March 12, 2005

College basketball summarized; photo (S)

Commerce Department says foreign imports broke all records in January, reaching $159.1 billion and contributing to $58.3 billion trade deficit; trade deficit rose 4.5 percent from $55.7 billion in December; Bush administration says trade figures should be seen as testimony to strength of American economy and its role as engine of global growth; US had $15.3 billion deficit with China; deficit with Japan was $6.2 billion and $6.1 billion with Canada; graphs (M)

California Superior Court Judge James P Kleinberg rules that Apple Computer has right to subpoena names of sources and documents relating to confidential company information that was published late last year by Web sites Apple Insider, Think Secret and PowerPage; rules Apple's interest in protecting its trade secrets outweighs public's right to information about Apple and right of bloggers to disseminate that; ruling skirts question of whether Web sites were protected by same laws that protect professional journalists, as civil liberties groups had argued, and focuses on notion that published information includes trade secrets and is essentially stolen property (M)

Anthony Casso, Luchese family underboss, in 1994 told police that corrupt detectives Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito had taken part in 1990 murder of Gambino captain Edward Lino in Brooklyn; investigation stalled, and 11 years of silence followed; it was broken with recent indictment of Caracappa and Eppolito, now retired, who are accused of being paid killers for mob and taking part in at least eight murders, most when they were still on force; photos (M)

Robert Palange Jr, 2-year-old boy run over by his father as he backed his SUV out of driveway of their Bellport, NY, home, is recovering after radical operation performed by Dr Michael R Egnor at Stony Brook University Hospital; photos (M)