Michiko Kakutani reviews book The Plot Against America by Philip Roth; photos (M)

A Pro-Nazi President, a Family Feeling the Effects

Walt Disney chief executive4 Michael D Eisner says he does not plan to remain on board or become chairman when he retires in two years, interview, Fortune magazine; says he will not seek chairman's job when current chairman George J Mitchelll steps down; Eisner further quells criticism that he is seeking to remain at Disney, making it easier for board to seek outside candidate to succeed him; photo (M)

Disney Chief Rules Out Board Position

Dr Richard P Evershed, University of Bristol, England, Biogeochemistry Research Center director, announces that he has analyzed small samples of four Egyptian animal mummies dating about 800 to 350 BC and found embalmers used same methods and materials on animals as they did on humans; research is published in journal Nature; drawing (M)

Even in Death, These Cats Got Special Treatment

Editor's Note: New York Times is making its daily tables of stocks and mutual funds more concise, eliminating some charts and moving others to World Business section

Editors' Note; About the Tables

World Business Briefing | Europe: France: Profit In Luxury Goods

Federal Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly says Federal Election Commission's rules have undermined McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, and orders agency to enact tougher restrictions on how millions of dollars are spent on campaigns; ruling comes in suit brought by Rep Christopher Shays; decision affects 15 highly technical regulations governing campaign activity, including one set of regulations restricting how candidates and political parties, which are subject to contribution limits, coordinate with independent advocacy groups like so-called '527' committees, which can raise unlimited donations; coordination rules are particularly important in this year's election, after 527 committees began collecting tens of millions of dollars to mobilize voters and broadcast television commercials supporting Pres Bush or Sen John Kerry; Bush and Kerry campaigns have accused each other of illegally coordinating with groups that support them; many expect FEC to ask court to delay ruling until it has time to rewrite rules as ordered or pursue appeal; court's repudiation of FEC brings new round of attacks on agency, which has been described as toothless organization controlled by three Democrats and three Republicans, so elected officials and supporters could more easily skirt election laws (M)

U.S. Judge Orders Election Agency to Tighten Rules

Anthony Tommasini reviews New York City Opera production of Puccini's La Rondine, conducted by Stephen Lord; photo (M)

Puccini in Vienna, Struggling to Adjust

Looking for a Chance by Looking for Trouble

Small businesses, even fast-growing small companies, remain extremely cautious in how they add workers, calling into question belief that small companies are responsible for bulk of new jobs created in United States; both small companies and big corporations shed jobs from 2001 through 2003 and both are still wary about hiring; percentage of people who work at small companies has remained roughly constant over last decade; photos (special section, Small Business) (M)

Where Do the Jobs Come From?

Federal advisory panel, looking into concerns that some antidepressant drugs could increase risk of suicide in young people, suggests that drugs have labels warning patents of possible risks; Prozac, which was first antidepressant of its class, remains only antidepressant approved by Food and Drug Administration for treatment of depression in children and adolescents; Dr Steven Hyman, National Institute of Mental Health former director, holds that since Prozac works on same principle as other drugs in its class there should be no difference in how they impact patients; clinical trials on Prozac and possible reasons why drug might work differently discussed; suicide risk is highest for antidepressants in first three to four weeks of treatment; photo (L)

Is Prozac Better? Is It Even Different?

Vicente Medina, who came to United States from Mexico as teenager to pick cherries in California, opens his own steak and seafood restaurant, El Rancho Restaurant, on Park Avenue in Bronx; it occupies old Bronx Savings Bank building; photos (M)

Where Bank Fled, Immigrant Tries Restaurant

Runner Nhork Kimhor, whose leg was blown off by landmine, and Pov Bothum, who lost arm in robbery, will represent Cambodia in Paralympic Games in Athens (Greece), where both have overcome extreme odds, including poverty and ridicule at home, just to compete; photos (M)

Just Showing Up in Athens Is a Victory for Cambodians

Article on third annual convention of Christian romance and fiction writers in Denver, Colo, which is blend of traditional writing conference and prayer meeting; group, Write From the Heart, founded by six women five years ago, today claims to have more than 600 members (M)

The New Bodice-Rippers: More God and Less Sex

Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive issue profit warnings, underscoring increasingly tough competitive landscape for makers of some of world's best-known brands; Colgate's chairman-chief executive Reuben Mark and Unilever's co-chairmen Niall FitzGerald and Antony Burgmans comment; graph; photos (Market Place column) (M)

Unilever and Colgate Issue Profit Warnings for Rest of the Year

Medco Health Solutions study finds number of teenagers and children being prescribed antidepressants in US dropped 18 percent over last year after studies found that medicines appear to lead some to become suicidal; Medco finding is at odds with information provided last week by Food and Drug Administration to its advisory committee; FDA claims prescriptions of antidepressants for children and teenagers continued to rise by 7 percent this year despite growing controversy about safety of drugs; graph

Study Finds Less Youth Antidepressant Use

Militant group called One God and Jihad posts video on Internet showing beheading of hostage identified as Eugene Armstrong, American engineer abducted with two other men last week from their home in Baghdad; in video, militant says American Jack Hensley could be killed within 24 hours if United States does not release Iraqi women that militants say are being imprisoned at Abu Ghraib and in port city of Umm Qasr; American military officials claim they are holding only two women suspected of working on weapons programs for Saddam Hussein, but not at prisons mentioned; release of video comes day after another group, Army of Ansar al-Sunna, posts video on Internet showing beheadings of three Kurdish truck drivers; at least 130 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq this year; abductions have sharply surged in recent weeks; most of hostages have been freed, though number of killings has surpassed two dozen since July; photo; chart (M)

