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American Morning

Tucson: A City in Shock; Rep. Giffords' Closest Colleagues in Congress Speak Out About Tragic Shooting; Deep Soul Searching About Political Climate; Profile of a Suspected Killer

Aired January 10, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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


T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you all on this Monday, January the 10th from New York. I'm T.J. Holmes.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, T.J. From Tucson, Arizona, I'm Kiran Chetry. It's a special edition of "AMERICAN MORNING" and we're live right here outside of University hospital in Tucson, Arizona, where inside Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is fighting for her life.

Here is a look right now at a makeshift memorial set up. You see the sign "Peace, not --" and then it showed a gun site. This is of course after the gunman opened fire on Saturday, shooting Gabrielle Giffords in the head, killing six other people including a nine-year-old girl, and injuring and several others issued.

This is a city in mourning, and they're getting some comfort in knowing that the entire nation is with them this morning searching for answers in the tragedy and praying for recovery. Also, some deep soul searching about the political climate that's taking place in this country right now.

Here is what we know at this hour in terms of the investigation and in terms of the conditions of those injured. Congresswoman Giffords is still in critical condition. We heard from Sanjay about just how complicated and tricky the days after this surgery are for her. She had that emergency brain surgery to save her life and now they're just waiting to see how the recovery happens.

Meanwhile, the suspect, 22-year-old Jared Loughner, is now charged with murder and he's due in court 4:00 p.m. eastern time today. His Internet ramblings are giving a bit of a picture in what may have driven him to kill, and I just spoke with the Pima County sheriff who says it is clear that he was targeting the congresswoman, Congresswoman Giffords.

A law enforcement source tells us that he bought ammunition at a Wal- Mart a few weeks ago and he had to try two different stores because he was turned down at the first Wal-Mart. The only detail we have there is because of his, quote, "behavior.

Meantime, President Obama has called for a national moment of silence for the victims westbound of the rampage. This will take place at 11:00 a.m. eastern time this morning. You can see the flags at half- staff at the White House, and the U.S. Capitol, as well as other government buildings.

Our Susan Candiotti joins us now. She's been following the investigation and looking more into the mind of the accused shooter as well as the chilling 911 calls in the moments after that attack. Good morning, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. There is indeed frightening paperwork that's been found in Loughner's home as well as eyewitness accounts from classmates and even teachers. And after talking to classmates and teachers you certainly get a picture of a very troubled young man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello? Hello?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, 911, there was a shooting at Safeway.

CANDIOTTI: The calls to 911 paint a picture of the chaos that unfolded as a crazed gunman opened fire outside the Safeway grocery store.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like he had a semi-automatic pistol. He went in and he just shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Oh, my god.

CANDIOTTI: The man who allegedly pulled the trigger, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, has so far been charged with just the crimes that are victims of federal employees, including two counts of murder for killing a federal judge and a congressional aide, to attempted murder charges for killing two other aides and the attempted murder of Congresswoman Giffords.

Loughner apparently isn't talking in custody and the FBI isn't commenting on his motive.

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: I will say, and I will emphasize there is no information at this time to suggest any specific threat remains.

CANDIOTTI: Investigators did reveal what could be a key piece of evidence discovered in a safe in Loughner's home, a letter from Congresswoman Giffords thanking him for attending a similar neighborhood event back in 2007.

Investigators say they also found a separate envelope with what appears to be Loughner's signature and the following words -- "I planned ahead my assassination, Giffords."

Loughner's past also includes a troubled time at Pima Community College where he was first suspended and then quit last October after what the school said were multiple run-ins with campus police.

BEN MCGAHEE, JARED LEE LOUGHNER'S INSTRUCTOR: He was physically removed after probably the third or fourth week. CANDIOTTI: To return to campus, Loughner was told he would have to present a doctor's note stating he would not be, quote, "a danger to himself or others."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: "A danger to himself or others." Well, the college never got that note and now the college dropout, Jared Lee Loughner, is the source of untold misery.

CHETRY: You know, it's interesting because we talked to the Pima county sheriff moments ago and I said with the track record that this suspect had, should law enforcement have been notified? And he said, you know, if that was the case in terms of, quote, red flags, we would have to investigate thousands of people. So it's a tough situation.

CANDIOTTI: It is.

CHETRY: In the meantime, you're learning more about who is going to defending this man.

CANDIOTTI: According to a judicial source, we're learning that the government is likely to assign an attorney by the name of Judy Clark. She's been around for years and has handled a lot of high profile cases. She's so good she travels around the country.

So for example she represented Zacharias Moussaoui who is commonly known as the 20th hijacker. She also represented Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, and is known for being credited for getting prosecutors to drop the death penalty from that case.

And she also on her own represented Susan Smith who, of course, was accused of murdering her own children. So this is a woman who has been around and could be key to this case. It's not clear whether she will be here in time for his initial appearance in court, but she is likely to get this assignment.

