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Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin Dies; Students Return to Class at Virginia Tech; Controversial Baghdad Wall

Aired April 23, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Heidi Collins today.

Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM on this Monday, April 23rd. Here's what's on the rundown.

Remembering Boris Yeltsin. He picked up the pieces of the shattered Soviet empire and transformed Russia. The former president now dead at the age of 76.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the White House this morning. President Bush stands by his man at Justice. The White House says he is staying.

Virginia Tech students remember those who died on campus a week ago today. They're headed back to class this morning, somber return in the CNN NEWSROOM.

There is breaking news out of Russia this morning. Former president Boris Yeltsin has died. Yeltsin, you'll remember, was at the helm of the Soviet Union when it dissolved into a democracy.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, is live in Moscow right now.

And Matthew, do we have any word on exactly what caused his death?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't. We have conflicting reports in fact at this point about what caused his death. We know he died at about 3:45 local time. That's just over five hours ago here in the Russian capital, Moscow.

It's not clear yet whether he died at home or in hospital. And the nature of his condition is not fully clear either, although the Interfax news agency, which is the state news agency here in Russia, says that it was heart failure that led to his death.

And that makes sense, because frankly, Boris Yeltsin had a history of heart troubles. He was constantly being operated on. He had he a number of bypass surgeries. And indeed, he lived under this threat for some time.

Having said that, over the past several years, since he left office in 2000, making way for the current Russian president, Vladimir Putin, he seemed to be in much better health. He'd been attending tennis matches, his passion for sports, being able pursue that. He looked much more healthy in public. And so I think this sad news today will be greeted with shock by many people across Russia.

Back to you.

NGUYEN: And as people start to get word of Yeltsin's death, what do you think that they are going to look back on as part of his legacy?

CHANCE: Well, I think his legacy is going to be very complicated. It's going to be determined about what your opinion is about what Russia's like today.

Certainly a good many people saw Boris Yeltsin as the hero who faced off against the Soviet Union. There's that iconic image of him standing on a tank back in 1991, facing off against the hard-liners who were attempting to roll back the reforms of Perestroika and of Glasnost under Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union.

But I say, it's a complex legacy, because since he took over power later on that year, since he became the first president of -- a democratically-elected president of Russia, the way that was handled, the transition to democracy was very controversial. There was crony capitalism. Privatization of all the industries and the mines and the oil wells in this country left the wealth of Russia concentrated in the hands of just a few. And that angered many Russians.

There was, of course, the controversial launch of the war in Chechnya in 1994, and Boris Yeltsin himself saw that as his biggest responsibility of his period in office. He said he really couldn't forgive himself for the sons and the fathers and the husbands who died during that war. And so it is a very divided legacy for many Russians here.

NGUYEN: CNN's Matthew Chance.

Thank you, Matthew. We appreciate that.

HARRIS: Virginia Tech. One week after a killer's rampage, a community reflects.

"Amazing Grace". Remembrances held across the street campus this morning. Now students return to class, but only if they want to.

CNN's Briana Keilar is live in Blacksburg.

Brianna, good morning.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. Students returning for the first time since the shootings at 9:45 a.m. this morning. That would have been the time that the first 911 reports of the second shooting here at Virginia Tech began coming into police.

Students and members of this campus community paid tribute to the 32 victims who were lost here, just a short distance from Norris Hall, where the second shooting occurred.

This was at 9:45 a.m. this morning at the drill field there in the center of the Virginia Tech campus, beginning with a bell toll to signify a moment of silence. And then, 32 tolls of the bell, one for each of the victims here, and the release of one white balloon for each of those 32 victims.

Following that, there was a mass release of orange and maroon balloons to signify Hokie unity, something we've just seen here that's been amazing. A lot of people banding together, surrounding the school, supporting each other.

And also, earlier today, students paid tribute at 7:15 a.m., the time when the first 911 report of that first shooting at a dorm on campus came in. They were at that dorm, West Ambler Johnston dormitory hall, to honor the two victims who were the first victims of the shooting, Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark.

Emily, a resident of West AJ Hall. Ryan, a very beloved resident assistant of that hall. And as you can see, people pausing for a moment of silence there with 32 swatches of cloth strung up. Again, one for each of the victims here -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Brianna, mood, mood, mood, that's what we're so interested in this morning. And I know we have you a bit chained to a live shot position there, but I'm wondering if you've been able to gauge the feelings of students as they return to class.

KEILAR: You know what's been interesting looking at this, Tony? Is so many students are impacted in very different ways.

