2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 28, 2005 NATION/WORLD Shoppers respond, then retreat NEWS IN BRIEF "M. .: 1 >. NEW YORK (AP) - The 2005 holiday shopping season got off to only a modest start over the Thanks- giving weekend as consumers responded initially to aggressive discounting and then retreated. "There was a lot of hype, a lot of promotions and lot of people, but the results were on the lukewarm side," said Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, estimating that the weekend's sales results were down from a year ago. He said heavy markdowns forced retailers to sell more goods in order to meet sales targets. Analysts said there was heavy shopper traffic early Friday when stores opened even earlier than usual for the day after Thanksgiving, offering deep, deep dis- counts. When the early-bird specials were over, con- sumers lost their enthusiasm. "If you give Americans a bargain, they will get up whatever time to take advantage of it. But I don't think this weekend turned out to be as big as retailers hoped," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, based in (Charleston, S.C.) Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which stumbled in the 2004 holiday season by not offering enough discounts, was back in the game, attracting hordes of shoppers in the pre-dawn hours Friday with discounted TVs and DVD players. Its efforts appeared to have paid off; it reported better-than expected sales Friday and also estimated that November sales at stores open at least a year would be up 4.3 percent. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said that traffic and sales over the weekend were better than expected, but didn't give details. Toys R Us Inc. spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh said the company was pleased with results for the weekend, and cited such best-selling bargains as Mattel Inc.'s Barbie Fashion Mall and MGA's Bratz doll styling head. ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which monitors sales at more than 45,000 retail outlets, found that it was a difficult weekend overall. The company said late Saturday that Friday's sales slipped 0.9 percent to $8 billion, only a small change from a hefty 10.8 percent gain a year earlier. But Niemira, who serves as a consultant to ShopperTrak, said the company's preliminary figures showed business dropped off dramatically on Saturday, resulting in the weekend's results being weaker than a year ago.. Actual results for Saturday will be available today, he said. The National Retail Federation offered a more AP PHOTO Ypsilanti resident Yaneka Mattingly, left, watches her sister load Items purchased at Walmart on Friday. upbeat report. According to a survey of 4,209 con- sumers conducted by Bigresearch on Friday and Saturday, total weekend spending from Thanksgiv- ing Day through Sunday totaled $27.8 billion, a 21.9 percent increase over last year's $22.8 billion. The figures include online spending. According to Visa USA, overall sales volume on Visa branded cards for the combined Friday and Saturday period surpassed $7 billion, a 15 percent increase over the year-ago period. A clearer picture of how the retailers fared over the Thanksgiving weekend will emerge Thursday, when retailers report sales results for all of Novem- ber. Forecasts for holiday shopping have improved in recent weeks amid declining gasoline prices. But while gas is cheaper than it was a few months ago, it's still more expensive than this time last year, and shoppers face higher heating bills this winter. Given such challenges, stores made a concerted effort to lure shoppers with more enticing bargains, expand- ed hours on Friday and other gimmicks. But many shoppers were budgeting in the early going. "I'm just starting, but I don't have that much shop- ping this year," said Vera Raphael, who was buying $25 sweaters at a Sears, Roebuck and Co. store in Orlando, Fla. Saturday. "I have two weddings com- ing up, so that's taking up all my money." She said gas prices also made her anxious about spending on non-essentials. At a Target store in Warwick, R.I., Dwight Gar- rett was pleased with a DVD player, marked down to $29.97 from its listed price of $44.99. "You can't beat the price," said Garrett, who had traveled with his wife from Plainfield, Conn., to shop at Target, Penney and other stores along a road of big-box outlets in Warwick. WASH INGTON Time reporter to testify in leak case A second Time magazine reporter has agreed to cooperate in the CIA leak case and will testify about her discussions with Karl Rove's attor- ney, a sign that prosecutors are still exploring charges against the White House aide. Viveca Novak, a reporter in Time's Washington bureau, is cooperating with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who is investigating the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003, the magazine reported in its Dec. 5 issue. Novak specifically has been asked to testify under oath about conversa- tions she had with Rove attorney Robert Luskin starting in May 2004, the magazine reported. Novak, part of a team tracking the CIA case for Time, has written or contribute to articles in which Luskin characterized the nature of what was said between Rove and Mathew Cooper, the first Time reporter who testi- fied in the case. SANTA MARIA, Calif. Two killed in bus accident, dozens injured A Greyhound bus ran off a freeway, overturned and slid at least 100 yards on its side before hitting a tree Sunday, killing a pregnant woman and a man who were aboard, authorities said. Authorities said driver fatigue may have contributed to the crash. The previous night, the driver had traveled from Fresno to Los Angeles, then left Los Angeles shortly after 3 a.m. yesterday. He had been on the road for about four hours when the bus overturned. Dozens of passengers among the 44 people aboard the San Francisco-bound bus were hurt, at least seven of them with major injuries. Four survivors were trapped in the wreckage and had to be rescued with hydrau- lic equipment, while some of the most seriously injured were airlifted to hospitals, authorities