Chase Manhattan Corp and Softbank Corp of Japan have agreed to invest $25 million each in new venture-capital fund focused on the Internet companies that are based in New York; so far Chase's venture arm, Chase Capital Partners, and Softbank, which has been spending billions of dollars lately on information technology investments, are only investors in the fund, called Flatiron Partners (L)

Chase Forms Venture Fund With Softbank

 New Draw for U.S. Open      The U.S. Open changed the men's portion of the draw after complaints that American players received preferential treatment. Page B9.  

INSIDE

Although the states will be getting block grants and sweeping authority to assist poor people, many state officials across the country say they are far from being ready for the task.  

States Express Anxiety

Nader Emusov, who runs home improvement business, pleads guilty to fraud and admits that he took in over $150,000 from 58 homeowners in Passaic and Morris Counties by either failing to complete work or never doing it (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Man Admits Repair Fraud

Vincent Canby reviews Eugene O'Neill play Hughie, directed by and starring Al Pacino at Circle in the Square; photo (M)

Pacino's Star Turn in a Pipe Dream

David Gonzalez, in About New York column, notes that pianist Marjorie Eliot and other jazz musicians hold free concerts for about two dozen people in living room of her Washington Heights apartment on most Sunday afternoons (M)

Living Room For Jazz, Uptown Again

Special report on first 36 days of investigation into crash of TWA Flight 800; finds that behind calm, controlled television appearances of investigators was complex and frantic scramble, where lines of authority were unclear, levels of experience varied, and people fighting through sleeplessness for coherence and progress; there are stories of chaos, distrust and valor; chronology of details released by investigators over last 36 days; description of key players in inquiry: James K Kallstrom, Asst FBI Dir in charge of New York City office, Robert T Francis, vice chmn of National Transportation Safety Board, Dr Charles V Wetli, Suffolk County Medical Examiner, and Rear Adm Edward K Kristensen, who oversees Navy's recovery efforts; photos (L)

Behind a Calm Facade, Chaos, Distrust, Valor

United Automobile Workers union abruptly postpones plans to select a Big Three auto maker as first to face latest round of labor negotiations, while union's president Stephen P Yokich demands meetings with chief executives of the companies; Yokich says he decided to delay decision on focusing current contract talks solely on one auto maker because preliminary negotiations at all three manufacturers have been going well and he does not want to interrupt them now (L)

U.A.W. Delays Picking Target Of Negotiations On Contract

Beachgoers are warned to stay out of water after commercial fishing vessel's net breaks, causing thousands of fish to wash up on Long Beach Island (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Dead Fish Hit Beaches

Corrections officials and business people travel to Nashville, Tenn, from across nation for American Correctional Association convention and what is probably world's largest prison trade show--over 600 booths touting latest in prison innovation and technology to more than 5,000 conventioneers; photo (M)

The Incarceration-Minded Meet to Buy Mobile Cells, Ballistic Batons and More

Gamblers in Atlantic City can now use their credit-cards to purchase chips at gambling tables or slot machines (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

More Chips? Don't Get Up

Senior Federal officials say that after prolonged, confounding search of ocean floor, investigators have finally found scientific evidence that explosive device was detonated inside passenger cabin of Trans World Airlines Flight 800; chemists at FBI crime laboratory in Washington find traces of PETN, chemical in plastic explosives, on piece of wreckage retrieved from jet's passenger cabin between Rows 17 and 27; while new finding provides evidence that plane was destroyed by explosive device, senior official notes that PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate, is explosive component commonly found in many bombs and surface-to-air missiles, making it impossible, for now, to know for sure which type of explosive device destroyed Boeing 747 (M)

PRIME EVIDENCE FOUND THAT DEVICE EXPLODED IN CABIN OF FLIGHT 800

Cargo ship from Buenaventura, Colombia, is carrying at least six stowaways from Ecuador when it docks in Elizabeth on Aug 22 (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Stowaways Found on Ship

