WDBJ 7 morning news for 08/23/02

[11Missing-Girl]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-]
[GRAPHIC=Jennifer Short]
There are still no new leads in the apparent abduction of Jennifer Short - But officials continued to investigate yesterday as mourners said their final goodbye to her parents - Mary and Michael Short.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co./Yesterday]

The sheriff's department released an F-B-I profile of the person who may have killed the Shorts and taken Jennifer.
It asks the public to look for any unusual changes in someone's behavior, including nervousness, unexplained injuries, or a sudden change of appearance.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Hopefully it will]
[SUPER=01-Frank Cassell/Henry Co. Sheriff;]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=flow of leads.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Meanwhile, investigators are trying to determine if Michael Short is Jennifer's biological father.
Also, several women from North Carolina met with authorities for five hours.
The sheriff declined to say what their role in the investigation is.
(------------)

[11Short-Family]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-23 TC1:01:02]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

A few miles from the Sheriff's office, hundreds gathered for the Shorts' funeral and continued to pray for Jennifer's safe return.
Justin McLeod talked to family members last night and found they're not giving up hope.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville; :00]
[SUPER=01-Chris Young/Jennifer's Uncle; :18]
[SUPER=01-Jim Whitehead/Jennifer's Uncle; :37]
[SUPER=01-Ruby Young/Jennifer's Aunt; :59]
[SUPER=04-CNN; 1:16 QUICK]
[SUPER=@Justin2; 1:35]
[RUNS=1:40]
[OUT Q=JM, News 7, Henry County.]

[11Neamo]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-32 TC1:17:44]
[GRAPHIC=Guilty Plea]
A suspect in a Roanoke Capital murder case pleaded guilty yesterday - in large part because of the threat of an accomplice's testimony and a videotape.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Mark Lamont Neamo was the trigger man in a botched armed robbery.
[SUPER=04-February 25]
He and Christopher Krug (kroog) entered the Stop-in Store on Hershberger Road with guns drawn, masks covering their faces. It may not have been immediately clear WHO they were, but the surveillance camera captured every move.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:27:05 David]
[IN Q=]
((DAVID DAMICO/NEAMO'S ATTORNEY; AH THERE WAS REALLY VERY LITTLE QUESTION OF WHAT HAPPENED, ONCE THOSE FOLKS WERE INSIDE THE STORE. (:05) YOU COULD NOT TELL WHO WAS DOING IT, BUT YOU COULD SEE WHAT WAS BEING DONE AND HEAR WHAT WAS BEING SAID. ))
[SUPER=01-David Damico/Neamo's Attorney]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=was being said.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Neamo ordered Krug to shoot one of the store clerks. Neamo then shot and killed store clerk Joyce Parrish when she couldn't get the cash register open. Krug pled guilty Wednesday and agreed to testify against Neamo, prompting Neamo to step up and face the consequences himself. The plea allows Neamo to avoid the death penalty.
He was sentenced to LIFE plus 73 years in prison.
(------------)

[11Yopp]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=02-]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

A Franklin County man pleaded no contest to charges of child neglect, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor of his two young daughters.
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :16]
[SUPER=03-Rocky Mount;]
Charles Yopp admitted that he barred the bottom berth of a bunk bed with a door, trapping his three year old daughter in what investigators called a cage. Also, prosecutors say the house was kept in an unsanitary manner, with human waste and rotting food left on the floor.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT57:51/1:01:11]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Heather Ferguson/Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney;]
[SUPER=01-Onzlee Ware/Yopp's Attorney;]
((HEATHER FERGUSON/ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY; THE CONDITIONS IN THE HOUSE WERE DEPLORABLE, CERTAINLY THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WE SHOWED AS WELL AS THE VIDEO THAT WAS NOT SHOWN, I THINK THE JUDGE WOULD HAVE SEEN THAT THE THREE AND SIX YEAR OLDS WERE AT RISK.)) ((ONZLEE WARE/YOPP'S ATTORNEY; HE DID ASK FAMILY MEMBERS FOR HELP, BUT HE HAD NO ONE TO TURN TO, BUT THEY SIMPLY TRIED TO DO THE BEST THAT THEY COULD, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY WAS NOT ADAQUATE AND WAS NOT ENOUGH.))
[RUNS=25]
[OUT Q=and was not enough.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :12+]
Ware says Yopp suffered from a back injury and could not care for or clean up after his family. Charles Yopp could face up to eleven years in prison when he is sentenced in October. His wife, Rose Yopp also faces charges.
(------------)

