Newsweek articles from August 2004

Newsweek archives from August 2004

An Icon, Ready For a Takeover; The thought of it boggles the mind. Ma Bell once bestrode the earth like a corporate giant. Now the likes of Kohlberg, Kravis are eying it.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Allan Sloan It's come to this: AT&T, once the mightiest company on earth, the firm that reached out and touched almost every American household, is not only giving up on attracting new residential customers--but it's almost certain...

Mail Call: Kerry-Edwards: 'Just What the Country Needs'?(John Kerry and John Edwards)(Letter to the Editor)
August 2, 2004... The Democratic Dream Team Those of our readers who are John Kerry supporters were thrilled by the choice of John Edwards as his running mate, the subject of our July 19 cover. "Senator Edwards brings a fresh, dynamic perspective to a...

Events Sprint Past Politics; In presidential elections, the importance of a pleasing personality is inversely proportional to the seriousness of the nation's challenges.
August 2, 2004... Byline: George F. Will The story is probably apocryphal but also plausible. It is that John C. Calhoun, the austere 19th-century South Carolinian who was a congressman, vice president and senator but never was Mr. Congeniality, once...

The Editor's Desk.(Editorial)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Mark Whitaker (--Mark Whitaker) For any major news organization, covering a presidential campaign is a movable, multigenerational feast. We all have our grizzled veterans with their wisdom and war stories about past races, and the...

This Week Online.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Barrett Ozols Chrissy Gephardt NEWSWEEK: Did you find any similarities between your experience on "American Candidate" and your work on your father's real presidential campaign? Finalist in new reality-tv show: A...

Snap Judgement: Music.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Jac Chebatoris (Ayesha McAdams-Mahmoud Devin Gordon) Autobiography Ashlee Simpson If Avril is the anti-Britney, then the younger Simpson sister is the anti-Jessica. While her blond big sis is all sweetness and light, the...

Crazy Like A Foxx; If you still think of Jamie Foxx as a comic (and a legendary party animal), think again. Meet an actor at work--and at play.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Allison Samuels Jamie Foxx is a party all by himself: one recent afternoon, in his African-accented L.A. bachelor pad, he regaled a visitor with impersonations of Quincy Jones and Al Pacino, a rapid-fire series of "dozens" jokes...

Career Intervention: Halle Berry; She's a big talent, so why the bad movies? Tough love for an Oscar winner.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Sean Smith THE CRISIS: Has a best actress ever made such tragic post-Oscar choices? Variety compared her "Catwoman" performance to Elizabeth Berkley's in "Showgirls." Not good no matter who you are--and devastating if you've got a...

The 'Golden Years' Are Beginning to Tarnish; After 45 years of marriage and one son, I thought the best was yet to come. Then my husband retired.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Jan Zeh My worst nightmare has become reality. My husband retired. As the CEO of his own software company, he used to make important decisions daily. Now he decides when to take a nap and for how long. He does not play golf, tennis...

It's More Than a War; To defeat terrorism we must think beyond bureaucratic reform and even beyond military force. What we need is a new global strategy.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Fareed Zakaria You know that the 9/11 Commission report has had a real impact because Congress has decided to meet in sweltering August to act on its recommendations. In fact, the report is fast achieving Biblical status. Both left...

The Solitary Soldier; A Life in Full: He comes from money, but had less than his schoolmates. He is smart and courageous but can be cautious and distant. From childhood to combat to the Senate, exploring the roots of John Kerry's enigmatic character.(Interview)(Cover Story)(Biography)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Evan Thomas John Kerry has never fit in easily. When NEWSWEEK asked about 30 of his 90-odd classmates at St. Paul's School to name his friends, they were stumped. Most confessed, after suggesting several different names, that they...

Kerry 'Will Have It Both Ways'; An old rival's recipe for a GOP win this fall.(John Kerry)
August 2, 2004... Byline: William F. Weld (Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. He is currently a principal at Leeds Weld & Co., a New York private equity firm.) I never thought I'd lose to John Kerry in 1996. Although Kerry was the...

Can Kerry Make the Sale? Speech therapy: In Boston, he must show America that he has what it takes to lead--and tell us who he really is.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Howard Fineman The wind had finally come up, and yet it wasn't too stiff: ideal for kite-surfing. John Kerry motored out into the sunlit waters of Nantucket Sound with his longtime friend and instructor Nevin Sayre--known to the...

'I Do Get Agitated'; In The Wings: 2008 looms large. But Hillary is focused, like a white-hot laser, on beating Bush.(Interview)(Biography)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Melinda Henneberger As the Democratic presidential field was still taking shape two years ago, Hillary Clinton invited longtime friend Martha Whetstone to have dinner with her husband at their home in Chappaqua, N.Y. The senator...

Hating Bush Is Not A Winning Ticket; Ask the Clinton haters of '98: Hitting too hard can backfire.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Alter Linda Ronstadt had a little problem at the Aladdin casino in Las Vegas last week. After she dedicated her song "Desperado" to Michael Moore and described him as "an American hero," patrons began booing and heading...

The Kerry Kids; Swat Team: They're young, bright, hot--and just might help make their stiff dad seem cool.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Susannah Meadows and T. Trent Gegax (With Sarah Childress) It was supposed to be John Kerry's coming-out party. But then Bill Clinton took the stage to introduce the all-but-crowned nominee at a dinner for Democrats in Washington...

Star Power; Showtime: Some are on the rise; others have long been fixtures in the firmament. A galaxy of bright Democratic lights.
August 2, 2004... THE CONSIGLIERE Joe Biden U.S. Senator, Delaware Joe Biden could have been just another losing candidate in this year's race for the Democratic presidential ticket. Instead the Delaware senator's decision to stay out of the...

The Bush-Whacker; Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? No. Is it a plane? Definitely not a plane. It's . . .(John F. Kerry)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Weston Kosova (Holly Bailey) OK, it's John Kerry. In tights. But for Democrats itching to show President Bush the door this November, he is the next best thing to a high-flying superhero come to save the day. Armed with a...

Newsmakers; $650 million: Amount DreamWorks' animation divison expects to fetch on the open market. Thanks, Shrek.(Interview)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Ayesha McAdams-Mahmoud (Devin Gordon Nicki Gostin) Q&A: Kathy Bates Kathy Bates scared the bejesus out of us in "Misery" and transfixed us in "About Schmidt." Now she's playing a fallen talk-show host in "Little Black Book,"...

Perspectives.
August 2, 2004... "We must prepare and we must act." Thomas Kean, chairman of the 9/11 Commission, which released its final report last week, on the probability of a future terrorist attack on the United States "I would be disappointed with the maturity of...

Exclusive: Campaign Cash Questions.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Michael Isikoff and Holly Bailey John Edwards, seeking to avert a potential new flap over campaign fund-raising, is returning $44,035 in contributions raised by a prominent Los Angeles trial lawyer whose activities have come under...

Iraq: Intelligence Differences.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Mark Hosenball Two prewar intelligence controversies were claims that Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa and aluminum tubes that could be used to enrich the uranium to bomb-grade potency. Investigations by the Senate...

Documents: Suspicions.(Justice Department's probe of ex-national- security adviser Sandy Berger's mishandling of classified documents)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Mark Hosenball (Michael Isikoff) Why did the story about the Justice Department's probe of ex-national- security adviser Sandy Berger's mishandling of classified documents break last week? That is the question many in Washington...

DNC Security: Boston Officials Play It Safe.(Democratic National Convention)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Sarah Childress (Holly Bailey) Officials in Boston are taking unprecedented security precautions for this week's Democratic National Convention. More than 100 remote-controlled security cameras were installed near the Fleet Center,...

Health Care: Hospital Horrors.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Anne Underwood In 1999 the Institute of Medicine announced that as many as 98,000 Americans die every year from medical errors. Shocking as that revelation was, now it seems the estimate may have been low. A new study due out this...

Crime: Rusty Yates's Request.(Andrea Yates)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Anne Belli Gesalman In early June, Andrea Yates began refusing to eat or drink. Last week a critically ill and confused Yates, who had lost more than 20 pounds and believed her kids were still alive, was rushed 175 miles away from...

