The two leaders made some progress on nuclear proliferation and trade imbalances, but broke no new ground on the most delicate issues that divide the two nations.

Bush and Hu Vow New Cooperation

The agency's declaration that "no sound scientific studies" support the drug's medical use contradicted a review by government scientists.

F.D.A. Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana

Devils left wing Jay Pandolfo will spend the first round of the playoffs hanging onto Jaromir Jagr of the Rangers like another germ.

Devils Hope to Follow Their Shadow

New Jersey Devils and Jay Pandolfo prepare to face New York Rangers in first round of playoffs; photos (M)

In eight days on the witness stand Jeffrey K. Skilling accomplished much of what he needed to do in front of the jury hearing his criminal case, avoiding any major gaffes while staunchly maintaining his innocence.      But in the end, the performance by Enron's former chief executive was far from perfect, and may have revealed to the jury more than he and his lawyer wanted.  

Which Picture of Skilling Will Enron Jurors Believe?

A  FEW squat concrete buildings and a whole lot of dust. That's what you're likely to notice first while driving through Joshua Tree, at the foothills of the Mojave Desert in Southern California. The scorched land still feels like a rugged frontier with nonstop wind and king-cab pickup trucks hauling rusted washing machines and groceries.      There's nothing remotely charming or quaint about it. But hidden among the cactus, creosote and tract housing is a full-fledged art scene, with striking works by contemporary artists like Andrea Zittel, Jason Rhoades and Jack Pierson. (Mr. Pierson likes to put the old roadside sign letters he collects for his artwork out in the soil behind his house to get that vintage sun-baked, weathered look.)  

Art Blooms in the California Desert

FOR those who favor open markets and open investment management, it may look like the best of times. But it may really be the worst -- and we may not learn just how bad it is until something horrible happens.     Never have American stock and bond markets been more transparent and subject to better regulation. New rules protect investors in companies and mutual funds by requiring better disclosures.  

Are These Hedge Fund Results Real?

WHEN Michael Davis, a Brooklyn architect, bought an 1880's timber-frame house on the site of a former fish hatchery in Columbia County in upstate New York, he went about his redesign in the same way he renovates his clients' old houses.     ''I like to open up a space whenever I work in a period building and take it back to the original four walls,'' Mr. Davis, 46, said. ''I also like to use elements that are specific to the site.''  

An Architect's Design for Weekend Living

 Family Feud Complicates Rebellion in Chad  President Idriss Déby of Chad blamed Sudan for the recent rebel attack on Ndjamena, his nation's capital. But some of Mr. Déby's enemies come from closer to home, including members of his own family.   PAGE A10    Hamas Names Militant To a Top Security Post  The new Hamas-led Palestinian government filled a senior security post with a militant who had once been on an Israeli hit list and is suspected of links to a bombing that killed three Americans. An Israeli official said it was like putting ''the fox to guard the chicken coop.''   PAGE A6    Shaking Up the Pentagon  Some are criticizing Donald H. Rumsfeld in his own terms, arguing that the defense secretary calls himself an agent of change but resists it himself.   NEWS ANALYSIS, PAGE A18    9/11 Plot Discounted at Trial  Federal prosecutors said F.B.I. analysts did not believe Zacarias Moussaoui's claim that the so-called shoe bomber was involved with him in the Sept. 11 plot.   PAGE A18    Hints of White House Shift  The new White House chief of staff has raised the possibility of moving Harriet E. Miers, below, from her job as President Bush's counsel, an influential Republican said.   PAGE A22    Sizing Up Enron Defendant  At his criminal fraud trial, Jeffrey K. Skilling, former chief executive of Enron, showed himself to be vulnerable, emotional and affable. But jurors also saw a man who did not like to be questioned or to be told he was wrong.   BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1    Risk Is Seen at 9/11 Memorial  An adviser to Gov. George E. Pataki says the design for the memorial at ground zero, where thousands of people are expected to gather daily, leaves it vulnerable to a terrorist attack, and he has asked the architects to consider revisions.   PAGE B1    A Cornucopia of Cinema  The Tribeca Film Festival, conceived as a civic gesture in the wake of 9/11, has become a major event. This year's festival, which begins Tuesday, will include 174 features and 100 shorts.   WEEKEND, PAGE E1

INSIDE

J. P. Morgan Chase said yesterday that it would pay $425 million to settle its part of a class-action lawsuit that contends dozens of banks cheated investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars from initial public offerings during the 1990's market boom.     J. P. Morgan is the first to settle of the 55 investment banks named as defendants, and its agreement may prompt other Wall Street firms to follow. Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs are among the largest investment houses involved in the case.  

First Bank to Settle I.P.O. Suit

AND you thought those crazy, hazy nights when Studio 54 sizzled were strictly a thing of the past. Think again, disco boys and girls. Why right now -- on the very spot where Halston, Liza, Bianca and Andy once held sybaritic court -- you can watch the same kinds of revels they might have witnessed in the 1970's, thanks to the shrill, numbing revival of ''The Threepenny Opera'' that opened at the theater at Studio 54 last night.     Cross-dressed men and women in writhing sexual pretzels; leather boys and glitter queens vacuuming up piles of snow with their nostrils; strobe lights, neon lights and, yes, disco-ball lights. There's even a bare-chested hunk in a gold lamé bathing suit who arrives on a flying golden horse, summoning sweet memories of that fab birthday party for Bianca. (Or was it Liz?) All of this is once again on tap via the Roundabout Theater Company.  

