Community support of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards development plan has fueled the project's slow but steady march forward.

To Build Arena in Brooklyn, 
Developer First Builds Bridges

Two Republican leaders in upstate New York on Thursday disputed the claim by Jeanine F. Pirro's campaign that they had endorsed her candidacy for the United States Senate, dealing another embarrassing setback to a campaign struggling to build momentum as she seeks to unseat Hillary Rodham Clinton.     On her campaign Web site, Ms. Pirro has been mentioning endorsements she said she had received from Republican leaders in the politically important upstate region, including Gordon Brown, the chairman of the Wyoming County Republican Party, and Tom Hayden, the chairman of the Allegany County Republican Party.  

What Endorsement? Two Reject Claim on Pirro Site

A O Scott reviews movie Elizabethtown, directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst; photos (M)

Grief, Love and Shoes in a Kentucky Stew

US Treas Sec John W Snow urges China to take lessons from US on how to spend more, borrow more and save less, trip to China; argues that China's consumers and entrepreneurs are badly in need of financial sophistication offered by American banks and investment banks; says that with better credit, Chinese families will be able to spend more money, buy more goods and perhaps reduce China's huge trade surplus with US; China's savings rate is nearly 50 percent; photo (M)

Snow Urges Consumerism on China Trip

Article three-day fall charter boat trip to Channel Islands National Park in California organized by Sierra Club; photos; maps (L)

Southern California's Offshore Wilderness

Special prosecutor's inquiry into disclosure of undercover CIA officer's identity has potential to upend professional lives of everyone at White House for remainder of Pres Bush's second term; Karl Rove, Bush's most influential aide, will testify before federal grand jury for fourth time; he and I Lewis Libby, Vice Pres Cheney's chief of staff, are most prominent administration officials to be called by special prosecutor Patrick J Fitzgerald, although dozen or more other administration officials have also been questioned or have testified before grand jury; lawyers for most officials who have testified before grand jury have not shared information with one another, leaving colleagues largely in dark about what others are telling Fitzgerald; White House is treating Fitzgerald extremely gingerly, making no public criticism and pledging to be completely cooperative (M)

Jitters at the White House Over the Leak Inquiry

Article on Richard Strauss's opera Daphne, which is enjoying modest renaissance; soprano Renee Fleming is starring in three-city concert-version mini-tour with WDR Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Semyon Bychkov; photos (M)

Unsingable Maybe, Yet 'Daphne' Blooms

For years, would-be adoptive parents have traded anecdotes about the tortuous process of adopting a foster child in New Jersey. So when Catherine Smith chose to brave the system in 2003 -- just as the state was carrying out a court-ordered reform -- she did not expect overnight improvements. But she also did not anticipate how tangled the system would remain.     Two wearisome years passed before the adoption of Dustin, 15, who had been living with the Smith family since 2001, became final in July.  

Adoption Route in New Jersey Is Still Complex

Refco, one of world's largest futures and commodities brokerage firms, will suspend operations at its Refco Capital Markets Ltd operation because of lack of cash; announcement, coupled with another cut in its credit ratings, sends Refco's bonds into tailspin, sign that creditors believe company will default; Refco imposes 15-day moratorium on activities of its capital markets business, informing customers that they can liquidate their accounts but cannot get funds in them for 15 days; moratorium appears to have been prompted by exodus of client accounts; announcement of moratorium causes some clients of firm's regulated futures brokerage business to withdraw their money as well; graphs; photo (M)

Refco Imposes a Partial Moratorium as Customers Seek to Close Accounts

Gia Kourlas Critic's Notebook column on promising young New York City ballet dancers as fall season begins; focuses on several, including American Ballet Theater's Melanie Hamrick, Yuriko Kajiya and Sarah Lane and New York City Ballet's Sterling Hyltin, Tiler Peck and Andrew Veyette; photos (M)

The Corps Standouts, From Tip to Toe

THE conceptual artist Jenny Holzer drew audiences this month outside some prominent New York buildings. Using the facades as screens, she projected words taken from government documents and from poems, her way of making a statement about the war in Iraq, torture, domestic security -- minor stuff like that.     Her canvas last weekend was the front of the New York Public Library. Quite a few people, intrigued by the scroll of words, stopped to read between the lions.  