Some of them didn't know these students who died. Maybe they have a friend who knew them, but they weren't particularly close to it. And so they might be coping with this better.

Then there's other students who maybe have lost a couple of friends, maybe they lost their professor. Or one student that I've spoken about before, he said had the shooting happened on Tuesday, he would have been in one of those classrooms at the exact same time of the shooting.

So they're all dealing with this differently. Some are just ready to get back to school, they want to get back to the routine and achieve some normalcy. But others are really just beginning to mourn.

But a lot of them, too, Tony, say, "I'm going back to class. It's going to be difficult, but I'm going to finish out my year."

HARRIS: CNN's Brianna Keilar on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Brianna, thank you.

NGUYEN: There are more suicide bombings across Iraq this morning. Take a look at this.

Police say at least 24 people are dead, 58 others wounded in one attack near Baghdad's Green Zone. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a restaurant. Seven people there were killed in that explosion.

And in a different attack, a car bomb targeted police in Baquba. A provincial official says six police officers, including a general, were killed.

At least 10 people died in another car bomb attack. That was north of Mosul.

HARRIS: In Baghdad, a controversial construction project moves forward. The U.S. and Iraq say this wall isn't meant to separate an already divided people. They say it provides protection. But the people who live in one Baghdad neighborhood aren't so sure.

CNN's Arwa Damon with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. and Iraqi military saying that they will go ahead setting up more walls around certain parts of Baghdad, a last-ditch effort to try to curb the violence, but one that is causing much controversy, especially when it comes to the wall that is being set up around the Sunni enclave of Adhamiya. Residents there taking to the streets, carrying banners that read "No to the sectarian wall." Many people living in that area believing that this division of the capital is merely the beginning of the division of the entire nation, also fearing that closing them into their neighborhood could perhaps make them even greater targets for the violence.

The U.S. and Iraqi militaries have been quick to come forward to explain that this is not a wall, but rather what they are calling a security barrier intended not to lock people into their neighborhoods, but rather a last-ditch effort to try to stem the violence, to stem the flow of explosives that has been ongoing in the capital despite the recent crackdown, the recent Baghdad security plan. Evidence of that violence earlier today. A suicide bomber detonated inside a restaurant in the heart of Baghdad just a few hundred meters away from the heavily fortified Green Zone, killing at least seven Iraqis and wounding many more.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, wildfires in southeast Georgia are spreading, and thick smoke is a big problem today. Just look at the smoke here. Those fires began a week ago in Ware County. Another 10,000 acres have burned, pushing the overall total to 55,000 acres. And just this morning officials told us the fires are now 45 percent contained.

Eighteen homes have been destroyed. Heavy smoke is causing poor visibility, forcing schools to close for a fifth day. Officials not willing to put buses on the road just yet.

HARRIS: Hey, I don't know about you, Betty, but I could smell that smoke...

NGUYEN: We smelled it yesterday.

HARRIS: ... from yesterday morning -- how about you, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I don't think I woke up that early. I don't know.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Virginia Tech students, they returned to class. But how is the campus coping? We're going to talk with a campus shuttle bus driver. She is on the job this morning, as she was one week ago. We have her insights right here in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Also, soldiers in Iraq and peanut farmers in Georgia may have more in common than you might think. The story ahead.

NGUYEN: President Bush shows up for dinner. Roasted lame duck on the menu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Number four...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh man.

NGUYEN: That makes me laugh every time. No escape.

President Bush ribbed by Letterman. The punch line in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.

President Bush pushing Congress again to pass a war funding bill he'll sign. Just over an hour ago, Mr. Bush talked about his meeting this morning with General David Petraeus, commander of the Iraq war. He said the general has taken on a crucial assignment and "a tough time helping Iraq stabilize a democracy."

The president also talked about congressional action on the Iraq war funding bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe strongly that politicians in Washington shouldn't be telling generals how to do their job. And I believe artificial timetables of withdrawal would be a mistake.

An artificial timetable of withdrawal would say to an enemy, just wait them out. It would say to the Iraqis, don't do hard things necessary to achieve our objectives. And it would be discouraging for our troops. And therefore, I will strongly reject an artificial timetable withdrawal and/or Washington politicians trying to tell those who wear the uniform how to do their job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, we all know it costs more than just peanuts to pay for this war. But now a war over peanuts is taking root in Congress. Oh, yes. And also on the farm.

