Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Hhz ©amecock High gas prices, low apparel sales lead to slump in consumer spending BY ANNED ‘INNOCENZIO 0 Associated Press NEW YORK — The nation’s laigest re tailers turned in a mixed performance during September, with some department stores enjoying better business but dis counters falling victim to rising fuel prices. An overall slowing in consumer spending was evident from the sales fig ures released Thursday. Analysts who reviewed retailers’ re sults said consumers are still disenchant ed with stores’ apparel offerings, a dis quieting trend as the holiday season approaches. “It wasn’t a clear picture, but con sumers’ lackluster appetite for fashion, the stock market volatility and the real ity of higher fuel prices made the busi ness tough,” said Jeff Feiner, managing W director at Lehman Brothers. Department stores that showed im provement included Federated Depart ment Stores Inc., May Department Stores Co. and Nordstrom Inc.; all reported then sales met expectations. However, Dil lard’s Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said business was weaker than expected. And Penney warned that, based on current trends, it might report a loss for the third quarter. The biggest disappointment last month was the discount store sector, according to Eric Beder, an analyst at Ladenburg, Thalmann Inc. “Discounters are the first to feel the effects of higher fuel prices, and this past month it had a greater effect. Department stores will be next,” Beder said, noting that the extra cash these value-conscious consumers had is now being spent on fu el. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation’s biggest retailer, met company’s expecta tions, but chains including Kmart Corp. and Shopko didn’t meet their sales tar gets for September. Beder said the situation will only worsen when consumers start getting big ger heating bills in November. A barrel of crude oil traded in the $30 range Thursday on the New York Mer cantile Exchange, compared with $20 a year ago. The winners were specialty stores in cluding Talbots, American Eagle and Pa cific Sunwear, all of which reported strong sales. One big exception was Gap Inc., which reported on Wednesday an 8 per cent decline in sales from stores open at least a year. These sales, known as same store sales, are a key measure of retail strength. Retail sales have been slowing for months, making storeowners nervous about the holiday shopping season that starts in less than two months. And while September sales figures are not the pre dictor of holiday business they once were, if the current trend prevails or worsens, retailers are likely to have a difficult sea son. Wal-Mart, which reported its results on Monday, said same-store sales rose 4.8 percent, while total sales were up 10.5 percent. Sears, Roebuck and Co.’s same-store sales were up 3 percent, while total sales rose 4.2 percent. Dillard’s Inc. reported a same-store sales decline of 6 percent, while total sales were down 5 percent. May Department Stores saw a 0.7 percent increase in same-store sales, while posting a 6 percent gain in total sales. Congressman believes use of acne medication resulted in son’s suicide ■ rDA advised doctors about possible effects by John Flesher Associated Press TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Rep. • ' Bart Stupak says his 17-year-old son’s suicide earlier this year may be linked to the popular acne medicine Accutane. Bart Stupak Jr., known as “B.J.,” shot himself in the head with his father’s gun in the early hours of May 14. Stupak was popular in school, a football player, and killed himself after a prom-night par ty The elder Stupak, a four-term De mocrat from Menominee, said Thursday that he blames Accutane, a powerful ac ne drug B.J. had taken for six months pri or to his death. “We knew our son, we loved our son,” Stupak said on NBC’s “Today” show. The congressman and his wife, Laurie, said they had considered every possible explanation for B.J.’s suicide and & “the only tiling we can find is Accutane. ” In 1998, the Food and Drug Ad ministration advised doctors who pre scribe Accutane to watch their patients for signs of depression. Afterward, the company notified doctors that the drug “may cause depression, psychosis, and, rarely, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide.” Stupak said the FDA had done poorly at spreading the word. B.J.’s med ication package included no warning and the doctor didn’t tell the parents about the link to depression, either, his father said. “If it can happen to our family, it cer tainly can happen to you, and we don’t want anyone to have to go through that,” Stupak said. Hoffman-LaRoche, which manufac tures Accutane, contends no link has been proven between the drug and depression or suicide. In 1998, the company argued that more than 4 million Americans have taken Accutane,since it was approved in 1982, and the possible side effect is very rare. It said teen-agers, prime acne suf