WDBJ 7 morning news for 08/14/01

[Headlines]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

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

N-B-C Bank opens its purse, and buys nine Wachovia branches in Southwestern Virginia.
Now, the Federal Reserve has okayed the merger deal between Wachovia and First Union.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

And more than 85- hundred firefighters are battling wildfires out West.
[ANCHOR=Leo]
(ad lib weather)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(ad lib live tease)
[2-shot]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Your day starts right here--News 7 Mornin is next.

[11Wachovia]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=01-49 TC00:56]
[GRAPHIC=Wachovia]

Wachovia has found a buyer for nine of its Southwest Virginia branches.
They've been sold to the National Bank of Commerce.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The branches that have been sold include those at Towers Mall, Franklin Plaza, Crossroads Mall, Cave Spring, 460 East and West Salem... as well as branches in Bedford, Hardy and Chilhowie.
Customers of those branches should begin to receive information shortly about the transition process.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape]

Wachovia and First Union had to sell 38 branches to satisfy regulators' concerns about competition.
Their merger plans were approved yesterday by the Federal Reserve.
The combination of the two will create the nation's fourth largest bank.
(------------)

[6-Optical-Cable]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=01-51 TC01:30]
[GRAPHIC=Optical Cable]

A Chinese company is paying a visit to Roanoke today and that could mean a sales boost for Optical Cable Corporation.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./File Tape]

Shanghai-based WorldBest will tour the Roanoke County company today.
Optical Cable says WorldBest's connections in Asia could help it sell more fiber optic cable there.
Officials are not calling the visit a "joint venture," but do say if the visit goes well, it will enable Optical Cable to penetrate the Chinese market more rapidly.
(------------)

[Earley]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=01-43]
[GRAPHIC=Mark Earley]
Mark Earley has made education the latest subject in his bid for Governor.
(------------)
[VO-NAT 22.5 BEFORE BITE]
[SUPER=403-Roanoke/Yesterday;]
The Republican, who outlined his plan in Roanoke yesterday, wants NEW teachers to undergo further testing to improve Virginia's education system. Earley says the State Board of Education would develop the competency evaluation- it would be given twice... over an eight year period. After passing both tests-- Earley says the teacher would then be designated a "Master Teacher" in Virginia.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 06:46:19]
[IN Q=We think that]
((MARK EARLEY: WE THINK THAT COMPETENCY EVALUATION IS REALLY GOING TO HELP US BOOST THE PROFESSIONALISM OF TEACHING AND THE QUALITY OF TEACHING HERE IN VIRGINIA AS NEW TEACHERS COME INTO THE SYSTEM.))
[SUPER=@Earley; :00]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=into the system.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT 11 PLUS PAD]
[SUPER=403-Richmond/June;]
A spokeswoman for Mark Warner says the Democrat strongly supports education-- and, if elected Governor, would have a comprehensive plan for retaining and recruiting the nation's best teachers.
(------------)

[11Warner-PACs]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=01-20 TC08:50]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2001]

Campaign finance laws are in the spotlight in Richmond.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :10]
[SUPER=403-Richmond;]

Some Republican lawmakers say a political action committee that supports Mark Warner violates a state law saying a campaign can only have one fundraising arm.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Well you're seeing disclosure]
[sot tape 13:45:54 ]
((DEL. CHRIS JONES/R-SUFFOLK: WELL YOU'RE SEEING DISCLOSURE, BUT YOU'RE SEEING MULTIPLE COMMITTEES WHICH IS CONTRARY TO WHAT THE LAW SAYS.))
[sot tape 13:43:03 ]
((GARY THOMSEN/REPUBLICAN PARTY OF VIRGINIA: IT'S PERFECTLY LEGAL FOR MARK WARNER TO TRY TO BUY THIS ELECTION. BUT HE NEEDS TO DO SO IN A MANNER THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND AND CAN FULLY SEE HOW HE'S DOING SO.))
[SUPER=401-Del. Chris Jones/(R) Suffolk; :00]
[SUPER=401-Gary Thomson/Republican Party of Virginia; :07]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=fully see how he's doing so.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :14]