'Threepenny Opera' Brings Renewed Decadence to Studio 54

Quarterback Jay Cutler looks to turn four losing seasons at Vanderbilt University into top 10 draft pick; photos (M)

Vanderbilt Quarterback Tunes Out the Din

Clyde Haberman NYC column on trial of elderly women who were arrested in October 2005 during demonstration against Iraq war at armed services recruiting station in Times Square; says while their style of protest was whimsical, group's antiwar message was serious; photo (M)

What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?

Service Employees International Union reaches tentative four-year contract with Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, averting strike by apartment-building workers in New York City; deal calls for raise of slightly more than 8 percent over term of contract; photo (M)

Tentative Deal Averts Strike By Doormen

Guide to Tribeca Film Festival, including movie recommendations and tips on festival strategies; map; photos (L)

The Movies That Ate Manhattan: A User's Guide to the Tribeca Film Festival

Alessandra Stanley TV Weekend column reviews HBO film Elizabeth I, starring Helen Mirren; photo (M)

'Elizabeth I': The Flirty Monarch With an Iron Fist

New Jersey orders city of Newark to freeze millions in taxpayer dollars destined for private funds under partial control of departing Mayor Sharpe James; questions legality of creation of funds and assignment of $80 million to projects chosen by board that includes James and political allies; Municipal Council had created funds and board to create source of off-budget financing for improvement programs for struggling neighborhoods; mayoral candidate Cory Booker has made funds central campaign issue and has filed suit against funds' spending plans; photo (M)

Newark Is Ordered to Freeze Private Funds Linked to Departing Mayor

The New York City Housing Authority announced yesterday that it wants to raise the rents paid by tens of thousands of its better-off tenants. The move, the biggest change in housing authority rents since 1989, is intended to help close a budget gap that has widened as costs have shot up and federal financing has not, officials said.     The proposed rent increases, some as high as several hundred dollars a month over the next two years, would affect nearly 47,000 households with annual incomes ranging from $19,800 to as high as $100,000. They make up 27 percent of all authority households. The remaining 128,000 poorer households, whose rent is fixed at one third of their income, would be unaffected.  

27% of Public Housing Tenants Face More Rent Under City Plan

Directors of Pfizer Inc., up for election at the company's annual meeting next Thursday and under fire from shareholders over the pay awarded to executives, got a welcome show of support late last week from one of the nation's three proxy advisory services.      Proxy Governance Inc. of Vienna, Va., urged its investor customers to vote for all 13 of the drug maker's directors. In contrast, the other two advisory firms -- Institutional Shareholder Services of Rockville, Md., and Glass Lewis & Company of San Francisco -- have recommended that Pfizer shareholders withhold their votes from some board members because of the company's pay practices.  

Pfizer and the Proxy Adviser

President Bush and China's president, Hu Jintao, pledged to cooperate more closely on fighting nuclear proliferation and reducing trade imbalances on Thursday, but broke no new ground on the most delicate issues that divide the two nations.     The meeting, the first at the White House between the men since Mr. Hu became China's top leader in 2002, was plagued by gaffes that upended months of painstaking diplomacy over protocol and staging.  

MISTY McFARLIN sat spread-legged on the muddy floor of the Arkansas River, head just above water, hands searching a small submerged cave for the giant catfish she knew was lurking within. Her father, Lee McFarlin, sat next to her, as he told the story the next day, blocking the rest of the five-foot-wide hole so the fish couldn't escape. Billy Curtis, a friend, manned another entrance, thrashing a stick back and forth to drive the fish to them.     It was past midnight, five hours into the 24-hour window of the sixth annual Okie Noodling Tournament, and the McFarlins were noodling -- fishing with their hands.  

In the Jaws of a Catfish

Profile of and interview with Joseph Pereira, percussionist and timpanist in New York Philharmonic who is renowned for winning prestigious post at age 23 while still in his second year in master's program at Juilliard School; photos (M)

Philharmonic Musician Seeks the Perfect Boom, Bang or Ping

New York Mets defeat San Diego Padres, 7-2; photos (M)

Becoming Oldest to Homer, Franco Rallies the Mets

Google returned to favor among investors yesterday as its profit for the first quarter increased 60 percent, well above expectations.     Three months ago, the company disappointed investors, even though its profit grew 82 percent, and its stock sagged. This time, Google's ascent was enough to satisfy.  

Google Posts 60% Gain in Earnings

Democrats running for Congress are moving quickly to use the most recent surge in oil and gasoline prices to bash Republicans over energy policy, and more broadly, the direction of the country.     With oil prices hitting a high this week and prices at the pump topping $3 a gallon in many places, Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic Senate candidate in Minnesota, is making the issue the centerpiece of her campaign. Ms. Klobuchar says it ''is one of the first things people bring up'' at her campaign stops.  

April 21, 2006

Headlines from April 21, 2006

Bush and Hu Vow New Cooperation

F.D.A. Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana

Devils Hope to Follow Their Shadow

Devils Hope to Follow Their Shadow

Which Picture of Skilling Will Enron Jurors Believe?

Billboard 200

Me And My Gang

NOW 21

King

High School Musical

Greatest Hits Vol 2: Reflected

Historical Context for April 21, 2006