September 16, 2005

All that stood between the Mets and their third victory this month were three outs. They are, of course, the hardest outs to get, and that task has seemed to become much more difficult when the Mets and their closer, Braden Looper, are trying to get them. Within the span of four batters in the ninth inning yesterday, Looper allowed a leadoff hit and hit a batter, and his teammates committed two errors, allowing the Washington Nationals to tie the score.

Pres Bush addresses nation from New Orleans, pledging massive federal aid in rebuilding of devastated Gulf Coast; calls for creation of Gulf Opportunity Zone, government enterprise encompassing Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that would provide help on taxes, housing, education and job training for victims of Hurricane Katrina; he orders immediate review of emergency plans for all cities, saying there is need for greater federal authority and broader role for armed forces in certain emergencies; calls for federal government assessment of his administration's response to Katrina and says he will work with both parties in Congress to investigate what went wrong, but he does not embrace calls for independent commission to conduct investigation; photos (M)

Microsoft and Time Warner have explored variety of possible combinations of MSN Internet portal with America Online operation of Time Warner, including merger of two into new company that would be jointly owned; discussions were initiated by Microsoft, which has Google in its sights; Microsoft is trying to focus its Internet operations on its developing Web search product rather than its Web portal and Internet access biusiness, which it no longer sees as strategically important; Microsoft had offered to sell its MSN Internet portal and dial-up subscriber business to America Online and to Yahoo; Yahoo considered and quickly rejected proposal; Time Warner expressed interest (M)

News analysis: Judge John G Roberts Jr, who has been accused of saying very little at his confirmation hearings, has in fact revealed great deal about how he will approach his work if he becomes 17th chief justice of United States; while declining to answer questions on specific cases and legal issues, he has made clear his approach to interpreting Constitution is more varied and flexible than originalism subscribed to by Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, two justices Pres Bush once singled out as models for sorts of justices he plans to appoint; Roberts says he would consider not only how framers understood words of Constitution, but also how courts have interpreted them and how they apply to evolving societal conditions; that approach disappoints some conservative legal scholars; photos (M)

The next time Amtrak officials decide to spring a hefty fare increase on their most loyal customers, they may want to pass along an early warning to the members of Congress among them. Their failure to do that last week fueled a backlash in Washington that forced Amtrak's chief executive, David L. Gunn, to call off a plan to raise fares on Tuesday. Amtrak said yesterday that it would postpone the increases while it takes more time to explain its plan to elected officials and riders.