August 28, 2000

Chinese customs block shipment to US of thousands of copies of a book of photographs taken by Robert McNeely, Pres Clinton's official photographer from 1992 to 1998, because it includes picture of Clinton clasping hand and chatting at White House with Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism; seizure of book, The Clinton Years, comes two weeks after China impounded entire first print of another book, Celestial Gallery, a collection of colorful Tibetan Buddhist art, also published by Callaway Editions; startles publishers and printers in US who have come to rely on Hong Kong and southern China as a center for making illustrated books; stands in contrast to image that Chinese government is striving to present to American public as Senate prepares to take up a bill this fall to normalize trade relations; photo (M)

Golfer Tiger Woods wins NEC Invitational, setting tournament scoring record of 21 under par; photos (M)

No tennis player has performed consistently enough this year to be favorite to reach men's final of United States Open, which is set to begin, or to capture public's imagination; tennis tour launches drive to promote next generation of players at Open; Marat Safin, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nicolas Lapentti, Tommy Haas and Gustavo Kuerten comment, interview; table; photos (M)

New Yorkers will vote in Nov on record $3.8 billion transportation bond act, but Gov George E Pataki and legislative leaders have yet to reach accord on how money would be spent; Comptroller H Carl McCall warns delay makes measure harder to sell to voters; Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, major act sponsor, sees contractors and unions launching campaign for measure (M)

New York Mets defeat Arizona Diamondbacks, 2-1 (M)

Special report, The Other Economy, on fiscal revival of Troy, NY; city, nearly broke in 1995, now has money for improvements; is luring new businesses once scared off by threat of municipal bankruptcy; turnaround reflects heavy state aid, made possible by revenues from booming New York City metropolitan area; map; photos (M)

Iowa governor's commission proposes all-out immigrant recruitment drive that would make state 'immigration enterprise zone'; idea is to ease state's population deficit, bringing in enough people to create work force for vibrant economy; state, which lost many families during 1980's farm crisis and still loses young people after high school, has fewer residents than 20 years ago; with unemployment rate of 2 percent, there are not enough workers to allow many new businesses to open, or existing ones to expand or even replace retirees; problem is shared across Midwest, where states are offering financial incentives to keep bright students; Iowa's proposal is extraordinary since state, in which small immigrant population has been hot button issue over past three years, is convinced it must look outside country's borders; photos (M)

Julie Salamon reviews Neil LaBute's Bash: Latter-Day Plays, trilogy of one-act monologues being shown on Showtime; photo (M)

Vice Pres Al Gore, in telephone interview, attacks Gov George Bush's health care policy, reiterating his own proposals in detail and mocking opponent's position as lacking minimal standard of substance for serious debate; elaborates on theme he will use in coming days in clear attempt to keep presidential campaign's agenda firmly on Democratic turf and to push Bush further on defensive; aides suggest health care is winning issue as recent polls have given Gore overwhelming advantage when voters were asked which candidate would do better job dealing with health care in general and prescription drug prices in particular; campaign's use of health care to highlight risks they see in Bush's proposed $1.3 billion, 10-year reduction in income tax rates, which it claims would leave little of federal surplus for new spending programs noted; health care may be issue that can reinforce notion that Gore, who focused attention on health care during 16 years in House and Senate, is more knowledgeable and better prepared than Bush; Republican vice presidential running mate Dick Cheney acknowledges that Bush does not yet have plan for financing prescription drug benefit for elderly; providing such benefit under Medicare, at cost estimated at $253 billion over next 10 years, is centerpiece of Gore's platform; photo (M)

Web site Inside.com and the magazine Industry Standard believe they have come up with something revolutionary in their magazine, called Inside: The Business of Entertainment, Media and Technology, which will focus on impact of digital technology on the media and entertainment industries; photos (M)

Three of large pan music bands set to compete at Brooklyn's giant West Indian American Carnival have been forced onto streets from warehouse where they stored their instruments and rehearsed for years; have been guarding converted oil drums they use as instruments outside warehouse and drawing hundreds of band members and residents to outdoor rehearsals; local politicians have been unsuccessful in efforts to help bands find new space; Klyn Properties, warehouse owner, says bands had occupied space without company's knowledge; map; photo (M)

Southern California defeats Penn State, 29-5, in college football's Kickoff Classic; photos (M)