CNN's Sean Callebs explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Peanut farmer Armond Morris lives and works about 900 miles from the nation's capital, but his livelihood has become seemingly inexplicably intertwined with the Iraq war spending bill. And why? Congress is considering authorizing $74 million so farmers can store peanuts.

ARMOND MORRIS, PEANUT FARMER: That measure was tacked on to the much more serious war spending bill. Farmers say they need the help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's frustrating and, yes, it put me -- it would stop the production of peanuts if the farmer has to absorb that. And it's not a laughing matter. Really it isn't.

CALLEBS: But it is fertile ground for late-night TV.

JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW": Yes, yes, we both have our problems. You have an unwinnable war sinking America into a permanent morass, and I have my own problems.

CALLEBS: Unlike soybeans and corn, peanuts can't really be stored on a farm. So they end up in a massive shed like this until farmers can squeeze the best price out of companies like Peter Pan and Jif.

Half the peanuts in the United States are grown in Georgia. No surprise then that a Georgia lawmaker is pushing this agenda.

REP. SANFORD BISHOP (D), GEORGIA: It is an emergency. It will determine whether or not this industry in America survives.

CALLEBS: Peanuts are not as profitable as they used to be. More and more farmers are today using their land to grow other crops. Still, critics call the measure an outrageous example of pork.

TOM SCHATZ, CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE: And I think taxpayers understand the difference that this is an effort to simply buy votes.

CALLEBS: Armond Morris stresses the money is needed to preserve an important staple of American life.

MORRIS: If they come home and eat a peanut butter sandwich with some bread and some milk in the evenings, that's the most nutritious food that they could eat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, President Bush in one of those fancy Washington dinners -- black ties, great gowns, roasted lame duck on the menu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETTERMAN: Number two...

BUSH: Doing a better job of talking to each other. The left hand now knows what the right hand is doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Letterman's top moments on the Bush presidency, his top 10 list coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Want to get to you T.J. Holmes in the CNN NEWSROOM. And T.J. is going to take us to Darlington, South Carolina.

And we have a verdict in a pretty sensational rape case, T.J.

Good morning.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Good morning to you there, Tony.

You'll remember this when it happened. Kenneth Glenn Hinson was his name. He was accused and charged actually with raping and kidnapping two teenage girls and holding them in an underground bunker behind his home.

This is video, some file video you're seeing over here now.

Well, the jury has come back and found him not guilty of raping the two teenagers. He was accused of raping.

This was a strange case, but apparently he had built this bunker behind his home. Once again, an underground bunker.

Allegedly, the girls had said that he had taken them there, kidnapped them, held them there, and forced them to have sex. Well, the jury has now come back after two days of deliberations saying he's not guilty.

Now, he maintained his innocence and that the sex was consensual. And also, he maintained that the girls made the story up and said they were there because they wanted to take drugs from his underground room.

He also admitted that that bunker they had built was built and he made it, in fact, to handle some of his illegal drug business. He dealt in marijuana. So he did admit that, but always maintained his innocence.

He said the sex was consensual. But now in fact the jury has come back and said Kenneth Glenn Hinson, who is also a convicted sex offender from a rape conviction back in 1991, are saying he is not guilty of sex crimes and assault and kidnapping in the case of these two teenage girls. So kind of a wrap-up here...

HARRIS: Man.

HOLMES: ... to a really, like you said, a sensational case, Tony, that we had an eye on when it first happened.

HARRIS: That's right.

HOLMES: But a not guilty in this strange, strange case.

HARRIS: OK, T.J. Thank you for the update. Appreciate it.

HOLMES: All right, Tony.

NGUYEN: Virginia Tech students are returning to class today. So, how is that campus coping? Well, we're going to talk with a campus shuttle bus driver. She is on the job this morning, just as she was one week ago. We have her insights in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: The White House says in no uncertain terms he is staying. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales got a strong endorsement from the boss this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The attorney general has a right to recommend to me to replace U.S. attorneys. U.S. attorneys serve sat the pleasure of the president. In other words, we have named them. And I have the right to replace them with somebody else.

And as the investigation or the hearings went forward, it was clear that the attorney general broke no law, did no wrongdoing. And some senators didn't like his explanation, but he answered as honestly as he could. And this is an honest, honorable man in whom I have confidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Well, Gonzales' testimony about the fired prosecutors matter left doubt in a lot of senators' minds. But President Bush says it "increased my confidence in him."

HARRIS: The Navy looking for answers today. A member of its Blue Angels precision flight team is dead, killed in an air show accident in South Carolina.