The Warner campaign calls the charge ridiculous.
It says the Virginians for Warner PAC is NO different from any PAC that gives to Mark Earley.
And the Republican Party should look at its own committees.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The speaker's slush fund]
[sot tape 13:53:10 ]
((LARRY FRAMME/VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: THE SPEAKER'S SLUSH FUND HAS REMAINED TOTALLY UNREPORTED, AND IN FACT THEY WENT AND GOT AN OPINION... MARK WARNER NOT DISCLOSING MATTERS THAT IN FACT HAVE BEEN DISCLOSED -- IT'S HYPOCRISY.))
[SUPER=401-Larry Framme/Virginia Democratic Party;]
[RUNS=:24]
[OUT Q=have been disclosed -- it's hypocrisy.]
(-------------)
[Anchor=Kim]
[SS=HOLD]

The State Board of Elections has so far found NO irregularities in either of the gubernatorial campaigns' filings.

[Ford-Ignition]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Ford]

A safety concern once again puts Ford in the headlines.
This time, it's an ignition problem with several of its models.
A proposed settlement that could cost Ford up to a billion dollars has prompted a judge to postpone a class- action trial.
Drew Levinson reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Hayward, CA; :00]
[SUPER=01-Paul Nelson/Plaintiff Attorney; :51]
[SUPER=01-Asalie Johnson/Victim; 1:08]
[SUPER=01-Drew Levinson/Reporting; 1:15]
[RUNS=1:28]
[OUT Q=Levinson, CBS News, Chicago.]
((
Narr: Attorneys for both sides were back in a California Courthouse today--trying to fine tune a proposed class action settlement. But with a gag order in effect--neither side could talk.
(natsound in assembly plant)

Published reports however reveal Ford has agreed to replace ignition devices in up to five million of its vehicles.
This comes after a long contentions court battle in California that alleged Ford's cars and trucks would stall because of a small car part.

(natsound from attorney holding up the part)

"ALL RIGHT HERE IT IS."
It's called a thick film ignition module--and it was used in about 20-million Fords built between 1983 and 1995.
Some of the cars involved--the Explorer, Mustang, Sable, Taurus and Town Car.
Throughout the trial attorneys said there was a defect in the module that caused it to overheat and the cars to stall.

sot Paul Nelson/Plaintiff Attorney 6:57)

"THE DEALER WOULD PRONOUNCE THE CAR FINE, MAYBE SUGGEST THERE WAS WATER IN THE GAS TANK AND THEY WOULD GO ON THEIR WAY ONLY TO HAVE IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN."
In 1997 Asalie Johnson told CBS News she was paralyzed in accident when the Mercury Sable she was in stalled without notice.

(SOT 7:56 ASALI JOHNSON/VICTIM.
"THIS PROBLEM WITH THE CAR WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD HAVE FIXED HAD THEY CHOSEN TO."
Under the agreement Ford will extend all warranties to a 100-thousand miles and it will pay to replace the ignition if it stalls. In a statement, Ford still maintains it vehicles are quote--"as safe or safer than other vehicles." Drew Levinson, CBS NEWS, CHICAGO. ))

[Wildfires]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Wildfires]

Wyoming's Air National Guard is coming in to help fight the wildfires scorching parts of Oregon, California, and Nevada.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

More than 85-hundred firefighters already are on the fire lines across the West.
The Governor has declared a state of emergency in Oregon.
In Nevada, more than 190- thousand acres have burned.
Lightning from thunderstorms last week are believed to have sparked dozens of fires from one side of the state to the other.
Fire officials there are hoping calmer winds will help put out the blazes.
(------------)

[Marketwatch]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]

In business news, Wall Street will hear earnings reports from some big name retailers today. And the July Retail Sales report is set to be released later this morning
Alexis Christoforous has those stories and more in this morning's Marketwatch.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Alexis Christoforous/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:31]
[OUT Q=your local stocks.]

