WDBJ 7 news at Noon for 02/26/04

[News-Heads]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

Up next on News 7--

February won't leave us before offering one more dose of winter weather.
We'll have details.
(---------------)
[ENG#=1]
[VO-NAT]

And, rebel forces in Haiti are preparing to attack the capital city.
They say they're just waiting for orders.
(------------)

[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Leo]
[SS=None]

A winter storm is about to cause some trouble in our region. I'll have all the details on this latest bout of snowfall in your forecast.

[ANCHOR=KIM 2-Shot]

Stay with us News 7 at noon, starts right now.
[Noon-open]
[SUPER=#4054; News 7 Headline Banner]
[SUPER=@Kimberly1;]
[SUPER=@Leo1;]
[WX-Tease] ((KIM TOSS TO LEO)) [2/26/2004]
[SS=NONE]

LEO in WX-CENTER
[SKYTRACKER/FULL] RADAR
[WXPRO/FULL] WARNINGS ACCUMULATIONS STORY

[SS=NONE]

(LEO TOSS to KIM)

[Haiti]

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

[ENG#=2]

A battle for Haiti's capital could be imminent.
A rebel leader says fighters are converging on the city of Port-au-Prince, and they're waiting for an order to attack.
Meanwhile, the crisis in Haiti is on the agenda for the United Nations later today.
Drew Levinson reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Port-au-Prince, Haiti;]
[SUPER=01-Drew Levinson/CBS News;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=Levinson, CBS News, the United Nations.]

(( As rebels continue to advance on the capital city of Port Au Prince and violence escalates....Haiti finds itself a heartbeat away from Chaos.

(NATSOUND)

Haitian opposition leaders have already turned down a U-S proposal that would have allowed embattled president Jean Bertrand Aristide to stay in office two more years.

(SOT BUSH)

"WE STILL HOPE TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A POLITCAL SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT AND THE REBELS."

(STANDUP: DREW LEVINSON)

" A SETTLEMENT MAY BE FORGED HERE AT THE UNITED NATIONS. THE SECURITY COUNCIL IS MEETING TODAY, TRYING TO SEEK A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO THE CRISIS.

(NATSOUND)

France says the resolution is for Aristide to step down and then replaced immediately with a transitional government backed by an international security force. A haitian government delegation is in Paris working with the french.
The White House is also encouraging the International community to provide a strong security presence once a political agreement is made..
A a small contingent of U-S marines is already in Haiti to protect the American Embassy as diplomats continue to flee the small Island country.
Mr. Bush has warned Haitians trying to escape by boat..they will be turned back from U.S. shores.
Aristide became Hait's first freely elected president in 1991 and he was re-elected in 2000. But political opponents accuse him of human rights violations and coruption.
At least 70 people have been killed since this uprising began three weeks ago, and Aristide warns thousands more could die in what would be a bloody battle for the capital. Drew Levinson, CBS News, The United Nations.
))

[Lake-Car]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=04-]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[ENG#=3]

More details are emerging about the death of an Amherst County woman whose body was found in her submerged car yesterday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Amherst Co./Yesterday]

47-year-old Carolyn Farmer died when her Dodge Dakota ran into Otter Lake near the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Her husband had reported her missing the night before and he was the one who spotted the car.
Sheriff Jimmy Ayers says they're still not sure how the car ended up in the water.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 22:17:42]
[IN Q=The ignition was]
((JIMMY AYERS/AMHERST CO. SHERIFF: THE IGNITION WAS IN THE START MODE, THE GEAR SHIFT LEVER WAS IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION. AND THE INDICATION FROM THE DAMAGE THAT WAS DONE TO THE FRONT OF IT INDICATES THAT IT MOST LIKELY WOULD HAVE COME FROM THE IMPACT OF THE WATER.))
[SUPER=01-Jimmy Ayers/Amherst Co. Sheriff]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=impact of the water.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Ayers says there's "no" indication of foul play.
An autopsy should be performed today.
(------------)

[Charlotte-Crash]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sba]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Plane Crash]

[ENG#=1]
A combination of factors is blamed for a deadly crash last year in North Carolina.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@FILE;]
Federal investigators say a maintenance error combined with too much weight in the back of a U.S. Airways Express flight led to the crash. Investigators say the two mistakes resulted in "a virtually uncontrollable airplane." The twin-engine commuter plane hit a maintenance hanger just after take-off, killing 21- people at the Charlotte-Douglas Airport.

