[AL-TWISTERS]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=tornados]
Deadly spring weather has hit the deep south.
Close to 30 people are dead from a vicious storm system that ripped through Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama overnight.
Twenty-four of the deaths took place in Jefferson County, Alabama where a tornado touched down.
Another 160 were taken to the hospital.
In addition to the twister the storm packed violent winds and baseball size hail.
More than one Hundred homes were destroyed.
This afternoon rescue workers continue to search the rubble for more victims.
Atticus Rominger is in Jefferson County with the latest.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[11:30udate window-]
[IN Q=]
[super=05-Jefferson Co., AL;]
[SUPER=03-Jefferson Co., AL;]
[SUPER=01-Atticus Rominger/Reporting;]
[SUPER=05-Jefferson Co., AL;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=back to you in the studio.]
((
THE TORNADOES RIPPED THEIR WAY ACROSS GEORGIA, MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA.
THE DAMAGE DONE OVERNIGHT...WAS REVEALED AT FIRST LIGHT. THE BIRMINGHAM AREA
WAS HARDEST HIT.
NOW IT'S UP TO RESCUE CREWS TO START THEIR SEARCH FOR THE VICTIMS AND
SURVIVORS OF THE TWISTERS.
SOT/LEE HELMS/ DIRECTOR, ALABAMA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
TRY TO IDENTIFY THOSE PEOPLE WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND. WHEN WE FIND THOSE
PEOPLE GET THEM BACK WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND ASSESS THE DAMAGE. THEN WE WILL
BEGIN DOOR TO DOOR AFTER SEARCH AND RESCUE DOOR TO DOOR ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGE
WE'VE GOT TO ASSESS WHAT THE TOTAL EXTENT OF DAMAGE IS.
AND THAT IS THE HARD PART....HOW CAN YOU PUT A DOLLAR VALUE ON WHAT MEANT SO
MUCH TO SO MANY PEOPLE...WHO LOST NOT ONLY THEIR HOMES BUT LOVED ONES.
BUT THAT IS WHAT HAS TO BE DONE.
STANDUP CLOSE, ABOUT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PEOPLE. STATE OF EMERGENCY ETC.))
[abduction-arrest]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#net-G]
[GRAPHIC=none]
He was awaiting his sentence for sexually assaulting two children in Danville.
While out on bail... police picked him up for the kidnapping and rape of a North Carolina girl.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlotte, NC/Sunday;]
Danville police won't comment on the case of 41-year old Robin Martin.
Police in Charlotte, North Carolina say Martin lured a 12-year old girl away from her church Sunday.
They found her bound and gagged several hours later on the side of the road.
Charlotte police arrested Martin yesterday after receiving a tip.
(----------------)
[ss=Melanie]
[graphic=none]
In September Martin was found guilty of sexual assault and taking indecent liberties with a minor.
The Danville case involved children ages six and eight.
[Confederate-Month]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=ellen]
[TAPE#98-23 time code 27:16]
[GRAPHIC=Gilmore]
Governor Jim Gilmore has "humiliated and embarrassed southerners."
That's what the Heritage Preservation Association says today after the Governor finally released his Confederate History Month proclamation this morning.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]
The proclamation recognizes slavery as one of the causes of the Civil War, and says the practice is quote "abhorred and condemned by all Virginians".
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I think]
(( ))
[SUPER=01-Wayne Byrd/Heritage Preservation Association;]
[RUNS=:24]
[OUT Q=these People ]
[ANCHOR=Mel]
[SS=HOLD]
Governor Gilmore says his proclamation attempts to quote "honor our past and from it draw the courage, strength, and wisdom to reconcile ourselves as we go forward into the future together."
[Ceparano]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=98-]
[GRAPHIC=Ceparano]
It appears a gag order will be imposed in the Grayson County murder case.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Independence/File Tape;]
Attornies for capital murder suspect Louis Ceparano made the request earlier this week.
Ceparano is one of two suspects charged with burning and beheading a man last summer.
His attornies asked for a gag order to prevent attornies for co-defendant Emmett Cressell, Junior, from talking with the media.
Jeff Dorsey and Mark Claytor say they don't object to a gag order as long as it covers everyone involved with the case.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=]
In court today the judge did not make a final decision but indicated he would approve it after receiving everything in writing.
The judge did not decide whether he would grant Ceparano a change of venue.[Sentence-Overturned]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=98-]
[GRAPHIC=legal scales]
A federal judge has overturned the death sentence of a Danville man convicted in a 19-85 fatal robbery.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@file;]
Terry Williams was sentenced to die for killing Harris Stone in a robbery that netted three dollars.
But a U-S District Judge struck down the sentence,
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=legal scales]
citing the failure of Williams' trial lawyer to submit evidence that Williams was abused as a child and came from an alcoholic family.
