March 8, 2005

Richard Sandomir TV Sports column discusses NBC's coverage of Doral Open's final round, which tended to photographically favor Tiger Woods over other players; photo (M)

Hans A Bethe, who discovered violent reactions behind sunlight, led theoreticians who devised atom bomb and then fought many new weapons of cold war, dies at age 98, last of giants who inaugurated nuclear age; Bethe, who fled Germany in 1930's, pioneered some of most esoteric realms of physics and astrophysics, long advising federal government and in time emerging as science community's liberal conscience; 1938 paper on how sun and similar stars fuse hydrogen into helium, releasing bursts of energy and light, helped establish his reputation as father of nuclear astrophysics and earned him Nobel Prize in 1967; photos; diagram; Bethe was last of greats who led Manhattan Project, outliving not only his conservative counterpoint Edward Teller but also Enrico Fermi and J Robert Oppenheimer (M)

Pres Bush chooses John R Bolton, blunt-spoken conservative known for sharp skepticism of UN, as US ambassador to world body; photo; Sec Condoleezza Rice says he is tough-minded diplomat with track record of effective multilateralism who will speak with strong voice, as did some of well-known predecessors; 56-year-old lawyer has worked in federal government for most of last 25 years, lately as under secretary of state for arms control and international security; choice is lauded by conservatives and criticized by UN diplomats; Vice Pres Cheney reportedly pushed him for post (M)

Style Network will begin airing Craft Corner Deathmatch, unconventional game show in which two amateur crafters go head to head in timed trials; winner goes on to compete against real craft professional Jocelyn Worrall; photo (M)

Southern Iraq wetlands are experiencing revitalization after citizen-led destruction of dams and dikes placed there by Saddam Hussein's government; region, which was home to estimated 350,000 to 500,000 marsh Arabs, some for thousands of years, was thought by Hussein to be haven for outlaws and military deserters; rebirth of some marsh areas since fall of Hussein regime described; concerns about continued flooding of land around Tigris and Euphrates rivers and livelihood of those living in region discussed; various groups differ as to restoration potential of marshes and way of life for people there; photos; maps; graph (L)