  For $150,000, a bank may soon own two Galloway Township retail developments, the Smithville Inn and the Historic Towne of Smithville.

Bank Buys Inn at an Auction

Sleek, muscular crime melodrama. Effective remake.

Into the Crossfire Of the Bad Guys

  With the death toll at 53 and sure to rise, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said today that it had identified two suspects, described as white males, in the bombing of the Federal office building here, and had issued warrants for their arrest.   Weldon Kennedy, the F.B.I. agent in charge of the investigation here, said at an afternoon news conference that the two suspects had been linked to a truck that investigators believe held the massive bomb that exploded shortly after 9 A.M. Wednesday on a curb at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

F.B.I. SEEKS 2 SUSPECTS IN OKLAHOMA BLAST; SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS, AND BODIES, IS SLOW

  School bus drivers agreed yesterday to call off a strike planned for Monday in exchange for Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's decision to delay seeking cheaper bus service by ending lifetime job security for union drivers, the Mayor said.   With both sides backing down from what they had said were nonnegotiable positions, the parents of 150,000 children will be able to count on bus service Monday, when the spring recess ends.

School Bus Walkout Is Averted After Both Sides Soften Positions

  The Army is giving the green light to $10.5 million in construction projects at Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County. Informed of the plan, Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, whose district includes the arsenal, said, "This decision further confirms the department's commitment to the future of Picatinny." A Congressional report last week said the arsenal ranked low in military value but would be costly to close.

Army Approves Arsenal Project

  THE CHILDREN -- The day-care center was alive with children about to start a day of songs and toys and projects. Then the room exploded in their faces. Page A23. THE TRAIL -- Federal agents raced to a truck-rental agency in Kansas in pursuit of suspected bombers, but the trail quickly grew faint. Page A24. THE MOOD -- Until yesterday, Amber Fleming had always felt a bit superior about Oklahoma City, where locking up is strictly optional. Page A26.

More on the Blast

  It was the birthmark on the child's tiny thigh that told Jim Denny he had finally found his son.    There was no other way to tell. There was nothing in the bloodied and bandaged face that resembled 3-year-old Brandon, the boy Mr. Denny had sent to the day-care center in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on Wednesday morning.

Identifying Injured Loved Ones By Clues of Hair and Birthmarks

  MAN is the crown of creation, or so the common wisdom runs. Not everyone in history has agreed. The ancient Egyptians didn't always think so. Nor did the people of Africa or India. For those cultures, animals -- from lions to falcons to tsetse flies -- not only had the power to shape human lives but also provided a mirror in which, for better or worse, humans could see themselves reflected.   Even in New York City in the 1990's, animal images are everywhere: macho camels on cigarette packs, heroic Disney beasts on subway posters, aggressive crocodiles stitched on T-shirts. And for the next few months, entire menageries can be found ensconsed in exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pierpont Morgan Library, the Museum for African Art and -- beginning on April 30 -- the Asia Society.

Marching In the Parade Of Animals

  "A country which is responsible for the key currency of the world has the responsibility of maintaining reasonable stability of it," Michel Camdessus, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, complained earlier this week. Translation: Do something -- anything -- to halt the decline of the dollar.   Mr. Camdessus's frayed temper reflects the frustration of Japanese and European officials watching their hopes for vibrant recovery fade away. That is because their exporters are losing competitive edge as their stronger currencies make their goods more expensive to sell in foreign markets. But pleas for action are falling on deaf ears in Washington: American policy makers lack the will and doubt they have the way to buck up the buck.

Weak Dollar And Its Costs

  A friend or colleague has just performed. It wasn't great. What do you say?   "At Juilliard," Misha Dichter, the pianist, recalled, "we used to bat around little phrases that could be used, like 'You have no idea how that sounded out there.' "   Sardonic ambiguity is the key. Thus: "That was really something."

That Certainly Was a Performance!; In the Greenroom, Where Artists Meet Audience, Diplomatic Neutrality Is Crucial

  Driven by surprisingly high revenue from product sales and its service businesses, I.B.M. posted record first-quarter earnings yesterday, surpassing analysts' expectations by a wide margin.   Net income for the first quarter nearly quadrupled, to about $1.3 billion, or $2.12 a share, compared with $336 million, or 54 cents a share, for the comparable period a year earlier. The highest estimate for the quarter by a Wall Street analyst had been $1.53 a share.

I.B.M. Profit Up Smartly; Stock Climbs

  The name says 'International' and now the airline is adding flights to match. Kiwi International Airlines will inaugurate international service on May 25 with daily flights between Newark and Bermuda. The company, which began service in 1992, was named for a flightless bird because so many of its original employees lost their wings when other airlines failed. It now serves Atlanta, Chicago, Newark, and Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach in Florida.

