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STATE Church feels pinch of economic downturn GREENVILLE (AP) - South Carolina's largest religious de nominations say the nation's. . sluggish economy is hitting then bottom line. Both Baptist and Methodist or ganizations say giving is down, and a study by a California-based organization shows that only 3 percent of U.S. households gave 10 percent of their income to church es last year. That was down from 8 percent of U.S. households the pre vious year, according to the study ) by Bama Research Group. Denominational leaders say it might not be quite as bad as it sounds, but they are concerned . about where things are headed and about what might happen next year unless the trend is reversed. Florence to play host to NPR program FLORENCE (AP) — Lake i Wobegoji is coming to Florence for one night next year. The popular Public Radio pro gram, "A Prairie Home Com panion," which features stories from the fictional hometown of Lake Wobegon has been sched uled for the Florence Civic Center i on Feb. 11. The radio program began as a three-hour morning radio show in 1969 on Minnesota Public Radio. Five years later, show cre ator Garrison Keillor began broadcasting live with musical guests and commercials for imag inary products. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Florence County Library. Seating will be limited, and tickets will go on sale in November, said Kendall Wall, gen eral manager of the civic center. Edwards outlines education proposals COLUMBIA (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate John | Edwards addressed an education group Saturday, outlining his pro posals to invest in teachers, cre ate new after-school programs, strengthen high schools and make college more affordable. The North Carolina senator also blasted President Bush on the economy and tax cuts. "President Bush honors, re spects and values one thing .... money. He wants to make sure those who have it, keep it," Edwards told the crowd of ap plauding teachers from the South Carolina Education Association. Edwards said he credits his success as an attorney and U.S. senator to public schools and ) quality teachers. NATION Schwarzenegger meets Mr. Olympia LAS VEGAS (AP)- California Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarz enegger showed he still has a soft spot for bodybuilding, pop ping in unexpectedly at the Mr. Olympia contest to congratulate its winner. Himself a seven-time Mr. Olympia, Schwarzenegger drew cheers and chants of "Arnold" and "Governator” from the crowd Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Hotel-Casino. Ronnie Coleman, of Arlington, Texas, walked away the winner of the 39th annual competition, sponsored by the International Federation of BodyBuilders. It was his sixth consecutive title. "This is a terrific sport, and if it wouldn't have been for body building I wouldn't have any of this. It’s a great foundation," Schwarzenegger told the esti mated 6,000 spectators. Democrats criticize Bush, push for votes DETROIT (AP) — Democratic presidential hopefuls criticized President Bush's policies in Iraq and courted black churchgoers Sunday, hours before their fifth debate in seven weeks. The 90-minute face-off at the historic Fox Theatre was spon sored by the Fox News Channel and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. All nine candidates were to participate. Michigan's Feb. 7 caucuses are a critical test of the candidates' support among labor and black voters, two im portant Democratic con stituencies. Michigan's caucus es follow contests in Iowa and New Hampshire in January and a seven-state showdown Feb. 3. Howard Dean's rivals have suggested that the front-running candidate has had difficulty broadening his appeal to the black community. Blocked documents anger 9*11 panel WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of both parties are ac cusing the White House of stonewalling the federal com mission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by blocking its demands for documents de spite threats of a subpoena. The 10-member, bipartisan commission has until May 27 to submit a report that also will deal with law enforcement, diplomacy, immigration, com mercial aviation and the flow of assets to terror organizations. WORLD Oil mogul’s arrest could hurt Russia MOSCOW (AP) - The dra matic arrest and jailing of the head of Russia's largest oil com pany could seriously impede the sprawling country's efforts to restore its economy, the U.S. ambassador and a prominent economist said Sunday. The comments came a day after Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the billionaire head of the Yukos oil company, was seized by special forces at a Siberian airport, sent back to Moscow, charged with crimes including forgery, fraud and tax evasion and jailed in one of Russia's no toriously overcrowded pre-trial detention units. John Paul II gives thanks for support VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope John Paul II offered thanks Sunday to all those who sup ported him during his tiring 25th anniversary celebrations last week and again entrusted his future to the Virgin