Thursday, March 6, 2003

National Briefing: Rockies. COLORADO: Aquarium Changes Hands; COLORADO: Added Term In Forest Fire ;. 8:38:07 AM

National Briefing: New England. MASSACHUSETTS: No Date In Church Suits ;. 8:38:06 AM

National Briefing: Washington. WHITE HOUSE PICKS PROSECUTOR AS JUDGE ;. 8:38:05 AM

Harold Amos, 84, Pacesetter Among Blacks in Academia, Is Dead. Dr. Harold Amos was a microbiologist at the Harvard Medical School who campaigned for decades on behalf of minority scientists. By Eric Nagourney. 8:38:05 AM

Full Text of F.B.I. Agent's Letter to Director Mueller 8:38:04 AM

Excerpts From F.B.I. Agent's Letter to Director Mueller. Following are excerpts from a Feb. 26 letter to Director Robert S. Mueller III of the F.B.I. from Special Agent Coleen Rowley of the bureau's field office in Minneapolis. A full text is online: nytimes.com/national. 8:38:04 AM

Excerpts From Supreme Court Rulings on 'Three-Strikes' Law. Following are excerpts from two Supreme Court rulings yesterday on California's three-strikes law for repeat offenders. The rulings in Ewing v. California and Lockyer v. Andrade were 5 to 4. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the majority opinion. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the dissent on Ewing, Justice David H. Souter the dissent on Andrade. 8:38:03 AM

California Offers Change in Car Rules. California is seeking to compromise with automakers by dropping a requirement that they sell electric cars. By Bloomberg News. 8:38:03 AM

2 Companies Pay Penalties for Improving China Rockets. Two American companies will pay $32 million in fines to settle civil charges that they unlawfully transferred rocket data to China. By Jeff Gerth. 8:38:02 AM

Overhaul of 2004 Democratic Primaries Complicates Terrain. The overhaul of the 2004 Democratic presidential primary calendar has set off a battle among states struggling to dominate the party's selection of a nominee. By Adam Nagourney. 8:38:02 AM

G.O.P. Sees Budget Tactic by President Backfiring. Some Congressional Republicans say the president has made complicated the effort to hold down spending by criticizing the Republican-controlled Congress on domestic security financing. By Carl Hulse. 8:38:01 AM

Diverse Denominations Oppose the Call to Arms. A broad spectrum of religious leaders are loudly urging President Bush to pull back from the brink of a war on Iraq. The opposition goes far beyond such traditional By Laurie Goodstein. 8:38:00 AM

Studies Find Aspirin Can Lower Risk of Precancerous Colon Polyps. In two clinical trials, researchers have shown that they can reduce the risk of developing colon and rectal polyps, the precursors of almost all colon cancer, with aspirin. By Gina Kolata. 8:38:00 AM

Sides Debate Web Access in Libraries. WASHINGTON, March 5 Two visions of the Internet competed today at the Supreme Court in an argument on whether the government can require public libraries to install antipornography filters as the price for receiving federal financing for Internet access. By Linda Greenhouse. 8:37:59 AM

Justices Reject Challenges to Megan's Laws. WASHINGTON, March 5 The Supreme Court rejected challenges to the Megan's Law sex offender notification laws in Connecticut and Alaska in a pair of decisions today that, while addressed only to aspects of the two laws, made it likely that other challenges around the country would fail as well. By Linda Greenhouse. 8:37:58 AM

Students Skip Class for Peace (and Frisbee). More than a thousand high school and college students walked out of their classrooms and gathered in Union Square Park in Manhattan to protest the possible war in Iraq. By Leslie Eaton. 8:37:57 AM

Catholics Debating: Back President or Pope on Iraq?. Conservative Roman Catholics are torn: as Catholics, they follow the pope, who opposes a war with Iraq, but as conservatives, they back the president. By Laurie Goodstein. 8:37:56 AM

Panel Leader Wants to Add Three to Inquiry Into Columbia. The chairman of the board investigating the breakup of the space shuttle Columbia announced that he has chosen three additional members By Matthew L. Wald. 8:37:56 AM

