Article on Museum of Modern Art's new electronic auditory tour guide that not only offers erudite commentaries from curators, conservators and artists but descriptions of paintings and sculptures for visitors with visual impairments; photos (M)

MoMA Visitors Use Ears to See

Wilbert Rideau goes on trial for fourth time for killing that has already cost him 44 years in prison and earned him death sentences that were thrown out three different times by appeals courts, Lake Charles, La; all-white, all-male juries convicted Rideau, who is black, of murder and sentenced him to death in 1961, 1964 and 1970; appeals courts cited misconduct by government in each case; prosecutors are trying again to obtain conviction against him that will stick; passage of time presents difficulties; many orginal witnesses are dead, so prosecutors have stand-ins read their original testimony to jury; this deprives Rideau's lawyer of chance to cross-examine witnesses; Rideau has never denied killing woman during bank robbery; many blacks say he has paid his debt many times over and would have been released years ago had his victim not been white; Rideau, while in prison, has become acclaimed journalist and documentary filmmaker; photos (M)

With Little Evidence,4th Trial Opens in '61 Killing

Harvard University entomologist Dr Edward O Wilson, who is ant expert, publishes his theory on 1518 plague of ants that destroyed plantations on island of Hispaniola in journal Nature; asserts that destruction was caused by sap-suckers brought by colonists, rather than native tropical fire ants of another ant species; photo (M)

Plague Ants, Plantains and Scorched Plantations

Clyde Haberman NYC column comments on New York Gov George Pataki's State of the State address, in which he offered crime-fighting proposals even though surveys show topic has slipped far down most voters' list of immediate concerns (M)

On Justice, in Politics and on Stage

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column discusses New York Jets' road to Super Bowl, which requires team to win three conference playoff games on road; photo (M)

Jets Face a Road Never Traveled

Insurgents kill deputy police chief of Baghdad and his son and later detonate unusually powerful roadside bomb that destroys heavily armored American military vehicle, kills two American soldiers and wounds four; this is second assassination of senior Baghdad official in six days and latest in string of daylight attacks; militant group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claims responsibility for latest killings, as it did for assassination last week of governor of Baghdad Province; senior military officials have warned that insurgents are stringing together larger and larger explosive devices in effort to attack American forces; similar bomb exploded on roadside in Mosul, killing three Iraqi National Guard troops; Pres Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine orders pullout over next six months of his country's 1,600 troops in Iraq after huge blast in southern Iraq kills eight Ukrainian soldiers and one Kazakh; photo (M)

Insurgents Kill Senior Official In Iraqi Police

Connecticut Gov M Jodi Rell proposes changes to state's campaign finance and ethics rules aimed at blunting influence of money in politics; plan includes bans on political contributions to candidates for state office from lobbyists and contractors, lower campaign contribution limits and restrictions on government officials who move to private sector to lobby on matters that deal with government; rivals offer their own suggestions for cleaner government, and warn that Rell's proposals will not pass wihtout public financing of election campaigns, idea which Rell is expected to resist, given state's looming budget deficit; photo (M)

Rell Proposes Set of Stricter Laws on Ethics and Campaign Funds

Acorn, national housing advocacy group that once helped tenants in dilapidated East Harlem buildings organize, now owns buildings and has become target for tenants' association's dissatisfaction with management; New York Acorn Housing Co bought buildings from federal government, which had been managing foreclosed properties, and informed tenants that security and maintenance staff would be halved and local management office closed; tenants are angry that decisions were made without consulting them and are taking aim at people who taught them how to organize; Acorn officials say they are not surprised by turn of events; photos (M)

Yesterday's Tenant Activist, Today's Landlord

Charles Isherwood reviews Paper Mill Playhouse production of Harold & Maude: The Musical, directed by Hal Ashby; Estelle Parsons and Eric Millegan star; photos (M)

Youth, Age and Love Now in a Songful Fix

Third-party monitoring companies have cropped up in last few years to listen in on calls made to call centers; it is fast-growing industry, watching over nation's six million call center operators as well as hundreds of thousands off-shore; monitors have unrestricted view of how corporate America deals with the public--and how public talks back; business of assessing behavior of operators has taken on new urgency in recent years; competent and professional customer service agents are considered crucial component of making a sale; photo (M)

Your Call (and Rants on Hold) Will Be Monitored

CBS dismisses four of its top journalists, including high-ranking news executive, after independent panel concludes that report that raised questions about Pres Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service, aired during Bush's re-election campaign, never should have been broadcast; panel concludes that network's news division, in dash to beat its competitors, suffered breakdown in judgment as it rushed report onto air on Sept 8; finds report was approved by inattentive executivies, was delivered by overworked anchor Dan Rather, and did not undergo even most rudimentary fact-checking; segment was broadcast on 60 Minutes II; presented four documents suggesting that Bush received preferential treatment in Texas Air National Guard in 1970's; panel says documents were not properly authenticated; says it found no indication that internal inquiry ordered by CBS News president Andrew Heyward two days after broadcast was pursued; following report, CBS chairman Leslie Moonves fires Mary Mapes, producer in charge of segment, and demands resignations from Betsy West, senior vice president and top deputy to Heyward, Josh Howard, executive producer of Wednesday edition of 60 Minutes, and Mary Murphy, his deputy; Dan Rather, who played only limited role in assembling report, previously announced that he would step down as anchor of CBS Evening News in Mar but will continue on 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II; members of independent panel are Louis D Boccardi and Dick Thornburgh; photos; excerpts from panel's findings (L)

