Intel Corp says its profit nearly doubled in second quarter; its shares drop in after-hours trading after company lowers its forecast of profit margins and reports inventories have risen; profit was $1.76 billion compared with $896 million year earlier; revenue rose 18 percent, to $8.05 billion from $6.82 billion; chief financial officer Andy D Bryant expects revenue for third quarter to be $8.6 billion to $9.2 billion, above Wall Street forecasts of $8.1 billion; photo (M)

Intel's Results Stir Unease On Chip Sales

Selena Roberts Sports of The Times column contends that Athens (Greece) is not prepared to host 2004 Olympics, with opening ceremonies one month away; argues that city is not able to deal with problems of staging olympic games in modern era (M)

Sports of The Times; Athens Seemed Like a Good Idea

Daniel Libeskind, master planner for World Trade Center site, sues Larry A Silverstein, developer, claiming he is owed $843,750 in architectural fees; publicizes rift that officials have tried to play down over past year (M)

Libeskind Sues Silverstein For Design Fee

Prices for wine in restaurants is dropping all over country as competition for customers grows; Tribeca restaurant Landmarc is pioneer in price cutting, offering great deals and trying to make up for it in increased volume; other restaurants' wine pricing policies discussed; photos (M)

Once Out of Reach, Now Today's Special

Harvard School of Public Health study suggests that movie ratings have grown more lenient over past decade;y finds they are allowing more violent and sexually explicit content into films; criticizes Motion Picture Assn of America ratings system for confusing and murky descriptions of movie content; calls for standardized universal rating system for all entertainment media; photos (M)

Study Finds Film Ratings Are Growing More Lenient

World Business Briefing | Europe: Shell Selects Advisers

Fugitive Executive Arrested In Mexican Tax Fraud Case

Work of Pres Bush re-election campaign's suburban Virginia war room described; room, while far more technologically advanced, is built in mold of Bill Clinton's pioneering 1992 effort, which combined campaign research and communications staff members to quickly collect and disburse data to news media; Clinton operation was rooted in defense, while Bush's is rooted more in offense, devised to seek out and exploit every possible chance to paint Sen John Kerry as equivocator who switches stands on key issues when it suits his political interests; is nerve center of what Democrats and some scholars call most relentlessly negative re-election campaign in memory and Republicans call necessary drive to hold Kerry to record; Kerry's own war room reportedly has grown competitive with Bush's in recent weeks; photos (M)

In Bush's War Room, the Gloves Are Always Off

 Bank in Japan Proposes Giant Merger With Rival  In a move that could lead to the creation of the world's biggest bank, UFJ Holdings of Japan said that it was proposing a merger with the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group.     UFJ said its board had agreed at a meeting to ask Mitsubishi Tokyo to consider a deal. Executives are aiming to combine their operations by March 2005 under a single holding company, according to a UFJ official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. If completed, the merger would create a bank with $1.7 trillion in assets, which would make it larger than Citigroup. [Page C3.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

About 4,000 workers strike at copper mine and refinery at La Caridad, seeking profit sharing, overtime pay, promotions and safety enhancements; mine owner Grupo Mexico expects authorities to declare strike illegal (S)

World Business Briefing | Americas: Mexico: Strike At Copper Mine

Article on redefinition of 'couple' in ballroom dancing competitions in wake of April contest at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in which gay men Russell Hailey and Jorge Guzman took second place in Latin division's preliminary round; US Amateur Ballroom Dancers Assn requires that competing couple consist of man and woman; International DanceSport Federation says allowing all-male couples alters fundamental nature of sport, which is growing in popularity and is being considered for inclusion in Olympics; photos (M)

In the Ballroom, A Redefinition Of 'Couple'

Neil Genzlinger reviews Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing, directed by David Esbjornson; Kristen Johnston and Jimmy Smits star; photo (M)

Sparks Are Flying With Beatrice and Benedick in Central Park

Los Angeles Lakers are expected to trade center Shaquille O'Neal to Miami Heat when moratorium on free-agent signings and trades ends; photos (M)

Moving Day Arrives In the N.B.A.

Courting the Poor, a Retailer Rises to No.3 in Brazil

Charles Kushner, New Jersey Gov James E McGreevey's top contributor, is charged in bizarre scheme to silence potential witnesses in federal probe of possible illegal campaign contributions; allegedly hired prostitutes who succeeded in enticing his brother-in-law and failed to entice his accountant into sexually compromising situations; complaint charges he and co-conspirators mailed incriminating tape to relative with whom he was feuding and who was cooperating with probe; family member is believed to be his sister, Esther Schulder; charges are likely to add to McGreevey's political troubles; photo (M)

Lurid Charges For Top Donor To McGreevey

American League defeats National League, 9-4, to win All-Star Game; photos (M)