Transition.(death of Illinois Jacquet)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: David Gates ILLINOIS JACQUET, 81 Jacquet, who died last week just days after playing his last gig, spent years living down 80 seconds of his life that took place when he was 19. That was how long it took to record his...

Comics Off to Save Mumbai.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Jason Overdorf Even superheroes aren't safe from job outsourcing. Next month Marvel Comics will launch "Spider-Man India," the first ethnic adaptation of the popular comic-book series. Peter Parker of New York City becomes Pavitr...

Breakups: Till Blog Do Us Part.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Elise Soukup Breaking up is hard to do, but announcing the split has never been easier. This is thanks to breakupnews.blogspot.com, a newly launched blog that allows jilted couples to post word of their singledom. (From July 18:...

Olympics: Ancient Warriors.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Mark Starr In Olympic sports today, star athletes seem to stick around forever. Swimmer Jenny Thompson, 31, is headed to her fourth Games in Athens; hurdler Gail Devers, 37, to her fifth. But women's gymnastics has always been...

Fertility and the Freezer; New technology allows women to put their eggs on ice. Doctors urge caution, but some people can't wait.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Claudia Kalb Sauntering into a coffee shop in Pasadena, Calif., Cassandra McCarthy--pink flip-flops, big smile--looks carefree. But McCarthy, 34, is worried: will she find a mate and have kids before her fertility plummets? A few...

Education: Need Help? Check Down The Hall.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Olivia Ma When Matt Nagowski, a Cornell University senior working in Washington, D.C., for the summer, wanted to look up fellow college interns, he turned to thefacebook.com . He did a global search for students in D.C. and...

The Best Dorm DVD's.(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Sean Smith Dude, it's not high school. Do not pack your Ben Affleck DVDs. Instead, stock your dorm with these flicks, and you'll be the hippest freshman on the floor. 'Donnie Darko' Your generation's first cult hit. You'll...

Travel: Get An A In Transit.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Claire Sulmers How do you pay tuition, buy cool threads--and still have enough left over to get home for the holidays? Fortunately, student discounts abound on trains, buses and airlines. A Student Advantage Card ($20 at...

Technology: Talk Can Be Cheap.(long-distance telephone plans)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Peter Suciu Being away from home can be tough--especially on your long-distance bill. Here are some pointers for finding the best wireless plans. Don't buy in advance. Many schools have deals with specific cellular providers....

Health: Battle Of The Bulge.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Anne Taulane Packing on the freshman 15 isn't a core requirement. Here are seven ways to fight it: 1. Carry healthy snacks like dried fruit to stave off junk-food temptations. 2. Though the shuttle is appealing, walk instead. 3....

Take Their Word For It.(dictionay, thesaurus and style guide assist writing)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Raina Kelley There's more to writing papers than spelling the words right. The right dictionary, thesaurus and style guide will help you produce polished prose that can make the difference between a 3.8 and a 4.0. These are our...

How To Pimp Out Your Crib.(decorating college rooms)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Anne Taulane Deciding what to take to college can be as challenging as organic chem. So visit these shops for one-stop dorm decor: Linens-n-Things (lnt.com ): More than just bedding, this site has all your bath, snack and study...

Get Ready, Get Set, Game.(Brief Article)(Buyers Guide)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Peter Suciu Summer's winding down, but a wave of new games this fall means the fun doesn't have to. Madden NFL 2005 Collector's Edition (PlayStation 2; EA Sports, $60) A deluxe edition, complete with playable versions from the...

GEAR; Don't freak over packing for college. TIP SHEET shopped far and wide to bring you the best gear around.(Correction Notice)
August 2, 2004... ***** CORRECTION: In Tip Sheet's Aug. 2 "Back to College Edition" we misstated the name and price of one of the items. The T-Mobile Sidekick II will be available later this fall at the manufacturer's suggested retail price of $299....

Amish Out of Water; A reality show creates the strangest bedfellows yet. Can UPN get a witness?(Amish in the City)
August 2, 2004... Byline: Marc Peyser (With Ayesha Mcadams-Mahmoud) As reality-TV shows go, the newest one from UPN couldn't be more cliched. You've seen the house before. It's got loud colors, a gorgeous pool and, despite being practically a mansion, all...

