August 1, 2002

New Jersey Senate race that began with Sen Robert G Torricelli as prohibitive favorite has suddenly become free-for-all; one day after he is 'severely admonished' by Senate Ethics Committee for accepting improper gifts from campaign donor David Chang, Torricelli calls some New Jersey Democrats in effort to shore up support, but does not address issue publicly; Republicans seem little inclined to let matter drop; Douglas R Forrester, Republican nominee for Senate, calls on Torricelli to resign, saying his actions and misleading public statements make him unfit to hold office; National Republican Senatorial Committee reiterates its intention to make maximum allowable donation to race and national party gives Forrester's campaign its lists of contributors to help jump-start his fund-raising effort; Sen John McCain tells reporters that ethics committee should release all documents it gathered in its nvestigation, move that would only prolong debate; Torricelli is receiving noticeably lukewarm endorsements from his own party; strongest support comes from Washington; Senate majority leader Tom Daschle suggests committee found Torricelli's accuser Chang untruthful; Sen Jon Corzine characterizes committee's action as 'relatively mild rebuke'; New Jersey Gov James E McGreevey cites some of Torricelli's accomplishments in response to questions about ethics committte's ruling (M)

Article on unique burden carried by Israel's several Jewish-Arab theater troupes during current Palestinian intifada; Arab-Jewish relations have been traumatized but troupes, now operating in climate of fear, hatred, suspicion and terrorism, try to overcome obstacles; photos (M)

David Pogue State of the Art column compares digital video recorders SonicBlue and TiVo, which allow users flexibility in television viewing through various pause and rewind features; recorders can also download two weeks of program listings or record every episode of specific program; SonicBlue's Replay TV 4500 can skip commercials automatically as it plays back recorded programs; television networks have sued SonicBlue over this feature and outcome has yet to be determined; SonicBlue's DVR can also be connected to computer network and allows viewers to share programs; photo; drawing (M)

New York Mets defeat Houston Astros, 10-0; photos (M)

Like most news reports and television images coming out of the Middle East these days, "Gaza Strip," an unsparing documentary by James Longley, offers little reason for optimism. The film was shot in the winter and spring of 2001, and it provides a grim, upsetting glimpse at the lives of some of the 1.2 million Palestinians who live in the crowded cities and refugee camps of Gaza. Mr. Longley makes powerful use of the techniques of cinéma vérité. The absence of voice-over narration and talking-head interviews gives his portrait of daily life under duress a riveting immediacy. — A. O. Scott

Precipitous plunge in penny stocks in Hong Kong, prompted by proposal to delist some of lowest-priced stocks, provokes series of moves by regulators and market administrators as investors continue to complain bitterly (M)

Senate votes to bar companies that move to countries considered offshore tax havens from winning military contract as Democrats step up their emphasis on issue they think has growing political appeal; amendment, offered by Sen Paul Wellstone, would affect companies that reincorporate after Dec 31, 2001 (M)

New Yorkers who watched gyrations of stock market over last few weeks and hoped apartment prices would plummet are disappointed; Manhattan real-estate market stubbornly defies expectations; apartment prices are stable, and high, despite swings in stocks; charts; photo (M)

Selena Roberts On The Olympics column contends that International Olympic Committee investigation into 2002 Winter Olympics pairs figure skating scandal was haphazard in interest of finding quick fix to judging scandal, which is now further illuminated by arrest of Russian Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, accused of fixing pairs and ice dancing results; photos (M)

Article on major Mexican art shows at American museums over next two years as part of cultural diplomacy initiative by Mexican Pres Vicente Fox; photo (M)

Brandon Short's first training camp with New York Giants as starting linebacker reveals Short's determination to prove himself; photo (M)

Martin Ebner, financier who spent 1990's shaking up Switzerland's clubby corporations and coaxing famously thrifty Swiss to invest in stocks, yields to slumping market and gives up control of four main investment funds; his holding company, BZ Group Holding, says it had sold controlling stake in four listed companies, with portfolios worth $2 billion, to Zurich Cantonal Bank; photo (M)