, the more likely it is an organized terrorist group. now, you know we have jihadis here in the united states who are recruiting.

so we know, for example, that there are muslim terrorist organizations in this country. we know also that there are white supremacist groups in this country who have been killing law enforcement officials. so we do need some information. but let me just say this. we cannot -- one thing americans need to understand, when you're faced with terrorism, you cannot protect every site in the united states. you know, the terrorists have been out there, casing all kinds of places. they've been casing the chesapeake bay bridge down where i live in maryland. they've been casing public monuments in washington, d.c. and new york and boston. they're in an infinity number of places that they can attack because precisely, as your previous guest said, we are a democracy, and we're not a police state. >> is there something we could do better to protect people? i think back soon after 9/11, ken, when you would go through a metropolitan area and you couldn't find a trash can anywhere. you go to an airport and couldn't find a trash can anywhere for obvious reasons.

as larry is hearing it may have been dropped in a trash can, are there some rudimentary things that we could do that we're not doing that could stymie terrorism down the road. >> well, let me give you an example. i lived in france in the 1980s when they had a series of terrorist bombings carried out by the iranians and their proxies in paris. and they closed up all the trash cans. that lasted about a year or so. and then finally they had to reopen them. they would have a high alert when they had knowledge or they had intelligence that an attack was being prepared or individuals who were suspicious had entered the country. and then they would close them up again. we need to fight terrorism with intelligence ae pointy end of the spear. and i think president obama was very unwise to abandon the global war on terrorism, in other words, to take to it them. >> he labeled it a terrorist action today. so we'll take that one day at a time. do you think it's -- it's conceivable this was tax day

today. this was the patriots day holiday in boston today. and this was the long anniversary of the original tea party. now, those are not coincidences that we had terrorist bombings. >> well, that's right. and that's why i say it's way too early to speculate on who it is until we have information. absolutely, you point out all those anniversaries, and that certainly is significant. >> right. which reminds me of benghazi, frankly. >> absolutely. >> on september 11th. thank you so much, sir. well want to go to bertha coombs. she is live in the newsroom right now with the latest on this tragedy. bertha, what can you tell us? >> maria, the white house tonight, as you've been saying, this event with multiple explosion is clearly an act of terror. boston police commissioner ed davis says two separate explosions occurred about ten minutes to three thank afternoon. this was after the elite runners had come through the finish line. the two about 50 to 100 yards apart near the finish of the

bost on boylston street near copley square. police later founded a third device that they disabled through remote. the area was still crowded with late finishers, many of them running for charities, and their families and friends and well wishers were along. police have confirmed at least two dead. scores of people hurt in those blasts, with area hospitals reporting that they have receive in order than 80 of the injured. mass general hospital, the chief of emergency services says half a dozen there are in critical condition. some of the victims suffering traumatic amputations on the scene. he compared their injuries to those we've seen in a war zone. >> this is like a bomb explosion that we hear about in the news in baghdad or israel or some other tragic space in the world. >> boston police have cordoned off that area and are searching the bags that were dropped on the ground as people fled the

scene one by one. and according to police spokesperson, the scene remains closed until further notice as they continue to look to see whether there are any further devices. they have actually appealed to the public for their individual videos of the area to help them and assist them in the investigation. and they're asking residents and tourists aye aye like to stay indoors tonight. the city in a heightened state of alert. at the white house, president obama offered prayers for boston tonight earlier this evening. >> boston is a tough and resilient town. so are its people. i'm supremely confident that bostonians will pull together, take care of each other, and move forward as one proud city. and as they do, the american people will be with them every single step of the way. >> and the president vowing that the person or group responsible will be held accountable. bill? >> bertha, thank you so much. bertha coombs. >> all right. we're going to take a short

break here. more of our special coverage of the tragedy in boston continues. stay with us. i know what you're thinking... transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million

