Friday, February 28, 2003

Technology Briefing: Software. SHARES OF TAKE TWO SURGE;. 6:25:15 PM

World Business Briefing: Americas. BRAZIL: Growth Despite Turmoil;. 6:25:14 PM

Swiss Machinery Maker Posts Wider Loss. ABB, the Swiss maker of machinery led by J[florin]rgen Dormann, reported a loss of $787 million for 2002. The loss widened from $691 million in 2001. By Alison Langley. 6:25:13 PM

In Canada, Power Often Goes to Founders' Offspring. Public companies controlled by a family exist in many countries, but they are a particular hallmark in Canada. By Bernard Simon. 6:25:12 PM

Microsoft Settles an Antitrust Complaint Filed by Taiwan. Microsoft has settled an antitrust complaint filed by the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission, but the sides differ on how much the company has actually conceded. By Keith Bradsher. 6:25:11 PM

German Law Helping VW Is Under Fire. The European Union is preparing to take legal action to force Germany to repeal its "VW law," which protects Volkswagen from being taken over. By Paul Meller. 6:25:10 PM

Hussein Grabs Top Sweeps-Week Ratings in His Prime-Time Debut. Saddam Hussein drew 18 million viewers to CBS on Wednesday night, but some media critics thought Dan Rather was too soft. By Alessandra Stanley. 6:25:09 PM

Donaldson and MSNBC End Talks. Sam Donaldson, the ABC News correspondent, has ended negotiations with the cable news channel MSNBC about starting a nightly news broadcast. By The New York Times. 6:25:08 PM

Omnicom Debt Is Downgraded. Omnicom Debt Is Downgraded Moody's Investors Service has downgraded its rating on the senior unsecured debt of the Omnicom Group in New York by one notch, to three notches above junk status. 6:25:07 PM

Comcast Report Is Upbeat, Buoying Cable TV Industry. In its first financial report since it acquired AT&T's cable business, Comcast posted strong growth in fourth-quarter revenue and cash flow. By Geraldine Fabrikant. 6:25:06 PM

Royal Ahold Moves to Limit Damage. Royal Ahold moved to control the damage from an accounting scandal by replacing the chief executive and board of its Argentine unit, Disco. By The New York Times. 6:25:05 PM

Judge Approves Laidlaw's Plan to Emerge From Bankruptcy. BUFFALO, Feb. 27 (Bloomberg News) Laidlaw Inc., the owner of Greyhound Lines Inc., won a federal judge's approval of its bankruptcy recovery plan today, clearing the way for it to come out of Chapter 11. By Bloomberg News. 6:25:04 PM

Labor, Breaking Tradition, Criticizes War Preparations. After backing past administrations during the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, the labor movement has criticized the president's approach to a conflict with Iraq. By Steven Greenhouse. 6:25:03 PM

U.S. Seeking Cleaner Model of Coal Plant. The Energy Department announced plans to build an experimental power plant within 10 years that runs on coal but emits no carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping greenhouse gas. By Andrew C. Revkin. 6:25:02 PM

Cheap Chic: The Joys of Low Stock Prices. In this bear market, low share prices have become more than a reality. Now some people think they are stylish. By Floyd Norris. 6:25:01 PM

Reinsurer Offering Raises $221 Million. Endurance Specialty Holdings, a reinsurer, raised $220.8 million, as much as 15 percent less than planned, in only the third initial public offering so far this year. By Bloomberg News. 6:24:59 PM

Enron Shareholders' Move Against Banks Is Rebuffed by Judge. By Bloomberg News. By Bloomberg News. 6:24:57 PM

Goldman Reduces Research Staff. Goldman Sachs plans to pare its research staff, a sign that investment banks are taking further aim at their research departments. By Landon Thomas Jr.. 6:24:55 PM

Lucent Settles With S.E.C.. Lucent reached a preliminary agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to end an investigation into its accounting. By Simon Romero. 6:24:53 PM

New Editor at Random House. Random House named Daniel Menaker, the executive editor at HarperCollins, as the editor in chief of its prestigious namesake imprint. By David D. Kirkpatrick. 6:24:51 PM

Chief Demoted in Shake-Up at Interpublic, the Ad Giant. In startling boardroom shifts, the directors of Interpublic voted to demote the chief executive of the troubled agency company. By Stuart Elliott. 6:24:49 PM

