YT-circuit-1204 When Technology Is Heartwarming I took last Thursday off from writing this column, and you took last Thursday off from reading it. But I have a Thanksgiving thought to share, even though it's about something that happened two weeks ago. I was in London at a computer conference. I was jet lagged, on the verge of a cold and ? after nearly a week away ? missing my wife and two young children. Following a talk, I asked some stragglers in the auditorium if there was anywhere I could get online to check my e-mail. A young man named Tim Haigh offered to show me to a coffee shop a few blocks away that had wireless Internet access. Tim and I paid our $8 for the hour, bought fizzy lemon sodas, popped open our PowerBooks and began to surf. As we chatted, he mentioned that he often sat in this very coffee shop and conducted video chats with a buddy in the States, using an Apple iSight. The iSight is a compact, tubular, high-quality video camera, about the size of a Hostess Ho-Ho. It has a built-in microphone and lens cover. It has no power cord of its own; it connects to a Macintosh with a single FireWire cable. As long as you both have broadband Internet connections, you and another iSight (or camcorder) owner can conduct a videoconference. The quality is excellent: smooth motion, full screen if you like and very little delay. It's absolutely nothing like the crude, jerky, stuttering, massively delayed video you may have tried with cheap Web cams. In any case, I perked right up when Tim mentioned his video chats, because I had an iSight, too, perched on my screen back home. I had no idea you could use it across the Atlantic. Indeed you can, Tim said ? in fact, he carries his iSight around with him. "You mean you have it with you right now?" I exclaimed. "Can I borrow it?" It was about 5:30 p.m., meaning that it was 12:30 p.m. at home. On the chance that my wife was at her computer, I fired off an e-mail to her, suggesting that we try out an intercontinental video call. It took a few minutes for me to explain to her, by furious back-and-forth e-mail messages, how to open iChat and start up the video link. (Most of the time was spent with me, a color-blind husband, imploring her to click the "orange camcorder icon," which turns out to be green.) And then, suddenly, there it was: My wife Jennifer's live image and her voice, transmitted in real time 3,500 miles across the globe ? instantly, crystal clear and, by the way, free. I paraded around the coffee shop with my laptop and the iSight, showing her the local ambiance. (Jennifer, grinning: "Hey, buy me one of those chocolate croissants!") Maybe I was just overtired and sentimental, but it was an almost overwhelming experience. She rounded up the kids. They didn't seem to grasp the full scope of the technological miracle before them, which I found tremendously reassuring; I could see for myself that none of the traveling dad's worst nightmares had come true. We caught up for awhile; I told a silly bedtime story to the kids; we showed each other how it was dark out in England, but still bright at home. Finally, after about 20 minutes, we "hung up." There's a lot of junk in technology, a lot of hassle and frustration, a lot of disappointment. But this moment was like a TV commercial. It was an emotional, powerful, simple, perfect example of how technology can change a moment, solve a problem, and despite the gulf of time and distance, bring you face to face with the people you love. NYT-circuit-1204 State of the Art: A New Charge Called 'Oops' As nickel-and-dime errors show up with increasing frequency on their phone bills and in other accounts, some customers wonder whether the mistakes are in fact company policy. ONLINE SHOPPER; Spare Change? Good. Old Miles? Better ... NYT-circuit-1204 You can put frequent-flier miles to good use at Points.com, provided you can handle the fine print ... By Michelle Slatalla ===== DISPLAYING FIRST 50 OF 1293 WORDS - ONE day last week my three daughters searched the house as methodically -- and as stealthily -- as pirates who had unearthed an ancient treasure ... In the laundry room, I surprised a girl as she turned out pants pockets. In the pantry, another was surreptitiously emptying the spare-penny jar.... NYT-circuit-1211 Customer-Service Representatives Explain Themselves Ay-yi-yi, what a hornet's nest! The mail continues to pour in, dozens per hour, about my e-column three weeks ago, in which I described a weird little quirk of phone companies, insurance companies, and others: they make enormous numbers of errors on our bills ? almost always in their favor. Most of you wrote to agree that passive-aggressive robbery is afoot. But a number of customer-service reps (CSR's) wrote to say that although the billing process is indeed broken, it's not for the reasons I suggested: "I work for a telecom company, and I can tell you there's no conspiracy to over-charge. However, with the unreasonable demands placed on reps by management, we're put in an extremely difficult position. First of all, most companies like mine have 24 by 7 support, which means the reps usually have to work terrible hours. Since no one likes to work nights, weekends, and swing shifts and then spend their entire workday getting yelled at, you can imagine the turnover. "Management combats this by hiring people faster, training them less, and expecting them to do more. I don't doubt for a minute that many mistakes are made just because the folks working the phones don't know the job." Internal communications play a role, too, according to another CSR: "This sort of stuff happens ALL THE TIME. People in sales/marketing/product management are known for flapping their lips to customers and executives, but terrible at telling the people who are suppose to IMPLEMENT these things to make the whole thing work. There is no conspiracy ? just human weaknesses." That sentiment was echoed by this rep: "[Our employers] just aren't smart enough to build in the errors you refer to. The truth is closer to this: our systems are old! Computers and programs that are way outdated. Patch upon patch. And as they add more and more products and services to an already overburdened system, lots of breakdowns. We have to be very diligent in our work, or we are setting the customer up for countless calls to straighten out the mess. "The worst thing about all of this is how it takes advantage of the old, senile, undereducated, and those incapable of dealing with conflict. "The bottom line is: READ YOUR BILL! YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO BLAME IF YOU DON'T." Finally, yet another CSR wrote: "I really can't think of a time when I saw us blatantly billing customers in hopes they wouldn't notice. However, it's quite a fine line that distinguishes that kind of stealing from very trickily worded contracts, disclaimers and other methods used to hide the faulty parts of any product." Amen to that! Other sneaky tricks that cell companies play: Rounding up calls to the next full minute. Not auto-crediting you for dropped calls (which a technician told me would be a trivial feature to implement). Collecting an "FCC line charge" that does not, in fact, go to the FCC. Sneaking a clause into your contract in which you agree never to join a class-action suit. Or the one that personally drives me wiggy: The moronic recording that people hear AFTER your own recorded greeting when they try to leave a message. "To leave a message, begin speaking at the tone." (I needed you to tell me this?) "When you are finished recording, you may hang up ?" (No DUH, Sherlock!) "? or dial 1 for more options." (Or how 'bout you just let me LEAVE A MESSAGE?) "To leave a callback number, press 5." (Um, I was sort of hoping to leave my number in my message, as I've been doing on answering machines for, oh, 30 YEARS NOW.) "By speaking to you as though you're a child, I've just eaten up 15 seconds of airtime. Have a nice day!" P.S. Last week, I described having an impromptu video chat with my family 3500 miles away using an Apple iSight portable camera. Dozens of you wrote to ask if such a thing is possible using Windows rather than Mac OS X. The short answer is no. What made the spontaneity of my video moment possible is that a single company (Apple) makes the camera, the computer, and the operating system, so it all works together without any configuration. Without installing drivers and so on, a Windows system couldn't offer a comparable kind of plug-and-play, London-coffee-shop serendipity. Of course, video chatting on a PC is easy enough using the built-in Windows Messenger program and a USB Web cam. Unfortunately, it doesn't give you smooth video, it isn't in a big window, and you generally experience awkward delays between responses. Microsoft also notes that "If you are on a local area network behind a firewall (for example, a corporate network), you may not be able to connect on a computer-to-computer call with someone outside the firewall." I did ask Microsoft if you could get iSight-quality video, at any cost ? say, with a FireWire camera and a high-speed Internet connection. The response: "On the Windows XP platform, all the pieces aren't in place yet." Still, I can't believe there's no way to solve this problem. Windows gurus: If you know of an inexpensive way to get TV-quality, Internet video chatting in Windows ? 30 frames per second, 640 x 480 window ? please send me the recipe, and I'll pass it along next week. NYT-circuit-1218 Video Chats Using Microsoft Windows The quest goes on to find a hardware-software combination that would let Windows fans conduct full-screen, smooth, non-delayed video chats over broadband connections to the Internet. (This is in response to a recent column about Apple's iChat AV software that, if you have a camcorder or an iSight pocket video camera, offers exactly that.) Despite sending out a note to the 250,000 readers of this column seeking suggestions, here's the closest I've come to finding something that approaches the quality of iChat: Windows Messenger This software comes with Windows. You can use it with an ordinary USB Web cam. Both parties must sign up for a Microsoft Passport account. The picture quality is grainy, jerky, and worst of all, severely time-delayed. Network Cams A company called Axis Communications (www.axis.com) sent me information about its Axis 205 video camera, which it calls "the world's smallest high-performance network camera with a built-in Web server." Translation: It shows nearly full-screen video (640 x 480 pixels) at full television smoothness (30 frames per second), just like the Apple iSight. It's the size of a deck of cards, and costs only $200. So what's the catch? It's designed for video monitoring over the Internet ? peeking in on your house while you're away ? and not for video chatting. It doesn't need a computer to work ? in fact, it CAN'T connect to a computer, so you don't have the advantages of buddy lists, transcripts, and so on. But the real deal-killer is that it has no microphone, and no way of attaching one. I guess you and your loved one back home could learn sign language. SightSpeed For the moment, your best bet appears to be a service called SightSpeed (www.sightspeed.com). You plug in a USB Web cam on each end (the company recommends the Logitech 4000). The video chat does very well when it comes to the so-called latency problem (delayed video and audio) that dogs Microsoft's own video programs; I tried performing "one, two, three, CLAP!" experiments with the guy on the other end, and it was clear that we were within half a second of real time. The video, moreover, is extremely smooth ? TV-like. Compared with iChat AV, all you really sacrifice is clarity of the actual picture; on SightSpeed, it's grainy, botchy, and (during periods of peak network use) sometimes even blocky. I would have sent you a sample image, but when you try to capture the screen, all you get is a black square. (Who ya gonna call? GhostBUSTERS!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The company says that in a new version now in testing, it's considering adding a slider that lets you specify your own tradeoff between visual quality and motion smoothness. (You can use the software for free up to 10 minutes a day. Paid plans include 200 minutes a month for $30, or unlimited use for $300 a year, although the company says it's going to fiddle with the pricing structure.) At www.pcmag.com, you can find a recent article that reviews several other video chat programs for Windows ? Yahoo Messenger, Vidi Tel, and so on. None of them do as well with video quality as SightSpeed. The bottom line: This may be one case where the Windows world simply hasn't caught up to the Macintosh. (Of course, there are examples the other way, too ? speech recognition software on the Mac is way behind the PC, for example.) But when you're thousands of miles away and sorely missing seeing some familiar faces, what's a little blotchiness between friends? See you in 2004. Happy hollydays! NYT-1221 Secret Diplomacy Won Libyan Pledge on Arms By PATRICK E. TYLER Libya's declaration giving up its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons came after a week of intense negotiations. NYT-1221 Afghan Group, Once on Top, Again Makes Presence Felt ... By AMY WALDMAN Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns, are trying to re-establish what they see as their natural dominance. NYT-1221 A Trench Caves In; a Young Worker Is Dead. Is It a Crime? ... By DAVID BARSTOW The death of an untrained, unskilled apprentice in an unprotected, unstable, rain-saturated trench was tragic, but was it criminal? NYT-1221 Political Challenge 2.0: Make a Virtual Army a Reality ... By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Howard Dean's campaign is trying to redirect the energy of his decentralized band of enthusiastic "netizens" into a disciplined army of campaign workers. NYT-1221 The Tyranny of the Standing Ovation ... By JESSE McKINLEY What was once an audience's highest compliment has now become the standard response, even for the very least successful shows. NYT-1221 The Ballerina With the Belly In an interview, Julie Kent of American Ballet Theater talked about performing when she was three months pregnant. NYT-1221 Slaying Suspect Is a Stain on Profession, Male Nurses Say ... By PATRICK HEALY The lives of male nurses, already burdened by overcautious hospital policies, edgy patients and gender-biased medical scrubs, just got more difficult. NYT-1221: editorials On the Trail of Nurses Who Kill The details of the Charles Cullen case will need close scrutiny to determine exactly what went wrong. NYT-1221: EDITORIAL OBSERVER Adrift With the Trick, the Tapes and the Passage of Time ... By FRANCIS X. CLINES At the National Archives annex, the reruns of the Nixon White House tapes still play as the ultimate political reality show. NYT-1221: OP-ED COLUMNIST Where Birds Don't Fly ... By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN In 20 years, we could wake up and find that we've gone from America the accessible to America the isolated. NYT-1221: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR A New Pathway to the Stars ... By TIMOTHY FERRIS A new lunar campaign could reinvigorate the manned space program and open up the solar system to future exploration Eif we do it right. NYT-1221: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR How Poisoners Succeed in a 'C.S.I.' Nation ... By MARK ESSIG Even in our age of astonishing forensic technology, murder by poison can still be a very difficult crime to uncover. NYT-1221: ON THIS DAY On Dec. 21, 1988, a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. NYT-1222 Inquiry Suggests Pakistanis Sold Nuclear Secrets ... By THE NEW YORK TIMES Pakistani officials are confronting evidence that the country was the source of nuclear weapons technology for Iran, North Korea and others. NYT-1222 Terror Alert Is Raised to 'High,' Increasing Scrutiny of Travelers ... By JOHN H. CUSHMAN Jr. The increase in the antiterrorism alert status indicates a newly heightened concern about the chance of an attack in coming days. NYT-1222 U.S. Rarely Seeks Charges for Deaths in Workplace ... By DAVID BARSTOW In the vast majority of workplace deaths caused by willful violation of safety laws, OSHA has declined to pursue prosecution. NYT-1222: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "Freedom of religion is not just to practice the religion of your own, but the freedom and decency to respect someone else's desire. By the way, the tips were pretty good." WILLIAM B. HELMREICH, a professor of the sociology of religion, speaking of Jews who choose to work on Christmas. NYT-1222 More G.I.'s to Go to Insecure Afghan Areas to Permit Aid Work ... By CARLOTTA GALL The announcement amounted to an admission that American troops have been unable to stop a constant stream of insurgent attacks. NYT-1222 Military in Iraq Is Warned of Attacks During Holidays ... By ERIC SCHMITT U.S. military officials warned that Iraqi insurgents might be planning a new wave of violence timed to the Christmas holiday. NYT-1222 Fund-Raising Effort Helps Lift a College's Ranking ... By GREG WINTER Washington University in St. Louis, once obscure, pierced the top 10 circle of U.S. News & World Report rankings this year. NYT-1222 Fire Leaves Much of San Francisco in the Dark ... By CAROLYN MARSHALL A fire at a major midtown electrical substation led to a power failure that left a third of the city in the dark on Saturday. NYT-1222 New Snowmobile Rules Roil Yellowstone ... By JIM ROBBINS The park's snowmobile policy changed on Tuesday night, when a federal judge returned the park to more restrictive rules established under the Clinton administration. NYT-1222 Friendship and