WDBJ 7 morning news for 05/05/03

[11Festival-Wrapup]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=Morning]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-13 33:27]
[GRAPHIC=Franklin Graham]
Three days, tens of thousands of people, and on Saturday, a lot of rain. It all added up to a big weekend in Salem, where Franklin Graham led the Southwest Virginia Festival.
As Jennifer Wishon reports, organizers say their months of planning really paid off.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Nats of Choir Singing]
[SUPER=03-Salem; :00]
[SUPER=01-Franklin Graham/Evangelist; :19]
[SUPER=01-Abbie Strickland/Children's Choir; :39]
[SUPER=01-Willie Aames/Bibleman; 1:01]
[SUPER=01-Sherman Barnette/Festival Organizer; 1:25]
[SUPER=01-Ralph Alfred/Festival Counselor; 1:36]
[SUPER=01-Josh Janney/Attended Festival; 1:45]
[RUNS=2:15]
[OUT Q=News 7, Salem.]
((((Nats of Choir 03-23 TC00:06)) A local choir made up of more than 2000- people got the festival started Friday. It was a night filled with praise and prayers. 500 churches from more than 50- denominations came together to help make the event possible, but it was those outside the church who were the target audience.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:28:23 Tape #4]
[IN Q=We are focusing]
((FRANKLIN GRAHAM/EVANGELIST: WE ARE FOCUSING ON AND REALLY DIRECTING THE ENTIRE WEEKEND TOWARDS PEOPLE THAT ARE UNCHURCHED. PEOPLE THAT WOULD COME OUT HERE TO HEAR YOU BUT WOULD NEVER STEP FOOT INTO A CHURCH.))
[RUNS= 14]
[OUT Q=into a church]
Saturday morning Franklin Graham took a break and children took over.
((Nats kids choir 01:08:17:11 #5))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:16:44:28]
[IN Q=tell me about ]
((REPORTER: TELL ME ABOUT BIBLEMAN. ABBIE STRICKLAND: HE SAVES THE DAY AND HE'S A SUPERHERO.))
[RUNS= 06]
[OUT Q=he's a superhero]
He's a superhero who fought off evil using Bible verses. ((Nats from Bibleman Show)) Bibleman is played by actor Willie Aames who says he turned his life around while playing Buddy Lembeck in the television show Charles in Charge.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 01:25:28:27 #5]
[IN Q=I had really ]
((WILLIE AAMES/BIBLEMAN: I HAD REALLY GROWN DISILLUSIONED WITH THE WHOLE HOLLYWOOD SEX, DRUGS, ROCK AND ROLL, YOU KNOW, HAD MET TONS OF PEOPLE, DATED TONS OF PEOPLE, HAD MADE TONS OF MONEY AND I COULD JUST NEVER FIGURE OUT WHERE THE COMPASSION WAS IN THIS WORLD.))
[RUNS= 17]
[OUT Q=in this world]
Bibleman was a big hit with the kids until everyone started getting wet. The storm continued into the evening.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:31:44 #1]
[IN Q=Because of the]
((SHERMAN BARNETTE/FESTIVAL ORGANIZER: BECAUSE OF THE LIGHTNING WE DELAYED THE PROGRAM FOR AN HOUR.))
[RUNS= 03]
[OUT Q=for an hour]
But that didn't stop 15- thousand people from flocking to Salem stadium. Even though the heavens opened up, the message wasn't clouded.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 01:13:15:25 #5]
[IN Q=It's made some]
((RALPH ALFRED/FESTIVAL COUNSELOR: IT'S MADE SOME TREMENDOUS CHANGES IN MY LIFE, IT'S REALLY MADE ME FOCUS ON MY WALK WITH GOD AND IT'S JUST GREAT.))
[RUNS= 08]
[OUT Q=it's just great]
This young man says he became a Christian at one of the events and his decision has already changed his life.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:47:25 Tape #1]
[IN Q=I'm a better person]
((JOSH JANNEY/ATTENDED FESTIVAL: I'M A BETTER PERSON, I DON'T HANG OUT WITH THE CROWD I USED TO HANG OUT WITH.))
[RUNS= 04]
[OUT Q=hang out with]
The event cost about one- million dollars. A quarter of that will be paid for by the Graham Ministries and the rest will come from local churches and businesses.
It's too soon to know how the influx of thousands of people into Salem affected the local economy, but for Christians, both old and new, the event paid off. Jennifer Wishon, News 7, Salem.))

