May 27, 2005

DeLay Group's Treasurer Broke Law, Judge Rules A Texas judge ruled that a treasurer for a political action committee formed by Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, broke campaign finance laws in helping propel Republicans into power in the Texas House in 2002. Mr. DeLay was not named in the case, but the decision was a symbolic victory for his critics, lending credence to accusations that his allies used illegal campaign finance tactics. PAGE A14 A.I.G., Insurer, Is Sued New York regulators sued the American International Group; its former chief executive, Maurice R. Greenberg; and another former executive, contending they manipulated financial statements to make business look better than it was. BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1 No Americans in Paris Andy Roddick, the second-seeded men's player, was eliminated from the French Open yesterday by the little-known José Acasuso of Argentina. For the second straight year, no American man made it past the second round. SPORTSFRIDAY, PAGE D1 Britons Push Knife Control Three medical experts in Britain are urging kitchen knife manufacturers to redesign their wares as a crime control measure. They say a third of all murder victims in Britain are now stabbed to death, and they want the sale of long, pointed knives to be banned. PAGE A4 That Exotic London Smog A century ago Monet depicted smoggy London as a place of Romantic beauty, as in ''Waterloo Bridge, Morning Fog'' (1901), above. Now the Brooklyn Museum revisits several artists' graceful portraits of a gritty city. Holland Cotter reviews the exhibition. WEEKEND ARTS, PAGE E1 City Settles Giuliani-Era Suit New York City will pay almost $5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Housing Works, an AIDS advocacy and housing organization, which contended that it lost government contracts because it had disparaged former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, his aides and their policies. PAGE B1 Sectarian Killings in Iraq Violence that has taken more than 550 lives across Iraq this month has renewed concern that the bloodshed may be shifting ever more toward crudely sectarian killings of Sunnis and Shiites, pushing the country ever close to the brink of civil war. PAGE A10

Hundreds of male homosexual couples are creating families through surrogate mothers, who help them to have children genetically linked to them while bypassing often difficult legal challenges gay men face in adoption; almost half of agencies and law firms around country that broker arrangements between surrogate mothers and prospective parents work with gay couples or are seeking to, through advertising; within close-knit world of professional childbearers, gay couples have reputation as especially grateful clients, willing to meet surrogate's often intense demands for emotional connection; surrogates, who are paid about $20,000 plus medical expenses to carry child, are responsible for about 1,000 births a year; surrogates who choose not to work with gay couples cite spouse's disapproval or fears that their own children might be stigmatized by classmates; photos (M)

For Mike Mustafa, the owner of a tailor shop just off Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the thick gray sky and heavy drizzle over his neighborhood seemed almost fitting yesterday. Standing in front of a window in the shop he opened 15 years ago, Creative Needle Tailoring, Mr. Mustafa said he was dreading the loss of the crown jewel of the strip along Fifth Avenue known as Bridal Row -- and many of the tens of thousands of brides-to-be who flock to Bay Ridge every year.

ARTHUR CHI'EN did a foolish thing one morning last week. He acted human. Where he went wrong was to do it in front of a television camera. A reporter for WCBS-TV, Mr. Chi'en was on a Midtown street doing a live standup on MetroCard swindles. This was for the benefit of however many New Yorkers happened to be awake at 6 a.m. and tuned to Channel 2. Behind him stood two dolts who taunted him on camera, gesturing vulgarly and holding up a sign for the Opie and Anthony radio show.

Ben Ratliff Listening to CD's With column on conversation with jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman; they listen to and discuss recordings by Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and the Paul Motian Trio; photos (L)