Our top story tonight, a six-year-old Orange County girl lured into a car by a stranger.
What are the latest on the kidnapping in a live report?
And surprising new information about four gruesome murders that have left an entire
community in shock.
Also, one of the most volatile days in Wall Street history is the President addresses
the state of the U.S. economy.
And a large creature lingers off the Southern California coast.
You'll see why some consider it quite astonishing.
Good evening, I'm Hal Fisher.
I'm Margo Waller.
Lynette Romero has the night off.
A six-year-old girl was kidnapped tonight from in front of her Orange County home by
a man claiming to have lost his dog.
The child was reportedly kicking and screaming as the kidnapper grabbed her and threw her
into his car.
Right now, an intensive search is underway.
Let's go live to Ted Garcia and Stanton with the latest on what happened.
Ted?
Well, we're going to start right away with a description and picture of the little girl.
Her name is Samantha Runyon.
Now, she is six years old, 42 inches tall.
She weighs 40 pounds.
She has curly, light brown hair.
She was wearing a white shirt with ruffles on the sleeves and collar.
Also, she had on red and white checkered shorts and clear plastic sandals.
Now, authorities say Samantha and another little girl were playing here on a small street
in the Smoke Tree Town Homes Complex.
Around 6.30 this evening, a man drove up to the girls and asked them to help him find
his puppy.
When Samantha bent over to ask him about the size of the dog, he grabbed her and drove
off.
The only witness was her five-year-old friend, who authorities say has been pretty helpful
for a little girl.
Samantha's grandmother was just around the corner, didn't see anything.
Neighbors are shocked.
This is a small community.
Everybody knows each other.
We trust each other.
I don't know what kind of sick person would do this.
I mean, come up in here?
What's wrong with them?
I'm absolutely shocked.
I mean, personally, I never expected anything like this to happen in a community like this.
Everybody around here, like, basically watches out for each other.
And when something like this happens, it's depressing and shocking at the same time.
All right.
Now, here is another description of Samantha again.
Six years old, 42 inches tall, 40 pounds, curly, light brown hair, wearing a white shirt
with ruffles, red and white checkered shorts, and clear plastic sandals.
Now, here is a description of the suspect, a male Hispanic with black hair.
He has a light black, thin mustache.
He was wearing a powder blue shirt.
His vehicle described as possibly a Honda.
Now, this description, remember, comes from a five-year-old girl who was a friend, possibly
a Honda, light green in color.
It had rain spots.
And authorities are saying, if you know anything or if you've seen anything, please call the
Orange County Sheriff's Department right away.
We're live tonight in Stanton.
Back to you in Hollywood.
Investigators say the man being held on suspicion of murder in the brutal stabbing deaths of
four members of a Whittier family acted alone.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators say 23-year-old Alfonso Morales is a friend
and neighbor of the family who frequently visited their home.
They say Morales worked with the family in their computer business and had had a falling
out with them last month.
A relative of the victims discovered the bodies at the home on Saturday.
Investigators say the crime scene is one of the worst they've ever seen, and the violence
is compounded by the fact that one of the victims was an eight-year-old girl.
As Stan Chambers reports, friends and neighbors are in shock.
The girl in the white shirt in this home video is eight-year-old Jasmine Ruiz playing at
a neighbor's house.
She was killed in the Medell-Riles family home along with her mother, father, and grandmother.
She was an outstanding student at Howard McKibben Elementary School.
Her parents were very involved with her.
Mother brought her to school every day, and dad was waiting for her after school every
day.
Student of the month, every year she was in school.
The school had counselors on the campus today to help classmates and parents cope with the
tragedy.
This mother lives just a few houses from the suspect.
I was quite concerned about my daughter.
She's going to summer school, so I went ahead and went down there.
They do have a crisis counselor there, so we spoke to the crisis counselor, and he just
cut to keep an eye on her and answers as many questions as you can.
At the suspect's home today, family members and friends of Alfonso Morales were silent
as they went into the house.
A few doors away, a neighbor recalled an incident about Morales.
Two years ago, or two or three years ago, he tried to commit suicide on the sidewalk.
He slit his wrist or something, because I remember they called the paramedics, and he
had all this blood on his hand.
Friends brought flowers, letters, and balloons to a memorial near the victim's home.
The suspect, Alfonso Morales, lived here with his mother and stepfather.
He also worked part time for the victim at his computer programming company.
From Whittier, Stan Chambers, KTLA News.
It was one of the wildest days in the history of Wall Street with the Dow Jones industrials
plunging 440 points, then making an equally dramatic recovery.
Through it all, President Bush insisted that the U.S. economy is still fundamentally strong.
And now let's go live to KTLA Washington correspondent, Grant Rampey on Capitol Hill.
Grant?
Evening, Hal.
The President compares the market slide to a hangover, the after effects of the recent
high times.
They may be mostly gone, he says, but what we're left with isn't bad.
After his big speech on Wall Street last week failed to calm jittery investors, the President
tried again today.
American business and workers are resilient and resolved.
And this economy is coming back.
That's the fact.
Bush cites low inflation, rising productivity and strong economic growth, up 6 percent so
far this year, as reasons for optimism.
But consumer confidence is at its lowest level since right after September 11th.
The sense of unease borne out by the market's midday slide toward oblivion.
The Dow down nearly 450 points before it snapped back to close only slightly lower.
The President says while the roaring 90s are clearly over, investors should recognize that
the economy's foundation is still strong.
There was endless profit.
There was no tomorrow when it came to, you know, the stock markets and corporate profits.
