But for reasons that were unexplained yesterday, Mr. Connolly said at a late afternoon news conference, the drag chain "released prematurely" and the car plummeted backward.

Mr. Cuomo floated the idea one day at a late afternoon news conference, refusing even to say how much he thought the tax should be raised.

Inspector Edward Cappello, executive officer of Brooklyn detectives, announced the arrests at a late afternoon news conference at the 70th Precinct station house.

At a late afternoon news conference, Mr. Marlin faced questions from reporters about whether tighter security measures would be introduced in county schools because of today's shooting.

"Just another day of shilly-shallying," Mr. Cuomo said at a late afternoon news conference, mocking the press accounts of his 66-day decision-making process.

"This decision is meant to signal that we do not want people like him in Switzerland," Justice Minister Ruth Metzler said at a late afternoon news conference.

"We will have to dig down through all the debris layer by layer," he added at a late afternoon news conference.

The announcement came at a late afternoon news conference on Beacon Hill after a day that included campaign trips today to Maryland and Washington.

But he ended a late afternoon news conference here with a strong hint that final decisions had been made.

That risk was reflected in the mood at the late afternoon news conference, which seemed more somber than festive.