October 26, 2004

IT'S one week to the election. Do you know where your candidate is? Do you know exactly where your presidential choice stands on the estate tax? Embryonic stem-cell research? Importing prescription drugs from Canada? Making it easier for labor unions to organize? Do you know the details of the candidates' plans for Social Security and Iraq?

Bush administration says it has concluded that some non-Iraqi prisoners captured by American forces in Iraq are not entitled to Geneva Conventions protections; this is important exception to public assertions by administration since Mar 2003; new opinion would essentially allow military and CIA to treat at least small number of non-Iraqi prisoners captured in Iraq in same way as members of Al Qaeda and Taliban captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere, for whom US has maintained that Geneva Conventions do not apply; at issue are CIA's secret transfers of dozen non-Iraqi prisoners for interrogation outside Iraq, and provision in conventions that bars such transfers; administration officials say new opinion represents consensus reached by lawyers from State Dept, Justice Dept, Pentagon, National Security Council and other agencies in discussions that began in Mar 2004 in response to opinion sought by CIA many months after it began transferring non-Iraqi prisoners beginning in Apr 2003 (M)

Caryn James Critic's Notebook column on extreme weight loss and gain as today's most popular form of movie stunt acting; notes that Christian Bale lost 63 pounds while filming horror movie The Machinist and other actors have gained and lost extreme amounts of weight for other movies; holds dramatic weight change has become a selling point, playing into national obsession with diet; photos (M)

Record numbers of American college students are experiencing mental distress and seeking help at university counseling centers; National Survey of Counseling Center Directors annual report show that number of students taking psychiatric medications rose to 24.5 percent in 2003-2004 from just 17 percent in 2000 and 9 percent in 1994; students and parents are encouraged to research counseling services and mental health coverage before selecting university; most common types of disorders and methods of treatment for college students discussed; parental knowledge of problem is not guaranteed by most universities, but most will inform parent if student needs hospitalization; graph; drawing (L)

One streak had ended, yes. But on Monday, a day after the Jets' dispiriting 13-7 loss to the New England Patriots, Coach Herman Edwards was already focused on ensuring that the defeat was not the start of another. ''We don't want to get into repeating what just happened to us,'' Edwards said. ''We want to continue to try to win.''