[HEADLINES]

[TALENT=Melanie]

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]


Ahead on News 7, Al Gore is about to be all alone in the Democratic presidential race.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]


And more heavy equipment has been brought in to aid in the search for two victims of Sunday's plant explosion in Radford.
(/////////////)
[TALENT=Patrick]
[SS=None]



[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]


News 7 at noon is next.

[super-tuesday]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2000]


The presidential race is about to have one less candidate, with reports that Bill Bradley will be dropping out of the Democratic primary process tomorrow.
Lee Cowan reports on the aftermath of super Tuesday.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]

[11:30-UPDATE WINDOW]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-George W. Bush/(R) Presidential Candidate; :20]
[SUPER=01-Al Gore/(D) Presidential Candidate; 1:26]
[SUPER=01-Lee Cowan/Reporting; 1:32]
[RUNS=1:47]
[OUT Q=CBS NEWS, WASHINGTON.]

(( Welcome to the first day of the General Election. Although Super Tuesday IS in the history books, the two frontrunners are talking about it as if its a distant memory.
With convincing wins for both Al Gore and George W. Bush the race has narrowed, and so have their targets. Now the barbs are aimed at each other, while the kind words are left for their former party rivals.
SOT/GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

NARR:
Sen. John McCain has made no official decision on whether to leave the race for good although his staff has already published a campaign schedule that has him in Illinois, and Colorado before weeks end.
But the momentum that defined this see-saw race is now gone so is much of his money, AND his argument that Independents could carry him to victory. Last night, they gave him only a handful of New England delegates and the primaries that lie ahead dont look any more favorable.
SOT/SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R- PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

NARR:
Bill Bradley is in the worst shape of all. He didn't carry a SINGLE state not even Missouri, where he was born, or New York where he played pro basketball.
It did not come as a surprise, and he seemed to almost take comfort in a dignified exit from the national stage that sources say will come tomorrow.
NAT/SOT

NARR:
It was Al Gore who may have had the sweetest night of all a sweep of every state by huge margins has virtually locked up the party's nomination. If anyone has the right to settle back and relax, its the Vice President. Instead he was taking on George Bush head on.
SOT/AL GORE, D-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

I will challenge the Republican nominee to join with me in banning the so-called soft money and going further and getting rid of the 30- second and 60-second commercials, all of them, and, instead, debating twice a week every week from the time the nominees are known until the election day. LC CBS NEWS, WASHINGTON))

[radford-Explosion]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#00-09 at 42:55]
[GRAPHIC=New River Castings Explo.]


More heavy equipment is on scene atNew River Castings in Radford.
Investigators are still searching for two women presumed killed in Sunday's blast and clues to why it happened.
[Double Boxes=Melanie and Marya/Starlink]


Marya Jones is in Radford.
Marya, what's going on there today?
[Live=Marya Full/Starlink]
[SUPER=@Marya1;]
[SUPER=06-Radford;]
( ad lib)

[****ROLLED FROM STARLINK****]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Robert Graham/ATF Team Supervisor; :00]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=]
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
[RUNS=:30]
(-------------)



[Live=Marya Full/Starlink]
[SUPER=06-Radford;]
( ad lib)



[Double Boxes=Melanie and Marya/Starlink]



[Barksdale]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-53 TC1:41:50]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2000]


Cleaner streets, more jobs and better pay for teachers.. those are just a few of the things Lynchburg councilman Ed Barksdale says he wants to keep working on for the next four years.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]


Barksdale announced this morning he'll seek re- election to his Ward Two seat on city council.
Two of his council colleagues are stepping down, but Barksdale says the new members won't have a problem getting up to speed.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:00:31]
[IN Q=I'm sure they]

((ED BARKSDALE/LYNCHBURG COUNCIL MEMBER: I'M SURE THEY UNDERSTAND AND WHATEVER THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THEY HAVE GOOD PEOPLE LIKE OUR VICE MAYOR, COUNCILMAN HUTCHERSON, WHO IS CHAIRMAN OF THE FINANCE AND PLANNING COMMITTEE AND OTHER MEMBERS OF COUNCIL WHO WILL STILL BE THERE TO EMBRACE THEM AND TO BRING THEM INTO THE FOLD.))
[SUPER=01-Ed Barksdale/Lynchburg Council Member]
[RUNS=19]
[OUT Q=into the fold.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Barksdale is running unopposed for his seat.
(------------)



[prop-22]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]


Voters in California yesterday also approved the controversial proposition 22.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


