WDBJ 7 news at 5 for 01/14/03

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[VO-NAT]

Today on News 7 at Five, a leading retailer is closing 300 stores and eliminating 35 thousand jobs. We'll have the details.
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Also workers at Salem's General Electric plant join a national strike as they walk off the job.
[Weather-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
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Colder air filters into the region with snow showers. Our next winter weather event will be on Thursday night. We'll check that out in a moment.

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[ANCHOR=Jean]
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Also today, a fire damages a Radford apartment.
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[VO-NAT]
On healthcheck, we'll see how a laser can save glaucoma patients sight and money.
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[ANCHOR=Jean]

Plus a popular television show will soon go where angels fear to tread...
News 7 at Five is next.

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[ANCHOR=Jean]
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[SOT 09:45:26]
[IN Q=WE'RE STANDING]
((REGINALD BERRY/GE WORKER; WE'RE STANDING HERE IN FAVOR OF HEALTH CARE, AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR EVERY AMERICAN AND THAT'S WHAT WE DEMAND, NOTHING LESS.))
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[OUT Q=NOTHING LESS]
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[VO-NAT]
Local General Electric workers join the national strike to put a stop to the rising cost of health care.
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[5-GE-Strike]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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400-union workers from Salem's General Electric plant are working in shifts to cover the picket line. The strikers plan to be out there for two days.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Jean/Rachel BAM;]

Business Reporter Rachel Cannon joins us now with more, Rachel Jean, the strikers have been out for hours now.
[LIVE=Rachel /FULL]
[SUPER=@Rachel1;]
The workers here are part of a nationwide union effort to fight increases in health care premiums. The union says the average employee saw a 2-hundred dollar increase last year and that more are being considered for the future.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=YEAH, ALRIGHT]
[SUPER=03-Salem; :]
[SUPER=01-Reginald Berry/GE Worker; :]
[SUPER=01-Roy Rogers/Union President; :]
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[OUT Q=CARE IN THE FUTURE]
((NATS 09:51:03 "YEAH, ALRIGHT" Despite bitter cold temperatures, sprits are high along the General Electric picket line in Salem. Over a 48-hour period, day and night, workers say they will be picketing for affordable health care.
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[SOT 09:44:57]
[IN Q=THEY MADE]
((REGINALD BERRY/GE WORKER; THEY MADE 19-BILLION IN PROFITS LAST YEAR AND THIS INCREASE THAT THEY'RE PUTTING ON US IS UNFOUNDED AND UNNECESSARY.))
[OUT Q=UNESCESARRY.]
Reginald Berry has been with General Electric for nine-years. He says he struggles to meet health care premiums and is tired of seeing them go up The latest hike was January First.
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[SOT 09:43:50]
[IN Q=YOU CAN'T]
((YOU CAN'T GO WITHOUT MEDICINE, SOME PEOPLE HAVE THE CHOICE OF EITHER FOOD, MEDICINE OR A PLACE TO LIVE.))
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General Electric contends their health benefits are some of the best in the industry. They say the striking union workers comprise about 5-percent of their total workforce and it will be business as usual. Local Union 161 President Roy Rogers says damaging the company is not what this is about.
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[SOT 10:05:30]
[IN Q=we work]
((ROY ROGERS/UNION PRESIDENT; WE WORK THERE WE DON'T WANT TO HARM THE BUSINESS WE JUST BASICALLY WANT TO MAKE A POINT THAT WE ARE PREPARED TO DO THIS AND IT WILL CUT THE COST OF HEALTH CARE IN THE FUTURE.))
[OUT Q=FUTURE.].))
[LIVE=Rachel/FULL]
The future includes national contract negotiations in May. The current contract expires in June. Union leaders hope when they sit down at the bargaining table, this successful two-day strike will give them some leverage.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Jean/Rachel;]
Jean, coming up at 6, a look at how retired workers are dealing with health care increases.