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welcome back. we continue our special coverage tonight on cnbc of the bombing at the boston marathon today. throughout the afternoon, we've been talking to various runners who ran the marathon and witnessed whatever they saw wherever they were when this happened. this one hits a little closer to home for us here at cnbc. joining us on the phone is a long-time friend of ours and a

regular panel member on cnbc, our friend michael holland of hole holland and company. michael, thank you for calling in, my friend. i'm glad you're fine. what did you see? what did you experience today? >> well, a couple of things. one, it was 9/11 we were talking about earlier. one of the most beautiful days boston was today. the beautiful blue skies, the nice cool weather for the runners. it was a picture-perfect day. and we've been talking in the final miles. and all of the sudden we started seeing a bunch of sirens going by the runners. and we thought boy, this must have been some accident up there. and as with 9/11, the 2013, the news spread pretty fast there had been an explosion. and all of the sudden we were taken off the course. it was very interesting that the

armed personnel and the police and the marathon officials were so quick to act. they did a spectacular job from what i could see, just so you know. in a chaotic situation, they did a marvelous job of help take care of the people and getting them out. we were told that there were rumors that there were pacts along the way for the last two miles. >> was security very evident as you were running today? were they very visible throughout the route? >> absolutely. in fact, early in the marathon, my friends and i were talking about how many service personnel there were on the course. it was ironic that we had these conversations and sure enough, they absolutely were present everywhere along the course. >> michael, it's been reported that there was at least one white flash, and there has also been reported that there was at least one bang. did you see any of that?

did you hear any of that? i know you were behind the group. what did you hear and see? >> well, we were -- we were far enough away that we missed those. but what i can tell you is that the news spread so quickly. people had cell phones, smartphones everywhere. and their faces changed from rather than see the -- i saw the light go out of people's eyes. it was a beautiful day. everybody was happy and all of the sudden it turned to what honda 9/11, it turned to people being very, very sad. >> and you were rung, mikele? >> yes. and i listened to part of the program en route earlier. i must tell you that this was a sophisticated plan to the extent that i believe if you talk to the marathon officials, almost 2:50 when this thing went off.

that was probably somewhere near the peak of people being at the finish line. >> right. >> i think somewhere around -- there are two groups and to cut through all the details. just about the peak of people milling around where those things went off. >> michael holland, god bless. we are all glad you are safe. >> we are, michael. >> now, let's bring in a local boston reporter from nec, jackie bruno. jackie, what can you tell us? >> i can tell you that basically, we were right there when this happened, right where the second explosion happened on boylston street. to give you an idea, we were coming out of the parking garage right across the street. and this receipt is when we paid. seconds later it happened. and that was at 2 49. so just around that time the second explosion happened. we heard the first one, and it was a loud explosion, but nothing that made us think bomb. the second one, you heard it, you felt it, you smelled it as soon as we came out of the car. right when we got up to top, we

jumped out of the car. we ran towards what had happened. and a swath of people were rung towards us, kind of the point where i thought i might get trampled. it was very scary kind of running into this crowd that was running away from this situation. my photographer john hammond was incredible. he ran right there and got some of the most clear footage of that second shot. and what we saw, we've been having trouble dealing with all day today. i've been shaking nonstop, because we saw people who had limbs lost. quite frankly, lost their leg, lost their foot. i saw a little boy. we've heard reports about an 8-year-old boy that has been killed. >> yes. >> i don't know who this 8-year-old, this boy i saw was, but there was a young boy getting carried away by a police officer. and he had blood all over his face. so what we saw today was out of a horror movie. from the people run away to the runners going by, seeing what was going on to their left and quite frankly looking shocked. a lot of them had headphones on, so they may not have heard the explosion, but they certainly saw what was going on as they

were coming up. and some of the runners we talked to were stopped who didn't make it quite to the finish line at that point. they were stopped at 25-mile mark, and then they had to try to get in touch with people who were waiting for them at the finish line. so you can imagine the chaos that ensued at that point with people trying to match up with their family members and let them know that they were okay, and vice versa is a. that's where the boston marathon volunteers really came into play today. they were getting people their cell phones to try and reconnect them with their family members. and then the crazy part was we're here now on the corner of boylston and berkeley. and it's like a ghost town here. this is not what boston is like after the boston marathon. newbury street is completely closed, all the shops along there, and there is no traffic going there. so that is another section that tells us this is a very eerie day here in boston, scary and horrific day. >> i know that corner very well. my daughter went to emerson college. so you're right there. such a horrible, tragic day. i'm glad you were in that area, jackie. can you describe for us the