What Lies Underfoot

Persistent downpours and whipping winds hit the New York region for a seventh day on Thursday, flooding people out of their homes in at least four New Jersey towns, pushing sewage up through toilets in Jersey City, downing power lines and leading many to wonder when the deluge would end.      In the areas hardest hit -- along the Passaic, Ramapo and Pompton Rivers, which snake through North Jersey -- roughly five inches of rain had fallen over the last 48 hours. Two more inches are forecast by early Saturday, when many rivers are expected to crest and overflow.  

As Rain Persists, Floods Push People Out

Oil companies are planning to expand production in Gulf of Mexico despite interruptions and damage from recent hurricanes; companies are pushing for right to drill in areas that have been off limits for over two decades, reigniting debate over whether to lift federal ban on drilling along most coastlines; areas--off California, from Georgia to Maine, and in parts of gulf close to Florida--have been closed to new exploration since 1981 after series of environmental disasters that fostered sharp political reaction against oil industry; at heart of dispute is whether nation's energy needs should be met mostly by increasing domestic production or by encouraging more energy efficiency to limit consumption; maps; photos (M)

A New Push to Mix Oil and Water

Pakistani doctors warn that slow pace of evacuations after devastating earthquake could be costing mobility, limbs or lives of many of the injured; United Nations relief coordinator Jan Egeland calls for tripling of helicopter donations and immediate surge in aid, saying situation is 'desperate'; evacuations from many remote mountain towns have been slow, arduous affairs; Pakistani officials estimate that 6,000 of about 52,000 injured people have been evacuated; death toll in Pakistan stands at 25,000, but number is expected to rise as reports filter through; in India, where death toll is at 1,300, there are similar complaints about delays in rescue efforts; photo of camp for homeless in Balakot, Pakistan; UN estimates two million people have no shelter; map (M)

As Relief Lags, Injuries Fester in Quake Zone

Roy Oswalt could have pitched a perfect game Thursday night, and he still would have been only the third most famous hurler in Houston.     He is five inches shorter than Andy Pettitte. He is 50 pounds lighter than Roger Clemens. He is dwarfed by both of them in nearly every way.  

Pitching in the Shadows, Oswalt Leads by Example

Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to Harold Pinter, British playwright, poet and political campaigner whose spare and often menacing language explores themes of powerlessness, domination and faceless tyranny of the state; in addition to his writing, Pinter has directed theater productions and acted on screen and stage; he has won awards across Europe; he is 75; his work recalled and listed; photos (M)

Pinter Wins Nobel for Dramas of Ominous Power Struggles

 After the Deluge, Another Deluge  Heavy rains continued to soak pedestrians in New York yesterday. Elsewhere in the region, the slow-moving storm system drove people in at least four New Jersey towns out of their homes as rivers rose, and sent sewage up through toilets in Jersey City. Road closures snarled traffic, and hundreds of homes lost power.   PAGE B1    Unofficial North Korea Talks  Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat familiar with North Korean officials, will travel next week to Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, for unofficial talks in support of the Bush administration's effort to persuade the North to dismantle its nuclear arms program.   PAGE A8    Turks Find Avian Flu  Thousands of birds that died in Turkey in the past week had the avian influenza virus, tests confirmed. It is the first time the disease has been reported in Europe.    PAGE A3    Cash Crisis for a Trader  Refco, one of the largest futures and commodities brokerage firms, said that it would suspend operations at one of its businesses because of a lack of cash.    BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1    Orphan Awaits a U.S. Home  An 11-year-old Ukrainian orphan is trying to join her brother in Brooklyn under a rarely granted provision called humanitarian parole.   PAGE B1    Paterno's Penn State Revival  After two losing seasons and off-field controversies, Coach Joe Paterno, 78, has the Nittany Lions back among college football's elite heading into their showdown tomorrow at Michigan.   SPORTSFRIDAY, PAGE D1    Van Gogh's Paper Trail  A show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art tracks the evolution of van Gogh's drawings, including ''Three Cottages.'' Michael Kimmelman reviews.   WEEKEND, PAGE E31

INSIDE

At 12, his childhood already cut short by his mother's heroin addiction, Alex Krylov left Ukraine with his grandmother and started life anew in Brooklyn. Five years later, the young refugee is an A student at Edward R. Murrow High School.      But American opportunity has come at a price: Alex's little sister, Raisa Skakun, was left behind in Odessa, in an orphanage for destitute Jewish children. Now nearly 12 herself, Raisa faces a wait of five more years under the regular visa process. So Alex and their grandmother have petitioned immigration officials to bring her here under an old but little-known provision called ''humanitarian parole.'' So far they have failed.  

