June 17, 2002

Time & Life Building lobby, whose gray-and-white serpentine swirls recall Rio's Copacabana, is set to receive landmark status; Frank E Sanchis III, executive director of Municipal Art Society, is credited with convincing owner, Rockefeller Group Development Corp, that architecture of 1950's is worth preserving; space was designed by Harrison, Abramowitz & Harris; photo (M)

Pres Bush reportedly directs top national security aides to make doctrine of pre-emptive action against states and terrorist groups trying to develop weapons of mass destruction into foundation of new national security strategy; policy represents significant move away from chesslike military strategies of cold war, dealing more broadly with range of options to prevent nations from obtaining large-scale weapons or sponsoring terrorism; is being fine-tuned to make it clear that US has options beyond armed intervention, such as joint operations with Russia and other powers; potential targets include weak states that have become incubators for terrorist groups; Iraq is clearly first on target list for such action; CIA and Defense Department have stepped up efforts to unseat Saddam Hussein in last effort to avoid necessity of full-scale invasion; photo (M)

Usher, whose rhythm-and-blues tunes emphasize details instead of generalizations, headlined a show Friday night at Jones Beach. Besides his hit songs, he brought along a bed, a baseball bat, a bikini-clad dancer and his bravado. The bill also included Faith Evans and Nas.

IVillage, network of Web sites for women, is introducing own brands of vitamins and so-called nutraceutical supplements; plans to offer range of other products aimed at women; chief executive Douglas W McCormick comments on plans to supplement lagging ad revenues with sales; photo (M)

Center-Right Wins France The final round of French elections gave President Jacques Chirac and his center-right government a strong mandate, weakening both Socialists and the far right. PAGE A4 Thumbs Down From Sharon Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel told his cabinet that conditions were not right for a provisional Palestinian state, which President Bush is considering proposing. PAGE A8

Tiger Woods wins US Open, finishing at three under par; Phil Mickelson finishes second and Jeff Maggert finishes third; win brings Woods halfway to winning Grand Slam, which he will achieve if he wins British Open and PGA Championship; photos (M)

Article on hillside artist colony Ein Hod, Israel, which had been Palestinian village for 700 years before 1948 war and which is subject of Israeli filmmaker Rachel Leah Jones documentary 500 Dunam on the Moon; film, marking Jones's directorial debut, is part of 13th annual Human Rights Watch International Film Fetival in Manhattan; photos (M)

Evidence introduced at criminal trial of Arthur Andersen & Co indicates for first time that improper accounting decision, which set in motion demise of Enron Corp, served mainly to benefit financial interests of single corporate insider, outside partnership managed by company's former chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow; shows Fastow was driving force behind adoption of accounting decision, which allowed entities held by partnership that owed money to Enron to avoid particular losses; provides road map to ultimate direction of government's continuing criminal investigation into collapse of company, laying out path investigators will revisit in coming months while trying to determine whether company was victim of folly or crime; photo (M)

Recording artists and record companies, though feuding over their own ties, are joining forces to back bill to be sponsored by Sen Russell D Feingold that would cap number of radio stations company can own and limit practice of record labels' paying independent promoters to promote new hits to station programmers; consolidation has given radio conglomerates clout to designate promoters they want to work with exclusively, driving up overall promotional costs dramatically; artists say shift has made it harder for lesser known acts to get airplay; recording executives fear retaliation from promoters or radio programmers if they stop paying fees (M)

Mayor Michael R Bloomberg will reportedly appoint commission to study possible major overhaul of how New York City chooses elected officials and to revisit thorny issue of mayoral succession; called during 2001 mayoral campaign for elimination of partisan elections, arguing that influence of Democratic and Republican parties had coercive effect on electoral process and that political ideology has no place in municipal government; called for speedier process in electing successor should mayor die or become incapacitated; has proposed that first deputy mayor, rather than public advocate, fill role until new mayor is chosen (M)

Article on Israeli novelist Orly Castel-Bloom, whose new book, Halakim Enoshiyim, or Human Parts, is first Israeli novel chronicling life during current Palestinian intifada; photos (M)

Man shoots three people on East Village street and uses sword and kerosene to hold patrons of Bar Veloce hostage before being shot and wounded by police officers; police say gunman, Steven Johnson, black man with AIDS, told them he was bent on killing as many white people as he could; victims are Joseph Brander, Shoji Iso and Annie Hubbard; photos (M)