July 1, 1997: Open Lines

Art Bell opens with a promise to answer the Air Force press conference on Roswell over the coming evenings. He announces that a July 4th presentation in Roswell will feature isotopic ratio tests on crash debris, with scientists from major universities prepared to argue the material is manufactured and not of Earth origin. He also teases developments in Phoenix he is not yet ready to reveal publicly.

Callers bring a wide range of topics to the table. An ex-NASA contractor who worked television operations at Johnson Space Center during mission STS-80 offers to share information about video handling procedures. The original provider of the STS-80 footage calls in to discuss anomalous objects captured during the shuttle mission. Other callers debate the Mars dust storm threatening Pathfinder, the Mir space station crisis, and the ongoing mystery of Mel's Hole, with a caller who owns land near the alleged site weighing in.

Art also reports on bizarre weather sweeping multiple continents, from unprecedented flooding in Switzerland to unseasonably cool desert temperatures near Death Valley. He notes the dust storm on Mars is now confirmed by Reuters and mainstream outlets after initially being dismissed when he reported it days earlier.