Wednesday, February 26, 2003

New Evidence Raises Toll in South Korea Near 200. Fine-grained ash has yielded evidence of the deaths of another 50 people in the fire that raged through two subway trains last week. By Don Kirk. 11:47:13 AM

In a Surprise, Sharon Ousts Netanyahu. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dealt a quick political blow to Benjamin Netanyahu today by ousting him as foreign minister. By Greg Myre. 11:47:12 AM

Roche Reports Biggest Annual Loss Ever. Pharmaceuticals giant Roche said it lost $2.9 billion last year, the biggest annual loss in the company's 107-year history. By The Associated Press. 11:47:09 AM

Greenspan Testifies Before Congress on Banking System. Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, said but that authorities have to move cautiously when liquidating assets of large institutions. By Reuters. 11:47:08 AM

Two Former Kmart Executives Are Indicted for Fraud. A pair of former Kmart vice presidents were indicted today on federal charges, including securities fraud, the U.S. attorney's office said. By The Associated Press. 11:47:08 AM

U.S. Favors Voluntary Steps to Improve S.U.V. Safety. The top U.S. auto safety regulator said on Wednesday he would let carmakers voluntarily improve the safety of sport utility vehicles. By Reuters. 11:47:07 AM

Stocks Retreat as Hewlett Adds to Iraq Worries. Stocks slid today after sales at Hewlett-Packard landed shy of expectations, aggravating worries over the outlook for growth. By Reuters. 11:47:06 AM

Court Rules Law Was Wrongly Used to Punish Protesters. The Supreme Court's ruling that a racketeering law was improperly used to punish abortion protesters applies to all protest activity. By The Associated Press. 11:47:05 AM

Hewlett Profits Exceed Estimates, but Sales Lag. Hewlett-Packard, led by Carleton S. Fiorina, reported quarterly revenues well below expectations and profits exceeding estimates. By Steve Lohr. 12:08:44 AM

Charges Filed in Qwest Case. The Justice Department charged four former executives at Qwest Communications with fraud, accusing them of inflating profits. By Barnaby J. Feder. 12:08:26 AM

New System to Extend Harbor's Surveillance Beyond Horizon. The surveillance cameras that captured a deadly explosion off Staten Island last week are scheduled to expand their range under a new system. By Diane Cardwell. 12:08:25 AM

Gates Foundation Providing $31 Million for Small Schools. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing $31 million to nonprofit groups to start small, alternative high schools for 36,000 students. By Greg Winter. 12:08:24 AM

AOL Offering Music Catalog for Downloads. America Online's new system for downloading music is the strongest attempt yet to create a rival to free music-trading sites. By Saul Hansell. 12:08:23 AM

Broadway Impasse on Music: Computers Tune Up. Broadway shows started rehearsing this week with computer-generated music as they prepared for a possible strike by union musicians. By Robin Pogrebin. 12:08:22 AM

Technology Briefing: Telecommunications. S.& P. WILL NOT CUT LUCENT CREDIT RATING;. 12:08:20 AM

Technology Briefing: Deals. EARTHLINK SAID TO BE NEAR PACT WITH VONAGE; BROADWING TO SELL UNIT FOR $129 MILLION; OVERTURE WILL BUY WEB SEARCH CONCERN;. 12:08:19 AM

World Business Briefing: Asia. INDIA: G.M. To Invest In Technology Center;. 12:08:18 AM

Fiat Chairman Leaving to Make Way for Agnelli. Fiat's chairman, Paolo Fresco, said that he would step down several months earlier than planned, to make way for Umberto Agnelli to take over. By Eric Sylvers. 12:08:16 AM

Venezuela's Lifeblood Ebbs Even as It Flows. Oil, Venezuela's lifeblood, is running again after a paralyzing national strike. By Juan Forero. 12:08:16 AM

Did He Fiddle While Japan Burned?. Just about everyone agrees on one point these days: Masaru Hayami failed as governor of the Bank of Japan. By Ken Belson. 12:08:15 AM

