October 28, 2005

The Broadway Return of Oscar and Felix Nathan Lane, left, and Matthew Broderick, those chemistry-igniting buddies whose pairing spells box office, are back in a revival of Neil Simon's comedy ''The Odd Couple.'' A review by Ben Brantley. WEEKEND, PAGE E1 Israel Strikes in Gaza Israel imposed a curfew in the West Bank and carried out a rocket strike on Islamic Jihad members in Gaza, killing seven people. PAGE A3 Chicago Wakes With a Smile Chicagoans awoke feeling first among cities, if they went to sleep at all after the White Sox ended an 88-year World Series drought. PAGE D1 Evacuees Still Seek Housing Hundreds of thousands of hurricane evacuees are learning the hard way that resettlement is not as simple as rental assistance. PAGE A19 Hurricane Hurts Agriculture Agricultural losses in the region affected by Hurricane Wilma are expected to run to tens of millions of dollars or more. PAGE A11

Harriet E Miers withdraws her nomination for Supreme Court after withering attacks from conservatives and weeks of doubt from both political parties about her qualifications for the job; Pres Bush says he 'reluctantly accepted' Miers's decision; he must now find new nominee at time of growing disarray at White House; Miers is expected to remain in her job as White House counsel; Bush and Miers cite principle of separation of powers as reason for withdrawal, claiming releasing documents requested by Senate about her work in White House would weaken independence of executive branch; members of both parties disagree, saying most powerful factor was strong opposition from conservatives who questioned her ideology on social issues and see her as impediment to their decades-long goal of control of court; photos (M)

Microsoft reports revenue of $9.74 billion in first quarter of its 2006 fiscal year compared with $9.19 billion in quarter last year; earnings rose 24 percent, to $3.14 billion; photo (M)

IN a powder blue Olivia T-shirt, Sheryl Swoopes, wearing hoop earrings, with a basketball under her arm, proudly struck the Web site pitch pose for the Good Ship Lesbian. Just below a photo of Swoopes on the Olivia Web site, under a section called the Olivia experience, the copy reads, ''It's an overwhelming feeling to know that you are always among friends, from stem to stern.''

Michael Serricchio was an up-and-coming stockbroker, tending $250 million worth of accounts in Connecticut and earning $200,000 a year in salary and commissions. He was also a sergeant in the Air Force Reserve. Shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, his unit was called up and he began a two-year deployment that included a stint in Saudi Arabia. When he came back, his company had merged, his clients had been parceled out and there seemed to be no place for him at the newly constituted office of Wachovia Securities.