[Church-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-14 TC-3:02:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The crowds were smaller in Dublin, but Sunday services there still had a big meaning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dublin;]
The congregation of Dublin United Methodist Church met outside at their picnic area. Their church has suffered two fires in the past month.
[SUPER=03-Dublin/Last Monday;]
The latest blaze started Monday afternoon and took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish. It was the second fire to damage the oldest section of the building. Investigators don't think the fires were the work of an arsonist, but are still trying to determine the cause.
(------------)

[Marketwatch]

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

In business news, most investors are hoping the market picks up where it left off Friday, and they'll be keeping an eye this week on the chairman of the Fed.
Alexis Christoforous has that story and more in this morning's Marketwatch.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Alexis Christoforous/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:10]
[OUT Q=in New York.]

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

[Iraq]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=Iraq Rebuilding]

It was the original reason for the Bush administration to launch the war in Iraq.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=203-Baghdad, Iraq;]

So far, the hunt for some 500 tons of biological and chemical weapons has turned up nothing.
Still, the White House says they're there.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I'm absolutely sure]
((COLIN POWELL/SECRETARY OF STATE: I'M ABSOLUTELY SURE THERE ARE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION THERE AND THE EVIDENCE WILL BE FORTHCOMING.))
[SUPER=201-Colin Powell/Secretary of State;]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=will be forthcoming.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

In Baghdad, police are back on the street for the first time since the war started.
While they have uniforms and cars, they don't have weapons and that's allowing looting to continue.
Thieves took everything left from one of Saddam Hussein's palaces- including the kitchen sink.
The new Baghdad police force say they won't be taken seriously until they can carry guns.
(------------)

[Peterson]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=Scott Peterson]

Scott Peterson will be back in a California courtroom today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Modesto, CA;]

A judge will determine whether search warrants used against him can be unsealed.
Prosecutors are accusing Peterson of killing his pregant wife and unborn son.
Last night thousand of people attended a memorial service was held for Laci Peterson, on what would have been her 28th birthday.
At the memorial, Peterson was described as a gourmet cook who loved to be with her friends and family, and was looking forward to motherhood.
(------------)

[Feedback]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=FdBack]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The Dixie Chicks have started their US tour, and our reporting on it brought on some of our viewer mail this week. Here's assignment editor Joe McKean, with News-7's Feedback.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Fans came out]
[SUPER=03-Greenville, SC/Thursday; :05]
[RUNS=1:25]
[OUT Q=McKean, News-7]
((Fans came out in force and to the defense of the country music stars, at their first U.S. concert since a band member's remark she was ashamed to be from the same state as President Bush.
A viewer from Chatham (Bob Roberts) wrote: "I am deeply offended by your constant shots at the Dixie Chicks. It is "piling on" and unfair. You are in a business that relies on the First Amendment, yet you have tried to damage the careers of three women because of a rather minor statement of one. SHAME ON YA! Now, let's see if you have the character to report the support they have gotten and continue to get. Patriotism is love of COUNTRY, not a politician. I don't remember Republicans backing away from critical statements about Clinton."
And a fan from Roanoke (Carol Hendrix) wanted to point out that "It may or may not interest you to know that, as widely reported elsewhere, sales of their records actually increased, and their current CD quickly reached number one on Billboard charts. This is a prime example of either blatant bias or gross ignorance. Neither of which I find acceptable from a "prize-winning" news team."
Whatever you think about issues in the news, or our coverage of them, we like to hear from you.
Send in your comments by mail...fax...or email. And please include your hometown.
Joe McKean, News-7.))

[Tornadoes]

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

While we saw rain and wind over the weekend, it paled in comparison to the deadly tornadoes that tore through parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee.
At least 28 people were killed and dozens more were injured.
The search continues for many people who are still missing.
The twisters also flattened homes across several counties.
Thousands of residents have been left without electricity after the high winds knocked down power lines.
Keith Oppenheim joins us this morning from Kansas with an update on the tornadoes' aftermath.
[LIVE=CNN NEWSOURCE/FULL]
[SUPER=01-Keith Oppenheim/Reporting;]
[SUPER=05-Kansas City, KS;]

((ROLLCUE:...))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Kansas/Sunday]

[LIVE=CNN NEWSOURCE/FULL]
[SUPER=05-Kansas City, KS;]

[VOB-Festival-Wrapup]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morning]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=NetB]
[GRAPHIC=Franklin Graham]

The thunder and rains held off in Salem Sunday, allowing the Southwest Virginia Festival with Franklin Graham to wrap up with a bang.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]
Nearly 18- thousand people attended the closing service making it the most attended event of the three- day festival.

