Thursday September 28, 2006

The Final Word: “Many Happy Returns 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.)

Page 1

New Hope for Democrats in Bid for Senate:

Analysts say the level of Senate competition should come as no surprise; Senate races are more likely to reflect national trends, they say, whereas most House districts are so carefully drawn on partisan lines that "they are safe against anything but a hurricane," said Gary C. Jacobson, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego.

U.S. Investigating Pirro's Talk of Taping Spouse:

"I was a very angry woman and I said a lot of things, but what matters is what I did and didn't do, and I didn't do anything here other than vent," Ms. Pirro said.

Murky World of Marital Spying: Noting that no listening device had ever been put on the Pirro boat, Mr. Shechtman, Ms. Pirro's lawyer, said, "This is thinking about doing something that it's lawful to do, and that's an odd basis for a federal investigation."
Kerik Is Again a Figure in an Official Investigation: Federal investigators are still looking into other matters regarding Mr. Kerik, including his role in a Correction Department charity that spent $1 million in rebates on cigarettes bought with city money.

For Kazakh Leader's Visit, U.S. Seeks a Balance:

"Kazakhstan has gone along with a lot of the American oil agenda with the unspoken understanding that the Kazakhstan population is not going to be provoked," Mr. Laumulin said. "There isn't to be a 'color revolution' here, and for five to seven years we don't have to worry about needing to introduce genuine democracy. We get a strategic pause."

For the Third Time, a Jury Fails to Convict Gotti:

"I can't tell you how thankful I am for this jury," he said. "They saved my life."

Lawyers: U.S. May Be Ready to Say 'Enough': The Gotti case almost certainly does not rank as the most expensive federal prosecution. Prosecutors tried his father repeatedly, albeit not on the same charges every time, before winning a conviction.

As 2 Bushes Try to Fix Schools, Tools Differ:

He approaches the law, he said, "not from the standpoint of saying it's bad, but that it's good and needs to be better."

Connecticut Challenge to No Child Left Behind Is Cut Back: The nation's largest teachers union filed a similar challenge last year, which a federal judge in Michigan dismissed outright last November.

Rural Areas Left in Slow Lane of High-Speed Data Highway:

Yet officials in Norton, 15 miles west of Canaan, could not download the 20-page grant application because their dial-up line was so slow.

Mortgage Suit Says ‘Trust Us’ Led to Fleecing:

"Nobody has been charged here," he said, declining to be named because he did not want to embarrass his church. He said he was still holding out hope, "that they just got caught up in this, just like I did."

Other News

House Passes Detainee Bill as It Clears Senate Hurdle:

While Republicans were nearing success on a key element of their agenda with the terrorism bill, disputes among top Republicans in the House and Senate were threatening other measures they hoped to pass, particularly a domestic security spending bill and a Pentagon policy bill. Lawmakers were scrambling to resolve the differences to avoid leaving the bills on the shelf. They have already abandoned efforts to strike a final agreement on a measure governing a National Security Agency surveillance program, though the House is scheduled to consider the bill on Thursday.

Cleric Is Said to Lose Reins Over Part of Iraqi Militia:

He said Mr. Sadr had begun to increase his exposure in the northern city of Kirkuk and in Diyala Province, both mixed-population areas north of Baghdad where sectarian disputes have been on the rise. There, he is trying to appeal by casting himself as a defender of Shiites against Kurdish and Sunni Arab factions.

Bush Plays Chaperon for Awkward Encounter:

Instead, both stood stiff and expressionless as the president spoke, their hands clasped tightly in front of them. When Mr. Bush ended the awkwardness by announcing, "Let's go eat dinner," General Musharraf gave a quick salute to the press corps. President Karzai extended his arms, palms up, in an empty embrace of the sky.

Ex-H.P. Officer to Say She Knew of No Illegality:

Sitting separately, however, carries its own risks. He will face more questions than if he shared the panel with others, since each committee member gets 10 minutes to ask questions at each panel.

Diabetes Treatment Fails to Live Up to Promise:

Both forms of the disease can have devastating consequences, including blindness, kidney failure and circulatory problems that can lead to amputations.

And the Orchestra Plays on, Echoing Iraq's Struggles:

The message was clear: Iraq was still alive.

Iva Toguri D'Aquino, Known as Tokyo Rose and Later Convicted of Treason, Dies at 90:

"It is hard to believe," Mrs. D'Aquino said on receiving word of President Ford's action. "But I have always maintained my innocence — this pardon is a measure of vindication."

Kazakhs Shrug at 'Borat' While the State Fumes:

"The government is young," Ms. Udod said. "Maybe we take these things more painfully."

Memo to Nanny: No Juice Boxes:

The result? "I was asked not to come back," Ms. Perez said.