The A.L. Hits For the Cycle In the First

Health and Human Services Department estimates employers will cut or end prescription drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees, about third of all retires with employer-sponsored drug coverage, when Medicare offers such coverage in 2006; senior department officials have been saying for weeks that federal subsidies will induce more employers to continue offering retiree drug benefits; Rep Pete Stark holds new law apparently will force millions of retirees out of comprehensive drug coverage into flawed, inadequate program; Republican supporters of new law and many employers say it will combat trend of employers' dropping retiree coverage; House votes to let Americans import prescription drugs from other countries, where prices are often lower; Republican leaders say provision, opposed by Pres Bush, will probably be dropped from bill in negotiations with Senate (M)

DRUG LAW IS SEEN LEADING TO CUTS IN RETIREE PLANS

Europe's Court of Justice rules that Germany and France should not have been allowed to flout fiscal rules that underpin shared euro currency, even as growing number of Europeans are questioning whether those rules make much sense; says finance ministers of European Union's member nations erred in November when they voted to give Germany and France more time to reduce their budget deficits, which were larger than rules allowed; ministers acted after European Commission recommended tougher treatment of two countries, including possibility of fines; ruling does little to resolve larger question of how to enforce fiscal discipline among 12 countries that use euro; few experts expect French or German governments to face sanctions anytime soon; photo (M)

Court in Europe Faults Officials For Waiving Deficit Rules

Mark Bittman The Minimalist column suggests recipes for chicken thighs; photos (M)

Crossing Over to the Dark Side

Tod Williams, avoiding the traps of sentimentality and overdone whimsy that lie in wait for adaptors of John Irving's fiction, has made a version of &quot;A Widow for One Year&quot; that is better than the book. Jon Foster plays Eddie, a prep school student who spends a long, eventful summer working as an assistant to Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges), a famous writer and illustrator of children's books. Ted and his wife, Marion (Kim Basinger), are still grieving over the loss of their two sons in a car accident years before, and their marriage is falling apart. All of this might have made for maudlin, precious melodrama — especially when Eddie and Marion commence their affair — but rather than emphasize the plot, Mr. Williams makes it a relaxed, roomy landscape for the characters to roam around in. The cast rises above the occasional implausibility of the material, and the movie is funny, touching and understated. It is dominated by Mr. Bridges's performance, one of the finest pieces of screen acting by an American man so far this year, a heroically life-sized portrait of wounded narcissism and masculine need. — A. O. Scott

Coming to Terms With an Idol Who's Deeply in Love With His Own Feet of Clay

Karaoke clubs, where people sing to recorded music tracks of famous songs, are springing up all over New York, and bars, restaurants and lounges have started offering karaoke one or more nights a week; rentals of karaoke equipment at one distributor have increased fivefold since 2001; those in karaoke business expect it to increase by 10 percent a year as industry switches to digital databases holding up to 90,000 songs; photos (M)

'Sweet Caroline' Never Seemed So Good; So Uncool That It's Hip, Karaoke Enjoys a Comeback

Kelefa Sanneh Critic's Notebook column on Senegalese-American singer-producer Akon, whose song Locked Up, which has jumped to No. 34 on Billboard R&B and hip-hop airplay chart, has become break-through hit of summer; photo (M)

Breakthrough Hit in a Jailhouse Lament by One Who Knows

US men have broken five world records at Olympic swimming trials, with Aaron Peirsol, Michael Phelps and Ian Crocker looking to dominate at 2004 Olympics; photo (M)

American Male Swimmers Could Dominate the Games

Kayaker Michael Kalganov, one of Israel's best hopes for an Olympic medal in Athens, and other immigrant athletes, coaches and sports doctors from former Soviet Union are changing face of Israel's Olympic team; lift teams prospects, increase its size and bring experience and professionalism new to Israeli sports; Olympic Committee of Israel director Efraim Zinger says team has grown progressively stronger over last decade, during which some million Jews arrived in Israel from former Soviet Union; 16 of 36 members of this year's team and 12 of 21 coaches came from former Soviet Union; team also includes Ethiopian immigrants for first time, two marathon runners; many of athletes came to Israel in early stages of their careers; photos (M)

From Uzbekistan to Jerusalem: Olympic Team and Hopes Grow

Dan Barry column on what kind of future awaits Joel Steinberg, who has been paroled after serving nearly 17 years in prison for beating to death Lisa Steinberg, 6-year-old child in his care; notes that Steinberg has spent two weeks since his release holed up in Fortune Society facility in Manhattan, too afraid for his life to venture out (M)

About New York; Imprisoned By High Walls And Deep Fear

Noah Clowney is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

July 14, 2004

Headlines from July 14, 2004

Intel's Results Stir Unease On Chip Sales

Sports of The Times; Athens Seemed Like a Good Idea

Libeskind Sues Silverstein For Design Fee

Once Out of Reach, Now Today's Special

Study Finds Film Ratings Are Growing More Lenient

Billboard 200

The Hunger For More

Confessions

Afrodisiac

Kiss Of Death

Tha Carter

Notable Births

Historical Context for July 14, 2004