[HEADLINES]
[TALENT=Keith]
(----------------)
[V/O-NAT]
A rally against South Carolina's state house display of the Confederate flag marks this Martin Luther King day.
A late report on that tops NEWS- 7 at noon.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
And word of another mega merger... this one in the pharmaceutical world.
(/////////////)
[TALENT=Kimberly]
[SS=None]
Mostly sunny and cold weather today will give way to winter weather overnight and tomorrow.
An approaching storm system cold bring anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow to the region.
The complete forecast, coming up in a few.
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
News 7 at noon is next.
[SC-Flag]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=News 7 at noon]
South Carolina remains the only state in the nation to fly the confederate flag over its capitol.
Supporters say it's a symbol of Southern heritage. Opponents see it as a symbol of hate and a reminder of slavery. They plan a boycott aimed at state tourism.
Jennifer Jones reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Columbia, SC]
[SUPER=01-James Gallman/S. C. NAACP President]
[SUPER=01-Jennifer Jones/Reporting;]
[RUNS=1:32]
[OUT Q=Columbia, SC.]
((Over one hundred years after the end of the Civil War, the Confederate Flag still flies atop South Carolina's state house in Columbia. While many support the presence of the flag...many others want it down.. and those people are making their voices heard today. Jennifer Jones is at a massive rally and march in Columbia.
(pkg)
WHAT IS SLATED AS DAY OF CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING,
JR...TODAY, IN SOUTH CAROLINA IS MORE ABOUT PROTEST:
James Gallman, President, NAACP SC Chapter
"We think that it's been tremendous, long before we even began on January 1, a number of groups, conventions, etc. have already been canceled."
AT ISSUE IS THE CONFEDERATE FLAG ...FLYING ATOP THE STATE CAPITOL HERE IN COLUMBIA. A SYMBOL USED IN THE CIVIL WAR.
MANY WHITES...INCLUDING SOME MEMBERS OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE.. INSIST THE FLAG EXPRESSES PRIDE IN THEIR SOUTHERN HERITAGE... WHILE MOST AFRICAN AMERICANS HERE CONTEND IT IS A REMINDER OF THE PRIDE TAKEN IN SLAVERY AND DOES NOT BELONG HERE.
SOT: MOS
IN:
OUT:
SO BY THE THOUSANDS PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHEAST...MOSTLY AFRICAN
AMERICANS... ARE TAKING PART IN THIS RALLY LED BY THE NAACP.
EXPECTING THIS TIME, TO GET RESULTS TO AN ISSUE THAT'S BEEN DEBATED SINCE THE 60'S.
SOT: MOS
IN:
OUT:
(JONES STANDUP CLOSE)))
[E-Lee-Jackson]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=00-04 :13]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Here in Virginia, the holiday also has connections to the confederacy.
But if Governor Gilmore has his way, this could be one of the last Lee-Jackson-King days.
Joy Sutton went to Lexington to get reaction -- in the place where both Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are buried.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Robert]
[SUPER=03-Lexington; :06]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/January 12; :11]
[SUPER=07-Robert Gazzola; :22]
[SUPER=07-Andrea Jordan; :34]
[SUPER=07-William Long; :40]
[SUPER=04-File Tape; 1:02]
[SUPER=07-Margaret Long; 1:13]
[SUPER=@Joy2; 1:47]
[RUNS=1:53]
[OUT Q=News-7, Lexington.]
(( Robert Gazzola came all the way from Arlington, Virginia to Lexington to visit Lee Chapel -- to honor and remember confederate general Robert E. Lee.
Gazzola says he agrees with Governor Gilmore that Virginia should have two different holidays - one for Lee and Stonewall Jackson and another for Martin Luther King Jr.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT12:40]
[IN Q=It's a perception]
((ROBERT GAZZOLA: IT'S A PERCEPTION THAT WE'RE NOT PROPERLY HONORING ANY OF THEM BY NOT HAVING IT SEPARATED.))
