[Betty Nguyen, Cnn Anchor:] Well, good morning, everybody. And welcome to the CNN Center here in Atlanta. It is Sunday, July 29th. I'm Betty Nguyen.
[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm T.J. Holmes. So glad you all could start your day right here with us.
[Nguyen:] We do want to get you straight ahead to an air show stunt that goes horribly wrong. It's all caught on camera by several of our I-Reporters, and it's one of the many different deadly crashes that occurred this weekend.
[Holmes:] Also, we've got some good news we'd like to pass along to. And it's coming out of Iraq. Yes, the whole country has soccer fever this morning. Can a game really unite this war-torn country? We'll get into that. Plus, we've got this.
[Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton , Presidential Candidate:] Let's make sure that we put it to work.
[Nguyen:] Hillary heckler gets booed herself. Yes, things are getting tough on the campaign trail. More presidential politics, that is coming up this hour.
[Holmes:] But we do start with those air tragedies. An Ohio air show takes a horrifying turn. An award-winning stunt pilot crashes his plane as stunned spectators watch. The crash captured by several of our I-Reporters. The pilot died on his way to the hospital. He was performing an aerobatics maneuver when his biplane slammed into the runway and caught fire. Among those who witnessed the crash, a news photographer for CNN affiliate WKEF.
[Matt Lawrence, Wkef Photographer:] The stunt was called Mary's Lamb. And he's corkscrewing down. And he is supposed to pull up. He is supposed to get low to the ground and pull up, and just have his belly get low. But he is supposed to pull up. And he just apparently, he just misjudged it and couldn't pull up in time.
[Holmes:] Investigators are trying to determine the cause of that crash. The air show is set to resume this hour. Also, we're getting more information about an air show collision in Wisconsin. Federal investigators say it does not appear that weather or mechanical problems were factors in the accident on Friday. One pilot was killed when his vintage plane collided with another one while landing. He has been identified as a 58-year-old North Dakota man known for rebuilding old warplanes.
[Nguyen:] Well, investigators in Phoenix are taking a closer look at the wreckage of two local news helicopters, and they're expected to remove the debris today. The NTSB is also interviewing dozens of witnesses. So far, though, no one is giving an indication that there was anything wrong before that crash happened. We do want to get more now from CNN's Rick Sanchez.
[Unidentified Male:] Hey oh, my god. Channel 15 and Channel 3 just had a midair collision. They're in the park. Oh, man.
[Rick Sanchez, Cnn Correspondent:] The horror in his voice really tells the story, the pain of watching colleagues die. He is a chopper pilot for TV station KSAZ, a lucky one, one who survived, but seems tortured by what he saw.
[Unidentified Male:] A collision over here at the park. Two helicopters two helicopters down. Oh, my god.
[Sanchez:] Five news choppers were tracking this police chase over Phoenix's crowded skies. They describe the stolen car, the car getting ditched, the suspect getting out. Then on live TV, the story suddenly changes.
[Unidentified Male:] OK. Oh. Oh. Scott, we're going to have to turn back around and get away from this. We do have two helicopters down during this crash.
[Sanchez:] Two news helicopters crash into each other. They fall about 500 feet into a city park and explode into flames. Witnesses say one seemed to get sucked in by the other.
[David Wilson, Witness:] I heard like a loud gunshot. And then about two seconds after that, there was a real loud like a huge bang. And then just two helicopters coming straight down, falling about three different areas and bursting into flames, and debris is all over the place.
[Sanchez:] There was a pilot and a photographer on board each helicopter. All four were killed. Jim Cox and Scott Bowerbank worked for KTVK. Craig Smith and Rick Krolak worked for KNXV. On the ground, no one was killed, though it was raining helicopter parts.
[Steve Chealander, Ntsb:] A rotor blade came off of one of the helicopters and hit a truck. It was a delivery truck. And it hit the front windshield of the truck just in front of the driver, but then embedded itself in the asphalt.
[Sanchez:] Piece after piece fell into the pond in the city park. Investigators are draining it, looking for clues. Rick Sanchez, CNN, Atlanta.
[Nguyen:] A medical helicopter crash in Marks, Mississippi, has left two people hospitalized. It crashed shortly after takeoff. They were transporting a car accident victim to a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which is about 80 miles away. Now, the original accident victim suffered no additional injuries in this helicopter crash. And the FAA is still investigating. Let's talk about arming America's allies. CNN has confirmed the U.S. is working on a plan to sell $20 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and five other Persian Gulf countries. A senior administration officials tells CNN the 10-year arms sales package is aimed at offsetting aggression from Iran, and the sale will be on the agenda when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates meet with Saudi officials next week.
[Holmes:] A blast from the past. Pakistan's embattled president is apparently turning to a one-time rival in a bid to save his political future. A government aide confirmed today that president General Pervez Musharraf held talks this weekend with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. She is an exiled opposition leader. A government minister says the two discussed the power-sharing deal. Musharraf is expected to seek re-election in October. Analysts say he's contacting opposition leaders to build support as his political strength weakens. The U.S. relies on Musharraf to fight radical Islam.
[Nguyen:] Well, there is an important meeting at Camp David a little bit later today. President Bush will be welcoming new British prime minister Gordon Brown. It will be their first face-to-face meeting since Brown succeeded Tony Blair last month. Brown is also scheduled to address the United Nations in New York a little bit later this week. And you can look for a live report from Washington in our next half hour. White House Correspondent Ed Henry joins us with a preview of today's meeting between President Bush and the British prime minister.
[Holmes:] And Japan looks like the ruling party is headed for a major defeat in today's parliamentary elections. Japanese television networks reporting that exit polls show the leading opposition party is poised to get big gains. That would be a defeat for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's liberal democratic party, and it could cost the leader his job. It also could trigger a period of political deadlock for the world's second largest economy. Well, it's not just the candidates who aren't playing nice. Hillary gets heckled? What happened next, that's coming up right after this.
[Nguyen:] And the high-heeled hundred. Take a look at this. Yes, these lovely ladies have decided they want to run in heels. Why would anyone want to do this?
[Holmes:] Yes, why, Betty?
[Nguyen:] For some cash. We'll tell you about it.
[Holmes:] OK. Oh, it makes perfect sense. Maybe some diamonds at the end of that.
[Nguyen:] Oh, I'd run in that race.
[Holmes:] Also, the mishap caused by a missing elevator. Yes. This is no bad dream. This really happened at a U.S. ballpark. Stay tuned for those details right here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.