(tape tosses to stocks)
[STOCKS] [COMM]

[Rivas]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

Testimony resumes today in Dallas, in the murder trial of George Rivas, the alleged ring leader of the "Texas Seven".
Rivas is charged with killing a police officer after he and six other inmates broke out of a maximum security prison last December.
Jennifer Miller has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Dallas, TX; :00]
[SUPER=01-Toby Shook/Dallas Co. Prosecutor; :18]
[SUPER=01-Jennifer Miller/Reporting; :40]
[SUPER=04-"60 Minutes"; :50]
[SUPER=01-Wayne Huff/Lead Defense Attorney; 1:12]
[SUPER=01-Jayne Hawkins/Victim's Mother; 1:22]
[RUNS=1:30]
[OUT Q=Miller, CBS News, Denver.]
((

Narr: George Rivas ... the alleged ringleader of the so called "Texas Seven" still has blonde streaks in his hair .. a disguise left over from his days on the run. He is the first of six convicts to face murder charges in the death of Irving Texas police officer Aubrey Hawkins.

sot:
Toby Shook, Dallas County Prosecutor 12:45:00 When they escaped they made off with 126 weapons: an assault rifle, a shotgun and fourteen 357 magnum revolvers. These are the weapons that were used to murder Aubrey Hawkins. :11
VO: THE TEXAS SEVEN GAINED NATIONAL ATTENTION LAST DECEMBER .... WHEN THEY BROKE OUT OF A MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON. POLICE OFFICER HAWKINS INTERRUPTED THEM AS THEY ROBBED A SPORTING GOODS STORE.
STANDUP: FOR SIX WEEKS, THEY LED POLICE ON A NATIONWIDE MANHUNT. THEY WERE CAUGHT IN COLORADO. AS POLICE CLOSED IN ... ONE MEMBER OF THE GANG COMMITTED SUICIDE.
Even before today's opening arguments...THE SCALES OF JUSTICE WERE ALREADY TIPPING IN THE PROSECUTION'S FAVOR. The JUDGE had RULED RIVAS voluntarily CONFESSed to killing Aubrey Hawkins last Christmas Eve. Though the defense had argued that Rivas was denied access to a public defender, the confession will stand. Rivas has even acknowledged his role in the murder to Sixty Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley.
RIVAS ON 60 MINUTES: Whether I fired the lethal round that did kill Mr. Hawkins or not, I did initiate it, I'm at fault and I do take full responsibility for it..
IN COURT, THE DEFENSE ARGUED THE GANG NEVER INTENDED TO KILL ANYONE ... THAT AFTER ESCAPING FROM PRISON, THEY ONLY WANTED TO STEAL GUNS AND GET OUT OF TOWN.
Wayne Huff, Lead Defense Attorney 12:46:25 The heat was already on them all over the country and the last thing they needed was more heat."
Lori Hawkin's, wife of the slain officer, remembers answering the front door after the shooting. She though it was Christmas carolers. Instead it was the Irving Police chief.

SOT; Lori Hawkins, Victim's wife.
I thought he was dead.or He's dead isn't he? (crying Lori)
HAWKIN'S MOTHER CALLED RIVAS AND THE REST OF HIS GANG COWARDS.
JAYNE Hawkins, Aubrey Hawkins' Mother 12:40:25 That yellow streak in his hair is actually quite appropriate.
NARR; RIVAS' LIFE OF CRIME BEGAN LONG BEFORE HAWKINS DEATH. AT THE TIME HE ESCAPED, HE WAS ALREADY SERVING A 99 YEAR SENTENCE FOR AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING AND BURGLARY IN ELPASO. RIVAS FACES THE DEATH PENALTY.

))[11Patterson-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=01-32 TC57:20]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]
Roanoke Police are investigating the murder of a Rocky Mount man.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
A police spokeswoman says the body of 27-year old Timothy B. Smithers was found in an alley off the 14-hundred block of Patterson Avenue. A man who says he found the body also reports hearing screaming beforehand. Police responded to the call shortly after one yesterday morning. A neighbor says he saw investigators take a rock into evidence. An autopsy tentatively identified the cause of death as "blunt force trauma to the head."
(------------)

[6-Giles-Drowning]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=01-33 TC40:49]
[GRAPHIC=Drowning]

Rescue crews recovered the body of a man who drowned in the New River.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Giles Co.;]
The body of 42-year-old Kenneth Smith was located near the Shumate Falls area of Glen Lyn around 11 yesterday morning.
Authorities had been looking for the Bluefield, West Virginia man since Sunday evening. They say Smith was fishing at the Giles County location with a friend when they believe he stepped off a rock ledge into deep water. Authorities are calling the drowning accidental.
(------------)

[Health-Check]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin Health Check]