Article on why Los Angeles Lakers' signing of Shaquille O'Neal to record 7-year, $120 million contract makes business sense; says O'Neal's commanding presence is sure to sell more tickets, adding to Lakers' bottom line, but tickets are only part of the calculation; holds O'Neal should also increase sales of Lakers merchandise, raise team's take on local broadcasting contracts, attract more corporate sponsors--and make it more likely the Lakers advance to the playoffs, gathering added revenue; chart; photo (L)

Why a $120 Million Contract Makes Sense for Lakers

Quincey Barge is indicted for allegedly offering juror $1,800 in March to vote for acquittal of his brother, Sean Barge, defendant in Pennsauken murder case (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Jury Bribery Try Charged

Seeking to relieve overcrowding at a Bronx center where homeless families enter the shelter system, New York City agreed yesterday to open about 180 housing units for the homeless in the next six weeks. But a judge said the city's efforts were not enough.  

Judge Faults Plan For Housing Homeless

College Board figures show that New Jersey ranks 34th in nation in Scholastic Assessment Test math scores and 40th in verbal scores (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Scoring Low on S.A.T.

There are signs that Islamic religious leaders and fundamentalist groups, including some from abroad, have succeeded in stepping into power vacuum created by absence of central Govt in Somalia in years since West seems to have given up on Somalia; among signs is popularity of Sheik Ali Sheik Mohammad on streets of Mogadishu, where Sheik Ali has earned reputation of no-nonsense lawman who has cleaned up lawless town; other indications of rising Islamic profile include proliferation of Muslim charities, and small representations of radical fundamentalist groups tied to Sudan and Egypt; photos (L)

Islamic Movement's Niche: Bringing Order to Somalia's Clans

Interview and tour of Metropolitan Museum of Art with painter Wayne Thiebaud; photos (L)

A Little Weirdness Can Help an Artist

Russian security chief, Aleksandr I Lebed, in most promising step yet toward resolution of 20-month war between Russia and secessionist region of Chechnya, signs detailed peace agreement with his Chechen counterpart, Aslan Maskhadov; accord calls for cease-fire to begin at noon on Friday, August 23, and for Russian troops to pull back from Grozny; eventually, according to plan, Chechens will surrender their weapons and Russian troops will leave region completely; photo of Pres Boris Yeltsin (M)

TOP YELTSIN AIDE AND CHECHEN FOES SIGN A PEACE PACT

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has not invited Pres Clinton or Bob Dole to its annual Alfred E Smith Memorial Dinner at Waldorf-Astoria next month; it is first Presidential election year since 1960 that archdiocese has not invited Democratic and Republican candidates; some archdiocesan officials say exclusion stems from John Cardinal O'Connor's annoyance at Pres Clinton's veto of bill that would have outlawed certain late-term abortions; say Dole was not invited to keep dinner from taking on partisan tone; Alfred E Smith 4th, chairman of dinner, says invitations are being extended to Vice Pres Al Gore and to Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Jack Kemp (M)

At Archdiocesan Gala, No Room for Clinton or Dole

The College Board announced that American students continued to improve their S.A.T. scores, with their math scores the best in more than two decades. Educators credited high schools that have instituted more rigorous courses of study.    The 1996 class of graduating seniors -- the class that will be entering college this autumn -- has taken more honors courses and more calculus, chemistry, physics and other academic courses, said Donald Stewart, president of the College Board. But their performance on the verbal part of the two-part test improved more slowly, remaining far below what it was two decades ago.  

