Bachmann Wins in Iowa Straw Poll
HOLMES: Top of the hour now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. And a day at the Indiana state fair turns into panic. Look at this, folks. A stage, a concert stage collapses on top of people, at least four are dead. A number of others are injured. In moments, I'll be talking to someone who was there. Also this morning, it's a big day after a big victory for Michele Bachmann. It's also a pretty big day for Governor Rick Perry, stole some of the spotlight yesterday. But both are off and running today for the president nomination. I'll show you what they're saying and where they're headed today. Also, a weekend wedding in Cuba is getting a lot of attention. Why? Because the groom is a he -- the bride used to be a he. We'll tell you what this all means for gay rights moving forward in Cuba. But we do need to start here at the top of the hour by that deadly stage collapse at the Indiana state fair. This is at Indianapolis last night. The fair is closed today because of the accident. Now, I'm going to run a piece of tape year for you. I want you to look at the screen and also listen to it as this happened. It was all caught on tape, this video goes about 20 seconds. Take a listen.</s>HOLMES: At least four people killed when the scaffolding around the stage collapsed. A powerful gust of wind, described between 60 and 70 miles an hour, blew it over. As many as 40 people were injured. They were trapped, many of them, under all of that twisted metal. People were actually using seats as stretchers to help the injured. Take a listen to some of the witnesses.</s>MEGAN RICKERT, WITNESSED STAGE COLLAPSE: We saw the big wind gust and you could see the entire stage come out over to the right- hand side and you could see people underneath it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden, you just looked up. It happened so fast. It just came down and you saw people running. The next thing you know, there's people underneath the stage, trying to get out.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what is happening, but we're just praying for these people because the stage is on top of hundreds of people.</s>LINDSAY OHL, WITNESSED STAGE COLLAPSE: I just automatically started crying, called my family. My family called me. Friends called me -- seeing if I was OK. They knew I was a big fan and I'd be there. The people in front of me, I cried for them not knowing if they had gotten out. Or, you know, there's was a little boy. And that's one thing that is haunting me. I'm hoping he got out.</s>HOLMES: Cory Whitehead was there. He joins me now from Indianapolis. Cory, I appreciate you taking some time with us. First off, where were you as this was happening?</s>CORY WHITEHEAD (via telephone): Sure. Good morning, T.J. We were -- I was with a friend and we were actually in a box seat section in the first rows of the grandstand. So, the right in front of us was the center stage where the stage actually collapsed.</s>HOLMES: Were you call -- I understand announcements were being made about the weather. And giving people a heads-up, if there needs to be an evacuation, this is what you do. But you all -- the crowd was never told, hey, you need to go seek shelter, were you?</s>WHITEHEAD: No, we weren't. Actually, someone came out and there were kind of mixed emotions as he was walking out because I think most people assumed they were going to cancel the concert, because off to the west we could, you know, see the dark clouds and kind of a storm rolling in. And I guess to a lot of people's surprise, it wasn't that it was canceled that they were going to go on with the show. So, we kind of assumed that maybe it was going to move, you know, in a different direction. And then about -- I think about five, 10 minutes later is -- probably five minutes later is when the stage actually collapsed when the wind gusts came in.</s>HOLMES: Well, Cory, it sounds like, you're saying that the weather got bad enough that you were surprised that they were going to continue on with the show. Just how nasty was the weather getting. And were you considering just going on your own and getting the heck out of there?</s>WHITEHEAD: You know, we actually did. Right after the man left the stage, several people started leaving because of how bad the weather did look. You know, we just -- partly, you know, we didn't want to be in grandstands when it was lightning. We saw lightning off in the distance. So --</s>HOLMES: And, Cory, these pictures were incredible. Was your head in the direction -- were your eyes fixed on the stage when this big wind gust came? And I guess, just describe for me, and a lot of people just describe it, it seemed like it was some slow motion as this began to come down.</s>WHITEHEAD: Yes. We had decided to leave, and so we were just talking out, turned around because there was a lot of wind coming. It got cooler. And there was just a lot of dust. Actually, a lot of dust was going in people's eyes and mouth. So, we turned around as we saw a tarp fly off and the speaker fall off and the stage just kind of cracked and fell -- fell on to the crowd. So, yes, we did see that happen.</s>HOLMES: And, Cory, last thing, too. Just the aftermath, we've seen this video, people are trying desperately to try and get under there and get to the people who are trapped. Just how many -- maybe not even an exact number, but give us an idea of how many people were under there when this stage came down and also just describe the scene afterwards, as it looked like people were desperately trying to lift up as much of the steel and the stage and get under there and rescue folks.</s>WHITEHEAD: Yes, I would say maybe 100 people were under that. You know, obviously, I don't know for sure. But it was pretty chaotic as people were going in several different directions. Some people trying to call friends and family. Some people are just trying to get to their cars. Others, you know, of course, as some of the video showed went to try to lift up the scaffolding which is heroic, and I'm sure that helped --</s>HOLMES: All right. Cory Whitehead, we appreciate you taking the time with us this morning after the night you and many people there in Indianapolis just had. Thank you so much for your time.