Sunday September 10, 2006

The Final Word: “Happy Trails Edition”

(The media experiment in which we conjoin the headline and last paragraph of each bylined article in the A-section of today's New York Times.)

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At a Secret Interrogation, Dispute Flared Over Tactics:

This official added, "When you are concerned that a hard-core terrorist has information about an imminent threat that could put innocent lives at risk, rapport-building and stroking aren't the top things on your agenda."

To Hold Senate, G.O.P. Bolsters Its Most Liberal:

Mr. Laffey said he did not care what Washington Republicans did if he won. "Let them stay out," he said Saturday, huffing and puffing as he ran up a hill toward a voter's house. "We'll do it without them."

More Muslims Arrive in U.S., After 9/11 Dip:

"I came to the United States because I want to improve myself," she said. "This is a second birth for me."

Cheney's Power No Longer Goes Unquestioned:

Mr. Cheney maintains that what matters now is convincing the country that it is really at war and that defeat is not an option. And at 65, he seems willing to wait for his vindication. As Mr. Cheney recently told NBC, "History will decide how I did."

Darfur Trembles as Peacekeepers' Exit Looms:

"I don't know my future," she said, her face blank as she gazed down at Hamid. "Only God knows."

At New Rentals, the Aim Is to Age With Creativity:

Like a challenging painting, life at the arts colony has become an exercise in perspective. "You meet yourself," she said. "You find out who you really are."

Other News

Contained?: Adding Up the Ounces of Prevention:

By cutting off insights into future contacts, Mr. Arquilla said, "I think making arrests in the Florida case actually made us less secure."

The Bloomberg Vista:

In June, when I was riding uptown with the mayor to tour a newly renovated affordable-housing complex in the Bronx, I asked him what he thought was going to happen at ground zero. "There will be continuing problems — yelling and screaming — but we' ll get it done," he answered. He paused for a moment, as he gazed out the window of his S.U.V. at Van Cortlandt Park, where he won a controversial battle a few years ago to bury a water-filtration plant beneath the park's golf course. "It ain't easy," he went on to say. "If you want to get something done, you bring in one person and give him power. But the days of Robert Moses are gone."

Shuttle Lifts Off Without Incident After Delay:

Construction of the half-built space station stopped when shuttles were grounded after the Columbia accident. NASA is eager to resume building the orbiting outpost by having Atlantis taking up a 35,000-pound girder section that includes a new set of solar power arrays.

Federer, in Sixth Straight Slam Final, Faces Roddick as His Next Challenge:

All the better if, for a change, they both played like a dream together.

New Jersey Firefighter Killed:

When a television reporter suggested that Firefighter Neglia had been "in the wrong place at the wrong time," Chief McEldowney snapped: "He was in the right place because he was trying to make a rescue. He was the kind of guy you want looking for you."

The Slenderized Governor, With Advice to Share:

For those who would change Southern eating habits, though, there is always the problem of tradition and identity. And though Mr. Huckabee is not naīve, his strategy for tackling the issue is optimistic. "There's much more to celebrate in a person's health than there is about just what they eat," he said.

Air Force Officer Leaves Kyrgyzstan:

Captain Carpenter declined to comment on the Kyrgyz statements, and said the Air Force was conducting an investigation of its own.

Benedict Begins Pilgrimage to His Homeland:

"They like him — his way," he said. "They like his character, that he doesn't make a big show. He's rather calm, and they like this."

Battle Lines in Treating Depression:

"If I start smiling again, maybe even laughing sometimes, that's how I'll know," he had said just before entering Dr. Degen's office. So far, Mr. Marhefka said in a phone call last week, he is still waiting.

International

Venezuela's Passion: Twisting the Tail of an Angry Beast:

"That feeling of the bull when it comes so close to the stands is thrilling," she said. "When they take the bull down there's nothing like it."

Shades of Supergun Evoke Hussein's Thirst for Arms:

Laughing as he walked among the giant pieces, he played the part of Iraqi artillerymen shooting the weapon: "Oops, we missed! Let's try another one."

European Union in Last-Ditch Talks With Iran on Nuclear Plans:

Britain, France and Germany circulated a letter to other European capitals on Thursday warning that Iran was intent on "splitting the international community" and playing for time by declining to answer in detail a package of economic and political incentives that American, European, Russian and Chinese negotiators presented it in July.

Israeli Says Fatah Leader Could Help Free Soldier:

Israel, which waged a 34-day war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, had called for an international presence on the Lebanon-Syria border to prevent arms smuggling as a condition for a full Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanon.

Blair Warns Against Infighting, but Feud Persists:

Mr. Blair's speech seemed to persuade some loyalists that the party would survive the crisis to fight the next election, due by 2010 at the latest. "In the last few days people thought we had lost it," said Lord Clive Soley, a Labor peer who was part of the audience. "I think people will pull back."

Sudan Releases an American Journalist From Jail in Darfur:

The Security Council voted to approve such a force to take over from a small African Union force in Darfur, but Sudan has rejected it, saying it would fight foreign peacekeepers if they tried to deploy.

Central Asia Pact Frees the Region of Nuclear Arms:

"The United States' lack of support for this nuclear-free zone is a colossal mistake," said Mr. Endicott, who participated in the initial round of talks over the treaty nine years ago in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

National Report

In the West, a Water Fight Over Quality, Not Quantity:

"The country needs coal bed methane," he said. "But they can't come in and destroy an industry, the cattle industry, that's been in the family for 100 years. These people aren't getting rich, they're just making a living."

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