From Arkansas's very own KTHV.
This is 11 action news.
A Little Rock group rallies to stop teen violence before it happens. As Republicans gather for their convention, more questions surface about the president's health.
And Republicans on either side of the abortion issue square off in Houston.
Good evening everyone, I'm Kristen Terrell. Thanks for joining us.
The Republicans' top brass say the abortion issue is no problem and its position won't change.
But Republicans for choice say the party's pro-life stand must change.
It's a debate that's begun even before the convention. Eric Ingberg has more.
At abortion clinics around the convention city, demonstrators faced off.
While the Bush campaign continued its behind-the-scenes maneuvering to prevent the abortion issue from splitting an already bruised party.
Pro-abortion rights Republicans angry over the platform committee's recommendation of a total ban on abortions launched a drive to bring the issue to the convention floor.
What you have is a president, whether you like him or not, who's in a straight jacket right now. A straight jacket he's helped put himself in.
Bush strategists were confident they could block the effort to bring the issue to the floor.
But there were mixed signals from Bush managers over whether to do that or to let the issue be debated in the name of party unity.
Will there be additional debate? Probably. Additional discussion? Probably. Are we trying to curb it? No.
The Democrats charge the White House was trying to play the abortion issue both ways by using such tactics as sending out Barbara Bush to disavow the plank passed by the platform committee and by comments made in TV interviews.
And if you listen to the personal questions that Bush and Cray were asking you'd think they were still pro-choice.
You know, it's just a sad thing the way it's being used to divide the American people politically.
As delegates, hangers-on, and even old Bush rivals now back in the fold flowed into the hotels, work crews put the final touches on the aspedome.
There were elephants everywhere, including next to the presidential son Jeb, who predicted what he called the trust issue would win it for the incumbent.
I doubt very seriously that when it's all said and done, Bill Clinton's going to have that same level of trust with the American people.
President Bush has said only his health could make him forget his reelection bid.
And just days before the start of his party's convention, more concerns about his condition have surfaced.
Headlines during the past week have called attention to Bush's sometimes listless and inattentive moods.
Many dignitaries during the past months have found him easily distracted.
Also, some doctors frown on his doctor's prescriptions of halcyon, a sleeping medication thought to have side effects like depression and sluggishness.
The president still says he's okay, and the worries about his illness are all the results of rumors.
While the president continues to trail Governor Clinton in the polls, this national survey conducted by the Gallup Organization puts Clinton 17 points ahead, leading Bush 53 to 36 percent.
In Ohio, voters polled chose Clinton by 11 points, and in Texas, Clinton came out on top by 17 points.
Despite the governor's lead, Arkansas' GOP co-chair thinks Bush will gain a lot of voters after the convention.
You know, one of the things that the Clinton campaign group has to fear is the fact they know that the lead that has been shown in polls is not a real lead.
I think that President Bush will make a big jump after the convention, but I also think the Clinton people are going to have to face week after week seeing those poll figures drop.
Nothing can get a campaign more scared than see that happen, and I think you'll see that big lead disappear.
Governor Clinton has spent the day on the West Coast talking up his health care plan and winning the endorsement of the American Nurses Association.
He also picked an unusual, unasked for nomination.
The National Broccoli Party wants Clinton to be their vice presidential candidate on a ticket with Barbara Bush.
Among the items on the vegetarian platform, two-year term limits and five daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
In other news, police in Miami have a murder case on their hands that might be related to warfare between rival Jamaican drug gangs.
Four people died and at least 18 others were injured when two gunmen opened fire on the crowded dance floor of a Jamaican nightclub.
Most of the victims were between 17 and 25 years of age, partying at the club for a birthday.
Police say they've confirmed several suspects, but no one is in custody yet.
A rash of violent deaths in central Arkansas this week points up the need to stop the violence before it happens.
And as Rachelle Davis tells us, that's just what one Little Rock man is determined to do.
Hey, Grace, how's it going?
This circle of prayer and spiritual singing is a community cry for help.
Stop the Violence is a group that's banning together to fight black on black crime.
