April 6, 1999

Mattel Inc chairman Jill E Barad's efforts to stem decline in company's earnings is drawing mixed reviews; Barad's strategy, which includes selling more toys directly to consumers through catalogues and Internet, has angered some retailers who accuse her of trying to compete directly with them; investors who were once enamored of Barad appear to have grown impatient waiting for her to deliver results; since she took over as chief executive in January 1997, company's stock has fallen 10 percent; many big investors say Mattel needs to generate hefty returns from recently acquired companies, reduce its reliance on Barbie and respond more quickly to changes in the way children play; graph; photo (M)

Dow Jones industrial average rises 174.82 points, or 1.8 percent, to record 10,007.33; Standard & Poor's 500 stock index gains 27.40, or 2.1 percent, to 1,321.12, also a record; Nasdaq composite index rises to record for first time in two months, closing up 66.69, to 2,506.06; graph; chart (M)

Article on Trout in the Classroom, privately financed project at half a dozen New York City public schools and similar number of suburban and rural schools in Westchester County and Catskills; goal is for students to raise trout in tanks and then release them upstate; project is intended to increase student awareness of unpolluted brooks and rivers in Catskills and Hudson Valley that supply New York City with drinking water; photo (M)

Nushawn J Williams, young drifter who ignited national debate on whether spreading AIDS virus could be criminal act, is sentenced, Chautaugua County, NY, to 4 to 12 years in prison after several of his alleged victims refused to cooperate with prosecutors; Williams became first person in New York to face criminal charges for giving someone HIV; photo (M)

John A Gotti Jr, accused of being acting boss of Gambino crime family, pleads guilty to charges of criminal racketeering in Federal District court, White Plains, NY, less than day before start of trial; faces maximum sentence of seven years and three months in prison and $1 million fine; prosecutors say plea will further damage power of both Gotti family and its interests in larger Gambino crime family, headed by father until conviction in 1991, even though sentence is much less than 20 years he might have received if trial ended in conviction; US Atty Mary Jo White says plea should serve as death knell to control Gottis have exercised over Gambino family for 15 years, and should help eliminate Gambinos as significant part of organized crime in US; Gerald Shargel, Gotti's attorney, says client accepted deal after learning of planned Federal indictment on tax charges and after realizing that he would be endless target of prosecution unless he submitted to criminal plea; photo (M)