In medical news, a new study says having an epidural during labor doesn't increase your chances of getting a C-section.
Doctor Dave Hnida has that story and more in this morning's Health check.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Dave Hnida/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:25]
[OUT Q=CBS News, New York.]
((GET AN EPIDURAL DURING LABOR- AND A BIG CONCERN IS YOU MAY HAVE A >HIGHER RISK OF NEEDING A C-SECTION. > BUT ITS A FEAR THAT MAY NOT BE JUSTIFIED,. > A REPORT IN THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY >FINDS HAVING AN EPIDURAL TO EASE THE PAINS OF LABOR Does NOT MAKE IT >MORE LIKELY A WOMAN WILL NEED A C-SECTION. >THE STUDY LOOKED AT ABOUT 500 WOMEN WHO HAD EPIDURALS- AND 500 WHO DID >NOT- THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE IN THE NUMBER OF C SECTIONS BETWEEN THE >TWO GROUPS. > THE BENEFITS OF WINE MAY NOT BE FROM THE WINE AT ALL. > A STUDY FROM DENMARK FINDS WINE DRINKERS TEND TO BE HAVE BETTER >HEALTH HABITS- AND JUST BE HEALTHIER IN GENERAL COMPARED TO PEOPLE WHO >DONT DRINK WINE OR THOSE FOLKS WHO JUST DRINK BEER. LESS SMOKING, MORE >EXERCISE- AND BETTER EATING HABITS MAY BE THE REASON WINE SUPPOSEDLY >HELPS. > FINALLY TODAY- ITS A DANGEROUS SPORT- ONE THAT REALLY CAN DO A >LOT OF DAMAGE TO YOUR BODY- AT LEAST SO SAYS A STUDY FROM DUKE
>UNIVERSITY THAT LOOKS AT THE INJURY RATES FROM --- FLY FISHING.,
> THE STUDY FINDS HIGHER THAN AVERAGE RATES OF ROTATOR CUFF >INJURIES, BACK PAIN, AND TENDONITIS OF THE WRIST IN FLY FISHERMEN >COMPARED TO PEOPLE WHO DO OTHER SPORTS. > THATS TO SAY NOTHING OF THE ALL OF HOOKS THAT GET STUCK IN >FINGERS OF FISHERMAN LIKE ME. > THATS A LOOK AT SOME OF THE DAYS TOP HEALTH STORIES. IM DR DAVE >HNIDA FOR CBS NEWS.))

(Kimberly tosses to bump)

[bump-chyron] [Streaming-Video]
[comm #3]

[2-HEADLINES] [Kim at Desk]
[SUPER=#4049; Morning Headlines]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Here's a look at today's top stories.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

A jury awards 150- thousand dollars to a woman who lost a set of fingernails after making a trip to a Roanoke nail salon.
Six years ago, Carol Webb suffered damage to her nails after Top Nails used a chemical known to cause toxic reaction.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

The National Bank of Commerce is getting bigger--
NBC Bank has purchased nine of Wachovia's Southwest Virginia branches, clearing the way for Wachovia's merger with First Union.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

And the "Roanoke Times" is in the news because of its expansion plans.
Its plan to build a new printing plant downtown goes before the board of zoning appeals later today.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

And that's what's making news on this Tuesday, August 14th .
News 7 Mornin' will be right back.

[2-11TOP-NAIL]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=01-38 TC46:50]
[GRAPHIC=Lawsuit]
A woman who lost a set of fingernails after a visit to a Roanoke nail salon is awarded 150-thousand dollars in damages.
Keith Humphry was there for last night's verdict, and says this case may raise a new awareness of the artificial nail industry.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=@Keith2; :41]
[SUPER=01-Sony Nguyen/Top Nail Salon Owner; :53 QUICK!!!!]
[SUPER=01-Nancy King/Nail Expert; 1:12]
[RUNS=1:38]
[OUT Q=Humphry, NEWS 7.]
(( Carol Webb had stood in the same spot with her attorney, Art Strickland, just three months ago. The jury sided with her then, too, but awarded her only the amount of her medical expenses... a little less than 17-thousand dollars.

