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CNN Sunday Morning
F-18 Crashes During Air Show
Aired April 22, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. From the CNN center right here in Atlanta, it is Sunday, April 22nd. Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm TJ Holmes, so glad you could be here with us, 7:00 a.m. here in the east. We are following a developing story this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED YELINEK, WITNESS: There was the crashing sound of pieces of the airplane coming through the trees in the yard across the street and then a huge fireball, maybe 200, 300 yards further on down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Air show spectators watch as a Blue Angels F-18 crashes. We are live on that scene.
NGUYEN: Suspected twisters, they are striking in Texas. It's been a rough night and still a rough morning.
HOLMES: And what do we have there, hail, maybe golf ball size that's dropping there. Thousands of Texans waking up without power today.
NGUYEN: That could do a lot of damage.
Plus this, and eBay account possibly used by the Virginia Tech shooter. What police say he might have bought and sold. We are live in Blacksburg where students are returning to school on this CNN Sunday morning.
HOLMES: But we are going to start this morning with the crash of one of the Blue Angels. That is the U.S. Navy's precision flying team. The crash killed one pilot. The planes were taking part in an air show in Beaufort, South Carolina. That's just outside the Marine air station there. CNN's Nicole Lapin is live for us in Beaufort. Good morning to you Nicole.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning TJ. The latest on the investigation now, we know from a military source, that the plane crashed after it hit some trees on the tail end of a very sharp turn in the end of their formation. We have some CNN exclusive video that's really going to help us tell the story. I'm going to walk you through it right now. You see there are six planes in this diamond formation. They were flying yesterday afternoon, F-18 hornets. You see all of them right there. And then all of a sudden they break off. You see that plume of smoke they are all scrambling around to see what happened. That's when the smoke indicates that that's when the plane went down.
This is the first time a Blue Angels flight has crashed since 1999. So this really helps us tell the story from the sky. Let's look at what it was like on the ground. The view from the ground was simply debris. Look at this house right here. Debris scattered for miles around the crash site. It crashed in a pine tree area and then it shattered into pieces so pieces of the plane went into homes, like you see right here. It went into windshields. It even hurt eight people on the ground. It spooked a ton more as you can imagine. Take a look at this man. He was very scared when he heard this crash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUZZ HENRY, WITNESS: We've been watching the angels. They were flying through here, over here, all around the area. Then all of a sudden I heard this strange noise and I looked up at the end of the road there. I seen this big old fireball going across the sky. I said hey, that ain't in the show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAPIN: Yeah, it wasn't in the show at all. We are hearing right now that not only was that man watching and a lot of other people in Beaufort, South Carolina, but the family of the pilot was also watching as the plane went down. The military is not releasing his name for another 24 hours since the crash happened. As you saw in that time stamp, it happened right before 4:00 in the afternoon local time. So we are awaiting that TJ and as soon as we get that information, we will certainly pass that on to you.
HOLMES: All right Nicole. We would certainly assume that because of the crash the Blue Angels certainly wouldn't be flying today. But this is an air show that goes through the weekend. This is another day of it. Do we expect the air show to continue? What's supposed to happen now?
LAPIN: Actually, yeah, actually yeah. The air show is a big deal. Take a look at this big sign right here in Beaufort, South Carolina. It's the second day of the air show and not the Blue Angel flying but there are some military and civilian units that are going to head up and we are also hearing that a missing man formation will occur as well as - we're still trying to get you that sign. It's really big. I want to show it to you. Take a look at this. All right, we got it, big sign. It's going on. The show is going on, TJ.
HOLMES: We glad we got it. We were wondering where you were going there. So certainly a different tone to the air show today, but Nicole Lapin for us in Beaufort, Nicole thank you so much.
NGUYEN: As Nicole said, debris from the crash was strewn across a large part of a neighborhood there and CNN's Rick Sanchez had a chance to speak with one of the witnesses who was able to provide us with some close-up pictures. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YELINEK: Just before the accident, the Blue Angels in their normal performance had flown right over this house in tight formation. No problem. Everything was great. I did watch that go all the way by. The next time I heard them coming, I didn't actually look up from my work because I didn't expect anything. And all of a sudden I heard a very strange crashing noise behind me. And in the time that it took me to just turn around 180 degrees, the fireball went up some 300 yards from where I was standing and the crash was over that quickly.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Put his pictures up if we can. Put some of the pictures up that we're talking about. We're looking at some of your pictures now. This picture in particular, for example, is on one of the roads. I think you and I talked earlier and you said that the crash ended up at the end of this road, is that correct?
YELINEK: The crash ended at the end of Shanklin Road.
SANCHEZ: That's the one we're looking at.
YELINEK: And Piney Grove Road. And the first part of the crash was the airplane hitting a very large pine tree just off of Piney Grove Road. It traveled some 300 or more yards from there before it impacted the ground. But when it hit the tree, pieces began to shed from the airplane and they're scattered from that yard all the way to the final crash site. You see that I've taken there are of those pieces scattered hundreds of yards before the impact.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing. Now that fire that we saw, small fire, by the way, probably had something to do with the fact that this was kind of the end of the air show and they burn most of their fuel most likely?
YELINEK: Most likely because I was looking directly at the fireball when the airplane impacted. The fireball only last a couple of seconds and was gone. And then all that was left residually were these small fires that you have my pictures of there. And there were quite a few of those over a very wide area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Those pictures are just remarkable, just shows you the impact of this crash. Veronica de la Cruz joins us now. She's been tracking the story online to tell us what you found so far. So Veronica, what do you have?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM: Betty, I've been checking in on both the Web sites for the air show in Beaufort as well as the Blue Angel Web site. Neither one has been updated with new information on the crash, but let's go ahead and check in on the Blue Angels Web site right now. This is what we are looking at. This is the official Web site. What I can tell you about the Blue Angels as a whole, I found some really interesting information about them. Clicking here, frequently asked questions. I can tell you that an estimated 15 million spectators view the squadron during air shows each year and the Blue Angels visit more than 50,000 people a show season. So, as I go ahead and tell you a little bit more about the Blue Angels, let's also show you some of the I-reports that we got yesterday.
