May 15, 2002

Deutsche Bank is offering to sell 250 million shares in pay-TV broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting, part of 22 percent in BskyB held by Vivendi Universal; sale, worth $2.4 billion, pushes Vivendi's shares up by over 5 percent after months of declines (S)

John Rockwell Critic's Notebook column reviews New York City Opera's Vox 2002: Showcasing American Composers series, made up of concert performances at Church of St Paul and St Andrew; photo (M)

Many scientists and physicians say intensive monitoring of Lower Manhattan air quality and public health in wake of Sept 11 attack indicate New York may have suffered only glancing blow; say most of thousands of people who developed coughs or were nauseated by smells have fully recovered, while exposures to asbestos and other toxins were too short to cause widepread cancer or other lung diseases; others say it is too soon to tell; map of environmental monitoring sites (M)

Bobby Frank Cherry, former Klansman, is on trial in deaths of four black children, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie Mae Collins, in 1963 bombing of Birmingham, Ala; is expected to be last man tried in historic, flawed, four-decade probe into civil rights era crime; photo (M)

The scaly spire of the Chrysler Building in New York City is the summit of all dreams in "Cremaster 3," the centerpiece of Matthew Barney's deliriously esoteric five-part epic cycle exploring artistic creation and destruction. With its spiky Art Deco crown, that skyscraper is a potent symbol of demonically ambitious creativity in a film that celebrates the twin urges to build and destroy as inseparable (and irrational) compulsions. At its most powerful, the largely wordless film evokes this theme with thrilling rushes of imagery, music and visual humor. "Cremaster 3" is the largest and final piece in a cycle that was filmed out of order (4, 1, 5, 2, 3) beginning in 1994 and that has already been canonized as a major work of contemporary fine art. — Stephen Holden

Anna Kisselgoff reviews opening of American Ballet Theater season at Metropolitan Opera House; photo (M)

Newly unsealed documents reveal that some physicians, in exchange for money, have allowed pharmaceutical sales representatives into their examining rooms to meet with patients, review medical charts and recommend what medicines to prescribe; show some of those salespeople tried to influence doctors to prescribe drugs for uses that were not approved by Food and Drug Administration; whistle-blower case filed by former Warner-Lambert Co employee Dr David P Franklin alleges so-called shadowing program, apparently involving hundreds of patients, is one way that Warner-Lambert tried to increase sales of drug called Neurontin, not just for epilepsy, for which it was approved, but also for more than dozen medical conditions it was never approved to treat; case is subject of criminal and civil investigation by US attorney general's office in Boston; case details marketing practices that experts say have become standard practice for many pharmaceutical companies as they spend billions of dollar trying to persuade physicians to prescribe their drugs; court documents show Warner-Lambert, which has since been acquired by Pfizer Inc, tracked whether doctors prescribed Neurontin, rewarding those who were considered high-volume prescribers by paying them as speakers and consultants and also paying them to enter patients in clinical trials; Warner-Lambert also tried to influence doctors who wrote medical journal articles about Neurontin by paying them, sometimes secretly, and even hiring marketing company to write first drafts; drug is expected to reach $2 billion in sales this year; Pfizer spokeswoman Mariann Caprino says allegations are six years old and that actions that allegedly occurred took place well before Pfizer completed its merger with Warner-Lambert; adds it is firm and established Pfizer policy not to allow sales representatives to make inappropriate claims or encourage off-label use of any of its medicines; Pfizer, in court papers, has denied many of Franklin's accusations; photo (M)

European Commission tells World Trade Organization which American products it intends to single out for sanctions in retaliation for protective steel tariffs of up to 30 percent that Bush administration imposed on imported steel in March; commission says European Union has not yet decided to impose sanctions; makes notification, in form of two lists of products, to preserve its right to act in future under trade organization's rules; longer of two lists covers American exports to union that were worth $583 million last year; varieties of steel, citrus fruit, textiles and wide variety of other products are included; shorter list, covering $364 million in American exports of roughly same mix of products, is submitted under separate rules that provide for much more rapid action without waiting for dispute panel to do its work (M)

Zurich Financial Services names new chief executive James Schiro, ending era of his predecessor Rolf Huppi; photo (S)

4 Charged With Defrauding Banks of Over $600 Million Four New Jersey men were charged with defrauding banks of more than $600 million through an international scheme to secure loans for illusory metal-trading deals, federal authorities said. Prosecutors said the men presented themselves to banks as brokers of metals-trading deals and created the illusion of legitimate transactions by creating shell companies, fabricating documents and recruiting people to pose as customers. [Page C2.] Higher Profits for Hewlett-Packard Hewlett-Packard reported higher profits in its second quarter despite weak revenue amid sluggish corporate spending on computer technology. It also delivered a sober outlook for the rest of the year saying it was ''not counting on a meaningful improvement'' in technology spending until 2003. The report was its last as a stand-alone company. [C4.]

Affirmative Action Upheld A federal appeals court upheld the University of Michigan Law School's policy seeking a ''critical mass'' of black and Hispanic students. A further appeal is expected. PAGE A16 Suspended Priest Is Shot A suspended Roman Catholic priest was shot three times in Baltimore, and a man said he had done it because the priest had sexually abused him, the police said. PAGE A20

Mark Bittman describes how a home cook, with some planning and a few techniques borrowed from professionals, can approach results of a restaurant chef; cites example of meal prepared by Harold Moore, chef at Montrachet in TriBeCa, who used nine chefs working in Montrachet's kitchen over two days, to prepare meal; photos; recipes (M)