CHETRY: And you said you don't expect much to come out of today's appearance?

CANDIOTTI: It's really pretty much paperwork, a shuffling of paperwork. He's making his first appearance. He's only been charged with a complaint. There still is an indictment expected to come and that's not ready yesterday.

CHETRY: Susan Candiotti, thank you.

CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.

CHETRY: Today, this is a community in mourning over the loss of six people killed here on Saturday. We want to show you the faces on of this who lost their lives in this tragedy, federal judge John Roll as well as Dorothy Morris, Dorwin Stoddard, Phyllis Schneck, and Gabriel Zimmerman. He was a 30-year-old staffer, a beloved staffer of the congresswoman. And nine-year-old Christina Green, she was interested in government, which is why she was at the congresswoman's gathering. She had also been recently elected to student council at her school. Casey Wian spoke to her parents about their devastating loss.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She was born on 9/11 and died in Saturday's mass killings in Tucson. Christina Green's father says the nine years in between was very special.

JOHN GREEN, FATHER: It says something about our society that my daughter was born on a tragic day and she went out on a tragic day.

ROXANNA GREEN, MOTHER: She was a great friend, a great sister, a great daughter. I was so proud of her and I just want everyone to know and I think a lot of people that know us and knew Christina Taylor that, you know, we got robbed. She got robbed of a beautiful life that she could have had.

WIAN: Christina attended the event by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords because she had recently been chosen for student council at Mesa Verde Elementary School, where families brought flowers and left a note that said in part, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of this precious child."

JOHN GREEN: There will those kinds of moments. I had one this morning, just waking up. She -- she comes up and says, daddy, it's time to get up. And she didn't do that this morning.

WIAN: John Green is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Christina's grandfather, Dallas Green, won a World Series managing the Philadelphia Phillies. She was one of the few girls who played at the Canyon Del Oro little league. League president Clyde Turpin tried to explain the tragedy to other players who knew Christina.

CLYDE TURPIN: A fine little girl. I mean, a wonderful little girl. There was a young man who pulled me aside and said, you know, Christina was a classmate of mine and I think we should -- we should plant a tree out here.

WIAN: Dorwin and Mauvi Stoddard, shown here in a 1997 picture, attended the Church of Christ. Dory, as he was called, built this room for parishioners with small children.

MICHAEL NOWAK, MINISTER: They were very important to us.

WIAN: Saturday, Dory was shot and killed. He pulled Mauvi to the ground, his body covering hers. She was shot three times but survived. Their minister had this message for fellow parishioners.

NOWAK: And I'm going to say not to take this as an anger against anybody, but a way to encourage each other and be there when Mauvi gets out of the hospital.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Family members tell us that Mauvi is progression remarkably well and could be released from the hospital very soon despite the fact that she has three gunshot wounds in her leg. CHETRY: And she's going to be released to this tragic news about the loss of her husband. It's just so sad for these survivors, as well. They survived, but what they'll be going through emotionally after this is hard to imagine.

WIAN: It really is. One thing I can say in Mauvi's case, she has a lot of community support, a congregation there looking forward to her getting out of the hospital. And the fact that her husband brought her down and covered her up and may have very well saved her life.

CHETRY: So sad. Casey Wian for us this morning, thank you.

A number of brave men and women are being hailed as heroes for their action during and right after Saturday's shooting. That includes a young man by name of Daniel Hernandez, a brand new intern to Congresswoman Giffords' office. When those bullets rang out Hernandez ran towards them and likely saved his boss's life.

The 20 year old spoke to our Ted Rowlands and provided a firsthand account of the tragic attack. Here he is in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL HERNANDEZ, INTERN: I heard the gunshot and I knew that people had been injured, most likely. So I ran towards where the congresswoman was. So I heard shots and ran towards where she and some of her senior staff were. When I got there, I saw there were people who had been injured. I tried to see who had a pulse, see if people were still breathing.

I was only able to check two or three people before I noticed that Congresswoman Giffords had been injured severely. So then she became my first priority, not just because of her position, but also because of the severity of her wounds. She had a shot to the head.

So I tried to make sure that I picked her up so that she wasn't in a position where she could asphyxiate in her own blood because of the position that she was originally in, making sure that I was holding her up so that she was sitting in an upright position so she could breathe more easily.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Comforting her, how did you do that?

HERNANDEZ: Letting her know that I was there and she was going to be OK. She was alert and conscious, but she wasn't able to speak. So the way that she was communicating was by grabbing my hand and squeezing. Once Pima emergency services came and I no longer was providing the care, my main concern was trying to make sure that she knew that someone was there with her, no matter what happened, that she knew someone was there holding her hand.

ROWLANDS: Did you save her life?

