WDBJ 7 morning news for 07/03/03

[Bush-Iraq]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Bush]

President Bush's mission to stay the course in Iraq is drawing criticism.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Baghdad, Iraq;]

More than 20 U-S troops have been killed in ambush attacks since major combat operations ended in Iraq.
At the same time, the Bush administration is under fire for not having a better handle on the situation.
Yesterday, the President vowed to take on the threat from Iraqi dissidents.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=There are some]
((THERE ARE SOME WHO FEEL LIKE - THAT THE CONDITIONS ARE SUCH THAT THEY CAN ATTACK US THERE. MY ANSWER IS, BRING THEM ON.))
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=bring them on.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Bush says there are enough troops in Iraq to handle the situation.
But after the bold statement, the White House was quick to back-track.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I think what]
((ARI FLEISCHER/WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I THINK WHAT THE PRESIDENT WAS EXPRESSING THERE IS HIS CONFIDENCE IN THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE MILITARY TO HANDLE THE MILITARY MISSION. ))
[SUPER=01-Ari Fleischer/White House Press Secretary;]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=handle the military mission.]
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]

Democrats, meanwhile, are calling Bush's comment "irresponsible and inciteful."
(------------)

[FL-Fireworks]

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

July fourth isn't until tomorrow, but there's already been a deadly accident involving fireworks.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bonita Springs, FL;]

At least four people were killed when a tractor- trailer loaded with fireworks exploded at a beach park in Florida.
A town councilman says the blast happened as workers unloaded the truck at the park near the Gulf of Mexico between Fort Myers and Naples.
An employee at a resort less than a mile away from the explosion says it felt like an earthquake.
Rescue crews are at the scene, and firefighters are still battling the blaze.
(------------)

[11Walton]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=03-21 TC50:31]
[GRAPHIC=PErcy Walton]
Death row inmate Percy Levar Walton is not mentally retarded, but he may not be competent to be executed. That's the ruling of a federal judge. Walton was sentenced to death for the 1996 murders of an elderly couple and a neighbor in Danville. Yesterday, Judge Sam Wilson agreed to hear evidence to sort out whether
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville/File Tape]
Walton is capable of understanding the nature of the death penalty. Walton had chosen to die in the electric chair, rather than by lethal injection... a decision HIS attorneys believe confirms his incompetence.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=HOLD]
The state maintains Walton "clearly understands that he is to be executed because he was convicted of murder." No date has been set for the hearing.

[11Malvo]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=03-20 TC53:30]
[GRAPHIC=Lee Malvo]

In another case...A judge has ruled that one of the sniper suspects can not get a fair trial in Northern Virginia.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape]

So, Lee Malvo's capital murder trial will be moved from Fairfax County to the tidewater city of Chesapeake.
The judge says Malvo can't get a fair trial in an area where so many people lived in fear during the sniper spree last fall.
Governor Mark Warner hopes for a speedy trial.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We were dealing]
((GOV. MARK WARNER; WE WERE DEALING WITH SOMETHING THAT WAS BRAND NEW, NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH AN URBAN TERRORIST EVENT LIKE THAT AND I WANT THEM TO GET A FAIR TRIAL BUT I WANT JUSTICE TO BE DONE.))
[SUPER=@markwarner]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=to be done.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chesapeake;]

Many in Chesapeake don't want the high-profile case moved to their courthouse.
The mayor and city council members say it will disrupt the lives of residents, create safety concerns and cost a lot of money.
Mayor William Ward says he'll consider asking Fairfax County to share the cost.
(------------)

[AM-Residents-Hours]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-23 TC 41:23]
[GRAPHIC=none]

It's not the patient, but the doctor who is getting a checkup of sorts.
New rules just went into effect limiting work hours for hospital residents.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

It is common for residents to work more than a 100 hours a week.
New regulations now cap their work week at 80 hours and no more than 24 straight hours.
Carilion has been working for months to implement the new rules for its hundred or so residents.
Roanoke Memorial's chief resident believes the changes will have both positive and negative effects.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 14:32:39]
[IN Q=I think it's going to be]
((KELLY STACY/CHIEF RESIDENT: I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE HARD TO TRYING TO GET AS MUCH EDUCATION IN WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE SO MANY HOURS, YOU TRY TO SEE AS MANY AS PATIENTS AS WHAT RESIDENCY IS ALL ABOUT IS SEEING PATIENTS, THE MORE PATIENTS YOU SEE THE MORE YOU'LL LEARN, SOMETIMES YOU GOING TO HAVE LITTLE BIT LESS PATIENT INTERACTION.))
[SUPER=01-Kelly Stacy/Chief Resident; :]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=patient interaction]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The changes could also lead to higher costs for hospitals.
Since residents will be working fewer hours, someone will have to pick up the slack.
Roanoke Memorial for example plans to have its attendees work more.
(------------)

