May 23, 2005

The Yankees have long viewed the crosstown Mets more like an unassuming neighbor than a legitimate threat. They seem to treat their meetings as semiserious exhibitions, refusing to acknowledge that an interleague series could ever constitute a real live rivalry. But in the final moments of their final game at Shea Stadium this season, the kings of New York climbed down from their throne yesterday and showed how they became royalty in the first place. Attacking the Mets just as they would the Red Sox, the Yankees came back to grab a 5-3 victory and win the first installment of the 2005 round robin, two games to one.

Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner form 2929 Entertainment to make, distribute and show films digitally, and their films will be released simultaneously in theaters, on cable television and DVD; revolutionary concept is based on calculation that theatrical releases account for about $9 billion in revenues for film industry while home videos and DVD are worth $24 billion, making theatrical run essentially an expensive trailer for the after market; eliminating four-month lag between theatrical release and DVD release will also save on marketing (M)

Article on composer Michael Cobden who, like millions of professional and amateur musicians, are using powerful laptop computers, mini-keyboards and other new hardware and software to produce music that in earlier age might have been created in garages; Cobden, Manhattan restaurant manager and James Rotondi, editor of new magazine Future Music, comment as they work in Bryant Park; photos (M)

Anthony Tommasini Critic's Notebook column reviews John Williams' musical score for Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith; photos (M)

The Chinese businesswoman called Sister Ping was known around Chinatown as the person to go to for smuggling immigrants. But according to testimony last week in her federal trial in Manhattan, smuggling was but a sideline for her -- a small part of a multinational underground empire that she oversaw from a humble-looking Chinatown storefront. At the height of her power, witnesses recalled, Sister Ping, whose real name is Cheng Chui Ping, owned restaurants, a clothing store and real estate in Chinatown, as well as apartments in Hong Kong and a farm in South Africa. But her main, multimillion-dollar business, evidence revealed, was an underground banking network that stretched from New York to Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong -- and even Communist China.

Fraud trial of L Dennis Kozlowski, former chief executive of Tyco International, and his lieutenant, Mark H Swartz, departs in significant ways from original trial, which ended in mistrial, even though principals, courtroom and facts in case are unchanged; prosecution puts on decidedly stronger case by focusing on charges of grand larceny and throwing out much of entertaining testimony about Kozlowski's conspicuous consumption; defense has also tightened its case and made some points stronger, and Kozlowski's own testimony has injected huge new factor into case; photo (M)

Edward Rothstein Connections column on 350th anniversary of arrival of ship carrying Jews exiled from Brazil to New Amsterdam, now New York City; commemorations include new exhibits at Museum of the City of New York and Center for Jewish History (M)

In U.S., Afghan Leader Defends Opium Fight The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, rejected criticism of his efforts against opium poppy growers and blamed the West for lack of aid. He also said his country wanted custody of all Afghan detainees. PAGE A10 Dean Still Speaking His Mind With attacks on Tom DeLay and President Bush, Howard Dean leaves little doubt that he is a different Democratic Party leader. PAGE A13 Base Closing Changes Likely The commission assessing proposed base closings will spare some installations but could add others, the panel's chairman said. PAGE A16 A Blow to Chile's Military The loss of 21 soldiers in an Andean blizzard has turned into a political crisis that threatens the tenure of the leader of the Chilean Army. PAGE A3 Grief in Victims' Hometown The small town of McMechen, W.Va., mourned the three residents killed in the crash of a sightseeing plane in Coney Island. PAGE B1 Salsa and Oxygen Bars? Must Be a Condo Project In Miami, condominium projects are being promoted by lavish launch parties, featuring salsa dancing, trampoline acts and oxygen bars, above. No expense is spared by builders to entice the well-off buyers they covet. PAGE A16

More than 20 American soldiers and marines have been accused of crimes in connection with deaths of Iraqis since war began more than two years ago; at least 10 service members have been convicted, but in most cases on less serious charges than those they originally faced; Navy personnel are also being investigated in deaths of two detainees; in some of 20 cases, prosecutors allege that flagrant acts led to death; in other cases, service members have admitted their roles in deaths, but have likened their actions to 'mercy kililngs,' striking final blows to wounded Iraqis who were suffering; most contentious cases are those of handful of service members who claim they acted only to protect themselves from what they considered threats to their lives, as allowed by military rules; detailed examination of one such case: Cpl Dustin M Berg, 22-year-old guardsman from Indiana, shot and killed Iraqi officer he was patrolling with, used officer's gun to shoot himself and then lied about incident; he now is claiming self-defense; chart lists other cases under scrutiny; photos (L)

Grover Norquist, who has had hand in nearly every conservative cause in Washington for nearly two decades, is attracting unwelcome attention because of his link to lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Congressional committee investigating whether Abramoff defrauded Indian tribes has subpoenaed records from Norquist's group, Americans for Tax Reform, after he refused for six months to turn them over voluntarily; Justice Dept is reviewing records of advocacy group Norquist started after reports that Abramoff instructed Indian tribes to give it $250,000; Norquist's name appears over and over in newly disclosed documents outlining Abramoff's work in Northern Mariana Islands, which Democrats are agitating to investigate; Norquist dismisses any suggestion of wrongdoing on his part and plays down his ties to Abramoff, which go back to their college days; photo (M)

They simply appeared, moved by grief, faith and a deep sense of community. News of the accident had traveled fast through the northern panhandle of West Virginia: two students from Bishop Donahue High School in the small town of McMechen, and the father of one of them, had died along with the pilot in a plane crash in New York City.

Article on making of Lords of Dogtown, new movie about three scrappy founders of daredevil skateboarding set in Venice, Calif; Catherine Hardwicke, friend of daredevil skateboarding founder and screenplay author Stacy Peralta, comments on her push to be named replacement for director David Fincher; photos (M)