specialty care inside a los angeles hospital had to be evacuated after the power and the backup power went out during tropical storm hilary. fire officials say the overnight rescues turned into a major emergency operation because some of the patients who were nicu babies and people on ventilators had to be physically carried down stairwells because the elevators weren t functioning. one woman even gave birth by flashlight during the blackout. patients were relocated to other hospitals or moved to another wing of the facility. authorities are still trying to determine why both the main power and the backup generator failed. also, an ominous warning from big box retailer dick s sporting goods. the company declared retail theft is damaging its business and would lead to lower annual profits. dick s reported a 23% drop in profit during the second quarter despite a nearly 4% jump in sales. company shares plunged nearly 24% following today s news.
target which has become the latest corporate victim of america s culture wars. the company saw sales fall in store and online for the first time in years after a backlash over its pride month offering. those reactions were so negative that target felt it had to remove items from some of its stores over concerns about staff safety. our north america business correspondent michelle fleury has more from new york. between april and june, sales at target fell 5% compared to year ago. e commerce sales fell 10.5%. the boss of the so called big box retailer said it was hard to tell how much it was because customers were feeling pressure from higher prices and how much had to do with the boycott and backlash it faced over its pride month offerings that led to items being pulled from the shop floor to protect the safety of its staff. despite the sales decline, the retailer reported higher profit margins than analysts had expected as it offered fewer discounts.
business report, i am monica miller. we begin the quarterly earnings of us retail target which has become the latest corporate victim of america s culture wars. the company saw sales fall in store and on line for the first time in years after a backlash over its pride month offering. those reactions were so negative that target felt it had to remove items from some of its stores over concerns about staff safety. our north america business correspondent michelle fleury has more from new york. between april and june, sales target of 5% compared to year ago. e commerce sales fell 105%. the boss of the so called big box retailer said it was hard to tell how much it was because customers were feeling pressure from higher prices and how much had to do with the boycott and backlash it based over its pride month offerings that lead to items being pulled from the shop floor to protect the safety of its staff. despite the sales decline, the retailer
am monica business report, i am monica miller. we begin the quarterly earnings of us retail target which has become the latest corporate victim of america s culture wars. the company saw sales fall in store and on line for the first time in years after a backlash over its pride month offering. those reactions were so negative that target felt it had to remove items from some of its stores over concerns about staff safety. our north america business correspondent michelle fleury has more from new york. between april and june, sales target of 5% compared to year ago. e commerce sales fell 105%. the boss of the so called big box retailer said it was hard to tell how much it was because customers were feeling pressure from higher prices and how much had to do with the boycott and backlash it based over its pride month offerings that lead to items being pulled from the shop floor to protect the safety of its staff. despite the sales decline, the retailer
could get something a lot more damaging. i do not think that is going to be the outcome. i certainly hope not, i think a mild recession in the near term and off we go. steven blitz, chief us economist, globaldata. staying in the us, where the latest figures from the retailer target suggest it s the latest victim of the so called culture wars. the chain, which sells everything from home wares, to toys and and clothes, saw sales fall in store and online for the first time in years. it follows a backlash over products sold under the banner of pride. there was such a backlash from conservatives that some items were removed from sale because of concerns about staff safety. our north america business correspondent michelle fleury has more from new york. between april and june, sales at target fell 5% compared to year ago. e commerce sales fell io.5%. the boss of the so called big box retailer said it was hard to tell how much it was because customers were feeling pressure from higher price