This coming I-report coming in from Daniel Able. He's 24 years old and he says that he works at a car dealership that is in the area. He says that he and his friends were watching the planes, all flying normally and then suddenly his co-workers said that they didn't see anymore planes. So those are a couple of the I-reports coming in from Daniel Able. Also, so you know, the Blue Angels, they're traveling at extremely fast speeds, as high as 700 miles an hour at a minimum of 120 miles per hour. So, these people are flying very, very fast. Also the average age of a pilot is 33 years old. Just some of the interesting information I found on the Blue Angels Web site. I'm going to continue to monitor the web and I'll bring you more information as it comes in. Betty?
NGUYEN: Over 700 miles per hour.
DE LA CRUZ: Yeah.
NGUYEN: All right Veronica. Thank you for that.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, we turn to some weather now. Powerful storms, maybe even a tornado or two or three hammer the Texas panhandle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gun it! Gun it Joe! Hurry!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Look here. You can see what appears to be a funnel cloud. The National Weather Service says it will be later today before they know the number of confirmed tornadoes. The storms knocked out power to more than 14,000 homes and businesses late Saturday in Moore County, destroyed buildings and closed roads as well. One hospital near Amarillo says it has treated several people, two of them are in critical condition. Today authorities and homeowners are assessing the damage.
NGUYEN: Reynolds Wolf is live in the severe weather center. He's been following all this and Reynolds, we understand that Texas wasn't the only state that was getting hit with those storms yesterday.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All across parts of the northern and central and southern plains from Texas northward to the Dakotas, we're dealing with some tornado reports. Again, nothing confirmed as of yet. We have to just wait for the local National Weather Service offices to get out there and survey the damage, then they classify as to which areas of damage were tornadoes. We have some of that interesting video for you in places like South Dakota as well as Nebraska that shows widespread debris. Just judging from the limited scope of what we can see here, I would definitely say that is either a tornado or very strong straight line winds. I'm thinking definitely a tornado (INAUDIBLE). Almost like a combine that was ripped apart by some of the winds.
Not unusual to see this kind of activity in the central plains this time of year and as we go back to the weather maps, here is the very end of that cluster. Now it's going to move its way into parts of the Midwest. I would say from Iowa southward to north western Missouri, even in parts of eastern Nebraska as well as Kansas. That's going to be your focus point today. That's where all the elements may come together for a good round of severe thunderstorms. Actually in terms of tornadoes, the situation yesterday was more favorable. Today not quite as much but still, you can't rule out the possibility of damaging winds, large hail and maybe even some flash flooding, especially on the backside of this area of low pressure into the Dakotas.
What we can also expect for much of the eastern seaboard as well as the southeast, more of the same, plenty of sunshine. We're not going to get a break in the dry conditions for parts of Georgia until we get into maybe Wednesday or Thursday. Even then, it's not a given. Meanwhile, on to the west, we see some scattered showers. The high elevations it is snow, snow, snow, some places from 5,000 feet higher, we're talking about up to a foot of snowfall. As we take a look at the temperatures across the nation from Kansas City south to Dallas, temperatures mainly in the 70s, 81 and breezy today in Chicago, 75 in Atlanta. As we wrap it up, New York, a beautiful 75 as well. That's a look at your forecast across the nation. Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
HOLMES: All right. If it ain't one thing, it's another.
WOLF: It's always something, almost something. We're always juggling in here.
HOLMES: All right Reynolds. Thank you very much.
NGUYEN: Yes, indeed.
We want to talk about this now because anger over a bad job review, you can understand. But police say that is what drove a NASA contractor to shoot and actually kill his supervisor before committing suicide? Authorities say the gunman blamed supervisor, David Beverly, for his negative performance review. A witness says Beverly talked with the gunman Bill Phillips for several minutes before Phillips fatally shot him. NASA says it's conducting a continuous review of its security procedures. Employees in the building where Friday's shooting happened, they were evacuated. But others were ordered to remain in their office for several hours.
HOLMES: A popular online action site and a possible link to one of the guns used by the Virginia Tech killer.
NGUYEN: We are going to have much more on that. Also Reggie Aqui is live in Blacksburg, Virginia this morning. Good morning Reggie.
REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Betty. Later this morning, students will be going to church for the first time since the massacre, and tonight they'll be getting ready to go to class. We'll have more on that story coming up.
NGUYEN: OK, we're also going to be talking about bringing order and beauty to a war zone of all places. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, Kyra Phillips shows us the greening and cleaning of Baghdad. Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw Satan at work and I saw God at work at the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: How religion can bring comfort and healing in times of tragedy, especially for victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. That's ahead in our "faces of faith" segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Computer records may provide insight into how Seung-Hui Cho plotted his murderous rampage on the Virginia Tech campus. Investigators trying to get records on an eBay account that may have been used by Cho. CNN has learned the account was used last month to buy magazine clips that would fit one of the handguns used in the campus killings. The account holder also sold several items on eBay in recent months. CNN has not been able to confirm the account indeed did belong to Cho. Blacksburg, Virginia however is listed as the account's address.
Meanwhile, more services for some of the 32 Virginia Tech victims. Members of the school's marching band played at a memorial in Georgia yesterday for band mate Ryan Clark. He was one of the first people shot. Clark's funeral will be held tomorrow in Augusta. Meanwhile CNN's Reggie Aqui is in Blacksburg, Virginia, where classes are set to resume tomorrow at the Virginia Tech campus. Good morning to you Reggie.
AQUI: Hi TJ. Today is going to be an important day. First of all, because it will be the first Sunday that students and community members will be able to go to church since the massacre. I'm standing on the appropriately named Church Street. Right behind me the Methodist church where we expect the pews to be full. And after picking up their Bibles and their hymnals this morning, many of those students will go back to their dorms and their other living spaces to pick up their books, put them in their backpacks and for the first time, head back to classes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AQUI (voice-over): When four-year-old Maylee Moore (ph) heard what happened at her parent's alma mater, Virginia Tech, she picked up a bag of acorns.
MAYLEE MOORE: Give them out to people who were very, very sad because other people died. AQUI: One acorn for each of the 32 students and faculty members who died Monday and one for the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was painful to pick that many and put them in the bag. (INAUDIBLE) That's not enough.
