By FNC Reporter Anita Vogel

It’s hard to look at the video of 19-year-old Patty Phommannyong.  She was vibrant with her whole life ahead of her until her tragic accident.

Patty was taking part in a high-flying cheerleading stunt when something went terribly wrong, causing her heart to stop.  She fell into a coma and is now paralyzed and lives in a nursing home.  Her parents are devastated and drowning in medical bills.

What happened?  A lack of supervision say officials involved in the cheerleading industry.

Cheerleading has become the single most dangerous girls sport – responsible for more than 60 percent of women’s sport’s-related injuries.

What can be done?  One recommendation is for coaches to become certified by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators.

Right now, only 13 states require that coaches have any sort of certification at all and there’s also a movement to make cheerleading an actual sport in the NCAA so far no movement on that.

Another simple thing parents can do is to ask questions about whether the cheers squads will be using mats and spotters like private cheer clubs.

They can make the difference between a safe routine and life-changing accident.

And the big winner of the night at this years CMA Awards… Taylor Swift! Taking home 4 awards including Best Female Vocalist, Album of the Year, and the coveted Entertainer of the Year! Swift came by backstage to talk with us about all her wins, so did Brad Paisley who served as host and will go home with an award.

We also spoke with Lady Antebellum, winners for two categories: Best Single of the Year and Vocal Group. They say although this isn’t their first industry nod, they still have a lot to prove.

Next up, Best Duo: Sugarland, who used their acceptance speech to give a shout out on stage to fellow nominees Brooks and Dunn who’ve announced a split. Sugarland came by (CMA in hand) and talked about how good it feels to be the 43rd winner in this category.

And… we got to drop in on his CMA rehearsal, now he’s a CMA winner – Darius Rucker! We can stop calling him new to the genre now I think… A bonafide country star with the statue to prove it. One he says will go on display right between his Grammys.

And that’s a wrap from the 2009 Fox News coverage of the CMA Awards. Now its time to make your predictions for 2010…click “comment” below to do so!

Ashley and Jill Dobson on the red carpet!

Plenty of cowboy hats and a couple of boots made it onto the red carpet at the CMA’s tonight, as all the country stars dressed to the nines to celebrate the night and honor their peers. 

To name a few we caught up with… Reba McEntire, who wore her own “Reba” line dress! A shiny black floor length gown fitting for county royalty. The multi-tasking star discussed all her latest projects and from clothing to furniture and of course new music this year, she’s been busy.

Several former American Idols made there way over too like Diana Degarmo in bright pink and Danny Gokey (who we spoke to already earlier in the day, but we wanted to know how his first CMA red carpet was going!)  

The Judds (Wynonna and Naomi) came by too and made sure to recognize Veterans Day. They also spoke with us about working together and what this year means to them since 25 years ago today they won their first award as The Judds at the CMAs. 

Now the show is going on and we are backstage waiting for all the winners to tell us if it really is an “honor just to be nominated” or… if its always better to win!
Stay tuned for more from here at the Sommet Center in Nashville.

I have the privilege of spending Veterans Day in a place where it carries special meaning this year. Last week, a gunman stationed at Ft. Hood in central Texas, started shooting and killed 13 people. Twelve of the victims were members of the military. At a time when soldiers risk their lives every day in Afghanistan and Iraq, they certainly don’t expect to risk their lives once they make it safely home. As the investigation continues, and the wounds of the injured begin to heal, the family of those killed will begin to bury their dead. Their sacrifice is a world apart. Even though they were not killed on the battlefield, in the end they were killed because they had a commitment to serving their country. No one but soldiers and those serving soldiers were killed or wounded that day.

Today at a press conference, three soldiers wounded during the attack were in front of the cameras. They are part of a unit who lost three people in the shooting. I can only begin to imagine the pain they and their families are experiencing. They will deploy to Afghanistan before the year is out.

When the military wants to get something done, it can do so with amazing speed and efficiency.  I’ve seen this firsthand in some pretty far-flung locations like Afghanistan and Iraq …  and was reminded of it by the building of the security wall at Fort Hood, Texas.

Using massive forklifts and Con-Ex shipping containers, the U.S. Army has built a protective barrier around a field in front of the III Corp Headquarters Building to keep families, dignitaries and the President safe and out of sight.

By my calculation, the main portion of the wall runs nearly 900 feet long and stands almost 30 feet tall.  A side wall runs more than 200 feet with containers stacked two and three high.  Several members of the White House Press Corp told me they’d never seen anything like it, although I’ve been told by others that both former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney got similar treatment at visits to other military posts.

Inside the wall the majority of press is assembling in a penned in area at the very rear in a corner (is there an underlying message here…?).  Some 2000 chairs have been set up much closer to the platform and podium built near the driveway in front of the HQ, where family members of the Fort Hood victims and some of those wounded who were treated and released will join politicians, officers, friends and members of the public wishing to pay tribute to the fallen.

The mood here has been somber, respectful and reflective.  There is little discussion between soldiers and the press about warning signs that may have been missed by investigators regarding suspect Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s reported contact with radical islamists overseas.  They’re not looking to place blame or point fingers, at least not to us.  What we’re hearing time and again is how proud they are of their fellow soldiers in the way they handled the incident, treating the wounded (including the alleged killer himself) and supporting each other in a time of crisis. The focus here is on healing and staying on course, allowing the investigation to move forward while learning lessons to try and prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

Rick Waits for the ceremony to begin.