HERNANDEZ: I don't think I did. I think it was emergency services. People have been referring to me as a hero. I don't think that that is something that I am. I think the people that are heroes are people like Gabby who are public servants and who have dedicated their lives to public service.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: In this picture, you can see Daniel. He is standing there with the red shirt and blue sweater on. He has his hand on her hand as Congresswoman Giffords is being taken away on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

Coming up at 7:40 eastern we're going to speak with Daniel her unanimous dizzy about his quick thinking and his bravery. He said they've always known Daniel was a gift to them, and now the rest of the world, T.J., is going to get to know that, as well, not only because of his heroics on Saturday but just the way he has been with this campaign and with this office over the past several months.

HOLMES: Good to have him close by. Looking forward to hearing from them. We're going to be hearing a lot more from you out there, Kiran. Thank you so much. Again, we'll be heading back to Tucson here in just a moment for more of our special coverage of what happened out there, including the new information we're getting about the suspect, Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old young man.

Apparently, judging by all the people that knew him in the past, he was disturbed to say the least. You'll hear more about some of his classmates, including his teacher, a former teacher. You'll hear about the day that he had to be escorted out of his classroom by police.

Also, a lot of questions are now turn to go our members of Congress and how do you protect all of them? Literally, 535 of them and their families when they're outside of the protective Washington bubble, how do you protect them? We'll be getting into that. It's 13 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. We're live in Tucson, Arizona. We're just outside of the university hospital where Congresswoman Giffords is still in critical condition. People have been talking about this nonstop and wanting to show in some way how much they care.

There's only one word to describe how a lot of people are feeling in Tucson this morning and that's numb. With six people dead and 14 people injured and a congresswoman still fighting for her life, everyone is still trying to figure out why this senseless attack happened here this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY (voice-over): This city is very much in shock.

SALLY HUNTER, TUCSON RESIDENT: It's just -- I'm just overcome with emotion. You know, it's shocking to all of us.

CHETRY: A get well balloon and flowers placed at the corner of the Safeway shopping center where police continue their investigation into the mass killing that has stunned this city of more than a half million people. Across town, a special service held at the synagogue that Congresswoman Giffords attends.

STEPHANIE AARON, REP. GIFFORDS' RABBI: When we come together in this way and we see the gathered strength of our community, then that gives all of us more strength.

CHETRY: Emotions were very raw at an evening vigil. A large crowd attended outside of Giffords' office. This man, who brought his 4- month-old son was friends with Gabe Zimmerman, one of Giffords' staffers who was killed.

TOM GORMLEY, FRIEND OF VICTIM: It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican. No one deserves this type of justice, never, ever. And I don't want my son to grow up in this kind of world where violence is OK, because it's not OK.

CHETRY: Some held signs pleading for tolerance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's discontinue the hate for words in politics. Let's end the wars. Let's come together.

CHETRY: A crowd coming together, singing for peace and understanding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: You know, T.J., it was very touching to be out there yesterday and to see how many people came out there. A lot of people brought their children and the crowds just said we don't want to be known for violence and divisiveness and for, you know, this bitter feeling. We want to be known as a community that protects our own, that comes together, and that's why they felt it was so important to be out there last night to gather in front of her office.

As we saw from Tom, he talked to us, he said I didn't even vote for her. I disagree with a lot of her politics, but she does not deserve this.

HOLMES: It's too bad more people don't have that attitude before something happens, before something breaks out. If we can't realize we can disagree, folks, but we can get along just fine.

Kiran, we appreciate you out there. We're going to be checking in plenty with Kiran throughout the morning. So, Kiran, see you again here shortly.

There is one other big story we need to tell you about this morning that we are following. A dangerous, messy commute this morning in parts of the south. We're talking about ice and snow all over the region that is crippling parts of the south right now. Some 2,000 flights have been cancelled. Our Rob Marciano is tracking all of this for us. We're back in just a moment.

It's 18 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, it's 20 minutes past the hour now. You've been hearing a lot about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords here lately, unfortunately for the wrong reasons. Maybe you didn't know the name before, but you know it now.

Around Capitol Hill, the name she was known by was simply Gabby. Joining me now, two people who work with her, do work with her, I should say on Capitol Hill, Congressman Ted Poe, Republican from Texas, and also Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida. Thank you both for being here.

Congressman Poe, let me start with you. You know, people in all the coverage, certainly health care, which was certainly contentious up there on Capitol Hill, the coverage oftentimes and people talking heads on TV, Americans here, Democrat and Republican and just hear, sometimes you all going at it. But people forget that you all are colleagues, coworkers and, in fact, friends up there on Capitol Hill.

REP. TED POE (R), TEXAS: That is exactly correct. Gabby and I are friends. In fact, Friday we were talking about a mutual concern of border security and she had invited me to Tucson to go down to the Arizona border. I've invited her to Texas. We've worked on issues and we are good friends even though sometimes we do disagree.