CNN's Josh Levs has more on the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA LEVS (voice-over): The missing man formation marking the loss of a Navy pilot who had joined its elite aerial demonstration team. The ceremony comes as investigators try to piece together what happened.

The air show Saturday appeared to be going beautifully. The Blue Angels were in perfect formation putting on the kind of demonstration that's made them legendary for over 50 years and then near the end of the show, this.

In CNN I-Report video sent to us by a spectator Theresa Richardson you see one of the six jets topple through the air and spiral downward and then a huge plume of smoke rising to the sky. People from another vantage point saw something very bright.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I seen this big old fireball going across the sky and I said, hey, that ain't in the show.

LEVS: Buzz Henry ended up finding and leading authorities to the pilot's body near a pond. Chunks of the F-18 Hornet had crashed into homes. Officials say eight structures were damaged and some people were hurt.

CAPT. SARAH KANSTEINER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: According to officials on scene, eight individuals were injured. According to the best of our knowledge these injuries can be described as non-life- threatening.

LEVS: How did it happen? We can't see it but a military source says the jet clipped a pine spree during a sharp turn at the end of the exhibition. Officials have no public comment while an investigation is conducted.

KANSTEINER: I can't confirm anything about the cause of the crash at this time.

WILLIAM WINN, BEAUFORT COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: This is difficult for us. Beaufort County is a close-knit community with our military friends and neighbors.

LEVS: Authorities decided the show must go on but without the blue angels, and it did, giving spectators a chance to celebrate the magic of flight.

Joshua Levs, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The Blue Angels seeing an outpouring of support in the Pensacola community and sharing some of their stories about Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. CMDR. GARRETT KASPER, BLUE ANGEL SPOKESMAN: Kevin was a very gifted pilot and flew for many years. He even went to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to study. He was an adversary pilot in the Hornet community as well and had top gun experience. I know, no doubt, that his message to the rest of us would be, get back in the air, go flying and get the Delta back up in the air as soon as you possibly can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Before leaving South Carolina, the team flew a missing man formation, the traditional salute for a lost military aviator. Davis became the 26th fatality in the team's 60-year history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYR. JOHN FOGG, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA: When I was on the team, we lost three people actually in one mishap, and it really is devastating. And at the end of the day, they're all professionals. They've got a very important mission as far as recruiting for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, Naval aviators. It's important that they handle the grief as best they can, and we're going to be supportive that regard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Local reports out of Pensacola say the team will skip practice Tuesday. The Blue Angels were scheduled to fly in 66 air shows during this year.

NGUYEN: Virginia Tech students are returning to class today. So how is the campus coping? We are going to talk with the campus shuttle bus driver. She's on the job this morning, just as she was one week ago. We'll show you some of her insights right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Children of war -- a look now at tremendous sacrifices made by military families, especially the toll it takes on kids left behind.

CNN's Kiran Chetry visited a West Point family to see how they're coping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY (voice-over): Not every family can instantly organize a pick-up game in their yard, but the seven Snel brothers are in a league of their own. While they play kickball their mom Techie (ph) runs interference. The only family member missing from the game, their dad. Major Joe Snel who is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. When he first told you he was going to Iraq again, how did he tell you guys?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: He was crying.

CHETRY: Were you guys crying, too?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Yeah.

CHETRY: Your dad's been gone, it will be nine months, what is the hardest part?

ZECHARIAH SNEL, FATHER IS SERVING IN IRAQ: Helping my mom take care of all the brothers.

CHETRY: No small task after putting Andrew down for a nap, Techie plays with Jonathan. Then it's off to the doctor and back in time to greet the older kids home from school. There's Christopher's tears to tend to and Jeremiah in a tree. How are the deployments been in terms of trying to deal with raising all of those boys by yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've been getting harder with the boys get older and them understanding a whole lot more. The oldest especially because of his age. He's just at that age group where it would be great to have a daddy there with him.

CHETRY: Besides the occasional phone call, 12-year-old Jacob's only contact with his father is through e-mails. What is it that you miss the most about your dad?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Taking us bowling, to the pool, to movies.

CHETRY: The younger boys have a tougher time remembering their dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah? Looks like daddy, doesn't it? That's not daddy.

CHETRY: Jonathan wasn't quite two when he last saw daddy in person. Do you worry about him getting hurt?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CHETRY: Not really. Why do you say yes?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Because I heard a lot of news stories that many people have gotten killed.

