December 6, 2004

A River Pulled in Two Directions The Delaware River, where a huge oil spill is being cleaned up, is more like two rivers than one. The lower portion teems with heavy industry, as here in Paulsboro, N.J., while the upper is known for pristine trout streams. PAGE B1 Egypt-Israel Prisoner Trade Egypt released an Israeli Druse who had been convicted of spying, and Israel freed six young Egyptian infiltrators from prison, in a sign of growing cooperation between the two nations and an improved Middle East political atmosphere. PAGE A12 A Change at Treasury President Bush has decided to replace John W. Snow as treasury secretary and has been looking at possible replacements, including the White House chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., Republicans with ties to the White House say. PAGE A21 SPECIAL TODAY Business in China A special issue of Business Day examines the role of China, which has become a threat and an opportunity to American companies as it competes with them and offers a market for their goods. SECTION C

Series of increasingly brazen attacks by Iraqi militants leaves more than 80 people dead in past three days and deepens sense of growing mayhem as Jan elections approach; in Tikrit, militants ambush busload of unarmed Iraqi contractors employed by American forces, gunning down 17 of them; attack underscores increasing risks faced by Iraqis who work for American-led occupation and are singled out as collaborators; militants detonate car bomb in front of Shiite mosque, singling out Shiite officers for slaughter in police station attack, and killing 18 Kurdish militiamen; intensified insurgent campaign is aimed at terrorizing Iraq's fledgling security forces and fomenting sectarian divisions that could undermine elections or perhaps force delay; majority Shiite community insists that elections go forward as planned, as does Pres Bush; but political leaders, mostly Sunni Arabs representing 40 political parties and individuals, say insurgents' campaign of violence and intimidation has made credible elections impossible for moment, and that holding them in Jan would achieve illegitimate result that could provoke further civil conflict; photo (M)

Schools in Kentucky tell hopeful but cautionary tale of what may lie ahead for New York City schools, which have been ordered to get $5.6 billion more every year by court-appointed panel; in 1990, Kentucky lawmakers enacted one of country's most thorough education overhauls after Kentucky Supreme Court found that school system needed revamping; since then, state has increased its yearly spending considerably; there is almost universal agreement that state has leapt forward, but poor rural schools in particular still have far to go; schools are again taking state to court, accusing it of failing to put in enough money over years, basically leaving job undone; lesson is particularly important one for New York, because Kentucky Legislature was much more responsive than lawmakers in Albany were after New York's highest court ordered them to stop shortchanging city's students and fix 'systemic failure' of its schools nearly 18 months ago; photo (M)

Ben Brantley reviews Billy Crystal's one-man show 700 Sundays, directed by Des McAnuff; photo (M)

China is poised to become world's biggest producer and market for many goods and services; competition from China is forcing foreign companies across many industries to slash prices; American and European companies are also taking advantage of China's vast and inexpensive labor force by moving some operations there and are offering their products to nation whose role as consumer continues to grow; China, with its fast-growing economy and huge population, is likely to overtake United States in consumption of wide range of goods; businesses reaping biggest rewards include companies that supply infrastructure needs; such companies are exception, as US imports from China exceed exports by over five to one; analysts question how much more competitive China can become globally if its domestic economy slows, freeing even more goods for export at ever cheaper prices while trimming import demand; graphs compare Chinese and US consumption and economies; drawings; photo (M)

Article on ratings shift between Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Show With David Letterman; Letterman has had some overall ratings growth this season, particularly on Monday nights, while Leno has dipped slightly; graphs; photo (M)

Article on scene at Art Basel Miami Beach, three-year-old spinoff of highly successful contemporary-art fair in Basel, Switzerland; photos (M)

Ceding control of the game after a handful of plays, the Giants on Sunday went tamely to their fifth successive defeat. Not long ago, these Giants were bidding a blithe goodbye to the nadir of last season -- the devastating eight straight losses that led to a complete coaching and roster overhaul.

Federal District Court Judge George B Daniels of Manhattan has 289 motions in civil cases pending for more than six months, highest total by far of any federal judge in nation; some of Daniels's critics consider his approach to be judicial neglect; delays are frustrating to litigants, who often put their lives on hold as they await decision; court records and interviews show that in at least eight cases, people were so frustrated by Daniels's slow pace that they filed petitions with United States Court of Appeal, asking that it order him to rule or perhaps transfer their cases to another judge; typically, Daniels did rule shortly after petitions were filed in higher court; his list of pending motions cites reasons for delays like 'complexity of case,' 'heavy criminal and civil caseload' and 'voluminous brief/transcripts to be read'; Judge Michael B Mukasey, chief judge of Federal District Court, who has received repeated complaints about delays, says he thought Daniels was tackling his backlog; there is apparently little that can be done when federal judge, who enjoys lifetime tenure, moves too slowly on civil motion; in criminal cases, in which deadlines are more enforceable, delays do not appear to be problem in Daniels's court; photos (L)

It was a moment that was familiar but unsettling. There was Chad Pennington bobbing, weaving and gamboling through Houston's defense -- once again scrambling for a first down. Exactly four weeks before, Pennington, the Jets' quarterback, had dived headfirst on a run against Buffalo, strained his right rotator cuff when he was tackled and ended up missing three games. ''I was looking back for Quincy,'' Jets Coach Herman Edwards said later, joking, while referring to Pennington's backup Quincy Carter. ''I told him 'to get your arm ready.' But Chad's fine.''

The caretakers of the Bowl Championship Series the commissioners of six N.C.A.A. Division I-A conferences and a committee of presidents from those colleges -- massage and tweak the B.C.S. from year to year, but they cannot seem to dodge controversy over which two teams should play for college football's national championship. For the fourth time in the last five seasons, there is a debate over whether the B.C.S. formula will accurately decide the national champion.

Food and Drug Administration made arrangement with drug companies in 1992 that has increased agency's dependence on corporate money to finance much of its drug testing efforts, special report, Regulation Redefined: The FDA Shifts Focus; critics say this has caused delay in discovering dangers of certain drugs, including Vioxx; members of Congress, internal FDA whistleblower and prominent medical journals say agency is incapable of uncovering perils of drugs that have been approved and are in nationwide distribution; some accuse it of being cozy with drug makers; under 1992 agreement, forced by White House and Congress, drug industry promised to give FDA millions, but only if agency spent specified level of money on new drug approvals; result is that in past 11 years, spending on reviews has increased to more than four-fifths of budget of agency's drug center, from about half, and there has been drastic cut in studies to ensure safety of drugs already on the market; FDA has never been able to require drug makers to undertake new safety tests once drug is approved; agency now relies almost entirely on willingness of drug makers to report problems that crop up after drug has been approved to ensure safety of nation's drug supply; critics say this dependency has diminished agency's willingness to confront drug makers, making it timid and leaving patients vulnerable; photos; graphs (L)