WDBJ 7 news at Noon for 12/24/99

[India-Plane]

[ANCHOR=Denise]

[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Negotiators are working this afternoon to free the 189 people aboard an Indian Airlines plane now on the ground in the Pakistani City of Lahore.
Indian officials say the hijackers have alredy killed four people on aboard.
The hijackers are reportedly asking for medical help, water and fuel.
The plane was hijacked after leaving Nepal on a flight to New Delhi.

[Mideast-Explosion]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Explosion]

Threats of terrorism were realized in a northern Israeli City today.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Natanyaha, Israel;]

Officials had just stepped up security after warnings of extremist violence over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Bomb disposal experts were dismantling a black bag which was left near a bus station when it exploded.
No one was injured
A police spokesman says the motive behind the attack was "apparently nationalistic" and appeared to be aimed at derailing the peace process.
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[Bethlehem-Preps]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Christians around the world are preparing to celebrate the last Christmas of the century.
The threats of terrorism have prompted additional preparations CBS News correspondent Richard Roth has more from Bethlehem.
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[SUPER=01-Richard Roth/Reporting;]
[SUPER=03-Bethlehem/West Bank;]
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[Roanoke-Arrest]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A Roanoke man is under arrest for breaking into a southwest city home, and police are checking to see if he may be responsible for several similar incidents earlier this year.
48 year old Eric John Waterman is charged with breaking and entering, and sexual assault. A woman in the home told police the man touched her on the leg as she slept.

[Holiday-Crime]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Christmas Shopping]

Roanoke Police say some local stores have had their share of crime this holiday season.
Joy Sutton has the story.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=This holiday]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :01]
[SUPER=01-Lt. Bill Althoff/Roanoke City Police Dept.; :15]
[SUPER=01-Louise Dudley/Valley View Mall GM; :54]
[SUPER=@Joy1; 1:21]
[RUNS=1:35]
[OUT Q=News 7 Roanoke]

(( This Holiday season the stores have been packed with customers.
And authorities some criminals take this opportunity to try their schemes -- like using counterfeit money that has been printed off a computer.
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[SOT 4:31:36]
[IN Q=It has worked because]
((LT. BILL ALTHOFF/ROANOKE CITY POLICE DEPT.: IT HAS WORKED BECAUSE THE CLERKS ARE SO BUSY, DURING THIS BUSY SHOPPING SEASON THAT THEY DON'T ALWAYS TAKE TIME TO LOOK THROUGH THE MONEY ESPECIALLY IF THERE ARE SEVERAL BILLS TOGETHER)) [RUNS8]
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During this time of year police say shop lifting increases by about 25 percent.
And you won't believe what has been the biggest item to steal.
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[SOT 4:33:50]
[IN Q=Nintendo or sega]
((LT ALTHOFF: NINTENDO OR SEGA SYSTEMS. NOT JUST THE LITTLE GAME PACKS BUT THE ENTIRE BOX OF THE SYSTEM )) [RUNS8]
[OUT Q=the systems]

Police say some shopping areas have had items stolen out of vehicles and businesses burglarized.
But Valley View Mall is one shopping center that is trying to deter crime and has teamed with the police department.

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[SOT 4:37:33]
[IN Q=This holiday season actually]
((LOUISE DUDLEY/MALL GENERAL MGR.: THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WE ACTUALLY PUT AN EXTRA VEHICLE IN THE PARKING LOT SO THAT WE HAVE 2 VEHICLES GOING DURING THE HOURS OF THE MALL. BUT VALLEY VIEW ALSO HAS BIKE PATROL AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ALSO HAS A BIKE PATROL.)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=bike patrol]

Police say the bike patrols have helped reduce the number of purse snatchings and vehicle break-ins.
Inside the mall uniformed Roanoke City police officers are on patrol as well as mall security ready to respond and to assist with situations.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=Police say to avoid]
((JOY SUTTON/REPORTER:POLICE SAY TO AVOID BECOMING A TARGET OF CRIME -- IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS, DON'T KEEP VALUABLES VISIBLE IN YOUR CAR, AND IF POSSIBLE SHOP WITH ANOTHER PERSON. JOY SUTTON, NEWS 7, ROANOKE))
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[OUT Q=n7 roanoke]))

[venezuela]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=flooding]

Engineers are assessing the damage to Venezuelan highways by last weeks torrential rains and mudslides as the death toll continues to climb.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Near Caracas, Venezuela;]