CHETRY: And you said you do not worry, why not?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just know he'll be safe.

CHETRY: You just know that in your heart? UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Yes.

CHETRY: Confidence for a boy who must now face the worries of a man. If you had guys a genie in a bottle and you could wish for three things and they would happen immediately, what would you pick?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: After dad to come home, I can't think of anything else.

Kiran Chetry, CNN, West Point, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Let's talk about this now, a gender gap and a pay gap. Women in the workforce making a fraction of what their male colleagues do, and that is according to a new study. It finds women earn 80 percent of what men earn one year after college, and this gap widens 10 years after college, when they make only 69 percent of what men do, even taking into account factors like work hours, occupation, even parenthood. Researchers said part of the gap was likely due to -- get this -- sex discrimination. The study was conducted by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

HARRIS: You're kicking me like hi something to do with it.

NGUYEN: You're not supposed to tell people that.

But yes, it's all your fault.

HARRIS: Hi, everyone.

Glitz, glamour and good natured humor, all part of the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow got a warm reception. It was his first public appearance since revealing he's battling cancer again. Comedian Rich little Left them laughing, and "Late Show" host David Letterman made a videotaped appearance with a top 10 list of funniest presidential moments.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, "LATE SHOW" HOST: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I'm happy to be included in the proceedings here this evening. I'm sorry I can't be there with you, but as you probably know, Saturday night for me, yoga.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVID LETTERMAN: The category tonight top 10 favorite George W. Bush moments -- top 10 favorite George W. Bush moments.

(LAUGHTER)

Here we go. Number ten. Uh-oh!

Number nine.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If it feels good, do it. If you got a problem, blame somebody else.

LETTERMAN: Number eight.

BUSH: The issue of immigration stirs intense emotions. And in recent weeks, Americans have seen those emotions on display on the streets of major cities.

LETTERMAN: Number seven.

Number six.

BUSH: That there be a stable Iran, Iran that is capable of rejecting Iranian influence. I mean Iraq.

LETTERMAN: Number five.

BUSH: I like to fish.

LETTERMAN: Number four.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, THE DAVID LETTERMAN SHOW: Number three.

Number two.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Doing a better job of talking to each other. The left hand now knows what the right hand is doing.

(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

LETTERMAN: And the number one favorite George W. Bush moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I didn't see that last one. I wish I hadn't.

NGUYEN: I liked the door and then the right hand knows what the left hand is doing.

HARRIS: OK, you want to see that again. We'll have that for you in the podcast, in the podcast today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: YOUR WORLD TODAY coming up, 14 minutes at the top of the hour, right here on CNN. Jim Clancy standing by with a preview.

Jim, good morning.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Betty, and to you, Tony. Well, the man who stood for Russia and stood for democracy atop a tank in downtown Moscow is gone. Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin's legacy remains as controversial as his political career itself. We're going to take you live to Moscow. Also, we'll take you live to Paris, where Hala Gorani joins us for a closer look at the French election race. It's left versus right, a woman versus a man, and the voters in the middle are likely to make the decision early next month who will be the next president.

Plus, Nigeria's crucial election could define the course of democracy in Africa. A winner has been named. But we'll go live to Abujua for the latest on accusations of widespread fraud and ballot- box stuffing, and why this vote in the world's largest black nation means so much to the rest of the world.

Betty, Tony, back to both of you. See you at the top of the hour.

HARRIS: OK, Jim, thanks.

NGUYEN: Will do. See you.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

NGUYEN: Shifting to another topic right now, it was one week ago that gunshots and heartbreak rang out at Virginia tech. Today, much different sounds. A violinist honoring the victims of last Monday's rampage with "Amazing Grace." Swatches of cloth dangled from strings remembering each person killed.

And last hour, another tribute. A brass bell tolled 33 times, one for each of the victims and the gunman. That remembrance held at 9:45 Eastern, the time of the second shooting. Students are resuming class this morning. Virginia Tech is allowing them to withdraw from their courses without penalty, or they can accept the grades that they had when the gunman struck.

Tina Grimshaw shuttles students Virginia Tech students around campus. She is back on the job this morning, just as she was one week ago when gunfire erupted, and she joins us now live from Blacksburg.

Tina, you just finished your morning shift, I understand, at 7:00 a.m. You didn't have very many students boarding that bus.

TINA GRIMSHAW, VIRGINIA TECH SHUTTLE BUS DRIVER: No, I didn't have any students at 7:30. I brought students at 8:30, and two more students at 9:30, and then we were here for the memorial that they had with the balloons. It was very saddening, but very nice.