The initiative prohibits the state from recognizing same sex marriages performed in other states.
California now becomes the thirty first state to have passed such a law.
(------------)



[clinton-mw]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Minmum Wage]


The minimum wage debate takes center stage at the White House.
In a push for a minimum wage INCREASE, President Clinton rallied Democrats today against a Republican plan that would tie a one-dollar increase in the minimum wage to nearly 123 billion dollars in tax cuts.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]

[10:34:44-10;35;17]
[IN Q=with by partisan support in 1996....]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=to stop us.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=MELANIE]
[SS=HOLD]


The minimum wage issue is expected to go to a floor vote in the House tomorrow.
[tease1] [HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]


After weeks of stalemate, Israeli and Palestinian officials are set to resume peace negotitiations.
Detail are still ahead on News 7 at Noon.
(--------------)
[VO-NAT ]


And after thousands of years underground, thousands of mummies are set to see the light of day.
First let's talk to Patrick Evans.
(---------------)
[Talent=Patrick]

[Wx-Tease] [Weatherpro] [music up full] [comm1]

[County-Fire]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=99-52 TC1:53:09]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]


A neighbor pulled a woman from a burning Roanoke County home overnight.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]


At about midnight, a neighbor found the woman on the floor of her home on Windfall Drive and carried her outside.
She was taken to the hospital.
Fire investigators don't know yet what sparked the blaze.
(------------)



[E-Kroger-Fire]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=00-04 34:20]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]


Also in Roanoke county last night, a grocery store was evacuated
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-Home Video]

after fire broke out at a loading dock.
It happened at the Kroger at Cave Spring Corners.
Flames shot out of a tractor trailer that was up against the store.
[super=03-Roanoke Co.]


Firefighters think the blaze broke out inside the trailer... which was heavily damaged.
No one was injured, but everyone had to leave the store for a while.
(------------)



[E-L'burg-Schools]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-57 1:08:57]
[GRAPHIC=Lynchburg]


They turned out by the hundreds.. Lynchburg school employees who say it's time they start getting paid what they're worth.
But as Steve Smallshaw reports, finding the money for those raises won't be easy.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=natsot]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Rod Camden/Teacher; :16]
[SUPER=01-Elizabeth Austin/School Volunteer; :30]
[SUPER=01-Stewart Hobbs/Lynchburg Council Member; :54]
[SUPER=01-Bill Long/Lynchburg Resident; 1:06]
[SUPER=01-Dot Swain/Budget Committee Member; 1:14]
[SUPER=@ssm2; 1:21]
[RUNS=1:24]
[OUT Q=News7, Lynchburg.]
(( [natsot 18:57:53]
[RUNS= 02]


It had the look and feel of a political convention, and these employees had just one plank in their platform.. more money for the teachers, principals and everyone else in the Lynchburg city school system.
[SOT 19:29:54]

((ROD CAMDEN/TEACHER: WITH SEVERAL YEARS OF GOOD ECONOMIC TIMES, IT IS TIME TO PUT THE TEACHERS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE BUDGET.))
[RUNS= 06]
[OUT Q=of the budget.]


The school board heard tales of teachers forced to take second jobs or who quit because they couldn't make ends meet.
Those left behind are seeking at least a ten percent salary increase this year.
[SOT 19:15:39]

((ELIZABETH AUSTIN/SCHOOL VOLUNTEER: OUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS AND IN THOSE OF OUR LEGISLATURE, AND I HOPE THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE WILLING TO STICK THEIR NECKS OUT TO SUPPORT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.))
[RUNS= 08]
[OUT Q=school system.]


The problems will fall on the necks and in the laps of city council, many of whom were in attendance.
It will be their job over the next several months to find money for raises, school renovations and everything else the city needs.
[SOT 20:26:01]

((STEWART HOBBS/LYNCHBURG COUNCIL MEMBER: AND YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THE BAD THINGS THAT ARE COMING TOGETHER AT ONE TIME THAT WE'VE GOT TO WORK OUR WAY OUT OF, AND AS I SAID, TRADITIONAL MEANS OF DOING IT ARE NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH.))
[RUNS= 13]
[OUT Q=be enough.]
[SOT 19:10:14]

((BILL LONG/LYNCHBURG RESIDENT: I BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN A HIGH QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN THIS CITY AND WE ARE PREPARED TO PAY TAXES TO SUPPORT THAT EDUCATION.))
[RUNS= 08]
[OUT Q=that education.]
[SOT 20:14:44]

((DOT SWAIN/BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBER: ARE OUR YOUTH WORTH THIS INVESTMENT? WE CERTAINLY BELIEVE SO.. THANK YOU. (applause).))
[RUNS= 10]
[OUT Q=applause.]