HOLMES: And Congresswoman, let me bring you in here now. You all spent a lot of time together.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: We have. And I know in the future we're going to continue to spend a lot of time together. Our families have vacationed together. Our kids know -- you know, Mark's kids, it's -- we spend personal time together in Washington. She's a wonderful and special person.

HOLMES: And Congresswoman, a lot of people have been looking for a way to label this, if you will, what happened out there. And it's certainly not that important right now, but I'm wondering what your reaction was and what you think now. Did you consider this domestic terrorism? Was this an assassination attempt? Was this just a murderous madman? I guess what were your thoughts initially about what exactly this was?

SCHULTZ: You know, initially, it's hard to know. It was hard to know what it was and we have to be careful about labeling it. You know, violence is violence. And it was a horrific act. It seems, at least from the initial reports so far, that he planned to attack Gabby and I mean, I think he used the term in the documents they found -- assassination. More importantly, though, we all have to keep in mind that words matter and in terms of civility and tone, we have to -- we have to try to set an example going forward. And if we set an example, and I know -- and I'm sure that Ted will agree with this. Ted and I are very good friends and have worked together, despite disagreeing. We've got to set an example so that the outside world, the media, the shock jocks, other people who would insight people like this person potentially are more measured and careful about how we disagree. HOLMES: And Congressman Poe, I certainly assume you would agree to that. But another part of this conversation is turning to the safety of you all, our lawmakers up there. But you all pride yourselves on going back to your districts and people being able to get up close and personal with you. In fact, that's how you do your job. In fact, that's how you campaign and get re-elected in coffee shops and whatnot. How can you really change who you are back in your districts and protect yourself at the same time?

POE: Well, I don't intend to be intimidated and to not see people that I represent. I don't know that any member of Congress will be intimidated. We want to be around the folks that we represent to hear from them, to listen to them and to dialogue with them on concerns, whether we agree with them or not. We're going to continue to do that. We will re-evaluate all of our security precautions. We take appropriate personnel with us if we feel like we need to. But we are going to continue to represent the American people. When we get of those -- when we leave Congress at the end of the day on Friday, we all head to the airport, go back home and then start seeing people, and I think we'll continue to do that.

HOLMES: Congresswoman, do you agree with that or do you see some changes possibly that need to be made among you all when you go back home? And again, you all pretty much open yourselves up and anyone in your district almost to an extent has access to you.

SCHULTZ: I completely agree with Ted. We cannot allow incidents like this to intimidate the public or intimidate us into continuing to go be able to get up close and personal with our constituents. But that having been said, members of Congress, because we have staff around us, because we want to protect our constituents, need to not be cavalier about our security. And on Wednesday, that's why the Republican and Democratic leadership are bringing us together to pass a resolution honoring Gabby Giffords and the other victims of this tragedy and also to get us together with our security experts so that they can remind us and counsel us on how best to keep ourselves safe and our staff and the public safe, as well, when interacting with us. But I'm leaving here from this interview, T.J., going right to a public event. So we're not going to let this stop us.

HOLMES: And Congressman Poe, I guess what is the update, the latest you have gotten about how Congresswoman Giffords is doing?

POE: She is doing well, considering what has occurred. I think she's a feisty woman and I think she'll pull through with this because that's just her personality. So we'll just need to continue to pray for her.

HOLMES: And Congresswoman, I heard you kind of laugh there when you said a feisty woman. It sounds like you agree with that, as well. It seems like some people are not surprised that she made it through and is going to make it through and make a full recovery, some would say.

SCHULTZ: Gabby Giffords has the heart of a lion and she's a fighter. And if there's anybody that can pull through an injury like this, it's Gabby Giffords. And we're all praying as hard as we can for her and know that she's going to make the recovery and come back to us.

HOLMES: And last thing here, guys, in just a few seconds, there was a "New York Times" article that kind of struck me over the weekend asking whether or not this incident was going to pull us back from the brink of all that nasty rhetoric or this was going to push us over the edge. If you all can, quickly wrap that up for me. Which direction do you think? We certainly hope the direction we're going to go, but could this push us over the edge in some way and letting some people out there think, you know, there might be copycats, things like that, to think this is now some kind of an open season on -- not maybe Congress people or frankly, anybody who you disagree with politically -- Congresswoman.

SCHULTZ: We have to do everything we can to set an example and come together and I'm hopeful that we're going to be able to have an event, Ted. And if you would work with me on it to bring the Republicans and Democrats in Congress together in a meaningful way so that we can find ways to achieve common ground and work together and reset the tone of civility, I think that will help.

HOLMES: Wrap it up for me there, Congressman Poe.

POE: I agree with that. Civility is in order. You know, Debbie and I disagree on a lot of things. We get along well and we need to set the example so that people know that they cannot use that as an excuse to commit violence against any member that's an elected official, whether maybe a member of Congress or federal judge or someone else.

