[News-Heads]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]

[NEWSCAST=5]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=5NewsHeads]
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[ENG#=1]

Today on News 7 at 5, family members say a former Virginia Tech student was among those killed yesterday in Iraq.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Plus two inmates come up with a plan that allows one of them to escape from the Roanoke City Jail.
(------------)


[Weather-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]


Rain showers head our way tonight followed by another cold snap for the end of the work week. I'll have your Holiday weekend forecast.

[Medical-Head]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=5]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#med heads]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]
[ENG#=2]


Also today, Roanoke police release the name of Monday's murder victim.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

On Healthcheck, we'll tell you why research is changing some doctor's opinions of weight loss surgery.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]

Plus the federal government has a message for Santa Claus. News 7 at 5 is next.

[Video-Open]


[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=5]
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[GRAPHIC=NONE]
[ENG#=3]



(----------------)
[VO-NAT]


Family members say a former Virginia Tech student was among the soldiers killed yesterday in Iraq.
(----------------)



[5-McCormick-Iraq]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Five]
[WRITER=tbr]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Iraq Casualties]



[ENG#=4]



The father of 20 year old Nicholas Mason confirmed today that his son was killed in the attack on a mess hall where his Virginia National Guard unit was eating.
Vic Mason of King George, says his son was proud to be a soldier with the Richmond-based 276th Engineer Battalion.
Nicholas Mason had been in Iraq for about ten months and was scheduled to return home in February.
Meanwhile as Cami McCormick tells us, the Pentagon believes the attack that killed 22 people was most likely the work of a suicide bomber.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Gen. Richard Myers/Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman;]
[SUPER=01-Cami McCormick/CBS News;]
[SUPER=01-Lt. Gen. John Metz/US Army;]
[SUPER=03-Ramstein Air Base, Germany;]
[RUNS=]
[OUT Q=CBS NEWS Baghdad.]



(TRACK: A SHREDDED DINING TENT..... WOUNDED SOLDIERS ..... BODIES

LYING AMONG THE WRECKAGE, ..AT AN AMERICAN MILITARY BASE IN MOSUL
THE PENTAGON NOW SAYS, THIS APPEARS TO BE THE WORK OF A SUICIDE BOMBER

(SOT: Gen. Richard Myers/Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff:

At this point, it looks like it was an improvised explosive device worn by an attacker.)
MILITANTS SAID ONE OF THEIR MARTYRS CARRIED OUT THE MESS HALL ATTACK. WITNESSES DESCRIBED IT AS A FIREBALL HALFWAY BETWEEN THE CEILING AND FLOOR.

( VOICE OF REPORTER JEREMY REDMON, RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH
(PRE-FONTED GRAPHIC ON THE SCREEN)


"It was a sea of wounded and dead, there were people crying, people who collapsed in grief."

(STANDUP BRIDGE) CAMI McCORMICK/BAGHDAD

SECURITY MEASURES AT US BASES ACROSS IRAQ DEPEND ON INDIVIDUAL COMMANDERS. AT SOME IRAQIS HAVE FREE RUN OF THE BASE....OTHERS REQUIRE IRAQI WORKERS TO BE ESCORTED AT ALL TIMES.

SOT - LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHN METZ/US ARMY

"We are not gonna be intimidated by these thugs, we're gonna get the job done...we're gonna help the Iraqi people secure their freedom."

(nats..ramstein afb) LOCATOR: RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY

MANY OF THE INJURED AMERICANS HAVE ARRIVED IN GERMANY FOR TREATMENT... MOST ARE SUFFERING FROM BROKEN BONES AND SHRAPNEL WOUNDS.
THE LARGE, UNFORTIFIED TENT WAS AN INVITING TARGET.... WHERE SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS CONGREGATED AT REGULAR HOURS. THE ATTACK CAME WEEKS BEFORE A BUNKERED DINING HALL WAS TO BE COMPLETED. CAMI MCCORMICK, CBS NEWS, BAGHDAD.))