Steve Smallshaw, News7, Lynchburg.))

[Vinton-Police]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Vinton PD Invest.]


Vinton residents again clashed with town council over the resignation of two police officers-- but some said this latest meeting was constructive.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vinton]


Supporters of former Chief Ricky Foutz and Lieutenant Bill Brown wanted to know if the resignations could have been handled differently or prevented all together before the grand jury report was made public.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=It seems]

((IT SEEMS LIKE THE QUICKEST WAY TO GET THIS BEHIND YOU IS TO EXPLAIN WHAT YOU DID. IT'S NEVER GOING TO GO AWAY UNLESS YOU EXPLAIN IT.))
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=unless you explain it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Council member unanimously agreed the situation was handled properly, and Foutz and Brown would not get their jobs back either way.
Some residents even applauded council members.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I've admired you]

((JOHN OTT/TOWN RESIDENT: I'VE ADMIRED YOU. EVERY TUESDAY YOU COME UP HERE WITH A BIG RED HEART AND YOU'VE TAKEN A LOT OF HEAT, THIS IS MY THIRD MEETING AND THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST CONSTRUCTIVE.))
[SUPER=01-John Ott/Town Resident; ]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=the most constructive.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Council members say they want to get this situation behind the town and move on.
(-------------)



[E-Hager]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-02 1:03:36]
[GRAPHIC=None]


The Virginia political scene got another little rumble yesterday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/Monday;]


Just a day after news surfaced that Virginia Congressman Tom Bliley would NOT run for re-election ...
[SUPER=04-Yesterday;]

... Lieutenant Governor John Hager expressed interest in the seat.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:41:13]
[IN Q=I think]

((LT. GOV. JOHN HAGER: I THINK IT'S PREMATURE TO DRAW THE LINES IN THIS RACE. THERE ARE AN AWFUL LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE POTENTIALLY INTERESTED. AND I THINK EVERYONE, INCLUDING MYSELF, HAVE TO CERTAINLY TAKE A LOOK AT THE PARAMETERS OF THE RACE BEFORE SAYING NEVER. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE DOING THAT RIGHT AWAY.))
[SUPER=@Hager;]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=right away.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Hager's an announced candidate for governor.
His rival for that Republican nomination is Attorney General Mark Earley.
But minutes after Hager told reporters he was thinking about a Congressional run, his campaign consultant said Hager's on board for governor... and would NOT be running for Congress.
(-------------)



[train-ax]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=train Accident]


In Tokyo, four passengers have been killed and at least 31 injured in a train accident.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Tokyo, Japan;]

[9:09:04]
Officials say a rush hour train derailed and was sideswiped by a train traveling in the opposite direction.
The impact of the crash ripped open the derailed car like a tin can.
The cause of the accident is not yet known.
It's believed to be the worst on Tokyo's crowded rail network in more than 10 years.
(------------)



[mideast-talks]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Mideast Peace Talks]


After weeks of deadlock and angry name-calling, talks between Israel and the Palestinians are back on track.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Ramallah, West Bank;]

[9:37:19]
The two sides agreed today to resume negotiations later this month in Washington.
The announcement came from U-S mediator Dennis Ross.
He's attending a summit in the West Bank between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (EH'-hud bah-RAHK') and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]

[9;39:17-25]
[IN Q=The objective is to achieve a ....]

((DENNIS ROSS:THE OBJECTIVE IS TO ACHIEVE A FRAMEWORK OF AGREEMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.....BY SEPTEMBER 13TH.))
[SUPER=01-Dennis Ross/Special Middle East Envoy;]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=by September 13th.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Talks broke down last month over the type of land to be handed over in Israel's withdrawal from part of the West Bank, and the timing and scope of an additional pullback.
(------------)


[Tease2] [SOFT MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]


The Express roll to victory over Greensboro-- highlights later in Sports.
(-----------------)
[VO-NAT ]


And a sticky, centuries-old tradition winds up in Italy.
(-----------------)

[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #2]


[mummy-excavation]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]


Excavations have begun at the site of one of Egypt's most significant archaeological finds.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Baharya, Egypt;]

