David Pogue State of the Art column describes latest technology for downloading music; reviews Apple iTunes, MusicMatch, BuyMusic and Napster 2.0; compares download process and costs for service from four companies; drawing (M)

Paying the Piper, Round 2: The Repertory Grows

Selena Roberts Sports of The Times column discusses debut of 18-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers player LeBron James and what she sees as NBA's somewhat 'disturbing exploitation' of young athletes; photos (M)

Sports of The Times; LeBron Carnival Makes Its Debut

Edward J Strafaci, former executive of Lipper Holdings, is indicted for overstating by millions of dollars valued of two hedge funds he ran; Securities and Exchange Commission brings civil fraud charges against Strafaci for same reason; two hedge funds were closed after overstatement was discovered in early 2002; initially, company wrote down value of one of funds by about 40 percent; indictment tarnishes reputation of Kenneth Lipper, former deputy mayor of New York City; Lipper is not indicted nor is he charged by SEC; US attorney and SEC say their investigations are continuing; trustee assigned to liquidate two hedge funds is also investigating whether there were other culpable parties (M)

Ex-Executive With Lipper Is Indicted

World Business Briefing | Africa: Ghana: Bid For Miner Endorsed

Many Southern California residents are constructing homes with fire resistance in mind, especially in Malibu area, which was devasted when 1993 fire consumed 350 homes; standing pools of water and steel construction are part of new standard in fire-retardant construction; photos (M)

Fighting Fire With Steel, Pools And Plaster

New York City retrains poll inspectors who had performed poorly or failed certification tests for City Council elections; photos (M)

This Time, Actually Helping Voters; Remedial Class Tries to Improve Poll Workers' Performance

European Commission announces plans for sweeping overhaul of Europe's chemical industry that it says will weed out health risks; hails measure as breakthrough after two years of tough negotiations that saw some of its harshest original elements scaled back; photo (M)

Europe Proposes Overhaul of Chemical Industry

Mourners gather to remember Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who died at age 105 in Manhattan (NYC) apartment; photos (M)

An Epitaph for Madame Chiang Kai-shek: 'Mama'

NFL announces it will not allow players to claim ignorance if they test positive for previously undetectable steroid THG (M)

N.F.L. to Impose Old Penalties For New Steroid

BHP Billiton says profit fell 6.3 percent in its first quarter ended Sept 30; net income fell to $518 million from $553 million year earlier; sales rose 23 percent, to $4.83 billion (S)

World Business Briefing | Australia: Miner's Profit Falls

House lawmakers forging ahead with biggest overhaul of corporate taxes in two decades have been confronted by scores of competing buiness groups pushing for their special interests to be addressed in bill; bill would offer corporations $128 billion in new tax relief over next decade; special-interest lobbying has been so intense that lawmakers have had trouble reaching agreement on final package; they are getting closer to reaching deal, having agreed to give something to almost everybody; lobbying is not over, because bill moving through House will have to be reconciled with similar but more modest bill in Senate; House and Senate leaders are determined to pass bill of some kind, but lawmakers say fight may well drag into next year; photos (M)

CORPORATE PLEA FOR TAX BREAKS: OURS COME FIRST

Rosie O'Donnell, popular talk show host who left television nearly 18 months ago, returns to spotlight as producer of Taboo, new musical about 1980's London club scene, with music by Boy George; O'Donnell is also slated to appear in New York State Supreme Court in legal battle in which she is being sued by Gruner & Jahr, publisher of now-defunct magazine Rosie; O'Donnell has filed countersuit charging that firm prevented her from using contract provision to walk out of venture and mounted campaign to force her to surrender editorial control; photo (M)

A Musical, A Lawsuit And a Lot Of Pressure

Colorful new boathouse will be ceremonially towed around Battery en route to its Harlem River home at new Swindler Cove Park; park is championed by songstress Bette Midler, and caps her long involvement with cleaning up New York City parks through New York Restoration Project, group she founded in 1995; park, which is rich in natural features, described; history of area noted; photos (L)

On Harlem River, Hope Floats

World Economic Forum report shows US dropped to second from first in annual ranking of global economic competitiveness, stretched by rising cost of fighting terrorism and its large budget deficit; cost of fighting terrorism and war in Iraq and its effect on American economic competitiveness are measured by survey in everything from delays caused by security checkpoints in buildings and airports to longer-term effect of discouraging foreign students from earning graduate degrees in US; ranking also suffers for failing to comply with international agreements, inefficient public spending and allowing political donations to affect policy decisions; Finland heads list as most competitive nation; report's author Augusto Lopez-Claros comments (M)

Countries Rated by Cost Of Doing Business

Volkswagen AG says profit will fall by more than half this year as weak demand for its cars, strong euro and cost of eliminating jobs in Brazil cut into its third-quarter earings; profit fell 57 percent, to 510 million euros ($595 million) in its third quarter (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: Germany: Poor Outlook At Volkswagen

