Consumer confidence at lowest since 1993

NEW YORK -- Consumer confidence in the economy plunged in October to the lowest level since 1993, buffeted by a weak job market and the threat of war with Iraq, a research group said Tuesday.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 79.4, down from 93.7 in September. The fall was much sharper than predicted on Wall Street, where economists had been looking for a reading of 90.0.

It was the fifth straight month of decline for the confidence index, which is widely watched because of the importance of consumer spending for the overall economy.

NAACP board opposes U.S. action against Iraq

DALLAS -- The board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has approved a resolution opposing an attack on Iraq.

The board approved the measure Monday at the seventh annual NAACP Religious Leadership Summit here. The group's Department of Religious Affairs has assembled a committee of leaders from various faiths, including Methodist, Church of God in Christ, Baptist and Muslim for the two-day meeting.

"We're not saying don't be patriotic or that we don't have the right to protect our country," said the Rev. Julius Hope of Detroit. "We're saying use more diplomacy."

Sharpton, Jackson sued over movie remarks

LOS ANGELES -- A group of barbers and beauticians has sued the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, claiming the activists' remarks about the movie "Barbershop" drove away customers.

The suit was filed Monday by the National Association of Cosmetologists. It accuses Jackson and Sharpton of misrepresenting themselves as spokesmen for the group and inflicting intentional emotional distress.

The activists had called for scenes deriding Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks to be removed from the film. MGM, which produced the comedy, refused to cut the scenes.

Virginia city to honor slave who planned revolt

RICHMOND, Va. -- The city council in this former capital of the Confederacy voted unanimously to honor a slave who plotted a revolt.

The resolution calling Gabriel Prosser an "American patriot and freedom fighter" commemorates the 202nd anniversary of his hanging on Oct. 10, 1800, in Richmond. Dozens of conspirators also were executed after two slaves told their masters of the plot.

The resolution was opposed by Ron Doggett, Virginia president of the European American Unity and Rights Organization. "When you honor Gabriel, you honor his planned intentions. And his planned intentions were mass murder and terror," Doggett said.

Mistrial declared in suit against paint makers

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A mistrial was declared in Rhode Island's landmark lawsuit against the paint industry Tuesday after the jury reported it was deadlocked in the potentially multimillion-dollar case.

The state was trying to hold former makers of lead paint liable for lead poisoning in 35,000 Rhode Island children since 1993.

If the jury in this first phase had found that lead paint manufacturers had caused a public nuisance, the case would have moved into two more phases to decide whether the industry is liable and how much it should pay in damages.

Scout has week to say he believes in higher power

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- Eagle Scout Darrell Lambert has earned 37 merit badges and worked more than 1,000 hours of community service.

Last week, the 19-year-old atheist was given a week to declare belief in a supreme being or quit the Scouts.

On membership applications, Boy Scouts and adult leaders must say they recognize some higher power, not necessarily religious. "Mother Nature would be acceptable," said Brad Farmer, the Scout executive of the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts.

Lambert, who has been a Scout for 10 years, said he won't profess a belief he doesn't feel, saying it amounts to a lie.

-- From wire reports