[RUNS= 7]
[OUT Q=It's a perception that]
Many agree -- saying that having all three of these leaders lumped together in one holiday makes no sense.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 25:16]
[IN Q=I think it's very]
((ANDREA JORDAN: I THINK IT IS VERY CONFUSING. ONE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THEY STAND FOR TWO DIFFERENT THINGS))
[RUNS= 5]
[OUT Q=two different things]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 21:13]
[IN Q=When you say]
((WILLIAM LONG: WHEN YOU SAY LEE AND JACKSON YOU KNOW WHAT THEY THINK ESPECIALLY THE MINORITIES. JUST DIVIDING THEM WOULD GIVE THEM A DIFFERENT OUTLOOK. SO I THINK IT WOULD REALLY BE BETTER))
[RUNS= 9]
[OUT Q=be better]
The Martin Luther King holiday is honored nationally -- and that's why some go further to say the way Virginia handles the holiday is a slap in the face.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT23:26]
[IN Q=I really do think]
((MARGARET LONG: I REALLY DO THINK IT'S UNFAIR AND A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THE IDEA ESPECIALLY THE BLACK RACE))
[RUNS= 4]
[OUT Q=black race]
Gazzola says he's confident that Gilmore's proposal will get bipartisan support in the General Assembly.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:48]
[IN Q=Former Govenor Wilder]
((ROBERT GAZZOLA: FORMER GOVERNOR WILDER IS INVOLVED, GOVERNOR GILMORE. I THINK THEIR LEADERSHIP IS THERE. I HAVEN'T HEARD ANY COMMENTS TO THE CONTRARY. ALL THE RATIONALE IS POSITIVE. I DON'T SEE ANYTHING NEGATIVE TO IT))
[RUNS= 13]
[OUT Q=to it]
But combined holiday or not - it looks like many will make time to honor their heroes, no matter what the day.
Joy Sutton, News 7, Lexington.))
[E-MLK]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=00-02 4:58]
[GRAPHIC=Martin Luther King, Jr.]
The holiday got off to an early start at a Roanoke church
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
New Beginning United Holy Church topped off last night's services with a re-enactment of one of the slain Civil Rights Leader's most memorable speeches.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[20:54-21:09]
[IN Q=I have a dream]
[SUPER=07-Lewis Adams;]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=I have a dream.]
(------------)
[anchor=Keith]
[graphic=Hold]
Martin Luther King Junior would have been 71 years old this weekend.
[School-Closing]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=School Info.]
Water problems forced some Giles County schools to close early.
Giles High School, Eastern Elementary and Macy Elementary sent students home at noon.
[E-Tultex]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=99-46 1:28:37]
[GRAPHIC=Tultex Chpt. 11]
Since 1937, Martinsville and Henry County counted on Tultex to be a cornerstone of the local economy.
That is until last month when the company filed for bankruptcy.
Now the county is preparing to ask the state for assistance
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[from 99-52 36:31]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville/January 7]
Today - Henry County's Board of Supervisors plans to hear from former employees of the sweat-suit maker.
Supervisors want to give laid-off workers the chance to voice concerns before the board puts in a request for state assistance.
(------------)
[anchor=Keith]
[graphic=State Capitol]
The request must be in before the General Assembly's bill-filing deadline on January 24-th.
[Israeli-bomb]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Bombing]
An explosion in a trash bin has wounded several people in the northern Israeli coastal city of Hadera.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Hadera, Israel]
Police say they're treating the incident as a Palestinian militant attack, though there's been no immediate claim of responsibility.
Witnesses said the blast was relatively small. Windows in the area were not broken.
Paramedics told Israel army radio that one passer-by wounded by the blast was in moderate condition. Four others were slightly hurt.
Israel has been bracing for renewed attempts by Islamic militants to disrupt on-going peace talks.
(------------)
[Iraq]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has marked the ninth anniversary of the Gulf War with a televised address to the nation.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Baghdad, Iraq]
In today's speech, he acknowledged his people's sacrifice and praised their courage.
In his televised address, Saddam Hussein insisted Iraq emerged victorious from the "Mother of All Battles" - the six-week war with the U-S-led multinational forces that began on January 17, 1991.
He also praised his people's strength and endurance in the face of the economic difficulties that followed the war.
Saddam said he and his people would march on toward their goal, a goal he did not define.
(-------------)
[tease1]
[HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
Protests in Cuba could actually be helping U-S interests there.
Find out how when News 7 at noon returns.
(--------------)
[VO-NAT ]
And another week-- another blockbuster merger-- this time in the pharmaceutical industry.
First let's talk to Kimberly McBroom about some winter weather.
(---------------)
[Talent=Kimberly]
[Wx-Tease]
[Weatherpro]
It hasn't felt much like winter so far this year...
But now we've got the chilly air in place and a storm system coming in from the west that
should bring snowfall to the region overnight, and possibly a mix of sleet or freezing rain by tomorrow afternoon.
Here's the way the radar shapes up....
[music up full]
[comm1]
[Merger]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]
Two big names in the drug industry have announced plans to join forces in a 76 billion-dollar merger.
Bringing Glaxo- Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham together would create the world's largest drug maker.
Richard Roth has details.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=04-Corporate Video; :24]
[SUPER=01-Richard Sykes/Glaxo Wellcome; :42]
[SUPER=01-Richard Roth/Reporting; :57]
[RUNS=1:11]
[OUT Q=NEWS, London.]
((IN BOTH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT - AS WELL AS MARKETING - THE MERGER CREATES A POWERHOUSE.
