it's thursday, july 16th. in the news, highway inferno. as thousands of gallons of fuel go up in flames. it will cause a lot of headaches for this morning's rush hour. deadly crash. at a suburban los angeles airport. the plane came to rest perilously close to cars and buildings. and michael's mishap. our first look at the day michael jackson's hair caught on fire. and how it may have changed his fire. and how it may have changed his life forever. captions paid for by abc, inc. good morning. and thanks for being with us. i'm vinita nair. >> and i'm john hendren. jeremy is off this morning. we begin with what can only be described as an inferno at a

major highway intersection in downtown detroit. >> it happened last night. the flames burned for hours. and it's safe to say this will not be your normal commute, where interstate 75 crosses nine mile road. witnesses say the scene of the tanker explosion was absolutely horrifying. >> what was going through my head was that we were all going to die. >> reporter: the fire apparently started when a tanker truck, loaded with fuel, was hit by another vehicle. the impact hit the tanker into supports of nine mile overpass. >> i've never seen so much fire. >> reporter: the crash shut down both sides of interstate i-79, near nine mile road in the city of hazel park. the ferocious fire is under control. but nearby residents say they remain fearful. >> just hope the wind daunt change and blow it at my house. >> reporter: the local energy company says power has been knocked out in nearby areas.

amazingly enough the three drivers involved were taken to the hospital with only minor injuries. they've been talking to police about what caused the accident. the e.p.a. has been monitoring air quality in the area. but there's been no warnings to nearby residents. another accident near phoenix. six people were seriously injured after being flown out of an suv ha rolled over several times on a busy interstate. the vehicle finally came to rest in the media. police say the driver fled the crash scene. in the battle over health care reform, president obama can claim a victory this morning. a senate health committee has passed one version of reform legislation. but now comes the hard part, working out the key details, including how to pay for it all. here's abc's viviana hurtado. >> reporter: a senate committee passed one version of health care reform legislation. >> i move to report the bill as amended. >> reporter: but republicans united and voted against this bill. >> no.

>> senator greg? >> no. >> senator alexander? >> no. >> reporter: this debate is far from over. democrats are still divided on key points, including whether to create a gott-run health insurance program and how to fund it. they're also feeling the heat from industry groups and even the democratic national committee. >> my son has cerebral palsy. >> reporter: for the first time, it released a national ad, targeting members of its own party who has expressed skepticism about the president's health plan. >> it's time for health care reform. >> the democratic national committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> reporter: then, there's steady pressure from republicans. >> let me point out that this legislation has not one, single provision that is aimed at reducing the cost of health care. >> reporter: the president disagrees. and accuses critics of playing a game of politics that has devastating effects. >> the status quo on health care is not an option for america.

it's unsustainable. >> reporter: the white house has been building a coalition that includes health industry groups. but that's falling apart because some congressional democrats propose slapping new taxes on insurance and drug companies. viviana hurtado, abc news, washington. supreme court nominee, sonia sotomayor heads back to capitol hill today for a final day of questioning before the senate judiciary committee. senators have been trying to pin sotomayor down on a number of hot-button issues, including gun control and abortion. so far, she's carefully chosen her words. some senators say she's dodging their efforts. >> let's say i'm 38 weeks pregnant. and we discover a small spinal bifida sac. would it be legal in this country to terminate that child's life? >> i can't answer that question in the abstract because i'd have to look at what the state's law was on that question. >> can you give me your opinion of whether or not in this country i personally, as an individual citizen, have a right

to self-defense? >> as i said -- i don't know if that legal question has ever been presented. >> i wasn't asking about the legal question. i'm asking about your personal opinion. that's what american people want to hear, your honor. >> unless there's a dramatic mistake on her part, the committee is expected to approve sotomayor's nomination as soon as next week. then, her nomination goes to the full senate early next month. former treasury secretary, henry paulson, will find himself on the capitol hill hot seat today. paulson will testify about his actions in the bank of america takeover of merrill lynch. in prepared testimony, paulson said he was justified in suggesting bank of america's chief executive could lose his job on plans to back out to buy merrill. on the west coast, investigators are looking for the cause of a fatal plane crash just short of the airport in hawthorne, california. it could have been much worse.

