14th of November 2004 News
الأخبار كما ظهرت في الصفحة الأولى لصحيفة نيويورك تايمز في ١٤ نوفمبر ٢٠٠٤
NEWS SUMMARY
Date: 15 November 2004
INTERNATIONAL A3-12 Falluja Rebels Routed As Mosul Revolt Intensifies American forces overran the last center of rebel resistance in Falluja after a weeklong invasion that smashed what they called the principal base for the Iraqi insurgency. But the assault's overwhelming firepower left large swathes of the city in smoking ruins. A1 Battles erupted between insurgents and American and Iraqi forces in Mosul, and American armored vehicles encircled a town near the Syrian border where the revolt had spread, prompting residents to flee. The fighting marked the fourth day of an uprising that has decimated the police forces and opened up a northern front as the Americans fought in Falluja, 250 miles south. A12 A hospital in Germany has again become the first destination for most troops wounded in Iraq. It has expanded its intensive care unit, brought in extra nurses and doubled up doctors on shifts. Most new patients were wounded in the Falluja operation. A11 Violence at Arafat Memorial A group of Palestinians unleashed bursts of gunfire as Mahmoud Abbas, the most likely successor to Yasir Arafat, arrived at a mourning service for Mr. Arafat in Gaza City. Mr. Abbas was not hurt. The Palestinian leadership announced that elections would be held on Jan. 9. A1 New Nuclear Pledge From Iran The governments of France, Germany and Britain are studying a letter delivered by Iran in which it pledged to suspend uranium enrichment activities temporarily in exchange for economic and political incentives. It was unclear whether Iran had agreed to all the conditions set out or had inserted new conditions that could not be accepted. A6 Rumsfeld Views Panama Canal Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld inspected the Panama Canal and praised efforts by the government there to guard it from terrorist attack. A9 NATIONAL A15-19 Democrats' Slide in South Erodes Political Center Only 4 of the 22 senators from the 11 states of the old Confederacy will be Democrats in the new Congress, the fewest since Reconstruction. Analysts say their decline could intensify the divisions on Capitol Hill. A1 Republicans expanded their majorities in the House and Senate for the term beginning in January, but the post-election session will be the domain of the current Congress, with its much smaller divide in the Senate. A18 Cubans Seek Asylum in the U.S. Forty-four Cuban dancers, singers and musicians, in Las Vegas to stage a revue, plan to seek political asylum in the United States, members of the troupe said. It would apparently be the largest mass defection of Cuban performers ever. A15 New Lincoln Museum in Illinois Springfield, Ill., is honoring Abraham Lincoln nearly a century and a half after his death with what promises to be a spectacular and perhaps controversial museum. A15 University Presidents' Pay The earnings of many top university presidents are spiraling toward $1 million a year and rising far more quickly than faculty salaries. A17 Frist Puts Onus on Specter Senator Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader, said that Senator Arlen Specter must convince his fellow Republicans that he deserves to be chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. A18 SCIENCE/HEALTH F.D.A. to Combat Counterfeits The Food and Drug Administration and several major drug makers are expected to announce an agreement to put tiny radio antennas on the labels of millions of medicine bottles to combat counterfeiting and fraud. A1 NEW YORK/REGION B1-8 New York Republicans Do Some Soul-Searching Republican members of Congress from New York have taken the unusual step of publicly criticizing the Republican party and questioning Governor Pataki's leadership, igniting a fight over the direction the party should take. B1 Muslim Film Finally Opens The American premiere of the animated feature ''Muhammad: The Last Prophet,'' marked the end of the film's five-year journey to commercial theaters in the United States. B1 Codey Sworn In in New Jersey Richard J. Codey, the president of the New Jersey State Senate, was sworn in as acting governor of New Jersey at a private ceremony at his home. B8 Neediest Cases B4 SPORTSMONDAY D1-9 ARTS E1-12 P.S. 122 Names Director Vallejo Gantner, a 30-year-old Australian director with a sizable international résumé, has been chosen as the next artistic director of Performance Space 122, a bastion of avant-garde theater and dance in the East Village. E3 Venice Theater Reopens Venice's legendary Teatro La Fenice reopened with a new production of ''La Traviata'' after having been destroyed by fire on the night of Jan. 29, 1996. E3 OBITUARIES B9 Dr. Arthur H. Robinson A geographer who improved on the venerable Mercator projection for drawing the round Earth on a flat map, he was 89. B9 BUSINESS DAY C1-12 Dow Jones in Web News Deal Dow Jones is set to announce today that it will pay about $486 million for the parent company of CBS MarketWatch, a business news site, giving it a broader online reach and