[CO-Rockies]

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

An escalator accident at a Denver baseball game has more than 20 people recovering from injuries today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Denver, CO;]

As fans were leaving last night's Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field, an escalator suddenly accelerated.
Witnesses say people were screaming as they crashed down on top of one another.
Authorities say most of the injuries are fractures, cuts, and bruises, but none appears to be critical.
Still a spokesman for the Rockies say this was NOT the way for fans to end a night of baseball.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=There's no question...]
[SUPER=01-Jay Alves/Colorado Rockies' Spokesman;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=are well]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

More than 47- thousand people attended the game.
(------------)

[Marketwatch]

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

In business news, Investors will get an early start on the holiday weekend.
The stock market will close today at 1 p-m.
Alexis Christoforous has that story and more in this morning's Marketwatch.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Alexis Christoforous/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:30]
[OUT Q=in New York.]
((> IT'S A SHORT WORK DAY FOR WALL STREET .. THE STOCK MARKET WILL CLOSE > EARLY, AT 1PM EASTERN TIME AND IS CLOSED TOMORROW FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY > HOLIDAY.. BUT BEFORE TRADERS HEAD OFF TO THE BEACH, THEY WILL GET A KEY > ECONOMIC REPORT.. THE JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES.... > > YESTERDAY, THE DOW CLOSED AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE MAY 2002 THANKS IN > PART TO GOOD NEWS ABOUT OUR NATON'S FACTORIES. >
(gr)
> THE DOW RALLIED 101 points >
(gr)
> WHILE THE NASDAQ ROCKETED 38 POINTS >
(oc)
> AN ANALYST UPGRADE OF MSFT, WALMART AND CISCO SYSTEMS ALSO HELPED LIFT > THE MARKETS. >
(gr)
> AMERICAN AIRLINES HAS BEGUN LAYING OFF MORE THAN 3-THOUSAND WORKERS IN AN > EFFORT TO SAVE MONEY AND AVOID BANKRUPTCY. > American also says it's close to making decisions on cutting more flights > and closing some facilities. >
(gr)
> Merrill Lynch won another court victory today when a federal judge > dismissed a fraud lawsuit brought against a Merrill mutual fund. Tuesday, > a judge threw out a class action lawsuit brought by investors who said > they lost money on two internet stocks because of biased research issued > by merrill lynch analysts. > @1/8gr) > Put mortgage lender Freddie Mac on your stocks to watch list: The Senate > Banking Committee is tentatively scheduled to launch its first hearing > into the accounting irregularities at Freddie Mac later this month.The > investigation centers on the events surrounding the mortgage-finance. >
(gr)
> TRACK ALL THE PREMARKET ACTION AT CBS.MW.COM . >
(oc)
> I'M AC IN NEW YORK.)

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

[11City-Schools]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=03-22 TC 57:12]
[GRAPHIC=None]

State education officials say it's not an official audit, but next week a team will visit Roanoke City Schools to review their procedures for reporting incidents of discipline, crime and violence.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Superintendent Wayne Harris requested the review, and members of the team will interview him on Monday.
They'll also talk with others including school administrators, central office staff, and resource officers.
Education Department Spokesman Charles Pyle says the visit should produce a report and recommendations.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The reporting requirements]
((THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR DATA REGARDING DISCIPLINE CRIME AND VIOLENCE CHANGE FROM YEAR TO YEAR WITH CHANGES IN THE STATE AND FEDERAL LAW, SO THERE IS A LOT TO KEEP UP WITH. WE'VE TRIED TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS ON OUR END AND OUR GOAL HERE IS TO HELP ROANOKE IMPROVE THE PROCESS ON ITS END SO THE END RESULT IS MORE ACCURATE AND RELIABLE DATA.))
[SUPER=01-Charles Pyle/Education Department Spokesman;]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=more accurate and reliable data.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Meanwhile, members of Roanoke City Council say they expect to discuss the recent reassignment of School Resource officer Butch Lewis when they meet next week.
(------------)

[11Shoreline-Plan]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Beginning today, residents can get a look at American Electric Power's new shoreline management plan.
It's just a first draft, but it will eventually govern how the shorelines along Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake are developed.
A-E-P is taking public comments on the plan until August 15th.
You can see it at a variety of locations, including the Smith Mountain Lake Visitors Center, the Bedford and Franklin County Planning Departments and at libraries in Bedford, Franklin, and Pittsylvania Counties.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE WEBPAGE FS]
You can also check it out by going to our website at wdbj7.com and clicking on Websites in the News.
(-------------)

