March 15, 2004

Federal investigators scrutinize segments prepared for local television news programs in which Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising benefits of new Medicare law and its prescription drug benefit; segments were created by Home Front Communications production company for Health and Human Services Department; government also provided scripts for news anchors to use to introduce segments; General Accounting Office lawyers discovered materials while looking into use of federal money to pay for fliers and advertisements publicizing Medicare law; administration defends propriety and legality of materials, but some Democrats disagree; photos of TV segments featuring Pres Bush and Health and Human Services Sec Tommy G Thompson (M)

Article on Vertical Inc, tiny publishing house in Manhattan that translates contemporary Japanese fiction into English, and its editorial director, Ioannis Mentzas; Mentzas and company founder, Hiroki Sakai, comment on effort to capitalize on fact that Japan is increasingly viewed as a source of hip culture; photos (M)

New research is calling into question long-held assumptions about benefits of high levels of HDL, so-called good cholesterol; some heart experts now conclude that HDL level should play at most a minor role in decisions about prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs; good cholesterol hypothesis came from studies finding that among people with similar levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, those with high HDL levels were less likely to have heart disease; new research reveals more complicated picture in which HDL does not necessarily offset LDL; part of confusion arises from evolving view of immense importance of reducing LDL, particularly recent research finding that ultra-low LDL levels may significantly reduce incidence of heart attacks; chart (M)

Six more American soldiers in Iraq are killed by homemade bombs that military officers say are becoming increasingly sophisticated and effective; one soldier is killed by roadside bomb west of Baghdad, and three more while on patrol in southeast Baghdad; attack in Tikrit day before kills two soldiers; officers say new explosives are smaller, can be planted more quickly and are being detonated from greater distances; bombs remain leading cause of American casualties since end of major combat operations on May 1; countermeasures range from surveillance planes to ground patrols who fire at suspected explosives to detonate them; photo (M)

Chart shows selections and brackets for NCAA tournament; photos (S)

Britain's Financial Services Authority begins informal investigation into Royal Dutch/Shell Group's restatement of its proven oil and gas reserves in January; some securities lawyers expect that regulators on both sides of Atlantic might regard FSA's investigation and any punishment of Shell and its executives as way to prove their might, after series of acrimonious discussions between European and American regulators over new SEC guidelines applied to foreign companies (M)

Pennsylvania State University is ranked number one in women's NCAA basketball tournament, topping East Regional; Connecticut University is seeded number two in East; seedings in other regionals noted; photo (S)

Hollywood producers and studio executives, witnessing overwhelming success of The Passion of the Christ, are reconsidering whether they have been neglecting large segments of American audience eager for openly religious movies; Newmarket president Bob Berney says Passion is doing well among traditionally religious Latino and African-American audiences; film is also being promoted on horror-fan Web sites and is drawing attention of young men for its gore; Gallup poll finds that 11 percent of Americans have seen movie and that 34 percent more plan to see it in theaters; photo (M)

Ben Brantley reviews Actors' Gang production at the Public Theater of Embedded, written and directed by Tim Robbins; photo (M)

New York Knicks defeat Milwaukee Bucks, 103-100; photos (M)

Political Memo: Long and potentially nasty contest for White House will force nation to consider 9/11 in purely political terms, terms Republicans would like to frame around notions of leadership and security, and Democrats around exploitation and outrage; both parties should examine New York State's 2002 gubernatorial race to learn about benefits and pitfalls they risk as they continue to play 9/11 card in race for presidency (M)

Federal prosecutors probe possible legal action against American companies that do business with Internet casinos and sports betting operations based outside United States; investigation relies on controversial legal concept that holds that American businesses, by providing advertising, technology and other services, are 'aiding and abetting' gambling sites that fall outside of US jurisdiction; no charges seem to have been filed thus far, but several big media operations, including Infinity Broadcasting, Clear Channel Communications and Discovery Networks, have stopped running advertisements of offshore Internet casinos; David Curruthers, whose BetOnSports.com in Costa Rica has 1.2 million registered American users, comments; his photo (M)