Business Blur in the World of a Media Baron By JACQUES STEINBERG and GERALDINE FABRIKANT For Conrad M. Black, the embattled media magnate, friendships with the rich and influential overlapped with business. NYT-1222 Cooper-Hewitt Museum Tries Redesigning Itself ... By JULIE V. IOVINE Mindful of the museum's recent shaky history, the board at Cooper-Hewitt has come up with plans to raise the museum's profile and even expand. NYT-1222 A Girl Cast Out 47 Years Ago Finds a Family Still Divided ... By JOSEPH BERGER Janina Surga Couto, born in postwar Germany, was parted from her sisters at age 9 when her mother sent her to the United States to be adopted. NYT-1222 For More People in 20's and 30's, Home Is Where the Parents Are ... By TAMAR LEWIN The shape of life for those between 18 and 34 has changed so profoundly that many social scientists now think of those years as a new life stage, "transitional adulthood." NYT-1222: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Killing Them Softly, With Her Poem Patricia Rowland's poem about her husband, while long on daggers for his critics, said little about the Connecticut governor's role in his administration. ===== Killing Them Softly, With Her Poem All human beings make mistakes, something that Gov. John Rowland of Connecticut has been telling his constituents on a regular basis lately. The governor's biggest mistake is consistently failing to own up to a bad case of blurry ethics, even as he says he's apologizing. He might also have erred in allowing his wife to recite poetry without a license. In a speech last Wednesday Mr. Rowland danced around questions surrounding his business relationships and gifts he received. Then he put his wife, Patricia, in front of the microphone to read a parody of the classic Christmas poem that was short on sugarplums but long on daggers for his critics. Mrs. Rowland began gently with the opening line, " 'Twas the night before Christmas," before jabbing at reporters who cover the governor and union leaders who "whine" about losses for workers. Between stanzas, Mr. Rowland urged her to "go for it." It was emblematic of a man who until recently seemed comfortably armor-coated while those around him took the heat of questions about corruption in the governor's office. While one of the governor's aides has admitted taking bribes and the activities of another are reported to be under investigation, Mr. Rowland himself has not been charged with any wrongdoing. But he has been distinctly short on candor about his own role in the scandals that have marred his administration. Polls show a growing public sympathy for the idea that he should resign. Even Mr. Rowland's fellow Republicans have been urging the third-term governor to do some explaining, starting with the renovations on his summer cottage. Many improvements were gifts from aides and associates, including contractors who made profits from state business. After becoming governor, Mr. Rowland went into business with one of the contractors, a paving company that won more than $1 million in state work. That arrangement was not itself illegal under Connecticut law, but it certainly flunks the eyebrow-raising test. The poem was interesting. But some straight answers would be more welcome, and they don't have to rhyme. NYT-1222: TODAY'S EDITORIALS How Are You, Mr. Cheney? In contrast to our knowledge regarding the health of President Bush, there is much we do not know about the health of Vice President Dick Cheney. NYT-1222: OP-ED COLUMNIST I Remember Muammar ... By WILLIAM SAFIRE Muammar Qaddafi's change of heart shows that President Bush's policy toward regimes opposing freedom is succeeding. NYT-1222: ON THIS DAY On Dec. 22, 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman sent a message to President Lincoln from Georgia, saying, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah." NYT-1223 Applicants Rush to Meet Deadline for Sept. 11 Fund ... By DAVID W. CHEN After a last-minute surge, 95 percent of eligible relatives of Sept. 11 victims had applied to join the fund. NYT-1223 Rumsfeld Made Iraq Overture in '84 Despite Chemical Raids ... By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS Newly declassified documents show that the U.S. was eager to improve ties with President Saddam Hussein despite his use of chemical weapons. NYT-1223 Sniper's Youth Is Emphasized in Arguments on Death Penalty ... By ADAM LIPTAK Jurors deliberated for three hours without coming to a decision on whether to recommend the death penalty or life in prison for Lee Malvo. NYT-1223 Heightened Terrorism Alert May Last Beyond Holidays ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU and RICHARD W. STEVENSON National security officials are bracing for the possibility that operatives of Al Qaeda will try to hijack airliners or engage in other major attacks within days. NYT-1223 A Federal Case for a Teenager: Family Sees Tie to Ex-President ... By FOX BUTTERFIELD The parents of a teenager say that his case was tried in a federal court because a boatyard he set fire to housed a boat engine belonging to former President George Bush. NYT-1223 Justice Officials Face Inquiry Over Testimony in Arms Case ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU The Justice Department is investigating accusations that its officials provided false testimony in the case of a former C.I.A. officer convicted of selling Libya explosives. NYT-1223 When Paycheck Is Low, Discount Retailers Have Pull ... By CONSTANCE L. HAYS For a majority of the nation, the holidays mean a jump in spending, and further pressure on wallets already squeezed by the cost of living. NYT-1223 For Mrs. Clinton, Listening Subsides and Talk Is Louder ... By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ There was a time when Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton did her best to fade into the woodwork and be seen as just another lawmaker, but those days are gone. NYT-1223 A City of Silver Bells, Orange Alerts, and Shrugs ... By DANIEL J. WAKIN In a city ablaze in holiday lights, the authorities said they had increased security at landmarks and houses of worship and in its transportation system. NYT-1223: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Pakistan's Nuclear Commerce Alarming new evidence has cast further doubt on Gen. Pervez Musharraf's commitment to fighting nuclear proliferation and international terrorism. NYT-1223: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Terrorism and Liberty A federal panel has urged the White House to take steps to protect civil liberties while fighting terrorism. NYT-1223: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The Rule of Law and the War on Terror ... By RUTH WEDGWOOD The case of Jose Padilla illustrates how the protections of our criminal justice system truly can hamper the war on terror. NYT-1224 U.S. Discovers Its First Suspected Case of Mad Cow Disease ... By MATTHEW L. WALD and ERIC LICHTBLAU A sick cow slaughtered about two weeks ago near Yakima, Wash., has tested positive for mad cow disease in early laboratory results. NYT-1224 Younger Sniper Gets a Sentence of Life in Prison ... By ADAM LIPTAK The jury recommended that Lee Malvo serve life in prison without parole for murder and terrorism in the sniper attacks last year. NYT-1224: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "My dad had so much to say and so little time to say it." KITTY BRUCE, daughter of Lenny Bruce. NYT-1224 Once Skeptical, Briton Sees Iraqi Success ... By JOHN F. BURNS A British general said recent developments have fostered a new confidence that the American-led occupation can eventually hand a stable Iraq back to its people. NYT-1224 Pakistan Bombing Aimed at Military Ruler Highlights His Role ... By DAVID ROHDE Pakistani analysts agree that what happens in Pakistan in the event the president is killed lies almost completely in the hands of the army. NYT-1224 Unapproved Foreign Flu Vaccine Peddled in U.S. ... By DENISE GRADY A half-million doses of influenza vaccine offered for sale last week to the Florida Health Department turned out to be a foreign product of unknown quality and content. NYT-1224 Creator of Linux Defends Its Originality ... By STEVE LOHR Linus Torvalds, creator of the popular Linux operating system, defended his work as not always lovely but original --- and certainly not copied, as the SCO Group has asserted. NYT-1224 Novell Registers Unix Copyrights ... By LAURIE J. FLYNN Novell has quietly registered for the copyrights on many versions of Unix code that the SCO Group says it owns. NYT-1224 Mourning Goes Home 4 Days After Transplant ... By LEE JENKINS Alonzo Mourning was released from the hospital on Tuesday, only four days after he received a kidney transplant. NYT-1224 How to Take a Widow Three Stages Past Merry ... By ANNE MIDGETTE Susan Graham delivers a robust, comic and well-sung portrayal of the heroine of Lehar's "Merry Widow," which returned to the Metropolitan Opera on Monday night. NYT-1224: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Inventing a New Iraq Unless formulas can be found that satisfy Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, Washington will not leave behind a stable, democratic Iraq. NYT-1224: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Christmas Crush ... By VERLYN KLINKENBORG An orange alert? What most New Yorkers are feeling today is a red-and-green alert, the last-minute pressure of the holiday season itself. NYT-1224: OP-ED COLUMNIST The Pain of Good Intentions ... By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF One of the knottiest human rights problems in the world concerns the North Koreans hiding in China, probably 30,000 to 100,000 of them. NYT-1224: OP-ED COLUMNIST Don't Stop Dean ... By WILLIAM SAFIRE I am beginning to worry that Howard Dean may not get the Democratic nomination. NYT-1225 U.S. Scours Files to Trace Source of Mad Cow Case ... By MATTHEW L. WALD Officials hope to discover where, when and how the cow became infected to determine whether other animals were also infected. NYT-1225 G.I. Joes May Be Under Tree, but Not Around It ... By RALPH BLUMENTHAL Countless sacrifices are being made by Americans in and out of uniform as the U.S. counts down a first year of war in Iraq. NYT-1225 Fearing Attacks, Officials Tighten Airport Security ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU and CRAIG S. SMITH The activity cast a cloud of anxiety over the holiday season, just as travel was expected to approach pre-Sept. 11 levels for the first time. NYT-1225: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "I understand. It's not the same kind of world it once was. I think everybody understands that." ROANNA GLYNN, a Los Angeles schoolteacher who was supposed to fly from Los Angeles to Paris, but her flight was canceled. NYT-1225 Pakistani President Agrees to Give Up Control of Military ... By SALMAN MASOOD President Pervez Musharraf announced that he would step down as army chief by the end of next year, but remain the country's president. NYT-1225 4 G.I.'s and 6 Iraqi Civilians Are Killed in Bomb Attacks ... By EDWARD WONG Christmas morning began in spectacular fashion, as insurgents fired more than a half dozen rockets at dawn in different parts of Baghdad. NYT-1225 Protests Mix With Festivities in Bethlehem ... By GREG MYRE The tortured politics of the Middle East seeped even into Christmas Eve festivities in Bethlehem, where the turnout was modest. NYT-1225 Penalty for Young Sniper Could Spur Change in Law ... By ADAM LIPTAK The decision by a jury to spare Lee Malvo's life after finding him guilty may hasten a movement to abolish the death penalty for juvenile killers, legal experts say. NYT-1225 Federally Financed Health Clinics Woo a Higher-Paying Clientele ... By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Around the country, government-financed community clinics that normally tend to the poor are trying to attract more paying patients to help cover expenses. NYT-1225 In Chasing Movie Pirates, Hollywood Treads Lightly ... By JOHN SCHWARTZ The music industry's tough position on file sharing has produced a powerful public backlash. The movie industry hopes to avoid that trap. NYT-1225 They'll Stick With Film, Thank You ... By KATIE HAFNER There may be a digital revolution going on in the world of photography, but not everyone is along for the ride. NYT-1225 Taking Their Lumps of Coal (or Sugar) ... By DAVID POGUE In the technology industry, some people and companies have been very good this year. But some have been very bad. NYT-1225 Sprewell's Outburst Draws Fine of $25,000 ... By CHRIS BROUSSARD The N.B.A. fined Latrell Sprewell for shouting obscenities at James L. Dolan, the M.S.G. chairman, and Lon Kruger, a Knicks assistant coach, on Tuesday night. NYT-1225 A Sad Song for Pianos as Museum May Close ... By JULIE SALAMON Unless a benefactor miraculously appears to pay the rent, the Museum of the American Piano, an eccentric little Manhattan attraction, will close on Wednesday. NYT-1225 Disputing Celebration of Jefferson ... By JILL LEPORE Garry Wills defends two of Thomas Jefferson's foes in order to attack Jefferson for his many concessions to slavery. NYT-1225 Indian Point Is Criticized for Shutdowns ... By STACEY STOWE The Indian Point nuclear plant had three times as many unplanned shutdowns in a 12-month period as any other plant in the nation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. NYT-1225: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Mad Cow in America This week's single case of mad cow disease will expose the holes in the American system of meat production and disease testing. NYT-1225: TODAY'S EDITORIALS A Holiday Set Apart Every Christmas reaches back into our past, which is also one reason this day stands apart from the usual run of days. NYT-1225: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Earth Invades Mars The spacecrafts soon to visit Mars will offer a deluge of new data that, when sifted, may completely transform our understanding of the planet. NYT-1225: OP-ED Presents of Mind ... By AMY GOLDSTEIN, ROBERT LEIGHTON and MIKE SHENK ===== On the first day of Christmas, we give to you seven puzzles puzzling. First solve all the puzzles except the tree-shaped one on "Trimming the Tree" or page 8. Each of these six puzzles will give you a final answer that is a five-letter word. Once youfve solved these puzzles, follow the instructions for the tree-shaped puzzle to get the answer to this question: Why might it seem as if Christmas is celebrated in reverse? (Answers will be published on Sunday, Dec. 28.) --- Note: The following puzzles require Acrobat Reader. All Puzzles Make a Joyful Noise Silent Night Do You Hear What I Hear? Down the Chimney Five Golden Rings Presents 'Neath the Tree Trimming the Tree NYT-1226 Mad Cow Case May Bring More Meat Testing ... By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. The Department of Agriculture is debating whether to do far more screening of meat and change the way meat from suspect animals is used. NYT-1226 Pentagon's War Needs Are a Lifeline for Airlines ... By MICHELINE MAYNARD The Pentagon spent more than $1.2 billion this year to fly troops and supplies to Iraq on commercial aircraft. NYT-1226: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "This is a targeted action; I am the target." PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, president of Pakistan, after escaping a second assassination attempt in 11 days. NYT-1226 Pakistani Leader Escapes 2nd Assassination Attempt ... By SALMAN MASOOD In the second attack on President Pervez Musharraf in 11 days, two suicide bombers plowed their vehicles into his motorcade and detonated car bombs. NYT-1226 French Find No Terror Tie to Six Flights ... By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and CRAIG S. SMITH American government officials said the U.S. was still investigating people who had reserved seats on the planes but never showed up for the flights. NYT-1226 Ex-Wife of Investigator Involved in Wiretap Inquiry Wants to Talk to Publishers, Not F.B.I. ... By BERNARD WEINRAUB The cast of characters in the murky Hollywood drama surrounding an imprisoned private investigator has acquired another figure with a story to tell. NYT-1226 Results Mixed, Stores Await a Final Burst of Shopping ... By TRACIE ROZHON Shoppers are expected to make today the most lucrative day after Christmas in history, retailers and analysts say. NYT-1226 High-Tech Quirkiness Restores Radio's Magic ... By STEPHEN HOLDEN Music beamed by satellite has resurrected the thrill of musical discovery that has all but vanished on what is called terrestrial radio. NYT-1226 Making Memories in Real Time ... By AMY HARMON A recent visit to the Grand Canyon revealed the extent to which a digital camera can alter the space-time continuum of a vacation. NYT-1226 The Broadway Musical Is Changing Its Key ... By BRUCE WEBER On Broadway, jukebox musicals repackaging old tunes for the theater continue to shove aside the book musical with an original score. NYT-1226 Oh, There Was Eggnog, but the Roulette Wheels Didn't Miss a Spin ... By PATRICK HEALY Ah, Christmas at the casinos. The roulette wheels and slot machines don't pause for a moment, nor do the gamblers and vacationers. NYT-1226 Traveling on Christmas: Few Crowds, Just Reindeer ... By ELISSA GOOTMAN The people seen traipsing through airports and train stations on Christmas could be grouped into two imperfect categories. NYT-1226: TODAY'S EDITORIALS The Farmland Bubble American family farms are victims of federal agricultural subsidies, which raise land prices while mostly benefiting industrial farms. NYT-1226: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Leading the Weapons Hunt in Iraq If David Kay, the