working her sources, martha raddatz. >> reporter: there are nine of them mostly marines, ethan martin. sky moat. ryan jess ski on his sixth deployment. jesky was on the hbo series generation kill. and lance corporate greg buckley just 20 years old. all dead at the hands of afghan security forces who were supposed to be trusted partners. but buckley told his grieving father just days before he was killed, that he feared afghan soldiers. >> he called me on the phone, he said dad'm not feeling good. he said somebody's going to hurt me, but don't tell mom. don't tell my brothers. >> reporter: the number of attacks, deaths by afghan forces already this year, exceeds the total for last year. earlier this year, after a spade of attacks by afghan forces, we were with general john allen as he counseled his young marines. >> this is the time for professionalism, this is the time for trust and confidence and this is not the time for resjeng. >> reporter: and marines were quick to tell us that there were trusted afghan partners. >> they told us to lay low and looking out for us, so they're actual

here's abc's martha raddatz. >> reporter: this was a special operations mission, with two navy s.e.a.l.s, a navy explosives expert, and three afghan forces flying in northern kandahar. an afghan interpreter alongside. the blackhawk, one of two on the mission, went down in the rugged terrain, landing in flames and badly mangled. as soon as it was down, enemy forces headed for the crash site. but they were fired on by another u.s. helicopter. u.s. teams then moved in on the ground, to recover the bodies and begin the investigation. the taliban claims they shot it down. they know how vital helicopters are to america's mission in afghanistan, given the mountainous terrain. it was just last year that a chinook helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing 30 americans, including 22 from a navy s.e.a.l. unit. >> rockets, rpgs, all those types of weapons can really get after a helicopter. they have good defenses onboard. but they're not perfect. >> reporter: the increase in violence is a sign that the u.s. is winning in southern afghanistan. but with 18 u.s. deaths in 10 days, it pr

here's martha raddatz tonight. >> reporter: the three suspected al qaeda operatives had timers and enough explosives with them to blow up a bus. even more troubling, at least two of the men had been practicing flying light aircraft. believed to be motorized paragliders like those seen here. those innocent-looking pleasure craft that the suspects may have intended for far deadlier purposes, since al qaeda has long been obsessed with arming aircraft. how much explosive substance could you put on something like this? you can see underneath the pilot there is room where he could potentially put explosives. or in the past, we've seen suicide vests where he would carry the explosives on his body and perhaps detonate as he flew into a crowd, as he flew into a stadium, someplace where he could make that terror attack and create fear. >> reporter: the paraglider would add to the already creative but lethal bomb delivery systems terrorists have used over the years. there was the printer bomb, the shoe bomb, the underwear bomb, but also used or contemplated, explosives hidden in teddy bears, cameras

officials up at night trying to figure out what the plotters will think of next. >> all right, martha raddatz on the plot foiled tonight. martha, thank you. >>> another developing story, the national hurricane center is tracking a new tropical storm this evening which just formed in the caribbean. many parts of the u.s. would welcome the rain if that's what it brings. meantime, also the heat a star across much of the country. meteorologist ginger zee tracking it all. starting with ernesto. where is this thing? >> it's too far away right now for any of us to get the rain you were talking about. but it will go through the caribbean. i want to show you its path. bermuda and st. lucia have tropical storm warnings now. by monday should be a hurricane. then we put cancun on alert for the mid week. >> you were telling me more than two weeks straight of triple-digit heat in oklahoma city. >> 16th day in a row for 100-plus. a thelo of people outside of them seeing this heat because of this high pressure system. it goes clock wise, presses air down to the ground. no cloud cover, no rain. look at this t

thank you, martha raddatz. >>> now, we turn to the shooting we told you about in the nation's capital. the gunman who opened fire at a family research counsel. a powerful conservancy group. tonight, we're learning more about the security guard who saved a lot of lives. here's abc's pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, we hear for the first time from the security guard who probably stopped a massacre. the guard's mom called today and spoke to the abc affiliate. >> i just reacted an once i saw it i just raengted. >> reporter: the fbi said leo johnson confronted this man after he walked into the family research council headquarters and yelled "i don't like your politics." johnson was wounded and wrestled to the floor. the fbi said he carried 50 rounds of ammunition and told agents he was frustrated about homosexuals' treatment. in his recent support of chick-fil-a who recently voiced his opposition to gay marriage. late today, the council accused the civil rights group of using rhetoric that encharged the shooter. a charge they call outrageous. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> as