Monterey Bans a Cruise Ship Over Dumping. LOS ANGELES, March 5 Officials in Monterey have banned a cruise ship from its harbor after learning that it had dumped thousands of gallons of wastewater in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary last October despite a pledge that it would not. At a City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, Fred Meurer, the city manager, said the Crystal Harmony, a 940-passenger ship that visited Monterey on Oct. 9, had discharged about 36,400 gallons of wastewater as it headed south off the coast of Big Sur, near a sea otter refuge. By Nick Madigan. 8:37:56 AM

Panel Seeks Inquiry Into National Zoo Deaths. A Congressional oversight committee called for an independent investigation of the National Zoo after several questionable deaths of animals there. By Elizabeth Olson. 8:37:55 AM

Criticism of Bush's Policy on Korea Sharpens. A group of Clinton administration officials joined Senate Democrats in attacking President Bush's handling of North Korea. By James Dao. 8:37:54 AM

Military Seeks Exemptions on Harming Environment. The Defense Department is asking for broad exemptions from environmental regulations in an expanded version of a bill that was defeated last year in the Senate. By Jennifer 8. Lee. 8:37:54 AM

Drug Benefits Are Restored Temporarily in Oregon. Thousands of poor people in Oregon who were cut off from their prescription drug coverage by the state will have their medications restored. By Timothy Egan. 8:37:53 AM

Politics of Abortion Delays $15 Billion to Fight Global AIDS. President Bush's international AIDS initiative is getting bogged down in disputes over how to spend the money and whether it should be steered away from clinics that promote abortion. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 8:37:53 AM

Man Guilty of Concealing Boys' Killing of Father. A man charged with trying to cover up the crime of Derek and Alex King, two teenage brothers who killed their father, was found guilty today of accessory to murder. By Dana Canedy. 8:37:52 AM

New Los Angeles Councilmen Have Been at Odds With Mayor. LOS ANGELES, March 5 What goes around comes around. By Barbara Whitaker. 8:37:52 AM

A Withdrawn Aid Offer Leaves Washington State's Yakima Bruised. When a foundation took back its offer to invest $15 million in the Yakima Valley, saying residents had not bridged their differences, many in the area felt insulted. By Stephanie Strom. 8:37:51 AM

NASA's Work With Contractors a Focus of Columbia Investigation. The independent panel investigating the loss of the shuttle is looking at how strictly the space agency supervised its contractors and their work standards. By Edward Wong. 8:37:50 AM

Justices Uphold Long Prison Terms in Repeat Crimes. A divided Supreme Court upheld California's "three-strikes" law, rejecting constitutional challenges to sentences for two men convicted of "petty theft." By Linda Greenhouse. 8:37:49 AM

Agent Who Saw 9/11 Lapses Still Faults F.B.I. on Terror. The F.B.I. agent who exposed bureau shortcomings before the Sept. 11 attacks is warning that the F.B.I. is unprepared for terrorism that might result from war with Iraq. By Philip Shenon. 8:37:47 AM

Technology Briefing: Internet. AOL ANNOUNCES MEASURES TAKEN ON SPAM;. 8:37:46 AM

Technology Briefing: Hardware. CRAY SHARES SURGE AFTER OUTLOOK CHANGES; GATEWAY PLANS TO RESTRUCTURE;. 8:37:45 AM

Editorial Page Editor for Herald Tribune. Serge Schmemann, an editorial writer for The New York Times, was appointed on Wednesday as editorial page editor for The International Herald Tribune. By The New York Times. 8:37:45 AM

Executive Is Named to Ford Account. Executive Is Named To Ford Account J. Walter Thompson named a successor to Michael O'Malley yesterday, two days after he unexpectedly resigned as president of the Detroit office and global business director on the agency's flagship Ford Motor Company account. 8:37:44 AM

Hong Kong Officials Propose a Broad Range of Tax Increases. Hong Kong officials introduced the biggest budget policy changes in a generation on Wednesday, with substantial tax increases. By Keith Bradsher. 8:37:44 AM

Roger Needham, Computer Security Expert, Dies at 68. Roger M. Needham led Cambridge University's computer science laboratory for 15 years and started Microsoft's first overseas research lab. By Steve Lohr. 8:37:43 AM

China Steps Up Its Output of Metals. Thanks to the combination of subsidies, cheap credit and lax environmental controls, China is becoming the most important actor in the market for one metal after another. By Bernard Simon. 8:37:43 AM

