Streetscapes article on East 80th Street from Madison to Park Avenues, New York City, block of row houses and townhouses; memorable features noted; photos (M)/

Streetscapes/East 80th Street From Madison to Park Avenues; A Block With Rare Windows and Unusual Statues

President Bush rejected calls to drop campaign advertisements showing scenes of destruction after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying his handling of that day and his leadership of the fight against terrorism should be part of the political debate.    And as his presumptive Democratic rival, Senator John Kerry, campaigned in Texas, Mr. Bush tried to go on the offensive on the economy. Asked about criticism from Mr. Kerry about the sluggish growth of employment despite repeated tax cuts, Mr. Bush suggested that Mr. Kerry's proposals to raise taxes on people earning more than $200,000 a year and re-examine trade agreements would be job killers.      Article, Page 24.

Bush Won't Pull Ads Showing 9/11 Images

Phillip Lopate essay, adapted from his book Waterfront: A Journey Around Manhattan, recounts his boating expedition to deserted North Brother Island on East River and being stranded on island for several hours when boat becomes stuck in mud; drawings (M)

Beached Males

On Campus, Rethinking Biology 101

Outfielder Gary Sheffield brings his quick bat to New York Yankees; photos (M)

Quick Bat, Tough Out: Sheffield The Hitter

Trenton, NJ, City Council has designated Leewood Real Estate Group to reshape 20 acres in South Ward into new neighborhood of some 500 new and renovated one- and two-family town houses and rental apartments; 80 percent of residences are to be sold or rented at market rates, with rest reserved for lower-income families (S)

POSTING: $50 Million Project on 20 Acres; 500 Homes For Trenton

A Prius-Hummer War Divides Oscarville

Designs Kept for Posterity (And Maybe Later, Cash)

Year-long confrontation between MBNA credit card company co-founder Charles M Cawley and board that reportedly led to his retirement as chief executive detailed; directors say they feared charges of being too cozy with free-spending executives they were supposed to keep in check; cite his unwillingness to stop acting as if he were running private company; he issues statement defending behavior; photos (M)

Expired: How a Credit King Was Cut Off; Co-Founder of MBNA Meets an Anxious Board, And Loses

US plan to replace Saddam Hussein with Middle East's first functioning democracy is in new peril; past week showed just how far Iraq remains from ideals proclaimed by Pres Bush as he prepared to go to war in March 2003; Iraqi Governing Council failed to agree on basics of temporary constitution, and suicide bombers killed at least 180 Shiite worshipers in Baghdad and Karbala on March 2; Iraqis are not blaming one another for violence; they blame Americans; photos (M)

The World: Miles to Go; The Road Ahead May Be Even Rougher

Frank Rich comment on Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ; says film is constructed like pornographic movie and notes Christopher Hitchen's comment that film is homoerotic 'exercise in lurid sadomasochism'; says when Gibson pushes buttons of millions of Christian believers who are brought to tears by film, they generously do his work for him, supplying from their hearts authentic spirituality that is missing in his jamboree of bloody beefcake; contends some leaders in secular world, including media personalities such as Jay Leno and Bill O'Reilly, have given Gibson 'free pass for behavior' that is 'contrived to vilify Jews'; notes that while Gibson claims to be 'suffering' for his art, movie has made millions for him; photo (L)

Mel Gibson Forgives Us For His Sins

Article holds that perhaps most predictable thing about predictions in politics is that they tend to be wrong at least as often as they are right; notes that conventional wisdom has at times been staggeringly incorrect during 2004 presidential campaign; holds that new pearls of wisdom are being written about Bush-Kerry general election; maintains that meanest-campaign-ever assumption is probably No 1 on pundit hit parade; drawings (M)

The Nation: Punditry on Parade; Conventional Wisdom (The Latest Version)

Washington Redskins sign number of marquee players to long-term contracts worth millions of dollars; photos (M)

Redskins Burned Midnight Oil and Boss's Cash

Justice Department is sending high-level team of prosecutors and investigators to Iraq to assemble and organize evidence to be used in Saddam Hussein's war crimes trial, which will ultimately be run by Iraqis; responds to previously undisclosed directive from national security adviser Condoleezza Rice; photo (M)

