September 4, 1995

Ever since white police officers battled black rioters and demonstrators in the streets of America's cities in the 1960's, police departments around the country have struggled to shed their reputations as enforcers of the prevailing white culture. Nearly 30 years later, the audiotaped bigotry of a former Los Angeles police detective, Mark Fuhrman, reverberated last week not only through the Los Angeles courtroom where O. J. Simpson is on trial on murder charges but also through the nation, convincing many Americans that the police still have a long way to go.

New Yorkers often look at neighborhoods like Long Island City, Queens, and see only vacant warehouses and factories, idle piers and other fading remnants of the city's industrial past. Few realize that a new plant on 38th Avenue produces fresh pita each day for the city's Greek diners and restaurants. Nor do they know that thousands of custom-made mannequins are churned out at a factory on 43d Avenue each year, just a few blocks from a company that assembles plastic teeth and jaws used to train dental students across the city.

A new and deceptively simple type of computer virus, one that can sneak past security devices by hitching rides on electronic mail and other common Internet files, is causing deep concern among computer security officials around the world. Only one virus of the new type has been spotted, and so far there are no official reports of damage to corporate or private computer data. But that virus is in widespread circulation and has used up countless hours of productivity as workers try to eliminate the virus and improve computer security.

Ultimatum to Bosnian Serbs The Bosnian Serbs were told they must remove their heavy weapons from around Sarajevo by a deadline or face renewed bombing. Page 3. The Price of Consent John C. Malone, the chief of Tele-Communications Inc., has been holding up Time Warner's takeover of Turner Broadcasting. Page 35. A Day for Former Champions Three former Open champions, Pete Sampras, Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini, defeated opponents considered to be future stars. Page 27. Kicking Off the Season On the opening day of the National Football League season, the two newest teams didn't embarrass themselves while the defending champion didn't impress many. The Carolina Panthers lost in overtime to the Falcons, 23-20, in Atlanta, and the Jacksonville Jaguars lost by 10-3 at home to the Houston Oilers. * The San Francisco 49ers, the defending Super Bowl champions, struggled during a 24-22 victory over the Saints in New Orleans. * Despite having a new head coach, the Jets could not keep up with the Dolphins in Miami and lost, 52-14. *The Raiders made a triumphant return to Oakland, Calif., defeating the San Diego Chargers, the defending A.F.C. champion, by 17-7. Because of holiday production requirements, The Times is printed today in two sections. SportsMonday begins on page 27, Business Day on page 35.

As schools reopen around the country, teachers' unions -- for decades the most conspicuous voice in American education and a bright spot for American labor -- find themselves under assault as never before, victims of Republican electoral successes, disenchantment with the nation's schools and the weakened clout of labor in general. In Michigan, California, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and other states, unions are fighting measures designed to curtail teachers' ability to strike and raise money for unions, to limit tenure, bargaining power and job security, or to promote school choice, which threatens unions' power and jobs.