[11Parks]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=02-34 TC17:26]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
A grand jury must now decide if there is enough evidence to put a Blacksburg man accused of killing his girlfriend on trial.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]

A preliminary hearing took place yesterday for 26-year-old Michael Parks.
Parks is charged with second-degree murder... for the death of his girlfriend, Marika Cooper.
Cooper was found dead in her Clayton Estates home July 12th.
An investigator told the court Parks voluntarily turned himself into police and that during an interview, said he accidentally choked Cooper to death following a heated argument.
(------------)

[11Spencer]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-21 TC1:45:57]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A pioneering military aviator from Lynchburg has passed away at the age of 95.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape]

Chauncey Spencer was the son of the famous poet Anne Spencer who made a name for himself as one of the nation's first black pilots.
Spencer's flight from Chicago to Washington D.C. in 1939 convinced then-Senator Harry Truman to create a division of the Air Corps known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Funeral services are private, but a memorial will be held September 1st at Eighth Street Baptist Church.
(------------)

[11Van-Safety]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=02-24 TC1:23:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]

With concerns about the safety of 15- passenger vans making headlines... churches, day-care centers, and other groups are giving their drivers more training.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

A safety course organized by the New Century "Venture Center" attracted more than 45 people.
Interest was so strong, organizers had to limit each organization to three people.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Most of them are volunteers]
((TIM FITZGERALD/SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE SERVICES: MOST OF THEM ARE VOLUNTEERS. AND THEY GET OUT OF THEIR CARS AND GET INTO ONE OF THESE VANS. AND IT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT.)) ((MIKE CROMER/BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH: I THINK IT'S GOING TO BECOME PRETTY REGULAR THAT NO NEW DRIVERS CAN COME ABOARD UNLESS THEY CAN TAKE THE CLASS AND I THINK IT'S VERY BENEFICIAL TO THEM.))
[SUPER=01-Tim Fitzgerald/Safety and Compliance Services; :00]
[SUPER=01-Mike Cromer/Bethel Baptist Church; :08]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=very beneficial to them.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The Center hopes to offer the course on a quarterly basis.
(------------)

[11-220-Turkeys]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-36 TC19:48]
[GRAPHIC=Accident]
Crews are now finished cleaning up after an accident on U-S 220 that killed dozens of turkeys.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co./Yesterday]

It happened around eight yesterday morning in Franklin County.
Three tractor trailers were involved... one was carrying turkeys.
It took nearly 12 hours to clean up the scene.
(------------)

[11Police-Cars]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=502-10 TC37:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Six Roanoke City Police Officers are riding home in new cruisers....
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The city is implementing a program that allows some officers who live within the city limits, to drive their cars to and from work.
Officials hope it will increase the visibility of police in Roanoke neighborhoods and extend the life of the new Crown Victorias.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:31:43]
[IN Q=With this program,]
((ROGER FULLER/SENIOR POLICEMAN: WITH THIS PROGRAM, THE OFFICER WHEN HE LEAVES HOME, HE'S AVAILABLE. MOST TIMES HE'LL JUST GO TO WORK AND GO TO LINEUP, BUT MANY TIMES HE MAY SEE SOMETHING, EITHER JUST TO REPORT IT OR TO STAND BY OR TO EVEN TAKE ACTION.))
[SUPER=01-Roger Fuller/Senior Police Officer;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=or to even take action.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Police Chief Joe Gaskins says he hopes to expand the program, eventually assigning cars to all of the officers who live in the city.
(------------)

(Kimberly tosses to bump)

[bump-chyron]

[comm #3]

[1st-Business]

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

In business news this morning,
Consolidation is in the air for some airlines... and M-S-N meets Mac -
Here's Barton Eckert with a look at the morning's top business stories..
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Barton Eckert/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:22]
[OUT Q=in Washington.]

