January 27, 2006

In an extraordinary reversal of her defense of the author whose memoir she catapulted to the top of the best-seller lists, Oprah Winfrey rebuked James Frey, the author of ''A Million Little Pieces,'' on her television show yesterday for lying about his past and portraying the book as a truthful account of his life. ''I feel duped,'' Ms. Winfrey told Mr. Frey. ''But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers.''

STANDING on the 3,100-foot summit of Wisp Mountain, watching the sun glint off the multiple icy fingers of the 3,600-acre Deep Creek Lake, you can almost imagine that you're about to dangle your tips over the edge and drop down into a powdery bowl somewhere in the ski capitals of the West. In fact, you are pointing your skis downhill in the improbable skiing state of Maryland, and the vertical drop in front of you is 700 feet, far short of the 2,000 to 4,000 feet common at Western resorts. But the illusion is one that Wisp Resort's owners are doing their best to nurture.

Thomas Levet and Brandt Jobe share first-round lead at Buick Invitational; photos (M)

By the middle of this decade, Rick Wagoner promised a few years ago, General Motors would again be king of the American road. The company would have dozens of new products aimed at beating foreign automakers, Mr. Wagoner, G.M.'s chief executive, said in 2002. With those new cars and trucks, G.M. would rebuild market share and its profits would help it stay ahead of the high cost of providing health care.

A day after winning a $27 billion takeover battle for the medical device maker Guidant, Boston Scientific received a harsh warning from federal health regulators on Thursday that cast doubt on the company's safety procedures and was expected to delay the introduction of new products. The Food and Drug Administration said that Boston Scientific had repeatedly failed to advise the government of serious safety problems with its devices, as well as quality-control issues at factories. Officials said the problems affected every plant and every device made by Boston Scientific, whose best-selling product is the Taxus drug-coated stent that doctors use to keep coronary arteries propped open after blockages are removed.