June 25, 2004

Whimsical public service ads from EPA intended to encourage energy conservation at home lampoon notion that cars can be made more energy efficient; Brian McLean of agency says that $1 million campaign was intended to send message about home appliances, not cars, and that its transportation division was not consulted on ads; campaign was created by Foote Cone Belding; photo (M)

Cincinnati Reds defeat New York Mets, 6-2; photos (M)

Floyd Norris column cites SEC handling of Salesforce.com initial public offering to criticize its policy of permitting management to conduct 'road shows' with certain investors before public offering so long as what it tells them is not written down or shared with press; notes that after a company has gone public, management is not allowed say anything significant to some investors without making information available to all; also faults SEC for not forcing company to highlight fact that Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com's chief executive, sold two million shares of company's stock in December 2003, just days before it filed to go public, at price of $8 a share, less than half of what public investors are now willing to pay; graph (M)

Supreme Court invalidates criminal sentencing system of State of Washington; 5-to-4 decision also casts doubt on whether 20-year-old federal sentencing guidelines can survive constitutional challenge; justices, split across usual ideological lines, continue profound five-year-long debate over respective roles of judges and juries in criminal sentencing; Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion holds that Washington system, permitting judges to make findings that increase convicted defendant's sentence beyond ordinary range for crime, violates Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury; says facts supporting increased sentences must be found by jury beyond reasonable doubt; federal system, while more complex, also empowers judges to make factual findings that determine ultimate sentence requiring nothing more to support those findings than 'preponderance of the evidence'; in dissenting opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor depicts federal guidelines as being now in peril, saying 20 years of sentencing reform are now lost (M)

American officials in Iraq obtain document showing that Iraqi intelligence agents had contacts with Osama bin Laden when he was in Sudan in mid-1990's as part of broad effort by Baghdad to work with organizations opposing Saudi ruling family; document states that Iraq agreed to rebroadcast anti-Saudi propaganda, but that request from bin Laden to begin joint operations against foreign forces in Saudi Arabia went unanswered; there is no further indication of collaboration; document is internal report by Iraqi intelligence service on its efforts to seek cooperation with several Saudi opposition groups, including bin Laden's organization before Al Qaeda had become full-fledged terrorist organization; Bush administration has said there was considerable evidence of ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda, but independent 9/11 commission concluded that contacts did not demonstrate 'collaborative relationship' between Iraq and Al Qaeda (M)

Maidstone Gun Club and Huckleberry Woods subdivision in East Hampton, NY, are at odds over rifle range, which is temporarily closed while police investigate bullets found in walls of nearby homes; residents call for permanent shutdown, saying use of high-powered rifles threatens homeowners; Maidstone leaders are adamant that bullets did not come from club; photos (M)

Karolina Sprem defeats Venus Williams in second round of Wimbledon; photo (M)

John J Mack's contract as co-chief executive of Credit Suisse Group will not be renewed when it expires in July; board reportedly rebuffed his urging to consider merger with another financial institution; Oswald J Grubel becomes sole chief executive of group; Brady W Dougan succeeds Mack as chief executive of First Boston investment banking division; Mack leaves mixed legacy at Credit Suisse; photos (M)

New York City averts layoffs of at least 140 defense lawyers for poor with $11 million infusion of cash to help shrink Legal Aid Society's deficit, projected to swell to $20 million next year; Mayor Michael Bloomberg also agrees not to seek $2 million cut he proposed; agreement is important step in helping agency repair its crumbling finances; as condition of bailout, city will appoint team to oversee agency's spending and conduct regular audits of its books (M)

Flock of 495 Canada geese living on Rikers Island near La Guardia Airport, NYC, will be rounded up, killed and donated as food to homeless shelters; authorities fear serious accidents caused by collisions between airplanes and geese, which have been known to cause engine failure; advocacy groups are trying to halt roundup; photo (M)

Royal Dutch/Shell Group names Peter Voser as its chief financial officer; says Voser, who was once company's head internal auditor, never signed any of reserve statements that have had to be revised; photo (M)

Article on natural-looking, free-form swimming pools that look like lagoons, ponds or beaches that homeowners are having built for their vacation homes; photos (M)