September 28, 2002

Former Los Angeles Lakers star and basketball legend Magic Johnson is inducted into Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame for contributions to basketball and greater community, with introduction by longtime friend and former rival Larry Bird; photos (M)

More than 10,000 Chinook salmon die in Klamath River in northern California in recent days, leaving biologists stunned and Indian tribes and fishermen angred at Bush administration, which they say caused deaths by favoring farmers in one of most contentious water disputes in West; Federal officials, while not conceding that administration policy had anything to do with die-off, say they will reverse early policy and begin releasing water from Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon in effort to revitalize Klamath River downstream; slow-moving river is littered with thousands of dead, bloated salmon, rotting in sun; biologists say they have never seen salmon kill of this size; it comes six months after Bush administration decided to divert more Klamath Lake water to irrigation in Klamath basin, saying decision would satisfy farmers and comply with environmental laws; photo (L)

Local opposition begins to build in lower Manhattan over city planners' proposal that West Street be buried and covered with tree-lined promenade, to help reduce isolation of Battery Park City; nascent Coalition to Save West Street raises discomfiting specter for re-building officials: fight over what could be a centerpiece of redevelopment of long-blighted areas south of World Trade Center site; photo (M)

All world's major vehicle manufacturers parade their luxury cars in debuts at Paris auto show; industry steps up production of expensive models in seeming defiance of current economic realities; luxury offerings are priced from $50,000; photos (M)

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column hypothesizes about changes that New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner might make to revitalize struggling New York Mets; photo (M)

Liberal Democrats, led by Sen Edward M Kennedy, voice reservations about giving Pres Bush a free hand to attack Iraq before new, tougher set of United Nations inspections is put into effect; while their objections could influence wording, scope and timing of Congressional resolution, those reservations are not likely to affect outcome of Congressional vote; it still appears likely that there will be at least 75 or 80 votes in Senate to give Pres Bush authority to attack Iraq; Kennedy photo (M)

Stocks plunge after two-day respite, following disappointing corporate earnings reports; all three major equities markets decline for fifth consecutive week, are poised to complete sixth month of losses in a row and appear likely to post another quarterly drop; Dow Jones industrial average is down 295.67 points, to 7,701.45; Standard & Poor's 500-stock index closes at 827.37, loss of 27.58 points; Nasdaq composite index falls 22.45 points to close at 1,199.16; interest rates slip lower, as is usual when stocks decline; 10-year Treasury note gains 31/32, to 105 28/32, and yields 3.66 percent; 2-year Treasury note's yield falls to new low of 1.80 percent; chart of DJIA; table of key rates (M)

Japanese are pained by North Korea's acknowledgement that 13 Japanese people who disappeared in late 1970's and early 1980's were kidnapped by North Korea, and that eight of them have since died; it is one of most sinister and bizarre acts of a government that was just then becoming infamous for terrorism; North Korean leader Kim Jong Il acknowledges that Japanese had been kidnapped so that North Korean agents could, essentially, assume their identities and infiltrate South Korea, posing as Japanese; Kim offers extraordinary apology for deaths of eight of them; much of mystery--including how the eight died--remains, as do roiled emotions of their relatives and millions of other Japanese; photos (M)

Study sponsored by Securities Industry Association and Investment Company Institute reveals decline in number of households owning stock directly or through mutual funds, outside employer-sponsored retirement plans; concludes that 39.5 million households hold such investments, down 1.1 percent from similar study in 1999; including 401(k) and other retirement plans, however, number increased from 49.2 million to 52.7 million households during same period (M)

Futuristic three-car elevated train, precursor of $1.9 billion light-rail system that is expected to carry millions of air travelers a year to and from Kennedy International Airport, derails on curve during test run to terminals, killing its operator, Kelvin DeBourgh Jr, who is alone on board; sleek white AirTrain slams into concrete retaining all 25 feet above ground just west of Federal Circle, roundabout on airport's northwest fringe; cause of crash is not determined; photo (M)

Douglas Durst, head of one of most successful real estate dynasties in New York City, makes his first foray into transportation, spending $4.5 million to revive New York Water Taxi; photo of Durst, and Arthur E Imperatore Jr, president of New York Waterway (L)

New Jersey Gov James E McGreevey asks Amira Baraka to resign as poet laureate of New Jersey because poem he read at recent poetry festival implies that Israel knew about Sept 11 atttack in advance; Baraka says he will not resign, creating unusual political quandary; aides to McGreevey assert that he does not have power to remove Baraka because he had not directly selected him; photo (M)