December 1, 2003

Article in series Vanishing Point, on effects of rural depopulation in and around Great Plains, and on one town that is trying to make a stand; rural Great Plains has been losing people for 70 years; Nebraska has 7 of nation's 12 poorest counties; some of same signs of despair and breakdown that wore out aging American industrial cities in 1960's are evident now in rural plains; middle class is dwindling, leaving pockets of hard poverty amid large agribusinesses supported by taxpayers; town of Superior, Neb, with its population down to 2,000, vows it will not die like nearby towns have done; town's struggle to stay alive shows how even with best of civic intentions, it is difficult to fight forces that have humbled much of rural America; its industrial park sits empty, as do those in hundreds of counties that have followed its path; photos; map; graph (L)

Rep Tom DeLay's plan to charter luxury cruise liner to serve as floating entertainment center for Republican members of Congress attending party's national convention in New York City infuriates many New Yorkers; New York would lose money because ship would draw visitors--and dollars--away from city hotels, restaurants and ships; in addition, proposal to remove visitors from hubbub of city life is seen as slight; many Republicans are unhappy with plan also; they say cruise ship could undermine one reason New York was chosen for first time in party's history as site of its convention: to help advance idea that Republicans are new big-tent party, trying to embrace all voters; Republican strategists fear being seen as bunch of elitists unwilling to mingle with city residents; few Republicans are willing to publicly challenge DeLay, powerful House majority leader; photo (M)

Buffalo Bills defeat New York Giants, 24-7; photos (M)

The Royal Shakespeare Company, Britain's best-known theater troupe, is, like King Lear, buffeted, homeless and feeling unloved. Average attendance at its productions has fallen below 70 percent of capacity, contributing to a $4.4 million debt. It is without a London theater, having abandoned its longtime home. And while a plan to tear down and replace the Royal Shakespeare Theater here is on hold, the company's proposed $165 million redevelopment plan is still viewed with deep suspicion by residents and the theater world.

Senior Defense Department officials said that the military may soon release to their home countries scores of detainees, perhaps more than 100, who are being held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. One senior official said that negotiations were under way with the home nations of dozens of the detainees over the terms of transferring custody to their home governments and eventual repatriation. Article, Page A7.