Hong Kong Reducing Benefits and Wages. Hong Kong announced reductions in pay and welfare that are expected to inflict the pain of deflation on hundreds of thousands of families. By Keith Bradsher. 12:08:13 AM

Brazilian Government's Mixed Signals. With Brazil's energy market in a shambles and several utilities facing insolvency, Brazil's new government is facing a serious test. By Tony Smith. 12:08:13 AM

Deutsche Bank Executives Face Personal Legal Battles. Deutsche Bank's two most visible executives are fighting their own personal legal battles, which some fear could soil the reputation of the company, Germany's leading bank. By Mark Landler. 12:08:12 AM

$2 Billion Loss and Layoffs at Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse reported a 2002 loss of $2.4 billion. Oswald Gr[florin]bel, one of its co-chief executives, called the results "unacceptable." By Alison Langley. 12:08:11 AM

Le Monde, Pride of French Press, Is Pilloried in Book. The daily French newspaper Le Monde has been accused of abusing its power and selling its soul. By Elaine Sciolino. 12:08:10 AM

A Hard-Rock Adventure That Became Just a Job. For those in the business of booking the aging rock bands that tour the country on the small-club circuit, Great White's career trajectory was a familiar one. By Rick Lyman. 12:08:09 AM

Grim Reminder in Performance on Grammys. Three nights after the rock band Great White's stage pyrotechnics burned down a club in Rhode Island, killing 97 people and leaving 187 people injured, the Grammy Awards broadcast on Sunday night from Madison Square Garden included a segment with flames leaping skyward as Nelly performed his Grammy-winning hit By Jon Pareles. 12:08:08 AM

A Prague Perspective for a New York Newsroom. Two Americans who ran an alternative bi-monthly newspaper in Prague are returning home as editors of the combative downtown weekly, The New York Press. By Peter S. Green. 12:08:07 AM

Broadway Impasse on Music: Computers Tune Up. Broadway shows started rehearsing this week with computer-generated music as they prepared for a possible strike by union musicians. By Robin Pogrebin. 12:08:06 AM

Sony Pictures Official to Stay Until 2005. John Calley, a top executive at Sony Pictures Entertainment since 1996 and, at 72, the frequent subject of rumors that he might retire, extended his contract. By The New York Times. 12:08:05 AM

Cingular's New Chief Replaces Campaign. Cingular's New Chief Replaces Campaign The new chief executive of Cingular Wireless in Atlanta, brought in to help reverse the company's flagging fortunes, said yesterday that Cingular would make a change in its national advertising campaign by replacing ads that celebrate self-expression with ones that By The New York Times. 12:08:04 AM

MSNBC Cancels Phil Donahue. MSNBC canceled Phil Donahue's nightly show, ending an effort to challenge CNN and the Fox News Channel. By Bill Carter. 12:08:03 AM

Miami and Bermuda Polish Their Images. A stagnating economy has prompted some tourist destinations to distinguish in way other than being just places for sun and fun. By Patricia Winters Lauro. 12:08:02 AM

Grocer's Workers Hurt in Scandal. The accounting scandal at Royal Ahold has left thousands of its employees in debt to the company. By Gregory Crouch with Jennifer Bayot. 12:08:01 AM

A Promotion at Federated. Terry J. Lundgren, the president and chief operating officer at the Federated Department Stores, was named president and chief executive. By Tracie Rozhon. 12:08:00 AM

Governors Seek Aid From Congress and Decline to Back Medicaid Plan. Rebuffed by President Bush, the National Governors Association decided to seek financial assistance from Congress. By Robert Pear. 12:07:59 AM

