North American International Auto Show opens in Detroit, Mich; reinvention could be theme of show, as carmakers try to dazzle audience with new designs and innovative products; photos (M)

In Detroit, High-Style High Anxiety

Ties between Michael R Bloomberg and his company Bloomberg LP discussed in light of possible conflict of interest issues that may arise during his tenure as mayor of New York; company has donated sleek new computer terminals to city, which violates no rules, but points out how difficult it may be to separate Bloomberg from his company, especially in terms of how to treat his vast personal wealth, which includes large stake in company; photo (M)

Mayor Brings His Gadgets, And Thorny Conflict Issues

Profile of actress LaChanze, who is currently appearing in Off Broadway play The Vagina Monologues; she is raising 18-month-old daughter, Celia, and infant daughter, Zaya, alone after her husband, Calvin Gooding, partner in Cantor Fitzgerald, died in World Trade Center attack; photo (M)

A New Scene in a Balancing Act

Profile of Sgt First Class Nathan Ross Chapman, who is first American serviceman killed in Afghanistan by enemy fire; photo (M)

Soldier and Son Who Thrived On Risk and Army Discipline

Jalalabad, Afghanistan, returns to former lawlessness, with people selling everything from what are thought to be terrorist materials taken from Al Qaeda caves in Tora Bora to bootlegged copies of Hollywood blockbusters to hashish to food stolen from aid convoys; city's newly appointed interim mayor Abdul Ghaffar decries rampant corruption; photos (M)

A City, Free of Taliban, Returns to the Thieves

Pres Bush seems to many to be transformed since Sept 11 into mature leader of nation at war; United States has changed, too, maybe more than Bush has; deadliest terrorist assault in nation's history has left Americans feeling vulnerable and unambiguously patriotic; historians say Americans are projecting on Bush qualities they desperately want him to have; say that when White House was spared from attack on Sept 11, Americans turned even more toward it and Bush as symbols of hope and calm and security; say Bush has merged with his office, and he has displayed strength, compassion, and mastery of complex war on many fronts; photo (M)

The Nation: Seeing Is Believing; America as Reflected in Its Leader

Gretchen Morgenson Market Watch column on outlook for investing in 1-800 Contacts Inc, direct marketer of contact lenses; notes company does not always comply with laws requiring that customer have valid prescription from eye-care professional; company is also having trouble getting lenses from Vistakon, giant player in field; stock-price graph (M)

Cloudy Outlook For a Seller Of Contacts

Attacks on World Trade Center removed 13.4 million square feet of office space for at least several years and temporarily rendered additional 12.1 million square feet unusable; attacks released flood of sublet space; Grubb & Ellis report shows 10.1 million square feet was offered for sublet in three months after attacks, as companies that had been holding excess space put it on market in hopes of attracting tenants displaced from downtown buildings; once rush to relocate passed, market slowed, with tenants who did not have to make decisions deferring them until market conditions become clearer; confusion gripped market, with buyers and sellers unsure about pricing; most real estate executives say they expect pricing issue to work itself out in form of lower rents this year as amount of available space increases as result of continuing softening of economy; how terrorist attacks affected retail space, hotel industry and availability of suburban space discussed; Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield and C Bradley Mendelson and Mary Ann Tighe of Insignia/ESG comment; map; chart; photos (M)

Commercial Property; In Office Market, a Time of Uncertainty

Pittsburgh Penguins defeat New York Rangers, 4-1; photo (M)

Kovalev Spoils Lindros's Return To the Rangers

 Plane Hits Tampa Building  A 15-year-old student pilot died after making an unauthorized takeoff in a single-engine plane and crashing into a downtown office building.   PAGE 18    Connecticut Is Still No. 1  Diana Taurasi scored 32 points to lead Connecticut, the top-ranked women's team, to an 86-72 victory over No. 2 Tennessee.   SPORTSSUNDAY

