December 17, 2005

New York Jets cornerback Ty Law may not be brought back for next season; photo (M)s

When Marty Domitrovich was first told that he had cancer, he was a 51-year-old sales executive, so successful that he had two goals: to reach $1 million in commissions and bonuses and to become chief executive of his company, where he had worked since his summers in college. Before long, however, he could no longer travel, and on the bad days he did his work at home, lying on the couch and talking on the telephone.

U.S. Urges Iraqi Groups To Unite After Election The two top Americans in Iraq called on the country's main political groups to come together quickly to form a broad-based government once the results of Thursday's election are known. Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said hopes for quelling the Sunni Arab insurgency should not be squandered. PAGE A10 Columnist Paid by Lobbyist A scholar at the Cato Institute, the libertarian research organization, has resigned after admitting he was paid by Jack Abramoff, the Washington lobbyist at the center of a corruption investigation, in exchange for writing columns favorable to Mr. Abramoff's clients. PAGE A14 A Cloning War Escalates A South Korean scientist lashed out at his critics, saying he would prove the validity of his stem cell cloning technique within two weeks, even as a former colleague and other researchers continued to find fault with his work. PAGE A6 Fugitive Caught in Memphis After weeks on the run, a writer accused of posing as a firefighter and sexually attacking a woman in her Manhattan apartment was cornered in Memphis, where he stabbed himself before his arrest. PAGE B1 Dispute Over a New Orleans Hospital for the Poor Louisiana officials say Hurricane Katrina dealt venerable Charity Hospital a deathblow, and they want it torn down. But doctors who work there, who have been practicing in a tent field hospital, above, want it reopened. PAGE A16 Bringing Dorm Life Home for the Holidays Jake Goss, 19, a freshman at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, is back at home on Long Island. He's happy to see his family and friends, but his mother says, ''Don't expect the house rules to change.'' PAGE B1 Google to Buy AOL Stake Rebuffing aggressive overtures from Microsoft, Time Warner has agreed to sell a 5 percent stake in America Online to Google for $1 billion in cash. BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1 Giants' Tiki Barber Settles In Giants running back Tiki Barber may be nearing the end of his football career, but he is just getting started with his life in New York. SPORTSSATURDAY, PAGE D1 THIS WEEKEND The Politics of Science ''A People's History of Science'' recognizes the contributions of the anonymous; ''The Republican War on Science'' brings accusations of ''science abuse.'' BOOK REVIEW Princess in the Making Emily Hughes's sister is an Olympic gold medalist, but that isn't much of a leg up in the sharp-bladed world of women's figure skating. MAGAZINE The Curse of Mediocre Films There are few spectacularly awful films today, and A. O. Scott says that may explain why there are few truly great ones, too. ARTS & LEISURE

Princeton University men's basketball team is 2-5, and scored just 21 points in loss to Monmouth University; graph; photo (M)0

The Islamic militant group Hamas won sweeping victories in local Palestinian elections held Thursday in some of the West Bank's largest cities, according to preliminary results released Friday. The voting, six weeks ahead of crucial parliamentary elections, was a considerable blow to the Fatah faction that has dominated the Palestinian Authority but has fractured in the year since the death of Yasir Arafat.