abc's martha raddatz has those details. martha. >> reporter: diane, the author does not use his real name or those of other s.e.a.l.s but this has the s.e.a.l. community buzzing. no s.e.a.l. from the bin laden raid has ever gone public before, pseudonym or not. he was there when the navy s.e.a.l.s busted down the doors of the bin laden compound. he was there when osama bin laden was shot to death. the former navy s.e.a.l. who uses the pseudonym mark owen, has written a tell-all to beat all tell-alls. "no easy day, the firsthand account of the mission that killed osama bin laden" has been a closely held secret by the publisher but is expected to be an instant best-seller when it is released on september 11th. no one knows exactly what's in it yet. but the publisher says the book provides a blow by blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended owen's life straight through to the radio call confirming bin laden's death. the administration and military were quick to say that the author

and abc's martha raddatz has been looking into what happened tonight. martha. >> reporter: diane, it's not certain a helicopter was shot down, but there were no weather problems, no indications from the pilot of mechanical failure and the helicopter was flying deep in enemy territory. this was a special operations mission, with two navy s.e.a.l.s and navy explosive experts and three forces flying in northern kandahar. an afghan interpreter inside. the black hawk, one of two on a mission, went down in rigid terrain at 10:30 this morning. going down in flames and badly mangled. as soon as it was down, enemy forces headed to the crash site. but they were fired on by another u.s. helicopter. u.s. teams then moved in on the ground to recover the body and begin the investigation. the taliban claim they shot it down. >> we're out on the right side. >> reporter: they know how vital helicopters are to america's mission in afghanistan, given the mountainous terrain. itas just last year that a chinook helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing 30 ame

martha raddatz stands by. >>> and the dust, the blinding dust over a major american city. the blinding dust this evening. tonight, we take you inside the storm. >>> and the dramatic dive. the american who wasn't supposed to make the cut and dove into gold. his chinese competitor crushed. and the olympic images, it takes 3,000 clicks to capture one golden moment. >>> good evening on this sunday night. we begin here as the presidential race takes on a new intensity this evening. the nation introduced to the romney/ryan ticket. this image from wisconsin where supporters gathered to welcome mitt romney and paul ryan right there in ryan's home state. they have the frame there, america's comeback team. they have made tops in virginia and north carolina and now we are hearing from the president, taking the stage a short time ago offering his own review of the ticket, welcoming paul ryan to the race. but it was what he said after that that drew cheers from his own supporters. it's your voice, your voice and we have it all covered with jon karl on the trail with the romney campaign

it just won't be the same. >> all right, martha raddatz in our washington bureau. martha, thank you. >>> we're going to turn next to london, where this is the final weekend now of the olympics getting under way. this evening, the u.s. is poised to finish these games with more medals than any other nation, after a late surge in track and field, including a world record performance today. also the south african known as the blade runner, back in action. abc's bill weir, leading our coverage again tonight from the london olympic games. >> reporter: he's known as the fastest man with no legs. and oscar mipistorius was still favorite, as he brought up the year in the 4x400 meter relay tonight. a dramatic finish at the head of that pack, as the runners from bahamas blew past team usa on the anchor leg to win the island's first ever gold. but no one could beat america's best sprinting women. they set a world record, to take the 4x100 meter gold. usain bolt will race in the men's version tomorrow, after a public war of words with carl lewis, after the american legend quest

here's abc's martha raddatz. >> reporter: a serious ball of fire power in the streets of aleppo today, as assad forces appear to move street to street, leaving dead and wounded in their path. but beneath the show of force, the crash only grows. speaking for the first time since his defection, the former prime minister of syria said assad's control is crumbling. the regime is spiritually, financially, and militarily cracked riyadh hajad claimed. and it only contains 30% of syrian land. it is not clear that the claims are true, but what is true today, that the u.s. is not interested in establishing a no-fly zone over the skies of syria, like the one used so effectively to topple moammar gadhafi in libya. >> with regards to the no-fly zone, that is not a front issue for us. >> reporter: and it is no wonder. it would be a dangerous mission. syria has 20 times the number of surface-to-air missiles as libya did. its air contact far exceeds libyas. and its pilots are far more capable. and add to that, syria's population is three times that of libya. >> this is a country that if we, united st