Congress Clings to a Pager Made in Canada. American lawmakers have an affinity for Canadian BlackBerrys, the popular e-mail devices made by a Waterloo, Ontario-based company. By Jeffrey Selingo. 8:37:42 AM

France T/l/com Announces $23 Billion Loss. France T/l/com joined a parade of companies that have taken huge write-offs on investments made during the 1990's. By Kerry Shaw. 8:37:42 AM

Awash in Oil Dollars, Russia Tries to Steady Economy. While many countries are beginning to feel the pinch of high oil prices, Russia is suffering from a very different problem too much money. By Sabrina Tavernise. 8:37:41 AM

Online Newspaper Shakes Up Korean Politics. OhmyNews, a South Korean Internet news service, played an important role in the victory of Roh Moo Hyun in December. By Howard W. French. 8:37:41 AM

Moderation is Urged for Alcohol Ads. A trade group is trying to wean the alcohol industry from full-figured twins and other racy images. 8:37:40 AM

Big Federal Deficits, Bigger Risks. Soaring deficits hold many risks, including the danger that government borrowing will crowd out private investment, inflating interest rates. By Alan B. Krueger. 8:37:39 AM

The Bold Struggle for China's Belly. As a growing number of urban dwellers flock to giant, modern supermarkets, experts see the beginnings of a food revolution in China. By David Barboza. 8:37:38 AM

Shares Up as a Couple of Earnings Reports Stir Optimism. More than two-thirds of the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced on Wednesday on investor optimism that profit growth may pick up. By Bloomberg News. 8:37:37 AM

California Offers Change in Car Rules. California is seeking to compromise with automakers by dropping a requirement that they sell electric cars. By Bloomberg News. 8:37:37 AM

Costco Reports Drop in Earnings Related to Employee Benefits. ISSAQUAH, Wash., March 5 (Bloomberg News) The Costco Wholesale Coporation, the chain of warehouse club stores, said today that fiscal second-quarter earnings declined 5.4 percent because employee insurance costs increased and sales growth slowed. By Bloomberg News. 8:37:36 AM

2 Companies Pay Penalties for Improving China Rockets. Two American companies will pay $32 million in fines to settle civil charges that they unlawfully transferred rocket data to China. By Jeff Gerth. 8:37:36 AM

Travel Industry and Privacy Groups Object to Screening Plan for Airline Passengers. The groups say the plan could subject Americans to intensive background checks without adequate controls on how the information was used. By David Jones. 8:37:35 AM

Report Details Enron's Moves to Shift Assets. In the most complete analysis to date of Enron's collapse, a bankruptcy examiner has concluded that the company violated accounting rules in a wide array of transactions. By Kurt Eichenwald. 8:37:34 AM

Shoppers Give Retailers the Cold Shoulder. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N) on Thursday posted sluggish sales for February, while other retailers reported sharp declines for a month when consumers were busy shoveling out of winter storms rather than shopping. By Reuters. 8:37:32 AM

Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More Americans signed up for state unemployment benefits last week, the government said on Thursday in a report that showed lingering labor market weakness that was exacerbated by severe winter weather. By Reuters. 8:37:29 AM

Productivity in Non-Farm Sector Rises 0.8%. The productivity of U.S. workers rose more than expected in the fourth quarter of last year even as the economy slowed. By Reuters. 8:37:27 AM

University's Drug Patent Is Invalidated by a Judge. A federal judge on Wednesday invalidated a patent held by the University of Rochester on a class of painkillers and dismissed the school's lawsuit seeking royalties. By Andrew Pollack. 8:37:26 AM

Policy on Peso Is Overturned in Argentina. Disrupting a plan to resolve the country's financial crisis, the Argentine Supreme Court said on Wednesday that depositors can demand dollars. By Larry Rohter. 8:37:25 AM

Bank Overstated Its Earnings 18% for 1999-2002. The Provident Financial Group, whose largest shareholder is Carl H. Lindner, co-owner of the Cincinnati Reds, said that it had overstated its earnings by $67 million. By Alex Berenson. 8:37:25 AM

Businesses Begin to Consider the Cost for the Uninsured. Employers are beginning to realize that the 41 million uninsured Americans are costing them money by pushing health rates higher. By Milt Freudenheim. 8:37:24 AM

Former King of Sneakers Is Coming Back. Since Paul Fireman regained day-to-day control of Reebok International, the company has increased sales, increased cash and increased exposure. By Tracie Rozhon. 8:37:23 AM

