December 9, 1996

Unusual Criticism of Fed From Senate G.O.P. Leader Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Republican majority leader, said that he was ''a little bit nervous about the degree of independence'' enjoyed by the Federal Reserve, and that the central bank should push interest rates lower to stimulate growth. Mr. Lott's statements were an unusually direct criticism of the Fed from a senior party leader. $(Page D2.$) Mixed Signs on Airline Safety As Death Toll Sets a Record With three weeks to go in 1996, more passengers have died in airline crashes this year than in any other, even though statistics show that air travel is becoming safer over time. But the high death toll is in part a result of the rapid increase in the number of flights worldwide. Still, perceptions of increased risk have officials moving along a number of fronts to improve aviation safety. $(A1.$) A lack of proficiency in English among air traffic controllers and pilots has been cited in several recent crashes. $(A1.$) Canadian Airlines in Union Pact The Canadian Auto Workers union has reached agreement with Canadian Airlines and the Government on a recovery plan that includes employee pay cuts. $(D2.$) U.S. Pushes to End Tariffs American officials pushed to negotiate details of a global pact that would end tariffs on information technology. $(D2.$) Trouble for J. Walter Thompson J. Walter Thompson has been hit with a double blow: Sun Microsystems has put its account in review, and Kodak had shifted responsibilities for its Advantix photography system to Ogilvy & Mather. Stuart Elliott: Advertising. $(D12.$) Men's Magazines Get Makeover Men's magazines are talking to men the way women's magazines have long been talking to women, moving beyond politics, sports and pictures of naked women to offer nuts-and-bolts information about fashion, fitness, sexual prowess, parenting, even primping. $(A1.$) Venture Tracks Bond Market Intervest and the Bloomberg business information service have reached an agreement to provide bond trading quotes to Bloomberg subscribers, in much the same way that stock watchers get such data. $(D6.$) Faster Internet Video Narrative Communications, a start-up company, is shipping software that permits the distribution and viewing of feature-length interactive multimedia over the Internet using ordinary telephone lines, which could put an end to the painfully slow process now required to download such files. $(D6.$) Quo Vadis, Foreign Film? Foreign-language film has hit hard times in the United States since its heyday 30 years ago. About 90 percent of the foreign-language films released in New York in the last year made less than $1 million at the American box office, the point below which it is hard for a distributor to make money. $(D9.$) 'Happy Days' Are Here Again As cable TV keeps adding channels, all with 24-hour schedules to fill, the market for old network television shows has never been hotter. Everything from ''Sanford and Son'' to ''Bonanza'' to ''Dallas'' is back. Bill Carter: Television. $(D9.$) A Warning From China Movie industry executives said the Chinese Government's warning to Disney that releasing a movie about the Dalai Lama could cripple its efforts to expand in China gave notice to studios that China would not tolerate films about delicate issues. $(C11.$)

Interview with US Poet Laureate Robert Hass; he discusses his campaign to improve education and increase literacy; photo (M)

New Jersey State Assembly's housing committee is expected to consider bill that would allow rural municipalities to build fewer low- and moderate-income housing units than they are currently required to build (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Retired Somerset County Superior Court Judge Michael Imbriane, who was convicted of embezzling $173,000 from his former real estate partners, is to be sentenced for evading taxes on nearly $50,000 of that sum (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

New York State Gov George E Pataki's proposal to enact biggest changes in state's welfare system in six decades borrows from experiment that was initiated by his predecessor, Mario M Cuomo, and has been quietly conducted in counties across state with varying degrees of success; Child Assistance Program, begun in 1988, has tried to lure welfare recipients to work by allowing them to keep large portions of their benefits until they make enough to support themselves; experts say it is far from clear whether such program is answer to problem of welfare dependency (M)