January 1, 1999

NBA players' union prepares final proposal, including major concession of cap on salaries, to try to end lockout, less than week before owners convene on canceling season; union leader Billy Hunter notes that he and NBA commissioner David Stern are 'both in deep water' (S)

South Korea to sell 51 percent stake in Korea First Bank to consortium led by GE Capital and Newbridge Capital, buyout fund backed by David Bonderman's Texas Pacific Group; deal is clearest vote of confidence in Pres Kim Dae Jung's Government from foreign investor since Asian economic crisis took hold last year; marks start of final phase of Government efforts to overhaul debt-laden financial system, underscoring swiftness with which Kim has moved to repair parts of economy (M)

In the first signs of serious discord among Senate Republicans over impeachment, several senators, both conservative and moderate, said today that they opposed a proposal that would permit a preliminary vote on articles of impeachment without a full trial. ''That's a whitewash and a shirking of our responsibility the Constitution gives us,'' Senator James M. Inhofe, a conservative Oklahoman, said in a telephone interview. ''We have to have witnesses and have a full trial. How can someone vote without hearing from witnesses and without hearing all the evidence?''

New York Jets begin serious work for their first home playoff game in 12 years; coach Bill Parcells appears at practice wearing one of his two Giants Super Bowl rings; photos (S)

One is an Argentine-born preacher who appeals to both Hispanic and Anglo audiences. Another is a young megachurch pastor in Southern California who peppers his sermons with quotations from Hollywood stars and sports idols. A third is an African-American equally beloved by convicts and unhappy homemakers. And then there are two of the Rev. Billy Graham's children. Ever since the Colonial era, America has had a pre-eminent preacher who played an unofficial role as national evangelist, preaching a simple message of repentance and salvation and drawing vast crowds in the process. For the last 50 years, that role has been filled by the Rev. Billy Graham. But at the turn of the century, with Mr. Graham now 80, the question arises, Who, if anyone, can take his place.

The E-mail messages arrived first in a trickle, then in a flood. Students at Pennsylvania State University were contacting their president, Graham B. Spanier, with a desperate plea in the fall semester: Create more classes in ballroom dancing. Nearly 1,500 undergraduates were languishing on dance class waiting lists; on Friday nights, the ballroom dance club was overwhelmed trying to teach hundreds how to cha-cha and fox trot.

Sports of The Times column on New York Jets as embodying new year's spirit of rejuvenation, clean slates and second chances, with particular reference to Vinny Testaverde; photo (S)

The Bell Atlantic Corporation, the nation's largest local telephone company, is in talks to buy Airtouch Communications Inc., the largest wireless phone company for $45 billion in stock, executives close to the companies said last night. The deal, which could be announced as early as Monday, would bring New York-based Bell Atlantic, which already has 5.7 million cellular customers in services blanketing the East Coast, one step closer to creating a nationwide and even international wireless network.

Don't be fooled by their size. These young people are all seasoned veterans of Broadway. They are currently appearing in shows like ''The Lion King,'' ''The Sound of Music,'' ''Les Miserables'' and the forthcoming revival of ''Annie Get Your Gun.'' They are also students at the Professional Performing Arts School. Since 1990 the public school, on West 48th Street in the theater district, has been offering students in grades 6 to 12 a college-preparatory program along with professional classes that include acting, singing and dancing.

The Honda Motor Company will offer this lightweight, superefficient car in the United States next year, which would beat the Toyota Motor Corporation to market with a hybrid-powered vehicle in North America. The Honda, whose name has not been publicly disclosed, will be shown next week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It has both a three-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor, and can reportedly travel 70 miles on a gallon of gas. It will also meet extremely strict pollution standards, Honda said. Toyota, which has been selling a small hybird sedan, the Prius, in Japan, has announced plans to sell a hybrid car in the United States, but probably not until late 2000.

All United States financial markets, Government offices and banks are closed today in observance of New Year's Day. Most foreign financial markets are also closed. The markets will reopen on Monday.

Clyde Haberman finds there is surfeit of talk about passing of old millenium and coming of new millenium, which he argues, in any event, will not arrive for another two years, on Jan 1, 2001 (M)