said. Faro Jahani, 50, of San Francisco, and Martha Contreras, a 23-year-old Santa Maria resident who was seven months pregnant, were killed, said Lt. Dan Minor of the California Highway Patrol. Seven other people suffered major injuries, four had moderate injuries and 31 had minor injuries after the bus went down an embankment along Highway 101 in Santa Maria shortly after 7 a.m., said Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Keith Cullom. TEHRAN, Iran Villages flattened after earthquake in Iran An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 5.9 shook a sparsely populated area of southern Iran yesterday, flattening seven villages, killing 10 people and injuring 70, officials and state-run television said. The tremble was felt as far away as Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Heidar Alishvandi, the governor of Qeshm, was quoted by state television as saying rescue teams were deployed to the affected area, and people in the wrecked villages moved quickly to safely. Another provincial official, Ghasem Karami, told The Associated Press that high casualties were not expected because the area was not heavily developed. Tehran's seismologic center said the quake was of magnitude 5.9, but the U.S. Geological Surveyin Golden, Colo., said it had a magnitude of 6.1. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS A story in Wednesday's edition of the Daily (Hillel votes to ban all Coke products) incorrectly stated that Ed Potter is the attorney for Coca-Cola. Potter is the director of Global Labor Relations for the soft-drink company. A story in the Nov. 18 edition of the Daily (Students make spiritual jour- ney in Spain) incorrectly stated that the city of Len, the starting point of the students' trip, is in France. The city is in Spain. The story also incorrectly reported that the trip to Santiago took the students five weeks to complete. It should have said that the trip took 16 days. Next year's trip will take five weeks to complete and will begin in France. Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. able £si tuttl awg 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com Iraqis arrested in plot to kil judge 0 BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs for alleg- edly plotting to kill the judge who prepared the indictment of Saddam Hussein, authorities said yesterday, the day before the ousted leader's trial for crimes against humanity resumes. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark arrived in Baghdad to help the defense but might not be allowed in court today when the first of up to 35 prosecution witnesses take the stand. Tight security surrounds the pro- ceedings, which are restarting after a five-week recess in a specially built courtroom in the heavily guarded Green Zone. The precise starting time was not announced due to fear of attack by both Saddam's supporters and opponents. The eight alleged plotters from Iraq's Sunni Arab minority were apprehend- ed Saturday in the northern city of Kirkuk, police Col. Anwar Qadir said. He said they were carrying written instructions from a former top Saddam deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, order- ing them to kill investigating judge Raed Juhi, who prepared the case against Saddam and forwarded it to the trial court in July. Al-Douri is the highest ranking member of the Saddam regime still at large and is believed to be at least the symbolic leader of Saddam loyal- ists fighting U.S. forces and Iraq's new government. "As an Iraqi citizen and a judge, I am vulnerable to assassination attempts," Juhi told The Associated Press. "If I thought about this danger, then I would not be able to perform my job ... I will practice my profession in a way that serves my country and satisfies my example, names of four of the five trial judges have been kept secret and some of the 35 witnesses may testify behind curtains to protect them from reprisal. Defense lawyers had threatened to boycott the proceedings after two of their colleagues were slain in two attacks following the opening session Oct. 19. However, lawyer Khamees al- Ubaidi told the AP yesterday that the defense team would attend after an agreement with U.S. and Iraqi authorities on improving security for them. On the eve of the hearing, Clark and former Qatari Justice Minister Najib al- Nueimi flew to the capital from Amman, Jordan, to lend weight to the defense team. Both have been advising Saddam's lawyers and support their call to have the trial moved out of Iraq because of the violence. However, neither Clark nor al-Nueimi has been officially recognized by the court as legal counsel. U.S. and Iraqi officials said Saddam's chief lawyer, Khalil al- Dulaimi, did not officially request permis- sion for any foreign attorneys to attend the trial. Iraqi law permits foreign lawyers to act as advisers but requires that those argu- ing cases in court must be members of the local bar association. Clark, who served as attorney general under President Johnson, wrote last month that Saddam's rights had been system- atically violated since his December 2003 capture, including his right "to a lawyer of his own choosing." Clark and others say afair trial is impos- sible in Iraq because of the insurgency and because, they argue, the country is effec- tively under foreign military occupation. U.S. and Iraqi officials insist the trial will conform to international standards. -A 0 This Is a file photo of Saddam Hussein as he speaks to presiding Judge Rlzgar Mohammed Amin at his trial. Yesterday, Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs for allegedly plotting to kill the judge who prepared the indict- ment of Hussein. conscience." Saddam and seven co-defendants are charged in the killing of more than 140 Shiite Muslims after an assassination attempt against the former president in the Shiite town of Dujail in 1982. Convictions could bring a sentence of death by hanging. Insecurity from the predomi- nantly Sunni insurgency has compli- cated efforts to put Saddam on trial and forced draconian measures. For JASON Z. 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