11.   Karmazin even got along with Sumner M. Redstone, the Viacom chairman, Moonves said, trying to dismiss persistent rumors of friction between the two.

12.   Manzi dismissed a rumor that the company may be preparing to sell off the desktop unit.

13.   No suspects were named but officials dismissed rumors fingering a former intern at the office.

14.   Political and military analysts also dismissed rumors of a possible coup that flared two weeks ago amid panic over the crashing currency.

15.   Sen. Sam Nunn dismisses rumors that he might be interested in running for vice president on the Republican ticket.

16.   Seven years after taking his dream job, Duquette dismisses recent rumors of his being interested in GM jobs in Los Angeles or anywhere else.

17.   They dismissed rumors of scripts on the Internet and other possible finale sightings.

18.   Until recently, we ignored his personal life, dismissing rumors with pseudo-sophistication.

19.   Both companies declined comment, and analysts dismissed the rumors for now, saying Wells was too busy digesting its recent acquisition of First Interstate Bancorp.

20.   Cabinet officials quickly denied that the resignations were in the works, and Duma speaker Gennady Seleznyov tried to quell the panic by saying Yeltsin himself dismissed the rumor.