[5-Motel-Murder]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
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[ENG#=1]



Roanoke Police are still looking for the person who murdered a man at a local motel.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Monday]


Police have identified the victim as 52 year old Lonnie Marsh.
He was found stabbed to death in a room at the American Motel on Williamson Road.
Monday, a friend of the victim told News 7 that Marsh lived at the motel with his girlfriend.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the crime to give them a call.
(------------)



[5-Jail-Escape]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=5pm]
[WRITER=sba]
[TAPE#=504-14 9:00]
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[ENG#=2]


A Roanoke City inmate is back behind bars after taking an impromptu holiday break this morning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

33-year-old Christopher Grant Brenner was apprehended just after two o'clock this afternoon at the Laurel Ridge Apartments. The Roanoke City Sheriff's Office says Brenner switched identification armbands with 27-year-old Gregory Lee Ledbetter and was
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

released from the Roanoke City jail at 9:40 this morning. Ledbetter- who authorities say could have been released as early as April - had been granted a week long holiday furlough.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT@22:15:42.05]
[IN Q=Sometime between last couple of days...]

((MAJ. JIM BRUBAKER/ROANOKE CITY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: SOMETIME BETWEEN LAST COUPLE OF DAYS THESE TWO INMATES POSSIBLY OTHERS, I NOT SURE YET AT THIS TIME, CAME UP WITH AN ELABORATE SCHEME TO WHERE THE INMATES SWITCHED IDENTITIES AND WHEN WE WENT TO GET THE INMATE FROM FRANKLIN COUNTY, THE OTHER ONE CAME OUT.))
[SUPER=01-Maj. Jim Brubaker/Roanoke City Sheriff's Office]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=.. one came out.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Both Brenner and Ledbetter are under segregated lock down tonight.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHICS=None]

Major Brubaker says the jail processes about 10-thousand inmates every year and that the public shouldn't be concerned- this is only the second escape he remembers in his more than 23-years with the department.

[5-Natural-Gas]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=5pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=504-07 1:03:12]
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[ENG#=3]



A clerical error may cause an increase in natural gas prices this winter.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

Last month, a clerk for Dominion gas was emailing the company's storage report to the Energy Information Administration, when she accidentally attached the wrong file. The file wrongly indicated a large, unexpected withdrawal from natural gas inventories, causing natural gas prices to soar for the month of December.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 724 ]
[IN Q=it's not]

((JOHN WILLIAMSON/ROANOKE GAS COMPANY CEO: IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME IT'S HAPPENED FRANKLY. THESE LARGE NATURAL GAS PIPELINE OPERATORS, AND STORAGE SYSTEM OPERATORS REPORT STORAGE EVERY WEEK AND THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS.))
[SUPER=01-John Williamson/Roanoke Gas Company CEO;]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=FOR YEARS]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Dominion says it has changed its procedures. Coming up on News 7 at Six, we'll tell you how the mistake could affect your natural gas bill.
(------------)


[(toss to R)]
(toss to Leo)


[Robin-Tease]

[SS=NONE]ROBIN IN WX-CENTER


[SKYTRACKER/FULL]RADAR
[WXPRO/FULL] TOMORROW FORECAST

[SS=NONE]ROBIN TOSS BACK


[5-Shell]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
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[ENG#=4]


A Radford photographer, accused in the death of one of his models, won't go on trial until spring.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]

A judge today postponed Bob Shell's January trial. Shell is charged with felony murder in the death of 19 year old Marion Franklin. Franklin died of a morphine overdose in Shell's studio. The judge moved the trial date because a key defense witness is not ready.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT: 15:14:00]
[IN Q=He's ]
[SUPER=01-Marc Small/Shell's Attorney;]

((MARC SMALL: HE'S EMINENTLY AVAILABLE AFTER LATE JANUARY HE'S JUST GOT A BUNCH OF PROFESSIONAL CONFLICTS BEFORE THEN. WE' RE ANTICIPATING NO FURTHER DELAYS :21))
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=delays.]
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The judge also denied four defense motions today including one to suppress statements made to police the night of the murder. A new trial date will be set in March.

