Bulldozer ruptures pipeline in N.C.; no one hurt in blast

CONCORD, N.C. - Officials evacuated a large shopping mall yesterday after a natural-gas explosion at a nearby construction site shot flames and debris 100 feet into the air.

Carolina Power & Light said the explosion was caused when a bulldozer at the construction site ruptured a 16-inch North Carolina Natural Gas line.

Everyone working at the construction site was accounted for, said Sherry Lee, a spokeswoman for the Concord Fire Department. One construction worker was treated for first-degree burns, she said.

The construction site was several hundred yards from Concord Mills mall and several freestanding restaurants, all off Interstate 85 about 20 miles northeast of Charlotte. Mall officials said the construction site was not part of the mall's property.

Hundreds of shoppers were inside the mall. George McCullough III, who was at the mall with his wife, said he thought an aircraft had crashed. "I could feel it under my feet," he said.

Tropical storm gains force,

may be hurricane by tomorrow

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Debby formed yesterday in the western Atlantic, gathering strength gradually as it moved toward the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The storm could become a hurricane by tomorrow afternoon, said Krissy Williams, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

"It's not intensifying as rapidly as expected," Williams said. "But once it starts getting into warmer waters, it should start to intensify more."

A hurricane watch was issued yesterday for St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. A tropical-storm watch was issued for Antigua, Barbuda and Anguilla.

Debby likely will move over Antigua, Guadeloupe and the rest of the Leeward Islands early tomorrow if the storm remains on its current west-northwest track, Williams said.

Elsewhere, long-lived Hurricane Alberto was still spiraling in the open Atlantic, and former Tropical Storm Chris had all but fizzled out.

Web users dislike privacy

invasion,but accept it

WASHINGTON - U.S. Internet users dislike having their movements tracked when they go online, but few bother to take steps to protect their privacy, a survey released yesterday found.

The survey, conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, showed that 84 percent of Internet users were concerned about "businesses and people you don't know getting personal information about you and your family," outranking concerns such as credit-card fraud or computer viruses.

But more than half - 54 percent - said they had provided personal information to gain access to a Web site, and an additional 10 percent said they would be willing to do so under the right circumstances.

Trust in electronic commerce remained high, with 48 percent of respondents saying they had used a credit card to make purchases over the Web.

Concerns over online privacy have grown amid allegations of abuse by Web sites such as Toysmart.com, which attempted to sell its customer list as part of bankruptcy proceedings in July.

Northwest pilot dies in plane,

co-pilots land DC-10 safely

MINNEAPOLIS - A pilot flying a Northwest DC-10 died of an apparent heart attack yesterday, and two other pilots safely landed the plane, an airline spokesman said.

The pilot slumped over in his seat while en route to Minneapolis from Los Angeles on Flight 308, said Northwest spokesman Dennis Mollura.

The pilot was pronounced dead when the plane landed.

It is standard procedure on a DC-10 to have two other experienced pilots aboard, Mollura said.