U.S. TEAM IS SENT TO DEVELOP CASE IN HUSSEIN TRIAL

Coping column by Anemona Hartocollis describes giant liquidation sale held at Regent Wall Street, one of New York City's shorter-ilved hotels, before it closed in Jan; drawing (M)

Crowds, at Last, at a Hard-Luck Hotel

Many who lost their jobs in dot-com crash in 2001 are still unemployed; many others searched for two years before finding new job; photo (M)

For Dot-Com Casualties, a Slow Recovery

Profile of and interview with film director Michel Gondry; focuses on his latest film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey; photos (M)

Captain Video Prepares for Takeoff

As Shocks Replace Police Bullets, Deaths Drop but Questions Arise

Sen John Kerry, in first in-depth interview on foreign affairs since effectively winning Democratic presidential nomination, scores Pres Bush for withholding aid from democratically elected Haitian Pres Jean-Bertrand Aristide and helping spirit him into exile after saying United States could not protect him; questions Bush's handling of North Korea, Mideast peace process and spread of nuclear weapons; says he would rewrite Bush strategy that makes pre-emption central tenet of American policy; seeks to short-circuit Bush argument that he is too much of straddler, too indecisive and too captivated by foreign policy nuances to defend American interests; says he is tough and would unilaterally deploy troops if necessary; signals how he plans to use questionable intelligence about Iraq to chip away at Bush's credibility (M)

KERRY CONDEMNS BUSH FOR FAILING TO BACK ARISTIDE

First of two articles in series Young Love, New Caution about new teenage culture or sexual restraint that has led to sharp drop in teenage pregnancy; pregnancy prevention efforts have long focused almost exclusively on girls, but it is boys whose behavior shows most startling changes; more than half of all male high school students reported in 2001 that they were virgins, up from 39 percent in 1990; condom use has soared to 65 percent among sexually active, and to nearly 73 percent among black male students; trends are similar, if less pronounced, for girls; changes are most surprising in poor New York City minority neighborhoods once seen as centers of national teenage pregnancy epidemic; researchers are puzzled about reasons for change; teens comment; graphs of sexual activity, condom use and pregnancies and births among teens; photos (L)

YOUNG LOVE, NEW CAUTION -- First of two articles.; Behind Fall in Pregnancy, a New Teenage Culture of Restraint

Martin Edlund article on some top hip-hop artists who appear in lucrative hard core commercial pornography on interactive DVD's, cable TV shows and in girlie magazines; says in January, Playboy TV introduced new hip-hop-themed series called Buckwild, which features mainstream stars like OutKast, Snoop Dogg, Nelly and Busta Rhymes; holds other artists indulging in commercial porn include 50 Cent and Lil Jon; photos (M)

Hip-Hop's Crossover to The Adult Aisle

Analysis of role played by Martha Stewart's cela

Stewart's Celebrity Created Magnet for Scrutiny

Southwest Airlines, which prospered offering no-frills efficiency, cheap seats and jokes from flight attendants, is facing stiffer competition from low-fare rivals that offer more frills and traditional airlines that are cutting fares and offering premiums; weighs adding frills like in-flight entertainment systems and expanding its fleet; says its secret weapon remains its affable employees; plans to add service to Philadelphia, where US Airways, scrambling for its financial life, has vowed to fight back; market share table; drawing; photos (M)

Are Peanuts No Longer Enough?

Washington University defeats Stanford University, 75-62, to end Stanford's 26-game winning streak and bid for undefeated season; photos (M)

Last Game Gives Stanford First Taste of Defeat

American forces now have over 10,000 Iraqi men and boys in custody and are still conducting daily raids although insurgency has cooled; military officials say some of detainees have been accused of serious offense, but admit most are probably not dangerous; numbers are so large because troops are not detectives, leaving much of investigation to after arrest; authorities are unsure how June 30 return of sovereignty to Iraqis will affect detainees' status; many families still have no idea where their men are, despite American efforts to help people locate detained relatives; photos (M)

March 7, 2004

Headlines from March 7, 2004

Streetscapes/East 80th Street From Madison to Park Avenues; A Block With Rare Windows and Unusual Statues

Bush Won't Pull Ads Showing 9/11 Images

Beached Males

On Campus, Rethinking Biology 101

Quick Bat, Tough Out: Sheffield The Hitter

Billboard 200

Feels Like Home

The College Dropout

Fallen

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

When The Sun Goes Down

Historical Context for March 7, 2004