A Salesman for Bush's Tax Plan Who Has Belittled Similar Ideas. N. Gregory Mankiw, the nominee to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, has spoken out against the policies President Bush is prescribing. By Edmund L. Andrews. 6:24:46 PM

Fears of Joblessness Grow, and May Weaken the Economy. Americans are more worried about their job prospects than at any time since 1993, raising the risk that consumer spending, and the economy, will slow. By Alex Berenson. 6:24:43 PM

World Briefing: Environment. DIRE FORECAST ON STORMS AND FLOODS;. 6:24:39 PM

NASA Is Asked to Drop Officials From Inquiry. The board overseeing the investigation of the Columbia disaster has asked the NASA administrator to remove some NASA personnel involved in the inquiry. By Matthew L. Wald. 6:24:39 PM

Adhesive Applied to Tank Is a Focus of Investigation. NASA officials are looking into whether workers at a plant in New Orleans used an old and ineffective adhesive on the shuttle Columbia's external fuel tank. By Edward Wong. 6:24:37 PM

U.S. Seeking Cleaner Model of Coal Plant. The Energy Department announced plans to build an experimental power plant within 10 years that runs on coal but emits no carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping greenhouse gas. By Andrew C. Revkin. 6:24:35 PM

Reduced Space Station Crew Is Likely, NASA Chief Says. A shortage of water and other necessities due to the grounding of the space shuttle fleet will force NASA to reduce the crew of the International Space Station by May. By Richard A. Oppel Jr.. 6:24:34 PM

NASA Pressed on When Officials Learned of E-Mail About Shuttle. NASA's top official faced sharp questioning over when mission managers learned of e-mail discussing dire possibilities facing the shuttle. By Kenneth Chang and Richard A. Oppel Jr.. 6:24:32 PM

NASA Is Asked to Drop Officials From Inquiry. The board overseeing the investigation of the Columbia disaster has asked the NASA administrator to remove some NASA personnel involved in the inquiry. By Matthew L. Wald. 6:24:28 PM

New York Remains at Level Orange. The rest of the country may be downshifting from orange to yellow, but New York City's level of vigilance against terrorist attacks will not change, police officials said yesterday. By The New York Times. 6:24:26 PM

A Salesman for Bush's Tax Plan Who Has Belittled Similar Ideas. N. Gregory Mankiw, the nominee to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, has spoken out against the policies President Bush is prescribing. By Edmund L. Andrews. 6:24:25 PM

Reduced Space Station Crew Is Likely, NASA Chief Says. A shortage of water and other necessities due to the grounding of the space shuttle fleet will force NASA to reduce the crew of the International Space Station by May. By Richard A. Oppel Jr.. 6:24:22 PM

Iranian Cyclist Detained at Border Wins Political Asylum. An Iranian man who cycled 46,000 miles on a personal peace mission only to be arrested in Arizona for entering the United States illegally was granted political asylum. By Nick Madigan. 6:24:21 PM

Graham Files, Becoming 9th Democrat in '04 Race. Senator Bob Graham of Florida, popular former governor of a crucial electoral state, has filed papers that will let him raise money to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. By Todd S. Purdum. 6:24:19 PM

Bush Would Offer Drug Plan to Elderly Within Medicare. The Bush administration said it had a plan to provide prescription drug benefits to people in the traditional Medicare program. By Robert Pear. 6:24:18 PM

Air Force Chief Speaks Out on Rape Accusations at Academy. COLORADO SPRINGS, Feb. 27 After a fervent speech on character in which he challenged Air Force Academy cadets to weed out those who would sexually prey upon women in their ranks, Air Force Secretary James G. Roche said tonight that the protocols put in place a decade ago to prevent such attacks had failed and needed to be replaced. By Michael Janofsky. 6:24:16 PM

House Votes to Ban All Human Cloning. WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 Warning that human cloning amounted to a dark and dangerous step into an unethical realm of science, the House of Representatives voted today to ban all human-cloning experiments, whether for baby-making or to create cells that might be used to treat disease. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 6:24:15 PM

F.D.A. Proposes Warning Labels for Ephedra. The federal government announced steps today to crack down on ephedra, the dietary supplement linked to many deaths. By The Associated Press. 6:24:14 PM

