News Summary
Date: 19 June 2006
INTERNATIONAL A3-11 North Korean Military Closer to Missile Test North Korea appears to have completed fueling a long-range ballistic missile, American officials said. One official said satellite photographs suggested that booster rockets had been loaded onto a launching pad and fuel tanks fitted to a missile at a site in North Korea's remote east coast. Such a move would greatly increase the probability that the North will go ahead with its first test firing in eight years. A1 Environmental Danger in Iraq Iraqi officials say that in a desperate move to dispose of millions of barrels of an oil refinery byproduct called black oil, the government pumped it into open mountain valleys and leaky reservoirs next to the Tigris River and set it on fire. The resulting huge black bogs are threatening the river and the precious groundwater in the region. A1 American forces have intensified their search for two soldiers missing and reportedly held captive by insurgents, widening their pursuit to areas beyond the restive town of Yusifiya, where the missing servicemen were attacked, and drawing troops from at least three brigade combat teams. A10 U.S. and China Court Hanoi Vietnam's leaders have made plain they want the United States on their side for equilibrium against China. The government, though an ideological ally of Beijing, is fearful of an expanding Chinese sphere of influence and of being reduced to an economic appendage by its northern neighbor. A3 Somalia's Battle Over Culture Islamic miliatiamen in Somalia, flush from an earlier military victory that caught Washington and the world by surprise, have begun waging smaller battles -- cultural, not military ones -- in and around Somalia's shellshocked capital. A11 Catalonia Approves Self-Rule Voters in Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia approved a sweeping overhaul of its constitutional relationship with the central government, endorsing a plan granting the region broad new powers of self-government. A8 Rove's War Support Criticized In an appearance on the NBC News program ''Meet the Press,'' Representative John P. Murtha, left, the Pennsylvania Democrat and Vietnam War veteran pushing for a quick withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, mocked Karl Rove, the president's senior adviser, for championing the war while ''sitting in his air-conditioned office on his big, fat backside.'' A10 OBITUARIES A17 Morton M. Kligerman A doctor who in the 1950's was an early advocate for using radiation and other experimental methods for treating cancer, he was 88. A17 NATIONAL A12-16 Episcopal Church Names Woman as Top Bishop The Episcopal Church elected the Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of Nevada as its new presiding bishop, making her the first woman to serve as a primate in the history of the 77-million-member worldwide Anglican Communion. A1 Company Ties Not Noted A retired Coast Guard commander told lawmakers and reporters that domestic ports were vulnerable and offered a system that scans every container. But a fact remained in the background: From 2003 until 2005, he was a paid consultant to the company that manufactured the system. A1 Push for White House Change In his first three months as White House chief of staff, Joshua B. Bolten has brought new people to critical jobs, worked to repair frayed relationships with Republicans on Capitol Hill and tried to ensure that the White House takes advantage of its breaks. A15 I.R.S. Checks Hospitals The Internal Revenue Service has begun a wide-ranging investigation of nonprofit hospitals to determine whether they are flouting standards for tax-exempt status, whether they deny care to people without insurance and whether they provide significant amounts of charity care. A15 A.C.L.U. Warned on Speech A lawyer in the New York state attorney general's office informally warned the American Civil Liberties Union that his office had concerns about proposed standards that would limit the group's board members from speaking publicly about policies and internal operations, three board members said. A13 Illegal Workers in Mainstream In contrast to the typical image of an illegal immigrant -- paid in cash, working under the table for small-scale labor contractors -- a majority now work for mainstream companies, and are hired and paid like any other American worker. A1 A Sinking Island For natural and manufactured reasons, 30 square miles of Louisiana wetlands vanish every year into the Gulf. The residents of Isle de Jean Charles are worried, partly because wetlands and barrier islands act as hurricane buffers to a vulnerable mainland. A12 Concerns on Plane Blast Federal investigators say they are deeply concerned about an engine break-up that nearly destroyed a Boeing 767 on the ground in Los Angeles because the failure may indicate a recurrence of a problem they thought they had eliminated in 2003. A13 Giving Increased Last Year Charitable giving increased last year, propelled by a series of huge natural disasters at home and abroad, according to an annual report on philanthropy. A13 NEW YORK/REGION B1-7 Researchers at Library Survive in Age of Internet A small band of researchers at the New York Public Library has been tackling questions from anyone, of any age, from anywhere for years. Today, despite the Internet, the ten employees of what is known as the telephone reference service are still at it and can answer questions in under five minutes. B1 Barbecuing by the Highway Dozens of New Yorkers with a tolerance for honking horns and emergency sirens gathered on the grassy areas between the highway and the East River for a Father's Day barbecue because finding a spot for a cookout can be difficult for many city residents who do not have a yard. B1 Violent Weekend in Brooklyn It was an unusually violent weekend in Central Brooklyn, with 10 people shot or slashed in five unrelated incidents that started shortly after midnight and ended just before daybreak. All of the victims are expected to recover. B3 SPORTSMONDAY D1-10 Ogilvy Wins U.S. Open Australia's Geoff Ogilvy won the United States Open at Winged Foot with a final-round two-over-par 72 to finish at five-over-par 285. Phil Mickelson, who only needed to par the 18th hole to win his third consecutive major championship, walked off with a double bogey -- his first in 72 holes. D1 Heat Take Control of Finals Dwyane Wade scored 43 points as Miami defeated Dallas 101-100 in overtime of Game 5 of the NBA finals. Miami leads 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. D9 ARTS E1-8 $135 Million for Klimt Portrait A dazzling gold-flecked 1907 portrait by Gustav Klimt has been purchased for the Neue Galerie in Manhattan by the cosmetics magnate Ronald S. Lauder for $135 million, the highest sum ever paid for a painting. E1 BUSINESS DAY C1-10 Telecommunications Merger Nokia of Finland and Siemens of Germany are expected to announce that they will merge their telecommunication network equipment businesses in a deal valued at more than $30 billion, people involved in the transaction said. A1 Tribune's Shaky Synergy Recent financial troubles at the Tribune Company show that its ''synergy'' strategy -- which involves sharing broadcast and print information -- is not working out as planned. C1 More Questions on Options A case involving Micrel, a semiconductor company, raises questions about how companies that were pushing the envelope of accounting and tax practice were able to get the blessings of auditors and lawyers. C1 Nestlé to Buy Jenny Craig Nestlé, the Swiss food giant, is set to announce today that it has agreed to pay about $600 million for Jenny Craig, the weight loss company that has had a surprise turnaround in recent years. C1 Business Digest C2 EDITORIAL A18-19 Editorials: The call of the gun lobby; Mexico's election; fire sale in the forests; Brent Staples on the high price of failing to teach reading. Columns: Bob Herbert, Paul Krugman. Bridge E6 Crossword E6 Metro Diary B2 TV Listings E9 Weather B8