WDBJ 7 news at Noon for 08/05/99

[TALENT=Melanie]

(----------------)

[VO-NAT]
They're talking tax cuts in Washington, but they're not agreeing on much.
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[ANCHOR=Melanie]

And some students are scrambling for housing for the fall semester at Virginia Tech.
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[TALENT=Patrick]
[SS=None]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]

News 7 at noon is next.

[tax-cut]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=Taxes]

Congress is set to pass it and President Clinton is set to Veto it.
The House today will vote on the nearly 800 BILLION dollar tax cut plan, with a Senate vote coming later.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington DC;]

In the meantime supporters and foes are making some noise on Capitol Hill.
Democrats and Republicans both held rallies this morning and President Clinton joined his Democratic colleagues to once again send the message that the tax cut is too large.
(/ ////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[11:16:14-37]
[IN Q=we have the longest....]
[RUNS=:23]
[OUT Q=abandon in this moment.]
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[VO-NAT]
[11:30-UPDATEWINDOW]
But Republicans the tax deal a good deal for the American people.
Among other things, it would cut rates and raise the deduction for married couples.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=]
((REP. BILL ARCHER, R-TX 221810 (FROM LAST NIGHT): We are going to give taxpayers something they richly deserve.))

[SUPER=01-Bill Archer/(R) Texas; QUICK]
[RUNS=:04]
[OUT Q=richly deserve.]
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[vo-nat]
After voting on the bill, instead of sending it directly to the President for a quick veto, Republicans will hold on to it for the August recess and try to sell it first to the voters at home.

(------------)[Farm-Aid]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Drought]

Meantime, lawmakers will wait until September to help out farmers.
Yesterday the Senate approved nearly seven and a half billion dollars in assistance, but the House won't act until after a month long break.
Help is also on the way to some Virginia farmers thanks to Willie Nelson.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-1996;]

His farm aid organization is giving state farmers 20-thousand dollars.
The annual Farm aid concert will be held next month in Northern Virginia.
This is the first time in several years that Farm Aid has given money to Virginia.
A 20-thousand-dollar grant will be given to the Virginia Council of Churches to help farmers recover from the drought.
[SUPER=07-(800) FARM AID]

If you would like to contribute to Farm Aid call 1-800-FARM AID.
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[Tultex]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Tultex Earnings]

Martinsville's biggest employer is still struggling to make money.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville]

Tultex announced its second-quarter earnings today.
Sales were down 35 percent from the same period last year...
But the company's losses were not as bad.
Not taking into account a one-time gain ... the company reported a net loss of five-and-a-half million dollars.
That's compared to last year's loss of 13-and-a-half million.
Tultex management said it expects business to get better in the next quarter.
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[Tech-Dorms]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jbi]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=VA Tech]

Move-in day at Virginia Tech may look a little different this year.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/File Tape;]
At least 400 hundred students who were supposed to be moving into the dorms won't be able to fit. Tech says they overbooked the dorms and some students are going to have to live in temporary housing this fall. School officials say higher-than-expected numbers of freshman and transfer students coupled with fewer upperclassmen leaving the dorms has caused the housing shortage.
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[E-Schools-Open]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#99-24 1:18:22]
[GRAPHIC=Year-Round School]