Benny Johnson founded the organization eight months ago after a central high student was killed on the way to school.
And now he's reaching out to the community's leaders.
I meet with preachers, ministerial alliances, send letters out to churches.
So we all join together and as one, together we stand divided, we fall.
Johnson says it's not hard to find people to join the group, just getting them to come out and help with rallies like this.
But his determination to help kids stay off the street is pulling more new members in.
I come down here to work out lift weights and I figured it'd be a role model to other black people.
You know, I just got out of service and they younger kids see me and then they'll look up and say that violence ain't the way.
The group has also written and produced their own theme song encouraging unity among races.
The rally's ultimate message was to let parents know about the epidemic of deaths among black males.
The group wants to teach family bonding and encourage parents to spend quality time at home.
You can go home and you better hug your kid and you better listen to your kid when your kid has problems.
And you better tell your kid you love him because if you don't do that,
there's somebody out here like me waiting on him to come to me and believe you me, that child will find me.
Johnson and his youthful group are hoping this will be the beginning of solving the city's problems with crime and unwanted deaths.
Rachelle Davis, 11 Action News, Little Rock.
Well, there's still much more ahead on 11 Action News. Dave joins us next with more cool weather in our forecast.
In tonight's Health Watch, Dr. Ed Barron looks at the results of fertility drugs.
Then, if you didn't make it out to August in Arkansas, we'll give you a taste of what's playing down by the river.
Stay with us.
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11 Action News.
Brought to you in part by Schuster's Home Furnishings, Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pine Bluff.
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Well, it's time for weather. And Dave, we have that preseason Dallas game on tonight,
and it feels like we got a little preseason football weather, too.
I mean, it really does feel like football weather back to school, whether it's really not that far away.
It's the middle of August, and before you know it, it'll be September, and it'll be cool like this,
but middle of August, you sure don't expect it.
This is early.
As cool as it was this morning, it may be even cooler for us tomorrow morning.
Right now, little rock skies are clear, and it's 64 degrees out there.
The relative humidity at 56 percent. Winds are out of the north, around six miles an hour,
and the barometric pressure at 30.15 is holding steady.
78 are high today, much below normal for this time of year. Normally, it's in the low 90s around here.
59 are low this morning. No rain today, and 1.8 inches above normal in our rainfall for the year.
We'll take another look at the low temperatures from across the state this morning.
We did set records. The coolest in the state was 48 degrees this morning up at Gilbert, and that was a record.
It was also a record at 55 in Fort Smith, 57 down in Hot Springs, 57 in Jonesboro,
and 56 up in Conway. Tide record lows for the day.
Otherwise, it dropped to 61 at Pine Bluff and 59 at El Dorado and Texarkana.
Texarkana was the warm spot in the state today with a high of 83 degrees.
67 down there now, as well as at Hope, Pine Bluff with 66, and there's 69 over at Hot Springs.
It's already down to 59 in Fayetteville this evening. Lows will drop down into the 50s,
and like we had this morning, a couple of those normally cooler spots will probably drop into the upper 40s.
But again, we stand a chance of seeing a few record lows set for you Sunday morning.
Temperatures may be a degree or two cooler tomorrow morning than they were this morning.
Skies are clear across the state this evening. We did see a few scattered clouds across Arkansas during the day today,
but no rain to speak of. Rain continues, and some of it has been heavy at times,
through parts of the eastern United States, some flooding problems through parts of West Virginia and Maryland.
Rain has been persistent the last couple of days all the way from Florida right up the Atlantic seaboard out to the west of us this evening.
Hot weather continues. 112 today in the Phoenix, Arizona, scattered showers
and some fairly heavy rain through parts of Arizona this evening.
Also a few scattered showers occurring in parts of Montana tonight.
Well, here's the story with this cool air mass, which is centered way up in the Great Lakes,
and it's extending all the way down into Arkansas. Its weather pattern is going to be very slow to change.
So really, if you like the weather we've had the last couple of days,
you're going to like what we've got in our forecast for a couple of more days, which is cooler than normal temperatures.
We really don't see any rain moving in here for the next several days.