NASA Pressed on When Officials Learned of E-Mail About Shuttle. NASA's top official faced sharp questioning over when mission managers learned of e-mail discussing dire possibilities facing the shuttle. By Kenneth Chang and Richard A. Oppel Jr.. 6:24:12 PM

Fight Is Likely in Senate as Bush Sends Tax Cut Plan to Congress. President Bush's tax cut plan was introduced in both houses of Congress on Thursday, setting off what may be the most tumultuous debate of the Congressional session. By David Firestone. 6:24:11 PM

U.S. Lowers Warning Level to 'Yellow'. The Bush administration lowered the nation's terrorist alert level from orange to yellow, but warned that the nation still faces a serious threat of attacks. By Philip Shenon and Eric Lichtblau. 6:24:10 PM

Pentagon Contradicts General on Iraq Occupation Force's Size. A Pentagon official called a general's estimate that several hundred thousand troops would be needed in postwar Iraq, "wildly off the mark." By Eric Schmitt. 6:24:09 PM

'In Principle,' Iraq Agrees to Destroy Forbidden Missiles. Baghdad's decision was conveyed by letter to Hans Blix, as he completed a report to be delivered to the Security Council today. By Patrick E. Tyler with Felicity Barringer. 6:24:08 PM

Reduced Space Station Crew Is Likely, NASA Chief Says. A shortage of water and other necessities due to the grounding of the space shuttle fleet will force NASA to reduce the crew of the International Space Station by May. By Richard A. Oppel Jr.. 6:24:05 PM

Worker Cites Possible Flaw In Adhesive Used on Tank. NASA officials are looking into whether workers at a plant in New Orleans used an old and ineffective adhesive on the shuttle Columbia's external fuel tank. By Edward Wong. 6:24:05 PM

NASA Is Asked to Drop Officials From Inquiry. The board overseeing the investigation of the Columbia disaster has asked the NASA administrator to remove some NASA personnel involved in the inquiry. By Matthew L. Wald. 6:24:04 PM

New York Remains at Level Orange. The rest of the country may be downshifting from orange to yellow, but New York City's level of vigilance against terrorist attacks will not change, police officials said yesterday. By The New York Times. 6:24:02 PM

Iranian Cyclist Detained at Border Wins Political Asylum. An Iranian man who cycled 46,000 miles on a personal peace mission only to be arrested in Arizona for entering the United States illegally was granted political asylum. By Nick Madigan. 6:24:01 PM

Labor, Breaking Tradition, Criticizes War Preparations. After backing past administrations during the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, the labor movement has criticized the president's approach to a conflict with Iraq. By Steven Greenhouse. 6:24:01 PM

Young Brides Stir New Outcry on Utah Polygamy. The Utah Legislature is considering a bill that would as much as triple penalties against any polygamist convicted of marrying a girl under 18. By Michael Janofsky. 6:23:59 PM

Bush Would Offer Drug Plan to Elderly Within Medicare. The Bush administration said it had a plan to provide prescription drug benefits to people in the traditional Medicare program. By Robert Pear. 6:23:58 PM

Graham Files, Becoming 9th Democrat in '04 Race. Senator Bob Graham of Florida, popular former governor of a crucial electoral state, has filed papers that will let him raise money to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. By Todd S. Purdum. 6:23:57 PM

California Ending Searches During Minor Traffic Stops. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27 ÷ The California Highway Patrol agreed to stop using minor traffic violations as a pretext for searching cars for drugs under a settlement of a racial-profiling lawsuit announced today. By John M. Broder. 6:23:56 PM

Air Force Chief Speaks Out on Rape Accusations at Academy. COLORADO SPRINGS, Feb. 27 After a fervent speech on character in which he challenged Air Force Academy cadets to weed out those who would sexually prey upon women in their ranks, Air Force Secretary James G. Roche said tonight that the protocols put in place a decade ago to prevent such attacks had failed and needed to be replaced. By Michael Janofsky. 6:23:55 PM

Fight Is Likely in Senate as Bush Sends Tax Cut Plan to Congress. President Bush's tax cut plan was introduced in both houses of Congress on Thursday, setting off what may be the most tumultuous debate of the Congressional session. By David Firestone. 6:23:53 PM

Ex-F.B.I. Agent Testifies of Bloody Time in Mississippi. In his testimony, ex-F.B.I. agent Allan Kornblum recalled a 1967 conversation he had with Ernest Avant, accused of killing an elderly black man in 1966. By Rick Bragg. 6:23:52 PM