Some students are already back in school.
They go year round ... with no break longer than three weeks.
Supporters believe year round schooling means better educated students.
Marya Jones takes us to a school in Danville where 500 students are back to the books.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Kids filed back into the halls]
[SUPER=03-Danville;:00]
[SUPER=01-Suzanne Jones/Principal; :16]
[SUPER=01-Zachary Cade Glass/2nd Grade; 1:08]
[SUPER=@Marya2; 1:22]
[RUNS=1:28]
[OUT Q=MJN7.]
(( Kids filed back into the halls at Schoolfield Elementary with the usual first day joys and jitters.
[SOT 2:45:09 - :12]
((MONTAYA COMBS/2nd GRADER: I GOT NEW FRIENDS.)) [RUNS:03]
[SOT 2:54:20 - :23]
((RAE GILBERT/5th GRADER: I WAS SCARED THAT MY TEACHER WOULD BE MEAN.)) [RUNS:06]
But they went back to the worksheets after a three week break without missing a beat.
[SOT 2:55:49 - :2:56:04]
((SUZANNE JONES/PRINCIPAL: WE USED TO SPEND A MONTH TO PROBABLY 6 WEEKS REVIEWING AND GETTING CHILDREN BACK IN THE ROUTINE OF BEING IN SCHOOL AND REVIEWING JUST BASIC FACTS. AND WE FIND NOW THAT WE'RE ABLE TO COME BACK IN AUGUST AND WE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.)) [RUNS:15]
Schoolfield School was the first to go year round in Danville, three years ago. And Principal Suzanne Jones says she's seen that change reflected in the school's standardized test scores.
[SOT 2:55:08 - :22]
((SUZANNE JONES/SCHOOLFIELD E.S. PRINCIPAL: OUR TEST SCORES ON NATIONAL TESTS, THE STANFORD 9 THAT WE TAKE AND OUR RELATIVE POSITION ON TESTS SUCH AS THE STATE SOL TEST, WE ARE IMPROVING OUR RANK AMONG SCHOOLS IN THE DANVILLE AREA.)) [RUNS:14]
There's also been an increase in enrollment... with about 50 more students than last year.
And then there's the change in student attitudes.
Teachers and administrators say kids are more excited to come to class.
[SOT 2:50:10 - :24]
((ZACHARY CADE GLASS/2nd GRADER: I WAS FEELING VERY GLAD. MARYA JONES/NEWS 7: WHY WERE YOU FEELING SO GLAD? ZACHARY: BECAUSE I WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT BEING IN THE SECOND GRADE. MARYA JONES: HOW'S IT TURNING OUT SO FAR? ZACHARY: IT'S TURNING OUT REAL NICE.)) [RUNS:14]
At Schoolfield Elementary, they're giving the year round system high marks. Marya Jones, News 7. ))
[tease1] [HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

He's back from Albania. Still ahead on News 7, a Red Cross worker returns with a new look at life.
(--------------)
[VO-NAT ]

And the man who inspired "Crocodile Dundee" gets into a shootout with police. The ending isn't the happy type from Hollywood.
(---------------)
[Talent=Patrick]
[Wx-Tease] [Weatherpro] [music up full] [comm1]

[Dundee]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The man who inspired the Crocodile Dundee movies has died in a police shootout in Australia.
Rodney Ansell survived for two months in the Australian Outback in the 70's and actor Paul Hogan used that story as the basis for the Crocodile Dundee Character.
Michael Park reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[7:01:36]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-"Crocodile Dundee"/Paramount;(quick) :09]
[SUPER=01-John Daulby/Assistant Police Commissioner; :27]
[SUPER=01-Michael Park/Reporting; 1:07]
[RUNS=1:25]

[OUT Q=Std][E-Earley-Alcohol]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-28 34:54]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Attorney General Mark Earley is praising the passage of a federal bill that makes it easier to prosecute companies that sell alcohol to children.
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[SOT 16:32:11]
[IN Q=And there]
((MARK EARLEY/ATTORNEY GENERAL: AND THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF STINGS ACROSS THE NATION, IN NEW YORK AND OTHER STATES, WHERE THEY HAVE SHOWN HOW EASY IT IS FOR A MINOR TO PRESENT THEMSELVES ON THE INTERNET OR MAKE A 1-800 CALL ON THE PHONE AND HAVE A CASE OF LIQUOR OR WINE DELIVERED WITHIN 24 HOURS.))
[SUPER=@Earley;]
[RUNS=:19 ]
[OUT Q=24 hours.]
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[VO-NAT]

The congressional bill lets attorney generals from each state prosecute such cases in federal courts... cutting through red tape of various state laws.
Earley recruited 26 of his colleagues in other states to support the measure.
Roanoke Congressman Bob Goodlatte guided it through the House.
(------------)

[E-Red-Cross]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=99-30 38:46]
[GRAPHIC=Red Cross]

The United Nations says the World is mistaken if it thinks the war in Kosovo is over.
Scores of mass graves have been found since NATO peace keepers entered Kosovo in June and there was more violence in the province today.
A Serb and an ethnic Albanian were killed in a shoot out.
Meantime, one Roanoke man's mission to help Kosovar refuges has ended.
Kate Weidaw was there for his homecoming.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=there were hugs]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;:00]
[SUPER=01-Tom Brown/Red Cross Manager; :14]
[SUPER=@Kate1; :43]
[RUNS=1:30]
[OUT Q=kwe news 7]
((There were hugs and cheers as Tom Brown stepped off his plane and into the Roanoke Regional airport. For three months Brown was in Northern Albania distributing food to Kosovar refugees.