security that you witnessed? i mean, we're trying to piece together at this point how anybody could plan maybe as many as four explosive devices, two of which did go off, and maybe two that did not successfully go off, how you do that with all the security that was around there. what kind of security did you witness before all of this went off? >> well, there is a lot of security where the route actually is. so there is guardrails on either side of the boston marathon route on boylston street. but i went to college in this town. i grew up in massachusetts. i know this marathon pretty well. and i can tell you that it's not hard to do this along the sides behind those barriers were people are just walking back and forth, people are going in and out of restaurants there is no pat-downs to get into that seconds. you are casually walking around. and it never really oh dourd me that this could happen here. i always used to think maybe when you were in a stadium. but this place really could have been a target, an easy target. because there was a sense of freedom. this was a fun day when people

go back and forth and go and come as they please along the route. that makes it very easy. >> jackie, when you are talking about the grandstand, the official area, do you have to have badges or yellow cards how hard is it it to be there? according to reports you tell me. these bombs were 25 to 50 yards from the finish line, and that was right in the area. >> yeah. >> where the main grandstand was. when you say people can kind of move at will, mosey around, no problem, no identification, no badges, no nothing? >> well, to get into the grandstand area, or actually on the route, you do need some sort of badge. >> right. >> and that is not even the highest level badge there is. so there is a lot of security right in and around where the grandstand is, where the seating bleachers are for the vip section. but otherwise there is no other seating area for anyone. it's just come and go as you please. and people are on the sidewalks along boylston street. if you can get there, there is no pat-down to be over there. there is a lot of crowds in your

way. it's very crowded down there. >> so it's crowded and they had to have badges. so these terrorists who planted these bombs knew that. they're 25 to 50 yards away. so they had this whole thing planned out. they were probably just far enough away from the grandstand that they didn't need badges, but that they could somehow plant these bombs. do you reckon that's what happened? >> yeah, i don't think their target was the grandstand. i think their target was the sidewalk. that's where the most amount of people stand and eat right there. there is a bunch of restaurants. this is -- i've sat there and on that side. last year i was in that area. so this is something that a lot of people make a point to come and watch it from that area. you don't need a special pass to sit in the grandstand -- you do need a special pass to sit in the grandstand or the vip section. but the fun is along the sidewalk, and that's where people come to watch their family members coming in the marathon. and then other people who have no connection to it just come to be a part of it. >> are there surveillance videos around the grandstand area?

surveillance videos, jackie? >> i'm sure there is. i'm sure there is surround video all around there because there are so many businesses along that route. so i'm sure there is a lot of surveillance video. >> so somebody is going to get picked up. they're going to look at every inch of that film, right? and they're going to find somebody or more people that were doing this? >> we certainly hope so. the president did say that whoever is accountable for this will be held accountable and will be punished. let's hope they find someone, because what i saw today deserves punishment. >> jackie, we're so glad you're well, and you're doing a great job there. thank you for joining us tonight. >> thanks. >> you bet. >> well, you have to believe that the video will show something. and we will have more information soon. >> that's the first time i heard that you had to have special badges to get into the grandstand area. so these guys, i'm just thinking either they did or they didn't. but 25 to 50 yards. that's a little bit of space. so they had room to stay away from the grandstand, but somehow

plant these bombs. that's the part i'm trying to figure out. how did they do that? >> it's got to be on video. >> nobody saw them do that. this is the part i don't get. it's bizarre. you're right. it's got to be on video. >> a trash can, a backpack, you're looking like you belong. >> something's got to be wrong. >> maybe even dressed like security. who knows? we'll take a quick break. we have much more to come as we recap a tragic day in boston, right after this. or good decisions? ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow. here's to good decisions. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your family's future? we'll help you get there. ♪

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bill griffeth along with maria. you and i, we are an anchor team, aren't we? it's larry kudlow's hour here as we continue to try to make sense of a tragic day today in boston, larry. >> look, i'm -- i admit it. i'm obsessed about this bleachers area by the finish line. thing were the whole story unfolds. 25 to 50 yards, according to bill bratton, the former police chief. that's where the terrorist acts were done. that's where the bombs were set up.

