November 28, 1997

Stephen Holden reviews new albums by pop stars of 60's and 70's, including recordings by Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and James Taylor; photo (L)2

23 foster children, most of them troubled teen-age girls, spend another night sleeping on fold-up cots in New York City placement officer in lower Manhattan because child welfare workers had run out of foster care beds to offer them; they are city's most unwanted children: truants, runaways, psychotics and battered girls with dazed eyes; abused or rejected by their guardians, they are routinely refused by foster parents who prefer young children to troubled adolescents; photo (M)

Profile of New York Knicks' guard Allan Houston; photo (M)

St John's coach Fran Fraschilla chooses tropical setting of San Juan, and less-than-challenging opponent, American University of Puerto Rico, for coming-out party of his prize recruit, freshman Ron Artest; Artest comes through, scoring 24 points, as St John's defeats American, 93-81, in opening game of Puerto Rico Shootout (M)

Capital's media celebrities no longer rake in lucrative speaking fees on lecture circuit; trade associations and industry groups are not as inclined as they once were to dole out $10,000 and more for hour of punditry; Mark Shields, who has seen his lucrative bookings disappear, attributes dry spell to 'status quo' nature of 1996 election; David Gergen says dip is seasonal, since there are no major political races in 1997; agents who book so-called 'buckrakers' confirm trend; Jay Callahan of Keppler Associates says that same apathy about Washington that is felt by public has spread to trade associations and companies that used to feel need to hear speech by bona fide Washington insider; photo (M)