chief American weapons inspector in Iraq, decides to leave his post early, the U.S. should enlist the help of U.N. inspectors. NYT-1226: EDITORIAL OBSERVER Senator Strom Thurmond's Deception Ravaged Two Lives ... By BRENT STAPLES The tragedy of this case took place in the life of a needy child who was abandoned by her father and then used for political purposes. NYT-1227 Quake in Iran Kills Thousands and Ravages an Ancient City ... By NAZILA FATHI The provincial governor general put the initial number of dead at 5,000 to 6,000, but said the toll was expected to rise as high as 20,000. NYT-1227 Tracing History of Infected Cow May Take Time ... By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. It could take weeks or months to trace where a dairy cow in Washington State with the nation's first case of mad cow disease was born. NYT-1227: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "Families are sitting next to their flattened houses with sometimes several corpses of family members lying next to them." MEHDI TAHER, after a powerful earthquake hit the Iranian city of Bam. NYT-1227 Suspected Case of SARS in China Alarms Officials ... By KEITH BRADSHER A free-lance television employee has fallen ill 80 miles from Hong Kong in southern China with what doctors suspect is SARS. NYT-1227 U.S. Asks Judge to Lift His Ban on Pentagon's Anthrax Vaccination Program ... By THOM SHANKER The Justice Department asked a federal district judge to withdraw an injunction halting the military's mandatory anthrax vaccination program. NYT-1227 Boy Serving Life Sentence Is Reoffered Plea Bargain ... By ABBY GOODNOUGH Prosecutors offered a plea bargain on Friday to the 16-year-old whose life sentence for stomping a 6-year-old to death was overturned this month. NYT-1227 Presidential Campaign Was Cited During Talks to Seal Dean's Papers as Governor ... By RICK LYMAN There is ample evidence that a possible presidential race was part of the discussions concerning how long to keep the governor records private. NYT-1227 Jackson Says Molestation Charges Are Untrue ... By BILL CARTER Michael Jackson denies the charges of child molestation filed against him when he appears on the CBS News program "60 Minutes" on Sunday night. NYT-1227 Fear and Tight Screening Stem Green Card Lottery ... By NINA BERNSTEIN Like so much else involving immigrants with government, the green card lottery is being transformed by fear and uncertainty. NYT-1227 $1.2 Million of 9/11 Aid Is Returned ... By JOSEPH P. FRIED A major program to help small businesses in Lower Manhattan recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack has taken back erroneous payments it made to 66 companies. NYT-1227 Gawkers in Paradise ... By GLENN COLLINS and SARAH COLLINS A couples does it all in Las Vegas: casino-traipsing, show-hopping, gourmandizing and even hiking. NYT-1227: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Tongass Travesty The Bush administration has presented its new policy toward the Tongass National Forest as a necessary response to a state lawsuit, but the reality is otherwise. NYT-1227: OP-ED COLUMNIST Arguing With Oakeshott ... By DAVID BROOKS In the interest of communing with big thinkers, a rather one-sided discussion on Iraq with the deceased philosopher Michael Oakeshott. NYT-1227: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The Big Lie About the Little Pill ... By JOSHUA M. ZEITZ It took decades, not a prescription, to make America's sexual revolution. ===== The recent recommendation by two advisory committees that the Food and Drug Administration should legalize over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill seems likely to intensify the culture wars that have dominated public and political discourse over the years. Opponents of the emergency contraceptive, known as Plan B, say they are concerned that among other things, widening access to the morning-after pill will encourage sexual promiscuity, particularly among young people. It was this apprehension that led Dr. W. David Hager of the University of Kentucky to join three other committee members in voting against the recommendation. Dr. Hager said he worried that Plan B was no less revolutionary than the birth control pill, which he claims ushered in "a new day and age for the expression of sexuality among young people." Dr. Hager's argument is a common one. Legalized by the F.D.A. in 1960, "the pill" has been widely described as starting a revolution in sexuality and morals. But that is based on a misunderstanding of the history of America's sexual revolution and the pill's role in it. Before 1960, the story goes, the natural constraints of human biology held Americans to strict standards of sexual discipline; after 1960, and after the pill, Americans threw off the shackles (or, depending on one's political perspective, the civilizing influence) of sexual propriety. Ever since, we've been either slouching toward Gomorrah or, as Clare Boothe Luce once famously announced, living in an age when the "modern woman is at last free as a man is free, to dispose of her own body, to earn her living, to pursue the improvement of her mind, to try a successful career." That's a lot of power for one little pill. In truth, this narrative is flawed. Though the pill surely made contraception easier, and while it gave women more power and responsibility in family planning, it hardly created a sexual revolution. American sexual habits had been changing long before the pill found its way onto the market. Early sex surveys revealed that about half of all women who came of age in the 1920's admitted to engaging in premarital sex (defined as coitus), a figure that held steady for women in later decades. Americans were also practicing birth control long before the pill. As early as 1938 a poll commissioned by The Ladies' Home Journal found that roughly four of every five women approved of using birth control. Just over two decades later, on the eve of the pill's legalization, 80 percent of white women and 60 percent of nonwhite women reported practicing some form of family planning. Even the heightened sexual permissiveness of the 1960's can't be attributed to the pill. Throughout the better part of the decade doctors generally prescribed the first oral contraceptive, Enovid, only for married women, who made up the drug's largest market share in its early years. As late as 1971 only 15 percent of unmarried women age 15 to 19 used the pill. Even in recent times, only about 23 percent of women age 15 to 24 report using it. The pill, then, did not create America's sexual revolution as much as it accelerated it. And that revolution had been a long time in the making. Over the course of the 19th century the average number of children born to married couples dropped to about four from about seven. Americans probably weren't having less sex. Instead, couples ? particularly those in the growing middle class, whose families no longer required legions of children to work on the farm ? were practicing birth control. They were coming to view sex as an activity that wasn't merely procreative, but also central to pleasurable and loving marriages. In the early 20th century many Americans began experimenting with sex outside of matrimony ? partly because they could. By the 1920's a majority of Americans lived in urban areas where they enjoyed greater anonymity and social freedom. Meanwhile, a growing leisure culture provided a host of places ? from dance halls to movie theaters ? where men and women could meet. At the same time, as an educated work force became increasingly important to the vitality of America's advanced economy, more young people (75 percent by the 1920's) attended high school, creating a new heterosocial peer culture. In the early 20th century more young women also entered the work force, where they came into increased contact with men and enjoyed a limited amount of financial and social freedom that could translate into a loosening of sexual mores. This was particularly the case in the early 1940's, when millions of women (and exempted men) mobilized for war production, and 16 million of their husbands and boyfriends enlisted in the armed services. The resulting demographic and social upheaval created an explosion of sexual freedom. Finally, the ever-rising influence of consumerism and advertising after 1900 chipped away at the Victorian-era culture of asceticism and self-denial, in effect legitimating the pursuit of pleasure. In a world where Americans were encouraged to "find a road of happiness the day you buy a Buick," other activities that made people happy ? like sex ? seemed less taboo than in prior years. Though many young women from the 1920's onward engaged in premarital sex, they probably did so with the intention of marrying their partners. The revolution in morals was tame by later standards. Nevertheless, women and men were steadily redefining the boundaries of romance and sex long before the pill appeared. The history of America's encounter with the pill helps inform today's debate over Plan B. Oral contraception was a vital development in women's reproductive rights and health, but it didn't cause a revolution in morals and behavior any more than Plan B is likely to sexualize a nation of young people who are already sexually active. Surveys suggest that more than 75 percent of young people have sex before they turn 20, yet only about one-fifth of sexually active high school girls use the pill. None of this minimizes the importance of either the birth control pill or Plan B. Technology has always been an important catalyst of historical change. But America's sexual revolution was a long, complicated phenomenon. No pharmacist can stuff it into a bottle. Cultural critics shouldn't try to do so, either. (Joshua M. Zeitz, a lecturer in history at Cambridge University, is writing a book about flappers and American culture in the 1920's.) NYT-1227: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR A Secret's Staying Power ... By NADINE COHODAS For this journalist, things weren't as obvious as they seemed when it came to the rumors about Strom Thurmond's past. NYT-1227: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR 'Willy' Didn't Yearn to Be Free ... By CLIVE D. L. WYNNE When Keiko the killer whale beached himself earlier this month in Norway, the story of probably the most expensive animal in human history came to an end. NYT-1227: ON THIS DAY On Dec. 27, 1979, Soviet forces seized control of Afghanistan. President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, was replaced by Babrak Karmal. NYT-1228 Iran Quake Toll Rises to 25,000; Injured Fill Hospitals, and Streets ... By NAZILA FATHI Dozens of international relief flights and supply shipments sped on their way, transporting skilled rescue workers. NYT-1228 U.S. Officials Say Ill Cow Is Linked to Alberta Herd ... By LYNETTE CLEMETSON The Holstein infected with mad cow disease was imported into the U.S. from Canada, federal investigators tentatively concluded. NYT-1228: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "Believe it or not, it may be helping us because it's driving people to drink." MATTHEW MAHER, owner of McSorley's Old Ale House, on New York's ban on smoking. NYT-1228 Up to 13 Die as Attacks Shatter Fragile Calm in Southern Iraq ... By EDWARD WONG Insurgents mounted three coordinated attacks in Karbala on Saturday, using a range of weapons against military bases. NYT-1228 Brazil Resists Plan to Allow Spot Inspection of Nuclear Site ... By LARRY ROHTER Brazil is balking at giving international inspectors unimpeded access to a plant that will produce enriched uranium. NYT-1228 China Tightens Health Screenings After Suspected SARS Case ... By JIM YARDLEY The patient, identified by the government as a 32-year-old freelance journalist, was listed in stable condition. NYT-1228 U.S. Has New Concerns About Anthrax Readiness ... By JUDITH MILLER Anthrax spores can be more widely dispersed than previously believed, senior administration officials said. NYT-1228 We Hate Spam, Congress Says (Except When It's Sent by Us) ... By JENNIFER 8. LEE Hundreds of thousands of unsolicited messages are sent to constituents although Congress approved a law aimed at reducing the flow of junk e-mail. NYT-1228 Report on Brutal Vietnam Campaign Stirs Memories ... By JOHN KIFNER A new report details some of the atrocities, which soldiers say were common practice, committed by U.S. troops during the Vietnam war. NYT-1228 Catering to a Love Affair With the Past ... By KATE MURPHY Scrapbooking is the fastest-growing sector of the hobby industry, with sales of supplies quadrupling in the last five years. NYT-1228 Connected by a Web Site, With Erotica Played Down ... By VANESSA GRIGORIADIS At a party on Dec. 20 at a loft in Bushwick, Brooklyn, few of the guests had met previously Eat least not in person. NYT-1228: OP-ED COLUMNIST Where U.S. Translates as Freedom ... By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN After two years of traveling almost exclusively to Western Europe and the Middle East, Poland feels like a geopolitical spa. ===== WARSAW I found the cure. I found the cure to anti-Americanism: Come to Poland. After two years of traveling almost exclusively to Western Europe and the Middle East, Poland feels like a geopolitical spa. I visited here for just three days and got two years of anti-American bruises massaged out of me. Get this: people here actually tell you they like America ? without whispering. What has gotten into these people? Have all their subscriptions to Le Monde Diplomatique expired? Haven't they gotten the word from Berlin and Paris? No, they haven't. In fact, Poland is the antidote to European anti-Americanism. Poland is to France what Advil is to a pain in the neck. Or as Michael Mandelbaum, the Johns Hopkins foreign affairs specialist, remarked after visiting Poland: "Poland is the most pro-American country in the world ? including the United States." What's this all about? It starts with history and geography. There's nothing like living between Germany and Russia ? which at different times have trampled Poland off the map ? to make Poles the biggest advocates of a permanent U.S. military presence in Europe. Said Ewa Swiderska, 25, a Warsaw University student: "We are the small kid in school who is really happy to have the big guy be his friend ? it's a nice feeling." Indeed, all the history and geography that Western European youth have forgotten, having grown up in a postmodern European Union, are still central to Polish consciousness ? well after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. "We still remember many things," said Jan Miroslaw, 22, also a Warsaw University student. "We are more eager to cooperate with America rather than just say `no.' [The West Europeans] just don't remember many things ? like the wars. They live too-comfortable lives." No wonder then when young Poles think of America, they think of the word "freedom." They think of generations of U.S. presidents railing against their communist oppressors. There is a huge message in this bottle. In the Arab world, because of a long history of U.S. support for Arab autocrats, who kept their people down but their oil flowing to us, America was a synonym for hypocrisy. In Poland, where we have consistently trumpeted freedom, America means freedom. We need to remember that. We are what we stand for. Poland's becoming a member of the E.U. will give the U.S. an important friend within that body ? a counterweight to those E.U. forces that would like to use anti-Americanism as the glue to bind the expanding alliance and that would like to see the E.U. forge its identity as the great Uncola to America's Coca-Cola. But as powerful as Poland's bond to America is these days, we dare not take it for granted. Poland has some 2,400 troops in Iraq. That's the good news. The bad news is that roughly 75 percent of Poles oppose their deployment. Polish officials will tell you Poland sent troops to Iraq to help keep the Americans in Europe. But the public doesn't make such connections, and most people don't understand what their boys are doing there or what Poland is getting out of it. (How about a few extra visas for Poles?) If the U.S. ends up in a mess in Iraq, so will Poland. Many "old" Europeans will then laugh at Warsaw, and that would be highly corrosive for Polish-U.S. relations. At the same time, once Poland is fully ensconced in the E.U., its young people will grow up in that postmodern E.U. nirvana, where anti-Americanism is in the drinking water. Sadly, many education and public diplomacy programs the U.S. directed at Eastern Europe after the fall of communism have been cut or redirected to the Muslim world. Bad timing. There is now a competition between the United States of America and the United States of Europe for the next generation of Poles ? who don't all have their parents' emotional ties to the U.S. ? "and the U.S. is losing this competition," says a Polish foreign policy expert, Grzegorz Kostrzewa-Zorbas. "The new generation in Poland likes American pop culture, but it has less contact with American high culture ? like education. It is so much easier for young Poles to go to university in Germany or France." Given Poland's geography and history, there's a limit to how far it will drift from America. Poland will never be France. But we shouldn't assume it will remain the Poland of 1989 forever, either, and if it doesn't, that could have real consequences for America's standing in Europe. (Maureen Dowd is on vacation.) NYT-1229 Quake Aid Pours Into Iranian City; Hopes for Survivors Fade ... By NEIL MacFARQUHAR and NAZILA FATHI With hopes for finding anyone alive in the rubble fast fading, relief workers turned their attention to