On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2003, the world population was approximately 6,420,361,634 people[†]
2003Florence Stanley, American actress (born 1924)[†]
Florence Stanley was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her roles in Barney Miller (1975–1977) and its spinoff Fish (1977–1978), My Two Dads (1987–1990), and Nurses (1991–1994), and the voice of Wilhelmina Bertha Packard in the franchise of Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
2003William Steig, American sculptor, author, and illustrator (born 1907)[†]
William Steig was an American cartoonist, illustrator and writer of children's books, best known for the picture book Shrek!, which inspired the film series of the same name, as well as others that included Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island, and Doctor De Soto. He was the U.S. nominee for the biennial and international Hans Christian Andersen Awards, as both a children's book illustrator in 1982 and a writer in 1988.
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SHARPIES, ospreys and other raptors -- the predators that include hawks, falcons and eagles -- are on the move, and their annual migration has birders tracking the North American sky in exotic places like Connecticut. Page 2.
Ben Brantley reviews musical Little Shop of Horrors, book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken, and directed by Jerry Zaks; Rob Bartlett and Kerry Butler star; photos (M)
Steven B Markowitz, former trader at Millenium Partners hedge fund, pleads guilty to buying and selling shares of mutual funds after market closed but at 4 pm price; is cooperating with investigation led by Atty Gen Eliot Spitzer of New York, who expects additional criminal or civil charges; SEC says at least three broker-dealers executed Markovitz's orders but does not name them in its settlement with Markovitz, which bars him for life from working for investment adviser or mutual fund and provides for fine yet to be determined; photo (M)
Arnold Schwarzenegger, faced with new accusations of sexual misconduct, apologizes for having 'behaved badly sometimes' toward women; has previously played down accusations of groping and mistreatement of women as exaggerations, mistruths or provocations; his stated apology comes after front-page article in Los Angeles Times about six women who say they were victims of unwanted sexual advances by him on movie sets, in studio offices or at gymnasium; new accusations, and Schwarzenegger's reply, set off maelstrom of protest from his critics, including women's groups, Democrats and Arianna Huffington, who just dropped out of race; decision to apologize seen as calculated move by Schwarzenegger's campaign to prevent latest accusations from derailing campaign on last weekend of recall race; he has been surging in polls; photos (M)
Copper and gold mining boom is beginning in Mongolia, fueled by free-market economy, investor-friendly mining laws, new mineral discoveries, and rapidly spreading realization that Mongolia can become China's Canada: close-at-hand supplier of raw materials to world; photo; map (M)
French savings banks Caisse d'Epargne and state-owned Caisse des Depots et Consignations say they signed merger agreement to form France's third-largest bank (S)
Anthony Tommasini reviews gala opening concert of Carnegie Hall's 113th season featuring Kirov Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev and violinist Maxim Vengerov; photo (M)
German beer exports rise by 5 percent in first half of 2003; 140 million gallons exported are worth 363.1 million euros ($424.5 million) (S)
New York Times/CBS News Poll finds Americans are for first time more critical than not of Pres Bush's ability to handle both foreign and domestic problems, with majority saying he does not share their priorities; poll finds clear majority are uneasy about his ability to make right decisions on nation's economy; solid majority of Americans say country is seriously on wrong track, classic danger sign for incumbent seeking re-election; about half of Americans approve Bush's overall job performance, roughly same as when he took office after razor-close 2000 election; about Iraq, 75 percent of Americans, including majority of Republicans, say administration has yet to clearly explain how long American troops will have to stay there, or how much it will cost to rebuild country; nearly 90 percent of Americans say war is still going on, and 60 percent say US should not spend as much on effort as Bush has sought; other poll findings detailed; chart (L)
Clint Eastwood's film, scrupulously faithful to the letter and sprit of Dennis Lehane's novel, has the gritty efficiency of superior crime fiction and the somber weight of tragedy. Set in working-class Irish Catholic Boston, this film revisits the themes of violence, honor and guilt that have haunted many of Mr. Eastwood's movies; it is among the most humane of his films, but also the most rigorously pessimistic. Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn play Dave, Sean and Jimmy, boyhood friends who must revisit the traumas of their youth when Jimmy's daughter is murdered. Sean and his partner (Laurence Fishburne) must investigate the killing, which it appears Dave may have committed. The performances are first rate. Marcia Gay Harden, as Dave's wife, Celeste, and Laura Linney, as her cousin Annabeth, who is married to Jimmy, expand the film's emotional compass, allowing us to see how grief ripples through families and communities. Mr. Penn's volcanic, furiously disciplined performance is surely one of the best pieces of screen acting you'll see this year; it may even be one of the finest ever. — A. O. Scott
Sharp Corp sees 18 percent profit increase for first half of fiscal year (S)
John S Reed, interim chairman of New York Stock Exchange, embraces report from board's special committee on governance that calls for reducing number of directors and choosing majority of them from outside security industry; report does not recommend that exchange split its regulatory operations from its marketplace role, and Reed concurs; report does not directly call for dividing jobs of chairman and chief executive, but does recommend that if they are not separated, lead director should be appointed by board to preside over meetings in place of chairman; Reed photo (L)