Kiwi Will Start Bermuda Flights

  School Bus Strike Averted   School bus drivers agreed to call off a planned strike in exchange for Mayor Giuliani's promise to delay a plan to end lifetime job security for union drivers. Page B1. J. Peter Grace Dies    The outspoken former head of W. R. Grace, who was active in public service and the Roman Catholic Church, died of cancer. Page B6. Milovan Djilas Is Dead at 83    The Yugoslav Communist revolutionary who denounced his former comrades, and especially Stalin, died in Belgrade. Page B7.

INSIDE

  An Essex County contractor admitted in Federal court yesterday that he accepted $250,000 from an Irvington Housing Authority official for doing no work, then kicked back $100,000.

Contractor Admits Kickback

  The Pataki administration is proposing to charge homeless people rent, in effect, for staying in shelters if the state determines that they have personal assets, jobs or other sources of income beyond basic welfare grants.   The plan, which is projected to save state and local governments $320,000 a year, would probably affect fewer than 200 people, state officials said. But they say it is intended to encourage personal responsibility among homeless people while discouraging employed people from taking scarce shelter beds.

Shelter Fee Planned for Some Homeless

  She's only 24, but everybody in the world of economics already knows her. About two dozen universities -- Berkeley, Harvard, M.I.T., Princeton, Stanford and Yale among them -- sought her as a junior member of their faculties. They called her one of the most promising candidates in several years. "We fought really hard to get her," said Bengt Holmstrom at M.I.T., where she ultimately accepted a job. "I've rarely seen somebody about whom there was as much unanimity."   "This," said one of her thesis advisers at Stanford, John Roberts, "is Superwoman."

The Top Draft Pick in Economics; A Professor-to-Be Coveted by Two Dozen Universities

  Today is the final day of work for 317 Essex County employees whose jobs were eliminated by the county executive, James Treffinger, in his efforts to close a budget gap of $162 million. "Every department is affected," said Brenda Veltri-Possumato, personnel director.

Workers Get Walking Papers

  Dollar Up for Second Day On Strong Buying Overseas     The dollar rose solidly for a second day, gaining strength from overseas buying and speculation that the Group of Seven finance ministers might act at their meeting next week to defend the currency.

BUSINESS DIGEST

  David Grossman, the sole survivor of the shootings at a Montclair post office last month, is home from the hospital.

For Survivor, the Recovery Starts

  WELFARE SCREENING PROGRAM CRITICIZED   More than 10,000 childless adults who applied for welfare in New York City in the first three months of the year were rejected under a tough new screening process instituted for the city's program for able-bodied childless adults. Most, said Mayor Giuliani, tried to cheat the system. But advocates for the poor criticized the way the program is being carried out and said some applicants were turned down because of inadequacies in the way investigators checked out where the applicants lived. A1. NEW YORK CITY

METRO DIGEST

  Mildred Williams sat nervously in a room with blue walls early Wednesday, waiting for her name to be called. She had come to the welfare office at 330 Jay Street in Brooklyn seeking public assistance. It was the second time in two months.   Ms. Williams said she came first in mid-February, filled out an application, answered some questions and left. The next day, she said, she went looking for work.

Poor See New Indignity in Welfare Fraud War

  The landlord of a fire-ravaged three-family home in which five men died Tuesday night was arrested today in North Carolina as evidence mounted that the slayings resulted from a vicious landlord-tenant dispute.   All five victims, authorities said today, died of gunshot wounds to the head. Four bodies had been burned beyond recognition in the blaze, which broke out Tuesday evening around 6 and which the state police have labeled arson.

Landlord Held In the Deaths Of Five Men In Connecticut

  One way or another, Dr. Rick Nelson was determined to carry someone out from the tangled, unsteady remains of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. But by late Wednesday night, as signs of survivors faded, he stood yards away from the shattered facade, willing even to help haul out corpses who were beyond the help of his surgeon's training.   He would have one more chance.

In Twisted Remains of Building, Hope and Expectation vs. Death

  Stung by a surprising loss in foreign-currency dealings, Apple Computer Inc. reported earnings today that fell far short of Wall Street's expectations, even though they surged nearly fourfold.   Even without the currency losses, Apple earnings were at the low end of analysts' estimates.

Apple Earnings Rise Fourfold, But Still Below Expectations

  The New Jersey Hospital Association has gone to court trying to stop the Whitman administration from slashing Medicaid reimbursements by $135 million to help balance the budget. The association, representing 100 hospitals, argues that health care for the poor will suffer if the cuts stand. The state maintains that hospitals can absorb the cuts by operating more efficiently. On Tuesday, arguments on the association's request for an injunction to block the cuts will be heard in Federal Court.

April 21, 1995

Headlines from April 21, 1995

Bank Buys Inn at an Auction

Into the Crossfire Of the Bad Guys

F.B.I. SEEKS 2 SUSPECTS IN OKLAHOMA BLAST; SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS, AND BODIES, IS SLOW

School Bus Walkout Is Averted After Both Sides Soften Positions

Army Approves Arsenal Project

Billboard 200

Me Against The World

The Lion King

Cracked Rear View

Throwing Copper

Greatest Hits

Historical Context for April 21, 1995