i don't know. you can't -- these were not suicide bombers. they didn't blow themselves up. somehow they got in that area without badges and what not and planted these bombs. >> yep. well, there were two bombs, two explosions, what, 20 seconds apart. >> between one another. >> at the time when most runners would be coming through, the elite runners had gone through a couple hours before. >> and one or two over, am i right about this, one or two others that did not detonate. >> a third explosion in boston was controlled blast by authorities according to nbc news. >> but they're doing the work on the other device to try to figure out what materials were used and what sophisticated elements may have been put into practice at that point. . >> the jfk institution they say is actually unrelated. >> it was. there was a fire at the jfk library. we want to get you more details now. nbc reporter katie davis has the very latest. >> reporter: boston's back bay neighborhood remains on lockdown tonight as investigators try to figure out who was responsible for the deadly explosions here.

nbc news has confirmed one of the two people killed was an 8-year-old child. it was a chaotic scene in boston as two explosives simultaneously detonated near the finish line of the marathon. counterterrorism officials tell nbc news that multiple explosive devices were found at the scene. they were timed to detonate at the height of the marathon, as large crowds gathered near the finish line. >> these explosions occurred 50 to 100 yards apart. and each scene resulted in multiple casualties. >> reporter: cameras were rolling as the explosions erupted near the main grandstand where spectators had gathered. >> there was one right at the finish line. it was just this huge pile of smoke. and then it sounded like a huge cannon went off. and then another one just happened right across from us. and it was just a huge explosion. and there was just debris everywhere. >> reporter: the remaining runners were diverted, and the race canceled as emergency crews

rushed in. president obama addressed the nation. >> we will find out who did this. we will find out why they did this. any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice. >> reporter: injuries are severe. some of the victims have reportedly lost limbs. >> everybody started running the other way. there were a few people running over towards them to help out the injured. and there were some really bad, bad injuries. some people were very badly hurt. >> reporter: the explosion was so powerful that some of the runners on the course were knocked to the ground, while the majority of those injured are believed to be spectators. the governor of massachusetts is now asking people to stay home. >> we are asking that people stay out of crowds and calmly make their way home. >> reporter: police and emergency officials in boston now dealing with a mass casualty situation as a shaken city tries to come to grips with a violent attack in the heart of the city. and because there were hundreds

of thousands of people here in the heart of boston watching the marathon, investigators are asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to come forward with that information. they are also reviewing surveillance video from around the scene here to look for clues. back to you. >> katie, thank you. katie davis is live in boston. now with us is michael mccann, former u.n. security chief and nypd officer, president of mccann protective services. good to have you on the show. thanks for your insights, sir. what would you do doing in terms of protective services at this point in time to get to the bottom of this? >> well, depending on the intelligence, what you can learn about the attack. it's very early to say who did it. a suspect at this point. but when you're looking at the tactics and what events you have coming up in your city and how you're going to deploy people. quite possibly being boston, they deploy people more for crowd control and for the type of event, and maybe more focus has to be done on the terrorism

aspect. again, not who did this and why they did this. >> you said tactics. what tactics are most important that you want to investigate here? >> well, what you want to look at, it's being discounted at this point that it's a suicide bomber. but it is something that was dropped by more than one person. how was it detonated? what kind of bag was it put in, how much did it weigh, the color of the bag, where were the bags purchased, the kind of device, how was it detonated? remote control or done by the person that dropped the bag. >> michael, with the surveillance video cameras pick this up? >> i think so. i think what the police will be focusing on now is not just the surveillance cameras from today. but what experience tells us, depending on who did this, they surveil the target scene way before the event. so you're going to go back a couple of weeks and look what is going on there. any intelligence, any suspicious reports. and then focus on today whether it's the surveillance cameras or each cameras from people, the

participants or people that were waiting for someone to cross the finish line. >> is it possible, michael, that these bombs were planted, i don't know, yesterday, the day before, a week ago? i don't know how it worse. i'm not a bomber. and then they were detonated by cell phone? is that a possible scenario? >> it is a possible scenario, but i don't think so. i think they would have been put there today. because if they were put there days ago, then they would have been moved or could have been picked up by the sanitation department. so i would guess that they were put there today. >> is there more we should be doing to protect people when they gather together? now tonight they have already canceled the boston bruins hockey game. should we have to go through the kind of security we go through in an airport before we go into an arena these days? should we have to go through the kind of security we go through in an airport before we even are able to attend an event like the boston marathon? is there -- are we not doing enough, or is there only so much you can do, we just have to go as an act of faith? >> well, i think we have to focus. one, we have to learn what happened today.

