October 25, 1998

Gretchen Morgenson column on impact on bond market over issue of whether Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts will forestall US economic recession and improve credit availability; graph (M)

Article assesses 1999 Pontiac Grand Am's SE2 V6 sedan, GT coupe and four-cylinder SE1 models, from General Motors; photos; chart (M)

Dr Barnett Slepian, one of three doctors who provide abortions in Buffalo area, is shot to death in his home in Amherst, NY, by sniper; investigators say killing is most deadly evidence yet of pattern of anti-abortion sniper shootings in Canada and western New York; earlier in week, Federal Bureau of Investigation joined Canadian law enforcement task force trying to solve four sniper attacks against abortion doctors dating back to 1994; four other shootings--three in Canada and one in Rochester--each occurred within weeks of Nov 11, which some Canadian anti-abortion activists are said to call 'Remember the Unborn Children Day'; Dr Slepian moved his family to new home two years ago to avoid anti-abortion protesters; photos; map; chronology of anti-abortion violence and murders since 1993 (L)

Steps by the Koreas The United States, China and the Koreas agreed on steps toward exploring a peace treaty. Page 9. Taking Aim at the Top The Republican incumbent in North Carolina's Senate race is playing off antipathy for the President. Page 20. Leading Sex Educator Dies Dr. Mary S. Calderone, who promoted sex education and the idea of human sexuality as a vital part of a healthy life, died at 94. Page 52. Winter in the Sun Special Caribbean issue: Martinique's French allure includes a Carnival rich with music. Also, an island-by-island roundup of new resorts, sports and spas -- and cleanup after Hurricane Georges. TRAVEL More the Martyr Andrew Sullivan reviews Peter Ackroyd's ''Life of Thomas More,'' a biography that re-creates the civilization of late medieval England and the ambience in which More found he could do no other than die. BOOK REVIEW Not Too Many Cooks Food preparation is the fastest-growing occupation in America, but there is nothing easy about holding a job as a chef in a top New York restaurant. The meals are free, but in many instances the pay is peanuts. MONEY & BUSINESS Knowing What's Next After 31 years as president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Lichtenstein is retiring. Presiding over a shift in taste, from modernism to post-modernism, from meaning to meditation, he has shown a remarkable ability to sense the future. ARTS & LEISURE Playing God in the Garden Biotechnology has produced some genetically ''superior'' potatoes, but has it also imperiled humankind's enduring relationship to food crops? MAGAZINE Remolding the Peace After Oslo, Israel's leaders come to terms with the reality that the 1993 peace accord created. As the details sink in, the mood between Palestinians and Israelis is one of a deep and abiding mistrust. WEEK IN REVIEW

Article, adapted from Neal Gabler new book Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, describes how movies help to drive American pop culture; drawings (M)

United States will reportedly contribute several billion dollars in direct aid or loan guarantees as part of $30 billion global effort to insulate Brazil, and with it rest of Latin America, from worst effects of financial turmoil circling globe; details of American contribution have yet to be negotiated, but Congressional leaders have been alerted to likelihood that Clinton Administration will act while Congress is in recess; biggest role in rescue program for Brazil will be taken by International Monetary Fund, which will contribute at least $15 billion; another $9 billion will come from World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (M)

Rodolfo Valentin, hair stylist with shop in Cedarhurst, LI, specializes in wigs and falls and hair extensions; description of visit to his salon; drawing;

an emotional season plays out**Excerpts from series of interviews with New York Yankees pitcher David Cone on team, their season and his season; Cone agreed to speak freely as long as his comments were not published until after playoffs; photos (M)

Sen Alfonse M D'Amato and Rep Charles E Schumer meet in their first debate; D'Amato hammers Schumer for his attendance record in Congress, and Schumer portrays D'Amato as untrustworthy legislator who embarrassed New York and repeatedly voted with Republicans against state's interests; tense exchange is first of what will be only two debates scheduled in race that is very close; Schumer says he would not support impeachment of Pres Clinton, while D'Amato declines to offer opinion; on abortion rights, D'Amato criticizes Schumer for his opposition to ban on what he refers to as partial-birth abortion, type of late-term abortion that D'Amato views as infanticide; Schumer says D'Amato's voting record on abortion rights is abysmal; photo (M)

Participants at Wye River Middle East conference recall most dramatic moments of all-night stand during which agreement was finally clinched between Israel and Palestinians; say turning point was when Pres Clinton became so angry at Israeli Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu that he left room; Netanyahu relented, Clinton returned, and negotiations went into crucial home stretch; other incidents of high drama and some moments of levity recalled (M)

Article on effort by Consumers Union and other groups to persuade California voters to pass Proposition 9, which would upend electric utility regulation and sharply cut rates for residential and small-commercial customers; photos; graphs (L)

Increasingly, images of the dead are finding their way into print and onto television; reflexes that made graphic death a rarity in newspapers in generation after Vietnam War are being supplanted by willingness to use such images for their emotional impact; the larger the point to be made, the more willing editors have been to use visual horror to make that point; photos (M)