And now we're suffering a hangover for that bench.
Democrats argue that Bush is focusing on rhetoric, not reform of the rules, which are meant to
keep corporate America on track.
You consistently say the same thing and the market keeps going down.
It's kind of like beating your head against the wall.
You might want to change a little bit of what is what you say in the context of a real crisis
of confidence.
And tomorrow morning, all ears will be on what Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has to say.
He'll be here offering his take on the state of the nation's economy to a Senate committee.
Live in Washington, Grant Rampe, KTLA News.
The concerns about the U.S. economy have boosted the value of the euro, making it worth as
much or even more than the American dollar for the first time in two and a half years.
It is little more than a psychological and symbolic victory for the euro and may actually
hurt countries that depend on American tourist dollars.
That's because a weaker dollar makes travel to Europe and European products more expensive
for Americans.
But it is also good news for U.S. companies, increasing demand for American-made goods
by making them less expensive to buy overseas.
Actually, to show you how close it is, Martha, the euro closed worth $1.0055.
So that's almost parity.
Pretty close.
Also, a surprise plea bargain will send the American Taliban to prison for the next 20
years.
That spares John Walker Lind, the possibility of a life sentence.
Sonya Deener has details from Washington.
He was arrested in Afghanistan last December, a member of the Taliban and linked with Al-Qaeda
and Osama bin Laden.
Now this 21-year-old from Northern California faces a long stint in federal prison.
Twenty years is a period of time which is almost as long as he's been alive.
This is a major sentence.
Lind was charged with 10 counts, including conspiring to kill Americans.
He faced three life terms.
He escaped that possibility by admitting guilt on two lesser charges, serving as a Taliban
soldier, and arming himself with grenades and rifles.
This plea agreement represents an opportunity for the government to get a very tough sentence,
to get cooperation, and to conserve precious resources for the future challenges we face
in the war against terrorism.
Lind's attorneys praised the deal, saying it cleared Lind of all terrorism charges.
He was a soldier in the Taliban.
He did it for religious reasons.
He did it as a Muslim.
He did not go to Afghanistan with the intention of fighting against the United States, his
homeland.
The plea bargain requires Lind to cooperate with the federal government in terrorism investigations.
He also agreed to drop accusations of mistreatment by the military when he was arrested and to
forgo any personal profit from telling his story.
In Washington, Sonya Deener, KTLA News.
American forces wounded Osama bin Laden, but the terrorist is still alive and has fully
recovered.
Now that is according to the editor of a London-based Arabic newspaper.
His sources claim that bin Laden underwent surgery to remove shrapnel from his shoulder.
The wound most likely occurred during the bombing campaign in the Tora Bora region of
eastern Afghanistan.
The journalist would not say if he knew of bin Laden's whereabouts.
He claims bin Laden will not make another videotaped statement until after al-Qaeda
launches another attack against America.
A mournful ceremony today marked the end of the search for human remains in the World
Trade Center attacks.
Hundreds of workers were thanked for their efforts as they joined families of the victims
at the Staten Island landfill where the recovery effort has continued for the past 10 months.
The landfill became the final stop for the Trade Center rubble which was delivered by
truck and barge.
At the height of the operation, 7,000 tons of material were processed each day.
A woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a notorious dog mauling case has received
the maximum sentence of four years in state prison.
Marjorie Noller was given that punishment today in San Francisco.
Noller was also convicted of murder in the second degree in the death of Diane Whipple,
but the judge threw out the murder conviction last month, ruling Noller could not have known
her dogs would kill.
Now after today's hearing, the victim's partner sharply criticized Noller for refusing to
show remorse.
She's not acted like a human, like any one of us would do, and she'll be an attorney
to the end.
She's not going to say she's sorry because she doesn't want to admit.
And I think she probably doesn't even believe she's responsible for this.
Noller immediately began serving her sentence.
She could be released as early as 14 months.
And her husband, Robert Noel, also was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
He is currently serving a four-year sentence as well.
And just ahead tonight here on News at Ten, new calls for action following the violent
videotape arrest of a teenager.
Also a major decision in the Winona Ryder shoplifting case.
A judge rules on accusations of abuse by the prosecution.
Plus questions of safety regarding a popular device used to detect disease.
Martin, I'll be right back after these words.
I'm waiting for my blind date.
Please, just let him be different.
Someone who's shy and sensitive.
Someone who's into Mozart.
Somebody who's not afraid to pick a flower.
Who has inner beauty.
We forget the looks.
Little beauty.
The luxurious, powerful G.S.
It's hot.
I gotta go.
See you in Southern California, Alexis DeOre.
This is my brother Andrew.
He's got a practice.
The boys and I share a love for baseball, so we took a little trip this summer.
This is me acting really goofy.
We went to four different major league ballparks in the Hall of Fame.
They brought back lots of pictures.
I would only put these in the hands of people at Walmart.
You can afford to take more pictures with Walmart.
Kids at Rice's are great.
And we sent a couple of pictures to Heidi's dad online.
We got to run the bases at Doubleday Field.
That was awesome.
I think the boys had a great time.
And we have these pictures to remind us of it.
This summer there are a lot of prizes to win out there.
And now, Verizon wants to get in on the fun.
Every time you make a long distance call, you could win a U.S. savings bond.
We'll be drawing a winner for every day of the sweepstakes.
Don't have a Verizon long distance plan?
Call 1-800-470-5395 to sign up.
You might win something you can actually use.
Verizon.
Outraged community members are stepping up the pressure on Inglewood police in the wake
of a videotaped beating and violent arrest of a 16-year-old boy.
The group held a prayer vigil at Inglewood City Hall tonight and called for a civil rights
probe of the police department.
For the latest, let's go live to Walter Richards.
He is in Inglewood.
Walter?
You know, there's a new praying ground in Inglewood.
It's right outside the police department.
This is where people will gather for 40 days and nights in the fight for civil rights.
Much prayer.
Much power.
The power of prayer.
Our who has brought us thus far along the way.
Hallelujah.
Thank you, Jesus.
A human chain of emotion, the beginning of 40 days and nights outside Inglewood police
department.
We're here every day and every night until Jeremy Morse is fired and finally prosecuted
for the beating of Donovan Jackson.
Calling for the badge of Officer Jeremy Morse caught on videotapes slamming, punching, and
choking handcuffed teenager Donovan Jackson.
This was a kid.
This is a child that was assaulted by police.
Earlier in the day, New York Reverend Al Sharpton here speaking out on the various investigations
into the beating, calling for the White House and Governor Davis to get involved.
I want to reiterate that there are those that are trying to propagate that what happened
to Donovan Jackson was a reaction and therefore some type of justified revenge by police.
It is almost like the media has stepped away from the fact that police cannot operate based
on revenge.
We challenge them to come out of their buildings.
This evening of prayer bringing out mothers, fathers, and children and people who claim
to be past victims of police abuse.
All are asked to pray for Donovan Jackson and prayers for the officers involved that
night and for Mitchell Crooks who shot the video and for a resolution to this case.
This first night of the service also attracting famous human rights activist Dick Gregory,
ex-Senator Tom Hayden, and Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
And there will be a lot more of those amens to come, 39 more days and nights as the investigations
go on.
Back to you in Hollywood.
In Pakistan, four Islamic militants have been convicted in the kidnapping and murder of Wall
Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
The prisoners can be seen here and they're dressed in white.
The ringleader, Sheikh Omar Said, was sentenced to death by hanging.
The other three were sentenced to 25 years in prison.
As the death sentence was pronounced, Said threatened Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
saying, we shall see who will die first.
Pakistani authorities are on a heightened state of alert and so are personnel at US embassies
and consulates throughout Pakistan.
The gunman accused of trying to assassinate President Jacques Chirac is being held in
a secure psychiatric hospital.
According to French police, 25-year-old Maxime Bournary pulled a rifle out of a guitar case
and fired at Chirac during a Bastille Day parade held along the fame Champs-Elysées.
Prosecutors say the suspect had been target practicing with a.22 caliber rifle less than
a week ago.
He's believed to be a member of a radical neo-Nazi group.
Investigators are now trying to find out if the gunman was working alone.
Chirac was not injured nor was anyone else.
A judge has refused to disqualify the district attorney's office from prosecuting actress
Winona Ryder on charges of shoplifting.
The motion, which was filed by Ryder's attorneys, claimed prosecutors had been trying to humiliate
her.
Mark Geregos accused a prosecution spokeswoman of making inaccurate statements about a security
videotape to news media.
The 30-year-old actress was arrested last December at a Saks Fifth Avenue Storm Beverly
Gills and accused of stealing nearly $6,000 in merchandise.
No trial date has yet been set.
Opening statements began today in the capital punishment case against the former handyman
accused of kidnapping and killing three women visiting Yosemite National Park.
Carrie Stainer is on trial in San Jose for allegedly murdering Carol Sund, her daughter
Juliana and a friend visiting from Argentina, Silvina Palasso.
The three women disappeared in February 1999.
Their burned out rental car was found a month later.
Stainer is already serving a life sentence for the murder of a park guide, but state
prosecutors are asking for the death penalty for the murders of the tourists.
Stainer has confessed to murder and has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
The driver of an SUV led sheriffs and CHP officers on an hour-long pursuit early this
morning.
The driver was wanted for reckless driving and failure to yield.
While he failed to stop his SUV and then led police on a long pursuit that started in Southgate,
the chase covered several counties and finally ended in Paramount.
The suspect pulled over at the intersection of Rosecrans and Orange.
Both people in the car surrendered.
More problems for the Concorde supersonic jet.
British Airways flight was forced to return to London after an engine problem developed
over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Concorde was 90 minutes into the three and a half hour flight from London to New
York.
The flight crew described the problem as an engine surge that made it difficult to maintain
a straight level flight.
The airline says it was a routine problem, but the Concorde fleet is struggling to regain
its former cache following a deadly crash outside Paris two years ago.
Today's flight was only half full.
We have much more news still ahead.
See what caused severe damage to planes and buildings at a major US airport.
And we'll show you some amazing video of a large whale lingering in a most unusual place.
Ocean looks pretty usual.
I'm Mindy Verbena.
We take you to the world premiere of the new Harrison Ford movie, K-19, The Widowmaker.
Plus, we go straight to the source.
Stars of the WB reveal surprising secrets for the new fall season.
We'll have all that when we return.
Okay, how about Monday?
No, they can't do.
Tuesday or Wednesday?
Nope.
It's not gonna happen, lady.
Thursday?
No.
No, no way.
Can't do it.
No.
How's Friday?
It's a negative.
Yeah, I'm busy as a bee.
Hold on, wait, wait.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, you're all busy every day of the week?
So are you.
I am with whom?
With them.
All right.
Will and Grace and you, five nights a week, coming this fall on KTLA 5.
This portion of the news is brought to you by Verizon Wireless.