INSIDE

Pakistani officials capture Libyan Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, one of Osama bin Laden's top paramilitary trainers, and turn him over to United States; capture marks potential intelligence boon for American officials in hunt for bin Laden and quest to thwart future terrorist activities; Libi was responsible for paramilitary training at Al Khaldan, one of Al Qaeda's largest camps; US also takes custody of former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef; American officials express confidence that they are homing in on terrorist leaders after interrogating thousands of Taliban and Al Qaeda prisoners and recovering reams of documents and computer disks from safe houses in Afghanistan (M)

U.S. Takes Custody Of a Qaeda Trainer Seized by Pakistan

Six-story office building that will fill whatis now pa

POSTINGS: 19th-Century Style at New Hoboken Offices; Echoes of Historic Theater

Retailers, forced to offer steep pre-Christmas discounts, are pressuring apparel makers and wholesalers to bear brunt of cuts in forms of concessions; ranks of these businesses are expected to shrink rapidly in coming months, with real trouble to be felt by thousands of midsize and small companies already hurt by low-cost competition from overseas; graphs of personal spending on apparel and of United States apparel output; photos (M)

For Clothing Makers, It's Cut or Be Cut

A Country in Chapter 11? Yes, but . . .

In-depth profile of political neophyte David Yassky, professor at Brooklyn Law School, former aide to Sen Charles Schumer and one-year member of Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats who, after primary runoff victory, has won four-year term as city council member for District 33; photos; map (L)

The First Hurrah

Connecticut defeats Tennessee, 86-72, in women's college basketball; photo (M)

Led by Taurasi, UConn Is No. 1 By a Long Shot

Lisa Belkin reviews etiquette for e-mail use among office workers (M)

When Office E-Mail Misfires

American Special Forces have failed to find Mullah Muhammad Omar after searching a region where he was thought to be hiding. Page 15.

Elusive Taliban Leader

Concerns are growing on Wall Street that heavy reliance by Ford Motor Co and General Motors on low-interest loans and cheap leases to pump up sales threatens financial health of their credit operations; at issue is whether credit businesses will continue to provide financial cushion or will instead aggravate effects of recession; graphs of loans; photos (M)a

All That Easy Credit Haunts Detroit Now

Article on baby boomers who are increasingly showing interest in snowboarding, once reserved for teenage tongue-piercing crowd; photos (M)

Hey, Mom and Dad, That's Our Sport!

On Jan. 1, coverage of the war in Afghanistan and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror raids, formerly presented as a separate section, returned to the main parts of The Times. Editors' note, Page 14.  

Editors' Note; 'A Nation Challenged'

New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde's season reviewed as Jets prepare for final regular season game against Oakland Raiders; photo (M)

Testaverde and the Jets Face a Defining Moment

Analysts from both parties say budget surplus has shrunk to less than one-third of what was projected, setting up intense partisan battle over taxes and spending; say there will be deficits for at least next three years before returning to surpluses for rest of decade; House and Senate Budget Committees develop figures in effort to predict official numbers to be released by non-partisan Congressional Budget Office later in January and White House's Office of Management and Budget in February; figures of two groups are similar and provide clear sense of scale of reversal in nation's fiscal fortunes in wake of economic downturn, Sept 11 attacks and tax cut; graph (M)

Huge Decline Seen In Budget Surplus Over Next Decade

Boston Celtics defeat New York Knicks, 90-81; photo (M)

These Days, The Swagger Belongs To Boston

William McDonald Coping column recalls vividly the moments just before planes struck World Trade Center on September 11 and offers explanations from memory experts and psychologists about why people remember mundane things that happen just before crises; drawing (M)

January 6, 2002

Headlines from January 6, 2002

In Detroit, High-Style High Anxiety

Mayor Brings His Gadgets, And Thorny Conflict Issues

A New Scene in a Balancing Act

Soldier and Son Who Thrived On Risk and Army Discipline

A City, Free of Taliban, Returns to the Thieves

Billboard 200

Weathered

Now 8

Scarecrow

Britney

A Day Without Rain

Historical Context for January 6, 2002