Iraqi Video Shows Beheading of Man Said to Be American

Fifteen homeless men have been transferred from other shelters to Brooklyn Manor in East New York, one of most notorious adult homes in city, with lengthy and sordid record of violations ranging from broken elevators to physically abusive employees; transfers occurred within last 15 months; lawyers and others who monitor city's homeless population and New York State's system of adult homes say many of men were not properly evaluated and did not give their full consent; they worry that placements reflect shortfalls in city's abiltiy to ensure that those in shelters are being sent to most appropriate settings as they seek permanent housing; Dept of Homeless Services says Brooklyn Manor was placed on banned list by state Health Dept only late in July, but agency concedes that two men were mistakenly sent there even after state explicitly forbid it; city has long struggled to find permanent housing for homeless men; photo (M)

Lawyers Find Defectsin Shelter System

Thailand's Prime Min Thaksin Shinawatra tells group of fund managers that his country's economy could grow 6 percent to 7 percent this year (S)

World Business Briefing | Asia: Thailand: A Forecast For Growth

 Study Raises Questions About Bioengineered Grass  A new study shows that genes from genetically engineered grass spread much farther than previously known. The finding raises questions about the straying of other plants altered through biotechnology, and could hurt the efforts of two companies to win approval for the first bioengineered grass.     The two companies, Monsanto and Scotts, have developed a strain of creeping bentgrass for use on golf courses that is resistant to the widely used herbicide Roundup. It would allow groundskeepers to spray the herbicide on their greens and fairways to kill weeds while leaving the grass unscathed. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

Southbound Metro-North train carrying about 200 passengers collides with 18-wheel truck that had become stuck on tracks during morning rush; accident sends 29 people to hospitals; six-car train had just left Bedford Hills; most of injured are sitting in front car; photos (M)

29 Hurt as Commuter Train Hits a Truck in Westchester

New York Jets center Kevin Mawae and linebacker Sam Cowart could miss several games with injuries sustained in game against San Diego Chargers (M)

For the Jets, Two Victories, Two Unwelcome Injuries

Space exploration and observation has resulted in official count of 111 verified extrasolar planets; apparent abundance of planets supports further exploration in search of habitable environment and signs of life, past and present; Gliese 436, recently discovered planet 20 times mass of Earth, described and potential for colonization discussed; Dr Geoff Marcy, University of California, Berkeley, and colleague Dr Paul Butler of Carnegie Institution have been searching for new planets since early 1990's; National Aeronautics and Space Administration has now dedicated considerable budget to search for planets and several missions are planned to allow astronomers to find smaller stars; Spirit and Opportunity rovers and their mission to Mars described; photos; graph (L)

All of a Sudden, the Neighborhood Looks a Lot Friendlier

Sen John Kerry delivers point-by-point indictment of Bush administration's Iraq policies, making his most definitive statement yet that he would not have invaded Iraq when Pres Bush did, speech at New York University; says Iraq invasion has created crisis so great that if course is not changed there is prospect of 'war with no end in sight'; questions how Pres Bush could claim he would do everything same way even if he knew there was no imminent threat from illicit weapons in Iraq; says while Saddam Hussein is evil, war has created chaos that has left America less secure; says Bush showed 'colossal failure of judgment' on Iraq; repeats four steps he urges Bush to take immediately: repair alliances, train Iraqi security forces, improve reconstruction and ensure elections; Bush's advisers quickly insert hard-hitting response into presidents' remarks at campaign event; Bush claims US is already doing everything Kerry has proposed; he attacks Kerry's suggestion that he would not have started war, quoting from Kerry's Aug 9 statement that he stood by his Senate vote to authorize use of force; photos (M)

In Harshest Critique Yet, Kerry Attacks Bush Over War in Iraq

Toronto Blue Jays defeat New York Yankees, 6-3; photos (M)

With Red Sox Gone, Thrill Is, Too

Dan Rather and CBS News admit that they have been unable to authenticate four documents network used to raise new questions about Pres Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service, calling their news report 'mistake in judgment'; network officials say former Texas National Guard officer Bill Burkett misled their producers about how he obtained documents, which came under scrutiny almost as soon as report was broadcast on CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes on Sept 8; CBS News president Andrew Heyward says using documents was 'mistake, which we deeply regret'; Rather initially insisted that wide questioning of documents--purportedly from personal files of Lt Col Jerry B Killian, Bush's squadron commander--came from partisans; he delivers his own apology, calling incident 'error made in good faith'; week ago, CBS News officials and Rather were standing steadfastly by report, dismissing days of accusations from document experts that records were fakes produced on modern computer; network says it is appointing panel of experts to review how such flawed report got onto air, especially one with such potential implications for sitting president just 50 days before an election; says it will make results public; photos (M)

CBS Apologizes for Report on Bush Guard Service

Robert William Mason was a British actor and writer, born in Rochdale, Lancashire. Throughout 1976 he played Terry Bradshaw in Coronation Street and later as Sergeant Eddie Slater in The Lakes in 1997. He also had a regular role in Casualty during the early 2000s.

September 21, 2004

Headlines from September 21, 2004

A Pro-Nazi President, a Family Feeling the Effects

Disney Chief Rules Out Board Position

Even in Death, These Cats Got Special Treatment

Editors' Note; About the Tables

World Business Briefing | Europe: France: Profit In Luxury Goods

Billboard 200

Live Like You Were Dying

Genius Loves Company

Beautifully Human: Words And Sounds Vol. 2

The DEFinition

Now 16

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for September 21, 2004