February 25, 1998

Golden State Wariors defeat New York Knickerbockers, 87-82; photo (M)

Pres Clinton is invoking executive privilege to shield top aides from testifying about internal White House discussions on Monica S Lewinsky investigation; lawyers involved in case say Clinton decided to take step, which has profound legal and political implications, after prosecutors filed motion to compel testimony from Bruce R Lindsey, Clinton's closest friend and adviser at White House (M)

Oxford Health Plans sets shake-up in face of financial losses that could radically change company's policy of offering affordable coverage with tremendous flexibility for consumers in picking doctor; names Dr Norman C Payson chief executive; Stephen F Wiggins will step down as chairman, but remain director; William Sullivan, who replaced Wiggins as chief executive, will remain with company; Oxford says Texas Pacific Group will provide $350 million in fresh capital; plans to seek added $350 million in debt financing; map; graphs; table; photo (M)

New York State Court of Appeals upholds constitutionality of New York City zoning law that bans X-rated businesses from residential neighborhoods; Giuliani administration says it will begin shutting down estimated 138 peep shows and topless bars; zoning law designates commercial and manufacturing areas where sex shops will still be allowed; lawyers for sex shop owners say they will appeal decision in Federal courts (M)

Dr Kanatjan Alibekov, defector from former Soviet biological weapons program who is now known as Ken Alibek, says that Moscow's cold war plans for World War III included preparing 'hundreds of tons' of anthrax bacteria and scores of tons of smallpox and plague viruses; Alibek was second-in-command of branch of Soviet program and defected to US in 1992; he says Russian military was still running biological weapons program in 1991, year after Mikhail S Gorbachev ordered it halted; has written highly classified study of Soviet biological weapons program for US Government; says he believes a vestige of Moscow's cold war biological-weapons program is continuing in Russia under guise of defensive research; photo (M)