the thousands of survivors. NYT-1229: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "We wish we had been killed, not them. They were so young." KOBRAH ABBASI NEJAD, who lost four children in the earthquake in Iran. NYT-1229 U.S. Officials Say Suspect Beef Went to a Wider Region ... By LYNETTE CLEMETSON Federal officials said meat linked to the investigation of a mad cow disease case had been distributed to eight states and Guam. NYT-1229 Workers Say Hope Is Fading for Finding Last Flood Victims ... By CHARLIE LeDUFF So far, several bodies have been recovered from the San Bernardino mountains in California, were the flood victims were spending the Christmas holiday. NYT-1229 Effort to Promote U.S. Falls Short, Critics Say ... By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS America, the land that gave the world Coca-Cola, "Titanic" and the Marlboro Man, is having a hard time selling itself. NYT-1229 This Car Can Talk. What It Says May Cause Concern. ... By JOHN SCHWARTZ OnStar is one of a growing number of automated eyes and ears that enhance driving safety and convenience but that also increase the potential for surveillance. NYT-1229 Heavyweights Are Choosing Sides in Battle Over Next DVD Format ... By KEN BELSON The next generation of DVD's, which will not be widely available until at least 2005, are already the subject of a multibillion-dollar fight. NYT-1229 Paying the Rent by Credit Card, and Dreaming of Bora Bora ... By RACHELLE GARBARINE One landlord is allowing tenants in Manhattan to pay rent with American Express, which gives cardholders rewards points each time the card is used. NYT-1229: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Dominican Republic in Crisis The country's economic troubles are largely due to a single bank collapse, a meltdown due to cronyism, corruption, lax regulation and secrecy. NYT-1229: OP-ED COLUMNIST Aesop's Fabled Fox ... By WILLIAM SAFIRE How the Aesop tale can help with political decision-making in Election Year 2004. ===== WASHINGTON ? A psychopolitical challenge voters will face in the coming year is how to deal with cognitive dissonance. A cognition is a bit of knowledge or belief. When it disagrees with another cognition in our head, theorized Prof. Leon Festinger of Stanford a half century ago, a nasty jangling occurs. To end this cognitive dissonance, or C.D., we change the weak cognition to conform to the stronger one. Take Aesop's fox, who could not reach a lofty bunch of grapes no matter how high he jumped. One foxy cognition was that grapes were delicious; the other was that he couldn't get them. To resolve that cognitive dissonance, the fox persuaded himself that the grapes were sour ? and trotted off, his mind at ease. Here's how this insight can help political decision-making in Election Year 2004. Six years ago, one of my most tenaciously held cognitions was distrust of the Clintons. When Hillary's health care task force met in secret, I was seized with cognition No. 2: that she and her handpicked advisers would come up with a hugely expensive and regimented scheme for universal coverage. Both cognitions fit; no dissonance. In the subsequent court decision that discredited Hillary's penchant for secrecy, followed by the legislative rout of her plan, my mind was serene. Contrast that with my clashing cognitions about Vice President Dick Cheney and his similarly secretive energy task force, probably lopsided with oil-cat lobbyists. I've known Cheney since our Nixon days. He's thoughtful, calmly conservative, nonpompous, decisive and was accessible to me over the phone on the hectic morning after 9/11. Cognition No. 1: he's one of the good guys. But he's fighting to keep secret the identity of his outside advisers on public policy clear up to the Supreme Court. Cognition No. 2: big mistake. And so I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Republicans were out of their minds to make this a federal case to be decided at the height of the 2004 campaign. To be consistent on principle and thereby avoid heavy cognitive dissonance, I chose to stray off the Bush reservation. For this instance of political disloyalty, I was afflicted with mild C.D. But this mental tintinnabulation was exacerbated by the roar of unwelcome laudatory correspondence. Readers who regularly smite me hip and thigh with peem (politically excoriating e-mail) hailed what they discovered to be my newfound independence, high-mindedness and sagacity. (Lefties are especially adept at left-handed compliments.) I can take it. Libertarian conservative pundits know what it is to suffer the consequences of praise from the vast move-on conspiracy. But what of my well-meaning Internet tormentors, whose cloying encomiums begin with "Though I usually skip over your right-wing drivel"? Are they even aware of their own C.D.? There goes their hero, huffy Howard Dean, clamping a full-decade lock of "executive privilege" on the records of his years of governing Vermont. Why did he lower a granite curtain on public records? Dean admitted a year ago that "future political considerations" drove his stonewalling: "We didn't want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time." That leaves Democratic primary voters to guess at what he's going to such great legal lengths to hide. Does an unsavory connection to an Enron subsidiary exist in his correspondence? Are there minutes of his meetings about same-sex civil unions that could come back to haunt him, or a pardon recommendation he wants sealed until he can laugh at voters' remorse? What could be so "embarrassing" at this "critical time"? Consider what must be happening within the minds of Dean enthusiasts. A portion of their anti-Bush anger has for years been directed at the covered-up advice of oil lobbyists to the administration's energy task force ? but now they must be dismayed at the more egregious refusal of their standard-bearer to reveal his Vermont papers. Didn't a Democratic governor named Al Smith campaign against President Hoover on the slogan "Let's look at the record"? They could deal with C.D. by (1) suppressing their cognition about executive-branch secrecy, or (2) changing their cognition about Dean or (3) calling on their hero to tear down that stonewall. There is also the choice of emulating the shrewd action of Aesop's fox: deciding that the grapes of wrath are sour. NYT-1230 Al Qaeda Links Seen in Attacks on Top Saudi Security Officials ... By DOUGLAS JEHL Islamic militants appear to be making a new effort to destabilize the Saudi government by assassinating top security officials. NYT-1230 U.S. Orders Foreign Airlines to Use Armed Marshals ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU The new system goes into effect immediately for an estimated 800 to 1,000 passenger flights a day. NYT-1230 Experts Try to Assess Risk From Diseased Cow ... By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. There are two fears that Americans seem to have in the wake of the discovery of mad cow disease in a Washington cow, and the science of assessing them is very different. NYT-1230 Libya's Atom Bid in Early Phases ... By PATRICK E. TYLER The top U.N. nuclear inspector said that Libya's nuclear program was years away from producing a weapon and was now largely dismantled. NYT-1230 The Tightrope Is Fraying Under the President of Pakistan ... By AMY WALDMAN President Pervez Musharraf may be forced to reconsider his simultaneous support for the U.S. and his reluctance to confront the militants more directly. NYT-1230 Amid Heartbreak, City in Iran Takes Small Steps to Recover ... By NEIL MacFARQUHAR The city of Bam embarked on the first tentative steps in the Herculean cleanup and reconstruction tasks that will require years to complete. NYT-1230 Dispute in Michael Jackson Camp Over Role of the Nation of Islam ... By SHARON WAXMAN Officials of the separatist African-American Muslim group have reportedly moved in with the singer, but some sources have denied the group's involvement. NYT-1230 A Nuclear Headache: What if the Radicals Oust Musharraf? ... By DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER Two recent assassination attempts against Pakistan's president have renewed concern in the Bush administration over the security of its nuclear weapons. NYT-1230 A U.S. Component Is Added to an Italian Scandal ... By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH The Securities and Exchange Commission said the Italian dairy and food giant Parmalat engaged in "one of the largest and most brazen corporate financial frauds in history." NYT-1230 An Unrepentant Spammer Vows to Carry On, Within the Law ... By SAUL HANSELL Alan Ralsky has long been one of the most prolific senders of junk e-mail in the world. But he says the new spam law's potential penalties are making him rethink his business. NYT-1230 Scanners Set for Revelers in Times Square ... By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM With the city at a heightened state of alert, unprecedented security measures will be in place on New Year's Eve in Times Square. NYT-1230 Portraits of a Social Outcast Turned Serial Killer ... By NANCY RAMSEY Aileen Wuornos, who has been called America's first female serial killer, is the subject of two new movies, "Monster" and "Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer." NYT-1230 Takeoffs Continued Until Second Jet Hit Trade Center, Transcripts Show ... By JIM DWYER A set of tape transcripts just released show that air traffic officials in New York knew no more about the attacks than anyone watching television. NYT-1230 Colleges Struggle to Help Black Men Stay Enrolled ... By KAREN W. ARENSON Women outnumber men at most colleges, but the gap is especially large among black students. So colleges are taking special care to recruit and retain black men. NYT-1230 Bus Thief's Trip to Kennedy Raises Alarm, and Questions ... By ROBERT F. WORTH The tale of a Peter Pan bus stolen from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in broad daylight has only gotten more mysterious. NYT-1230; OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR One Mad Cow Sets Off a Stampede ... By SCOTT C. RATZAN Before we all go order that turkey burger, we should consider a few facts. NYT-1230: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Spare the Rod, Save the Nation ... By CARL E. MUNDY III In the spirit of reconciliation, this may be a good time to hold back the iron hammer and extend our velvet glove in Iraq. NYT-1230: ON THIS DAY On Dec. 30, 1972, the United States halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam. NYT-1231 Mr. Deregulation's Regulations ... By DAVID E. SANGER The Bush administration's actions on mad cow disease and ephedra underscore how the political atmospherics about big government have changed. NYT-1231 Democratic Candidates Differ on Economy, but Often Subtly ... By EDMUND L. ANDREWS The economic platforms of the Democratic presidential candidates can look like different sides of a Rubik's Cube: varying combinations of the same proposal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NYT-1231 Philippines to Deport U.S. Brothers Held in Terror Inquiry ... By DOUGLAS JEHL One of the men worked until 2000 for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a major nuclear weapons facility near San Francisco. NYT-1231 Iran Thanks U.S. for Help, but Refrains From an Embrace ... By NEIL MacFARQUHAR President Mohammad Khatami said that the arrival of a U.S. aid team in the earthquake-ravaged city was a welcome development but should be viewed as just that --- a humane gesture. NYT-1231 U.S. Imposes Stricter Safety Rules for Preventing Mad Cow Disease ... By DENISE GRADY The new rules include banning the use of sick "downer" cows and certain beef parts as well as ordering speedier testing of animals. NYT-1231 U.S. to Prohibit Supplement Tied to Health Risks ... By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG Ephedra, the herbal supplement that has been linked to heart attack, stroke and sudden death, will be banned, Bush administration officials said on Tuesday. NYT-1231 How to Measure Student Proficiency? ... By FORD FESSENDEN Two recent studies show that states have set widely different standards for measuring students' progress under the law known as No Child Left Behind. NYT-1231 F.D.A. Rules Shots Effective for Anthrax That Is Inhaled ... By THOM SHANKER The ruling aids efforts to restart the Pentagon's mandatory inoculation program, which was stalled by a federal injunction. NYT-1231 Edwards Sets Work Safety Plan ... By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD Senator John Edwards of North Carolina will announce a plan to decrease workplace deaths and injuries by strengthening laws and hiring more federal safety personnel. NYT-1231 An Operation to Ease Back Pain Bolsters the Bottom Line, Too ... By REED ABELSON and MELODY PETERSEN Critics say there is a clear reason why a complex surgery called spinal fusion is being performed more and more often: money. NYT-1231 Michael Jackson's $1 Million Interview Deal ... By SHARON WAXMAN Michael Jackson struck a deal with CBS in effect to be paid $1 million for his interview on "60 Minutes" and an entertainment special. NYT-1231 Two Original Stars Return to `The Producers,' Lighting Up the Stage ... By BRUCE WEBER "I used to be the king, the king of old Broadway," Nathan Lane sang Tuesday night. It couldn't have been more appropriate. NYT-1231 In Sutton Place's Backyard, Private Oasis on Public Land ... By CHARLES V. BAGLI New York State needs to tear up an Upper East Side garden in order to rehabilitate the F.D.R. Drive. The move has prompted the question of who owns the garden. NYT-1231 Homicides Surge in City as Year Nears End ... By MICHAEL WILSON The list of those killed in 2003 is now at 594, uncomfortably close to the 600 mark hailed for the last year as a sign of a safer New York. NYT-1231: TODAY'S EDITORIALS The Right Thing, at Last After a long delay, Attorney General John Ashcroft finally has turned the inquiry into last summer's C.I.A. leak over to a deputy. NYT-1231: TODAY'S EDITORIALS A Pound of Prevention The U.S. has been slow to learn the lessons of Britain's mad cow outbreak, and that could set the stage for a similar crisis here. NYT-1231: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Guarding Incoming Airliners The United States has every right to insist that foreign airliners headed for our airspace carry marshals onboard. NYT-1231: TODAY'S EDITORIALS The Budget Politics of Being Poor A number of states are slashing health insurance coverage for their poorest residents to achieve the balanced budgets mandated by law. NYT-1231: OP-ED COLUMNIST Office Pool ... By WILLIAM SAFIRE What will happen in Iraq in 2004? Which media megastar will be exonerated? Most importantly, what film will take the best-picture Oscar? NYT-0101 Flight Sent Back on Terror Fear, U.S. Officials Say ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU U.S. authorities imposed extraordinary security measures on at least seven incoming flights because of terrorist concerns. NYT-0101 Baghdad Bomb Kills at Least 5 at a Restaurant ... By ERIC SCHMITT and EDWARD WONG The blast confirmed American fears that insurgents would use the New Year's holiday as an occasion to mount attacks. NYT-0101 Year's Big Rally Helps Investors Regain Ground ... By JONATHAN FUERBRINGER The market, however, still has a way to go to return to the heights reached during the bubble that burst in 2000. NYT-0101 For the Quake's Orphans, the Ordeal Has Only Begun ... By NAZILA FATHI Rescue workers in Iran, no longer searching for earthquake survivors, are turning to many other challenges. Among them are the special needs of orphaned children. NYT-0101 Israel Plans 25% Expansion of Its Settlements on Golan ... By CRAIG S. SMITH The announcement angered Syria, from which Israel seized the territory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. NYT-0101 Giving Up Those Weapons: After Libya, Who Is Next? ... By MICHAEL R. GORDON The larger issue of Libya's decision to abandon its unconventional weapons programs is whether North Korea and Iran can be similarly disarmed. NYT-0101 For Cattle Industry, a Swift Response Years in the Making ... By GLEN JUSTICE The discovery of a case of mad cow disease in the U.S. was a red alert for an industry that spent years playing down the threat. NYT-0101 U.S. Hunts Terror Clues in Case of 2 Brothers ... By DOUGLAS JEHL U.S. authorities remain in search of clues that two American brothers who were arrested in the Philippines were in fact providing support to Islamic militants. NYT-0101 A Long List of New Challenges for Law-Abiding Citizens in 2004 ... By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS New laws take effect on Jan. 1 in many states. Some are additions to the criminal code, while others are more about "do" than "do not." NYT-0101 A Time for Finesse: Marketing Beef After a Mad Cow Discovery ... By SHERRI DAY Despite the discovery of mad cow disease in the United States last week, Burger King has decided to go ahead with a new Whopper television campaign. NYT-0101 Coaches Receive Both Big Salaries and Big Questions ... By JOE DRAPE At least 23 college football coaches now earn $1 million, but many wonder how healthy it is to pay a coach more than the president of a university. NYT-0101 Fire Deaths in New York Jumped 23% Last Year ... By MICHELLE O'DONNELL The number of fire deaths jumped to 119 in 2003, an increase of 23 percent from the 97 who were killed by fire the previous year. NYT-0101: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 1, 1959, Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over Fulgencio Batista. NYT-0102 As a Fugitive, Hussein Stayed Close to Home ... By JOHN F. BURNS and ERIC