A Leap Into The Possible; We liberals have been shamed into thinking our vision failed, when in fact it has simply been absorbed into the national self-portrait.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Anna Quindlen At the end of Barack Obama's keynote speech to the Democratic convention, I stood up and cheered at the TV. I was alone in the den with two dogs, a piece of needlepoint and a cup of Sleepytime tea. I must have looked...

Target: The President; Nicholson Baker talks about his controversial new novel, 'Checkpoint'.(Checkpoint is about assassinating George W. Bush)
August 9, 2004... At first Nicholson Baker told his publisher he wouldn't do any interviews--he'd just let his new novel, "Checkpoint," speak for itself. But since this book is a 115-page dialogue between two characters about assassinating George W. Bush, Baker...

Godfather Knows Best; Mob wives and their kids spill about crime family life.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Peg Tyre Call it the Carmela Soprano effect. First it was the mobsters who threw off the code of omerta with tell-all books like Sammy Gravano's "Underboss." Now the wives and children of La Cosa Nostra are blabbing too. Some want...

Mail Call: A Music-Player Must-Have.(Letter to the Editor)
August 9, 2004... Tuned In, Hooked on (and to) the iPod Readers responding to our July 26 cover story weren't sure about the iPod's place in the cultural fabric. "I love my iPod music, but where the iPod really scores big is as a hard drive," one said. "Not...

A Battle Over Blame; Rumsfeld may be rebuked by his own commission investigating prison abuse.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Michael Hirsh and John Barry James Schlesinger has always been a hawk. But in four decades of public life, the square-jawed former professor has also been known as mulishly independent, whether as Defense and Energy secretary or CIA...

New Protection for Unfriendly Skies.(antimissile systems for passenger planes)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Dan Ephron Meir Azani was among the few passengers who actually saw one of the two surface-to-air missiles coming at him. Moments after takeoff from Kenya's coastal town of Mombasa, he saw something streak through the sky--before...

Blacklist To the A List; Once deemed a bad guy, Uribe is now a top ally.(Colombian politician Alvaro Uribe Velez)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Joseph Contreras and Steven Ambrus The declassified defense Department intelligence report, dated September 1991, reads like a Who's Who of Colombia's cocaine trade. The list includes the Medellin cartel's kingpin, Pablo Escobar,...

Warlords, Drugs and Votes; Drugs have become the dominating feature of Afghanistan's economy, and corruption has infected every aspect of Afghan political life.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Fareed Zakaria (Write the author at comments@fareedzakaria.com.) Political junkies are betting these days as to how certain events would affect the election, like a terror attack or a major crisis in Iraq. To these I would add one...

The Editor's Desk.(Editorial)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Mark Whitaker Thousands of journalists descended on Boston last week to cover a Democratic convention that we all griped had no real news. No nomination fight. No last-minute veep pick. Not even the usual platform squabbles. But...

Rock 'Til You Drop; Rock's 'heritage acts' are still the biggest concert draws. But when they pull up lame, insurers can be left holding the bag.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Ordonez Twenty-three years ago, when Chuck Leavell auditioned to be the Rolling Stones' new keyboard player, the first thing he saw was a shock. "It was Mick Jagger in a jogging suit and he was going out for a run," he...

Joaquin After Midnight; Phoenix faces his fears in Shyamalan's 'The Village'.(Movie Review)
August 9, 2004... Byline: David Ansen Director M. Night Shyamalan has made a fine career out of delayed gratification. In "The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable," "Signs" and his newest sleight of hand, "The Village," he stirs his pot of suspense with slow, steady...

Live Life to the Fullest: Enjoy Every Sandwich; Getting cancer didn't move me to climb mountains, but it has made the ordinary feel better than ever.
August 9, 2004... (ZANOR lives in Suffield, Conn.) I did not know who Warren Zevon was until last year, when his impending death from lung cancer made the news. He was a singer-songwriter, and it turned out that I was very familiar with one of his...

The Big Guns of August; ROAD TIME: There are no dog days in summer anymore. Bush and Kerry board the buses, talking of strength, values and Dr. Phil.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Howard Fineman and Tamara Lipper (With Susannah Meadows) By the time John Kerry reported for duty at the Democratic convention in Boston at 2200 hours, the president was asleep in the White House. So George W. Bush did not hear the...

