On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2002, the world population was approximately 6,337,730,342 people[†]
2002Emma Myers, American actress[†]
Emma Elizabeth Myers is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress in 2010 when she appeared in an episode of The Glades. She gained recognition for starring in the comedy horror series Wednesday (2022–present), and has since starred in the comedy film Family Switch (2023), the mystery series A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (2024), and the fantasy adventure comedy film A Minecraft Movie (2025).
2002Levi Celerio, Filipino composer and songwriter (born 1910)[†]
Levi Celerio was a Filipino composer and lyricist who is credited with writing over 4,000 songs. Celerio was recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines for Music and Literature in 1997.
2002John R. Pierce, American engineer and author (born 1910)[†]
John Robinson Pierce, was an American engineer and author. He did extensive work concerning radio communication, microwave technology, computer music, psychoacoustics, and science fiction. Additionally to his professional career he wrote science fiction for many years using the names John Pierce, John R. Pierce, and J. J. Coupling. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he earned his PhD from Caltech, and died in Sunnyvale, California, from complications of Parkinson's Disease.
2002Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, into which armed Palestinians had retreated.[†]
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It occupies the Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the south-west. Israel also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Tel Aviv is its largest urban area and economic centre.
Allan Kozinn reviews concert by Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Choir of Clare College Cambridge, led by Rene Jacobs, part of minifestival of works by Handel at Lincoln Center (M)
New York Mets kick off opening day with 6-2 defeat of Pittsburgh Pirates; photo (M)
Xerox Corp will restate its financial results dating back to 1997 and agrees to pay $10 million fine to settle fraud complaint that it expects to be filed by Securities and Exchange Commission; fine will be largest in SEC enforcement case involving financial reporting, and its size indicates that SEC views Xerox's financial misstatements as important matter; company's chairwoman-chief executive Anne M Mulcahy comments; Xerox still faces number of shareholder suits relating to its financial statements (M)
Andersen Chose Indictment Over an Admission of Guilt Justice Department officials were willing to consider deferring the prosecution of Arthur Andersen, letting it avoid indictment, if the firm publicly acknowledged that it had illegally destroyed documents in the Enron inquiry and agreed to restrictions similar to probation, according to people involved in the case. But discussions of such an idea, raised in talks between the government and Andersen several weeks ago, never got off the ground because Andersen believed that such an admission would have been just as devastating as an indictment or guilty plea and also that the firm had not broken any laws. [Page A1.]
Afghanistan's desolate and remote border region, formed where eastern Afghan province of Khost meets Pakistan, is under intense scrutiny following persistent reports that Al Qaeda and Taliban forces are regrouping to mount guerrilla attacks from sanctuaries across border in Pakistan; recent arrests of suspected Al Qaeda members in areas under tribal control on Pakistani side of border, carried out by Pakistani authorities, give credence to reports that large numbers of fugitive fighters have fled where Americans are unable as yet to reach them; rugged frontier that stretches from legendary Khyber Pass to Quetta is famous for smuggling routes, but gave sanctuary in 1980's to mujahedeen fighters who traveled back and forth across border to stage attacks on Soviet forces; frustrated American officials hint they may reach across frontier to carry out military strikes; Pakistani leaders, who have sent 12,000 troops to border areas, indicate if any military action is needed they will undertake it themselves; photos; maps (M)
Drexel University will open exhibit of silk robes, textiles and other relics from China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou; New-York Historical Society will present Games We Played: American Board and Table Games From the Liman Collection; weekly Fifth Night Screenplay Reading Series at Nuyorican Poets Cafe, which has led to 39 feature film productions since it began in 1994, will come to an end with Katherine Burger's Forever Wild; Eliot Feld's Ballet Tech five-week spring season will open with gala and premiere of Lincoln Portrait, set to music by Aaron Copland; photos (M)
Adelphia Communications, cable television company that disclosed last week that it had $2.3 billion in debts that it might have to pay but has not put on its balance sheet, says it is delaying filing of its annual report while it and auditor Deloitte & Touche consider proper accounting; delay cames as surprise, in part because issue in question--co-borrowings by Adelphia and other entities controlled by Rigas family, which founded and runs Adelphia--has been around for years; it appears Rigas family borrowed significant amount of $2.3 billion to finance purchase of Adelphia securities that have since declined in value; founder-chairman John J Rigas comments; graph; photo (M)
Draft of federal report on collapse of World Trade Center towers following September 11 terrorist attacks makes clear there were probably no reasonable precautions that could have prevented towers from falling once they were struck by planes and huge fires broke out, and draws parallels between their demise and other deadly fires in high-rises in US since 1970; problems encountered on September 11, such as failure of sprayed-on fire coating and poor radio communications inside buildings, were noted in reports on earlier high-rise disasters; fires at 1 New York Plaza in August 1970, First Interstate Bank in Los Angeles in 1988 and in Philadelphia in 1991 led officials to conclude that tests for assessing structural integrity in fires dating back to early 20th century were technically primitive and unreliable for high-temperature blazes in offices filled with flammable plastic and synthetics; trade center report by Federal Emergency Management Agency and American Society of Civil Engineers lacks conclusions of whether even best-designed fire-suppression system could have saved buildings; credits structural design of towers for surviving initial impact but cites same hazards identified in earlier reports as contributing to death and destruction on September 11; report's findings detailed; photos (M)
India is dropping limits on exports to promote economic growth, ending decades-long attempt to be economically self-sufficient; pilot program of special export zones will be expanded and streamlined, and incentives introduced; Commerce and Industry Min Murasoli Maran says country hopes for about 12 percent annual growth in international trade, and 1 percent share of world exports in dollar terms by 2007 (S)
British cable company NTL suspends $96 million in interest payments due April 1 at request of unofficial committee representing half face value of company's outstanding publicly traded bonds (S)
President Bush announced that he would turn Governors Island over to New York, a deal that state and city officials said would allow them to transform the island into a campus for the City University of New York.
Article on The Osbournes, MTV's half-hour docu-sitcom series that follows life of aging British rocker Ozzy Osbourne and rest of his foul-mouthed family; photo (M)