a source of advertising revenue. C1 Net Analysts on the Rise As the stock prices of companies like Google and eBay have soared this year, the influence of two big-name equity analysts on Wall Street has followed suit. C1 Google Investors Await Fate Google insiders will be permitted to sell as many as 39 million shares tomorrow. C1 Perrigo Is Set to Buy Agis Perrigo plans to announce that it will buy Agis Industries for $818 million in cash and stock. C2 Warner Brothers Bets Big Warner Brothers, which spent hundreds of millions of dollars to open five films during the holiday season, has had a disappointing start in its sprint to the end of the year. C1 Business Digest C1 EDITORIAL A20-21 Editorials: The larger battle in Iraq; end run toward a U.N. cloning ban; Adam Cohen on the Democrats and linguistics. Columns: William Safire and Bob Herbert. Autos D10 Bridge E10 Crossword E4 Metro Diary B2 TV Listings E11 Weather A14
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FASB to Delay Rule on Debt Held for Sale
Date: 15 November 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Financial Accounting Standards Board will probably delay until 2005 new rule approved in March that would require banks, insurance companies and other institutions to recognize unrealized losses in net income statements for 'available for sale' bonds; under new rules, opposed by major finance companies, losses from bond portfolios would cut earnings unless managers prove they have ability and intent to hold bonds until their value was recovered (M)
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W. R. Grace Files New Bankruptcy Plan
Date: 15 November 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
W R Grace & Co, maker of chemicals and building material, files bankruptcy reorganization plan that would limit its asbestos-related payments to $1.61 billion; acts after failing to reach accord with creditors, shareholders and representatives of people who filed asbestos injury claims under one-month extension granted by bankruptcy court (S)
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NEWS SUMMARY
Date: 14 November 2004
INTERNATIONAL 3-18 Falluja Stronghold Attacked Army tanks and fighting vehicles began blasting their way into the last major rebel stronghold in Falluja at sundown after American warplanes and artillery prepared the way with a savage barrage on the district. 1 As American marines have blasted their way through the last rebel strongholds in Falluja, another insurgent outpost has grown stronger 30 miles down the road in Ramadi. 10 Secretary General Kofi Annan's reluctance to commit staff members to Iraq in large numbers and comments he has made about the war appear to have strained relations with the Bush administration. 15 Fire Destroys Dutch Mosque A small mosque was destroyed by fire in the Netherlands in what police suspect may have been the latest in a spate of at least 20 arson attacks since a filmmaker was killed. 6 Assisting Palestinian Elections Israel, acting under American encouragement and in some cases pressure, has quietly taken steps aimed at facilitating Palestinian elections in the next two months, according to American and Israeli officials. 1 Yasir Arafat's death brought the Palestinian factions together in a rare display of unity, which the emerging leadership is hoping to cement. But the armed militant groups say they will not agree to any cease-fire as long as Israeli forces remain in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 18 Palestinian officials vowed elections within 60 days for a president with the authority to resume peace talks with Israel. 18 S.U.V.'s Spread to Europe S.U.V.'s are becoming more popular in Europe. But a counter movement is developing of those who believe that S.U.V.'s are not only pollution-spewing monstrosities, but also unwieldy symbols of American-style excess. 3 NATIONAL 20-33 Cheney Taken to Hospital Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart trouble, was taken to a hospital Saturday for tests after experiencing some shortness of breath, a White House spokesman said. 30 Tensions Within C.I.A. Deep, unresolved tensions between new leaders and senior career officers at the Central Intelligence Agency threaten to set off a rebellion within the agency's clandestine service, according to current and former intelligence officials. 24 Merck Reacted Slowly A detailed reconstruction of Merck's handling of its drug Vioxx, based on interviews and internal company documents, suggests that actions the company took soon after the drug's safety was questioned may have affected the health of potentially thousand of patients. 1 Democrats Gain in Montana Democrats in Montana took every statewide office but one on Election Day with the kind of candidates who may offer some hint as to how the party can find its way in the vast inland sea of Republican red. 28 New Mexico Is Still Counting New Mexico is the only state that does not have a clear-cut winner in the presidential vote, and state officials are red-faced over the slow count. 