[10:30:42]
Three years ago a security guard and his donkey accidently discovered a burial site dating back more than two thousand years.
Archaeologists now believe there could be up to 10-thousand mummies buried under the sand, with the majority in an immaculate condition.
(////////SOT//////)
[IN=]

((WE KNOW THAT MUMMIES IN THE ROMAN PERIOD WERE IN A BAD CONDITION. WE KNOW THAT MUMMIES IN THE ROMAN PERIOD WERE COMPLETELY RUINED. WE NEVER REALLY SEE MUMMIES LIKE THIS, BEAUTIFULLY GOLD GILDED AND THEY WERE LOOKING AT ME DURING THE EXCAVATIONS AS IF THEY WERE ALIVE.))
[SUPER=01-Zahi Hawass/Archaeologist;]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT=as if they were alive.]
(--------------)
[VO-NAT]


Archaeologists have so far opened up four tombs where they discovered over 100 mummies.
(------------)



[orange-festival]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]


In northern Italy they're cleaning up after a final orange throwing bash.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]

[7:09;30]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Ivrea, Italy;]
[RUNS=:05]
[OUT Q=nat orange throwing]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Since the beginning of the festival last Monday, hundreds have nursed cuts, bruises, and broken bones from the tons of oranges hurled during the festival.
The traditional carnival festival dates back to the middle ages as a method of chasing away an unpopular feudal lord.
Except at that time the used a much lighter weapon-- beans.
(------------)



[Stocks]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE# none]
[GRAPHIC=stocks]


On Wall Street at Noon, the Dow was UP 40 points.
[tease3] [SPORTS MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]


Still to come in sports, A-C-C honors for Virginia basketball, Marty McSorley faces criminal charges in Canada,
(----------------)
[VO-NAT ]

and the Roanoke Express uses its big guns to win the war over the Generals in the Roundhouse.
Patrick returns with highlights.
(---------------)

[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #3]



[McSorley]


[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=NHL]


Boston Bruin Marty McSorley now faces criminal charges in Vancouver for his attack on Donald Brashear.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vancouver, Canada/NHL]


McSorley has been charged with one count of assault with a weapon.
The charge stems from McSorley's stick attack on Brashear during a game in Vancouver last month, which has already brought him a suspension for the rest of the N-H-L season.
If convicted, McSorley would face a maximum of 18 months in prison.
(------------)



[S-Express]


[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=SP-54 tc 1:43:42]
[GRAPHIC=roanoke/greensboro]


The Express was back at full steam last night as they welcomed Greensboro to the Round House.
Everyone except Joe Murphy was back from call ups.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Greensboro vs. Roanoke;]


A sign of things to come as soon the freezer will be turned into a fieldhouse for the Roanoke Steam and Arena football.
But last night it was hockey, and 31 saves for net-minder Dave Gagnon. The win was Roanoke's 12th straight at home.
[super=38-Greensboro/1/Roanoke/4;]


Troy Lake puts the Express on the board and Roanoke scores three more in the first seven minutes of the third period to ice the four to one victory.
Roanoke is 4 and 1 against the Generals.
(------------)
[anchor=Patrick]
[SS=none]


The Express is not only in first place in the Northeast Division, but in the Northern Conference as well.

[S-Ryan]


[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=sp-45 tc 2:03:36]
[GRAPHIC=ACC]


U-V-A women's basketball has enjoyed a successful season and for that, head coach Debbie Ryan has been named the Associated Press A-C-C Coach of the Year.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Greensboro, NC/HTS;]


This is Ryan's seventh Coach of the Year honor.
Ryan received 26 votes from the A-C-C Sports Writers Association.
Virginia won the A-C-C regular-season title and recorded at least 20 wins for the 18th season.
(------------)



[S-Men]


[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=sp-51 tc 2:05:03]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]


On the men's side, two Cavaliers have made the All A-C-C second team.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville/This Season;]


Junior guard Donald Hand averages about 15 points a game and four assists this season.
He's joined on the second team by Chris Williams.
Williams is a six-seven sophomore who's also throwing down 15 points a game and shooting nearly 54-percent from the field.
Cavalier Travis Watson was named to the All Freshman team.
(------------)



[Skins-Tickets]


[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Redskins]


Redskins fans planning to catch a game next season will have to shell out a few extra bucks.
Team officials say they intend to increase ticket prices by about eight percent.
FedEx Field's most expensive tickets will go from 60 to 75 dollars per seat. The cheap seats will remain at 40 dollars, but most other tickets will increase by five dollars per seat.
by SS