European Bank Cuts Key Interest Rates to 4-Year Low. The bank cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to revive faltering growth in the world's second largest economy. By The Associated Press. 8:37:22 AM

Clinton and Dole Agree to Debate on Weekly '60 Minutes' Segment. Bill Clinton and his opponent in the 1996 presidential election, Bob Dole, are teaming up to revive the commentary segment "Point-Counterpoint" on "60 Minutes." By Bill Carter. 8:37:22 AM

California Offers Change in Car Rules. California is seeking to compromise with automakers by dropping a requirement that they sell electric cars. By Bloomberg News. 8:37:18 AM

Panel Leader Wants to Add Three to Inquiry Into Columbia. The chairman of the board investigating the breakup of the space shuttle Columbia announced this evening that he has chosen three additional members By Matthew L. Wald. 8:37:17 AM

New, Cheaper Means Sought to Clean L.I. Sound. A debate on how nitrogen pollutes the waters and how to remove it most efficiently may lead to a re-evaluation of the best means to deal with Long Island Sound's problems. By Kirk Johnson. 8:37:16 AM

Congress Clings to a Pager Made in Canada. American lawmakers have an affinity for Canadian BlackBerrys, the popular e-mail devices made by a Waterloo, Ontario-based company. By Jeffrey Selingo. 8:37:16 AM

On the Slopes, High-Tech Sensors Probe for an Avalanche. Researchers say computer-based techniques could help make avalanches easier to forecast. By Anne Eisenberg. 8:37:15 AM

Making Robots More Like Us. It has been an elusive goal: machines that can move and work like humans. The solution may lie in getting robots and humans to interact better. By Yudhijit Bhattacharjee. 8:37:15 AM

Military Seeks Exemptions on Harming Environment. The Defense Department is asking for broad exemptions from environmental regulations in an expanded version of a bill that was defeated last year in the Senate. By Jennifer 8. Lee. 8:37:14 AM

Panel Seeks Inquiry Into National Zoo Deaths. A Congressional oversight committee called for an independent investigation of the National Zoo after several questionable deaths of animals there. By Elizabeth Olson. 8:37:14 AM

NASA's Work With Contractors Is a Focus of the Columbia Investigation. The independent panel investigating the loss of the shuttle is looking at how strictly the space agency supervised its contractors and their work standards. By Edward Wong. 8:37:13 AM

World Business Briefing: Europe. ITALY: Fiat Rating Downgraded; GERMANY: Delay On Takeover Law; RUSSIA: Deal For Oil Assets; FRANCE: Retailer'S Results Improve;. 8:37:12 AM

World Business Briefing: Asia. JAPAN: Monetary Policy Unchanged; JAPAN: Mcdonald'S Executive To Retire; HONG KONG: Airline'S Profit Rises;. 8:37:11 AM

Policy on Peso Is Overturned in Argentina. Disrupting a plan to resolve the country's financial crisis, the Argentine Supreme Court said on Wednesday that depositors can demand dollars. By Larry Rohter. 8:37:11 AM

Travel Industry and Privacy Groups Object to Screening Plan for Airline Passengers. The groups say the plan could subject Americans to intensive background checks without adequate controls on how the information was used. By David Jones. 8:37:10 AM

The Bold Struggle for China's Belly. As a growing number of urban dwellers flock to giant, modern supermarkets, experts see the beginnings of a food revolution in China. By David Barboza. 8:37:10 AM

China Steps Up Its Output of Metals. Thanks to the combination of subsidies, cheap credit and lax environmental controls, China is becoming the most important actor in the market for one metal after another. By Bernard Simon. 8:37:09 AM

France T/l/com Announces $23 Billion Loss. France T/l/com joined a parade of companies that have taken huge write-offs on investments made during the 1990's. By Kerry Shaw. 8:37:08 AM

Awash in Oil Dollars, Russia Tries to Steady Economy. While many countries are beginning to feel the pinch of high oil prices, Russia is suffering from a very different problem too much money. By Sabrina Tavernise. 8:37:07 AM

Team New Zealand Gets Financial Aid. The New Zealand government has given $3 million to help the country's losing America's Cup syndicate retain crew members who might be approached by rivals. By Warren St. John. 8:37:06 AM

