October 25, 2005

Rosa Parks's refusal to relinquish her seat to a white man on an Alabama bus grew into a mythic event that helped touch off the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's.

Hurricane Wilma charges across both coasts of South Florida, pushing seawater over much of Florida Keys and knocking out power to estimated 3.4 million homes and businesses; storm enters state as Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 miles per hour; roils Miami and Fort Lauderdale region and, after seven hours, roars into Atlantic Ocean near West Palm Beach, still a Category 2 storm with winds of 105 mph; conditions are less brutal in most populated areas, on northern side of Gulf Coast; but there is widespread flooding, crumpled mobile homes, airborne roofs and countless downed trees; at least seven people are reported killed in state; earlier, storm left at least six dead in Mexico and 13 in Jamaica and Haiti; Gov Jeb Bush says Florida, which had days to prepare for slow-moving storm, has everything it needs to start recovery; photo; maps (M)

By most measures applicable to the world of ideas, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research can count itself a success. Founded 25 years ago as a fledgling conservative outpost in the heart of liberal New York City, the institute has become an $11-million-a-year concern, with more than 50 staff members and fellows, and satellite offices in Albany and Washington. Perhaps its proudest achievement was the revolution it helped foment in city government in the 1990's, when it served as an informal brain trust for Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's efforts to reduce crime, overhaul the welfare system and fix city schools.

Vice Pres Dick Cheney's chief of staff I Lewis Libby Jr reportedly first learned about CIA officer at heart of leak investigation from Cheney, and not from journalists as he testified before federal grand jury; lawyers involved in case say Libby's notes from this previously undisclosed conversation with Cheney on June 12, 2003, for first time place Cheney in middle of effort by White House to learn about CIA officer's husband Joseph C Wilson IV, who was questioning administration's handling of intelligence about Iraq's nuclear program to justify war; say they show that Cheney knew that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, worked at CIA more than month before her identity was made public and her undercover status was disclosed in syndicated column by Robert D Novak on July 14, 2003; say notes indicate Cheney got information about her from CIA director George J Tenet in response to questions from Cheney about Joseph Wilson; but they contain no suggestion that Cheney or Libby knew at time of Valerie Wilson's undercover status or that her identity was classified; photo (M)

WAS it coincidence or irony that what played like a Michael Jordan infomercial on ''60 Minutes'' Sunday night was delayed while Eli Manning drove the Giants down the field, rising to the type of end-game moment that best defined Jordan from the 1982 N.C.A.A. championship game to Game 6 of the 1998 N.B.A. finals in Salt Lake City? A week ago in Dallas, Manning got the Giants into the end zone for overtime. Sunday, his deep drop bought him the time to find Amani Toomer for the touchdown that dramatically took down the Broncos.