[HEADLINES]
[TALENT=Melanie]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Bonnie begins to fizzle, as it continues its slow march across eastern North Carolina.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
And a huge drop on Wall Street.
(/////////////)
[TALENT=Patrick]
[SS=None]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
News 7 at noon is next.
[WS-Russia]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#net-R]
[GRAPHIC=Stocks]
Wall Street has taken a huge hit today.
The Dow has now lost 300 points -- or three and a-half percent of its value.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Moscow, Russia;]
[7:12:52]
It follows global concerns over the turmoil on Russia's economic front.
Today Russian officials cancelled all hard currency trading.
Hundreds of Russians gathered outside banks in Moscow, anxious to
withdraw their savings.
Many were angry that they could only withdraw roubles.
[SUPER=03-Tokyo, Japan;]
[7:13:46]
Meantime in Japan, Tokyo's main stock index tumbled more than three
percent today.
[SUPER=03-New York, NY;]
The Dow dropped more than 200 points in the first 90 minutes of trading.
(----------------)
[Bonnie]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=98-45 TC 1:53:10]
[GRAPHIC=Tropical STorm Bonnie]
Less than an hour ago, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center downgraded "Bonnie" to a tropical storm.
She continues her slow trek across eastern North Carolina, but her winds have slowed down to 65 miles per hour.
Officials call Bonnie a serious flood threat.
News 7's Ellen Qualls takes us face to face with Bonnie as it beared down on the coast overnight.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=An estimated 6 to 10]
[SUPER=03-Morehead City, NC; :00]
[SUPER=03-New Bern, NC; :30]
[SUPER=01-Dick Wray/Morehead City Homeowner; :47]
[SUPER=@Ellen1; 1:00]
[RUNS=1:52]
[OUT Q=Morehead City]
[TX-FLOODING]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-F]
[GRAPHIC=Flooding]
A lot smaller than ``Bonnie'' but much more deadly, remnants of Tropical Storm ``Charley'' have more Texas communities running for higher ground.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Laredo, TX;]
The flood crest along the Rio Grande passed through Laredo overnight without causing serious damage.
But now some smaller, poorer communites downriver are bracing for floods.
Floodwaters have already devasted the city of Del Rio and are blamed for 14 deaths.
(----------------)
[E-Gill]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=98-46; 1:40:26]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
21-year-old Rodney Gill was convicted yesterday of killing his girlfriend in Franklin County, even though HE claimed it was an accident.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]
The 21-year-old was found guilty of killing 19-year-old LaKisha Stockton last August as she lay in bed in her father's home, her hand against her face in self-defense.
Gill then climbed on top of her and shot himself through the head, but survived.
Gill's attorney said his client shot Stockton by accident.
But experts say the gun was broken and Gill had to load and cock it by hand to make it fire.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
((NAT SOT GUNSHOT))
[RUNS=:02]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:08:47]
[IN Q=In this case]
((CLIFF HAPGOOD/COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY: IN THIS CASE YOU HAVE TWO SAFETIES. IN OTHER WORDS YOU HAVE TO REALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH THIS GUN BEFORE YOU CAN ACTUALLY DISCHARGE IT.))
[SUPER=01-Cliff Hapgood/Commonwealth's Attorney;]
[RUNS=05]
[OUT Q=discharge it]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Family members wore pins with Stockton's picture.
Friends and neighbors say Gill had abused her before.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 11:49:01]
[IN Q=She said]
((GWENDOLYN WOODY/NEIGHBOR: SHE SAID RODNEY, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME. RODNEY YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME. THAT'S ALL I HEARD ALL THE TIME.))
[SUPER=01-Gwendolyn Woody/Neighbor;]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=all the time]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Judge William Alexander convicted Gill of second degree murder.
He says Gill obviously meant to kill Stockton but may not have planned it in advance.
Gill will be sentenced in October.
(------------)
[E-Blevins]
[ANCHOR=mELANIE]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#=98-59; 18:40]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
A former high school teacher and coach pled guilty yesterday to charges that he had sex with a student.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Smyth Co./May 7;]
35-year-old Michael Blevins was sentenced to seven years behind bars after the plea in Smyth County.
The girl was a former student of Blevins when he taught in Rural Retreat although the crimes happened in Smyth County.