This summer, there are a lot of prizes to win out there.
And now, Verizon wants to get in on the fun.
Every time you make a long-distance call, you could win a U.S. savings bond.
We'll be drawing a winner for every day of the sweepstakes.
And if you don't have a Verizon long-distance plan, call 1-800-470-5395 to sign up.
You might win something you can actually use.
Verizon.
Congratulations.
You've launched the pink-slip virus.
Your office is now infected.
They'll soon trace it back to you.
Good luck finding a new job.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Here it is.
There.
You want to get away?
Now you can.
Fly Southwest Airlines, anywhere within California, for just $39 when you purchase by August 1st.
You are now free to move about the country.
Who would have ever thought that a plain old Tuesday night could be as happy to say it,
Friday night?
With two times Tuesday at Domino's, you get two pizzas for the price of one.
Tuesdays just don't feel Tuesday-ish anymore.
Call Domino's any Tuesday. Buy one pizza and the second one is free.
Get the door. It's Domino's.
Call now and when you buy a large pepperoni pizza, get a second pizza of equal or lesser value free on Tuesday.
That's two pizzas for the price of one Tuesdays only at Domino's.
A million uses and counting.
The 210 horsepower supercharged Nissan Xterra.
Everything you need, nothing you don't.
It was quite a rare sight in Orange County today.
A 65 foot blue whale lingering off the coast of Dana Point.
And this whale seems to love just being around people.
Let's go live to Jim Nash in Dana Point who has the latest details. Jim?
Yeah Hal, you know it's great to get out of the city once in a while and find some other news.
And down here in Dana Point, the big story is all about the great blue whale.
The blue whale is the world's largest mammal.
This young one a mere 65 feet long.
Adults can run to a hundred feet weighing 120 tons.
And now the rarely seen blue whale is visible off Dana Point.
Whale watchers aboard the dolphin safari dot com catamaran have been getting close up views of this blue whale which is swimming much closer to shore than normal.
Blue whales are bigger than the dinosaurs. There's never even been a dinosaur as big as a blue whale.
Captain Dave Anderson and his crew spotted this blue on Friday, Saturday and Sunday off Dana Point.
Dave's been shooting videotape of dolphins and whales for a documentary.
His crew knows how unusual it is to see blue whales.
It's rare that we see them but three, four times a year they're out there.
And the sheer size of these creatures.
It's so rare to see something like this and to be able to see it right off the coast of Dana Point like this, I mean it's fantastic.
Blue whales are known to skim past Orange County en route to the Santa Barbara Channel but they rarely approach close to boats.
I don't know if I'd call them shy but they certainly are not usually so, you know, willing to come around the boat and he was absolutely fearless.
And absolutely huge. That whale you were watching is at least three times the size of any of these boats.
And did you know that we actually have the world's largest herd of great blue whales right off the coast here, more than 1200 of them.
And right now they're right here off Dana Point where we're live.
Back to you in Hollywood.
A 10,000-acre wildfire is burning just south of the Nevada state line near the California end of Topaz Lake.
Hundreds of extra firefighters today joined the fight against the advancing flames.
The fire is burning mainly in California on the west side of U.S. Highway 395 south of Topaz Lake.
It forced the evacuation today of about 30 guests at the Topaz Lodge Hotel Casino on the Nevada side of the state line.
And 150 people have been asked to leave a campground nearby.
The fire was sparked by a lightning strike on Saturday.
Then severe thunderstorms cut power to thousands of homes and businesses in Phoenix, Arizona and left dozens of others damaged.
The storms moved through the area yesterday and left 47,000 people without power.
The National Weather Service reported 70-mile-an-hour winds during the storm and said two inches of rain fell in one hour.
And the storm also damaged planes at Sky Harbor International Airport, forcing the field to shut down for four hours.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded overnight.
And in Barstow, drivers got the chance to finally use those windshield wipers.
Although nothing like the storms in Phoenix, residents in the area did get some rain and even a few bolts of lightning.
The rain helped cool temperatures at least for a little while.
And the highs in Barstow have been exceeding 100 degrees.
Now, Roland, I've noticed those, you can see them from all over Los Angeles, big buildups out there in the desert.
We have a lot of tropical moisture coming in from the south and southwest, adding to the rain showers you saw there.
And some heavy rains in Phoenix and across parts of Arizona and New Mexico.
But for us here in the Southland, for the most part, partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies, 72 to current temperatures.
So things are but a bit more tropical than we've seen in the past several days because of that moisture coming in from the south and southwest.
70 percent humidity barometer rising, afternoon high today of 86 degrees, morning low of 66.
There's your sunrise tomorrow morning. And the normals for the state of 84 and 65.
Our first hurricane in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico developed this afternoon.
You can see here along the mid-Atlantic skies, we're moving towards the north and northeast with winds exceeding 70 miles per hour.
That will be the scenario. Not really doing much, but it is the first tropical storm of the season along the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico.
You can see some of the moisture coming in with a subtropical jet stream providing the rain and the clouds that Hal was talking about across southern California,
parts of Arizona and New Mexico as well, and even a few showers popping up during the afternoon in northern sections of Nevada.
So we're seeing a subtropical pressure coming in along the Gulf of the Alaska area.
90 the afternoon high in New York City, same old true for Atlanta.
So things are very hot along the East Coast, 93 in Miami, 91 in Chicago and out towards the west, 109 Las Vegas, Phoenix at 105 with a possibility for more rain there.
62 in San Francisco and Seattle, 74 their afternoon high.