SCHMITT A tightknit network of family and clan sheltered Saddam Hussein for months and brought him news from across Iraq. NYT-0102 Libya Presses U.S. to Move Quickly to End Sanctions ... By PATRICK E. TYLER Libya warned that if sanctions were not lifted by May 12, it would no longer be bound to pay $6 million to each family that lost relatives on Pan Am Flight 103. NYT-0102 Putin vs. the Jailed Tycoon: Defining Russia's New Rules ... By TIMOTHY L. O'BRIEN and ERIN E. ARVEDLUND The conflict revolves around economic control in a country still struggling for its post-Soviet identity. NYT-0102 In Iraq's Murky Battle, Snipers Offer U.S. a Precision Weapon ... By ERIC SCHMITT The Army is increasingly relying on snipers to protect infantry patrols sweeping through Iraq's urban streets and alleyways. NYT-0102 200 Years After Napoleon, Haiti Finds Little to Celebrate ... By LYDIA POLGREEN After two centuries of tyrannical and ineffective leaders, Haiti remains an impoverished and troubled nation. NYT-0102 High Level Relief Mission May be Sent to Help Iranians .. By DAVID E. SANGER and STEVEN R. WEISMAN The Bush administration has proposed to Iran that it may be willing to send a high-level delegation, possibly headed by Senator Elizabeth Dole, for earthquake relief. NYT-0102 2 More Flights Are Canceled After Warnings ... By RACHEL L. SWARNS British and Mexican airline officials canceled the flights after receiving warnings about possible terrorist attacks on the jets. NYT-0102 From Vinyl to Digital, Hold the Crackle ... By ROY FURCHGOTT To turn your LP's into CD's, you will need some hardware, specifically a turntable, a preamplifier and a computer. NYT-0102 Sexy Women Out, Cantankerous Guy In ... By ALESSANDRA STANLEY When "Sex and the City" concludes, fans will miss its frilly femininity; in its stead they will have to turn to Larry David's unabashed wallowing in male neurosis. NYT-0102 Holiday Movies' Somber Embrace ... By STEPHEN HOLDEN Hollywood ends this year with an unusually somber note, as awards season looms. Call it the Season of Tears and Blood. NYT-0102 How Wild Was the Party? Ask the Army With the Brooms ... By COLIN MOYNIHANand COREY KILGANNON Minutes after the new year began, dump trucks, street sweepers, and sanitation workers sprang into action to carry out the annual post-revelry cleanup. NYT-0102 Homicides Up Slightly in New York City in '03 ... By IAN URBINA New York City ended the year with more homicides than in 2002 Ebut with fewer than 600, a number seen by police and city officials as a benchmark of a less violent era. NYT-0102 Mayor Calls Him Billy Now, but Comptroller Could Be Rival ... By MICHAEL COOPER William C. Thompson Jr. said recently that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's low poll numbers might induce him to challenge the mayor in 2005. NYT-0102: TODAY'S EDITORIALS A Wounded United Nations Instead of complaining about the U.N., Washington should smooth the path for its return to Iraq. NYT-0102: EDITORIAL OBSERVER A Community of Ex-Cons Shows How to Bring Prisoners Back Into Society ... By ADAM COHEN The Delancey Street Restaurant, with its staff made up entirely of ex-criminals, is at the intersection of two white-hot trends: the growing focus on the moment prisoners rejoin society and using business to tackle social problems. NYT-0102: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The Confessions of Pete Rose ... By FAY VINCENT I suggest that if Mr. Rose is to be reinstated to full rights in baseball, there should be a two-year period of transition. NYT-0102: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 2, 1905, Japanese General Nogi received from Russian General Stoessel at 9 p.m. a letter formally offering to surrender, ending the Russo-Japanese War. NYT-0103 Iran Turns Down American Offer of Relief Mission ... By STEVEN R. WEISMAN The government in Tehran cited the overwhelming difficulties facing relief workers, but did not rule out the possibility of a future visit. NYT-0103 British Cancel Another Flight as Allies Query U.S. ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU The Bush administration faced questions from allies about the reliability of the intelligence that has led to the recent rash of flight cancellations. NYT-0103 In One Suburb, Local Politics With Asian Roots ... By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN Perhaps best known as the headquarters of Apple Computer, Cupertino, Calif., is gaining new attention as a beacon of Asian-American politics. NYT-0103: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "Life is good!" TOM DUXBURY, manager of a space mission that captured cometary dust from the early solar system. NYT-0103 Private Group Prepares Visit to North Korea ... By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Bush administration officials said the delegation did not have any official government blessing and would not carry any message to North Korea. NYT-0103 U.S. Soldier Is Killed as Helicopter Is Shot Down in Iraq ... By JOHN F. BURNS Separately, demonstrators gathered to protest a raid on a mosque in Baghdad in which U.S. troops arrested a prominent Sunni cleric. NYT-0103 A Top Khmer Rouge Leader, Going Public, Pleads Ignorance ... By SETH MYDANS Khieu Samphan has claimed ignorance, innocence, shock and contrition about the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge in which 1.7 million people died. NYT-0103 Way to Track U.S. Cattle Isn't Ready for Quick Use ... By DENISE GRADY An animal identification system that is intended to help safeguard the meat supply against mad cow disease is expected to take a year or two to phase in, an official said. NYT-0103 E.P.A. to Study Use of Waste From Sewage as Fertilizer ... By JENNIFER 8. LEE The Environmental Protection Agency will sponsor a series of scientific and public health studies on the safety of using sewage sludge as fertilizer. NYT-0103 After Lapses, Security Checks Are Planned at Nuclear Sites ... By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Worries about missing keys and other security lapses at some nuclear weapons laboratories have led to a review of locks, keys and procedures at facilities nationwide. NYT-0103 Questions Shadow New Jackson Adviser ... By SHARON WAXMAN Leonard Muhammad, who may be running many of Michael Jackson's affairs, has a history of failed businesses, fraud allegations and unpaid tax bills behind him. NYT-0103 Fidel Castro Ate Here, but Now It's a Piece of Bronx History ... By SETH KUGEL and ALAN FEUER Jimmy's Bronx Cafe, which drew everyone from Yankee stars to Bronx politicos to Fidel Castro, closed its doors for good on New Year's Eve. NYT-0103 Niagara's Trickle-Down Theory: Waiting to Share Casino's Success ... By DAVID STABA Niagara Falls, N.Y., has yet to see whether the Seneca Niagara Casino will lift the city out of its economic tailspin. NYT-0103: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Immigration Reform American officials cannot keep pretending that 8 million to 10 million illegal immigrants do not exist. NYT-0103: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Indonesia's Secret War Indonesia's abusive conduct regarding the guerrilla war in the province of Aceh damages its cause. NYT-0103: EDITORIAL OBSERVER The Battle Against Junk Mail and Spyware on the Web ... By BRENT STAPLES The story of technology is on vivid display in the debate about electronic junk mail, which makes up more than half of all e-mail. NYT-0103: OP-ED COLUMNIST Running on Reform ... By DAVID BROOKS The Republican Party has a problem this election year. It's the governing party, but it lacks a governing philosophy. NYT-0103: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 3, 1959, President Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska to the Union as the 49th state. NYT-0104 From Rogue Nuclear Programs, Web of Trails Leads to Pakistan ... By DAVID E. SANGER and WILLIAM J. BROAD Pakistan has emerged as the intellectual and trading hub of a loose network of hidden nuclear proliferators. NYT-0104 For G.I.'s, Pride in War Efforts but Doubts About Iraq's Future ... By ERIC SCHMITT Soldiers across Iraq expressed a complex set of emotions and sentiments toward their rebuilding mission. NYT-0104: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "We're competing in a sense with this man-in-the-moon metaphor, which is, 'You Americans can put a man on the moon, why can't you give me a job with a salary right now?'" MAJ. GEN. DAVID H. PETRAEUS, commander of the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul, Iraq. NYT-0104 Egyptian Charter Jet Crashes in Red Sea, Killing 148 ... By ELAINE SCIOLINO The plane crashed minutes after takeoff from the popular Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheik en route to Paris via Cairo. NYT-0104 China Blames State-Owned Company in Gas Blast ... By JOSEPH KAHN The authorities moved with unusual speed to assess responsibility for the accident that killed 233 people last month. NYT-0104 Missteps Seen in Muslim Chaplain's Spy Case ... By NEIL A. LEWIS and THOM SHANKER The arrest, lengthy detention and possible court-martial of Capt. James J. Yee is a tangled legal episode that has proved awkward for the military. NYT-0104 Unruly Students Facing Arrest, Not Detention ... By SARA RIMER Schools are increasingly sending students into the juvenile justice system for the sort of adolescent misbehavior that used to be handled by school administrators. NYT-0104 Jumble of Tests May Slow Mad Cow Solution ... By SANDRA BLAKESLEE The universe of testing for mad cow disease is murky, with the extent, nature and reliability of testing varying from country to country. NYT-0104 Clinton Relishing Role as Democrats' Adviser in Chief ... By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE Bill Clinton, the youngest ex-president in modern times, is still the go-to guy in Democratic politics. NYT-0104 For Boomers Near Retirement, Toolboxes Aplenty ... By ELIZABETH HARRIS Investment companies are perfecting a new pitch for baby boomers: Let us help you through retirement. NYT-0104 Police-Seized Loot Is Online, and Yes, It's a Steal ... By MICHAEL WILSON The New York City Police Department has joined about 300 others across the country in clearing out crowded property rooms online. NYT-0104 Carrie Bradshaw's Final Reckoning ... By EMILY NUSSBAUM Marry Carrie off? Or leave her without a partner? Either way, the finale of "Sex and the City" will disappoint some fans. NYT-0104 A Year After the Horror Next Door, Parker Street Is Keeping Watch ... By RICHARD LEZIN JONES It was on Parker Street, in Newark, where the police found the body of Faheem Williams Ea 7-year-old boy failed by New Jersey's troubled child welfare agency. NYT-0104: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Plugging Nuclear Leaks A far more stringent and enforceable set of controls on nuclear equipment exports is urgently needed. NYT-0104: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Paralysis on Clean Air The time has come for Congress to update the 1970 Clean Air Act, last significantly revised by President Bush's father. NYT-0104: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Give Residents a Place to Park ... By JOHN ROSENTHAL Many cities have put in place a system of residential parking permits. Why can't New York? NYT-0104: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR For Haiti, 200 Years of Mixed Results ... By ROBERT FATTON JR. The paradox of the Haitian revolution is that it was fought in the name of liberty and equality and yet the country has experienced little of either. NYT-0105 Rover Unfurls, Opening New Stage in Exploring Mars ... By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD The arrival of the robotic rover Spirit began a new stage in the exploration of the geology and perhaps biology of Mars. NYT-0105: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "We hit the sweet spot." DR. STEVEN W. SQUYRES, on the Spirit spacecraft's landing on Mars. NYT-0105 Kurdish Region in Northern Iraq Will Get to Keep Special Status ... By STEVEN R. WEISMAN The Bush administration has decided to let the region remain semi-autonomous despite warnings from Iraq's neighbors not to divide the country into ethnic states. NYT-0105 China to Kill 10,000 Civet Cats in Effort to Eradicate SARS ... By KEITH BRADSHERand LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN Officials in Guangdong Province in China ordered the killing of every civet cat in the province after a man fell ill with a new strain of the SARS virus. NYT-0105 Mad Cow Forces Beef Industry to Change Course ... By MICHAEL MOSS, RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and SIMON ROMERO The discovery of mad cow disease in the U.S. is forcing the beef industry to accept regulation it has long fought. NYT-0105 News Groups Seek to Open Secret Case ... By LINDA GREENHOUSE A coalition of news and legal organizations is seeking public access to information about a post-Sept. 11 detention case now before the Supreme Court. NYT-0105 Baker to Press Arab Lands to Forgive Huge Iraqi Debt ... By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III faces a new challenge as he tries to persuade wary Arab nations to forgive Iraq's debt. NYT-0105 A Debate on Web Phone Service ... By MATT RICHTEL As the use of internet-based phones grows, how will government handle regulation? NYT-0105 Five Giants in Technology Unite to Deter File Sharing ... By JOHN MARKOFF A global consortium of technology companies is about to campaign Hollywood and the recording industry to convince them that it has found a way to protect digital content. NYT-0105 In Survey, Fewer Are Sharing Files (or Admitting It) ... By JOHN SCHWARTZ How easily do online file swappers scare? Pretty easily, a survey suggests. NYT-0105 Songwriters Say Piracy Eats Into Their Pay ... By DAVID BERNSTEIN Songwriters think of themselves as the unsung victims of Internet music piracy since their incomes can depend on royalties from sales of recorded singles and albums. NYT-0105 A Past of Fear and Pain for First-Time Filmmaker ... By RANDY KENNEDY The road that led Vadim Perelman to the job of directing the highly praised "House of Sand and Fog" was not exactly traditional in film circles. NYT-0105 Broad Overhaul of City Schools Causing Strains ... By ELISSA GOOTMAN and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN Four months into an historic overhaul of the New York City public school system, schools are showing sparks of improvement against a backdrop of confusion. NYT-0105 A Firehouse Culture Where Taunts and Teasing Flourish ... By MICHELLE O'DONNELL A verbal fight that escalated into violence in a Staten Island firehouse, leaving one firefighter in hospital, has opened a window on the city's firehouse culture. NYT-0105: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Year of Spending Dangerously The Bush administration and Congress could have greatly enhanced the economy's prospects if they had been more responsible in their spending. NYT-0105: TODAY'S EDITORIALS The Ephedra Ban Is Not Enough If the legislation on dietary supplements is not revised, manufacturers will continue to market products whose safety and effectiveness have never been proved. NYT-0105: EDITORIAL OBSERVER Holstein Dairy Cows and the Inefficient Efficiencies of Modern Farming ... By VERLYN KLINKENBORG It makes greater financial, ethical and social sense if we subscribe to the cows' notions of efficiency, rather than to ours. NYT-0105: OP-ED COLUMNIST Job and Dean ... By WILLIAM SAFIRE Despite his fuzzy knowledge of the Bible, Howard Dean brought up an interesting point about the Book of Job last week. NYT-0105: OP-ED COLUMNIST Getting Away With... ... By BOB HERBERT There are many terrible things about the case of Darryl Hunt, a man wrongfully incarcerated for half his life on charges of rape and murder. NYT-0105: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The Year Ahead, 20 Years Ago ... By KIRON K. SKINNER A look back at the international scene in 1983 and 1984 might give us hope for a better New Year. NYT-0106 Pakistan Called Libyans' Source of Atom Design ... By PATRICK E. TYLER and DAVID E. SANGER Pakistan was the source of the technology that made it possible for Libya to make major strides in enriching uranium for use in nuclear weapons. NYT-0106 U.S. Begins Screening Program for Monitoring Foreign Visitors ... By ABBY GOODNOUGH and ERIC LICHTBLAU Immigration officers began fingerprinting and photographing tens of thousands of visitors arriving from other countries. NYT-0106 Questions Seen on Seed Prices Set in the 90's ... By DAVID BARBOZA The two biggest seed companies in the world conspired to charge higher prices for genetically modified seeds, according to former executives. NYT-0106: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "It was a good day on Mars." MATT WALLACE, manager of the Spirit robotic rover mission. NYT-0106 W.H.O. Urges China to Use Caution While Killing Civet Cats ... By JIM YARDLEY World health officials warned that a mass slaughter of civet cats could pose serious hazards, including the possibility of more SARS infections. NYT-0106 With Capital at High Risk of Quakes, Iran Weighs Moving It to a Safer Place ... By NAZILA FATHI Tehran is on a major seismological fault, and experts have long warned that an earthquake could be catastrophic. NYT-0106Trials End Parents' Hopes for Autism Drug ... By ANDREW POLLACK The largest and most definitive clinical trial of secretin showed that the drug was no better than a placebo in improving the social interaction of young children with autism. NYT-0106 What's a Canadian Cow? Trade Blurred Distinctions ... By SARAH KERSHAW and BERNARD SIMON The beef industry's effort to distinguish American cattle from