November 11, 2002

Pres Bush, with Republican Party in control and his political standing solidified in wake of recent election, is free to confront weakened economy on his terms; will hold economic reins as never before since Democrats are in disarray on economic policy and Federal Reserve--which normally wields more economic clout than president--seems to have exhausted its power to smooth out economic bumps; he has put advisers to work on developing ambitious agenda for next two years; aides say he is eager to take advantage of Republican majority, and has long since absorbed lesson of 1992, when Bill Clinton defeated his father partly by casting him as out of touch with economy; political strategists and economic policymakers in both parties say he faces added pressure to get good economic results or pay steep price on re-election; graphs (M)

Manhattan Institute, small conservative think tank that helped shape future of New York City under former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, finds new audience among Latin American leaders seeking to duplicate some of city's successes; photo (L)

Patricia Cornwell is at the controls of a Bell 407 helicopter, ferrying a visitor to her estate in Greenwich, Conn., her smoothly cropped blond head just visible in the pilot's seat. Ms. Cornwell is the author of the best-selling Kay Scarpetta novels about an intrepid medical examiner who solves gruesome serial killings. Small and delicate as she looks, Ms. Cornwell is one tough lady. She is obsessed with injustice, with animal rights, with serial killers. And now she is obsessed with Jack the Ripper, who terrorized the East End of London from August to November 1888, murdering and disemboweling prostitutes. Estimates vary, but the prevailing theory is that he killed five.

Inquiries Raise Questions About Tenet's Strategy In Tenet Healthcare's annual report, the chief executive, Jeffrey C. Barbakow, said that last fiscal year was ''the best in our company's history -- so far.'' Strong profits and falling debt were signs that Mr. Barbakow had rescued the company from scandals and near collapse and had turned it into one of the best-performing hospital operators in the nation. But the man brought in to clean up Tenet is finding his integrity being questioned as the companies face a series of government inquiries all too reminiscent of its past. The inquiries are raising concerns about the propriety of the strategy Tenet pursued of aggressively raising prices and whether its quest for higher profits threatens the quality of its care. [Page C2.]

Members of Arab League meeting in Cairo, Egypt, voice collective support for new weapons inspections inside Iraq; want Arab experts on inspection teams; warn UN resolution should not be considered free pass for American military action; restate longstanding Arab position that Iraq must work with UN weapons inspectors; analysts say action suggests most governments in region back seeing Pres Saddam Hussein defanged, yet fear repercussions of another war in region; photos (M)