U.S. Lowers Warning Level to 'Yellow'. The Bush administration lowered the nation's terrorist alert level from orange to yellow, but warned that the nation still faces a serious threat of attacks. By Philip Shenon and Eric Lichtblau. 6:23:51 PM

NASA Pressed on When Officials Learned of E-Mail About Shuttle. NASA's top official faced sharp questioning over when mission managers learned of e-mail discussing dire possibilities facing the shuttle. By Kenneth Chang and Richard A. Oppel Jr.. 6:23:50 PM

Pentagon Contradicts General on Iraq Occupation Force's Size. A Pentagon official called a general's estimate that several hundred thousand troops would be needed in postwar Iraq, "wildly off the mark." By Eric Schmitt. 6:23:49 PM

San Francisco Police Chief Is Indicted. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Police Chief Earl Sanders and other department leaders have been indicted for allegedly covering up a brawl between off-duty officers and a bartender over a bag of fajitas. By The Associated Press. 6:23:48 PM

F.D.A. Proposes Warning Labels for Ephedra. The federal government announced steps today to crack down on ephedra, the dietary supplement linked to many deaths. By The Associated Press. 6:23:47 PM

Band Lawyer Says Nightclub Wanted Pyrotechnics. According to his lawyer, the tour manager for the band whose fireworks display ignited a deadly fire at a club in Rhode Island had confirmed the club "wanted pyrotechnics." By Paul von Zielbauer. 6:23:47 PM

Dioceses Resist Releasing Names of Accused Priests. Sexual abuse victims and news organizations are pressing grand juries that have been looking into sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy to make their records public. By Laurie Goodstein. 6:23:46 PM

NASA Releases Columbia Shuttle Video. In a videotape released by NASA Columbia astronauts were unaware of the catastrophe awaiting them. By The Associated Press. 6:23:45 PM

72-Year-Old Found Guilty of '66 Killing in Mississippi. Ernest Avants was convicted today in the slaying of a black farmhand, a crime prosecutors say was staged to bait Martin Luther King Jr. By The Associated Press. 6:23:44 PM

Appeals Court Reinstates Ban on 'Under God' in Pledge. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit essentially let stand a decision that the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. By Adam Liptak. 6:23:43 PM

Microsoft Settles an Antitrust Complaint Filed by Taiwan. Microsoft has settled an antitrust complaint filed by the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission, but the sides differ on how much the company has actually conceded. By Keith Bradsher. 6:23:35 PM

Lucent Settles With S.E.C.. Lucent reached a preliminary agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to end an investigation into its accounting. By Simon Romero. 6:23:34 PM

(Big) Red Faces At Cornell Over E-Mail Error. When Cornell University sent welcoming e-mail letters to 1,700 early decision applicants, it included nearly 550 who had already been rejected in December. By Karen W. Arenson. 6:23:33 PM

South Korea's New President Names His Economic Team. South Korea's new president, Roh Moo Hyun, has named an economic team to confront the challenge of staving off an economic downturn. By Don Kirk. 6:23:31 PM

World Briefing: Middle East. IRAN: Election Day Warning; JORDAN: Vote For Parliament Set;. 6:23:30 PM

World Briefing: Europe. FRANCE: Antiracism Campaign In Schools; CYPRUS: U.N. Extends Deadline On Peace Deal; THE HAGUE: American To Lead Tribunal; GERMANY: Dogs Bite Cars;. 6:23:29 PM

World Briefing: Asia. SOUTH KOREA: Forced Laborers Identified;. 6:23:28 PM

Does Democracy Avert Famine?. Amartya Sen, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, asserted that famines do not occur in democracies, but his theory is being tested by starvation in India. By Michael Massing. 6:23:27 PM

Austrian Chancellor Turns Again to Far-Right Party to Form a Government. The Austrian chancellor on Friday invited back into the government the far-right Freedom Party leader, J[ring]rg Haider. By Mark Landler. 6:23:26 PM

Court Says Suspect's Admissions in Colombia Can Be Used Here. A federal appeals court ruled that statements by a drug trafficking suspect to the Colombian authorities may be used against him in a U.S. court. By Benjamin Weiser. 6:23:26 PM