[Tease1]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=5]
[WRITER=tbr]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=Aprisa]


Should weight loss surgery become the first treatment for chronic obesity? We'll hear what some doctors are saying after the break.
(--------------)
[VO-NAT]


Plus some witnesses tell a California jury actor Robert Blake was acting strangely that night his wife was shot and killed.
(--------------)
[COMM #1]



[5-Robert-Blake]


[ANCHOR=Shan]
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[***NO MINI-OPEN]

[ENG#=1]


The prosecution in the Robert Blake murder trial is building its case around eyewitnesses who arrived on scene after the murder of his wife. They described Blake's unusual behavior when Bonny Lee Bakley was shot. Teri Okita has the latest from L.A.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=THE PROSECUTION BELIEVES...]
[SUPER=01-Teri Okita/CBS News;]
[RUNS=]
[OUT Q=STD]


((Good morning, Mr. Blake. Good morning.
TRACK: THE PROSECUTION BELIEVES ROBERT BLAKE WAS NOTHING MORE THAN AN ACTOR USING HIS SKILLS AFTER MURDERING HIS WIFE, (FONT FILE) BONNY LEE BAKLEY, OUTSIDE A LOS ANGELES RESTAURANT. ONE-BY-ONE, THEY CALLED UP WITNESSES WHO TESTIFIED THAT BLAKE SEEMED DISTRAUGHT AND HYSTERICAL UNTIL THE ATTENTION TURNED AWAY.
TRACK: ONE WITNESS SAID BLAKE LOOKED WIDE-EYED AND PALE AND YELLED, YOUVE GOT TO HELP ME. MY WIFE IS BLEEDING! BUT THERE WERE NO TEARS.
TRACK: ANOTHER SAID WHEN PEOPLE APPROACHED HIM, HE LOOKED AGITATED BUT WHEN THEY LEFT HIS SIDE, HE APPEARED CALM. AND ANOTHER TESTIFIED IT SEEMED STRANGE HE NEVER WENT OVER TO HIS DYING WIFE TO BE BY HER SIDE.

(Super: Teri Okita/Reporting)

STANDUP BRIDGE: One witness DID concede that people handle grief in different ways and the defense will argue theres no hard evidence linking Blake to this crime.
TRACK: BLAKES ATTORNEY SAYS THE 71-YEAR-OLD BARETTA STAR WOULD NEVER HAVE RISKED LOSING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COUPLES BABY DAUGHTER BY KILLING OR EVEN DIVORCING BAKLEY. THE DEFENSE HAS ALSO SHOT DOWN THE PROSECUTIONS CLAIMS THAT BLAKE TRIED TO HIRE TWO HITMEN TO MURDER BAKLEY SAYING THERES NO HARD PROOF THEN, DISCREDITED THE TWO MEN AS CRAZED DRUG ADDICTS. TERI OKITA, CBS NEWS, LOS ANGELES.))

[5-Bariatric]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Five]
[WRITER=tbr]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Healthcheck]



[ENG#=3]



Not long ago the medical community thought weight loss surgery should only be used as a last ditch effort to help the morbidly obese. But new research has experts believing the operations should be one of the *first* options doctors consider. Doctor David Marks tells us why.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Frank Scalavino/Weighed 700 Pounds; :13]
[SUPER=01-Dr. David Marks/CBS News; :36]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Mitchell Roslin/Lenox Hill Hospital; :45]
[RUNS=1:35]
[OUT Q=Marks CBS News]



((AT A HEIGHT OF SIX FOOT FOUR AND A WEIGHT OF 3-HUNDRED POUNDS YOU WOULD NOT THINK FRANK SCALAVINO (scal-uh-vee-no) IS A SUCCESS STORY. BUT ONLY SIX YEARS AGO HE WEIGHED ALMOST 7-HUNDRED POUNDS.

