February 19, 2004

Howard Dean abandons campaign for Democratic presidential nomination after finishing third in Wisconsin primary; Sens John Kerry and John Edwards move aggressively to fill space, picking states they will compete in over next two weeks and arguing over Kerry's support of free trade accords and his contributions from lobbyists; Kerry, campaigning in Ohio, says he and Edwards have same stands on future trade pacts; photos (M)

Gov James E McGreevey offers plan for top-to-bottom overhaul of New Jersey's child welfare system over two years; experts say plan could transform one of nation's most troubled agencies for children into one of most effective; plan, which state was forced to produce as part of federal suit, calls for 1,000 more child-care workers in effort to cut caseloads that are more than twice recommended national standard; calls for team of specially trained investigators to probe child abuse charges, recruiting 1,000 more foster families and paying them more, removing hundreds of children who have lingered in group homes and institutions and for telephone hot line to report abuse; court-appointed panel will review plan, expected to cost some $125 million in next fiscal year; photo (M)

Federal Election Commission rules advocacy groups set up to get around fund-raising limits in new campaign finance law can continue to spend unlimited contributions for television commercials and other communications, but under far more restrictive rules; ruling on so-called 527 committes could help Democrats, who have been much more aggressive then Republicans in creating committees to help party compete with Republicans' overall 2-1 fund-raising edge; groups can use funds to raise issues and attack or promote candidates by name; photo (M)

New York Yankees acquisition of infielder Alex Rodriguez in deal that took less than one week irks Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, who tried to negotiate trade for Rodriguez earlier in offseason; Henry criticizes New York Yankees and owner George Steinbrenner for seemingly endless financial resources, and Steinbrenner patronizes Henry for not being able to make Rodriguez deal; photos (M)

Digital home networks are being developed that would elminate physical media like CD's and DVD's, but problem of finding and controlling information looms large; solutions may depend on more powerful processors and sophisticated software; photo (L)

White House Backs Away From Recent Jobs Forecast The Bush administration backed away from a forecast it made last week predicting average job gains of more than 300,000 a month for 2004 but said it was confident of robust though unspecified job growth for the year. The White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, repeatedly declined to endorse the forecast, which was included in a report sent to Congress last week under President Bush's signature. The shift opened the door to an attack by Democrats. [Page A14.]

Colorado University places football coach Gary Barnett on paid leave after he criticizes former placekicker Katie Hnida's abilities; Hnida, now playing for New Mexico University, is alleging that unnamed former Colorado teammate raped her; photo (M)

Gov John G Rowland's office is issued subpoena from federal prosecutors seeking vast array of personal records and documents dating to when he first became governor of Connecticut in January 1995, including material related to 15 companies; subpoena appears to suggest wide-ranging inquiry into virtually every public accusation made against Rowland or his administration (M)

Exxon Mobil, which has exclusive contract to extract oil at Cepu, Indonesia, will not pump one drop; since finding more oil than expected in 2001, Exxon Mobil has been locked in talks with Indonesia's national petroleum company Pertamina, which has demanded that Exxon Mobil share more of bounty; Indonesia's oil wells are drying up faster than new fields are being tapped; Indonesia is trying to persuade oil companies to explore smaller, more remote sites; oil companies are holding out for more stable political and regulatory climate and more favorable terms; oil is one of Indonesia's largest exports and one of largest sources of government revenue; map; photo (M)

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column discusses New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield, who was implicated in Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative investigation for sending mail to supplement manufacturer and distributor; Sheffield is not accused of using steroids, but his involvement does raise questions about other players; photos (M)

Santiago Calatrava, renowned Spanish architect and engineer, has designed glass and steel footbridge across Sacramento River in Redding, Calif; it is his first freestanding bridge in United States; it opens in Apr; Redding's officials hope bridge will become tourist attraction; photos (M)

World Bank sayø