February 3, 2005

Cellphones are becoming everyday convenience for older people, who once restricted their use of them to emergencies; half of Americans ages 65 to 74 own mobile phones, as do 30 percent of those 75 to 84; AARP is testing program that will provide its members with discounted calling plans and handsets from several carriers as well as material about how to use devices; carriers have been slow to market services to older Americans, even though older customers represent one of last remaining segments of population where there is potential for subscriber growth; photos; graph (M)

Federal Reserve raises short-term federal funds rate by quarter of a point, to 2.5 percent, its sixth increase since June, and signals that it intends to keep raising rates in months to come; graph (M)

John Leland reviews book I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul by James Brown; photos (M)

NBC announces Martha Stewart will star in her own version of Donald Trump's reality show The Apprentice; Mark Burnett, creator of The Apprentice, says he discussed idea of show extensively with Stewart before she went to prison for lying to federal investigators; photo (M)

Article describes 10-month project undertaken by curators at P S 1 Contemporary Art Center in search of artists whose work will be shown at Greater New York 2005, giant survey show opening on March 13; museum directors and curators will choose work of 175 artists out of more than 2,400 submissions who they say best capture city's contemporary art scene; photos (M)