The provisional authority did not return repeated requests seeking comment for this article.

Coldwater Creek did not return repeated requests for comment.

The company did not return requests for comment.

A spokeswoman for the company did not immediately return requests for comment.

Aside from their presentation to the board, representatives of McDonald's did not return requests for additional information.

Perhaps predictably, Rice did not return repeated requests for an interview for this article.

Representatives of the singer and her husband did not immediately return requests for confirmation.

Their bureaucracies are filled with New Yorkers who return phone calls and requests for help from people back home.

He did not return requests for a telephone interview made through his lawyer and a spokesman at Rexene who passed the requests on to him.

Ms. Doran did not return requests for comment last night.