Only the Strong Will Survive; Kerry's challenge in Boston was to define strength more broadly, to persuade voters to appreciate him for 'seeing the complexities'.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Alter We know what "strength" means to Lance Armstrong, the cancer survivor who won the Tour de France for a record sixth time last month. He's selling 5 million yellow bracelets for $1 apiece with the words live strong to...

Pain on Main Street; THE BELL TOLLS: Rural Americans are bearing a disproportionate price on the battlefield in Iraq. How their loss may play out this fall in the presidential campaign.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Pat Wingert and Richard Wolffe (With Daren Briscoe, T. Trent Gegax and Tamara Lipper Graphic by Andrew Romano) To the rest of the world, Matthew Sandri's death in Fallujah looked like just another statistic from the war in Iraq. A...

Newsmakers.(Interview)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Devon Thomas, Ayesha Mcadams-Mahmoud Q&A: Neil Patrick Harris He's had an impressively varied career since his starmaking turn in "Doogie Howser, M.D." many years back; now Neil Patrick Harris turns in a scene-stealing cameo as...

Perspectives.
August 9, 2004... "America can do better, and help is on the way." Presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, in his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston last week "The Tea Party was very nice, and we greatly appreciate it. But the fact...

Fighting Terror by Attacking... South America?
August 9, 2004... Byline: Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff Days after 9/11, a senior Pentagon official lamented the lack of good targets in Afghanistan and proposed instead U.S. military attacks in South America or Southeast Asia as "a surprise to the...

Cameras Report, the Jury Decides.(In the Jury Room)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Debra Rosenberg On the first vote, half the jurors were ready to send Mark Ducic to his death. After several days of tense deliberations in an Ohio courthouse, they had already convicted Ducic of mass murder--killing two people...

CIA Leak Probe: Powell's Grand-Jury Appearance.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Michael Isikoff and Eve Conant Secretary of State Colin Powell recently testified before a federal grand jury investigating the leak of the identity of CIA covert officer Valerie Plame, NEWSWEEK has learned. Powell's appearance on...

Sites: Dating the White Way.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Andrew Murr It's hard for white separatists to get a date. And not just for the reasons that you think. Part of the problem is that there are no whites-only dating services, says William Regnery, publisher of The Occidental...

Not From Vegas's Tap.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Steve Friess Las Vegas is in the grips of a five-year drought. So how do the fountains at the ultratony Boca Park shopping center, about eight miles northwest of the Strip, keep dancing? Creative thinking. The center's staff has...

We Can't Afford the Attention.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rebecca Sinderbrand Most of the nation may go years between presidential visits, but some areas are finding they can't afford more attention from the major candidates this year. With Election 2004 focused on a short list of...

Up for any Pankration?(Olympic history)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Lisa Helem You're gearing up for your start in the 210-yard dash. The eyes of the crowd are upon you. But is it because it expects victory--or because you're wearing only the birthday suit the gods gave you? Some things have...

No Frowny Faces Here.(Secret Society of Happy People)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: William Lee Adams War changes everything--even the Secret Society of Happy People. The not-so-secret group, which has more than 6,000 members worldwide in the United States, Zimbabwe, India, Iraq and 20 other countries, is best...

Transition.(Francis Crick )(Obituary)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Mary Carmichael FRANCIS CRICK, 88 Crick's life, like the strands of DNA whose structure he helped discover, was entwined with its opposite--where Francis Crick was private, James Watson was gregarious. Always the second man of the...

A Marketing Revolution; Do elections now reflect what the voters really want--or does victory ultimately belong to the party with the most clever sales campaign?
August 9, 2004... Byline: Robert J. Samuelson We all descended on Boston last week--Democratic delegates, party consultants, political junkies and journalists--for what often seemed more a sales convention than a political convention. If you doubt the...

Snap Judgement: Movies.(Movie Review)
August 9, 2004... Byline: David Ansen Collateral Directed by Michael Mann Getting back to his noir-genre roots, the always stylish Mann casts Tom Cruise as a natty, gray-haired assassin who flies into L.A. with a checklist of five witnesses he must...

