Bergen County officials say New Jersey Transit bus driver Glenford Gomez was arrested for groping woman passenger (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Bus Driver Charged in Assault

Study by National Cancer Institute and childhood leukemia experts finds no evidence that exposure to magnetic fields produced by electric power lines causes childhood leukemia; report, published in New England Journal of Medicine, follows earlier National Academy of Sciences study that found no evidence that power lines cause cancer, but that called for further research on childhood leukemia (M)

Big Study Sees No Evidence Power Lines Cause Leukemia

Interview with Evelyn Sooter, artist who bought parcel of untouched, timbered land outside Clark Fork, Idaho, in 1978, cleared it and built house, with help of friends and neighbors, that reflects her artistic vision; photos (M)

A Nest Self-Built From the Woods

Annual Strathmere fireworks display will be held in Sea Isle City this year (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Double the Display

Gov Christine Todd Whitman signs legislation that will allocate $2.25 million to hire 50 investigators in State Division of Insurance (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Money for Insurance Jobs

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn) says it has collected signatures from over one-third of New York City's 35,000 workfare participants demanding to form a union; drive is biggest effort so far to unionize welfare work force that will soon number over million people nationwide; Acorn says it tried to present 13,000 signatures to Giuliani administration officials but they refused to accept them; Labor Comr James F Hanley says it would be illegal for city to bargain with workfare participants because they do not work for city; photo (M)

Petitions Seek Vote on Union For Workfare

Evelyn Nieves Our Towns column on David Shephard, Newark, NJ, man who spent more than 11 years in prison for rape he did not commit; notes that he has inspired bill that would allow persons wrongly convicted and imprisoned to collect up to $20,000 a year for each year of incarceration (or double their annual salary, whichever is more) (M)

Wrongly Jailed And Released? Now Pay Price

Most traffic reports in New York City metropolitan area come from two companies, Metro Networks and Shadow Broadcast Services; their 90-plus reporters provide traffic news 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to over 100 area radio and television stations; some reporters use different broadcast names to give impression that each station is getting exclusive coverage; photos (M)

Most Radio News of Roads Comes From 2 Services

France bows to Pres Clinton's wish to limit NATO expansion to Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary, backing away from looming impasse; holds Romania and Slovenia also qualify for membership; says it is willing to continue talks on letting its troops rejoin NATO military structures even though United States has not yet ceded enough NATO leadership positions to Europeans to satisfy its conditions for move (M)

FRANCE GIVES WAY ON NATO GROWTH

James Stewart, actor whose movie roles made him beloved national icon, dies at age 89; Pres Clinton lauds him; profile of his career and life; photos (L)

James Stewart, the Hesitant Hero, Dies at 89

 INTO THE WATER -- Beaches in Westchester County reopened for swimming after being closed for three days because of a sewage spill. B2.    NOT FOR SALE -- To the apparent chagrin of many teen-agers, fireworks are hard to come by in Chinatown because of a city crackdown. B3.

INSIDE METRO

Four hundred and twenty seven current and former inhabitants of Du Pont Village in Pompton Lakes, NJ, are awaiting first payments in $38.5 million settlement of lawsuit filed four years ago against Du Pont Co; neighbors of Du Pont factory say that streams filled with mercury, lead, and other hazardous materials have destroyed their property values and, in some cases, their health; settlement was approved by Superior Court Judge Marina Corodemus in June; it is one of largest civil settlements in environmental case in New Jersey; map; photo (M)

With Pollution Suit Settled, Town Awaits Du Pont Millions

Enormous market for pirated goods of all kinds has sprung up in Italy, rivaling those in East Asian countries like Taiwan and Thailand; this underground bazaar offers up everything from fake Gucci bags and belts to illegal copies of American software, music recordings and books; experts estimate size of illegal commerce at $6 billion a year and growing; much of pressure to crack down on counterfeiting is coming from US; software companies, mainly American, lose estimated $350 million a year in Italy because of piracy; music industry, also heavily American, says it loses $100 million; charts; tables; photos (L)

In Italy's Piracy Culture, Black Market Is Thriving

Interview with writer Lowell Cunningham, whose comic book, Men in Black, inspired new science fiction movie; photo (S)

