Thursday, February 20, 2003

Bush Touts Economic Plan. President Bush argued today that his multibillion-dollar tax cut plan would significantly improve the business outlook. By The Associated Press. 12:31:08 PM

F.C.C. Eases Some Rules on How Bells Treat Rivals. Against the opinion of the F.C.C. chief, federal regulators agreed to let states decide whether to spur competition between regional Bell companies and their rivals. By Stephen Labaton with David Stout. 12:31:08 PM

F.C.C. Eases Some Rules on How Bells Treat Rivals. Against the opinion of the F.C.C. chief, federal regulators agreed to let states decide whether to spur competition between regional Bell companies and their rivals. By Stephen Labaton with David Stout. 12:31:02 PM

F.C.C. Gives States Authority Over Phone Rules. Against the opinion of the F.C.C. chief, federal regulators agreed to let states decide whether to spur competition between regional Bell companies and their rivals. By The Associated Press. 11:31:07 AM

Attacks on Civilians Intensifying in Southern Philippines. MANILA, Feb. 20 Sixteen people were killed in a series of violent episodes in the southern Philippines the past two days. In one incident, about 50 armed men raided a remote village in the dead of night and massacred 14 civilians, 3 of them children, the military announced today. By Carlos H. Conde. 11:31:02 AM

Arab Summit to Be Held in Cairo. Arab leaders will meet on March 1 in a new effort to forge a united position on President Bush's threats to attack Iraq over its weapons programs. By Steven Lee Myers. 11:31:02 AM

Weather Slows Search for Victims, and Answers, in Iran Crash. Rescue workers continued searching today in the mountains of Sirach where a military aircraft crashed on Wednesday. By Nazila Fathi. 11:31:01 AM

NPS Pharmaceuticals to Acquire Enzon in $770 Million Deal. Continuing the consolidation of the biotechnology sector, NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to acquire Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a stock deal. By The Associated Press. 10:31:01 AM

European Raids Seek Evidence of Collusion in Tanker Shipping. Odfjell A.S.A. and several other companies have been raided by antitrust officials seeking evidence that they conspired to fix prices on tanker services. By Bloomberg News. 9:26:08 AM

World Briefing: Americas. ECUADOR: Melting Ice Reveals 1976 Plane Crash;. 9:26:07 AM

Police Arrest 10 in Raid on Basque Newspaper. Spanish police arrested 10 people today in raids on the offices of Basque nationalist newspaper Egunkaria. By Reuters. 9:26:05 AM

Pakistan Air Force Chief Killed in Military Plane Crash. A plane crashed into a mountainside today in a remote region of northwestern Pakistan, killing all 17 people on board. By The Associated Press. 9:26:05 AM

Venezuelan Strike Leader Is Arrested. Strike leader Carlos Fernandez was seized at a restaurant on Wednesday night by gunmen who identified themselves as members of the secret police. By The Associated Press. 9:26:05 AM

North Korean Fighter Intrudes on South's Airspace. There is a question of whether the flight was strategically timed to precede the arrival of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in South Korea on Monday. By Don Kirk. 9:26:04 AM

U.S. Awaits Turkey's Response to Aid Deal on Iraq. The U.S. expects to hear from Turkey today on an effort to open a northern front against Iraq if war comes. By The Associated Press. 9:26:03 AM

National Briefing: South. ARKANSAS: $62 Million In Budget Cuts; FLORIDA: Sentence Reduced In Tv Murder Case;. 9:26:03 AM

National Briefing: Southwest. TEXAS: Reprieve For Damaged Bank Tower; ARIZONA: Plan To Change Death Penalty System;. 9:26:02 AM

Photos Bolster Idea of Water, and Possibly Life, on Mars. A new theory and a revised interpretation of earlier observations have bolstered the idea that Mars has more water than previously thought. By John Noble Wilford. 9:26:01 AM

Federal Debt Near Ceiling; Second Time in 9 Months. WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 ÷ With budget deficits climbing rapidly, the Bush administration acknowledged today that the government had reached its legal limit on borrowing and would run short of cash by early April unless Congress once again raised the debt ceiling. By Edmund L. Andrews. 9:26:01 AM

Conservancy Reaches Deal to Preserve Hearst Land. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 19 ÷ The Hearst Corporation and conservationists reached an agreement today that will potentially protect tens of thousands of unspoiled acres around Hearst Castle. By Barbara Whitaker. 9:25:58 AM

