[City-Gangs]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=99-37 27:09]
[GRAPHIC=News 7 at Noon]

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is calling on Roanoke City Officials to admit they have a gang problem.

They say the weekend shooting death of a 19 year old Roanoke man is a wake up call that can't be ignored.
[Double Boxes=Melanie and Eric/Microwave]

Eric Earnhart is in Staunton Park where the SCLC held the news conference.
[Live=Eric Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=@Eric1;]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke;]


(Rollcue----they know better)
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We know for a fact]
(())
[SUPER=01-Jeff Artis/SCLC;]
[RUNS=26]
[OUT Q=the SCLC]



[Live=Eric Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke;]
( ad lib)


[Double Boxes=Keith and /Microwave]

---

[Fire]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=99-21]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]

Members of a Roanoke County family are safe, but their home was seriously damaged by fire this morning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

The fire apparently started in a bedroom and spread to other parts of the home on Byron Drive.
Four people were inside, but made it out safely.
Roanoke County firefighters controlled the flames quickly, but not before the house suffered extensive smoke and water damage.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=HOLD]

---

It appears the cause of the fire was accidental.[Hurricane-Bret]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Hurricane Bret]

South Texas is getting a soaking -- but Tropical Storm Bret hasn't hurt anyone so far.
Still, there's plenty of damage in one small town of about 60 miles from Corpus Christi.
The storm was downgraded from a hurricane this morning.
Teresa Estacio has an update.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[11:30-UPDATE WINDOW]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Corpus Christi, TX;]
[SUPER=01-James Lee Witt/FEMA;]
[SUPER=01-Teresa Estacio/Reporting;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=Teresa Estacio CBS New York.]
((
---
(LOCATOR: CORPUS CHRISTI, TX)


(NATZ OF RAIN)

WHILE BRET HAS LOST MUCH OF ITS STEAM... THE POWERFUL STORM IS STILL EXPECTED TO MAKE LIFE MISERABLE FOR THOUSANDS IN ITS PATH.

(SOT: JAMES LEE WITT/FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY)
"UNTIL TUESDAY MORNING, EARLY MORNING HOURS, PEOPLE OF TEXAS ARE GOING TO BE PUTTING UP WITH AN AWFUL LOT OF RAIN FALL AND POTENTIAL FOR SERIOUS FLOODING."
UP TO 25 INCHES OF RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN ON SOME AREAS... AND OFFICIALS ARE WORRIED THAT ISOLATED TORNADOS COULD POP UP FROM THE UNSETTLED WEATHER CONDITIONS.

(NATZ BREAK)

BRET MADE LANDFALL SUNDAY NIGHT...LUCKILY.. HITTING A SPARSELY POPULATED AREA OF THE STATE. BUT.. THE HURRICAINE DID CAUSE PROPERTY DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES IN AREAS AROUND CORPUS CHRISTI.

(SOTS, NAMES TO COME)


(ESTACIO STANDUP CLOSE: FEDERAL DISASTER RELIEF FUNDS WILL BE MADE
AVAILABLE TO BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS IN SEVEN COUNTIES. SO FAR, IT APPEARS, INJURIES HAVE BEEN KEPT TO A MINIMUM AND.. NO DEATHS HAVE BEEN

---

REPORTED. TERISA ESTACIO, CBS NEWS, CORPUS CHRISTI.)))[Turkey]

[ANCHOR=mel]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=earthquake]

Nearly a week after a massive earthquake struck Turkey, a miracle has emerged from the rubble.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Cinarcik, Turkey;]
[11:02:48]
A three year boy was pulled out alive today.
The boy's family had given up hope - even beginning the grim task of preparing his grave.
But the hardy youngster surprised everyone when he emerged from a tiny space below a collapsed balcony - severely dehydrated but very much alive.
Doctors expect a full recovery. [4:11:30]
Last night a 52 year old woman was pulled out of debris where she spend 137 hours. [10;07:12]
And earlier in the day a rescue team from Fairfax, Virginia squeezed through the rubble to free an eight year old boy.
(/////SOT//////)
[IN=I HAD TO ROLL THE....]
[10:07:07-12]
[SUPER=01-Evan Lewis/Fairfax Rescue Team;]
[RUNS=05]
[OUT=SHOULDER TO SHOULDER.]


