As the justices of the Supreme Court took their seats Tuesday morning to hear Osama bin Laden's former driver challenge the Bush administration's plan to try him before a military commission, one question -- perhaps the most important one -- was how protective the justices would be of their jurisdiction to decide the case.     The answer emerged gradually, but by the end of the tightly packed 90-minute argument, it was fairly clear: highly protective.  

Justices Hint That They'll Rule on Challenge Filed by Detainee

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column discusses New York Rangers player Jaromir Jagr, who tied Rangers records for goals and points in a season; photos (M)

Sports of The Times; Jagr Conjures Memories Of Some Ranger Greats

Florence Fabricant reviews three new tagines and compares one dish made in traditional terra-cotta tagine with three new versions; holds that original tagine produced best results; recipe for chicken tagine; photos (M)

Raiding the Souk: The Latest in Tagines

Medieval fantasy epic video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion taps into market of men and women in their 20's and 30's who grew up playing such games; since its release for PC's and Xbox 360, game has sold out in stores across country; games where single player navigates fantasy world have grown rare as fantasy games now include hundreds of players synched up over Internet, but The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is providing competition to that format and place for players to enjoy video games solo; photos (M)

Neglected Solo Gamers, Now Heroes Once Again

Mayor Sharpe James of Newark, who announced he will not seek another term, continues business as usual, while many of those in his administration or working in patronage jobs he arranged start looking ahead; State Sen Ronald L Rice declares candidacy and will probably face off against former candidate Cory Booker; both are wooing James's supporters, especially city's roughly 4,000 public workers; photos (M)

For First Time in 20 Years, Newark Looks to a Future Without Sharpe James as Mayor

R W Apple explores taste of mutton, strong flavored meat which has experienced resurgence in British cuisine after Charles, Prince of Wales, recently declared mutton to be his favorite dish; mutton, which is meat from sheep that are at least 2 years old, is popular in many countries around world, but not commonplace in United States; visit to Jamie Nicholl's Summerfield Farm (VA), which supplies beef, lamb and veal to chefs across America, described; photos (M)

Much Ado About Mutton, but Not in These Parts

The trouble with the WB series ''The Bedford Diaries'' isn't the sex, it's the curriculum.      The courses at Bedford, a fictional college campus in New York City, include an elective seminar titled ''Sexual Behavior and the Human Condition'' (video diaries, not Havelock Ellis) and a survey course, ''Urban Public Health'' (Valtrex, not Venetian canals). The only hint of a Western canon in the premiere is a course that mentions 17th-century Spanish portraiture. (At least it's the Prado, not Prada.)  

Bedford, a College With Sex in the Curriculum

At Ben S. Bernanke's first meeting as head of the Federal Reserve's policy-making committee, the watchword was no surprises.     As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee raised the benchmark federal funds rate on Tuesday by a quarter of a percentage point, to 4.75 percent, and suggested that at least one more increase was in the cards. It was the 15th such increase in consecutive meetings of the committee.  

Fed Panel Raises Rate to 4.75%

Painting by Chinese artist Wang Guangyi is expected to be star at Sotheby's first New York auction of contemporary Asian art, timed to coincide with Asia Week; appetite for Asian contemporary art is booming in Europe and Asia and hope is that trend will quickly move westward; Sotheby's has created contemporary Asian art department at their New York auction house and hired Xiaoming Zhang, Chinese-born expert, to run it; photos (M)

Sotheby's Bets on a Windfall for Today's Chinese Art

In 1992, with General Motors in the worst financial crisis in its storied history, its board ousted top management and brought in a fresh slate of executives with orders to burst through the automaker's turgid culture.      The youngest was its 39-year-old chief financial officer, Rick Wagoner, a virtual unknown outside the company who was as shocked as everyone else when he was summoned back from G.M.'s operations in Brazil for a post that usually went to men a decade or two his senior. He helped fashion a turnaround plan that stemmed the bleeding and put G.M. back on the road to profitability.  

At G.M.'s Helm or Going Under?

