April 22, 2002

Mike Freeman On Pro Football column discusses NFL draft success of only three owners in football who run their team's draft-selection process, Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones, Washington Redskins' Dan Snyder and Oakland Raiders' Al Davis (M)

New Jersey Devils defeat Carolina Hurricanes, 2-0, in Game 3 of Eastern Conference playoff series; Hurricanes lead series, 2-1; photos (M)

This Week: works by Italian old masters from collection of Budapest Museum of Fine Arts will go on view at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; recent acquisitions by New York Public Library will open exhibit of new acquisitions by Henry W and Albert A Berg Collection of English and American Literature; Francisco Goldman will interview author Salman Rushdie at 92nd Street Y; Kaye Playhouse will observe 438th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and its own fifth anniversary with staged reading of King Lear; photos (M)

The Democrats' Issues Democrats are trying to counter President Bush's popularity by returning to issues, like education and pensions, that were on people's minds before Sept. 11. PAGE A23 Trial Evokes Anthrax Fears A man is going on trial in Brooklyn today, accused of putting powder in a mailbox. Because it occurred in October, during the anthrax scare, he could face life in prison. PAGE B1

Bertelsmann is seeking to buy Napster and develop it as for-pay music-trading service even as its BMG Records division is engaged with four other record labels in copyright infringement suit against Napster; Napster is also countersuing labels, charging antitrust activities; purchase would give Bertelsmann two divisions on opposite sides of legal divide; company, on its own, could not simply drop suits (M)

Chris Anderson, who has been under quiet attack from digerati since he took over as Wired's editor in June for his lack of Silicon Valley credentials and decision to replace several longtime editors, is optimistic about outlook for magazine despite sharp drop in advertising revenues and falling newsstand sales; cites planned redesign; Conde Nast editorial director James Truman comments; graphs of circulation and advertising; photo (M)

Joyce Purnick Metro Matters column advises modern women trying to figure out how to have careers and families to watch 1959 Joan Crawford movie The Best of Everything, which is melodramatic, if campy, reminder of how Hollywood portrayed women when stereotyping was high art, and not just on film (M)

Extreme rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen qualifies to face Pres Jacques Chirac, conservative, in runoff for French presidency next month; finishes second in first round of voting; edges past Prime Min Lionel Jospin, thanks to huge field of candidates that split vote, an apathetic electorate and wave of anti-crime fervor; leaders of left and right describe Le Pen's victory as 'political earthquake'; he is former paratrooper with strong anti-immigration message, who once called Nazi gas chambers 'detail in history'; polls suggest that his candidacy could mobilize large numbers of left-leaning voters to support Chirac; one survey of voters finds Chirac will beat Le Pen in second round of voting with 78 percent of vote, compared with 22 percent of vote for Le Pen; Chirac, without directly mentioning Le Pen, urges voters to rally behind democratic values; Le Pen, clearly energized, stresses his anti-European Union message; outcome of vote is crushing personal defeat for Jospin, who failed to overcome what many see as his greatest flaw: professorial style that often seems condescending and humorless; photo (M)

More on Pages A10-11: The Battle The History The Leaders

Kamal Dawood, 51-year-old Palestinian construction worker, goes on trial in federal court in Brooklyn on charges that he threw fistfuls of powder into mailbox outside elementary school last Oct 30, in midst of nation's anthrax panic; he could face life in prison (M)

Former Arthur Andersen partner David B Duncan tells prosecutors that members of firm grew concerned in Aug about possibility of federal inquiry after allegations of accounting fraud at Enron were raised by Sherron S Watkins, whistle-blower at company; Duncan's statements indicate that roots of obstruction of justice scandal reached back further than previously believed; he says that in response to Watkins' criticisms and other problems, Andersen formed unofficial committee that month to begin reviewing firm's documents relating to Enron; says decision to destroy documents emerged as result of those discussions; prosecutors will use Duncan's testimony to argue that destruction last Oct by Andersen of thousands of documents and e-mail messages related to Enron was not spontaneous decision of few employees, but culmination of months of discussions about how to get Enron's files ready for review by outside investigators; argument that Anderson officials anticipated review of Enron records by Securites and Exchange Commission after learning of Watkins' allegations is critical to proving that document destruction was conducted to impede official inquiry (M)

Barry Diller, who will oversee Vivendi Universal's United States television and movie studios after Vivendi completes deal to buy control of USA Networks' entertainment assets, is also busy revamping USA assets he did not sell, to be renamed USA Interactive; is holding acquisition talks with seven companies and expects to buy at least four of them for total of up to $4 billion in bid to make USA major Internet and electronic commerce company; Vivendi deal will leave USA with no debt and $3.4 billion in cash to finance acquisitions; graph of USA's e-commerce businesses; photos (M)