[Cuban-Boy]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Elian Gonzalez]

The White House is again defending the weekend operation that reunited Elian Gonzazlez with his father and set off demonstrations in the streets of Miami.
The President's press secretary says Mr. Clinton believes the raid was ''the right thing to do.''
But a growing number of Congressional Republican leaders call the raid illegal.
Lee Cowan reports from Andrews air force base where Elian and his father remain.
[Double Boxes=ANCHOR/Microwave]


[Live= Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=01-Lee Cowan/Reporting]
[SUPER=05-Miami, FL]




(rollcue... )
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]


[SUPER=01-Joe Lockhart/White House Spokesman;]
[SUPER=01-Doris Meissner/INS Commissioner;]
[SUPER=01-Armando Gutierrez/Spokesman;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=]
((
(LOCATOR: YESTERDAY, WASHINGTON, DC)


NAT/SOT MARYISLESIS SOBBING 9:38:34
That right there aint a smile..
NARR:
A wild weekend brought wild accusations and today, a curt response from an administration that blamed the Miami relatives for forcing the governments hand.

SOT/JOE LOCKHART, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN
All of this could have been avoided family did not respect the legal process that the father should be reunited with the young boy.
NAT/SOT RAID

But a growing number of Congressional Republicans charge Saturdays raid was illegal, that the federal government did not have a valid warrant to enter Elians house in Little Havana.
Doris Meissner, who helped head up the operation for the INS says that is simply not the case.

SOT/DORIS MEISSNER, INS COMMISSIONER

But despite new pictures showing a happy, and seemingly comfortable Elian with his father, his Miami relatives fear the worst.
Not only do they claim some of the pictures were doctored, but they charge Saturdays raid took place while the relatives were in the process of finalizing a peaceful transfer.

SOT/ARMANDO GUTIERREZ, SPOKESMAN

NARR:
The relatives continue wandering Capitol Hill looking for a friendly ear to help them get through security at Andrews Air Force Base something they say they will try again today, after being turned away twice over the weekend. ))

[Live= Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Miami, FL]
(ad lib)


[Double Boxes=ANCHOR/Microwave]

---

[egg-roll]

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

President Clinton focused his attention on some of the nation's children today.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[11:06:04]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC;]
[RUNS=04]
[OUT Q=ready set go.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Thousands of children were on the White House lawn for the annual Easter Egg Roll.
Seventy-two hundred colored hard boiled eggs were used for the event and another 25-hundred for egg-decorating activities.
Janet Reno was also scheduled to be at the White House to read to some of the children.
(------------)

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[Trout]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=campaign 2000]

Health problems have forced Roanoke City Councilman Jim Trout to drop out of his campaign for re- election.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]

That word came this morning from his campaign spokesman.
The 70- year- old councilman had heart surgery after doctors found a tear in his aorta.
Campaign aide Dan Frei (Fry) says Trout is not responding as well to the surgery as doctors had hoped.
Trout was running as an Independent.
His departure from the race leaves six candidates running for the three available seats on city council .
(------------)

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[M'Ville-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=murder investigation]

Martinsville police are investigating a weekend murder.
Shortly before 11 Saturday night authorities received a call that a black male was lying on the ground near 600 Fourth Street.
When officers arrived they found the victim.
He's been identified as 27 year old Sidney Lloyd Jones of Martinsville. Jones was pronounced dead at the hospital.

---

[Shooting]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]

Martinsville Police are also investigating a shooting that left one person dead and another injured.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville]

It happened outside Applebee's restaurant last night on Commonwealth boulevard.
Authorities found a 28 year old Hispanic male lying on the pavement behind the restaurant suffering from gun shot wounds.
He was taken to Martinsville Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A female was also wounded and taken to the hospital.
So far there is little information about what lead up to the shooting.
(------------)

---

[construction]

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

In Illinois today, a deadly construction accident.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Peoria, Il; ]
[11:30-UPDATE WINDOW]
Police say five workers workers at a bridge site in Peoria fell this morning into the chilly Illinois River.
Three of the workers were killed.
A marine boat and scuba divers as well as the Coast Guard assisted in the rescue of the workers.
The extent of the injuries is not known at this time.
(------------)

---

[Play-Death]

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

An Easter play turns deadly in Italy.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Camerata Nuova, Italy;]
[649:46]
Police say an actor died during a passion play in a village south of Rome.
Twenty-three year old Renato Di Paolo was acting as Judas Iscariot in a re-enactment of the crucifixion Saturday when was found hanged to death.
Amateur video shows the reaction by fellow actors and the crowd after they realized what happened to di Paolo.
(///////SOT///////)
[IN=]
[RUNS=:05]
[OUT=(SCREAMING, RUNNING)]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Judas Iscariot was the apostle who betrayed Jesus and then hanged himself in remorse.
Police believe Saturday's death was accidental.

