September 12, 1995

A bill that makes New Jersey's corporate tax rate for small businesses the lowest in the Northeast was signed into law yesterday, Gov. Christine Todd Whitman's office said. The new law reduces the tax rate for businesses with a net annual income of $100,000 or less to 7.5 percent from 9 percent.

The UJB Financial Corporation announced an agreement yesterday to acquire the Summit Bancorporation for about $1.1 billion of UJB stock, to create the second-largest banking company in New Jersey after First Fidelity, and one that could be attractive to acquirers. The new bank will take the Summit name, but its chief executive, T. Joseph Semrod, and a majority of its board will come from UJB, the parent company of the United Jersey Bank.

'Sting' Nets Hackers A computer bulletin board covertly run by the United States Secret Service led to the arrests of at least six suspected hackers. Page B1. Wilson Retreats in Iowa Gov. Pete Wilson of California withdrew from the Presidential competition in the Iowa caucuses after a poor showing in polls. Page A18. U.S. Cold War Coup From 1960 to 1972, the Soviet Union could not hide from a remarkable system of U.S. spy satellites. Now the story can be told. Page C1. A Bacterial Threat Health experts fear that the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria may soon outstrip the development of new drugs. Science Times, page C1. New Jersey Bank Merger In New Jersey the UJB Financial Corporation agreed to acquire the Summit Bancorporation for stock worth $1.1 billion. Page D1.

THERE have long been warnings that bacteria were acquiring resistance to a wider and wider range of antibiotics. But new antibiotics were always being developed, and in the race between bacterial evolution and human ingenuity, technology appeared to be winning. Now, the bacteria are catching up, and many scientists and public health officials fear that the evolution of resistant strains may soon outpace the development of new drugs, leaving doctors powerless to treat infections that were once routine.

More than 40,000 Metro-North commuters were up to three hours late getting home to Westchester County and Connecticut last night after a train became tangled in power lines between Harrison and Rye, N.Y., starting a chain reaction whose effects could linger through this morning. The accident occurred shortly after 5 P.M., when a train bound from New Haven to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan was switching tracks in what ought to have been a routine move. Instead, the rooftop mechanical arm that links the train with overhead power became fouled in at least two 11,000-volt lines.