[TOBACCO-WAR]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=tobacco]
The war of words is widening in the dispute over the tobacco settlement.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington DC;]
[7:23:49]
A day after declaring the propsed deal dead, tobacco companies have taken out full-page ads in ``The Washington Post'' and ``The New York Times,'' saying the political process has scuttled any prospect of achieving a tobacco solution.
But President Clinton is expected to launch a counter attack today with a visit to Kentucky's tobacco country.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[7:23:49]
[IN Q=I'm very]
((I'M VERY...WE'RE GONNA GET THIS DONE. ))
[RUNS=:05]
[OUT Q=we're gonna get this done.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Congress's proposal sponsored by Aarizona Senator John McCain
called for tobacco companies to pay billions of dollars more than the original settlement reached last summer without protectiong those same companies from smoker's lawsuits in the future.
(----------------)
[E-React-Tobacco]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#from598-15 TC 8:57]
[GRAPHIC=wipe/wipe/wipe]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Halifax Co.;]
In Southside Virginia, where Tobacco is a mainstay, farmers are reacting to yesterday's development.
Glenn Nunn says he isn't surprised the settlement went up in smoke.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 4:02:49-:06]
[IN Q=We as growers have kind of]
(( ))
[SUPER=01-Glenn Nunn/Tobacco Grower;]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=surprised at the news.]
(------------)
[VO NAT]
Nunn says the ongoing Tobacco dispute has already forced him to cut back on production at his farm.
[We-Card]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-21 time code 26:53]
[GRAPHIC=tobacco]
Despite all the controversy surrounding tobacco recently, state figures released this week show 29 percent of the stores in Virginia are still selling tobacco products to minors.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]
Officials say part of the problem is store clerks aren't properly trained on how to identify underaged buyers.
To help out, the Coalition For Responsible Tobacco Retailing is sponsoring training seminars across the state.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 22:02:25]
[IN Q=You can be]
((BERT DAVID/"WE CARD" TRAINER: YOU CAN BE SIXTEEN YEARS OLD IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA AND WORK BEHIND A CASH REGISTER, SO THERE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU FROM PEER PRESSURE, KIDS COME IN THAT ARE FRIENDS OF YOURS AND DO ALL THESE THINGS TO GET YOU TO SELL, SO THE MORE YOU CAN TRAIN AND PREPARE THOSE PEOPLE, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES ARE THAT THEY WON'T MAKE A SALE.))
[SUPER=01-Bert David/"We Card" Trainer; :00]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=make a sale.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
An illegal sale of tobacoo can cost both the employee and the business up to a hundred dollars in fines for the first offense.
(----------------)
[saudi-stampede]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Another tragedy at the annual holy pilgrimage to Mecca.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Mecca, Saudi Arabia/Monday;]
At least 107 of the Muslim pilgrims died today in a Stampede in Saudi Arabia.
More than two million Muslims have been taking part in the trek to Mount Arafat, the site where Muslims say the prophet Mohammed delivered his last sermon.
Last year 343 people were killed and 15 hundred injured when a fire swept through the pilgrim's camp site.
(----------------)
[Riner-Fire]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-35]
[GRAPHIC=fire]
A late night house fire in Riner has been determined accidental.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.;]
The whole back half of A.C. Duncan's Childress Road home was fully engulfed when help arrived shortly after 11 P.M.
It didn't take investigators long to determine the cause.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT=00:07:33]
[IN Q=Mr. DUNCAN]
((CAPT. MIKE MOLES/RINER FIRE DEPT.; MR. DUNCAN HAD GONE TO BED. WE'RE NOT SURE IF HIS KEROSENE HEATER THAT HE HAD IN THE BATHROOM HAD MALFUNCTIONED OR IF HE HAD IT SETTING TOO CLOSE TO SOMETHING. BUT WE DO KNOW THAT WAS THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.))
[SUPER=01-Capt. Mike Moles/Riner Fire Department;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=of the fire]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Duncan was the only person in the house.
Firefighters had the blaze contained within about an hour.
Investigators have not determined how extensive the damage was.
(------------)
[IRELAND]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=none]
After 21 months of talks, its down to the wire in Belfast.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Stormont, N. Ireland;]
[7:14:24]
Today is the deadline for a deal to end the long running conflict in Northern Ireland.
This morning the British and Irish prime minister launched into a final round of talks with protestant and Roman Catholic negotiators.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
((
BLAIR:THERE ARE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS WHICH HAVE STILL TO BE DECIDED BUT WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE QUESTIONS ARE
DECIDED. PEOPLE OUTSIDE WHO ARE WAITING IN NORTHERN IRELAND WANT TO SEE THE THING DONE. ))
[SUPER=01-Tony Blair/British Prime Minister;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=the thing done.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Ireland's biggest Protestant party threw the talks into crisis this week by rejecting the compromise plan drawn up by former U-S Senator George Mitchell.