Blevins also faces charges in Montgomery County for allegedly having sex with two other students.
He taught math and coached wrestling at Shawsville High School.
Prosecutors say Blevins gave the girls liquor to get them into bed and also bought them lingerie.
(----------------)
[E-Halmode]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-58; 24:33]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]
Another Southwest Virginia textile plant is laying off employees.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
[OUTSIDE SHOTS FROM "HALMODE" TAPE]
[INSIDE SHOTS FROM LB STOCK #6]
Halmode apparel announced the layoff of 180 people.
That's 40 percent of the workforce.
Halmode is ending its manufacturing operations at the Roanoke plant.
This news comes just after Halmode announced it was cutting 75 percent of its workforce in Covington.
And in April, Halmode closed its plant in New Castle, laying off 117 workers.
Ten textile plants in Southwest Virginia have closed this year.
Many of those jobs are going to Mexico, where the labor is much cheaper.
(------------)
[S-Hit-and-Run]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#=98-51; 46:48]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]
The search is on for a driver who hit and killed a Pittsylvania County woman near her home Tuesday night.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co.;]
The body of 34- year- old Cynthia Faye White was found yesterday morning along State Route 360 in Keeling.
State Police say she was discovered by her boyfriend.
Troopers believe she was killed between 9 and 11 Tuesday night and may have been struck by a dark colored Ford pick-up truck.
Anyone with information about this fatal accident should call the State Police in Salem.
(----------------)
[wipe wipe wipe]
[S-West]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=KHu]
[TAPE#=98-55; 46:27]
[GRAPHIC=wipe,wipe,wipe]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./August 20]
A woman injured in a Roanoke County car accident last week has died as a result of her injuries.
Sherry West's view of the Jeep that hit her on 220 last week was apparently blocked by a south-bound truck, as she pulled out from Pine Needle Road.
Rescue workers managed to revive her, but the single mother of two elementary school children died Tuesday night.
(----------------)
[220-Groundbreaking]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#98-44 TC 1:56:45]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Safety improvements are being made to a stretch of Route-220 which has claimed several lives in recent years.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.;]
Henry County officials broke ground today for the road project in Ridgeway.
The plan is to re-route Route 902, move the Route 220-crossover near Clarence's Restaurant, and install a traffic signal.
The families of accident victims attended today's ceremony-- including the wife and daughter of community leader Jim Young.
Young coached basketball at Magna Vista High School and was killed on Route-220 in 1996.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 20:55:54-:07]
[IN Q=This ceremony today]
((H.G. VAUGHN/HENRY CO. SUPERVISOR: THIS CEREMONY TODAY CAN NOT ERASE THE HURT OR THE PAIN. IT CAN HOWEVER PROVIDE US WITH COMFORT AND SECURITY BY REMINDING US THAT THEY DID NOT DIE IN VEIN.))
[SUPER=01-H. G. Vaughn/Henry Co. Supervisor;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=not die in vein.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
The road project tops 800-thousand dollars and should be completed by next summer.
(----------------)
[E-School-Closings]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sta]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Summer Heat]
Several area schools are sending students home early again today because of the heat.
(------------)
[take pinnacle board]
In Covington..
Edgemont Primary will close today at noon and there will be no afternoon kindergarten.
Jeter-Watson Intermediate will close at 12-26pm.
And, Covington High School will close at 12-34.
And Carroll County and Wythe County Schools are closing at 1:30 today.
Schools in the Alleghany Highlands and Pulaski County schools will close two hours early.
Nelson County and Patrick County schools will close at 1 p-m today.
The following Montgomery County schools will close early:
Shawsville High School and Middle School will both close at noon--along with Auburn High School and Middle School, Blacksburg Middle School and Christiansburg Middle School.
Montgomery County elementary schools closing at 12:45 today include Margaret Beeks, Belview, Price's Fork, Gilbert Linkous, and Christiansburg Elementary School.
(-----------------)
[anchor=Melanie]
[ss=none]
And Smyth County schools will close at 2 pm today and tomorrow.
[ISRAEL-BOMBING]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=NOON]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-U]
[GRAPHIC=Bombing]
Two young children were among 21 people injured in a bomb explosion this morning in Israel.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Tel Aviv, Israel;]
[7:11:39]
The bomb, packed with nails, exploded in a garbage can during rush hour at a intersection in Tel Aviv.