From Irish Art Hero to Clich/ and Back to Favor. An exhibition of the Belfast-born Post-Impressionist painter Paul Henry at the National Gallery of Ireland is the first major showing of his work in 30 years. By Brian Lavery. 8:37:06 AM

Sin Be Damned, French Say; Let's Eat. A French petition aims to have gourmandise (gluttony in English) removed from the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. By Mary Blumeinternational Herald Tribune. 8:37:05 AM

Congress Clings to a Pager Made in Canada. American lawmakers have an affinity for Canadian BlackBerrys, the popular e-mail devices made by a Waterloo, Ontario-based company. By Jeffrey Selingo. 8:37:05 AM

Criticism of Bush's Policy on Korea Sharpens. A group of Clinton administration officials joined Senate Democrats in attacking President Bush's handling of North Korea. By James Dao. 8:37:04 AM

Turkish Military Backs Role in U.S. Drive on Iraq. Turkey's military signaled its support for a measure that would allow thousands of American troops to launch an attack from Turkish soil. By Dexter Filkins. 8:37:04 AM

Politics of Abortion Delays $15 Billion to Fight Global AIDS. President Bush's international AIDS initiative is getting bogged down in disputes over how to spend the money and whether it should be steered away from clinics that promote abortion. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 8:37:03 AM

Full Text: In Powell's Words 8:37:03 AM

In Powell's Words: Saddam Hussein Remains Guilty. WASHINGTON, March 5 Following are excerpts from remarks by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell today to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as recorded by Federal News Service Inc. The full transcript is at nytimes.com/international. 8:37:02 AM

Powell Attacks Validity of the Work by Weapons Inspectors in Iraq. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in an unusual clash with the U.N. weapons inspectors, directly attacked the validity of their work in Iraq. By Steven R. Weisman with Felicity Barringer. 8:37:02 AM

Iraq's Two Faces of War: Armed, Ready, Yet in a Mood to Disarm. Baghdad is pursuing apparently contradictory aims, seeking to convince the world that it is committed to disarmament while simultaneously demonstrating its military prowess. By Neil Macfarquhar. 8:37:01 AM

Words of Refusal: Three Nations Say No. PARIS, March 5 ÷ Following is the text of a joint statement by Foreign Ministers Dominique de Villepin of France, Ivan S. Ivanov of Russia and Joschka Fischer of Germany, as translated by the French Foreign Ministry:. 8:37:00 AM

Conference in Qatar, Called to Consider Exile for Hussein, Erupts in a Shouting Match. Leaders failed to reconsider in public a proposal calling on Saddam Hussein to go into exile and seemed resigned to war. By Jane Perlez. 8:37:00 AM

Pentagon Ready to Strike Iraq Within Days if Bush Gives the Word, Officials Say. Gen. Tommy R. Franks met President Bush to discuss war plans that could be launched within days and without using Turkey as a staging area. By Eric Schmitt. 8:36:59 AM

2 at Iraq's Mission to the U.N. Ordered to Leave the U.S.. Two attach/s at Iraq's mission to the United Nations have been expelled by the State Department. By The New York Times. 8:36:58 AM

G.O.P. Sees Budget Tactic by President Backfiring. Some Congressional Republicans say the president has made complicated the effort to hold down spending by criticizing the Republican-controlled Congress on domestic security financing. By Carl Hulse. 8:36:57 AM

Excerpts From F.B.I. Agent's Letter to Director Mueller. Following are excerpts from a Feb. 26 letter to Director Robert S. Mueller III of the F.B.I. from Special Agent Coleen Rowley of the bureau's field office in Minneapolis. A full text is online: nytimes.com/national. 8:36:56 AM

Agent Who Saw 9/11 Lapses Still Faults F.B.I. on Terror. The F.B.I. agent who exposed bureau shortcomings before the Sept. 11 attacks is warning that the F.B.I. is unprepared for terrorism that might result from war with Iraq. By Philip Shenon. 8:36:56 AM

Students Skip Class for Peace (and Frisbee). More than a thousand high school and college students walked out of their classrooms and gathered in Union Square Park in Manhattan to protest the possible war in Iraq. By Leslie Eaton. 8:36:55 AM

Diverse Denominations Oppose the Call to Arms. A broad spectrum of religious leaders are loudly urging President Bush to pull back from the brink of a war on Iraq. The opposition goes far beyond such traditional By Laurie Goodstein. 8:36:55 AM

