Nasdaq To Close For Ford Day of Mourning

President Bush declared Tuesday a national day of mourning, asking people to gather in places of worship to honor President Ford’s memory and ordering nonessential government departments to close. The Nasdaq Stock Market said it will close Tuesday as part of the day of mourning. Ford created a posthumous buzz with the release of interviews critical of Mr. Bush that he gave to two newspapers on condition they not be published at the time. He told the Washington Post in 2004 and the New York Daily News in May that Mr. Bush was mistaken in his rationale for going to war against Iraq. He also said he was “dumbfounded” when he learned of Mr. Bush’s domestic surveillance program.

— Associated Press

AT&T Offers Concessions For Merger Approval

WASHINGTON — AT&T Inc. has offered a new set of concessions that are expected to satisfy the two Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission and lead to approval of the company’s $85 billion buyout of Bell-South Corp., possibly as soon as Friday. AT&T filed a letter of commitment with the agency last night that adds a number of new conditions to the deal, including a promise to observe “network neutrality” principles, an offer of affordable stand-alone digital subscriber line service, and a divestment of some spectrum. Final approval still requires a vote of the commissioners, which can happen at any time via computer.

— Associated Press

Travelers Flee Ahead Of Colorado Snowstorm

DENVER — New Year’s travelers jammed the Denver airport yesterday, trying to get out of town ahead of a snowstorm that threatened to close runways and gum up the nation’s busy holiday travel season for the second time in a week. The storm was expected to dump up to 18 inches of snow on the Denver area overnight and prompted Governor Owens again to declare a statewide disaster emergency, just a week after a pre-Christmas blizzard shut the airport for more than two days. The shutdown stranded 4,700 holiday travelers and backed up flights around the country.

— Associated Press

Body of U.S. Climber Identified in China

SEATTLE — A snow-covered body found on a remote mountain in China has been identified as American photographer Charlie Fowler, who disappeared several weeks ago during a climbing trip with the owner of a Seattle-based adventure company, friends said yesterday. Fowler and Christine Boskoff were not roped together when they were possibly swept up by an avalanche high on the peak, as friends initially believed they would be. The search for Boskoff continued as snow fell yesterday.

— Associated Press

White House: No Known Terror Plot for New Year’s

WASHINGTON — Americans should ring in the new year without undue worry about a terrorist attack, the White House homeland security adviser said yesterday. “People ought to come, have a good time, they ought to feel confident,” Frances Fragos Townsend said in a nationally broadcast television interview. Ms. Townsend said that while the Bush administration takes every threat seriously, it has heard of no plot or plan that should cause alarm as the nation celebrates New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

— Associated Press

FDA Deems Meat, Milk From Cloned Animals Safe

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration gave preliminary approval yesterday to meat and milk from cloned animals or their offspring. Federal scientists found virtually no difference between food from clones and food from conventional livestock. The government believes “meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones is as safe to eat as the food we eat every day,” the director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Stephen Sundlof, said.

— Associated Press