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.''

Former Pres Bill Clinton, in his first public appearance since quadruple bypass surgery, campaigns for Sen John Kerry in Philadelphia; tells adoring crowds that Kerry offers hope, while Pres Bush seeks to appeal to their fears; Clinton will appear at solo campaign events in Florida, Nevada and New Mexico if his health holds; Kerry and his aides see Clinton as able to motivate party's base and to telegraph to undecided voters an essential question: are you better off now than when Bush took over Oval Office? photos (M)

Jeffrey W Greenberg resigns as chief executive and chairman of Marsh & McLennan, world's biggest insurance broker, less than two weeks after New York State Atty Gen Eliot Spitzer accuses company of cheating customers; Greenberg's departure paves way for settlement of Spitzer's lawsuit, which claims that Marsh, in matching corporate clients with insurance they need, conducted sham bidding, arranging coverage based on fees paid to it by insurers; Spitzer says he will now focus on criminal prosecutions against individuals rather than company; Marsh has suspended five executives and is expected to dismiss or suspend more executives and employees as its internal investigation continues; no employee has been charged with crime so far; Greenberg has said he was unaware of improper practices of Marsh; company issues statement saying it will not take fees from insurance companies related to sales of coverage; two other leading brokers, Aon and Willis Holding Group, make similar pledge; photo (M)

Wilbur L Ross of W L Ross & Co is selling International Steel Group to Lakshmi N Mittal of London for $4.5 billion; Ross entered steel industry in 2002 with $325 million offer for shuttered steel million Cleveland, and total cost of creating International Steel was $2.165 billion; Mittal intends to consolidate two family-controlled companies and then merge them with International Steel, to create largest steel producer in world, to be called Mittal Steel; Mittal Steel will ship 57 million tons of steel in 2004, have revenues of $31.5 billion and operating income of $6.8 billion to $7 billion debt; analysts predict deal will be precursor for further mergers within steel industry; photo (M)

Retailers preparing for holiday sales push must contend with backup of a cargo ships, railroads and truck lines that is slowing movement of Asian-made goods from ports to warehouses and ultimately to shoppers; rapid growth of imports from countries like China and India, up as much as 20 percent from year ago, has added to congestion at major West Coast ports; port officials say they are shorthanded when it comes to unloading containers, and others involved in shipping say rail lines and trucking companies are also overextended; photo (M)

Gone for 28 Years, Miss (Make That Ms.) Subways Is Back Caroline Sanchez-Bernat, 29, was crowned Ms. Subway's yesterday, just in time for the subway system's centennial tomorrow. Eighteen predecessors, known as Miss Subways, were at the event at Broadway and 51st Street. PAGE B4 Guarding Against Rebels Along the Syrian Border In the last six weeks, Western diplomats and other analysts in Damascus say, Syria has begun a serious effort to tighten security and prevent rebels from crossing its 400-mile border with Iraq. The management of the border has been a major source of tension with the United States since the Iraq war started. PAGE A11 Bush, Religion and Policy President Bush's personal faith appears to be theologically moderate, but opponents and supporters say he has done more than any recent president to advance the causes of Christian conservatives. PAGE A21 Robert Merrill Dies The baritone, whose powerful voice and vigorous interpretations helped make him a favorite at the Met for 30 years and whose career extended to radio, television and film, was 87. PAGE C19 SPECIAL TODAY Voter Guide 2004 A comprehensive section on the elections, including: Do you know where your candidates stand? Do their promises really matter? What George Bush and John Kerry have said, done and promised about major issues. The implications of who controls Congress. How voting snafus may delay the final outcome. What will sway the swing states. The TV ads you havent seen. SECTION G Police Expand DNA Testing The New York Police Department has identified 23 suspects since January through a trial expansion of DNA testing to crimes including burglary. The police see enormous potential in the practice. PAGE B1 Attacks on Women in Sudan Even with the eyes of the world on the Darfur region of western Sudan, one brutality has apparently continued undeterred: violence against Darfur's women. PAGE A10

Marsh & McLennan Chief Steps Down Amid Inquiry Jeffrey W. Greenberg, the chief executive and chairman of the insurance broker Marsh & McLennan, stepped down, less than two weeks after his company was accused of cheating customers.

After sitting silently for four months while federal prosecutors portrayed her as an eager accomplice of her terrorist clients, Lynne F. Stewart spoke at her trial yesterday for the first time, saying she was a ''very, very adversarial'' lawyer but had never crossed the line to aid violence. Ms. Stewart, a tenacious, unorthodox lawyer who has represented a long list of unpopular clients over her 30-year career, sought in her testimony in Federal District Court in Manhattan to show that everything she had done to help one particular terrorist client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, had been part of a full-tilt defense inspired by her ''anti-authoritarian view of the world.'' But she insisted that she had never abetted or even endorsed the Islamic holy war preached by Mr. Abdel Rahman, an Egyptian cleric convicted of conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks.