February 2, 1999

House prosecutor Repr Edward Bryant interviews Monica S Lewinsky under oath and on video tape for nearly four hours in Washington, seeking to bolster obstruction-of-justice charge against Pres Clinton in Senate impeachment trial; questioning marks new and possibly final phase in impeachment trial; White House lawyers offer only apology to Lewinsky, making no inquiries of own; questioning takes far less than eight hours allowed by Senate; White House decision not to use its allotted time suggests no startling new information emerged; deposition attended by Republican Sens Mike DeWine, Arlen Specter and Fred Thompson and Democratic Sens Thomas J Leahy, Christopher J Dodd and John Edwards; all decline comment; photos (M)

Navy is suffering shortage of personnel to run Harry S Truman, nation's newest aircraft carrier, as well as other surface ships; almost every department aboard ultramodern, $4.5 billion carrier faces shortage of sailors, from engine room to intelligence division to mess; Navy reports as many as 22,000 empty positions in authorized force of about 375,000, with vast majority abord its 327 ships rather than on shore, as thriving economy has created more enticing opportunities for young people than prospect of long ocean voyages; has responded with variety of programs, offering bonuses and championing proposals currently before Congress to increase pay and retirement benefits for all military personnel; photos (M)

AT&T and Time Warner have joined forces to sell local telephone service over Time Warner's millions of cable television lines. The venture could provide consumers with a major alternative to the regional Bells and GTE, which dominate that $100 billion business. The companies said they would sell local phone service in one or two undisclosed markets this year. For Time Warner's 1.1 million subscribers in New York City, the deal could bring a widespread local phone alternative to Bell Atlantic in a few years. Business Day, page C1.

Interview with Dr C Everett Koop, former Surgeon General, who now pursues his public health agenda through Koop Institute in Hanover, NH; Koop's chief target is, as ever, the tobacco industry, which he believes is trying to hook children on smoking, and his other concerns include the nation's 50 million uninsured, failings in health care system, which he says have been made worse by managed care, inadequate attention being given to people with hepatitis C virus, the nation's increasing obesity, particularly among the young, quality of teaching in medical schools and the high number of preventable accidental deaths among children; photos (M)

Some Atlanta Falcon players say other players had been going for same purpose in week before Super Bowl to seedy part of Miami where teammate Eugene Robinson was arrested for soliciting prostitute, interviews; admit arrest was distraction (M)