[5-Picketer-Killed]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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G-E workers are striking all across the nation- But in Louisville the focus turned away from insurance costs when a picketer was struck and killed by a police car.
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[SUPER=03-Louisville, KY]

It happened early this morning- at about five a-m.
Witnesses say the woman was hit as she walked from one gate to another at the plant.
The area was not well lit, but the woman was carrying a large sign.
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((SGT. JOE HORNEK/LOUISVILLE POLICE: EVERYONE'S STORY IS CONSISTENT. AS FAR AS HOW IT HAPPENED IT'S JUST AN UNFORTUANTE EVENT.))
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Workers out on the picket lines say their prayers are with the family-
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[IN Q=]
((I DIDN'T KNOW THE LADY THAT DOESN'T MATTER. SHE WAS EMPLOYEE HERE, A UNION MEMBER JUST OUT DOING HER JOB, SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS, IT'S JUST A BAD THING.))
[SUPER=01-Roger Buskill/Union Member;]
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[OUT Q=JUST A BAD THING.]
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[VO-NAT 06 plus]

The Workers will continue the 48 hour strike to protest the rising cost of health insurance.
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[5-Radford-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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An overloaded power strip may be to blame for a fire today in Radford.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]

The blaze broke out around eleven this morning at the New River Garden Apartments.
Officials believe it may have started from an electrical outlet inside the study room of one apartment.
No one was at home at the time, but officials say the woman who lives there does NOT have insurance.
The total damage is around 60-thousand dollars.
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[5-KMart]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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The blue lights are going out at hundreds of K-mart stores across the nation.
K-Mart today announced it will close more than 300 stores in an effort to pull itself out of bankruptcy.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Troy, MI]

The company says as many as 35-thousand people will lose their jobs.
There is some good news for workers in this region- No stores here will close.
[Super=@file]

K-mart will shut down five Virginia stores including ones in the Northern part of the state, Richmond and Virginia Beach.
One West Virginia store is also set to close.
That one is in Kimball.
This latest round of closings leaves K-Mart with 15-hundred stores nationwide.
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[5-Iraq]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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Nationwide, more soldiers are preparing for duty in the Persian Gulf- this as President Bush today says he's sick and tired of Saddam Hussein's games and deception.
Aleen Sirgany now with the latest on the tensions with Iraq.
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[Super=03-Washington, DC; quick!]
[SUPER=01-Kofi Annan/U.N. Secretary General;]
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[OUT Q=cbs News, Washington.]
(( WITH THE PRESIDENT OF POLAND BY HIS SIDE AT THE WHITE HOUSE, PRESIDENT BUSH TURNED UP THE HEAT ON IRAQ. BUSH : Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm. I'm sick and tired of games and deception. And that's my view of timetables. THE GULF REGION IS NOW PACKED WITH U-S TROOPS READY TO GO TO WAR, WITH 7-THOUSAND MORE DEPLOYED TUESDAY. AND CHIEF U-N WEAPONS INSPECTOR HANS BLIX IS ADVISING SADDAM HUSSEIN TO TAKE NOTE OF THE MILITARY BUILDUPWARNING IT SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO CONVINCE THE IRAQI LEADER TO COME CLEAN REGARDING HIS WEAPONS PROGRAM. THE HUNT FOR THOSE WEAPONS CONTINUES WITH NEW INTELLIGENCE PROVIDED BY THE U-S AND BRITS. SO FAR, NO WORD ON WHETHER THAT'S YIELDED ANY INFORMATION THAT COULD TRIGGER A CRISIS. U-N SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN ITS TOO EARLY TO EVEN TALK ABOUT WAR. KOFI ANNAN/U.N SECRETARY GENERAL If they do disarm and comply with security counsel, the region may not have to go through another military confrontation. U-N INSPECTORS ARE TO SUBMIT THEIR REPORT TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL JANUARY 27TH ON THEIR FIRST SIXTY DAYS OF WORK. ITS A MEETING THAT COULD BECOME ANYTHING A WORK STILL IN PROGRESS ...TO A TRIGGER FOR WAR. AS, CBSNEWS, WASH.))

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Coming up next on the newscast, we'll see a new treatment for glaucoma.
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[VO-NAT]

Also two Air Force pilots could face court martial for the deaths of four Canadians in a friendly fire accident.
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[5-Pilots-Trial ]

[ANCHOR=JEan]
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Two Air Force pilots could face a court martial over a friendly fire incident that killed four Canadian soldiers.

Elizabeth Sanchez has more.
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[SUPER=03-Barksdale AFB, LA;]
[SUPER=01-Dave Beck/Umbach Attorney;]
[SUPER=01-Elizabeth Sanchez/CBS News;]
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[OUT Q=Barksdale Airforce Base.]
((Two F-16 combat pilots took on the fight of the lives today. A hearing is underway to decide if they will be court-martialed.
During a routine mission in Southern Afghanistan , Majors William Umbach and Harry Schmidt ..believed they were in danger..and made the decision to drop a bomb . It killed four Candadian paratroopers and injured 8 others .. all training in the country.
The two face charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and dereliction of duty after the friendly fire incident. It is the first time the Air Force has filed criminal charges against pilots in combat.