the crash spewed aviation fuel over a wide area, and narrowly missed several buildings. and a jumble of flight recording tape may hold clues to iran's deadliest air crash in a decade. it was found in a crater in debris and human remains after yesterday's crash. 168 people were aboard the caspian airlines flight that had just taken off from tehran, headed for armenia. shuttle "endeavour" is finally on its way to the international space station. after five, scrubbed launches, "endeavour" lifted off on a 16-day mission. nasa is keeping a close eye on parts of the shuttle that was hit by several pieces of foam insulation during the launch. and 40 years ago today, appall low 11 lifted off on the first manned mission to the moon. onboard that day, astronaut neil armstrong, who would become the first american to set foot on the lunar surface. later today, nasa is releasing

improved video images of that historic moonwalk. now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. thunderstorms, hail and strong wins in parts of nebraska, kansas, mississippi, alabama and florida. scattered showers and thunderstorms around the great lakes and in the northeast new york to boston. >> up to 15 degrees above normal in the west. 111 in phoenix. 102 in sacramento. and 97 in boise. it's 88 in st. louis. and 84 in chicago. but just 66 in fargo. highs in the upper 80s from new york to atlanta. miami hits 92. new orleans, 91. and dallas is 102. when we come back, michael jackson's 1984 commercial that went all wrong. and may have led to a long addiction to drugs. all the details coming up. and harry potter is proving he can still make cash registers ring. your business news is straight ahead. kim pruett, salina, kansas.

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stocks are mostly higher overseas this morning. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 0.8% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened higher. this follows the dow's biggest one-day gain in nearly four months. the benchmark soared nearly 257 points yesterday, closing at 8616. the nasdaq jumped 63 points to close at 1862. a somewhat more optimistic outlook from the federal reserve helped that rally.

the central bank, which had predicted the economy would shrink 2% this year, now, says it will contract by no more than 1.5%. and next year, we could see it grow by more than 3%. but the fed expects unemployment will top 10% this year, and stay high for several more. the rising unemployment rate has more americans on the brink of losing their homes. numbers out this morning show more than 1.5 million homes received a foreclosure notice in the first half of the year. that's up 15% from last year. and experts don't expect foreclosures to peak until the middle of next year. small and medium-sized lender, cit group will not be getting a government bailout. the struggling company which provides loans to nearly 1 million companies may be forced to file for bankruptcy after talks with the obama administration fell apart. the failure of cit could have a ripple effect among small businesses. walmart is unveiling a new green initiative today.

walmart will tell all of its suppliers it must calculate the cost of making its products. that will go for a rating system that will appear on products' labels. but it will probably be years before shoppers see the green labels. harry potter is conjuring up huge audiences. "harry potter and the half-blood prince" took in $19 million. and. and remember, you can get the latest news anytime at our website, abcnews.com. and when we come back, the day that changed michael jackson's life forever. it's coming up next. and the murders of that florida couple we've been reporting on. police say it was nearly the perfect crime. hi, may i help you? that isn't going to break the bank. you're in the right place. only progressive gives you the option to name your price. here.

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a highway crash involving a tanker truck and several other vehicles created a massive fire on an interstate north of downtown detroit. amazingly, none of the three drivers involved were seriously injured. a single-engine plane nose-dived into an airport parking lot in suburban los angeles. the pilot and two passengers died. and shuttle "endeavour" is speeding toward the international space station, after a successful liftoff. nasa is keeping on eye on some foam insulation that came loose during the launch. a new video has surfaced of michael jackson's 1984 accident, that many believe led to his addiction of painkillers. it happened during the filming of a pepsi commercial. some pyrotechnics went off and jackson's hair caught fire. here's abc's lisa fletcher. >> reporter: it was this famous 1984 pepsi commercial that changed michael jackson's life forever. ♪ feel the pepsi way

>> reporter: in this shocking, just-released "us weekly" video, we go behind the scenes and see for the very first time, how the commercial went horribly wrong. on the first take, the pyrotechnics exploded as planned, after jackson descended the stairs with his trademark moves. but the sixth take went horribly wrong, the explosions went off too early. >> it looked like it was part of the show at first. >> reporter: kristen robinson, a teenager at the time, was at the taping. >> his hair was on fire. there was a lot going on. it became evident pretty quickly that it wasn't supposed to happen. >> reporter: unaware that his hair was on fire, jackson kept dancing and spinning, until the flames reached his scalp. >> and people started yelling, stop dancing, michael.