AQUI: While mourners continue to pay their respects on campus, the victims' families held funerals. Twenty-two-year-old engineering student Jarrett Lane was laid to rest. In Evans, Georgia, friends of Ryan Clark held a memorial at his high school. They remembered the triple major with a 4.0 GPA. In Virginia, a memorial service for Emily Hilscher, the first person killed Monday. Investigators are now looking at computers and cell phones belonging to her and the shooter to see if there's any link. Authorities are also looking to see if Seung-Hui Cho told anyone beforehand about his plan. In a written statement, the killer's sister expressed her family's deep regret. Here on campus in the semicircle, the memorial stone for Seung-Hui Cho has just as many flowers as all the rest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel bad for them. Because like, I know they're getting a lot, like, I know it must be really hard for them because they lost a son, too. And their son hurt so many other people.
AQUI: Freshman Kate Salt says she'll go back to classes when they resume Monday. She's determined to rebuild this campus community, for her generation and the ones to follow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AQUI: And a lot of those students after they go to church today will get ready for classes tomorrow morning. TJ, I can tell you, the university tomorrow during the time when the shootings first started almost a week ago, there will be a ringing out bells across campus to remember those students and faculty members who lost their lives.
HOLMES: All right Reggie. We know as well that graduation, of course, just a couple weeks away. Some of those who died were set to graduate. We know they're going to be getting degrees posthumously from the university. But also we got some of those who are injured, maybe some more severely than others, but still some are going to have to be recovering during that time. Some might not even want to set foot back on campus and go to class. What are their options?
AQUI: I have been talking to a lot of students about that and we are getting a lot of mixed answers. The university is really leaving it up to the student body. They can come back to classes or they can just take the grade that they had prior to the shootings and decide to stay home for the rest of the semester. While many students are telling me it's extremely important for them to get back on schedule to see their friends again and their professors, there are other students who say they're not really sure they can do that. They may just try and go to class tomorrow, see how it goes and perhaps take the choice the university has given them and wait it out until next year. HOLMES: A tough choice for a lot of folks. Like you say, they want to get back into it but at the same time kind of hesitant to do so. Reggie Aqui for us in Blacksburg, Reggie, thank you so much. And folks, you can stay us with because in the next half hour, we're going to be talking to Reverend Alexander Evans. He's the pastor at Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. He spent the week, tough week for him, ministering to survivors and the victims' families. He'll talk to us live this morning.
Also tonight, beginning at 7:00, CNN is honoring the Virginia Tech students and teachers who died. "American Morning's" Kiran Chetry hosts "32 Lives to Remember." At 8:00, Soledad O'Brien from CNN's special investigations unit takes you inside the mind of the killer. Don't miss these special reports starting tonight at 7:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: Picking up the pieces after a devastating storm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, you know, it's not really good for us. But we will be back having good times. It's going to be a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices. But we will be back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Residents in New Jersey are still sweeping out the water after last week's nor'easter and for some it's deja vu.
Plus, planting flowers, not bombs. A Baghdad beautification project brings color to a bleak war zone. That's coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Iraqi police again the target of insurgent attacks this morning. A pair of car bombers carry out a coordinated attack on a police station compound in a Baghdad neighborhood. At least 16 people were killed. That number is likely to rise. Nearly 100 others were injured. Both police officers and civilians injured in this thing, also playgrounds, of all things, to tell but, in a war zone. Some people in Baghdad of course building bombs, but not everybody. Others are building parks. CNN's Kyra Phillips has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a moment no one takes for granted in Baghdad.
HUSSEIN AL-TAHAN, BAGHDAD GOVERNOR: We all love beauty, you can see I'm comfortable talking to you because we are sitting in a nice garden Baghdad's Governor Hussein Al-Tahan tells me. The environment creates relaxation so if we increase the gardens and parks in Baghdad, this will help the Iraqi people.
PHILLIPS: In Iraq, in this war zone, a park, fresh flowers, new paint, are considered gifts.
SAFA ALDIN, BAGHDAD RESIDENT: Instead of planting bombs, we plant flowers. It's beautiful. It makes me feel comfortable.
MANAL SHAKIR, BAGHDAD RESIDENT: Thank God for the flowers, grass, even cleaner streets. It just makes me feel better.
PHILLIPS: And that's exactly what Governor Al-Tahan wants. He is spending millions of dollars trying to replace the destruction of bombs with beauty. Now painted with the Iraqi flag, these columns used to be covered with quotes from Saddam Hussein. Hundreds of gardens are blooming, fountains, art, street work. Even blast walls are becoming beautiful murals.
The security situation forces us to put up blast walls, the governor explains. Not everyone wants to accept this military environment so we are changing colors, avoiding the ugly appearance and painting positive pictures. However that ugly picture of war still makes these projects brutally difficult and deadly.
You've had 300 workers and engineers die trying to do this job. How do you keep workers coming back?
AL-TAHAN: We are trying to coordinate more security for them. Their job is more dangerous than being a minister in Iraq, dangerous for garden supervisors like Monaff Faroon.
MONAFF FAROON, MUNICIPALITY WORKER: I just want to defy the terrorists and add something to our country Monaff tells me. This regains the beauty of our past.
PHILLIPS: Beauty and bravery still hard for many Iraqis to believe in. This is Ziuna (ph) Park. It cost $500,000 to build this and it's the first recreation area of its kind since the fall of Saddam Hussein. It has two soccer fields, plus a volleyball, hand ball and basketball court. It has a garden and a brand new restaurant. It's beautiful. The only problem is Iraqis are still afraid of the terrorists, which means they're still afraid to come here. Today it's empty. How are you going to get the moms and the kids to the park?
AL-TAHAN: We believe that behind every man there's a great woman. Those women are led by their children. The children will convince the women to visit these parks and gardens.
PHILLIPS: Familiar sounds of sirens now combined with samples of new scenery, one more creative attempt at peace in Iraq. Kyra Phillips, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Today on "This Week at War," CNN correspondents discuss the war of words between President Bush and congressional Democrats over the war, U.S. military strengths as well as readiness. Tom Foreman hosts "This Week at War." That is today at 1:00 Eastern. NGUYEN: The lone star state is just getting pounded by severe storms. That, my friends, golf ball-sized hail. We're going to take a look at how the storms affected Texas. Plus Reynolds is keeping track of the other weather outside. Good morning.