This time the verdict was for 150-thousand.
[NAT SOT FULL]
[RUNS05]
Six years ago- -on her first visit to a nail salon- -Carol Webb discovered certain chemicals can cause a toxic reaction in some people. She had acrylic nails put on at Top Nail Salon.
Her own nails peeled off and never grew back.
Methyl Methacrylate- -a chemical in M-G Liquid- -was the culprit. Sony Nguyen acknowledged the Top Nail Salon used the stuff.
He says he had no idea what was in it, had never heard or read any warnings about it.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:45:30]
[IN Q=They never tell me]
((THEY NEVER TELL ME ABOUT IT. I NEVER HEARD ABOUT IT.)) [RUNS05]
[OUT Q=heard about it.]

This is not the first time anyone has gone to court over a botched nail job.
An expert on nails who testified on Webb's behalf says, however, that this is the first time a jury has put a dollar value on finger nails.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 14:38]
[IN Q=If you were to ask]
((IF YOU WERE TO ASK WOMEN WHAT THEY'RE WORTH, THEY WOULD HAVE A HIGHER NUMBER THAN WHAT CAROL GOT.)) [RUNS08]
[OUT Q=that what Carol got.]

Cong Le and Truyen Pham are technically the defendants in this case- -because they owned Top Nail when Carol Webb got her nails done there. Nonetheless they won't personally have to pay. The 150-thousand dollar verdict is covered by insurance.
Keith Humphry NEWS 7.))

[2-11Wachovia]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=01-49 TC00:56]
[GRAPHIC=Wachovia]

The National Bank of Commerce has bought nine of Wachovia's Southwest Virginia branches.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The branches that have been sold include those at Towers Mall, Franklin Plaza, Crossroads Mall, Cave Spring, 460 East and West Salem... as well as branches in Bedford, Hardy and Chilhowie.
Customers of those branches should begin to receive information shortly about the transition process
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape]

Wachovia and First Union had to sell 38 branches to satisfy regulators' concerns about competition.
Their merger plans were approved yesterday by the Federal Reserve.
The combination of the two will create the nation's fourth largest bank.
(------------)

[2-Earley]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=01-43]
[GRAPHIC=Mark Earley]
Gubernatorial candidate Mark Earley is focusing on education.
(------------)
[VO-NAT 22.5 BEFORE BITE]
[SUPER=403-Roanoke/Yesterday;]
The Republican, who outlined his plan in Roanoke yesterday, wants NEW teachers to undergo further testing to improve Virginia's education system. Earley says the State Board of Education would develop the competency evaluation- it would be given twice... over an eight year period. After passing both tests-- Earley says the teacher would then be designated a "Master Teacher" in Virginia.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 06:46:19]
[IN Q=We think that]
((MARK EARLEY: WE THINK THAT COMPETENCY EVALUATION IS REALLY GOING TO HELP US BOOST THE PROFESSIONALISM OF TEACHING AND THE QUALITY OF TEACHING HERE IN VIRGINIA AS NEW TEACHERS COME INTO THE SYSTEM.))
[SUPER=@Earley; :00]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=into the system.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT 11 PLUS PAD]
[SUPER=403-Richmond/June;]
A spokeswoman for Mark Warner says the Democrat strongly supports education-- and, if elected Governor, would have a comprehensive plan for retaining and recruiting the nation's best teachers.
(------------)

[11Roanoke-Times]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=01-44 TC14:36]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Roanoke Times' plan to build a new printing plant downtown goes before The Board of Zoning Appeals today.
The newspaper's plan is raising objections from some who live and work nearby.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The newspaper wants to put the 31- million dollar expansion on property across second street from its current location.
Roger Roberts says the city encouraged him to renovate the upper floors of his building for three upscale apartments.
But now he fears the large printing plant will destroy the view, create noise, and make it difficult to rent the luxury units.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 02:35:45]
[IN Q=Trucks, fumes]
((ROGER ROBERTS/BUILDING OWNER: TRUCKS, FUMES, ODOR, NOISE, WHATEVER GOES WITH MANUFACTURING, THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO HAVE.))
[SUPER=01-Roger Roberts/Building Owner;]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=what I'm going to have.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

City Manager Darlene Burcham and Roanoke Times Publisher Wendy Zomparelli declined on-camera interviews, but Zomparelli described the project as "a terrific enhancement to downtown."
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Board of Zoning Appeals will consider the proposal today. Zomparelli said the newspaper is eager to show the board what the new facility will look like.