CBS DISMISSES 4 OVER BROADCAST ON BUSH SERVICE

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council leaders reach agreement over housing, development rights and financing in proposed West Side transformation; plan would extend No 7 subway line one mile; Council agrees to new financing arrangements that would reduce total cost of plan by appropriating money from city's operating budget to make early interest payments; in exchange, Council wins agreement from administration that one-quarter of new apartments will be affordable for moderate- and low-income residents; Council leaders take steps to sever connection between redevelopment and plan to build football stadium for New York Jets; plan still requires approval by state legislative leaders (M)

Mayor and Council Reach Deal on West Side Development

 Murdoch Sends Message With Deal to Buy Out Fox  The announcement by Rupert Murdoch, left, that the News Corporation would take full control of Fox Entertainment sent the message that he does not feel pressured to resolve his dispute with John C. Malone of Liberty Media before pushing ahead with other deals.     Many analysts and investors had expected that Mr. Murdoch would settle the feud over the voting interest of Liberty in the News Corporation before trying the deal, which is worth about $6 billion. Market Place. [Page C11.]    Your Telephone Call Is Monitored  Big brother may be listening into your telephone conversation. About 2 percent of the millions of calls made to call centers are monitored by a company's own managers or by third-party monitoring companies. [A1.]    Secrecy Ends in Oregon Utility Sale  Texas Pacific said it would make 700 pages of documents about its proposed purchase of Portland General Electric public. [C2.]    Ex-Columnist Settles Allegations  Thom Calandra, a former columnist for CBS MarketWatch.com, paid more than $540,000 to settle charges that he used an investment newsletter to increase the price of stocks he owned before selling them for big gains. [C2.]    Six Charged With Fraud  Four former executives of PurchasePro.com and two former executives of the America Online unit of Time Warner were charged with fraud and conspiracy. [C8.]    Deal to Buy Korea First Bank  Standard Chartered said that it would acquire Korea First Bank for $3.3 billion. [C2.]    Health Savings Accounts Rare  Only a handful of employers have begun to offer health savings accounts. [C17.]    Apple Files Series of Legal Actions  Apple has filed a series of legal actions that highlight the difficulties of defining who is a journalist in the age of the Web log. [C8.]    Comcast to Offer Phone Service  Shares of Comcast rose after it announced plans to offer Internet-based phone service in 20 of its markets by the end of the year and to all 21 million subscribers by the end of 2006. Comcast has been slow to offer phone services that use Internet technology, partly because it has spent time absorbing the 1.4 million copper phone lines the company inherited when it bought AT&T's cable venture in 2002. It has also been trying to iron out some problems, including getting access to directory assistance and emergency services. [C8.]    Alltel Acquiring Western Wireless  Alltel announced that it had agreed to buy Western Wireless, a regional carrier in the Northwest, in a deal worth about $6 billion in cash and stock. [C8.]    Hubbard to Head Economic Council  President Bush has chosen Allan B. Hubbard, a longtime friend and fund-raiser, who helped shape Mr. Bush's platform in the 2000 campaign, to be director of the National Economic Council. Mr. Hubbard is the president of E&A Industries in Indianapolis. [A16.]    Deal Near for Travel Company  Two British private equity companies are bidding jointly to buy Amadeus Global Travel Distribution, Europe's leading travel reservation company, for $5.7 billion. [C4.]    Stocks Close Slightly Higher  The Dow Jones industrials gained 17.07 points, to 10,621.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 4.06 points, to 1,190.25, and the Nasdaq composite was up 8.43 points, to 2,097.04. [C11.]    Fliers Thinking Twice About Loyalty  Travelers with frequent-flier elite status have noticed that free upgrades are getting harder to obtain. Joe Sharkey: On the Road. [C9.]  

BUSINESS DIGEST

Indianapolis Colts prepare to face New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium (Mass) in second round of NFL playoffs; photos (M)

Foxboro as Waterloo: Colts Have History to Conquer

Ben Ratliff reviews performances during seven-hour, three-stage, 19-band NYC Winter Jazzfest at Knitting Factory; photos (M)

Jazz Is Back (Sort of) at the Knitting Factory

Bush administration outlines ambitious plan to shore up America's pension funds and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp that insures them, calling for sharp increase in premiums for pension insurance and new controls on how companies with poor credit rating should handle their plans; under plan, premiums that companies must pay to insure their defined-benefit pension plans would rise for first time since 1991, to $30 per year for each active worker Hnd retiree in plan from current $19; premium rate would also be indexed, to rise with wages, in future; new premium rates would make dent in record $23.3 bilion deficit of insurance program; administration plans to charge even higher premiums to companies with credit ratings below investment grade; compaies that offer pensions and whose credit ratings are below investment grade include Delta Air Lines, Qwest Communications, Goodyear Tire and Rubber, R J Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, United States Steel, Lucent Technologies and Cummins; Labor Sec Elaine L Chao says radical changes in pension system are necessary because both pace and size of plan failures are growing; photo (M)

