Article contends that as President Clinton deflects criticism from politicians in United States and students in Beijing over his trip to China, he is finding unwavering, and somewhat surprising, support from Chinese immigrants in New York City; majority of immigrants say that Clinton's mission benefits both US and China for economic, political and cultural reasons (M)

Chinese Immigrants Hail Clinton Trip, Citing Mutual Benefit

 Government Plans to Sell Shares in Uranium Business  The Government will try to privatize its uranium enrichment business by selling stock to the public, with proceeds expected to be $1.36 billion to $1.65 billion.     The entity to be sold, the United States Enrichment Corporation, operates aging factories in Piketon, Ohio, and Paducah, Ky., and had sales of $1.6 billion last year. It is also developing a laser-based enrichment system at laboratories of the Energy Department, of which it was once a part. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

State and Federal prosecutors insist that while appeals court ruling favoring Microsoft Corp might force them to alter their legal tactics, it also offers road map to help sharpen their new antitrust suit against company, interviews; Attorneys General James E Doyle (Wisconsin) and Frank J Kelly (Michigan) and New York aide Stephen D Houck, lead litigator for states in suit, comment (M)

Prosecutors Say Microsoft Case Will Be Honed

Harvey Araton Sports of The Times column discusses success of New York Yankees pitcher David Cone this season; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; David Cone's Little War With Himself

Sephora is set to bring new style of luxury cosmetics retailing to New York with its first Manhattan store; store, unlike department stores, will sell different luxury lines together; French company, unit of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, will join other independent stores that are trying to grab new business outside traditional format, but is only one of independents offering mix of brands; seeks second Manhattan site and plans some 15 other stores across United States; table of leading brands; photos (M)

A New Face on the Block; En Garde: A Very Different Cosmetics Retailer Is Coming

Vincent LaSelva and his New York Grand Opera Co will begin their 25th successive season of free, fully staged operas and second half of their Viva Verdi! Festival at Central Park Summerstage on July 1; attraction is Luisa Miller; Jack Lang, former Frennch Culture Minister and now leader of Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament, warns that France's cultural influence is waning and proposes creation of Ministry of Foreign Cultural Affairs; pianist Andre-Michel Schub performs with Rochester Philharmonic at opening of Vail Valley Music Festival despite cutting his right palm while slicing bagel; two Robert Shure statues commemorating Irish famine are dedicated in downtown Boston park; photos (M)

Footlights

Federal appeals court in Washington hears arguments on attorney-client privilege from independent counsel Ken Starr, who is probing White House sex scandal, and White House lawyer W Neil Eggleston; White House argued that potential impeachment of President made privilege crucial matter, while Starr maintained that possibility of impeachment is too remote to be considered; White House maintained that since Starr recently told Supreme Court he might file impeachment report with Congress, Pres Clinton is entitled to receive confidential advice from Government lawyers in Lewinsky investigation; Starr argued that there is no need to focus on impeachment issues; urged judges to focus on whether they really wanted to endorse White House's position, establishing rule that every lawyer who worked for Federal Government would have legal obligation to forward evidence of crime to investigators--except for White House lawyers (M)

Lewinsky Case And 'Privilege' Fought in Court

Article discusses how three subsequent generations of descendants of Elizabeth Cady Stanton share, in varying degrees, her enthusiasm for expanding women's rights; examples cited; photo (M)

Six Generations of Strong Women; History Leaves Mark on Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Line

The Supreme Court aimed for clarity and, to an unusual degree, achieved it in the term just ended. Decisions were supported by clear majorities, free of the ambiguities that often plague rulings on highly charged subjects. A review of the major cases, by Linda Greenhouse.     Article, page A20.  

Clarity in the Court

Special Serbian police units and troops, backed by artillery, tanks, and other heavy armor, launch major assault against separatist rebels in Kosovo Province; fighting reported near Belacevac and Lapushnik; Western diplomats say attacks end latest diplomatic effort to negotiate cease-fire and could lead to spread of fighting to other areas, including provincial capital of Pristina; new offensive follows efforts by US to broker cease-fire, but neither Belgrade nor rebel army, which controls 40 percent of province, are willing to make concessions; maps (M)

SERB FORCES OPEN A MAJOR ASSAULT ON KOSOVO REBELS

Hilton Hotels Corp reportedly plans to split its hotel and gambling operations into separate companies and merge gaming unit with Mississippi gambling operations to be spun off by Grand Casinos; deal will free profitable hotel business from troubled gambling business and create gambling giant (M)

Hilton Gambling Split-Off Seen, Then Merger With Grand Casinos

New York City's newly created Charter Revision Commission is being criticized by good-government groups and others as cynically conceived agency with considerable power to disturb balance of government in favor of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, panel's creator; Frederick A O Schwartz Jr, chairman of 1989 commission, adds voice to those of other critics in letter to current chairman Peter J Powers; lays out 'fundamental concerns,' from lack of diversity among 12 members to plans to consider eliminating Office of Public Advocate and Independent Budget Office, both of which have criticized Mayor; expresses outrage that commission planned to move rapidly so it could place charter questions on November's ballot, apparently to meet Giuliani's timetable; Powers defends creation of commission; other Giuliani Administration official dismisses Schwartz's complaints as politically charged allegations (M)