(( GOOD MORNING THIS FRIDAY THE 23RD OF AUGUST.
HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS MORNING.
--------------------------

IT'S NOT OUTRIGHT CONSOLIDATION BUT THE TOUGH TIMES IN THE SKIES AS AIRLINES MOVE TOWARD COOPERATING NOT COMPETING.. SURVIVING, NOT SINKING.. CONTRACTING AND CODESHARING..
THE LATEST IS DELTA.
IT WILL BE THE NEXT TO UNVEIL IT'S SURVIVAL PLAN... CUTTING ABOUT 8 PERCENT OF IT'S FLIGHTS.
AND THERE ARE PLANS FOR A CODE SHARE DEAL.. EFFECTIVELY MERGING THEIR TICKET SELLING AND SCHEDULES WITH NORTHWEST AND CONTINENTAL.
THAT WOULD SCRAP A SIMILAR AGREEMENT THAT NORTHWEST ALREADY HAS BOOKING AND FLYING PASSENGERS FOR K-L-M.
--------------------------

PROOF THAT THAT COMPETITION IS ALIVE, AT LEAST WITH THE SMALLER CARRIERS COMES FROM SOUTHWEST THIS MORNING.. CUTTING FARES EVEN MORE... THIS TIME TO ATTRACT THE BUSINESS TRAVELER.
SOUTHWEST IS CUTTING LAST MINUTE FARES BY $100 DOLLARS - TO A MAXIMUM OF 299 EACH WAY. IT 'S THE KIND OF THING THAT COULD POSSIBLY SPARK A FARE WAR FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL .... AND IN SUCH A WAR, SOUTHWEST COULD FIGHT, WHILE OTHERS FLOUNDER. IT'S THE ONLY CARRIER TO POST PROFITS SINCE LAST SEPTEMBER 11.
-------------------------

NO MAJOR ECON NEWS DUE TODAY.. THIS AFTER WALL STREET STOCKS HIT THE GAS FOR SOME STRONG GAINS ON A MIXED BAG OF CORPORATE RESULTS .
--------------------------

FOR THE FIRST TIME, MICROSOFT WILL OFFER ITS M-S-N INTERNET SERVICE TO PEOPLE WITH APPLE MACINTOSH COMPUTERS STARTING NEXT YEAR.
WHY? M-S-N'S ARCH-RIVAL AMERICA ONLINE ALSO JUST UNVEILED ITS OWN MAC SPECIFIC VERSION.
--------------------------

AND THAT'S YOUR FIRST BUSINESS CHECK ON THE MORNING'S TOP BUSINESS HAPPENINGS..
I'M BARTON ECKERT IN WASHINGTON.))

(tape tosses to stocks)

[STOCKS] [COMM]

[11West-Nile]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=02-37 TC04:26]
[GRAPHIC=West Nile Virus]

Virginia has its first HUMAN case of West Nile virus... Now health officials say avoiding mosquitoes is more important than ever.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

A 33-year-old man from Richmond became the first person in the state infected with the mosquito-borne disease.
Officials say the man was never hospitalized and is recovering.
West Nile Virus is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Health officials say the message to the public remains the same.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 15:10:35-45]
[IN Q=CITIZENS MUST POLICE THE]
[SUPER=01-David Gaines/Public Health Entomologist]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Robert Strube/Virginia Health Commissioner; :11]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=IT'S THE MOSQUITO BITE THAT TRANSMIT.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

State officials this week asked for 92 thousand dollars in federal aid to help control the spread of West Nile.
They say the money would go toward mosquito surveillance equipment and laboratory testing.
(------------)

[11Cloned-Pigs]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=netJ]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A Blacksburg biotechnology company is one step closer to perfecting animal organs for human transplants...
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/March;]
P-P-L Therapeutics says its latest litter of cloned pigs LACKS two genes that have led to organ rejection. The company's first set of piglets had screeened out just one gene. Scientists will now test the organs by transplanting them into other animals like baboons. P-P-L is also working on the technology with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. The company is most well known for helping make Dolly the sheep - - the first animal cloned from adult cells.
(------------)

[Med-Day]