[11Missing-Girl]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=502-12 1:40:08]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Some quick-thinking hair stylists helped nab a man who police say was on the run with a 14-year-old girl.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

Monday afternoon, the man brought the girl into the Shear Perfection shop on Wards Road to get her hair dyed and nails done.
The pair's suspicious behavior alerted several employees who then called the police.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:43:07]
[IN Q=And then the]
((ANDREA RUCKER/NAIL STYLIST: AND THEN THE COPS CAME IN AND HE TOLD THE COPS THAT THAT WAS HIS FIANCE AND SHE WAS SITTING IN FRONT OF ME WHILE I'M HOLDING HER HAND, POLISHING HER NAILS, SHE TOLD THE COPS ANOTHER STORY, SHE SAID IT'S A FRIEND. AND THAT WOULD RAISE AN EYEBROW FOR ANYBODY.))
[SUPER=01-Andrea Rucker/Nail Stylist]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=an eyebrow for anybody.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Police say the girl.. Jennifer Lynn Hudgins.. has been missing from the Tampa, Florida area since June 6th.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[ANCHOR=None]

39-year-old Charles Benjamin Twyford has been charged with carnal knowledge of a child 13 to 15 years old.

[11Giles-Training]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-18 TC1:55:10]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Giles County High School is preparing for the worst case scenario.
(//////SOT/////)
[NATS @ 33:21 Shots fired!"] ((NAT GUNSHOT AND SCREAM))
[SUPER=03-Giles Co.;]
[RUNS=03]
[OUTQ=NAT GUNSHOT AND SCREAM]
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
What you just saw wasn't real, it was a TRAINING exercise for police to learn what to do in a school shooting. About 50-law enforcement officers, students and school administrators took part in the exercise, which officials say can sometimes get a little scary.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 4847]
[IN Q=it's like a combat]
((RANDY FERRELL/NEW RIVER POLICE ACADEMY: IT'S LIKE A COMBAT SITUATION THE LIGHTS ARE GOING TO BE OFF, THE FIRE ALARM IS GOING TO BE GOING OFF THE SMOKE DETECTORS THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM KIDS GOING BE RUNNING SCREAMING TRYING TO FIND HELP 58))
[SUPER=01-Randy Ferrell/New River Police Academy;]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=trying to find help.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Officials say they hope the training will never be put to use, but it's better to be safe than sorry. The New River Police Academy conducts the training each summer to about 15 agencies throughout the valley.
(------------)

(Kimberly tosses to bump)

[bump-chyron]

[comm #3]

[2-FL-Fireworks]

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

Authorities are still on the scene of a deadly fireworks explosion in Florida.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bonita Springs, FL;]

At least four people were killed when a tractor- trailer loaded with fireworks exploded at a beach park in Florida.
A town official says the blast happened as workers unloaded the truck at the park near the Gulf of Mexico between Fort Myers and Naples.
An employee at a resort less than a mile away from the explosion says it felt like an earthquake.
There's no word yet on what caused the explosion.
(------------)

[11Shell]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-25 TC51:22]
[GRAPHIC=Robert Shell]

A Radford photographer charged in connection with the death of one of his models will soon be released from jail.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
Robert Shell was granted 50-thousand dollars bond and placed on house arrest yesterday. The 56-year-old is in jail on sex charges, in connection with the death of 19-year-old Marion Franklin of North Carolina. Shell is accused of drugging Franklin, who was found dead in his studio June 3rd. Prosecutors say they are still waiting on an autopsy report before deciding if they will charge Shell with homicide.
(------------)

[Biz-Brief]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]

In business news, It will be short day on Wall Street in advance of the long holiday weekend. The stock market will close at 1 p.m.. Stan Case has more in today's business brief.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Stan Case/Reporting; :]
[RUNS=1:16]
[OUT Q=I'm Stan Case.]

