New Jersey Nets defeat Milwaukee Bucks, 109-96, in Game 1 to lead Eastern Conference playoffs series, 1-0; photos (M)

Kidd and Nets Give Bucks Quite a Start

Profile of and interview with John Ridley, director of Platinum, controversial new over-the-top soap opera he created with Sofia Coppola that is set in fictional hip-hop record company; photos (M)

Following The Bling-Bling: A Rap Auteur

Shaken and Stirred column New Yorkers' latest form of relaxation--meeting friends at bar for cocktails rather meeting at restaurant for dinner; photos (M)

Care for a Drink Before Your Meal? Sure, but Hold the Meal

News analysis: war in Iraq was neither as painful as opponents predicted nor as painless as proponents suggested; consequences for world and regional political stability are still unknowable; new flexibility in fighting and intelligence gave allied forces edge, but there were also some nasty surprises and speed of operation contributed to plethora of loose ends, not least of which are questions about fate of Saddam Hussein and existence of weapons of mass destruction; how exile Ahmad Chalabi will be received in effort to form government and impact of destruction of historical relics and libraries also remain to be seen; in all, American triumph is not as clear-cut as was hoped; photo (M)

A New Way of Warfare Leaves Behind an Abundance of Loose Ends

 Israelis Raid Gaza  Five Palestinians were reported killed and 35 were wounded as Israeli troops moved into a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in a strike against Arab militants.   PAGE A4    Agents and Their Informants  A spy scandal has brought to light a recurring problem in the F.B.I.: agents who become entangled with informants in relationships built on sex or money.   PAGE A14

INSIDE

European Union, which has just formally added 10 countries, has underlying strengths with which to offset US imperial might, such as proximity to other regions of world and attraction of its social model, but war in Iraq has reminded France, Germany and rest of Europe of difficulty of countering America's armed reach with 'soft power' alone (M)

The Nation: Fortunes of War; Europe Finds No Counterweight To U.S. Power

US plans long-term military relationship with emerging government of Iraq, one that will grant Pentagon access to perhaps four military bases: those at Baghdad's international airport, at Tallil, at isolated airstrip in western desert and at Bashur in Kurdish north; new American foothold would be felt across border in Syria, and, in combination with continuing US presence in Afghanistan, would virtually surround Iran with new web of American influence; at same time, Pentagon continues withdrawal from Iraq, aware that its presence in Middle East invites charges of empire-building and may create new targets for terrorists; also hopes to ease domestic strains in Turkey and Jordan; map; photo (M)

PENTAGON EXPECTS LONG-TERM ACCESS TO KEY IRAQ BASES

Profile of rapper Caushun, whose goal is to be first gay hip-hop performer to become mainstream success; Baby Phat Records plans release of his first album in June; article traces history of gay hip-hop groups; photos (L)

Gay Rappers: Too Real For Hip-Hop?

Frank Rich comment praises Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central television program The Daily Show, his ability to place his comedy between poles of left and right politics, reflecting ambivalence and anxiety felt by many Americans about Iraq war; in interview Stewart suggests Daily Show audience can watch without feeling attacked because bipartisan show is about not knowing what truth is; photo, drawing (M)

Jon Stewart's Perfect Pitch

Girls who train competitively to be elite runners from young age run increased risk of damaging still-developing bones, inheriting emotional scars and burning out after puberty; girls develop more erratically than boys, thus making their adolescent years more fragile and suseptible to injury; photos (L)

Among Runners, Elite Girls Face Burnout and Injury

Families of soldiers killed in Iraq ponder just how much information they want about circumstances of death; some, imagining loved ones' last minutes, try to push thoughts away; also, there appear to be conflicting reports and dearth of information about how soldiers died, particularly when friendly fire was involved; families recall final telephone calls and other contacts; photos (L)

Mourning Families Ponder What Information Is Enough

Trudy Steinfeld, director of career services at New York University, tells thousands of students who graduate from NYU each year that it is not hard to land a job so long as they take shrewd approach to the job search; says this, even as she acknowledges job market is one of worst in 20 years she has been in her job; photo; graphs (M)

Helping Graduates Outwit Hard Times

Gretchen Morgenson column on move by TIAA-CREF, big public pension fund, to reform executive pay practices by requiring that top executives get stock options only if their companies clear certain performance hurdles and that they hold most of shares for substantial period; SBC Communications and Siebel Systems are only companies of 50 approached by fund who fight proposal; face shareholders votes; SBC stock price graph (M)

Boldly Defending Their Options in a Penitent Age

Florida Marlins defeat New York Mets, 6-5; photo (M)

Benitez Continues To Take Mets Down With Him in the 9th

Postings: For Grace Church at Broadway and 10th Street; $2 Million Project to Repair Leaning Spire and Leaky Roof

A O Scott article traces career of Al Pacino, who has starred in four movies in past year and now returns to Broadway as Herod in staged reading of Oscar Wilde's Salome; suggests recent roles reveal exploration of men in weary middle-age and regrets Pacino's preference for parts that allow him to over-act, when actor's best performance, as Michael Corleone in first Godfather, was powerful because of its restraint; photos (L)

Seen This Guy Lately?

