[2Snow-Leopards]

[ANCHOR=Denise]

[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=00-07]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]


Mill Mountain Zoo has suffered a setback in its breeding program for endangered species.
The two snow leopards born tuesday, died this morning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday;]


The two female cubs were removed from their mother yesterday after she failed to nurse them.
Zoo staff members attempted to bottle feed the cubs, but the animals continued to weaken overnight.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 02:10:57]
[IN Q=They were just really too weak]

((THEY WERE JUST REALLY TOO WEAK AND REALLY HADN'T TAKEN ENOUGH NOURISHMENT TO SURVIVE. A PRETTY SAD DAY FOR US, BUT WE WILL ATTEMPT AGAIN, START BREEDING THE LEOPARDS AGAIN AND MAYBE THE SECOND TIME AROUND, MAYBE THE MOM WILL DO A BETTER JOB.))
[SUPER=01-Beth Poff/Zoo Director]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=will do a better job.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


The Zoo hopes to breed the snow leopards again next winter... and Poff says it would likely be this time next year before the mother would give birth again.
(---------------)



[Cycle-Fatal]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-18 TC54:35]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Funeral services will begin at one this afternoon for Roanoke City Police officer Connie Ray Lee who died over the weekend. Last night, family and friends gathered to pay their final respects.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]


Hundreds gathered inside the Hamlar Curtis Funeral Home to pray and sing.
The 31 year old died early Sunday morning after he got into a motorcycle accident Saturday night.
Lee's funeral will be at High Street Baptist Church.
(------------)



[Soccer-Fans]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Rowdy soccer fans took their fight into the streets of Belgium.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Brussels, Belgium;]


Police initially stood by as gangs of youths from both Italy and Belgium converged on the Belgian stock exchange after the Italian team won the Euro 2000 soccer match .
The gangs threw bottles and chairs at each other.
After 40 minutes of fighting, police moved in to break up the skirmishes.
One fan was injured when he was hit in the face with a firecracker.
It's the second time one of the host nations has been involved in disturbances since the beginning of the tournament.
(------------)


[Wildfires]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Wildfires]


Fire fighters could be battling winds with speeds of up to 70 miles an hour in addition to the flames of the wildfires in Colorado.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Conifer, CO;]


Two fires are burning in the Rocky Mountain foothills.
More than eleven-hundred firefighters are struggling to hold the line against the blazes, which have burned more than 13-thousand acres near Denver.
More than 800 people have been evacuated and the fires have destroyed almost 50 buildings.
(------------)


[Cong-Races]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=None]


Some Virginians privately have two words for Governor Jim Gilmore: (Roo-bull) "Ruble Hord."
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/June 1999;]


Hord's the G-O-P House candidate the Governor endorsed last year, only to see a backlash of support for maverick fellow Republican Panny Rhodes on election day.
Yesterday, as the Governor flew back from an Asian trade mission, Republicans reflected on his scorecard in Tuesday's congressional primiaries.
In the first district, Gilmore endorsed Paul Jost (JOAST).
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q= The campaign]
[SUPER=01-Paul Jost/(R) Failed Candidate; ]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=endorsed me.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]


That prompted negative attacks that Jost thinks sent fellow Republican Joann Davis to victory.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I don't understand]
[SUPER=01-Del. Phil Hamilton/(R) Newport News; ]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=Rhodes primary.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]


In the third district around Richmond, Gilmore's pick won by fewer than 300 votes out of 41 thousand.
His opponent is NOT asking for a recount.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=My heart is]
[SUPER=01-Sen. Steve Martin/(R) Failed Candidate; ]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=were stressed.]
(-------------)
[TALENT=Denise]
[SS=None]


V-C-U political analyst Bob Holsworth says the results for Gilmore merely show that voters don't care too much about high profile endorsements.

[Southern-Baptist]


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

A recent decision by the Southern Baptist Convention not to allow women to be pastors is getting mixed reaction from Southern Baptist pastors in Roanoke. Kate Weidaw has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Disappointed is]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=01-Pastor Jeff Scott/Colonial Ave. Baptist Church; :12]
[SUPER=01-Rev. J. Michael Palmer/Green Ridge Baptist Church; :44]
[SUPER=@Kate2; 1:23]
[RUNS=1:27]
[OUT Q=kw news7 Roanoke.]

((Disappointed is how Doctor Jeff Scott, the Senior Pastor at the Colonial Avenue Baptist Church, describes the Southern Baptist's decision to NOT allow women to be pastors.