(SOT-Frank Scalavino/Weighed 700 Pounds)

"I tried all kinds of diets, up and down- lose 60 pounds, gain back 80, lose 50 gain back - it was a constant roller coaster ride." :09
FRANK FINALLY HAD DOCTOR MITCHELL ROSLIN PERFORM BARIATRIC SURGERY... DRAMATICALLY SHRINKING THE SIZE OF HIS STOMACH. NOT ONLY HAS FRANK LOST ALMOST 4-HUNDRED POUNDS BUT HIS HEALTH HAS IMPROVED BOTH PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY.

(SOT- Frank Scalavino)

"I have the will to live now." :02

(STANDUP: Dr. David Marks/CBS NEWS)

WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY WAS ONCE CONSIDERED A QUICK FIX. BUT A NEW STUDY SHOWS IT CAN KEEP WEIGHT OFF FOR YEARS... WHILE IMPROVING THE PATIENT'S OVERALL HEALTH.

SOT-Dr. Mitchell Roslin/Lenox Hill Hospital)

"it reduces their chance of diabetes or cures it, it reduces their chance or cures high blood pressure, high cholesterol, reduces their risk of heart attack." :10
RESEARCHERS COMPARED OBESE PATIENTS GIVEN SURGERY TO THOSE TREATED WITH DIETING AND MEDICATION.
(gfx)

AFTER TEN YEARS THE AVERAGE PATIENT IN THE TRADITIONAL GROUP ACTUALLY GAINED A POUND AND A HALF. WHILE PEOPLE IN THE SURGERY GROUP LOST 16 PERCENT OF THEIR BODY WEIGHT . THE RESULTS HAVE RESEARCHERS BELIEVING THAT SURGERY SHOULD NOT BE THE LAST OPTION.... BUT ONE OF THE FIRST.

(SOT-Dr. Mitchell Roslin/Lenox Hill Hospital)

"with now ten years of data clearly shows that the treatment of choice for morbid obesity is surgery." :07
LIKE SOME PATIENTS FRANK HAD COMPLICATIONS FROM THE OPERATION THAT REQUIRED EVEN MORE SURGERY. BUT HE SAYS HE WOULDN'T CHANGE A THING.... HIS ONLY REGRET IS NOT DOING IT SOONER. DOCTOR DAVID MARKS, CBS NEWS.)

[Tease2]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
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[ENG#=Aprisa]


Coming up after the break,
(--------------)

[VO] we'll tell you why a new law makes some people feel like they are being held at gunpoint.
(--------------)
[COMM#2]



[5-Packing-heat]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Five]
[WRITER=tbr]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=1]


Carrying a pistol in public is perfectly legal in Virginia as long as the owner openly displays the weapon.
Now some say gun rights advocates are taking advantage of a new law that prohibits local communities from banning the practice.
Kareen Wynter has more on the changes that have some people up in arms.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC; :00]
[SUPER=01-Phillip Van Cleave/Virginia Citizens Defense League; :08 QUICK]
[SUPER=01-Kareen Wynter/Reporting; :38]
[SUPER=01-Peter Hamm/Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; :57]
[SUPER=01-Dana Schrad/VA Assoc. of Chiefs of Police; 1:10]
[RUNS=1:22]
[OUT Q=I'm Kareen Wynter.]



[5-Martha-Stewart]


[ANCHOR=Shan]
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[WRITER=syo]
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[GRAPHIC=Stewart]
[ENG#=None]


Martha Stewart's holiday greeting tackles a couple other issues, as well. In a Christmas note on her personal Web site, Stewart calls for federal sentencing reform and takes a swipe at ``bad'' prison food. Stewart says her prison work detail includes lots of cleaning and says she's had plenty of time ``to think'' and to ``contemplate the future.'' Stewart is about halfway through a five-month sentence at the federal prison camp in Alderson, West Virginia where she's serving time for lying about a stock sale.

