December 2, 2002

Technological innovations like Internet and expansion of cable and satellite television have allowed media outlets to expand exponentially despite consolidation of media owners, development that would seem to undermine case for public interest advocates who do not want FCC to loosen ownership restrictions on television outlets, radio stations and newspapers; opponents of deregulation still argue that consolidation of media ownership has led to sameness in television and radio programming; proponents say average household has access to so much information in so many different forms that no single company could ever exert undue influence over consumers (M)

More and more men, and some women, are seeking large, chiseled bodies, and taking steroid drugs to achieve that look; use of steroid drugs has spread over years from weight lifters to bodybuilders to elite athletes to high school and college athletes and now to groups, like gay men and gym aficionados, who simply want to improve their appearance; steroid drugs often are illegal but are readily available; steroid use is hard to quantify because federal surveys of adults' drug use do not ask about it; there is huge underground market for anabolic steroids, including ones approved only for horses, and steady traffic by Americans to Mexico where they are sold over counter; medical experts are concerned about what they do not know: who uses drugs, for how long, and what are medical consequences; there have been no rigorous medical studies to provide answers to fundamental questions about long-term safety; photos (L)

Stephen M Case, chairman of AOL Time Warner, will be on hand in New York when Jonathan Miller, new chairman of America Online division, lays out turnaround plan for AOL service, again stepping forward to defend company and himself against directors who want him to resign, company executives who doubt his authority and federal regulators investigating AOL's accounting; he has also been courting Ted Turner, vice chairman, and making unscripted remarks to investors about extent of his culpability for AOL's accounting problems; some observers thought Case would want to lie low for now, and results of his offensive have been mixed; photo (M)

Prosecutors reconsidering whether Harlem teenagers beat and raped a female jogger during a Central Park rampage 13 years ago are also debating whether the teenagers' convictions for other crimes that night should be thrown out, officials said. The jogger was the most seriously injured that night. But eight others were either accosted or beaten. Article, Page B1.

Prosecutors reconsidering whether Harlem teenagers beat and raped a jogger during Central Park rampage 13 years ago debate wheter teenagers' convictions for other crimes committed that night should be thrown out; jogger was most seriously injured of people assaulted on night of April 19, 1989; but eight other people were either accosted or beaten by pack that roamed park for an hour, jumping from shadows to confront runners and bicyclists; photo (M)

United Nations weapons inspectors and Iraqi officials, with only 13 of 1,000 suspected weapons sites checked so far, have already set pattern of tension and intrigue that is barely covered over with polite humor and vows of mutual interest; both inspectors and Iraqis have entered process knowing that war would be likely if inspections flounder or uncover new pattern of Iraqi deceit, and that generation of iron-fisted rule under Pres Saddam Hussein is hanging in balance; inspectors' grinding task is burdened by knowledge that hawks in Bush administration have scant faith in their ability to strip Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction after evasion and intransigence with which Iraqis met earlier generation of UN inspectors in 1990's; some in current UN inspection team suspect that Washington hard-liners might prefer them to fail, to clear path to military showdown; inspectors are caught between Americans and Iraqis, each pushing in different direction, as they set about task of huge technical and logistical complexity; photos (L)

In India, Hunger Amid Plenty India is stockpiling grain surpluses as millions go hungry, a source of shame for a nation that has taken pride in feeding itself. PAGE A3 Black Market for Software A black market has emerged for scientific and engineering software, much of which cannot be legally exported from the U.S. PAGE C1

Tennessee Titans defeat New York Giants, 32-29, in overtime; photos (M)

Black market emerges for scientific and engineering software powerful enough to fall under US export restrictions, and copies are being offered on Internet, where anyone with modem and a little cash can evade export controls, even those that apply to 'pariah' nations like Libya, North Korea and Iraq; software could be used to design rockets or nuclear reactors or to predict path of cloud of anthrax spores; software companies who might want to take action against pirates often find themselves frustrated, whether because US government is reluctant to crack down on emerging trade allies like China, source of some bootleg software, and because software piracy over Internet is almost impossible to stop, even when there are attempts to do so; photo (M)

This Week column: New York Philharmonic's weeklong 160th birthday celebration will feature concert that includes part of original program; Festival of Light and Sound at World Financial Center's Winter Garden, canceled last year in wake of attacks on World Trade Center, returns; National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC, will open exhibit of works from its Eliot Elisofon photographic archive; Mandy Patinkin will begin series of concerts of Stephen Sondheim songs in Manhattan; photo s (M)

Philadelphia Eagles defeat St Louis Rams, 10-3; photo (M)

Online Shopping Headed Toward a Strong Season Brick-and-mortar retailers have kicked off the holiday selling season, but the online rush began last month and has been brisk enough to prompt some analysts and executives to adjust their forecasts higher. Although the forecasts vary widely, the main research firms that track Internet retail sales are predicting double-digit percentage growth this season. Through the first three weeks of November, online sales of nontravel goods were $4.5 billion, up 29 percent from the comparable period last year, Nielsen/NetRatings said. Bob Tedeschi: E-Commerce Report. [Page C4.]