GIULIANI CRITICIZED ON CHARTER PLANS

Barbican Center in London is celebrating American culture with Inventing America, $4.8 million festival sponsored by American Airlines; festival offers variety of US arts, with an emphasis on less commercial works, since American pop culture is already easily available in London; Barbican calls it biggest festival of American culture held outside US; festival is highlight of what has been called Reinventing of Barbican, strategy provoked by Royal Shakespeare Co's decision not to use center, its traditional London base, from May through Nov each year; Barbican managing director, John Tusa, comments; photos (M)

Exotic America Surprises London

Clyde Haberman NYC column discusses so-called Vanity Addresses of buildings and plazas in midtown Manhattan in which addresses to not correlate to locations; examples cited (M)

Blow It Up? Just Try To Find It

Remains of American serviceman from Vietnam War, buried in Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery with soldiers from two World Wars and Korean War, are identified as those of First Lieut Michael J Blassie of Air Force, who died in crash of fighter near An Loc in 1972; remains are identified by DNA tests after news reports raised questions about identity of Unknown Soldier; photo (M)

'Unknown' Vietnam Soldier Now Has a Name

Eighty-seven dancers from 26 countries compete in sixth USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Miss; Rasta Thomas, principal with Hartford Ballet, and Anna Antonicheva of Russia win top prizes; critics say competitive events discourage expression and feeling that are main business of art and encourage dancers to be sensational and superficial; photos (M)

Young Dancers Pounce Into Battle; Sports Meets Art at an International Competition in Mississippi

NBA owners, in move that could lead to first work stoppage in National Basketball Association history, agree to lock out players and suspend all league business until two parties sign new labor agreement; photo (M)

It's Their Ball, and N.B.A. Owners Call for Lockout

 Challenge to Netanyahu  Israel's largely ceremonial President delivered a jolt to Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu, urging him to call early elections because of the lagging peace negotiations. Mr. Netanyahu swiftly refused. Page A3.

INSIDE

Pres Clinton arrives in Shanghai, China, on third leg of nine-day trip; meets with entrepreneurs, community leaders and homeowners; engages in roundtable discussion with local leaders and appears on call-in radio show; will spend approximately three days in China's most cosmopolitan city talking to regular people; photos (M)

President Arrives in Shanghai; Focuses on Talk With Citizens

Lincoln Center Festival director, Nigel Redden, says there is still slim chance that intervention by Pres Clinton will persuade Chinese authorities to allow members of Kunqu Opera Co to fly to New York in time for opening of The Peony Pavilion; Shanghai Bureau of Culture objects to innovative staging of classic 16th-century Chinese opera, calling it too feudal, superstitious and pornographic; has replaced opera's director, Chen Shi-Zheng, and revised production; have allowed costumes and props--al paid for and technically owned by Lincoln Center and its co-producers--to be shipped (M)

The Fate Of 'Peony' May Hang On Clinton

23 are dead or missing in wet and violent weather that ravaged Midwest, Northeast and Appalachian states over past few days; floods wrought devastation from Wisconsin to West Virginia, Indiana to Vermont; tornado and heavy rains batter Ohio; lightning strikes kill three in Maryland, unstate New York and Minnesota; rain falls in parts of Florida, where drought-induced wildfires have charred 237,000 acres since Memorial Day; map; photo (M)

23 Dead or Missing as Storms Rage in East and the Midwest

Article discusses success of English soccer player Michael Owen and his performance in World Cup tournament; photo (M)

WORLD CUP '98: Owen Lets His Boots Do The Talking; At 18, Natural Born Striker Is English Lad Among Men

Federal Government, in unusual deal, will sell stock in United States Enrichment Corp, which provides most of nuclear energy fuel used in US; expects to raise $1.65 billion; decision to sell company in initial public offering comes after failure to sell it to any private bidder at acceptable price; company is widely viewed as inefficient manufacturer with antiquated technology, in business suffering declining demand; operates aging factories in Ohio and Kentucky and employes about 5,500; reported sales of $1.6 billion in 1997 (M)

In an Unusual Deal, U.S. Will Sell Stock In Its Uranium Mills

Article discusses future of interleague play in major league baseball in wake of first two years (M)

Numbers Keep Interleague Play Interesting

Team of IBM scientists is compiling detailed digital documentary of Michelangelo's Florentine Pieta at request of Dr Jack V Wasserman, art historian who hopes findings will shed light on why Michaelangelo took a sledgehammer to the composition, one of his most complex sculptures and greatest works of art; Wasserman says he wants to be able to look at statue's individual parts and understand what it looked like before broken pieces were put back on; IBM team is using special camera, lasers, X-ray machines and the most powerful computers in America; photos (M)

Michelangelo's Heartbreak Comes to Life in New Light; Transforming His Pieta to 80 Gigabytes

Thomas Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Sheffield United.

June 30, 1998

Headlines from June 30, 1998

Chinese Immigrants Hail Clinton Trip, Citing Mutual Benefit

BUSINESS DIGEST

Prosecutors Say Microsoft Case Will Be Honed

Sports of The Times; David Cone's Little War With Himself

A New Face on the Block; En Garde: A Very Different Cosmetics Retailer Is Coming

Billboard 200

MP Da Last Don

City Of Angels

Never S-A-Y Never

Godzilla -- The Album

Hope Floats

Notable Births

Historical Context for June 30, 1998