January 7, 2005

Clyde Haberman NYC column notes concern of aid agencies in New York City about donor fatigue after city residents' generous outpouring of money to victims of Indian Ocean tsunami; says their hope is that generosity will be habit-forming in future (M)

General Motors Corp will absorb it errant Saturn division; Saturn sales fell 22 percent last year and division has drained billions of dollars from GM; Saturn will lose its quasi-independence and be drawn back into GM's corporate family to cut costs and bolster limited product lineup with more offerings; product development of Saturn's passenger cars are being combined with those of Opel, GM's German brand; preview of new Saturns will be offered at North American International Auto Show in Detroit; photo (M)

New York City transit officials seek to ban photography, as well as film and video recording, on subways and buses without authorization; ban is intended to combat terrorism; much of attention is focused on tourists who take innocuous snapshots; but ban's most profound effects may be on artists and documentary makers chronicling life as it moves through subway system; photos (M)

Alessandra Stanley reviews premiere of fourth season of Fox television series 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland; photos (M)

Julie Salamon article explores issues of 'ratings creep,' which in last decade has allowed more profanity, violence and sexual content in movie ratings; discusses whether ratings help parents decide what videocassettes, DVD's computer games, cable television shows and movies are appropriate for their children; drawings (L)

Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld instructs retired four-star Army Gen Gary E Luck to go to Iraq to look at all areas of operation there, identify any weaknesses and report back in few weeks with confidential assessment; Luck will conduct unusual 'open-ended' review of troop levels, training programs for Iraqi security forces and strategy for fighting insurgency; analysts say extraordinary leeway given to Luck underscores deep concern by senior Pentagon officials and top American commanders over direction operation in Iraq is taking and its broad ramifications for military; Luck was senior adviser to Gen Tommy R Franks during Iraq campaign in 2003; his principal focus will be to address one of biggest problems for American military in Iraq: how to train Iraqi soldiers and police officers to replace American troops now securing country; Pentagon leadership is said to be considering whether to change mobilization policy to allow reservists to be called up for more than 24 months of total active service (M)

Unusually high number of tsunami victims appear to have been children, lost to epic waves that swept away the week, the old and the young; Unicef officials estimate that at least third of 30,000 people killed in Sri Lanka were children; if same ratio holds true across Southern Asia, as many as 50,000 children could have died on Dec 26; surviving them are tens of thousands of distraught parents; mourning parents are coming together to comfort one another; photo; map (M)

Rituals column on small but growing community of adults who call themselves recreational tree climbers; Harv Teitelbaum, founder of Tree Climbing Colorado and Peter Jenkins, who runs Tree Climbers International, comment; list of contacts; photo (M)

New York State Assembly is adopting new rules requiring lawmakers to actually be present in Capitol to vote on bills; under current system, once lawmakers sign in for day, they are counted as voting yes on all bills unless they signal otherwise; State Senate is also changing some rules; both houses have been under public pressure to change their rules to make New York State Legislature more open, deliberative and democratic; photo (M)

Harvey Araton Sports of The Times column discusses Paterson, New Jersey native Essence Carson, who has helped lead Rutgers University women's basketball team to successful season and impressive win over undefeated Louisiana State University; photos (M)

Article on rise in number of Americans buying luxury second homes in Mexico; map; photos and brief descriptions of properties for sale in Mexico (M)

Bush Officially Elected, But Democrats Protest Congress officially ratified President Bush's election victory, but not before Democrats -- including one senator, Barbara Boxer of California -- lodged a formal challenge to the electoral votes from Ohio, forcing an extraordinary two-hour debate in only the second such challenge to a presidential race since 1877. PAGE A19 Mandela's Anti-AIDS Battle Nelson Mandela, who has long battled the secrecy that surrounds AIDS in South Africa, said his son had died of the disease, and he used his loss to urge greater tolerance for sufferers and an end to the taboo. PAGE A3 Spy Case Charges Dismissed Citing prosecutorial misconduct, a federal judge dismissed all charges against a Chinese-American woman accused of using a sexual relationship with an F.B.I. agent to obtain national security documents. PAGE A20 Retrial in Drowning Case A Texas woman convicted of drowning her children in a tub was granted a new trial by an appeals court, which ruled that an expert's false testimony required it. PAGE A16 Holyfield Still Pursuing Titles Boxing has given Evander Holyfield a lavish home and wealth he shares with the less fortunate. So why, at 42, is he pursuing his fifth heavyweight title? SPORTSFRIDAY When Town Meets Country Officials say the motives behind the arson in an upscale subdivision may be found in the social milieu of its rural Maryland county. PAGE A16 Change Is Afoot in Albany A revolutionary development is coming to the State Assembly: new rules requiring lawmakers to actually be present to vote. PAGE B1