(--------------)[Macedonia-Crash]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]

[ENG#=4]

A plane crash has killed the president of Macedonia, now Bosnian officials say they'll form a special panel to investigate the acccident.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]

The Macedonian government plane carrying Boris Trajkovski
(try-KAWF'-skee) and six other officials went down in bad weather today in a mountainous region.
[SUPER=03-Stolac, Croatia;]

Officials say there are no survivors.
Police found wreckage of the twin- engine turboprop plane near a village.
Meanwhile, Macedonia's government plans to convene an emergency session later today.
(------------)

[11Bath-Fatal]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

An accident in Bath County killed a Millboro woman.
(XXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN MAP]
State troopers say her husband was driving the couple's van north on Route 42 yesterday afternoon when it ran off the road and hit two trees.
72 year old Rita Baird Walters was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=hold]

75 year old Edward Terrel (Tare-ul) Walters was wearing a seatbelt. He was flown to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Troopers aren't sure what caused him to run off the road.

[Rke-Shooting]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sba]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]

Two men are behind bars after an early morning fight that sent one man to the hospital. Police say Deonte E. Brown and Derrick Scott Perry were arguing in the 12-hundred block of Crescent Street when Perry stabbed Brown. A relative of Brown's- Carnis Juwaun Calloway- retaliated by firing a gun at Perry. The man did not require medical attention, but Brown was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Meanwhile, both Perry and Calloway face malicious wounding charges. Calloway also faces other charges in connection with firing a gun during the fight.

[Radford-Robbery]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=12pm]
[WRITER=tsi]
[TAPE#=04-03 TC28:26:03]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Radford police are investigating a bank robbery.
(+++++++++++)
[take suspect fs] This is a composite sketch of the man that Radford police are looking for.

[ENG=#1]
(---------------)
[vo-nat]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
Police say a man entered Wachovia Bank on Main Street at around 9:20 yesterday morning and handed the teller a note demanding money and saying he had a gun. The man fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.
(------------)

[Columbine]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[ENG#=2]

State and local prosecutors are closing the book on the Columbine High School Shooting investigation.
They're releasing more evidence today, including two hours of home video of the two teenagers who gunned down a dozen students and a teacher, before killing themselves.
Adrian Baschuk reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Darrell Scott/Parent of Columbine Victim; :19]
[SUPER=04-File Tape; :25]
[SUPER=01-Rick Kaufman/Jefferson Co., CO Communications Director; 1:06]
[SUPER=01-Adrian Baschuk/Reporting; 1:16]
[RUNS=1:39]
[OUT Q=Adrian Baschuk.]

((

--TRACK--
SINCE APRIL 20TH, 1999 DARRELL SCOTT
HAS WRESTLED WITH ONE QUESTION.

Darrell Scott --SOT--
Parent of Columbine shooting victim Why?...
It was just a senseless killing and
taking of life.

--TRACK--
HIS DAUGHTER, RACHEL SCOTT, WAS THE
FIRST CLASSMATE SHOT AND KILLED BY ERIC
HARRIS.

Darrell Scott --SOT--

That's always a tough thing to look at,
is the weapon that killed your child.

October 22, 2003 --NATSOT--
Released by Jefferson County Sheriff's Bang, bang, bang! Office
--TRACK--
THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN SALAZAR
AND POLICE RELEASED THIS VIDEO OF THE
COLUMBINE KILLERS LAST OCTOBER.

LAST NIGHT VICTIMS' FAMILIES GOT THEIR
LOOK, AND TODAY THE PUBLIC WILL SEE
35,000 PAGES OF REPORTS FROM THE FIVE
YEAR INVESTIGATION... AS WELL AS THE
FIREARMS, SPENT BULLETS, AND PIPE BOMBS
ERIC HARRIS AND DYLAN KLEBOLD USED TO
KILL 12 STUDENTS, A TEACHER, AND
THEMSELVES.

BUT IS THIS FULL DISCLOSURE?
SOME VICTIMS' PARENTS ACCUSE SCHOOL
OFFICIALS AND INVESTIGATORS OF IGNORING
WARNING SIGNS. CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN
THE SCHOOL'S STAFF AND LAWYERS REMAIN
SEALED. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S SPOKESMAN

AGREED THERE WERE RED FLAGS BUT SAID
THIS:

Rick Kaufman --SOT--
Communications Dir., Jefferson County At the time there was nothing, there Schools was nothing that anyone individually
could say would have led them to
believe that there was an imminent
attack on Columbine High School or its
students.

