May 12, 2003

Pixar Animation Studios chief executive Steven P Jobs is working to renegotiate marketing and distribution deal with Walt Disney Co, set to expire in 2005; seeks to keep much greater share of profits; survival of partnership is in doubt; table of most popular animated films; photos (M)

Iraq's only hospital providing long-term care for chronic schizophrenia and other serious mental disorders was all but destroyed during war, leaving patients to wander off; some got shot and killed, others got raped by looters; of more than 1,400 Iraqis institutionalized at Al Rashad state hospital in Baghdad, 300 remain; Iraqi psychiatric staff accuses marines of standing by as looters carried away everything within hospital; staff says marines then broke door down on maximum security wing and patients fled, untethered from antipsychotic drugs that stabilized many of them; Red Cross has spent $1.5 million over last three years bringing facility almost to Western standards for compassionate care to mentally ill; Dr Olaf Rosset, Norwegian who has overseen project, says he asked US military commanders to send troops to provide security, but they did so only after hospital was all but destroyed; psychiatrists at hospital meet with desperate Iraqis who plead for help in handling disturbed family members who returned home after escaping from hospital; photo (L)

Union City, NJ, officials move to demolish shantytowns that have sprung up on Palisades, condemning cliffside dwellings as uninhabitable; in last six months, two residents of one encampment have been killed on the cliffs in separate attacks, and two others have been charged with murder; garbage has piled up, and residents of nearby highrise complain; city officials say they are concerned for safety of homeless and neighbors around them; photos (M)

Community and research organizations conduct Neighborhood Tree Survey, examining 322 trees from South Bronx, Lower East Side and northern Staten Island and compiling extensive information intended to calculate how much city would have to pay to replace each one; survey breaks down monetary value of services trees provide as pollution cleaners through natural respiration; most broadly, survey concludes that 322 trees have average value of $3,225 per tree and total value of $1,038,458; table shows value of various trees in various boroughs; photos (L)

Investigation into victory of jockey Jose Santos at Kentucky Derby, accused in article by Miami Herald of holding illegal device while riding Funny Cide across finish line, is turning up nothing illicit (M)

Los Angeles Lakers defeat San Antonio Spurs, 99-95, to tie Western Conference semifinal series, 2-2; photo (M)

Computer-generated effects have become one of most cost-effective tools of contemporary television, allowing series to shoot scenes in studio and add much of scenery digitally in post-production; many post-production companies offer special effects as just one part of their services; some companies, like Stargate Digital, also create effects for epic productions; photos (M)

Time Inc editor in chief Norman Pearlstine, working with his editorial director, John Huey, and corporate editor, Isolde Motley, has changed editors at eight major Time magazines in little more than year; replacements mostly came from outside each magazine and four came from outside Time; upheavals have shaken corporate culture, alienating some talented editors and writers; changes have been successful so far from business standpoint, with few questioning quality or results achieved by new editors; photos (M)

In contrast to authoritarian Singapore, Taiwan is model of how hard it can be to set up airtight quarantine in a democracy; authorities in Taiwan are struggling to keep 23,000 healthy people in quarantine in effort to contain SARS; Interior Ministry installs video cameras in quarantined homes and may employ satellite tracking devices, or house offenders in military camps; in and around Taipei, where most cases are, unknown number of people have broken quarantine; angry officials threaten large fines; Taiwan's most infamous quarantine violater, unidentified high school student, is now hospitalized with SARS; photo (M)

Interview with Sidney Blumenthal on The Clinton Wars, his new book on effort to unseat Pres Bill Clinton; photo (M)

Early animosity of Democratic presidential contenders Howard Dean of Vermont and John Kerry of Mass reflects their calculations as they compete for many of same voters and look ahead to critical contest: primary in New Hampshire, state bordering their home states; tension between two is evident in their edgy exchanges at first Democratic debate last week; both of them now say they regret way they acted during parts of forum; clash offers insight into style of two generally liberal Democrats from New England who could hardly be more different in manner or temperament and who do not seem to like each other very much; Democratic party leaders say fight like this is not helpful for Kerry, given his presumed stature in race, and Kerry and his aides are trying to ratchet down volume; attention it is drawing for underfinanced Dean may help him, and he appears eager to prolong conflict (M)

Jockey Jose Santos's life of hardship, overcoming obstacles and realizing great successes, makes him well-equipped to handle investigation into his victory aboard Funny Cide at 129th Kentucky Derby; photos (M)