November 13, 2004

New York Mets have yet to sign pitcher Kris Benson to contract, but expect to negotiate terms of deal with now-free agent soon; photo (M)

Hundreds of shoppers storm H&M's New York flagship store to snap up Karl Lagerfeld's inexpensive line for chain; photo; line sells out in hours in most of European stores (M)

Design teams assemble structures at New York Design Center (NYC) made from cans of food, which were bought by architecture firms and will be donated to Food Bank for New York City when installations are taken down; photos (M)

US Airways asks bankruptcy court to throw out contracts covering passenger service agents, flight attendants, mechanics and other workers in favor of less expensive arrangements; also seeks to replace remaining traditional pension plans with cheaper benefits like 401(k) plans, all with goal of saving $1.3 billion a year (M)

Yasir Arafat is buried in Ramallah, West Bank, in extraordinary scene of grief and chaos; thousands of Palestinians climb walls of his compound and surge around his coffin, trying to bear it aloft; Palestinian security guards are unable to hold back frenzied flow of some 20,000 mourners; passionate scene is in contrast to Arafat's Cairo funeral service earlier in day, which was restricted to officials and Arafat's wife Suha and daughter Zahwa, 9; photos (M)