Timber Company Accused of Fraud in Deal to Save Redwoods. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25 A deal struck four years ago to save about 10,000 acres of giant redwoods in Humboldt County in Northern California was supposed to end the bitter feuding over logging there. In exchange for $480 million from the federal and state governments, the Pacific Lumber Company agreed to turn the world's largest privately owned grove of ancient redwoods into a public reserve. The company also consented to a series of regulations on logging operations on its remaining 211,000 acres, including some additional preservation. But from the very beginning, some environmental groups were unhappy with the so-called Headwaters deal and fought for more restrictions on Pacific Lumber, largely to no avail. Now they appear to have gained a powerful new ally in the recently elected district attorney in Humboldt County, Paul Gallegos, who took office last month. The district attorney's office has filed a civil complaint against Pacific Lumber that accuses the company of unfair and fraudulent business practices during the contentious negotiations that resulted in the creation of the Headwaters Preserve, about 250 miles north of here. The complaint seeks up to $250 million in penalties and the end to logging by Pacific Lumber on hillsides deemed unstable. The district attorney's office said the complaint was not intended to undo the Headwaters deal or affect the land already set aside for preservation. Instead, it was meant to end environmentally damaging logging by Pacific Lumber and penalize the company for not revealing information during the negotiations four years ago about how that logging could create landslides and ruin water quality in streams. Timothy O. Stoen, an assistant district attorney, said Mr. Gallegos sought a civil complaint rather than a criminal prosecution because there was no evidence that the company's deception was intentional. By Dean E. Murphy. 12:07:58 AM

U.S.D.A. Enters Debate on Organic Label Law. Organic farmers and their supporters say they are troubled by the Department of Agriculture's reluctance to act sooner. By Marian Burros. 12:07:57 AM

Gates Foundation Providing $31 Million for Small Schools. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing $31 million to nonprofit groups to start small, alternative high schools for 36,000 students. By Greg Winter. 12:07:56 AM

Litigation and Discussion Are Expected About Ephedra in Sports. Ephedra continues to be at the forefront of litigation involving two athletes who died young, their widows and the nation's sports scene. By Buster Olney. 12:07:55 AM

Transplant Mix-Up Enters Debate in Congress on Malpractice Bills. The death of a young girl due to an incompatible transplant may prevent President Bush's proposal to limit damages in medical malpractice cases from passing intact. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 12:07:54 AM

Labor Marshals Resources to Unseat the President. HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Feb. 25 The A.F.L.-C.I.O. promised today to do its utmost to unseat President Bush in the election next year, saying he is vulnerable because of growing dismay with his economic policies. Using unusually harsh language, leaders of the labor federation said Mr. Bush favored the rich, hurt working families and had the worst record in creating jobs of any president since the 1930's. The federation, which represents 13 million workers, promised to mobilize more members than ever before and create a tax-exempt political group to get out the vote and spread labor's message. By Steven Greenhouse. 12:07:52 AM

Kmart Accuses Ex-Chief in Filing. Kmart accused its former chief executive, Charles C. Conaway, of misleading directors as the company ran short of money in 2001. By Melody Petersen. 12:07:51 AM

Experts Fault Bush Plan to Study Climate. A report said the administration's proposed research plan on global warming focuses on questions many say have been resolved. By Andrew C. Revkin. 12:07:49 AM

S.E.C. Is Formally Investigating Trading in HealthSouth Shares. The Securities and Exchange Commission has started a formal investigation into stock trades at the HealthSouth Corporation, the company confirmed yesterday. By Reed Abelson. 12:07:47 AM

Clear Channel Swings to Profit. Clear Channel Communications Inc., the largest radio company in the United States, said that it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter as sales rose 19 percent. By Bloomberg News. 12:07:45 AM

Consumer Confidence Drops to a 9-Year Low. Consumer confidence plunged in February to its lowest level in more than nine years, the Conference Board, a private research group, reported. By Kenneth N. Gilpin. 12:07:44 AM

Developer of High-Rise Los Angeles Prepares for a Public Offering. Robert F. Maguire III, a Los Angeles developer, is consolidating ownership of his buildings, planning to sell them to public investors. By Michael Brick. 12:07:42 AM

