The Microsoft-Google rivalry is shaping up as a titanic corporate clash for the ages.

Microsoft and Google Grapple for Supremacy

Northrop Grumman Corporation is lobbying Congress for $200 million to cover losses caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Northrop Makes Pitch for Storm Aid

Rupert Murdoch has agreed to give a fund-raiser for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the latest sign of cooperation between the conservative media mogul and the Democratic lawmaker.

What's in a Murdoch-Clinton Alliance? Something for Both Sides

Iran's president wrote to President Bush that the invasion of Iraq could not be reconciled with Christian values. 

Iranian Letter: Using Religion to Lecture Bush

A handful of freethinking bartenders have started to employ the techniques of avant-garde cooking to their work behind the bar, a trend that's being called "molecular mixology."

Two Parts Vodka, a Twist of Science

The Boston Red Sox hammered the Yankees, chasing Randy Johnson with two outs in the fourth inning and taking advantage of three Yankees errors, including two by Alex Rodriguez.

Red Sox Punish the Sloppy Yankees

The widest margin of victory in Newark history marked the start of a new political era there.

On 2nd Try, Booker Glides In as Newark Mayor

Sunni Arab neighborhoods in Baghdad have begun forming citizen groups to keep Shiite police forces out of their areas.

Alarmed by Raids, Neighbors Stand Guard in Iraq

A city agency said two deputy chiefs yelled incomprehensible orders to marchers, resulting in many unnecessary arrests at the 2004 Republican National Convention.

2 Top Officers Are Criticized for '04 Arrests

The retirement plan for Roger Clemens is always written on an Etch-a-Sketch, with a shake-and-erase option to indulge his vacillating heart, with knobs to adjust to his indecisive mind.

Clemens Just Can't Win in This Rivalry

Anibal Prado accepts being eclipsed by his little brother Edgar, the Kentucky Derby-winning jockey.

The Brothers Prado Are Separated Only by Success

Unhappiness about gasoline prices and Iraq have created a grim political environment for the president, according to the latest Times poll.

Poll Gives Bush His Worst Marks Yet

Conor McPherson's new play, which has the most shocking ending on Broadway, is quiet, haunting and absolutely glorious.

'Shining City': Conor McPherson's Study of Loneliness in a Crowd

Hundreds of students and faculty expressed worry that the New School would be used to give Senator John McCain credibility in New York as a moderate.

Protesters Object to McCain as New School Commencement Speaker

After catching his breath, the illusionist and professional martyr David Blaine told us that he loved us. Should we love him back?

A Man in a Fishbowl, Marinated in Unreality

Anthony Pellicano conspired recently with organized-crime figures to try to assassinate a key witness against him, federal prosecutors say.

Hollywood Detective Accused of Ordering 'Hit' on Witness

The New-York Historical Society's smartly culled exhibition offers a glimpse of the private lives behind the publicly displayed portraits.

When Portrait Was Memory: A Matter of Lives and Deaths

No other city has a more devoted tub-thumper than Paul McIlhenny, who was eager to emphasize the good news in New Orleans, eight months after Katrina struck.

A Scion of Spice Cheers Each Morsel of Good News

Rubi Nicholas, the winner of Nickelodeon's "Funniest Mom in America," earned her title with her comic cocktail of culture clashes and motherhood.

A Mom's Winning Riff on the Parodies of Parenthood

On top of sharply rising executive salaries, shareholders are paying more for executives' personal travel on jets.

Executives Take Company Planes as if Their Own

AmericanIdol.com, a patchy light board of miscellaneous trimmings meant to pad, embellish and gild the phenomenon, is inoffensive and sporadically entertaining.

'American Idol' Online as a Sociological Study

The military is rapidly expanding its global spying and terrorist-tracking operations, both long considered C.I.A. roles.

Clash Foreseen Between C.I.A. and Pentagon

The Northrop Grumman Corporation, the largest builder of warships in the world, was on a charm offensive here Tuesday. Armed with slides and charts, Philip A. Teel, who runs Northrop's shipyards, led a phalanx of executives who laid out their case for another $200 million from Congress to cover losses from Hurricane Katrina.     By Pentagon standards, a request measured in millions of dollars, rather than billions, may seem like small change. But Northrop's effort is emerging as a test case of whether such a large company should receive extra help from taxpayers or bear its financial difficulties on its own.  

Dan Barry About New York column on magician David Blaine's latest stunt in New York City; comments on how Blaine succeeded in distracting people from reality (M)

Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas was a Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, arranger and record producer.

May 10, 2006

Headlines from May 10, 2006

Microsoft and Google Grapple for Supremacy

Northrop Makes Pitch for Storm Aid

What's in a Murdoch-Clinton Alliance? Something for Both Sides

Iranian Letter: Using Religion to Lecture Bush

Two Parts Vodka, a Twist of Science

Billboard 200

IV

Louder Now

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

Director

A Girl Like Me

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for May 10, 2006