WOLF: Good morning. Looks like it's going to remain dry in parts of the southeast. We could use the rain, not in the picture any time in the near future. We may see another round of severe weather moving into parts of the Midwest. Take a look at this video taken just yesterday in Texas. Could we see this pop up in parts of, say, the corn belt? I'll let you know coming up in just a few moments.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you Reynolds. We'll see you shortly and we'll have much more on that Blue Angel crash. Some of the incredible pictures we are getting in of the actual air show and also debris that fell on a house. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Air show spectators are shocked as a blue -- navy Blue Angels jet crashes. The pilot killed. We have new exclusive video from the scene just into CNN.
HOLMES: Also, back to campus for Virginia Tech students as the memorials for shooting victims continue. We will speak with a reverend in Blacksburg who has spent the week helping survivors cope. A heck of a week for those folks in Blacksburg, folks on campus and also for this reverend, who's really - he's been there with some of the parents that have been getting that first word about their kids. So he certainly has some insights for us this morning. But welcome back to you all. Good morning to you. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to bring you up to speed on that Blue Angels show crash. A pilot with the navy's precision flying team was killed during the show at Beaufort, South Carolina. But we want to show you this new video that is just into CNN. Take a look.
If you watch closely, you can see one of the six stunt planes loses its smoke trail. All right, are you watching that? We are not sure if this means the plane was in trouble. But as the plane peeled off, one of them never rejoined the formation. And you can see just five planes now. As the remaining planes fly by, you can see the smoke from the crash. There were no major injuries on the ground. But there is a whole lot of debris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM WINN, BEAUFORT CO. EMERGENCY MGMT: We are asking residents in the area of the mishap, please do not mess with any of the parts from the aircraft. Please do not remove any parts from their current location, as we are still trying to do flight investigations.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: As mentioned, the navy is also investigating the crash. The air show in Beaufort does continue today, but the Blue Angels performance has been canceled. The Blue Angels are some of the navy's most gifted pilots, doing students with a special purpose. CNN's Rick Sanchez filed this report last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Fifty-one years, that's how long the navy's elite aerial demonstration team has been thrilling air show crowds around the world.
Looping, rolling, roaring in formation, inches apart. Just over the heads of 15 million thrilled air show fans a year. Remarkably though, given the difficulty and danger of the stunts, Blue Angels crashes are relatively few.
Before today's crash in South Carolina, the last Blue Angel fatal accident happened almost eight years ago, during a training flight in Georgia.
The last fatal crash during an air show, 1985, 22 years ago. All of these thrills, these risky maneuvers, these death-defying stunts, they have one main purpose -- recruiting. Air shows bring people, lots of people. Young people to watch the navy's coolest pilots flying the coolest jets in hopes of a rush on recruiting offices. Keeping the navy's name out there and equating it with cool and exciting. That doesn't hurt either.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We turn now to some severe weather. More than 14,000 homes and businesses in Texas are without power this morning. Take a peek here. The storm battered the area. This is video from Randall County, in the south central part of the panhandle. The hail appears to be about golf ball size. I guess you could see that golf ball size pretty easy there. And Reynolds Wolf taking a look at all the weather that they got yesterday. Certainly looked like golf ball size there. We're going to be hearing about possible tornadoes that actually did hit yesterday?
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well people along the East Coast are cleaning up the damage from the brutal nor'easter this past week. Floodwaters have receded. And now many residents and shop owners are trying to salvage what they can. CNN's Jim Acosta has the story of one New Jersey bar owner trying to keep his head above water.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just because you own a place called Good Times doesn't mean there won't be times like this. Bill Harwood's family-run bar for nearly 30 years was just one of the scores of businesses and homes in Bound Brook, New Jersey, clobbered by the nor'easter of 2007. The devastating storm flooded the downtown with three feet of water.
BILL HARWOOD, OWNER, GOOD TIMES TAVERN: I left here about 2:30 in the morning. And the water was up to the next business over here. I thought, maybe we'll get a foot or two in the basement, that's fine.
ACOSTA: Two days after the storm, when emergency officials finally allowed store owners to return to their businesses, Harwood was blown away.
HARWOOD: I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I really don't, totally devastated.
ACOSTA: Harwood is worried his insurance won't cover even half of the nearly $100,000 in damages to his business. He's been through all of this before. Hurricane Floyd left Bound Brook under ten feet of water eight years ago. The Harwoods had to remortgage their home then just to get back on their feet.
HARWOOD: Not only did we lose everything we had, we lost revenue for one whole year.
ACOSTA: Residents in this town have been pressuring Congress for years to build up the town's levees. This storm, they hope, will serve as a reminder, they're still waiting for help. Despite the hardships for the Harwoods.
HARWOOD: Right now, you know, it's not really good for us, but we will be back having good times. It will be a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices, but we will be back.
ACOSTA: They're ready to do the hard work to get their good times back. Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Voters in France take a big step today in choosing their next president. President Jacques Chirac's second term is coming to an end there are two front-runners and conservative Nicolas Sarkozy seen voting here today. He and socialist Segolene Royal are considered the front-runners. Royal is looking to become France's first female president. The top two vote getters square off again for a final vote on May 6th.
Presidential votes are being counted in Nigeria. Nigerians looking for a smooth transition between civilian presidents for the first time since they gained independence in 1947. But charges of ballot rigging and voter intimidation could mar the outcome. Opposition groups are waiting for the results before deciding whether to challenge the vote.
And today is Earth Day. If you didn't know, now you know. Events are planned all across the globe to celebrate. We will be talking more about Earth Day a little later their morning and singer Sheryl Crow is going to join us live to fill us in on her stop global warming tour. Stick around for that.
NGUYEN: Well we are turning to religion now because during times of tragedy, that's what many people do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God move me -- move me away so that he didn't shoot me in my head or anything like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Many survivors at Virginia Tech are thanking god. And we're going to talk to one pastor who is comforting them.
HOLMES: And America, are you ready to get fit? If not, that guy right there is going to get you where you need to be. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, of course, he wants to get you on the bus or the trailer or whatever that thing is.
NGUYEN: The air stream.
HOLMES: Whatever that thing he's rolling around on these days. Stick around. We're going to be talking to him soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A musical tribute to the victims and survivors of the Virginia Tech shootings written by Kurtis Parks and Josh Kim and performed by the band, The Season. Curtis is a 2003 Virginia Tech grad.
