Thursday November 16, 2006

The Final Word: “Planet of the Neanderthals 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

General Warns of Risks in Iraq if G.I.'s Are Cut:

"We are prepared in principle to discuss Iranian activities in Iraq," Mr. Satterfield said. "The timing of such a direct dialogue is one that we still have under review."

With Politics as Subtext, Senators Clash on Iraq:

The Republican side was anchored by the departing chairman and the protector of Senate decorum, Senator John W. Warner of Virginia. He congratulated Mr. Levin, noting that they came to the Senate together 28 years ago. When Senator Jim Talent of Missouri, the only committee member seeking re-election to lose, arrived on the Republican side, Mr. Warner walked over to shake his hand.

US Airways Seeks to Acquire Delta in Bid to Be No. 1:

The message made no mention of US Airways' plan to cut flight capacity by 10 percent.

In Senate Shift, Big Comeback for Trent Lott:

Mr. Breaux hastened to add a caveat: "Trent promised me he'd never give speeches at any more birthday parties."

New DNA Test Is Yielding Clues to Neanderthals:

From the data gathered so far by Dr. Paabo’s and Dr. Rubin’s teams, there is no evidence of interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans. But the possibility of a small amount of genetic interchange cannot yet be ruled out. Dr. Bruce T. Lahn, a geneticist at the University of Chicago, published a report earlier this month suggesting that one of the two principal versions of the human gene for microcephalin, which helps determine brain size, came from an archaic population, presumably the Neanderthals.
So far neither team has analyzed enough Neanderthal DNA to test Dr. Lahn's proposal.

Agricultural Mainstay Gets a New, Urban Face:

Mr. Ostrem said that his son, who was in the FFA in high school, is studying to become an agricultural engineer.

Plea Deal in Seton Hall Dormitory Fire :

In the courtroom on Wednesday morning, families of the dead and injured filled most of two rows and sat quietly during the admissions of guilt by the two men. Prosecutors had kept them informed as plea negotiations progressed, so they were unsurprised at the result.

Memories of a Dark Day Revived: When he arrived at Seton Hall, he planned to study computer science. After the fire, he switched to physical therapy. More than six years later, he is still a sophomore.

In Murder Case, New Evidence but Same Cell:

"When you wake up in the morning, instantly, this goes through my head," Mr. Acevedo said. "To this day. I don't even have to fully wake up. Instantly. Every day."

Other News

Political Memo: Flush of Victory Past, Democrats Revert to Finger-Pointing:

"Bah-bah-bah-bah, let me go to the first question," Mr. Greenberg said haltingly before returning, with prompting, to the original question, allowing that the Kerry episode might have "moved the needle a little bit."

Pakistan Moves Toward Altering Rape Law:

She said noted that adultery had not been an offense against the state before the Hudood laws, and she worried that judges could be bribed to misuse the provisions. "There is nothing to celebrate," Ms. Bari said. "This clause about fornication would now open a new chapter of misuse and abuse."

News Analysis: When Blind Faith in a Medical Fix Is Broken:

When established treatments turn out to be useless, or worse, harmful, Dr. Weinstein said, "everybody's going to lose trust in the system."

The TV Watch: Not Coming Soon to a Channel Near You:

Though Al Jazeera English looks at news events through a non-Western prism, it also points to where East and West actually meet. On a feature story, a group of Syrian women, Muslim and Christian, let a reporter follow them on their girls' night out. Topic A was the shortage of men in Syria.

'Echo Maker' Wins Book Award for Fiction:

In her acceptance speech last night, Ms. Rich rebutted what she called the "free market critique of poetry," that the genre is unprofitable, and therefore useless. But "when poetry lays its hand on our shoulder," she said, "we can be, to almost a physical degree, touched and moved."

100 Yards, Sideline Vu: At Rutgers, a Glut of V.I.P.'s:

"By then I'm hoping we have suites," Leonard said.

International

Talks by India and Pakistan Make No Gains on Train Blasts:

They were far from an accord on pulling back troops from Siachen Glacier, 18,500 feet in the Himalayas, where Indian and Pakistani soldiers have faced off for more than 20 years. It is uninhabitable, and the dispute is less over who controls it than recording on a map whose troops were last standing where. India wants its troop positions laid out on a map; Pakistan says it opposes what Mr. Khan on Wednesday called "endorsement of a certain claim."

Chantraine Journal: Harvesting by the Basket What France's Diners Crave:

"They are beautiful, and they are cheaper," sighed Mr. Vujeic.

Bush, in Asia, Faces a Test of Diplomatic Muscle:

So far South Korea has declined to take part directly in the American-led effort to detect and seize illicit weapons shipments. Many North Korean ships pass through South Korean waters. American officials say that Mr. Roh, in a visit to Washington before the nuclear test, had indicated that if North Korea detonated a nuclear test, it would "change everything" in relations between North and South.

One of Mr. Bush's senior national security aides, speaking in Washington before the president left, but declining to talk on the record about the friction between Washington and Seoul, said, "It seems to have changed almost nothing."

Kidnappings Stir Political Dispute in Iraq:

A car bomb exploded on Wednesday at a gas station near the Interior Ministry, killing eight people and wounding 32, according to a ministry official. A suicide bomber joined a crowd of mourners at a funeral in Dora, in southern Baghdad, and detonated his explosives, killing three people and wounding 12.

Australia Picks Sydney for Center on U.S. Studies:

"I am well aware that the Iraq war was and is unpopular among many Australians," Mr. Murdoch said. "And I am well aware that not every Australian sees the current American administration in a favorable light." But, he noted, "wars end" and "administrations come and go," so Australians must think long-term.

Rocket Fire From Gaza Kills Woman and Wounds 2 in Israeli Town:

Among the conditions for a renewed flow of aid is the cessation of violence, including the rockets. Another is that the government recognize Israel's right to exist — which Hamas has been unwilling to do.

National Report

Most Students in Big Cities Lag Badly in Basic Science:

Only in Austin, Houston and Charlotte did black and Latino fourth graders score higher than similar students in the nation as a whole. Still, their scores were in the bottom 25 percent to 32 percent of all students taking the exam.

Texas Lawmakers Put New Focus on Illegal Immigration:

On Tuesday, two other towns, Taneytown in central Maryland and Pahrump in southern Nevada, passed measures declaring English the official language. Hazleton, Pa., enacted a similar ordinance in July, but it has been held off pending a court challenge.

Tornadoes and Thunderstorms Sweep the South:

"We thought we dodged the bullet with no hurricanes and no tropical storms this year," said Susan Severance, the acting chief of staff in the Louisiana emergency preparedness office. "I think we may have spoken too soon."

Texas Court Ruling Rebuffs Bush and World Court:

"The president has made an admirable attempt to resolve a complicated issue involving the United States' international obligations," Presiding Judge Sharon Keller wrote in a concurrence. "But this unprecedented, unnecessary and intrusive exercise of power over the Texas court system cannot be supported by foreign policy authority conferred on him by the United States Constitution."