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CNN Live At Daybreak

Funeral for Aaliyah to be Held Today in New York

Aired August 31, 2001 - 07:11   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN NELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: R&B singer and actress Aaliyah will be laid to rest today. The 22-year-old star was killed Saturday along with either others in a plane crash in the Bahamas. A day long memorial and a private funeral service will get underway in just a few hours.

And CNN's Jodi Ross joins us now live from New York with more -- good morning, Jodi.

JODI ROSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brian.

And you're right, things are about to get under way here in a couple of hours. But right now it's all quiet in front of St. Ignatius Loyola Church on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. But very soon we expect family and friends of Aaliyah's to start to gather.

They're expecting about 1,200 people. All those people asked were by invitation only. We're being told that Aaliyah's body will be brought here by a horse drawn carriage from the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home here to the church. That's about four blocks away.

And after the mass we're told that 22 trained doves will be released overhead, one for each year that the singer lived. And as you mentioned, Brian, there is a public memorial service at Cipriani's, which is an upscale Midtown restaurant here in Manhattan. Now, that's our day from 10:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M., and that's a place where fans of the singer can gather to mourn her passing.

They will have Aaliyah's music and videos playing continuously throughout the day and they're encouraging fans to attend that service so that they can grieve for Aaliyah.

The latest on the investigation into the plane crash, too, is that Bahamian officials are now saying that the plane was overloaded pound wise and that probably contributed to the crash.

That's the latest from here -- Brian, back to you.

NELSON: All right, thank you, Jodi Ross in New York.

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