</s>WHITEHEAD: Yes, thank you.</s>HOLMES: All right. We're at eight minutes past the hour now. Let's turn back to Iowa now. All eyes were on Iowa yesterday. The big straw poll is taking place. So, after all the campaigning, all the speeches and all the news coverage, the results, please.</s>MATT STRAWN, CHAIRMAN, IOWA REPUBLICAN PARTY: With 16,892 Iowans voting, the winner of the 2011 Iowa straw poll is Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.</s>HOLMES: Well, there it is. Not necessarily a surprise to anybody there. A big win for Michele Bachmann in that Ames Iowa straw poll -- a poll that may mean more for the losers than the winners. But even before the vote in Iowa, the political game changed with another announcement that happened in another state.</s>GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: It is time to get America working again. And that's why, with the support of my family an unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today as a candidate for the president of the United States.</s>HOLMES: That's Texas Governor Rick Perry, makes it official. He is in the race for the White House. Take a look at the screen here now and see how everybody going to finish in this Iowa poll. Even though Perry wasn't campaigning in Iowa, he still managed to pull a few votes there. CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser breaks down the numbers and tells us where Perry's showing or why, it was actually pretty impressive.</s>PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, T.J. You know, Michele Bachmann, she was already at the top of the polls here in Iowa, in the first state to vote in the primary caucus calendar. Now, by winning this crucial straw poll in Ames, Iowa, she's further cemented her front-runner status in this very important state in the road to the Republican nomination. Here's what Bachmann tells supporters soon after winning the straw poll.</s>REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, everyone. We did this together. Thank you, everyone, for coming together. And thank you so much. What we saw happen today is this the very first step towards taking the White House in 2012 and you have just sent a message to Barack Obama will be a one-term president.</s>STEINHAUSER: A close second-place finish for Ron Paul, the Congressman from Texas who is making a third bid for the White House. A distant third place finish is former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty who now has questions about whether his campaign will continue. And a fourth place finish for Rick Santorum, the former Senator from Pennsylvania. He's actually pretty happy with that finish. He says his small modest campaign can continue. The biggest surprise here, I guess, Rick Perry, the Texas governor who on the same day as the straw poll announce he was running for president. He wasn't on the ballot here, but he finished ahead of Mitt Romney and three other candidates on the ballot. T.J., back to you.</s>HOLMES: You can be sure to tune into to our good friend, Candy Crowley, "THE STATE OF THE UNION." She'll have Michele Bachmann as her guest, talking about that Iowa. Also, her fellow presidential candidate, Herman Cain, will also be there. "STATE OF THE UNION" comes your way at 9:00 Eastern Time. Eleven minutes past the hour now. It's day two of Philadelphia's expanded curfew. It brought fewer reports of arrest. We saw at least 50 people rounded up when they broke curfew Friday night. Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 have to be off the streets by 9:00 p.m. It used to be a midnight curfew on the weekends. The city kept 20 recreation centers open last night to give teenagers an alternative to hanging out on the street. Mayor Michael Nutter expanded the curfew after several high-profile mob attacks. Also, Pakistani police have detained several possible suspects on the wake of an abduction of an American from his home in Lahore. Warren Weinstein works for a development company based in Virginia. His picture we can put here for you now. Actually, I don't have the picture. I apologize. Now, eight armed men abducted him from his home, actually overpowered his guards. They have no claims for responsibility or demands just yet. Also, take a look, you remember this video. It's video that angered a lot of people, including the prime minister, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. This shows a young man after being beaten during the riot in London. It looked like people were trying going to help him but then they are actually robbed him. You see that, somebody going in his backpack, looking through it. He was just standing there bleeding, needing assistance at the time. Well, we can report that now, one of the guys on the tape is in custody. He is one of more than 2,100 people picked up by police during last week's riots. Air conditioning has probably made your electric bill a bit steeper this summer, certainly depending on where you live. But just wait for your water bill to come in. We'll explain why the heat may be to blame for that, too. And let us say good morning once again to Alexandra Steele, in for Reynolds Wolf. Always good to have you here with us. We talked about some relief in Texas. But now, they're just going right back to the way things were before.</s>ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Back to the 100s today. Talk about water, though. What we're going to see, T.J., too much water, especially in the Mid-Atlantic, flooding -- Philadelphia, Washington, New York, we'll talk about what's in store four. A very soggy Sunday. Also, the tropic is heating up. A T.D. seven has formed. We'll tell you who could be under the gun. That's all coming up. I'll meet you back here right after the break.