Nonprofits Increasingly Find Space Affordable. Executives at several nonprofit groups say the weak Manhattan office-leasing market is allowing them to significantly upgrade their office spaces. By Sana Siwolop. 12:07:40 AM

New Urgency for Bolstering Oversight. Disclosures that Royal Ahold had overstated its earnings may spur efforts to overhaul financial oversight in Europe. By Eric Pfanner. 12:07:38 AM

E.P.A. Approves the Use of Monsanto's Altered Corn. The government approved a genetically modified corn that is resistant to the corn rootworm. By Andrew Pollack. 12:07:37 AM

Hewlett Profits Exceed Estimates, but Sales Lag. Hewlett-Packard, led by Carleton S. Fiorina, reported quarterly revenues well below expectations and profits exceeding estimates. By Steve Lohr. 12:07:36 AM

Bush's Plan for Pensions Is Now Given Low Priority. The White House has largely abandoned the overhaul and expansion of individual retirement and savings accounts. By Edmund L. Andrews. 12:07:35 AM

AOL Offering Music Catalog for Downloads. America Online's new system for downloading music is the strongest attempt yet to create a rival to free music-trading sites. By Saul Hansell. 12:07:34 AM

Charges Filed in Qwest Case. The Justice Department charged four former executives at Qwest Communications with fraud, accusing them of inflating profits. By Barnaby J. Feder. 12:07:33 AM

Venezuela's Lifeblood Ebbs Even as It Flows. Oil, Venezuela's lifeblood, is running again after a paralyzing national strike. By Juan Forero. 12:07:31 AM

Fiat Chairman Leaving to Make Way for Agnelli. Fiat's chairman, Paolo Fresco, said that he would step down several months earlier than planned, to make way for Umberto Agnelli to take over. By Eric Sylvers. 12:07:30 AM

Miami and Bermuda Polish Their Images. A stagnating economy has prompted some tourist destinations to distinguish in way other than being just places for sun and fun. By Patricia Winters Lauro. 12:07:29 AM

Did He Fiddle While Japan Burned?. Just about everyone agrees on one point these days: Masaru Hayami failed as governor of the Bank of Japan. By Ken Belson. 12:07:27 AM

Deutsche Bank Executives Face Personal Legal Battles. Deutsche Bank's two most visible executives are fighting their own personal legal battles, which some fear could soil the reputation of the company, Germany's leading bank. By Mark Landler. 12:07:26 AM

$2 Billion Loss and Layoffs at Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse reported a 2002 loss of $2.4 billion. Oswald Gr[florin]bel, one of its co-chief executives, called the results "unacceptable." By Alison Langley. 12:07:25 AM

Brazilian Government's Mixed Signals. With Brazil's energy market in a shambles and several utilities facing insolvency, Brazil's new government is facing a serious test. By Tony Smith. 12:07:24 AM

House Republican Leader Faults Democrats Who Oppose Iraq War. Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, unleashed a tirade against Democrats who oppose a war with Iraq, and called the party "the appeasement party of the future." By David Firestone. 12:07:23 AM

Iraqi Star Tours U.S. and Sings of Baghdad. Kazem al-Sahir, Iraq's biggest pop star and one of the most popular singers in the Arab world, is starting an American tour. By Neil Strauss. 12:07:22 AM

Player's Protest Over the Flag Divides Fans. Toni Smith, a women's basketball player at Manhattanville College, has refused to face the American flag during the playing of the national anthem. By Bill Pennington. 12:07:21 AM