Lawsuit filed by actor Randy Quaid over payments for his role in film Brokeback Mountain points to uncomfortable contradiction in specialty divisions owned by major movie studios, such as Fox Searchlight, Focus Features and Warner Independent; films are budgeted as though they were in independent world, squeezing every nickel from actors, directors and production staff, but are promoted on big budget by parent company, often finding glory at box office or success in award season; photos (M)

Lawsuit Over 'Brokeback Mountain' Reveals Unease Over Pay for 'Arthouse' Films

Israelis voted Tuesday to bring to power a new centrist party, Kadima, which is committed to a further pullout from the occupied West Bank.     Kadima's leader, Ehud Olmert, will become prime minister, but his support proved tepid and he will find it harder than expected to impose his agenda on a larger coalition.  

Israeli Voters, by Thin Margin, Support Parties Vowing Pullout

The president of the Emirates Group, Dubai's fast-growing airline, readily acknowledges that he was dismayed by what happened in Washington to DP World, the giant port operator that is one of Emirates' sister companies.      ''It is rather a slap in the face,'' Maurice Flanagan, the Emirates president, said during a recent interview here. Dubai executives, he said, thought they had a close relationship with the United States.  

After Dubai Uproar, Emirates Air Holds No Grudges

Murray Chass On Baseball column discusses Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who is about to announce steroid investigation; photos (M)

Selig Is Poised to Begin Steroids Inquiry

 Defense Rests in Trial Of Accused 9/11 Terrorist  Defense lawyers trying to prevent the government from executing Zacarias Moussaoui ended their case by presenting the accounts of senior Qaeda terrorists. The testimony, portraying Mr. Moussaoui as unreliable and unstable, was intended to dispute his own surprise claim that he was to have played a major role in the Sept. 11 attacks.    PAGE A19    Immigration Debate Boils In Congress and on Television  The Senate Republicans who voted to legalize the nation's illegal immigrants look at the waves of immigration reshaping this country and see a powerful work force and future Americans. The House Republicans who backed tough border security legislation look at the same people and see a flood of invaders and lawbreakers. And shifting from observer to advocate, Lou Dobbs, the CNN anchor, steps into the fray.    PAGE A17    SPECIAL TODAY    Museums  Looted art, whether from Italian ruins or Iraqi archaeological sites, has provoked a debate about the concept of ownership and the laws that govern it. Also, the Frick Collection courts new money, and millions visit museums in cyberspace.    SECTION G    Caspar W. Weinberger Is Dead  As secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan, with whom he is shown in 1987, he oversaw a huge peacetime military buildup. He served three Republican presidents, and was a crucial backer of the ''Star Wars'' defense system and an implacable foe of the Soviet Union. He was 88.    PAGE A21    Liberia's Ex-Leader Vanishes  The former Liberian president, Charles G. Taylor, living in exile in Nigeria, vanished two days after Nigeria's government said an international court in Sierra Leone could indict him.    PAGE A3    A Steady Course at the Fed  The chairman of the Federal Reserve has changed, but the board's course remained the same. The Fed increased its benchmark rate to 4.75 percent.   BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1    Duke and Carolina Advance  Duke stopped Connecticut in overtime and North Carolina ousted Tennessee to reach the N.C.A.A. women's basketball Final Four. They joined Louisiana State and Maryland.    SPORTSWEDNESDAY, PAGE D1    Ex-Judges on Eavesdropping  Five former judges on the nation's most secretive court urged Congress to give the court a formal role in overseeing the domestic eavesdropping program. Several also voiced skepticism about the president's constitutional authority to order wiretapping on Americans without a court order.    PAGE A19

INSIDE

Legislative leaders agreed Tuesday on a $112.4 billion budget that authorized $11.2 billion for school construction in New York City and included a broad tax-cut package that would send property tax rebate checks to homeowners across the state.     The deal to provide the city with school construction money over several years through a complex bonding plan came in last-minute negotiations as the Assembly and the Senate raced toward a midnight deadline to print budget bills so they can pass a budget by the April 1 deadline for the second time in more than two decades. Even after midnight, there was some dispute over whether they had beaten the clock.  

