Milestones

By Harriet Barovick, Michelle Derrow, Richard Diaz, Tam Gray, Daniel Levy, Lina Lofaro, Michele Orecklin, Flora Tartakovsky and Chris Taylor

ARRESTED. REBIYA KADER, 50, one of China's best-known businesswomen; on as yet undetermined charges; in Urumqi, China. The owner of a department store, Kader, a member of the Muslim Uighur minority, was detained while on her way to meet members of the U.S. Congressional Research Service--reportedly to deliver an account of police harassment.

FILED SUIT. MUHAMMAD ALI, 57, boxing legend; against his former personal attorney, Richard Hirschfeld, and an associate; for allegedly taking advantage of his Parkinson's disease to deprive him of rights to his life story; in Norfolk, Va.

RECOVERING. JIM ("CATFISH") HUNTER, 53, Hall of Fame pitcher for the Oakland A's and New York Yankees and winner of five World Series; from injuries after he hit his head earlier this month; in Greenville, N.C. Hunter was diagnosed with ALS last year.

DIED. KIM PERROT, 32, popular point guard who led the Houston Comets to two WNBA championships; of lung cancer; in Houston. Described as the heart and soul of the team, Perrot gave effusive motivational talks, often to kids, throughout her illness.

DIED. SIR HUGH CASSON, 89, British architect and former president of the Royal Academy of Arts; in London. In 1951 Casson oversaw the construction of London's first major postwar buildings. He later designed rooms at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

DIED. ALTINA SCHINASI MIRANDA, 92, designer of the pointy-rimmed Harlequin eyeglass frame; in Santa Fe, N.M. The glasses (rhinestones optional) were a fashion hit from the 1930s to the 1950s and, for some, never went out of style.

DIED. NATHANIEL KLEITMAN, 104, pioneer sleep expert at the University of Chicago and discoverer, with associates, of REM sleep in 1953; in Los Angeles. Kleitman's studies--on dream-sleep deprivation, the effect of sunlight on slumber--established sleep research as a separate, significant medical field.