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

In medical news,
Isreal is preparing for possible biological attacks from Iraq... and things are looking up for the conjoined twins seperated earlier this month. Melissa McDermott has that story and more in this morning's Health check.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=One of the]
[SUPER=01-Melissa McDermott/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:04]
[OUT Q=CBS News, New York.]
(( ONE OF THE CONJOINED TWINS IN LOS ANGELES IS DOING VERY WELL AFTER A THIRD FOLLOW UP SURGERY. DOCTORS SAY THEY REMOVED AN ACCUMULATION OF BLOOD FROM MARIA TERESA'S BRAIN. BOTH GIRLS, SEPARATED EARLIER THIS MONTH, REMAIN IN SERIOUS CONDITION. DOCTORS SAY THEY ARE CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE TWIN'S LONG-TERM RECOVERY.
WOMEN WHO HAD MASTECTOMIES FROM FEAR OF BREAST CANCER MAY HAVE BEEN UNNECESSARILY AFRAID. EARLIER STUDIES SHOWED WOMEN WHO HAD A HISTORY OF BREAST CANCER AND A GENE MUTATION HAD A VERY HIGH RISK OF GETTING THE DISEASE. NOW A REPORT IN THE JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE SAYS THAT RISK WAS EXAGGERATED. DOCTORS NOW SAY THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS IN EARLIER STUDIES WAS SKEWED.
ISRAEL IS GETTING READY FOR A POSSIBLE BIOLOGICAL ATTACK BY IRAQ. THE COUNTRY'S CABINET HAS DECIDED TO INOCULATE 15-THOUSAND SECURITY PERSONNEL AGAINST SMALLPOX. THE HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS IT WOULD INOCULATE THE ENTIRE POPULATION IF THE U-S ATTACKS IRAQ. DURING THE GULF WAR IRAQ FIRED SKUD MISSILES ON ISRAEL.
AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DAY'S TOP HEALTH STORIES. I'M MELISSA MCDERMOTT, CBS NEWS, NEW YORK

))[MN-Protest]

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

Violent protests last night in Minneapolis after an accidental shooting of a child--
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Minneapolis, MN; ]

Dozens of people shouted at police officers, broke windows in a city bus, and set a T-V news car on fire.
It happened after a 10- year- old boy was hit in the arm by a stray bullet from a policemen's gun.
The officer was shooting at a pit bull at the time.
The dog had been turned loose on police who were trying to serve a search warrant on a house suspected of drug activity.
(------------)

[Bush-Protest]

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

A tough night for President Bush, as hundreds of protestors stood outside the Portland, Oregon hotel where he was holding a fundraiser.
The demonstators were protesting war.
But soon they found themselves in a war of their own-- with police.
Melissa McDermott has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Portland, OR;]
[SUPER=01-Sean Cosgrove/Sierra Club;]
[SUPER=01-Melissa McDermott/Reporting;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=McDermott, CBS News, New York.]
((
PKG
Super: Portland, OR
(NATS)
"peaceful protest"
IT STARTED OUT AS A PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION.... BUT SOON TURNED VIOLENT.

(NATS)

AROUND 5-HUNDRED DEMONSTRATORS IN PORTLAND, OREGON CROWDED NEAR A HOTEL WHERE THE PRESIDENT WAS STAYING. PROTESTING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY ON IRAQ.

(NATS)
"bush is a terrorist, bush is a terrorist"
INSIDE THE HOTEL PRESIDENT BUSH SPOKE ABOUT THE WAR ON TERROR AT A FUNDRAISER FOR OREGON SENATOR GORDON SMITH.

(SOT-president bush)
"people say mister president I'd like to help in the war on terror, what can I do and I say love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself."
BUT THERE WAS NO LOVE OUTSIDE. POLICE, TRYING TO KEEP THE PROTESTORS BACK, RESORTED TO RUBBER BULLETS AND PEPPER SPRAY. THEY ARRESTED SEVERAL PEOPLE AND THE CROWD EVENTUALLY DISPERSED.

(NATS)

BUT IT WASN'T JUST WAR THAT UPSET THESE PROTESTORS. THEY WERE ALSO ANGRY OVER THE PRESIDENT'S PLAN FOR THE NATION'S FORESTS. EARLIER THURSDAY MISTER BUSH TOURED A FIRE BLACKENED AREA AND ANNOUNCED HIS PROPOSAL TO EASE THE RULES ON LOGGING. THE IDEA BEING, THINNING OUT THE FORESTS WILL SLOW DOWN FIRES LIKE WE SAW THIS SUMMER. BUT ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY THE PROGRAM IS A GIVEAWAY TO THE TIMBER INDUSTRY.

(SOT-SEAN COSGROVE/SIERRA CLUB)
"they are using the hysteria around forest fires this year to make an end run around forest protections"
STANDUP MELISSA MCDERMOTT/CBS NEWS: TODAY THE PRESIDENT WILL LEAVE THE GREAT NORTHWEST AND THE CONTROVERSY. HE'LL ATTEND ANOTHER FUNDRAISER, BUT NO PROTESTS ARE EXPECTED. ))MELISSA MCDERMOTT, CBS NEWS, NEW YORK.