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

Heavy rain has fallen today which complicates the effort to clear debris and raises health concerns.
The death toll now stands at more than 12-thousand, and officials fear it could climb as high as 40-thousand.
[SUPER=03-Off Turkish Coast;]
[4:10:21]
Meantime, Two U-S warships are now positioned off the coast of Turkey.
On board are operating rooms and a medical staff and officials say they will start treating the injured later today.

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

---

[Colombia]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The U-S is upping the stakes in Colombia.
The Washington Post reports officials are offering more military and financial aid to combat guerrillas challenging anti drug efforts.
We want to warn you this next video is rather graphic.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bogota, Colombia;]
[4:06:17]
In the last 48 hours the guerillas have killed some 50 civilians.
Since May a total of 152 have died in the region.
But the U-S is also threatening a loss of support if Colombia's president makes more concessions to the rebels.
(------------)

---

[Scales]

[ANCHOR=mel]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-30]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A Montgomery County jury this morning heard from the man shot and wounded during a fight at a bar in downtown Blacksburg.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg;]

Paul Shoemaker was shot once during the confrontation at Arnold's restaurant two years ago.
Shoemaker's friend-- Richard Bullard was also shot during that night but did NOT survive.
Bullard was shot with two different guns fired by identical twins, Terry and Kerry Scales who're now charged with murdered.
This morning-- Shoemaker described what he saw that night.
He says the incident started as a fight on the dance floor.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
(PAUL SHOEMAKER: RICHARD FELL ON THE GROUND JUST ON HIS BACK AND ONE OF THE GUYS SHOT HIM AGAIN AND THAT'S ABOUT THE TI
ME I REALIZED I WAS HIT.)
[SUPER=01-Paul Shoemaker/Prosecution Witness;]
[RUNS=15 approx]
[OUT Q=]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Shoemaker says he didn't realize he'd been hit because of the commotion.
But defense attorneys argued that he didn't realize he'd been shot because he was drunk.
We'll have more from the trial on NEWS 7 at five and six.
(------------)

---

[Gilmore]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-24 1:47:16]
[GRAPHIC=Jim Gilmore]

A 167- million dollar budget surplus is always good news in Richmond.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]

But Governor Jim Gilmore announced today that after all the state's obligated spending, just over eight million dollars is all that's left.
He used that number to ridicule three plans put forward by both Democrats and Republicans to build new roads in Virginia.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 09:56:00]
[IN Q=The bottom]
((GOV. JIM GILMORE: THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: THE CURRENT TRANSPORTATION... DO NOT MAKE FOR FINANCIAL INTEGRITY AND GOOD GOVERNMENT.))
[sot 10:18:49]
((DEL. DICK CRANWELL/D-VINTON: I DON'T THINK THE GOVERNOR IS HIDING ANY MONEY. BUT WHAT I DO THINK IS THAT WE'VE HAD TOO MUCH DELAY WITH THE GOVERNOR COMING FORWARD WITH A PLAN FOR TRANSPORTATION.))
[SUPER=@Gilmore; :00]
[SUPER=@Cranwell; :19 ]
[RUNS=:30]
[OUT Q=plan for transportation.]
[TALENT=Melanie]
[SS=Jim Gilmore]

Delegate Cranwell points out that the Governor's forecasts are conservative.
He says if revenues continue to grow at the same rate they did last year, the state budget surplus could exceed 500- million dollars.

---

[Tourist-found]

[ANCHOR=mel]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

An American tourist has been found alive in the Australian desert -- after getting lost forty days ago.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Australia;]

Thirty three year old Robert Bogucki (BAH'-goo-kee) had been missing for so long that Australian officials had abandoned their search.
It was revived last week with the arrival of an American team of rescue specialists.
Searchers using a helicopter spotted him in a dry creek bed.
Bogucki (BAH'-goo-kee) says he survived by eating flowers and plants.
(------------)

---

[PANAM-HEARING]