[Israeli-Withdrawal]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Israeli tanks and troops have withdrawn from a Palestinian- ruled town on the West Bank, after destroying its main police station.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Jenin, West Bank;]

Officials say tanks and bulldozers rolled into the town to retaliate for ``a string of recent terror attacks"-- including two Palestinian suicide bombings in the last few days.
They seized the governor's headquarters and a key military installation during the raid.
No word on whether anyone was killed.
(------------)

[IRA-Agreement]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

In Northern Ireland, a major setback today for peace efforts.
The Irish Republican Army has withdrawn its agreement on a method for disarming.
That move rebuffs Britain's efforts to make for negotiating time to preserve Northern Ireland's power- sharing government.
The Catholic-Protestant government is at the heart of Northern Ireland's 19-98 peace accord.
Meanwhile, the I-R-A says it's not ruling out the possibility of someday scrapping some weapons.

[11Car-Tax]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=01-23 TC1:36:13]
[GRAPHIC=Lawsuit]

The lawsuit over the legality of Governor Jim Gilmore's car tax cut has been thrown out without any decision on its merits.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :51 ]

The bi-partisan lawsuit was brought by two state senators and some northern Virginia business and higher education leaders.
It alleged the Governor had fudged the revenue numbers last year to keep the tax "phase-out" on schedule.
Richmond Judge Theodore Markow (MARK -oh) dismissed the suit, writing:
"Even though ... petitioners believe that the Governor's revenue forecast did not comply with statutory requirements ... "
" ... and even that the Governor 'sidestepped' procedural safeguards, it is void of language allowing the court to infer bad faith on the part of the Governor ... "
The judge says the senators and businessmen have NO precedent for legal standing, writing:
"If these individual taxpayers with no real or substantial interest were allowed to litigate this action, then virtually every taxpayer in Virginia would have standing to challenge virtually every appropriation ..."
(------------)

[11Allen-Morrison]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=01-25 TC1:52:22]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A former E-P-A cleanup site could become Lynchburg's newest city park.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

The city is owed more than 200- thousand dollars in back taxes on the old Allen- Morrison sign plant property.
The plant closed in 1997 and the Environmental Protection Agency removed several drums of hazardous waste in 1999.
City officials say it's not likely anyone will want to lay claim to the property.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 00:24:07]
[IN Q=You've got the]
((WALTER ERWIN/LYNCHBURG CITY ATTORNEY: YOU'VE GOT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S LIEN FOR SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, YOU'VE ALSO GOT THE STIGMA OF IT HAVING BEEN AN ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP SITE. SO BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE FACTORS, THE APPRAISAL REPORT THAT WE HAD DONE INDICATED THAT THE PROPERTY ACTUALLY HAD A NEGATIVE VALUE.))
[SUPER=01-Walter Erwin/Lynchburg City Attorney]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=a negative value.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The E-P-A has indicated it will not seek to recover its cleanup costs if the city acquires the property for a public use.
One option being considered is turning the property into recreational fields.
(------------)

[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[2-Shot=Kmc/LHI]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Now here's another look at today's top local stories:
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
Roanoke Police are investigating the murder of a Rocky Mount man. A police spokeswoman says the body of 27-year old Timothy B. Smithers was found in an alley off the 14-hundred block of Patterson Avenue yesterday morning. An autopsy tentatively identified the cause of death as "blunt force trauma to the head."

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

The National Bank of Commerce has bought nine of Wachovia's Southwest Virginia branches.
The branches that have been sold include those at Towers Mall, Franklin Plaza, Crossroads Mall, Cave Spring, 460 East and West Salem... as well as branches in Bedford, Hardy and Chilhowie.
Wachovia and First Union had to sell 38 branches to satisfy regulators' concerns about competition.
The Federal Reserve approved their merger plans yesterday.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

The Roanoke Times' plan to build a new printing plant downtown goes before The Board of Zoning Appeals today.
The newspaper wants to put the 31- million dollar expansion on property across second street from its current location.
But the newspaper's plan is raising objections from some who live and work nearby.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Leo]
(Leo mic hot)
(///////////////)
(Leo ad lib weather)
(-------------)
[2-SHOT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Now here's Shannon Young with a preview of News 7 at Six.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=If you're]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=on News 7 at 6.]
(-------------)
[Desk=Kimberly/Leo and Steve]
(toss)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(live ad lib, tease tomorrow)
(ad lib bye) [Desk=Kimberly/Leo and Steve]