##
))
[tease next] [Tease1] [HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[ENG#=V10]
Coming up - an area bakery is cooking up something new. We'll give you a taste coming up
(--------------)
[VO-NAT ]

and that which has made him famous is now costing Howard Stern some syndication sales.
(---------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #1][Maple-Leaf]
((MINI-OPEN))

[MINI-OPEN]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=NOon]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=04-]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

[ENG#=1]

Anywhere on the east coast there's a Quiznos sandwich shop you'll also find a taste of home.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :13]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Roanoke's Maple Leaf Bakery today cut the ribbon on a new production line dedicated to making submarine sandwich rolls for the restaurant chain. White and wheat rolls will be provided to four distribution centers.
(///// SOT at :13 /////)
[SOT 18:23:25 - 18:23:33]
[IN Q=You know, the great thing about Quiznos...]
[SUPER=01-Richard Lan/Maple Leaf Bakery CEO;]
((RICHARD LAN/MAPLE LEAF BAKERY CEO: YOU KNOW, THE GREAT THING ABOUT QUIZNOS IS THAT EVERY TIME YOU GO INTO A STORE YOU HAVE TO BUY SOMETHING ON BREAD. SO WE'RE GONNA BE MAKING ALL THEIR BREAD FOR THE EAST COAST. WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT.))
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=We're really excited about it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :20]
Lan says the Maple Leaf company is also making bread for Quizno's in Canada and the UK. The new mega-line runs 24-hours a day and can produce just under 5-thousand loaves an hour. The equipment takes up space created by a recent expansion that resulted in the addition of about 45 new jobs. Lan says the facility may expand even more this year.
(------------)

[11Concept-One]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=04-09 TC13:41]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=2]

Radford may have turned it down, but the New River Valley may still get a school for troubled teens.
Pulaski County is interested in housing the school that could also create more than 70 new jobs.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford/January]

This week Radford City Council turned down a request by Concept One that would have turned the empty New River Industries plant into a school.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]

An N-R-I spokesperson tells News 7 that Concept One met with Pulaski County officials on Tuesday about several possible locations.
He says Concept One is still very interested in coming to the New River Valley.

[11VA-Budget]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Budget]

The House has put the brakes on two Senate bills that would have raised 3-point-8 billion dollars by adding higher income tax brackets and boosting sales, cigarette and gas taxes.
The action came on a day when business interests warned a Senate panel that a House proposal to end their sales tax exemptions threatens thousands of jobs.
A C-S-X vice president said the loss of the sales tax exemptions could devastate rail hubs such as Richmond.
He said locomotives take on nearly five million gallons of fuel in the capital city each year -- but could just as easily get that fuel in neighboring states that still allow the tax exemptions.

[Clear-Channel]

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

[ENG#=3]

Radio shock jock Howard Stern isn't keeping mum about his suspension on several stations owned by radio giant Clear Channel.
Stern says he's being painted as if he'd done something wrong, when he didn't.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]

Clear Channel is knocking Stern's show off of its stations, even though it can still be heard on stations owned by a rival network.
Clear Channel says Stern's show doesn't meet its new decency standards.
Stern says the company is afraid of him and what his show represents.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]

Meanwhile, pressure has been mounting on the broadcast industry to clean up its act.
A House panel is holding hearings today on broadcast indecency.
[tease next] [Tease2] [SOFT MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[ENG#=V10]

Coming up - Local moviegoers are passionate about thier views of Mel Gibson's epic on Christ.
(-----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
and a church's anti-semitic sign is adding to the cross-fire over the movie.
(-----------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #2]

[11Passion-Reaction]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-50 TC 2:04:50]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=1]

"The Passion of the Christ" is possibly the most controversial film of the year - bringing out passionate cries both for and against it.
Now, moviegoers can put the hype aside and make up their own minds, as Mel Gibson's latest big screen endeavor opens in theaters nationwide.
Justin McLeod has local reaction.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=01-Natalie Schuessler/Liberty University Student; :30]
[SUPER=01-Dena Lowe/Franklin Co. Resident; :45]
[SUPER=01-Becky Childress/Buchanan Resident; :54]
[SUPER=01-Meredith Bone/Liberty University Student; 1:21]
[SUPER=@justin2; 1:29]
[RUNS=1:40]
[OUT Q=JM, NEws 7, Roanoke]
((((NAT SOUND OF BUYING A TICKET))
They walked in excited.
They walked out two hours later in silence.
[SOT 21:13; 25:40]
[IN Q=Um, I'm speechless]
((ANDREW NOVELL: UM, I'M SPEECHLESS.)) ((DENA LOWE: IT WAS AN AWESOME MOVIE.)) [Runs03]
[OUT Q=AWESOME MOVIE]
((QUICK NAT SOUND OF THE MOVIE))
It is a movie that focuses on the last twelve hours of Christ's life.
It is considered the most graphic depiction of the crucifixiction ever put on film.
[SOT 17:42]
[IN Q=It is definetely]
((NICK FLOYD: IT IS DEFINITELY HARD TO WATCH.)) [Runs02]
[OUT Q=hard to watch]