they could say that about bill shieffer, candy crowley and martha raddatz but it would be a lie.e debate moderators know what we want to ask. governor romney, you gave the campaign tax returns. why shouldn't voters be able to see your tax returns to see your tax returns to make the judgment. paul ryan, why won't you let the american voters know what's in all of the tax returns instead of the two years you say you will release. and congressman ryan, you voted yes for a 90% income tax on bonuses paid by banks that were bailed out by tarp money. that tax was unconstitutionalal and opposed by vice president biden and president obama. why did you vote for an unconstitutional 90% income tax in 2009 and are now opposed to a 4% increase in the top tox bracket? we'll come up with a lot more questions fullbackn't debate moderators in the next two months and we hope you will too. you can suggest questions to me on twitter or on facebook. and thanks to twitter, you can politely suggest questions directly to the moderators. rush limbaugh is going to keep lying about these debate moderators. a

during a white house briefing her phone goes off to "riding dirty" kind of funny. >> martha raddatz, those embarrassing. >> i haven't had a whole lot. i always keep it on vibrate. how embarrassed can you be. >> oh, hold on. >> who is it? >> jamie mccarty. jamie who works here at "world news now." are you there? jamie, we're live. >> bye, jamie. that's it for this news half-hour. don't miss our updates at face book -- wnnfans.com. >> thank you for weighing in. we always invite you to go to facebook for fun. and twitter as well, find us -- @abcwnnfans. a whole lot more coming up from abc news. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now" -- informing insomniacs for two decades. high speed internet at home on our newly expanded advanced digital network, a connection you can count on. introducing at&t u-verse high speed internet with more speed options, reliability and wi-fi hot spots than ever. go to our website below to get u-verse high speed internet for just 14.95 a month for 12 months with a one-year price guarantee. it's all the speed you need all at a great price. our newly expand

and martha raddatz doing the v.p. debate. do you think it's good to have diversity in the lineup? these two women are both friend of mine. i've known them for years. there's nobody better in the profession than candy crowley and martha. there are a lot of good people out there. but these two, there's -- there's nobody that i would put ahead of them. and yes, i think it is a wonderful thing. i'm the father two daughters and have three granddaughter. i think women should be involved in this. most of the people coming into journalism these days, howard, not like when i got into it, when it was -- all a man's game. most people know coming into journalism are women. i think it's only natural that we would have two women doing the debate. i think we're lucky to have the two we do. >> overdue. it was last sunday that you had on "60 minutes" the first joint interview with mitt romney and his running mate paul ryan. how did you land that? >> i was home when the phone rang. >> that's all it took? you picked up the phone? >> you know, most of my career, howard, has been being next to the pho

jim lehrer, candy crowley, and our own martha raddatz of abc news. she will moderate the october vice presidential debate in kentucky. >>> a texas man being served with an eviction notice responded with gunfire. it happened near the texas a&m campus. when backup officers arrived, he kept shooting, killing a bystander and three others. after a three-hour gun battle, he was shot. >>> george zimmerman's lawyer will move to have the case dismissed on an upcoming stand yourround hearing. that allows people to use force if they are in danger. the lawyer says this is a traditional self-defense case because zimmerman could not retreat from the beating martin was giving him. >>> we're learning about the health challenges of jesse jackson jr. he is responding well to the treatment for bipolar disorder. he had weight loss surgery in 2004. doctors say that may have contributed to his mental health issues. >>> the raucous indiana state fair was silent last night, after a freak windstorm brought down the stage. music was shut off, rides stopped and all activities

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> syria, libya very different. a lot of people think no-fly zone worked so well. let's do it there. syria has 20 times surface-to-air missiles libya did. >> wow. we mentioned in the piece, martha, ex-prime minister said his regime is on the verge of collapse. in control of 30% of the country now. iran continues to provide training for assad's troops. listen to how deadly things have gotten, just yesterday alone, another 60 people were killed according to activists including six children. really the travesty, in this civil war and all of this, just the brutality against innocents, women and children, continue every day. in that country. it is so sad to see. >> it is indeed. >>> a plea deal may be in the works in the so-called manhattan madam case. a match making recruiter helped run the multimillion dollar prostitution ring. agreed to plead guilty. not clear what the deal would mean, who faces serious charges in the case. she is due in a new york courtroom tomorrow. >>> hits keep on coming for former nfl star, chad

abc's martha raddatz has the details on what we now know. >> reporter: it is a major embarrassment for the navy. "the the "uss porter," a billion dollar guided missile destroyer left with a gaping hole in the right side after a violent collision with the japanese tanker. we were on a destroyer earlier this year in the strait and saw then how difficult the transit can be. >> the shipping lane itself is only about two miles wide, so there is very little room to maneuver. that's the massive aircraft carrier "uss abraham lincoln" just behind me. >> reporter: but it seems to break all of the rules of navigation. the navy ship was exiting the strait into the persian gulf. the japanese tanker, twice the size of the destroyer was entering the strait. ship traffic is much like car traffic. each vessel was supposed to stay to the right. instead, say official, the "uss porter" turned left into the on coming tanker. >> why a u.s. warship would turn in front of a less maneuverable super tanker. >> reporter: fortunately there were no injuries but the ship's captain will almost certainly be relieved