NARR: THE COMBINED COMPANY TO BE CALLED GLAXO SMITHKLINE WILL BE THE
LARGEST PHARMACEUTICAL SELLER IN THE WORLD - WORTH MORE THAN 182 BILLION
DOLLARS. ((grafix note: 182.4 billion))
IT'LL BE SELLING A PRODUCT RANGE THAT GOES FROM AQUAFRESH TOOTHPASTE TO
ZYBAN ANTI-DEPRESSANT...FROM AIDS DRUGS TO ANTACIDS.
UNIONS HERE IN BRITAIN FEAR THERE WILL BE LAYOFFS IN THE COMBINED WORKFORCE OF A 107-THOUSAND EMPLOYEES - BUT IN THE U-S, WHERE THE COMPANY WILL MAKE ITS OPERATIONAL BASE, THERE COULD BE SOME EXPANSION.
THE COMPANIES SAY THERE WILL BE COST-SAVINGS IN THE MERGER, SOME OF WHICH WILL BE PLOWED BACK INTO NEW DRUG RESEARCH.
SOT SIR RICHARD SYKES / CHAIRMAN / GLAXO WELLCOME we can now start to exploit some of the wonderful developments tha
t are taking place particularly around the human genome the sequencing the mappping the snip maps that ar being developed,that means that we are going to really start understand the underlying mechanism of disease. 113228
ROTH ON CAMERA: IN OTHER WORDS, NEW TREATMENTS, RATHER THAN LOWER
PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES, ARE THE LIKLIEST CONSUMER BENEFITS IN THIS KIND OF GIANT DEAL...WHICH IS LIKELY TO PUSH THE CONSOLIDATION TREND THROUGHOUT THE DRUG INDUSTRY. RICHARD ROTH, CBS NEWS, LONDON ))
[Cuban-boy]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Elian Gonzalez]
Cuba is still trying to win international support for the return of six-year old Elian Gonzalez.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Miami, FL]
U-S Immigration Officials have ruled the boy belongs with his father in Cuba.
Legal scholars believe the case is as much about politics as it is about the law.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:14:20]
[IN Q=This is an]
((THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR WE MUST ALL REMEMBER AND THE FLORIDA VOTE IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND THE CUBAN COMMUNITY IS A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE FLORIDA ELECTIONS.))
[SUPER=01-Bruce Winick/University of Miami Law School]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=the Florida Vote. (DOUBLE OUT)]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The boy's Miami family hopes an appeal in Federal Court will reverse the I-N-S ruling... possibly as soon as tomorrow.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[SS=None]
Meanwhile, there are those who say the demonstrations orchestrated by the Cuba government in Havana are at least in part designed to PROTECT American interests in Cuban.
The theory is- -without them- -some Cubans might vent their frustrations against U-S citizens and businesses in Cuba.
[E-Tobacco-Bill]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-49 56:27]
[GRAPHIC=Tobacco Settlement]
Tobacco farmers could get a break on their state taxes if a new proposal is successful.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co./July 1999;]
Under the proposal-- growers and quota owners would NOT pay state income taxes on their tobacco settlement money.
The bill is sponsored by Delegate Whitt Clement and Senator Charles Hawkins.
Hawkins also believes farmers should be exempt from paying federal taxes on their settlement.
(------------)
[E-Highway-Safety]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Highway Safety]
A Salem lawmaker wants to give State Police the tools to crack down on speeders - from the air.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./December 1999;]
House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith says one key to making Interstate 81 a safe place to drive is reducing the number of speeders.
So he plans to introduce legislation allowing State Police to use microcomputers when enforcing speed limits from aircraft.
(--------)
[anchor=Keith]
[ss=Hold]
Delegate Griffith says Virginia law doesn't currently allow the use of microcomputers when cracking down on speeders...
But he says air enforcement of Interstate speed limits has been effective, especially on heavily-traveled highways, across the nation.
[Tease2]
[SOFT MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
Singer Whitney Houston allegedly caught with marijuana, but she finds a flight to freedom... for now.
Detail are still ahead on News 7 at noon.
(-----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
And a commercial jet crashes into a Costa Rican neighborhood-- a former C-I-A director is among the injured.
(-----------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #2]
[Turner]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Plane Crash]
Former C-I-A director Admiral Stansfield Turner was injured and his wife and three others killed when their plane crashed in Costa Rica.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-San Jose, Costa Rica]
Investigators are still looking into what caused the plane to plunge into a house near the airport.
Most of the passengers aboard the Czech-built plane were Spaniards.
Three people were in the house and suffered minor injuries.
Turner, who was CIA director under President Carter, is hospitalized in critical condition in San Jose.
