March 14, 1994

The Irish Republican Army closed down London's two main airports for two hours tonight, delaying thousands of travelers and disrupting international air traffic through much of Europe and beyond. In the morning, Heathrow airport was hit by another mortar attack, the third in five days, but the four shells that struck did not explode and no injuries or damage were reported.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has announced a campaign to reduce the number of illegal guns in New York City by vigorously investigating gunrunners. Although fewer than 64,000 New Yorkers have valid city firearms permits, the police estimate that up to two million guns are in circulation in the city. Nationwide, private citizens own more than 211 million firearms, 71 million of which are handguns. The easy availability of firearms has affected the nature of violent crime. Murder rates in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have remained fairly steady, but the percentage of murders committed with firearms has risen -- up nearly 10 percent in New York since 1989.

Susie Gary sat in her North Chicago home and recalled how her grandson, Devon Mills, would transform the living room into a basketball arena. With imaginary fans cheering, Devon would do his own play-by-play as he hit the winning shot on a makeshift goal. Mills told his grandmother that he was going to be a star one day and predicted that television crews and reporters would flock to their home.

The Economy The economy is beginning to feel the pinch of rising interest rates, which have climbed more than a percentage point in five months. The rush to refinance mortgages has slowed, and bank loans to individuals and companies are no longer rising. [ Page A1. ]

A Federal investigation has found that a Canadian researcher falsified data in a study that helped change the way breast cancer is treated. The study concluded that full mastectomies were not always necessary to prevent the spread of early forms of the disease. The implications of the investigative finding for the treatment of breast cancer are not immediately clear. Cancer experts, moving to reassure women today, said there were other studies that supported the original research.