Faneuil Hall forum planned for Nov. 4

The Democratic presidential contenders have reached preliminary agreement to participate in a televised forum in Boston on Nov. 4, CNN and Rock the Vote announced yesterday. The evening forum at Faneuil Hall will focus on youth issues, with 18- to 30-year-olds in the audience and outsiders via e-mail asking questions. Each campaign will be asked to submit a short video, directed to young voters, that will be broadcast during the forum, which will air live on CNN. The cable network and Rock the Vote, founded in 1990 to promote political participation by young voters, selected Boston because the city hosts the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. (Globe staff)

Six contenders set to talk at Harvard

Harvard's Kennedy School of Government announced yesterday it is bringing at least six of the Democratic candidates to Cambridge -- one at at time -- for televised hourlong forums, beginning Oct. 13. Hosted by the Institute of Politics, the forums also will focus on young voters, with audiences comprised mostly of local college students asking questions. The forums, to air on MSNBC, start with John Edwards on Oct. 13. The others scheduled are: John F. Kerry, Oct. 20; the Rev. Al Sharpton, Oct. 27; Richard A. Gephardt, Nov. 3; Bob Graham, Nov. 10; and Carol Moseley Braun, Nov. 17. (Globe staff)

Labor union gives nod to Gephardt

The Amalgamated Transit Union yesterday endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Richard A. Gephardt, the 15th labor union to back the Missouri congressman. The endorsement by the 180,000-member ATU follows by one day the decision of AFL-CIO president John Sweeney to put off an endorsement decision by the full federation, a setback for Gephardt. ATU President Warren S. George said Gephardt has "offered the boldest ideas to create new jobs and make access to quality health insurance a right, not a privilege for all working Americans." Gephardt has now been endorsed by unions representing more than a quarter of the AFL-CIO's 13.2 million members.

BRIAN C. MOONEY

Gore reportedly to buy TV channel

NEW YORK -- Former vice president Al Gore is close to a buying a cable television channel, putting him in a position to launch a liberal news outlet to counteract the increased popularity of conservative stations like the Fox News Channel, which has unseated CNN as the most widely watched news channel in the United States. Gore and a group of investors are in talks to buy Newsworld International, a cable news channel owned by Vivendi Universal, for $70 million, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. Gore's spokeswoman and Vivendi executives declined to comment.

Newsworld International is available in fewer than than 20 million US homes and currently runs international newscasts. (Reuters)