Pomona morning low of 64 degrees, same old true for Santa Monica and Long Beach, Irvine 63, Burbank 63.
Elsewhere in the Southland, Big Bear 51, Hemet 58, Palm Springs a warm 80, getting up to 106 by tomorrow afternoon with all the sunshine there.
94 along the Redlands area, 88 both in West Covina, Pasadena and Lancaster getting up to 98 degrees.
Here's your five day forecast for the remainder of the week.
We will see more of that moisture coming in from the south and southwest.
So don't be surprised if you see some mountain and desert thunderstorms throughout the afternoon.
We'll see one the afternoon high downtown so the inland air is going to be well into the 90s and possibly the century mark.
And then a slight cool down as we head into the middle part of the week.
Okay, Roland, you know I have something you may want to visit.
So listen very closely to this next story.
You see, it is the world's largest and most pungent flower.
And you can see it and smell it right here in the Southland.
That is if you really want to.
It's called the corpse flower because it smells so bad.
And it's blooming now at the Quail Gardens in Encinitas.
The seven foot tall plant's scientific name is Amorphophallus tetanum and more commonly called Titanarum.
It has a short blooming season, usually only lasting two or three days.
The flower is native to Indonesia and its scent is, I guess you might say, overpowering.
International movie star Harrison Ford takes his talent out to sea for his latest project.
Mindy Bervano joins us now with that story much more from the world of entertainment.
Thanks, Al. That's right.
There are flash bulbs all down the red carpet at tonight's world premiere of Paramount Pictures newest film, K-19 The Widowmaker.
Harrison Ford and director Catherine Bigelow were joined by Harrison's new girlfriend, Calista Flockhart,
and superstar Liam Neeson for a first look at this intense new drama.
K-19 is inspired by the true story of Russia's first nuclear ballistic submarine,
which after suffering a malfunction threatens not only the lives of its crew but has the potential to ignite a world war.
The stars agree that this story has been kept secret for far too long.
This is a remarkable story of a bunch of guys that nobody would have known of until Glasnost happened in 1985, 86.
And they did this remarkable thing. They kind of saved the planet.
These guys selflessly devoted themselves to their fellow crewmen. Many of them died.
Those stories are always very compelling.
And for premieres to sneak previews, KTLA Movie Club members were treated to a first look at the creepy new film, Eight-Legged Freaks,
at the brand new Grove Theater to the farmers market.
You can join the fun, win lots of prizes like that, get very excited, and see movies before they come out.
Just go to KTLA.com, click on the Movie Club link, and come join us at the movies.
And no stopping, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones at the Weekend Box Office as Men in Black 2 held on to the number one spot, taking in $24.4 million.
Tom Hanks' new vehicle, Road to Perdition, debuts at number two with $22.1 million.
And also debuting this week, Gets the Bronze, Rain of Fire, which took in $15.6 million.
Halloween Resurrection and Mr. Deeds round off the top five.
And it was a night of secrets revealed as the new WB stars joined network veterans for the new fall season kickoff party.
From Charm star Alyssa Milano to network newcomer Rachel Skarsden,
stars of The Frog weren't exactly shy about letting fans know why we need to tune in this fall.
And he's a big stud muffin. Like he's like the man of the house now. He's like taking over.
Basically, all I've been told is that I do a lot of dating.
I think everyone will be happy to know that everyone's coming back.
At the end of the season, it seems like it might just be me and J.O.
Well, I'm a runaway, and my mother is not who she has led me to believe she is. So there you go. Stay tuned.
In the first episode, I'm going to fall asleep under a tree, and I'm going to wake up 40 years later in a dream sequence and even have a longer beard.
The first two episodes, Phoebe's turning into a mermaid. That's pretty good, huh? You can imagine the costume. Tune in.
Of course, all new episodes of News at Ten continuing on through the fall here right here on the WB.
Yes, yes. We just go on and on. We just never stop. There's no such thing as a season for us.
Well, there isn't. It's on and on. Every season for News at Ten.
And coming up next on News at Ten, you'll see what happens when a freight-carrying toxic material crashes and bursts into flames.
I'm Larry McCormick. Teenage drivers, you want to be hip? Fasten your seatbelts, that's how.
And some cautionary words about those popular body scans coming up in my report.
And a powerful explosion brings a shower of broken glass and steel. We'll tell you about it when Hal, Larry, and I come right back.
The Health Report is brought to you by your Southern California Ford dealers.
The Health Report is brought to you by your Southern California Ford dealers.
Style is an expression of who you are. I love the way I dress. It does not matter what anyone says.
Here are my stretchable jogging pants. I'll get the other ones and you get these.
Shopping at Walmart, your clothes are so affordable.
I'm talking about casual.
Creativity shows that you have individuality. You're being yourself and not trying to be like anybody else.
This is my shirt. Don't even try.
The process changes very quickly. You have to keep up or you will be left behind.
Hi. Hello. Yeah, I'd like to return these checks. You put the bank's address on them instead of mine.
Okay, that's a new printing fee, a transaction fee, and of course a conversation fee.
Conversation fee?
We'll have to charge up this little chat we're having. Three pronouns, seven verbs.
What?
Oh, emotional outburst fee. Oh, those can be steep. You'll have to write us a check.
Fed up with fees? Try Washington Mutual. Our free checking has no teller fees, no fine print, no surprises.
There you go. Have to charge for that.
Washington Mutual.
Summer's in full swing and so is this great offer at your Chevy dealer.
You might as well be walking on the sub.
