Ronald O Perelman is taking Revlon Inc off the market and instead will try to sell two units of ailing cosmetic giant to raise much-needed cash; news is defeat for Perelman, who publicly put company up for sale in April; Revlon says it expects sale of Latin American brands and salon-style hair products units to generate at least $500 million and to be completed by March 31; Revlon's stock drops 34 percent, or $6.25, to $12, its 52-week low; graph; photo (M)

Revlon Is Taken Off the Block, and Shares Plunge

Toys 'R' Us Decks Its Shelves; Hoping to Learn From the Ghost of the Christmas Just Past

Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani, in his latest assault on gridlock in New York City, says that Police Dept will begin aggressive crackdown on drivers who double-park; one day each week, dept plans to triple number of officers who put clamps on tires of cars parked illegally; it has also added extra tow trucks that can move large vehicles; crackdown is to focus on congested commercial areas in all five boroughs; map (M)

A New Focus In the Assault On Gridlock

 Moscow Cuts Chechnya Ties  In a move that could intensify the Caucasus conflict, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin severed links with the elected government of breakaway Chechnya.   PAGE A3

INSIDE

There are Jews who want to seize the Temple Mount by any means necessary. And Christians who want to see the Jewish temple rebuilt -- and destroyed to bring on Armageddon. And Muslims who will never give up the Dome of the Rock. Will the peace process be stalled by the apocalypse? A report by Jeffrey Goldberg, in The Times Magazine.  

COMING ON SUNDAY: ISRAEL'S Y2K PROBLEM

Hewlett-Packard Co's new chief executive Carly Fiorina criticizes company's 'inadequate performance management' and says that some employees in lagging Unix division will be dismissed; Fiorina warns that sales growth will not be quite as robust as Wall Street had hoped; attributes anticipated slowdown in revenue growth to slowdown in computer-chip production after earthquake in Taiwan; photo (M)

Hewlett Trims Its Forecast For Quarter

Teachers in Yonkers, NY, state's fourth-largest school district, go on strike, taking to picket lines in protest of new class schedules they contend were unilaterally imposed by Superintendent; district's 38 schools remain open, though attendance is light and 99 percent of district's 2,100 teachers do not report for work; district uses substitute teachers and staff members to supervise classrooms, but teaching appears to be sporadic, and several parents pull their children from school, saying conditions inside are too chaotic; photo (M)

Yonkers Teachers Strike Over Longer Class Hours

New York City hotel managers say that despite all hype, bookings for New Year's holiday have been slow; travel and tourism officials say reservations at hotels and restaurants are still ahead of where they would be in normal year, and they express confidence that everything will be booked by big night; survey by NYC & Co, agency that oversees city's tourism efforts, finds that three-quarters of 40 hotels that responded are not yet fully booked; agency pres Cristyne F Lategano says many people are just beginning to make their plans for New Year's Eve (M)

Not to Worry: Rooms to Spare For New Year's

William C Rhoden Sports of The Times article on New York Mets' madcap chase for playoff berth; player Darryl Hamilton comments; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; Wishing And Hoping For Mets

Gov George W Bush, in departure from other Presidential candidates, delivers speech to Christian Coalition that mentions abortion only in passing and does not touch on other matters vital to religious conservatives; draws rousing ovation and praise from coalition founder Pat Robertson; Bush's reception is testament to potency of his Presidential quest and underscores new pragmatism among religious conservatives; many say they are comfortable with Bush and believe he can win; photo (M)

Bush Addresses Religious Right On His Terms

at a quiet art show in yonkers, the roar of a cultuï

At a Quiet Art Show in Yonkers, The Roar of a Culture War Echoes

Tokaimura, Japan, residents, commenting on Sept 30 accident at nuclear fuel plant that exposed 49 people to radiation and critically injured three of them, express anger and disbelief that safety precautions could have been so lax and that Government could have minimized accident in crucial first hours; officials acknowledge Government's slowness in handling crisis but try to allay concerns about safety of Japan's nuclear power industry; Government declares that danger has ended and tells 313,000 people living within six-mile radius of plant that they no longer need to stay indoors; map; photo (M)

Nuclear Peril Is Over but Japanese Anger Isn't

One-day conference is held at Fordham Law School on how to sue the police over misconduct issues; photo (M)

How to Sue the Police (and Win); Lawyers Share Trade Secrets of a Growth Industry

Appealing to an important labor union for support in the Presidential campaign, Vice President Al Gore and former Senator Bill Bradley sparred yesterday, at long distance.     Mr. Gore, speaking by satellite, suggested that Mr. Bradley's flirtation with an independent Presidential candidacy in 1996 was disloyalty to the Democratic Party. Mr. Bradley, in a videotape, portrayed Mr. Gore as a lifelong Washington insider with little real-life experience.  

