February 21, 2004

Conservative Republicans vying for votes in Congressional races across US are mounting opposition to Pres Bush's plan to grant temporary legal status to millions of illegal immigrants; Jim Oberweis, Republican who is running for Senate seat in Illinois, has become leader in widening revolt against Bush's plan; Bush hopes to revamp immigration system widely viewed as broken and to re-establish his credentials as compassionate conservative--particularly with Hispanic and swing voters; plan has left party divided; Republicans say it is unlikely that legislation supporting plan will be introduced in 2004; Oberweis photo (M)

Dan Barry column reports that volunteers at very modest New York City campaign headquarters of Rep Dennis A Kucinich doubt if Kucinich will win state's Democratic presidential primary, but are hoping that he will win enough delegates to give them voice in party's platform; Kucinich's rare visits to city are rewarded with excellent vegan fare, his prefered diet; photo (M)

Malaysian investigators report finds that network led by Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan shipped partly enriched uranium directly to Libya aboard Pakistani airplane in 2001, providing fuel stock in addition to designs and technology to make nuclear bomb; provides evidence that businessmen and engineers from Turkey, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, Dubai and Malaysia were closely involved in Libya's clandestine nuclear program; report is based primarily on Malaysian authorities interrogation of B S A Tahir, middleman in Khan's global nuclear trading network; International Atomic Energy Agency report confirms that Libya received shipment in Feb 2001 (M)

Prosecutors in Martha Stewart trial rest their case after confusing day in which one of their own witnesses reverses her earlier testimony, than makes partial reversal of that; witness, Mariana Pasternak, originally testified that while traveling with Stewart in Mexico in late 2001, Stewart indicated that her broker informed her that members of Samuel D Waksal's family were selling their shares of ImClone Systems; under cross examination, Pasternak says Stewart might not have mentioned broker; later, Pasternak says she believes Stewart did speak of broker; Pasternak's initial story appears to support testimony of government's chief witness, former stockbroker's assistant Douglas Faneuil, who says he told Stewart about the Waksals moments before she sold nearly 4,000 Imclone shares; photo (M)

Utah Jazz defeats New York Knicks, 92-78; photos (M)