HOLMES: Go down the road, we certainly hope to have you two back down the road and maybe this tone will continue down the road. Thank you both, Congresswoman -- Congresswoman and Congressman. Thank you for being here with us this morning.

SCHULTZ: Thank you.

HOLMES: And certainly our hearts and prayers go out to your friend and your colleague, as well, Congresswoman Giffords. Thanks so much.

SCHULTZ: Thank you.

POE: Thanks, T.J.

HOLMES: And I want to turn it back to Tucson now. Kiran Chetry out there handling our coverage from the scene live.

Hello again, Kiran.

CHETRY: Hi, T.J. And right behind me is where Congresswoman Giffords remains in the hospital in critical condition fighting for her life after that shooting. We're going to update you on how she is said to be doing this morning from close family and friends. And also a little bit later on this special edition of AMERICAN MORNING, bullets rang out and he sprang into action. Her 20-year-old intern less than a week on the job at the congresswoman's office used his bare hands to stop blood from pouring out where the bullet had pierced the congresswoman in the head. He knew what to do because of some first aid training and he very well could have saved her life. We're going to speak to him ahead.

Also, Jared Loughner, his troubled past. We talked to a former teacher of Jared who says that the suspected gunman once had to be escorted out of his classroom by campus police.

This is AMERICAN MORNING live from Tucson, Arizona. We're going to be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's the bottom of the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING, giving you a look at some of the stories we're keeping a close eye on this morning. Certainly that tragedy in Tucson, Arizona where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is still fighting for her life this morning. Still in critical condition. Doctors however say they are encouraged that she was able to communicate and follow some simple commands.

A gunman, as you know, opened fire on Saturday, shooting her in the head, killed six other people including nine-year-old girl and a federal judge. Giffords' campaign chairman tells CNN, he is confident that the congresswoman will survive.

The suspect, meanwhile, 22-year-old Jared Loughner. He is now charged with attempted assassination and murder. He is due in court today around 4:00 Eastern time. The FBI says he revealed his plan on an envelope that said "I will planned ahead," also "my assassination." Also it had the congresswoman's name.

Other big stories we do need to tell you about this morning, the weather. A deep freeze in the south. Streets and runways covered in sheets of ice and snow across the southeast. Cars have been sliding all over the place, as you see in this video here. Mainly, in the Atlanta area. But still, not just Atlanta, a lot of places are having problems.

And also, some 2,000 flights have been grounded already. Our Rob Marciano is outside this morning, he is at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park and a tough drive in for you and a lot of folks in Atlanta who are, at least, attempting it.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's true, T.J., although the wide open city streets when there's not a whole lot of cars, you've got more room for error. But as they get more congested and we get a little bit more slick, it's going to be a dangerous go.

(INAUDIBLE) you make it here as far as the city streets are concerned, we aren't seeing much in the way of plows. There are 16 sand trucks in Atlanta, 60 total less plows in that. So a four-wheel-drive certainly would help. About two or three inches on the roads and sidewalks. You go into grassier areas, and you're looking at three, four, even five inches of the stuff.

We have turned now to sleet and eventually to freezing rain. So far, 3,000 people are without power across Georgia. I expect that number to continue to climb as we start to ice down what is already (INAUDIBLE) snow on these trees and those tree limbs begin to come down.

All right. Here's a (INAUDIBLE) obviously it's not just Atlanta, it's back through Birmingham up to Northern Alabama, southern parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, northern Texas still seeing some light, freezing drizzle. The bulk of the heavier snow now across at i-85 corridor, up to Greenville, getting up through Charlotte, eventually, and there are your temperatures.

The dividing line between freezing and subfreezing, well, there really isn't one. You got to go all the way down to Montgomery to get even temperatures that are close to the freezing mark. We will start to see warm air intrusion, but not until this afternoon. So sleet will continue and then the ice potential, 0.10, 0.2, to 0.30 inch of an ice here along the i-85 corridor, T.J..

And guess what? We're hoping this is going to go out to sea. It will go up to the northeast, and a potential snow event for New York to Boston come Wednesday. T.J..

HOLMES: Looking forward to it. Rob Marciano for us this morning, we'll continue to check in with him. We do want to turn now and check in with our Bonnie Schneider. She's standing by in the extreme weather center.

Bonnie, a lot of people keeping an eye on these airports and we know the biggest, the busiest in this country is Atlanta and that's where a lot of this snow and ice has hit right now.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, T.J.. Three of the five runways at Atlanta Airport are open, but no flights have come in or out. We currently have delays in Charlotte, North Carolina for at least an hour. That's mainly for arriving flights. But look for those delays to increase as we go through the day.

In fact, when we take a look at perspective delays, you can see that we have them for well over an hour across areas into the northeast and certainly through the southeast. Just to give you the heads up in the northeast, the big - this storm system is working its way up to that region. So look for delays Tuesday into Wednesday, as well, particularly Wednesday when this storm really gets going in the northeast.