S.A.T. Scores Rise, College Board Says

 Frequent Job Losses Cited, Even as Economy Expanded  The nation's work force has experienced frequent job losses, even as unemployment has shrunk and the economy has expanded at a steady pace, the Labor Department reported.    A total of 8.4 million people were pushed out of their jobs involuntarily from 1993 through 1995: 1 out of every 14 jobholders, compared with 1 out of 12 in the early 1990's. That layoff rate was slightly lower than earlier in the decade but well above a comparable period a decade earlier. $(Page A1.$)    German Central Bank Cuts a Rate   Germany's central bank cut its 14-day securities-repurchase rate by three-tenths of a percentage point -- more than expected -- setting off rate reductions elsewhere in Europe and sending the dollar higher. $(D4.$)    The stock market rose as an unexpectedly large cut in German interest rates promised faster economic growth in Europe. Traders anticipated a jump in orders for exporters like G.E., Hewlett-Packard, Caterpillar and Intel, all of which gained. The Dow industrials climbed 43.65, to 5,733.47, while the Nasdaq composite rose 17.12, to 1,143.96. $(D6.$)    Treasury securities were steady, as the market awaited new evidence the economy was slowing. The price of the 30-year bond ended down 2/32 , to 9830/32 , leaving its yield unchanged at 6.83 percent. $(D13.$)    Tobacco Sanctions Win Backing   Although tobacco marketers spend billions of dollars annually on slick advertising campaigns, many agency executives support the curbs on selling and marketing tobacco products that President Clinton is expected to announce today, particularly if they are aimed primarily at minors. Some advocate even more severe sanctions.  Stuart Elliott: Advertising. $(D6.$)    Researchers Find Microsoft Flaw   Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3.0 Web Browser has a potentially serious flaw, Princeton University computer researchers said. An outside attacker could damage a user's files. A Microsoft executive said, ''It's not a big deal,'' but would be patched. $(D2.$)    Filling a Niche in Insurance   Aaron Richardson, a 53-year-old San Francisco insurance broker, and Reliance National, a subsidiary of the insurance empire of Saul P. Steinberg, have formed the Onyx Insurance Company. The reason: public utilities, government agencies and major corporations seek to buy a sizable amount of insurance from minority-owned companies, but very few minority-owned companies are bidding for the business. $(D2.$)    tein of Dreyfus to Leave   Howard Stein, 69, who is widely considered one of the fathers of the mutual fund industry, resigned as Dreyfus's chairman and chief executive. W. Keith Smith, a vice chairman of the Mellon Bank Corporation, Dreyfus's parent, will become chairman of Dreyfus. Christopher M. Condron, Dreyfus's president and chief operating officer, will be chief executive. $(D13.$)    Drug Study Finds Cancer Link   Use of calcium channel blockers, which are widely prescribed for high blood pressure, has been tentatively linked to higher rates of cancer among older people in a federally financed study at the University of Tennessee. It is to be published in Saturday's issue of The Lancet. Among calcium channel blockers are Bayer's Adalat and Pfizer's Procardia. $(A12.$)  

BUSINESS DIGEST

Labor Dept report that layoff rate in mid-1990's declined slightly from early years of decade but remained well above comparable period decade earlier; dept's survey, done every two years and most comprehensive count available of jobs lost in this downsizing era, portrays work force still experiencing frequent job losses even as unemployment has shrunk and economy has expanded at steady pace; dept reports that total of 8.4 million people were pushed out of their jobs involuntarily from 1993 through 1995; that represents one out of every 14 jobholders, compared with one out of 12 in early 1990's; charts; graph (L)

Despite Drop, Rate of Layoffs Remains High

Susan Ware reviews New-York Historical Society exhibition focusing on Eleanor Roosevelt's New York years from 1884 to 1933; photos (M)

Very Much A New Yorker

Margaret Lilardia Tucker MBE was an Aboriginal Australian activist and writer who was among the first Aboriginal authors to publish an autobiography If Everyone Cared, in 1977; a new edition of this work was published in 2024.

August 23, 1996

Headlines from August 23, 1996

Chase Forms Venture Fund With Softbank

INSIDE

States Express Anxiety

Man Admits Repair Fraud

Pacino's Star Turn in a Pipe Dream

Billboard 200

Jagged Little Pill

It Was Written

Falling Into You

Tragic Kingdom

Secrets

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for August 23, 1996