November 7, 2005

Three yards was all that stood between the Jets and a feel-good victory against the San Diego Chargers, an outcome that would take the edge off the injuries two more key members of their offense had sustained Sunday. Four downs to go 3 yards for the go-ahead touchdown: they were so close to a new lease on the season that the Chargers could see it on the Jets' faces.

New Medicare presription drug plan is causing some pharmaceutical companies to curtail or eliminate their charity programs for older people; some drug companies, which distributed free drugs with retail value of $4.1 billion last year to about three million to four million Americans, say patients cannot get drug subsidies from them and also participate in new Medicare prescription program; Dr Mark McClellan administrator of federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says nothing prevents industry from continuing subsidies, as long as free or subsidized drugs are not counted toward Medicare co-payments or deductibles; Medicare Rights Center is monitoring changes in charity programs, which are aimed at people near poverty level, but who make too much to qualify for Medicaid; Eli Lilly is canceling its charity program altogether, while Bristol-Myers Squibb will notify patients that they can continue with charity program or sign up for Medicare plan; suggestions to retain charity programs, albeit in different format, discussed; photo (M)

John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli shimmers like sunlight amid the fluorescence of "Jersey Boys," the musical biography of the Four Seasons.

After running 26 miles without deciding yesterday's New York City Marathon, Paul Tergat of Kenya and Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa began a grimly beautiful sprint to the finish. With grand desperation, the two men ran shoulder to shoulder for the final 385 yards in Central Park. Tergat, the elegant world-record holder, clenched his teeth in frantic determination, while Ramaala, the awkward defending champion, opened his mouth wide as if to shout or to gulp for oxygen to fuel his tired legs.

Potential sale of stake in America Online remains fraught with questions that could hold up or even derail deal with Microsoft or another company; one is whether alliance would represent another new and unproven partnership for Time Warner, company that has been trying to simplify its business in recent years; another is whether bringing in new partner would help Time Warner's wide-ranging media businesses navigate digital world; Time Warner chairman Richard D Parsons has acknowledged talks with Microsoft, but is trying to dampen expectations; Google is interested in deal that could also involve Comcast, and Yahoo and News Corp are also potential partners; AOL, whose subscription service and free Web portal attract millions of consumers daily, has suddenly become coveted because of expanding market for online advertising; chief sticking point in negotiations is how it would be governed and, for now at least, Time Warner says it will not cede control; photos; chart shows potential partners and what they would want from deal (M)