A Contest of Suffering, With the U.S. as a Prize

US Treasury markets shrug off Refco's announcement that it is suspending operations at its Refco Capital Markets Ltd unit; there is no stampede into government securities, where skittish investors almost always go to take refuge from market turmoil (M)

But as the Brokerage Firm Struggles, the Markets Seem to Shrug

He was seated in 1F on American Airlines Flight 1455, his eyes closed and his headphones on. Twenty feet away, passengers discussed the frantic way the Chicago White Sox stifled the Los Angeles Angels, 2-1, in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. The man in 1F had been immersed in the chaos the night before, but he could not hear them.     Doug Eddings, the home-plate umpire who made a disputed call that helped the White Sox win in the ninth inning Wednesday night, was in first class on the flight from Chicago to Santa Ana, Calif., on Thursday. He undoubtedly wished he could remain anonymous.  

Eddings, Uneasy in the Spotlight, Believes the Ball Hit the Ground

A Web site now available features a video of 78-year-old Joe Paterno promoting an upscale residence for senior citizens.     The complex, The Village at Penn State, boasts frills like those found on a cruise ship. It rests on a hillside overlooking the town of State College, the Penn State campus and the football stadium where Paterno has coached for 56 seasons, the last 40 as the head coach. ''I love the community and I can see how it would be a great place to bring up a family and eventually to, to '' Paterno says in the video.  

Paterno Finds the New Age for His Unbeaten Team

Requirement of new bankruptcy law that sends Americans into credit counseling before they can erase their debts draws criticism from consumer advocates, bankruptcy lawyers and financial educators, who are concerned that creditors are subsidizing counseling; fear is that counseling requirement increases risk that people will be improperly steered away from court and into debt management plans, for which counseling agency often receives part of any debts repaid; counseling agencies, which receive no additional government aid under law, have been promised $10 million from credit industry for this year; more than two million people are expected to seek counseling next year as prerequisite to filing for bankruptcy protection, but there are only 50 or so agencies approved so far; in many parts of country, counseling is expected to be available only by phone or over Internet, at least until government approves more agencies; chart (M)

Bankruptcy Law Is Criticized for Creditors' Role in Counseling

Developer Bruce Ratner has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on publicity for his proposed Atlantic Yards, Frank Gehry-designed office, retail and residential development in Brooklyn with arena for Nets as centerpiece; opponents of project see outreach as campaign to divide opponents, co-opt local figures who are interested but skeptical, and create appearance of broad support where they say little exists; Ratner's effort follows death of city's dream of West Side football stadium amid overwhelming neighborhood hostility; Ratner may be creating new and finely detailed modern blueprint for how to nourish--and then harvest--public and community backing for hugely ambitious development that is expected to provide more than nine million square feet of apartments, offices, stores and hotel rooms, as well as arena, in middle of populous, cantankerous and often sharply divided city; photo (M)

To Build Arena in Brooklyn,Developer First Builds Bridges

Insurgents stage coordinated daylight raids on at least nine police and security buildings in Nalchik, southern Russian city near breakaway republic of Chechnya; Russian officials say all hostages have been freed and that at least 85 people are killed, most of them insurgents; say death toll could rise as military operation continues; Pres Vladimir V Putin tells authorities on scene to block routes in and out of Nalchik, and orders elimination of any insurgents who resist; local radio station calls on residents to stay in their homes; armored vehicles and heavy presence of Russian troops set up checkpoints, leaving city almost fully under authorities' control; Web site that often carries messages from Chechen terrorist Shamil Basayev, who planned 2004 school siege in Beslan, says Nalchik attackers were Islamic fighters aligned with Chechen separatists; photo; map (M)

At Least 85 Slain as Rebels Attack in South Russia

Floyd Norris column on how ousted Refco Inc chief executive Phillip R Bennett got rich by losing millions of Refco's money; graph (M)

October 14, 2005

Headlines from October 14, 2005

To Build Arena in Brooklyn, Developer First Builds Bridges

What Endorsement? Two Reject Claim on Pirro Site

Grief, Love and Shoes in a Kentucky Stew

Snow Urges Consumerism on China Trip

Southern California's Offshore Wilderness

Billboard 200

All Jacked Up

Wildflower

Most Known Unknown

Libra

Late Registration

Historical Context for October 14, 2005