January 8, 2005

Taser International says Securities and Exchange Commission has begun informal inquiry into company's statements about safety of its electric guns and $1.5 million sales order that it announced in Dec 2004; Taser sold 1,000 stun guns to Davidson's, distributor based in Arizona, for resale to federally licensed gun shops; Taser's shares plunge nearly 18 percent to $22.72 on Jan 7; company's stock has fallen 28.2 percent in 2005; Arizona attorney general's office says its lawyers have met with Taser executives to discuss concerns about safety of Taser's stun guns and company's plan to sell them to civilians; photo (M)

Armstrong Williams, prominent conservative commentator, was paid $240,000 by US Education Dept to promote its initiatives on his syndicated television program and to other African-Americans in news media; Williams was required to broadcast two one-minute advertisements in which Education Sec Rod Paige extolled merits of Bush administration's national standards program, No Child Left Behind; disclosure of payment sets off storm of criticism from Democrats over administration's spending to promote its policies to public; Armstrong photo (M)

San Diego Chargers and coach Marty Schottenheimer prepare to face New York Jets in first round of playoffs; photos (M)

Bush Urges Passage of Bill To Limit Asbestos Suits President Bush urged Congress to approve legislation that would sharply limit the steadily growing number of lawsuits by workers and others who claim to have been injured through exposure to asbestos.

Ten former Enron Corp directors agree to pay $13 million out of their own pockets as part of $168 million settlement of lawsuit brought by onetime shareholders who lost billions of dollars in company's collapse in 2001; settlement has broader implications for former executives who were not part of agreement, including former chmn Kenneth L Lay and former chief exec Jeffrey K Skilling; insurance proceeds protecting Enron's former directors and officers have been depleted with deal; Lay and other officers still have $13 million in insurance available to pay legal fees, but they will have to pay future judgments against them with their own money or personal insurance (M)