It shattered windows and scattered debris over several downtown blocks.
No one is claiming responsibility for the attack.
(----------------)
[WIPE/WIPE/WIPE][AFRICA-SUSPECT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-Q]
[GRAPHIC=wipe/wipe/wipe]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Nairobi, Kenya;]
A U-S official confirms that a suspect in the terrorist bombing at the U-S Embassy in Kenya was flown to the United States last night.
Meantime, another source in Nairobi says two suspects were transported to New York.
But the F-B-I, so far, is refusing to comment.
The August 7th explosions. killed 247, including 12 Americans.
(----------------)
[Child-Support]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-54; TC 1:12:03]
[GRAPHIC=None]
State child support officials today unveiled their latest "Most Wanted" list of deadbeat parents.. and the roster includes a Lynchburg man.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]
45- year- old Laurence Erwin Judd owes 150- thousand dollars to his two children, but has apparently fled to California.
Officials say parents like Judd owe a combined one- point- four BILLION dollars to children across Virginia.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 10:15:44]
[IN Q=We're sending]
((NICK YOUNG/CHILD SUPPORT DIRECTOR: WE'RE SENDING A STRONG MESSAGE TO THE MOTHERS AND FATHERS IN THIS COMMONWEALTH THAT THEY WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES SERIOUSLY. WE CERTAINLY TAKE IT SERIOUSLY AND WE EXPECT THEM TO DO AS WELL.))
[SUPER=01-Nick Young/Child Support Director; :00]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=as well.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Amherst County recently completed a roundup where they served 45 warrants and made one arrest.
The "KidsFirst" campaign has helped collect more than 30 million dollars in delinquent payments in just one year.
(----------------)
[Bank-Buyout]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-60 TC 15:55]
[GRAPHIC=Banking]
The urge to merge has struck yet another Virginia bank.
This time it's the MainStreet Financial Corporation, which announced it has been bought by Branch Bank and Trust.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Branch Bank and Trust is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
It already has a number of branches in Virginia, including three in Roanoke.
[from lb 6 -- piedmont bank]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville/File Tape;]
MainStreet operates 11-different community banks and has its headquarters in Martinsville.
MainStreet's chief financial officer said only a couple of branches will close.
And any jobs eliminated will be in MainStreet's upper-level management.
(------------)
[E-APCO]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-49; 1:32:35]
[GRAPHIC=AEP Powerline]
A lengthy report is holding up hearings for the A-E-P high- voltage power line.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
The people reviewing American Electric Power's application for a new power line are making their way through a 150-page study.
It was a response to the state's request that A-E-P look at an alternative route.
[map]
A-E-P concluded that its preferred corridor -- from Wyoming, West Virginia to Cloverdale -- is the least costly and most efficient place to build a new line.
THAT line could be built by winter in the year 2002.
A-E-P says the state's two-phase alternative project could take three times as long to build ... and it would not alleviate the environmental concerns that go along with the preferred corridor.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 13 46 49]
[IN Q=the two phase]
((TODD BURNS/AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER: THE TWO PHASE PROJECT HAS THE SAME ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE THAT THE WYOMING CLOVERDALE PROJECT HAS. YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE NEW RIVER, YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE APPALACHAIN TRAIL AND YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE GEORGE WASHINGTON, JEFFERSON NATIONAL FOREST.))
[SUPER=01-Todd Burns/American Electric Power;]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=national forest]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The state will take a couple of weeks to review A-E-P's study.
(------------)
[E-Tech-Announcement]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#=98-56; 27:41]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Tech]
12 million dollars may help Virginia Tech become a key player in making the U-S the most efficient user of electricity.
The federal funds from the National Science Foundation will go toward creating an Engineering Research Center in power electronics.
The goal: reduce the amount of electricity consumed by Americans.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
Virginia Tech President Paul Torgersen says the state has also agreed to chip in on the project.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=This is]
((PAUL TORGERSEN/VIRGINIA TECH PRESIDENT: THIS IS THE FIRST ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER EVER AWARDED TO A SCHOOL IN VIRGINIA , IT WAS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY A COMMITTMENT THAT GOVERNOR ELECT GILMORE MADE AFTER HIS ELECTION, HE PLEDGED ON BEHALF OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, ONE POINT FIVE MILLION DOLLARS, OVER FIVE YEARS.))
