June 11, 2002

There is little hard evidence of a post 9/11 surge in births, nine months later; there has been discussion of how tragedy of Sept 11 has caused many people to rethink their priorities, put first things first; first things often start with a baby, but there is only anecdotal evidence to support phenomenon of baby boom; photo (M)

John J Gotti, former head of Gambino crime family who flaunted power during reign as Mafia boss, dies of cancer at age 61 in hospital of maximum security penitentiary in Springfield, Mo, where he was serving life sentence without parole; his long career in organized crime, from errand boy for mobsters in Brooklyn in 1950's to incarceration in 1992, discussed; was called Teflon Don for successfully evading many government attempts at prosecution, and Dapper Don for his smart appearance; was born John Joseph Gotti in South Bronx in October 27, 1940, and was fifth of 13 children; photos (L)

Pres Bush meets with Israeli Prime Min Ariel Sharon at White House and says time is not ripe for Mideast peace summit since 'no one' has confidence in emerging Palestinian government; comes close to endorsing Sharon's position, echoing his skepticism about conducting political talks with Palestinians until there is significant reform of Palestinian Authority; says Authority under Yasir Arafat is incapable o engaging in political talks administration has assured Arab leaders will be conducted simultaneously with security talks; suggests Arafat's reorganization of Cabinet did not solve problem of finding Palestinian partner; meeting at Camp David 48 hours earlier with Egyptian Pres Hosni Mubarak, who gave opposite advice and pressed for timeline for establishment of Palestinian state, noted; Israeli tanks surround Arafat's compound in Ramallah on West Bank; security forces arrest 27 Palestinians suspected of being militants; photo (M)

Case of Monsignor Charles Kavanagh, who has been accused by Daniel Donohue of sexual abuse, emerges as just the sort of complicated, ambiguous situation that does not fit into proposed national policy on sexual abuse by priests that American bishops plan to discuss this week in Dallas; draft guidelines do not explain what acts of sexual abuse might be, nor do they address less explicitly sexual but nevertheless physical relationships between priests and minors; photo of Kavanagh (M)

New York State Assembly passses bill to give New York City mayors more control of city's schools; Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno says his house will pass bill, and Gov Pataki says he will sign measure into law; bill would gve Mayor Michael R Bloomberg power to select schools chancellor, who would, in turn, select district superintendents; it would expand Board of Education from 7 members to 13, with mayor appointing seven of them (M)