[SOT 2:32:18]
[INQ=]

((JEFF SCOTT: THEY'RE GOING BACK IN TIME NOT 2000 YEARS BUT A COUPLE HUNDRED YEARS WHERE THINGS LIKE SLAVERY WERE POPULAR AND THEY USED THE BIBLE TO DO IT.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 10]


The Southern Baptist Convention's reason to NOT allow women to be pastors was based on scripture from the Bible that says men are the leaders of the church. The decision will allow women to continue to be ordained but will have to serve below the senior pastor. Reverend J. Michael Palmer of the Green Ridge Baptist Church says even though society has changed the role of women in the Bible hasn't.
[SOT 2:41:50]
[INQ=]

((REV. J. MICHAEL PALMER: I THINK IT'S THE FACT THAT CULTURE HAS CHANGED THE BIBLE HASN'T CHANGED AND SOUTHERN BAPTISTS ARE JUST TRYING TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE BIBLE.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 8]


Palmer says the Southern Baptist Church is not against women, they believe women have a place in the church just NOT as senior pastor. Pastor Scott points to a passage in Acts Chapter two that says women should be the preacher of the church.

[SOT 2:32:29]
[INQ=]

((JEFF SCOTT: I THINK THIS WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO MORE CHURCHES LEAVING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION AND BECOMING AFFILIATED WITH MORE MODERATE GROUPS LIKE THE COOPERATIVE BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 13]


Most churches across the nation may not notice much of a change though, of the 40-thousand Southern Baptist Senior Pastors only 40 are women. Kate Weidaw News 7 Roanoke.))

[Vinton-Police]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-19 TC27:04]
[GRAPHIC=None]


The search is on for a new Vinton Police Chief.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vinton]


The town has received 35 applications, 11 of those are from out of state.
Mayor elect Don Davis says everyone who has applied is highly qualified.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:25]
[IN Q=A lot of them]

((DON DAVIS: A LOT OF THEM WITH MASTERS DEGREES BACHELORS DEGREES AND THEY ARE PATROLMEN ALL THE WAY UP TO CHIEF OF POLICE.))
[SUPER=01-Don Davis/Vinton Mayor-Elect]
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q=of police.]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Denise]
[SS=None]


Town council is reviewing the applications and will begin interviewing the candidates in about two weeks.
They hope to make a decision by early next month.

[Cuban-Boy]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Elian Gonzalez]


The Elian Gonzalez case may be headed back to court. Lawyers for the boy's Miami relatives have filed papers asking 12 judges of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to hear their appeal.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Miami, FL;]


The attorneys called the relatives' case compelling during a news conference this morning.
They want the court to grant Elian an asylum hearing--a moved aimed at keeping the six year old in the United States. Elian's father is planning to take him back to Cuba.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=of course]
[SUPER=01-Linda Osberg-Braun/Attorney;]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=have not been answered]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


A three judge panel has already ruled against the family earlier this month, determining Elian's father was the only one who could seek asylum for the boy.
(------------)



[Germany]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]


The German government has reached an agreement with the country's nuclear power plants to end the country's use of atomic energy.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Berlin, Germany;]


After a more than four hour meeting , Chancellor Gerhard (gare-Hard) Schroeder, announced that both sides had compromised on how quickly the phaseout would take place.
The government allowed an extra two years of running time--which means Germany's last nuclear plant will go off line in about 20 years.
The country's 19 nuclear plants provide almost a third of Germany's electricity.
(------------)


[Buford]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=00-10 TC1:57:44]
[GRAPHIC=Tim Buford]


23-year old Timothy "Nippy" Buford pled guilty to a first degree murder charge as part of a plea agreement.
However the family of murder victim says justice has not been served.
Jennifer Miele reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=01-Wanda Deweese/Prosecutor; :10]
[SUPER=01-Pam Jordan/Victim's Mother; :35]
[SUPER=01-Alfonso Jordan/Victim's Uncle; :51]
[SUPER=@Jennifer2; 1:12]
[RUNS=1:21]
[OUT Q=News 7, Roanoke]

(( Timothy Buford was sentenced to 23 years in prison for shooting and killing Prentise Jordan last August.
Prosecutors were satisfied.
[SOT]
[IN Q=There was substantial]

((THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL LIKELYHOOD THAT THE JURY COULD COME BACK WITH A MANSLAUGHTER CONVICTION, WHICH ONLY CARRIES A MAXIMUM OF TEN YEARS. WITH A 23 YEAR CONVICTION, IT'S FIRST DEGREE MURDER, USE OF A FIREARM DURING THAT MURDER, WE'LL REMOVE MR. BUFORD FROM THE STREETS FOR AT LEAST THAT 23 YEAR PERIOD.)) [RUNS17]
[OUT Q= 23 year period.]


