Senior members of House say that Congress is primed to break its own rules and spend $14 billion budget surplus forecast for next year; Congress, determined to spend billions more on military, dubious of cutting domestic programs any deeper and driven to finance members' favorite projects in all 50 states, has already proved itself unable to live within strict budget limits it imposed in 1997; members say that those spending caps helped balance budget, but they are now squeezing too tight (M)

CONGRESS CHAFING AT SPENDING CAPS

Microsoft and Compaq Computer acknowledge several significant software security flaws that could enable intruders to gain access to computers running Windows and Internet Explorer browser in combination with other programs and damage data via E-mail or other Web sites; Microsoft is working on fix and plans to issue security bulletin; drawing (M)

Security Flaws In Software Are Reported

Blistering heat and lack of rain cause crops and livelihoods to wilt in places like Rockland County, New York, where Hispanic day workers wait in vain for landscaping work; photos; map showing dearth of rain in New York City metropolitan area (M)

Under Arid Skies, Crops and Livelihoods Wilt

New York Mets' 10-9 victory over Chicago Cubs vaults Mets into first place, at end of July, for first time in nine years; photos (M)

With One Well-Placed Kick, the Mets Vault Into First

New Yorkers search for cool places as hottest July on record comes to close; photos (M)

Searching for a Place in the Shade, Many Seek Ways to Cope With the Heat

 Rudolph W. Giuliani is suddenly showing a kinder, gentler self as he prepares for a probable Senate run. But the old, cantankerous Rudy is never too far away. A report by James Traub, in The Times Magazine.

THE MAYOR'S MAKEOVER

William C Rhoden Sports of The Times column describes opening day of Jets' training camp and determination of team to make fresh start; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; For Jets, New Season, Fresh Starts

New York Yankees have talked to 10 teams about trading Andy Pettitte, but if they trade him it appears it will be to Philadelphia; two sides have settled on three prospects, including right-handed pitcher Adam Eaton and outfielder Reggie Taylor; photo (M)

Yankees Have a Deal for Pettitte, if They Want It

Scientists are alarmed by new law law under which anyone can write a request to Government under Freedom of Information Act and get 'all data produced' by a published study paid for with any public dollars, and potentially receive everything from a summary of findings to a scientist's notebooks or E-mail or, in some cases, information about patients; Sen Richard Shelby sponsored amendment, which passed quietly, without debate; scientists and university administrators fear that corporate or political interests will use law to hamper research on controversial subjects, tie up scientists in red tape, circumvent confidentiality agreements and thwart Government regulations (L)

A Law Opening Research Data Sets Off Debate

New York City is in midst of great penny shortage, prompting merchants to offer rewards for them; photos; fault apparently lies with estimated two-thirds of Americans who leave their pennies on dresser tops or in jars; US Mint is producing pennies six days a week, and expects to produce 13 billlion this year (S)

Thoughts for Your Penny, Suddenly Scarce

New York Giants are beset with injuries; cornerback Jason Sehorn, coming back from knee surgery, reveals he has hamstring strain that would keep him from practicing for indefinite period; starting running back Gary Brown will be lost to injury indefinitely, and rookie running back Joe Montgomery, who was supposed to contend for Brown's job, also has pulled hamstring; photo (M)

Sehorn's Comeback Slowed by Strain

Letter typed by Mark O Barton just eight hours before slaughtering nine people at two Atlanta brokerage houses declares his intention to live just long enough to kill 'the people that greedily sought my destruction'; was apparently typed on his computer near sunrise on July 29 and then left in apartment in Stockbridge, Ga, where he bludgeoned his wife and two children to death; suggests that he was tortured by estrangement from his wife, by financial troubles and by unexplained fears that he said had been 'transferred from my father to me and from me to my son'; James Lee, president of Momentum Securities Inc, where Barton killed four people, reports that Barton lost roughly $105,000 during 15 days of securities day trading that began on June 9; photos (L)

Killer Confessed in a Letter Spiked With Rage

 U.S.-China Deal on Bombing  Ending more than two months of acrimony, the United States and China agreed that Washington would pay $4.5 million in compensation for NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May.   PAGE A5    Top of the Heap in New York  That light at the end of the tunnel could be a subway World Series approaching. For the first time in 11 years, the Mets and the Yankees are first-place teams this deep into the season.   PAGE D1

INSIDE

London Stock Exchange, following New York Exchange and Nasdaq lead, announces plan to end nearly two-century-old mutual ownership by issuing tradeable shares to its members; move is aimed at thwarting upstart electronic trading networks (M)

Old Exchange In London Tries A New Twist On Ownership

Federal immigration judge, Donn Livingston, rules in favor of release of Nasser K Ahmed; Egyptian man has been held in jail for last three years on basis of secret evidence allegedly linking him to terrorist organization; judge rules that Ahmed is not threat to national security, should not be deported and should be granted political asylum; Immigration Service's use of secret evidence against suspected terrorists is being challenged by civil liberties and Arab-American groups; Ahmed is unlikely to be released soon, since INS has filed appeal and he is also awaiting sentencing for making false statements on immigration form (M)