The wet weather will continue tomorrow along the east coast with a couple of scattered showers popping up out in the western United States,
where it will remain very hot afternoon highs exceeding 110 degrees in the desert southwest.
The 90s going all the way up into British Columbia, but for us a break from the heat highs in the 70s and 80s.
In fact, we might even slide those 70s down a little bit farther to include a little bit more of Arkansas,
because after lows tomorrow morning that start out in the 50s, it'll have trouble making it up into the 80s.
Clear and cool for tonight, a low down of 55 degrees, winds light and northerly.
And for your Sunday forecast, calling for mostly sunny and mild, a high tomorrow of 78 degrees,
winds out of the northeast at 5 to 10 miles an hour.
Now then, our extended forecast, which is going to call for more nice weather continuing here Monday.
The high is managing to make it back up into the low 80s on Monday,
but it doesn't look like it's going to get much warmer than that.
Again, this time of year we're usually in the low 90s during the daytime,
but for the next several days our afternoon highs continue mostly in the low 80s.
Nighttime lows continue in the 60s.
We might start to talk about some rain moving in here by about Thursday.
But other than that, man, a really great looking forecast.
I know the August in Arkansas, the festivities there Thursday, Friday, and today have been very nice.
The weather has been able to cooperate, and it looks like for Sunday the weather will continue to cooperate.
Well, that's great for those people.
It sure is. I think it's great for everybody.
Yeah, sure is. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
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Students at the University of Central Arkansas will get to keep all of their sports programs.
That's the word after the state Board of Education rejected school officials' plans to cut baseball
and track programs to help fund a new doctorate in school psychology.
The board said the $450,000 saved by cutting the sports would not be enough
and also pointed to doctorate programs already in place throughout the state.
Well, the new school year is just around the corner.
In Pulaski County, school district officials are making sure their students are ready.
Teachers, parents, and students attended a back-to-school, get-acquainted social
at the Granite Mountain Community Center.
Organizers want the event to help build educators' relationships with their students' parents.
We have a commitment to having educators get out in the community and to develop some positive relationships.
In many cases, it's real difficult for parents to get to some of those schools because we're so spread out.
The crowd feasted on hot dogs while out on the courts,
teachers challenged the students to a preschool year game.
Well, the most loved mouse in the world visited Park Plaza Mall today
to play host to the fourth annual Centers for Youth and Families Children's Festival.
Mickey brought some Disney friends with him to help raise money for the center,
which provides counseling and crisis intervention for troubled families.
The two-day event featured lots of Disney games, arts, and traps.
For years, couples have used fertility drugs to help plan their families,
but in tonight's Health Watch, Dr. Ed Barron says some parents have gotten more than they bargained for.
Anyone that's had an infant knows that a lot of time is spent taking care of a child's needs.
But suppose you had twins, triplets, quadruplets, or even quintuplets.
How much time do you think you'd have then?
In a minute.
The demand upon the parents who have higher order multiple-gross grow,
while any time for themselves virtually disappears.
To suddenly have three new babies in your home,
one of the major problems is, of course, is sleep.
It's hard for the parents to get any sleep.
The emotional stress builds up, etc.
Just a little bit of extra help from social services, babysitting,
other kind of caregiving, I think, would greatly alleviate the problems of these families.
Records show between 1972-74 and between 1985-89,
the rate of higher order multiple births increased by 113% among infant sub-Caucasian mothers
and by 22% among African-American mothers.
They conclude most of this increase was due to the use of fertility drugs.
But the one thing that did surprise us was the magnitude of the increase.
We didn't expect it to be quite as great as it was, particularly the increase in quadruplets.
You really needn't worry about having higher order multiple births unless you have been taking fertility drugs.
I'm Dr. Ed Barron with your HealthWatch Report.
Well, it's a tight race in the Grand Slam event on the PGA Tour.
Scott's up next with highlights of today's action, plus much more in sports.
We'll be right back.
Sem seamless
with KTHV's tag team.
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Scott Filbrick joins us with sports of all sorts,
beginning on the golf course.
