June 17, 1997

US car manufacturers, inspired by popularity of big cars and trucks, plan even larger models with equally gigantic sticker prices; Ford Motor Co is testing 19-foot sport utility vehicle weighing more than three tons, Chrysler is rolling out new Dodge Durango sport utility wagon that is roomier and more than foot longer than biggest jeep, and General Motors is planning redesign of popular Suburban over next two years to make it more appealing to families; big vehicles are being snapped up by consumers who they think they are safer, who want to ride above traffic and intimidate others or simply want something bigger than what is owned by friends; safety groups are expressing concern about rise in collisions between such cars and smaller, lighter ones; diagram (M)

Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico, world's largest radiotelescope, marks completion of five-year, $27 million upgrading that experts say will keep it on cutting edge of discovery for at least another 30 years; is undergoing final calibrations as it embarks on new career as both ultrapowerful radar transmitter and ultrasensitive radio receiver; diagrams; photo (L)

Twelve men, including two Orthodox Jewish rabbis, are charged with conspiring to launder and hide $1.75 million in drug profits for Colombian narcotics dealers by routing cash through bank accounts of synagogue and yeshiva in Borough Park section of Brooklyn; rabbis, Mahir Reiss and Bernard Grunfeld, are also said to have provided $3.4 million from American and Swiss accounts for purchase of an aircraft for Colombian drug lords (M)

Interview with Dr Hans A Bethe, 90, atomic bomb developer and arms control advocate; he calls for sharp cuts in world's nuclear arsenals; photos (L)

Westchester County will become first county in New York to manage care of drug addicts and alcoholics, linking each addict with particular hospital or clinic; move is expected to save millions of dollars that was wasted when many addicts and alcoholics on welfare would go from hospital to hospital at cost of as much as $5,200 for three days of care only to resume their habits at home; New York City eyes similar program that could yield even greater savings; graph (M)