Kaiser Permanente, nation's largest nonprofit health maintenance organization, posts first-ever loss of $270 million for 1997; chief executive David M Lawrence says Kaiser weighs selling money-losing Dallas-Fort Worth health plan, other units; says it was far off in forecasting rising costs, especially in its big Southern California unit and added more new members than it could immediately handle (M)

Kaiser H.M.O., Erring on Costs, Posts $270 Million Loss for '97

Women's downhill and men's super-giant slalom were the latest skiing races disrupted by weather. SportsSaturday, page C1.  

INSIDE

Thomas Alsgaard wins 15-kilometer pursuit cross-country race at Winter Games, edging out Bjorn Dahlie, fellow Norwegian who was seeking a record seventh Olympic gold medal; photo (M)

Faltering Just 200 Yards From Olympic History

George Steinbrenner expresses satisfaction with New York Yankees after off-season fine-tuning, but says he would like to see more fans at Yankee Stadium, a more constructive relationship with Bernie Williams and a new beginning for Hideki Irabu (M)

Steinbrenner's Rosy View: What's Not to Like?

Pres Clinton and top aides begin preparing nation for war in Iraq and for grim prospect of civilian casualties on the ground and of American pilots shot down from the skies; Clinton says he would not be deterred by Russia's opposition to an attack on Iraq if Pres Saddam Hussein does not allow United Nations weapons inspectors unfettered access; photo of memorial in Baghdad to people killed by American bombs in an attack on suburb of Amiriya on Feb 13, 1991 (M)

Another Rebuff to Iraq

Pres Boris Yeltsin's opposition to American military action against Iraq is shared by Russia's political and business elite and the average Russian and reflects potent combination of foreign policy and commercial interests; economic ties include $3.8 billion agreement signed by Lukoil, Russia's premier oil company, to develop Iraq's Qurna oilfield once economic sanctions are removed; many Russians still find it hard to accept that US has the power, will and resources to launch a military campaign in the face of determined Russian opposition; however, there is no serious talk of providing military assistance to Baghdad or desire for renewing cold war hostilities with US; Russia also has a generally satisfactory record of observing economic sanctions against Iraq; graph of Russian opinion poll on conflict (M)

Russia's Stake In Iraq Bolsters Anti-War Cry

Ernst & Young and KPMG Peat Marwick abandon merger plans in face of growing opposition from foreign antitrust regulators; regulators are concerned that merger would further reduce the number of accounting firms that public companies have to choose from; abandonment of merger by these two firms might reduce regulatory opposition to another planned accounting merger, that between Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand (M)

Antitrust Scrutiny Ends Plan To Merge Accounting Firms

Neysa DeMann Erbland, who attended Beverly Hills High School with Monica S Lewinsky, reportedly tells investigators that Lewinsky confided to her that she was having a sexual relationship with Pres Clinton and played her taped telephone messages from Clinton; office of Whitewater independent counsel, Kenneth W Starr, reaches compomise with Justice and Treasury Departments to permit limited questioning of a retired Secret Service officer, Lewis C Fox, before grand jury; Lewinsky's mother, Marcia Lewis, spends a second grueling day before grand jury; photo (M)

Intern's Friend Said to Recount Talk of Affair

Christian Tortu, Ariston Florist and other New York City florists put in final desperate hours preparing for Valentine's Day rush; photos (M)

Florists' Big Day: Romantic and Frantic; At 2 Contrasting Shops on Fifth Ave., Long Stems Mean Long Hours

President Clinton and his top aides began today to prepare the nation for war in Iraq, and for the grim prospect of civilian casualties on the ground and of American pilots shot down from the skies.     ''The truth is, war is a dirty thing,'' Gen. Henry H. Shelton, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a breakfast meeting with reporters today. ''We will lose some people, and that weighs heavily.''   

WHITE HOUSE USING CANDOR ABOUT WAR TO PREPARE PUBLIC

New York Knicks defeat Orlando Magic, 99-83; photo (M)

Knicks Make Do With Hands They Have

First week of Olympic Winter Games has been plagued by snow and rain, causing disruptions and delays in skiing events; chart of weather postponements; photo (M)

Rain This Time, but at Least No Earthquake Yet

Kenneth W Starr, Whitewater independent counsel, faces growing criticism over the heavy-handed tactics he and his prosecutors are using on witnesses in their investigation of Pres Clinton; critics cite the ordeal that Monica Lewinsky's mother, Marcia Lewis, evidently endured before grand jury; criticism on this front comes on top of White House charges about Starr's motives and about leaks from his office; Starr's defenders say his tactics may be distasteful but are standard practice among prosecutors; photo of anti-Starr demonstrators (M)

