CNN 2008-08-25

Hello to you, I'm Creshon Saunders at the CNN.com newsroom in Atlanta. Here's a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

A Boeing 737 jet has crashed today near the airport in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek. That confirmation 1 came to CNN from a US military spokesman. The number of casualties remains 2 unclear but an airport spokeswoman tells CNN that 120 people were on board the Aseman Airlines flight bound for Tehran. Interfax is reporting that 25 passengers have survived. An airport official told Interfax the crew reported a technical problem on board about ten minutes into the flight. The plane crashed six miles from the runway.

And now to Utah where investigators 3 are looking into a twin-engine plane crash. The pilot and nine workers from a skin cancer clinic were killed. The crash happened Friday evening about 18 miles from Moab. It happened shortly after the plane took off. Families of the victims say the medical group was flying to treat people in remote areas, where they could not get local dermatology treatment. The Grand County sheriff says the plane was on fire when rescuers arrived. The NTSB is investigating.

The crisis in Georgia is the focus of a meeting France's president is planning. President Nicolas Sarkozy will host a special meeting of European Union leaders, that's according to the Associated Press. The meeting will be scheduled for September 1st in Brussels in response to request from several EU members. Since the fighting broke out in South Ossetia earlier this month, some EU countries have accused Russia of failing to pull out all its forces, defying an EU-brokered cease-fire agreement.

Beijing's Games will be remembered for Phelps' gold, Bolt’s sprints 4 and many other special performances. The fire at the Bird's Nest has been extinguished, folks. The Beijing Olympics are now in the history books. Some 150,000 people attended the star-studded ceremony. The ceremony was star-studded with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page playing, David Beckham kicked and Placido Domingo sang. The festivities ended with a fireworks barrage 5 and booming confetti cannons 6. Goodbye Beijing 2008.

Good news for the Obama campaign on the heels of yesterday's VP announcement. Barack Obama is generally getting good reviews for his pick of veteran Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate. The Democrats 7 are headed to Denver for the start of the convention tomorrow. So on the eve of the convention, how is this all playing out in the polls? Here is a look. Barack Obama has opened up a slightly wider lead over John McCain in the latest CNN poll of polls, that's a two-point jump for Obama from our last snapshot while McCain held steady at 42. These numbers of course do not include reaction to yesterday's huge announcement.

Those are the headlines this hour. For more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source online, on TV, even when you are on the go.

Vocabulary:

dermatology:   the part of medical science that deals with skin diseases and their treatment

star-studded:   including many famous performers
a star-studded cast

confetti:small pieces of coloured paper that you throw into the air over people who have just got married or at events such as parties.

The faces blow past in the fog like confetti.