you're on fire. >> reporter: dancers and crew members on-hand rushed to jackson's aid, to put out the flames. >> that was me. in the black. that was me. >> reporter: you're one of the people who got to him first. >> yes. >> reporter: daryl mays was one of the dancers in the pepsi commercial. what's it like to see it 25 years late center. >> the same thing, shock. >> reporter: jackson suffered second-degree and third-degree burns on his face and head. >> he was hauled off to a hospital and given demerol for the first time, which was the prescription drug he became hooked on and he would stay hooked on throughout his life. >> reporter: those close to jackson believe it was this event, 25 years ago, that began his addiction to painkillers. ♪ you've been hit by you've been struck by ♪ ♪ a smooth criminal >> reporter: jackson spoke about his dependency in 1993, after cancelling his tour. >> i remain out of the country

for treatment on dependency on pain medication. this medication was prescribed to exceed the excruciating pain that i received after reconstructive surgery on my scalp. >> reporter: but it seemed that jackson's addiction only continued, until his untimely death last month. lisa fletcher, abc news, los angeles. as lisa's spot mentioned, "us" magazine acquired that video. the issue hits newsstands tomorrow. the investigation into a deadly home invasion in pensacola, florida, takes a major step forward, with the arrest of an eighth suspect in the case. a woman named pamela long, has been arrested in the murder of byrd and melanie billings. investigators say the crime was well-planned. >> we believe that miss long has significant and substantial information that we need to conclude this case. the execution was basically

flawless. the one gaping hole that would not have made this a perfect operation, if you will, is that the fact that the security system, the surveillance system, was not disabled. >> the video captured the killers leaving in a red van. officials are looking for the suspect who failed to disable the security system. the pentagon says the combat zones will not become no-smoking zones. the military says troops are already under enough stress without breaking their nicotine habit. about one-third of all military personnel use tobacco. we told you about the election in southern california for the congressional seat held by secretary hilda solis. this morning, the winner and her name is chu. >> judy chu, on the left, has defeated her cousin by marriage, betty tom chu. it wasn't even close. judy chu won 62% of the vote. >> the names didn't confuse everyone else in california.

in new york, former beatle did his pest to reel in the years for his fans. ♪ jo-jo was a man who thought he was a woman ♪ >> that's mccartney and his band playing yesterday, on the marquee of the ed sullivan theater. >> it was inside that theater that mccartney and the rest of the fab four made their u.s. television debut on the ed sullivan show. >> hopefully the crowds were as good as they were for the ed sullivan show. coming up on "america this morning," you've heard jokes about police officers and their love of doughnuts. >> the delicious story of a shop saving a downtown district is coming up.

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just hit a major milestone, 250 billion members. major league baseball swings back into action today. the all-star break is over. the british open is underway right now in scotland. and with other sports, here's mike yam at espn news. >> good morning, guys. we start with the tour de france. and stage 11 over in europe. an american yet to win a stage so far in this year's tour. 192 kilometers long. mostly a flat stage until the final sprint which is actually uphill. lance armstrong, coming in stage 11 in third place. a good wave to the crowd. there it is. five kilometers to go. martin sappa and johann van somerhon, five kilometers to g. it's a sprint to the finish. flies to the front of the back.

gets his second-straight stage win. his fourth overall. let's look at the standings. lance armstrong sits third overall. so far for this year's tour. thursday's 12th stage is a 131.4-mile trek. it has six, small hills. once again, the sprinters should have an edge. to the association. little summer league action, as the bulls and bucks. james johnson, drafted 16th overall from wake forest. getting the rebound. he had 16 points for the game. second quarter now. bucks up. and bryant jennings showing some of his speed. remember, didn't play in college last year. played overseas in italy. had 14 points, 9 assists and 6 rebound, as the bucks go on to win. jeremy and vinita, back to you. some police officers in michigan are feeding into an old stereotype. they bought a doughnut shop and named