((STOCKS CLOSED UP WEDNESDAY, AMID SOME SOLID ECONOMIC NEWS AND AHEAD OF AN EXTENDED HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
THE DOW CLOSED UP 101 POINTS AND THE NASDAQ ALSO ENDED THE DAY UP 38.
THE DEMAND FOR U-S MANUFACTURED GOODS ROSE POINT-FOUR PERCENT IN MAY-AFTER DROPPING A REVISED THREE-PERCENT IN APRIL. THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT SAYS ORDERS FOR NON-DURABLE GOODS HELPED THE INCREASE. FACTORY ORDERS IN MAY BEAT ANALYSTS EXPECTATIONS, WHICH WERE FOR "NO CHANGE."
SHARES OF STARBUCKS HIT AN ALL TIME TRADING HIGH OF 27-DOLLARS WEDNESDAY. SHARES RALLIED MORE THAN 6-PERCENT ON THE DAY AFTER THE COFFEE COMPANY ANNOUNCED ITS JUNE EARNINGS. ON TUESDAY, STARBUCKS REPORTED TOTAL SALES JUMPED 27-PERCENT TO 410-MILLION-DOLLARS LAST MONTH. SAME STORE SALES FOR THE SEATTLE-BASED COMPANY ALSO ROSE 10-PERCENT IN JUNE.
BAXTER INTERNATIONAL IS CUTTING 5-PERCENT OF ITS WORKFORCE. THE HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS FIRM IS ALSO CLOSING AT LEAST 26 OF ITS PLASMA FACILITIES NATIONWIDE. BAXTER SAYS ITS BLOOD THERAPY BUSINESS IS CAUSING A FINANCIAL STRAIN ON THE COMPANY'S BOOKS. BAXTER WILL BE TAKING A 200-MILLION DOLLAR CHARGE FOR THE LAYOFFS IN THEIR SECOND QUARTER. THE COMPANY IS EXPECTED TO MISS ITS 2003 EARNINGS FORECAST.
WITH THE BUSINESS BRIEF, I'M STAN CASE. ))

[TAPE TOSS TO STOCKS] [STOCKS] [COMM]

[Hollywood-Minute]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
It's the week of the sequel. "Terminator 3" and "Legally Blond 2" opened in theaters last night. Brooke Anderson has more in today's Hollywood Minute
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=With the]
[SUPER=04-"Terminator 3" - Warner Brothers; :07]
[SUPER=04-"Legally Blonde 2" - MGM; :23]
[SUPER=04-"Crazy in Love"- Columbia Records; :53]
[RUNS=1:08]
[OUT Q=I'm Brooke Anderson]

((WITH THE HOLLYWOOD MINUTE...I'M BROOKE ANDERSON.
HE SAID HE'D BE BACK, AND NOW HE IS! THE TERMINATOR RETURNED TO THEATERS WEDNESDAY IN TERMINATOR THREE: RISE OF THE MACHINES.IN THIS ONE...ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER FACES OFF AGAINST A NEW MECHANICAL MENACE, PLAYED BY KRISTANA LOKEN.

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

MEANWHILE...YOU COULD SAY PINK HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD ON THE SILVER SCREEN!!! REESE WITHERSPOON IS ALSO BACK IN THEATERS IN LEGALLY BLOND 2... AND THIS TIME --ELLE WOODS HEADS TO WASHINGTON D.C. TO FIGHT A BATTLE THAT'S "LIKE" ALL ABOUT ANIMAL RIGHTS.

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

PRINCESS DIANA WILL SOON FIGHT EVIL AS THE LATEST MARVEL COMIC BOOK HERO!
MARVEL COMICS HAS CAST THE DECEASED BRITISH ROYAL AS A HEROINE IN AN OFFSHOOT OF THE X-MEN COMICS. PRINCESS DI WILL MAKE HER DEBUT IN A SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF THE X-STATIX COMIC CALLED "DI ANOTHER DAY."

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

AND ON THE MUSIC CHARTS...IT SEEMS FANS ARE CRAZY IN LOVE WITH BEYONCE!
HER FIRST SOLO ALBUM HAS DEBUTED AT THE TOP OF THE BILLBOARD CHARTS..SELLING AN ESTIMATED 317-THOUSAND COPIES!
WITH THE HOLLYWOOD MINUTE, I'M BROOKE ANDERSON.))
[Tape tosses to BUMP] [BUMP]

[COMM][11Interstate-Shooting]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=03-17 TC1:19:09]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A bullet shattered a daytrip with her boyfriend, but a Franklin County woman says she's just glad it didn't take her life.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]

19-year-old Kimberly Bede (Bee-dee) is back at home near Scruggs, recovering from a gunshot wound to her pelvis.
[SUPER=03-Cocke Co., TN/Last Wednesday;]

Last week, Bede was shot on a Tennessee interstate as she rode in a car with her boyfriend.
The man in a truck behind them was shot in the head and killed.
[SUPER=03-Cocke Co., TN/Friday;]

Two teenage stepbrothers, ages 13 and 15, have been charged with the shootings.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:42:57]
[IN Q=We were]
((KIM BEDE: WE WERE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD LISTENING TO OUR MUSIC AND JUST DRIVING AND TALKING AND CARRYING ON. AND THE NEXT THING I KNOW THERE WAS A BULLET IN ME.))
[SUPER=01-Kim Bede/Shooting Victim;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=bullet in me.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Bede has eight bullet fragments still in her body and may need surgery.
But she says she just feels lucky to be alive.
She plans to testify when the teenagers are tried on the charges later this summer. (------------)