Since Monday, students, staff and faculty struggled to understand what happened and find a way to comfort one another. Reverend Alexander Evans is the pastor at the Blacksburg Presbyterian church and has spent the week talking to the survivors, as well as the victims families. He joins is now live from Virginia Tech this morning. Sir, thank you for being here. We know it's been a tough week for all of you. Certainly for you as well trying to help these people make it through what happened.
So tell me, as you talk to the families, these victims, what is the one thing they're coming at you with? What is the one question they're asking? The one concern they come to you with?
REV. ALEXANDER EVANS, BLACKSBURG PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: Oh, it's been one difficult week, T.J. I think you can imagine. I'm a parent myself with college-age kids, and to learn about the trauma and possibly that your child was among the victims has got to be the most unimaginable horror that any of us could imagine.
It's been a difficult week unfolding since Monday. And the way to comfort folks has been ever evolving also. On Monday, I was with some of the families learning the news, the tragic news about their loss. And there are no words that can be spoken in those moments.
It's mostly just standing together, trying to find some support, offering a shoulder to lean on. There are no words to comfort. But as the week unfolds, people have been reaching out. We've experienced love and care from around the world. We have been prayed for. We have been praying together. We have gathered. We have been drawing on our deepest resources of faith and community. It's been an ever- evolving week.
HOLMES: And sir, as they come to you, you say you are there to listen and to comfort, but no doubt it turns at some point to people looking for answers.
And they look to god sometimes and faith for those answers. What have you been able to or can you possibly give some kind of an answer as to why god is some of the questions you would hear, why god would allow something like this to happen. How is this a part of the whole plan?
EVANS: Well, this tragedy has linked us with people across the ages who suffered tremendous tragedy. All of us cry out to god, how can this be? Where can we find comfort? It links us with those folks across the ages and around the world.
People -- we all know as human beings deep suffering, and so there is a deep crying out. I think god is there crying the first tear. I think god is there embracing us through hugs.
And I think god is speaking to our hearts through hymns and through scripture passages. I think god is in our midst as we've experienced the grace and the care from around the world. The crying out is certainly a natural emotion, a deep longing in all of our hearts. I'm not sure there are any answers at the moment. We live in a dangerous and uncertain world.
HOLMES: Tell me as well, sir, I want to get a couple more things in here. First if you can, quickly, I know you have been talking to the families but also the police officers who were some of the first on the scene who saw all that carnage at Norris Hall - have they been reaching out for help as well?
EVANS: My other role in this town is police chaplain with the Blacksburg police department. I was with them on Monday afternoon as they walked out of that building. You could see in their eyes the reflection of the horror they saw. They will be dealing with that a long time. These are professional, impressive people dedicated to their work, but they are human beings.
This is why the week has been so hard, all of us have been touched so deeply. And we've got to rally together and be community and offer care from the deepest places of our hearts to encourage each other and move on from this.
HOLMES: And sir, got to go, but what is your sermon going to be on this morning?
EVANS: My sermon is about our calling now as a world, as a Blacksburg, as a whole people is to be people of compassion and people of care, so that these things don't overwhelm us. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. That's my message.
HOLMES: All right, Reverend Evans, again from the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. A tough, tough week for you folks in Blacksburg.
EVANS: Tough week.
HOLMES: The entire community and thank you for being with us. Really the work, the tough job you've had all week. Thank you very much for your time. Good luck to you all.
EVANS: Thank you, T.J.
HOLMES: All right, we are going to take a quick break here and we will be right back on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So we are three and a half months into 2007. How is that New Year's resolution to lose weight going? Not so great for T.J. over there.
HOLMES: Wait a minute, I don't look more fit?
NGUYEN: You've got the candy - go ahead, bring out the candy bag. This man eats candy every day.
HOLMES: Only have a half bag here.
NGUYEN: Because you have eaten the other half. And just in case you need some encouragement like T.J. does...
HOLMES: We've got CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He has the "Fit Nation" tour. It's back on the road. First stop, not far. We understand you, Dr. Gupta, the gas prices are high. So you can't go too far. You are just here in Atlanta, right outside of CNN headquarters. But Atlanta is a good place to start. Good morning to you, sir.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We're starting right outside the doors here T.J., Betty, trying to talk about being fit out here. The tour de Georgia, actually, as you know, is going to be here, going around the park around this part of the city today.
Look, we talk about fitness quite a bit. This is the second year of "Fit Nation." The whole point was to try and get off the television screens, if you will, for a little bit and actually recognize that this is a fixable problem and that we could actually try to get into the communities at a grass roots level, try to harness some of the best resources of our company to try to do something about this.
I don't know if you can see our set up over here, we have quite a bit going on out here. Obviously the satellite trucks over there. Air stream, which is very cool, it's a sweet ride as someone said.
A lot of plasma screens, we've got a stationary bike over here as well. Lots of things going on here. We're going to have a show here, getting set up for a live show here in just a little bit. But we are very excited about "Fit Nation." Lots of different cities around the country trying to spread the message that this is a fixable problem and empower communities to do just that.
NGUYEN: You say it's a fixable problem. Really it is because you are asking us to pledge at least an hour, that's it, right?
GUPTA: Look, right. Well, here's the study that came out that basically said for every hour of exercise that you do now, you can actually add two hours to your life later on. Think about that for a second. Every hour you add now, add two hours later on. That's a good bargain.
I would tell people that, and what we're trying to get people to do is pledge enough so that we can add a million hours of life to the country, a concrete goal. That's what we want do this year. A million hours of life. You can go to CNN.com/FitNation. Make your pledge now. You know, there's nothing more important.
NGUYEN: You know, I did an hour yesterday, so I got two for one essentially. Where is the tour going today?
GUPTA: I'll see you on the other side.
NGUYEN: I'm trying.
GUPTA: What was the question?
NGUYEN: Where does the tour go after today?
GUPTA: Well, starting here in Atlanta obviously. We're going to go to New Orleans as well. There are different communities that are more vulnerable. The African-American community for example in New Orleans, specific issues related to them in trying to combat weight.
We're going to try to target some of those issues. We are going to be in San Diego, Denver and Chicago. We are partnering with a lot of events that are going on. For example in Chicago, the Taste of Chicago at the end of June. We are going to partner with that event, talk to people specifically as they are eating all the good food, remind them about fitness, remind them about diet, remind them about simple things they can do now to make serious changes.
HOLMES: And before you go too far, you have a show coming up this morning, as you mentioned, 8:30. What can we look forward to?