[SOT 18:14:57]
[INQ=]
((TOM BROWN/ROANOKE'S RED CROSS MANAGER: EACH REFUGEE WAS GIVEN ONE PARCEL OR MORE MONTH'S RATIONS THAT THEY WOULD TAKE BACK TO THEIR HOME AND COOK.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= :07]

Each parcel contained corn, wheat flour, and canned chicken as well as some cooking supplies.
But this 27 year veteran of the Red Cross says seeing how the refugees would come to the camp was disturbing.

[SOT 18:16:22]
[INQ=]
((TOM BROWN/ROANOKE'S RED CROSS MANAGER: VERY HAGGARD SOME OF THEM WALKED ACROSS, SOME OF THEM CAME ACROSS IN WAGONS THAT TRACTORS PULLED.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= :06]

Brown says surprisingly people in Albania welcomed the refugees with open arms--he often wondered how folks in Roanoke would have reacted.

[SOT 18:20:03]
[INQ=]
((TOM BROWN/ROANOKE'S RED CROSS MANAGER: WHAT WOULD WE DO IN ROANOKE IF WE HAD 110,000 PEOPLE ENTER OUR CITY AND WOULD WE REACT TO THOSE MANY PEOPLE.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= :07]

And after three months of working side by side with Red Cross organizations from around the world he says one of the happiest moments was seeing the refugees go home.

[SOT 18:24:24]
[INQ=when you]
((TOM BROWN/ROANOKE'S RED CROSS MANAGER: WHEN YOU SEE THE KOSOVAR REFUGEES GET ON A BUS, A TRUCK, A CAR AND GO HOME.))

[OUTQ=go home]
[RUNS= :08]

Brown says the experience changed his life - and made him realize what is important. Kate Weidaw News 7 Roanoke.))

[Holbrooke]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=Noon]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The U-S has an ambassador to the United Nations once again .. for the first time in more than a year.
The Senate today confirmed Richard Holbrooke as U-N Ambassador.
Holbrooke has served as an international troubleshooter for the Clinton Administration.

[Wildfires]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon ]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=Wild Fires]

Firefighters in Nevada are having to choose which fires to fight.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Near Reno, NV;]
[4:01:18]
Lightning has sparked dozens of wildfires across the northern part of the state, burning some 200-thousand acres.
That amounts to about 300 square miles of range land.
Fire crews are letting flames burn unchecked in rural sections while they concentrate on inhabited areas.
So far, no one has been hurt, and only one storage shed has been destroyed.
(------------)

[Philippines]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Flooding]

A much different set of problems in the Philippines, where monsoon rains have triggered a landslide that's likely to prove deadly.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Antipolo, Philippines;]
[10:13:41]
At least 40 people are believed to be buried under the crumbled concrete walls of a housing development.
Much of the development, east of Manila, slid off the side of a hill, trapping many victims as they tried to flee their homes.
Close to 70 people have died in the four days of torrential rains.
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[BEAR-HOUSE]

[ANCHOR=MELANIE]
[NEWSCAST=NOON]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Experts say it will take something like a Monsoon or tropical storm to drown the drought in the east.
And the dry conditions are apparently taking their toll on more than just plant life.
Because shrubs and trees are withering-- animals seem to be having a hard time finding dinner-- and in one New Jersey case it turned the story of the three little bears into more than a fairy tale. Paul Muniz reports.
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[SOT]
[7:21:49]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Sussex Co., NJ; :00]
[SUPER=01-Richard Manome/Homeowner; :26]
[SUPER=01-Kelsey Bergess/Fish and Game Wildlife; 1:20]
[SUPER=01-Paul Muniz/Reporting; 1:27]
[RUNS=1:47]

[OUT Q=for CBS News.][Stocks]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE# none]
[GRAPHIC=stocks]

On Wall Street at Noon, the Dow was UP 63 points.