Gospel singer Nicole C. Mullen was a big crowd pleaser, as was the fact that Saturday's rains did not return. Organizers say the festival wouldn't have been a success without all the support it received from the community.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:34:38]
[IN Q=Participation from area churches]
((SHERMAN BARNETTE/FESTIVAL ORGANIZER: PARTICIPATION FROM AREA CHURCHES HAS BEEN MORE THAN WE EXPECTED BECAUSE WE'VE HAD OVER 500 CHURCHES PARTICIPATING, OVER 53 DENOMINATIONS SO REALLY FOR AN AREA THIS SIZE THAT'S REALLY OVER THE TOP. ))
[SUPER=01-Sherman Barnette/Festival Organizer;]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=really over the top]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Hundreds of local parishioners volunteered throughout the weekend providing security and other services. The price tag on the event was about one- million dollars. One- quarter of that will be paid for by the Graham Ministries and the rest will be made up of donations from local churches and businesses.
(------------)

[2Church-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-14 TC-3:02:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]
There was another outdoor service of note in the region Sunday, but not quite as big.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dublin;]
The congregation of Dublin United Methodist Church met outside at their picnic area. Their church has suffered two fires in the past month.
[SUPER=03-Dublin/Last Monday;]
The latest blaze started Monday afternoon and took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish. It was the second fire to damage the oldest section of the building. Investigators don't think the fires were the work of an arsonist, but are still trying to determine the cause.
(------------)

[Ren-Festival]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=03-07 TC-1:59:39]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A living history lesson brought an era of rebirth in England to present-day Virginia.
(///// SOT /////)
[NAT SOT 16:46:04]
[IN Q=huh, huh, oh this spainiard]
((NAT SOT: HUH, HUH, OH THIS SPANIARD KNOWS HOW TO FIGHT. SO YOU GIVE SPORT AFTER ALL. COME ON))
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=come on]
(------------)
[VO-NAT - 12.5]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

Performers dressed in 16th century costume for the 2nd annual Virginia Renaissance Faire Sunday at Green Hill Park.

And they re-enacted the happenings of this period as a history lesson for all ages.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT2:38:00]
[IN Q=When you become partof that time]
((WHEN YOU BECOME PART OF THAT TIME IT'S ALMOST MAGIC. IF YOU CAN LEARN TO HAVE FUN WITH YOUR HISTORY AND YOUR LITERATURE AND YOUR ARTS IN SUCH FASHION. YOU CAN DO IT WITH ANY TIME PERIOD IT DOESN'T' HAVE TO BE 1577 IT CAN BE ANY TIME))
[SUPER=01-Cornelia Rutherford/Virginia Renaissance Faire]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=it can be any time]
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :10+]

The faire also included medieval crafts and food. Organizers say it's important to have these events in Virginia because the state was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth.
(------------)

[K-Mart]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]
K-Mart is ready to show it can survive bankruptcy reorganization. The discount chain is expected to emerge this week from the largest retail bankruptcy in U-S history. It will do so with 600 fewer stores, new leadership, and a two billion dollar loan. Now here's a look at stock of local interest.

[Correction]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A clarification to a story we aired last week at this time. We reported last Monday morning that the Commonwealth spent more than 300-hundred thousand dollars of taxpayers' money for the Virginia Association of Counties conventionat the Homestead .. at a time when more than 18-hundred state workers were being laid off. The money spent did not actually come from state government. It came instead from the local governments that took part in the convention.

[2Tornadoes]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Net Backup]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The midwest is still reeling from a series of tornadoes that tore through over the weekend.
Authorities say at least 28 people have been killed, dozens are injured, and many others have yet to be found.
The twisters destroyed homes in parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee.
The governor of Kansas has declared seven counties disaster areas.
Meanwhile, those residents whose homes are still standing are experiencing power outages after the high winds knocked down power lines.
Keith Oppenheim joins us now with the latest.
[LIVE=CNN NEWSOURCE/FULL]
[SUPER=01-Keith Oppenheim/Reporting;]
[SUPER=05-Kansas City, KS;]

((ROLLCUE:...))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Baxter Springs, KS;]
[SUPER=01-John Vulgamore/Resident;]
[SUPER=01-Robert Adair/Resident;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=]

[LIVE=CNN NEWSOURCE/FULL]
[SUPER=05-Kansas City, KS;]

[2VOB-Festival-Wrapup]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morning]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=NetB]
[GRAPHIC=Franklin Graham]

The people who organized the Southwest Virginia Festival 2003 with Franklin Graham say they are very pleased with the weekend turnout.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]
Nearly 18- thousand people attended the closing service making it the most attended event of the three- day festival.