SOT Dave Beck, Umbach's attorney:
" We do not believe this should be in the military justice process. We believe it should have been done thru an investigation and determine all of the contributing factors and fix the problems so they don't happen again. "
Track: The U-S government says the pilots failed to exercise appropriate flight discipline, disregarded rules of engagement and used inappropriate lethal force.
The pilots say it was a matter of miscommunication. Claiming they were never told that the live tracer fire they saw that night was a training exercise....and not one meant to shoot them down. The defense also says the pilots were nearing the end of a 20 hour workday and were given "go pills"...... fatigue-fighting amphetamines to keep them alert. Their lawyers say the drugs may have clouded their judgment.
All this comes against a wall of criticism that the U.S. is making scape-goats of the pilots to please the Canadian government.
Stand up: The hearing could take up to two weeks. The investigating officer could recommend a court martial. If it goes that far.... The pilots could face 64 years in prison. Elizabeth Sanchez, CBS news Barksdale air force base.))

[5-Task-force]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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Dozens of Salem residents will come together tonight to help off-campus college students live more harmoniously with their neighbors.
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[VO-NAT :13]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]
For the past three years, trash, noise and parking have been problems along several streets, including Craig Avenue. Tonight, students, landlords, law enforcement and others will discuss the issues and potential solutions.
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[SOT 11:56:05-11:56:17]
[IN Q=I think one of the great things...]
((DREW MENA/STUDENT: I THINK ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS MEETING IS THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN MUCH DIALOGUE UNLESS STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN IT UPON THEMSELVES TO KNOCK ON THEIR NEIGHBORS' DOORS AND TALK TO THEM.)) ((SGT. DAVID RORER/SALEM POLICE: THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WE CAN COME TO A REASONABLE AND CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTION.))
[SUPER=01-Drew Mena/Student;]
[SUPER=01-Sgt. David Rorer/Salem Police;]
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[OUT Q=reasonable and constructive solution.]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[Graphic=None]
The first meeting of the task force will take place tonight at 7 at the Salem Civic Center. Meetings are scheduled every other Tuesday through March.

[5-Glaucoma]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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In health check tonight,
There's a new treatment for glaucoma that only takes a few minutes in the doctors office.
It involves using a laser to lower the pressure in the eye.
[ANCHOR=JEAN 2 shot]

Health Check Reporter Joy Sutton joins us with details.
[ANCHOR=Joy 2 shot]

Jean, Nearly three million Americans have glaucoma.,
[ANCHOR=JOY FULL]
[SUPER=@JOY1;]
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And most of them would be candidates for this procedure.
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[IN Q=Earnesteen Anderson]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;00]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Frank Cotter/Vistar Eye Center;18]
[SUPER=01-Earnesteen Anderson/Glaucoma Patient;1:13]
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[OUT Q=and be able to see]
((
Earnesteen Anderson like many people with glaucoma must use prescription eye drops to manage the disease. If left untreated glaucoma can lead to blindness.
But a new laser surgery known as S-L-T is giving many patients another option.
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[SOT 4:36]
[IN Q=The laser has a lot of advantages]
((THE LASER HAS A LOT OF ADVANTAGES. CURRENTLY WE TREAT GLAUCOMA PATIENTS WITH DROPS. THEY ARE VERY EXPENSIVE, THEY ARE VERY INCONVENIENT AND THEY HAVE SIGNIFICANT SIDE EFFECTS. THESE ARE THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO GET AROUND BY USING THE LASER)) [RUNS13]
[OUT Q=using the laser]

With glaucoma, fluid builds up in the front of the eye and can cause too much pressure on the nerve in the back of eye. This can eventually cause the nerve to die which leads to vision loss.
The laser causes that fluid to drain thereby lowering the pressure.
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[SOT4:51]
[IN Q=It takes about one or two mintues to perform]
((IT TAKES ABOUT ONE OR TWO MINUTES TO PERFORM. IT'S PAINLESS TO THE PATIENTS AND IT'S EFFECTIVE IN ALLEVIATING THE PATIENTS NEEDS TO TAKE DROPS)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=need to take drops]

And for many senior that's a big advantage. Medicare will pay for the surgery, but since it does not provide prescription drug coverage, the drops are not covered.
Luckily for Anderson she has supplemental insurance plan..otherwise..
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[SOT21:18]
[IN Q=It would cost about 2-hundred dollars a month]
((IT WOULD COST 2-HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH. THE MEDICATION IS VERY EXPENSIVE)) [RUNS06]
[OUT Q=medication is very expensive]

