Audit Faults U.S. for Its Spending on Port Defense
By ERIC LIPTON
The Department of Homeland Security has given millions of
dollars to protect ports without focusing on those most
vulnerable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20secure.html?th

Bush Seeks to Begin a Thaw in a Europe Still Cool to Him
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
President Bush leaves for Brussels Sunday for a four-day
campaign to sell himself to Europe as a new man with open
arms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/internat...20prexy.html?th

For Pain Management, Doctors Prescribe Caution
By MARY DUENWALD
Pain management experts said they expected Celebrex, Vioxx
and Bextra to be prescribed much less readily.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/health/20pain.html?th

QUOTATION OF THE DAY -

"This is good news for patients overall. Clearly there are side effects with every medication, but it's really important to weight the potential side effects versus the benefits for an individual patient."
- DR. RAYMOND GAETA, on an F.D.A. panel's recommendation for continued use of
the painkillers Celebrex,Vioxx and Bextra.

In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future
President
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
The tapes provide a rare record of George W. Bush as a
politician as he was first moving onto the national
political stage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20talk.html?th

Focus on Indiana's Governor, a Tax Cutter Who Has Become a
Tax Raiser
By RICK LYMAN
Mitch Daniels has discovered at least one thing since
becoming governor of Indiana last month: political
alliances are not forever.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/national/20indiana.html?th

NEWS ANALYSIS
F.D.A. Moves Toward More Openness With the Public
By GARDINER HARRIS
Last week’s hearings on painkillers
may have started a
cultural transformation
at the F.D.A.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/health/20fda.html?th

Early Clues to a New Spy Chief's Muscle
By DOUGLAS JEHL
The director of national intelligence will assume control
of the intelligence briefing that President Bush reads each
morning.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20intel.html?th

Amtrak's Own Board Sows Alarm About System's Future
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Passenger-rail supporters fumed as the Bush administration
talked of eliminating aid for Amtrak.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20amtrak.html?th

You Want Any Fruit With That Big Mac?
By MELANIE WARNER
McDonald’s new focus on fresh fruits and vegetables is
making the company a major player in the American produce
industry.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/business...y/20mac.html?th

DEALBOOK
Did MCI Get the Right Door or the Wrong Number?
By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN
Did Michael D. Capellas, the chairman and chief executive
of MCI, choose the wrong suitor in his latest go-round on
"Let's Make a Deal"?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/business...ealbook.html?th

ECONOMIC VIEW
Why a Real Estate Agent May Skip the Extra Mile
By DANIEL GROSS
A recent study suggests that the housing market remains
inefficient, and the incentives for brokers to maximize
profits for their clients aren't powerful enough.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/business.../20view.html?th

TODAY'S EDITORIALS
Our Unnecessary Insecurity
"Sept. 11 changed everything," the saying goes. It is
striking, however, how much has not changed after nearly
3,000 people were killed on American soil.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/opinion/20sun1.html?th

The Revenge of Ellen Swallow
Whatever Harvard President Lawrence Summers was doing when
he made his remarks about women in science, it had nothing
to do with serious intellectual inquiry.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/opinion/20sun2.html?th

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...36311_2005feb18

Poorest Face Most Risk on Social Security

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ment_warming_dc

Global Warming Could Worsen US Pollution: Report

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor.../ap/xbox_recall

Microsoft Recalls Xbox Power Cords

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ech_security_dc

Mobile Phone Virus Found in United States

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-...th20feb20.story

A Second Term Shift?
Nancy E. Soderberg

--------------------
Edwards Won't Necessarily Defer to Ex-Running Mate Kerry in '08
--------------------

From Associated Press

February 21 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. — Former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards will not talk about whether he plans to run for the White House in 2008, but he is not pledging to stand aside if former running mate Sen. John F. Kerry tries again.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...=la-home-nation

--------------------
It's a Tough Time to Be the Intelligence Chief
--------------------

John D. Negroponte would assume the post amid scrutiny over post-Sept. 11 tactics and challenges over budgets and ethical disputes.

By Greg Miller
Times Staff Writer

February 20 2005

WASHINGTON — Although his confirmation as the nation's first intelligence director is likely weeks away, John D. Negroponte's inbox is already full of thorny problems — among them interagency squabbles and ethical questions over the handling of prisoners — that he will be expected to resolve.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na...dlines-politics

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/arts/20r...4d19b69&ei=5070

The White House Stages Its 'Daily Show'

Case of Vanishing Deductions: Alternative Tax Called Culprit
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Federal tax deductions that people receive for paying local
and state taxes have quietly started to vanish for many
households.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/business/21tax.html?th

..................