Hard to watch but many Christians say it needs to be shown.
[SOT 21:45; 19:05]
[IN Q=Forget how graphic]
((ANDREW NOVELL: FORGET HOW GRAPHIC IT IS, THAT IS THE TRUTH.)) ((NATALIE SHCUESSLER/LIBERTY UNIVERSITY STUDENT: YOU GUYS LIKE MEDIA AND EVERYONE IS SAYING IT'S SO GRAPHIC BUT IN OUR MINDS WE CAN'T THINK OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT CAUSE WE'RE STUPID HUMAN BEINGS BUT IT'S REAL.)) [Runs10]
[OUT Q=BUT IT'S REAL]

It so real in fact that many including director Mel Gibson have said no children should see this movie.
[SOT 25:49]
[IN Q=Children fifteen and]
((DENA LOWE: CHILDREN FIFTEEN AND UNDER 12 AND UNDER THEY WOULDN'T WANT TO.)) [Runs05]
[OUT Q=WOULDN'T WANT TO]

But some are bringing their kids anyway.
[SOT 23:34]
[IN Q=I pray that all]
((BECKY CHILDRESS/BUCHANAN RESIDENT: I PRAY THAT ALL TEENAGERS CAN SEE IT. IF THEY CAN SIT THROUGH SOME OF THE GORE THAT THEY SEE IN SCI FI MOVIES AND THE THINGS THEY SHOW IN EVERYDAY THEN THEY CAN SIT THROUGH THIS.)) [Runs12]
[OUT Q=SIT THROUGH THIS]

Many did sit through it on opening day.
Demand was so high here at the Valley View Grande in Roanoke, the theater added a second show in the early evening.

Many came with their church group and left with a better understanding of their faith.
[SOT 16:11]
[IN Q=I'm a christian]
((MEREDITH BONE/LIBERTY UNIVERSITY STUDENT: THE BIBLE SAYS BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED AND I'M A CHRISTIAN AND I'VE BEEN SAVED FOR ELEVEN YEARS AND IT'S JUST NEVER BEEN REAL TO ME.)) [Runs08]
[OUT Q=BEEN REAL TO ME]

Before you go to see this film, you may want to call ahead.
There are a lot of specific shows that are sold out because of advance tickets sales by church groups.
Justin McLeod, News 7, Roanoke.))

[Passion-Sign]

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

[ENG#=2]

On the same day Gibson's film opened, a sign at a Denver church also created some controversy.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Denver, CO;]

A pastor put on his church sign a message saying quote, "Jews Killed The Lord Jesus".
Halfway through the day on Wednesday, the word, "Jews," was removed from the sign by an upset passerby.
The woman said she had to buy a ladder in order to remove the word.
But she wasn't the only person who was offended by the message.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=In fact we're]
((BRUCE DEBOSKEY/AMERICAN DEFAMATION LEAGUE: IN FACT, WE'RE VERY UPSET THAT THIS CHURCH WAS CHOSEN TO SPREAD A MESSAGE OF DIVISIVENESS AND ULTIMATELY BIGOTRY AND HATE AT A TIME WHEN WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD AT THE ADL AND OTHERS ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO BRING CHRISTIANS AND JEWS TO A TIME OF NEW UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT. ))
[SUPER=01-Bruce DeBoskey/American Defamation League;]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=and respect.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

By last night, the pastor changed the sign completely.
He said the sign was intended to prompt people to read the Bible.
(------------)

[toss to wx]

[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly 2-Shot]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE# none]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A Mixed mornig on Wall Street. At Noon, , the Dow was down 28 points. Nasdaq gained 6 points.

[super=460-y/28/x/6;]

[Tease3] [SPORTS MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[ENG#=V10]

Up next in sports, one college conference gets instant replay for its upcoming season.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT ]

And a former talk show host makes makes her union official today as she and her girlfriend tie the knot.
(---------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #3]

[Region-Three]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=jen]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Two Region Three games have been postponed due to weather.
(++++++++) [take game ppd board fs] Salem and Gretna, as well as Pulaski and Heritage will play tomorrow instead of tonight.
(++++++++++)
[take second game map fs] The girls Region C game has also been postponed tonight.
(------------)

[Replay]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=jen]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
[ENG#=]

Instant replay is the newest addition to the Big Ten.
The N-C-A-A has approved the Big Ten's proposal to use instant replay on an experimental basis for conference games this year.
Non- conference opponents playing televised games in Big Ten stadiums will also have the option to play with replay.

[Rosie-Wedding]

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

[ENG#=2]

Rosie O'Donnell is joining the thousands of gay couples tieing the knot in San Francisco.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]

Today O'Donnell will marry her longtime girlfriend Kelli Carpenter.
The former talk show host says President Bush's call for a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage prompted her decision to walk down the aisle.
O'Donnell calls the proposed amendment "shocking" and "immoral." Officials in San Francisco are continuing to perform same-sex weddings, even as state courts consider their legality. (------------)