October 23, 2004

Republican Party officials in Ohio took formal steps yesterday to place thousands of recruits inside polling places on Election Day to challenge the qualifications of voters they suspect are not eligible to cast ballots. Party officials say their effort is necessary to guard against fraud arising from aggressive moves by the Democrats to register tens of thousands of new voters in Ohio, seen as one of the most pivotal battlegrounds in the Nov. 2 elections.

Marsh & McLennan directors, under pressure from regulators, move to force resignation of Jeffrey W Greenberg, company's chief executive; some of company's 10 independent directors contact New York Atty Gen Eliot Spitzer in effort to settle civil lawsuit accusing Marsh of rigging bids and fixing prices for insurance; Spitzer indicates that negotiations may begin only with departure of Greenberg, whom he accuses of misleading him in early stages of investigation into corruption in insurance industry; Greenberg photo (M)

Cheerleading for Google from analysts at leading Wall Street brokerage firms is starting to sound a lot like days of dot.com bubble, when some of same analysts appeared on TV trumpeting ever higher prices for profitless Internet companies; Google shares surge by more than $23 to close at $172.43; number of Wall Street analysts immediately raise their price targets for company, encouraging investors to buy more shares; graph shows Google's soaring stock price; photo of analyst Mary Meeker (M)

The next time the St. Louis Cardinals need a starting pitcher, they could put together the most attractive classified advertisement in baseball. Help wanted: A pitcher who will throw strikes. Benefits: Candidate is almost assured to pick up 15 victories and advance to the playoffs. Support staff: Twenty Gold Gloves, most feared batting order in the National League, legendary pitching coach, assembly line of middle relievers and catcher known for handling pitchers well. Salary: Substantially less than Albert Pujols's. Full time/part time: mid-February to the very end of October.

Interview with Morris Chang, founder and chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co in Taipai; his company is goliath of Taiwan's modern microchip industry and world's biggest manufacturer of made-to-order chips; he expresses concern about lower growth in next 10 years and competition from rising industrial power of China; photos (M)

After Red Sox Fan Dies, Boston Tightens Rules In the wake of the death of a young Red Sox fan hit by a plastic ball fired from a police pepper-spray gun after the team's playoff victory, Boston officials are imposing restrictions on the bars around Fenway Park. Police officials are also considering discontinuing use of the pepper-spray gun. Mayor Thomas M. Menino said the security measures were meant to curb raucous behavior during the World Series. PAGE A10 An Ancient Rivalry Resumes With a World Series history dating to 1946, when Johnny Pesky might or might not have held on to the ball too long, the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals will play Game 1 of the Series tonight at Fenway Park. SPORTSSATURDAY, PAGE D1 Hostage Begs for Her Life In video shown on Al Jazeera, the Arab satellite television network, Margaret Hassan, the British-Iraqi aid worker held by militants in Iraq since Tuesday, begged the people of Britain and Prime Minister Tony Blair to spare her life by withdrawing troops from Iraq. PAGE A8 Pep Rally for Google Shares Wall Street analysts quickly raised their price targets for Google's stock after the company's strong earnings report. The cheerleading for Google sometimes sounds a lot like the days of the dot-com bubble. But analysts point out that Google is actually making money. PAGE C1 Head of Joint Chiefs Seeks Limits on New Spy Chief Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has taken a position at odds with the White House, urging Congress to restrict the powers of a new national intelligence director in developing budgets at the Pentagon. General Myers stated his case in a letter to Congress, where negotiators are working out a compromise between the House and Senate versions of legislation enacting the recommendations of the independent Sept. 11 commission. PAGE A15

Senator John Kerry is pushing the concept, and so are some Senate Republicans. That is why lawmakers and lobbyists say that regardless of who wins the presidential election, Congress will soon take up the idea of fighting high health insurance costs by shielding employers from the most expensive medical cases. In seeking to rein in the costs of the runaway insurance premiums paid by employers and their workers -- nearly $520 billion this year and rising -- politicians of both parties and some business groups are pushing an idea known as reinsurance. Such an approach might take its place alongside existing federal reinsurance programs, like the ones for floods and other natural disasters, or for the damages that might result from acts of terrorism.

State prosecutors have requested extensive information from the city government here about contracts awarded by Mayor Dannel P. Malloy's administration and have conducted interviews as part of a municipal corruption inquiry. According to people knowledgeable about the inquiry, state investigators are examining millions of dollars being spent on capital projects by the city's Board of Education. They have also raised questions about improvements made to the mayor's century-old house by private contractors.

Political Memo column notes that Gov George E Pataki and Mayor Michael R Bloomberg stood together in March and announced agreement with New York Jets to build $1.4 billion stadium on Manhattan's West Side; deal drew fire from neighborhood groups, other elected officials and owners of Madison Square Garden, Dolan family; Pataki and Bloomberg vowed to fight to end to get stadium built, demonstrating kinship of economic and political interests rarely shared by Albany and City Hall; Bloomberg has largely been standing alone just seven months later, and Pataki's vow to fight to end seems to have been forgotten (M)

France's antiterrorist police on Friday identified a young Frenchman killed fighting the United States in Iraq, the first confirmed case of what is believed to be a growing stream of Muslims heading from Europe to fight what they regard as a new holy war. Redouane el-Hakim, 19, the son of Tunisian immigrants, died during an American bombardment of insurgents in Falluja on July 17, according to an intelligence official close to the case.

Congress May Try to Tackle Price of Health Coverage Regardless of who wins the presidential election, Congress will soon take up the idea of lowering the cost of health insurance by shielding employers from the most expensive medical cases, lawmakers and lobbyists say.

Over the past decade, China has become an industrial colossus by mastering an extraordinary variety of commercial skills, from the manufacture of high-speed computer chips to the production of top-quality automotive steel. Learning to stimulate the sex drive of crocodiles has proved more difficult.