GUPTA: Yes, great show. This is the kick-off for "Fit Nation." It's a great show. We are going to be sitting right here. We are actually just outside CNN Center. Tour de Georgia is going to be around here. Lance Armstrong is going to be sitting here with me. Everyone knows who he is. Jeff Galloway, the marathoner and Olympian, we're going to be taking your calls as well. I've got a phone number for you, call in, 404-878-0166. Or e-mail us HOUSECALL@CNN.com. We want to hear from you. This is a live show, so we want to talk to you, hear from you, try to answer some of your questions, obviously all fitness related. We'll try to do the best job we can today, guys.
NGUYEN: And you're going to get on that bike sometime today, right, Sanjay?
GUPTA: Yeah. What you don't know is I actually was on the stationary bike. I actually beat Lance Armstrong's time on that.
NGUYEN: No you didn't.
GUPTA: He doesn't know that either. I'll tell him that when he gets here.
NGUYEN: Yes, be sure to notify him of that. Thank you, Sanjay.
HOLMES: We'll ask him shortly. Thanks Sanjay, we'll see you soon buddy.
GUPTA: Thanks guys, see you.
HOLMES: Well heading back to class after a tragedy the whole world knows about it. What is next for the Virginia Tech students?
NGUYEN: And children of divorce. A recent audio tape from Alec Baldwin highlights how children of divorced parents are caught in the middle. We will talk to Dr. Judy, an expert who will join us live.
HOLMES: And then a little later at 9:30, as we mentioned, it's Earth Day. And singer Sheryl Crow on a different kind of tour to stop global warming. Stick around for that.
NGUYEN: Definitely grab another cup of coffee, maybe get on that treadmill, that bike, CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: Get some candy.
NGUYEN: Yes, lay off the candy. He's eating enough for all of us, trust me. CNN SUNDAY MORNING CONTINUES.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: We have several developing stories this morning. Including a deadly air show crash involving the Navy's Blue Angels. There's some of that exclusive video in to CNN this morning. We have a live update. That's straight ahead.
HOLMES: Also, severe weather strikes Texas and the heartland. We have hail, reports of tornadoes and thousands of residents waking up without power.
NGUYEN: We also have a special treat for you this morning. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is kicking off his fit nation tour with his friend, Lance Armstrong. Some much-need motivation. That's ahead on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: We begin again with that Blue Angels crash. The show does go on today but without those Blue Angels. The Navy's precision flying team dealing with a death of one of their pilots killed in the crash the end of yesterday's air show performance in Beaufort, South Carolina. Investigation is certainly now under way. CNN's Nicole Lapin at Beaufort this morning, good morning Nicole.
LAPIN: Good morning T.J., we are still waiting on the name of that pilot. We will get that to you as soon as we can. But we just got this brand-new video in, an I-report exclusive. It really helps tell the story. I'm going to walk you through it for a second. T.J. this came in from Theresa Richardson. You see there are six planes in the air. And then on the left one just went down underneath the tree line. Theresa and her husband were going to watch it again. Take a look at the left side of your screen. See the one right there. OK. We are circling it for you. It is going down. As the others continue. So the five continue to fly as one was going down past the tree line. We also have another piece of exclusive video that also helps us really demonstrate this story.
This was also coming in from amateur video. Do we have that? This other video we did have it showed six F-18 Hornets up in the air and then one was going down. A plume of smoke as the others was circling around trying to find it. Here is that video again. It helps us tell the story from the sky because what we were seeing before, I'm at the base, the crash happened a few miles from here. The debris scattered for miles. Nobody knew what it was like during the show while it was happening. This was the first day of the show. There it is again. Going down. And this is the first crash since 1999 with the Blue Angels. So we continue to get this new video in. It really helps us demonstrate this story T.J..
So as soon as we get some more of that, we will bring it to you. Here's that exclusive video I was telling you about those six F-18 Hornets. Stop right there. You see there are six and then there are five, right there. They head back. Looking for the missing F-18 Hornet. You see that plume of smoke right there. Very interesting. This is exactly what it looked like as it happened yesterday. It happened around 4:00 in the afternoon. The pilot's name is not going to be released until this afternoon. We do now know that the pilot's family was watching the air show as it was going on. As we are watching the pictures right here, his family, as you can imagine what that's like. They were watching it too.
Also a military source is telling us that the cause of this crash was because of a sharp turn that this plane took in one of their well- choreographed maneuvers, on their flips and turns that they all do in tandem. He hit some trees during a sharp turn and toward the end of the formation. This was at the end of the air show. We should mention that. But like you said the show does goes on. We already saw some cars rolling in here. We heard some horns already under way, signaling the start of this air show. And they are going to have a missing man formation. Otherwise, it is going to be business as usual. They are going to play taps but they are continuing with some of the other military and civilian units up in the sky.
HOLMES: All right. No doubt they are trying to make sense of some of this video. Going to be studying that, certainly going to be part of the investigation. Nicole Lapin for us Beaufort this morning, thank you so much.
Of course, the Blue Angels are a select group of well-trained precision pilots who thrill millions of people with their dangerous stunts. CNN's Rick Sanchez takes a closer look at the high flyers who perform on razors edge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ (voice over): Fifty one years that's how long the Navy's elite aerial demonstration team has been thrilling air show crowds around the world. Looping, rolling roaring in formation. Inches apart, just over the heads of 15 million thrilled air show fans a year. Remarkably though given the difficulty and danger of the stunts, Blue Angel's crashes are relatively few. Before today's crash in South Carolina, the last Blue Angel fatal accident happened almost eight years ago during a training flight in Georgia.
The last fatal crash during an air show, 1985, 22 years ago. All of these thrills, these risky maneuvers, these death-defying stunts they have one main purpose, recruiting. Air shows bring people, lots of people. Young people to watch the navy's coolest pilots flying the coolest jets in hopes of a rush on recruiting officers. Keeping the navy's name out here and equating it with cool and exciting. That doesn't hurt either.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: A lot of people from Texas to South Dakota will be cleaning up from the stormy weather there. Take a look. See all that hail. This is Randall County, Texas. One minute there was golf-ball sized hail yesterday and then the next, funnel clouds. The National Weather Service says it will be later today before they know the number of confirmed tornadoes. Obviously there were several that they are going to be looking at. But a tornado did hit western Nebraska on Friday night ripping up some farm communities. Just look at that. Injuring seven people in the storms that hit that area. Let's get to Reynolds Wolf with a look at what the weather is looking like today. Is the worst over?