[SML-Drowning]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Drown]

The state medical examiner has confirmed within the half hour, that the man found dead yesterday in Smith Mountain Lake drowned.
He was a 39 year old black male, but Franklin county authorities have not yet released his name.
An investigator has said he believes the man committed suicide.
[tease3] [SPORTS MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

The bidding has already begun .. for a ball that hasn't even been hit. Details are still ahead in sports.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
And still ahead you want a piece of the action in the WWF, well you get might get your chance.
(---------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #3]

[S-mcGwire]

[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=rsp]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=MLB]

He hasn't even hit it out of the ball park yet.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

But the bidding has already begun for McGwire's expect 500th homer, which is now just one swing away. Experts say it could fetch upwards of 250-thousand to 1-million dollars.
A head of one auction house has already offered 100-thousand dollars to whoever catches the ball.
McGwire hit a single-season record of 70 home runs last year. Number 70 went for three million dollars.
(------------)

[S-Duval]

[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=rsp]
[TAPE#=SP-37]
[GRAPHIC=Golf]

A new ranking is coming out on the heels of the golf match up between David Duval and Tiger Woods.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-This Week]

While Tiger Woods easily took the win, Duval is taking the top ranking. As of Monday, Duval will unseat Woods as the world's number-one golfer. Duval picked up six points by finishing eleventh at the Greater Hartford Open last weekend which Woods skipped.
Last Monday's matchup was not a factor in the ranking.
(------------)

[wwf-Stock]

[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=rsp]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Wrestle-mania is coming to Wall Street.
Not the "event" .. the business.
Anthony Mason has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SUPER=04-WWF-USA; :00]
[SUPER=01-Neal Pilson/Sports Consultant; :25]
[SUPER=01-Anthony Mason/Reporting; 1:17]
[RUNS=1:31]
[OQ=STD]

(( NARR: SO WRESTLING FANS, WOULD YOU LIKE A PIECE OF THE ACTION? NO, THE FIGHTS MAY NOT BE REAL, BUT THE PROFITS ARE. WITH WRESTLING S POPULARITY SOARING... THE OWNERS OF THE WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER...AND THEY THEY'VE DECIDED TO SELL STOCK IN THEIR CIRCUS:
NEAL PILSON: Why not? NARR: SPORTS CONSULTANT NEAL PILSON SAYS THE W.W.F. IS AN ENTERTAINMENT PHENOMENON:
PILSON: Every indicator that we see: attendance, tv ratings, pay per view subscriptions, they all seem to be going up.
(Graphic) NARR: THE W.W.F. HAS HAD THE TOP RATED CABLE SHOW FOR THE
PAST 19 WEEKS. IN THE PAST 3 YEARS, ATTENDANCE HAS DOUBLED...REVENUES HAVE TRIPLED... AND THE COMPANY HAS TURNED A 6 MILLION DOLLAR LOSS INTO A 56 MILLION PROFIT.
NARR: THOSE ARE THE ASSETS...BUT THERE ARE LIABILITIES TOO...
Announcer: Something has gone terribly wrong..
NARR: AFTER WRESTLER OWEN HART WAS KILLED IN A RING ACCIDENT IN MAY..
Announcer: And the paramedics are working on Owen Hart. This is not part of the show.
NARR: THE FAMILY SUED FOR NEGLIGENCE. THE COMPANY CONCEDES THAT SUIT COULD HAVE QUOTE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON ITS BOTTOM LINE:
VINCE MCMAHON: The show must go on...
NARR: BUT OWNER VINCE MCMAHON IS HEARING BELLS...NOT THE END OF THE ROUND...
MCMAHON: So now the fun begins... NARR: BUT THE OPENING OF A BIG PAY OFF ON WALL STREET.
CLOSE (Roughly): 170 MILLION DOLLARS IS WHAT HE HOPES TO RAISE. THE PRICE OF A SHARE HAS YET TO BE SET. BUT FANS WILL BE ABLE TO GET A PIECE OF A COMPANY THAT HAS A HEADLOCK ON CABLE RATINGS. ANTHONY MASON, CBS NEWS, NY.))