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WASHINGTON -- Bob Dole's difficulties reflect, in part, the fact that few Americans can say why this election matters. Indeed, when historians assess 1996, they may conclude that America's election was only the fourth-most -- perhaps even the fifth-most -- important election of the year.But the Dole campaign can acquire derivative drama from developments abroad.Taiwan's election produced the first democratically elected head government in four millennia of Chinese civilization. With Asia's fourth-largest economy (after Japan, China and South Korea)

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Treasury is compiling and plans to publish a list of Iraqi-controlled businesses worldwide in an effort to block Iraq from trying to evade United Nations-imposed sanctions by diverting goods through third countries."

ONCE AGAIN, the NFL's serious offseason activity begins with wide receivers the hot commodity. Once again, the Ravens are strapping on their boots and wading in. And once again, the best of the lot is out of their reach. Good news, all of it. That may not have been the case this time last year; even though Terrell Owens apparently will go to his grave swearing that Baltimore was the next-to-last place he'd ever have wanted to play (just above San Francisco), the Ravens were worse off for not getting him. This year, though, no tears need be shed over the departure of Randy Moss to a different location.

Perched on a wooded bluff in rural southeastern Carroll County, the old Henryton State Hospital bears silent witness to the ravages of decades of neglect and vandalism. First opened in 1923, the 18-building complex that once housed the sick and handicapped now appears beyond hope of recovery itself. Windows gape. Trees reach to the sky through roofs that have caved in or burned. Graffiti and vines cover stucco and brick walls. Broken glass and beer cans litter the ground, along with debris from the crumbling structures.

At McCormick & Co.'s new Inner Harbor store - the first retail venture by the spice maker - shoppers can stock up on Old Bay and grilling marinades, learn their personal "flavor profile" and discover an array of international spices. McCormick World of Flavors opened Wednesday in Harborplace's renovated Light Street Pavilion, offering consumers grilling, baking and cooking products alongside interactive displays such as "Guess That Spice. " The Hunt Valley-based manufacturer, which had more than $3.5 billion in sales last year, does not plan any other stores.

Chaselle Inc, an educational and crafts supply company based in Columbia, has been purchased by competitor Valley School Supply for an undisclosed sum.The purchase will make Valley School Supply, which had sales revenues of $57 million last year, one of the largest educational supply companies in the country, said Dan Spalding, president of Valley School Supply, based in Appleton, Wis.Chaselle, which is headquartered on Gerwig Lane in Columbia and owns...

The champagne was flowing in Paris yesterday as McCormick & Co.'s chief executive toasted his company's largest acquisition ever - the purchase of Ducros, Europe's top spice producer. The Sparks-based spice maker paid $379 million in cash for Paris-based Ducros, which had net sales last year of about $250 million. It's the world's second-largest spice company, behind only McCormick itself, which had $2 billion in sales last year. The deal was signed in Paris at the headquarters of Eridania Beghin-Say, Ducros parent, which outbid McCormick in 1991 when both companies were trying to acquire Ducros.

Amtrak will acquire 70 new power-saving electric locomotives as part of a plan to rejuvenate its aging fleet on the Northeast Corridor, the manufacturer Siemens AG is expected to announce Friday. The company has been awarded a $468 million contract to provide the new generation of locomotives over a six-year period. The engines are expected to eventually replace all of Amtrak's AEM-7 and HHP-8 locomotives — breakdown-prone models used by both the national passenger railroad and Maryland's MARC commuter service.

Maryland's casino program gathered momentum Tuesday as officials gave the go-ahead for a two-story casino near the Camden Yards stadium complex in Baltimore, even as the developers of a Western Maryland casino were allowed to scale back plans for Rocky Gap. The state's Video Lottery Facility Location Commission awarded the license for Baltimore's casino to an affiliate of Caesars Entertainment, putting the city on track to open a gambling parlor in...

In the Region Southwest to add 2 Boeing 737s and 3 BWI flights Southwest Airlines, the only major airline that did not announce cutbacks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, plans to take delivery of two new Boeing 737s in February that will allow it to expand service from Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The Dallas-based carrier will add three daily nonstop flights from BWI - to Manchester, N.H., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Orlando, Fla. - beginning Feb. 4. Southwest deferred delivery of 19 aircraft to conserve cash in the wake of the attacks.