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> i can't keep up. i can't keep up with all of this. >> that news can keep all of us up at night. i found the story chilling. made me think of the story earlier this week, they had the flight, two hours into it and turned around they found the suspicious camera. from that report that is the kind of stuff they have to look out for. you don't know these days what they're turning into bombs, teddy bears, prosthetics, body cavities they will go to any lengths. would rather have the plane turn around and be late than not make it at all. >> many people were pooh-poohing that story. why would a plane turn around just because of this camera left -- on the seat? well. >> if you wonder why, watch martha's story again. you will see why. >>> more news this morning, fire crews battling a raging wildfire in northern california say they will not have it under control until sunday. the fire has now burned across 500 acres near lake shasta, forcing people to flee their homes. more than 300 firefighters are out there on

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> now as she mentioned a lot of news outlets have reported this guy's name. and that he has fled to alaska which is his home. but there are concerns now about, we said national security. >> for alaska, he is from alaska reportedly. now there is trouble because the pentagon requires any retired military personnel if they're going to release some sort of information they have to have it reviewed and pass it along to the department, defense department to make sure that there are not revealing sort of classified information. so he could be in trouble from the pentagon. >> also troublesome that a news organization would release the name, possibly, putting those. >> several news outlets doing it. >> abc is not. odd oice. but i think people really, there is one thing, militarily, the last 20 years, people want to read about it is that particular mission. >> that's right. >> see how if there is any fallout. also this morning, a stunning development in a case of a teenage girl from saint louis missing for two years. the now 17-year-old girl says she was he

our senior foreign affairs correspondent martha raddatz is in iran this week, a rare opportunity to report from inside the secretive country. there she attend the biggest summit the nation has held in modern history. >> reporter: here in tehran, everywhere the delegates go they see deskripths of horrors the iranians say were inflicted on their innocent citizens. one of the most prominent display three bombed and burned out vehicles where iranian nuclear scientists were killed. the attacks were right out of a spy thriller, sticky bombs planted on cars by a speeding motorcycle driver. iran blames israel and there has been no flat-out denial. at the summit, the iranians even trotted out the scientists' widows and children, passing out roses. some delegates have even been offered tours of a nuclear facility the iranians claim is for peaceful purposes, but the u.s. says satellite photos show the facility has been sanitized in recent weeks. you think that this is all lies. that you are going to make a nuclear weapon? >> this information that the united states announced to the people is wrong. >>

abc's martha raddatz joins us from washington with the very latest. good morning, martha. >> reporter: good morning, josh. a sobering reminder this morning that the war in afghanistan is still raging. just hours ago, a man dressed in an afghan uniform opened fire on american forces in southern afghanistan, killing the three u.s. soldiers. but we're also learning new details about a suicide attack on u.s. forces earlier this week. the taliban targeted senior u.s. military leaders, killing the senior enlisted soldier in the brigade and two others, including major thomas kennedy, a west point graduate and hockey player, with young twins back home. the attacker, wearing an explosive vest when he approached major kennedy and the other soldiers. losing leadership like that is a devastating blow for those they lead. josh. >> martha raddatz, thank you for that. >>> attorneys for movie theater shooting suspect, james holmes, claim their client is mentally ill. holmes appeared in court wearing the now-familiar dazed expression on his face. his attorneys asked fo

abc's chief national security correspondent, martha raddatz, has been tracking the latest. this happened while joint chiefs martin dempsey was on the ground. but the military asked that nothing be reported until dempsey was out of the country on a new plane. >> reporter: that's right. it happened after midnight. the attack left shrapnel holes on the crew door. an apache attack helicopter nearby was damaged. and two maintenance workers were slightly injured. they're saying the rocket attack was a lucky shot. not aimed at the chairman, who was not near the plane and is just fine. let me give you a sense of the reality of that base. yes, it's massive. and there's a couple of rocket attacks a month. i've been there when that happens. they rarely do much damage. but make no mistake, they are lethal. they can kill and injure people. it's impossible to say whether for sure chairman dempsey's plane was or was not targeted. and there's lots of aircraft on the field. but the militants would certainly know he was there, george. >> and, martha, there was another attack when leon panett