January 22, 2006

Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash, who in short period lost her father Johnny Cash, her mother Liberto Cash Distin and her stepmother June Carter Cash, releases new album that expolores themes of loss and mortality; comments on mourning her famous parents along with rest of world, including release of biopic movie Walk the Line; photos (M)

Article on DHB, one of number of small military contractors that have been awarded millions of dollars in contracts in connection with war in Iraq; quality and adequacy of bulletproof vests supplied by DHB to soldiers in Iraq has come into question over last year, culminating in Pentagon study that said 80 percent of Marines who died in Iraq from upper-body wounds might have survived if they had body armor covering more of their torsos; Marines and Army recalled about 23,000 vests made by DHB subsidiary Point Blank; company, based in Pompano Beach, Fla, was awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in body armor contracts in 2003 and 2004; earlier regulatory scandals involving DHB founder David Brooks detailed; Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating aspects of Brooks' compensation and other corporate transactions; photos (L)

David Kamp reviews book Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey Into Manhood and Back Again by Norah Vincent; photos (L)

Guy Trebay reviews men's fall 2006 collections in Milan, which evoke James Bond; photos (M)

IF you believe most statistics, the national economy is doing quite well. Corporate profits are soaring. Consumer spending and business investment have been growing at a healthy clip. In the third quarter of last year, output expanded at an annual pace of about 4.1 percent. And private-sector economists are expecting growth above 3.5 percent this year. Yet, amid the vim and vigor, there is a weak spot that does not quite mesh with these readings. More than four years since the economy emerged from recession in November of 2001, businesses are still not hiring much. Employment grew by a mere 3.5 million jobs, or 2.7 percent, in 49 months' worth of this economic expansion. Last year, the job market grew by 1.5 percent.