Catholics Debating: Back President or Pope on Iraq?. Conservative Roman Catholics are torn: as Catholics, they follow the pope, who opposes a war with Iraq, but as conservatives, they back the president. By Laurie Goodstein. 8:36:54 AM

World Briefing: Middle East. SYRIA: No Surprise In Parliamentary Election;. 8:36:54 AM

World Briefing: Americas. ARGENTINA: President Seeks Election Monitors; HAITI: Report On Rights Violations;. 8:36:53 AM

Court in India Orders Archaeological Study of Disputed Holy Site. The holy site in Ayodhya is one of the most violently disputed between Hindus and Muslims anywhere in India. By The New York Times. 8:36:53 AM

Two Studies Find the Palestinian People Impoverished and the Economy in a Shambles. A study issued by the World Bank reported that almost two million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are living below poverty level. By James Bennet. 8:36:52 AM

Slovakia to Investigate Charges Gypsy Women Were Sterilized. Slovakia will send a special team of investigators to look into claims that Gypsy women have been sterilized against their will. By Peter S. Green. 8:36:51 AM

Retiring Premier Says China Must Pump Money Into Economy. Prime Minister Zhu Rongji also defended his five-year tenure as he prepared to hand day-to-day control of China's government to a new generation of leaders. By Joseph Kahn. 8:36:50 AM

Hong Kong Officials Propose a Broad Range of Tax Increases. Hong Kong officials introduced the biggest budget policy changes in a generation on Wednesday, with substantial tax increases. By Keith Bradsher. 8:36:48 AM

State Dept. Aide Likely to Lead Policy Group. Richard N. Haass, the State Department's director of policy planning, is expected to become the next president of the Council on Foreign Relations. By Christopher Marquis. 8:36:47 AM

For Cooking Up Music, Mixed Vegetables Do Fine. The First Viennese Vegetable Orchestra uses everything from tiny kidney beans to hefty pumpkins in its work. By Sarah Lyall. 8:36:46 AM

Online Newspaper Shakes Up Korean Politics. OhmyNews, a South Korean Internet news service, played an important role in the victory of Roh Moo Hyun in December. By Howard W. French. 8:36:46 AM

A Deepening Fissure. The declaration issued by Europe's largest powers against war in Iraq deepened fissures with major U.S. allies. By Patrick E. Tyler. 8:36:45 AM

Suicide Bombing on Bus in Israel Leaves 15 Dead. The first deadly Palestinian suicide bombing in two months tore a city bus to shreds on Wednesday, killing at least 15 passengers and wounding more than three dozen others. By James Bennet. 8:36:44 AM

China Speaks Out Against Second U.N. Resolution. Tang Jiaxuan, foreign minister of China, said weapons inspections should continue working under a current resolution to avert war in Iraq. By The Associated Press. 8:36:43 AM

Bomb Blasts Through Colombia Shopping Center, Killing at Least 7. A bomb set off by suspected rebels ripped through a shopping center in northeastern Colombia today, killing seven people, injuring at least 20 and setting the complex on fire. By The Associated Press. 8:36:43 AM

2 Companies Pay Penalties for Improving China Rockets. Two American companies will pay $32 million in fines to settle civil charges that they unlawfully transferred rocket data to China. By Jeff Gerth. 8:36:42 AM

Israel Kills 11 Palestinians in Raid After Suicide Bombing. Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians in a Gaza Strip refugee camp today after a suicide bombing on a bus left 15 dead. By Reuters. 8:36:42 AM

Pakistanis Say Suspect Described Recent Meeting With bin Laden. Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan as recently as last month and met there with his chief operational lieutenant, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. By Raymond Bonner with David Johnston. 8:36:41 AM

France and Russia Ready to Use Veto Against Iraq War. While France and Russia made clear that they were ready to use their veto power, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said the U.S. could go to war without U.N. backing. By John Tagliabue. 8:36:40 AM

On the Slopes, High-Tech Sensors Probe for an Avalanche. Researchers say computer-based techniques could help make avalanches easier to forecast. By Anne Eisenberg. 8:36:38 AM