Travel industry experts expect retrograde spring and summer leisure travel season, with Americans stressing travel by car to scenic areas in country and away from crowds and cities; see sharp rise in number of people putting off planning for trips, determination to spend less money than usual on vacations and reluctance to fly, especially abroad; graphs; photos; drawing (M)

The Travel Industry Changes Its Vacation Plans

Thousands of public employees report for duty in Iraq, yearning for normalcy but finding few clues of how to begin in debris of their charred and looted offices; US officials arrest Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi, former finance minister, who may be useful in shedding light on Saddam Hussein's personal wealth; Emad Husayn Abdullah al-Ani, suspected force behind Iraq's program to develop nerve agent VX in 1980's, turns himself in; foreign ministers from eight Middle Eastern countries demand that American and British forces leave Iraq as soon as possible; photo; map (M)

Back at Work, Iraqis Discover Offices in Chaos

Article on cultlike following TiVo has attracted; TiVo, which has around 700,000 subscribers, is personal video recorder that hooks up to television and can record up to 80 hours of programming on hard drive; TiVo allows its users to custom record television programs to watch at will, gives them more time to watch their favorite programs but takes away some privacy; photo; drawing (M)

Friend Or Foe? The Cult Of TiVo Cometh

Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld enjoys new stature after swift war to oust Saddam Hussein from Iraq, at last admitted to Pres Bush's inner circle and possessed of fresh leverage with which to press Congress and Pentagon to embrace his vision of 21st century fighting machine prepared to use force not just in retaliation, but to head off perceived threats; new standing is partly due to his willingness to become his own spokesman during war, taking on news media and becoming face of American strength or, depending on one's view, American arrogance; photo (M)

After the War, New Stature for Rumsfeld

Critics view Boeing Co proposal to lease 100 Boeing 767 airborne refueling tankers to Air Force as example of both creative accounting and political pork; company and Air Force say move is cost-effective way to replace aging air refueling tankers; studies by General Accounting Office, Office of Management and Budget and Congressional Budget Office, some ordered by plan critic Sen John McCain, found lease option is more costly than buying planes outright or overhauling existing tankers; Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld has yet to take stand; graphs of commercial demand for plane and of Boeing Co finances; photos; drawing (M)

Creative Deal or Highflying Pork?

Most experts agree that task of rebuilding Iraq will prove complicated and expensive for Americans overseeing it; Iraqis are deeply divided about American forces one week after greeting them as liberators: on the one hand insisting that they fix the damage of war and on the other demanding that they leave as soon as possible; overview of what has to be rebuilt in areas of electricity, water, telephones, health care, economy, police, government, schools, sanitation and and public transportation; photos (L)

From Power Grid to Schools, Rebuilding a Broken Nation

Automakers descend on Manhattan for New York auto show with array of new designs and emphasis on cars after years in which light trucks and SUV's took center stage; photos (M)

Carmakers' Bright New Idea: Cars

Overview of major developments in Iraq war on Apr 19 (M)

U.S. Access to Iraqi Bases, Signs of Life in Baghdad and Rumsfeld on the Rise

Anemona Hartocollis Coping column on transformation of Morningside Park, site of 1960's student uprising opposing plan by Columbia University to build gymnasium within park boundaries; drawing (M)

A Site of Battles, a Piece of Paradise

Sir Bernard Katz, FRS was a German-born British physician and biophysicist, noted for his work on nerve physiology; specifically, for his work on synaptic transmission at the nerve-muscle junction. He shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1970 with Julius Axelrod and Ulf von Euler. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1969.

April 20, 2003

Headlines from April 20, 2003

Kidd and Nets Give Bucks Quite a Start

Following The Bling-Bling: A Rap Auteur

Care for a Drink Before Your Meal? Sure, but Hold the Meal

A New Way of Warfare Leaves Behind an Abundance of Loose Ends

INSIDE

Billboard 200

Meteora

Get Rich Or Die Tryin'

Now 12

One Heart

Come Away With Me

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for April 20, 2003