Tuesday afternoon news

Plane missing, then found
Jon “Punnyman” Le looked like he just rolled out of bed at noon to deliver a live report about a plane that took off from Ashvegas airport, then dropped off radar.

Le, unshaven, his hair a mess and with sleep in his eyes, stood outside the airport to describe a “whirlwind saga” in which the plane dropped off radar and the civil air patrol launched someone to look for the missing pilot. Le then told us that the missing plane turned up at the Hendersonville airport. No more details were available.

Soldier arrested
WLOSers finnally realized they had a big story on their hands and had Carolyn “Little Red” Ryan standing out in McDowell County to tell us what the whole world already knew – that the former soldier charged with raping and killing an Iraqi woman was arrested in McDowell’s Nebo community. Even McDowell County’s podunk little paper had the story stripped across the top of its front page, Ryan said. Meantime, WLOSers had the story buried all day Monday.

Ryan basically rolled tape of an ABC news report of the incident, the alleged rape and murder of a young Iraqi girl in Baghdad and the killing of three of her family members. The FBI arrested Steven Green on Friday at his grandmother’s house, according to wire reports, and he had his first appearance in federal court in Charlotte on Monday.

To top it off, Ryan interviewed a dude who didn’t even live in McDowell County who said the Nebo community looked like a quiet, tight-knit little place. Ryan said she contacted a member of Green’s family, who told her “no comment.” Ryan promised more details in reports Tuesday night. We’ll see…

Weather update
It’s hot “as a firecracker,” said Jay Seltzerwater.