[Tease#3]



[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=5]
[WRITER=tbr]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=Aprisa]


Coming up today in Sports, the Cavalier football team tries to meet a personal record.
(--------------)
[VO-NAT]

Then a little bit later, Santa Claus gets an important message from the federal government.
(--------------)
[COMM#3]



[S5-Hoops]


[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=5pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=SP-173 TC15824]
[GRAPHIC=BAM]
[ENG#=1]


Good afternoon everybody, welcome to yuor midweek ticker. The Virginia Tech Hokies get back on the hardwood tonight for the last time before Christmas. The Hokies will host the Broncos from Western Michigan in a 7pm tip at the Cassell, as they hope to bounce back from Sunday's loss to North Carolina.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Zabian Dowdell/Hokies Guard; :00]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=be ready for their best shot."]
(-----------------)
[anchor=steve]
[graphic=bam]


Western Michigan is coming off an NCAA appearance last year. The Broncos lead the series with the Hokies 3 to nothing, including a 21 point win over Tech two seasons ago in Kalamazoo.

[S5-Dazzle]


[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=5pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-181 15715tc]
[GRAPHIC=DAZZLE]
[ENG#=2]


The Roanoke Dazzle has a special holiday treat for area basketball fans. Tomorrow night the admission to the seven o'clock game with the Huntsville Flight is simply a small donation to the Rescue Mission. The Roanoke Civic Center and the Dazzle are asking fans to bring non-perishable food items, toys or clothing for the Mission, and in exchange they get in for FREE.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=IT'S THE CIVIC CENTER...]
[SUPER=01-Dennis Robarge/Roanoke Dazzle President; :00]
[RUNS=:29]
[OUT Q=...less fortunate at the Rescue Mission."]
(-----------)
[ANCHOR=STEVE]
[GRAPHIC=DAZZLE]

The Dazzle also will be giving away that all-expenses paid Tech Sugar Bowl Package tomorrow night.

[S5-Groh]


[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=5pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=SP-182 TC14748]
[GRAPHIC=BAM]
[ENG#=3]


The Virginia Cavaliers are less than a week away from their date with Fresno State in the Micron PC Bowl. While Boise might not seem like the ideal destination for the Cavs, the matchup with the Bulldogs will give UVA a chance to pick up its 9th win of the season, and a 3rd consecutive bowl victory, something that Virginia has never done.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Al Groh/UVA Head Coach; :00]
[RUNS=:29]
[OUT Q=get ready for the game."]
(---------------)
[anchor=steve]
[graphic=bam]


That's it for the ticker. Coming up tonight at six, the Hokies wrap up their pre-Christmas workouts and break for

the holiday. We'll see you then everybody. [5Marketwatch]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=5pm]
[WRITER=tbr]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Marketwatch]
[ENG#=1]

On Wall Street today, analysts said a ``Santa Claus rally'' pushed the Dow above ten-thousand-800 at the close for the first time since June of 2001. Marcella Palmer has more.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Marcella Palmer/CBS Marketwatch;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=News 7 at 5.]



[Stock Roll]

[5-Santa-Sleigh]


[ANCHOR=Shan]
[NEWSCAST=5 p.m.]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]



[ENG#=2]



Not even Santa Claus is exempt from government safety inspections.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :16]
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC]

Before being allowed to take flight Christmas Eve, Santa's sleigh had to pass a government examination. Transportation secretary Norman Mineta conducted the inspection, then announced the sleigh was in perfect condition for flying from roof top to roof top.
(///// SOT at :16 /////)
[SOT :40 - :53]
[IN Q=It's airworthy and is equipped...]
[SUPER=01-Norman Mineta/Secretary of Transportation;]

((NORMAN MINETA/SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: IT'S AIRWORTHY AND IS EQUIPPED TO HANDLE THE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS YOU WILL FACE.))
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=conditions you will face.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :06]


Mineta gave Santa the green light and said he was just waiting for Rudolph and crew to show up.
(------------)


[Close-ID] [5pm] SUPER=x4035; fax/copyright [SUPER=x4034;email/copyright]
by SS