Article on chain of command of Walt Disney Co; examines roles of chairman Michael D Eisner, Shamrock Holdings (investment arm of Disney family) chief Stanley P Gold and Roy E Disney, nephew of Walt Disney and longtime Disney Co employee; discusses conflicts among them now that Disney's stock and business have weakened; photos; tables (M)

As Disney Loses Steam, Insider Loses Patience

Amy Harmon Coping column describes trying to grow beefsteak tomatoes from seed in pots on rooftop of Chelsea apartment building; notes that while their tiny size was disappointing, their taste was not; drawing (M)

It's Not the Size Of the Tomato. Not Really.

Justin Leonard takes third-round lead at PGA Championship; photos (M)

Gusty Wind Tests Leonard, And He Passes

With Bernie Williams cooling down to only two hits today, other members of the surging Yankees assumed starring roles in an 8-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. The most notable of them was Alfonso Soriano, who blends speed and power. By hitting one of the Yankees' four home runs today, Soriano became the first major league second baseman to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season.    ''I don't want to think about 40-40,'' Soriano said.  

30-30

Deborah Weisgall article on virtual gallery of art that she lusts after in her heart and imagines in her head she would lift off gallery walls; drawing (M)2

Lust in the Gallery, Larceny in the Heart

Unidentified senior US military officers say covert US program during Reagan administration provided Iraq with critical battle planning assistance at time when US intelligence agencies knew Iraqi commanders would employ chemical weapons against Iran; comments respond to query about gas warfare on both sides during Iran-Iraq war; Iraq's use of gas is repeatedly cited by Bush administration in calling for regime change now; covert program took place as top Reagan administration officials, including George Shultz, Frank Carlucci and Colin Powell, publicly condemned Iraq for using poison gas, notably against Kurds; US at time sought to thwart Iran so it would not overrun oil-rich Persian Gulf states; Powell denies account; Saudi Arabia played key role in urging US to help Iraq; military informants say Lt Col Rick Francona toured Fao Peninsula after it was retaken by Iraq in early 1988 and reported that Iraq had used chemical weapons to win; map (M)

OFFICERS SAY U.S. AIDED IRAQ IN WAR DESPITE USE OF GAS

Throngs of young people dressed in retro clothing, who usually cruise thrift shops of Lower East Side and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on bikes and motorscooters, are converging on nearly vacant streets of Manhattan's financial district after dark; photos (M)

On Wall Street After Dark, A New Bohemia Beckons

Gretchen Morgenson Market Watch column deplores whining resignation of former Salomon Smith Barney star telecommunications stock analyst Jack B Grubman; holds his former colleagues at Salomon's investment banking group deserve equal scorn; graph of Nasdaq telecom index (M)

A Star Analyst Exits Loudly. Others Hide Backstage.

Gilsey House, co-op building at Broadway and 29th Street that was built in 1871, is undergoing $1.5 million, 18-month renovation that includes $200,000 paint job; photo (M)

POSTINGS: A $1.5 Million Renovation, With Paint; 1871 Building Is Wearing New Coats

Talking Money With column interview with television talk show host Bill O'Reilly on his investment strategy and career; photos (M)

For Once He Says, 'Don't Take My Advice'

Article on Diana Brooks, former chief executive of Sotheby's who testified against former chairman A Alfred Taubman in commission-fixing case and is serving six-month home detention sentence at her co-op apartment on East 79th Street; speculation is raised about whether Brooks is receiving privileged treatment; photo; drawing (M)

When Home Is a Castle And the Big House, Too

Stars of NBC series Friends, with sitcom nearing its end, are pinning their futures on movies; Jennifer Aniston seems to have one of best shots at crossing over permanently; projects of co-stars Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc discussed; photos (M)

After 'Friends': Looking for a Second Act

Real estate executives say that demand for industrial property in New Jersey never fell off as much as demand for office space and that warehousing and distribution sector should lead economic recovery; vacancy rate for industrial space in northern New Jersey in last five years has stayed surprisingly low, with high of 8.6 percent in early 1997 and low of 5 percent in third quarter of 2000; there is increasing interest in industrial space in northeast New Jersey, both for its proximity to seaport and to region's labor pool, for sorting and processing goods; shortage of good sites in northeast New Jersey is forcing some developers to consider brownfields or to look further south; Hartz Mountain Industries and Martix Development Corp are among industrial developers in state; photos (M)

Commercial Property; In New Jersey, Warehouses Lead the Way

Mohamed and Ahmed Ibrahim, 14-month old Egyptian twins conjoined at the head, have been in Medical City Dallas Hospital since June for tests to determine if they can be safely separated; they cannot sit, stand or crawl because skulls are fused, but surgery could kill one or both or cause lifelong brain damage; surgery would be even more dangerous than 22-hour operation that separated Guatemalan twins at UCLA; they are still in serious condition, with one girl requiring further surgery to drain blood from bacterial infection; Dr Kenneth Salyer, who arranged tests for Egyptian boys, explains 'horrendous' dilemma; photos (M)