[3Church-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-14 TC-3:02:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A smaller outdoor service Sunday was nonetheless a big moment for a Dublin parish.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dublin;]
The congregation of Dublin United Methodist Church met outside at their picnic area. Their church has suffered two fires in the past month.
[SUPER=03-Dublin/Last Monday;]
The latest blaze started Monday afternoon and took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish. It was the second fire to damage the oldest section of the building. Investigators don't think the fires were the work of an arsonist, but are still trying to determine the cause.
(------------)

[2Iraq]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=Iraq Rebuilding]

Advance teams for a group of a thousand experts are arriving in Iraq to expand the search for weapons of mass destruction.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=203-Baghdad, Iraq;]

So far, the hunt for some 500 tons of biological and chemical weapons has turned up nothing.
Still, the White House says they're there.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I'm absolutely sure]
((COLIN POWELL/SECRETARY OF STATE: I'M ABSOLUTELY SURE THERE ARE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION THERE AND THE EVIDENCE WILL BE FORTHCOMING.))
[SUPER=201-Colin Powell/Secretary of State;]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=will be forthcoming.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

In Baghdad, police are back on the street for the first time since the war started.
While they have uniforms and cars, they don't have weapons and that's allowing looting to continue.
Thieves took everything left from one of Saddam Hussein's palaces- including the kitchen sink.
The new Baghdad police force say they won't be taken seriously until they can carry guns.

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

[2Marketwatch]

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

In business news, Wall Streets' eyes and ears turn once again toward Alan Greenspan this week.
Alexis Christoforous has that story and more in this morning's Marketwatch.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Alexis Christoforous/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:10]
[OUT Q=in New York.]

(tape tosses to bump)
[BUMP] [COMM]

[3-HEADLINES] [Kim at Desk]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Here's what's making news today.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

The search is on in the midwest for victims and survivors of deadly tornadoes that struck the region over the weekend.
At least 28 people are said to have been killed by the series of twisters in Missouri, Kansas, and Tennessee.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Meanwhile, the skies cleared in Salem, as the Southwest Virginia Festival with Franklin Graham wrapped up. Nearly 18- thousand people attended the closing service, making it the most attended event of the three- day festival.

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

And Scott Peterson will make another court appearance today in California.
A judge will decide whether search warrants used against the accused killer can be unsealed.
Last night, a memorial service was held for Peterson's wife, Laci, who would have turned 28 yesterday.

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

[Hollywood-Minute]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
The X-Men pull in some big crowds, and a hot Hollywood couple lays down some cold cash for a Georgia home. George Ramsey has our Hollywood Minute.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=With the Hollywood minute]
[SUPER=04-"X2: X Men United" - 20th Century Fox; :06]
[SUPER=04-"The Lizzie McGuire Movie - Disney; :17]
[SUPER=04-"Identity" - Columbia; :21]
[SUPER=03-Los Angeles, CA/March 23; :46]
[RUNS=1:09]
[OUT Q=I'm George Ramsey.]

((WITH THE HOLLYWOOD MINUTE...I'M GEORGE RAMSEY.
THE MARVEL COMIC BOOK MUTANTS --THE X-MEN-- WON THE BATTLE AT THE BOX OFFICE... LANDING THE FOURTH BEST OPENING WEEKEND EVER.
"X-2 -- X-MEN UNITED" PULLED IN AN ESTIMATED 85-POINT-EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS.
MEANWHILE-- "THE LIZZIE MC-GUIRE MOVIE" CAME IN AT NUMBER TWO.
AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER "IDENTITY" ROUNDED OUT THE TOP THREE.

-----------------------------------------

SINGER COURTNEY LOVE IS SEARCHING FOR A FEW GOOD GODDESSES.
THAT'S RIGHT...LOVE HAS TAKEN OUT FULL PAGE ADVERTISEMENTS IN NEW YORK'S VILLAGE VOICE AND THE L-A WEEKLY TO RECRUIT A BASSIST AND GUITARIST FOR HER BAND.
THE FORMER LEAD SINGER FOR 'HOLE' SAYS IF YOU WANT TO APPLY, YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PLAY, AND LOOK LIKE A GODDESS.
AND SHE ALSO SAYS NO BOYS WILL BE CONSIDERED.
LOVE IS WORKING ON A NEW ALBUM CALLED 'AMERICA'S SWEETHEART."

----------------------------------------

AND--GUESS WHO'S COMING TO THE BLOCK IN GEORGIA? J-LO... AND BEN.
THAT'S RIGHT...STAR COUPLE BEN AFFLECK AND JENNIFER LOPEZ HAVE BOUGHT A LITTLE GETAWAY ON A PRIVATE ISLAND OFF THE GEORGIA COAST.
IT INCLUDES A 10-THOUSAND SQUARE FOOT MAIN HOUSE... WHICH REPLICATES AN ANTE-BELLUM SOUTHERN MANSION... AND AN EQUALLY EXPANSIVE GUEST HOME.
THE SELLING PRICE: 16-MILLION DOLLARS.
WITH THE HOLLYWOOD MINUTE, I'M GEORGE RAMSEY.))

[TAPE TOSSES TO BUMP]
[BUMP] [COMM]