Canadian cattle has drawn criticism from Canadian ranchers and cattle industry officials. NYT-0106 3 Top Enforcement Officials Say They Will Leave E.P.A. ... By JENNIFER 8. LEE The timing of the departures suggests frustration with the Bush administration's policy toward enforcement of the Clean Air Act. NYT-0106 Army Delays Discharge for Some G.I.'s in Afghanistan and Mideast ... By THE NEW YORK TIMES The Army is preparing an order that would require about 7,000 troops to remain on duty through the end of their deployments this spring. NYT-0106 S.E.C. Is Looking at U.S. Underwriters of Parmalat Bonds ... By FLOYD NORRIS The Securities and Exchange Commission has indicated that it is looking into whether American underwriters who sold Parmalat bonds committed fraud. NYT-0106 Judge Says Maker of OxyContin Misled Officials to Win Patents ... By GARDINER HARRIS Purdue Pharma, the maker of the highly profitable painkiller OxyContin, deliberately misled federal officials to win patents protecting its drug, a federal judge ruled on Monday. NYT-0106 AOL to Add Spyware Detection to Service ... By JOHN SCHWARTZ America Online will give its customers built-in software to deal with "spyware," hidden tools that can monitor Web surfers' online habits for marketing purposes. NYT-0106 Rose, in New Book, Admits Betting on His Team ... By JACK CURRY The admission by Pete Rose sets in motion a process that may win him reinstatement to baseball and election to the Hall of Fame. NYT-0106 Eyes on Mesopotamian Glory ... By STEPHEN KINZER The looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad in April focused new attention on this ancient civilization, and its glories are now the subject of two lavish shows. NYT-0106 Middle Earth Eclipses a Sailor and a Samurai ... By LAURA M. HOLSON A hobbit and a Middle Earth king reigned at the movie theater this holiday season, largely at the expense of an English seafarer and an American samurai warrior. NYT-0106 A Chance to Assess Ground Zero's Historical Significance ... By HERBERT MUSCHAMP For the first time, independent scholars will have the opportunity to address publicly the historical meaning of ground zero and its value to future generations. NYT-0106 Police to Guard 12 City Schools Cited as Violent ... By ELISSA GOOTMAN A task force of 150 police officers will help impose order on New York City's most violent schools under an initiative announced yesterday by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. NYT-0106 Rowland Property Sale Raises Questions Amid Ethics Inquiry ... By MIKE McINTIRE and ALISON LEIGH COWAN A real estate venture is another troublesome issue for the Connecticut governor, who has been criticized for personal financial dealings with people involved in state business. NYT-0106: editorials 'Busting Chops' in the Firehouse Last week's violence between two Staten Island firefighters raises questions about the close-quartered culture of the firehouse. NYT-0106: editorials The New Queen As the era of supersonic flight seems at an end, a new age of ocean liners, exemplified by the Queen Mary 2, is dawning. NYT-0106: editorials Ready to Roll on Mars With the Spirit rover now operational, NASA has resurrected the long-troubled project of exploring Mars. NYT-0106: OP-ED COLUMNIST Rubin Gets Shrill ... By PAUL KRUGMAN Now even the cool-headed former Treasury secretary, Robert Rubin, is warning that an economic catastrophe is on the way. NYT-0106: OP-ED COLUMNIST The Era of Distortion ... By DAVID BROOKS Like so much public debate, theories about a "neocon" cabal in Washington are based on half-truth and exaggeration. NYT-0106: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The Broken Promise of Nafta ... By JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ In its 10 years of existence, Nafta has shown that a free trade agreement is neither an easy nor an assured road to prosperity. NYT-0106: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Second Thoughts on Free Trade ... By CHARLES SCHUMER and PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS The original case for free trade, made two centuries ago, looks a bit weaker in the face of the modern global economy. NYT-0106: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 6, 1919, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, died in Oyster Bay, N.Y., at age 60. NYT-0107 Bush Would Give Illegal Workers Broad New Rights ... By ELISABETH BUMILLER President Bush will propose a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws on Wednesday that could give legal status to millions of undocumented workers. NYT-0107 World Opinion Is Fragmented on Tighter Security for Visitors ... By ELAINE SCIOLINO The new security measures imposed on travel to the U.S. have sparked strong and starkly different reactions around the world. NYT-0107 In Hussein's Shadow, New Iraqi Army Strives to Be Both New and Iraqi ... By JOHN F. BURNS Around 700 recruits of the new Iraqi Army marched in a graduation parade, nearly 60 percent of them soldiers in Saddam Hussein's army. NYT-0107 Schwarzenegger Promises Better Times for California ... By DEAN E. MURPHY Declaring California an "empire of hope and aspiration," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also warned that the road to recovery would be difficult. NYT-0107 Spam Keeps Coming, but Its Senders Are Wary ... By SAUL HANSELL The new anti-spamming law has gotten the attention of some hard-core spammers, even if it has not cut back their mailing yet. NYT-0107 Apple Introduces a Smaller, Less Expensive iPod ... By JOHN MARKOFF The new unit from Apple of its iPod digital music players will sell for $249. The company also introduced a more powerful server computer based on its new G5 microprocessor. NYT-0107 New Look, Old Story: Fast Start in Defeat ... By LIZ ROBBINS Stephon Marbury and the Knicks started as if they ruled the court against LeBron James and the Cavaliers, but the bliss didn't last. NYT-0107 Memorial to 9/11 Victims Is Selected ... By GLENN COLLINS The memorial at ground zero will be a teeming grove of trees above two deep reflecting pools within the outlines of the twin towers. NYT-0107 Adding Reality's Worries to a Thriller ... By MICHIKO KAKUTANI John le Carres new thriller about a man who is drawn into a circle of radicals has a message: American imperialism poses a grave danger. NYT-0107 $3 Million Deal in Police Killing of Diallo in '99 ... By ALAN FEUER The family of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant who died in a hail of 41 police bullets in 1999, agreed to settle its lawsuit against New York City. NYT-0107: TODAY'S EDITORIALS The Hunt Through Dr. Dean's Past Whatever the public response to the muckraking of Gov. Howard Dean's record in Vermont, Dean has made things worse with his own actions. NYT-0107: TODAY'S EDITORIALS A Lame Confession From Pete Rose The publisher of Pete Rose's new autobiography is promoting it as "a story of redemption," but there is not a lot of redemption visible here. NYT-0107:OP-ED COLUMNIST The God Gulf ... By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF America is riven today by a "God gulf" of distrust, dividing churchgoing Republicans from relatively secular Democrats. NYT-0107: OP-ED COLUMNIST Look Up There ... By WILLIAM SAFIRE The wonderment at the search for life in space is a corrective to all the death and destruction on today's media menu. NYT-0107: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR How to Be an Iowan for a Day ... By DAN SAVAGE Iowa tried to send me to prison for six years because I registered to vote while I was in Iowa. I did this even though I had no intention of ever living there. NYT-0107: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 7, 1979, Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government. NYT-0108 Border Politics as Bush Woos 2 Key Groups With Proposal ... By ELISABETH BUMILLER President Bush's immigration proposal seeks to re-establish him as a compassionate conservative at the start of an election year. NYT-0108 U.S. Withdraws a Team of Weapons Hunters From Iraq ... By DOUGLAS JEHL The step was described by some as a sign that the caches of weapons that were cited as a principal reason for going to war will not be found. NYT-0108 Libyan Stagnation a Big Factor in Qaddafi Surprise ... By PATRICK E. TYLER Experts say a main factor underlying Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's decision to rid Libya of outlawed weapons is his disastrous economic policy. NYT-0108 Study Finds a Drug That Works Better Than Adrenaline for Some Types of Cardiac Arrest ... By DENISE GRADY People with a hard-to-treat type of cardiac arrest are three times as likely to survive if they are given a drug called vasopressin, doctors in Europe are reporting. NYT-0108 Mad Cow Case Heightens Debate on Food Labeling ... By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG Tom Daschle, the Senate Democratic leader, called for the Bush administration to require that supermarket meat carry country-of-origin labels immediately. NYT-0108 U.S. Reasserts Right to Declare Citizens to Be Enemy Combatants ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU The Justice Department will seek an expedited appeal of a federal appeals court decision last month in the case of Jose Padilla, jailed as an enemy combatant in 2002. NYT-0108 Let There Be L.E.D.'s ... By IAN AUSTEN Makers of the technology commonly associated with Christmas lights are aiming to take on the conventional light bulb. NYT-0108 Be It Mobile or Land-Line, a Headset Mates Easily ... By MICHEL MARRIOTT GN Netcom's DuoLink wireless headset is one of the many gee-whiz products introduced at this year's Computer Electronics Show. NYT-0108 To Vary Your Gym Torture, Accessorize ... By MICHELLE SLATALLA In some ways, the bosu, a dome billed as a balance trainer, is a textbook example of a product best bought online. NYT-0108 Drugs, Demons: A Man in a Mask ... By NEIL STRAUSS For Patrick Miller, the pioneer of electronic and industrial music who died last month, the cutting edge was a perilous place. NYT-0108 Governor Tells Connecticut He's Sorry, but Won't Quit ... By MARC SANTORA and MIKE McINTIRE Gov. John G. Rowland of Connecticut admitted Wednesday that he lied to state residents and pleaded to keep his job. NYT-0108: TODAY'S EDITORIALS A Vital Immigration Debate The president deserves praise for reopening the tortuous issue, but his administration has a lot of work to do. NYT-0108: OP-ED COLUMNIST War of Ideas, Part 1 ... By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Ultimately, the world war begun on Sept. 11 is a struggle within the Arab-Muslim world, and we can help our allies there. NYT-0108: OP-ED COLUMNIST Tizzy Over Lezzies ... By MAUREEN DOWD Two things are experiencing a sudden rise in popularity nationwide: George Bush and lesbians. ===== WASHINGTON ? I bet President Bush is more worried about putting on weight, now that his knees hurt too much for him to run, than getting re-elected. I bet he made a New Year's resolution to give up desserts because he's more scared of facing his "inner fat boy," as one Bush pal calls the earlier, beefier beer-drinking incarnation of W., than Howard Dean. After all, the Democrats seem puny wandering around Iowa. And more Americans are pronouncing themselves pleased with Mr. Bush. They like him even though Osama and Al Qaeda are still lurking and frothing, even though we couldn't get through the holidays without an orange alert and flights being canceled, and even though Iraq is still a free-fire zone after a war to get rid of weapons that may not have existed. A top Iraqi rocket scientist, Modher Sadeq-Saba Tamimi, told The Washington Post that he had hidden his designs for nine-ton missiles from U.N. inspectors, but that the weapons themselves did not exist. Karl Rove has the '04 effort well in hand, despite the distraction of Nosy Parkers from Justice trying to out the official who outed an undercover C.I.A. officer. The president and vice president have raised $130.8 million, and are showing a brutal willingness to do whatever it takes to secure key bases. The president courted Hispanics by saying he would try to extend more legal rights to illegal immigrants by offering a new temporary worker status. He courted the religious right by saying he would not try to extend more legal rights to gays by offering a new marital status. Mr. Bush has decided to offer legitimacy only to those dispossessed groups in American society who may be politically useful to him. The president said making illegal immigrants legal would "honor our values," while conservatives went on TV to howl that Mr. Bush was rewarding criminal behavior. The president probably figures that the Republican-led Congress will never pass it anyway, so he can get the credit in states like Florida without having to deal with the results. Mr. Rove presumably thinks that he could actually corral California by going soft on illegal immigrants, even though Arnold Schwarzenegger won there after getting tough on illegal immigrants on the hot-button issue of whether they could have driver's licenses. While Republican strategists argue about whether to turn some poor gay couple who got married in Vermont into Willie and Willie Horton, or just use the issue in targeted spots in bluenosed red states so the president doesn't seem bigoted, the culture is racing ahead. Women kissing women, often as a way of turning on men, has become such a staple of entertainment that by the time Madonna and Britney did it on stage, it seemed more stale than shocking. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that lesbian love had swept high schools here: "You can see this new trend on Friday nights outside Union Station, sweethearts from high schools around the Washington area, some locking lips. . . . These girls pack Ani DiFranco concerts and know Tatu lyrics by heart. Their attention is usually directed exclusively at each other, but not always: a group of girls at a private school in Northwest Washington charge boys $10 to watch the girls make out in front of them." Long regarded as the least glamorous of all minority groups, lesbians are now cover girls. Showtime has a vampy new program about lesbians in L.A. called "The L Word." That landed Jennifer Beals and its other sexy female stars seminude on the cover of this week's New York magazine, with the headline "Not Your Mother's Lesbians." (I didn't know my mother had lesbians.) A cross between "Sex and the City" and a Budweiser ad, "The L Word" features women sitting around the table at a restaurant, tartly dishing about dating, grooming and getting pregnant. But with these very unflannel "lezzies," the search for "fresh meat" and "new blood" is confined to one sex, babies come through sperm-in-a-cup, the waxing discussions are even raunchier, and the weary, worldly bon mots are along the lines of "Lesbians think friendship's another word for foreplay." It's hard to figure, but America seems ready to embrace W. and the L word at the same time. The new L word, that is. NYT-0108: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR One Nation, Under Secularism ... By SUSAN JACOBY The religiosity of Americans breeds the misconception that our government was founded on divine authority rather than human reason. NYT-CIRCUIT-0108 Jobs Discusses the Future of Portable Video At this week's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, I accompanied veteran Times tech reporter John Markoff to an interview with Steve Jobs, Apple's chief visionary officer. At his keynote address that morning, Jobs had unveiled new mini iPods, powerful new servers and a new software suite (iPhoto 4, iMovie 4, iDVD 4 and a new music-making program called GarageBand). But during our half-hour interview, Mr. Jobs answered questions on a wide range of other topics. At one point, Mr. Markoff asked Mr. Jobs about the prospects for a new consumer-electronics category: hand-held video players. He noted that at the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (yet another trade show taking place this week), Bill Gates spoke of Microsoft's initiative to design software for this soon-to-blossom category and displayed early prototypes. But Mr. Jobs outlined three reasons he doubted video players would ever approach the success of audio players ? not even counting their high price ($700 and up) and the time-consuming difficulty of loading huge video files onto them. It was clear from his answers that Mr. Jobs has done quite a bit of thinking about the topic. First, he said, on a video player, "there's just no equivalent of headphones." That is, when you put on headphones and press Play on a music player, the results are spectacular ? you get a very close equivalent to the concert-hall experience. But watching video on a tiny three-inch handheld screen is almost nothing like the experience of watching a movie in a theater or even on TV. It can't approach the same realism or emotional impact. Second, he pointed out that Hollywood has been a much better job of providing outlets for its wares than the recording industry. If you want to see a movie, you can see it in the theater, on DVD, on pay-per-view, on HBO, in flight and so on. On the other hand, Mr. Jobs pointed out that until recently, there was pretty much only one legal way to buy music: go to a store and bring home a CD or tape. The debut of legitimate download services like Apple's iTunes store was a huge factor in the popularity of portable music players -- but there just isn't the same kind of pent-up demand for new movie-buying channels. Finally, Mr. Jobs noted, people just don't consume music and movies the same way. You might listen to a certain song dozens or hundreds of times in your lifetime. But how many times