October 25, 2002

Vivendi Universal is suing Vodafone Group in attempt to gain more time to put together counterbid for French phone company Cegetal; Vodafone offered to buy 85 percent of Cegetel it did not already own for 13.1 billion euros ($12.8 billion); offer includes stakes held by BT Group, SBC Communications and Vivendi; Vivendi has option of counterbidding and can supersede Vodafone's offer for BT or SBC stakes; Vodafone has given Vivendi deadline of Nov 10 to make counteroffer; Vivendi is arguing that deadline violates part of Cegetel shareholder agreement, which stipulates that any offer for Cegetel must be accompanied by 30-day grace period for due diligence; Vodafone says rule does not apply to existing shareholders (S)

Nicholas Petraco, former police scientist, says that contrary to arguments made by prosecutor at two trials in 1990, four strands of hair were never 'matched' to any of Harlem teen-agers accused of beating and raping jogger in Central Park; hairs, attributed to victim and recovered from clothing of two of suspects, were only pieces of physical evidence offered by prosecutors directly linking any of teen-agers to crime (M)

RIFLE AN UNLIKELY CHOICE -- The gun seized from the two suspects, a civilian version of the standard American military rifle, the M-16, is a slightly unusual choice for a sniper, an expert said. PAGE A29 THE ALABAMA CONNECTION -- What appeared to be just another robbery gone wrong in Montgomery, Ala., proved a vital link in a sniping investigation hundreds of miles away outside Washington. PAGE A27

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column on favorite moments from Game 5 of World Series; photo (M)

Despite months of preparations and the spending of millions of dollars, the United States remains extremely vulnerable to a terrorist attack, particularly at seaports, power plants and oil refineries, a panel of security experts has concluded. In a report being released today, the panel contends that police officials still have little access to intelligence on terror suspects, that only a tiny fraction of vessels entering American ports are inspected and that most emergency workers are ill equipped to handle biowar attacks.

Police arrest two suspects in sniper shootings that left 10 dead, three wounded and capital region terrified for last three weeks; investigators confirm that car in which suspects John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo are arrested contains weapon used in killings, .223-caliber telescopic rifle; Muhammad, 41, is Army veteran with expert's rating in marksmanship; Malvo, 17, is Jamaican citizen; authorities will not speculate on motive for string of shootings; Muhammad is arraigned in Baltimore on preliminary charge of violating federal weapons laws; Malvo is held as material witness and as juvenile; further charges to be discussed by federal, state and local prosecutors from seven jurisdictions where sniper killed men and women at random; it is not clear whether police suspect Muhammad did all shootings or whether two took turns; two suspects were sleeping in their car at highway rest stop off Interstate 70 near Frederick, Md, when traveler responded to police alert broadcast for 1990 Chevrolet with New Jersey plates; two men offered no resistance during arrest; detectives say modifications to suspect car's backseat and trunk suggest it might have een used as sniper's perch; photos; chronology of events since first shooting, on Oct 2 (L)

People who knew John Allen Muhammad, accused sniper who terrorized Washington, DC, area, recall his temper; say he met his 17-year-old traveling companion John Lee Malvo when he dated teenager's mother in Washington State; say Malvo, illegal immigrant from Jamaica, called Muhammad his father; two lived almost as destitutes early this year at homeless mission in Bellingham, Wash; federal officials speculating about what precipitated killings say Muhammad, who converted to Islam in 1985, may have been motivated by anti-American sentiments; he may have been drawn to Washington suburbs by presence there of his former second wife and their three children; years ago that wife filed court documents accusing him of abducting their three children and threatening her; she complained of his abusive behavior toward children; was granted permanent restraining order against him in 1999; during his army career he was decorated Gulf War veteran; he later joined National Guard and was convicted of striking an officer; photo; map; time line (L)

Murray Chass On Baseball column contends that New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon's haste in hiring Oakland Athletics manager Art Howe to fill managerial vacancy does not bode well for team, arguing that Wilpon should have waited to see if San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker expressed interest; photo (M)

Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly settles on William H Webster, former director of FBI and CIA, to head new agency regulating accounting profession; selection was made by three Republicans on five-member commission; two Democrats on SEC will issue bitter dissent; they prefer John H Biggs, leading voice for aggressive oversight of profession, who until recently appeared to have bipartisan support of majority of commissioners; selection of Webster comes after SEC Chairman Harvey L Pitt and two other Republicans--all three of whom have career ties to accounting profession--decide to reject Biggs; his selection has been opposed by some accountants and Rep Michael G Oxley, who is one of their most important Republican allies in Congress and who heads committee that oversees SEC; experts note that Webster, who is 78, has little recent experience in accounting issues and has played no role in recent years in debates over variety of regulatory and accounting issues that will be addressed by new board; photos (M)

New York Knicks front office and Latrell Sprewell mend fences after weeks of public hostility, fines and suspensions, but whether united front will last through season is uncertain; photos (M)

Richard C Breeden, WorldCom's court-appointed bankruptcy monitor, is trying to persuade Goldman, Sachs to return $10 million company paid to Goldman several weeks before it filed for bankruptcy; dispute involves payment that WorldCom made in hiring Goldman in June to evaluate strategic alternatives for company; WorldCom disclosed short time later widespread accounting fraud and within weeks filed for bankruptcy protection; WorldCom creditors' committee wants to know why Goldman was paid such large retainer; photo (M)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's effort to trim $1 billion from New York City budget is nowhere more difficult than at Fire Department, whose losses at World Trade Center now make normal give-and-take of budget season almost too painful to bear; department has been asked to cut $75 million in spending from its roughly $1 billion budget by next month (M)