ferers, often suffer depression, and hor mones involved with acne also may con tribute to depression. B.J.’s death stunned family and friends in Menominee, where he was a popular student and athlete. In the “Today” in terview, his parents said he was a happy young man with a bright future. “This is contrary to everything he lived for, eveything he thought, every thing he wanted in life... completely out of character for him,” Stupak said. “He would not do something like this.” B.J. left no note, and the autopsy showed no drugs in his system, although he apparently Ltd taken a couple of drinks. The only suggestion of odd behavior came the night before his death. During a party following his junior prom, B.J. began reading the Bible and said he was n’t going to college because of his grades, and that his parents probably hated trim for that, according to an account on the “Today” program. The Stupaks said there was no rea son for him to think such a thing. An FDA science advisory panel lost month suggested requiring Hoffman LaRoche to give patients information about potential risks, agency drug chief Janet Woodcock said. Woodcock said there still was insuf ficient data to establish a definite con nection between Accutane and depres sion or suicide. South Florida begins recovery from flooding BY MlLDRADE Cherfils Associated Press MIAMI — Thousands of people re mained without power and hundreds of stalled vehicles sat on still-flooded roadways Thursday as South Florida began drying out from a tropical down pour that dumped more than 18 inch es of nun over two days. Most schools reopened in Miami Dade County, except at 15 schools with flooded or powerless campuses. The region remained in a state of emer gency imposed by Gov. Jeb Bush, and President Clinton promised he would send federal help. Officials reported more than 93,000 homes with about 214,000 residents in still-flooded areas of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties. About 9,000 homes and business es remained without power Thursday, Florida Power and Light reported. Spokesman Bill Swank said many of those were served by underground lines, and restoring all power may take several days. About 91,000 customers had lost power. There were no immediate esti mates of the cost of the damage. Bush toured the washed-out com munities on Wednesday. At a Sweet water shelter, one of two opened in the county, the governor was greeted by about 150 flood victims. “My house smells like pee,” Amelia Wybem, 38, told Bush. “It’s completely flooded. I’ve lost every thing.” On Florida’s west coast, flood warnings were issued for parts of Lee County as 9 incites of rain fell Wednes day. In Lehigh Acres, children rowed in boats along streets. Vacant lots and lawns were under 3 feet of water. The storm, labeled a subtropical depression by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, was responsible for two deaths. A 36-year-old worker died Wednes day morning when he fell about 35 feet while trying to drain a roof on Mi ami Beach, police spokesman A1 Boza said. A 41 -year-old worker at Miami International Airport died when he drove a vehicle towing luggage into an overflowing canal. The torrential rain moved off over the Atlantic Ocean, and flood watch es were lifted late Wednesday for south eastern Florida, but forecasters said there was still a 40 percent chance of rain Thursday. The Miami-Dade County Health Department warned residents to avoid contact with standing water that could be contaminated by overflow from sewer systems and septic tanks. WTiite House spokesman Steve Boyd said President Clinton, who came here Tuesday to raise money for De mocrats but was sidelined by thun derstorms, will sign a disaster decla ration request allowing victims to get state and federal money to help them recover from the storm. Woman who stole baby, killed mother used weight to convince husband of birth by Amy Beth Graves Associated Press RAVENNA, Ohio — The woman who authorities say cut a baby from the womb of his dead mother may have convinced her husband that she was pregnant be cause of her size. The heavyset Michelle Bica told her husband, Thomas, the baby was theirs and that she had given birth while he was /» working, Detective Greg Francis stud *' Wednesday. Blood samples from the infant and the presumed father, Jon Andrews, were being analyzed to confinn a genetic match. Results were expected Friday. Coroner Roger Marcia] said a tissue sample also was taken from Theresa Andrews during an autopsy to help identify her as the ba by’s mother. The week-old boy, found late Mon day in Bica’s house, remained hospital ized in good condition mid wits expected to be rele;tsed Thursday. Bica, 39, committed suicide Tuesday as police arrived to question her about the week-old disappearance of Theresa Andrews, who lived a few blocks away. Andrews’ body was later found buried in the dirt floor of Bica’s garage, and the 8-pound, 6-ounce baby boy was found alive inside her home. The coroner said Andrews was shot once in the back and likely died instant ly. The .22-caliber bullet matched am munition in the gun Bica used to kill her self. Bica left no note of explanation, Fran cis said. Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci said the baby probably was delivered Sept! 27, the day Andrews disappeared in Ravenna, a city of about 12,000 some 30 miles south east of Cleveland. The day she disappeared, Andrews had paged her husbiind at work and said a woman had called inquiring about a ve hicle they were trying to sell. Jon Andrews, a sheet-metal worker, told police that when he got home that afternoon, the vehicle was gone and his wife was missing. Police found the vehi cle about a block away and later found the Jeep keys in Bica’s purse. A series of cellular phone calls to the Andrews’ house led police to Bica. There was no indication the women had known each other. Thomas Bica, 41, a county correc tions officer, was questioned mid released. He had met his wife in 1994 while she served a jail sentence for receiving stolen property, Vigluicci said. Ozone Hole from page 4 filaments will be over the land mass foi a few weeks.” Last month, scientists expressed stir prise when NASA data from Sept.: showed the hole at just under 11 mil lion square miles. It continued to grov _ in the days afterward, according to the data cited by Wood. Record-low temperatures in the stratosphere tire believed to have helped the expansion of the ozone hole during the southern hemisphere’s spring season. Antarctic ozone depletion starts in July, when sunlight triggers chemical re actions in cold air trapped over the South Pole during the Antarctic winter. It in tensifies during August and September before tailing off tts temperatures rise in late November or early December. Depletion of the ozone layer over Antarctica and the Arctic is being mon itored because ozone protects Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Human-made chlorine compounds used in refrigerants, aerosol sprays, sol vents, foam-blowing agents and bromine compounds used in firefighting halogens cause most ozone depletion. The tem perature over Antarctica also significantly affects the size of each year’s hole. Start ing in October, wanner temperatures re duce the ability of chlorine and other gas es to destroy ozone. Experts agree that the man-made chemicals are leveling off because of the 1989 Montreal Protocol, which commits countries to eliminating production and use of ozone-depleting subsuuices. It could be 20 years before ozone levels recover noticeably. .“Although CFC levels will begin to reduce over the next 10 years, varia tions in the weather pattern will contin ue," Peterson said. Anti-Milosevic forces mob streets, seize parliament ■ Protestors take control of TV station by Misha Savic Associated Press BELGRADE, Yugoslavia — Demonstrators took control of parlia ment, hurling pictures of President Slo bodan Milosevic into the streets, and police fought protesters amid clouds of tear gas Thursday as hundreds of thousands of people swarmed Belgrade to demand that Milosevic accept electoral defeat. In the laigest anti-Milosevic protest * since his 13-year rule began, fires burned inside the parliament building and the state-run television headquarters, one of Milosevic’s propaganda mainstays. Demonstrators who stonned parliament quickly established control of the build ing, with police fleeing or surrender ing. Protesters said dozens of police at the state TV building and at federal par liament had joined crowds taking con trol of both buildings. The takeover of the TV building came after shots were heard outside its studio. A bulldozer apparently com mandeered by demonstrators broke in to the building, and demonstrators poured inside. Police fled out the back. Later, both state television chan nels went off the air, leaving TV screens black. Meanwhile, clashes spread through the streets of the capital, which echoed with the sound of stun grenades and tear gas fired to break up the crowds. Dozens of people were injured, according to witnesses, and the Beta news agency iv/pvnitu uuu uuiA/ii mitted to emergency wards. The melees erupted at the start of a huge rally the opposition called to force Milosevic to accept electoral de feat by Vojislav Kostunica in the Sept. 24 election. Hundreds of thousands of people had assembled in Belgrade, and tens of thousands more were seen streaming into the city. “The people are trying to get their' country back,” President Clinton said at the White House. “We believe in democracy.... The opposition candi date obviously won the election.” By late afternoon, opposition sup porters who had been inside the par liament building were climbing through the windows and onto the complex’s balconies, waving flags as the crowd roared below. Inside the parliament building, chaos reigned. Gangs of young people, many of them intoxicated, were roaming the building, smashing furniture and com puters and looting the rooms. Docu ments were strewn on the floor, along