And the laser can last for several years and if it losses it's effectiveness it can be repeated.
Anderson says anything that can help is worth trying.
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[SOT17:36]
[IN Q=Basically I'm very concerned about my eyes]
((BASICALLY I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT MY EYES. I JUST WANT TO HAVE HEALTHY EYES AND BE ABLE TO SEE)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=be able to see]))
[ANCHOR=Joy Full]

With glaucoma there usually are not any symptoms until the later stages, that's why it's important to get checked regularly.
Those at increased risk for the disease include African American, those who are near sighted, and people with family history of glaucoma.
[ANCHOR=Jean/Joy 2 shot]
Jean, as you age your also at increased risk

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[ANCHOR=Jean]
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Coming up today in our Marketwatch report, we'll see what Kmart's announcement today did to the stock market. [Comm 2]

[Stats] [01/14/2003] [TWO SHOT TOSS] [WALK INTO]
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[CK/WXPRO]WEATHER MAPS WEATHER FORECASTS EXTENDED FORECAST
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Today in Sports, New York brings Godzilla to Yankee Stadium.
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[VO-NAT]
Plus U-V-A 's basketball team has the chance to prove it's for real as it begins a critical road tour.
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[5Marketwatch]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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On Wall Street today, confirmation that December retail sales were weak didn't sink stocks. As Ed Crane tells us, the news was expected.
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[SUPER=01-Ed Crane/CBS Marketwatch;]
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[Stocks Roll]

[S5-NFL]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
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Good afternoon everybody and welcome to Your Tuesday Ticker. Tomorrow is the deadline for underclassmen to declare themselves eligible for this April's NFL draft and today two of the top Miami Hurricanes anounced they are leaving early.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-NCAA; :00]
Willis MaGahee, the record setting tailback who destroyed his knee in the Fiesta Bowl says he's going pro hoping some team will take a gamble that his knee will be almost as good as new. If not MaGahee has a $2 and a half million dollar insurance policy to fall back on.
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[TALENT=MIKE]
[GRAPHIC=BAM]
His Miami teammate - receiver Andre Johnson also is leaving early Tennessee player Kelley Washington and Jason Witten, the brother of Virginia Tech's Shawn are leaving Knoxville, however, Eli Manning announced today he will be back at Ole Miss for his senior year.

[S5-MLB]

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None of the players is headed to the Yankees - but George Steinbrenner's bunch has picked up another potentially big time
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-New York, NY; :00]
star. Earlier today Japanese Slugger Hideki Matsui was officially welcomed to the Bronx Zoo and formally fed to the New York Media. He actually arrived in the country last week and spent the weekend touring the city and the house that Ruth Built.
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[S5-Club]

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On a baseball note closer to home - the Roanoke Valley Sports Club
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem/Last Night; :00]
welcomed Giles County native Mike Williams to its monthly meeting last night. Williams was a member of the National League all-star team last season as he recorded a career high 46 saves as the Pirates' closer. He left today for Florida to begin preparations for the upcoming season. The former Hokie says he's ready for an encore performance.
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[IN Q=You know what...]
[SUPER=01-Mike Williams/46 Saves Last Season; :00]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=...HAPPIER TOO."]
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[S5-Road]

[ANCHOR=mike]
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The Virginia men's basketball team travels to the unfriendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium tomorrow night to battle the nation's number one ranked team in Duke.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville; :00]

The Wahoos enter the game coming off a confidence building win over North Carolina at University Hall on Saturday.

But the contest against the Blue Devils marks the first of three road games at Duke, Clemson and Virginia Tech.
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[SUPER=01-Todd Billett/UVa Shooting Guard; :00]
[SUPER=01-Travis Watson/UVa Senior Forward; :23]
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[OUT Q=.....on the court"]
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[VO-NAT]

Coming up tonight on News 7 at Six, words from the Cavaliers on facing Duke freshman phenom J.J. Redick.
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[go to pinnacle !!!!!!!!!!!!!]

[5-Hillbillies]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=Five]
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C-B-S is canceling what once was one of its most popular series.
"Touched by An Angel" has been dropped after nine seasons. The series finale will air in May.
Meanwhile the network is having trouble casting a reality series.
It is still looking for a family to star in "The Real Beverly Hillbillies. In the series, the network wants to take a poor rural family and drop them in a Hollywood mansion.
The Network president says he hasn't given up on the proposed reality show even though some say it would be cruel. [Close-ID] [5pm] SUPER=x4035; fax/copyright [SUPER=x4034;email/copyright]