There are still risks today that more mudslides may occur in the northern part of the country since the soil is still saturated.
The main highway joining the international airport and the city of Caracas is being cleared so emergency workers can evacuate thousands of Venezuelans and get aide to others,
Eight days after tons of boulders and dirt came tumbling down most of the victims remain buried.
Official estimates range from 5-thousand to 30-thousand dead.
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[M'ville-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Murder]

Martinsville police have charged a man with killing his roommate.
50-year-old Leon White is in custody.
He's been charged with first-degree murder after a stabbing Wednesday. Police say his roommate ... Rodney Oneal Martin ... was stabbed in the stomach after an argument.
Martin died Wednesday night at Martinsville Memorial Hospital.

[Fulcher]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=none]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=99-49 31:42]
[GRAPHIC=Fulcher]

Micheal Fulcher is asking a Roanoke federal judge to dismiss charges again him, his wife and his mother.
Attorneys for Fulcher and his family are making the request based on a secret letter sent by the D-E-A to a federal judge last month.
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[VO-NAT 599-4 44:25-------or 99-26 1:23;30]
[super=03-Bland Co.]
The defense claims there will be new evidence that the D-E-A officially authorized Fulcher to work undercover inside Bland Correctional Center, where he was an inmate. The defense also claims that Fulcher and his family got involved in a drug ring to bust guards involved in a marijuana and money-laundering conspiracy.
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[Anchor=denise]
[ss=none]
A hearing is set for Monday.

[Shuttle-Discovery]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=space shuttle]

The crew of space shuttle Discovery is getting ready for its last spacewalk of this mission.
NASA started the day off with this wake up call.
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[IN Q=you don't (music)]
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[OUT Q=crew today]
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[VO-NAT]

Yesterday the crew replaced the Hubble Telescope's guidance sensors. Today they'll put in a new radio transmitter and data recorder, and hang steel shields from the Hubble's exterior to protect it from the sun. The telescope will be set free on Saturday, and the shuttle is set to return to Earth on Monday
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[Millennium-Pope]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The Vatican is preparing for the more than 80-thousand people expected for tonight's Christmas mass.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vatican City;]

This is supposed to be one of the most momentous years for Catholics around the world.
Thousands are expected to visit the Vatican during the year long celebration of Great Jubliee 2000.
It's supposed to be a time of reconciliation and rebirth for Catholics.
And the expected tourism boom due to the celebration and prompted a facelift for the city of Rome.
Work the city's mayor says is based in spirituality.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=it's important]
((IT'S IMPORTANT AND IT'S A POSITIVE MESSAGE FROM MY CITY AND MY COUNTRY.))
[SUPER=01-Francesco Rutelli/Rome Mayor;]
[RUNS=06]
[OUT Q=and my country]
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[VO-NAT]

Although the Catholic Church has celebrated Holy Years since the 14th century this is the first time it has ever coincided with the dawn of a new millennium.
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[Men-Shopping]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jbi]
[TAPE#=599-13 1:38:12]
[GRAPHIC=Christmas Shopping]
It's Christmas Eve and that means today is the last chance to wrap up your Christmas shopping.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
These late shoppers have more in common than just the need for a quick gift. Most of them are men.
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[SOT 23:32:19]
[IN Q=It's a]
((IT'S A BAD HABIT. I'VE ALWAYS DONE MY SHOPPING AT THE LAST MINUTE.))
[SUPER=01-Christopher Gorman/ Shopper]
[RUNS=4]
[OUT Q=minute.]
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[VO-NAT]
Stores such as Victoria's Secret -- usually women's domain -- were packed with guys looking for that perfect gift. Another popular gift from these procrastinating men is jewelry, and it's not always just for Christmas. Even before it gets here, the year two thousand has been a good one for the jewelry business. Some stores are selling what they call millennium diamonds, which means twice as many presents for guys to buy.
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[SOT 00:00:53]
[IN Q=They need]
(( THEY NEED ONE FOR CHRISTMAS AND THEN ANOTHER FOR THE NEW YEAR.))
[SUPER=01-Marie Compton/ Fink's Jewelry]
[RUNS=4]
[OUT Q=new year.]
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[VO-NAT]
Now not all men are late shoppers, and not all the late shoppers are men, but clerks say when Christmas gets really near, it's a man's world at the malls. (------------)