WOLF: I would say so. Yesterday all the components were together for this to be at least a decent severe weather event. Today we don't have quite as much in terms of the dynamics and the atmosphere to create a widespread severe weather event. That does not mean to say that we are not going to see some strong storms. We could through portions of the Midwest. But yesterday we had at least 19 reports of tornadoes from Texas into the Dakotas. Today they are going to go by obviously and try to confirm those. We could see more pop up in parts of, say, Iowa into parts of northwestern Missouri. The number one thing we will see, thunderstorms, large hail damaging winds. That will be the kicker.
Meanwhile for the eastern seaboard an entirely different scenario high pressure with this compressing effect on the atmosphere has been giving us beautiful conditions. Especially in New York where we have a couple of live shots for you. The first one we have for you is the great lady herself; there she is looking beautiful. Things are just fine there and the water is nice and still and the skies are mostly sunny as we look to the north on the Hudson River. Very, very nice there. It is going to be just a spectacular day along a most of the northeast. We can expect that to last the next couple of days before a chance of rain returns.
Let's go right back to the weather computer as we do so let's talk temperatures for a moment. High-pressure, as I mentioned, over the Carolinas. Look at the result, 82 degrees in Washington a beautiful day there, 75 in New York, 82 in Memphis, 63 in Memphis. A chance of snow showers to the west of Denver in the high elevations, 57 in San Francisco, and 63 in Los Angeles, and 57 degrees in Portland as well as Seattle. Temperatures will be into the low 60s, keep the umbrellas handy you are going to need them in both spots. In Billings, 61 and in the twin cities, 72. Very windy in Chicago with a high of 81. That's your forecast across the nation. Lets send it back to you.
NGUYEN: OK. Thank you, Reynolds. We want to tell you about this. Ten people are missing after an earthquake in Chile. The magnitude is 6.2; the quake struck the mountains of southern Chile. The government's disaster agency says it caused huge chunks of land to fall in the ocean triggering large waves.
HOLMES: A new beginning and a new normal at Virginia Tech. Students are returning to campus today. Ready to resume class tomorrow for the first time since last week's senseless killings. This Sunday morning all across the country people are praying for the victims and their families. CNN's Reggie Aqui joins us now from a Methodist Church across from the Virginia Tech campus. Good morning to you Reggie.
AQUI: Hi T.J., I'm actually on Church Street, appropriately named. Of course a lot of different congregations along this street. I just talked to one of the pastors as the same pastor you talked to last hour T.J., who works at the Presbyterian Church down the street. He's also the chaplain for the police here. You just -- you have to give him and all the rest of the pastors here a lot of credit. Today will be the first Sunday that they are having services. They have already started having funerals here in Blacksburg and across the country. These are the folks people are leaning on, the people that they are relying on to answer that big question why? The pastor told me he's telling his congregation that evil happens in the world. It does not mean god isn't good. That's going to be the message today in his church and throughout the country, the same message will be echoed.
Yesterday, as I mentioned, some of these funerals started. The first funeral for a student was actually held yesterday in his hometown. That was for Gerald Lane, a 22 year old engineering student here at Virginia Tech. He was a valedictorian of his high school as a matter of fact; there also have been various memorials at the various high schools where these students went to school several years ago. We know that the -- you remember the RA, Ryan Clark. He was one of first people who tried to respond to this incident and was shot and killed in the process. They had a memorial service for him yesterday at school as well.
One of the interesting things that we saw yesterday, some of these students are starting to come back to campus after leaving for a few days. It looked more like the college campus that Virginia Tech was prior to the shootings. They had a family picnic yesterday on campus. A lot of the students enjoying each other, to see each other again, hug each other again, to have a hamburger or hot dog on campus yesterday. That was an encouraging sign for a lot of the students. We talked to those students as they were attending some of these events yesterday. We asked them are you going back to class? The university has given you a choice to go back to class or just keep your grade from prior to the shootings. There are some mixed reactions. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every time I talk to it is like I can't wait to get back to campus. Not so much like talking about I'm excited to go to class. I'm excited to be back with everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure if I can stay in class. It is going to be one of those hard things that you think well, that's what -- that's what the 32 other people were doing. They were just in class trying to get an education and trying to enjoy their class and that's one thing that's in my mind. I'm not sure if I will be able to handle sitting in class the whole time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AQUI: That student told me she wants to attend class tomorrow just to see her professors and support them. But after that she's just not sure. We can all understand that sort of anxiety that student is going through and it will be her choice. Whether or not she will be comfortable being on campus the rest of the year.
HOLMES: Reggie, normal will never look the same on that campus. Reggie Aqui for us. Thank you so much from Blacksburg this morning.
Mean while, tonight beginning at 7:00 CNN is honoring the Virginia Tech students and teachers that died, "American Morning" Kyra hosts " 32 Lives to Remember. Then at 8:00 Soledad O'Brien a CNN "Special Investigations Unit" take you inside the mind of the killer. Don't miss those special reports starting tonight at 7:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: We want to get you now to the investigation. Computer records may provide insight into how Seung-Hui Cho plotted his murderous rampage on the Virginia Tech Campus. Investigators are trying to get records on an eBay account that may have been used by Cho. CNN has learned that account was used last month to buy magazine clips that would fit one of the handguns used in the campus killings. The account holder also sold several items on eBay in recent months and CNN has not been able to confirm the account indeed belong to Cho. Blacksburg, Virginia, though is listed as the account's address.
We also know more this morning about the motive in the shooting at Johnson Space Center. Police say gunman Bill Phillips was angry over a bad job review. They say he blamed the supervisor, David Beverly. And authorities say Phillips shot and killed Beverly before committing suicide. NASA employees were evacuated during that incident on Friday. Others were ordered to stay in their offices for hours. NASA says it is reviewing the security procedures.
HOLMES: A jet crashes and burns during the final minutes of an air show. In its path, a South Carolina neighborhood. We will show you that aftermath next.
