September 19, 2004

Dr Tom Coburn, Republican Senate candidate in Oklahoma, is fast becoming popular icon of the right, in part because of his willingness to challenge Republican establishment; he won nomination over more moderate rival who had backing of party establishment; primary victory was bright spot nationally for fiscal and religious conservatives trying to reassert selves in Senate races this year; photo (M)

Daniel Altman column on whether differences in economic performance among states could determine which presidential candidate will carry each state; notes experts doubt president can dictate overall path of economy but agree presidential policies can have direct and predictable impact on state economies; cites indicators that voters may hold president responsible for their state's economic fate; notes 13 swing states have not fared very well under Pres Bush; table; photos (M)

People behind New York City's bid for 2012 Olympic Summer Games now think they have reasonable chance to win with divide-and-conquer strategy against four European capitals that are their rivals; have also offered marketing and media assistance for governing bodies in lesser-known sports that have key votes on International Olympic Committee; they and some independent experts say NY may be trailing only Paris, which is thought by many to be front-runner, in part because it has Olympic stadium in place; other finalists are London, Madrid and Moscow; Deputy Mayor Daniel L Doctoroff, NYC2012 founder, says he has talked individually with 119 of 121 Olympic committee members (M)

Rapid proliferation of parasitic software known as spyware and adware has brought Internet use to stark crossroads; major advertisers and big Internet sites are increasingly tempted by adware's ability to display pop-up ads exactly when user has shown interest in particular service or product, leading many consumers to view Web as battlefield strewn with land mines; spyware generally refers to programs that reside in hidden corners of computer's hard drive and record confidential data; adware marries billboard pitches to online distribution and possibility of immediate response; both clutter computers' screens and cause them to operate much more slowly; diagram of how users learn they are installing adware; drawing; photo (M)

Jerome Charyn article, on eve of event New York City Police Department's current chief chaplain, Rabbi Alvin Kass, calls 350 Years of Jews in Law Enforcement, on history of Jews in department; department-sponsored event, at One Police Plaza, will also commemorate 80th anniversary of Shomrim Society, fraternal order of Jewish officers and civilians within department; photos (L)