i mean, was this a domestic terrorist. was this homegrown or international terrorism? or was it somebody that was emotionally disturbed that did something for some other reason that we don't know. we can't jump to conclusions. and the other thing we should keep in mind with any of this, today was a particular date in boston. this was patriots day. and go back to the meaning of patriots day. that was the reason we fought that war was for our freedom. so let's not give up our freedom. let's not stop doing what we should be doing. and let's use common sense and not give away our liberties. we should go on with life. we should remain calm. and we should continue to do things the way we are. and law enforcement, we have to depend upon them to do things within the law. >> but based on what you see here in terms of the sophistication of the bombs, in terms of the forensics that we know already, what does it look like to you? >> i think, again, we're way too early. we're jumping to conclusions. and already today we see that the jfk library was not what it

initially reported. we hear about other devices. all these things are going to come out and some of them are going to be discounted. so i think, yes, if it was sophisticated, that's what they're going to look at, who has the capability of doing this, what can they gain from the crime scene, what kind of device it was, how was it detonated, what was used in it, where can these materials be purchased. and then who has the capability of putting something together like this. >> michael, walk us through. we're there. we're in the grandstand area by the finish line. you have isolated this. what do the fbi agents and others do? what is their first action? where do they go? >> the first act, of course, to control the scene. they're worried about the first responders coming there, whether there is going to be another device detonated that is going to hurt them or kill people that are dlomg. so you're going to control the scene. you're going to take care of the injured and render first aid. that's your first priority, to protect that and then you're looking for what else could happen. is there going to be another device? is something else going to

happen? now after the scene, after you removed all the injured and now you start the investigation as far as looking at who was there, what are the cameras, what people have witnessed anything. and then looking at the material that is left there from the bomb, collecting all of the debris from the bomb and seeing what your forensics experts can put together that will give you a sign of what this bomb was made of and who or what kind of groups may have made similar kinds of bombs, or is there any link to anything else that has happened in the past. >> do you have any idea? i know this is highly speculative. do you have any idea of the nature of the bomb? you mentioned before it seems like this is not a suicide bomb thing. we didn't find anybody. what is the nature of the bombs? how big are they? how powerful are they? where did they come from? >> people said they smelled sulfur too after they went off, for example. >> i'm sorry? >> some of the eyewitnesses said they smelled sulfur after the second bomb went off. >> but i don't want to mislead you. i'm not a bomb expert. but you're going to need the components, the detonator, need

something that the fuse and the bomb itself. and now is this bomb, was that backpack or whatever it was carried on, were there ball bears or nail or other debris that would help the or increase the number of injuries and the number of deaths by what was blown from the package. >> is there anything to glean from the way they did it and why today? why today? why boston? why the boston marathon? is it just as simple as there were going to be a lot of people there or something else? >> well, again, we're really speculating because it could be something connected with the marathon itself. i mean, the people that i work with, we're always sitting wondering when the next thing is going to happen and why something hasn't happened. i mean, it's a lot of different factors. and new york in particular it's been because of the great police work, investigations and intelligence. but also a lot of it has to do with luck. so why did they pick boston? why did they pick this

particular event? and again, without jumping to a conclusion, you know, who is responsible? i haven't heard anything where someone has claimed responsibility. and even if somebody does, it may or may not be true at this point. that would have to be confirmed as the investigation goes on. >> all right. michael mccann, thank you very much, sir. well appreciate your insights. >> thank you very much. >> let's talk about the president's response to this attack. john harwood at the white house. he joins us now. good evening, john. john, the president labeled this a terrorist action, did he not? >> actually, he did not, larry. the president came out and he said we don't know who did this. we don't know why they did it. said whoever, as you played that bite a few moments ago from our colleague at nbc, said we're going to figure out who did this and they're going to feel the full weight of justice. the president was cautious in his language, didn't use the word terrorism. >> but he said act of terror, right? >> no, he did not. but a white house official