Deal in Albany on Budget Gives New School Aid

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced plans yesterday for the most sweeping reorganization in its history of more than 150 years, recommending the closing of 31 parishes and 14 schools throughout the metropolitan region.     At the same time, the archdiocese recommended creating five new parishes in Staten Island, Orange County and Dutchess County and constructing several new church buildings, mostly in northern Westchester County, Rockland County and Dutchess County, where many Catholics who have left the city have relocated.  

New York Archdiocese Sets Biggest Closing in Its 150 Years

Duke University suspended the season of its nationally ranked men's lacrosse team Tuesday while the authorities investigated allegations that a woman from a nearby college who had agreed to dance at a private party attended by many team members had been sexually assaulted.     The incident on March 13, which occurred at an off-campus house owned by the university, has brought into sharp relief long-simmering tensions between the private university and the city. The woman is black, most of the team members are white and law-enforcement officials say they are investigating allegations that racial epithets were shouted at the woman.  

Rape Allegation Against Athletes Is Roiling Duke

Melissa Clark describes her personal discovery of North African pastry, or patisserie orientale, in Paris; holds that pastry that is too sweet is not generally popular in Paris, but suggests that patisserie orientale she tasted is unique blend of flavors with hint of sweetness; recipes for Baklava, Dziriate and Cornes de Gazelles; photos; recipes (L)

To Lure the French, Don't Be Too Sweet

The American ambassador has told Shiite officials that President Bush does not want the Iraqi prime minister to remain the country's leader in the next government, senior Shiite politicians said Tuesday.      It is the first time the Americans have directly expressed a preference in the furious debate over the country's top job, the politicians said, and it is inflaming tensions between the Americans and some Shiite leaders.  

Bush Opposes Iraq's Premier, Shiites Report

Holland Cotter essay on debate over art and ownership, given centuries of pilfering that brought treasures to Western museums where they are beloved over generations; photos; demands for restitution and prevention of further plunder have grown more insistent, raising large questions about who owns art and what ownership actually means; archaeologists who insist objects should be studied where they are found, in original context, face off against dealers, collectors and museums in international art market (special section, Museums) (M)

Who Owns Art?

World Trade Center Memorial Web cam to begin recording photos of progress at ground zero; Lower Manhattan Development Corp says that it is starting now because activity has recently begun on memorial and at other buildings at site; Project Rebirth, nonprofit corporation, has recorded site since 2002; photo (M)

In Web Cam at Ground Zero, Still Shots of Slow Progress

Duke University defeats Connecticut University, 63-61, in overtime, to advance to women's NCAA tournament Final Four; photos (M)

Defense Helps Duke Get Past Connecticut

It takes a peculiar sort of ambition to want to catch a 70-pound cannonball being propelled at your rib cage at 75 miles an hour. Or to teach three Doberman pinschers to dance on their hind legs. Or to lower yourself under the belly of a horse as it gallops around a ring. Or to ride a motorcycle at 50 miles an hour, circling inside a 16-foot-diameter sphere, four inches away from six other racing cyclists.     Maybe it even takes a peculiar sort of ambition to want to watch these things. But watching -- which can be done now at Madison Square Garden at the 136th edition of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus -- is also peculiarly satisfying and entertaining.  

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Play Madison Square Garden

Louisiana State University and forward Glen Davis, known as 'Big Baby,' prepare to face UCLA in men's NCAA tournament Final Four; photos (M)

Big Baby

Salvador Elizondo Alcalde was a Mexican writer of the 60s Generation of Mexican literature.

March 29, 2006

Headlines from March 29, 2006

Justices Hint That They'll Rule on Challenge Filed by Detainee

Sports of The Times; Jagr Conjures Memories Of Some Ranger Greats

Raiding the Souk: The Latest in Tagines

Neglected Solo Gamers, Now Heroes Once Again

For First Time in 20 Years, Newark Looks to a Future Without Sharpe James as Mayor

Billboard 200

High School Musical

Back To Bedlam

My Ghetto Report Card

In My Own Words

Reality Check

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for March 29, 2006