That's right, beginning on the PGA Championship, third round.
Fourth Grand Slam, as you said earlier before the break.
Sports of all sorts, I like that.
But anyway, on to golf.
About the only thing certain going into tomorrow's final round of the PGA Championship
is John Daly won't be making it back-to-back championships.
Daly is 14 over par after shooting 79 today.
But aside from that, the tournament is up for grabs.
Craig Stadler had an up-and-down day, and out of the trap,
one of his down moments, I'd say.
The leader Gene Sowers had more ups than downs.
He dropped this birdie on the ninth to put him at 6 under par.
He finished the day at 700.
Two shots better than Nick Price and Jeff Maggard.
Watch this putt from Nick Price.
It starts off the green, crosses a couple of time zones,
hones in on the cup,
drops in. Simple.
Jeff Maggard is the other guy tied for second.
He birdied the 16th, 17th, and 18th to get that way.
Gene Sowers will go for his first major title tomorrow.
And speaking of final rounds, tomorrow's final round of the Ben Hogan Texarkana Open
could be just as exciting as the PGA.
For the second day in a row, the golfers put up some serious numbers.
Terry Moss is at 13 under par.
Going into the final round, one shot better than Marty Sheen at 12 under.
And in third place is Brian Kam, who is at 9 under for tomorrow's final round.
Well, the Cowboys and Oilers are getting to know each other pretty good.
They've scrimmaged twice, already played one exhibition game,
and hooked it up again tonight.
This time at Texas Stadium.
We go to Dallas for the highlights.
The Cowboys started the scoring.
Brad Delaueso kicked the field goal.
Three-nothing Cowboys.
But the Oilers came back.
Warren Moon worked his magic, hitting Ernest Givens from 14 yards out,
giving the Oilers a 7-3 lead.
And the Cowboys have to be pleased about this.
They got some good play from the defensive backs,
which gave them a lot of problems last year.
James Washington picks this one off and brings it back 30 yards.
But the Cowboys, with the Cowboys up 16 to 10, 37 seconds left in the game.
Former Texas A&M quarterback Bucky Richardson finds Hopkins for a 22-yard touchdown.
And the Oilers beat Dallas 17 to 16.
Next up for the Cowboys will be Denver next Saturday night.
Well, after a one-and-ten season a year ago,
Arkansas State wiped the slate clean and are looking forward to a fresh start.
And to make sure the Indians learn new head coach Ray Perkins' system,
he's installed a different practice format.
They'll be broken down three times a day.
The early morning session will be 50 minutes for kicking game only.
Hour and a half at lunch, or just prior to lunch,
will be more individual-type work, group work.
And then the evening practice will be designated more of teamwork.
We'll practice an hour and a half in the evening,
and that's when we'll get most of our teamwork.
We kind of put it together as we go through the day.
What a difference a year makes for the Hogs.
This time last year the Razorbacks were having real problems at quarterback.
Now they have such a large surplus that starting quarterback in the Independence Bowl,
Wade Hill, is considering a transfer.
Part of the reason is because of two freshmen named Mike Cherry and Barry London Jr.
I wouldn't be here today if I didn't think I could come in and play.
I'm not coming in saying, oh, I can't play.
I'm never going to play because I'm going in and I know everybody else,
all five of us are going in with attitude, hey, I'm going to be the man.
And if I go out and do my things, hopefully it will work out.
August in Arkansas featured a sport with a different flavor this morning
on the North Little Rock side of the river.
These guys know how to handle an axe,
and it was a Timbersports series and no, they weren't doubles in the Texas chainsaw massacre.
They're competitors in the steel Timbersports competition.
Today was a stop in a series of competitions to determine an overall champion.
Lumberjacks competed in nine different events,
including the axe throw, stock saw competition, and the underhand chop.
Just because these guys know how to handle a chainsaw doesn't mean they're lumberjacks.
Hey!
There's a lot of people that don't. There's a lot of people that do.
That's where it started and that's how people got involved in it in the beginning,
but now that it's becoming more of a sport, you get lawyers, office people, computer workers,
all different kinds of people working in this now.