Man Jailed on Secret Evidence Should Be Freed, Judge Says

Warner Brothers studio chief operating officer Barry M Meyer reportedly will be named to replace film, television and music division heads Robert A Daly and Terry Semel, who are leaving to join forces as entertainment entrepreneurs; Castle Rock Entertainment chairman and chief executive Alan Horn emerges as top candidate to run movie division; photos (M)

Insiders Seen Winning Posts at Warner Brothers

Senate votes 57 to 43 to cut taxes by $792 billion over next 10 years, moving Republican-controlled Congress to showdown with Pres Clinton over how nation can best use trillions of dollars in projected Federal budget surpluses; bill would cut personal income taxes by reducing lowest tax rate to 14 percent from 15 percent starting in 2001; would give a tax break to many married couples, expand Individual Retirement Account program, create a deduction for some health insurance costs and reduce inheritance tax on large estates; most of bill's provisions, which also include breaks for business and special-interest groups, would be phased in gradually as expected surpluses grow, and some would not be fully effective until 2009; of total of $792 billion in tax reductions over 10 years, only $4.1 billion would take effect next year; Sen William V Roth Jr, Delaware Republican, is main author of measure; photo (M)

SENATE APPROVES BIG CUT IN TAXES, COURTING A VETO

Linda R Tripp, whose secretly recorded conversations with Monica S Lewinsky exposed an affair that led to Pres Clinton's impeachment, is indicted on two criminal charges by Maryland grand jury for illegally taping telephone calls; Tripp, who became reviled symbol of betrayal, finds herself accused of a crime 18 months after she entered case as an accuser, bringing to Federal authorities the tape recordings that first alerted them to Lewinsky's relationship with Clinton; Tripp photo (M)

Jurors in Maryland Indict Linda Tripp In Lewinsky Tapes

Microsoft and Compaq acknowledged software security flaws that could enable intruders to gain access to the computers of millions of customers and to damage their data via E-mail or through commands sent from a malicious Web site. Certain Hewlett-Packard computers are also thought to be vulnerable.     Business Day, page C1.  

Some Security Flaws Reported in Software

 Senate Votes to Cut Taxes By $792 Billion in 10 Years  The Senate voted to cut taxes by $792 billion over the next 10 years, moving the Republican-controlled Congress toward a showdown with President Clinton over how the nation can best use trillions of dollars in projected Federal budget surpluses. The vote was 57 to 43. Four Democrats joined 53 Republicans in support of the bill, while 2 Republicans and 41 Democrats voted against it.    The bill would cut personal income taxes by reducing the lowest tax rate starting in 2001. It would give a tax break to many married couples, expand the Individual Retirement Account program, create a deduction for some health insurance costs and reduce the inheritance tax on large estates. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

New York Police Dept reports that gun seizures by its embattled Street Crimes Unit have fallen so sharply since shooting of Amadou Diallo in February that officials are leaning toward putting some of elite force back into plain clothes; 307-person unit has been critical tool in New York City's successful effort to seize guns and curb violent crime; but its gun seizures have plummeted by 40 percent this year, compared with same period last year (M)

Elite Unit's Wearing of Uniforms Is Reviewed as Gun Seizures Drop

Article describes Power of One, Pepsico's new marketing plan, in which supermarket aisles are widened and stocked with Pepsi soft drinks and Frito-Lay snack foods; photo; graphs (M)

An Aisle Unto Itself?; Pepsi's Vision: All of Its Eggs in One Shopping Basket

''Words cannot tell the agony. Why did I? I have been dying since October. Wake up at night so afraid, so terrified that I couldn't be that afraid while awake. It has taken its toll. I have come to hate this life and this system of things. I have come to have no hope.''    MARK O. BARTON, in a note explaining the rampage that left 13 people, including him, dead.   [A8]  

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

Indonesia, seeking to end 32 years of corruption under regime of former Pres Suharto, will strip state-owned oil and gas company Pertimina of its monopoly on granting contracts in petroleum reserves; photo (S)

OIL CHANGE IN INDONESIA

Bell Canada, country's largest phone company, agrees to buy additional 35 percent stake in cellular provider BCE Mobile Communications Inc for equivalent of $1.06 billion (S)

CANADIAN CELLULAR COMPANY SOLD

The Discovery Program is a series of Solar System exploration missions funded by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through its Planetary Missions Program Office. The cost of each mission is capped at a lower level than missions from NASA's New Frontiers or Flagship Programs. As a result, Discovery missions tend to be more focused on a specific scientific goal rather than serving a general purpose.

Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon's surface.

July 31, 1999

Headlines from July 31, 1999

CONGRESS CHAFING AT SPENDING CAPS

Security Flaws In Software Are Reported

Under Arid Skies, Crops and Livelihoods Wilt

With One Well-Placed Kick, the Mets Vault Into First

Searching for a Place in the Shade, Many Seek Ways to Cope With the Heat

Billboard 200

Millennium

Significant Other

Ricky Martin

...Baby One More Time

Can't Stay Away

Historical Events

Historical Context for July 31, 1999