---

(----------------)[Parkway-Fatal]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal accident]

Authorities are investigating a fatal accident on the Blue Ridge Parkway early Sunday morning.
A vehicle ran off the road at mile marker 105 in Botetourt County and caught fire.
The accident happened just after 2 AM.
The body has been sent to the medical examiner's office in Roanoke for an autopsy.

---

[Fatal-Ax]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-10 33:10]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]
One woman is dead following a head on collision.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.]
Authorities say around three yesterday afternoon 67-year old Norma Miller was driving on Bethlehem Road in Boones Mill when she attempted to pass a pickup truck. A Bronco coming from the other direction collided with Miller's Subaru. Miller died at the scene. The driver and passenger in the Bronco were taken to Roanoke Memorial by EMS -- officials say their injuries were not life threatening. The road was closed down for two hours but has since reopened.
(------------)

---

[Feedback]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=Feedback]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Viewers are voicing their opinion on the Elian Gonzalez case and the Columbine school shootings.
Assignment editor Joe McKean has more in this week's Feedback.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Animation open]
[SUPER=03-Miami, FL/Saturday;]
[SUPER=03-Littleton, CO/April 20, 1999;]
[RUNS=1:25]
[OUT Q=animation out]
((The action that federal authorities took early Saturday morning to reunite the Cuban boat boy and his father prompted a Roanoke viewer to send an email to President Clinton...and a copy to us. [Daryl McKay Roanoke]
"I hold you personally responsible...for the violent way the INS took Elian Gonzalez away from his relatives in Miami. You could have done something...you chose to do nothing. I hope it haunts you to your dying day!"
A year after the massacre at Columbine High School, images of the tragedy once again filled local and network newscasts.
A viewer from Danville wrote: [Marilyn Rigney Danville]
"These families and students have worked very hard through prayer and encouragement from the Christian community to grieve and go on with their lives for the past year, and then the media comes along and hashes it all over again with reports, videos, photos and interviews. How can people find the strength to heal from such tragedies if they are not allowed to go forward?"
Your comments on issues in the news and how we handle them are always appreciated.
Our mailing address is News-7, P.O. Box 7, Roanoke, 24022-0007.
To send a fax, just dial 343-7269.
Email goes to news@wdbj7.com.
And you'll find a moderated online forum at our website, wdbj7.com.
Joe McKean, News-7.))

---

[prices-fuel]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Gas Prices Down]

After months of steadily rising the price of gas is finally coming down.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@File;]
[3:05:34]
Industry analysts say a gallon of gas is about 4 cents lower than it was -2- weeks ago.
The average price is now about a dollar fifty-three a gallon.
The reason for the drop?
Lower crude prices- and -increased production-.
(------------)

---

[Gas-Station]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jja]
[TAPE#=00-01 2:04;03]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

Gas prices are not the issue at one Roanoke gas station.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The Save X Gas Station on Route 220 in Roanoke used to be open all night, but not anymore.
When the new Lowes went up across the street the sales here went down.
That's because the state put in a new cement divider. People heading southbound can turn into the station, but they can't get back out going South.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 3:41]
[IN Q=]
((GRISELL ROBINETTE/SAVE X CLERK: OUR SALES, OUR BUSINESS HAS GONE DOWN, A LOT OF CARS CAN'T GET IN HERE.))
[SUPER=01-Grisell Robinette/Save-X Clerk]
[RUNS=07]
[OUT Q=can't get in here.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The store used to bring in between five and six hundred dollars between midnight and six A-M. That dropped to around 150 a night- so now the store is closed during those hours.
Southbound truckers- who made up a big portion of sales- just keep rolling by.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 8:18]
[IN Q=]
((WELL GOING SOUTH WE JUST IN TROUBLE, CANT' TURN UP IN THERE. REPORTER: WHAT DO YOU DO? JUST KEEP STRAIGHT ON DOWN TO THE NEXT TRUCK STOP.)) [Butt to 6:08] ((EUGENE SMALLEY/TRUCKER: GOING NORTH WE USUALLY STOP BUT COMING HOME WE USUALLY STOP IN TROUTVILLE. WE CAN'T STOP, WE CAN'T GET IN THERE AT ALL.))
[SUPER=01-Roosevelt Lucas/Trucker;00]
[Super=01-Eugene Smalley/Trucker; 15]
[RUNS=24]
[OUT Q=IN THERE AT ALL.]
(--------------)
[VO-NAT]

While the state built the divider for safety- the Save X manager Charlie Gremore says there are alternatives that could have kept the store accessible without jeopardizing safety.
He says the Save X owner tried to talk to the state but it didn't do any good.
(----------------)

---

[atlantis]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Shuttle Launch Atlantis]

The shuttle ``Atlantis'' is all fueled up -- ready for liftoff this afternoon.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Kennedy Space Ctr., FL;]
[6:54:45]
It's scheduled to blast off at 4:15 on a maintenance trip to the International Space Station.
The shuttle will lift the station to a higher orbit.
It's been dropping almost two miles a week because of increased solar activity.
The astronauts will also swap-out some batteries, replace a broken antenna system, secure a loose crane, and finish installing a much bigger crane.
(------------)

