European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a a the stars and stripes thursday May 17, 1990 falling food Oil prices slow inflation rate to 0.2% in april Washington apr falling costs for vegetables fuel Oil and women a clothing helped hold consumer Price inflation to 0.2 percent in april the government said wednesday. It was the first moderate report after a severe cold snap sent prices spiralling 1.1 percent in january. The labor departments consumer Price Index had risen 0.5 percent in both february and March. For the first four months of the year inflation was running at a 6.8 percent seasonally adjusted annual Rale up from 4.6 percent for All of 1989. In april food and beverage prices fell 0.2 percent the first decline since july 1987. Non alcoholic beverages and Dairy products were Down while prices Rose for Cereal and bakery products beef pork sweets and oils. Fresh vegetable prices which Rose 29.2 percent in the first two months of the year fell 15.5 percent last month bringing the decline for april and March to 19.8 percent. Energy prices dropped 0.4 percent after declining the two previous months. Gasoline prices with the Start of the warm weather driving season climbed 0.3 percent and electricity costs were up 0.2 percent. However fuel Oil fell 0.6 percent the third consecutive decline while natural Gas dropped 3.0 percent. Excluding the volatile food and Energy sectors prices Rose a moderate 0.2 percent after rising a worrisome 0,7 percent in March. Economists say this a score Quot number is often a better indicator of underlying inflationary pressures in the Economy. New automobile prices fell 0.2 percent in april. Clothing Price inflation moderated from a month earlier apparel prices Overall were unchanged after rising 1.7 percent in March. Women a and girls clothing costs fell 0.5 percent. However menus and boys clothing costs were up 0.4 percent while infants and toddlers costs Rose .9 percent. Health care costs Rose a Steep 0.8 percent the third increase in a Row at that level. The various changes put the Index for All consumer prices at 128.9 in april. That Means that a hypothetical selection of goods that Cost $100 in the 1982-84 base period Cost $128.90 last month up from $123.10 a year earlier. So far this year wholesale prices As measured by the governments producer Price Index have recovered from the Winter weather shocks much More swiftly than consumer prices. As a result wholesale prices for the first four months of the year have risen at a More moderate annual rate of 4.2 percent. Analysts attribute the slower recovery of consumer prices to the heavy influence of the service sector which accounts for slightly More than 50 percent of the consumer Index and none of the wholesale Index. The economic slowdown of recent months has dampened demand for goods pulling Down wholesale costs. But until very recently it Hadnot affected employment. The nations jobless rate Rose in april to 5.4 percent. But before that it was remarkably stable holding near 15-year lows at 5.2 percent or 5.3 percent from april 1989 through March of this year. When labor markets Are tight the Price of labor a or wages a gets bid up. Adding to the pressure was an increase in the minimum wage from $3.35 to $3.85 an hour. That increase took effect april t. Renewed investigation sought in shooting of Robert Kennedy los Angeles apr the investigation into the assassination of sen. Robert f. Kennedy should be reopened to look at the mystery of one or More extra bullets say researchers who have studied the massive files. The demand to reopen the Kennedy Case coincided with wednesday nights airing of Abc tvs a unsolved mysteries a which re examined the second gun theory in the midst of the May ratings sweeps period. Gregor Stone a political scientist who spent nearly two years studying material from state archives said tuesday it is possible that at least nine bullets and perhaps As Many As 12 were fired in the pantry of the ambassador hotel on the night of june 5, 1968, when Kennedy was slain. The convicted Assassin Sirhan Sirhan carried a .22-Calibcr revolver that held eight bullets. A after 22 years it is not acceptable to allow fundamental questions to remain unanswered about the murder of one of the greatest Public figures of our time a Stone and other researchers told a news conference. Quot significant new evidence has recently surfaced suggesting that More shots May have been fired during the assassination of sen. Robert Kennedy than could have been discharged by Sirhan Sirhan acting alone a he said. Stone called for the los Angeles county District attorney and the county Board of supervisors to reopen the investigation. The so called second gun theory has haunted the Kennedy Case for years raising persistent speculation that someone else in the pantry fired shots that night. The researchers did not speculate on who a second gunman might have been. Cmdr. William Booth spokesman for the los Angeles police department said the second gun theory was thoroughly explored by investigators. He dismissed stones allegations As a rehash of old material. Quot there Are no plans to reopen the investigation. A unsolved mysteries is reviving the How Many guns theory. They Haven to presented anything that Hasni to been presented before a Booth said. Kennedy was hit three times and five other bullets hit bystanders who survived police have said. Seven of the bullets were recovered. New evidence cited at the news conference included recent interviews with five police officers involved in the investigation who said they remembered seeing Bullet holes in a door Frame which has since been destroyed. Some said they heard that bullets were removed from the  Hopes Consort 3 Heads for the heavens wednesday after a successful liftoff at the White Sands missile Range in new Mexico. The rocket was designed to carry a dozen experiments 200 Miles into space. Colleges urge Cheney to change Roth Gay policy Washington apr four groups representing most of the nations colleges and universities have urged defense Secretary Dick Cheney to change the Pentagon a policy barring homosexuals from military service. In a letter hand delivered on tuesday and made available wednesday to the associated press the four higher education associations said the Pentagon policy dated Back to the Days of official discrimination against Blacks and other minority groups. The letter focused on the policy a Impact on Reserve officer training corps cadets. Several cadets in recent months have been denied commissions after telling superiors they were Gay. In most of those cases the military has sought repayment from the cadets of scholarships and other Money. A the arguments for change in current Roth practices Are several and seem to Many of us compelling Quot the four association presidents wrote. The groups represented were the american Council on education the association of american universities the american association of state colleges and universities and the National association of state universities and land Grant colleges. Together they represent virtually All of the colleges in the country. The association Heads asked for a meeting with Cheney. Maj. Doug Hart a defense department spokesman said wednesday that Cheney a office had received the letter but a the has not actually looked at it  the association Heads wrote a sexual orientation appears to be the Only basis on which discrimination is condoned within Roth or similar programs. A denial of equal Opportunity on the grounds of race gender religion nationality or political affiliation among other possible criteria has Long since been barred a they said. A discrimination based on sexual orientation thus remains a curious  the Pentagon policy often runs counter to explicit prohibitions set by the schools against anti Gay discrimination. In the Case of the University of Wisconsin the anti Gay policy runs counter to state Law. The association Heads noted. The leaders warned that by continuing the policy the defense department would not Only deprive itself of Many qualified recruits who happen to be Gay. But would also drive away a Many who hold conventional sexual views but find discrimination unacceptable in any  Hart took Issue with the Point in the letter suggesting that denial of equal Opportunity based on Quot political affiliation has been barred in the past. A i done to think if a person said they were a member of the communist party they a have much Luck getting an Roth scholarship a he said. The education groups interest in the Issue stemmed from incidents on various campuses involving protests against the Roth policy or actual cases in which Gay cadets were denied commissions and told to repay their tuition scholarships