in your life do you watch a movie? Most people probably wouldn't watch even their favorite movies 10 times in their lives, and therefore are don't buy nearly as many movies as they do songs or CD's. (To which I would add: What makes music players so attractive is that you can listen as you work, as you drive, as you exercise. But watching a movie requires your full attention ? and, by the way, for a much longer period of time.) "Now, I'm not saying we're not working on something like that," Mr. Jobs added. "Who knows what we've got in our labs?" But from his comments, he made it clear that he and Mr. Gates were miles apart on their assessment of a technology's future. It wouldn't be the first time. NYT-0109 Bush to Announce Ventures to Mars and the Moon, Officials Say ... By MATTHEW L. WALD and DAVID E. SANGER President Bush will outline a plan next week to establish a base on the moon as a prelude to sending humans to Mars. NYT-0109 9 Soldiers Dead in Crash in Iraq ... By NEELA BANERJEE The U.S. military said the cause of the crash was still under investigation, but witnesses said the helicopter had been downed by a missile. NYT-0109 Latin American Allies of U.S.: Docile and Reliable No Longer ... By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS When President Bush travels to Mexico to confer with leaders from throughout the hemisphere, he will meet a more assertive Latin America. NYT-0109 Powell Admits No Hard Proof in Linking Iraq to Al Qaeda ... By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS The secretary of state conceded that before the Iraq invasion he had no "smoking gun" proof of a link between Saddam Hussein's government and Al Qaeda. NYT-0109 F.D.A. Defers Final Decision About Implants ... By GINA KOLATA The F.D.A. decided to defer its decision on whether to allow silicone breast implants back onto the market, citing the need for more information. NYT-0109 Suspect in Four Family Deaths Is Found Shot ... By ARIEL HART A Georgian who the police say killed four people and fled with three girls was found shot on Thursday after a police chase near the Georgia-Tennessee line. NYT-0109 Government Weighs Lowering Nation's Terrorist Alert Status ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU The Bush administration has seen a downturn in what it considers credible terrorist threats. NYT-0109 Monitoring the Beach House ... By MAREK FUCHS Sensors, cameras and two-way audio devices are being hooked into traditional alarm systems, providing owners of second homes peace-of-mind from afar. NYT-0109 Rose 'Embarrassed' About Baseball Bets ... By JACK CURRY Pete Rose added a humiliating subject to his conversations after admitting in a new book that he bet on baseball games. NYT-0109 Boys Choir Leader Faces Ouster Over Failure to Act After Abuse .. By ALAN FEUER and ROBIN POGREBIN When Walter Turnbull, founder of the Boys Choir of Harlem, was told that a counselor was being accused of abuse, he did not call the police. NYT-0109: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Kurdish Autonomy in Iraq Washington needs to do all it can to block the path of radical forces in Iraq and postpone the June 30 handover if certain conditions are not met. NYT-0109: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Putting the Sex Trade on Notice The Bush administration deserves credit for its tough stance against the enslavement of women and children in the sex trade. NYT-0109: TODAY'S EDITORIALS The Bishops Seek Recovery An audit of the Roman Catholic Church makes clear that outreach programs for victims of sexual abuse and for tracking abusers remain lacking. NYT-0109: OP-ED COLUMNIST Sick State Budgets, Sick Kids ... By BOB HERBERT States across the U.S. are pulling the plug on desperately needed health coverage for low-income Americans, including about a half-million children. NYT-0109: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR American Jobs but Not the American Dream ... By DAVID ABRAHAM President Bush's immigration reform proposal is similar to European guest worker programs that created as many problems as they solved. NYT-0109: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 9, 1968, the Surveyor 7 space probe made a soft landing on the moon, marking the end of the American series of unmanned explorations of the lunar surface. NYT-0110 Hussein Given P.O.W. Status ... By DOUGLAS JEHL The prisoner of war status sets standards for how Saddam Hussein is treated and allows the Red Cross to see him. NYT-0110 Governing Council Parties Are Said to Back Broad Autonomy for Kurds ... By EDWARD WONG The issue has emerged as the most volatile one confronting officials as they try to create a transitional government by July. NYT-0110 Group of Private U.S. Experts Visits North Korea Nuclear Plant ... By JIM YARDLEY The delegation of U.S. experts said they had interviewed a range of top officials and visited the nuclear plant at Yongbyon. NYT-0110 Governor Seeks Big Cuts in California's Spending Plan ... By JOHN M. BRODER Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's first state budget, a $76 billion spending plan, includes cuts in health care, public education and payments to local governments. NYT-0110 Students' Data on Web, and N.Y.U. on Defensive ... By KAREN W. ARENSON N.Y.U. notified about 1,800 of its students that their Social Security numbers, phone numbers, and names had been posted on the Internet. NYT-0110 Free-Market Iraq? Not So Fast ... By DAPHNE EVIATAR Changes to the Iraqi economy are prompting thorny new questions about what occupiers should and should not be permitted to do. NYT-0110 Studying Literature by the Numbers ... By EMILY EAKIN If Franco Moretti, a professor of English at Stanford, had his way, literature scholars would stop reading books and start counting, graphing and mapping them instead. NYT-0110 Savoring Old Murders, Spinning Tales of New Ones ... By MEL GUSSOW P. D. James, 83, has lost none of her zest for writing intricate detective stories and for contemplating the act of murder. NYT-0110 $8 Million Award to Widow Punishes Tobacco Company ... By WILLIAM GLABERSON For the first time in New York State, a Brooklyn jury said that a tobacco company should pay punitive damages for the lung cancer death of a smoker. NYT-0110 West Side Highway Exit Lost to Trump Project ... By MICHAEL LUO New York City officials agreed Friday to close an exit ramp off the West Side Highway to accommodate Donald Trump's $3 billion project. NYT-0110: EDITORIAL OBSERVER Coming to Terms With the Problem of Global Meat ... By VERLYN KLINKENBORG The Holstein found to have mad cow disease was from a Canadian herd, but that doesn't make a difference in the world of global meat. NYT-0110: OP-ED COLUMNIST Wishful Thinking on Korea ... By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF The place we should really lose sleep over is North Korea, not Iraq. President Bush is acquiescing as North Korea builds its nuclear arsenal. NYT-0110: OP-ED COLUMNIST Workers in the Shadows ... By DAVID BROOKS Imagine a person 10 times more determined than you are. That person is the illegal immigrant, and he lives in the shadows of society. NYT-0110: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Destroying the Museum to Save It ... By LEE ROSENBAUM Does the Barnes Foundation, with its trove of Impressionist and modern masterpieces, need to leave the small town for the big city in order to survive? NYT-0110: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR When Safety Costs Too Much ... By SETH STEIN and JOSEPH TOMASELLO The wiser course in defending against disasters such as the recent earthquake in Iran is to develop standards for specific regions. NYT-0111 Challenge for Bootstrap General Is Winning Over the Wary Iraqis ... By JOHN F. BURNS Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez is into his eighth month of the most coveted and challenging field command for any U.S. officer since the Vietnam War. NYT-0111 Incentives Lure Many to Quit, Even With a Lean Job Market ... By LOUIS UCHITELLE Fortified with big pension payouts and promises of health benefits, early retirees are gambling on the devil they don't know rather than sticking with the devil they do. NYT-0111: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "He went to Somalia, made it through three surgeries for cancer, and chose to go to Iraq." SHANNON FELICETTA, whose brother Aaron A. Weaver died in an Army helicopter crash. NYT-0111 U.S. Soldiers Kill 2 Members of Iraqi Police in Gun Battle ... By EDWARD WONG It was the second time in three weeks that U.S. soldiers have killed Iraqi police officers in the volatile northern city of Kirkuk. NYT-0111 Another Test for Qaddafi: Who Infected the Children? ... By PATRICK E. TYLER Assigning blame for an epidemic that spread H.I.V. to more than 400 children in Libya is one of the most difficult political problems facing Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. NYT-0111 Focus on 'Prevention' Divides Cancer Experts ... By GINA KOLATA Even cancer experts who are participating in new prevention efforts are divided on what really can be done to prevent cancer. NYT-0111 No Guardian for a Fetus, Court Rules ... By ABBY GOODNOUGH A Florida appeals court panel ruled that the state could not appoint a guardian for the fetus of a retarded rape victim, a ruling that could have a far-reaching impact. NYT-0111 Some Younger U.S. Arabs Reassert Ethnicity ... By LYNETTE CLEMETSON The ethnic umbrella of Arab Americans includes generations-old long-assimilated families, as well as brand-new immigrants, all with varying religious and cultural traditions. NYT-0111 In a Logistical Ballet, U.S. Is Bringing In Fresh Forces to Iraq ... By ERIC SCHMITT More than 240,000 troops are to move into and out of Iraq, testing the military's ability to handle a major logistical feat while battling the Iraqi insurgency. NYT-0111 The Rise and Fall of Parma's First Family ... By MARK LANDLER and DANIEL J. WAKIN The epic accounting fraud that may have siphoned more than $10 billion out of Parmalat has brought ruin to one of Italy's most ambitious family dynasties. NYT-0111 My So-Called Blog ... By EMILY NUSSBAUM In the online universe there exists a shadow high school where confessional girls and emo boys reveal all. But even the Web can't make being a teenager any easier. NYT-0111 Lesbians on Television: It's Not Easy Being Seen ... By STACEY D'ERASMO Among the assumptions of "The L Word," Showtime's new mini-series about a tightly knit group of lesbians, is that sexual identity blur is already advanced. NYT-0111: TODAY'S EDITORIALS The Faulty Weapons Estimates Last week three new reports cast further doubt on the administration's reckless rush to invade Iraq. NYT-0111: EDITORIAL OBSERVER Can Disabled People Be Forced to Crawl Up the Courthouse Steps? ... By ADAM COHEN George Lane and other disabled people are suing Tennessee under the Americans With Disabilities Act for failing to make courthouses accessible. NYT-0111: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Why the Next Pope Needs to Be Italian ... By ROBERTO PAZZI I was watching when, in 1978, the newly elected pope appeared: a foreigner, Polish. I confess that like many Italians, I felt a bitterness. NYT-0112 Direct Election of Iraq Assembly Pushed by Cleric ... By EDWARD WONG The most influential Shiite cleric in Iraq said Sunday that members of an interim assembly had to be chosen through direct elections. Americans had proposed caucus-style polls. NYT-0112 In Final Debate Before Caucuses, Democrats Tangle on Race Issues By TODD S. PURDUM and ADAM NAGOURNEY The Democratic presidential contenders grappled on Sunday night with issues of race, taxes and national security. NYT-0112 Two Fathers, With One Happy to Stay at Home ... By GINIA BELLAFANTE An emerging population of gay men are not only raising children but are also committed to the idea that one parent should leave the workplace to do it. NYT-0112 Iranian Council Bars Thousands From Vote ... By NAZILA FATHI The move to disqualify half of the 8,200 candidates in parliamentary elections next month provoked outrage among reformers. NYT-0112 Sharon Dismisses Worries of Loss of Jewish Identity ... By JAMES BENNET Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel said on Sunday that he saw no risk that Palestinians could undermine Israel's Jewish identity by gaining a demographic majority. NYT-0112 4th Possible SARS Case Reported in Southeast China Province ... By KEITH BRADSHER The suspected cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome were found in Guangdong, which abuts Hong Kong. NYT-0112 NASA Delays First Journey of Mars Rover ... By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Mars rover Spirit will stay on its lander a day longer than planned, and will not begin rolling onto the planet's landscape until at least late Wednesday. NYT-0112 Business Cheers Bush's Plan to Hire Immigrants More Easily, but Labor Is Wary ... By STEVEN GREENHOUSE The president's proposals would give renewable visas to illegal immigrants already working in the U.S., but many groups have denounced the plan. NYT-0112 Bush Sought to Oust Hussein From Start, Ex-Official Says ... By RICHARD W. STEVENSON President Bush was focused on removing Saddam Hussein from power more than seven months before the Sept. 11 attacks, former Treasury secretary Paul H. O'Neill said. ===== WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 ? President Bush was focused on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq from the start of his administration, more than seven months before the terrorist attacks that he later cited as the trigger for a more aggressive foreign policy, Paul H. O'Neill, Mr. Bush's first Treasury secretary, said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. "From the very beginning, there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go," Mr. O'Neill said in an interview with the CBS program "60 Minutes." Mr. O'Neill, who was dismissed by Mr. Bush more than a year ago over differences on economic policy, said Iraq was discussed at the first National Security Council meeting after Mr. Bush's inauguration. The tone at that meeting and others, Mr. O'Neill said, was "all about finding a way to do it," with no real questioning of why Mr. Hussein had to go or why it had to be done then. "For me, the notion of pre-emption, that the U.S. has the unilateral right to do whatever we decide to do, is a really huge leap," Mr. O'Neill said. Mr. O'Neill gave the interview to "60 Minutes" to promote a new book, "The Price of Loyalty," by Ron Suskind. Mr. O'Neill cooperated extensively on the book, turning over 19,000 documents from his two years as Treasury secretary, including transcripts of National Security Council meetings, Mr. Suskind told "60 Minutes." Mr. O'Neill also gave an interview to Time magazine, which quoted him as casting doubt on the strength of the evidence Mr. Bush cited in making the case for war with Iraq. "In the 23 months I was there, I never saw anything that I would characterize as evidence of weapons of mass destruction," Mr. O'Neill told Time, speaking of his tenure in the administration. "There were allegations and assertions by people. But I've been around a hell of a long time, and I know the difference between evidence and assertions and illusions or allusions and conclusions that one could draw from a set of assumptions. "To me there is a difference between real evidence and everything else," he continued. "And I never saw anything in the intelligence that I would characterize as real evidence." Mr. O'Neill, a former chairman of Alcoa, served in the Nixon and Ford administrations and was close to Vice President Dick Cheney and Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve chairman. Mr. O'Neill had a rocky tenure as Treasury secretary. His departure came after he made it clear he differed with the White House over the need for more tax cuts. In his typically blunt style, he made no effort at the time to pretend he was not angry and hurt over being forced out. But the account of his service to Mr. Bush, as given to Mr. Suskind, whose book is to be published Tuesday, is the first by a former senior Bush administration official. It is sure to fuel questions from Mr. Bush's political opponents about the administration's rationale for invading Iraq, and to focus new attention on Mr. Bush's management style and the balance in the White House between politics and policy. A White House spokesman, Ken Lisaius, said on Sunday night that the administration "simply is not in the business of doing book reviews." Mr. Lisaius said the book and the interviews appeared to be "an attempt to justify the former secretary's own opinions instead of the results this administration has achieved on behalf of the American people." In the interviews and in excerpts from the book, Mr. O'Neill described Mr. Bush as hard to read and seemingly disengaged from the details of many policy debates. He portrayed Mr. Cheney as unwilling to serve the role of honest broker during those debates. In the interviews on Sunday, Mr. O'Neill did not describe in depth the early discussions about removing Mr. Hussein from power. Mr. Suskind told "60 Minutes" that he had documents dating from before Sept. 11, 2001, showing planning for the aftermath of a war with Iraq, covering peacekeeping forces, war crimes tribunals and Iraqi oil fields. Since the Clinton administration, the official position of the United States, backed by bipartisan votes in Congress, has been to call for "regime change" in Iraq. Even before taking office, Mr. Bush had spoken to exiled Iraqi opponents of Mr. Hussein about his desire to drive the Iraqi leader from power. But the administration has disclosed few details of its early