For a limited time, 0% APR financing is back on every new 2002 Chevy truck.
Or get $2,500 cash back on Silverado and Avalanche. Or $3,000 cash back on S-10.
So don't you think act now, supply's running out.
Get 0% financing during summer time at your local Chevy dealer.
Ross has a new friend.
Hey, that monkey's got a Ross on his head.
Next friend, coming up next on KTLA 5.
Ohio Congressman James Trafikant appeared on Capitol Hill for the first time since he was convicted of bribery and tax evasion.
Trafikant spoke before a House ethics committee which will decide if he should be kicked out of Congress.
The outspoken Ohio Democrat claimed to be a victim of the Justice Department conspiracy.
But he also expects to be kicked out of Congress.
I'm prepared to be expelled. I'm prepared to go to jail because I didn't do this.
I'll be damned if I'll be targeted. FBI can go to hell.
Two-thirds of the 435 member house must vote for expulsion in order for Trafikant to be removed from office.
Trafikant is facing up to seven and a half years in prison for taking kickbacks from staffers and bribes from businessmen.
Sentencing scheduled for July 30th.
A quadriplegic man who says he can't get into the lap dance room at a Florida strip club has filed a lawsuit against that club.
Edward Law says the wild side adult sports cabaret is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act because the club's lap dance room is not wheelchair accessible.
He also says the counter around the stage is too high for a person in a wheelchair to see the stage and to put down drinks.
A burglary at a flight attendant's apartment is getting attention from federal investigators because a woman's ID and security badge were stolen.
Police investigators say the burglar broke into a Delta Airlines flight attendant's apartment and stole her uniform, her cockpit door key and her identification card.
Police say there's no indication the theft is linked to terrorism thus far, but the Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating a Delta Airlines spokeswoman who says the stolen items would be detected by the airline's security system if someone tried to use them.
Undercover raids in the San Fernando Valley have broken up a major drug ring that police say was run by a group of Israeli nationals.
In a series of raids that included this one last night in Sherman Oaks, police arrested 15 suspects and seized $8 million worth of ecstasy along with weapons and cash.
Narcotics officers from the Torrance and Glendale Police Departments and the U.S. Customs Service were involved in the operation.
Torrance police say the ring was responsible for 90% of the ecstasy coming into Torrance and a number of other Southland cities.
And now a check on other major stories making news around the country.
Slinger, Wisconsin.
Twenty freight train cars derailed while en route to Chicago.
Some of the wreckage burst into flames after the derailment, but no injuries were reported.
Some of the freight cars were carrying hazardous chemicals, but none of the materials on board spilled.
The cause of the derailment is now under investigation.
New York City. Two people were injured when a construction crane fell into a nine-story court building.
The 150-foot device apparently collapsed onto the side of the building because the ground beneath it was not stable.
The crane operator was taken to the hospital in critical condition and a woman inside the building was hospitalized with minor injuries.
Cambridge, Massachusetts. The upper floors of a building under construction exploded, sending glass and steel into the street below.
The top of the building was heavily damaged. One construction worker was injured in the blast, but nobody was inside the building at the time of the accident.
The cause of the explosion is now under investigation.
Norcross, Georgia. A 13-year-old boy was killed after he was accidentally shot in the head at a gun show.
The boy was looking at holsters with his father when a nearby handgun discharged.
All guns are supposed to be unloaded in the show and it is still unclear how the gun discharged.
Police are investigating the accident to determine if any charges should be filed.
In our health and fitness report tonight, high-tech X-rays that can scan your entire body are growing in popularity.
You hear about them all the time. The scans can detect disease and irregularities, but they're not foolproof.
The procedure sends radiation through the body at different angles and can find disease even when there are no obvious symptoms.
So you ask, is the procedure safe?
Well, the American College of Radiology does not recommend the scans because they say they expose the body to lots of radiation
and they can lead to patients worrying about irregularities that turn out to be harmless, non-threatening.
But remember this, if you do choose to get a scan, be sure to have a board-certified radiologist read and interpret the results.
A new study by the Seatbelt Safety Campaign reports that teenagers are not buckling up as often as they should, especially when the law isn't looking.
Now the campaign is using the findings to push for stricter laws and better enforcement.
Today's teens, tomorrow's drivers. This lesson, how to drive on the highway.
These teens will also learn how to steer, brake, and proper attitude. But a message in every lesson, seatbelts are a must.
It doesn't matter how young or old you are or how big or small you are, safety belt use is a must. No exceptions.
But a new report by the Airbag and Seatbelt Safety Campaign says that once teens are on the road, they do make exceptions.
The study found, surprisingly, that as risk increases, belt use drops.
As more passengers are in the car, particularly teen passengers, belt use drops.
As after midnight, belt use drops. Presence of alcohol, belt use drops.
The risk denial among teenagers is very profound.
Fatality rates for teens are twice those of older drivers, and the risk of being in a crash is four times as great.
Researchers say laws which allow police to stop motorists for not wearing seatbelts, called primary belt laws, are effective, and they're needed more than ever now.
They really are the parent looking out for the teenager when the parent isn't there.
The report is being sent to the governors of the 32 states that don't have primary belt laws in a push for more enforcement.
The campaign says when it comes to the lives of teenagers, a little government goes a long way.
California put primary seatbelt laws into effect back in 1993, and 65 percent of California teens, sure enough, use their belts.
There's the opposite end of the pole, Rhode Island, a state with no primary seatbelt law. Teen belt use there, five percent.
As we advised earlier, be hip and fasten up when you get in the car.
