May 11, 1995

MCI to Form Partnership ith News Corporation MCI will invest up to $2 billion in Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and form a global media partnership that could transmit "The Simpsons" over telephone lines or sell products over the Internet. If the full investment takes place, MCI would own 13.5 percent of the News Corporation and be its second-largest shareholder after Mr. Murdoch. A1. MCI is not alone in the rush onto the global computer network, but it is making corporate America's biggest bet yet that the Internet is going to be a thriving business. D11.

MY first impulse when I became pregnant with my first child was to read. Books on pregnancy, childbirth, babies, toddlers, Dr. Spock, Penelope Leach, "What to Expect When You're Expecting," Bruno Bettelheim, Tracy Hotchner -- I read as voraciously as I ate, hungry for the information that would prepare me to be a good enough parent. Hundreds of pages of advice and soothing common sense helped the nine months pass and cracked open the door to some of the mysteries, but my two daughters themselves have proved to be my best guides. I still scan the shelves in the ever-expanding child-rearing sections of bookstores for advice on safety, discipline, birthday celebrations and how to make a vegetable -- any vegetable -- appealing to a 3-year-old. But I've found only a couple of books essential to our lives: SOLVE YOUR CHILDREN'S SLEEP PROBLEMS by Richard Ferber and SIBLINGS WITHOUT RIVALRY by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. Who wouldn't want to sleep a little more, squabble a little less?

A state appellate court ruled yesterday that Evelyn Berman Frank, who once ran a marine empire of tugs, barges and tank-cleaning companies, must stay in prison despite her lawyer's claims that she is ill and that a jail term would kill her.

Deadly Virus Identified Scientists say the Ebola virus, one of the deadliest infectious agents known, is the cause of a disease that has broken out in Zaire. Page A12. Rangers Win, Devils Lose In their first playoff games on home ice, the Rangers were 4-3 winners, the Devils 3-2 losers. Both lead their four-of-seven series, 2-1. Page B13. Japan Faces 2 Trade Actions In a two-pronged attack on Japanese trade, the Clinton Administration is filing a legal challenge while going ahead with sanctions. Page D1. And the Breadwinner Is. . . . A survey of working women shows most provide half their families' income, disputing beliefs their earnings are supplemental. Page A27.

The same murder suspect was convicted a second time yesterday when John Dreher, a millionaire businessman from Chatham, was again found guilty of killing his wife. Mr. Dreher, 53, served two years in prison before his first conviction was reversed in 1991 by an appellate court that ruled hearsay evidence had been introduced improperly. In both trials, his former girlfriend, Nance Seifrit, testified under a grant of immunity that she helped him kill his wife, Gail, and cover up the murder.