June 6, 1995

The judge in the murder trial of O. J. Simpson dismissed two more jurors today, leaving just two alternates in a case that is not even close to being concluded. The defense promptly appealed one of the dismissals, that of a black man, saying in court papers that the prosecution was "systematically attempting to target African-American jurors for dismissal." Mr. Simpson's lawyers also argued that prosecutors hoped to force a mistrial by "reducing the jury panel to less than 12."

NOT many hockey players would thrive on the assignment: being on the ice whenever Eric Lindros is. The Flyers' 22-year-old center is listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 229 pounds. When he puts on his skates and his equipment, he's about 6-7 and maybe 250, as huge and as ornery as a rodeo bull. But the Devils' captain, Scott Stevens, smiled at the challenge. "If they want me out there against Eric, good," the 6-2, 210-pound defenseman was saying. "I love it. Another little game within the game."

In a ruling with implications for Orange County, Calif., the West Virginia Supreme Court decided yesterday that Morgan Stanley & Company was entitled to a jury trial there over its role in a failed state investment strategy in the late 1980's, and reversed a lower court ruling that had fined the Wall Street firm $56 million. The decision is on the question of whether Wall Street brokers can be held liable for investment losses suffered by local governments, especially when the losses stemmed from the sale of risky securities. That issue is at the heart of a $1.2 billion lawsuit filed by Orange County against its broker, Merrill Lynch & Company, over the sale of securities that led to the bankruptcy of the county.

"Mothers of America are in jeopardy!" said Assemblywoman Rose Heck, her voice rising as she told five male members of the Senate Health Committee that insurance companies were imperiling women and their newborn babies. The Lodi Republican used the words "atrocity" and "horrified" at a hearing last week to describe the way exhausted mothers and babies are routinely discharged from hospitals 12 to 24 hours after the birth because insurance companies now refuse to pay for more than a one-day stay in most cases.

PANBANISHA, a Bonobo chimpanzee who has become something of a star among animal language researchers, was strolling through the Georgia woods with a group of her fellow primates -- scientists at the Language Research Center at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Suddenly, the chimp pulled one of them aside. Grabbing a special keyboard of the kind used to teach severely retarded children to communicate, she repeatedly pressed three symbols -- "Fight," "Mad," "Austin" -- in various combinations. Austin is the name of another chimpanzee at the center. Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, one of Panbanisha's trainers, asked, "Was there a fight at Austin's house?"