That's your health and fitness for tonight.
Thanks, Larry. Well, next up tonight, a battle for freedom to fly the American flag.
You'll see what put an end to disputes over the Stars and Stripes.
An extreme spore has come to a Southland community. We'll show you what has some young people escaping with excitement.
Plus, I'm with the Cyber Guy. When News at Ten continues, the high-tech home buying alert system, we're going to test it out and see if your dream home is closer.
It's all coming up in the Cyber Guy report. News at Ten continues right after this.
Hey. Hi.
I'm Danny. I'm Lacey.
Shall we go?
No.
Something wrong?
I'm a vegetarian.
Need a new car? Use Southern California's most comprehensive classifieds, the Los Angeles Times classifieds. In print, online. Your future is here.
It's free range, chicken.
The Business Report is brought to you by Pacific Bell, the SBC Global Network.
Billions of calls travel through SBC's telecommunication networks. Some are for us.
From people looking for us to solve a problem. Fast.
In our Pac Bell region, we monitor our networks 24-7.
So a lot of times, we can spot a problem and fix it before anyone even notices.
The customer. That's who we answer to.
Infinite trust. SBC.
Get 0% APR financing for five years on most 2002 Saturn S series.
For restrictions, see your Saturn retailer.
This summer, Lifetime presents a brand new original series. Their cases make the headlines. Their passion makes the difference.
We can't be all things to all people. But we can be a lifeline and a second chance for a lot of people.
But for these lawyers, justice is never easy. We may never agree on the reasons. All we have to do is agree to try.
Leah Thompson, Debbie Morgan, A. Martinez, and Cecilia Suarez. For the people. Checking local listings.
Air conditioning. Heat. We never had those things when we were young. When it was cold, we'd snuggle under a blanket.
What? What? When it was hot, we'd go skinny dipping.
Please, Rose. But now we just set the air conditioner at 78 when we're at home and 85 when we go out.
We conserve energy. We're always comfortable. And we could still go skinny dipping.
Conservation. It's a way of life.
Visit Orbitz.com for the most flight options and the most low fares. Visit Orbitz.com today for the most low fares to planet Earth.
Governor Gray Davis signed a bill at a local condo complex that will stop homeowners associations from preventing residents from flying the American flag.
Governor Davis said he was shocked to learn that some Californians were not being allowed to fly the flag.
Now the bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses of the state legislature, allows flag displays to be restricted only if it is necessary to protect public safety.
As long as I am governor, no homeowners association, no apartment complex or no condominium association is going to prevent a homeowner from flying the American flag any time they please.
The bill was prompted by reports from residents all over the state complaining about being asked to take their flags down.
Now according to the Council of Homeowners, between six and nine million Californians live in areas with some kind of community association regulations.
We all know house hunting can take hours of time and many, many miles on the road.
But Kurt the Cyber Guy has found a new service online that puts you in the driver's seat but takes the legwork out of home shopping.
Good evening guys, narrowing down the ride home out of thousands of properties for sale has just gotten easier.
Take a look at what happens when a homebuyer turns to a new real estate hunting technology.
Home prices are rising, it's a seller's market and finding a deal is getting that much harder.
You can drive street after street looking for a home or you can go online to a host of real estate sites hoping to find updated listings but that isn't always easy.
You would drive around and you'd find them and then there would be a sign up in escrow or something.
So you go back to the internet site and there was nothing that indicated that that was happening.
For Janet Schmidt, buying her new home was becoming a nightmare.
After months of searching, she had to be out of her old home in three weeks.
We got to a point where I just said I don't know how we're going to find anything.
That's when she came across this site. It's a pilot project for a company called First Team Realty.
It's aimed at making home buying easy.
From the site you can access all the home listings in a given area regardless of who the broker is.
Next you can schedule a time to see the house and even sign up for home finder email alerts that let you know as soon as a home comes onto the market.
Best of all the information is updated daily so you always know what's going on.
We're getting the information from the real estate agents at the moment the real estate professionals are receiving it themselves.
From the First Team site, Janet found this house. When she walked inside she fell in love with it.
Hi. I think one of the things I really liked about this house when I saw it was the French doors.
There's four sets of them but the two off the living room are just gorgeous the way they open out into the backyard.
It has a newly redone open kitchen, two bedrooms and office and a rather exotic backyard complete with a koi pond, fruit trees and even its own birds.
Janet beat out the other bidders and got her house which she'd never have found without the help of the internet.
Janet with the success of the pilot program the company says it will begin expanding its technology.
You can check out what's for sale around Southern California. Head online to our site go to ktla.com, click Cyber Guy. Our online partner is latimes.com.
Skateboarders in East LA now have a new place to practice.
The brand new Lincoln Skate Park opened today with 7,000 square feet of skating features including rails, ramps and a quarter and a half pipe.
This is the third skate park to open in Los Angeles in the past year. The park is free to all skaters.
The only thing that's required is a helmet and safety pads just in case you should fall down.
And now let's take a look at tomorrow's Los Angeles Times headlines tonight.
Iraq's main opposition groups are beginning to coordinate their military efforts against Saddam Hussein.
An opposition leader in exile says a bombing campaign by the United States could pave the way for local Shiites and Kurds to handle ground operations.
They say with adequate air support a united Kurdish and Shiite military advance would win the support of the Iraqi people and overthrow Saddam Hussein.
The showdown between President Bush and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat over the future of the Palestinian Authority faces its first test this week.
Beginning tomorrow talks will get underway involving all the key players in the Middle East peace process.
