December 15, 2001

In a guest room of a Hartford television station, a priest waiting to go on the air spilled coffee creamer on the floor. On the front doorknob of a home on a quiet New Haven street, a bird left its telltale signature, while across town a discarded box of baking soda fell into the street during a trash pickup. In Torrington, Conn., a wide-eyed resident received a letter from ''Mohammed'' in Pakistan, with no return address. And in cities and towns across Connecticut, a lot of untidy people have eaten a lot of powdered doughnuts.

Owners of St Charlie's, lower Manhattan restaurant and bar in fenced-in frozen zone that served as haven for World Trade Center rescue workers in days after attacks, say inventory and cash were taken in weeks after Sept 11 and that just about everything else is now gone; are unsure who is responsible or whether things were taken for legitimate reasons like decontamination; photos (M)

Argentina's Finance Sec Daniel Marx resigns; Marx steps down as Argentina pays $700 million in short-term debt owed to local banks by forcing pension funds to buy government bonds; payment is first of two in December that would hold off default on public debt; Marx suggests that it is time for someone else to oversee government's negotiations with its creditors; Marx's departure may pave way for Miguel Kiguel, economist from Justicialist opposition party, to join Economy Min Domingo Cavallo's team; photo (M)

In the Post-ABM Treaty Era President Bush ended the era of arms control between superpowers, but threats from nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and chemical and biological weapons remain. PAGE A8 Crash Kills German Novelist W. G. Sebald, a German author who lived in England and wrote elegiac novels about the nature of memory, was killed yesterday in a car accident. He was 57. PAGE C16

Vivendi Universal Plans To Challenge Media Giants Vivendi Universal of France has lined up a set of deals intended to challenge the American entertainment giants in their struggle to dominate the production and distribution of movies and television programs. The company will place its programming on five satellite television channels, giving Vivendi its own distribution capabilities for the first time. As soon as Monday, Vivendi hopes to announce an agreement giving it control of USA Networks. At the same time, Vivendi may announce that it is putting its American movie and television holdings under the control of one of the entertainment industry's most experienced executives, Barry Diller. [Page A1.]