September 19, 1999

Article on relationships between elderly New York City residents who can no longer care for themselves and their home attendants; close bond formed between Italian woman, Mary Russo, 77, and her full-time caretaker, Trinidadian Joan Arthur, who spends 10 hours a day, 5 days a week with Mary, described; photos (L)

Jewish Theological Seminary will celebrate weeklong holiday of Succoth and mark $15 million renovation of burnt-out library tower; work on the 10-story structure, to be called Kripke Tower, corner of Broadway and 122d Street, NYC, started in July; photos (M)

United Nations says its relief workers, once protected by their status as neutral do-gooders, have increasingly become targets of violence in troubled lands; says 180 UN workers have been killed on duty since 1992, including at least 141 locally recruited staff members; attacks on UN workers are now used to attract media attention and send political messages (M)l

As homeowners in the lower Hudson Valley and northern New Jersey continued bailing water from their homes, President Clinton declared Federal disaster areas in four counties in New York and eight in New Jersey. About 125,000 homes in the two states still lacked power. ''A storm like this occurs maybe once every 200 years,'' said Gov. George E. Pataki of New York, who had requested the declaration for New York, during a visit to a flooded train station in Ossining, N.Y.

Article on Rick Mirer, who will replace injured Vinny Testaverde as New York Jets quarterback this season; photo (M)

Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa, who hit 66 home runs last season, hits homer off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jason Bere and becomes first player to hit 60 home runs twice; Brewers beat Cubs, 7-4 (M)

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New York Mets beat Philadelphia Phillies, 11-1; photos (M)

H & R Block chief financial officer Ozzie Wenick offers response to negative reaction to decision to buy Olde Financial, parent of discount securities brokerage with history of accusations that it abused customers and discriminated against blacks and women; photos; graph (L)

Richard L Berke article contends that Minnesota Gov Jesse Ventura, after wrestling control of Reform Party from Ross Perot, has emerged as institutional embodiment of national disaffection as well; photo (M)

Barbara Crossette article holds that on Oct 12, when world officially declares that it has reached 6 billion population mark, there will be cause to look at China and India; notes that India, with 1 billion people, and China, with 1.2 billion, account for over one-third of all humans on Earth; says China, which foundered in Maoist excesses in its first three post-revolutionary decades, has put together comprehensive package of changes in economy, rural land ownership and social services; says India has lagged in introducing fundamental economic and social reforms to match China's; photo; graph (M)

Special report: Crack's Legacy focuses on sharp drop in crack use; crack epidemic, target of intensive police crackdowns in New York City, is on decline around nation, regardless of law enforcement response, as children of crack users distain drug; crack, now used mainly by older people, has all but disappeared from much of NY, taking with it ragged and violent vignettes that were routine part of street life; photos (L)