[ANCHOR=MEL]
[NEWSCAST=NOON]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Some of the families of those killed in the Pan Am 103 bombing are being briefed by Scottish prosecutors and U-S Justice Department officials today in Washington.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington DC;]
[7;22:20]
The victims' families are expected to hear about the upcoming trial against two Libyans accused in the Lockerbie bombing.
On December 21, 19-88 flight 103 exploded in the air, with pieces of the plane falling onto the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
All 259 people on the flight were killed, along with 11 people on the ground.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[8:16:11]
[IN Q=]
(( COHEN:"What I'm hoping to hear from them is that they're going to tell us that this is just really the beginning. That these 2 guys clearly did not do it alone. They're members of the Libyan Security Service. The Libyan Security Service is headed by a guy named Synoozi
(sp??) who is Colonel Ghaddafi's brother-in-LAW.."))
[SUPER=01-Daniel Cohen/Victim's Father;]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=BROTHER IN LAW.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Cohen and other victims' families are critical of the deal brokered by the State Department and the United Nations with Libya to hold the trial in the Netherlands rather than in Scotland or the United States.
(------------)

---

[81-Ax]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jha]
[TAPE#=99-23 1:58:16]
[GRAPHIC=Accident]

There is still no word yet on the condition of a woman who had to be airlifted to a Roanoke hospital after crashing her car on Interstate 81.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Ironto]

It happened late yesterday afternoon near the Ironto exit.
Authorities say the woman was swerving to miss part of a tire that was lying on the highway when she over steered and hit the guard rail, where she was ejected from her vehicle.
Her car then continued forward and hit the guard rail again, where it came to a stop.
(------------)

---

[Home-Sales]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=99-20 1:48:50]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Interest Rates could go up one-quarter point this week.
The Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee will meet tomorrow to decide the future of interest rates.
Real Estate agents say the rising rates are affecting some first time home buyers and causing a decrease in home sales in the Roanoke area.
Joy Sutton has more.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Let me get]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;00]
[SUPER=01-Pete Kelly/Real Estate Agent;23]
[SUPER=01-Lorna Hall/Real Estate Agent;49]
[SUPER=@Joy2;1:02]
[RUNS=1:10]
[OUT Q=N7 Roanoke]


(( (///// SOT /////)
[SOT09:30:08]
[IN Q=NAT SOUND]
((NAT SOUND: LET ME GET YOU TO SIGN IN AND GET YOU A FACT SHEET))
[RUNS= 3]
[OUT Q=fact sheet]

For those looking to buy a new home -- locking-in on a low interest -- can mean much lower monthly house payments.

Already this year interest rates have gone from around 6 and half percent to about 8 percent depending on how much money you put down.
Some Realtors say this has caused some people not to buy and others to buy more quickly.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 09:14:37]
[IN Q=The house I sold]
((PETE KELLY/REAL ESTATE AGENT: THE HOUSE I SOLD YESTERDAY WAS PART OF THAT. THEY WAS RUSHING TO GET THE LOAN AP. AND LOCK-IN THE INTEREST RATE BEFORE IT DOES GO UP))
[RUNS= 8]
[OUT Q=does go up]

And Realtors say if interest rates rise above 10 percent that's when home sales will really drop off dramatically.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 09:19:14]
[IN Q=If it goes too high]
((PETE KELLY/REAL ESTATE AGENT: IF IT GOES TOO HIGH WE'RE LOOKING AT A STALE MARKET. IT'S GOING TO BE OWNER FINANCE ONLY))
[RUNS= 8]
[OUT Q=finance only]
Realtors say first time home buyers seem to be the people most concerned.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 09:35:46]
[IN Q=I've seen them]
((LORNA HALL/REAL ESTATE AGENT:I'VE SEEN THEM EXPRESSING CONCERNS ABOUT IT. I'VE SEEN MORE OF THEM TALKING TO LOAN OFFICERS MAYBE DOING A VARIABLE RATE, AN ADJUSTABLE RATE LOAN INSTEAD OF THE FIXED RATE THAT WE'RE OFFERING NOW))
[RUNS= 14]
[OUT Q=offering now]

But Realtors agree even with the increase in rates buying a home is still a good investment.
Joy Sutton, News 7, Roanoke.))

---

[Pandas]

[ANCHOR=mel]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

There are only three giant panda bears in the U-S and one of them is a new mother.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-San Diego, CA;]
[7:46:29]
Bai Yun (by yoon), a 213 pound panda on loan to the San Diego zoo from China, gave birth to a cub following a successful artificial insemination.
It's the first baby panda born in the western hemisphere in nearly 10 years.
[SUPER=03-Chengdu, China;]
[7:45;36]
Meantime, China is reporting that one of its giant pandas has gave birth to three cubs, the first recorded birth of panda triplets. (------------) The smallest of the three has died but officials say the other two are healthy.