subsequently because many in the white house are cognizant of the criticism that they got, the accusation that they were slow, for example, to label benghazi an act of terrorism. so shortly after the president's statement, a white house official then e-mailed a lot of us a statement saying, well, obviously, if you have multiple explosive devices, it's an act of terrorism, but we don't know who did it, and we don't know whether it's foreign or domestic terrorism. the bottom line is the white house does not know, and nobody knows or at least if law enforcement has figured it out, they haven't shared it with us, exactly what happened here. >> let me clear this up. we keep throwing this word terror around and whether it came directly from the president or not. but let me read you the statement that we have from the white house, a white house official issued the statement saying "any event with multiple explosive devices as this appears to be is clearly an act of terror and will be approached" -- >> that's the statement i was talking about.

>> right. >> "and will be approached as an act of terror. we don't know carried out this attack and a thoroughly investigation will have to be done to discover whether it was planned." that clears it up. >> so john, what is the buzz inside the white house? what are you hearing from your contacts? >> look, the white house is in information gathering mode, larry. they don't know what happened. and, you know, it's very, very hazardous to speculate at this point what happened, as we saw from the false start on the jfk library event, which, again, we don't know the last word on that. but it was initially labeled by boston authorities as something that they believed or they assumed was related to the marathon blast. then later they said it looked like it was simply a fire. but what started the fire? we don't know the answer to that, yet. it's very, very early days here. >> very much. so thanks, john. >> thanks, john. we'll take a short break, and then we continue our special coverage tonight of the tragedy in boston. stay with us.

we've got breaking news. we continue to follow the two explosions in boston. i'm here with larry kudlow and bill griffeth. joining uright now is chris swecker, former assistant director of the fbi. thank you very much for joining us. tell me what you see in light of what we know right now in boston. how do you see this, and who do you think is to blame? >> well, it does indeed have all the haul marks of terrorism. there were multiple explosions. it was timed to go off when

there was opportunity to inflict mass casualties. i think the trade craft here is evidence of some sophistication, because my sources tell me that there was indeed shrapnel inside these two bombs. so -- and it was an iconic event, which is what terrorist organizations, people who are sympathizing with terrorist,s want. they want maximum publicity. >> chris, how do they plant these bombs? >> this could have been very simple. in that kind of event, you can carry backpack, strollers, packages, big bags of take-out food. and it wouldn't take a whole lot of high explosives and some shrapnel to create the type of bomb that you saw today. >> isn't there something we can do to stop that, though? does there need -- we don't want to live in a military society, right? we don't want to be locked down every time we gather as a group, especially on an event like the boston marathon, such a beloved event on such a -- the most

important holiday holiday in mast, patriots day. but isn't there more we could do to make it more difficult for someone as simple as walking up with a backpack or a baby carriage to plant a bomb of some kind? >> there is always more that we can do. it's just a question of how much the public is willing to accept. there is always a balance, and it's a push/pull. we are always in a debate about what kind of security we have at the airports. these are the -- these interest hardest types of events to cover and secure, because they're open. people can come and go there is only one small area, as i understand it, where there was security and you needed credentials to get in. >> right. >> this has been our worst nightmare ever since 9/11. >> it's that one small area that i've been really focusing on the whole evening, chris. i'm glad you mentioned it. may i ask you, do you think right now, it is too soon, or right now is the fbi and others interviewing people, suspicious people, any persons that they want to talk to?

>> right now the joint terrorism task force is working overtime, as you can imagine. i mean, the first thing they're looking at is the video on the street. that's a bank town. banks have cameras. atms have cameras. that's the type of area where you're going have a lot of ip protocol cameras which can be pulled up digitally. so they're going to be able to look at these in a rapid fashion there is a way to do a speed review of those types of security cameras. they're going to be interviewing people. leads are pouring in, i'm sure. >> right. >> so they've got a lot to sift through. >> we talked to secretary ridge earlier, and he pointed out the fbi would take the lead on this. and in fact they just issued a news press release where they say they're working with the boston police department regarding the explosions and so forth. what does the fbi bring to all of this as part of the investigation? >> well, they have a deep knowledge of terrorism and a historical knowledge of terrorism. they do have tforensic