(----------------)
[Dangling-Plane]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=lfi]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
An edgy situation in Seattle at this hour,
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Seattle, WA]
A small plane is dangling by one wheel from power
lines as rescuers try to reach it.
The pilot is O-K, but he's sitting upside down in the cockpit 60 feet above a highway.
Seattle Fire Chief Jim Sewell says the plan is to try to get a sling around the plane and lower it to the ground with the pilot inside.
The Cessna 172 hit the lines early today as it was taking off from Boeing Field.
(------------)[Lottery-Winner]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#98-22]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Lottery]
Finances will probably not be high on the list of concerns for one Pulaski County couple.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Fairlawn;]
Yesterday--David Allen bought a three- dollar winning scratch off ticket from this Wilco station in Fairlawn.
The ticket entitles the winner to five thousand dollars a month for LIFE.
That amounts to about 34- hundred dollars a month after taxes.
But David, whose health is failing, decided to hand the ticket over to his wife who he felt would live longer.
(/////SOT/////)
[3:42:29]
[SOT]
[IN Q=I can't]
((JULIA ALLEN/WINNING TICKET HOLDER:I CAN'T MAKE MYSELF KNOW IT REALLY, WELL, I REALLY HAVE TO PINCH MYSELF TO KNOW THAT I WON IT.
ROBERT VIA/VIRGINIA LOTTERY:THERE'S THREE IN THE STATE, OF THE FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH FOR LIFE, SO THERE'S STILL TWO OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BUY A TICKET. ))
[SUPER=01-Julia Allen/Winning Ticket Holder; :00]
[SUPER=01-Robert Via/Virginia Lottery; :10]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=buy a ticket.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
The Allens are planning to take their grandchildren on a vacation to Dollywood.
(----------------)
[wipe wipe wipe][CA-JACKPOT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=none]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bakersfield, CA;]
[7:45:15]
In California, a winner has surfaced to claim a portion of the state's 102 million dollar lotto jackpot.
A female college student in Bakersfield says she has the lucky
ticket along with 22 of her closest friends and relatives.
They all joined in a pool.
The California Lottery still has to verify the ticket and the winnings.
And, there may be more winners coming forward Thursday morning.
(----------------)
[Hargrave]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=sp-7]
[GRAPHIC=young]
He's considered by many to be the best high school basketball player in the nation.
And yesterday he announced that he is giving up a chance to play college basketball so he can take a shot at the NBA.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chatham; :00]
Hargrave Military's Korleone Young, a six-eight and 220 pound forward who averaged 30 points and 13 rebounds a game this season made the announcement yesterday afternoon in Chatham.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="I'm happy...]
[SUPER=01-Korleone Young/Enters The NBA Draft; :00]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=...it from here."]
(------------)
[VO-NAT con't]
CNN and ESPN were on hand for the announcement, but the attention is nothing new for the Wichita Falls, Kansas native.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="Every...]
(())
[SUPER=01-Scott Shepherd/Hargrave Head Coach; :00]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=...season."]
(------------)
[talent=Patrick]
[graphic=young]
Young is the 5th high schooler to jump directly to the NBA since 1995.
[Masters]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-10]
[GRAPHIC=MASTERS]
Less than ideal conditions played havoc with yesterday's scheduled practice rounds at Augusta National.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Augusta, GA; :00]
In fact, the rains have been so heavy in the past day that tournament officials postponed the start of today's opening round from 8am to 9:30 to give the course a chance to dry out.
One player who did take a shot YESTERDAY was David Duval.
And watch what he does on the par 3 second hole.
The one hopper hits the bottom of the cup.
By the way thunderstorms are in the forecast today, as well.
(------------)[Snead]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-3]
[GRAPHIC=THE MASTERS]
It is tradition at Augusta for the the old veteran living champions from the early days of the tournament to begin the day with a short round.
(-----------------)
[vo-nat eng]
[SUPER=03-Augusta, GA/Last Year; ]
Hot Springs native Sam Snead, who was hospitalized Monday in Augusta with stroke like symptoms was there this morning after getting released from the hospital yesterday afternoon.
Snead has been a part of the Masters every year since 1937.
Nurses at the Augusta hospital where he was admitted Monday say his problems were caused by fatigue and not any kind of neurological disorder.
Last Fall he was inducted into the new Bath County athletic hall of fame.
(------------------)
[Express]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=ROANOKE/HAMPTON ROADS]
The Roanoke Express opens its second round, best of five northern conference series tonight at the Roundhouse against the Hampton Roads Admirals.
(------------)
[pinnacle 18050]
The first two games of the series are here in the Star City before the action shifts to the Norfolk Scope.
This is a big series for the Express.
(------------) The team has never advanced past the second round, and it was Hampton Roads that KOed Roanoke last season.
by SS