---

[Market-woes]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Stock Market]

Stock prices are lower to begin the trading week.
High-technology stocks and smaller company shares are leading the declines.
And Microsoft shares have lost 15 percent of their value amid speculation that authorities may now be looking more seriously at breaking up the company.
Jerry Bowen reports who's hurting the most.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[6:34:11]
[SUPER=01-Ted Schroeder/Alteon Founder; :14]
[SUPER=01-Alicia Pena/Software Manager; :37]
[SUPER=01-Dick Carlson/Silicon Valley Economist; :55 QUICK]
[SUPER=01-Jerry Bowen/Reporting; 1:23]
[SUPER=01-Tsan Merritt-Poree/Internet Law Attorney; 1:35]
[RUNS=2:08]
[OUT Q=CBS NEWS, SAN JOSE, CA.]
((

NARR: YOU CANT BLAME EMPLOYEES AT INTERNET SWITCH MAKER ALTEON FOR WONDERING WHATS GOING ON. REVENUE IS UP BUT THE STOCK IS DOWN. FOUNDER TED SCHROEDER WAS WORTH 100 MILLION DOLLARS TWO WEEKS AGO. HALF THAT TODAY:

SOT: (TED SCHROEDER/ALTEON FOUNDER)
SOME DAYS YOU MAKE 8 MILLION DOLLARS. SOME DAYS YOU LOOSE 8 MILLION DOLLARS. IT COMES AND GOES. YOU CANT PAY ATTENTION TO IT. IT WOULD DRIVE YOU NUTS. NARR: BUT ITS HARD TO IGNORE. FROM ITS HIGH OF OVER 120-DOLLARS A SHARE, SAN JOSE BASED ALTEON HAS FALLEN TO UNDER 60. WITH STOCK OPTIONS A BIG PART OF THE PAY PACKAGE, WORKERS GET UN-EASY:

SOT: (ALICIA PENA/SOFTWARE MANAGER)
A LOT OF ANXIETY. A LITTLE OVERWHELMING AT TIMES. I HAD MY DREAM HOME ALL PICKED OUT.//THEN THE STOCK PLUMMETED.

(WITH GRAPH)
NARR: ALTEON WAS CAUGHT IN THE TECH MARKET FIRE SALE THAT RAVAGED INTERNET COMPANIES. FROM DR. KOOP DOT COM TO E TOYS, STOCKS ARE A FRACTION OF THEIR HIGHS...AND SOME STOCK OPTIONS ARE WORTHLESS:

SOT: (DICK CARLSON/SILICON VALLEY ECONOMIST)
THE RISKS ARE VERY REAL. THIS IS DEFINITE WILD WEST.
NARR: AND JUST LIKE THE GOLD RUSH DAYS OF OLD, SAYS ECONOMIST DICK CARLSON, PEOPLE ARE TAKING RISKS. LEAVING STABLE HI TECH COMPANIES BEHIND TO STRIKE IT RICH ON THE NEW FRONTIER:

SOT: (/DICK CARLSON)
SOME OF THEIR BRIGHTEST PEOPLE ARE BEING SEDUCED AWAY TO THESE AREAS THAT REALLY ARE (PAUSE) BETTING ON AN INSIDE STRAIGHT. THEYRE VERY BIG GAMBLES THAT PROBABLY WONT PAN OUT. FOR SOME PEOPLE THE CHAOS AND UNCERTAINTY OF THE DOT.COM WORLD IS SIMPLY TOO MUCH AND THEYRE LEAVING BEFORE THE BUBBLE BURSTS. LEAVING THOSE SEDUCTIVE STOCK OPTIONS BEHIND TO RETURN TO A SAFER HAVEN.
SOT: (TSAN MERRITT POREE/ATTORNEY)
THE DOT COM INDUSTRY IS SO UP AND DOWN, YOU DEFINITELY HAVE TO HAVE THE EMOTIONAL STAMINA TO HANDLE IT.
NARR: INTERNET LAW ATTORNEY TSAN MERRITT POREE IS BACK WITH HER OLD SAN FRANCISCO LAW FIRM AFTER DISCOVERING THAT STOCK OPTIONS FAILED TO COMPENSATE FOR THE DISORGANIZATION OF A DOT.COM START UP
SOTTSAN MERRITT POREEIF YOU DONT HAVE SUCH A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN SUCKS IN HER BREATH:
ITS PROBABLY TIME TO RETHINK YOUR STRATEGY AND COME BACK HOME. GOES DOWN WILL GO BACK UP. AND SOON. JERRY BOWEN CBS NEWS SAN JOSE.))NARR: BACK AT ALTEON, WORKERS ARE STAYING PUT. HOPEFUL THAT WHAT