November 29, 2003

William Glaberson News Analysis discusses Court of Appeals overturning of death sentence in case of Syracuse (NY) man James Cahill 3d, who was convicted of murdering his wife; second denial of death penalty since introduction of capital punishment law in 1995 raises questions about validity and constitutionality of law (M)

New York Jets ownership and New York City and New York State officials are reportedly close to inking deal to bring team--and new $1.5 billion stadium--to Manhattan's West Side; controversy over plan discussed; photos (M)

Apartment rents are rising in big cities on coasts like New York and Los Angeles, but they are falling in more than 80 percent of metropolitan areas across country; low interest rates in recent years have persuaded many families to buy their first homes, even as developers put up thousands of new rental buildings; result is that many landlords are desperate to fill apartments, and offering to lower rents to attract tenants; average rent per square foot fell 4.8 percent across country between late 2001 and this summer; portion of apartments sitting vacant this summer was record 9.9 percent; economists see declines as worrisome sign that nation's housing market has begun to suffer from some of same problems of oversupply that have already hurt manufacturers; say number of would-be renters might increase if, as expected, mortgage rates continue climbing up; photos; chart with rents in major cities around country (M)

Number of groups formed to examine and change college athletics are gaining prominence and influence as public and college communities are seeing more and more controversy on campus; photo (M)

New York City Mayor Michael R Bloomberg reportedly spent $7 million of his own money in his unsuccessful efforts to get new City Charter and adoption of nonpartisan elections passed; photo (M)

Walt Disney Co may soon dominate Broadway, with possibly as many as six musicals running simultaneously; it has three hits already on Broadway, and another three musicals nearing production; each is based on a Disney movie; Disney officials have highest hopes for Mary Poppins; some believe it could match The Lion King, which has grossed more than $300 million since opening on Broadway in 1997 and more than $1 billion worldwide; Disney opened its first Broadway musical, Beauty and the Beast, just 10 years ago; it is still running, along with The Lion King and Aida; Mary Poppins has begun casting in London, where it is due to open in Dec 2004 before opening on Broadway; Disney is also working on musical productions of Tarzan and The Little Mermaid; photos; chart (M)

Rents Decline Across U.S. As Families Buy Homes While apartment rents have continued to rise in many big cities on the coasts, including New York and Los Angeles, they are falling in more than 80 percent of the metropolitan areas. Low interest rates have persuaded many families to leave the rental market and to buy their first homes at the same time that developers have been putting up thousands of new rental buildings, leaving many landlords desperate to fill vacant apartments. [Page A1.]

Blocks, bars and shops around Yankee Stadium (NYC) from October to April are quiet and decidedly unrowdy, which is great contrast to environment during baseball season; photos (M)

Bush administration officials are concerned that anti-American forces in Iraq are monitoring activities and coordinating attacks against American military, civilian administrators and visiting dignitaries; say recent raid by troops of 101st Airborne Div that broke up apparent plot to assassinate an Amerian colonel found would-be assailants had charted Army officer's daily routine--including his jogging route and schedule of public appearances, to plan their attack; say staff of Rashid Hotel had been infiltrated by at least one former member of Saddam Hussein's secret service before rocket attack that struck hotel month ago during overnight visit by Deputy Defense Sec Paul D Wolfowitz; these concerns help explain extraordinary secrecy surrounding Pres Bush's surprise visit to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day; American troops already vary their routes and routines, but Baghdad's infrastructure of roads and secure places to stay is limited, making it difficult to obscure actions that might allow observant resistance to plan attacks; photo (M)

Holiday sales on Black Friday, day after Thanksgiving, are described as good but not spectacular; National Retail Federation is expecting 5.7 percent increase in overall holidays sales from 2002 level, increase from 2.1 percent gain registered last year; average consumer is expected to spend $671 on holiday purchases, compared with $648 in 2002; photo (M)

Ulster Peace Pact in Peril Northern Ireland's hard-line Democratic Unionists emerged dominant after elections that deepened the sectarian divide and cast doubt over the future of the province's power-sharing government. PAGE A3 Russian Oil Deal Suspended The Russian oil producer Sibneft suspended its $13 billion merger with Russia's biggest oil company, Yukos, taking its embattled partner by surprise and roiling the country's markets. PAGE C1

Severely overweight people have trouble getting health care others take for granted; they cannot fit into standard wheelchairs, waiting-room armchairs, blood pressure cuffs, hospital beds and gowns, or MRI and CAT scan machines; X-rays often cannot penetrate far enough into their bodies to produce useful images, and wall-mounted toilets snap off under their weight; result is that obese people, who need medical treatment more than most, often refuse to seek it; hospitals have been slow to make physical changes to accommodate severely obese patients, even though number of patients undergoing some form of bariatric surgery has quadrupled since 1998; hospitals cite very high costs of special beds and equipment; photos (M)