Also. . .

* A Michigan judge rejected Northwest Airlines Corp.’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of passengers stranded at a Detroit airport during a 1999 snowstorm, lawyers representing the plaintiffs said. On Jan. 3, 1999, nearly 8,000 passengers were left waiting at Detroit Metro Airport for up to 11 hours in a blizzard. The suit gained class-action status in June 1999. In a statement, Northwest said it “believes that it took proper care and caution to maintain the safety of its passengers during especially difficult and extreme weather conditions during the New Year’s weekend storm of 1999.” The judge will rule on federal preemption issues in time for a settlement conference scheduled for Oct. 11.

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* Space.com, the Web site founded by former CNN business anchor Lou Dobbs, is reorganizing and firing 22 staffers, becoming the latest online company to announce a retrenchment. The job cuts, which represent one-fifth of the company’s work force, are being made as the company integrates operations from several other space-related Web sites it has acquired, including SpaceWatch.com, Starport.com and Explorezone.com. Earlier this week, the company’s president, former astronaut Sally Ride, resigned.

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* The leading world coffee producers’ group said it had reached agreement on withholding 20% of exportable beans from the market to boost sagging global prices. Leaders of the 14-member Assn. of Coffee Producing Countries said the scheme, set to launch Sunday, had drawn the full support of its members and five nonmembers, including top Asian producers whose support had wavered.