Starr's Wide Net Is Drawing Witnesses and Critics Alike

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column on United States men's hockey team's loss to Sweden in opening game of their Winter Games tournament; photo (M)

Sports of the Times; No Dreaming Permitted On Big Ice

United Auto Workers endorses proposed contract with Caterpillar that includes two-tier wage scale, drops the unfair-labor-practice charges against the company and is altogether not much better than the one union members rejected in December 1995; agreement stands in stark contract to triumph scored in 1997 by United Parcel Service strikers and reflects troubles faced by America's traditional, smokestack worker unions; Caterpillar workers outside US worked overtime to increase output, and modern, computer-based production lines allowed its domestic factories to maintain operations with nonunion workers, union workers who crossed picket lines and replacement workers; company earned record $1.67 billion in 1997 with its most most senior and skilled workers on strike; photo; graph (M)

AUTO UNION BACKS TENTATIVE ACCORD WITH CATERPILLAR

Union Pacific Corp agrees to give rival Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp joint ownership of some track to help ease freight gridlock that has caused shippers heavy losses; gives Burlington right to help dispatch traffic over some other sections of track system plagued by some of worst delays in railroad history; customers are divided over how much moves will help ease backups that began in Houston in June and spread throughout West (M)

Union Pacific Gives Rival Some Track Rights to End Jam

International Monetary Fund managing director Michel Camdessus seeks to veto Indonesia's risky plan to lock value of its beleaguered currency to that of dollar under currency board mechanism; stand sets up showdown with Pres Suharto, whose family would benefit if strategy worked; Suharto meets with economist Steven Hanke, leading advocate of currency board; photo (M)

I.M.F. Opposing Indonesia's Plan For Currency

Law enforcement officials say Geraisimov V Metaxas, who fatally shot Hoboken, NJ, teacher John A Sacci Jr, acted in a jealous rage in mistaken belief that victim was having an affair with his wife, Linda; photo (M)

Teacher's Killer Suspected an Affair That Never Happened

QVC, television shopping network, is selling books, mostly self-help and romance, tantalizing publishers with prospects for expanding market of new readers; strives to become more of player in publishing industry; has hired full-time book buyer to scout for suitable titles and telegenic authors; graphs; photos (M)

The Little Bookshop in Your Living Room; Publishers Find New Market Through Television Shopping Network

David Gonzalez (About New York) column on Marianne Carroll and Turgay Kandemiroglu, who are to wed on Valentine's Day following whirlwind romance and despite fact that she speaks only English and he only Turkish; photo (M)

About New York; The Language Of Love Is All They Needed

A Brooklyn grand jury that last year cleared two plainclothes police officers of criminal wrongdoing in a fatal shooting has taken the unusual step of criticizing the Police Department for giving inadequate tactical training to such officers. Police Commissioner Howard Safir, saying that the grand jury's report showed little understanding of the department's training procedures, released a study showing a decline in incidents in which officers fired their guns.   

Grand Jury Criticizes Police Training

 Ernst & Young and KPMG Scrap Plan for Huge Merger  Ernst & Young and KPMG Peat Marwick called off their merger, which would have created the world's largest accounting and consulting firm. The leaders of the two firms cited growing opposition to the proposed deal from foreign regulators.   

BUSINESS DIGEST

First jaywalking ticket is issued since Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani raised the penalties and intensified his campaign on errant pedestrians; Brenda Barnes, a 44-year-old law student, is fined $50 for slipping through the pedestrian barricades at Avenue of the Americas and 50th Street; photo (M)

Officer Apprehends a Perpetrator. The Charge Is Jaywalking.

Correction of brief item on Feb 12 about the film critic Daphne Merkin

Corrections

Peter Koch was an American engineer and wood scientist who was considered an expert in the field of wood technology by his peers. From 1963 to 1982, Koch led a team of US Forest Service scientists in forest products utilization research specific to forests of the southeastern US. Accomplishments by Koch and his research team included eight US patents plus hundreds of research publications.

Peter Koch (wood scientist), American industrial engineer and wood scientist (born 1920)

Peter_Koch_(wood_scientist)

Rail freight transport is the use of railways and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.

An oil tanker train collides with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a massive explosion which killed 120.

February 14, 1998

Headlines from February 14, 1998

Kaiser H.M.O., Erring on Costs, Posts $270 Million Loss for '97

More Races Postponed

INSIDE

Faltering Just 200 Yards From Olympic History

Steinbrenner's Rosy View: What's Not to Like?

Billboard 200

Titanic

Let's Talk About Love

Spiceworld (Soundtrack)

My Way

Yourself Or Someone Like You

Notable Deaths

Historical Events

Historical Context for February 14, 1998