It was a big day for junior tennis players at the Little Rock Racquet Club
as they competed in the Arkansas State Junior Clothes Tournament.
In the girls' bracket, it was championship day in the 14-year-old division,
Julie Posh down Cassandra Alford in three sets,
and Brandy Brown beat Jennifer Baptiste, 6'4", 6'0", to win the 18-year-old division.
The guys were playing semifinal matches today.
Top seed Tim Woosterhouse straight-setted Josh Getty, 6'2", 6'3", to advance to the finals.
Again, second seed Michael Miller. Miller down Aaron Holland, 6'1", 6'4".
And the final match is tomorrow morning.
The Traz played a double dip tonight, wrapping up its series against Jackson.
In the first game, it was a Brad Beanblossom kind of night.
In the bottom of the first, he scores on a wild pitch.
Later in the bottom of the third, he gets on base again, this time with a double.
And he came around to score when John Selleck ripped a double off the wall
as Brad stands up at second base there.
John Selleck ripped a double off the wall, and he came around to score,
but it was only a Beanblossom night because Jackson took the first game, 11-6,
and they're doing it again in the nightcap, leading 3-1 in the 6.
The Atlanta Braves are so hot right now, I think the only thing that will beat them is a little kryptonite.
After bashing the Pirates 15-0 last night, they were at it again early tonight.
The Braves got a little help from the Pirates defense.
Jeff King-Bobbles will throw on Pendleton's bunt, and Otis Nixon scores from third.
In the third, Danny Jackson throws a wild pitch, and Gantt scores from third.
Then Damian Berryhill gets the sack fly, scoring Brian Hunter from third.
Five Zip Braves in the first and to the board for the final, they held on to beat the Pirates 7-5.
Elsewhere in the National League, St. Louis over Montreal 6-4,
Houston blanks Chicago, Philadelphia nip New York 4-3,
Cincinnati over San Diego, and San Francisco over LA in the seventh.
Well, the A's hosted the Angels today, but before the game, the fans were treated to an old-timers game.
Where Reggie Jackson was up to his old tricks after knocking the long ball,
he didn't strike his normal pose. It's kind of disappointing to me.
But on to the game. Ken Obergefell singles to center, scoring Luis Polonia.
The Angels take a 1-0 lead.
Then Junior Felix steps up to the plate and singles about the same place,
scoring Obergefell from second.
But the A's came from behind to win this game, as we go to the scoreboard, 9-5 over California,
so they stay on top of the AL West.
Elsewhere in the American League, Toronto, Cleveland postponed rain.
Boston beat Milwaukee, New York by 2 over Chicago.
Kansas City edge Baltimore 5-4, Detroit bomb, Texas 10-3, and Seattle over Minnesota in the seventh.
And that's a look at sports. We'll have final round coverage of the PGA Championship tomorrow starting at 12-30.
Okay, thanks, Scott. Hicken and Grennan down by the river.
We'll take you to Augusta and Arkansas when we come back.
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Dave joins us again to tell us what it's going to be like in the morning.
Awfully nice. Sunday morning may be even cooler than it was here this morning with sunshine
and about 60 degrees by 8 o'clock. Our sunrise time is at 6.30.
We're looking for a high tomorrow afternoon only of about 78 degrees, when normally it's up around 90.
So unusual for August. Awfully nice. Thanks, Dave.
Well, it might be cooler than normal for August, but the music is hot and lively for August in Arkansas.
The first annual outdoor music festival is packing them in on both sides of the river.
We'll leave you now with some of the night's foot-stomping fun.
Have a great one. We'll see you tomorrow.
Music playing.
We love you, Arkansas.
You're good people.
You're friendly people.
Hard working people.
Oh, Arkansas.
We love you.
We love you, Arkansas.
You're pretty places with smiling faces and more than a trace of Arkansas pride.
Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.
You're the land with a promise.
We're proud to be part of you.
Thank God for Arkansas.
You're a natural through and through.
And we love you.
See Brooke Shields in Sahara Sunday morning at 8 on KTHV.