December 31, 1998

Sports of The Times update on Mike Peplinski, member of US curling team at Olympics who last June received kidney from his father-in-law; Peplinski, 25-year-old middle-school geography teacher in Wisconsin, is doing well, as is Bill Brendel, who says he was happy to give his young grandson a healthy father for 1999 and beyond; photo (S)

Justice Dept announces that it has joined lawsuit filed by whistle-blower against Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp, bringing new allegations that company defrauded Federal health programs through scheme involving bogus expense claims; action is second instance since October of Government's joining a whistle-blower suit against Columbia/HCA; both suits contend that health giant systematically cheated Federal programs like Medicare out of millions of dollars by routinely overstating expenses in filed reports (M)

U.S. Fighters Attack Iraqi Missile Site For the second time this week, American fighter jets attacked an Iraqi air-defense battery as Iraq carried out its threat to fire on American and British aircraft patrolling ''no flight'' zones. Page A3. Court Rules on Who Is a Jew Reawakening the divisive issue of who is a Jew, a district judge in Jerusalem ordered the Israeli Government to recognize conversions by non-Orthodox rabbis. Page A6.

Classified, bipartisan report by select House committee finds over past 20 years China obtained, sometimes through theft, some of most sensitive US military technology, including information on nuclear weapons design; says range of technical secrets far beyond satellite- and missile-related technology whose transfer by American satellite companies during Clinton Administration prompted start of panel's inquiry were acquired by China during Republican and Democratic Administrations alike; Repr Christopher Cox, chairman of Select Committee on US National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns With the People's Republic of China, says acquisition has harmed national security and that China's efforts over past two decades had been serious, sustained activity (M)

Arizona Cardinals, who last won playoff game when Harry Truman was President and they were Chicago Cardinals, will face Dallas Cowboys; photos (M)