We're also monitoring delays possibly in Houston and in Denver. Currently, there are 1,900 planes in the air right now and you can see the snow and ice behind me. That is where the storm system is across much of the U.S.. Back to you.

HOLMES: All right. Bonnie Schneider, keeping an eye on things for us. Bonnie, we appreciate you. And Rob as well.

It's 35 minutes past the hour. I want to hand it back over to Kiran Chetry, of course, who is handling our coverage from Tucson this morning. Hello again, Kiran.

CHETRY: Hi there. And again, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is in a room behind me, still in critical condition here at University Hospital in the intensive care unit. But she very well could have been one of the people who lost their lives in that shooting on Saturday if it weren't for a hero in the crowd, as he's been called today.

Daniel Hernandez, her 20-year-old intern ran into the danger, ran into the shots, rushing to the congresswoman. And what he did in those crucial moments may have a saved her life. We're going to talk to him, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back. We're here in Tucson, Arizona this morning. It's just been two days since the shooting rampage took place outside the Safeway. We're beginning to learn a bit more about the suspected gunman, Jared Loughner including his troubled past at Pima Community College.

Loughner was suspended after repeated run-ins with campus police and he was told that if he wanted to return to the college, he would need a doctor's note stating that he was mentally sound, that he would not be a danger to himself or others.

Our next guest, Ben McGahee, he was one of his teachers. He was there when Loughner had to be escorted out of class by police. And he joins me this morning. Thanks so much for being with us.

BEN MCGAHEE, LOUGHNER'S COLLEGE INSTRUCTOR: Good morning.

CHETRY: So you were teaching an elementary algebra summer session. There were 15 to 20 kids in the class. What was it about Jared that stood out to you?

MCGAHEE: Well, Jared was a pretty quiet person. He seemed like he had - just a bright, red face, like he was shaking and kind of seemed like he was under the influence of drugs. So from the other students, what they could tell. I couldn't zoom in personally since I was kind of focusing on teaching the class but the observations -

CHETRY: Right. But he struck you as somebody that you were actually worried about. You recounted in one interview over the past couple of days -

MCGAHEE: Absolutely.

CHETRY: That when you would turned your back to the chalkboard, in the back of your mind, you thought, what if he had a gun?

MCGAHEE: Right. Because he was saying these random comments, his outbursts like "how can you deny math instead of accepting it" and that's like throwing me for a loop there. I was very concerned.

CHETRY: And so you brought that to the attention of the community college officials.

MCGAHEE: And counselors.

CHETRY: Do you have to really come back at them several times to get them to take this seriously?

MCGAHEE: At least two or three times and the dean, as well, until we took final action.

CHETRY: And what was that final action?

MCGAHEE: I had to ask him to be removed from the class permanently.

CHETRY: Here is one of the students that actually turned over some e- mails. She said that "We have a mentally unstable person in the class." This is Linda Sorensen (ph) and that scares the and this is her words - "living crap out of me. He is one of those whose picture you see on the news after he has come into class with an automatic weapon." I mean this is terrifying now that what we know happened.

MCGAHEE: Absolutely.

CHETRY: - what he's suspected of doing. Everyone interviewed would say, "yes, he was in my math class and he was really weird." And she also went with as far as to say "she sat by the door with her purse handy." I mean, this is a terrifying e-mail now that we know what happened.

MCGAHEE: Uh-huh, absolutely. I just - I don't know what to say. I did wish Jared the best, you know, when he left our classroom and I know his family is probably hurting very deeply as well as he is and I wish all the victims, you know -

CHETRY: Of course.

MCGAHEE: - the best and their families.

CHETRY: Absolutely. And as you look back on this, I mean, do you think there was anything else you could have done? You notified the campus, you notified the dean. As I understand campus police did get involved. Was there anything else that could have been that may have prevented this?

MCGAHEE: I think I did the best that I could. I used my intuition to my best my ability. As I said, kudos to the counselors and to the dean for taking action.

CHETRY: I mean, is there a part of you that thinks this may have very well happened in your own class?

MCGAHEE: Before this time, no. This was the first incident where I was really concerned about a student. I felt like Pima Community College, you know, always had great students.

CHETRY: Right.

MCGAHEE: And it always does. I mean, even when I come back to class this semester, I look forward to teaching a great class. So definitely the college, you know, is not responsible at all for this.

CHETRY: It certainly is a tragedy that this happened and that there were some warning signs, it seems, from people who had day-to-day contact with him, like you. Ben McGahee, thank you so much for joining us this morning. I appreciate it.

MCGAHEE: Yes, thank you. You're welcome.

CHETRY: Well, when we come back, we're going to be talking to a hero in the crowd with shots still ringing out in the air. 20-year-old Daniel Hernandez rushed into the danger zone, rushing to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' side and may have very well could have saved her life. We're going to be talking to him when Daniel Hernandez joins us after the break.

