March 12, 1997

Gov Pataki administration announces that tens of thousands of legal immigrants in New York State who faced loss of food stamps next month under new Federal welfare law will get reprieve of almost five months; state officials say they sought and have received waiver from Clinton Administration allowing local governments to continue benefits through August 22 (M)

Delaware judge rules that Brian C Peterson and Amy S Grossberg, teen-agers accused of killing their newborn son, are free to leave their parents' homes to do volunteer work (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

King Hussein of Jordan writes Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu personal and forceful letter contending that he cannot continue as Israel's partner and friend; Hussein accuses Netanyahu of decisions and actions that amount to 'deliberate humiliation' of Palestinians; says if Netanyahu proceeds with construction of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, it would amount to pushing Palestinians to 'inevitable violent resistance'; Netanyahu, in letter to Hussein, contends that he is reviving, not killing, peace efforts; photos (M)

Dow Industrials Up 5.77, As Broader Market Falls Stock prices closed mixed in volatile trading, buffeted by another selloff in technology stocks and rising bond yields. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 5.77 points, to close at a record 7,085.16, but several broader market indexes lost ground. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index fell 2.31 points, to 811.34, and the Nasdaq composite lost 5.96 points, to 1,316.76. $(Page D10.$) Treasury Bond Yields Rise Treasury securities prices fell, pushing the yield on the 30-year bond up to 6.85 percent, as investors continued to worry that forthcoming economic data might be strong enough to prompt the Fed to raise short-term rates. Concern was also raised by a cut by Fidelity's Magellan Fund in its bond position to eight-tenths of 1 percent. $(D20.$)

SUBWAY WORKFARE PLAN STALLS -- A plan to have welfare recipients clean the subway system has stalled because of opposition from the Giuliani administration. B3. HASIDIC DISPUTE SETTLED -- The Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel has settled its dispute with dissidents who said officials persecuted them. B6. STONE WASHED AND MORE -- A pair of blue jeans believed to be the oldest in existence is going back to Levi Strauss after a stop in SoHo. Metro Business, B5.

Leslie Ann Nelson pleads guilty, Camden (NJ), to fatally shooting Camden County law enforcement officers John McLaughlin and John Norcross and wounding Haddon Heights Police Officer Richard Norcross (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Peru's penal code exonerates rapist if he offers to marry victim and she accepts; law, which was written in 1924, was modified in 1991 to absolve co-defendants in rape case if one of them marries victim; Peruvian Congress is engaged in bitter debate over how best to reform law; feminists argue that law should be removed from criminal code because it is degrading to women and legally unsound; they have faced strong opposition from Pres Alberto K Fujimori's Change 90 party; it maintains that only provision that exonerates co-defendants should be eliminated; 14 other Latin American countries exonerate rapist if he offers to marry victim and she accepts (M)

Senate unamimously approves much broader investigation into White House and Congressional campaign fund-raising practices than most Senate Republicans had originally wanted; majority leader Trent Lott, under pressure from Democrats and facing rebellious moderate Republicans, bows to demands to expand inquiry and include 'illegal and improper activities' in 1996 elections; Senate Rules Committee recently voted along party lines for plan, brokered by Lott, that would have limited inquiry's scope to 'illegal activities' only (M)

New York Times poll finds that New Yorkers are more upbeat about their city than they have been in nearly decade, with their views of crime, economy and future suggesting that many have discarded grim self-image that gripped them just four years ago; poll presents New York as city divided by race, ethnicity and economic class; while black and Hispanic residents are also more optimistic than they were four years ago, they are notably less satisfied than whites with state of city; half people surveyed say that even if they had option to move away, they would not leave New York; that is highest percentage that response to that question received in more than decade; poll contains much good news for Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani; most New Yorkers tend to think city's economy is doing well relative to four years ago, and they feel safer on streets than they did when David N Dinkins was Mayor; graph (M)

Market Place: Securities and Exchange Commission has come down hard on Philadelphia Stock Exchange, which has been tarnished by two recent scandals involving members of its board; Arthur Levitt Jr, chairman of commission, paid highly unusual visit to the exchange on March 7 to deliver a report that was sharply critical of the way exchange does business; he criticized board members for being so preoccupied with political infighting that they neglected their regulatory responsibilities; Levitt recommended, among other things, that the exchange appoint people who represent investing public to half of slots on its board and strengthen its conflict-of-interest rules; exchange has been investigating its chairman, Vincent J Casella, for investing in Ashton Technology Group that subsequently won major contract with the exchange; SEC has charged Richard B Feinberg, member of exchange's board, with cheating customers; SEC contended that Feinberg and his brother, Alan, are principals in Richardt-Alyn & Co, which made secret trading profits on trades (L)

Attempt to block construction of publicly financed minor league baseball stadium in riverfront park fails in referendum as 73 percent of Newark (NJ) voters support city's plan (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

The Justice Department criticized an F.B.I. statement that contradicted President Clinton about a briefing on foreign donations. Page A21.