with pictures of regime officials in bro ken frames. But police offered little resistance and the clashes ebbed Afterward crowds of demonstrators, some drunk and bran dishing handguns, roamed the streets. A few ambulances were seen try ing to take injured policemen to the hospital. Crowds of drunken youths could be seen stopping them and de manding the ambulance crews hand over the injured officers. “At this moment, terror rules in Belgrade,” the pro-Milosevic govern ment television said in a commentary. “They are attacking everyone they see on the streets and there is chaos. Milosevic lives in a Belgrade sub * urb. His whereabouts Thursday evening were not clear. Downtown, five police cars were , set afire in the front of the parliament. The violence spread to several police stations, with demonstrators seen tak ing over at least two of them. Dozens of demonstrators escorted about a dozen terrified policemen who had surrendered at the TV building. The officers huddled together, and when the demonstrators asked them whether they liked'Milosevic more than their own country, the policemen started shout ing “Serbia! Serbia!” Some policemen were seen dis carding their uniforms and fleeing. Oth ers were seen embracing demonstra tors. “They’re giving up,” said a demon strator who identified himself only as Sasha. Downtown Belgrade was a mass of people, many streaming toward the par liament building and blocking traffic as they did so. People in tire crowd waved flags, shouted and jostled each other in the streets. Many wore paper caps with the slo gan, “Wfe’ll Endure.’’They moved past shops, some shut down with signs stat ing, “Closed because of Robbery” — an allusion to opposition claims that Milosevic stole the elections. A crowd of more than 100,000gath ered in front of parliament Thursday evening, waiting for a promised speech by Kostunica. “We have won!” oppo sition leader Vladan Batic told the crowd. As he claimed victory over Milo sevic, the crowd responded by chanti ng “Kill him! Kill him!” Thousands more people joined smaller rallies in towns throughout the cuuniiy. The government acknowledges that Kostunica outpolled Milosevic but says he fell short of a majority in the five candidate race. A runoff had been set for Sunday. Tensions erupted after the Yugoslav Constitutional Court issued a ruling that one justice reportedly said nullified the recent election. Late Wednesday, the constitution al court said “part” of the Sept. 24 elec tion had been annulled. But one justice, Milutin Srdic, told Radio Free Europe that the entire election result had been thrown out and a new vote would be required. In the meantime, Srdic said, Milosevic could remain in office through his term, which expires in July. The opposition said it had not been officially notified of the ruling. How ever, opposition legal expert Nebojsa Bakarec dismissed the decision as the latest “in a series of unconstitutional moves” by Milosevic “to manipulate the electoral will of the people.” The United States, Britain and oth er Western governments condemned the apparent move to extend Milose vic’s tenure. “The people of Yugoslavia have made their will known. Milosevic should not thwart them,” Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in Egypt. In what the opposition hoped was a further sign the regime was crumbling, more than 160 employees of Serbian state television—a major pillar of Milo sevic’s power — were fired Thursday after going on strike. Most were technicians and staff of nonpolitical programs. Most Milo sevic loyalists remained, and kept the network on the air. Warner from page 4 Warner's proposed acquisition by AOL. With tiie EMI deal now off the table, analysts say the AOL deal could have a better chance of approval from Euro pean regulators. A decision from Eu ropean regulators is expected no later than Oct. 24, and U.S. antitrust au thorities are also reviewing the $138 billion combination. “This should clear the road of its largest single obstacle as far as the Eu ropean commissioners are concerned,” said Peter Kreisky of Mercer Manage; ment Consulting. “It’s the sacrifice that AOL Time Warner had to make in or der to assure its future.” EMI could now face bids from oth er media companies. German con glomerate Bertelsmann AG has long said it wants its BMG subsidiary to be the hugest music company in die world, " and the Walt Disney Co. and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. could also be interested in EMI, analysts say. A combination with a major music label such as BMG, however, would al so be likely to face regulatory opposi tion, as the Warner deal did. The Wim er-EMI deal would have left BMG, Sony and Universal as the only other re maining major record companies. Shires of bodi AOLand Tune Warn er were up 5 percent in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, with Time Warner up $4.24 to $90.24 and AOL up $2.90 to $61.55. Shares of EMI were down 31.50 pence, or 5.5 percent, to 528 pence ($7.65) on die London Stock Exchuige.