October 31, 2005

Democratic leader Sen Harry Reid warns Pres Bush not to pick Judge Samuel A Alito Jr as Supreme Court nominee, saying it 'would create a lot of problems'; Reid has already said he would object to selection of two others said to be on Bush's short list, Judge J Michael Luttig and Judge Priscilla R Owen; they and fourth judge under consideration, Alice M Batchelder, all have kind of clear record and judicial credentials prominent conservatives are hoping for; liberal groups gird for battle to oppose them, as Reid hints that Democrats would try to block nominee by filibuster or refusing to close debate and vote; Republican Sen Lindsey Graham says any filibuster against Alito or Luttig because of their conservatisim 'will not stand'; his warning seen as significant because of crucial role he played earlier this year in helping to block Republican effort to change Senate rules on filibusters of judicial nominees (M)

Ben Brantley reviews Michael John LaChiusa musical See What I Wanna See, directed by Ted Sperling and starring Idina Menzel and Marc Kudisch; photos (M)

Some of year's best-performing hedge funds suffer big losses for October, stung by reversals in energy stocks, takeovers and investments overseas; explosion in hedge fund growth appears to have resulted in too much money chasing too few investments; hedge funds may be particularly jittery because investors who want to redeem their holdings by end of year can put in requests as early as November (M)

Mars Inc is introducing CocoaVia line of chocolate bars and chocolate-covered almonds, which it promotes as good for heart and arteries; candies are made with flavanols, which are naturally occurring chemicals in cocoa that have antioxidant qualities, and sterols, which are plant-based chemicals found in variety of foods; packages encourage consumers to eat two a day for maximum benefit; some nutritionists are skeptical and point out that candies pack a good amount of calories; photos; graph compares new treats with Mars's Snickers and M&M's nutritionally (M)

Profile of and interview with Paul Ford, editor and Webmaster for Harper's Magazine, who comments on his new novel, Gary Benchley, Rock Star; book is edited and expanded version of Web-based serialized rock chronicles of Gary Benchley, 22-year-old Albany-reared striving indie-rocker invented by Ford; photos (M)