WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 12/24/02

[7-11Iraq-Money]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-41 TC1:43:07]
[GRAPHIC=Malik Almaliki]
Malik Al Maliki will remain in jail for now.
Friends of the Iraqi man living in Roanoke say his good deeds are being punished too harshly by the federal government.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

About 30 people showed up to defend Malik Al Maliki at his detention hearing in federal court.
All say he was helping them wire money to their needy families in Iraq.
The federal government has charged Al Maliki with conspiring to launder money and send it to Iraq.
His friends came offering money, and even their houses, to pay his bond.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:02:42]
[IN Q=]
((KHALIL AL SHAIMRI/FRIEND: WE RUN AWAY FROM SADDAM HUSSEIN LOOKING FOR THE FREEDOM, LOOKING FOR THE FREE. AND WE NEVER FORGET OUR FAMILY, WE NEVER FORGET OUR KIDS. SO THIS WHAT HE DID ... HE JUST SENT OUR MONEY TO OUR FAMILY. THAT'S IT. ))
[SOT 15:20:02]
((HUSSEIN AL SAADY/FRIEND: I WORK HARD, I PAY TAXES. I THINK I CAN PAY 100 - 200 DOLLARS A MONTH SO MY FAMILY CAN SURVIVE ON IT.))
[SUPER=01-Khalil Al Shaimri/Friend; :00]
[SUPER=01-Hussein Al Saady/Friend; :11]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=can survive on it.]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

The U-S Magistrate said Al Maliki will have to stay in jail for now.
He'll get another chance to ask for bond on Thursday.
That's after two main defendants charged with the same crime have THEIR detention hearings in Seattle, Washington, later today.
Eventually, Al Maliki will be sent to Seattle to stand trial.

[7-11Pitts-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]
An arrest warrant has been issued for a 23-year-old man who is a suspect in Sunday's fatal shooting.
Pittsylvania County authorities believe he may still be in the Danville area.
(XXXXXXXXXX)
[TAKE PINNACLE]
Samuel Jones, also known as "June Bug" is six feet tall, weighs 160 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.
Authorities found the car yesterday afternoon, but still no sign of Jones.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=Shooting]

Jones is wanted for the murder of 30-year-old Jonathan Edward Neal of Hurt.
Neal was found shot to death near an old quarry.
The sheriff's department isn't saying what might have led to the shooting.

[7-Poindexter]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=502-01 TC3:04:17]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Investigation]

The suspect in a deadly Roanoke fire has been on the run since May, and is now one of the most wanted fugitives in the U-S.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Jermaine Donnell Poindexter is now on the U-S Marshals Service Top 15 Fugitive List.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/May 5]

The May fire at Hurt Park claimed the lives of Alice Jackson and her two small boys.
Poindexter- -also known as Askia Shabazz- - fled the area shortly afterwards, but Marshal Wayne Pike says he's confident he'll be found.
(------------)

[45-11Unemployment]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=02-44 TC1:35:04]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Unemployed workers are looking toward congress for an extension this Christmas.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :17.5]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville;]
Regular unemployment benefits are scheduled to run out just days after Christmas. A payment extension for people who have not found work can only be put in place by Congress. Officials at the Virginia Employment Commission in Martinsville say thousands in Southside are affected.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 21:56:13]
[IN Q=with the]
((BARBARA REDD/VA EMPLOYMENT COMMISSION; WITH THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS BEING AS THEY ARE IT'S BEEN RELATIVELY DIFFICULT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO COME UP WITH EMPLOYMENT SUITABLE EMPLOYMENT IN 26 WEEKS TIME.))
[SUPER=01-Barbara Redd/VA Employment Commission;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=WEEKS TIME]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Redd says they are hopeful an extension will be put in place before the December 28th cut off. V-E-C offices around the state are still taking applications for the extensions in case Congress decides to implement them.
(------------)

[45-V-WIL]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=02-45 TC56:25]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The nation's only all-female cadet corps is gearing up for battle over the governor's proposed budget cuts.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Staunton/File Tape]

Governor Mark Warner slashed funding for the Virginia Women's Institute of Leadership at Mary Baldwin College as part of his plan to balance the state's budget.
Mary Baldwin officials say without the state's help, V-WIL students face a 74-hundred dollar tuition hike next fall.
Supporters of the program say they will lobby state lawmakers to retain the funding.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 00:05:47]
[IN Q=THE STUDENTS CAME]
[SUPER=01-Crista Cabe/Mary Baldwin Spokesperson; :00]
[SUPER=01-Trimble Bailey Spitzer/VWIL Graduate; :10]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=GET A CHANCE.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