Men in Black Come From His Galaxy

Gov George E Pataki says he is willing to abandon major elements of his plan to overhaul New York State's welfare system, plan headed for certain defeat in Legislature; drops bid to cut cash benefits by 45 percent over five years and to immediately end Home Relief, state-funded program that largely serves single, able-bodied adults who do not qualify for Federal aid; calls for phasing out Home Relief; continues to insist on replacing cash benefits with vouchers for some recipients and expanding number of welfare recipients in work programs; threatens to hold up accord on budget, which is already 93 days late, unless Assembly agrees to key welfare changes; photo (M)

PATAKI IS WILLING TO GIVE UP PARTS OF WELFARE PLAN

New Wild West Casino, Atlantic City's first casino with Las Vegas-style theme, opens at Bally's Park Place on July 2 (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Theme Casino Opens

Federal appeals court grants request from convicted sex offender identified only as David D to block community notification about him required under New Jersey's 'Megan's Law' (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Exception to 'Megan's Law'

Coalition of nurses, health care advocates and families of patients at Bergen Pines Hospital says that handing over management of state's largest public hospital to private company would threaten quality of care (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Hospital Change Is Opposed

Federal Reserve decides to leave interest rates unchanged, betting that the economy can continue to enjoy low unemployment without inflation; Commerce Department reports orders placed with factories declined somewhat more than expected in May, latest sign that growth is moderating to more sustainable pace; orders fell by seven-tenths of 1 percent, to seasonally adjusted level of $323.2 billion, after rising 1.4 percent in April; April figure is revised upward from 1.2 percent; graph (L)

Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

British Parliament approves Prime Min Tony Blair's first budget, which cuts tax rate on big business profits to 31 percent, lowest rate of any Western industrial nation; Exchequer Chancellor Gordon Brown cites importance of fiscal discipline and strict control of inflation; budget includes windfall tax on profits from privatized utilities to fund retraining of workers displaced from jobs under Conservative Government; budget's overall stress differs little from that of former Conservative Prime Min John Major; photo (M)

Blair Gains Tax Cut for Business, But the Rest of Britain Must Wait

Air Force weighs court-martial for Lt William Kite Jr, who courted his wife, Rhonda, now a civilian, while she was airman and initially tried to hide relationship; Sec Sheila E Widnall reportedly weighs granting him general discharge in wake of furor over treatment of Kelly Flinn, who was charged with adultery and lying; Kite says he seeks either fine, reprimand and counseling or honorable discharge, interview; photo (L)

Courtship Leads to Marriage And Maybe Officer's Ouster

 Inhalers Tied to Cataracts  Inhaled steroids to treat asthma are linked to a higher risk of cataracts, but patients should not suddenly stop using them. Page A17.

INSIDE

SBC Communications Inc sues Government, seeking to overturn critical provision of Telecommunications Act of 1996; SBC contends that act is unconstitutional because it prohibits SBC and five other regional Bell telephone companies from offering long-distance service until they have opened their local monopolies to competition; while SBC and other phone companies have sued Federal Communications Commission for how it is carrying out the act, this is first time a company has attacked the law itself (L)

Stymied, SBC Seeks to Void Portion of Law

Auto industry is in midst of price war, with rebates, cut-rate loans, cheap lease deals and other discounts making new cars more affordable than they have been in nearly generation; average car costs less than half average family's pretax income for first time since 1981; calculation does not include sport utility vehicles, mini-vans and pickups, which have also been getting more affordable, but not as quickly as cars; discounts represent foregone profits for auto industry at time when vigorous economy should be producing strong earnings; graph; table (L)

Cars, Loaded With Incentives, Are Most Affordable in Years

 Stock Rally Pushes Some Indexes to Records  The stock market surged as the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates steady helped lift some secondary indexes into record territory but left the Dow Jones industrial average just short of a new high.    The Dow ended up 73.05 points, at 7,795.38, which was just below its record close of 7,796.51 on June 20. $(Page D7.$)

BUSINESS DIGEST

Thomas James Hockenson also known as T.J. Hockenson, is an American professional football tight end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, where he earned the John Mackey Award, as the nation's top tight end in college football and was selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

July 3, 1997

Headlines from July 3, 1997

Bus Driver Charged in Assault

Big Study Sees No Evidence Power Lines Cause Leukemia

A Nest Self-Built From the Woods

Double the Display

Money for Insurance Jobs

Billboard 200

Butterfly Kisses (Shades Of Grace)

Spice

Everywhere

Wu-Tang Forever

Middle Of Nowhere

Notable Births

Historical Context for July 3, 1997