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[†]
2002Pierangelo Bertoli, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1942)[†]
Pierangelo Bertoli was an Italian singer-songwriter and poet. Close to libertarian communist issues his works told mainly about environment, laïcité, antimilitarism and social issues regarding marginalized and rebellious people.
2002The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-112 to continue assembly of the International Space Station.[†]
Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.
Some of New York City's beauty salons are feeling economic pinch as steady customers are styling their own hair, looking for cheaper alternatives, foregoing expensive extras or waiting longer between appointments; photos (M)
Minnesota Twins defeat Oakland Athletics, 5-4, to win American League division series, 3-2; photo (M)
Group of recording and motion picture companies asks federal judge to find custodians of KaZaA, Internet music-swapping service, liable for contributing to copyright infringement but faces formidable obstacles since company's operations are based around world; successor to defunct Napster is incorporated by Sharman Networks in South Pacific Island of Vanuatu and managed from Australia; its computer servers are in Denmark and source code for software was last seen in Estonia; company has asked court to dismiss suit, asserting that it has no assets or significant business dealings in US therefore court has no jurisdiction over it; argues that because Internet does not recognize territorial boundaries, anything Sharman does with KaZaA at behest of court in Los Angeles would affect 60 million users in over 150 countries; graphs; map (M)
Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on constitutionality of 1998 law extending copyright protection by 20 years; decision will determine whether large amount of material enters public domain and becomes costless to users or remains in control of copyright holders; debate intensifies concerning possible redefinition of balance between producers and consumers of copyrighted intellectual property; photo (M)
As Baby Bells Struggle, A Debate Over What to Do Investors, lawmakers, regulators and consumers are debating what should be done with, or for, the Baby Bells, the large local phone carriers that are struggling with their first decline in customers since the Depression. The erosion is fueling talk of whether the government should step in. At the heart of the debate is regulation that forces Verizon Communications, SBC Communications, BellSouth and Qwest to sell access on their networks to competitors at prices that can be determined by state regulators. Market Place. [Page C2.]
US Supreme Court opens new term on October 7 facing raft of crucial issues; has already accepted 45 cases for decision, more than half number of cases it will decide during entire nine-month tenure; will examine California's three-strikes law to decide whether mandatory 25-years-to-life sentences amount to cruel and inhuman punishment; will rule on hate speech, examining Virginia law that makes it crime to burn cross with intent of intimidating person or groups of persons; will examine challenge to 1998 copyright law; will examine case challenging Congress's authority requiring states to give employees unpaid leave to deal with family medical emergencies; will rule on constitutionality of mandatory detention provision of 1996 immigration law; will review state's effort to regulate aspects of managed care; may hear challenge to University of Michigan's consideration of race in admission to its law school and undergraduate program; cases growing out of war on terrorism that are currently wending way through lower courts could also give justices chance to decide important questions on limits of government power; photo (M)
New York Giants defeat Dallas Cowboys, 21-17; photos (M)
A Tanker Explosion in Yemen An explosion set a French oil tanker ablaze off the coast of Yemen. The cause was unclear, but the blast raised fears of another terrorist strike near where the destroyer Cole was hit two years ago. PAGE A3 Grass-Roots Health Care Neighborhood clinics are filling gaps in the health care system that sometimes leave Hispanics feeling shut out. PAGE A12
Radio Pretoria remains voice of South Africa's minority Afrikaners, who oppose shift to multiracial democracy and still cling to dream of establishing independent whites-only homeland within borders of South Africa; broadcasts in Afrikaans language, steadfastly opposing country's new multiracial identity; may be forced to shut down because of refusal to hire blacks in violation of constitution, which outlaws racial discrimination; photos (M)
Herbert Gold article, in series Writers on Writing, on hope of writing memorable books and humbling experiences of criticism and rejection, even by family members; photo (M)
Article on speculation in hip-hop world and mainstream media about September 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas and fatal drive-by shooting, six months later, of Notorious B I G in Los Angeles; photos (M
Joyce Purnick Metro Matters column comments on New York State's budget woes in context of gubernatorial campaign; says state depended this year on one-shot sources of revenue, spending about 80 percent of its reserve fund; says it is not clear how state will close next year's gap, predicted by some to be in excess of $10 billion; topic is generally unpopular in election year and has not been discussed in detail except by Independence Party candidate and Albany outsider Tom Golisano (M)