Briefly Noted. PLAN FOR ARMING PILOTS Commercial airline pilots who want to be armed in the cockpit will have to carry their guns to and from planes in locked cases inside nondescript bags, under the final plan for arming pilots announced by the Transportation Security Administration. The administration said pilots would be permitted to holster the weapons only when inside the cockpit. "We don't want that weapon floating around inside the cabin," said a spokesman for the agency, Robert Johnson. Al Aitken, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, said that carrying a gun in a locked case would increase the chances that it could get lost or stolen. ÊÊ (AP) BRONZE STARS FOR CANADIANS The Army has awarded Bronze Stars to four Canadians who were killed in April by an American bomber near Kandahar in Afghanistan, officials said. The medals for valor were sent to the United States Embassy in Ottawa on Jan. 21, the Army said. Embassy officials said they were working with their Canadian counterparts to determine "the appropriate forum and timing for the awards" to be presented to the families of the soldiers. The awards were first reported on Canadian television. While not unprecedented, according to Maj. Steve Stover, an Army spokesman, it is not common for American military awards to be given to foreign soldiers. The Army approved the awards for Pvt. Richard Green, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Sgt. Marc Leger and Pvt. Nathan Smith of the Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. ÊÊ (NYT) ALERT IN NEW ZEALAND The police in New Zealand issued a terror alert to foreign diplomats and crowds attending the America's Cup yacht races after intercepting three threatening letters, one containing cyanide, that were addressed to the United States Embassy and the British and Australian High Commissions in Wellington, the capital. Jon White, the assistant police commissioner for counterterrorism, said the letters threatened further action if the 12:07:19 AM

Bernard Loiseau. Star chef, pioneer of "nouvelle cuisine". 12:07:18 AM

Baghdad Bosses. American intelligence officials have compiled a database of more than 2,000 top Iraqi government, military, security and weapons development officials and other members of Saddam Hussein's inner circle and put them in three categories:. 12:07:16 AM

Sharon Near Deal With Another Party to Join Coalition. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was very close to signing up a far-right party to his proposed government late Tuesday night. By Greg Myre. 12:07:15 AM

Turkish Parliament Is Asked to Approve U.S. Troops. Turkey's government asked Parliament on Tuesday to allow as many as 62,000 U.S. troops into the country for an attack on Iraq. By Dexter Filkins. 12:07:14 AM

U.N. Official Says Iraqis Still Build Barred Missile. Iraq continues to build its Al Samoud 2 short-range missiles even while facing a U.N. order demanding the start of their destruction by the end of the week. By Neil Macfarquhar. 12:07:13 AM

Bush Goes Global to Lobby for Votes on U.N. Measure. Angola is one of six swing votes that the Bush administration desperately needs to pass a Security Council resolution authorizing an attack on Iraq. By Elisabeth Bumiller. 12:07:12 AM

Kurds Ask U.S. Not to Allow Turkish Military Inside Iraq. The Kurdish Parliament in northern Iraq asked Washington on Tuesday to prevent Turkish military forces from entering Iraq. By C. J. Chivers. 12:07:11 AM

U.S. Gives German Opposition Leader Royal Treatment. Angela Merkel, German opposition leader, is perhaps the Bush administration's favorite official these days. By Todd S. Purdum. 12:07:09 AM

Iraqi Denies Missiles Break Rules. Saddam Hussein disputed the notion that Iraq possesses missiles that United Nations weapons inspectors have ordered destroyed. By Bill Carter. 12:07:08 AM

Le Monde, Pride of French Press, Is Pilloried in Book. The daily French newspaper Le Monde has been accused of abusing its power and selling its soul. By Elaine Sciolino. 12:07:06 AM

Bitterness Follows French Chef's Death. Bernard Loiseau's death followed the downgrading of his restaurant by the influential Gault-Millau guide. By Craig S. Smith. 12:07:04 AM

If Sea Gates Don't Work, Call Canute. After decades of debate, the Italian government may finally agree to put sea gates at the entrances to Venice's lagoon. By Frank Bruni. 12:07:02 AM

A Crackdown on the Traffic in Humans. The Bush administration has more than doubled the number of prosecutions of people suspected of trafficking in human beings since 2001, but the problem continues to grow. By Christopher Marquis. 12:07:01 AM