To the U.S., in a Slim Bid for Separate Cribs

Major US airlines, suffering worst financial losses ever, will start bringing service more closely in line with fares, which is likely to upset traveling public that still expects full-fare convenience with no-frills prices; airlines will make travel less convenient for business fliers by cutting flights and lengthening connection times at some hubs, and hope to exact more sacrifice from people flying on most discounted tickets, with ever more spartan cabin service; giants are trying to keep pace with Southwest Airlines, low-fare carrier whose profitability amid their losses has earned it stock market value bigger than all rivals combined; photos; graphs; charts; US Airways, battered on once-lucrative East Coast, has filed for bankruptcy protection, American Airlines is laying off 7,000 workers and altering schedules and United has threatened to file for bankruptcy if unions do not accept deep wage cuts; biggest carriers collectively lost record $6.9 billion from Oct 2001, after Sept 11 attacks, through June; steady advance of Southwest and others like JetBlue has destroyed profits on many routes, while Internet allows business and leisure travelers to tinker with itineraries and cut fares by hundreds of dollars; neither trend is likely to disappear when economy recovers (L)

Troubled Airlines Face Reality: Those Cheap Fares Have a Price

 More on Pages 22 and 23:    Discounters' Victory  Fare Shopping  Reduced Frills

Editors' Note; Terminal Crisis

More than dozen school districts in Florida and other states have moved up opening day of school this year, cutting short summer vacations so that students can start preparing for statewide standardized tests usually given in winter or spring; tests are not necessarily new but schools face stiff federal sanctions under new Bush education law if they do not meet specified goals for progress in key areas; school year remains at about 180 days, so that students starting early will also end early, some by mid-May; St Petersburg school year began August 7, startling children and parents; photos (M)

Edgy About Exams, Schools Cut the Summer Short

James Blake, having reached top 30 by age 22, is coming into his own as tennis player; Harlem (NYC) roots and Harvard University education discussed; photos (M)

Blake Is Standing Tall on His Own

Greystar Real Estate Partners acquires portfolio of nine residential buildings in Manhattan; rents range from about $1,500 to about $3,000 a month (M)

POSTINGS: 9 Residential Properties in Manhattan; Southern Firm Buys Buildings

Article on preferred vehicles of American presidents in last century; focuses on Woodrow Wilson, Howard Taft, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Frank Delano Roosevelt, John F Kennedy, Bill Clinton and George Bush; photos (M)

A Century of Passengers in Chief

Thirty-one Catholic bishops say that, in two months since broad new policies were adopted to defuse sexual crisis, they have moved swiftly to remove or suspend 114 priests, which New York Times survey finds has thrown dozens of parishes into turmoil; many other bishops have not yet lived up to promise, some saying they need more time to revamp local review paneels and others awaiting Vatican opinion; 55 dioceses have not yet named coordinator to offer pastoral care to victims, one of simpler mandates of new Dallas policy; many bishops have galvanized their dioceses, recruiting laypeople for review panels, conducting background checks on employees and setting up abuse awareness programs for parents and staff; some dioceses, such as Chicago and Detroit, face years of controversy as priests appeal removals in church courts; many bishops avoid disciplining priests they consider more brothers than employees, while dioceses like Jackson, Miss, make no moves because Vatican may refuse approval; photos of Toledo Bishop James R Hoffman, who has removed four priests, and Albany Bishop Howard J Hubbard, who has removed six; map showing diocesan positions across country (M)

Bishops Proceed Cautiously In Carrying Out Abuse Policy

Jack Hitt article on difficulties facing New York City as it decides on memorial to Sept 11 terrorism victims; discusses shift in American culture toward memorials that invite us to relive sensations of dying and hideous moments for survivors on first learning of tragedy instead of celebrating victims' lives; photo (M)

Ideas & Trends: Rest in Peace; The American Way of Death Becomes America's Way of Life

Many trade experts wonder whether Pres Bush undermined own plans to lower trade barriers with recent protections for United States steel and agriculture; other nations, desperate to gain access to American markets, now find it difficult to take his 'free trade' stance seriously; US trade representative Robert B Zoellick faces difficult task negotiating future agreements; photos; graph compares countries' trade deficits and surpluses (M)

Why Isn't Fast Track . . . Faster?

 Wider Scope for Rebuilding  Planning for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan has expanded beyond the trade center site, to become what one official called a ''holistic vision'' for all of downtown.   PAGE 33    No Money, No Death Penalty  A judge told prosecutors in a small Ohio county that they could not seek the death penalty in a murder case because the county could not afford its share of defense costs.   PAGE 18

INSIDE

Stock price slide is scrambling politics; Republican candidates, whose party is in power now and is more closely linked to Wall Street and big business, have more at risk; market swoon holds peril for Democrats as well; has opened rift between those Democrats who want to pursue populist strategy for retaking House and pro-business centrists who want to avoid lurch leftward; officials like Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, are also on defensive, with Wall Street disappointed that Greenspan has not acted more aggressively to prop up stocks; photo (M)

The World: Market Fallout; Which Party Will Take a Hit on Election Day?

Dean Riesner was an American film and television writer.

August 18, 2002

Headlines from August 18, 2002

As Disney Loses Steam, Insider Loses Patience

It's Not the Size Of the Tomato. Not Really.

Gusty Wind Tests Leonard, And He Passes

30-30

Lust in the Gallery, Larceny in the Heart

Billboard 200

The Rising

[Reanimation]

Nellyville

Now 10

The Eminem Show

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for August 18, 2002