NGUYEN: Plus, on a totally different topic, we are getting ready to get motivated. We are live with our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. Don't miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well investigators this morning are trying to determine what caused the deadly crash of one of the Blue Angels the U.S. Navy's precision flying team. The pilot was killed. Take a look at this map here. The planes were taking part in an air show in Beaufort, South Carolina. Just outside of the Marine Air Station there. Here's how one witness described the crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: We have been watching the Angels. They were flying through here, over here and all around the area. Then all of a sudden, I heard this strange noise and I looked up at the end of the road there. I saw this big old fireball going across the sky. I said hey, that ain't in the show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: No, it wasn't. And it was very deadly. Our Veronica De La Cruz is tracking this story online. What kind of information are you able to pick up?
DE LA CRUZ: Well Betty we just heard from one of the eyewitness accounts from someone at that air show. We want show you pictures that we received from our I reporters. These first ones are from Daniel Able. He says he works in a local car dealership in the area and he and his friends were watching the show. He says they were watching closely. The planes were flying normally. Suddenly they didn't see the planes anymore.
These next photos are from Fred Yelinek of the aftermath of the crash. You can see the smoke immediately after and then the debris that litters the ground. Fred says he was working across the street at the time. Saw the plane hit the top of a tree and clip it off. He says that sound turned him around and he said the plane exploded on impact with a giant fireball and shook the earth.
Checking in on the Web Betty, the Blue Angels Web site has not been updated with information on the crash and neither has the Beaufort Air Show Web site. But some information I gathered about the squadron as whole, in order to become a Blue Angels pilot you must be an active Navy or Marine Corp tactical jet pilot with at least 1,250 flight hours logged. So these people have a lot of experience. They definitely know what they were doing. If you were at the air show yesterday and you have photos or videos that you would like to share with us, you can go and log on to CNN.com/ireport.
Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, Veronica we appreciate that.
We want to let you know what's coming up. This is really exciting, especially around here and for you sitting at home, we are trying to get the nation fit. Exercise and extended life for you on the road to good health. We are going to go live with chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Lance Armstrong with a preview of the "Fit Nation Tour." Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Working out at home can be quick and easy. But there are some things to keep in mind. Robert is a personal trainer.
ROBERT, PERSONAL TRAINER: Make sure you warm up your muscles before you train in any environment. At home or in a professional environment. .
COSTELLO: Adding pushups, situp, dips and crunches all these exercises can work our arms, lower back, chest, and core abs.
ROBERT: The old calisthenics have been around for so long because they are effective.
COSTELLO: Work your biceps, triceps, and your shoulders.
ROBERT: You don't have to have any equipment. You can just have a chair and your body weight.
COSTELLO: If you have lower back issues start with pushups. This works on forearms, upper arms, chest and helps you tone up.
ROBERT: That's several exercises with no budget in mind other than your time.
COSTELLO: Twenty minutes a day and you are off to a good start.
Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back, everybody on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. We or I have changed locations at least. Got the good doctor with me this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We are here talking about the "Fit Nation Tour." The guy is actually trying to help us all live longer. You are that good of a doctor. You can add years to people's lives. I'm impressed. We are going to talk about this tour in a second. But I know "House Call" coming up at 8:30 you have a big show.
GUPTA: Yes, we have a big show. Launching the "Fit Nation Tour" today here at Centennial Park. We will talk about fitness and some specific tools you can arm yourselves with themselves with to try and do good by their health. Lance Armstrong will be joining me, everyone knows who he is. Jeff Galloway as well an Olympian marathoner. I will take your phone calls as well. It is a live show, so actually take phone calls 404-878-0166. E-mail us as well HOUSECALL@CNN.com.
HOLMES: I'm going to have to call in and get some advice. But you won't answer my e-mails.
GUPTA: You look great.
HOLMES: I'm trying to get advice on my health. All right. Tell us. Why the tour, though? Again, picking up where you left off last year. I have to -- why continue? Why this year?
GUPTA: The thing about it for me was we talked about the numbers all the time, 2/3 of American adults are overweight, a third of children now overweight or obese. We are talking about these numbers so much; I think you can almost sense people's eyes glazing over as we talk about it. We believe this is a fixable problem; we have gotten to this place in our society and our history of this country. How do we start to reverse that?
President Clinton who joined us last year told me, he said, our generation of children right now have a good chance of having a shorter life span than their parents because the obesity epidemic. For this first time in our history our life span can be going in the wrong direction. We can't just sit by and not do anything about this. We wanted to get off the television screens and go into these communities with this Air Stream trailer and talk to people about how to empower their communities towards better health.
HOLMES: You talk about the trailer. It is nice in there.
GUPTA: Yes.
HOLMES: Sweet ride. I start here in Atlanta. But tell us as well, you are going out there talking to folks and trying to educate. But also, you are putting a challenge before the nation as well.
GUPTA: Yeah. There is a new study T.J. that came out and I think it is very concrete about something you can sink your teeth into. For every hour of exercise you do now, you can add two hours of life later on. Think about that. Two hours of life later on for your family, for your loved ones, for whomever you want to be around for two hours of functional life. That's a good bargain. We want to try to add a million hours of life to all Americans around the country over the next few weeks.
HOLMES: I'm going to jog back to the studio. Will that give me --
GUPTA: That will give you 15 minutes of life.
HOLMES: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta coming up with "House Call" here at 8:30. Sounds like a good one. You will have Lance, a big-time guest. I'm just a little guy.
GUPTA: Stick around. Get on the bike before you leave.
HOLMES: I will. Right now we will hand it back to you, Betty.
NGUYEN: After all the candy you ate you need to get on the bike and then run back to the studio. We need you back here in two minutes. Go! Thank you T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: We want to return now, though, to the scene of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Classes resume on Monday. Students don't have to return. Many say they will. They tell us why next here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: An investigation is under way into that crash of a Blue Angel stunt plane. The pilot was killed in the crash. There's new video on the CNN that shows the six planes breaking formation. Here's some of that right now. Then one of the planes -- we will show you more of it right there. Six of them, then one of the planes disappear. There were no major injuries on the ground to report. Of course, we are all over this story. We will bring you more just as soon as we get it.
In other news, suicide bombers targeting the Iraqi police this morning. Two coordinated explosions rocked a police station in Baghdad. At least 16 are dead, both police officers and civilians. Nearly 100 others were injured in that blast.
We are going to have much more on the Blue Angels crash at the top of the hour. But first, we want to get to you this. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a special edition of "House Call" live in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. Take it away Sanjay.
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