Blair, Facing Dissent in Party, Dismisses French-German Plan. Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted that allowing Saddam Hussein to persist in defying the United Nations was "not a road to peace." By Warren Hoge. 12:06:59 AM

Bomb Blasts Wound 9 at 2 Beijing Universities. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blasts at Qinghua and Beijing universities and the motive was unclear. By Elisabeth Rosenthal. 12:06:58 AM

Explosions Rip Diplomatic Offices in Caracas. Powerful explosions outside two diplomatic offices shattered windows and nerves early on Tuesday, leaving four people wounded. By David Gonzalez. 12:06:57 AM

Hong Kong Reducing Benefits and Wages. Hong Kong announced reductions in pay and welfare that are expected to inflict the pain of deflation on hundreds of thousands of families. By Keith Bradsher. 12:06:55 AM

For a Day in Jerusalem, Bitter Conflict Is Snowed Out. A Middle East storm let fall almost a foot of snow on Jerusalem, temporarily infusing a tense city with the feel of a tranquil Alpine village. By Greg Myre. 12:06:52 AM

U.S. to Resume Food Aid to North Korea, at a Reduced Level. The announcement was intended as a conciliatory gesture toward the new South Korean president, Roh Moo Hyun. By James Dao. 12:06:50 AM

U.S. Lists Iraqis to Punish, or to Work With. Some of Iraq's elite are to be captured and tried as war criminals. The U.S. will try to turn many more against Saddam Hussein. By Thom Shanker and David Johnston. 12:06:49 AM

Turkey Seems Set to Let 60,000 G.I.'s Use Bases for War. At the same time, the U.S. Army's top general said the military force for postwar Iraq could total several hundred thousand. By Eric Schmitt. 12:06:47 AM

In the First Mile of a Marathon, Kerry Emerges as a Front-Runner. Senator John Kerry is being viewed by many including some rivals as the leading candidate in the growing field of Democrats who want to take on President Bush. By Adam Nagourney. 12:06:19 AM

Planners Say Tolls Will Ease Jams in 8 Cities. WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 Traffic planners released a plan today that they say will guarantee commuters in eight large cities speedy drives or bus rides to work. Their vision of congestion-free lanes is familiar, but this time, the experts have an ambitious national plan and at least some influential allies. By John Tierney. 12:06:17 AM

A Crackdown on the Traffic in Humans. The Bush administration has more than doubled the number of prosecutions of people suspected of trafficking in human beings since 2001, but the problem continues to grow. By Christopher Marquis. 12:06:15 AM

House Republican Leader Faults Democrats Who Oppose Iraq War. Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, unleashed a tirade against Democrats who oppose a war with Iraq, and called the party "the appeasement party of the future." By David Firestone. 12:06:14 AM

Governors Seek Aid From Congress and Decline to Back Medicaid Plan. Rebuffed by President Bush, the National Governors Association decided to seek financial assistance from Congress. By Robert Pear. 12:06:13 AM

Bush's Plan for Pensions Is Now Given Low Priority. The White House has largely abandoned the overhaul and expansion of individual retirement and savings accounts. By Edmund L. Andrews. 12:06:11 AM

Transplant Mix-Up Enters Debate in Congress on Malpractice Bills. The death of a young girl due to an incompatible transplant may prevent President Bush's proposal to limit damages in medical malpractice cases from passing intact. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 12:06:10 AM

Justices Stress Inmate's Right to Press Appeal. By ordering a new hearing for a Texas death row inmate, the Supreme Court warned the federal courts of appeals against closing the door too soon on state prisoners' appeals. By Linda Greenhouse. 12:06:09 AM

Bush Goes Global to Lobby for Votes on U.N. Measure. Angola is one of six swing votes that the Bush administration desperately needs to pass a Security Council resolution authorizing an attack on Iraq. By Elisabeth Bumiller. 12:06:07 AM

E.P.A. Approves the Use of Monsanto's Altered Corn. The government approved a genetically modified corn that is resistant to the corn rootworm. By Andrew Pollack. 12:06:00 AM