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CHETRY: Well, in the midst of Saturday's killings that was happened in Tucson, some heroes certainly emerged. And one of them is Daniel Hernandez, an intern for Congresswoman Giffords. He was on the job just five days.

And Daniel joins me now. Daniel still a student at the University of Arizona, 20-years-old. Thanks so much for being with us, this morning.

DANIEL HERNANDEZ, INTERN FOR REP. GIFFORDS: Good morning.

CHETRY: I want to put up that picture quickly so we can see what was happening in the aftermath of the shooting that took place outside of that Safeway. And there you were. You see your hand over the Congresswoman's hand as she's being rushed quickly into that ambulance. There it is. It's just such a chilling scene.

What was going on right then and there?

HERNANDEZ: At that time, the emergency medical services had come in and made sure that they had taken care of her medical needs. So I then saw my job as trying to take care of her emotional needs, letting her know that she wasn't alone, trying to keep her calm, or as calm as anyone could be in that type of situation.

CHETRY: And at that point, was she talking?

HERNANDEZ: She wasn't talking. However, she was alert and conscious. She was being responsive to the questions that I was asking and the way she was communicating was by squeezing my hand.

CHETRY: Tell us what happened immediately when those shots first started ringing out. According to the first0hand accounts, she was talking to a couple and then the shot happened and then the firing continued.

What did you do at that point?

HERNANDEZ: I was actually at the back of the line. I was helping to kind of manage the flow of people. The event that she was asking was one of her "Congress on your Corner" events, where she would talk to constituents one-on-one. So, we were trying to make sure that we were doing it as orderly as we could. So, I made sure that I was trying to take care of everyone in the back. So I was about 30 to 40 feet away when I heard the first gunshots.

CHETRY: And then what did you do?

HERNANDEZ: When I heard the first gunshots, I assumed if there was really a gunman, the Congresswoman would likely be a target because of her position. So I made sure that I ran towards where she would be, as well as her staff. If there were any constituents, I assumed if she was a target, there might also be other injuries.

CHETRY: And so what did you see when you got to the Congresswoman?

HERNANDEZ: When I got to the area where the Congresswoman was expected to be, I saw a few people on the ground. So I first tried to make sure that those people who still had pulses and still had visible breaths were treated. I only got to see two or three people before I actually noticed that the Congressman had been hit. And she had been hit severely. She had an injury to her head. She then became my first and only priority.

CHETRY: So what did you do at that point? You had first aid training.

HERNANDEZ: Yes. I was, in high school, put through a certified nursing assistant program, as well as a phlebotomy program. So I'd had some basic first aid and triage skills. So those kind of kicked in and I made sure that I lifted up the Congressman to make sure that she was breathing properly. And once I knew that she was breathing properly, tried to make sure that any wounds she had, I applied pressure so we could stem the blood loss.

CHETRY: And did you at any point worry that this guy who was out there? Whoever's doing this shooting could hit me?

HERNANDEZ: I don't know if the gunshots were still going on when I was running towards the Congresswoman. My only concern was trying to help those that needed the help. And then after I got there and saw that the Congresswoman had been injured, I saw that she was injured pretty badly and I wanted to make her my first and only priority.

CHETRY: And then, as I understand it, EMS, they had to secure the scene first before they were able to move in safely.

Did you at any point think that she wasn't going to make it?

HERNANDEZ: No. Gabby, if you've asked anyone in southern Arizona, is known for being a fighter, whether it's fighting in Congress or fighting for her life now. There was never any doubt in my mind that she would pull through. And she's still going to pull through because she's definitely a fighter.

CHETRY: And this has to be quite overwhelming for you. I mean, the range of emotions. People are calling you a hero, you're dealing with -- you know, your very beloved Congresswoman and friend here in intensive care, still critical. What -- how are you right now?

HERNANDEZ: I'm doing fine. I think my main concern right now is making sure that we're taking care of those people who lost family members, taking care of their emotional needs, as well as those who are still in intensive care because it's not just the Congressman. There were various other people who were injured. And making sure that all of those people who were injured and those who lost family members are in our thoughts and in our prayers.

CHETRY: Also her staffer, Gabe Zimmerman, right, 30-years-old, very loyal and --

HERNANDEZ: Much beloved.

CHETRY: -- said to be a loving man, lost his life.

What has it been like dealing with that as well as the other Congresswoman's injuries?

HERNANDEZ: Losing anyone is a big loss. But Gabe is one of the -- Gabby always tells us she has a great skill to attract people who are extremely loyal, but also very warm and endearing. And, the best people on the planet work for her office because she is one of the best. So losing someone like Gabe is a real loss, not just to her staff, but also the entire community.

CHETRY: And is this going to change the way that Congress people deal with their constituents in the future? I mean, what are you guys thinking moving forward?