Mary. During his Sunday address to thousands of faithful gath ered in St. Peter's Square, the ailing 83-year-old pontiff re called the past week of activi ties. Jamaicans protest after fatal shooting MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA (AP) — Thousands of Jamaicans rioted near Montego Bay's air port Saturday, burning buses and blocking roads to protest the killings of two elderly men by police in an alleged shootout. Police fired guns in the air and used tear gas to disperse the protesters, who numbered about 4,000, but the crowds re grouped, tossing bottles at offi cers and preventing them from clearing moving burned vehi cles from the roadways. No injuries or arrests were reported, but police continued firing warning shots after nightfall. Protesters said police fatally shot two men in cold blood. i ~ " i Chi Omega CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 many ways." Fruge, who is re sponsible for the leadership of 170 chapters, said that USC’s 75 years <Sf outstanding members continues today. Chi Omega has been awarded best member class three out of four years and chapter excellence for six years straight. Another accomplishment for the sorority is to be the first to offer a sculpture of its patron goddess Persephone towards the Greek Garden. During the dedication, Chi Omega pre sented the sculpture to the uni versity, which was accepted by student affairs coordinator Jerry Brewer. The 8-foot sculp ture will be placed in the Greek Garden, to be located behind the Greek Village and finished in the spring. In this garden, all of the fraternities and soror ities will have their patron god or goddess featured. As the first sculpture donated to the university, Chi Omega’s mem bers once again showed their dedication and diligence. Brittain Torrence, a fourth year Spanish student, headed the committee in preparation of the celebration. Torrence said more than 2,000 people were invited to the event, in cluding university officials, the Chi Omega national president from St. Louis, Mo., and Gov. Mark Sanford, a member of USC’s Board of Trustees, who did not attend. Because of the many invitations sent out, there was not an R.S.V.P. re quirement, but nevertheless, there was a great turnout. "Overall it was a great suc cess," said Torrence, who has been planning the event for several weeks with the assis tance of other Chi Omega sis ters. Chi Omega’s next project is to raise money for Make-A Wish foundation. Starting Thursday there will be a bake sale on Green Street. Profits from this will go towards mak ing the wish of a child come true. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com I Gas prices decline CAMARILLO, CALIF. (AP) - Retail gasoline prices have fallen two cents in the past two weeks, contributing to a price decrease of more than 16 cents since Sept. 12, according to a national in dustry report Sunday. The Lundberg Survey of gas prices for the two weeks ending Oct. 24 found the weighted aver age retail gasoline price for all grades fell to $1.59, down from $1.61 in Lundberg's Oct. 10 sur vey. The drop reflects a coiitinu ing decrease since prices peaked in August due to supply prob lems, and a falloff in crude oil prices in the past two weeks. In August, during the peak driving season, the East Coast I blackouts took several refiner ies out of commission and a West Coast pipeline was shut to avoid environmental damage. Crude oil had reached $32 per barrel on the NYMEX two weeks ago, but has returned to about $30 per barrel. OPEC has announced plans to cut production of crude oil by 900,000 barrels per day, which could boost demand and prices for home heating oil, especially if the winter is colder than usual. Crude prices are an important element in gasoline prices. > As of Friday, self-serve regu lar gasoline showed an average weighted price of $1.56 a gallon, with midgrade at $1.66 and pre mium at $1.75. Dreiling CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 presidents from each campus of USC," Dreiling said. Dreiling said the committee might be called the Presidential Executive Committee and that the members would set up meetings as they go along. She said that the presidential committee is "something that is so necessary," which is why she is I taking steps to initiate it and en sure its continuance. "We have all these Student Governments now, but we're all working separately," Dreiling said. "Why not pull us all together to fight for higher education, try to stop future budget cuts and let the state know that we are bound to gether?" she said. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com tl fowttb Quid, Healthy and Fresh! Bunitos, Tacos, Salads, and Soups! Affordable, so saddle up... 934 Harden Street / Five Points 7652188 MJaM— IP I I W J«M———Bni«MP»M«|M| • Study Area • Lounge Area • Multi Station Computer Lab • Fax & Modem Stationlinked to USC Campus •Tennis Courts •Swimming Pools • State-of-the-art Fitness Center • 1-4 Bedroom Apartments S± zgj ' w ^ s^^HHiHaaHiiiiHl 40 EPiSODeS. 3 DVDS. 11NCreDiBLS SiLLS SPONGe! me compute ist season - - -f** ^ ^ A Must-Have For SpongeBob Fans! 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