Metalworkers stage strike at carmakers in Brazil, halting about one-third of country's auto and truck production at plants belonging to Ford Motor, Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler and Scania; ABC Metalworkers Union says about 24,000 workers are on strike after rejecting raise of nearly 16 percent, four percentage points less than what unions asked for; photo (M)

Metalworkers Stage Strike At Carmakers In Brazil

Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez is placed on waivers with five years and $104 million left on contract; photo (M)

Ramirez Is Put On Waivers In Bid to Shed Big Contract

Major fall art auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's, fueled by estate sales, are expected to feature prime examples by works of masters like van Gogh, Leger, Klimt and Jasper Johns; collectors putting art up for sale include tennis star John McEnroe, casino owner Stephen Wynn, newsprint magnate Peter Brant and Austrian-born financier Wolfgang Flottl; photo (M)

Fall Art Auctions Offer A Wealth of Big Names

Pharmaceutical executives tell US lawmakers that legalizing drug imports would endanger American patients and sap profits that pay for research, while their message to Wall Street is that problem of drug imports is well in hand; Pfizer's chief executive Henry A McKinnell said in recent conference call with analysts that over last few months Pfizer has been able to reduce amount of its drugs being imported from Canada into US to less than $10 million per year from $40 million; Merck & Co chief executive Raymond V Gilmartin said last week that imports of Merck drugs from Canada are not significant; if House and Senate conferees trying to work out Medicare drug benefit opt to include provision allowing imports only from Canada, it seems likely that industry's present upbeat descriptions would hold true; mechanisms that Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca have used to limit sales in Canada to local demand appear to have allowed industry to keep cross-border traffic under control; industry argues that threat to both profits and drug safety would be significant if European countries are included in import bill; Roche Holdings pharmaceutical group chief William Burns says Europe's long experience with imports across borders indicate that such trade need not be worrisome; graph; photos (M)

Drug Makers' New Intensity In Defense of U.S. Borders

Big East Conference commissioner discusses general future of league and efforts to fill holes left by departure of Virginia Tech University, Boston College and Miami University; all 16 member colleges will play basketball; photo (M)

Big East Basketball Goes Forward

Police officers shoot and kill one of three robbery suspects, and police officers James Gentile and Anthony Vidot are shot at and wounded in Brooklyn (NYC) altercation; map; photos (M)

2 Officers Shot in Brooklyn; Police Kill Robbery Suspect

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani joins Mayor Michael R Bloomberg's efforts to end partisan elections and do away with primaries after studying idea himself when he was in office (M)

Giuliani Joins Effort to Alter City Primaries

World Business Briefing | Europe: China: Trade Delegation

Janet Maslin reviews books Whatever You Say I Am: The Life and Times of Eminem by Anthony Bozza and Bruce Springsteen's America: The People Listening, a Poet Singing by Robert Coles; photos (M)

Behind the Mystique of Two Pop Heroes, the Boss and the Bad-Boy Rapper

Iran Brown, 14, youngest victim of Washington-area sniper, testifies at trial of John A Muhammad, accused mastermind of shootings; he is on trial charged with capital murder in shooting of Dean H Meyers, but prosecutors are introducing evidence from 13 shootings, 10 of them fatal, in effort to show that Muhammad directed terrorist scheme intended to extort $10 million from local government; Brown, who was 13 at time of shooting year ago, tells of being shot moments after exiting his aunt's car in front of his school in Bowie, Md; says he pulled himself back into car as blood spewed across his shirt; Dr Martin Eichelberger, pediatric surgeon who treated boy, testifies that he came close to dying; several witnesses testify about seeing Muhammad's 1990 blue Chevrolet Caprice either near boy's school or at scenes of two other shootings; photo (M)

Youngest Victim of Sniper Tells of Bullet in Chest



Steve O'Rourke was an English music manager and racing driver. He was the manager of Pink Floyd, a position he held from 1968 until his death. Among his accomplishments was negotiating Pink Floyd's split with bass player and main songwriter Roger Waters.

October 30, 2003

Headlines from October 30, 2003

Paying the Piper, Round 2: The Repertory Grows

Sports of The Times; LeBron Carnival Makes Its Debut

Ex-Executive With Lipper Is Indicted

World Business Briefing | Africa: Ghana: Bid For Miner Endorsed

Fighting Fire With Steel, Pools And Plaster

Billboard 200

Measure Of A Man

ChickenNBeer

Hard

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

The Movie Album

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for October 30, 2003

Headlines from October 30, 2003

Paying the Piper, Round 2: The Repertory Grows

Sports of The Times; LeBron Carnival Makes Its Debut

Ex-Executive With Lipper Is Indicted

World Business Briefing | Africa: Ghana: Bid For Miner Endorsed

Fighting Fire With Steel, Pools And Plaster

Measure Of A Man

Chicken*N*Beer

Hard

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

The Movie Album

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for October 30, 2003

ChickenNBeer