HERNANDEZ: I hope this doesn't change the way things go. I hope this will actually encourage people to become more involved in the Democratic process because this is an isolated incident and we shouldn't take this as something that will continue to happen. We should see this, move on, and make the appropriate improvements to security to make sure that everyone is secure, but also making sure that we engage as many people, especially those representatives who are elected to represent their constituents.

CHETRY: Well, you're an amazing young man. Thanks for joining us this morning and good luck. I know that it's going to be a long road ahead. But, thank you so much.

Daniel Hernandez, great to talk to you this morning.

T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, that's remarkable. Everybody here has been commenting, Kiran, that guy is just 20? Certainly a sharp guy and we look forward to seeing more from him down the road.

Thanks so much, Kiran.

We'll check in with you plenty throughout the morning. We're going to have much more on this story live from Tucson, next hour, including two more people who may have saved dozens of lives. One of them tackled the shooter. The other grabbed his hand as he was reaching for another clip. You'll hear from both them.

Also a lot of people are asking, just a lay person, how in the world do you survive a bullet wound to the brain? Congresswoman Giffords is in critical condition but she is fighting for her life and some doctors are even saying that they're optimistic about her recovery. We're going to be asking the hospital's chief neurosurgery about the very long and uncertain road to recovery.

Also up next, they want to be out among the people, of course. They pride themselves on that back in their districts. But some lawmakers are thinking twice about their safety this morning. Two politicians saying they'll be armed even. We'll be live in Washington with a look at what could change. It's nine minutes until the top of the hour.

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HOLMES: As we come up on five minutes to the top of the hour you're taking a live look at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., where the flag, as you see there, is flying at half-staff as ordered by the President of the United States in honor of those who were injured, also killed in that Arizona shooting. One of those being Congresswoman Giffords, who right now, still in critical condition as we look at her work space. That is her office there -- the U.S. Capitol.

Everybody is hoping she will hold on as doctors give prognosis that is pretty good for someone who has been shot in the head. Amazingly, she is doing OK at this point with some good signs that possibly she is going to be able to pull through and recover.

Later this week, though, security briefing for all members of Congress, going to be conducted by the FBI and Capitol Hill police. Already there are calls that there need to be drastic changes when it comes to protecting members of Congress. Some calling for armed guards for each member. A couple of lawmakers also saying they'll arm themselves.

Our Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar live on Capitol Hill.

Brianna, hello. It's one thing when they're there on the Capitol and have Capitol police, they're inside that Washington bubble. But when they fan out to districts they pride themselves on getting up close and personal with their constituents.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J. One of the things that these members have, like Congresswoman Giffords, is a lot of access for their constituents.

Let me tell you there was a conference call yesterday, there were 800 people on this. It was led by Democratic and Republican leaders, lawmakers, their spouses, who, as you can imagine are very concerned about safety, as well for their families, and there were law enforcement officials, top aides to these members of Congress. You had the U.S. Capitol police, the sergeant at arms in the House, the FBI was also on the call. And just to give you a sense of how unusual this is, one member said that he had been in Congress for 22 years and he's never been on a conference call like this with Democratic and Republican leadership.

Part of the call about updating members here about their colleague Congresswoman Giffords. But a lot of it had to do with security. There weren't any really specific security recommendations, according to Congressman Adam Smith, a Democrat of Washington who was on the call.

But we know that aides say it was stressed to these members they need to be vigilant, they need to designate for a staff member in their district to be in charge of security concerns. And if they have any concern for their safety, they need to reach out to either U.S. Capitol police, if they're here in Washington, or their local law enforcement, because T.J., most of these members -- rank and file members -- they do not have any type of security contingent.

HOLMES: Something that a lot of people may not realize that most have absolutely nothing. I mean, they go into these little shops and diners in their district and anyone essentially has access to them. But, some are now, talking about, Brianna, the possibility of arming themselves.

KEILAR: Yes. We spoke with one member, a Republican of Utah, Jason Chaffetz, who says that he's always had a concealed carry permit, that in light of what's happened, in his concerns especially for his family, that he's going to think about carrying that some more.

He said one of the big concerns he has, has to do with the security of his house. He's talking about maybe formally proposing through a subcommittee that he's the chairman of saying that the U.S. Marshal Service should help out with members of Congress the way they do with federal judges.

But also, you know, Congressman Smith, who talked to CNN, who describes himself as a very good friend of Congresswoman Giffords, he says, you know, there's only so much you can do. We are public servants and we can't be going to all of these events with six or seven armed guards.

HOLMES: Brianna Keilar for us on Capitol Hill, where all of the talk today is about Congresswoman Giffords and also how to protect members of Congress. So many other things put on the back burner right now.

Brianna Keilar, we appreciate you, this morning, as always.

Our special live coverage of the tragedy in Tucson is going to continue right after the break. Stay with us. We're getting close to the top of the hour.

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