Seeking Union Vote, The Democrats Clash

Nation's leading gun manufacturers, in their first major meeting with officials from cities that are suing firearms industry, try to get suits dropped; agree to begin negotiations to improve gun safety and reduce flow of weapons to criminals; say they will quickly respond to list of cities'demands, including crackdown on corrupt gun dealers; municipal officials at Washington, DC, meeting say if agreement can be reached, they will withdraw their suits, which demand hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for cost of gun violence (M)

SAFETY AND CRIME AT HEART OF TALKS ON GUN LAWSUITS

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme religious leader, moves to head off confrontation with Pres Mohammad Khatami; instructs hard-line Muslim clerics and their loyalists among police not to 'take matters into their own hands' in potentially explosive dispute involving university students; uses major sermon to defuse tensions over recent satire in Teheran campus magazine that hard-liners have denounced as insulting; appeal comes 10 weeks after student protests touched off worst rioting in Teheran since overthrow of Shah in 1979 (M)

Top Leader in Iran Tries to Calm Rage Of Its Hard-Liners

The scoreboard looms in right field at Shea Stadium, a garish monolith that blinked in yellow lights the scores from the Houston and Cincinnati games, the scores that would go a long way toward determining whether the Mets would spend the evening absorbed in bitter reflection or sustained tension.    The board had already shown bad news: the Mets surrendered a two-run lead to the Pirates in the eighth inning and were now in extra innings for the second consecutive game, clinging to an opportunity to keep their gasping season breathing for another day. But then the crowd of 29,528 roared and the lights flashed again. Los Angeles had beaten Houston. Milwaukee had tied Cincinnati in the eighth.  

Ventura Gives Life to Gasping Mets

Edmonton Oilers retire Wayne Gretzky's No 99, rite; team plays New York Rangers to 1-1 tie; photos (M)

A Great Day for the Great One Ends in a Tie

Customers drawn by hefty rebates bought 16.2 million new cars, sport utility vehicles, minivans and pickup trucks in 1999 model year, breaking sales record set in 1986; most auto makers report strong September sales; General Motors Corp says sales for 1999 model year totaled 5,006,076 cars and trucks, 9 perent increase over 1998; overall sales for September rose 8.9 percent from year ago; DaimlerChrysler Corp says sales hit record 2,651,090 for 1999 model year, up 8 percent from 1998; sales for September rose 7.3 percent; sales figures for other auto makers noted (M)

Auto Makers Finish Record Year on Strong Note

 Stocks Continue to Slide On Strong Economic News  The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was flat, rising 0.10 point, to 1,282.81. The index is up 4.36 this year and had been down 10.6 percent this week from its July 16 high, putting it into what Wall Street defines as a correction -- a selloff of 10 percent or more.  

BUSINESS DIGEST

Article on Maneka And Sonia Gandhi, daughters-in-law of late Indian Prime Min Indira Gandhi; notes that Maneka, who is Cabinet Minister for welfare in national Government, and Sonia, who is leader of opposition Congress Party, do not speak; says Maneka, widow of Sanjay, is political independent running for her fourth term in Parliament; says Sonia, widow of Rajiv, has been in politics for only two years; photos (M)

For 2 Women in India, Heritage Torn by Hate

Sept 23 review of music-education software gave erroneous price for Learn to Play Music With Ricky Recorder; it costs $49.99

Corrections

Because of an editing error, an art review in Weekend yesterday about ''Sensation: Young British Artists From the Saatchi Collection,'' at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, gave a misspelled surname in some copies for an artist whose portrait of an English murderer is in the show. He is Marcus Harvey, not Heavey.    An article in the Metro Section about a preview of the exhibition misstated the surname of the woman portrayed by Mr. Harvey. She is Myra Hindley, not Handle.  

Group of investors led by Newbridge Capital Ltd and Gilbert Global Equity Capital may buy 19.9 percent stake in PT Astra International, Indonesia's largest car maker (S)

INDONESIAN CAR TALKS

Strong recent performance by Purdue football team discussed as it prepares to face Michigan (M)

Purdue, on a Roll, Shows No Sign of Letting Up

Heinz G. Konsalik, pseudonym of Heinz Günther was a German novelist. Konsalik was his mother's maiden name.

October 2, 1999

Headlines from October 2, 1999

Revlon Is Taken Off the Block, and Shares Plunge

Toys 'R' Us Decks Its Shelves; Hoping to Learn From the Ghost of the Christmas Just Past

A New Focus In the Assault On Gridlock

INSIDE

COMING ON SUNDAY: ISRAEL'S Y2K PROBLEM

Billboard 200

Let There Be... EVE--Ruff Ryders' First Lady

Millennium

Christina Aguilera

Fly

Supernatural

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for October 2, 1999