V-WIL's all female cadet corps was started by the state in 1996 as a counterpart to V-M-I.
(------------)

[45-11Roanoke-Chase]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-52 TC55:30]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Police chasing a suspect on foot caused some delays on Route 220 in Roanoke last night.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Dispatchers say they got a call about a man running in and out of traffic near the Elm Avenue Exit.
Officers responded around eight o-clock last night and took a California man into custody.
One officer hurt his knee and was taken to the hospital.
The suspect wasn't hurt but he was also taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for a mental evaluation.
No charges have been filed.
(------------)

[8-11Iraq-Money]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-41 TC1:43:07]
[GRAPHIC=Malik Almaliki]
An Iraqi man has plenty of friends on his side, but Malik Al Maliki will have to stay in jail for now.
His supporters say the federal government is punishing al- Maliki's good deeds too harshly.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

About 30 people showed up to defend Malik Al Maliki at his detention hearing in federal court.
All say he was helping them wire money to their needy families in Iraq.
The federal government has charged Al Maliki with conspiring to launder money and send it to Iraq.
His friends came offering money, and even their houses, to pay his bond.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:02:42]
[IN Q=]
((KHALIL AL SHAIMRI/FRIEND: WE RUN AWAY FROM SADDAM HUSSEIN LOOKING FOR THE FREEDOM, LOOKING FOR THE FREE. AND WE NEVER FORGET OUR FAMILY, WE NEVER FORGET OUR KIDS. SO THIS WHAT HE DID ... HE JUST SENT OUR MONEY TO OUR FAMILY. THAT'S IT. ))
[SOT 15:20:02]
((HUSSEIN AL SAADY/FRIEND: I WORK HARD, I PAY TAXES. I THINK I CAN PAY 100 - 200 DOLLARS A MONTH SO MY FAMILY CAN SURVIVE ON IT.))
[SUPER=01-Khalil Al Shaimri/Friend; :00]
[SUPER=01-Hussein Al Saady/Friend; :11]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=can survive on it.]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

The U-S Magistrate said Al Maliki will have to stay in jail for now.
He'll get another chance to ask for bond on Thursday.
That's after two main defendants charged with the same crime have THEIR detention hearings in Seattle, Washington, later today.
Eventually, Al Maliki will be sent to Seattle to stand trial.

[8-11Pulaski-Fund]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=02-]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A scholarship fund has been set up in memory of a Pulaski County High School student, whose life was recently cut short.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Michael (kuh-SEHR-ee) Casseri was a junior who excelled at both academics and athletics.
He was killed December 13th, when he ran his car off the road and struck a tree.
[SUPER=03-Dublin;]

Now, his family is hoping to keep his spirit alive through a scholarship, awarded to those just like him.
[SOT 14:12]
[IN Q=THIS IS SOMETHING]
((THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO KEEP AROUND FOR A LONG TIME HIS PARENTS ARE VERY CLOSE FRIENDS OF MINE THIS IS SOMETHING NOT JUST TO HONOR MIKE, BUT, FOR THEM TO KEEP A FRESH MEMORY. 14:22))
[SUPER=01-Jeff Levy/Michael's Track Coach;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=KEEP A FRESH MEMORY]
(XXXXXXX)
[WIPE TO FULL SCREEN]
The Michael Casseri Scholarship will be handed to a track and field athlete who demonstrates leadership and is in the top ten-percent of his or her class.
The fund has already raised over three-thousand dollars.
(-------------)

[8-Poindexter]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=502-01 TC3:04:17]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Investigation]

He's been a wanted man since May--
Now the suspect in a fatal Roanoke fire is one of the most wanted fugitives in the U-S.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Jermaine Donnell Poindexter is now on the U-S Marshals Service Top 15 Fugitive List.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/May 5]

The May fire at Hurt Park claimed the lives of Alice Jackson and her two small boys.
Poindexter- -also known as Askia Shabazz- - fled the area shortly afterwards, but Marshal Wayne Pike says he's confident he'll be found.
(------------)

[Mornin' Promo] [ANCHOR-Kim] [Animation]
(///////SOT///////)
((Tomorrow on News 7 Mornin'.))
[RUNS=03]
(-------------)
[Kim on Camera] The Fat City Gourmet features recipes of local chefs, but they're on holiday, so he's taking over in the kitchen. We'll see what he's cooking. Plus, Brent Watts has your forecast.

(------------)
Tomorrow on News 7 Mornin'.[Animation full]