26 Safety Group Tied to Industry Operation Lifesaver is the nation's largest and most influential rail-safety group, but documents show that the organization is tightly bound to the railroad industry, and its critics, including many accident victims, say it inoculates railroads against liability in grade-crossing collisions. 1 Fluke Improves Air Quality Air quality in the Los Angeles basin this year has been the best in 25 years, largely because of an aberration in the weather. But the region, the bowl-shaped home to 17 million people, remains the nation's capital of bad air. 20 Gay Groups Plot Comeback About 2,500 organizers from gay groups across the country met in St. Louis, the first large-scale gathering since the Nov. 2 elections. 30 NEW YORK/REGION 35-43 Rapper Dead at 35 Russell T. Jones, the rap artist known as O.D.B., collapsed and died yesterday at a recording studio in Manhattan, the police said. Mr. Jones, a 35-year-old native of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, was a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan. 38 Neediest Cases 43 OBITUARIES 44 SCIENCE/HEALTH Malaria Drug in Short Supply A Chinese herbal drug that is strikingly effective against malaria is in critically short supply because of rising demand, public health officials say. Supply crises are looming in 40 tropical countries that have used the drug heavily. 8 Chess 43 Weather 45
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Nets Get Good News on Kidd, Finally
Date: 15 November 2004
By Jason Diamos
Jason Diamos
New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd says he is recovered from knee surgery and predicts return in December (M)
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A Goal Is Met. What's Next?
Date: 15 November 2004
By Eric Schmitt
Eric Schmitt
News analysis: having wrested most of Falluja from insurgent control, United States and govenment of interim prime minister Ayad Allawi must decide where to go from here; two allies must still combat resilient and dangerous insurgency operating in most of Iraq, accelerate huge economic reconstruction effort and lay groundwork for elections to be held in Jan; there are enormous obstacles remaining to meet these military, economic and political targets; American commanders anticipated surge in violence across country after fight for Falluja, but they are stunned by scope and size of attacks on Mosul, and they are scrambling to regain initiative; commanders in Falluja attack acknowledge that hundreds of fighters and their commanders, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, slipped away before offensive; intelligence reports indicate that battle for Falluja has become big recruiting draw for young Arab men in mosques across Middle East (M)
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Do New Drugs Always Have to Cost So Much?
Date: 14 November 2004
By Eduardo Porter
Eduardo Porter
Analysis of question of why new prescription drugs cost so much; notes that they are expensive to invent, but relatively cheap to make; says companies receive patents from government that grant them monopoly and enable them to sell medicine at premium; notes some economists say that there is no inexorable economic reason for drug prices to be as high as they are; chart; graph; drawing (M)
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CHANGE OF HEART
Date: 14 November 2004
By Mark A. Stein
Mark Stein
Review of News Corp's move to adopt 'shareholder rights plan' after Liberty Media, run by John C Malone, seeks to raise its stake to 17 percent from 9; plan would allow Rupert Murdoch and shareholders other than Malone to buy new stock at big discount if any investor besides Murdoch controls 15 percent or more of voting shares (S)
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It's Good to Be Objective. It's Even Better to Be Right.
Date: 14 November 2004
By Daniel Okrent
Daniel Okrent
Daniel Okrent, in Public Editor column, holds that some New York Times reporters think that getting 'expert' to comment adds aura of objectivity to their articles, but other reporters argue that objectivity is unachievable; Okrent holds that in most cases he does not need analysis of expert because it is reporter he is finally compelled to rely upon (M)0
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Anchor Away
Date: 14 November 2004
By Bill Carter
Bill Carter
Traces career of NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, who retires on Dec 1 and will be replaced by Brian Williams; looks at qualities that made Brokaw lead in ratings; considers NBC's current prime-time rating difficulties; interviews; photos (L)
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Dow Jones Is Said to Agree to a Deal to Buy MarketWatch
Date: 15 November 2004
By Andrew Ross Sorkin
Andrew Sorkin
Dow Jones & Co is expected to buy MarketWatch, parent of financial news Web site CBS MarketWatch, for about $486 million; acquisition of free news site marks stratetic shift for Dow Jones, which has focused its online efforts almost exclusively on paid subscription services (M)
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