Saturday November 4, 2006

The Final Word: “Born to Run 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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G.O.P. Candidates Turn Their Focus to the Economy:

Mr. Bush's campaigning has been unusually light for a sitting president, and he heads to his Texas ranch on Saturday night to celebrate the 60th birthday of his wife, Laura Bush. They will return to Washington to watch the election results.

As Vote Nears, Parties Prepare for Legal Fights:

Fifty of the party's 200 volunteer lawyers will staff a phone bank at party headquarters in Lansing to take complaints before calling the teams of 10 to 15 lawyers to respond from one of 10 regional centers.

Sniper Attacks Adding to Peril of U.S. Troops:

"I'll carry the radio next time," said Lance Cpl. Peter Sprague. "I don't have any kids."

For U.S. and Top Iraqi, Animosity Is Mutual:

The result, American officers involved in the operation have noted, is that what little security there is in the city — and, ultimately, the survival of the Maliki government itself — relies far more on American than Iraqi troops.

Athletes Get New Pitch: Check Out Tutoring Center:

"The biggest difference to me was their love for the student athlete transcended football," he said. "I've been in few situations where the coach cares as much for you personally and academically as they do athletically."

Minister Admits He Bought Drug but Denies Tryst:

Conservative Christian organizations reacted with both sympathy and dismay. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said in a statement, "The situation has grave implications for the cause of Christ and we ask for the Lord's guidance and blessings in the days ahead."

Chancellor Cites Favoritismat a New York School :

"I've come to interpret Dr. Livanis as a peace offering from Joel Klein," he said.

Other News

Israelis Fire on Marchers Aiding Gaza Gunmen, Killing 2:

In a separate development, Israel's former prime minister, Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma for 10 months, was transferred Friday to an intensive care unit because of an infection affecting his heart, the Sheba Medical Center said. In a statement, the center described Mr. Sharon's condition as stable.

Wal-Mart Starts Discounts Early:

"They know this works," Mr. Dreher said.

German Detainee Questions His Country's Role:

"I left all those years in prison," Mr. Kurnaz said. "Nobody could give them back, even if they gave me several million dollars. Cars and houses, you can buy. Freedom, you can't buy."

Jobless Rate Hits 5-Year Low:

"The Fed can't possibly think of reducing rates with an unemployment rate that continues to sink," said Richard Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. "And the Fed can't truly justify lowering rates in this inflationary environment."

$50 Billion Was Bid for Vivendi:

Jean-Rene Fourtou, Vivendi's chairman, suggested that if the company was broken up, there might in some cases be only one bidder for key assets, a result that might limit their auction value.

International

The Saturday Profile: Korea's Godfather of Rock Makes a Comeback:

It seemed to take ages before he found a station and was able to get back on the highway. Dawn was about to break when Mr. Shin at last made it home.

Chinese Court Denies Public Hearing for Times Researcher:

Prosecutors based their case on written testimony from the official, his family and friends. Investigators never explained why the case — unrelated to the initial state secrets charge — was brought against Mr. Zhao. Defense lawyers, meanwhile, have presented written testimony from a man in northeast China who witnessed Mr. Zhao's meeting with the official and said that Mr. Zhao had never accepted any money.

Russia Seeks Changes in Iran Measure:

He said Russia, which is helping to build Iran's first nuclear power plant, at Bushehr, agreed that the resolution ought to "preclude" the possibility that countries assisting Tehran end up providing the means to produce weapons.

Media Muzzled and Opponents Jailed, Tajikistan Readies for Vote:

Nine years after the end of the civil war, Tajikistan continues to be a very poor country. A recent United Nations survey stated more than half the population may suffer from malnourishment. Electricity and running water are mostly unavailable in Dushanbe, and totally absent in much of the countryside.

Taiwanese President and Wife Are Accused of Corruption:

The investigation began in July, after the Ministry of Audit said irregularities had been found in the presidential office's accounting of its expenditures.

Hussein Sentence May Come on Sunday:

Other defendants in the trial include Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice president under Mr. Hussein and leader of the Popular Army, a Baath Party militia, at the time of the Dujail events; Awad al-Bandar, president of the revolutionary court, who handed down death sentences for the 148 townspeople on the basis of a presidential decree bearing what the prosecution said was Mr. Hussein's signature; and four local Baath Party officials from Dujail.

7 U.S. Troops Die in Iraq; U.S. Intelligence Chief Visits:

The American military said it had killed 13 insurgents in two raids on Friday near the town of Mahmudiya, in the farmland south of Baghdad.

U.S. Analysts Had Flagged Atomic Data on Web Site:

An official of National Nuclear Security Administration said his agency would review the documents. To the best of his knowledge, he added, none of them had been reviewed by his agency, which is the government's expert on nuclear secrets.

National Report

Russellville Journal: Bingo, Illegal but Common, Gets Chance for a Clean Card:

"That was probably one of the things over my four years of being sheriff that will stick with me, especially locally," he said. "If I ever run for office again, there will be someone who's Catholic, or who's an AmVet, who will remember that I put a stop to bingo."

Looking Presidential at Home in Nashville, Whether He Runs or Not:

"The country music tour buses could drive up Bowling, and all look off to the side and see that house, and not even being Democrats or Republicans from Tennessee, they would all say, 'Wow, somebody's trying to build a White House,' " Ms. Moore said.

Educators React to Shift in Leadership at Gates Fund:

"We think we have got years ahead of us before we see our role ending," Ms. Stonesifer said.

Should They Win Control of Congress, the Democrats Have a Plan:

"The president has accused us of increasing taxes without lifting a finger," Mr. Buckley said. "But his budget does not include any A.M.T. relief, so he is increasing taxes without lifting a finger."

In Missouri, a Final Rush to Find Votes in Senate Race:

"This race is all about turnout," said Jennifer E. Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "It is what it is, the closest race in the country."

Senator's Tie to G.O.P., However Reluctant, Is Working Against Him in Rhode Island:

"I wouldn't rule him out," said Victor L. Profughi, a pollster at Rhode Island College. "People like him. If they have a reason to change their minds, I think they will."

A Redder Kind of Democrat in a Close Montana Contest:

As for the effect of Mr. Schweitzer, who barely lost a Senate race to Mr. Burns six years ago, Mr. Klindt said, "He's not on the ballot Tuesday."

In Races for Governor, Party May Be Secondary:

In New York, Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat who has been far ahead in voter surveys in his race for governor, has embodied the anti-Washington stance most of all, many experts say, having made his reputation as the state's attorney general by pursuing white-collar criminals and saying federal regulators had failed to catch them.

In California's State Races, Turnabout Likely for G.O.P.:

In a state where 43 percent of the voting public is registered Democratic, 34 percent Republican and 19 percent unaffiliated (the rest are registered with alternative parties), a large Republican victory will certainly cause teeth to gnash.

Religion Journal: Recreating Biblical Meals for the Modern Kitchen:

"You get an in-depth understanding of any character," he said, "by dealing in the details of what they ate."

Supreme Court to Revisit Federal Sentencing Issues:

In accepting the case, the Supreme Court said it would decide whether it was "consistent with United States v. Booker to require that a sentence which constitutes a substantial variance from the guidelines be justified by extraordinary circumstances."

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