How Important Is Copy Protection? By David Pogue. 8:36:37 AM

Got a (Legal) Concert Recording? Pass It On. MUSIC fans are keeping a venerable tradition of the 1960's alive: following their favorite bands around the country, making recordings of concerts, and trading those recordings. By Nancy Gohring. 8:36:35 AM

Security Cameras Now Learn to React. In a world of growing security threats, ever cheaper technology and general unease, it is a truism that surveillance has become more widespread. By Seth Schiesel. 8:36:35 AM

A Wedding Registry Short on Romance. Planning a wedding is never simple. But it has to be easier with the Internet. Right? One man isn't so sure. By Jeffrey Selingo. 8:36:34 AM

Your Broadband E-Mail, Retrieved on the Run. Is there a way to get e-mail and Internet access on my laptop while I am traveling?. By J.d. Biersdorfer. 8:36:33 AM

Congress Clings to a Pager Made in Canada. American lawmakers have an affinity for Canadian BlackBerrys, the popular e-mail devices made by a Waterloo, Ontario-based company. By Jeffrey Selingo. 8:36:33 AM

A System to Please the Eye (Not to Mention the Ears). Just as desktop computers have shed their boxy beige shells for new shapes and bright colors, audio systems are starting to appear in eye-catching designs. By J.d. Biersdorfer. 8:36:32 AM

With 6 Megapixels, Point-and-Shoot Demands Respect. There is no denying that the Fujifilm FinePix F700, a $600 digital camera unveiled this week, belongs in the unglamorous category of "point and shoot." By Ian Austen. 8:36:32 AM

It's Just a Fantasy, but Real Life Is Always in Play. The thriving Alternate Reality Gaming scene mixes promotions with puzzles created for their own sake. By Charles Herold. 8:36:31 AM

Letters to the Editor. Big Brother as Hall Monitor. 8:36:30 AM

From Stats to Schedules, a Palmtop Sports Arena. Green Maple, a Vermont company that creates software for hand-held computers, has come up with ScoreBoard, a simple way for users of Palm OS organizers to keep tabs on their favorite teams. By Marc Weingarten. 8:36:29 AM

Big Improvement in Clarity for Little League Moments. With their pristine picture quality, digital camcorders are the format of choice for recording family milestones. But standard digital video cameras are about to become pass/. By Eric A. Taub. 8:36:28 AM

A Snug Transport for Controllers, Cords and Console. About the size of a typical day pack, the GamePak is a nicely padded backpack designed to carry your game console and everything you need to play with it. By Charles Herold. 8:36:27 AM

2 Companies Pay Penalties for Improving China Rockets. Two American companies will pay $32 million in fines to settle civil charges that they unlawfully transferred rocket data to China. By Jeff Gerth. 8:36:27 AM

France T/l/com Announces $23 Billion Loss. France T/l/com joined a parade of companies that have taken huge write-offs on investments made during the 1990's. By Kerry Shaw. 8:36:26 AM

Technology Briefing: Hardware. CRAY SHARES SURGE AFTER OUTLOOK CHANGES; GATEWAY PLANS TO RESTRUCTURE;. 8:36:25 AM

Online Newspaper Shakes Up Korean Politics. OhmyNews, a South Korean Internet news service, played an important role in the victory of Roh Moo Hyun in December. By Howard W. French. 8:36:25 AM

The Internet as Jukebox, at a Price. Record companies are offering online services as an alternative to music-swapping. Are they worth the price? By David Pogue. 8:36:24 AM

Cull, Then Categorize: A Digital Scrapbook. Options for managing digital images have proliferated almost as rapidly as the cameras themselves. By Tom Di Nome. 8:36:24 AM

Making Robots More Like Us. It has been an elusive goal: machines that can move and work like humans. The solution may lie in getting robots and humans to interact better. By Yudhijit Bhattacharjee. 8:36:23 AM

For PC Buying, a New Picture. The number of computers sold in the United States has declined two years in a row. But with music, video and games craving power, the old computer may just not do. By Michel Marriott. 8:36:22 AM

Excerpts From F.B.I. Agent's Letter to Director Mueller. Following are excerpts from a Feb. 26 letter to Director Robert S. Mueller III of the F.B.I. from Special Agent Coleen Rowley of the bureau's field office in Minneapolis. A full text is online: nytimes.com/national. 8:36:20 AM