Government Tells Vigilantes Their 'Help' Isn't Necessary. Government officials are trying to discourage Americans who might be tempted to mount attacks on the computers and Web sites of Saddam Hussein's supporters. By David F. Gallagher. 9:25:57 AM

2 Introduce Legislation That Is Close to Homes. Two freshman senators propose their first bills and demonstrate the adage: "All politics is local." By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 9:25:57 AM

Being Prepared. The Department of Homeland Security began an education campaign yesterday about how to prepare for terrorist attacks, including advertisements and a Web site, www.ready.gov. These were among the department's recommendations. 9:25:56 AM

Few Signs of Less Terror Threat as a Lower Alert Is Considered. American officials said that there was scant new and specific intelligence to show that the potential threat of another terrorist attack had actually been reduced. By James Risen. 9:25:55 AM

Gephardt, Taking Aim at White House, Sharply Attacks Bush. Representative Richard A. Gephardt began his second campaign for president in 16 years with a fierce attack on President Bush's domestic and economic policies. By Adam Nagourney. 9:25:54 AM

All Governors to Be Asked to Back Bush on Medicaid. The secretary of health and human services said he wants the nation's governors to endorse the president's proposal for sweeping changes in Medicaid. By Robert Pear. 9:25:53 AM

Police Seek Handyman in Kidnapping. Investigators are looking for a homeless handyman who worked one afternoon at the house in Salt Lake City where Elizabeth Smart, 14, was abducted. By The New York Times. 9:25:52 AM

27.5 Inches Mostly a Minor Hurdle in Boston. BOSTON, Feb. 19 ÷ The stress of Boston's record snowfall may have been too much for at least one person this week. By Pam Belluck. 9:25:52 AM

Better Child Health Is Seen as Environment Ills Decline. A new government report concludes that children's health has improved in areas where the government has taken aim at environmental hazards. By Jennifer 8. Lee. 9:25:51 AM

Study Finds Vaccine Doesn't Lead to Child Bacterial Infections. There is no evidence that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine makes children more vulnerable to bacteria infections, researchers in Britain have found. By Donald G. Mcneil Jr.. 9:25:50 AM

Judge Rejects Boston Archdiocese's Motion to Dismiss 500 Suits in Abuse. BOSTON, Feb. 19 ÷ A judge today rejected a motion filed by the Archdiocese of Boston that sought to dismiss nearly 500 civil lawsuits filed in the scandal of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. By Pam Belluck. 9:25:49 AM

Jesse Jackson, a Club Owner and Lasting Ties. Monday morning's nightclub disaster, and the subsequent finger-pointing, put the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Chicago's most prominent African-American leader, in an odd spot. By Jodi Wilgoren. 9:25:48 AM

New Heart Beating in Transplant Patient. J/sica Santill[omega]n, a 17-year-old victim of a botched heart-lung transplant, was recovering after her second tranplant surgery today. By The Associated Press. 9:25:48 AM

College Professor Accused of Terrorist Ties Is Held in Florida. A computer engineering professor at the University of South Florida was one of several people arrested today in Tampa, Chicago and overseas, the F.B.I. said. By The Associated Press. 9:25:47 AM

European Raids Seek Evidence of Collusion in Tanker Shipping. Odfjell A.S.A. and several other companies have been raided by antitrust officials seeking evidence that they conspired to fix prices on tanker services. By Bloomberg News. 9:25:14 AM

Chrysler Ends 2002 With $1.38 Billion Profit. DaimlerChrysler AG's U.S. division Chrysler rebounded from heavy losses a year earlier. By The Associated Press. 9:25:13 AM

Stocks Slide in Early Trading. Investors were heartened by an upbeat Merrill Lynch call on the key semiconductor sector, but downbeat U.S. economic reports dampened sentiment. By Reuters. 9:25:11 AM

Producer Prices Rise 1.6% to 13-Year High. Pushed by rising energy and auto costs, overall producer prices climbed 1.6 percent, surpassing forecasts for a 0.5 percent increase. By Reuters. 9:25:09 AM

U.S. Trade Deficit Hits New Highs in December and 2002. The trade gap unexpectedly jumped 10.6 percent in December to $44.2 billion, and $435.2 billion for 2002. By Reuters. 9:25:07 AM