International

Protesters Fuel a Long-Shot Bid to Oust Taiwan's Leader:

Mr. Shih himself has a well-coiffed mane of dark hair and has not been lying in the street every night with his followers. Mentioning his long years in prison, he said, "If I look young, it's because I was frozen for 25 years."

Mogadishu Journal: From the Ashes, a Chunk of America Beckons in Somalia:

"They bring peace," she said. "And peace brings tourists."

NASA Chief, on First China Trip, Says Joint Spaceflight Is Unlikely:

"Our hosts could hardly have been nicer," he said. "This is our very first visit. It's not our last visit."

Wartime Leader of Bosnian Serbs Receives 27-Year Sentence:

Former diplomats and witnesses for the prosecution in the past have stressed the central role Mr. Krajisnik had played in the Serbs' campaign. When he participated in peace talks during the war, some diplomats gave him the nickname of Mr. No because of his unyielding stand.

At German Conference on Muslim Relations, One Vote Is Unanimous: Mozart Must Go On:

The session was closed to the news media, but judging by the conciliatory tone afterward, it did not seem likely that anybody called him one.

Israel Frees a Top Hamas Official but Still Holds Other Lawmakers:

The settler, Asher Weissgan, killed the Palestinians in Shiloh on Aug. 17, 2005, the day that the Israeli military began forcibly removing Jewish settlers from Gaza. Prosecutors said that Mr. Weissgan carried out the killings in an attempt to prevent the withdrawal from taking place.

Rice Says Sudan Could Face More Sanctions Over Darfur:

Ms. Rice challenged Mr. Bashir's authority to refuse the United Nations peacekeeping force. "We cannot, we will not, accept Sudan's opposition," she said. "Since the Sudanese government will not save the lives of its own people, then the United Nations must act."

Military Officials Add to U.S. Criticism of Iraq's Government:

An American soldier also died Wednesday, after being attacked by small-arms fire in southern Baghdad.

Canadian Seeks to Defend Losses in Afghanistan:

Mr. Harper's recent efforts have suffered a number of setbacks. Last week, Canada's military commander declared victory over the Taliban in the Panjwaii district southwest of Kandahar. Hours later a suicide bomber attacked troops who were handing out toys, schools supplies and candy to villagers, killing four Canadians and wounding 10 others.

National Report

After a Seven-Year Ban, Salmon Fishing Returns to Maine:

"I was last here when fishing ended, and I'm here today," Mr. Bader said. "It's amazing, really part of history. It's what every fisherman strives to achieve — catching Atlantic salmon. It's what I want to achieve, especially on the Penobscot River."

Student and Gunman Die in Colorado High School Standoff:

"It's a very mixed picture," said Prof. Del Elliott, the director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado. "In some cases, there have been real substantial gains. But across the board, most schools have still not gone very far."

Spinach Back in Some Stores on East Coast:

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that Safeway was working to get spinach back on the shelves, but phone calls to the company were not returned.

Journal Says Global Warming Document Was Blocked:

Scientists do not agree on the influence of global warming on hurricane activity.

Scientists Form Group to Support Science-Friendly Candidates:

And it said the government should not publish false or misleading scientific information, something Dr. Wood said occurred when the National Cancer Institute briefly posted an item on its Web site suggesting that abortion was linked to breast cancer.

Political Memo: Dispute on Intelligence Report Disrupts Republicans' Game Plan:

"We are less safe today because of the Iraq war," said Senator Charles E. Schumer, the New York Democrat who is Mr. Emanuel's Senate counterpart. "That is a very trenchant argument."

Iraq Report Is Due in '07; Skeptics Want to See It Now:

"There's not a lot of basic research that needs to be done, that's for sure," Mr. Pillar said.

G.O.P. Picks Twin Cities as '08 Site of Convention:

The last time Republican officials headed to the Midwest for a convention was 1980, when Ronald Reagan was nominated in Detroit. Democrats, who held their last conventions in Boston and Los Angeles, held their last middle-of-the-country convention in Chicago in 1996.

Tony Snow, Now a Headliner:

"I think it's unplowed ground," he said. "And you want to make sure that you do it in such a way that you're still able to function effectively as the press secretary, which means that from a red-meat standpoint, they're likely to be pretty dull."

Terror Laws Cut Resettlement of Refugees:

Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, urged the administration to redouble its efforts on behalf of the Burmese refugees and others who desperately need to resettle. "I know we have a lot security concerns to watch for," Mr. Brownback said at the hearing. "But there are huge populations that are absolutely persecuted and have no other option."

Support
The Final Word:
Buy A Bumper Sticker

Page 1

Other News

International

National Report

Previously...