[SUPER=01-Paul Torgersen/Virginia Tech President; :00]
[RUNS=20]
[OUT Q=over five years.]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=none]
More than a hundred companies have pledged support for the project.
[MLB]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-13]
[GRAPHIC=MARIS CHASE]
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa just keep on running. Each homered yesterday to move one step closer to the single season homerun record.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Cincinnati, OH/MLB-Reds; :00]
Top of the third in Cincinnati, Sosa rips this solo shot out of Synergy Field as the Cubs beat the Reds 9-to-2. Sosa now has 52 homers and 130 R-B-I's.
[SUPER=03-St. Louis, MO/Marlins vs. Cards; :00]
In the 8th inning last night at Busch Stadium, Mark McGwire ripped his 54th blast of the season way out of the park in deep center field.
The two run homer gets him within 7 of Maris's mark of 61 set in 1961.
(------------)[McGwire]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-17]
[GRAPHIC=MCGWIRE]
But not all is good for McGwire these days, as both the league office and the players' union have asked doctors for information on the use of muscle-enhancing pills.
Earlier this week, McGwire revealed he takes an over- the- counter diet supplment named Androstendedione.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="It's really...]
((MARK MCGWIRE/54 HOMERS THIS SEASON:))
[SUPER=01-Mark McGwire/54 Homers This Season; :00]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=...not a drug."]
(-------------)
[Avalanche]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-14]
[GRAPHIC=AVALANCHE/HILLCATS]
A big fifth inning rally lifted the Avalanche over the Lynchburg Hillcats 4 to 1 last night in Salem.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem/Hillcats vs. Avalanche;:00]
It's always a party at the field, especially when your school system hasn't started up yet.
Lynchburg would get the early lead in this one as the Cats looked to snap a three game losing streak. Matt Bryant's single chases in Shon Walker who beats the throw home.
Salem would work the hit and run in the fifth to get back on top. Doug Livingston connects to right field and Bernard Hutchinson sprints in from second.
Still in the fifth, Chad Gambill hits a long double
[super=37-Lynchburg/1/Salem/4;]
to the right field wall. Juan Sosa and Livingston score and Salem gets 4 in the fifth to win it 4-to-1.
(------------)
[Earnhardt]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-22 33:16TC]
[graphic=NASCAR 50th]
One of racing's elite families will be at the center of attention at NASCAR's end- of the- season exhibition in Japan.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Atlanta, GA;]
Coca Cola announced yesterday afternoon that it's not only sponsoring the exhibition race, but it also is sponsoring Chevy's driven by both Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Dale Sr.
It will mark the first time that the father and son have raced against each other, and is also the first time in 20 years that Coke has sponsored a car in NASCAR.
(------------)
[NFL]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=ssa]
[TAPE#=net-]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Football makes a triumphant return to WDBJ tonight. Roy Stanley will have a live report from E.C. Glass at 5 and at 6, and then in prime time
(------------)
[pinnacle 25058]
you can catch an N-F-L pre-season matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Dallas Cowboys. That game kicks off tonight at 8.
Tune in for all the gridiron action, right here on your hometown station.
(------------)[STAY]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#NET-E; from 98-48]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The song Stay was a big hit in the 60's but this is how it sounds in the 90's.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg;]
[RUNS=:05]
[OUT Q= (nats of Stay)]
[vo-nat]
The British band Dreamhouse performed the revamped tune last night before a standing room only crowd in Lynchburg.
The band accidentally put its spin on the record in the pool room of a London studio.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=There's a few]
((DAVID RILEY/DREAMHOUSE: THERE'S A FEW PEOPLE IN THERE THAT STARTED SINGING THE CHORUS AND I STARTED DOING THE SECOND CHORUS. WE DECIDED TO GET TOGETHER, HOOK-UP AND DO THE TRACK. ))
[SUPER=01-David Riley/Dreamhouse;]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=hook up and do the track.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
But the group won't be staying in the U-S much longer.
(----------------)
It's American tour ends in mid-September.
by SS