Clinton and Dole Agree to Debate on Weekly '60 Minutes' Segment. Bill Clinton and his opponent in the 1996 presidential election, Bob Dole, are teaming up to revive the commentary segment "Point-Counterpoint" on "60 Minutes." By Bill Carter. 8:36:20 AM

Big Federal Deficits, Bigger Risks. Soaring deficits hold many risks, including the danger that government borrowing will crowd out private investment, inflating interest rates. By Alan B. Krueger. 8:36:18 AM

Give Freedom a Chance. Rather than wring our hands, Americans should gird our loins that is, to fight to win with the conviction that our cause is just. By William Safire. 8:36:17 AM

Excerpts From Supreme Court Rulings on 'Three-Strikes' Law. Following are excerpts from two Supreme Court rulings yesterday on California's three-strikes law for repeat offenders. The rulings in Ewing v. California and Lockyer v. Andrade were 5 to 4. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the majority opinion. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the dissent on Ewing, Justice David H. Souter the dissent on Andrade. 8:36:17 AM

Sides Debate Web Access in Libraries. WASHINGTON, March 5 Two visions of the Internet competed today at the Supreme Court in an argument on whether the government can require public libraries to install antipornography filters as the price for receiving federal financing for Internet access. By Linda Greenhouse. 8:36:16 AM

Justices Reject Challenges to Megan's Laws. WASHINGTON, March 5 The Supreme Court rejected challenges to the Megan's Law sex offender notification laws in Connecticut and Alaska in a pair of decisions today that, while addressed only to aspects of the two laws, made it likely that other challenges around the country would fail as well. By Linda Greenhouse. 8:36:15 AM

Panel Seeks Inquiry Into National Zoo Deaths. A Congressional oversight committee called for an independent investigation of the National Zoo after several questionable deaths of animals there. By Elizabeth Olson. 8:36:15 AM

Panel Leader Wants to Add Three to Inquiry Into Columbia. The chairman of the board investigating the breakup of the space shuttle Columbia announced that he has chosen three additional members By Matthew L. Wald. 8:36:14 AM

State Dept. Aide Likely to Lead Policy Group. Richard N. Haass, the State Department's director of policy planning, is expected to become the next president of the Council on Foreign Relations. By Christopher Marquis. 8:36:14 AM

Military Seeks Exemptions on Harming Environment. The Defense Department is asking for broad exemptions from environmental regulations in an expanded version of a bill that was defeated last year in the Senate. By Jennifer 8. Lee. 8:36:13 AM

G.O.P. Sees Budget Tactic by President Backfiring. Some Congressional Republicans say the president has made complicated the effort to hold down spending by criticizing the Republican-controlled Congress on domestic security financing. By Carl Hulse. 8:36:12 AM

Criticism of Bush's Policy on Korea Sharpens. A group of Clinton administration officials joined Senate Democrats in attacking President Bush's handling of North Korea. By James Dao. 8:36:12 AM

2 at Iraq's Mission to the U.N. Ordered to Leave the U.S.. Two attach/s at Iraq's mission to the United Nations have been expelled by the State Department. By The New York Times. 8:36:11 AM

Overhaul of 2004 Democratic Primaries Complicates Terrain. The overhaul of the 2004 Democratic presidential primary calendar has set off a battle among states struggling to dominate the party's selection of a nominee. By Adam Nagourney. 8:36:09 AM

Politics of Abortion Delays $15 Billion to Fight Global AIDS. President Bush's international AIDS initiative is getting bogged down in disputes over how to spend the money and whether it should be steered away from clinics that promote abortion. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 8:36:08 AM

Justices Uphold Long Prison Terms in Repeat Crimes. A divided Supreme Court upheld California's "three-strikes" law, rejecting constitutional challenges to sentences for two men convicted of "petty theft." By Linda Greenhouse. 8:36:07 AM

Agent Who Saw 9/11 Lapses Still Faults F.B.I. on Terror. The F.B.I. agent who exposed bureau shortcomings before the Sept. 11 attacks is warning that the F.B.I. is unprepared for terrorism that might result from war with Iraq. By Philip Shenon. 8:36:06 AM

Pentagon Ready to Strike Iraq Within Days if Bush Gives the Word, Officials Say. Gen. Tommy R. Franks met President Bush to discuss war plans that could be launched within days and without using Turkey as a staging area. By Eric Schmitt. 8:36:04 AM