November 27, 2005

In the fall of 1985, Concerned Alumni of Princeton was entering a crisis. The group's members at the time included Samuel A. Alito Jr., now President Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, although there is no evidence that he played an active or prominent role.

AS shopping districts go, the corner of Dey Street and Broadway, in Lower Manhattan, hardly carries the prestige of Madison Avenue or the relentless bustle of Herald Square. Still, for a certain brand of merchant, one who relies partly on tourists and impulse buys, this is one of the city's best locations. Because the A, C, 2 and 3 trains, among others, stop nearby, there is plenty of foot traffic. The popular discount department store Century 21 is a block west, and a bus carrying ground-zero-bound tourists stops on the corner. ''We would have to be in Times Square to equal this location,'' said Geoff Feder, the manager of Cookie Island, a gourmet cookie shop at 189 Broadway, a two-story building.

Defiant Shiite Cleric Consolidates Power in Iraq Wielding violence and political popularity, Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric who has defied American authorities in Iraq, is cementing his role as one of the nation's most powerful figures. PAGE 8 On the Kazan Front John Simon reviews Richard Schickel's ''Elia Kazan,'' a biography of the director of ''On the Waterfront,'' ''East of Eden'' and ''A Streetcar Named Desire.'' BOOK REVIEW Crackdown in Azerbaijan Police officers attacked an opposition demonstration in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, beating and chasing away thousands of unarmed people protesting recent parliamentary elections, which monitors called flawed. The United States Embassy denounced the violence. PAGE 16 Muslims in Russia Russia is historically an Orthodox Christian nation. But it is also Islamic, and since the fall of the Soviet Union, Islam has grown more visible. Although the threat of conflict exists, in many places, the two cultures are adapting to each other. A photo essay. WEEK IN REVIEW College Basketball Preview The Big East shapes up as the biggest and most competitive conference in men's college basketball. North Carolina, meanwhile, is rebuilding after losing the five starters from its national championship team. With capsules of other teams and players to watch. SPORTSSUNDAY Middle Class Seeks Heat Aid With the cost of natural gas heat rising 50 percent since last year and heating oil prices up 30 percent, even some middle-class families are finding it hard to pay and have applied for government help. PAGE 41 4 Die in New Jersey Crash Four young women from the Trenton area were killed when their vehicles collided on a dark two-lane road in western New Jersey. PAGE 41 Senator Tweaking the G.O.P. Senator Trent Lott, ousted as majority leader in 2002, is jabbing at Republican leaders and ruffling feathers as he ponders his future. PAGE 33 Havana on the Horizon Resort companies and cruise lines are looking at sites in Cuba and planning for the day when that nation can again become a playground for United States citizens. TRAVEL

They're the scourge of hobo encampments and hot-sheet motels. To impressionable children everywhere, they're a snippet of nursery rhyme, an abstract foe lurking beneath the covers that emerges when mommy shuts the door at night. But bedbugs on Park Avenue? Ask the horrified matron who recently found her duplex teeming with the blood-sucking beasts. Or the tenants of a co-op on Riverside Drive who spent $200,000 earlier this month to purge their building of the pesky little thugs. The Helmsley Park Lane was sued two years ago by a welt-covered guest who blamed the hotel for harboring the critters. The suit was quietly settled last year.

Selena Roberts Sports of The Times column discusses New York Knicks coach Larry Brown, whose influence could affect Stephon Marbury's place on team (M)