NGUYEN: Help us understand how many have decided to either opt out, or just go ahead and take the grade and leave campus for the rest of the semester. Because you carry about how many? And today how many did you see?

GRIMSHAW: There was a lot of students on campus. Some of the ones that I brought said that they were ready to get back to normal, which I don't think we'll really be able to get back to normal completely. Some of the students are just wanting to finish the semester and go on back home.

It's a lot of sad and a lot of sorrow, a lot of silence. It's just very breathtaking today, to be back over here on campus. And security, we've seen them all around campus today. So that's a little more comforting than it was on -- last Monday. But it's still very breathtaking and hard to understand, you know, how and why all of this happened, all the ifs. It devastated me last Monday. I ended up taking Thursday and Friday off of work. I left town and went to a UPC church conference up in Verona (ph), Virginia, and it was very nice, every town I drove through were wearing Hokie colors and Virginia Tech hats. So the love has poured in, not only around the state of Virginia, but all over the nation and all over the world.

And as always, I'd like to give thanks to my Heavenly Father, because without him, I wouldn't be sitting here, and I wouldn't have the spirit of no fear. I was so scared the last time I conferenced with y'all that it was very hard for me to even speak with you. I feel much better.

NGUYEN: Yes, you were really scared.

And I wanted to ask you, what is it today, is it just your faith that brought you back to continue your route?

GRIMSHAW: I attend Apostolic Truth Tabernacle in Salem. And through a lot of prayers and a lot of counselling through my minister and other ministers at the church conference, the spirit of fear has been lifted from me. So I know that I have God watching over me. And so I'm still a little nervous, but I feel more comfortable than I did last Thursday when I was on camera.

NGUYEN: Well, are the students fearful, too, or are they optimistic today?

GRIMSHAW: A little of both. I have some that are ready to get on with life. Life is very short. God didn't promise us tomorrow. And death is like a thief in the night. And so all I can say is that, you know, hug your loved ones, call them up. It may be the last time you ever get to speak to them or anything you've got to say.

So today, you know, across the nation, I just want everybody to be with their families, and love them and their friends, and unite as one, because that's the way God wants us to be. So you know, like I said, my thanks goes to God for everything that happened in my life. I've been very blessed with this job, even though I had to go through this traumatic time. He brought me through the fire once again. And he's going to bring Virginia Tech back where we belong. We are the Hokies. We will prevail. I will represent Virginia Tech. I love this college. My daughter-in-law graduated here. And I couldn't -- I still have the question of why we didn't shut down. That will always probably be on my mind.

NGUYEN: You still have concerns about security today?

GRIMSHAW: Not really. I've seen there's a lot of officers everywhere.

NGUYEN: That's good to hear.

GRIMSHAW: But it's bothered me that, you know, throughout the nations we've had a lot of copycats going on, the 14-year-old in Florida who, you know, threatened to shoot people. I have a great nephew that actually goes to school, Michael Tressa (ph), to that school. And I just hope that everybody will not try and copy this massacre or to try and do anything of any harm. It's harming themselves, their family and an entire nation, an entire country, and it's time to stop.

NGUYEN: As we all continue to heal from all of this.

Tina, I'm going to have to cut you off. I'm sorry about that. In the interest of time, but we appreciate the fact that you're back on the job and you're continuing your good work there.

Tina Grimshaw, a Virginia Tech shuttle bus driver, thanks for being with us.

GRIMSHAW: Thank you. You have a blessed day.

NGUYEN: And sure, she may move a little slow, but don't cross this former Miss America. The 82-year-old tangling with trespassers. But then she's used to the pressure. Her story coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: T.J. Holmes following a developing story at Florida International University in Miami -- T.J.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we've got a scare on campus, a nonspecific bomb threat, it's being called, was called into to the financial aid office of a building there on campus. You're at looking at tape of pictures we've seen here. But the building was evacuated, Florida International, again, in Miami, and right now people are being kept away.

Now this is certainly a concern. It was just last week, Tony, I was sitting here, talking about a message we saw on the Web site of Virginia Tech's campus, and same thing. They're informing people through the Web site. We're keeping an eye on it, Florida International in Miami. But right now a bomb threat. They're checking it out. We're going to stay on top of the story.

HARRIS: T.J., thank you.

HOLMES: All right.

NGUYEN: And the CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next, with happening across the globe and here at home.

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