Panel to Advise Testing Babies for 29 Diseases
By GINA KOLATA
An advisory group plans to recommend all newborns be
screened for a host of medical conditions, but critics say
the history of such testing is filled with cautionary tales.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/health/21baby.html?th

Hunter S. Thompson, 65, Author, Commits Suicide
By MICHELLE O'DONNELL
Hunter S. Thompson, the maverick journalist and author,
embodied a new kind of nonfiction writing that he called
"gonzo journalism."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/books/21hunter.html?th

Big Oil Steps Aside in Battle Over Arctic
By JEFF GERTH
Once allied, the Bush administration and the oil industry
are now far apart on the issue of drilling for oil in a
small part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/politics/21refuge.html?th

Bush Is Expected to Express Support for a 'Strong Europe'
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
In a speech on Monday, President Bush will make clear that
the U.S. views the European Union as a partner, not a rival.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/internat...21prexy.html?th

A New Target for Advisers to Swift Vets
By GLEN JUSTICE
Lobbyists have hired consultants of the Swift Vets campaign
to assail an opponent of the president's Social Security
plan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/politics/21social.html?th

Story Line Is Changing for Game Makers and Their Movie Deals
By ROBERT LEVINE
The relationship between video game publishers and
Hollywood has become unpredictable and at times
unprofitable, as game makers weigh Hollywood licensing
deals far more carefully.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/technology/21game.html?th

Federal Effort to Head Off TV Piracy Is Challenged
By TOM ZELLER Jr.
A digital-rights advocacy group is mounting a legal
challenge to a new Federal Communications Commission
regulation intended to prevent piracy of digitized
broadcast.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/technology/21flag.html?th

A Deal Maker, or Breaker, on Adelphia
By RIVA D. ATLAS and GERALDINE FABRIKANT
In his bid to take over Adelphia, Time Warner’s chief,
Richard D. Parsons, is locked in a tug of war between his
shareholders and a tough negotiator.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/business...delphia.html?th

The Americans Are Coming
President Bush's visit to Europe is a good opportunity to
begin to repair the damage these last four years have
wrought.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/opinion/21mon1.html?th

Ruffling Big Bird's Feathers
The government should make a long-term investment in public
broadcasting's freedom from political oversight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/opinion/21mon2.html?th

Life on the Beanstalk, or Real Estate in Southern California
By VERLYN KLINKENBORG
In California, hillsides wash away and houses burn, but
equity is never really destroyed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/opinion/21mon3.html?th

--------------------
To End Battle Over Judicial Picks, Each Side Must Lay Down Arms
--------------------

Ronald Brownstein

February 21 2005

The struggle over President Bush's judicial nominations is degenerating into the equivalent of a Civil War reenactment. Everyone knows his part. Everyone has rehearsed the hostilities. And everyone knows how the battle turns out.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...,3324248.column

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0221/...in-02-21-05.asp

DHS Brain Drain Grows

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/u...internetspreads

Terrorists' use of Internet spreads

http://nyjtimes.com/cover/02-21-05/CIA-FBI...rrorThreats.htm

CIA, FBI Chiefs Categorize Terror Threat Before Senate

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2579421

Special-interest extremists are a growing threat, reports FBI

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles...-+National+News

Racist groups aim message at mainstream
Billboards, TV, and radio ads seek recruits
Stephanie Simon
Los Angeles Times

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinno...er_x.htm?csp=34

Los Alamos lab develops fast nuclear materials detector

A bid to mend frayed ties
In key address, Bush reaches out to Europeans as well as their leaders.
By Howard LaFranchi
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p01s01-usfp.html?s=hns

Yahoo! stakes out new territory in Hollywood
The entertainment capital will feel pressure to meet the demands of a
generation with Internet expectations. By Mark Sappenfield
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p01s02-ussc.html?s=hns

Mainline churches struggle over gay policy
A meeting of the Anglican Communion this week confronts a US-African
divide, and an unhealed rift within the US. By Jane Lampman
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p02s01-ussc.html?s=hns

Time for Bush to define 'independent press'
Democrats and Republicans get caught in the naughty bits of the Gannon
affair, but there are bigger issues here. By Dante Chinni
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s01-codc.html?s=hns

Shooting the Messenger:

"The trouble is that a lot of the military--particularly the American...military--do not want us there. And they make it very uncomfortable for us to work. And I think that this...is leading to security forces in some instances feeling it is legitimate to target us with deadly force and with impunity."
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050307&s=scahill

World churches see illegality at Guantanamo:

The World Council of Churches (WCC), the main global body uniting non-Catholic Christians, has accused the United States of violating international law in its treatment of detainees at its Guantanamo naval base.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml...ss/uk/worldNews

http://snipurl.com/cy1z

--------------------
States' Private Pensions Make a Weak Showing
--------------------

The retirement accounts have had less appeal and spottier success than Bush plan's projections.

By Peter G. Gosselin
Times Staff Writer

February 22 2005

WASHINGTON; President Bush believes Americans are so eager to join the "ownership society" that, given a chance, two-thirds of those eligible would divert funds from Social Security into the personal investment accounts he proposes.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...0,5783605.story

Bars Test Laws on Gambling With Moneyless Poker Games
By JODI WILGOREN
Some bars are organizing poker tournaments with little more
than bragging rights at stake, drawing the ire of law
enforcement agencies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/national/22poker.html?th

In California, a Season of Mud, and Death, Continues
By NICK MADIGAN
The almost relentless rain eroded hillsides and forced
residents to flee homes with shifting foundations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/national/22calif.html?th

Companies Fight to Ensure Coverage for Erectile Drugs
By ROBERT PEAR
The issue of whether Medicare's new prescription drug
benefit should cover such treatments is raising questions
of ethics, economics, politics and health policy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/politics...edicare.html?th