What Dreams Are Made Of; New technology is helping brain scientists unravel the mysteries of the night. Their work could show us all how to make the most of our time in bed.(Cover Story)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Barbara Kantrowitz and Karen Springen (With Pat Wingert and Josh Ulick) In the middle of the night, we are all Fellini--the creator of a parade of fleeting images intended for an audience of one. At times, it's an action flick,...

Anxiety: Sweet, Elusive Sleep; You toss, you turn, you worry. What happens when insomnia disrupts your night--and your dreams.(Cover Story)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Karen Springen (With Pat Wingert) Earlier this summer, Mike Trevino, 29, slept nine hours in nine days in his quest to win a 3,000-mile, cross-country bike race. For the first 38 hours and 646 miles, he skipped sleep entirely. Later...

Health: Get Ready for E-Medicine.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Claudia Kalb (With Elise Soukop) When Anne Perlman, 50, needs to see her doctor at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) in California, she schedules her appointment online. Prescriptions zip through the ether from her physician...

More than a Statin.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Anne Underwood For those Americans battling cholesterol, new help is on the way. Think reductions of 50 to 60 percent in "bad cholesterol," or LDL. That's with a new pill called Vytorin, approved by the FDA two weeks ago and set to...

Phat Family Wagon.(Dodge Magnum RT)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Keith Naughton With its gangster lean and high-caliber name, the Dodge Magnum RT is a station wagon that longs to be a street racer. To see if the Magnum can straddle the lanes of cool and comfortable, I piled my family into the...

Dial 'M' for Map.(cell phone services)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Barret Ozols Ever call a pal for directions, only to end up lost or stuck in traffic? Next time use your cell phone instead to get live traffic updates, directions and maps. Traffic-Map (which also offers an ETA at your...

Meal Ticket / Athens Dining.(Brief Article)(Directory)
August 9, 2004... Even if you're not competing in the Olympics, you'll want to go for the gold when it comes to eating out in Athens. These top spots will serve you fresh grilled fish, crispy pork souvlaki--and pasta, when you're ready for a change. SPONDI...

Cash in on the Vote.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Linda Stern Are you so confident about John Kerry or George W. Bush in 2004 that you're willing to put your money where your vote is? The University of Iowa is running a real-money futures market on the presidential race at...

Rates Take a Dive.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Barney Gimbel The words "good news" and "car insurance" almost never end up in the same sentence--until now. State Farm, USAA and Farmers Insurance Group are cutting prices by up to 10 percent for good drivers, and other companies...

Ask Tip Sheet.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Olivia Ma Why are dartboards numbered the way they are? There seems to be no rhyme or reason. --CHIP SEIFERT, BAGHDAD, IRAQ Brits began lobbing pointed objects into the cross sections of elm trees in the Middle Ages. The...

Outdoors: Pitch a Tent.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Paul Tolme Cheapskates rejoice: if you can't afford a luxury resort, check into a campground nearby and wine and dine with the money you save. Telluride, Colo.: Just because Tom Cruise built a lavish ski chalet here doesn't...

No Rose Garden.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Tara Weingarten We all know you go to Sonoma to taste good wine, but now gardeners seeking inspiration can look beyond the local grape. The Cornerstone Festival of Gardens (cornerstonegardens.com ), the nation's first permanent...

The Posh Post-Op.(hotels where you can recuperate from cosmetic surgery)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jordana Lewis Plastic surgery promises to make you feel like a million bucks. But before you can enjoy that wrinkle-free forehead and tucked tummy, you have to recuperate. A growing number of luxury hotels are helping the newly...

Style: Going For Yellow.(Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and Nike)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Lisa Helem Want to bask in the glow of Lance Armstrong's sixth Tour de France win? The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and Nike are raising funds for youth-cancer support groups, research and education by selling $1 yellow rubber...

Conventional Wisdom; Reporting Duty Edition.(Democratic National Convention, July 2004)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... In Boston, Dems obsessed with proving military resolve. Was this a convention or a remake of 'Band of Brothers'? CW J. Kerry + Old: A Kerry address is like taking Ambien. New: Acceptance speech was like a can of Red Bull....