Russia Orders a New Trial in Chechen Rape and Murder. Russia's Supreme Court ruled that a military court ignored procedure when it absolved an army colonel of responsibility in the strangling of a Chechen woman. By Michael Wines. 6:23:25 PM

In Blix's Words: 'Iraq Could Have Made Greater Efforts' to Find Illegal Items. Following are excerpts from Hans Blix's report to the United Nations Security Council on Iraqi weapons programs, as provided yesterday by the United Nations. The full text is online at nytimes.com/international. 6:23:24 PM

U.S. Lists 3 Chechen Groups as 'Terrorist' and Freezes Assets. The groups were described as having been involved in the seizure of a Moscow theater last October in which 129 people died. By Steven R. Weisman. 6:23:23 PM

The Pentagon Releases a Proposed List of War Crimes to Be Judged by Tribunals. Categories in the document include attacks on civilians, the taking of hostages, the use of poisons, the deployment of human shields, terrorism and rape. By The New York Times. 6:23:22 PM

Talk of Arab 'Democracy' Is a Double-Edged Scimitar. Arab politicians argue that the imposition of democracy by force in Iraq would be viewed as American repression, not liberation. By Steven Lee Myers. 6:23:20 PM

Filipinos Awaiting U.S. Troops With Skepticism. The formal definition of the American role in the mini-war between the Philippines and Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, in public at least, is a subject of hot dispute. By Seth Mydans. 6:23:19 PM

China's Sparkle Bedazzles a Visiting Castro. When Fidel Castro came to China for his first state visit in almost a decade this week, the reunion was warm but a bit awkward as well. By Elisabeth Rosenthal. 6:23:17 PM

Hopes Ebbing for Scottish Parliament. Dauntingly overbudget and overdue, the grandiose building that will one day house the Scottish Parliament is increasingly being seen as a symbol of the body's struggle for credibility. By Lizette Alvarez. 6:23:16 PM

Archbishop of Canterbury Enthroned. Rowan Williams, a Welsh churchman in favor of gays and women as clerics, is the new spiritual leader of the world's 70 million Anglicans. By Warren Hoge. 6:23:15 PM

Candidates in Iran Jostle to Make a Difference. What matters to voters in small towns across Iran is the ability to deliver the roads, the hospitals and the education the population needs. By Nazila Fathi. 6:23:14 PM

White House Reports a Decline in Colombia's Coca Cultivation. With aggressive aerial spraying in the past year, anti-drug forces in Colombia for the first time have reduced the amount of coca being cultivated. By Christopher Marquis. 6:23:13 PM

America the Monster? Not Altogether, Oxford Says. Oxford University debated whether America is itself the world's biggest threat to peace. By Alan Cowell. 6:23:12 PM

Gypsies in Slovakia Complain of Sterilizations. Doctors in eastern Slovakia have sterilized at least 110 young Gypsy women against their will since the fall of Communism in 1989. By Peter S. Green. 6:23:11 PM

Hearing War Drums, Iraqis Still March to Their Own Beat. Although the Iraqi government has urged emergency measures, residents of Baghdad are issuing something of a collective shrug over the prospects of war. By Neil Macfarquhar. 6:23:09 PM

'In Principle,' Iraq Agrees to Destroy Forbidden Missiles. Baghdad's decision was conveyed by letter to Hans Blix, as he completed a report to be delivered to the Security Council today. By Patrick E. Tyler with Felicity Barringer. 6:23:08 PM

More People Seek Asylum in Britain, Spurring Foes. A record 110,700 people sought asylum in Britain last year, a number that is expected to inflame concerns over the country's immigration policy. By Lizette Alvarez. 6:23:07 PM

Former Prime Minister Elected President in Czech Republic. Vaclav Klaus, the former Czech prime minister, eked out a win to replace his old rival, Vaclav Havel, as the president of the Czech Republic. By Ian Fisher. 6:23:06 PM

Palestinian Assets 'a Mess,' Official Says. The Palestinian Authority's top finance official said that he had identified $600 million in Authority assets in 79 commercial ventures. By James Bennet. 6:23:05 PM

Deep Divisions Remain on Iraq as Blix Reports to Security Council. Russia's foreign minister said today that it might veto any resolution that would hasten the onset of military action in Iraq. By Patrick E. Tyler with Felicity Barringer. 6:23:04 PM