thinking about war with Iraq and did not publicly raise the prospect of such a war seriously until August 2002. NYT-0112 To Understand U.S. Jobs Picture, Connect the Dots, and Find the Dots ... By LOUIS UCHITELLE The monthly employment numbers are failing to explain what is really happening to the nation's workers. NYT-0112 American Web Sites Speak the Language of Overseas Users ... By BOB TEDESCHI The N.F.L. will roll out a Chinese-language version of its Web site this month in another move by American companies to capitalize on overseas Internet audiences. NYT-0112 A Bright New Day for the Telecom Industry, if the Public Will Go Along ... By BERNARD SIMON A recent deal between Verizon and Nortel involving Internet phone service has been called the most important development in public telecommunications in 20 years. NYT-0112 Internet Said to Gain as Source for News ... By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS People are turning increasingly to alternatives like the Internet for news about the presidential campaign, shifting away from traditional outlets, a poll found. NYT-0112 Sweeten the Image, Hold the Bling-Bling ... By LOLA OGUNNAIKE Tired of being viewed as one-dimensional gangstas, today's rappers are making a conscious effort to clean up their acts while still on top. NYT-0112 Deja Nu? Stars Return, Now Spoofing Their Spoof ... By BEN BRANTLEY Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick goof on their characters in easygoing ways that never tear at the show's glossy fabric as seen at the St. James Theater. NYT-0112 Searching for Modern Lessons in Films That Recall Old Wars ... By A. O. SCOTT Audiences are sure to find the contemporary relevance in the new war film, "The Battle of Algiers," and in the rerelease of "The Fog of War." NYT-0112 Even as Calls Mount to Resign, Rowland Sees Reasons to Stay ... By MARC SANTORA Friends and aides of Gov. John G. Rowland believe that an excruciating combination of pressures might make the pain of resigning worse than the agony of hanging on. NYT-0112: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Temporary Immigration For President Bush's immigration proposal to succeed, it needs to offer at least some workers a way to stay in America. NYT-0112: TODAY'S EDITORIALS America's Red Ink Who was in for a scolding from the International Monetary Fund last week? Haiti? Argentina? Mexico? Not exactly. It was the United States. NYT-0112: OP-ED COLUMNIST 'Spinning Into Control' ... By WILLIAM SAFIRE The practical impact of American action on the spread of dangerous weaponry in antidemocratic hands. NYT-0112: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The Vital Republican Center ... By CHRISTIE WHITMAN Alienating moderates from the Republican party will bring an end to a sensible discussion of issues and will destroy American politics as a result. NYT-0112: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 12, 1915, the United States House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote. NYT-0113 Bush Team Revising Plans for Granting Self-Rule to Iraqis ... By STEVEN R. WEISMAN The Bush administration is revising its proposed process for handing over power to an interim Iraqi government by June 30. NYT-0113 Justices Allow Policy of Silence on 9/11 Detainees ... By LINDA GREENHOUSE The Supreme Court turned down an appeal challenging the secrecy surrounding the arrest and detention of hundreds of people, nearly all Muslim men, after the attacks. NYT-0113 At Conference, Fox Backs Bush's Guest-Worker Plan ... By ELISABETH BUMILLER and TIM WEINER President Vicente Fox called the plan "a very important step forward for many Mexican workers in the United States." NYT-0113 G.I.'s Fire on Family in Car, Killing 2, Witnesses Say ... By EDWARD WONG G.I.'s killed an Iraqi man and a boy and wounded four others in a car driving behind their convoy after a bomb went off nearby. NYT-0113 Some Fliers Could Avoid Extra Scrutiny ... By MATTHEW L. WALD Passengers who voluntarily submit to a background check could be exempt from being routinely selected for extra screening at airports. NYT-0113 Bush Disputes Ex-Official's Claim That Iraq War Was Early Goal ... By RICHARD W. STEVENSON President Bush disputed a suggestion by Paul H. O'Neill, the former Treasury secretary, that the White House was looking for a reason to go to war with Iraq. NYT-0113 At Conference, Fox Backs Bush's Guest-Worker Plan ... By ELISABETH BUMILLER and TIM WEINER President Vicente Fox called the plan "a very important step forward for many Mexican workers in the United States." NYT-0113 Fast Gaining in Technology, China Poses Trade Worries ... By STEVE LOHR As China moves to expand its technology industries, the government has taken unusual steps that are leading to new trade tensions with the United States. NYT-0113 In Texas Two-Step, Clemens Joins the Astros ... By TYLER KEPNER Roger Clemens has called off retirement before ever taking the rocking chair from the attic. He will continue his career with Houston, agreeing to a one-year contract. NYT-0113 The Salt of the Earth ... By MELISSA SANFORD The Dia Art Foundation is studying whether Robert Smithson's "Spiral Jetty," an earth sculpture located in Salt Lake City, needs preserving. NYT-0113 Lobbying for Golden Globes Is a Hollywood Ritual ... By SHARON WAXMAN The Golden Globes are a national ritual watched by some 20 million Americans every year. But few in Los Angeles view them as anything but an effective marketing tool. NYT-0113 Freedom Twisted by Corrupt Regimes ... By MARGO JEFFERSON While the three plays of corruption in Russia and Poland at LaMama Experimental Theater Club have a lot to teach us, one in particular is a bit overwhelming. NYT-0113 A Judge's Struggle to Avoid Imposing a Penalty He Hated ... By BENJAMIN WEISER A federal judge who gave a heavy sentence, 10 years in prison, to a man convicted on child pornography charges angrily denounced his own decision. NYT-0113 Proposal Would Tax Businesses That Do Not Insure Workers ... By RICHARD PEREZ-PENA Two powerful interest groups are proposing an audacious and costly effort by New York State to cover one million people without health insurance and modernize hospitals. NYT-0113: TODAY'S EDITORIALS A Glimmer of Hope on Trade The Bush administration has indicated a desire to revive efforts to make the global trading system fairer to poor countries. NYT-0113: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Rigged Ballots in Iran Iranians, Washington and the European Union should sustain pressure on Iran's mullahs, who are trying to disqualify thousands of candidates for Parliament. NYT-0113: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Partnership Rights for Gays New Jersey's new law, passed recently with little fanfare, should encourage other states to redress discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. NYT-0113: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Decapitating Appalachia Rolling back another environmental safeguard, the Interior Department will permit strip-mining operations to reduce more mountaintops to heaps of rubble. NYT-0113: OP-ED COLUMNIST The Awful Truth ... By PAUL KRUGMAN With Paul O'Neill joining the ranks, the credentials of the Bush critics just keep getting better. NYT-0113: OP-ED COLUMNIST The Bush Democrats ... By DAVID BROOKS The events of the past three years have exposed divisions among Democrats, while the Republicans are more unified. NYT-0113: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Unstable and Out of Control ... By MARIAN L. SACHS It's time to end New York's rent regulation system, which only worsens the problems it was created to solve. NYT-0113: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Where Roma Soap Meets Dove ... By ROSSANA FUENTES-BERAIN In Mexico, the results of Nafta sit on the supermarket shelves, where domestic brands now compete with American products. NYT-0113: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 13, 1990, Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation's first elected black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond. NYT-0114 Hussein Warned Iraqis to Beware Outside Fighters, Document Says ... By JAMES RISEN Saddam Hussein warned Iraqis to be wary of joining forces with foreign fighters entering Iraq to battle U.S. troops. NYT-0114 Canadians to Bid on Iraq Projects ... By ELISABETH BUMILLER The president reversed U.S. policy and said Canada would be allowed to bid on Iraq projects, ending a dispute with an ally. NYT-0114 A Swiss Woman Steps Forward Again to Aid Refugees ... By ELAINE SCIOLINO A new law offers to pardon those who were penalized for violating Switzerland's neutrality during World War II. NYT-0114 Berlusconi Can Be Prosecuted, Court Rules ... By FRANK BRUNI Italy's highest court overturned a law that shielded Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from criminal prosecution while in office. NYT-0114 Water Pump Case Tests Federal Law ... By FELICITY BARRINGER The Supreme Court will decide whether a pumping station that has been pouring millions of gallons of storm runoff into the Florida Everglades falls under the purview of the Clean Water Act. NYT-0114 Ohio Cleric Arrested; Terror Link Is Cited ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU A leading Islamic cleric who runs Ohio's largest mosque was arrested Tuesday on charges that he concealed his ties to terrorist causes when applying for U.S. citizenship. NYT-0114 Bush Meets Skepticism on Free Trade at Americas Conference ... By TIM WEINER The way in which the U.S. uses its money and power in the Western Hemisphere still makes some of its allies angry. NYT-0114 Couple Set to Plead Guilty in Enron Case ... By KURT EICHENWALD Andrew S. Fastow, the former chief financial officer of Enron, and his wife, Lea, have agreed to plead guilty just days after their negotiations with the government collapsed. NYT-0114 Bush Proposal Seeks to Block Leasing Done for Tax Benefit ... By EDMUND L. ANDREWS The Bush administration introduced proposals on Tuesday to block several corporate tax shelters, signaling a new effort by the administration to take the lead on tax loopholes. NYT-0114 Kodak to Stop Selling Traditional Cameras in U.S. ... By REUTERS The move is an effort by Kodak to cut lines with declining appeal in favor of fast-growing digital products. NYT-0114 Yahoo! and China's S.I.N.A. to Create Auction ... By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Yahoo! Inc. and a leading Chinese Internet portal have agreed to form an auctions-based service for online buyers and sellers in China. NYT-0114 Clemens's Decision Doesn't Annoy Jeter ... By JACK CURRY Roger Clemens told Derek Jeter about his discussions with the Houston Astros and how he was waiting for his family to give approval for him to pitch one more season. NYT-0114: editorials Governor Rowland Should Resign The Connecticut governor's administration has been tainted beyond redemption by a tangle of money, influence and favoritism. NYT-0114: editorials A Jolt of Democracy in Georgia The country's promising new leader, the adept and educated Mikhail Saakashvili, faces tough challenges and the temptation of demagoguery. NYT-0114: EDITORIAL OBSERVER Paul O'Neill, Unplugged, or What Would Alexander Hamilton Have Done? ... By ANDRES MARTINEZ The former Treasury secretary's tale is a woeful one of holding a hallowed office but being subservient to the likes of Karl Rove. NYT-0114: OP-ED COLUMNIST Inviting All Democrats By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF The candidates talking about trade policy should come to Cambodia and see how economically naive their proposals are. NYT-0114: OP-ED COLUMNIST The Kurdish Question By WILLIAM SAFIRE Persuading the Kurds in Iraq not to demand so much autonomy that it may endanger the nation's unity will be a delicate task. NYT-0114: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Follow the Money ... By MARTIN MAYER Tracing the United States currency that Saddam Hussein possessed might give us a better picture of the financial flow of terrorism. NYT-0114: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Orange Crunch ... By JACK WEISS With the cost of security falling to strapped city budgets, it's only a matter of time before our cities start ignoring heightened terror alerts. NYT-0114: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 14, 1943, President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill opened a wartime conference in Casablanca. NYT-0115 $58 Billion Deal to Unite 2 Giants of U.S. Banking ... By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN The merger would create a true rival to the world's largest banking company, Citigroup, with $1.1 trillion in assets. NYT-0115 History Offers Reasons to Be Cautious on Bush's Space Plan ... By WILLIAM J. BROAD The history of bold visions for human spaceflight is littered with more failures, delays and cost overruns than clear successes. NYT-0115: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "We do not know where this journey will end, yet we know this: human beings are headed into the cosmos." PRESIDENT BUSH NYT-0115 Gaza Mother, 22, Kills Four Israelis in Suicide Bombing ... By GREG MYRE The bomber said in a video released after her attack that "it was always my wish to turn my body into deadly shrapnel against the Zionists." NYT-0115 Iraqi Team Disables Bombs With a Snip and a Prayer ... By NEELA BANERJEE As self-rule and security are turned over to the Iraqis, some, like those in the Baghdad bomb squad, are already shouldering the burden. NYT-0115 Swedish Foreign Minister's Killer Blames 'Voices' in His Head ... By ALAN COWELL The confessed killer of Sweden's foreign minister denied that he had intended to murder her but said he could not ignore voices in his head. NYT-0115 Vaccine Is Said to Fail to Protect Against Flu Strain ... By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that this season's influenza vaccine failed to protect against the Fujian strain that has caused most cases. NYT-0115 F.B.I. Director Calls Attack Quite Likely ... By ERIC LICHTBLAU The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, said on Wednesday that terrorists would "quite probably" strike the United States again and that Al Qaeda remained a major threat. NYT-0115 Senate Committee Requests Tax and Fund-Raising Records for 27 Muslim Charities .. By PHILIP SHENON The request is part of an investigation by the Senate Finance Committee into possible links between the charities and terrorist groups. NYT-0115 Retrieving a Rare Glimpse of Those Fabled 1,000 Days ... By FRED A. BERNSTEIN The negatives of Jacques Lowe's photos of John F. Kennedy were destroyed on 9/11, but scans of the contact sheets were used to reproduce the pictures for a book. NYT-0115 Box Offices on Broadway Feel the Chill ... By JESSE McKINLEY The first weeks of winter, always a grim time for Broadway, look even worse this year due to bitter weather and waning tourism in New York. NYT-0115 Union Urges Faster Removal of Incompetent Teachers ... By DAVID HERSZENHORN The New York City teachers' union proposed cutting to six months the time it takes to remove incompetent teachers. NYT-0115 Scouring Rowland's Record for the Quid and the Quo ... By MIKE MCINTIRE and ALISON LEIGH COWAN Gov. John G. Rowland of Connecticut drew a line in the sand when he insisted that he never took any action in exchange for gifts he accepted from state contractors. NYT-0115: TODAY'S EDITORIALS Bush's Space Vision Thing Before Congress approves President Bush's billion-dollar promise to NASA, it should carefully consider the focus and future cost of the plan. NYT-0115: OP-ED COLUMNIST War of Ideas, Part 3 ... By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Saddam Hussein's trial will coincide with another trial, that of the Iraqi people Eand the world will see whether they can live together without an iron fist. NYT-0115: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Life (and Death) on Mars ... By PAUL DAVIES The first manned spaceflight to Mars, though invaluable to science, would most likely be a one-way trip for the astronauts. NYT-0116 Mexico Awaits Hague Ruling on Citizens on U.S. Death Row ... By ADAM LIPTAK In a struggle that has raised questions about the reach of international law, Mexico is challenging the death sentences of 52 Mexican citizens in the U.S. NYT-0116: QUOTATION OF THE DAY "This is a big relief. Our wheels are finally dirty." ROB MANNING, a mission manager, on the Mars rover's first drive. NYT-0116 Bush's Power to Plan Trial of Detainees Is Challenged ... By NEIL A. LEWIS In a 30-page brief filed with the Supreme Court, five military lawyers assigned to defend detainees assert that President Bush worked to "create a legal black hole." NYT-0116 Women Having Sex, Hoping Men Tune In ... By ALESSANDRA STANLEY Showtime's new series ostensibly celebrates the lesbian life with characters more nuanced and plausible than the heroines on "Sex and the City." NYT-0116:TODAY'S EDITORIALS Hints of a New Harmony on Iraq The Bush administration and the United Nations are speaking of each other in far more constructive tones than those used in the past year. NYT-0116: OP-ED COLUMNIST Masters of Deception ... By BOB HERBERT Al Gore has made it clear that the broad interests of the American public are consistently betrayed by President Bush and his administration. NYT-0116: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The Justices Take On the President ... By ANTHONY LEWIS The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases that challenge the Bush administration's most sweeping claims of power. NYT-0116: ON THIS DAY On Jan. 16, 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi NYT-0116 NYT-0116 NYT-0116 NYT-0116