TOP 10 STORIES

1. Dangers of Shopping Come to Light: Prices aren’t the only things falling at discount chains. Falling merchandise has accounted for thousands of injuries and some deaths in warehouse-style stores, according to a Times examination of court records from around the country. Despite numerous lawsuits and millions of dollars in jury awards and settlements against various discount retailers and warehouse superstores, the toll continues to mount. Only last month, a 41-year-old Connecticut man was killed at his neighborhood Home Depot when a 2,000-pound pallet of landscaping timbers fell and pinned him to the ground. Several retail giants, including Home Depot and Wal-Mart, say their stores are safe and that they are constantly improving safety procedures. (Davan Maharaj)

2. Firestone Tire Woes Mount: The massive Bridgestone/Firestone tire recall continued to make headlines as the government announced a growing case file linking suspect models to tire failures resulting in at least 54 deaths. The data showed that most motorist complaints about the suspect Firestone-brand tires involved failures on the rear wheels, a type of failure that’s particularly treacherous in sport-utility vehicles traveling at highway speeds. The Times also reported that State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance had noticed an unusually high accident rate involving Firestone tires and took its concerns to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as early as July 1998--nearly two years before the agency opened its inquiry May 2. Bridgestone Corp. set plans to ratchet up production to meet demand for replacement tires, but a possible roadblock emerged Friday: The company’s 8,000 unionized workers said they’ll terminate a temporary contract covering nine U.S. plants if a permanent agreement isn’t reached by Sept. 1.

3. News Corp. Deal Could Clip UPN: TV industry experts said it looks like curtains for UPN after News Corp.’s announcement that it won a bidding war with Viacom Inc. for Chris-Craft Industries. News Corp.’s agreement with Chris-Craft also could bring a sea change in broadcasting as rivals race to match News Corp.’s added clout in owning more than one station in large markets, including Los Angeles. As for Viacom’s UPN, News Corp. isn’t expected to renew the affiliation agreements with Chris-Craft stations that have been crucial to the network’s survival.

4. Murdoch Sees Better Days Post-’Titan’: Rupert Murdoch said his Fox film division had a “pretty horrible year” as News Corp. reported that losses in the unit dragged profit down in its fiscal fourth quarter. Murdoch largely blamed animated sci-fi bomb “Titan A.E.” for the disappointing corporate performance and pointed to the successful release of “X-Men” and the film unit’s new executives as reasons he sees better times ahead.

5. Cell Phones’ Use of Music Targeted: Taking a page from the Napster debate, EMI Music Publishing filed a copyright suit against a Santa Monica “dot-com” that helps people change the ring of cell phones into beeping melodies of popular songs. The suit targets Global Music One, parent of YourMobile.com.

6. Profit Warning from United: UAL Corp.’s United Airlines resorted to incentives to keep its business fliers and warned of disappointing third-quarter earnings because of lost business as it continued to struggle with a crisis of flight delays and cancellations. The developments added to United’s growing role as the central figure in passengers’ furor with the airline industry over travel disruptions this summer. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, in fact, called United “the poster child” of the industry’s problems as he announced an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss ways to improve airline service. United claims that labor problems play a big role in the disruptions.

7. Icahn Puts Pressure on GM: Billionaire financier Carl Icahn took aim at one of the biggest targets on Wall Street with a plan to buy a major stake in General Motors Corp., which has long been criticized for not doing more to boost its stock. Some analysts speculated Icahn would pressure the auto maker’s management to further unlock the value of its Hughes Electronics Corp. Icahn plans to buy more than $15 million of GM shares but less than 15% of outstanding shares, GM said. The disclosure alone pushed GM’s shares up $4.56, or 7%, to close at $70 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. They had fallen 38% between April 30 and June 30.

8. Heilig-Meyers Flees California: The nation’s largest home furnishings retailer, Heilig-Meyers Co., said it will close 302 stores, including all of its 81 outlets in California, as it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. About 1,400 workers in California and 3,000 in other states will be fired under the restructuring, which also includes closure of the company’s distribution center in California. Heilig-Meyers said leasing store space and shipping merchandise was more expensive in California than in its East Coast markets. Frantic expansion and delinquent loans in the firm’s installment payment plan led Heilig-Meyers to seek protection from creditors, analysts said. The closings will leave 569 stores in 29 states. (Indraneel Sur)

9. Garment Industry Losing Jobs: Employment in the Los Angeles garment industry dipped below 100,000 this year for the first time since the North American Free Trade Agreement was enacted in 1994, with nearly 13,000 jobs lost since 1997 alone, according to state employment data. A new analysis of state figures from 1995 to 1997 showed that the loss of blue-collar sewing jobs were masked by a surge in white-collar employment.

10. Southland Home Sales Plummet: Sales of new and existing homes dropped sharply in Los Angeles and Orange counties during July, but not for lack of demand, analysts said. A thin supply of homes on the market led to a 17% drop in sales in Los Angeles County, the steepest monthly slide since the early 1990s, and a 21% drop in Orange County, according to DataQuick Information Systems. The decline came even as mortgage rates began to slip from an average 8.2% in June, generally the highest level in four years. Last week mortgage rates fell below 8% for the first time this year, to an average 7.96%, Freddie Mac said.