Wednesday October 4, 2006

The Final Word: “Sticks and Stones/Verbal Accountability 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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Hastert Fights to Save His Job in Page Scandal:

The first television advertisement to refer directly to the page scandal was broadcast Tuesday in Minnesota, where a Democratic Congressional candidate, Patty Wetterling, is running for an open seat against a Republican state senator, Michele Bachmann. "Congressional leaders have admitted covering up the predatory behavior of a congressman who used the Internet to molest children," the commercial declared.

Lawyer Says Foley Was Sexually Abused: "If the Democrats want to fight on the issue of who's protecting the public and the children and all that," Mr. Dinerstein said, "God bless them, because two weeks from now Mel Reynolds will be a household name."

Dow Jones Index Hits a New High, Retracing Losses:

"You're telling me that I have gone six and a half years and gone even," Mr. Silverblatt of S.& P. said. "What about the 19 percent inflation? Well, it's better than being down, but it's not as positive as you think."

Police Describe Gunman's Plan in School Siege:

"I pity the children in the school" who got out, said Jacob Fisher Jr., 23, a farmer who lives across the street from Mr. Roberts's home. "It's going to be be a scar on their own lives."

Faith and Community May Help Amish Cope: "For the families who lost children, there will be a tremendous community outpouring of love and support," Ms. Schmidt said. "They will not suffer alone in their grief at all. People will bring in meals for weeks. As devastating as this is, there's so much strength they can draw from their community."

In Graft Inquiry, Chinese See a Shake-Up Coming:

"I think that at this point neither of them has the power to dictate the future," one party official said. "They need each other, but that does not mean they trust each other."

Experts Press Chinese Leader to Halt Attacks on Dissenters: Chinese officials have said that all of the cases mentioned are being handled "according to law." There was no immediate official response to the open letter.

Bloomberg Set to Lead 9/11 Memorial Group:

But his involvement in the foundation is already stirring opposition. "The appointment of the mayor is not going to garner the support of the families around the fund-raising effort and perhaps what we should be looking for here is a fresh set of eyes," said Edith Lutnick, who is active in representing the families of victims and whose brother, Howard W. Lutnick, the chairman and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, is on the foundation's board.

In Bill's Fine Print, Millions to Celebrate Victory:

Lt. Col. Brian Maka, a Pentagon spokesman, said late Tuesday that the event was envisioned as an opportunity for "honoring returning U.S. forces at the conclusion" of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. "As the funds were not used in F.Y. 2006," the official said, using the initials for fiscal year, "the authorization was rolled over into F.Y. 2007."

North Koreans Say They Plan a Nuclear Test:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in Cairo, where she met with several Arab counterparts on regional issues, including Iran's nuclear program, that the announcement was disturbing and that a nuclear test would be "a very provocative act by the North Koreans."

Other News

8 G.I.'s Die in Baghdad, Most in a Day Since '05:

In the two and a half years before then, going back to August 2003, there were only 80 attacks on Shiite mosques, the report said. In the eight months since the Samarra bombing, there have been 69. More than 1,700 people have been killed in such attacks since 2003.

2 Americans Win Nobel in Physics:

He received a fair amount of ribbing in the news media for that comment. In an interview with The New York Times in 1992, he said, "It really is like finding the driving mechanism for the universe, and isn't that what God is?"

Airbus Faces More Delays for A380 Jet:

"A cancellation does deliver an unambiguous message to Airbus," said Nick Cunningham, an analyst at Panmure Gordon & Company in London. For Emirates, which is aiming to sharply increase its capacity even as it envisions a limited number of airport landing slots at major international airports, "the A380 is very material to their growth plans."

A Secret Society, Spilling a Few Secrets:

And Mr. Savini points out that the eye on the dollar bill is not really a Masonic symbol. "We use the eye," he said, "but opticians use the eye. It makes us look ridiculous if we say it links into some Masonic connection that was not there."

Brazilian Judge Detains Pilots in Midair Collision:

On Tuesday, recovery crews continued the salvage operation at the Boeing's crash site, recovering the remains of nearly 30 of the victims, including the pilot and co-pilot, still lodged in the cockpit's wreckage. Using cargo planes and helicopters to reach the area, workers are ferrying the remains to a nearby command station, from where they will be taken to a laboratory in Brasília for identification.

Yankees 8, Tigers 4: Jeter, as Usual, Saves His Best for October:

"You want to get going," Jeter said. "You look forward to this."

International

Memo From Britain: Tory Introduces Himself to a Skeptical Lot: His Party:

"The public no longer hate you," Peter Riddell, a columnist for The Times of London, said of Mr. Cameron to a gathering of Conservative loyalists on the fringes of the conference here. "But they are not yet quite sure about you."

Russian Officials Pledge More Sanctions to Cut Off Cash to Georgia:

"We are prepared to live without Russia," he said.

Hijacker of Turkish Plane Wanted to Contact Pope, Officials Say:

The Vatican had no comment on Tuesday night.

Rice Urges 2 Palestinian Groups to Halt Violence:

Secretary Rice said in Jidda that she hoped the Israelis would lift some travel restrictions now placed on Palestinians "because the economic situation in the territories is, of course, made very much worse if there is not the ability to move through some of the crossings."

National Report

Activist Ousted From Vanderbilt Is Back, as a Teacher:

"Obviously it's the right step to take," he said of Vanderbilt's invitation to Mr. Lawson. "They probably should have reached out to him much earlier."

Board Redefines Rules for Union Exemption:

Pamela Thompson, chief executive of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, an industry organization, said, "Since hospital staffing can vary, not only hospital to hospital but hour by hour, this decision will play out differently hospital by hospital."

Miami Publisher Steps Down Over Payments to Reporters:

Journalists can find themselves on programs defending a point of view, she said, which is not their role.

Justices Ponder Conditions for Automatic Deportation:

"Nobody thinks your client is really, you know, abstaining from tequila down in Mexico," Justice Scalia said.

Man Sues Secret Service Agent Over Arrest After Approaching Cheney and Denouncing War:

"This administration has a history of intimidating folks," he said.

U.S. Steps Back on Drug Confiscations:

The senator raised the issue after being contacted by Lee and Jean Edes of Mount Dora, Fla., who discovered that drugs they were ordering from Canada were vanishing in the mail, having been seized by federal agents.

Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of U.S.:

"There has to be guidelines and restrictions on the use of this kind of technology by the government," Professor Wiebe said. "But it doesn't mean it is not useful. It can just as easily help the government understand what is going on in places around the world."

Extensive Tests Led to New Carry-On Rules, Officials Say:

"You have to act on the info you know, not fears of what you don't know," he said. "People who aren't faced with the pressures of keeping the aviation system running might prefer to just shut the system down or have everybody fly naked. But obviously, you can't do that."

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