(------------)
[Houston-pot]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Singer Whitney Houston is alleged to have been carrying about half an ounce of marijuana when she was stopped by airport security officers in Hilo, Hawaii last week.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC/October 1999]
The singer was about to board a plane for San Francisco when a guard asked to look in a bag she was carrying. The guard allegedly found 15-point-2 grams of pot in it.
Houston was allowed to walk away and board her plane, because the guards work for a private firm and can
only detain passengers for breaches of airport security. Her plane left before police arrived.
Police plan to refer the case to the local prosecutor.
(------------)
[Stocks]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE# none]
[GRAPHIC=stocks]
Wall Street is closed today in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday.
[tease3]
[SPORTS MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
Still to come in sports, the road to the Super Bowl gets shorter.
We'll have highlights of yesterday's N-F-L playoff action,
(----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
and members of the basketball community say a final goodbye to Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills.
More on those stories, next.
(---------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #3]
[Tyson]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Mike Tyson]
A British women's group trying to stop Mike Tyson's upcoming fight lost a round in court today..
The court quickly ruled that there's no reason to review the decision by British Home Secretary Jack Straw.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-London, England]
British officials allowed Tyson into the country despite protests over his 19-92 rape conviction.
Tyson arrived yesterday for a scheduled bout with Julius Francis.
The court decision clears the way for the January 29th fight to take place in Manchester.
(------------)
[Phills-Funeral]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=NBA]
Family and friends gathered yesterday to say their final farewells to Bobby Phills.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Baton Rouge, LA]
The Charlotte Hornets guard was laid to rest in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Phills died in a car crash while drag racing with a teammate David Wesley in Charlotte last week.
Members of the Hornets, and his previous teams the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks, were in attendance.
The 30 year old basketball player left behind a wife and two children.
(------------)
[S-Dolphins]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=rst]
[TAPE#=SP-49 (1:23:10)]
[GRAPHIC=Jimmy Johnson]
Another N-F-L head coach has decided to call it quits.
Miami coach Jimmy Johnson announced his retirement yesterday, just one day after the Dolphins worst loss in franchise history, 62 to 7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Johnson will remain with the team in a limited role, helping with personnel decisions.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="But the one...]
[SUPER=01-Jimmy Johnson/Retires As Dolphins Head Coach; :]
[RUNS=:23]
[OUT Q=....my family."]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
After leaving the podium, Johnson turned the Dolphins over to Dave Wannstedt, who becomes Miami's new head coach.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="We're a....]
[SUPER=01-Dave Wannstedt/New Dolphins Head Coach; :]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=...going to do it."]
(-----------)
[S-Rams]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=rst]
[TAPE#=SP-60 (14:08)]
[GRAPHIC=Rams/Vikings]
St. Louis quarterback Kurt Warner threw 5 touchdown passes as the Rams beat Minnesota 49 to 37.
The Rams advance to next weekends N-F-C championship game against Tampa Bay.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-St. Louis, MO/FOX Sports; :]
Dick Vermeil, the N-F-L's coach of the year, was on the sidelines.
Trailing 3 to nothing, The Rams went on the offensive.
Warner goes over the middle to Isaac Bruce.
He took it 77 yards for the score, giving St. Louis a 7 to 3 lead in the first quarter.
The Rams increased the lead moments later when Warner threw the screen pass to Marshall Faulk.
He cut back to the middle, dodging tackles and scored on the 41 yard run.
St. Louis led 14 to 3.
The Vikings scored 14 unanswered points, seven when Jeff George went to the air and hit Chris Carter on the 22 yard pass play.
Minnesota led 17 to 14 at the half.
[SUPER=30-St. Louis/49/Minnesota/37/;]
The Rams would seal the win on the kickoff to open the third quarter. Tony Horne followed his blockers and ran 95 yards for the score.
St. Louis won the game 49 to 37.
(------------)
[S-Colts]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=rst]
[TAPE#=SP-53 (1:15:53)]
[GRAPHIC=Colts/Titans]
The Tennessee Titans got past the Colts yesterday Colts 19 to 16.
Tennessee will face Jacksonville in the A-F-C title game next Sunday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Indianapolis, IN/CBS Sports; :]
The Colts made their first playoff appearance in 22 years.
Field goals highlighted the first half.
Al Del-Greco booted four in the game -- this 37 yarder tied it at 6 to 6 in the second quarter.
At the open of the third, Steve McNair handed off to George.
He cut up the middle and out ran the Colts secondary for the 68 yard Touchdown run.
The Colts took the 13 to 9 lead with a quarter left to play.
[SUPER=30-Tennessee/19/Indianapolis/16/;]
Payton Manning scored the Colts only T-D on this 15 yard run but the Titans advance with the 19 to 16 win.
(------------)
by SS