capabilities to look at high explosives and ieds. we had a real laboratory in iraq and afghanistan. and there is a huge database put together that catalogs ieds and all the materials that go into them. so there are certain signatures that will be exhibited by the types of bombs. so they'll have a lot to work with here. >> chris do, you know how many cameras were in that area? >> all i can say is many. i know there was at least one bank right next to it that was closed. so there will be some cameras there. of course there are spectators. everybody was throughout to film their favorite runner. you have media. so i suspect there is a lot of video footage to go through. >> all right, thank you very much. we're going to leave there it. on the other side of the break we will continue our coverage of this disaster at the boston marathon. bill griffeth, maria bartiromo, and me, larry kudlow. we'll be right back. uncer ] the 2013 chevy silverado 1500 has the best pickup coverage in america, with a new 2-year, 24,000-mile scheduled maintenance program, a 3-year, 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty,

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everyone is out celebrating. it shows off the best in boston. and unfortunately, i think this bombing now will ruin that day forever, throws for a long time. i don't think anyone is ever going to think of this day the same way again. >> joe, i know you've been reporting on what is going on on the ground. >> right. >> are there people of interest out there? do you have any sense that they there are people being spoken to right now, questioned in terms of who is behind this? >> i think they're questioning everybody and looking at everything right now. i know the police are at the hospitals. there are police searching, still searching now for other devices just in case. i'm here at the state house where the governor was. and they have bomb-sniffing dogs coming to our office and search our office. they're searching every single office. they're searching garbage cans all around the state house. they have s.w.a.t. teams circling around. you can hear sirens around the city. they're clearly acting like they're still looking for something or someone, no doubt

about it. >> joe, what is the gossip? what is the buzz? the police and the federal agents and the fbi, are they in the airports? are they in the railroad stations? >> they are. >> what is the gossip about who did this? >> the police are every. i don't want to speculate. it's obviously the president did not call it a terrorist act, but others are and senators are. obviously just by definition, this was a terrorist act, the way it was planned out right in front of this big major event. but i think it's -- i don't think people really know what is going on, whether it's al qaeda-link order it's domestic. i think it would be tough to say right now. the cops aren't saying one way or another. and i'm not sure if they even know. but it seems like what we're hearing from our local representatives and our local officials is that this -- they're clearly treating this like a terrorist event. >> but the facthat it happened on this day of days i would imagine increases the resolve of

the police to capture whoever did this? >> right. it's not only patriots day, but it's also tax filing day too. so that's not lost on police, definitely, and they are out at airports. they're out at train stations. they're out pretty much everywhere you go in the city of boston, you hear sirens going off, like i said. and they're looking for people. i think just by judging by that and by their reaction, they have not wrapped up this case by any means, or they may be questioning people. but they certainly are acting like they're still looking for something out there, and maybe for other devices, just as a precautionary measure. but it's -- it's definitely chaotic. >> what is this rumor, i'm going to call it a rumor, that there were three bombs in subways. does anybody know anything about that? >> we have not been able to confirm that. there were definitely searching subways, and they have definitely been searching over areas. and i think there were bombs.

that one was placed maybe in a hotel nearby. so i think at this point, they have not confirmed anything. and it's going to be reports coming out. there was already reports that there was an incident at the jfk library that the police initially said was related, a fire. >> that's been debunked. >> that's been debunked. i'm saying that as a reason, a precaution. because even things that come out officially might not be true. you have to wait and see as far as rumors go, definitely. be careful about that. >> absolutely. >> there are clearly all kinds of rumors going around the city. and it's a chaotic scene. >> joe, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, joe. we appreciate it very much. joseph battenfield joining us, once again to recap, two people are confirmed dead tonight. many more injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the boston marathon. that happened around 2:50 p.m. eastern time this afternoon. they were timed to detonate at the height of the marathon as large crowds gathered near the finish line. u.s. intelligence officials say

two other unexploded bombs were found near the course in a public statement, president obama said they still do not know who is responsible, but whoever is responsible will, quote, feel the full weight of justice. a short time later, a senior white house official said this was, quote, clearly an act of terror. we'll have the latest global reaction on worldwide exchange tomorrow morning beginning at 4:00 a.m. eastern, and on "squawk box" at 6:00 a.m. i hope you'll join us. go to 19.com for continuing coverage of this devastation. good night.

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