Experts Fault Bush Plan to Study Climate. A report said the administration's proposed research plan on global warming focuses on questions many say have been resolved. By Andrew C. Revkin. 12:05:58 AM

National Briefing: Science and Health. FEAR OF SUITS AFFECTS DOCTORS' OPENNESS;. 12:05:56 AM

National Briefing: South. VIRGINIA: Seafood Help From Asia; KENTUCKY: Police Cleared In Killing Of Man; LOUISIANA: Man Charged With Driving Into Crowd; SOUTH CAROLINA: Pledges For Saving Mansion;. 12:05:54 AM

National Briefing: Mid-Atlantic. HILLBILLY REALITY SHOW CRITICIZED;. 12:05:53 AM

National Briefing: Midwest. ILLINOIS: Daley Landslide; ILLINOIS: City Added To Nightclub Suits;. 12:05:52 AM

National Briefing: Northwest. OREGON: Police Slash Patrols;. 12:05:50 AM

National Briefing: Washington. DEEP IN THE VOID, PIONEER 10 GOES SILENT; FEAR OF SUITS AFFECTS DOCTORS' OPENNESS;. 12:05:49 AM

Giving Green or Turning Red. Several years ago, a wealthy ski town began making use of a certain tactic to collect funds for schools: Public shaming. 12:05:48 AM

Planners Say Tolls Will Ease Jams in 8 Cities. WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 Traffic planners released a plan today that they say will guarantee commuters in eight large cities speedy drives or bus rides to work. Their vision of congestion-free lanes is familiar, but this time, the experts have an ambitious national plan and at least some influential allies. By John Tierney. 12:05:46 AM

Governors Seek Aid From Congress and Decline to Back Medicaid Plan. Rebuffed by President Bush, the National Governors Association decided to seek financial assistance from Congress. By Robert Pear. 12:05:45 AM

Amy Miller, 90, a Founder of Shaker Village, Dies. Amy Bess Williams Miller helped found Hancock Shaker Village, a restoration of a former Shaker community and a museum, in Massachusetts. By Eric Pace. 12:05:44 AM

Labor Marshals Resources to Unseat the President. HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Feb. 25 The A.F.L.-C.I.O. promised today to do its utmost to unseat President Bush in the election next year, saying he is vulnerable because of growing dismay with his economic policies. Using unusually harsh language, leaders of the labor federation said Mr. Bush favored the rich, hurt working families and had the worst record in creating jobs of any president since the 1930's. The federation, which represents 13 million workers, promised to mobilize more members than ever before and create a tax-exempt political group to get out the vote and spread labor's message. By Steven Greenhouse. 12:05:42 AM

Transplant Mix-Up Enters Debate in Congress on Malpractice Bills. The death of a young girl due to an incompatible transplant may prevent President Bush's proposal to limit damages in medical malpractice cases from passing intact. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 12:05:40 AM

Grim Reminder in Performance on Grammys. Three nights after the rock band Great White's stage pyrotechnics burned down a club in Rhode Island, killing 97 people and leaving 187 people injured, the Grammy Awards broadcast on Sunday night from Madison Square Garden included a segment with flames leaping skyward as Nelly performed his Grammy-winning hit By Jon Pareles. 12:05:38 AM

A Benefactor Champions an Immigrant Girl's Cause. The world knows about J/sica because of Mark Edward Mahoney, known as Mack, who, charmed by the girl's smile and resolve, championed her cause. By Randal C. Archibold. 12:05:37 AM

Gates Foundation Providing $31 Million for Small Schools. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing $31 million to nonprofit groups to start small, alternative high schools for 36,000 students. By Greg Winter. 12:05:35 AM

In the First Mile of a Marathon, Kerry Emerges as a Front-Runner. Senator John Kerry is being viewed by many including some rivals as the leading candidate in the growing field of Democrats who want to take on President Bush. By Adam Nagourney. 12:05:34 AM

