June 22, 1996

A Federal judge approved a $351.3 million settlement of a lawsuit against drug companies accused of conspiring to deny brand-name discounts to independent pharmacists. Article, page 33.

In the conclusion to one of the most celebrated investigations of alleged scientific misconduct in the United States, a Federal appeals board yesterday rejected findings that a scientist faked data a decade ago in a report signed by a leading Nobel laureate. The appeals panel was highly critical of the Government's Office of Research Integrity, which had found that the scientist, Dr. Thereza Imanishi-Kari, now of Tufts University, was guilty of misconduct.

Four years ago, Bill Clinton set out to win the support of skeptical executives in Silicon Valley by holding private meetings to solicit their advice and by promising to make high-technology businesses more competitive in world markets. High technology became a frequent theme of Mr. Clinton's campaign to "get America growing again." The strategy worked. Public endorsements of Mr. Clinton by executives of computer and software companies gave an early and important boost to his campaign against President George Bush. And donations from the executives helped to shore up Mr. Clinton's campaign fund.

With New York State's record budget deadlock approaching the end of its third month, the budget is now so late that its effects are being felt far beyond the Capitol, seriously straining schools and local governments and threatening to disrupt services in the state's hospitals. The budget is on the verge of causing crises for thousands of people. In a little more than a week, the stalemate could become a major political liability for all the state's leaders.

Chez Daddy's nightclub changed owners a few days ago in a business transaction that, as so often happens in the Balkans, dispensed with impediments like money and legal titles. "A gang of men came in with guns," said a waiter, who did not want to give his name. "They ordered the old guards out and beat the owner until he was unconscious. All those men sitting there with the pistols in their belts are the new staff."