So far it's shaping up as the United States against everyone else at the table with most U.S. allies still behind Arafat.
And you can read those stories and more in depth in tomorrow's edition of the Los Angeles Times.
Clinging to their half game lead over second place Arizona in the National League West,
the Dodgers welcome the Central Division leading St. Louis Cardinals into Dodger Stadium tonight in the opener of a two game series.
And the Cardinals jumped on Dodger starter Omar Dahl right away in the first.
Jim Edmonds launched a two run homer his 18th bomb of the year and just like that the Dodgers were down two nothing.
St. Louis scored twice more to lead four zip in the sixth.
Adrian Beltre trimmed that deficit in half when he slugged a home run off Travis Smith with Eric Caras aboard.
Beltre's ninth made it four to two.
The Dodgers go rallied in the bottom of the ninth.
They had runners on first and second with one out when Jason Isfringhausen got Paul Leducke to bounce into the five four three double play.
Four to the final.
The cards lead the NL Central by three and a half game.
The Diamondbacks were in San Francisco tonight where David Bell slammed that three run homer off Rick Helling in the second inning giving the Giants a four to one lead on their way to a six three win.
Leaving the D-backs a half game back to the Dodgers.
The Giants are just a game and a half out.
In Minneapolis the Metrodome was a house of horrors for the Angels tonight.
It was the twins who looked horrific early on as catcher AJ Przezinski's return throw to pitcher Johann Santana sailed right by Santana's head and into center field enabling Benji Gill to score tying the game at one all in the third.
The Angels actually led seven to one at one point but they simply blew this game.
Torrey Hunter's two run shot to right off Scott Schoenweiss in the seventh cut the Angels lead to eight seven.
Schoenweiss then gave up this three run jack to Christian Guzman in the eighth.
In a game they should have won.
The Angels let it get away falling to the Twinkies ten to eight.
Too bad because the Angels could have gained ground on first place Seattle.
Thirty six year old Mike Bordick had three hits including that three run dinger in the fourth inning off Seattle's Ryan Franklin that gave the O's a six four lead.
The Birds hung on to beat the Mariners six to five.
The M's still lead the Halos by four games.
Music
Sparks head coach Michael Cooper leading the West squad in the WNBA All-Star Game.
The event in Washington D.C. showcased stars such as the Sparks Mawadie Mabika who gets the put back there for only bucking the game.
Sparks teammate Tameka Dixon shipped in with five points but once again the West was led by the league MVP Lisa Leslie.
The Sparks center at eighteen points four blocks and an all-star game record fourteen rebounds to not only lead the West to an eighty one seventy six win but she also won her third all-star game.
MVP award three time winner Lance Armstrong finished second in today's ninth stage of the Tour de France.
The American is also in second place overall twenty six seconds behind leader Igor Gonzalez Galdiano of Spain.
Bruce Matthews one time USC star the most durable offensive lineman in NFL history not to mention one of the best announced his retirement today from the Tennessee Titans over nineteen years with the same franchise the first fourteen years.
The same franchise the first fourteen in Houston as the Oilers Matthews never missed a game due to injury and Kobe Bryant is without a shoe endorsement.
The Lakers star and Adidas decided today not to exercise a two year contract extension to their sponsorship deal.
So I guess we're going to see Kobe wearing several brands of sneakers next season.
How and Marta this way he can evaluate the one he likes the best and go with them and I guess make tons more money.
Anyone ever ask you for a shoe endorsement ever never.
Still ahead tonight on News at Ten a homecoming on the high seas will show you how an orphaned killer whale was reunited with her pod.
And here are tonight's lottery numbers fantasy five seventeen nineteen thirty thirty three and thirty nine the daily three to four and three and the daily Derby first place number one gold rush second place number two lucky star third place number ten solid gold.
The race times one forty nine thirty four and we'll all be right back.
Timing the capacity to choose for utmost effect the exact moment for taking action.
The two thousand two Honda clearance the once a year opportunity for special savings on all available.
Your timing couldn't be any better.
The two thousand two Honda clearance lucky you.
Pacific sales presents Maytag's Neptune the cutting edge in clothes washing together with tides high efficiency detergent.
Maytag's front load Neptune redefines the meaning of clean.
And now's the time to buy a Neptune of Pacific sales with no payments and no interest for twelve months.
Discover the Southland's largest display of appliances.
Pacific sales throughout Southern California.
Congratulations you've launched the pink slip virus your office is now infected.
They'll soon bring it back to you.
Good luck finding a new job.
Want to get away.
Now you can fly Southwest Airlines anywhere within California for just thirty nine dollars when you purchase by August 1st.
You are now free to move about the country.
I've been looking so long for what I want.
She twists me up and then she turns me down.
The C coupe with panorama glass roof.
Use it how you see fit value unlike any other.
The sports report is brought to you by your Southern California Dodge dealers.
An orphaned whale that became separated from her pod was returned home today.
The orphan killer whale named Springer spent the first day back with her pod in her home waters off the coast of Vancouver.
Springer was found near Washington State last week and one scientist located her pod.
She was moved by boat up to Canada.
Scientists say Springer seemed to recognize her surroundings.
Once she was placed back in the water she swam with her pod of thirty other whales for about an hour in the area before they continued on their way.
I feel I should end up in they all lived happily ever after.
That's news at ten for tonight.
Thanks very much for joining us.
Remember the KTLA morning news begins at 530 a.m. with Sharon Taye and Emmett Miller.
Have a good night and try to join us tomorrow night at ten o'clock.