House Republican Leader Faults Democrats Who Oppose Iraq War. Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, unleashed a tirade against Democrats who oppose a war with Iraq, and called the party "the appeasement party of the future." By David Firestone. 12:05:33 AM

Timber Company Accused of Fraud in Deal to Save Redwoods. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25 A deal struck four years ago to save about 10,000 acres of giant redwoods in Humboldt County in Northern California was supposed to end the bitter feuding over logging there. In exchange for $480 million from the federal and state governments, the Pacific Lumber Company agreed to turn the world's largest privately owned grove of ancient redwoods into a public reserve. The company also consented to a series of regulations on logging operations on its remaining 211,000 acres, including some additional preservation. But from the very beginning, some environmental groups were unhappy with the so-called Headwaters deal and fought for more restrictions on Pacific Lumber, largely to no avail. Now they appear to have gained a powerful new ally in the recently elected district attorney in Humboldt County, Paul Gallegos, who took office last month. The district attorney's office has filed a civil complaint against Pacific Lumber that accuses the company of unfair and fraudulent business practices during the contentious negotiations that resulted in the creation of the Headwaters Preserve, about 250 miles north of here. The complaint seeks up to $250 million in penalties and the end to logging by Pacific Lumber on hillsides deemed unstable. The district attorney's office said the complaint was not intended to undo the Headwaters deal or affect the land already set aside for preservation. Instead, it was meant to end environmentally damaging logging by Pacific Lumber and penalize the company for not revealing information during the negotiations four years ago about how that logging could create landslides and ruin water quality in streams. Timothy O. Stoen, an assistant district attorney, said Mr. Gallegos sought a civil complaint rather than a criminal prosecution because there was no evidence that the company's deception was intentional. By Dean E. Murphy. 12:05:31 AM

Liquor Industry and Scientists at Odds Over Alcohol Study. A study of excessive drinking that appears in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association has started a saloon brawl of its own between the authors and the liquor industry, with each side accusing the other of manipulating the figures. By Donald G. Mcneil Jr.. 12:05:30 AM

Labor Problems Do Not Cause Most Cerebral Palsy, Study Finds. The study found that the majority of children who develop cerebral palsy experience prenatal problems that damage the developing brain long before labor begins. By Jane E. Brody. 12:05:28 AM

High School Tells Student to Remove Antiwar Shirt. A high school student's controversial T-shirt rekindles a debate over the extent to which students may express themselves politically within school gates. By Tamar Lewin. 12:05:26 AM

A Hard-Rock Adventure That Became Just a Job. For those in the business of booking the aging rock bands that tour the country on the small-club circuit, Great White's career trajectory was a familiar one. By Rick Lyman. 12:05:25 AM

Grand Jurors Interrogate Cardinal Law. A criminal grand jury is trying to decide whether to indict Cardinal Bernard F. Law, former archbishop of Boston, for his handling of parish sex abuse cases. By Fox Butterfield. 12:05:23 AM

Hoping for Answers Despite Lack of Clues. Investigators expect to find less than 20 percent of the space shuttle's wreckage and may have to rely on models and experiments, rather than on debris, to explain the breakup. By Matthew L. Wald. 12:05:21 AM

Justices Stress Inmate's Right to Press Appeal. By ordering a new hearing for a Texas death row inmate, the Supreme Court warned the federal courts of appeals against closing the door too soon on state prisoners' appeals. By Linda Greenhouse. 12:05:19 AM

Employee at Club Says He Warned About Fires. The sound manager said that three months ago he had told one club owner that pyrotechnics were a serious fire hazard. By Lydia Polgreen and Paul von Zielbauer. 12:05:17 AM

Turkey Seems Set to Let 60,000 G.I.'s Use Bases for War. At the same time, the U.S. Army's top general said the military force for postwar Iraq could total several hundred thousand. By Eric Schmitt. 12:05:14 AM