August 31, 2005

New Orleans, which appeared to have narrowly escaped worst of Hurricane Katrina, is virtually submerged and isolated as water breaks through two levees, causing incalculable destruction and rendering city uninhabitable for weeks to come; bridges, highways and power and communications lines are washed out and officials order everyone still remaining out of city; about 10,000 refugees are to be evacuated from Superdome, where water and food are running out and rising water threatens generators; Pentagon orders five Navy ships and eight maritime rescue teams to Gulf Coast and will fly in Swift boat rescue teams from California; authorities can only guess at death toll, at least 100 in Mississippi alone, as efforts concentrate on finding the living, plucking them off rooftops in rescue cages; streets that were dry after storm passed are inundated as breaches in levees north of downtown send muddy waters of Lake Pontchartrain pouring into city; photos; map; charts; FEMA drops sandbags to try to seal breach; both airports are underwater as is 80 percent of city that lies below sea level; Gov Kathleen Blanco and other officials describe 'heartbreaking' situation; armed looters clean out stores for second night, critically wounding police officer; current damage estimates are over $25 billion; energy prices rocket with news of damage to oil and gas rigs in Gulf of Mexico; hundreds of critically-ill patients are evacuated from Tulane and Charity Hospitals and Times-Picayune staff flees newspaper's office; city from the air is shocking sight of utter demolition; entire areas of outlying parishes and Mississippi coast disappear under water; casino barges along river are swept half mile inland (L)

Two decades have passed since the last significant hurricane hit New York -- Gloria, in September 1985 -- but local officials have been preparing for another one for years. A Category 3 hurricane could bring a 25-foot storm surge crashing over the financial district, Kennedy International Airport, southern Brooklyn and eastern Staten Island; inundate dozens of other low-lying areas; and force the evacuation of 400,000 to 2.4 million residents.

Textile industry executives in Xiamen, China, are trying to figure out how more of their workers can move beyond simple cutting and sewing of garments into what is known as engineering and, someday, initial sketching of new clothing as Bush administration moves to impose new limits on Chinese garment exports to US; American and Chinese government negotiators hope to conclude deal in China limiting China's soaring clothing exports to US before Aug 31 deadline; US could still impose further limits on Chinese exports if talks fail; graph; photos (M)

Several months ago, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's campaign team was working hard to win one of the most important endorsements in a city mayoral race, that of the influential health care workers' union, S.E.I.U. 1199. Just as the two sides were sitting down in earnest, the relationship hit a bump during an unusual private dinner that included the mayor and 1199's leader, Dennis Rivera, according to participants. And several months later, the union endorsement now stands as an elusive prize hanging in the balance as the mayoral race reaches a critical phase.

Donald Trump, star of popular reality television show The Apprentice, comments on casting problems in third season and decision to conduct personal auditions with 200 or so finalists for new season, which starts September 22; photo (M)

Profile of and interview with avant-garde Chinese painter Zhang Xiaogang, 47, whose portraits have long been frowned upon officially; Zhang's works are now collected by wealthy Westerners and leading foreign museums and are increasingly fashionable among well-to-do Chinese and exhibited in state-run museums and galleries; photos (M)

YOU could imagine them calling from the other side of the closed library door. Babar and Madeline, Dr. Salk and Dr. Seuss, Henry and Beezus, Frank and Joe Hardy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sitting Bull, and maybe a triceratops or two, all calling from the quiet, empty children's section: Read about me, please, and me, and me. Read, they plead, read -- because, as we all know, there is no greater agony than to be a character in a book unread.

Five Lebanese Detained in Assassination Inquiry A United Nations investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon has ordered five current or former Lebanese high officials with links to Syria detained for questioning. PAGE A3 Poverty Rate Rose in 2004 Even as the economy grew, incomes stagnated last year and the poverty rate rose, the Census Bureau reported. It was the first time on record that household incomes failed to increase for five straight years. The report reflected lingering weakness in workers' pay. PAGE A9 Roddick Is Ousted at Open Andy Roddick, seeded fourth in the U.S. Open, was a first-round loser, dropping straight sets to Gilles Muller. SPORTSWEDNESDAY, PAGE D1 Hints of Missing Millions In the first hopeful sign for investors in the Bayou hedge fund, Arizona authorities say that $101 million they seized from a bank account could be from the fund. BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1

Ajay Banga and Steven J Freiberg, Citigroup's newly named co-directors of global consumer banking group, are personal friends, in contrast to competitive relationship between Citigroup chairman Sanford I Weill and John S Reed, former co-chairman; any signs of unity inside walls of Citigroup might understandably be met with skepticism; it has been long, hot summer filled with recriminating headlines and power-struggle intrigue as chief executive Charles O Prince moves to cement his authority; photo (M)

Economists warn that Hurricane Katrina is likely to leave deeper mark on national economy than previous hurricanes because of its profound disruption to Gulf of Mexico's complex energy supply network; New Orleans is under water; estimated 2.7 million residents in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have reported power failures, with many expected to be without electricity for weeks; conventional and mobile telephone service along Gulf Coast suffer from severe disruptions from flooded call-routing equipment and damaged cellular towers; businesses across Southern interior ground to halt as storm affected region's transportation network and power grid; casinos are destroyed in Mississippi and New Orleans; tourism is not expected to revive for months; grain shipments face serious delay: Bunge, world's largest oil-seed processor, evacuates huge soybean operation in Destrehan, La, is main export terminal in US; food exports and imports that normally flow in huge quantities through regional ports, roads and rails are likely to face major disruptions for weeks, if not longer; photo (L)

A O Scott reviews movie The Constant Gardener, directed by Fernando Meirelles and starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; photo (M)

OIL PRICES -- As the extent of the damage to offshore platforms became apparent, oil prices soared above $70 a barrel and gasoline futures jumped by 20 percent amid concern that it would take months to restore production. PAGE C1 PUBLIC HEALTH -- Federal health officials rushed equipment and experts to the Gulf Coast and warned that the consequences of the storm were likely to be enormous. PAGE A14 A CITY'S SOUL -- People who love what is perhaps America's most distinctive city are wondering what will remain of New Orleans, physically and psychologically. PAGE A11 THE MILITARY RESPONSE -- Five Navy ships and eight maritime rescue teams were ordered to the Gulf Coast. PAGE A14