The case may be closed as far as the prosecution is concerned, but it's not over for Prentise Jordan's family.
[SOT]
[IN Q=I'm very upset]

((I'M VERY UPSET ABOUT IT, I FOUND OUT AT LEAST 15 MINUTES BEFORE TIME, THEY CALLED ME AND TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE GOING TO MAKE A PLEA BARGAIN BECAUSE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO TO TRIAL. THAT'S WHAT I WAS TOLD, AND I'M VERY HURT ABOUT IT.))

[RUNS17]
[OUT Q=hurt about it.]
[SOT]
[IN Q=It's only promoting]

((IT'S ONLY PROMOTING THE OTHER YOUNG KIDS TO GO ON AND TAKE LIVES, A LIFE THAT MEANS NOTHING HERE IN ROANOKE. THESE YOUNG BLACK KIDS...WELL, I'LL PUT IT THIS WAY, IF IT WAS THE PROSECUTOR'S SON THERE WOULD BE NO PLEA BARGAINING.)) [RUNS15]
[OUT Q= no plea barganing.]


The Jordan family may sue the state for not notifying them of the plea agreement.
Even if the case had gone to trial and Buford received a lighter sentence, the family says it would have better served Prentise Jordan's memory.
Jennifer Miele, News 7, Roanoke.))


[Intermet]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-14 TC1:09:26]
[GRAPHIC=New River Castings]


State environmental officials say Intermet New River Castings can rebuild.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford/March;]


The Department of Environmental Quality issued a new air permit allowing the plant to operate again ... under stricter air pollution standards.
The plant was destroyed in a March 5th gas explosion that killed three people.
Long before that, neighbors complained about its dust pollution.
The new air permit requires New River Castings AND the New River Foundry to drastically reduce dust emissions.
(------------)



[L'burg-Downtown]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=00-11]
[GRAPHIC=Lynchburg Seal]


When Virginia celebrates the 400th anniversary of Jamestown in 2007, another city along the James River hopes to cash in on the excitement.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]


Efforts are already underway in Lynchburg to revitalize the city's riverfront to attract more tourism to the area.

City leaders gathered for an economic development forum yesterday.. they say it will take a combination of public and private investment.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:24:53]
[IN Q=We need to]

((RACHEL FLYNN/PLANNING DIRECTOR: WE NEED TO MAKE SOME HARD DECISIONS AND THE CITY HAS TO INVEST, AND IF YOU LOOK AT WHETHER IT'S ROANOKE OR CHARLOTTESVILLE OR RICHMOND OR CHARLESTON OR SAVANNAH, THE CITY MADE MAJOR INVESTMENTS AND THEN THE PRIVATE SECTOR CAME IN. WE CANT JUST KEEP THINKING THE PRIVATE SECTOR WILL DO THAT, IT'S NOT REALLY FAIR TO THEM, BECAUSE WHAT HAVE WE DONE?))
[SUPER=01-Rachel Flynn/Planning Director]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=have we done?]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Lynchburg is spending a million dollars to overhaul its Ninth Street corridor this summer.
A children's museum there will open in October.
(------------)



[Greenbrier-Casino]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jda/sbu]
[TAPE#=00-13 TC1:08:24]
[GRAPHIC=Greenbrier Gambling]

Residents of Greenbrier County, West Virginia will vote this fall on a new casino.
Wednesday night, the County Commission voted unanimously to hold a referendum November 7th.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-White Sulphur Springs]


The Greenbrier Resort hopes to open a Monte Carlo style casino in the space that served as a cold war bunker for members of Congress.
Greenbrier officials say the casino's purpose is to draw guests to the hotel during the winter. That would allow the resort to keep 300 part- time workers on the payroll year- round and create 75 full-time jobs.
Gambling opponents hope to organize churches and community groups in hopes of persuading voters to reject the proposed casino.
They fear that if gambling is allowed at The Greenbrier, other resorts in the state will want their own casinos.

(---------------)



[Stink-Flower]


[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]


A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but no one is calling this bud anything but stinky.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Fullerton, CA;]


It's official name is titan airem, or more affectionately the corpse flower.
Curious on lookers are coming to Fullerton, California, to get a whiff of the rotten lilly.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=it smells]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=ok (laughing)]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


The seed was planted seven years ago and great care has been taken to make sure this garden smells rotten every year. (------------)
by SS