June 8, 1999

House members return from weeklong recess and prepare for battle over gun control that is even more fraught with political anxiety than it had been when they left; increased tensions over new gun-control measures partly reflect activity of National Rifle Association, which used Congressional recess to rally its supporters, lobby lawmakers and sprinkel radio airwaves with advertisements opposing measures; House battle will provide definitive measure of rifle association's political muscle in aftermath of series of fatal school shootings that created momentum for more restrictions on firearms; NRA is pursuing much more aggressive campaign in House than it was able to organize in Senate (M)

Interview with Jean-Claude Carriere, French screenplay writer and playwright; La Terrasse, his latest play, is being presented by Manhattan Theater Club; photo (M)

Allan Kozinn reviews music of Samuel Barber as performed in third installment of 20th-Century Masters mini-festival at Kaye Playhouse; photo (M)

Third Acapulco Black Film Festival in Mexico will honor Samuel L Jackson and Pam Grier with career achievement awards; Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett and Whoopi Goldberg are among this year's award nominees in range of 'best of' categories; centerpiece of festival is screening of seven new films and a new works in progress section; Warrington Hudlin, president of Black Filmmaker Foundation, which sponsors festival with Uniworld Films, comments (M)

Emma Castro Amador, 59-year-old mother of 14 children from Mexico City, says she does not regret having so many children; her offspring have different view; in generational divide repeated in millions of Mexican families, all 14 children say they are determined to limit their families to two or three children; Mexico's population is projected to reach 100 million in 2000, and contrast between Mrs Castro's family and those of her children illustrates extraordinary changes under way in country's family and population patterns, which hold important consequences for rest of North America; graph; photo (M)