Overhaul Plan for Pensions Is Outlined

Interview with Marjorie Garber, William R Kenan Jr professor of English and American literature and language at Harvard University, who talks about her latest book, Shakespeare After All; book contains essays on performance history and major scholarship of each of Shakespeare's 38 plays; photo (M)

A Scholar of the Outré Returns to Shakespearean Basics

Earthquakes, which can cause catastrophic loss of life and property, are also responsible for growth and recycling of earth's environment; many biologists believe that plate tectonics, which is term for this geological cycle, could have sparked development of early life on earth; plate movement and earthquakes described; benefits of plate tectonics, such as regulation of global chemistry and distribution of metals, discussed; geological cycle is, as far as scientists know, unique to earth; drawing (L)

Deadly and Yet Necessary, Quakes Renew the Planet

New York Yankees will officially introduce pitcher Randy Johnson and New York Mets will introduce center fielder Carlos Beltran; Johnson has altercation with television news cameraman on his way to physical and later apologizes for his reaction; photo (M)

Yankees Facing Shared Spotlight and More Glare

Caryn James Critic's Notebook column on long-simmering pet movie projects of directors and actors that often become megaflops; focuses on two recent ones: Kevin Spacey's Beyond the Sea, biopic about Bobby Darin, and Oliver Stone's Alexander; photo

The Making of a Megaflop: Curse of the Pet Project

Pittsburgh Steelers and running back Jerome Bettis prepare to face New York Jets in second round of playoffs; photos (M)

Steelers' Bettis Rolls On, but the Bus Puns Stop Here

Analysis of dismissal of CBS News executives Betsy West, Mary Murphy, Mary Mapes and Josh Howard over 60 Minutes II TV program that dealt with Pres Bush's service in Texas Air National Guard, which independent panel found unfair and misleading after being rushed to broadcast without proper vetting; says what actions will mean is still uncertain, though several staff members report morale in news department to be devastastingly low; holds one lingering question is how much accountability should be laid at feet of Andrew Heyward, president of news division; says several CBS News staff members continue to question Heyward's level of responsibility; holds CBS chairman Leslie Moonves says he wants to reinforce leadership of Heyward and points to panel's conclusions that he made effort to question authentication offered for documents in report; charts; photos (M)

Analysis: Post-Mortemof CBS's Flawed Broadcast

 Sharon Gains Approval For New Israeli Coalition  The Israeli Parliament approved a coalition government that should allow Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to remain in office to carry out plans to dismantle all Israeli settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas, fresh from victory in the Palestinian presidential election, said he hoped to renew peace negotiations with Israel.   PAGE A3    Mayor to Push Re-election  Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is to use his fourth annual State of the City address to begin building what aides describe as a months-long election-year case that the city is moving in the right direction.   PAGE B1    First Lady Picks Her Designers  Laura Bush said that Oscar de la Renta would design her inaugural ball gown. The silver blue tulle gown is the centerpiece in a wardrobe for four days of festivities in Washington, with other outfits to be designed by Carolina Herrera and Peggy Jennings.   FASHION, PAGE B8  

INSIDE

Prosecutors deliver opening arguments in court-martial for Specialist Charles A Graner Jr, central figure in Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal; unveil new graphic photographs and videos in effort to portay him a sadistic thug who punched detainees for sport, posed smiling next to bloody face of detainee and bragged about forcing Iraqi woman to let him photograph her naked; Graner's lawyer Guy Womack insists he was simply following orders and using lessons from his civilian life as prison guard to try to maintain discipline in war zone; says using naked and hooded detainees to make human pyramid is like what American cheerleaders do at football games, and putting naked prisoners on leashes is like what parents do with their toddlers at airports; prosecutors call soldiers to testify that Graner laughed as detainees moaned, screamed and begged him to stop beating them; prosecutors have reportedly discovered 2,000 e-mail messages Graner sent home, boasting about disciplining detainees; none of these e-mail messages say he had been ordered to commit any of abusive acts; question of who authorized such treatment remains largely unanswered; photo (M)

Central Figure in Iraq Abuse Goes on Trial

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to use annual State of the City address to begin building case for re-election; will announce several new initiatives as well as plans to bring back popular $400 property tax rebate; aides say they consider address to be key opportunity for Bloomberg to connect directly with city's successes, although mayor says he is ready to address controversial issues; photo (M)

January 11, 2005

Headlines from January 11, 2005

MoMA Visitors Use Ears to See

With Little Evidence,4th Trial Opens in '61 Killing

Plague Ants, Plantains and Scorched Plantations

On Justice, in Politics and on Stage

Jets Face a Road Never Traveled

Billboard 200

Encore

Now 17

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

Destiny Fulfilled

Greatest Hits

Historical Context for January 11, 2005